Chapter 834: Cloud Beast Emerges, One Sword Comes from the East

The next day at noon.

A day and a half had passed since the Royal City Trial began.

Xu Xiaoshou’s “Xu Gang,” which he had founded, continued its advance into the inner regions of the Yunlun Mountains after an overnight rest.

However, it seemed the eastern part was unimaginably barren. The number of Cloud Pearls had drastically decreased, as if the area had been completely scoured. The notion of finding valuable loot was present, but even the smallest gain was impossible to come by, let alone anything substantial.

Young Master Xu and his two companions flew ahead, with the Five Tiger Generals following behind.

Tai Xing looked at the other four Grandmasters with an impassive expression, finding it difficult to speak: “Did you all also come up empty-handed?”

After breaking through to Grandmaster rank last night, he continued his task this morning, searching for Cloud Pearls. But after half a day, he hadn’t even seen a single Cloud Pearl.

“I found three,” Zhu Dong said with a wry smile.

“Heh, then I’m impressive; I found six,” Zhao Xiu chuckled.

“None.”

“None.”

Xi Guanghan and Mo Beibei, despite each having over a hundred subordinates, also looked troubled, indicating they couldn’t find anything.

“Young Master Xu has already fallen from ninth to twenty-seventh on the leaderboard, and that’s just this morning,” Zhu Dong said, sighing as he looked at the trial jade pendant. “Is this area really lacking Cloud Pearls, or are other places just too abundant?”

“I don’t know…” Mo Beibei replied with a wry smile. “This situation isn’t right. At this rate, Young Master Xu will fall out of the top thirty-six on the leaderboard within a day, and we…”

“Don’t doubt Young Master Xu’s abilities!” Tai Xing interrupted, looking at Mo Beibei. “It seems you’ve forgotten that these past two days, we’ve only been focusing on recruiting members, and searching for Cloud Pearls was just a secondary task. Young Master Xu hasn’t even begun his large-scale assault or started plundering others’ points yet.”

“Exactly,” Xi Guanghan nodded, smiling. “Young Master Xu simply hasn’t wanted to make a move yet. If he did, not many in the entire Yunlun Mountains could withstand a single strike from his sword.”

The others nodded to each other, feeling somewhat comforted. Having already become Grandmasters, their greatest fear was not making it into the top thirty-six on the final leaderboard and being eliminated. With even Young Master Xu falling to twenty-seventh place, it was normal for some to start worrying. However, ultimately, everyone was still willing to trust Young Master Xu’s capabilities.

“Report!”

Just then, a member of the Xu Gang flew swiftly from a distance, shouting urgently while still airborne.

“What is it?” Zhu Dong turned his gaze, recognizing the person as one of his subordinates.

“About seven hundred li to the west, we’ve discovered a special valley, shrouded in mist, with the corpses of Grandmaster-level spiritual beasts nearby, and strange beast roars. We suspect…”

Before he could finish speaking, the Five Tiger Generals’ eyes lit up simultaneously.

“A Cloud Beast?”

“Don’t say another word, report to Young Master Xu immediately, and let’s go check it out!”

“The leaderboard, it’s fallen again.”

Xu Xiaoshou, still leading, kept shaking his head as he stared at the trial jade pendant. His self-promotion campaign only lasted one night; by morning, he had already been pushed down the ranks. This showed just how intensely the participants were competing in this Royal City Trial. Just one night, and he was pushed down to the twenty-something rank!

“The outermost parts of the Yunlun Mountains shouldn’t have that many Cloud Pearls. Perhaps some people have already searched deeper inside. The closer to the core region, the more resources there should be,” Liu Changqing speculated.

“Don’t they rest?” Xin Gugu asked, puzzled. Were these trial participants going mad with killing? If they didn't rest now, during the great slaughter in the inner regions a few days later, those who first ran out of stamina would surely be the first to fall.

Thinking of this, he felt a certain admiration for Xu Xiaoshou’s methods. Having gathered nearly nine hundred gang members, Xu Xiaoshou didn’t even need to act; people would simply deliver Cloud Pearls to him while he sat still. Such ability was probably unmatched by more than a few in the entire Yunlun Mountains. To be able to subdue trial participants with force, and at the same time win their loyalty with elixirs…

“Tsk, tsk!” Xin Gugu exclaimed, realizing it was a mix of harshness and kindness, a bit of the carrot and the stick.

While he was pondering, Xu Xiaoshou, who was ahead, stopped.

“Perhaps it’s time for us to cast our net.”

“Huh?” Xin Gugu looked over.

Xu Xiaoshou said, “The Xu Gang members are nearing nine hundred. I intend to cap the number at exactly nine hundred and no longer recruit new members. After all, too many people are difficult to manage, and there’s a risk of rebellion. Once we reach nine hundred, we’ll advance directly towards the inner regions with full force.”

“Start killing?” Xin Gugu grew excited.

“It’s plundering!” Xu Xiaoshou snapped, tapping the fellow’s head. “Simply relying on finding Cloud Pearls was fine in the early stages, but currently, progress is too slow, and we’re not in a Cloud Pearl-rich area of the Yunlun Mountains. We’ll have to start plundering and attacking early.”

“Indeed,” Liu Changqing nodded in agreement; he approved of the suggestion.

“In that case, I’ll summon the Five Tiger Generals and issue the orders directly,” Xu Xiaoshou chuckled. “After this, it will be a bit difficult for trial participants to join the Xu Gang and become a member.” Xu Xiaoshou truly intended this. He didn’t want to recruit too many people, because if there were too many, the title of “Xu Gang member” would seem cheap. However, with a strategy of scarcity, he might even be able to use the reputation of “Xu Gang member” to attract more geniuses later on.

“Let’s go!”

Turning around, Xu Xiaoshou was about to look for someone to give orders to, but saw the Five Tiger Generals simultaneously flying in from a distance.

“What is it?”

“Young Master Xu, a Cloud Beast!” Zhao Xiu seemed quite excited.

Zhu Dong quickly added, “It’s a suspected Cloud Beast. Young Master Xu, about seven hundred li away, Xu Gang members have discovered a special secret place. We can go check it out.”

A secret place?

Xu Xiaoshou’s eyes lit up with fervor. They had searched the Yunlun Mountains for a day and found quite a few secret places. In these secret places, sometimes Cloud Pearls would be found in clusters, and other times there would be entire high-quality medicinal gardens, all of which were quite valuable. A special secret place discovered by the Xu Gang members, important enough to warrant the Five Tiger Generals reporting together, clearly held significant weight.

“Go there!”

Xu Xiaoshou made an immediate decision. While leading everyone to fly west, he conveyed his recent thoughts.

Seven hundred li away, at Falling Cloud Peak.

Rong Dahao, splendidly dressed, led over a hundred people, slaying a dozen Grandmaster-level spiritual beasts, as he scaled the majestic peak and reached its summit.

Above the peak, a hundred-zhang cloud-mist behemoth floated in mid-air. The giant beast blotted out the sky, with a ten-zhang horn on its head, treading on seven-colored auspicious clouds. Its body resembled a massive fish, covered in cloud scales, and it bore twin wings that could obscure half the sky when spread, much like an ancient Kunpeng.

Strangely enough.

When one’s spiritual sense probed it, the behemoth seemed to cease to exist, as if everything seen by the naked eye was an illusion. It appeared to have no physical form, merely drifting carefree in the heavens, unaffected by the trial participants below on Falling Cloud Peak. Its form shifted violently with the strong winds, sometimes resembling a Kunpeng, sometimes a giant dragon, sometimes a phoenix…

“Brother Hao, look!”

A subordinate pointed at the cloud-mist behemoth in the sky, his face filled with shock, like a child who had never seen the world.

Rong Dahao was also astonished. He was a successor of the Grand Void, but even so, he had never encountered such a creature. It was too massive, too peculiar.

“A Cloud Beast!”

Almost immediately, Rong Dahao confirmed the behemoth’s origin. In this Cloud Realm world, only this one creature possessed such peculiar power and matched the expected image of a Cloud Beast.

“A Cloud Beast? That’s ten thousand points!” The subordinates’ eyes all turned red with envy.

“Brother Hao, are we doing this? If we pull this off, you can climb back into the top thirty-six on the leaderboard!” someone urged enticingly.

Rong Dahao hesitated. This Cloud Beast was quite different from what he had expected. It seemed rather strong? How was he supposed to kill it?

The Cloud Beast in the sky seemed to notice the movements of the little fellows below. With a gust of wind, its rear transformed into a ferocious tiger’s head, and it raised it high.

“Wooooooh—”

A peculiar sound burst forth. The sound erupted, causing everyone to feel mentally dizzy and as if their souls had been assaulted; it took a long time for them to recover.

Rong Dahao paused for only half a second before immediately regaining his senses, his heart filled with dread.

“Mental attack!”

“This Cloud Beast actually specializes in mental attacks.”

“Just this single sonic wave attack indicates at least a Grandmaster of the Star Worship Realm cultivation. Fighting it might prove even more troublesome than fighting a Grandmaster at peak level.”

“This is too strong!”

Rong Dahao was dumbfounded. If Cloud Beasts were this powerful, how did others kill them? He had been keeping an eye on the leaderboard; when they first entered the Yunlun Mountains, many people had already slain Cloud Beasts in less than a day.

“They’ve all broken through to Grandmaster rank?” Rong Dahao speculated. Those who could slay Cloud Beasts must have already broken through to Grandmaster, otherwise, it would be impossible to contend with a Cloud Beast with Grandmaster Star Worship Realm cultivation, especially one with special mental attack abilities!

“I haven’t broken through yet…”

Rong Dahao’s eyes showed hesitation. Breaking through to Grandmaster meant he had to remain undefeated throughout the rest of the trial and ultimately make it into the top thirty-six on the leaderboard. Otherwise, he would lose even the qualification to enter the Holy Palace Trial. But without breaking through, those ten thousand points would likely be very difficult to obtain…

“Brother Hao!”

The people behind him were urging him. They followed Rong Dahao because he was a successor of the Grand Void and should have been confident. Why was he hesitating at this crucial moment?

“Brother Hao, make a decision quickly. Even if you don’t break through now, I’m certain that when we reach the inner regions of the Yunlun Mountains, and especially the Nine Dragon Veins in the core area, there will only be Grandmasters fighting. It’s impossible to remain unscathed,” someone said. These words were rational and realistic, but brutally honest, making people feel disheartened.

Rong Dahao wasn’t foolish; he quickly understood the underlying logic. Indeed, if all trial participants could persevere until the very end, who would be willing to give up the opportunity? And if no one wanted to give up, then everyone would have to reveal their trump cards! Therefore, in such a situation, trial participants would break through to Grandmaster sooner or later. So, since the end was already predetermined, rather than holding back from the start, it would be better to break through early and leverage the Grandmaster cultivation during the early stages of the trial to gain some benefits.

“You all protect me. Once I break through, we’ll directly slay this Cloud Beast!” Rong Dahao gritted his teeth and declared firmly.

“Okay!”

“Go, Brother Hao!”

“Charge! Brother Hao, seize the moment before the people from Xu Gang in the east discover this place!”

The subordinates began to get excited. Several people in their team had already broken through to Grandmaster, including one in the Yin-Yang Realm. The reason everyone still followed Rong Dahao’s command was because even the Grandmaster expert in the Yin-Yang Realm couldn’t defeat Rong Dahao, who was at the peak of the Innate Realm. If such a leader broke through to Grandmaster, he would be unstoppable, slaying gods and Buddhas alike!

The Cloud Beast seemed gentle in nature; it wouldn’t act unless the people below did. However, it was drifting quickly with the fierce winds in the sky, as if trying to escape the area.

Rong Dahao sat cross-legged, forming hand seals to circulate his essence, his mind entering a state of emptiness and clarity.

After a breath’s time.

“Boom!”

A colossal phantom gate appeared above Falling Cloud Peak, majestic and powerful, as if it could pierce through ancient past and future, and suppress the eight wildernesses and four seas.

“Gate of Time and Space…”

Among his subordinates, Lei Ze, a Grandmaster expert of the Yin-Yang Realm, showed shock in his eyes, silently murmuring: “He truly is a successor of the Gate-Bearing Clan of the Grand Void!”

Rong Dahao’s breakthrough to Grandmaster created a massive phenomenon, displaying power far beyond what an ordinary Grandmaster should possess. But after the breakthrough, his cultivation realm surprisingly stabilized securely at the initial stage of the Heavenly Phenomenon Realm, without the slightest overshoot.

“Is this the legacy of a great clan?” Lei Ze exclaimed. It was well known that a breakthrough after suppressing one’s cultivation realm was like a tsunami hitting the shore or a flood breaching a dam; ordinary spirit cultivators found it difficult to stabilize their realm and prevent it from surging upwards. Lei Ze was a prime example of this. He knew the importance of a solid foundation, but after breaking through to Grandmaster, no matter how powerful his methods, he could only suppress his realm to the Yin-Yang Realm. Rong Dahao had clearly suppressed his cultivation for many years as well, yet after breaking through to Grandmaster, he could forcibly stabilize his cultivation realm at the initial stage of the Heavenly Phenomenon Realm. Outwardly, his cultivation might not seem strong, but he gained more time as a Grandmaster to comprehend the Dao rhythm and solidify his foundation before reaching the King realm. It could be said that Lei Ze was strong in the present, while Rong Dahao, on the other hand, had a much brighter future.

“He succeeded?”

As their leader opened his eyes, everyone looked over, Lei Ze no exception. Rong Dahao’s lips curled into a smile. He clenched his fist and smiled contentedly: “Now, even an ordinary Star Worship Realm cultivator can’t stop me!”

Everyone was astonished. They had long heard that geniuses among geniuses possessed the ability to fight across cultivation stages, even against equally talented individuals. But for Rong Dahao to confidently state he could fight a Star Worship Realm cultivator with Heavenly Phenomenon Realm cultivation was truly an exaggeration.

“Then this Cloud Beast?” Lei Ze stepped forward, looking at the Cloud Beast in the heavens that was about to flee.

Rong Dahao chuckled, “A mere mental attack? It can’t break through the defenses of my ‘Gate of Time and Space.’ The rest of you wait. Lei Ze and I will handle this fight!” The latter part of his statement was addressed to his subordinates.

Lei Ze nodded heavily. He feared mental attacks, but if Rong Dahao didn’t, then this battle would be much easier.

“Kill!”

“Go, boss!”

“Go, Second Leader Lei Ze! Slay the beast for ten thousand points and rush into the top thirty-six on the leaderboard!”

The crowd was in a frenzy of excitement. Everyone cheered for their soon-to-be-fighting leader and second-in-command.

Rong Dahao’s heart swelled with emotion. He nodded to Lei Ze, and the two simultaneously bent their knees, rocketing upwards towards the sky.

“Whoosh!”

Just then.

A black streak of light flew in from the eastern sky. In merely an instant, it pierced through countless spaces. A black sword *clinked* as it embedded itself mid-air at the summit of Falling Cloud Peak, directly blocking and interrupting both Rong Dahao and Lei Ze’s actions.

“Ying—”

The sword’s cry was long, drawn-out, and eerie. The black sword, embedded in the void, twisted further into a strangely captivating formation.

“What in the world is that?”

Everyone was startled. This sudden black sword had interrupted their leader and second-in-command’s actions. Sword intent raged, yet the wielder was nowhere to be seen. Faintly, it truly carried a hint of the Eastern Region legend, “one sword comes from the east, one sword immortal.”

“Who?!”

Rong Dahao also stared at the black sword before him, a vague sense of foreboding rising in his heart.

At the same time, a loud shout echoed from the foot of the mountain.

“To everyone on the mountain, you have been surrounded by myself, Xu. Quickly disarm and surrender, descend the peak and offer tribute, lest you bring trouble upon yourselves. Otherwise, with a single strike of my sword, I shall dye this entire Falling Cloud Peak in blood!”