The cauldron stood at seven feet tall with three thick legs in the shape of a dragon tail . Crimson gems decorated the surface . Inside were ninety-seven plumes of star-like fire . Even a Giant couldn’t see through this concealment .
The princess wore a ceremonial outfit, golden with ribbons . Below her feet were draconic runes . Her royal aura was in full swing, overshadowing the crown prince standing nearby .
Not all members of the royal family would have the aura of a dragon king . Only those meant to be kings would be able to cultivate this golden aura . Luofu was one of them; her aura was three times stronger than the crown prince, dividing themselves into forty-five visible strands .
A golden veil still covered her face but this wasn’t enough to deter her beauty . The prodigies on stage became fixated . All men wanted to conquer such a noble and beautiful woman .
Standing before the cauldron, she flipped her sleeve and the first fireball flew out . She easily crushed the flame and read the first name: “Beiming Potian, of the Beiming Clan . ”
Next, the second ball flew out . She announced: “Qian Mohen, of Grand Sword Palace . ”
The minister confirmed: “The Heaven stage, Beiming Potian versus Qian Mohen . ”
She continued to take out more balls until she found Dongfang Jingshui . She glanced over at Consort Hua before speaking: “Dongfang Jingshui can skip the initial rounds and fight the final battle . ”
Jingshui - still with his signature red cloak - protested: “Why can’t I fight in the initial rounds?”
The princess strongly replied with a sharp glare: “Because I have chosen you to be a groom candidate, so you may skip to the last fight . ”
He didn’t give her any face: “I don’t care much about being the imperial groom and only joined this competition to fight my heart out, so stop thinking otherwise . I want to fight everyone, so come, be brave and fight like men on stage . ”
Who knows how exasperated the princess was right now behind the veil? Anyone else would be ecstatic for this opportunity, but someone as arrogant and lawless like Jingshui was a different story .
“I guess he really took in too much water as a baby or something, if I were in his shoes, I would be kissing the princess right now to thank her . ” Ningshuai quietly said .
Feiyun replied: “Unfortunately, she doesn’t care for men, only the throne . ”
“Be honest now, Feiyun, if you win this competition, will you marry her?”
“Obviously, but only if she is willing to become my concubine . ”
The two gave each other a stare before laughing together .
Due to the odd number right now, if Jingshui accepted this, then the rest could be one-on-one . Alas, if he must fight, then one person would be left out .
This was naturally a good thing . All the participants were prodigies . Skipping one round would increase the probability of winning the whole thing .
Who will this lucky person be?
Fewer fireballs were left in the cauldron . These prodigies knew their first-round match and began to think about battle plans, advantages and disadvantages for the match-up .
Ningshuai’s opponent was a young king at peak fourth-level Heaven’s Mandate, just a tiny bit more and he would be at the fifth level .
“So much pressure . . ” Ningshuai murmured and decided to change the topic: “Oh right, who is your guy?”
Feiyun said: “I haven’t been chosen yet . ”
A while later, only one ball was left but Feiyun still hasn’t been called .
“Damn, don’t tell me you’re this lucky?! So unfair! The heaven is blind!” Ningshuai gritted his teeth, thinking that a good guy like him should deserve this chance .
Sure enough, the princess took out the last one and read: “Feng Ergou . ”
The minister added: “A vagrant cultivator of Grand Southern, Feng Ergou will move on to the next round . ”
“Such dogshit!” Ningshuai complained again .
Feiyun didn’t care much about fighting so he was naturally happy: “I’ll be cheering for you, friend . ”
“Don’t, your opponents will be Potian and Hongye . Since you have time right now, you should be watching their fight . Knowledge is power, so do it to win and take Princess Luofu as your concubine . ” Ningshuai joked .
A proud princess like her would never become someone else’s concubine . But he was also right about the first half . The others certainly prepared plenty of ace cards to win, so this was a good time to find out more .
***
Two hours later signaled the end of the first round . 48 have been eliminated, so there were 49 left including the lucky Feiyun .
He sat inside a palace and enjoyed his wine and fruits, served by two maids .
This was a resting place for the participants . Numerous recovery pills were laid out and ten alchemists stood ready . Even the heavily-injured could be cured within an hour back to their peak condition .
Ningshuai rolled in, charred completely without a single strand of hair remaining . He cried out: “Help me! I’m gonna die!”
Feiyun and two alchemists rushed over and helped him on a stone bed flowing with spirit liquid . The two alchemists checked his wounds and became relieved: “Just an external burn, one second-ranked pill is enough . ”
One of them took the pill out .
Feiyun said: “It’s nice to be alive, don’t worry about losing . ”
“Who told you that I lost? I won . ” Ningshuai got up to retort but he screamed again . His behind was especially burnt so when he sat down, the pain was excruciating .
“Who burned you then?”
The guy lay back down and sighed: “A Netherfire Talisman . ”
Feiyun’s expression changed: “Hmm, that talisman should contain a flame similar to a Second Dark Underworld Flame . Even a half-step will be injured from carelessness . Your opponent had something this strong? Looks like cultivation alone isn’t enough to win, maybe some Dominating Armaments will show up too . Oh, how did you defeat this talisman?”
“ . . . Cough… cough… I was the one who used it but misjudged the power so I burned myself…”
“ . . . ”
This fella is unfathomable . First, he had a technique from the Dao Scripture, now, a Netherfire Talisman? Ordinary people couldn’t possess these means .
He was afraid Feiyun would pry further so he changed the topic: “Yeah, did you go watch Potian, Hongye, and Xiaonan? What did they use?”
Feiyun shook his head: “The so-called devilish geniuses can’t last a single move before them, so they didn’t reveal anything . ”
“That’s why they’re at the top of the young generation, worthy of their fame . ” After taking the pill while bathing in the medicinal liquid, his burned skin healed at a visible rate .
Just a second later, he jumped out of bed and started to stretch while laughing: “I can fight again now, no problem . My next guy is a fifth-level genius, so much pressure again! What about you?”
“Another free win . ” Feiyun said .
“You’re joking, right?” Ningshuai almost jumped from disbelief .
The second round had another drawing ballot but Feiyun got lucky again?
The chance was so low yet the guy stole it twice . Ningshuai almost went crazy just like all of the other jealous geniuses .
“The balls are sealed by flames created by Giants, so no one can see the names . Cheating isn’t possible or I would think that you are conspiring with Princess Luofu . ” Ningshuai thought that he had to risk his life to make it to the second round while this guy sat there and drank wine . So unfair!
After another two hours, only twenty-four geniuses were left, and Feng Feiyun .
He didn’t need to fight at all and still got placed in the top twenty-five .
“Help! Save me!” Ningshuai screamed and crawled into the palace while vomiting blood . The blood contained icy powder; parts of his body were frozen too .
Feiyun and the two alchemists came over again and lifted him back on the stone bed .
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