Chapter 376 – This Can't Possibly Be Golden Core Stage!

Great Wilderness Pagoda, First Floor Arena.

Regarding the potential future events at the Great Wilderness Pagoda,

the vast majority of people currently remain completely unaware.

They are immersed in the lively atmosphere of the grand competition, enjoying the carnival that only occurs once every two years.

Today’s match has also attracted the attention of many people.

Throughout the Immortal Alliance, most people are gathered in front of their televisions, watching this showdown between the Barren Wilderness Academy and the Lihuo Dao Academy.

Although on paper, the Lihuo Dao Academy holds an absolute advantage—

two Golden Core Stage level powerhouses against one Golden Core Stage—

it’s simple arithmetic.

However, as one of the Four Great Academies, no one can say for sure whether the Barren Wilderness Academy might have some hidden trump cards.

Therefore, many believe that while the Barren Wilderness Academy’s chances of winning this time are not great,

it cannot be said that they have none at all.

What if they ultimately overcome the odds and turn defeat into victory?

No one can say for certain about such things, right?

In the VIP seats on the first floor of the Great Wilderness Pagoda.

The so-called VIP seats are actually individual private boxes.

Because the Dao Academy grand competition has reached its final few critical matches,

many people who originally had little free time have specifically chosen to come watch the matches at this stage.

This includes many relatives of the current participants.

However, the number of relatives coming to watch this time seems unusually high.

In this VIP section, many familiar faces to Lu Chen have appeared.

Among them are not only the Jiang clan from the Myriad Enterprises Immortal Sect,

but also some instructors and Elders from the Clear River Dao Academy.

Without exception, all of these individuals are Cultivators at the Nascent Soul Stage or above.

It could be said that within this small box alone, there are a full ten Nascent Soul Stage level existences.

Such a lineup, no matter where placed within the Immortal Alliance, would be enough to cause tremors in any region.

And the content of their conversation is even more shocking.

Because they show no concern for the upcoming match,

instead discussing other matters entirely.

“Owl Dean, regarding the matter of the Thousand Feather Sect, are you certain it’s as serious as you claim?”

Jiang Qing, a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator who serves as an Elder of the Myriad Enterprises Immortal Sect and is Jiang Dongliu’s sister-in-law,

once served as Mu Xiaoye’s guardian for a period. With a grave expression, she looked towards Owl at the center of the box.

Her tone undoubtedly indicated she took this so-called ‘Thousand Feather Sect’ very seriously.

In response, Owl explained: “Although the Thousand Feather Sect rarely operates within the Immortal Alliance, according to reliable information, they possess at least two or more Deity Transformation Stage Cultivators, possibly even more.”

“In the information previously transmitted to everyone, we explained our Barren Wilderness Academy’s conjectures about the recent incident in the Great Wilderness Pagoda’s Underground Prison.”

“If we are not mistaken, the Thousand Feather Sect’s target this time is most likely someone imprisoned within the Great Wilderness Pagoda.”

“Their choice to investigate the Great Wilderness Pagoda at this time clearly calculates that the pagoda is currently hosting the Dao Academy grand competition, making it difficult to thoroughly screen everyone entering, thus allowing them to fish in troubled waters to some extent.”

“Originally, we considered temporarily suspending this Dao Academy grand competition, or changing the competition venue.””After careful consideration, we still decided to let the grand competition proceed as scheduled. This not only helps lull the opponent into complacency but also confines the battlefield to locations advantageous to us.”

“However, the Thousand Feather Sect’s response and methods have exceeded our expectations. Everyone, please look at this…”

As he spoke, Xiao projected a high-quality recording stone.

Soon, a chilling scene abruptly appeared before the numerous Nascent Soul Stage cultivators in the private chamber.

The footage revealed a demon army numbering in the tens of thousands.

So numerous that the entire frame couldn’t contain them all.

Estimated to be at least a million strong.

A demon army of this scale could already be considered an act of war.

What made everyone’s expressions turn grave were the powerful figures appearing within this demon horde.

Visible in the army were over a dozen entities that were clearly not ordinary demons.

At the very least, they were demons comparable to Nascent Soul Stage cultivators.

If that were all, while the Barren Wilderness Academy would remain vigilant, it wouldn’t reach the level requiring external assistance.

After all, no matter how many ordinary demons there were, they couldn’t threaten cultivators at the Deity Transformation Stage level.

It could be said that starting from the Deity Transformation Stage, mere numbers could hardly compensate for the qualitative gap.

Because just one Great Divine Power would be enough to annihilate any non-Deity Transformation existence caught within it.

A mere million demons meant nothing.

But this demon army contained not only Nascent Soul Stage level beings but also demons above that – at the Deity Transformation Stage.

That was the enormous, grotesque yellow eyeball positioned at the center of the demon army.

The final part of the footage showed the bearer of the recording stone capturing the giant eyeball and, beneath it, Tantai Changsheng – one of the Five Revered Ones of the Thousand Feather Sect.

The Tantai Changsheng below seemed to notice the recording stone in the air.

Finally, he directed an eerie smile toward the recording stone.

The next moment, the bearer of the recording stone seemed to suffer some attack, and the footage completely vanished.

After viewing the contents of the recording, the atmosphere in the private chamber became extremely tense.

A million-strong demon army, over a dozen Nascent Soul Stage beings, and two suspected Deity Transformation Stage existences.

A demon force of this scale could indeed threaten the current Wildlands Province.

Especially since the Holy Land within Wildlands Province – Nine Luminaries Celestial Capital – had completely sealed itself off for unknown reasons, cutting off all internal and external communication.

This undoubtedly made Wildlands Province’s current situation even more dire.

No wonder Xiao sought the Immortal Alliance’s assistance.

With a million-strong demon army outside and an unknown number of Thousand Feather Sect members attempting a prison break inside.

However one looked at it, the Thousand Feather Sect was planning something major this time.

If they succeeded in their prison break…

While their exact intentions remained unclear…

Any undertaking they were willing to invest such massive resources in…

Would undoubtedly be extraordinary.

If they succeeded, it would definitely bode ill for the Immortal Alliance.

For many matters, presenting evidence was far more convincing than mere words.

After viewing the recording stone’s contents…

The people in the private chamber no longer thought Xiao was making a mountain out of a molehill.

Instead, they understood why she had contacted the Immortal Alliance.

It could be said that Wildlands Province was currently experiencing a massive crisis.Their greatest advantage at the moment was that they had seized the initiative to some extent without the enemy’s knowledge.

If they could make good use of this opportunity, they might even turn danger into safety.

And gain some unexpected rewards.

After all, not to mention distant matters, the Immortal Alliance’s current exploration of the Ten Thousand Mountains was largely superficial.

If they could severely damage the Thousand Feather Sect and capture some of its members,

they might be able to uncover some of the secrets within the Ten Thousand Mountains.

Or even follow the clues to discover the reason behind the formation of the Ten Thousand Mountains as a Forbidden Land.

Soon, orders were issued from the private room and quickly spread to many parts of the Immortal Alliance.

As for the Dao Academy competition outside the private room, it seemed less important.

But this was only from the perspective of the upper echelons of the Immortal Alliance.

Those in the middle and lower ranks were still unaware of these developments.

Thus, the atmosphere of the Dao Academy competition remained unaffected.

In the Arena.

As the match approached, the students of the Barren Wilderness Academy were visibly tense.

This was a situation they had never encountered before.

After all, although their previous opponents were fairly strong,

there was still a clear gap between them.

Victory was never in doubt; the only question was how to win more easily.

But this time, facing the Lihuo Dao Academy was different.

Not only did outsiders doubt their chances, even the Barren Wilderness Academy itself didn’t believe they could defeat Lihuo Dao Academy.

The reason was simple: they were all too aware of the vast difference between the Golden Core Stage and the Foundation Establishment Stage.

It could be said that starting from the Golden Core Stage, every breakthrough represented a qualitative transformation.

Their only hope now was to see if the Meow King could defeat Lihuo Dao Academy’s Lu Chen and Mu Xiaoye.

This was the true deciding factor of the match.

In essence, while the match appeared to be a contest between two Dao Academies,

it was actually a duel between the Meow King and Lu Chen and Mu Xiaoye.

Under such circumstances, even the usually lively Meow King felt considerable pressure.

Looking at the hopeful eyes of his juniors, the Meow King took a deep breath and confidently declared, “Don’t worry, victory is assured.”

It was unclear whether these words were meant for them or for himself.

But at least after this “declaration of victory,”

the atmosphere in the Barren Wilderness Academy visibly improved.

At the very least, everyone was not as tense as before.

Subsequently, the Meow King led everyone into the Arena.

For this first arena match, the Barren Wilderness Academy had no intention of holding back.

They immediately sent out their strongest fighter—the Golden Core Stage Spirit Beast, the Meow King.

Perhaps anticipating the Barren Wilderness Academy’s strategy,

the Lihuo Dao Academy, which usually had others take the lead while Mu Xiaoye and Lu Chen were reserved as aces,

unusually sent Lu Chen out first this time.

Watching Lu Chen step out from the crowd and directly onto the Arena, the expressions of the Barren Wilderness Academy students turned grim.

A person’s reputation is like a tree’s shadow.

Although Lu Chen was merely a student of Lihuo Dao Academy,

the students of the Barren Wilderness Academy were well-acquainted with him.

After all, Lu Chen was currently the first—and very likely the only—person in the Immortal Alliance to achieve Golden Core Stage cultivation while still in high school.This was equivalent to Lu Chen accomplishing in high school what many students from the Four Great Academies might not achieve even by graduation.

Thinking of this, the Meow King looked at Lu Chen with a serious expression.

He clearly regarded Lu Chen as an opponent he must go all out against.

However, what puzzled the Meow King was…

Lu Chen’s gaze toward him was rather peculiar.

It felt as if he were looking at some old friend.

This left the Meow King quite bewildered.

Because he was certain that he and Lu Chen were not familiar with each other.

In fact, they had never met before today.

With this in mind, the Meow King couldn’t help but ask, “Did you know me before?”

Lu Chen was momentarily stunned, then smiled and said, “No, it’s just that you… remind me of an acquaintance.”

Remind him of an acquaintance?

Could it be that you know another ‘Barren Wilderness Tiger’ besides me?

If Lu Chen could read the Meow King’s thoughts, he might indeed say that he happened to know a similar existence.

After all, the Meow King from the Barren Wilderness Academy before him was strikingly similar to the Meow King from the Azure Cloud Sect in Lu Chen’s memories.

Although there were some differences in the details.

In most aspects, they were practically identical.

It was as if they were carved from the same mold.

Coupled with the sense of familiarity he felt from Jiang Dongliu earlier.

Lu Chen increasingly felt that this person and cat might very well be the familiar figures he knew from the game.

However, the world was vast, and it wasn’t impossible for two similar individuals to exist.

Thus, although Lu Chen suspected that Jiang Dongliu and the Meow King were likely the reincarnations of the two from the Azure Cloud Sect in the game.

He wasn’t entirely certain.

But with so many coincidences occurring simultaneously.

Who could say for sure whether they were truly coincidences?

“Gentlemen, are you both ready?”

Knowing the strength of the two academies in advance, the referee for this match was a Nascent Soul Stage teacher from the Barren Wilderness Academy.

Only someone of such caliber could, to some extent, ensure that no accidents occurred during the competition.

Lu Chen and the Meow King nodded, indicating they were ready.

Upon receiving this confirmation, the referee immediately announced the start of the match.

Almost the moment the match began, the Meow King went all out.

As a Golden Core Stage Spirit Beast, the Meow King let out a roar, and his body began to rapidly expand.

In no time, a mystical winged spirit tiger appeared in the arena.

Tigers were already known as the kings of beasts.

Let alone a spirit tiger like the Meow King, who possessed the bloodline of an ancient Vicious Beast.

Thus, the moment the Meow King revealed his true form.

Everyone in the audience felt a deep-seated pressure emanating from their bloodline.

This pressure had nothing to do with strength; it was purely the oppression of a predator over its prey, ingrained in their blood.

Had it been anyone else, they might have been so overwhelmed by this terrifying aura that they wouldn’t even think of resisting.

But Lu Chen remained completely unaffected.

In fact, the smile on his face didn’t waver in the slightest, and he still appeared entirely at ease.

This undoubtedly put considerable pressure on the Meow King.

Just as the Meow King was about to launch an attack against Lu Chen to seize the initiative.

A powerful sword aura erupted from Lu Chen’s entire being.

That sword aura was overwhelmingly strong.

If the Meow King’s tiger might was like a raging river, turbulent and surging.Lu Chen’s sword aura was like a boundless ocean.

There existed not only a vast disparity in numbers between the two sides but also an immense gap in quality.

The most direct manifestation was when Lu Chen unleashed this sword aura.

Meow King was instantly pinned in place, utterly unable to move.

This sent Meow King’s mind reeling.

They were both clearly at the Golden Core Stage, yet it felt as if he and Lu Chen were not even in the same dimension.

Was he… truly at the Golden Core Stage?

Impossible, absolutely impossible!

(End of Chapter)