Chapter 2699 Gatekeepers

Mu Zunwu couldn't understand where Lin Xun found the courage to use such a method to provoke them. Wasn't he afraid that someone like himself or Donghuang Shaowen would respond and eliminate him? Or did he just have the confidence to confront the worst-case scenario?

𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Mu Zunwu's eyes narrowed sharply at the possibility of this. After a moment of silence, he pressed down the murderous intent in him and turned to leave.

On the distant platform, Lin Xun's brows furrowed imperceptibly, wondering if it was really that difficult to kill a few key targets.

As Donghuang Shaowen and Mu Zunwu had speculated, the actual main goal of him holding an auction so loudly was to lure his enemies over.

The first round was running out of time, yet up to this point, he had not encountered any participants that he labeled ‘key targets.’ Therefore, he could only take a shortcut, thus this auction.

Earlier, when Donghuang Shaowen and Mu Zunwu had appeared, Lin Xun had locked on them and prepared himself for a fight, but to his surprise, they had left one after another, obviously having no intention of battling it out with him.

He had a feeling that this wasn't because they were scared, but because they had calmly analyzed the pros and cons.

However, this outcome didn’t bother him. It was only the first round after all.

It didn't matter either even if those enemies ultimately succeeded in entering the Origin Sect Ancestral Court. At that time, he would also be there, and they would have plenty of opportunities to compete.

Outside, the audience had also noticed the movements of Donghuang Shaowen and Mu Zunwu. The majority of them was disappointed to see the two leave without challenging Lin Xun.

Could it be that they too feared Lin Xun and dared not confront him? If this was the case, then who could possibly suppress him in this selection?

On the other hand, some old, experienced experts understood why the two had avoided Lin Xun. They secretly nodded in approval because that was indeed the wise choice for participants like Donghuang Shaowen to make at the moment.

Donghuang Qing was especially pleased, smilingly stroking his beard upon seeing Donghuang Shaowen leave, “Shaowen is an extraordinary one.”

Xiao Wenyuan smiled, “He’s certainly a bright child.”

Li Zhen's cheeks twitched, seemingly wanting to make a comment, but in the end, he chose to remain silent.

However, his strange little action made Donghuang Qing quite uncomfortable.

What do you mean by that? What do you actually want to say that you have to act all coy about it?

Of course, Donghuang Qing knew that if Li Zhen really spoke out, he certainly had nothing good to say.

Inside the battlefield, Lin Xun ended the auction when there were only three prisoners left. The participants who were still waiting to bid were unsatisfied, but they didn’t linger. It wasn’t long before everyone dispersed.

Lin Xun remained on the platform and scanned the surroundings. Finding no enemy presence, he couldn't help but sigh. He knew that staying in the battlefield any longer probably wouldn't get him what he wanted.

Without further hesitation, he ‘killed’ the three prisoners and successfully passed the test, disappearing from the Absolute Sunder Battlefield.

“That guy is finally gone!” The crowd outside boiled, watching Lin Xun leaving the first round of the selection like they were sending away a plague god.

The members of Immortal factions were visibly happy, looking as though a huge weight had been taken off their backs. Fang Daoping, Xiao Wenyuan, Li Zhen, and Donghuang Qing were also relieved to an extent.

There was no way around it; Lin Xun was simply too good at stirring trouble. From his first moment in the first round, he had refused to play by common sense and had staged a variety of unimaginable events.

Plundering opponents and imprisoning enemies, trading off captives and even holding auctions to sell them, it seemed as though there was nothing he dared not do!

This made everyone wonder what else he might have caused if he had chosen to prolong his time in the first round.

Jun Huan asked aloud, “My little junior brother has passed the first round. Who earlier said he would definitely be eliminated again?”

Many eyes turned to the old monsters from the Immortal Giants of the Eighth Heaven Domain.

Donghuang Qiong snorted coldly, “It's only the first round, still too early to be smug.”

Jun Huan swiftly said, “Then I'll wait until the third round is over before asking you again.”

......

Inside Absolute Sunder Sword Palace.

After leaving the battlefield, Lin Xun appeared in the grand hall of the top floor with a whoosh. In that instant, the eyes of the supreme Emperor Ancestors who had passed the first round all fell on him. Each of them was wearing an odd expression.

They already knew about his performance in the first round, so the sight of him naturally evoked complicated emotions in them, but at least no one provoked him at this moment.

“Brother Lin,” Xiang Xiaoyuan waved at Lin Xun. Around her were Liuxiang Hen and her other companions, who all smiled upon seeing him as well.

Lin Xun nodded at them with a smile. As he was about to walk over to them, his gaze was drawn by a figure sitting alone in a corner of the hall, and he couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

He walked straight over and softly called out, “Miss Youran.”

The solitary figure was precisely Dugu Youran. She was sitting cross-legged with a wooden and desolate expression on her fair, delicate face. Obviously, the incident with Yun Muzhe had been a heavy blow.

She looked up and said, “You actually took the initiative to come to me, Brother Lin. Back in the Great Thousand Battle Domain, you were scared to even look my way.”

Hearing that, Lin Xun zoned out. Back then, Dugu Youran's presence often came with a swarm of admirers, inevitably causing trouble and giving him a headache. However, reflecting on it now, he knew it wasn't her fault. It was impossible to avoid drawing those young, talented men with her extraordinary status and stunning appearance.

He asked, “You're not still mad at me because of the matter with your cousin, are you?”

Dugu Youran shook her head, “How could fighting be avoidable in the assessment? I just never thought that the cousin I trusted the most would be such a person.”

Seeing Yun Muzhe reduced to such a miserable state by Lin Xun broke her heart. After all, they had grown up together and were childhood sweethearts.

When she had learned about Yun Muzhe's killing intent toward Lin Xun at the ninth Immortal Heavenly Pass, she felt even more hollow.

She appreciated Lin Xun’s character and talent, and had been paying attention to his achievements over these years. She had imagined what it would be like to meet him on the territory of the Origin Sect Ancestral Court.

She had never expected that when they met, it would be because of Yun Muzhe's defeat, which had forced her to ask Lin Xun to show mercy. The taste of it was difficult to endure for someone who had always been easygoing and carefree like her.

To her utter shock, however, there was a good reason behind Yun Muzhe's wretched suppression. What made her even angrier was that he had not only been ungrateful but had also berated her for meddling in his business.

At that time, she was completely stuck between a rock and a hard place, unable to please anyone. She had felt extremely lost and disappointed, and even now, she still hadn’t emotionally recovered from it.

After a heavy silence, Lin Xun said, “I don't know what kind of person Yun Muzhe is, I only know that he's from one of the four clans under Donghuang. Even if he luckily survived this time, he and I are destined to be enemies for the rest of our lives.”

Dugu Youran let out a long sigh, “I know. You are a disciple of Fangchun Mountain, so even if you back down, my cousin will not stop. Lin Xun, if you consider me a friend, then don't try to console me. I’m not as fragile as you think. I just want to be left alone for now.”

Lin Xun nodded, “Alright. There are still two more rounds ahead. You need to adjust your state of mind as soon as possible, so don't let this affect you.”

After Dugu Youran muttered an assent, Lin Xun said no more and walked toward Xiang Xiaoyuan. Sitting down near her, a faint sense of loss hit him for some reason.

It was as if the incident with Yun Muzhe had suddenly placed a hint of estrangement between him and Dugu Youran.

......

There were only a few days left in the first round.

With Lin Xun leaving the Absolute Sunder Battlefield, the number of participants who had qualified for the next round reached nineteen.

Many had calculated and concluded that fewer than thirty would ultimately advance to enter the second round, because there were currently fewer than thirty participants left inside Absolute Sunder Battlefield.

Sure enough, at the end of the round, only twenty-seven out of over a hundred supreme Emperor Ancestors successfully advanced! In other words, the first round alone eliminated more than half of the participants.

Of note, although some supreme Emperor Ancestors had stayed ‘alive’ until the end, they were still disqualified for not having defeated three opponents.

On the next day after the first round ended, the second round began. This time, the assessments would take place in the huge training ground before the Absolute Sunder Sword Palace.

“Li Zhen, you will preside over the second round,” commanded Fang Daoping.

Li Zhen nodded and walked directly to the center of the training ground. With beard and hair like sharp spears and skin that glowed with a bronze luster, the appearance of his towering figure put a stop to the buzzing conversations around.

In the utter silence, his deep voice rang out, “Where are the core disciples sent by the Nine Great Peaks?”

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! ...

As soon as he finished speaking, dazzling beams of light descended from the sky. When they landed on the training ground, they transformed into a group of nine, with men and women among them. Each exuded a powerful aura and unparalleled elegance.

The area became restless. Those nine individuals were the core disciples from the Origin Sect Ancestral Court's first to ninth peaks!

They were at the peak of the Ancestor Stage, but anyone could see that their actual strength was far out of reach for the average supreme Emperor Ancestor!

Compared to them, most of the supreme Emperor Ancestors participating in the selection appeared somewhat inferior. The difference was subtle but definitely there, as if these nine cultivators were already invincible in their stage and could break into the Immortal Stage at any time.

Most of the participants lacked that long-established air of invincibility. Only characters such as Lin Xun, Donghuang Shaowen, Qi Qingshi, and Mu Zunwu had the might to match them.

Of course, ordinary people were hard-pressed to see this difference. After all, it was exceedingly difficult to distinguish the actual strength of supreme Emperor Ancestors from their aura and energy alone.

In the second round, the nine newly-arrived core disciples from the Nine Great Peaks would be the ‘gatekeepers’ to the next round!