Volume Two: Travels in the State of Qi, Chapter 126: It Is About Time

As time passed, the point differences among geniuses of various ranks gradually widened.

At the top was Qi Nation’s Eighteenth Prince Qi Xuan, with 1,630 points. Hot on his heels was Mu Wanqing from the Lingyu Palace, with 1,500 points. These two had consistently led the rankings, creating a vast gap from the third place.

Truly, they were peerless prodigies.

Upon seeing this, Emperor Qi smiled with satisfaction.

In previous years, it was considered excellent if anyone sent by the royal family managed to enter the top ten. This time was nothing short of a miracle.

Qi Xuan loved cultivation, possessed extraordinary talent, and had a genial personality. He was the emperor’s favorite prince. Yet, Qi Xuan had no interest in royal power. Thus, the emperor had to exhaust every effort to provide him with ample resources, allowing him to cultivate in peace.

Qi Xuan did not disappoint. At just twenty-four, he had already reached the ninth stage of the Primordial Core realm, crushing most so-called geniuses from major sects. Within Qi Nation today, only Mu Wanqing could rival him.

At this moment, Zhang Heng and Yu Xiaochuan lay hidden in a patch of wild grass, their eyes sharp as they stared at two third-stage spirit beasts ahead. They had been crouching there for a long time but, lacking absolute confidence, dared not strike rashly.

Throughout their journey, the two had kept their presence concealed, avoiding high-level cultivators and spirit beasts, instead hunting for lower-tier prey. They had accumulated a fair number of points.

Zhang Heng already had five points, while Yu Xiaochuan was more impressive with eighteen.

Though they could safely wait out the competition time by remaining still, survival alone would be meaningless. Only the top one thousand in this preliminary round could advance.

Eighteen points would hardly secure a spot in the top thousand.

Therefore, they had to take the risk and attack the spirit beasts before them.

Zhang Heng had already grasped the scoring system: one point per first-stage spirit beast, five points per second-stage, ten points per third-stage, and twenty points per fourth-stage.

As for fifth-stage spirit beasts, they were worth fifty points each—but that depended entirely on whether one had the luck to survive the encounter.

While they lay in hiding, the battles within the Qingdong World intensified relentlessly. Cultivators were eliminated constantly.

Some were unfortunate victims of rival cultivators; others failed in daring challenges against higher-level spirit beasts. Regardless, death in this world meant their consciousness returned to the real world, and they lost all qualification.

On the arena floor, cultivators rose with dejected expressions, powerless against the unyielding rules of this world. Losing meant leaving the stage with no recourse.

Wu Hong kept his eyes on the leaderboard, searching for Zhang Heng’s rank. Fortunately, he found it: thirteen thousand one hundred and forty, with a total of five points.

Seeing this, Wu Hong chuckled. He harbored no worry for Zhang Heng. After all, Zhang Heng was a warrior from the Return Void realm. Handling these youngsters would be effortless.

Wu Hong guessed that Zhang Heng intended to bide his time, striking at those with higher scores before the contest ended, thus effortlessly harvesting a good number of points.

His guess was correct. Zhang Heng planned to let others do the hard work first, then reap the rewards.

Emperor Qi noticed Wu Hong’s smile and murmured to himself, “Mu Wanqing is talented and diligent, but she belongs to the Lingyu Palace. She certainly won’t serve in our Qi royal court.”

The emperor presumed Wu Hong’s focus was mostly on the one person who could challenge Qi Xuan—the ninth-stage Primordial Core Mu Wanqing.

“Emperor Qi, let us watch with ease. Perhaps this Royal City Contest will bring you a surprise,” Wu Hong said with a knowing smile.

This time, Zhang Heng would surely take first place. There could be no other.

Time ticked by, and Yu Xiaochuan grew restless. A lone wandering cultivator, he had trained tirelessly for this Royal City Contest, hoping to seize a chance to change his fate.

If eliminated in this first round, his dream would be shattered.

“Zhang Heng, wait. I’ll go draw their attention. You sneak in from the side and strike. Use full power—if you hold back, you won’t even hurt them. Understand?” Yu Xiaochuan whispered.

“I’ll go instead,” Zhang Heng smiled faintly. “I’m faster; they can’t catch me. If you go, you might be in danger.”

“Are you sure?” Yu Xiaochuan doubted. Zhang Heng had not struck once along the way; his sole five points came from Yu Xiaochuan injuring a spirit beast and letting Zhang Heng finish it off. Perhaps Zhang Heng was just too inexperienced to act.

Zhang Heng said no more and flashed forward. His gaze challenged the two spirit beasts ahead. Yu Xiaochuan froze momentarily—such speed rivaled that of a Primordial Core cultivator.

Before he could think further, the two spirit beasts noticed Zhang Heng and roared as they charged.

Zhang Heng smiled calmly, then employed the Small Aurora Phantom footwork, running toward a distant spot.

He deliberately controlled his speed, giving the beasts the illusion they could catch him.

As the beasts passed by Yu Xiaochuan’s side, he suddenly leapt from the grass and punched the closer one.

He planned to fell one first, then team up with Zhang Heng against the other.

Splitting their attacks might leave both beasts unharmed.

A surge of potent spiritual energy enveloped his fist—his strongest blow.

Yet the expected result did not come. His punch struck the beast, but not only did it fail to wound it, Yu Xiaochuan was knocked backward.

He had underestimated the combat strength of these two beasts.

Enraged by the attack, the beasts roared and turned toward the fallen Yu Xiaochuan. He could only gather spiritual energy to brace for their assault.

The beasts’ massive paws carried overwhelming force. Had the blow landed squarely, Yu Xiaochuan would have been severely injured or worse.

In his moment of despair, Zhang Heng, who had disappeared into the distance, suddenly reappeared before him.

“Brother Zhang, dodge!” Yu Xiaochuan shouted. Though eager to prove himself and prolong his survival, he did not wish for others to be eliminated because of him.

Zhang Heng grinned widely and whispered, “Time’s almost up. I’m done playing. You may proceed.”

He concentrated his spiritual energy beneath his feet and called out, “Heaven’s Broken Kick.”

In an instant, a gigantic phantom foot appeared, delivering a crushing blow.

The two spirit beasts were sent flying, crashing into a massive tree in the distance, dying instantly.

Zhang Heng turned and smiled faintly. “Brother Xiao, are you alright?”

The stark contrast left Yu Xiaochuan stunned. “You… you killed both with one kick?”

“See for yourself,” Zhang Heng waved his hand dismissively.

“Brother Zhang, I was foolish not knowing your true strength. Please forgive my recklessness.”

At last, Yu Xiaochuan understood. When Zhang Heng rushed forward earlier, it was not to rescue comrades or to seek death, but to kill.

He had mistaken Zhang Heng’s aura for that of a third-stage Qi Sea cultivator, thinking their strengths were comparable. Hence, he had hidden alongside him.

Looking back, it was a foolish move.

Some prodigies could surpass several stages in combat. Zhang Heng was clearly one of them.

“Brother Xiao, next, I’ll show you some real fun,” Zhang Heng said calmly, gazing into the distance.

The grand performance was about to begin.