Chapter 2700 Coming Across an Old Acquaintance

Nine core disciples from the Nine Great Peaks stood in the arena. Everyone was raptly watching. Before long the twenty-seven supreme Emperor Ancestors who were participating in the second round appeared at the gates of the Absolute Sunder Sword Palace.

When they saw the nine ‘gatekeepers,’ the rules of this second round flashed through their minds. At the start of the assessment, each participant would use their nameplate as the way to select a gatekeeper for a duel.

Those who could hold out for half of a quarter of an hour would pass. Failure to do so would result in elimination. Same as the first round, law powers, external forces, or secret treasures that went beyond the Emperor Stage were prohibited from use in the second round.

Participants could only rely on their own cultivation to fight!

Some people keenly noticed a key point to this assessment, "Even if you can't defeat the gatekeeper, as long as you can hold out for half of a quarter of an hour, you'll pass."

If holding out for that amount of time was enough to pass the test, then the participants didn’t need to seek victory but instead could shoot to avoid making any big blunders. After thinking about this, many felt relieved.

The nine gatekeepers were all core disciples of the Nine Great Peaks. Although everyone present had all reached the pinnacle of the Ancestral Realm, everyone knew that those who could become core successors of Origin Sect Ancestral Court were destined to be more monstrous and heaven-defying than their peers at the same level.

However, what troubled Lin Xun and the other twenty-six was that they had no idea which of the nine gatekeepers would be their opponent during the assessment.

This was because opponents were selected based on their nameplates, which made it kind of a gamble. According to the rules, each of the nine gatekeepers would be wearing a jade talisman that resonated and matched with the nameplates of the participants.

To prevent cheating, the jade talismans had been randomly assigned to the nine gatekeepers by drawing lots. Ultimately, only by doing this would the assessment be fair!

"Huh!"

Suddenly, Lin Xun's expression flashed with surprise as he spotted a familiar face among the nine gatekeepers.

The man was dressed in plain clothing, and his long hair was tied in a daoist bun. He looked slightly delicate, yet his aura was exceptional, profound, and imposing, and it was clear that he was a man of unparalleled grace.

It was none other than Ye Chunjun, a disciple of the Ninth Peak! Back in the Mystic Forbidden Realm, Lin Xun had once faced off against that man’s Three Fate Blades, which had left a lasting impression.

Clearly, Ye Chunjun was representing the Ninth Peak this time, serving as one of the gatekeepers. At the same time, Ye Chunjun also spotted Lin Xun, his eyes flickering with surprise.

Please don’t let me get matched with this fellow...

At least, he didn't want to fight against Lin Xun right now. It wasn't that he couldn't afford to lose, but after their last duel, Ye Chunjun wasn't ready to face him again...

Since he wasn’t prepared, a loss would be quite embarrassing. Ye Chunjun even had to consider how he could muster his full strength to hold out for half a quarter of an hour if he were to face Lin Xun...

If anyone else knew what he was thinking, they'd be stunned. Holding out for half a quarter of an hour—wasn’t that something only a test participant should be considering?! How could a gatekeeper be so unmotivated and lacking in ambition?!

Before long, Li Zhen spoke up, solemnly declaring, "You know the rules of the test better than I do. Anyone who dares to cheat will be expelled!"

With that final warning, the test began. Zhou Zhizhi, the first participant to pass the first round, was the first to enter the arena. Following his test, Lin Xun and the others would take the stage, following the order in which they passed the first round.

Zhou Zhizhi was a thin figure with a stoic appearance, but his eyes were incredibly bright. His every move didn't exude a striking aura, but rather a sense of immovable calm, like the sea.

Buzz!

The nameplate on him emerged, generating a strange vibration. With a gentle sweep, it instantly resonated with the jade pendant worn by a gatekeeper.

"Fifth Peak’s Core Disciple Huo Qinghe!"

The arena was abuzz with voices. Huo Qinghe was no ordinary opponent as he was ranked among the top five core disciples of the Fifth Peak, which was a formidable force.

The corners of Zhou Zhizhi's lips twitched as he had clearly sensed the immense wall in front of him. What was astonishing was that once the first duel began, Zhou Zhizhi's tall figure suddenly became incredibly agile, transforming into countless strands of lightning arcs, flickering and darting across the vast arena. Ordinary people couldn't even discern his true form.

Ten thousand thunderbolts, countless bodies! His body had transformed into ten thousand thunderbolts that were endless and boundless.

"What a clever lad!"

Many marveled, having discerned Zhou Zhizhi's battle strategy. He maneuvered defensively, holding out for half a quarter of an hour, seeking neither victory nor failure.

However, Huo Qinghe was no pushover. He manipulated wind and fire, summoning them with great force. Something that resembled a hurricane made of fire appeared, and it ravaged the arena, crushing the constantly flickering arcs of lightning with devastating force.

Though the arena was vast, its confines limited Zhou Zhizhi's area to dodge. Soon, he was forced to reveal his true form and had to engage Huo Qinghe with all his might.

The battle between the two was naturally unprecedentedly fierce. However, everyone could see that Zhou Zhizhi was already at a disadvantage. As time wore on, he sustained injuries, coming close to being crushed on the spot several times.

This filled the spectators with trepidation. Zhou Zhizhi's strength had been clearly evident during the first round. His ability to defeat three opponents and advance to the second round proved his prowess.

Despite that, from the moment this battle began, he was in a passive position. Who could not be shocked? Huo Qinghe, a core successor of the Fifth Peak, was incredibly powerful! One could hardly imagine how many peerless monsters were hidden within the nine peaks of the Origin Sect!

In the end, Zhou Zhizhi was severely wounded and on the verge of collapsing when the timer expired.

Huo Qinghe frowned, but immediately stopped attacking. "If you can pass the third round, then you can choose to come to the Fifth Peak."

Zhou Zhizhi wiped the blood from the corner of his lips, forced out an ugly, grimace-like smile, and said, "Of course, of course."

He cursed inwardly.

Why the heck would I go to the Fifth Peak after you beat me like a punching bag?

He was soon taken away to recuperate inside the Absolute Sunder Sword Palace.

The second expert to participate in the assessment had already arrived at the arena and immediately caused a sensation. She was Qi Qingshi, a stunningly beautiful woman who was bathed in a hazy mist. She looked ethereal and above all, and she was a fairy-like figure from the Qi Clan of the Eighth Heaven Domain. She was also one of the most impressive performers in the first round!

Her opponent was Gu Zheng, a core disciple of the Sixth Peak. His combat prowess rivaled that of Huo Qinghe from the Fifth Peak. Of note, he hailed from the Gu Clan, which was one of the four clans under Donghuang.

When the battle began, Qi Qingshi was the first to strike. No one could have imagined that this fairy, with a hazy and serene aura like misty rain, would strike with such fierceness and swiftness.

Caught off guard, Gu Zheng was left on the defensive, forced to passively defend and mitigate the attack. This situation shocked the entire audience.

However, he soon managed to turn the tide and began to fight back. After all, he was a core successor of the Sixth Peak and was no ordinary opponent. The two engaged in a fierce battle, seemingly evenly matched.

A winner had yet to be decided even after half a quarter of an hour had passed. Unfortunately, the round was over.

Gu Zheng sighed, "Miss Qingshi is formidable. Even if the battle had continued, I'm afraid it would be difficult to determine the winner very quickly."

"Thank you." Qi Qingshi bowed slightly.

The spectators were deeply impressed by the demeanor displayed by the two. This was a true battle between dragons and tigers, but it was a pity that it only lasted half a quarter of an hour, leaving no clear winner.

The third person to appear was a supreme Emperor Ancestor named Wang Ye. Unfortunately, he couldn't hold out for the specified timeframe and was completely defeated by the gatekeeper. His spirit and soul were suppressed, leaving him unable to struggle or resist.

The fourth to appear was...

...

As time passed, fierce duels unfolded one after another, drawing repeated cries of surprise from the crowd outside the arena. Some were eliminated. Others emerged victorious. Lin Xun had been watching these battles, and his expression remained calm throughout.

However, upon witnessing Xiang Xiaoyuan's fight, he was startled. It was brutal! By the end of the timeframe, she was gravely wounded and near death. In the final moments, her soul had nearly shattered. Several times, he almost couldn’t even bear to watch.

In the end, although Xiang Xiaoyuan had passed the test, her body and soul were severely wounded, seemingly on the verge of death. After the battle, she was immediately escorted away and taken to the Absolute Sunder Sword Palace to recuperate.

The one who had fought with her was a core disciple from the First Peak, Nan Xiangqi. He was ranked in the top three and was slightly more powerful than both Huo Qinghe and Gu Zheng.

According to Lin Xun's assessment, Nan Xiangqi was undoubtedly one of the strongest of the nine gatekeepers. Furthermore, Xiang Xiaoyuan's ability to hold out for even half a quarter of an hour was truly remarkable.

"If it hadn’t been for her strong will and fearlessness of life and death, she wouldn't have made it to the end," Nan Xiangqi declared coldly, sounding incredibly arrogant.

Not long after Xiang Xiaoyuan passed the assessment, Dugu Youran appeared. It was the first time Lin Xun had seen her fight. Her opponent was daunting, but she was not any less formidable, and the power she displayed surprised even him.

This was because Dugu Youran's fighting style, which involved the unpredictable manipulation of the power of the soul and will, was incredibly subtle and marvelous. Whenever she faced a dangerous situation, she always managed to leverage her incredible spiritual power to shake the opponent's fighting spirit and avert danger. This battle also drew the admiration of many spectators.

Lin Xun even heard Xiao Wenyuan sigh with emotion, "The Divine Refining Nine Netherworlds Art is a supreme inheritance that Deputy Pavilion Master Dugu Yong had spent an incredible amount to acquire, and it had actually been prepared for this junior..."

Dugu Yong!

Lin Xun remembered that when Jun Huan had previously introduced the Origin Sect Ancestral Court, she had mentioned that one of the three deputy pavilion masters of the Origin Emptiness Pavilion was Dugu Yong!

It was only then that Lin Xun learned that Dugu Youran actually had such a connection to the Origin Sect Ancestral Court.

According to Xiao Wenyuan, the spiritual art that Dugu Youran was currently using was also one that Deputy Pavilion Master Dugu Yong had spent an immense amount to acquire specifically for Dugu Youran.

Undoubtedly, Dugu Yong valued and even doted on this junior, Dugu Youran!