"Lu... Lu Changsheng!"
"He just cleared the twenty-ninth floor and attained the 'Peerless' rating!"
"A Peerless rating—he actually has a shot at becoming a Prodigy in the future!"
"Lu Changsheng joined the sect only two centuries ago, so his chances are tremendous. Could he truly become our Heavenly Light Holy Sect's next Prodigy?"
"Prodigies are far too rare in the Heavenly Light Holy Sect. Every single one is the core and hope of the sect..."
Many disciples watched with fervent, heated gazes.
A Peerless rating was truly worlds apart from a Top-tier rating.
Be it potential, authority, or privileges, the two could not even be mentioned in the same breath.
Most importantly, once one advanced to the Peerless rating, becoming a Prodigy was within reach.
Prodigies were the true core and future of the Heavenly Light Holy Sect, held in supreme reverence. In the entire sect, their status was second only to the mighty chaos lifeforms.
Now that Lu Changsheng had attained the promise of becoming a Prodigy, the attention focused on him was naturally on an entirely different scale.
Lu Changsheng returned to his cave dwelling.
He took inventory of his gains.
From the twenty-fourth to the thirtieth floor, he had cleared a total of seven floors.
Each floor rewarded one hundred contribution points, yielding seven hundred in total.
Added to the two hundred points he had left from before, Lu Changsheng now possessed nine hundred contribution points.
Beyond contribution points, clearing those assessment floors had allowed him to gather the flesh and blood of powerful lifeforms into his Illusory Realm.
This flesh could be used to cultivate avatars without him needing to spend contribution points to exchange for it.
Lu Changsheng had lost six hundred thousand flesh avatars.
To cultivate them back would take sixty years.
This was precisely why he had been unwilling to forcibly challenge the thirty-first floor.
Once his avatars were depleted, he had to painstakingly cultivate them anew, bit by bit.
It consumed far too much time.
The Illusory Realm was much more convenient by comparison.
It suffered no attrition.
Even if it collapsed, it did not matter. Even if Lu Changsheng perished and was revived from the Heaven Realm, his Illusory Realm would remain entirely unaffected.
In the blink of an eye, sixty years slipped by.
Lu Changsheng restored all his avatars, bringing his total back to a staggering 2,130,000.
His current goal was to become a Prodigy.
To achieve that, he had to enhance his strength within his existing cultivation realm.
The easiest aspect to elevate was his flesh avatars.
As long as his consciousness was strong enough, he could continually split off more avatars.
At least for now, Lu Changsheng had yet to encounter a limit.
And to strengthen his consciousness, the most direct path was advancing the Thirteen-Fold True Self Method.
Currently, Lu Changsheng had only mastered the fourth layer.
If he reached the fifth, sixth, or even ninth layer, how immense would his consciousness become?
It was strange, however.
The technique was clearly called the Thirteen-Fold True Self Method, yet it contained only nine layers.
It was baffling.
Perhaps Lu Changsheng would only understand why once he reached the ninth layer.
Yet to advance the technique, a visit to the Reincarnation Tower was essential.
Moreover, he needed an extended period of reincarnation in a single sitting—perhaps even a century.
That would require at least ten thousand contribution points.
It all came down to contribution points.
Contribution points meant resources.
Lu Changsheng thought of the Luojin Realm.
However, after the previous blowout of the Luojin ore vein, the realm would remain dormant for a millennium.
Only after a thousand years would large quantities of Luojin ore reappear.
Going there now would yield little of value.
Lu Changsheng had to look for other missions.
With that, he sank his consciousness into his identity token.
He began browsing through mission after mission.
Because his rating had risen to Peerless, the number of missions accessible to him had increased considerably.
In particular, there were missions that only disciples with a Peerless rating could accept.
Looking through them, Lu Changsheng saw that the rewards were extraordinarily generous.
Normally, for a cultivator at the fourth tier of Godhood, a mission yielded merely several dozen to a hundred contribution points—virtually the upper limit.
Yet every mission reserved for the Peerless rating offered at least two to three hundred contribution points.
The rewards were indeed substantial.
Even so, Lu Changsheng found them unappealing.
His target was at least several thousand, or even ten thousand contribution points.
He had no interest in wasting time on missions offering a paltry two or three hundred.
He continued flipping through the listings.
Mission after mission failed to satisfy him.
Many also had cultivation requirements.
For instance, if one were at the ninth tier of Godhood, even an Ordinary rating would yield a bountiful haul of points.
Although Lu Changsheng possessed a Peerless rating, his cultivation was still too low.
He was merely at the fourth tier of Godhood.
Even with a Peerless rating, he could only rival ordinary sixth-tier Godhood cultivators.
"This mission..."
Suddenly, Lu Changsheng's eyes fell upon an unusual assignment.
"Fight on behalf of the Chen clan of the Longyun Realm. Cultivation must not exceed the fourth tier of Godhood; rating must be 'Peerless.' If victorious, the reward is ten thousand contribution points. If defeated, a reward of one thousand contribution points will still be granted."
Lu Changsheng's eyes lit up.
Cultivation not exceeding the fourth tier of Godhood—was this not tailor-made for him?
Furthermore, he would receive a thousand contribution points even in defeat.
Lu Changsheng was familiar with the Longyun Realm.
It was a world teeming with experts, maintaining close ties with the Heavenly Light Holy Sect.
Many geniuses emerging from it had joined the Heavenly Light Sacred Realm in the past.
As for whom the Chen clan was fighting or opposing, the posting did not specify.
Yet Lu Changsheng was unconcerned.
If true danger arose, he could simply abandon the mission and return.
He was under no obligation to see it through.
Without hesitation, Lu Changsheng accepted the mission.
Having claimed it, he set off immediately for the teleportation array.
Owing to the special relationship between the Longyun Realm and the Heavenly Light Holy Sect, the sect's teleportation array could transport someone directly there.
The journey would not consume much time on the road.
With his Peerless rating, Lu Changsheng was granted priority placement in the queue.
He skipped the line directly, becoming the first to use the teleportation array.
Such was the privilege of a high rating.
His authority was immense.
*Whoosh.*
Lu Changsheng's figure vanished within the teleportation array.
The next instant, he reappeared elsewhere.
"I've arrived."
Lu Changsheng looked around.
He was no longer within the Heavenly Light Holy Sect.
This was the Longyun Realm.
Lu Changsheng immediately tried to sense spatial force.
After all, if he could tap into spatial force and perform spatial shuttling here, he would feel entirely at ease, fearing nothing.
Yet the moment he reached out with his senses, he promptly gave up on the idea.
The Longyun Realm possessed a world will.
Lu Changsheng had detected it the instant his senses reached outward.
With a world will present, comprehending spatial force was virtually impossible, to say nothing of spatial shuttling.
Only a chaos lifeform could disregard a world will and shuttle through space directly.
Lu Changsheng swept the area with his consciousness.
There was no need to ask around.
The Chen clan of the Longyun Realm was renowned throughout the world.
*Whoosh.*
The next moment, Lu Changsheng flew toward the Chen clan.
Soon, the Chen estate came into view.
Yet the atmosphere surrounding the typically bustling clan seemed unusually tense.
Hardly anyone came or went before the gates.
Lu Changsheng walked straight up to the entrance.
"Are you here as a visitor, sir? The Chen clan is currently indisposed and not receiving guests..." the guarding cultivator said directly.
Lu Changsheng said calmly, "I am Lu Changsheng, a disciple of the Heavenly Light Holy Sect. I have just accepted the mission your Chen clan posted with the sect."
At his words, the guard's expression shifted dramatically.
A Heavenly Light Holy Sect disciple who had accepted their mission—this had to be an important figure.
Without even waiting to report, the guard escorted Lu Changsheng straight into the estate.
Naturally, the other guard rushed off to notify the higher-ups.
A chilling aura hung over the entire Chen clan.
Lu Changsheng was led to the reception hall.
A member of the Chen clan was already waiting.
"Could you be Fellow Daoist Lu Changsheng?"
A genial-looking, middle-aged man rose to receive him.
"I am Chen Tianlin, Patriarch of the Chen clan," the man introduced himself.
Lu Changsheng's eyes narrowed slightly.
A sweep of his consciousness revealed that this Chen Tianlin was no ordinary figure—he was a cultivator at the sixth tier of Godhood.
Yet the Chen clan even possessed a chaos lifeform, so a sixth-tier expert was hardly surprising.
Of course, that chaos lifeform was Ancestor Chen.
He rarely showed himself.
Even the clan patriarch might never have met Ancestor Chen in person.
"Lu Changsheng of the Heavenly Light Holy Sect."
Lu Changsheng presented his identity token and the mission record.
Chen Tianlin's enthusiasm grew instantly.
The mission requirement called for a Peerless rating.
A fourth-tier Godhood disciple with a Peerless rating was second only to a Prodigy.
At present, not even the entire Chen clan possessed such a genius.
Naturally, they attached immense importance to him.
"Patriarch Chen, whom does your clan wish for me to fight in this mission?" Lu Changsheng inquired.
He needed to be clear on the details.
If the task proved unfeasible, he would return directly to the sect; the worst outcome was simply failing the mission.
Lu Changsheng had no fear of mission failure.
"Sigh, it is a long story..."
Chen Tianlin recounted the entire affair from beginning to end.
It turned out the Chen clan had been the first to discover a chaos world.
That world appeared to have formed quite recently, with virtually no intelligent life having emerged yet.
Even a newly born chaos world was of immense value, leaving the Chen clan ecstatic.
Yet just as they prepared to claim it, news leaked, and another family—the Wang clan—appeared, dispatching forces to seize the world.
Both clans possessed chaos lifeforms and were colossal powers. Neither side was willing to back down. They had even sent ninth-tier Godhood experts into battle, yet neither could gain the upper hand.
As for deploying their chaos lifeforms?
That was entirely out of the question.
A single chaos world was not worth a confrontation between chaos lifeforms.
Besides, what good would deploying them do? The chaos lifeforms of both clans were old acquaintances; even if they clashed, deciding a victor would be exceedingly difficult.
Consequently, the Chen and Wang clans agreed on a compromise.
For the Godhood realm, spanning from the first tier to the ninth tier, each side would dispatch an expert to battle at every single level.
There would be nine duels in total.
The side that claimed five victories out of nine would win the chaos world.
Furthermore, regardless of the methods used or the guests invited, anyone who met the criteria could represent their respective clan.
Thus, both clans exerted every effort to recruit Godhood cultivators for the contest.
Naturally, inviting Prodigies was the ideal choice.
Prodigies were virtually invincible among their peers.
Yet how could a Prodigy be so easily recruited?
In short, they simply could not invite one.
Unable to enlist Prodigies, they sought cultivators with a Peerless rating.
Therefore, the mission posted by the Chen clan was not limited to the fourth tier; they had posted nine missions covering the first tier through the ninth tier.
Lu Changsheng had merely accepted the one matching the fourth tier of Godhood.
"Did the Wang clan also post missions at the Heavenly Light Holy Sect?" Lu Changsheng asked.
"No, the Wang clan has no ties to the Heavenly Light Holy Sect. Backed by the Falling Star Holy Sect, they will do everything in their power to recruit experts from there."
Lu Changsheng grew pensive.
He knew that like the Heavenly Light Holy Sect, the Falling Star Holy Sect was one of the three major powers of the Hundred Flowers Domain.
The three dominant factions were the Heavenly Light Holy Sect, the Falling Star Holy Sect, and the Vast Sun Holy Sect.
These three powers held near-absolute dominion over the entire domain.
"In other words, my opponent will most likely be a disciple of the Falling Star Holy Sect? Perhaps even one with a Peerless rating?" Lu Changsheng asked.
"Indeed," Chen Tianlin replied without evasion.
He had no reason to hide this; the stakes were far too high.
As for whether Lu Changsheng was willing to face a disciple of the Falling Star Holy Sect—especially one who might hold a Peerless rating—Chen Tianlin could not say.
The choice rested in Lu Changsheng's hands.
Lu Changsheng closed his eyes, weighing the situation for a long time.
Then, he opened them.
"Ten thousand contribution points is not enough."
"If I win, the Chen clan must also provide one hundred thousand high-grade chaos energy stones," Lu Changsheng stated in a deep voice.
He named his condition.
"One hundred thousand high-grade energy stones?"
Chen Tianlin hesitated momentarily.
Yet recalling that the condition applied only upon "victory," he nodded decisively. "The Chen clan agrees!"
As long as they won and claimed that chaos world, it would be well worth the price.
Lu Changsheng nodded, agreeing to fight on behalf of the Chen clan.
He demanded these high-grade chaos energy stones to strengthen his immortal dharmic power and nourish his flesh particles.
Regardless of everything else, his flesh particles needed steady cultivation.
Lu Changsheng then settled down within the Chen estate.
Days slipped by.
Subsequent Godhood experts arrived at the Chen clan one after another.
In truth, not all of them held Peerless ratings.
Where could one find so many Peerless talents?
Even with the Chen clan's handsome rewards, some Peerless cultivators had no desire to fight on their behalf.
Furthermore, several of the experts were not disciples of the Heavenly Light Holy Sect.
The Hundred Flowers Domain was vast.
Though the three great sects held sway over most of it, countless other factions existed.
Many of those factions were formidable, some even backed by chaos lifeforms.
Powerful Godhood cultivators from these other organizations had also been recruited by the Chen clan.
In reality, this clash between the Chen and Wang clans was a test of connections and foundational strength.
The stronger their foundation and the broader their network, the more experts they could assemble, and the greater their chances of victory.
Having clashed inconclusively so many times, the two families were now left to measure their deep-rooted influence.
Finally, three months later, Lu Changsheng was summoned.
Within the Chen clan's grand hall, Lu Changsheng cast a glance around.
Nine Godhood cultivators sat within the hall, each carrying an extraordinary bearing.
Most brimmed with confidence.
This was only natural.
Anyone invited by the Chen clan was inevitably a genius among geniuses, an elite among peers who possessed at least a Top-tier rating.
As for Prodigies...
Lu Changsheng did not know her, but he had heard whispers that the Chen clan had secured a Prodigy.
A Prodigy at the third tier of Godhood!
Just one tier below Lu Changsheng.
Xing Ying!
A third-tier Godhood Prodigy of the Heavenly Light Holy Sect!
She was a figure praised and marveled at by everyone in the sect.
Petite and delicate in appearance, she seemed almost ill-suited to the moniker of "Prodigy."
Yet Lu Changsheng knew that Xing Ying was a special lifeform.
In fact, many Prodigies were special lifeforms or possessed extraordinary innate talents.
Otherwise, attaining the status of a Prodigy would have been virtually impossible.
Moreover, within the Godhood tiers, the lower the cultivation level, the higher the likelihood of a Prodigy emerging.
For instance, at the first tier of Godhood, Prodigies were almost never absent.
Yet at the ninth tier, the Heavenly Light Holy Sect currently possessed not a single Prodigy.
Indeed, an immense span of time had passed since the sect last saw a ninth-tier Prodigy.
As cultivation advanced, competition grew fiercer, and crossing tiers to do battle became vastly more difficult.
To become a Prodigy at the ninth tier of Godhood, one had to strike upward and slay a chaos lifeform.
Who could possibly slay a chaos lifeform while still in the Godhood realm?
It was precisely for this reason that ninth-tier Prodigies were practically non-existent.
Of course, they were not entirely unheard of.
Once in a great while, a monstrous talent hailed as suppressing an entire era would appear, capable of defying the heavens to fell a chaos lifeform and claim the title of Prodigy!
Yet such figures could be counted on one's fingers.
Among the nine cultivators the Chen clan had recruited, Xing Ying was the sole Prodigy.
Consequently, all eyes in the hall converged upon her.
Lu Changsheng's gaze rested on Xing Ying as well.
He had heard her famed name, but had never seen her in person.
Observing her now, she looked like an innocent girl next door, giving off none of the overbearing presence one might expect of a Prodigy.
Perhaps the upcoming battle would reveal her true colors.
"Everyone, the venue for this contest against the Wang clan is right here at our Chen estate—our modest advantage for having discovered the chaos world first,"
Chen Tianlin declared, bowing toward the nine cultivators. "Once the battles commence, please give your all and show no restraint. Every single duel is of utmost importance to our clan."
The cultivators nodded in unison.
They understood the weight of their responsibility.
Yet they held boundless confidence in themselves.
Virtually all of them had never tasted defeat; even if their opponents were geniuses from the Falling Star Holy Sect, they felt no fear.
"Mm."
"They have arrived."
The moment Chen Tianlin spoke, a group of people stepped through the entrance.
It was the contingent from the Wang clan.
*Swish.*
Both sides locked eyes.
In an instant, the atmosphere in the hall grew taut with hostility.
"Everyone, let us proceed to the chaos battlefield."
With that, both sides led their contingents into the chaos.
Battling in the chaos allowed them to unleash their full power without fear of collateral damage.
"First-tier Godhood duel: Zhao Xuan of the Chen clan versus Lin Mo of the Wang clan."
Without unnecessary chatter, the two combatants stepped forward.
Both were at the first tier of Godhood.
Yet hearing Lin Mo's name, the hearts of the Chen clan sank.
A Prodigy!
The very first cultivator the Wang clan fielded was a Prodigy—and one from the Falling Star Holy Sect, no less.
How could they contest this?
Zhao Xuan's expression turned ashen.
He was no weakling; he was a disciple of the Heavenly Light Holy Sect holding a Peerless rating.
He had thought victory was well within his grasp, only to find himself matched against a Prodigy from the Falling Star Holy Sect.
Even so, Zhao Xuan refused to surrender.
What of a Prodigy?
Zhao Xuan considered himself second to no one.
"Kill!"
Zhao Xuan struck first.
His physique expanded violently, his power surging tenfold in an earth-shattering eruption.
Opposite him, Lin Mo was a swordsman.
Facing Zhao Xuan's terrifying physical form, Lin Mo merely drew his sword with measured grace.
*Clang!*
The strike carried dazzling sword light, instantly piercing through Zhao Xuan's body.
Immense as Zhao Xuan's physique was, beneath the cascading sword light, it crumpled like paper and shattered into pieces.
First round: Lin Mo victorious!
Lin Mo sheathed his sword.
Without waiting for his clan to say a word, he turned and walked away, showing no desire to linger.
The Wang clan appeared entirely unsurprised.
Their leader even chuckled. "A Prodigy is indeed a Prodigy. My Wang clan spent a considerable favor just to persuade Lin Mo to take the field. Now that the outcome is decided, what does Patriarch Chen think?"
Chen Tianlin's expression darkened.
Zhao Xuan had already reconstituted his body.
He had indeed been defeated, but taking his life was far from easy; he possessed life-preserving methods of his own.
"I have lost..."
Lacking the face to remain, Zhao Xuan departed immediately.
"Then let us proceed to the second round," Chen Tianlin said.
In the second match, the Chen clan fielded a Peerless cultivator, and the Wang clan did the same.
The two proved evenly matched, battling fiercely for an entire hour.
In the end, the Chen clan's representative suffered a narrow defeat.
"Hahaha, a hard-fought win! Our Wang clan takes the second round!"
The Wang clan was overjoyed.
Two consecutive victories.
Three more, and the chaos world would be theirs.
Securing these two combatants had well justified the great efforts the Wang clan had expended.
Chen Tianlin, meanwhile, looked grim.
For the first and second tiers, the Chen clan had done everything possible to find exceptional experts.
It was not that their representatives were weak, but simply that the Wang clan's choices had proven slightly superior. What could they do?
Fortunately, it was time for the third round.
The third-tier Godhood cultivators stepped forward.
Representing the Chen clan was Xing Ying—a true Prodigy.
The Wang clan sent an unfamiliar cultivator, seemingly a bladesman named Long Xiao.
The Wang clan clearly recognized Xing Ying's reputation.
"A Prodigy... Hmph, your Chen clan was certainly willing to pay the price."
The Wang clan knew all too well the exorbitant cost required to enlist a Prodigy.
This match was almost certainly lost for them.
Lu Changsheng watched with keen interest.
After all, Xing Ying was a Prodigy of his own Heavenly Light Holy Sect, and only a single cultivation tier below him.
He wanted to see just how formidable this special lifeform truly was.
"I possess a blade nurtured for ten thousand years, forged to slay Prodigies!" Long Xiao spoke.
He showed no sign of intimidation before Xing Ying's title, speaking with icy detachment.
"Forged to slay Prodigies?"
Xing Ying blinked her wide eyes.
There was no trace of fear in her expression—only genuine interest.
Her reaction sent a chill through Long Xiao's heart.
Had he not nurtured his blade for ten thousand years precisely to draw it against a Prodigy?
He had waited for ages.
Now the opportunity had arrived; if he could slay Xing Ying, it would validate his blade and prove that his ten millennia of effort had not been in vain!
"Slash!"
Long Xiao struck.
Without warning, like an erupting volcano, a terrifying surge of blade qi burst from the scabbard, instantly blanketing the surrounding chaos.
It seemed as though the entire void was engulfed in lethal blade qi.
Long Xiao's strike was truly extraordinary.
No wonder he dared claim it could slay Prodigies; its power was astonishing.
A single misstep might indeed spell trouble for Xing Ying.
Yet in the next instant, Xing Ying's figure merely blurred.
As if completely ignoring the blade qi, she drifted straight through it and appeared directly before Long Xiao.
Then, she gently tapped forward with a single finger.
The finger landed squarely upon Long Xiao's chest.
Long Xiao's entire body seized.
*Bang!*
His form instantly blew apart, disintegrating into fine powder.
Moreover, it was powder utterly devoid of life force.
Beneath that single tap, every shred of vitality throughout his body had been annihilated.
Dead!
Long Xiao had perished utterly.
There was not the slightest chance of revival.
Silence!
The void fell dead silent.
Many spectators had yet to process what they had just witnessed.
How terrifying had Long Xiao's strike been?
Ten thousand years of nurturing a blade.
The grand boast of slaying Prodigies.
Many had even worried how Xing Ying would weather the blow.
Yet the situation had reversed in a flash.
Long Xiao was dead in an instant, utterly eradicated.
The sudden turn of events left everyone dumbfounded.
"A Prodigy... This is the true might of a Prodigy!"
"Xing Ying completely ignored Long Xiao's attack! That is her innate talent—her trait as a special lifeform! So long as an attack's energy does not exceed her own, she can ignore it entirely. Such talent... is downright terrifying!"
"Never underestimate a Prodigy. What mattered Long Xiao's ten thousand years of blade nurturing? To challenge a Prodigy was nothing more than a fool's dream."
"A pity for Long Xiao. Seeking to forge his legend in a single battle, he only threw his life away..."
Several onlookers began to recover their senses.
They had known Xing Ying was a Prodigy and were aware of her unique trait: immunity to attacks of equal energy.
Such a gift left them awestruck.
Special lifeforms were truly monstrously difficult to deal with.
None who attained the mantle of Prodigy did so by luck.
"Patriarch Wang, we claim this round; victory goes to our Chen clan!"
Chen Tianlin beamed with vindication, sweeping away the gloom that had weighed on his heart.
A Prodigy was indeed a Prodigy.
Recruiting Xing Ying had truly been the right choice.
Otherwise, any Peerless cultivator would have struggled to withstand Long Xiao's strike.
After all, someone who had nurtured a blade for ten millennia was no ordinary fighter.
Regardless, crossing paths with Xing Ying had been Long Xiao's misfortune.
Now the Chen clan had pulled one back.
"Hmph, you have won merely a single match. My Wang clan still holds the advantage. Continue!" the Wang clan head sneered.
And so, the fourth round commenced.
Lu Changsheng would represent the Chen clan.
After her victory, Xing Ying did not leave.
Instead, she watched Lu Changsheng with great curiosity.
For reasons unknown, her keen senses whispered that Lu Changsheng posed a faint hint of danger to her.
The sensation was faint, yet distinctly unusual.
It was this subtle feeling that drew her undivided attention to him.
"Fourth duel: Lu Changsheng versus Lin Feng!"
Lu Changsheng's opponent was Lin Feng.
He, too, was a disciple of the Falling Star Holy Sect holding a Peerless rating.
Lin Feng was a swordsman, his face carved with cold indifference.
The two stood silently within the chaos, confronting each other from afar.
Chapter 440