Chapter 75

The white-haired elder led Xia Qing and the others to a secluded courtyard, turned around, and respectfully said:

"Ninth Princess, this is where the geniuses of Black Wind County will rest. The competition will begin in two days, please prepare yourselves."

Xia Qing nodded and said to the group of young people, "Familiarize yourselves with the environment, explore around, I'll be out for a while."

"Meng Jing, explain the rules of the competition to Jiang Ping'an."

Xia Qing made a simple arrangement and followed the white-haired elder away.

The young people began to choose their rooms.

Meng Jing also pulled Jiang Ping'an to select two rooms with a good environment.

"Really nice, the beds in the City of the Nether King are so soft."

Meng Jing jumped onto the bed and rolled around like a worm, wriggling back and forth.

Jiang Ping'an looked at the training platform, about to go over to practice, but Meng Jing pulled him back.

"All you think about is training, wait until I finish explaining the rules of the competition in two days."

Meng Jing was speechless at Jiang Ping'an's crazy training attitude.

"This competition's first two rounds will take place in the Nether King's Secret Realm. The first round is the Test of the Heart, which will plunge you into an illusion, simulating the thing that tempts you the most."

"Due to the nature of the Secret Realm, our inner desires will be magnified thousands of times. Princess said that just the first round will eliminate most of the geniuses."

Jiang Ping'an nodded; it's hard for people to overcome their desires, even for the strong.

Otherwise, why would the strong not be content with nothing, but instead wage wars and plunder resources?

The desires of the strong are even more intense than those of ordinary people.

Meng Jing sat on a chair, swinging her legs, "The second round is a bit unfair to you, or rather, to physical cultivators."

"The rule for the second round is to kill the beasts that appear in the Secret Realm. The top fifty will be selected based on the number of beasts killed."

"If you are a spiritual cultivator, you can use area spells to kill quickly, but you are a physical cultivator, unable to use spells, and can only engage in close combat, with a time limit."

"So, the second round is not friendly to you. Many physical cultivators will fail here, so you must work hard."

Jiang Ping'an's brows slightly furrowed. Does the second round require spiritual cultivation spells?

"The third round is a traditional martial arts competition, with a draw to determine the matches. Don't worry about us facing each other, as the competition will avoid matches between geniuses from the same county."

Meng Jing suddenly rested her chin on her hand, thinking, "Princess said a lot of other things, but I forgot."

Jiang Ping'an smiled helplessly, "Alright, let's train."

"No, I want to play with Yun Huang, hehe." Meng Jing jumped off the stool and ran out quickly like a rabbit.

She wasn't under much pressure and wasn't very focused on training.

However, cultivators don't necessarily need to train all the time; relaxation can actually help with training.

But Jiang Ping'an couldn't relax. Even with Xia Qing's protection, he still felt a lot of pressure.

Not to mention, he needed to secure a top ten spot in this competition, and after the competition, he would have to fight against the Spirit Platform Kingdom.

He didn't like his fate being controlled by others; to control his own fate, he had to become stronger.

The cultivation world isn't a beautiful place where others won't bully you if you don't provoke them.

A strong person, if unhappy, can destroy a city and kill tens of thousands of people with a wave of their hand.

Jiang Ping'an opened the spirit beast storage bag and fed Xiao Bai ten Spirit Gathering Pills.

Xiao Bai had already broken through to the Foundation Establishment stage. Previously, he only ate Qi Gathering Pills, but now he eats Spirit Gathering Pills, consuming more resources in a day than an ordinary cultivator in half a year.

But Xiao Bai didn't eat for nothing; he had already reached the late Foundation Establishment stage, with a speed of improvement no slower than Jiang Ping'an's.

In comparison, the Ten Thousand Poison Seven Star Worm seemed to have no significant changes.

This little thing consumed even more than Xiao Bai, but it didn't have a specific level and could be killed by an ordinary cultivator.

Its strength lay in its toxicity.

Jiang Ping'an bought nearly a million worth of poisons, and the Ten Thousand Poison Seven Star Worm had already eaten half of them. He didn't know what level of strong it could poison now.

If it weren't for the Treasure Basin, Jiang Ping'an really couldn't afford to raise these two little creatures.

After feeding them, Jiang Ping'an touched the green bracelet on his wrist.

This was a parting gift from his master, Wang Ren.

Communicating with the storage bracelet, a dozen thick books appeared on the table.

These were the cultivation insights and important techniques of his master over a thousand years.

Jiang Ping'an flipped through them and selected a technique called "Sandstorm Burial."

The second round was not friendly to physical cultivators, so he needed to learn a spiritual cultivation area technique.

This "Sandstorm Burial" was a good choice.

After learning it, he could summon the power of sand and soil to form a sandstorm vortex, burying opponents underground.

When he reached the Golden Core and Nascent Soul stages, he could instantly bury a city with this technique!

There were two days until the competition, and with the assistance of the Fire Lotus Enlightenment Seed, mastering this technique should not be a problem.

Jiang Ping'an put away the other books and began to study the "Sandstorm Burial" seriously.

More and more flying boats arrived at the City of the Nether King, and geniuses from all counties gathered. Each genius was an outstanding figure in their county, renowned in their region.

They came to participate in the competition for resources, fame, or simply to enjoy the thrill of battling geniuses.

The upcoming competition would surely be a fierce battle, and the geniuses who made it to the end would surely become famous throughout the Nether King State!

Two days passed in a flash, and the Hundred Counties Competition officially began!

One by one, the young people, filled with fighting spirit, appeared on the square.

There were over a thousand official participants in the competition.

In front of these young people were the county governors, each a powerful figure, at least at the Nascent Soul stage, with many at the Transformation stage.

The peak of the Great Xia Dynasty was even stronger, but with the passage of time, it showed signs of decline.

Otherwise, the Great Chu Dynasty wouldn't have incited the Spirit Platform Kingdom to attack the Great Xia.

The young people looked at their opponents, some excited, some nervous, and some indifferent.

The overall strength of Black Wind County was among the best, making it a focus for many geniuses.

"That woman in the red robe, with the stunning appearance, is the Divine Phoenix Body, a strong contender for the top spot in the competition!"

"That bulky guy is the Ten Thousand Gold Body, with unparalleled physical techniques, even ordinary Golden Core cultivators find it hard to break through his defense."

"Have you heard of a powerful sword cultivator from the Ethereal Sect? Who is it?"

"Your information is outdated. From what I know, the sword cultivator from the Ethereal Sect had a falling out with Black Wind County and ran to the Flame Sun County."

Hearing this, many geniuses showed surprise.

"What happened? The Ethereal Sect's sword cultivator is so powerful, why was he expelled?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but it seems the Ninth Princess expelled him to make room for someone."

"This..."

Many wanted to say the princess was foolish but didn't dare to.

To make room for someone, she expelled the Ethereal Sect's sword cultivator.

This not only weakened her own strength but also created an enemy.

It was completely irrational. A substitute couldn't be as powerful as the Ethereal Sect's sword cultivator.

They couldn't understand why the Ninth Princess did this.

"Buzz~"

A strange fluctuation suddenly sounded, and the geniuses, who were discussing, felt a huge pressure, and their voices stopped abruptly.

Everyone looked forward, and a massive spatial vortex appeared, at least several dozen feet wide.

Strange runes flickered around the vortex, and a mysterious aura surged.

A young-looking man in purple appeared in front of the vortex.

"State Lord!"

The county governors bowed in respect.

The other geniuses, seeing this, quickly followed suit.

"State Lord!"

This person was one of the Nine State Lords, a descendant of the Nether King, one of the nine great war gods of the Great Xia Dynasty!

Even though he looked young, he could be over a thousand years old.

"You are all the pillars of the Nether King State, and the future pillars of the Nether King State. There's no need to be so formal."

Ming Chen smiled slightly, and as his voice echoed, the bowing crowd was lifted by a strange force.

This was the power of the law.

In certain simple matters, he had already reached the realm where his words were law!