Golden Core Appraisal Convention

Inside an opulent courtyard, dazzling flashes of golden light broke out from time to time. When the golden light dispersed, a Golden Core radiating a delicate watery mist rotated slowly as wisps of spiritual energy converged from all directions. "I've long heard that Fellow Daoist Yuan Zhi formed a Moon-Embracing Golden Core. Truly worthy of being ranked among the upper three grades! Seeing it today, its reputation is fully deserved!" An old man stroked his white beard, smiling so broadly that wrinkles bunched across his face. "You flatter me. I spent thirty years of bitter cultivation just to form this third-grade Moon-Embracing Golden Core; I have truly made a fool of myself before experts. Moreover, given Old Mr. Kang's vast knowledge, this Moon-Embracing Golden Core is hardly worth mentioning." Old Mr. Kang was a man of vast erudition and deep devotion to scholarship. A grand scholar recognized by the Imperial City Academy, he commanded tremendous prestige in Qingzhou and enjoyed universal respect. Someone nearby chimed in, "Fellow Daoist Yuan Zhi, you do yourself a disservice! People like us struggled just to form fourth- or fifth-grade cores; a third-grade Golden Core is already extraordinary. Our greatest hope is merely to shatter the core and form the nascent soul smoothly, but you can break through Nascent Soul into Soul Formation, and perhaps go even further to reach the Void Refining stage, which even Body Integration cultivators treat with caution." Those with middle three grades Golden Cores technically had a chance to reach the Soul Formation stage, but the odds were far too slim. They did not dare entertain extravagant hopes; reaching Nascent Soul would already be plenty fortunate. Yuan Zhi, on the other hand, possessed an upper three grades Golden Core. He was virtually assured to shatter his core and form a nascent soul, Soul Formation was well within sight, and Void Refining or even Body Integration were possibilities. His prospects were boundless, his potential far exceeding theirs. Though Yuan Zhi claimed it was laughable, in truth, he was secretly bursting with joy. An upper three grades Golden Core surpassed ninety percent of cultivators in the Golden Core stage. Even though he was only in the early Golden Core stage, cultivators in the middle and late Golden Core stages dared not look down on him; on the contrary, they treated him with the utmost courtesy. The Pleasant Serenity Courtyard was currently hosting a Golden Core Appraisal Convention, where various Golden Cores were displayed in competing splendor, drawing waves of admiration from the crowd. Yuan Zhi's Moon-Embracing Golden Core stood out conspicuously among the gathered cores—after all, even among third-grade cores, the Moon-Embracing Golden Core was extraordinary. Just as Yuan Zhi was reveling in his pride, a figure stumbled into the courtyard. "Hurry over to the arena stage and look! It's unbelievably lively over there!" Displeased, Yuan Zhi recognized the intruder: a Golden Core cultivator who had formed a core of the lower three grades, someone without the qualifications to even attend the Golden Core Appraisal Convention. "What is there to see on the arena stage? Nothing more than a few early Foundation Establishment kids squabbling for first place." "No, it's disciples from the Five Great Immortal Sects fighting! All of them are in the Golden Core stage! Aside from the Hanging Temple, the other four sects all have disciples participating!" "What?!" "Immortal Sect disciples fighting each other?!" Shock rippled through the crowd, followed by a surge of delight. An exchange between Immortal Sect disciples was an exceedingly rare sight. Old Mr. Kang was the most excited of all, immediately asking, "Are there people from the Dao Seeking Sect as well?" "More than that—there are two of them!" Without another word, Old Mr. Kang leaped to his feet with an agility that put young men to shame, rushing off toward the arena stage. Seeing this, the others hurried after him in droves, leaving Yuan Zhi standing frozen in place. "I'd really like to see where these Immortal Sect disciples are supposed to be better than me!" So what if they were from Immortal Sects? Weren't they also holders of upper three grades Golden Cores, just like him? When Yuan Zhi arrived at the scene, the arena was already packed so tightly that water couldn't leak through; squeezing in was a struggle. A clash among the most prominent disciples of the Immortal Sects was an event one might not encounter once in decades. Watching this fight alone made the entire crowd feel that attending the Grand Qingzhou Festival had been worth every effort— Even if they couldn't clearly see the battle unfolding on stage. Left with no choice, Yuan Zhi cast a spell to slip quietly to the front row, where he found his fellow attendees from the convention. None of them even noticed his arrival. Their eyes were fixed entirely on the five figures in the arena, unblinking, terrified of missing a single detail. Aside from Old Mr. Kang, the rest were cultivators who had only recently formed their cores, all in the early Golden Core stage. Looking at the five combatants on stage gave them an absurd sensation, as though they themselves had never formed cores at all and were still in the Foundation Establishment stage. "Is this the kind of power and speed an early Golden Core cultivator should have?!" Setting aside combat techniques, the sheer power and speed Lu Yang and the other four displayed was already enough to overwhelm them completely. The competitive urge that had just flared up in Yuan Zhi's chest was thoroughly snuffed out. He suspected that if he crossed moves with any one of the five, he wouldn't last ten exchanges. Were both sides really upper three grades Golden Cores? Could the gap truly be this enormous? "Old Mr. Kang, what Golden Cores do these five Immortal Sect disciples possess? Can you tell?" The arena was not a Golden Core Appraisal Convention where cores were released outward on display; spectators could only guess from the subtle details of combat. Unfortunately, their experience was limited, and they couldn't make heads or tails of it. Old Mr. Kang's brow furrowed tightly. He couldn't decipher much either. "What can be confirmed for now is that all of them have formed first-grade Golden Cores—and first-grade Golden Cores that rank among the very highest." The others nodded. If that were not the case, there would be no explaining why the combat strength of these five Immortal Sect disciples was so terrifyingly high. "That one named Meng Jingzhou possesses soaring yang energy that boils to the heavens, like a great sun that banishes a hundred ghosts. It resembles the Great Sun Golden Core, yet even more so the Pure Yang Golden Core. And yet, neither core seems capable of reaching such a degree. How strange... Could there really be a Golden Core with yang energy even more potent than the Great Sun and Pure Yang Golden Cores?" "That female disciple is as ethereal as an immortal, exhaling white mist, her breath boundless and long, her stamina astonishing. Her eyes are bright like the morning dawn, bearing an uncanny resemblance to the legendary Primordial Chaos Golden Core. Unfortunately, historical records on the Primordial Chaos Golden Core are scarce, so I dare not make a definitive claim. The younger generation is truly to be feared." Old Mr. Kang felt that not just him, but even if all the old pedants of the Imperial City Academy were brought here to line up and watch, they wouldn't necessarily figure out what was going on. ... On the arena stage, under the combined assault of Lan Ting and Bai Ming, Lu Yang was driven back step after step, locked in a bitter struggle. "Lu Yang, stop acting! I know you have a cloning technique!" Seeing Lu Yang show signs of exhaustion, Bai Ming did not dare let his guard down. Lu Yang's strength was definitely far greater than what he was currently showing. The one who defeated Bai Ming back then had not even been Lu Yang's true body, but one of his clones! "Didn't fall for it, huh." Lu Yang felt a bit put out. He had wanted to lure Bai Ming in close and suddenly use the Tree Planting Art to split into two and catch Bai Ming off guard. "A cloning technique?" Lan Ting looked at Lu Yang with curious eyes. Senior Brother Lu Yang had even learned a spell like that—he truly had the greatest talent for spells among everyone she had ever met. Lu Yang took out a Twin Conjoined Lotus seed and cast the Tree Planting Art. A lotus blossomed in full glory, and Lu Yang stood atop a lotus leaf alongside his lotus clone. "Even if you have a clone, so what? Can your divine sense allow you to control two bodies at once?" Bai Ming knew the flaws of cloning techniques. During their last battle, Lu Yang's true body had sat comfortably on the main spectator stand, only needing to concentrate on controlling his wood clone. This time was different; he had to control two bodies simultaneously, which placed an extreme demand on one's divine sense. "Try it and find out," Lu Yang smiled. In the past, he couldn't have, but after forming his core, his divine sense had surged exponentially. Within the same cultivation realm, absolutely no one could compare to him. Lu Yang looked at the Green Blade Sword in his hand, thought for a moment, and tossed it to the lotus clone, directing it to fight Lan Ting. "I really should forge another sword... Whatever, I'll deal with it later." Lu Yang prepared to take on Bai Ming with his bare hands. "Warm-up's over. Time to use the Invincible Core... How do I defeat these two?" The Invincible Core swiftly provided a response: "Use the Arhat Fist against Bai Ming." A smile spread across Lu Yang's face.