Rays of seven-colored radiance rose from the city and melded into the rainbow bridge.
âSo itâs like this⊠no wonder the Champion Duke didnât want to charge a protection fee. He probably knew this was how the assembly would commence.â Qing Ting looked on regretfully as a ball of radiance wrapped around her and she vanished on the spot.
The kings observing the proceedings sighed with relief. They really had been worried that the Champion Duke and Qing Ting would go back on their word and take back the identity tokens or demand more purple crystals.
âItâs a pity that the venerated enforcer didnât come, or that the Purpleclad and Bloodclade Dukes havenât come,â the Azure Scaled-Dragon King said with some regret. âI wouldâve loved to see what makes the venerated enforcer so strong that he is hailed as the first beneath titled kings. Is he stronger, or is the Champion Duke or Qing Ting stronger?â
âThe venerated enforcer, Purpleclad Duke, and Bloodclade Duke traveled to Dragonhollow Mountain a while ago,â the Dragonsea city lord commented faintly. âGeniuses ranked in the top one hundred of the realm have the right to bypass this meaningless qualification round and enter the assembly proper.â
âThe top hundred geniuses of the Hongmeng?â Some high level kings in the crowd blinked.
âThe ancestral soul of the azure dragon has awoken,â the city lord said meaningfully. âDragonhollow Mountain set a Dragonling Ranking for this timeâs assembly, incorporating all of the realmâs strongest geniuses beneath titled kinghood.
âAfter the azure dragonâs ancestral soul made preliminary calculations, anyone who can be listed in the top one hundred of the Hongmeng was directly invited to Dragonhollow Mountain.â
âThe ancestral soul of the azure dragon has awoken?â Qing Yu and the little fox looked at each other. They knew why Lu Yun was headed to the mountainâhe was going to help Dragon Butterfly retrieve the ancestral blood! Now that the azure dragonâs ancestral soul had awoken, it seemed drastic changes were in store for his trip.
The Dragonsea city lord frowned faintly at them upon noting their reaction. She had a rough idea of the Intrance King and unknown girlâs background, but the two werenât displaying strong energy ripples. The Intrance King seemed to possess only three dao rules, so she was a third step king.
Making titled kinghood as a third step king made her a rare genius, but in the city lordâs eyes, she was only a genius and not yet a powerhouse. As strong as her potential was, it was yet to be fully excavated.
Though the city lord couldnât see through the other woman, she wasnât concerned by that. It was their reactions and current expressions that raised her guard. Cultivators at their level showed visible emotion only when they encountered something they cared so much about that they couldnât help themselves.
âWhat about the Immortal King?â Miao suddenly sneered. âWhen you sent an invitation to the Immortal Pagoda, you didnât mention anything about the top one hundred of the Dragonling Ranking.â
The city lord blinkedâshe understood the reason for their noticeable reaction.
âThe Dragonling Ranking evaluates battle strength. While the Immortal King is a king, he is only a supplemental king. To be frank, Dragonhollow Mountain doesnât think much of the Immortal Kingâs true battle strength. His invitation was a courtesy due to him being a titan of the realm,â chuckled the city lord.
Supplemental kings usually focused on their supplemental dao and battle through the supplemental arts. They didnât care much about their own battle strength, so it was understandable that Dragonhollow Mountain hadnât listed him in the top one hundred.
âDo you really think that the Immortal King has no battle strength to speak of?â the little fox snorted with laughter.
âIf he attends the Dragonling Assembly, he will naturally be able to prove himself.â The city lord remained indifferent in the face of Miaoâs questioning. âGeniuses in the Hongmeng are as numerous as fish in the river. Even the generally acclaimed Azureclad and Crimsonclad Dukes are not in the top one hundred.
âTake the Bloodclad and Purpleclad Dukes instead. One was defeated by an ordinary half step king and another weathered the extermination of his masterâs faction. Thus tempered by the trials of life, they all vaulted forward into the top one hundred after that.
âOn the other hand, nothing else needs to be said for the venerated enforcer. He is the Purple Kingâs disciple, and while he may not be number one beneath titled kings as the realm makes him out to be, he is absolutely a stunning genius well deserving of a spot in the top ten.â
The city lord rather sounded like she was imparting knowledge to the naive.
âThe Purple King?â Merriment appeared in the little foxâs eyes. That was her son! But sheâd learned from her earlier mistake and kept her emotions tightly in check.
âCorrect, the Purple King,â the city lord continued to wax eloquent. âHis era is too far in the past, which makes him a legendary character now. Of course, he is a legend to begin with since he defeated a seventh step king as a sixth step king.
âWhen the chaos erupted with disorder a while back, the Enforcer Alliance sent three sixth step kings to suppress him. If it wasnât for their venerated enforcer being his disciple, he wouldâve crushed them all with a finger. Back in his day, he could already kill a seventh step king. How much stronger must he be now?â
The Redbud Kingâs assessment of the Purple King had been that though he was a sixth step king, he nearly had the battle strength of a seventh step king.
That was just her guessâin reality, he was much stronger than that.
The venerated enforcer being the Purple Kingâs disciple was a secret to all but the strongest personages and the Enforcer Alliance. To those in the know, this relationship was an open secret that no one haphazardly exposed to the public. The alliance was also happy to be connected to the Purple King through their leader.
The Purple King had left the Hongmeng due to pursuit from the Immortal Region. He was a denizen of the mythological realm and the Immortal Region was responsible for its destruction.
âEveryone in attendance here is a heavyweight of the realm and thus has the right to observe the proceedings from Dragonhollow Mountain. This way, please.â The city lord raised a hand and summoned a tuft of rainbow clouds beneath their feet, gently conveying the group forward.
âThe rainbow bridge is actually another test, one that not everyone can pass,â she continued to explain. âAll beings are equal in the Hongmeng, apart from ghosts. Arcane beasts are also part of our realm, so they will be fighting the cultivators on the bridge. Only three thousand souls have the right to set foot on the mountain.â
Faces darkened as conversation petered out. The three thousand on the bridge werenât there because of strength; they were there because of wealth! Many of them were, in fact, good-for-nothing spoiled scions.
Lu Yun frowned slightly. âStrange, thereâs more than three thousand living souls here⊠thereâs also arcane beasts?â
He looked around to see many cultivators peering around blankly.
âCongratulations on obtaining the right to participate in the Dragonling Assembly,â sounded a resonant voice. âHowever, this is only the start. You must pass through the rainbow bridge if you wish to set foot on Dragonhollow Mountain.
âNot only do you have to face those by your side, but you must also face the countless beasts on the bridge. The assembly isnât open to just cultivatorsâarcane beasts may participate as well.
âOnly three thousand may be left alive on the bridge. Either you can jump down, be thrown down, or die!
âWhen only three thousand living remain on the bridge, you will reach the true Dragonhollow Mountain.â