Chapter 490 - 488: Gathering

The tallest tree attracts the wind. Lin Xuan was bound to become a thorn in everyone’s side—a thorn in the side of every Super Race except for the Bu Family!

The Bu Family was overjoyed this time. The Grand Elder, Bu Feiyun, slapped his thigh and laughed heartily. "The Soaring Dragon Empire really gave us a huge surprise! Third place! They actually got third place!"

He was so excited his face flushed red. As the Grand Elder of a dignified Super Race, he was laughing with such elation. It had been a long, long time since he’d been this happy.

It was perfectly normal for him to be so happy. This was the first time in their history they had made it into the top three. How could he not be thrilled?

Even if they couldn’t break into the top three in the final, at least they had knocked their rivals down a peg in the preliminaries! The Bu Family had been suppressed for far too long. Now that they had a rare chance to take down someone from the Celestial Successor Empire, how could they not be happy?

The other Elders were also delighted, but it was a shame the Patriarch wasn’t there. The Patriarch would only come to watch in person during the finals; he didn’t bother with the preliminaries or the semifinals, so he missed this astonishing scene.

"The Soaring Dragon Empire is a real dark horse. An absolute dark horse! Bu Cheng, you even told me they wouldn’t amount to much. You really misjudged them this time!" Bu Feiyun chuckled, his eyes filled with delight. He felt as if he had become several years younger.

Bu Cheng didn’t feel the least bit awkward. On the contrary, he said happily, "You’re right. How could I have expected this? It seems their foundation is very strong. I really did misjudge them. The preliminaries will be over soon. I’ll have to meet them in person and see what kind of people they are to have a Cultivation strong enough to surpass even the Celestial Successor Empire!"

Why would he be embarrassed? Misjudging someone was normal, especially since he didn’t spend much time in the Soaring Dragon Empire. In any case, he hadn’t done anything wrong or punished the Soaring Dragon Empire in any way, so it wasn’t some irreversible mistake.

"Of course. Anyone who can reach this Level must be a world-shocking genius!" Bu Feiyun said with a smile. "Time is almost up. The preliminaries should be ending."

Three days. Just like that, three whole days were over. At the very last moment, Lin Xuan solidified his position in third place, sending the entire Bu Family into cheers.

Immediately after, Lin Xuan was teleported away. When he came to his senses, he found himself in a vast plaza. Besides him, there were quite a few others waiting there. He swept his gaze over them. The number of people grew and grew until it finally stopped, locking in at just over three hundred!

He didn’t know how many people had been in the preliminaries, but for only three hundred-some to remain, the number was pitifully small. However, looking at it from another angle, everyone here was a Spirit Pill Stage expert. That was truly terrifying, and they were all geniuses under the age of thirty.

If any Empire possessed so many Spirit Pill Stage geniuses, its future would be truly terrifying. However, to the Super Races, this wasn’t particularly surprising. What did numbers matter? The important thing was whether any true elites emerged in the end. A single Void Spirit Stage expert was worth three hundred, or even a thousand, Spirit Pill Stage geniuses!

They had seen too many geniuses who ultimately failed to break through to the Void Spirit Stage. And they weren’t aiming to stop at that Level; they wanted to break through to the Spirit King Stage! Or even higher. Therefore, they only needed true elites, not ordinary geniuses.

High talent only proved a slight advantage in Cultivation, but the further one progressed, the less obvious that advantage became. What was needed more was Comprehension. Comprehension was not the same as talent. Talent was related to one’s physique and only provided a slight edge in Cultivation.

The Martial God was the best example. In the end, he became a god, looking down upon all heroes!

’So many people still left in the end. Looks like there’s going to be a fight...’ Lin Xuan thought as he looked at the crowd. He didn’t know what kind of trial would come next, but it would probably be a martial tournament. This place was like a fighting arena; they could use the simplest, most brutal method—combat—to screen for the most outstanding geniuses.

Combat would never go out of style. It was always the way to filter out the strong, a thorough test of one’s comprehensive abilities.

Just then, several people walked over from the sides. They were all representatives sent by the Super Races, each with extremely formidable Cultivation. They were all Elder Level, with Cultivation at the Void Spirit Level or higher. Without releasing even a hint of their aura, they were able to suppress everything.

Their presence silenced the noisy chatter of the three hundred-plus people in the plaza. No one dared to make another sound.

"Those from the Bu Family, come over here!" Bu Cheng stepped forward and motioned for the people from the Empires under his jurisdiction to gather.

Lin Xuan turned and walked over. He saw that there were still over forty people who had gathered on the Bu Family’s side. It wasn’t a small number, but it definitely wasn’t large.

The other Super Races did the same, motioning for the contestants from the Empires they managed to gather. Their numbers weren’t small either. Among them, the Yan Family had the most, followed by the Su Family, then the Zhang Family, the Chen Family, and finally, the Bu Family.

Five Super Races—the five strongest Super Races. Among the three hundred-plus survivors, the Bu Family had the fewest people. They also had the fewest people in the top fifty. The Yan Family, the strongest Super Race, had the most.

But the atmosphere was a little different today. Third place belonged to the Bu Family—an unprecedented result. This made the other Elders look over one by one, wanting to see just what the person who took third place looked like!

"I never thought the Bu Family would be able to break into the top three this time. It’s really quite a surprise!" The Yan Family’s Grand Elder, Yan Jingyun, walked over, a cold glint in his eyes. He scanned back and forth through the Bu Family’s group, trying to find the most dazzling person among them.

But with a single glance, he found no one with particularly high Cultivation. Logically, they shouldn’t have been able to defeat Mu Junjie, but the facts were right in front of him. ’Was it a joint attack?’

"A surprise?" Bu Feiyun chuckled. "I don’t find it surprising at all. It’s because of our excellent training. A result like this is perfectly normal!"

He wasn’t exactly lying. Every Empire did receive resources in addition to protection. It could be said that every Major Sect received some; the only difference was the amount. The Royal Family received the most, but who knew that such a mess would occur.

Bu Feiyun certainly wasn’t going to say any of that. He would take all the credit for himself and absolutely would not speak the truth.

"Is that so? Then we’d like to see for ourselves what this disciple you’ve trained looks like. Why don’t you let us have a look?" Su Feng of the Su Family narrowed his eyes, eager to see the person in question.

"Of course, no problem!" Bu Feiyun laughed. "Contestant from the Soaring Dragon Empire, step forward and let them have a look!"

And so, under the watchful gaze of the crowd, Lin Xuan took a few steps forward, placing himself in the line of sight of the numerous experts. He was completely unafraid. ’Since I chose to be high-profile, I can’t be afraid of being recognized.’ Besides, he was always going to be called out to be seen, unless he had ended up at the bottom of the rankings.