Xuanwu War Sovereign

In the Star Hall, Ouyang Xu stood clad in a cyan robe, his fine beard flowing in the air. He wore a tall, formal hat with a wide sash, and his large sleeves billowed, lending him an air of great authority.

With a wave of his great sleeve, an invisible force surged, and a phantom red lotus spun into existence out of the Void.

Reaching out, Ouyang Xu pointed into the Void. The red lotus spun, and a screen of light resembling a Water Mirror materialized in midair.

A youth in a black robe appeared atop a stone mountain.

This was the Barbaric Realm, the starting point for the Hidden Dragon Competition.

This youth in the black robe was none other than Elder Qin Feng of Cyan Dragon Academy.

Success.

In the great Star Hall, the gazes of more than a dozen Elders fell upon the Water Mirror.

The image on the Water Mirror shifted. The youth in the black robe dropped from the sky into an unfamiliar Barbaric Forest, while Du Huan plummeted unexpectedly from above.

He activated his Divine Abilities and slew Du Huan!

On the Water Mirror, the youth in the black robe pressed onward, following the tracks of a Barbaric Beast.

An exquisite Spirit Mountain, teeming with spiritual energy, appeared before the assembled Elders.

"Judging by the terrain, that’s a Level 8 Spirit Mountain at the very least! It could even be a Level 9, or perhaps a Super-grade Spirit Mountain!"

The eyes of a discerning Elder lit up.

A Giant with considerable expertise in geomancy chuckled. "This is a place where a Hidden Dragon lies. Everyone, take a look. The topography itself is like a dragon concealed by heaven and earth—a hidden dragon submerged in a great river, a divine dragon showing its head but not its tail. From the sky, it appears to be an ordinary mountain, but in reality, its spiritual elegance is restrained within. It is truly a rare, Super-grade Spirit Mountain! However, it’s hidden amidst countless mountains and waterways. If one didn’t stumble upon it by a stroke of luck, they would likely never find the true mountain at all!"

Seated below the Hall Master of the Celestial Market Hall, a female Elder’s beautiful eyes shimmered, a strange light flashing within them. "This Heaven-Reaching Ridge is a Land of Trial that was discovered by one of our Hall’s Elders. Therefore, this Spirit Mountain Blessed Land should be allocated to the Celestial Market Hall!"

A Giant rose to his feet, laughing heartily as he gazed at the majestic Spirit Mountain. "Junior Sister Bi Bo, that won’t fly. The area around Heaven-Reaching Ridge is my patrol sector. We at Ziwei Palace are claiming this Spirit Mountain!"

Seeing the Elders of the Celestial Market Hall and Ziwei Palace about to start bickering, another Giant chided them from the background. "Enough. Stop your squabbling. You may want this Spirit Mountain Blessed Land, but its owner might not agree!"

"Owner?"

The Elders hurriedly shifted their gazes back to the Water Mirror in the Void.

A pack of ferocious Silver-armed Apes appeared on the Water Mirror. The youth in the black robe fled in disarray, eventually sneaking his way toward the Cyan Forest Stronghold.

"Silverback Apes, Red Fire Fierce Apes, Red-Horned Dragon Apes... So this is the main stronghold of the Ape Race!"

"Incredible. The main stronghold of the Ape Race, one of the Twelve Strong Clans of the Demon God Hall, has been right under our noses this whole time!"

"It was truly hiding in plain sight. We’ve fought against the experts of the Ape Race for so many years, yet we never imagined their main stronghold was right here in Heaven-Reaching Ridge!"

"HISS! What is that kid doing? Look at the nerve on him! He knows it’s the Ape Race’s main stronghold, yet instead of retreating, he’s pushing forward, sneaking deeper inside. The kid has balls of steel!"

"Huh? The Ape Race is loaded! These hundred-year-old Jade Spirit Trees are growing all over the mountain... Wait, no, behind those are Thousand-year-old Jade Spirit Trees! And there are so many of them!"

As the youth in the black robe ventured deeper, two colossal Jade Spirit Trees came into view on the Water Mirror, appearing before the Elders.

BANG!

"Six-thousand-year-old Jade Spirit Trees! And there are two of them!"

In the hall, the composure of several powerful figures who cultivated the Wood Attribute shattered, and a furious aura surged from them.

"We have to take them! We must take them from those beasts! Brothers, let’s go now! We’ll storm the Ape Clan Holy Mountain and suppress those vile creatures!"

One of the dignitaries roared.

"Calm yourselves! Don’t make a scene!"

A black shadow flashed, and a Giant suddenly stepped out of the Void. He glanced at the others, and with a wave of his great sleeve, an invisible pressure descended, pinning down the agitated dignitaries.

The Elders’ bodies went rigid, frozen to the spot. Sweat beaded on their foreheads; beneath this pressure, they felt as helpless as ants.

"Yes, Hall Master!"

The Elders didn’t dare act presumptuously.

In All Stars Academy, the three Hall Masters were the most venerated. Below each Hall Master of Taiwei Hall, Ziwei Palace, and the Celestial Market Hall served a Left and a Right Vice Hall Master.

This man was Tao Hong, the Left Hall Master of Ziwei Palace—a true Martial Arts Giant.

At the same time, several more figures flickered into view, appearing one by one at the Giant’s side. Each newcomer possessed a profound aura, and their combined, terrifying pressure felt like the descent of the primordial stars.

Anyone who could stand as Tao Hong’s equal was, without a doubt, a Martial Arts Giant.

Of the top leadership from Taiwei Hall, Ziwei Palace, and the Celestial Market Hall—aside from the three head Hall Masters—as many as five of the six Vice Hall Masters had arrived.

The deep reserves of the Ape Race had truly captured the attention of these Giants.

The revelation of the main stronghold of the Ape Race—one of the Twelve Strong Clans from the Demon God Temple—was enough on its own to capture the Giants’ full attention.

To say nothing of the abundant resources revealed on the Ape Clan Holy Mountain.

All the Giants fixed their gazes upon the Water Mirror in the Void, a strange light glinting in their eyes.

Just then, the Water Mirror showed that Qin Feng had already snuck into the Spiritual Light Cave on the mountain behind Cyan Forest Stronghold. He was hiding a short distance away, his eyes blazing with greed as he watched the powerful Ape Race members transport spirit wine to and from the cave.

In the hall, several of the Elders exchanged strange looks.

"What’s this kid trying to do? It’s bad enough that he snuck into the Ape Race’s main camp, but is he actually planning to steal their wine?"

"Planning? I’m certain that’s his goal! Didn’t you see the golden light practically shooting out of that little thief’s eyes? It’s bright enough to melt the Spiritual Light Cave!"

"But I’m very curious to see how he’ll deal with the two Old Apes at the entrance. Those two are no pushovers; each one is at a level comparable to the Fourth Stage of Vein Condensation or the Fifth Secret Realm. Even if the previous generation’s Four Great Elders—Lin Fei, Jin Ruyi, and the others—were here, they’d likely have a hard time! This kid will probably back down in the face of such a challenge..."

However, before the words were even out of his mouth, the astonished Elders watched as Qin Feng, on the Water Mirror, easily took care of the two Ape Race guards at the entrance using a modified Jade Spirit Brew.

The Elder who had just spoken opened and closed his mouth, finally muttering resentfully, "That crafty kid. To think he’d come up with such a dirty trick!"

"Though, the quality of that Spirit Wine is truly impressive..." A few of the Elders who were fond of fine drink swallowed hard.

What happened next on the Water Mirror was a scene that nearly shattered the Elders’ composure.

Qin Feng cleaned out the Ape Race’s entire hoard, the accumulation of several thousand years.

Some of the Elders’ faces twitched, their entire bodies trembling!

But that wasn’t all. The next scene left all the Elders in the Star Hall utterly dumbfounded.

The image shifted to show Qin Feng using his specially concocted, high-potency Spirit Wine to kill the Ape Race elites one by one.

In the Water Mirror, elite members of the Ape Race, each at the level of a Half-Step Beast King, were losing their lives in their sleep. The youth in the black robe slew a Cyan Wood Ape elite with a single sword strike. He then glanced cautiously at the dozen or so Ape Clan Kings. Seeing they remained in a deep, unconscious slumber, he immediately snuck up behind another of the Ape Race’s chosen prodigies, gripped his Beiming Divine Water Sword, and struck it down...

One by one, the Ape Race elites, whose strength was comparable to the top geniuses of the previous competition, died silent, tragic deaths at Qin Feng’s hands. On his palm, the White Lotus Mark swiftly transformed into a Red Lotus Mark.

Silence fell over the great Star Hall.

After a long moment, an Elder murmured, "So that’s how he turned his White Lotus Mark into a Red Lotus Mark. The kid’s got some tricks... and he’s ruthless..."

"Ruthless? He’s downright savage! He single-handedly wiped out most of the Ape Race’s elites! This is going to cause an absolute uproar! Those Old Apes are going to go berserk when they wake up!"