Sovereign of Stars

Chapter 10 – Raindrops

"Greetings, Patriarch!"

In the training grounds, everyone bowed towards the figure appearing on the platform, even the powerful figures from the Faction of Retainers were no exception.

A middle-aged man, dressed in a loose white robe, with a handsome and scholarly appearance, stood there with a faint smile on his lips, exuding a gentle and approachable aura.

He was Su Xin's father, the current head of the Su Family, Su Baichen!

After the death of the Su Family's ancestor, Su Baichen became the pillar of the Su Family and their greatest support.

In his youth, Su Baichen was a peerless genius renowned throughout Heavenflame, but he gradually became more reserved and low-key. However, those who knew of him dared not underestimate him.

"My father once said that among the current strong figures of the Su Family, even the Grand Elder Su Boyong, who has reached the Void Shattering Realm, is not someone he regards highly. Yet, he is exceptionally wary of Su Baichen," Zhao Ling mused.

Within the Su Family, the Faction of Retainers led by Zhao Tianlei was growing stronger, overshadowing the Core Bloodline Faction in many aspects. However, to this day, Zhao Tianlei did not dare to completely sever ties with the Su Family, largely due to his fear of this family head.

"Rise," Su Baichen said with a slight raise of his hand, and everyone stood up.

"Beside me is Mr. Yuan Qing, the manager of Crimson Dragon Tower in Yongning Prefecture. Pay your respects," Su Baichen announced.

"Greetings, Lord Yuan Qing," everyone saluted again.

"Haha, I'm just here to take a casual look," Yuan Qing chuckled.

"Yuan, we had an agreement," Su Baichen reminded.

"Rest assured," Yuan Qing waved his hand.

"Bring a seat for Mr. Yuan Qing," Su Baichen instructed.

Immediately, a chair was brought and placed next to Su Baichen's seat, and the two Void Shattering Realm experts took their seats.

The training grounds were abuzz with whispers.

"Who would have thought that for this Sword Order Battle, the family head would invite Lord Yuan Qing from the Crimson Dragon Tower."

"After all, this isn't an ordinary family competition. It concerns the Sword Order, so naturally, the family places more importance on it."

...

Su Xin was also among the crowd.

"The manager of Crimson Dragon Tower, Yuan Qing?" Su Xin frowned slightly, "This could be troublesome."

Previously, under the alias 'Sword One', he had challenged the Crimson Dragon Tower and cleared fourteen levels in one go. Yuan Qing had witnessed the entire process.

In the upcoming Sword Order Battle, if he were to make a move, he would inevitably use some powerful sword techniques, and Yuan Qing might recognize him at a glance.

It seemed unlikely that he could continue to hide his identity.

"The time is about right. Second Brother, let's begin," Su Baichen said.

"Alright." Su Baihu, seated on the side, nodded slightly and then appeared in the center of the training grounds in a flash.

"All disciples who passed the family assessment, step forward." Su Baihu's grand voice rang out.

Immediately, the numerous young disciples from the two factions who had qualified for this battle stepped forward.

At a glance, there were sixty or seventy of them, but most were only at the eighth level of the True Martial Realm.

"This family competition will have only one winner, and that person will wield the Su Family Sword Command Token, becoming the leader of the younger generation of the Su Family, with the authority of a young patriarch outside," Su Baihu said in a deep voice, his gaze sweeping over the young disciples before him.

It was clear that most of these young disciples wore expressions of excitement and anticipation.

Wielding the Su Family Sword Command Token was the ultimate honor for the Su Family disciples, but only one person could claim this glory.

"There will be two rounds in this competition!"

"Prepare yourselves. The first round will begin shortly," Su Baihu announced.

The participating disciples immediately grew tense.

After all, this competition was about the Sword Order, different from the usual family competitions, so they were unaware of the specific rules.

On the platform.

"Yuan, it's your turn," Su Baichen smiled.

Yuan Qing shrugged and stood up.

WHOOSH!

Without any warning, Yuan Qing appeared directly above the young disciples participating in the competition.

"Young ones, your opponent for the first round is me," Yuan Qing said with a faint smile, his voice spreading out.

"What?"

"Are you kidding?"

The young disciples' expressions changed.

Yuan Qing was a genuine Void Shattering Realm expert.

A Void Shattering Realm expert as their opponent?

"Don't worry, it's not as difficult as you imagine, but it's not easy either," Yuan Qing continued. "I have a move that can form a large-scale, densely packed attack, covering all of you simultaneously. Your task is to withstand this move. If you do, you'll pass the first round. If not, you'll be eliminated."

Yuan Qing spoke lightly, but everyone on the field was tense.

Even Zhao Ling and Su Qinghong wore extremely serious expressions.

After all, this was a Void Shattering Realm expert. Although it was just one move, and it covered everyone, it was not something easily withstood.

Yuan Qing did not offer further explanation and directly made his move.

From his vantage point, he looked down at the 'young ones' below and pointed.

Buzz~~~ A vast spiritual force rapidly gathered in the void, forming a spiritual layer several meters long, like a giant mirror, and from that mirror, countless beams of light shot towards the ground.

These beams were numerous and incredibly fast.

To the young disciples below, it was as if the sky had suddenly opened up with a torrential rain, and the beams were like countless raindrops falling upon them. However, each 'raindrop' posed a significant threat.

The young ones erupted, each unleashing powerful auras, giving their all to fend off the 'raindrops.'

But these 'raindrops' were not only fast but also densely packed, and the power they contained was astonishing. Most of the young disciples could barely fend off a few 'raindrops' before being overwhelmed.

CRASH!!

A round of torrential rain passed in less than a breath's time and then stopped.

Above, Yuan Qing had already withdrawn his hand, and below, of the nearly seventy young disciples who had participated, only ten remained standing!

Su Xin was among them.

"To withstand my move, you few did well," Yuan Qing said with a faint smile before returning to the platform.

Su Baihu stepped forward.

"Those who are injured, help them down to rest. As for you who are still standing..." Su Baihu noted that a few of the ten were still panting heavily, "You have half an incense stick's time to recover your strength. After that, the second round will begin."

The participating disciples either left to rest or began to recover.

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The training grounds were already in an uproar.

Was it over already?

No one expected the first round to conclude so quickly.

Though swift, the number of eliminations was significant.

On the platform.

"Su, you saw it just now," Yuan Qing glanced at Su Baichen.

"Yes," Su Baichen nodded slightly.

"When I executed that move, as you requested, I gave Zhao Ling 'special attention.' The raindrops he faced, while similar in speed and density to the others, contained three times the power!"

Yuan Qing's expression was somewhat grave. "Under such circumstances, an ordinary peak of the tenth level of the True Martial Realm would suffer some impact damage, affecting their subsequent performance. Yet Zhao Ling easily deflected all the 'raindrops' without using any significant techniques. Clearly, his strength far exceeds our expectations."

"Su, your Su Family might be in trouble this time."

Su Baichen remained silent.

Zhao Ling's strength was overwhelming, and no one among the Su Family's younger generation could match him.

To prevent the Su Family Sword Command Token from falling into the hands of an outsider, the Su Family might resort to some unsavory methods.

For instance, Su Baichen invited Yuan Qing to secretly 'interfere.'

Of course, this interference couldn't be too obvious. They couldn't just eliminate Zhao Ling in the first round or severely injure him, as even a fool would notice.

Moreover, Zhao Ling was a recognized genius who had cleared the eleventh level of the True Martial Pavilion and held 'Yellow Level' privileges in the Crimson Dragon Tower. Yuan Qing couldn't afford to truly antagonize Zhao Ling. He only helped due to his personal relationship with Su Baichen, subtly increasing the difficulty for Zhao Ling, perhaps making him suffer a minor setback that might slightly affect his performance in the second round.

But clearly, despite Yuan Qing's interference, the effect was not as desired, and Zhao Ling's combat power remained unaffected.

"Zhao Ling, having cleared the eleventh level of the True Martial Pavilion, his strength is well acknowledged. It's not surprising he easily deflected my 'raindrops,' but that young one..." Yuan Qing's gaze suddenly fell on a young man with a sword, eyes closed, on the training grounds.

He recognized that young man.

Su Xin, the young master of the Su Family, once a prodigious talent.

"Among those who withstood my 'raindrops,' there are ten in total. The other nine are all above the tenth level of the True Martial Realm, but this young one is only at the peak of the ninth level. Moreover, compared to the others at the tenth level, he deflected the 'raindrops' with much more ease."

It's worth noting that several of those at the tenth level were panting heavily after deflecting the 'raindrops,' indicating the difficulty of the task.

But Su Xin?

His face showed no strain, and he wasn't out of breath.

During the deflection, Yuan Qing could tell Su Xin was rather casual.

"Aside from Zhao Ling, Su Xin seems to have deflected the 'raindrops' with the most ease among the others, yet he is only at the ninth level of the True Martial Realm."

"This is interesting!"

Yuan Qing's expression turned somewhat peculiar.

Proofreader & Editor: Lyra