Prodigy, king tier, these two terms were frequently misused. If anyone’s performance was the slightest bit outstanding, he would be crowned with the t.i.tle of prodigy, and if he was the slightest bit more prodigious, he would be a top prodigy, a super genius.
In truth, there was only one kind of person that could be termed a king tier. The grading criteria for the Severing Mundane Tier, Immortal Palace Tier, and the like was still unclear, but at least below Celestial level, only those who had cultivated to the true pinnacle of the Eternal River Tier were worthy of the t.i.tle of king tier.
There were really too few of such king tiers, and even in top sects, only the Saints could reach such a level, and in the case of other forces, they would only be able to obtain one such prodigy in a rare stroke of great fortune.
The Empress walked back, and showed Ling Han a bright smile as she handed the Saintly medicine over to him.
This could be grown in the Black Tower, and then dug out when they had need of it. Now that the sixth floor of the Black Tower was open, the acceleration of growth of plants had not increased, yet it could stimulate all living organisms to grow even vigorously, and increase their medicinal effects.
The Empress then gave Ling Han and Mao Shuyu each a wolf’s tail, and then walked forwards, holding hands with Ling Han.
The Saintly medicine had been collected, and they had also obtained the wolves’ tails, so they were naturally leaving.
Mao Shuyu’s expression was completely wooden as she took the wolf’s tail. She had not come back to her senses yet at all, and the same words streaked through her mind repeatedly: how could this be!
“In any case, it is still early, so why don’t we get some more Saintly medicine!” Ling Han’s eyes shone.
The Empress nodded. As long as it was Ling Han’s suggestion, she would definitely not object.
Mao Shuyu followed behind them, looking like a dead fish.
They swept through the area, collecting a total of six Saintly medicines, and only now did Mao Shuyu who had barely returned to her senses advise them that it was time to return. Otherwise, they would definitely be ranked outside the first 1,000.
Ling Han was unsatisfied, but they should still be able to come here again in future, so there was no need to rush.
They returned, and though they encountered the sneak attacks of a few blind Demonic Beasts on their way, they were all easily dealt with by Mao Shuyu.
A day later, they returned to the gathering area, and looking at the number that had already returned, they would probably be ranked in the 600s to 700s.
It was good enough to have pa.s.sed.
After another half day’s time, the first 1,000 people appeared, and the selection ended. Tu Kang brought the 1,000 people with him, and they arrived at an army camp at the foot of the mountains. This was the place where they would stay for the next 100 years.
They had not even entered the camp when they could feel a powerful aura ripple out. It had surpa.s.sed the level of Genesis Tier, as if it was the aura of a supreme ruler.
Severing Mundane Tier!
There was a vice commander in the Dark Moon Army that had been temporarily transferred over to oversee them for 100 years. And in the Dark Moon Army, there were a total of six such vice commanders who would take turns to act as the overseer. Otherwise, if they encountered some troublemakers, a consummate level Genesis Tier might not be able to deal with them.
With a Severing Mundane Tier overseer, it would be fine. What Genesis Tier would dare provoke such an elite?
Tu Kang was naturally not the only military instructor here, and there were a total of 10 of them. Usually, they would be taking turns to guide the candidates on how to cooperate and work together. Those who fought alone were called cultivators, and only those who could carry out coordinated movements would be termed soldiers.
10 military instructors appeared at the same time, and that vice commander was seated high up on the platform. It was as if he had harmonized with the heaven and earth. They could clearly see where he was, but everyone would feel an uncomfortable feeling as if they could not attack him at all.
This was a Severing Mundane Tier Ancestor!
“And now, we will choose 10 captains from among you, and going by the results of the selection, the following 10 people step out: No. 170, No. 534, No. 895…” Tu Kang began the next stage after asking for instructions from that Severing Mundane ancestor.
The 10 people who had been pointed out stepped out, and unsurprisingly, Ding Xiaochen was also among them. When he walked out, he also bowed slightly to that Severing Mundane ancestor seated on the high platform, and the latter actually responded. He opened his eyes, and replied with a nod.
When this grand elder opened his eyes, it was as if the universe had collapsed. Everyone could see innumerable great stars fall down from the skies, a scene of utter destruction and annihilation, but after a s.h.i.+ver, they discovered that nothing strange had happened at all.
This was the Regulations that the Severing Mundane Ancestor had cultivated, which were inclined towards destruction and bloodshed. The moment he opened his eyes, he could affect the ma.s.ses, and for those whose wills were weaker, it was very possible that this effect would last throughout his whole life, and they would not be able to escape from under this influence forever.
…Cultivating Dao was naturally the Dao of Heaven and Earth, and if you were strapped in the Dao of another, how could you possibly be successful?
“That is Ding Hu, Lord Ding Hu, a first severance grand elder!”
“The vice commander of the White Tiger Army!”
Some people immediately whispered among themselves, and very soon, those who had initially been unaware of the ident.i.ty of that Severing Mundane ancestor all found out.
There was a great commander in the Dark Moon Army, and that was Mao Dai, a third severance grand elder. Underneath the great commander, there were three commanders, who led three different armies, and they were the Azure Dragon Army, White Tiger Army, and the Vermilion Bird Army, respectively.
Why were there three armies, and not two, or four, or five? That was because there were three great forces in Dark Moon City.
The Duan Clan controlled the Azure Dragon Army, the Ding Clan controlled the White Tiger Army, and the Long Clan controlled the Vermilion Bird Army. From a certain aspect, the great commander Mao Dai was merely a figurehead with no actual military authority.
Subordinate to the commander would be the vice commanders, and there were a total of six, two for each respective army.
Everyone shook their heads. With Ding Hu present, that Ding Xiaochen would be able to gain the position of captain at the very least. However, with Ding Xiaochen’s strength, it was actually not a difficult feat for him to accomplish. Thus, though everyone was slightly displeased, they did not have too much resistance against the idea, either.
“The rules are as follows. The present 10 are defending champions, and will accept the challenges of others. If they win, they will have successfully defended their positions, and if they lose, the defending champion will become another person. The time limit is three days, and at the end of the three days, the 10 remaining defending champions will become captains.
“Additionally, every battle has to be decided in an hour’s time. If the victor is still undecided, it will be judged as the defending champion’s victory.
“After every battle ends, the victor has the right to request an hour’s time of rest.
“If he does not receive a challenge in the next hour, then the defending champion will be judged as directly winning.
“Then, let’s begin.”
Tu Kang’s style was filled with the succinct ways of a soldier, not sluggish at all.
Ding Xiaochen and the others all walked into the training grounds in the center of the army camp. The Celestial Realm was incredibly st.u.r.dy in the first place, and added with the fact that there was a Severing Mundane Tier overseer, there naturally was no need to worry that the fierce battles would destroy the entire army camp.
The defending champions had already appeared. Those who intended to fight for the position of a captain all looked over the 10 people, wanting to find the weakest among them that they could challenge. However, because there were only three days, even if there really were any pushovers, they would be very quickly replaced, so there was no meaning to being in a rush to make a move, either.
However, because there was still the limit of one hour, if there was still no challenger, the defending champion would become an a.s.sured captain, so when the hour’s time was almost up, they gradually issued challenges to the 10 defending champions.
As expected, luck was a big factor for entering into the top 10 during the selection. Some of them had kept their skills hidden, concealing their strength for a final explosive burst at this moment.
And after a round of battles, six of the 10 defending champions had changed, more than half of them replaced.
Ling Han looked at an elder, and said to the Empress, “This guy’s strength is not too bad, and it looks like his bloodline is different from others.”
That elder’s whole body would be covered with ink black scales when he was in battle. This was completely a thick layer of armor, which had a very strong defensive ability, so he did not have to fear the attacks of his opponent, and faced him head-on.
His opponent had thus been defeated in 10 moves through this kind of method.
“There is that person too.” The Empress looked towards a woman.