Chapter 486 484: Dark Horse

In Soaring Dragon City, Elder De and the others were constantly monitoring the overall situation. They could view the complete battle report through a crystal.

Yes, this crystal clearly displayed the top fifty participants, showing which Empire they belonged to. This allowed them to know their own ranking on what was essentially a live feed, letting them see exactly where their people stood.

Half a day had now passed. Information scrolled continuously across the crystal, displaying the names of different Empires and the number of Tokens they possessed.

The crystal clearly showed the Yunqian Empire in first place with thirty Tokens! It was a terrifying number, a dozen more than second place. The numbers dwindled further down the list.

However, only Qing Deyun and the others were paying attention to the crystal. Elder De simply sat there, looking listless. He had no interest in this. 'With only two people participating, how good could their ranking possibly be? Especially with a field as packed with experts as this. Cultivators at the Third Layer of the Spirit Pill Stage won't have any advantage at all.'

They might even die inside, and then two promising prospects would be gone for good. Of course, whether Lin Xuan and the other participant lived or died had little to do with Elder De.

"No need to watch. It's not like you have to be in the top fifty to enter the next round, and getting into the top fifty is no small feat. The number of participants seems a bit high this time, much more than in previous years… Geniuses?" Elder De scoffed. "To a Super Race, these people are merely decent. They can't be called geniuses at all. A true genius not only possesses Eighth-class Talent or higher but must also have excellent comprehensive abilities. For example, their luck absolutely cannot be poor."

In an ordinary Empire, a Sixth-class Talent was enough to shock people. But to a Super Race, if you didn't have at least an Eighth-class Talent, you couldn't even be mentioned in the same breath as the word 'genius.' But so what if your talent was high? If your comprehensive abilities were lacking, a Super Race wouldn't want you.

This brutal elimination system existed precisely to test comprehensive strength. So what if someone didn't have an Eighth-class Talent? Being able to break into the top fifty was still impressive as hell! Those with high talent but insufficient combat experience were looked down upon by the Super Races all the same.

What they needed were well-rounded individuals, not just those with high talent! The Spirit Pill Stage was just an Entry Level. If someone's comprehensive abilities were poor at this stage, they truly wouldn't be worthy of a Super Race's consideration.

The moment he finished speaking, Qing Deyun suddenly saw a familiar name pop up on the crystal—Soaring Dragon Empire!

"That... That's the Soaring Dragon Empire!" Qing Deyun shouted, his face flushing red.

"It is, it is! It really is the Soaring Dragon Empire's name!" Zi Yanyun was also overcome with excitement. Staring at the crystal, he was so thrilled he couldn't remember the last time he'd felt this way.

Beside them, Zi Yi and Lin Xue's beautiful eyes widened. From what they knew of the records, this had never happened before. They had never broken into the top fifty!

Elder De shot up from his chair and rushed over to the crystal. When he saw the name "Soaring Dragon Empire" appear in forty-eighth place, his eyes widened in astonishment!

"They... they really broke into forty-eighth place! This is incredible! Even back when we sent four or five participants, we never ranked this high!" Elder De was shocked too. This result was truly eye-catching. "If they can maintain this ranking, forget the next round—they might even become disciples of a Super Race!"

This time, he finally felt a surge of excitement. He saw hope. He saw the chance to receive many rewards. Once Lin Xuan and his companion successfully joined the Bu Family, it would be a case of a rising tide lifting all boats; the entire Empire would receive a great deal of resources.

How could this not make them happy and excited? This was equivalent to soaring to success.

"It... it went up another spot!" Qing Deyun exclaimed excitedly again. He saw the Soaring Dragon Empire's name continue to rise on the crystal. The pace wasn't fast, but just breaking into the top fifty was already an excellent result.

But this wasn't the final result. It looked like they could still climb higher. The thought of what their final rank might be truly thrilled them.

"How high do you think Lin Xuan can climb this time?" Qing Deyun asked, turning around in his excitement.

"Top ten!" Lin Xue blurted out. She didn't say first place, but top ten. She actually wanted to say first, but considering the sheer number of experts inside, she changed it. Getting into the top ten was already an incredible feat.

"Top ten?" Elder De snorted coldly, unable to resist mocking the idea. "That's far too difficult. It would be great if they could just get into the top thirty. Things might be easier in the Early Stage, but it will get much harder in the Late Stage. The ones who remain will be the elites among elites. The difficulty is no small matter…"

"It... it went up another spot!" Qing Deyun saw the Soaring Dragon Empire's name climb again on the crystal, reaching forty-sixth place.

"The difficulty in the Late Stage will still be immense. Don't celebrate too early. This competition lasts for three days, and it's only just begun!" Elder De shook his head. Everything depended on the Late Stage. No matter how fierce they were in the Early Stage, if they ran into someone truly powerful, all their hopes would be dashed.

"No, Brother Lin can definitely break into the top ten! I'm sure of it!" Lin Xue retorted proudly. She believed Lin Xuan could absolutely fight his way into the top ten.

"Don't be so sure. That kid is only at the Third Layer Spirit Pill Stage. How could he…"

"Quick, look! This time they shot straight to forty-third place!" Qing Deyun's excited shout cut Elder De off.

Elder De was suddenly speechless. 'I'd better just shut up and watch,' he thought. 'If he really does break into the top ten, this is going to be awkward for me.'

In fact, it wasn't just them. Other Empires had also noticed this dark horse. Its climbing speed was so fast it was hard to believe!

"The Soaring Dragon Empire… have they ever shown such momentum before?" the Great Emperor of the Celestial Successor Empire frowned. His empire was ranked first, and he had just happened to notice an empire with a surprisingly strong surge.

"No, Your Majesty. They might have produced a decent genius, but it's of no consequence. They're just in the forties, after all," a minister beside him said.

Besides the first-ranked Celestial Successor Empire, the other top-ten Empires had also taken note of the Soaring Dragon Empire. Just when they thought the Soaring Dragon Empire's climb would slow down, it surged upward again!

At this rate, they were probably aiming for the top twenty! It was one thing for a famous Empire to break into the top twenty, but the Soaring Dragon Empire was different. They were usually completely unheard of.

BOOM!

Following the explosion, Lin Xuan slowly withdrew his palm. Before him lay a field of ice. Several so-called geniuses had been shattered into icy dust, leaving only their Tokens behind.

"So, which was it? Resistance, or a sneak attack?" Lin Xuan said indifferently.

He wouldn't stop at the top fifty. He wanted to fight his way to an even higher rank. In this kind of competition, the more high-profile you were, the more it benefited you. The rewards were greater that way. In other words, if you wanted to climb the ranks, you had to make a scene.

For the Soaring Dragon Empire, just breaking into the top fifty was already considered being high-profile…