Chapter 1046 Mountain Climbing Path

Amidst the stiflingly silent atmosphere, the only sound that could be heard was the quiet wailing of the collapsing space around Yan Zhanqiu.

Lin Xun turned his gaze to Zhao Jingxuan.

At the moment, almost everyone was looking at Zhao Jingxuan in anticipation of her reply.

Her reply would most likely affect Yan Zhanqiu’s attitude toward Lin Xun and might even be key to whether he lived or died!

Zhao Jingxuan's willow-leaf-like brows knitted together to resemble the character 川 as she looked at Lin Xun, and then at Yan Zhanqiu.

Hesitation, frustration, and helplessness were visible on her clean and pretty face...

In the end, she took a deep breath and seemed to make some sort of decision.

The atmosphere tensed to the extreme.

Unexpectedly, before Zhao Jingxuan could open her mouth to speak, Yan Zhanqiu suddenly waved his hand and said, "There's no rush to answer me. It won’t be too late to make a decision after you've thoroughly thought about it."

The crowd was startled. Many people could not help but feel a little disappointed.

Lin Xun also raised his eyebrows, somewhat unable to understand Yan Zhanqiu.

He had been feeling a little tense earlier, not because of the pressure from Yan Zhanqiu, but because he wasn't sure what Zhao Jingxuan would say.

After Yan Zhanqiu prevented this from happening, Lin Xun found himself both a little displeased while also a little relieved.

Perhaps, not knowing the answer was a good outcome at this juncture.

He gazed at Zhao Jingxuan, who coincidentally also looked at him with a hint of relief and some other unknown emotion.

"Lin Xun, don't think about it too much," Zhao Jingxuan's pleasant voice sounded in his ears.

"Eh, what should I be thinking more about?" Lin Xun blinked innocently as if he didn’t understand.

"Keep pretending!" Zhao Jingxuan's eyes narrowed as she viciously glared at Lin Xun. There was a clear hint of anger in her voice.

Lin Xun rubbed his nose, suddenly discovering that it felt pretty good to interpret their relationship from how they interacted.

Yan Zhanqiu didn't pay further attention to Lin Xun. He withdrew his gaze and instructed, "Junior Sister Jingxuan, you guys, come over. The Little Giants List Competition will be starting soon, and I have some things I wish to warn you guys of."

"That's it?"

Many people were disappointed. They originally thought that Yan Zhanqiu would make things difficult for Lin Xun, whether it was because of Zhao Jingxuan or retaliation for the humiliation he caused to the sect.

Who could have expected that from start to the end, Yan Zhanqiu would only ask a few painless questions and not display any stance in the end?

Chu Beihai, Jin Muyun, Li Qingping, and Gou Yanzhen frowned, unable to figure out Yan Zhanqiu's intentions.

In truth, they were hoping that Yan Zhanqiu would join them to deal with Lin Xun together!

Hmm?

Suddenly, Lin Xun noticed that Ji Xingyao had arrived at some unknown time.

She wore a black dress and gave off an ethereal and holy aura. Her delicate and absolutely gorgeous facial features were simply a masterpiece of the heavens and made her resemble a beauty one could only imagine in fantasy or a fairy that had just walked out from a painting.

She stood alone in a remote corner. This coupled with the fact that everyone’s attention had previously been drawn by Yan Zhanqiu meant only a small number of individuals managed to notice her presence.

"When did this proud chick become so low-key?"

Lin Xun couldn't help but feel surprised.

After all, he knew full well just how powerful Ji Xingyao, the current generation saintess of the Unsolved Mystery Sword Alms, was. Meanwhile, Ji Xingyao also noticed Lin Xun's gaze. A flash of iciness erupted from her dream-like, starry eyes as she glared viciously at him.

Inexplicable!

Lin Xun inwardly exclaimed.

All I did was accidentally knock into your buttocks! Why do you refuse to let it go even until today?

Ji Xingyao, on the other hand, inwardly ground her teeth while wondering what was wrong with her. She couldn’t help but feel a strong urge to beat up this detestable and shameless guy every time she saw him. The sight of him was simply infuriating!

……

Despite the various twists and turns, as time passed, everyone's attention gradually shifted toward the upcoming Little Giants List Competition.

Rather than these unrelated disagreements and conflicts, the heaven prides from the various factions of the four great worlds were undoubtedly more concerned about the competition that was about to take place on the Immortal Sacred Mountain once more!

By this juncture, all the heaven prides qualified to participate had arrived.

Xiao Cangtian, Ye Chen, Yu Lingkong...

Whether they were domineering, proud, formidable, or untamable, every one of them was akin to a brilliantly shining star in the sky.

The individuals present were the cream of the crop among the Ancient Wasteland Domain’s younger generation!

Someone inwardly snorted, "Hmph, there will be talented people in every generation. Who cares if you guys are already famous, the great age is destined to be our era where only we can shine!"

As heaven prides, each and every one of them was proud and confident in their abilities with the belief that they were invincible. Hence, there were naturally many people who didn’t believe themselves as lesser than people like Xiao Cangtian and Ye Chen.

"I have been waiting for many years. This time, one of the thirty-six peaks of the Immortal Sacred Mountain will be mine!"

Some were passionate and filled with vigor.

"The imminent arrival of the great age is coming and only our generation can stir up the world. The older generation is destined to wither and fall!"

"This is our era!"

Others secretly clenched their fists.

"A mere Little Giants List Competition is already such a gathering of heaven prides and bright stars. It is a scene that will fill anyone with anticipation!"

Even Lin Xun couldn’t help but feel excited seeing so many amazing cultivators. It had been a long time since he felt so pumped up to fight.

At the end of the day, Lin Xun was still a youngster and not a monk who was void of worldly desires.

He had emotions and a fighting spirit!

With so many elite experts of his generation present, the long-dormant passion and battle desire in his body was drawn out like a sharp sword being unsheathed.

Although he fought seriously when facing his peers or even half-step King experts, he never felt any blood-pumping sensation of excitement.

It was because he knew for certain that he would win.

However, this was different!

Lin Xun wasn’t the only person whose fighting spirit was ignited. Everyone else was feeling the same.

The Little Giants List Competition was a fight for dao luck and the qualifications to become King!

Moreover, those who managed to rank among the top thirty-six would have their names spread throughout the four worlds of the Ancient Wasteland Domain.

The power to influence the world was a mark of true greatness!

Admittedly, there was no shortage of powerhouses competing this time, and it was going to be extremely tough to get on the list.

The moment one managed to, however, they would have proven themselves to be one of the top experts among the current era’s young generation. Such individuals were destined to thrive and show their brilliance even when the great age arrived!

A heaven pride of a single territory or district wasn’t much.

On the other hand, a heaven pride of an entire generation or era would have the qualifications to seek the true supreme and reign over the world!

No one could say for certain who would become the next person to influence an era and lead the great age. However, they would at the very least have to first step foot on the Little Giants List!

At the sight of such a scene, Yan Zhanqiu couldn’t help but recall the time when he participated in the Little Giants List Competition.

He was considered one of the top experts of the previous generation and belonged to the same category as the likes of Yun Qingbai, Wang Xuanyu, Mi Hengzhen, and Ye Mohe.

Back then, he had also been filled with zest and aspiration. Although he wasn’t as strong as he was at present, he had been determined to leave his name on the Little Giants List.

Yan Zhanqiu inwardly remarked, "Fortunately, it's not too late."

He was still young and had been suppressing his cultivation level all these years in anticipation of the great age.

Moreover, compared to these people before him, the previous generation's supreme heaven prides like himself undoubtedly possessed a great advantage!

It was because they had more time to accumulate and build their cultivation and also far more opportunities to acquire great dao luck!

However, Yan Zhanqiu likewise understood that many of the other previous Little Giants List rankers like himself had been unable to resist the temptation of advancing to the King stage. Many had long since advanced to the next cultivation level, either becoming a half-step King expert or a true King expert.

Although one would achieve power that transcended the five great cultivation realms after reaching the King stage, they would also lose their qualifications to become a Supreme King in the great age!

Yan Zhanqiu inwardly murmured, "Thankfully, the great age will soon arrive!"

Rumble!

Time continued to pass while the heaven prides were lost in their own thoughts.

All of a sudden, the majestic and eternal Immortal Sacred Mountain loudly rumbled, as if it had awakened from a deep slumber.

Subsequently, illusory paths made from golden light unfurled from the thirty-six peaks and extended all the way to the foot of the mountain.

Each golden light path emitted a sacred and solemn grand dao aura that reached deep into everyone’s hearts.

Moreover, the aura also contained wisps of eternal and indestructible Law Power.

The Little Giants List Competition had finally begun!

"Go!"

The ready and waiting heaven prides immediately reacted and rushed toward different golden light paths.

Prior to this, they weighed the pros and cons and selected their respective peaks. Hence, almost no hesitation could be seen when the mountain climbing section began.

𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Swoosh swoosh swoosh~

Heaven prides swarmed toward the mountain like a rain of gorgeous lights.

After all, they only had a single incense stick of time to complete the mountain climbing and mountain guarding stages!

Everyone knew that the Immortal Sacred Mountain was extremely tall. If they didn’t hurry, they might not even complete the climb, let alone have the chance to guard the mountain!

Moreover, if a participant succeeded in taking the lead, they would not need to worry or be wary of other competitors setting any traps and could focus solely on ascending the mountain.

On the other hand, it would be a completely different story the moment one fell a step behind as there was a far higher chance of encountering obstruction or being hindered.

Even if the participant didn’t get eliminated, they would have wasted plenty of time and effort, which would drastically hurt their chances.

Such situations had occurred several times in the past where top competitors would clash and end up eliminated before they could reach the peaks!