The Divine Nine-Dragon Cauldron
chapter-177

"By the way…" Mo Wu took out two envelopes. "These are the envelopes from your Senior, Zhao Guang for the past two months."

Zhao Guang?

Su Yu tore open the envelop and looked through the letter and smiled.

Zhao Guang was doing well as per before and his cultivation base had successfully made a breakthrough to Second Level Holy King.

However, Su Yu did not understand something. In the two letters, it mentioned again that every moonlit night, a person would secretly pay his offerings to Li Guang and leave behind precious elixirs for Zhao Guang to train.

"Second Elder, can I ask that when Li Guang was at the faction a hundred years ago, does he have any good friends who are still alive at the very moment?" Su Yu questioned the Second Elder.

A hundred years ago, the Second Elder had secretly helped Li Guang before. Hence, she might understand Li Guang's situation.

As for that good friend who paid his offerings to Li Guang, Su Yu felt extremely grateful to him.

Who knew that the Second Elder became stupefied and she suddenly asked. "Who is Li Guang?"

Mo Wu looked at Su Yu up and down with a strange expression. "How is it possible for the master to be acquainted for Li Guang? Master is only thirty years old, how will she know about things that happened a hundred years ago?"

Rumble—

Mo Wu's words were as if it was a bolt from the blue and it reverberated in Su Yu's mind.

Master Li had said clearly that a hundred years ago, with the help of the Second Elder, Li Guang's fate of being executed was changed to being exiled to Shenyue island.

Basing his calculations on the amount of time that had passed, the Second Elder should be over a hundred years old!

Su Yu was shocked and he said subconsciously. "Isn't Second Elder an old hag who is over a hundred years old?"

"Who did you say is an old hag?" The Second Elder asked sharply. Even if she was disfigured, she would not tolerate a little kid regarding her as an old hag!

Mo Wu's dark eyebrow frowned like the moon and said after pondering for some time. "Could the Second Elder whom you are referring to the previous Second Elder?"

The… the previous Second Elder?

"You should have heard of this before. Ten years ago, an Elder died. That person who died was the Second Elder." Mo Wu quietly shot a glance toward the direction of the Great Elder.

Su Yu was slightly shocked. He had indeed heard of something related to that rumor.

The Great Elder and the Tenth Elder were extremely powerful. There was once an Elder who went against the Great Elder and he disappeared without a trace in the end. Hence, he was labeled as deceased.

Could it be that that was the previous Second Elder?

"Master took on the role of the Second Elder ten years ago. Hence, she does not know what happened to the Li Guang that you mentioned. You have asked the wrong person."

Having understood the entire process, Su Yu gasped. "Does this mean that Second Elder became the faction's Second Elder at the age of twenty?"

Mo Wu's mouth twitched lightly and she concealed her proud expression. "Of course! Who do you think is the legendary Elder in Liuxian faction? If it had not been for master's injuries ten years old which caused her cultivation base to remain stagnant, by now… what is the Great Elder and Faction Master? Master would be able to kill them with a flick of her finger!"

A number one genius through the ages? Su Yu could not believe his ears and he stared at the Second Elder. His heart found Mo Wu's words hard to believe as well.

Her cultivation base did not progress for the past ten years!

If she had not injured herself back then, then…

"Humph! Who do you think you are looking at?" The Second Elder hummed coldly. If observed carefully, certain parts of the Second Elder's frail body was unnaturally stiff.

Evidently, within her heart, she felt comfortable when she saw Su Yu's shocked expression.

The Second Elder did not concern herself with other people's reactions as she had passed the age of vanity.

As for Su Yu alone, she was quite concerned with his perspectives toward her.

Mo Wu's master's reaction had caused Mo Wu's heart to be upset and Mo Wu gave a light hum. "In short, the Second Elder whom you are looking for had died a long time ago. Hence, Master would not be clear about what happened to Li Guang."

After her speech, Su Yu stopped thinking about Li Guang and he sighed silently.

It would be difficult to find out who was the elder who paid his offerings to Li Guang. However, after he had taken the heads of Xi Ruolan and Han Zhi, he would wait in front of Li Guang's grave and thank that elder when he came.

"The second round of assessment, get ready!" Xi Ruolan's dull voice could be heard leisurely.

Su Yu turned his head and fixed his eyes on Xi Ruolan. His eyes were cold.

He would forever not forget that Li Guang died in the hands of a lover that he had missed for a hundred years!

Compared to Han Zhi, a cheap woman like Xi Ruolan be killed!

As if she had noticed Su Yu's gaze, Xi Ruolan shot a glance toward Su Yu buoyantly. After which, she moved her gaze away in an instant and ignored Su Yu's murderous intents.

Mo Wu frowned slightly. "The second round of assessment is similar to the first round of assessment whereby it is another round of selection to sift out the strongest martial artists. During this round of assessment, only five people will be selected to enter the final battle."

Su Yu looked around. Apart from him who earned the slot to participate in the next round of selection from among the Sixth Level Holy Kings, the remaining people who were selected were all Seventh Level Holy Kings!

"Among all of them, there are three people that you need to look out for! They are known as the Three Unmatched Holy Kings! Apart from the three of them, among the faction, no Holy Kings have been able to defeat them."

"Among the three of them, Rong Hanming is number three, Yao Hong is number two and Long Fan is number one!

"The three of them are Seventh Level Peak Holy Kings and they stand above all the other Holy Kings. Among the faction, no one can defeat them!

"As for Long Fan, he is above the other two of them. He is also known as Half-Dragon, and he has had experience of fighting with people who are of the Dragon Realm!"

Su Yu's eyes swept past the three people.

Rong Hanming was wearing a woven straw raincoat and his head was wearing a plaited bamboo hat, causing him to look mysterious and unpredictable.

Yao Hong was tall, beautiful, bold, and brave. Her jade-like hands were playing a jade-like bamboo flute.

Long Fan wore a scholar's outfit that was luxurious. He had fair and clear skin as well as a tender temperament. A fan with mountains and rivers imprinted on it was stuck on his waist.

The three of them were dressed differently and they had different temperaments.

Many Seventh Level Holy Kings gazed at the three of them. Their gazes were filled with veneration as well as intents to fight them.

Among the Seventh Level Holy Kings, the three of them stood at the summit. They were unmatched mythological figures who were proud and could mock the remaining Holy Kings.

For five whole years, no one had been able to break the boundaries and reach their stage.

As long as they have yet to become Dragons, the remaining Seventh Holy Kings would continue to be oppressed by them and it would difficult for them to stand up!

Those three people were the strongest opponents throughout the current course of battles that Su Yu faced!

In particular, Long Fan was known as the Half-Dragon and anyone of the Holy King's Realm would be unable to match him!

"For the rules of the second round of selection, it will be a group battle. Fifty of you will be split into ten groups and the strongest person in every group will be the champion. After which, the champions of every group will be promoted to the top ten. Next, the top ten will duel with one another and the five strongest people will enter the final battle in the third segment of Xianyun Contest!"

In actual fact, anyone who entered the third part of the contest would obtain the right to enter the Ancient Xianyun Temple.

Only twenty people could participate in the final battle during the third segment of the contest.

Among the twenty people, fifteen of them are martial artists of Dragon Realm while the remaining five of them were the five strongest martial artists who had been sifted out from the second round of selection.

The final battle at the third segment of the contest had more meaning as it would rank the geniuses according to their level of abilities!

"I will draw the names immediately. Five people will form one group. Within the group, everyone will have a chance to fight against the other group members. The person who attains the most number of victories in the group will become the champion."

After her speech, Xi Ruolan drew the number plates randomly and arranged the fifty Seventh Level Holy Kings in their groups one by one.

Su Yu was allocated to the tenth group, the last group.

He looked at his group members. There was a Seventh Level Peak Holy King, two Seventh Level Upper Tier Holy Kings, a Seventh Level Lower Tier Holy King, and lastly, Su Yu.

Mo Wu nodded her head slightly and shook her lightly. "His luck is neither good nor bad.

"Since you are not allocated to a group with any of the Three Unmatched Holy Kings, your luck is considered good. However, within your group, there are three people with a cultivation base of Seventh Level Upper Tier Holy King and above. Hence, needless to say, your luck is bad."

Among the fifty people, there were only fifteen people with a cultivation base of Seventh Level Upper Tier Holy King and above. However, one-fifth of them were gathered in Su Yu's group. Hence, one could imagine how intense the competition would be in Su Yu's group.

"In your group, the Seventh Level Peak Holy King is named Cheng Hao. He had fought with Rong Hanming of the Three Unmatched Holy Kings before and was only defeated after ten moves. Hence, his abilities are quite strong and he will be a formidable opponent."

Cheng Hao? Su Yu nodded his head slightly.

"However, before that, the other nine groups must finish their duels one by one first before reaching your group's turn. You should take this opportunity to see the abilities of the Three Unmatched Holy Kings."

In the first group, Rong Hanming of the Three Unmatched Holy Kings was inside of it!

"The first group, please step onto the arena. As for the specifics of the duel, everyone will have four chances to fight… However, there is an exception! That is, the appearance of someone with four consecutive wins!"

Once there were four consecutive wins, it meant that the person was unmatched against the other four people and the results of the remaining duels would become meaningless. Hence, the duels in the group would end earlier.

"First group, first match, Zhen Shicheng versus Meng Ting!"

Zhen Shicheng and Meng Ting were both Seventh Level Peak Holy Kings!

Both them arrived at the center of the arena and they had a bitter expression.

Although they were strong, they were grouped together with Rong Hanming of the Three Unmatched Holy Kings. They were indeed unlucky!

"Since this is the case, they can only measure their strength with their duel. If they are able to come across Rong Hanming, they will give it their all!"

Zhen Shicheng's spiritual energy was vigorous and his way of attacking was brave and fierce. As for Meng Ting, her movement techniques were quick and skillful. Although she looked gentle, she was firm.

"Wave's Palm!"

"Gentle Green Liquid's Finger!"

Pitter-patter—

Both of them exchanged blows. As both of them had their own strong points, they held back.

Hence, it was difficult to tell who was better with one just move.

However, straight away after that, both of them exchanged their moves ten times.

Although Meng Ting was at a disadvantageous position, it was still difficult for Zhen Shicheng to pin her down completely!

Both of them were running away and chasing the other respectively, causing their shadows to stagger with one another and they were locked in battle.

It was only until the seventy-eighth move that Meng Ting was sweating all over her body. She was puffing and panting and her chest was rising and contracting continuously. She had used up most of her energy.

As for Zhen Shicheng, his spiritual energy was more vigorous, causing his to be slightly superior to Meng Ting!

In a situation where she had depleted most of her energy, Meng Ting was unable to use her gentle techniques to counter Zhen Shicheng's strong and fierce techniques. Hence, she gave a frail hum and stepped down from the arena.

That match went on for one whole hour.

"The victory goes to Zhen Shicheng! You will rest for a few minutes and your next opponent will be… Rong Hanming," Xi Ruolan declared expressionlessly.

Zhen Shicheng's expression changed slightly. He bit his teeth and made full use of his time to recover his spiritual energy.

Whiz—

A shadow of a woven straw raincoat and a plaited bamboo hat silently flew into the sky and descended onto the arena.

Under the plaited bamboo hat was an indifferent and impatient face. "Even if you recover your spiritual energy, you will still be defeated by me. What a waste of time."

Zhen Shicheng was a bit furious. "Rong Hanming! Don't underestimate me! During our previous match, I managed to withstand five moves of yours. This time around, I vow to defeat you!"

Rong Hanming's gaze floated onto Zhen Shicheng. After some time, he withdrew his gaze buoyantly. "Your confidence is stupid…"

After a few minutes, Zhen Shicheng had more or less recovered and his eyes were burning with fighting spirit. "Let's begin our duel. I, Zhen Shicheng, will shatter the myth of the Three Unmatched Holy Kings!"

Rong Hanming's expression did not change. He took out a bamboo pole which was wrapped with fishing line and a fishhook from his back.

Looking at Rong Hanming's stance, Zhen Shicheng felt a huge amount of pressure. It was Rong Hanming's unique skill, Winter Fishing!

When Rong Hanming executed his move, he changed unfathomably and his attack was hard to guard against.

In order to deal with his move, one must gain the initiative by striking the first move. If not, by remaining passive, one would be defeated even faster!

"Wave's Palm!"

Zhen Shicheng extended his palm. The air had a rippling effect and was swaying as well, giving people a feeling that space was distorted.

Layers of wind from the palm piled up together and attacked Han Rongming with a momentum that could topple the mountains and overturn the seas.

Han Rongming's eyes were dull. "Winter Fishing Pattern One!"

When he flicked his wrist, the bamboo pole on his palm emitted a rhythm that was indescribable with words.

The fishing line was then flung. Even though it was evident that the fishing line moved slowly, it gave people a feeling of uncertainty.

The fishhook at the end of the fishing line emitted a dazzling light that was as bright as snow.

Pitter-patter—

The fishhook neutralized the air current and the layers of wind from the palm sliced open in the sky!

"Winter Fishing Pattern Two!"

The fishhook's momentum did not change. After it sliced open the wind from the palm, it headed for Zhen Shicheng.

Zhen Shicheng's expression changed. As he retreated, he exhibited Wave's Palm repeatedly!

By overlaying many layers of wind on his palm, he blocked the sharp fishhook.

However, he had no time to be at ease as straight away after that, he could hear a voice which said, "Winter Fishing Pattern Three!"