In less than half an hour, he had already reached the sixth level!

From the looks of it, Lu Dubu was indeed leading the competition and leaving the rest in the dust.

When he reached the sixth floor of the Great Void Dao Refining Pagoda, Wu Huang, Xie Yuhua, Wang Tu, Yuan He, Su Muhan...and a dozen other peerless figures were still fighting on the fifth floor.

Meanwhile, on the fourth floor were about forty odd people, including fierce characters such as Helian Qi, Lan Yunke, You Tianxing, Chu Qiu and Gu Jianxing.

On the third floor, there were approximately four hundred people.

On both the second and first floors were more than two hundred people.

The present situation was very obvious. Half an hour had passed, which meant that it was impossible for those still stuck on the first and second levels to pass the selection.

From this moment on, the influential figures only focused their attention on the participants in the third level and above.

“If we ranked the students who took part in the assessment, Lu Dubu would be at the top.”

Daoist Lan from Phantasm Empyrean Island said leisurely, “Wu Huang, Xie Yuhua, Wang Tu and dozens of others are also ranked in the first tier.”

“Helian Qi, Lan Yunke and others are in the second tier.”

He frankly expressed his opinion and many important figures echoed his thoughts.

But soon, Daoist Lan changed the topic. “According to this division, Jin Duyi...haha, is almost in the second-tier. He does look extraordinary and is worthy of being called a champion of a participating zone.”

Many people’s countenance altered. Even an idiot could tell that he was seemingly acknowledging Jin Duyu’s strength, but in truth, was mocking him.

In fact, Lin Xun was currently on the fourth level, killing his last opponent.

The face of Heng Xiao from Xuanji Dao Sect darkened. Jin Duyi was the little martial uncle of Master Bo Yazi, so how could he allow others to mock him like this?

Of course, Heng Xiao also knew that Daoist Lan did this because of the incident where Jin Duyi had defeated She Ling and She Zi!

Taking a deep breath, Heng Xiao held back his anger and said aloud, “Daoist Lan, given your status, should you deliberately target a junior like that and lose your manners over it?”

Daoist Lan forced a smile. “I am just telling the truth.”

Heng Xiao uttered coldly, “Then I will also tell you that, whether it is Jin Duyi or any one else, they may be in the second tier now, but it does not mean that they will remain there when the selection is over.”

“Then let’s just wait and see.”

Daoist Lan roared with laughter, as though he was too lazy to argue with him.

“Everyone, look, after Lu Dubu reached the sixth floor, his progress slowed significantly.”

Someone suddenly exclaimed, “Wu Huang has already entered the sixth level, and judging by his speed, he is very likely going to surpass Lu Dubu.”

Those words immediately drew the attention of all the influential figures in the audience.

The sixth level was the Black Mist Secret Realm. Participants could progress to the seventh level as long as they defeated four Dao Refining Battle Spirits.

Now, Lu Dubu had killed the second Dao Refining Battle Spirit and was about to fight the third.

Wu Huang, who had just reached the sixth level, was incredibly impressive. After crushing the first Dao Refining Battle Spirit with overwhelming power, he quickly moved on to deal with the second Dao Refining Battle Spirit.

Based on his power and attack speed, he was showing signs of catching up with Lu Dubu!

“Wu Huang is so strong. Daoist Lan, when did the Phantasm Empyrean Island have such an extraordinary disciple?”

“That kid is indeed extraordinary. He has such a domineering aura as if saying no one else in the world can rival him. Both his foundation and talent are incredible.”

“I didn’t think that the Phantasm Empyrean Island would be hiding such a secret. Daoist Lan, at such a time, why don’t you tell us more about Wu Huang?”

All of a sudden, all kinds of surprised and curious voices rang out.

Seeing so many influential figures show such interest, Daoist Lan couldn’t help but feel proud. He smiled modestly. “Well, he’s nothing special. He is just a little better than Jin Duyi who won ninety-nine consecutive matches.”

He did not dare to say that Wu Huang was better than Lu Dubu, for fear of offending Guan Xu of Great Void Sect.

However, he did not hold back when criticizing Lin Xun.

Heng Xiao’s face darkened even more.

This old guy really wants to compete with me!

Unfortuantely, Lin Xun’s performance so far had indeed been a bit lacking when compared to Wu Huang, which made Heng Xiao lack the confidence to refute.

Why hasn’t he shown his power yet?

He cried anxiously in his heart.

Three hours later.

Wu Huang and Lu Dubu arrived on the seventh floor at almost the same time.

This set off another round of exclamations from the audience.

However, it was also from this moment on that the speed of the two slowed significantly.

This was because the Dao Refining Battle Spirits they encountered were stronger than those before and they began to feel the pressure!

On the sixth floor, Xie Yuhua, Wang Tu and a dozen other peerless figures were all fighting hard, trying to overtake each other.

Their speed of attack also was much slower than before.

It was the same with the participants on the fifth level, including Helian Qi, Lan Yunke and You Tianxing.

As for below the fifth level…

Many who had performed rather well at the beginning were starting to feel the strain, and the gap between them and the other participants ahead of them was increasingly widening.

“Three quarters of an hour have passed. I think those who have yet to reach the fifth level will be eliminated...” someone sighed.

Below the fifth floor, there were nearly eight hundred participants.

They all stood out from the first round of selection, and some were even ranked among the top ten in a particular participating area.

For example, Dong Liushi, Shi Long and others from Fierce Wind City were now on the fourth level. If they did not quickly turn things around, they would have no hope of reaching the ninth level before the time limit and would fail the round.

“This is the fight for the great dao. This is just the second round of selections, and the participants are only limited to our Cloud State territory.

Guan Xu said calmly, “There are a total of forty-nine states in the Great Primordial Chaos World. Except for the Central Plain State, all other states are undergoing the same level of selection as our Cloud State.

“Under such circumstances, the usual genius and prodigy will also look dim.

“Only those who are truly strong enough to lead the experts of the forty-nine states can shine brightly in the Great Primordial Chaos World!”

These words sent a cascade of emotions surging in everyone’s heart.

The Great Primordial Chaos World was too vast and tremendous. Even the smallest state was comparable to a world of its own, and a state such as the Central Plain State was even larger than one could imagine!

If one wanted to lead the younger generation and shine brightly in the Great Primordial Chaos World...

It was more than difficult!

Throughout history, rarely did such people appear. Compared to them, the geniuses and talents who rose to fame in a state indeed looked dim.

As the saying went, no matter how good you think you are, there is always someone better!

It seemed to be a rather lame saying, but it was actually a subversive truth since ancient times.

“I only hope that, this time, in the Dao Debate of Cloud State, several remarkable talents will emerge and attend the Dao Debate Assembly held by the Great Six Courts as representatives of our Cloud State to compete with the most outstanding, dazzling, magnificent and powerful group of talents in the entire Ancient Nebula Road!”

Guan Xu’s earnest hope lurked in his deep and resounding voice. “By then we can prove to the world, to the starry sky and to the heavens that strong cultivators do also exist in our Cloud State!”

Hearing this, everyone was moved.

Guan Xu’s vision had already transcended the scope of Cloud State and spanned the whole world. His ambition and courage impressed every single influential figure present.

This was the grand ambition of the leader of the number one sect in Cloud State!

“Alas, the Great Six Courts and the Great Ten Battle Clans…plus some unrivaled characters from other worlds in the starry sky exist. When the Dao Debate Assembly kicks off, how intense and fierce would the competition be,” someone sighed.

These words made many people sigh in response.

“With effort, one can achieve anything. When striving to be the best in a cultivation stage, what is being competed is their ultimate strength in that cultivation stage. Whoever has the strongest foundation, whoever grasps the top grand daos and whoever possesses the greatest martial power would have the highest hope of standing out from the crowd!” Guan Xu’s voice was calm.

Suddenly, someone exclaimed, “Hey, everyone, take a look, on the fifth floor, Jin Duyi is actually starting to surpass the others!”

Chatting leisurely, everyone was startled by those words and all shifted their gazes to the fifth floor.

In the fifth level, Lin Xun was actually not much different from before. His speed and attacks were about the same and hadn’t changed at all.

But it was this steadiness and consistency that astonished the important figures.

It should be noted that the strength of Dao Refining Battle Spirits increased as participants moved up the nine floors of the Great Void Dao Refining Pagoda.

As they progressed, the difficulties and number of dangers encountered would also increase.

For example, Lu Dubu and Wu Huang, who were leading, had slowed considerably once they reached the sixth level. When they reached the seventh level, they started to feel great pressure and their attack speed slowed even more.

Similarly, on the fifth level, Helian Qi, Lan Yunke, You Tianxing and others were in similar situations.

Therefore, Lin Xun, whose attack speed remained extremely consistent, stood out from the rest!

This could be easily explained. With increasing difficulties and dangers, others slowed down, but he did not.

This contrast made it seem like his attack speed had been reversed!

“Hmph, he does not know the importance of conserving energy and is going all out now. Has he not heard of the saying, the fighting spirit aroused by the first roll of drums is depleted by the second and exhausted by the third? That kid won’t go far at all.” Daoist Lan snorted.

He was prejudiced against Lin Xun. When their Phantasm Empyrean Island sent disciples to challenge Xuanji Dao Sect, they were certain of winning, but who would have thought that they would return in defeat.

The reason for that was because Jin Duyi, who was Lin Xun in disguise, had intervened.

Naturally, Daoist Lan particularly disliked Lin Xun.

Many people also agreed with Daoist Lan. They reckoned that Lin Xun was fighting with all his might in the hope that he would catch up, but this was bound to exhaust him.

Over time, it would put him in an extremely unfavorable situation!

However, to the shock of everyone, as time went by, Lin Xun not only surpassed Helian Qi and others and reached the sixth level, but his attack speed remained the same as before.

He was terrifyingly steady!