Within the territory of the Great New Dynasty.
Tianji Sacred Land.
The Centennial "Emerging Dragon Ranking Competition" is about to begin!
Representatives from the five great sacred lands gather to witness this grand event.
Tianji Sacred Land!
Tianlong Sacred Land!
Tianchi Sacred Land!
Tianxin Sacred Land!
Tianxing Sacred Land!
After days of deliberation, the representatives of each sacred land have jointly decided to amend the rules for this session's "Emerging Dragon Ranking Competition."
The individual competition has been changed to a "small team competition."
All young cultivators participating must find two more teammates, forming a small team of three to compete together.
This rule... is unreasonable!
Many sects protested, especially the smaller ones. The disciples they sent to compete, when added together, didn't even amount to three people. How were they supposed to form a team?
Even if they found teammates temporarily, they would have no chemistry and their combat effectiveness would be significantly hampered.
The representatives of the small sects argued fiercely.
However, it was useless!
What the five great sacred lands decided together, no one could change.
You either accept it immediately, or calm down and accept it later!
That's how overbearing they were!
Helpless, all the elite disciples participating began to "socialize" frantically, trying to recruit teammates and form teams. This led to a series of spectacular dramas.
On the side of the "Eastern Barren Mountains," everyone was relatively united.
They had all received guidance from seniors, making them "underground disciples" with a sense of camaraderie.
They quickly formed their teams and found satisfactory teammates.
Yun Tianzhong, Yun Tiankong, and Yun Zhaozhao formed a small team.
As for the little spirit monkey king... it was a monkey and didn't count towards the official participant slots. Yun Tiankong came up with a "bad idea" to have the little spirit monkey king participate as Yun Zhaozhao's pet.
Little Spirit Monkey
(╬◣д◢)
Damn it!
You're the pet!
Your whole family are pets!
I'm Zhaozhao's man, bah... man-monkey, bah... male monkey...
Yun Zhaozhao: "Little Spirit!"
Little Spirit Monkey King
ヽ(￣▽￣)ﾉ
"Jiji..."
Here I come, here I come!
...
"Fellow Daoist Yun, the competition officially begins tomorrow. How are you prepared?"
Liu Ji of the "Great Wind Sect" approached Yun Tianzhong, initiating the conversation.
Yun Tianzhong smiled faintly and cupped his fist in greeting to Liu Ji, his etiquette impeccable.
He spoke.
"My siblings and I have been practicing diligently these past few days, and our coordination is quite good!"
Liu Ji nodded, "That's good, that's good! For this Emerging Dragon Ranking Competition, we are all here for participation. For the Eastern Barren Mountains to achieve good rankings, we rely entirely on you, Fellow Daoist Yun..."
"Where, where!"
Yun Tianzhong waved his hand modestly.
"All fellow Daoists are very strong. My siblings and I will do our best!"
At this point, a sharp glint flashed in Liu Ji's eyes. He lowered his voice and said solemnly.
"Fellow Daoist Yun, I've come to find you for another important matter... you must be extremely careful! The sudden rule change for this Emerging Dragon Ranking Competition is no simple matter..."
Liu Ji recounted the information he had gathered.
It turned out that this sudden rule change was strongly requested by the "Tianlong Sacred Land." The other four sacred lands, not wanting to lose face to the "Tianlong Sacred Land," simply went along with it.
In the past hundred years, the "Tianlong Sacred Land" had produced three super geniuses, known to the world as the "Three Great Talents of Tianlong"!
The eldest brother, Long Feng, was at the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment, cultivating a fierce and dominant "Dragon Subduing Divine Art," with explosive combat power!
The second brother, Long Yu, was also at the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment, cultivating the "Clear Wind Escape Technique," coupled with the "Invisible Sword Qi," allowing him to attack and defend with equal prowess.
The third brother, Long Zhu, was at the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment, having cultivated a long-lost Buddhist divine art, possessing a physically strong and nearly invincible body!
The Three Great Talents of Tianlong had grown up together, their coordination was perfect, and their combined strength in a three-person team was exponentially greater than fighting alone!
The "Tianlong Sacred Land" intended to sweep up the first, second, and third places on the "Emerging Dragon Ranking" this time.
Upon hearing this, Yun Tianzhong couldn't help but frown.
"Does the Tianlong Sacred Land act like this, and the other sacred lands have no objections?"
The ranking on the "Emerging Dragon Ranking" was not just about honor; it also involved the number of spots to enter the "Void Cave Secret Realm."
The first place obtained 100 spots to enter the "Void Cave Secret Realm."
The second place obtained 99 spots to enter the "Void Cave Secret Realm."
...
If the "Tianlong Sacred Land" monopolized the first, second, and third places, it would mean a reduction in the number of spots for other sacred lands to enter the "Void Cave Secret Realm."
Could the other sacred lands tolerate such a situation?
Liu Ji shook his head with a wry smile.
"Fellow Daoist Yun, you don't know the full story..."
The five great sacred lands outwardly appeared as "five benevolent individuals," considering the cultivation world of the Great New Dynasty, upholding justice, and presiding over fairness.
In reality, all five sacred lands were more corrupt than the others.
They colluded in secret, conspired together, and engaged in various forms of "behind-the-scenes manipulation"!
Take this "Emerging Dragon Ranking" for example. Nominally, all young cultivators could participate, but in reality, it was a show staged by the "five great sacred lands" in rotation.
As for the top fifty places, disciples from small and minor sects could forget about them; these spots were all taken by the elite disciples of the five great sacred lands.
In each "Emerging Dragon Ranking" competition, the focus of the five great sacred lands varied.
In the session before last, the "Tianxing Sacred Land" shone brightly, occupying five of the top ten spots.
In the last session, the "Tianji Sacred Land" surpassed all others, occupying six of the top ten spots.
This session, it was the "Tianlong Sacred Land's" turn.
According to the unwritten rule, the other four sacred lands would tacitly yield to the "Tianlong Sacred Land," allowing them to gain considerable prestige in this session.
Therefore, the "Tianlong Sacred Land's" proposal for a "three-person small team competition" was supported by the other sacred lands, which made sense.
Yun Zhaozhao was furious upon hearing this.
"How can they do this? It's too much!"
The monkey was also indignant.
"Jiji jijiji, jijiji jijiji..."
Shameless, despicable, vulgar...
Yun Tianzhong and Yun Tiankong exchanged glances. They remained calm.
The cultivation world was like this; where there were people, there was a martial world!
However, there was no need to worry too much about these messy affairs. When it came down to the actual combat on the stage, individual strength was what mattered.
Were the "Three Great Talents of Tianlong" truly that strong?
A powerful fighting spirit ignited in Yun Tianzhong's eyes; he was already impatient.
He possessed the acquired spiritual treasure "Sword Tomb."
Yun Tiankong possessed the acquired spiritual treasure "Invincible Heavenly Sword."
Yun Zhaozhao had... a monkey.
The little spirit monkey king was no ordinary creature. Its "Intelligent Stone Monkey" bloodline had awakened in three stages, possessing the "Dharma Aspect Heaven and Earth" divine ability and the ninth-grade magic treasure "Five Elements Staff." The monkey's combat power was also explosive.
Their "small team" feared no challenge!