Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 366 - 359 Dao Canon Eight

Chapter 366: Chapter 359 Dao Canon Eight

A lengthy and impassioned speech, cringe-worthy in its verbosity yet grand in its determination, had caused everyone’s eyes to twitch slightly. Yet, it seemed that the Hall Spirit truly took it to heart. The look in its eyes softened when it gazed at Lin Xin, mingled with faint traces of admiration and satisfaction.

Lin Xin had indulged in a moment of mischief, yet he had not expected it to actually serve a purpose. Speechless, he finally concluded his long-winded speech.

"...here, I wish all competitors great fortune in battle."

Wow!!

Immediately, thunderous applause erupted.

Both Di Erqing and the old man Hong Gui wore strange expressions, while Guan Mingyue coughed softly a few times, having not anticipated that the newly appointed Crown Prince would not only show no stage fright but would also rattle on and string together thousands of words of nonsense.

At least ninety percent of the applause was because Lin Xin had finally stopped talking.

Satisfied with his performance, Lin Xin’s gaze shifted towards the old man Hong Gui. Suddenly, his expression stiffened.

Unbeknownst to everyone, a person clad entirely in black had appeared beside old man Hong Gui.

The masked individual was staring at him with a cold and incisive look, seemingly recognizing his identity.

Feeling a chill, Lin Xin slightly turned his head and asked Guan Mingyue.

"Guan, do you recognize that masked man in black standing beside the old man Hong Gui?"

Guan Mingyue followed his gaze and also slightly furrowed his brows.

"I don’t know him, he must be one of the Shadow Guards from Tianyun Dao."

"Shadow Guard?"

"They are a special kind of dead soldier unique to Tianyun Dao. Their cultivation isn’t very high, but when they make a move, they tend to detonate themselves to protect their masters, and they are never allowed to remove their masks their entire lives," explained Guan Mingyue, somewhat reluctantly.

"These Shadow Guards are usually no stronger than Intent Level. No need to worry too much about them unless there are a great number of them, forming a large formation."

"Shadow Guard, huh?" Lin Xin muttered to himself, but he did not reveal that the black-clad person he encountered had Yuan Jing Cultivation.

He could clearly recognize that this masked person was no ordinary Shadow Guard. If Guan Jing, the ancestor of Yuan, was to become a dead soldier, and if Tianyun Dao still possessed such formidable strength, how could they rank last among the majors forces in the Central Prefecture?

It must be a master disguising himself by leveraging the unique traits of a Shadow Guard to infiltrate the Dao canon.

He kept this realization to himself, unwilling to let outsiders know that he had obtained the Evil God’s fetal essence. He tucked away this matter in his heart.

By this time, the speech from old man Hong Gui had also concluded.

The Hall Spirit waved its hand, and suddenly, a vast array of water-flow seats materialized around for the audience to sit down.

Then, a huge translucent water membrane slowly rose, separating the central square from the surrounding spectators.

A group of maiden women dressed in tiny white skirts that resembled patches of cloth walked into the square, tightly holding colorful bells and began to perform a song and dance.

The music, emanating from an unknown source, resonated with the dancers’ subtle movements.

A squad of Silver Armored Guards slowly rose from the perimeter on all sides, clearly also emerging from below.

The outermost were the Bronze Armored Guards.

Lin Xin swept his eyes somewhat solemnly over the Bronze Armored Guards. These were just Bronze Armored Guards, yet their aura was no weaker than that of Intent Level cultivators; the strictness of this Dao Canon’s guards truly lived up to its reputation.

The Silver Armored Guards, each possessing strength not inferior to the Jade Fox King, meant that the weakest among these guards were at the peak of the Intent Level, while the strongest were at the Dao Seeking state.

At a glance, there were more than twenty Silver Armored Guards just by themselves, subtly forming a strange formation that encircled the center of the entire assembly.

After the dance, they individually introduced the identities of those participating in the grand competition.

The participants, each at the peak of Intent Level, were at the zenith of Dao Seeking, all having achieved perfection and just one step away from reaching Yuan Jing.

Such top-tier experts were rare, and even fewer dared to participate in the grand competition with the confidence to advance to Yuan Jing.

After all, the main requirement for reaching Yuan Jing was comprehending the rules, followed by forming the Yuan embryo.

In other words, the cultivators who arrived had all comprehended their own rules and overcome the toughest hurdle. They participated in the Dao Canon seeking the best methods to nurture their Yuan embryos.

That is to say, the competitors were all top-tier experts, guaranteed to advance to Yuan Jing, differing only in the levels at which their Yuan embryos were formed.

The grand competition officially began.

There were a total of eleven competitors.

Lin Xin quietly committed each of them to memory.

With both the Dao Canon and the Demonic Canon, these represented the majority of those who achieved Yuan Jing in the Central Prefecture at regular intervals.

These were all future Yuan Jing ancestors. Any one of them could dominate a region and enforce their will.

The first challenge was the weakest, set by Tianyun Dao.

It was called the Myriad Souls Formation.

Old man Hong Gui waved his hand and released a white lantern burning with grey flames, which spun around and expanded from the size of a watermelon to the size of a three-story building in an instant.

An entrance appeared along the side, eerily inviting the competitors to enter.

"I don’t even know where the honorable Tianyun Dao got this thing from," said Guan Mingyue, frowning.

"I’ve also heard that the Dao of Tianyun has always maintained the utmost integrity, but now it seems a bit contradictory to the rumors...." Lin Xin shook his head too.

During the initial moments of the Myriad Souls Formation, Wang Peng and his two companions were extremely bored, so they casually notified the person in charge and sneaked off to wander around.

These days, they were all under the care of the person in charge from Yuan Dou Demon Sect, Lou Xiaofei, with whom they had become very familiar.

Before leaving, they even pulled along the little Jade Fox.

The little Jade Fox hesitated, glancing at Lin Xin.

"I still need to take care of my master."

"Your master doesn’t need your care right now, and there’s some time to wander and rest, isn’t this the legendary top-ranked daoist canon? Aren’t you curious?"

Qiuling, one of the three, said in a low chuckle.

The little Jade Fox’s fox ears, white as jade atop her head, twitched, clearly very curious and tempted.

"Let’s go, let’s go!" Qiuling grabbed her and shook her beckoningly.

Lin Xin also noticed the commotion and turned around with a smile.

"It will be a while before we get any results, go and wander around if you have nothing to do, it’s rare to have a chance to relax."

He extended his hand and pinched the little Jade Fox’s fox ears.

The little fox blushed with embarrassment and was dragged away by Qiuling.

Wang Peng and Rongyan smiled awkwardly at Lin Xin and also excused themselves to leave temporarily.

"Youth is truly wonderful..." Lin Xin shook his head slightly, sighing.

"Isn’t Your Highness also still young?" Guan Mingyue said with a chuckle.

"In the cultivation world, I am indeed considered young, but still cannot compare to them." Lin Xin smiled, his gaze returning to the Myriad Souls Formation lantern.

"Does Elder Guan have any way to see what’s happening inside?"

"Difficult," Guan Mingyue shook her head, "but the Tianyun Dao wouldn’t possibly keep it closed from within, rest assured, they will have arrangements."

"Hmm." Lin Xin nodded. Since it was to guarantee fairness and justice in the competition, a closed formation was naturally unacceptable.

Soon, the eleven contestants appeared one after another.

Among them the most conspicuous were the four with the strongest and most mysterious auras.

These four cultivators each occupied one corner, and the rest of the competitors clearly gave them a wide berth, evidently very wary of them.

The one among the four whose aura was the most wild, was a robust giant whose body was wrapped with numerous white bull horns.

He had a third eye on his forehead, wore black trousers, and carried on his back a gigantic battle axe that looked extremely heavy.

Just one glance at him caused Lin Xin’s eyes to sting slightly. Clearly, the opponent’s cultivation level was even more terrifying than his own; his Protective Aura could not shield him completely, being oppressed by the spiritual pressure radiating from his body, causing such discomfort.

"This man is Ouyang Fuchang. He was already ranked eighth on the ranking of Xiu Ling thirty years ago, but he later disappeared without a trace." Lou Xiaofei, the person in charge of Yuan Dou Demon Sect, hurriedly introduced to Lin Xin.

"Among these eleven, the top three strongest are likely to be from these four."

"Very strong!" Lin Xin nodded seriously. Even with his now enhanced attributes, he still felt that the opponent was incredibly strong. In fact, if it was the old him, without using his trump card, the Qilin, in a direct confrontation, he would be overwhelmed by the opponent in an instant.

Guan Mingyue also spoke earnestly.

"This is nearly as close as we get to our Yuan Jing. He has already grasped his own rules, and lacks only the Yuan Embryo to condense into a Yuan Jing. Looking at his attire, he must be a top combat master skilled in Divine Skills. Such a talent, Your Highness, if you can find a way to recruit him into our sect, even the Sect Master would greatly praise you."

"What can we offer as a bargaining chip?" Lin Xin nodded, looking at Elder Guan.

Guan Mingyue said nothing, handing him a paper. It listed the maximum bargaining chips Yuan Dou Demon Sect could offer this time.

Lin Xin took it and read it, his expression unchanged, his gaze then moving to another strong contender.

Standing in the opposing direction from Ouyang Fuchang was a tall, skinny man with sallow skin.

This man’s skin was wax-yellow as if coated with a thick layer of oil, expressionless, dressed in black, wearing a yellow conical hat. Seemingly aware of Lin Xin’s gaze, he tilted his face towards him and managed a faint smile.

"The Sect Master of Tomb Slaughtering Sect, Gao Kuo. His strength is profound and unfathomable. He holds the sixth position on Xiu Ling list, but because no one has been able to shake his position, and he has not challenged a higher rank himself, he remains at this ranking.

Many speculate that Gao Kuo’s strength is definitely not just sixth. Now it seems so indeed, always capable of advancing to Yuan Jing level, yet far from measurable by just the sixth rank."

Lin Xin nodded in agreement.

This man, like Ouyang Fuchang before him, made his Protective Aura faintly feel pressured, and his eyes began to sting.

These were undoubtedly potential Yuan Jing top talents; in comparison, he still had a significant gap with these people.

"The third person..." The person in charge began to introduce the third key contestant to Lin Xin.

"The Jade Fox!"

Lin Xin looked over, and there in the corner stood a ravishing beauty with three heads.

All three heads had the flawless faces of a top beauty, impeccable, coupled with an enchantingly curvaceous figure and a translucent white silk skirt that barely hinted at the rounded, perfect long legs beneath.

The Jade Fox’s sensory impact was the strongest among all the contestants.

At that moment, her three heads each engaged in different conversations with the cultivators around her, eliciting amazement from some less experienced cultivators.