Transmigration After Becoming Love Saint-Chapter 434 - 162: This child is my Fated Couple!_3

Chapter 434: Chapter 162: This child is my Fated Couple!_3

The old man sported a goatee, his eyes glistening like sword light—deep and unfathomable—clearly a formidable practitioner of the Sword Dao.

"It seems they haven’t produced any remarkable disciples lately, have they?"

"Could it be that they’re past their prime?"

"We are all Sword Sects—if your Shangxiao Sword Sect in Huangtian Continent is experiencing a dearth of new talent, we could lend you a few of our exceptionally gifted disciples," the old man said with a smile. "Don’t be shy."

"Get lost," Cheng Tianyong shot a sidelong glance at him.

This was the Sword Head of the Qianyuan Sword Sect, a position comparable to Senior Brother Jian’s. He was the foremost expert of the Sword Dao in Qianzhou, and his standing was as prestigious as that of the Sword Sect in Huangtian Continent.

"No need to be so cordial," the old man chuckled. "We’re practically brethren from the same lineage. Looking at this year’s Heavenly Pride battle, it seems your Sword Sect can only field two over-aged Nascent Soul Cultivators of mediocre strength. Truly pitiful."

Cheng Tianyong remained silent, making calculations with his fingers. "You’re not faring much better," he said.

"Not at all, not at all," the old man said, shaking his head with a casual air. "A disciple of our Sword Sect has received the legacy of a Sword Immortal. Even at the Golden Core Realm, they can rival a Nascent Soul Cultivator—that is our greatest advantage. In the coming decades, the brilliance of our Qianyuan Sword Sect will undoubtedly outshine yours."

Cheng Tianyong couldn’t help but let out a soft sigh.

Qianzhou is vast and abundant in resources, consistently producing Heaven’s Chosen, with individuals of great Qi Fortune emerging one after another. In contrast, the Sword Sect has recently faced a relentless series of trials and tribulations: the chief disciple’s confusion, Elder Yan’s failure in Crossing Tribulation, and attacks from the Demon Sect. It feels like one hardship after another, with no respite. They missed the last Heavenly Pride battle because Jiang Taixuan cultivated too rapidly. Consequently, the Sword Sect didn’t achieve a good ranking. This time, they missed out again because that fellow had an unexpected breakthrough. Although there are exceptionally talented individuals among the younger generation, they still fall slightly short when compared to the many Heaven’s Chosen from the Nine Provinces who have long been honing their abilities. It’s difficult indeed. In the previous battle, the disciples sent by the Sword Sect who made it onto the Heavenly Pride Rank were all placed below thirtieth, a true embarrassment to the Sect’s reputation.

Contemplating this, Cheng Tianyong shook his head.

「At that moment, the Heavenly Pride Rank materialized.」

Cheng Tianyong casually glanced at it and was instantly stunned.

The old man beside him also looked, and he too was dumbfounded.

In an instant, the countless cultivators on Immortal Cloud Peak who saw this preliminary list for the first time were all taken aback. Among them were high-ranking members of Sects from every continent, all staring at the list with expressions of... utter bewilderment.

On that Heavenly Pride Rank, if you excluded the first place, the rest seemed quite normal.

Second: Yu Tianshu, Tianji Sect, Nascent Soul Middle Stage, Spirit Talismans: 50.

Third: Dao Xuan, Supreme Mysterious Dao Sect, Nascent Soul Middle Stage, Spirit Talismans: 49.

Fourth: Chen Huang, Ancient Desolation Sect, Nascent Soul Middle Stage, Spirit Talismans: 48.

Fifth: Mo Yuan, Realm King Sect, Nascent Soul Middle Stage, Spirit Talismans: 46.

Seventh: Huang Tian, Riding Phoenix Clan, Nascent Soul Middle Stage, Spirit Talismans: 45.

...

Fifteenth: Dantai Shaoyu, Qianyuan Sword Sect, Late-stage Golden Core, Spirit Talismans: 34.

... 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

The entire preliminary Heavenly Pride Rank wasn’t much different from previous years; the top twenty consisted almost exclusively of Nascent Soul Middle Stage cultivators, with no Golden Core Realm cultivators in sight.

The Nascent Soul Realm is quite unique. The late stage is the realm of the Nascent Soul’s transformation and spiritual projection, a significant threshold that often requires long periods of seclusion or undergoing special trials. Thus, late-stage cultivators rarely participated here. The middle stage was considered the practical limit. To break through to the late stage, they needed several years, even decades, of seclusion, followed by special trials, to have a chance at a breakthrough.

For a single Golden Core Realm cultivator to appear in the top twenty of this preliminary Heavenly Pride Rank was already quite surprising. If one ignored the first place, the overall list was largely within many people’s expectations.

However, when everyone saw the person ranked first on the Heavenly Pride Rank, they were all flabbergasted.

First: Wang Mu, Shangxiao Sword Sect, Early-stage Golden Core, Spirit Talismans: 100.

Almost everyone had the same thought the moment they saw this: Outrageous!

An uproar erupted! They were utterly shocked!

"Did someone utterly bizarre get mixed into this preliminary list?"

"The Immortal Cloud Competition was set up by an esteemed ancestor; there shouldn’t be any mistakes, right?"

"Early-stage Golden Core? What kind of joke is this? How could a little cultivator of such a realm obtain so many Spirit Talismans in the Immortal Cloud Competition?"

"Good heavens! A full fifty more than second place! The others below that are only separated by one talisman each, but this guy’s score is double that of the person in second?"

"I don’t believe it. It’s too unbelievable."

"I’m familiar with Wang Mu. Isn’t he the one who topped the Creation Gate’s Potential List last time? Now he’s here to wreak havoc on the Heavenly Pride Rank too?"

"Too powerful! One hundred Spirit Talismans—you couldn’t even pick up that many, could you?"

...

Cheng Tianyong stared dumbfounded at the preliminary list. His mind raced. What on earth did that kid do in there?

He looked back at the dozen or so disciples who had been eliminated and asked, "Is the Immortal Cloud Competition really that easy?"

The dozen or so eliminated Golden Core disciples looked ashamed. It wasn’t that the competition was easy; rather, it was anything but simple.

"Maybe it was luck..." a disciple said quietly. "I was unlucky. At one point, I immediately encountered three Late-stage Golden Core Fierce Beasts fighting. They asked me whose side I was on. I figured helping any one of them would mean being ganged up on by the other two, so I decided not to interfere, hoping to profit from their conflict... I never expected all three Late-stage Golden Core Fierce Beasts to attack me instead."

"That was three Late-stage beasts, and I’m only Mid-stage; I stood no chance..."

Cheng Tianyong was rendered speechless.

It seemed the Immortal Cloud Competition was far from easy. It tested not only the participants’ strength but also their experience, judgment, discernment, and various other abilities. Strength alone wasn’t enough to pass.

Of course, when it came to matters of cultivation, that kid Wang Mu is definitely skilled, he thought.