Soul Land 5: The Rebirth of Tang San

Chapter 444: The Ancestral Court Elite Competition

In the future, if Tang San wanted to ascend to the divine realm, he would likely have to start by seeking opportunities from the Celestial Fox Sacred Mountain. The Celestial Fox Sacred Mountain, a massive Fortune Stone, undoubtedly influenced this realm's planar ruler. To ascend to the god level, Tang San first needed to gain recognition from the planar ruler or find a way to avoid being targeted, at the very least.

"Eldest brother, I have something important to discuss with you later. Senior brother Gu Li, how have your gains been at the Crystal Sacred Mountain?" Tang San asked.

Gu Li smiled bitterly. "I can handle one-on-two now, but one-on-three is impossible. I've tried every possible method, but there's no way to pass. Facing three of myself is simply too difficult!"

Tang San nodded and said, "It is indeed difficult. However, the Crystal Sacred Mountain is the best place to hone your abilities. I suggest everyone give it a try, even senior brother Du Bai. When you face multiple versions of yourself, those copies will use your abilities, and as the saying goes, 'an onlooker sees more clearly.[1]' Facing yourself will help you better understand your abilities, and you’ll be able to improve your combat skills."

Everyone nodded in agreement, especially Gu Li. Despite being tormented to despair while cultivating at the Crystal Sacred Mountain, he could say with confidence that his combat skills had significantly improved.

Tang San turned to Zhang Haoxuan and asked, "Master, did you buy anything else later?"

Zhang Haoxuan smiled bitterly and shook his head, "I didn't dare to bid much afterward. Later in the auction, there were transactions with empyrean coins and even amethystine coins. You can imagine how ridiculously expensive the items were if they weren’t even traded in naturae coins. Although there were some really useful treasures, they were beyond our reach. Well... I think you saw it yourself: it’s not just us humans. Among the demon and nymph clans, the rich are really rich, and the poor are really poor. It feels like resources are being concentrated toward the clans with emperors, while the other clans are getting weaker."

Tang San nodded slightly and said, "This is inevitable and both territories seem to face the same issue. Even when they mediate a conflict, the Ancestral Court prioritizes the interests of the Demon Emperors and the Nymph Emperors. If this continues, the smaller clans risk extinction. By the way, the hotel seems very lively today with many new guests. What happened?"

He hadn't inquired outside before, but now that his companions were back, it was a good time to ask.

Zhang Haoxuan replied, "The Ancestral Court Elite Competition is about to begin. It's a grand event held every three years, a competition held to ensure that clans have suitable successors. Only those below the tenth order can participate, and it's open to all races. The top three winners receive significant rewards and essentially undergo an assessment by all the emperors. The top ten can receive tokens from the emperors, and the one with the most tokens is considered a true prodigy.

"There is a legend in the Ancestral Court that those who win the Elite Competition have the potential to become emperors. In fact, they are often groomed as successors to the emperors. Of course, in most cases, the winners are descendants of an emperor anyway. If a strong contender from a non-emperor clan wins, they become highly sought after."

Tang San's interest was piqued. "When does it start? And is it really open to all races?"

Zhang Haoxuan said, "The Ancestral Court prides itself on fairness and openness, so it really is open to all races, humans included. However, participating races need a certain foundation, and the registration fee is expensive. Small clans can't afford to participate, and they wouldn’t achieve much even if they did. Why? Do you have an idea? Didn't we agree to keep a low profile?"

Tang San smiled and said, "I don't have any plans for myself, but there is someone suitable for participation." Of course, he was referring to the Lion-Tiger Sword Saint.

One of the primary purposes of this trip back was to take the Lion-Tiger Sword Saint to the Golden Lion clan to gain their recognition. Recognition would come through passing their tests and showcasing his strength. However, compared to the possibility of facing criticism while facing the Golden Lion clan directly, what if the Lion-Tiger Sword Saint shone in the Ancestral Court Elite Competition? That would be entirely different!

Since the Ancestral Court Elite Competition was so important, how would the Golden Lion clan view it if the Lion-Tiger Sword Saint could achieve a high ranking? Especially if he won the championship? Obviously, they would have no issue whatsoever giving him the God-Slaying Sword; moreover, there was a good chance that they would accept him as their new leader.

As for curses or emotions, Tang San wasn't worried at all. In the world of the demon clans, strength always reigned supreme. Sufficient strength could solve all problems, especially given the current predicament faced by the Golden Lion clan, which needed a true rising star to lead them. With his newly-developed first-tier bloodline, the Lion-Tiger Sword Saint was the most suitable candidate, and even the White Tiger Demon Emperor might try to recruit him. Whether to ally with the lions or the tigers didn't matter to Tang San; he would go with whichever side offered the greatest benefits.

So, hearing about the Elite Competition from Zhang Haoxuan, Tang San immediately thought of letting the Lion-Tiger Sword Saint participate and showcase his abilities. The only problem now was that the latter hadn't arrived at the Ancestral Court yet.

"Master, what's the registration deadline?" Tang San asked.

Zhang Haoxuan replied, "I'm not sure of the specifics. I'll go find out shortly. Who are you thinking of having participate?"

Tang San smiled and said, "What do you think about the Lion-Tiger Sword Saint? He is definitely suitable."

"Him? Can he do it? He's known as the top cultivator below the god level in Kali City, but it's different here. The ninth-order powerhouses in the Ancestral Court include many first-tier bloodline ninth-order powerhouses. Given his situation, I'm afraid..." Zhang Haoxuan said hesitantly.

Tang San shook his head and said, "No, I believe he definitely has a chance to get a good ranking." He didn't mention that the Lion-Tiger Sword Saint now had a first-tier bloodline, but there was no need to. The Lion-Tiger Sword Saint was battle-hardened, having fought his way out of the Great Beast Fighting Arena's deadly battles. In terms of combat experience and fighting spirit, he was not inferior to any other at his level.

Moreover, his Lion-Tiger Golden Astral was a powerful ability to begin with, and others had no idea that it was now powered by a first-tier bloodline. They would expect him to be strong, but they had absolutely no idea how strong he actually was.

Zhang Haoxuan seemed to suddenly understand something. He looked at Tang San with narrowed eyes. "You mean, you want to use this competition to help him acquire the God-Slaying Sword?"

Tang San had discussed the situation of the Lion-Tiger Clan with Zhang Haoxuan during their previous time in the Ancestral Court and told him about their plan to get the Lion-Tiger clan to ally themselves with humans. He had solved the bloodline conflict problem of the Lion-Tiger clan, and although their numbers were small, they were definitely a powerful clan.

Tang San nodded slightly, "The Lion-Tiger Clan would take too long to develop on its own. Moreover, if they can't make it to the big stage, their influence would naturally be negligible. If in the future, the Lion-Tiger Clan can gain true recognition from the lion and tiger races and become a powerhouse among them, the dynamics of these two major clans might change. If Big Cat becomes the leader of either the Golden Lion or the Golden Tiger clans, it would benefit us plenty. That's why I asked Big Cat to come over. He and his wife should arrive in a couple of days."

Zhang Haoxuan's breathing became a bit rapid, and there was something more in his eyes as he looked at Tang San. While the others were somewhat confused by what they were hearing, Zhang Haoxuan understood what Tang San was aiming for.

1. This is translated from the Chinese phrase 旁观者清. It expresses that those not directly involved in a situation can often see or understand the truth better than those emotionally invested or too close to it. ☜