Chapter 644: The Grand Competition Begins, A Wicked Method

Time passed in a hurry.

When time reached the fifth year.

Wang Jianqiang discovered that a cocoon the size of a bean had appeared within his Soul Sea.

He could sense that this cocoon was condensed from materialized Will Power.

Something seemed to be gestating within it.

It was just that because the cocoon was too small, his perception was very vague.

However.

With the appearance of this cocoon, he discovered that the strength of his Will Power seemed to have climbed a step higher.

Furthermore.

As he continued to cultivate, this cocoon was growing larger at a slow but steady pace.

"Perhaps, when this cocoon grows to a certain degree, that will be when the change arrives."

Wang Jianqiang withdrew his consciousness from his Soul Sea, lost in thought.

Another month passed.

The day for the Sect Grand Competition to begin arrived.

On this day.

Wang Jianqiang walked out of his residence and came before Ziling Hall.

On a small Square in front of Ziling Hall, dozens of figures had already gathered.

These people were all Disciples who had signed up to participate in the Sect Grand Competition.

They were all, without exception, Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators.

Sensing that someone had arrived.

The crowd turned their heads to look one after another.

Upon seeing Li Dabao, a strange look flashed in everyone's eyes.

"Is this person Li Dabao?"

"It is said that because of a stroke of fortune, in just a few short years, his cultivation soared from the Golden Core Late Stage to the Nascent Soul Early Stage."

"Tsk tsk, what luck."

Facing those gazes containing various emotions, Wang Jianqiang walked to the edge of the crowd with a composed expression.

Having just stood still.

He suddenly felt a gaze full of malice land upon him.

He looked ahead without changing his expression.

He immediately discovered that the gaze came from a handsome youth.

At this moment.

This youth was standing at the very front of the crowd.

His cultivation had reached Nascent Soul Stage Perfection, and there were faint fluctuations of Will Power on his body.

Luo Feng?

Seeing this youth.

Wang Jianqiang's expression flickered.

Within Ziling Peak, Luo Feng could be described as famous, known to all and sundry.

He was the number one Core Disciple of Ziling Peak.

A First-tier Will Level Cultivator.

Among all the disciples of the seven branches of the Divine Fire Alliance, he was ranked sixth.

He was revered by the disciples of Ziling Peak as the Ziling Peak Big Senior Brother.

His status even rivaled that of an ordinary Elder.

Given the other party's status, it was very difficult for Li Dabao to have any contact with him, let alone offend him.

Moreover, he had already obtained all of Li Dabao's memories.

He had not seen any memory of having contact with this person among them.

Since they were complete strangers.

Then why would this person have such great malice toward him?

He frowned.

His gaze shifted.

He immediately discovered a stunningly beautiful figure beside Luo Feng.

Zhao Ruier?

Looking at the two standing side by side.

Wang Jianqiang's heart stirred.

Could it be because of her?

There were only two people in the first row of the crowd.

Besides Luo Feng, there was Zhao Ruier.

The positioning of the people present was quite particular.

Luo Feng was able to be ranked in the first row because he was the undisputed strongest disciple at Ziling Peak.

But the fact that Zhao Ruier could stand alongside him in the first row was worth pondering.

Although Zhao Ruier has strong talent.

But after all, she has just formed her Nascent Soul, so in terms of status, she cannot compare to Luo Feng.

She is even inferior to many senior Core Disciples.

Logically speaking, she should not be qualified to stand in the first row.

Given this, there is only one explanation.

That is, it is Luo Feng's doing.

It seems the relationship between these two is quite unusual.

They have actually hooked up together?

Wang Jianqiang narrowed his eyes and looked back and forth between the two.

His heart suddenly stirred.

A flash of light flickered in his eyes.

So that's how it is!

At this moment, he suddenly thought of Lin Xiao and Xiao Longtao.

Lin Xiao and Xiao Longtao clearly had no conflict with Li Dabao, yet they suddenly targeted Li Dabao.

In this matter.

It is highly probable that it has something to do with Luo Feng.

As for whether Zhao Ruier is aware of it or has intervened, that remains to be investigated for now.

Thinking of this.

He lowered his eyelids without changing his expression.

Seeming not to have noticed Luo Feng's malice, he waited silently.

Not long after.

A woman in a purple dress suddenly flashed out from the air.

The woman's face was covered by a light veil, as if her face were covered by a mask.

It could not be seen clearly.

The moment she appeared.

Everyone's gaze shifted away from Wang Jianqiang simultaneously.

Then they all bowed respectfully.

"Greetings, Alliance Leader."

Wang Jianqiang also bowed along with the crowd.

He looked at the woman in the purple dress in the air without changing his expression, a flash of curiosity in his eyes.

It was not that he was overly curious.

As a transmigrator, he simply had an almost instinctive thirst for knowledge regarding the mask.

He wanted to see clearly what kind of scene was behind that thing.

A faint Golden Light welled up in his eyes.

The woman in the purple dress's blurred face suddenly became clear in his eyes.

Immediately following, he retracted his Supernatural Ability at once.

It was more uncomfortable than having eaten a dead fly.

No wonder she had to wear a veil; this is damn eye-searing.

What a pity for this alluring figure.

After the woman in the purple dress appeared.

Her gaze swept over the crowd.

Suddenly.

Her gaze landed on Wang Jianqiang, noticing Wang Jianqiang's somewhat unnatural expression.

Her expression stirred, "You are Li Dabao, right?"

Her voice was very pleasant to hear.

If one had not seen her true face, combined with her figure.

It would certainly be easy to arouse others' fantasies.

It is just a pity...

After seeing her true face, Wang Jianqiang had already entered a sage mode.

No strange look appeared on his face, and he responded respectfully, "Reporting to the Alliance Leader, this Disciple is Li Dabao."

"Are you feeling unwell somewhere?"

A bit nauseous.

Of course, this certainly could not be said directly.

He shook his head, "It is nothing, it should be that I have broken through too quickly recently and have not yet fully adapted."

The Ziling Peak Master nodded.

Recently, Wang Jianqiang has had a great reputation on Ziling Peak.

As the master of Ziling Peak, he still has some understanding of Wang Jianqiang's affairs.

Afterward, her attention shifted away from Wang Jianqiang.

Her gaze scanned the crowd.

"This grand competition will be held on Lingxiao Peak."

"Since everyone who signed up for the competition has arrived."

"Then let us set off."

After saying this, she flew out first.

Following her.

The group maintained their formation and followed closely.

Lingxiao Peak.

On a massive Square, hundreds of figures stood upright.

In front of the crowd stood a tall Stone Stele.

Above the Stone Stele.

Six figures stood in mid-air.

"Have they arrived?"

Suddenly, the six seemed to sense something and turned their heads to look down the mountain.

Immediately, they saw.

A group of people, led by a woman in a purple dress, flying toward this location.

A moment later.

Wang Jianqiang followed the crowd and flew above the Square.

At the signal of the Ziling Peak Master, everyone landed on the Square one after another.

"Ziling, we were just waiting for you."

Upon seeing the Ziling Peak Master, the Lingxiao Peak Master among the six smiled.

Then, he looked at the participating Disciples in the Square.

"Next, I will announce the content of the Sect Grand Competition to you all."

"After the competition begins, you will be sent into an exclusive assessment area."

"There, you will obtain a special power called Fire Power by slaying the creatures of the assessment area."

"Besides obtaining this Fire Power by killing creatures in the assessment area, there is another way to obtain it."

"That is to defeat or kill other participants."

"After defeating or killing a participant, you can inherit all the Fire Power they have already obtained."

"Of course, the sect does not encourage the second method."

"When the amount of Fire Power accumulates to a certain level, it will turn into a mark that allows you to sense the location of the final assessment area."

"The final assessment area is a Heavenly Ladder."

"The top of the Heavenly Ladder is the exit of the Assessment Space."

"You only need to climb the Heavenly Ladder and leave the Assessment Space to be considered as having completed the assessment."

"The final ranking will be determined by the order in which you leave the Assessment Space."

After hearing the rules of the Sect Grand Competition, the eyes of the participants flickered.

When they looked at the other examinees around them, their gazes were already filled with vigilance.

Seeing this, Wang Jianqiang raised his eyebrows slightly.

They do not encourage participants to obtain Fire Power by killing each other, yet they explicitly point it out.

Furthermore, the competition format invisibly forces the examinees to speed up the acquisition of Fire Power through mutual slaughter.

This is just like being a whore while wanting to set up a memorial archway.

They say no with their mouths, but their true purpose is clear.

It is to secretly incite the geniuses within the sect to kill one another.

It is just that...

If the geniuses of the sect fall, is that not a loss for the Divine Fire Alliance?

What exactly is this Divine Fire Alliance planning?

Wang Jianqiang was lost in thought.

"Next, everyone enter the Assessment Space."

Just at this moment.

The voice of the Lingxiao Peak Master came again.

Wang Jianqiang looked ahead.

He saw that the space around the Stone Stele had already begun to distort.

Figure after figure was flying toward the Stone Stele and disappearing into that distorted space.

Wang Jianqiang pondered for a moment.

He flew toward the Stone Stele.

His vision blurred.

When his sight recovered, he discovered he had already appeared in a strange space.

He looked around.

Trees and weeds grew in abundance, and there was no one else.

"It seems the entry point into this Assessment Space is not fixed, but random."

His expression shifted.

He walked forward.

Whoosh—

Having just walked not far, a streak of red light suddenly flew out from the grass.

It was a snake-type demonic beast with its entire body covered in red scales.

It had the cultivation of a Nascent Soul Early Stage.

Wang Jianqiang frowned.

Just as he was about to extend a finger to crush it to death, his brow suddenly furrowed.

"I wonder if those in the outside world can see the scenes within this Assessment Space."

Thinking of this, he immediately changed his mind.

He let out a loud shout.

And began to battle it.

The great battle lasted for about the time it takes to burn a stick of incense before Wang Jianqiang panted and beheaded the demonic beast.

A wisp of red aura flew out from the corpse of the demonic beast.

His expression shifted, and he did not dodge.

He let this wisp of aura attach itself to his body.

As this strange energy entered his body, a heat flow rapidly surged into his palm.

It transformed into a faint red mist pattern on the back of his hand.

"Is this Fire Power?"

Wang Jianqiang's expression shifted.

Afterward, he did not leave immediately.

Instead, he put on a show of resting for a moment.

Only then did he begin to continue forward.

At the same time.

In this Assessment Space, battles had broken out in many places.

Ssh—

A Sword Light flashed by.

A Nascent Soul Early Stage demonic beast was split in two.

Zhao Ruier sheathed her sword and stood still, letting the red aura that flew out from the demonic beast's corpse enter her body.

Whoosh!

A ball of raging flames ignited.

A demonic beast was burned to ashes.

Luo Feng pointed a finger.

A ball of Spirit Flame and a wisp of red mist merged into his body simultaneously.

His Spirit Sense expanded.

It swept across a radius of several dozen miles.

"Not in the vicinity?"

A cold look flashed in his eyes, and he walked forward.

……

"Spirit Flame?"

"Ziling, this Luo Feng from your Ziling Peak has actually obtained a type of Spirit Flame!"

Outside, on the Square.

Among the seven figures suspended in mid-air.

The Lingxiao Peak Master looked toward the Ziling Peak Master, a look of surprise appearing on his face, "This Luo Feng's strength was already quite good, and now with the addition of the Spirit Flame, his strength has advanced further; I fear he could become a favorite to win the championship."

The Ziling Peak Master shook his head, "Luo Feng's strength has indeed increased after obtaining the Spirit Flame, but to say he will win the championship is likely overestimating him."

"Not to mention the geniuses of the other peaks, Ruan Haoxuan of Lingxiao Peak alone is an obstacle he cannot overcome."

Hearing this name spoken by the Ziling Peak Master, the Lingxiao Peak Master smiled.

A look of pride flashed in his eyes.

The other Alliance Leaders also nodded at the same time.

"Ruan Haoxuan's talent is indeed powerful; if there are no accidents, the first place in this Sect Grand Competition will likely belong to him."

The Flame Moon Peak Master sighed with emotion.

The Mysterious Jade Peak Master nodded, then revealed a look of regret, "Originally, for a genius like Ruan Haoxuan, our Divine Fire Alliance should have had three."

"It is a pity..."

Hearing the words of the Mysterious Jade Peak Master, the six people beside him fell silent simultaneously.

In their minds, two names flashed at the same time.

Ruan Jinghun, Ruan Jingshan.

These two were also of the direct bloodline of the Divine Fire Alliance, and their ages were quite a bit younger than Ruan Haoxuan's.

Their talent was only stronger, not weaker, than Ruan Haoxuan's.

It is just a pity.

The two participated in the Great Wilderness Immortal Palace Assessment many years ago and perished within the assessment.

The Great Wilderness Immortal Palace has always kept the assessment process strictly confidential.

Otherwise, the Divine Fire Alliance would certainly not have let the matter rest.

A cold glint flashed in the eyes of the Lingxiao Peak Master.

He took a deep breath, and the iciness in his eyes slowly dissipated.

"Very well, there is no need to bring up the past."

"Watch the competition."

The crowd snapped back to their senses and looked toward the Stone Stele.

At this moment.

The Stone Stele had already transformed into a massive screen, which was divided into nine smaller frames.

Each small frame followed a single figure.

These figures were all the seeded contestants in this grand competition.

The figure of Luo Feng was currently displayed on one of the small frames.

The Stone Stele could observe a maximum of nine people at once.

Naturally, it had to focus on the key figures.

As for Li Dabao, whom Wang Jianqiang was using as a Disguise, he did not yet have the qualifications to appear on the screen.

Not to mention him.

Even the exceptionally talented Zhao Ruier, because she had only just broken through recently and her strength was still weak,

did not appear on this screen either.

Ever since entering the Assessment Space.

Wang Jianqiang had been moving forward, searching for the creatures here.

During this time, he had slain over a dozen Golden Core Stage creatures.

As for those at the Nascent Soul Stage.

Aside from the one he encountered at the very beginning, he had only killed one more.

It was also at the Nascent Soul Early Stage.

"This cannot go on."

At a certain moment, Wang Jianqiang stopped in his tracks.

With the cultivation and strength he had displayed.

Passing this assessment was almost impossible.

Yet, he could not be certain whether his actions would be observed by the outside world.

If he were to suddenly display power that was too great and be seen by people on the outside.

It would very likely lead to an investigation.

By then, it would be difficult to continue his Disguise.

He had to think of a way.

He pondered for a moment.

Then, his eyes lit up.

"I have it."

This method would neither expose too much of his strength nor prevent him from acquiring a large amount of Fire Power at the fastest speed.

It was just...

A bit unscrupulous.