Chapter 1425 - 1:

Jiang Cheng had no idea that when he broke out of the first Illusion Realm, all the Immortals watching outside let out exclamations.

From the outside, they couldn't see each individual Illusion Realm, nor what they encountered.

But even if they hadn't eaten pork, they'd seen pigs run.

Everyone knew they all faced different attacks.

In their eyes, once everyone entered, they were shrouded in Yin clouds.

In fact, that meant they had fallen into an Illusion Realm attack.

Among all the 'contestants' scattered about, the first to dispel the Yin clouds around him was the Daoist Saint Yun Ting.

In just two seconds after the start, he forcibly broke through the Illusion Realm enveloping him with unfathomable power.

At that moment, the entire scene was in an uproar.

"As expected of an old-school Daoist Saint!"

"An old relic is still an old relic!"

"This old freak, could he have transcended the level of a Daoist Saint?"

"Too powerful!"

At this time, the second person to dispel the Yin clouds appeared.

He was also an old-school powerhouse—Ji Feng Daoist Saint.

He was only slower than Yun Ting Daoist Saint by a second.

"Another old-school Daoist Saint!"

"Their foundation is truly astonishing!"

"That's for sure, many Divine Monarchs present aren't as seasoned as they are."

"During the most chaotic period of the Primordial Immortal Realm back then, Ji Feng Daoist Saint was already a hegemon!"

Even though dispersing the Yin clouds couldn't pass the first round immediately,

after Yun Ting and Ji Feng Daoist Saint dispelled the first cloud, the second Yin cloud soon appeared above their heads.

But breaking through the first Illusion Realm first was a clear display of power.

For many people, it was already enough to determine a higher and lower level.

The 'audience' present were almost all Immortal Officials of the Celestial Palace, and seeing this scene, they felt inexplicably uncomfortable.

Yun Ting and Ji Feng Daoist Saint hadn't joined the Celestial Palace before, they were just outsiders who tacitly accepted the Celestial Palace's rule.

To the Immortal Officials present, they were outsiders.

Two outsiders took the 'first two places,' what about the Daoist Saints of the Celestial Palace?

Fortunately, when they had this thought, the third strong person to dispel the Yin clouds also appeared.

"Meng Wu Daoist Saint!"

"He was once the Chief of the Great Dream Department of the Celestial Palace!"

"Finally, it's someone from our Celestial Palace!"

"Wonderful!"

Seeing this scene, many Immortal Officials were excited and thrilled, their cheers were even louder than for the previous two.

"Meng Wu Daoist Saint has long possessed the power and qualification of a Divine Monarch, he just didn't have a position before."

"With twenty Daoist Saints and thirty Upper-rank Star Lords participating this time, it's hard to say who will win those seven spots, but these three are a sure thing."

"Absolutely!"

"Their power is clearly a cut above the other Daoist Saints."

When some people stand out, there are those who lag behind.

Dozens of Immortals, who were not even at the Supreme level of the Realm, were quickly swallowed by those Yin clouds at the start.

Then they were eliminated from the competition.

This first round of the selection wouldn't cost them their lives, but after being crushed by the Illusion Realm, the eliminated dozens didn't die.

They were just pale-faced, shocked and unsettled.

"Too terrifying."

"Really too terrifying."

After they were eliminated, many Immortals gathered around, and soon learned what those Yin clouds meant inside.

For a while, the discussion became even more heated.

"Damn, this is just the first round of selection, and it's this hard?"

"Those below Daoist Venerable have no hope, right?"

"Even Daoist Venerables might be defeated!"

"Otherwise, this is a battle for Divine Monarchs, those below Daoist Venerable have no hope."

"Good thing I didn't sign up..."

Then, very soon, the fourth, fifth, and sixth strong persons who dispelled the Yin clouds appeared.

They were Spiritual Sound Daoist Saint, Qing Que Daoist Saint, and Mo Qian Daoist Saint.

All three came from the Primordial Immortal Realm below, making the Immortal Officials present very embarrassed.

"How come they're all from below?"

"Where's the face of our Celestial Palace?"

In fact, this was normal too.

These old-school Daoist Saints from below had been renowned long before the Celestial Palace was founded.

While the true old-school Daoist Saints of the Celestial Palace became Divine Monarchs when the palace was first established.

Like Prince Yun and King Jing.

If they participated, their performance wouldn't be worse than Yun Ting and Ji Feng.

Nowadays, those representing the Celestial Palace were the new batch of Daoist Saints who grew up later.

Their foundation naturally wasn't as deep as those old-school Daoist Saints.

"Although this is just a selection, and breaking the first Illusion Realm isn't an achievement, it doesn't look good."

"The faces of the Divine Monarchs are all dark."

"Of course, this event is hosted by our Celestial Palace, and yet outsiders have stolen the spotlight."

"So far, among the six who broke the Yin clouds, we only account for one."

"Seven Divine Monarch positions correspond to seven people, we should at least have two in the top seven in terms of breaking the Illusion Realm, right?"

"It's doubtful, unless an unexpected turn happens, the next one would still be from below..."

While they were discussing, the seventh person to break the Secret Realm and dispel the Yin clouds finally appeared.

Who else but Brother Cheng?

This brother could have been faster originally; if he wanted, he could even have been first.

Once the Perfect Sword Dao is unleashed, the Illusion Realm can't even last half a second before being pierced through in an instant.

The entire examination space would even be destroyed.

He just couldn't be bothered to expend such effort.

He didn't even use the Thirteen Layer of Sword Dao.

After all, performing the Sword Dao and Dharma Realm consumes Immortal Power and Divine Soul Power.

He just identified the loophole in the Illusion Realm and used the most effortless and relaxed way to break it.

It's just a selection after all, as the King Bi, a master should have grace, there's no need to go all out.

However, the people outside had no idea about these details, they were already in a complete frenzy.

The sound waves in the venue instantly reached a peak, easily overshadowing the momentum when Yun Ting Daoist Saint passed.

"Jiang Cheng!"

"It's Jiang Cheng, the Chief of the Celestial Pill Department!"

"Holy crap, holy crap! The seventh one is really our Celestial Palace's Immortal Official?"

These ordinary Immortal Officials didn't know anything about the bet, in their eyes, Jiang Cheng being an Immortal Official meant he was one of their own.

Think about it, everyone was guessing the seventh would be another outsider, lamenting the Celestial Palace's decline.

But then Brother Cheng rose suddenly and claimed the seventh place...

Bringing glory to the Celestial Palace, he gave everyone a great face.

Many people even waved their arms, shouting themselves hoarse cheering for Brother Cheng.

"Mighty Elder Jiang!"

"Long live Elder Jiang..."

"He's only a Daoist Venerable, how did he do it?"

"Yeah, with twenty Daoist Saints competing, he managed to pierce through the first Illusion Realm ahead of over a dozen Daoist Saints, how incredible is that?"

Many Immortals felt this was too unreal.

"How else would he become the Hidden Emperor? I knew it, Elder Jiang is no ordinary person!"

"What do you know, you used to mock him."

"That was when I was young and ignorant, from now on, Emperor Jiang Yin is my idol!"

"Deserving of being the Hidden Emperor! A Daoist Venerable who can contend with Daoist Saints, truly has the bearing of a Celestial Emperor!"