Sovereign of Stars

Chapter 39 – Hunting begins

"Purple Cloud Sect, Fairy Luo?" Su Xin's heart stirred.

He had heard of the Purple Cloud Sect, a deeply rooted sect within the Heavenflame Dynasty.

"Su Xin, you're one of the geniuses from Cloud Province, and you just arrived at the camp today, right?" Duan Yunfeng looked over.

"Yes." Su Xin nodded.

"No wonder you don't recognize Fairy Luo." Duan Yunfeng laughed, "In this camp, besides the geniuses participating in the hunt, there are also merchants who sell intelligence on the geniuses. Their information includes details about some of the top geniuses participating in this hunt."

"You can wait here in the tavern for a bit, and you should see those merchants soon."

"Intelligence, huh?" Su Xin understood.

Before long, Su Xin saw a merchant and purchased a piece of intelligence from him.

A thick notebook was placed in front of Su Xin, and he began to browse through it.

The first name that caught his eye was Xia Mang!

"Xia Mang?"

Su Xin looked at the detailed introduction about Xia Mang below.

"The contemporary top genius of the Heavenflame Imperial Family, thirty-four years old, with cultivation reaching the peak of the Sea Transformation Realm. He has also cultivated the unique Imperial Yuan Technique of the Heavenflame Imperial Family, with spiritual power that surpasses even early-stage Void Shattering Realm experts. His Concept Comprehension has reached the first level, and his mastery of the Dragon Spear Technique is formidable and fierce..."

"Among the nearly ten thousand geniuses in this hunt, he is undoubtedly one of the top three super geniuses!"

"This Xia Mang is so strong!" Su Xin couldn't help but exclaim.

"Indeed, very strong." Duan Yunfeng nodded, "Although we are both at the peak of the Sea Transformation Realm, his Imperial Yuan Technique, a unique legacy of the Heavenflame Imperial Family, is incredibly powerful. His explosive power is much stronger than my cultivation technique. In terms of sheer power, he surpasses me significantly. As for Concept Comprehension and spear techniques, he is not inferior to me at all."

"Facing him, I can only go all out and use my strongest moves to possibly contend with him."

Although Duan Yunfeng was extremely confident in his own strength, he was still very wary of Xia Mang.

"I heard that Xia Mang had already secured a special admission slot to the Heavenflame Palace, but as a member of the Imperial Family, he didn't want outsiders to think he got in because of his status, so he decided to participate in this hunt." Duan Yunfeng continued.

"Among the nearly ten thousand geniuses participating in this hunt, Xia Mang is recognized as the most powerful and fierce, and he is expected to definitely make it into the top three!"

"As for the rest of us, even I am only considered to have a chance to break into the top ten."

Su Xin continued to browse through the intelligence on various geniuses and soon found Duan Yunfeng.

"The beggar boy Duan Yunfeng, with a peculiar temperament and mysterious origins, has been roaming and challenging various strong individuals across the provinces of the Heavenflame Dynasty for years. His swordsmanship is extremely strong, and his Concept Comprehension is exceptionally high. To date, no one has forced him to reveal his full strength, and he is considered to have a chance to break into the top ten of the hunt..."

Seeing this piece of intelligence, Su Xin's expression turned somewhat peculiar.

He noted two things: one, Duan Yunfeng's mysterious origins; and two, that Duan Yunfeng had yet to reveal his full strength.

"Without revealing his full strength, he's already considered to have a chance to break into the top ten, and with his own confidence..." Su Xin sighed inwardly and continued to look further down.

"Tu San?"

Su Xin noticed another name.

Tu San, also recognized as having a chance to break into the top ten, was a top genius on par with Duan Yunfeng. However, what caught Su Xin's attention was not his strength, but his background.

According to the intelligence, Tu San came from the Qi Prince's Mansion and was one of the orphans adopted by the Qi Prince who stood out.

"Qi Prince?" Su Xin narrowed his eyes.

As far as he knew, the Qi Prince was the current Emperor's younger brother and had once competed for the throne. Even though he failed, he still held significant power within the Heavenflame Dynasty and had intricate connections with many major forces and families within the dynasty.

Among them, the Situ Family had very close ties with the Qi Prince.

"During the night raid on my Su Family, there was a squad of Winged Dragon Guards involved, and only members of the Imperial Family with significant power have the authority to deploy the Winged Dragon Guards. The Qi Prince happens to be one of those with such authority." Su Xin pondered silently.

Of course, he only had suspicions and couldn't be certain.

"Hmm, is this the intelligence on that Fairy Luo?" Su Xin saw the information on the intelligence about the Fairy Luo from the Purple Cloud Sect he had just passed by.

This Fairy Luo, although not as strong as Duan Yunfeng or Tu San, was still quite formidable and had a chance to break into the top twenty.

Moreover, this Fairy Luo was an Awakened One with a Third-Grade Bloodline.

...

Su Xin quickly skimmed through the information on various geniuses.

Finally, Su Xin saw the name he wanted to see—Situ Family, Situ Yu!!

"This Situ Yu is not particularly dazzling." Su Xin looked at the intelligence on Situ Yu.

Situ Yu was indeed one of the top geniuses in the Heavenflame Dynasty and had a chance to break into the top twenty, but it was clear that his strength and achievements were far behind those of Duan Yunfeng and Tu San.

"With my current strength, defeating him wouldn't be difficult!" Su Xin clenched his fists.

Of course, this was only based on what was already known and exposed.

But who knew if Situ Yu had hidden his true strength?

And in this hunt, with nearly ten thousand geniuses gathered, although most had already shown their abilities and the truly powerful ones had been recorded in this intelligence and were known to the world, there were inevitably some who kept a low profile and had yet to be discovered, but possessed great strength.

Like Su Xin himself... His strength had improved too quickly, and he had only made a few moves.

The only ones who knew his strength were those he had fought with, like Dragon Blade, but even in those battles, he hadn't used his full power.

Naturally, his name wasn't on this intelligence.

"Among those already publicized and recorded in this genius intelligence, there are dozens of geniuses with the potential to break into the top twenty, including several Awakened Ones. Adding those who haven't revealed their strength yet... there are just too many." Su Xin clenched his fists tightly, feeling a bit of pressure.

"However, the slot for a disciple of the Heavenflame Palace is something I must obtain!"

"Let's see how far I can go!"

...

Su Xin and Duan Yunfeng were drinking and chatting about the geniuses in the intelligence at the tavern.

"Someone is challenging Xiao Mo on the arena over there!"

"Xiao Mo from the Xiao Family? The one who has a chance to break into the top twenty?"

"Quick, let's go take a look."

The tavern suddenly became lively, and many geniuses got up and headed towards the arena.

"Xiao Mo?"

Su Xin quickly recalled the information about Xiao Mo in his mind.

"Su Xin, shall we go take a look too?" Duan Yunfeng suggested.

"Alright." Su Xin nodded, and the two of them immediately set off.

Soon, they arrived at the arena and saw two figures constantly flashing and clashing on the stage.

"Hmm? It's a genius from our Cloud Province." Su Xin raised an eyebrow.

Cloud Province, as one of the thirty-six provinces, didn't have particularly outstanding geniuses participating in this hunt. Although some had passed the second level of the Dragon-Seeking Tower, only two were recorded in the genius intelligence as having a chance to break into the top hundred.

The one currently fighting Xiao Mo was one of them.

"He's going to lose." Duan Yunfeng commented.

Sure enough, as Xiao Mo made his move, dozens of cold lights seemed to appear simultaneously on the arena, and the genius from Cloud Province, caught in the center of these cold lights, was directly defeated.

"Thank you for letting me win."

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After defeating his opponent, Xiao Mo laughed heartily and was about to leave, but as he turned, his gaze fell on Duan Yunfeng below the arena.

"Duan Yunfeng!!"

Xiao Mo's expression twisted instantly, and a hint of malice flashed in his eyes, but he didn't do anything further and left with a cold snort.

"Duan Yunfeng, the way Xiao Mo looked at you just now, it seems like you have a grudge?" Su Xin asked with interest.

"Heh, I just snatched his bride on his wedding day and taught him a lesson, nothing major. This Xiao Mo is just too narrow-minded." Duan Yunfeng replied nonchalantly.

"Snatched his bride on his wedding day?" Su Xin was taken aback.

"His bride was forced by him in the first place. I just couldn't stand his behavior, so I taught him a lesson." Duan Yunfeng explained.

"You're ruthless."

Su Xin gave Duan Yunfeng a thumbs up, no wonder Xiao Mo looked at him with such malice.

Su Xin and Duan Yunfeng didn't chat much more and soon returned to their respective quarters to rest.

The next two days, the camp remained bustling.

Duan Yunfeng, unable to sit still, often went to the arena to spar with others, while Su Xin remained very low-key.

Two days passed quickly, and the day of the hunt finally arrived.

...

Morning, the sun rose!

On the vast and boundless plains, nearly ten thousand geniuses stood densely packed.

Su Xin stood with Dragon Blade and the other ten geniuses from Yongning Prefecture.

"Brother Dragon Blade, what's going on? Why do you all look so down?" Su Xin asked.

He noticed that not only Dragon Blade but also Qiu Ze, Ling Yu, and the others all had worried expressions.

"Su Xin, during these days at the camp, we all went to the arena to spar with others, but the results..."

Listening to Dragon Blade, Su Xin understood.

Dragon Blade and the others, at best, had only passed the first level of the Dragon-Seeking Tower. Among the many geniuses in this hunt, they were too ordinary. They went to the arena to challenge others and ended up feeling discouraged.

On the arena, most of the participants had passed the first level of the Dragon-Seeking Tower, and there were many who had passed the second level. Over the past few days, they had lost more than they had won, and sometimes they were defeated quite miserably.

"There are just too many geniuses. We are just here to make up the numbers. Even the first stage of the hunt is beyond our reach." Dragon Blade smiled bitterly, "Among the ten geniuses selected from Yongning Prefecture, you're probably the only one who can make it through the first stage of the hunt."

"Don't lose heart. With so many geniuses participating in this stage, if you're lucky, you might make it through." Su Xin comforted them.

But Dragon Blade and the others could only smile bitterly.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!~~

Suddenly, the void collapsed piece by piece.

In just a moment, dozens of spatial passages leading to the Royal Hunting Grounds appeared in the sight of the many geniuses.

In the midst of the geniuses' shock, an aged elder who was hosting the hunt waved his hand.

"Enter!"

Immediately, nearly ten thousand geniuses swarmed into the spatial passages like a swarm of bees.

In just a moment, nearly ten thousand geniuses had all entered the hunting grounds.

The Imperial Capital Hunt had officially begun!