Sovereign of Stars

Chapter 6 – Crimson Dragon Tower

The night was illuminated by the bright moonlight.

"Young Master, the news of you defeating Hong Fang today has spread throughout the family. Many of the Su Family members, including some elders, have expressed their admiration for you. Some even say that although you were delayed for three years in the Magic-Sealing Prison, your talent hasn't diminished much," Hong Shan said excitedly.

Su Xin couldn't help but smile.

Defeating someone like Hong Fang didn't matter to him; what mattered was the family's attitude toward him.

The incident three years ago had left a significant resentment within the entire family. Today's battle, although it couldn't completely dissipate that resentment, at least improved the family's perception of him somewhat.

After all, in this world, strength is respected.

And for him to defeat Hong Fang, who was at the peak of the eighth level of the True Martial Realm, with his initial entry into the eighth level, was enough to earn the admiration of many Su Family members.

"Hong Fang is insignificant; I didn't even know his name before this. It's Zhao Ling who concerns me..." Su Xin's eyes narrowed.

Zhao Ling, with his peak tenth level of the True Martial Realm cultivation, was considered a genius with formidable combat strength, said to rival even those in the Sea Transformation Realm.

But Su Xin, only at the initial eighth level of the True Martial Realm, had too much of a gap in cultivation compared to Zhao Ling. Unless he risked everything to use the Divine Annihilation secret technique, he wasn't confident in winning.

To surpass, or even kill Zhao Ling in the Sword Order Battle, Su Xin's cultivation would need to reach at least the ninth level of the True Martial Realm, if not the peak of the ninth level.

But with only half a month until the Sword Order Battle, even if he cultivated the Bloodline Inheritance Cultivation Art, which allowed him to progress dozens of times faster than normal, it would be difficult to reach that level.

"If only I had some medicinal pills to aid my cultivation, it might be possible," Su Xin muttered.

The next morning, Su Xin went to the Su Family's Treasure Pavilion, managed by an elder of the family.

"Young Master, I'm very sorry. If it were ordinary Spirit Gathering Pills, I could give you a few. But Supreme-Grade Spirit Gathering Pills... the family doesn't have many, and because the Sword Order Battle is approaching, the family head has already ordered me to distribute the few we have," the elder said.

"Given away?" Su Xin frowned slightly but wasn't surprised.

Since the decline of the Su Family, the resources they possessed were no longer what they were three years ago.

In its heyday, the Su Family could acquire many Supreme-Grade Spirit Gathering Pills each year, but now they could only get a dozen or so annually.

And with the Sword Order Battle approaching, the top levels of the Su Family, including his father, placed great importance on it and had already distributed the few Supreme-Grade Spirit Gathering Pills to the strongest and most promising members to compete with Zhao Ling.

As for Su Xin... no one believed that someone just released from the Magic-Sealing Prison could compete with Zhao Ling for the Su Family.

Even though he defeated Hong Fang yesterday, the latter was only at the peak of the eighth level of the True Martial Realm. The family merely thought Su Xin was impressive and talented, but no one believed he could threaten Zhao Ling.

"If the family doesn't have Supreme-Grade Spirit Gathering Pills, then I'll have to go elsewhere..." Su Xin pondered, and soon he left the residence alone.

...

In the center of Yongning Prefecture's capital city stood two towering black towers, like two giant figures overlooking the city.

These black towers were the renowned Crimson Dragon Tower of the Heavenflame Dynasty.

The Crimson Dragon Tower was established by the founding monarch of the Heavenflame Dynasty centuries ago and spread throughout the country.

The Heavenflame Dynasty's thirty-six provinces each had a Crimson Dragon Tower, with two purposes.

First: To monitor the realm (referring to the Heavenflame Dynasty's territory).

Any disturbance in any corner of the Heavenflame Dynasty's provinces would be immediately known by the Crimson Dragon Tower and reported to the monarch.

Second: To gather talents from across the realm.

The Crimson Dragon Tower housed the well-known True Martial Pavilion and Dragon-Seeking Tower.

The True Martial Pavilion focused on assessing the skills of True Martial Realm warriors, with fifteen levels. Anyone who could pass the tenth level was considered a genius within the Heavenflame Dynasty.

The Dragon-Seeking Tower assessed the overall strength of Sea Transformation Realm warriors, with only three levels. Any Sea Transformation Realm warrior who could pass the first level was considered a top-tier genius.

Passing the second level made one an exceptional genius, with only thirty to forty such geniuses in the entire dynasty at any given time, averaging one per province.

As for the third level... those who passed the third level of the Dragon-Seeking Tower were considered peerless prodigies, appearing only once every few years or decades, rarer even than the legendary Awakened Ones.

In front of the two towering towers, the Dragon-Seeking Tower's difficulty was so high that few attempted it, but the True Martial Pavilion saw many challengers.

At this moment, over a hundred people stood in front of the True Martial Pavilion, mostly True Martial Realm warriors confident in their skills, aside from some onlookers. Currently, a ninth-level True Martial Realm warrior was challenging the pavilion, having passed seven levels but failing shortly after entering the eighth level.

"A ninth-level warrior passing the seventh level is impressive."

"Many at the tenth level can't pass the seventh level."

The crowd discussed.

The True Martial Pavilion's assessment focused solely on skill, not cultivation level. Ordinary True Martial Realm warriors passing the fifth level was considered average, the sixth and seventh levels were for those with decent skills, and passing the eighth and ninth levels marked one as exceptional.

Whoosh!

A graceful figure appeared at the base of the True Martial Pavilion.

A tall, slender figure in a fitted outfit, wielding a long sword, exuding a heroic aura. Her stunningly beautiful and cold face immediately drew everyone's attention.

"It's her, Su Yuning."

"The proud young lady of the Su Family, she's here to challenge the True Martial Pavilion again."

"This is her sixth attempt this year, right? She passed the eighth level before but struggled at the ninth. Is she trying to pass the ninth level this time?"

Many True Martial Realm warriors recognized her and couldn't help but comment.

Challenging the True Martial Pavilion required only True Martial Realm cultivation, with no other requirements, so many in Yongning Prefecture attempted it, some multiple times a year for skill improvement or self-training. Su Yuning was one of them.

"Sister Ning."

In the corner of the crowd, Su Xin, wearing a hat to conceal his face, looked up at the graceful figure ahead.

Su Yuning was his cousin, two years older, and they were very close as children. However, due to pressure from the Faction of Retainers, Su Yuning had been training outside to improve her strength. Now, she had clearly reached the tenth level of the True Martial Realm.

Among the Su Family's direct descendants, besides the acknowledged Su Qinghong, Su Yuning was the only one qualified to compete with Zhao Ling in the Sword Order Battle.

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"The True Martial Pavilion..." Su Yuning gazed at the towering structure ahead. "I've improved my swordsmanship after a month of training outside. This time, I must pass the ninth level, or how can I hope to defeat Zhao Ling in the Sword Order Battle!"

Zhao Ling had not only reached the peak of the tenth level of the True Martial Realm but had also passed the tenth level of the True Martial Pavilion a year ago, earning the recognition of the Crimson Dragon Tower and receiving a 'Yellow' token.

Though she was also at the tenth level, she was far from the peak. If she couldn't even pass the ninth level of the True Martial Pavilion, the gap between her and Zhao Ling would be too great.

Su Yuning soon entered the True Martial Pavilion, and like her previous five attempts, she easily passed the first seven levels. She spent some time on the eighth level but eventually passed it, then entered the ninth level.

In the ninth level, she used all her skills and fought for a long time but ultimately failed.

When she emerged from the True Martial Pavilion, her body trembled slightly, her lips pursed, and her face was full of unwillingness. "I gave it my all, but I still failed. I can't even pass the ninth level. How did that monster Zhao Ling pass the tenth level!"

The large crowd of True Martial Realm warriors outside the pavilion sighed as they saw Su Yuning fail at the ninth level.

As Su Yuning prepared to leave, a figure walked past her.

"Hmm?"

Su Yuning instinctively glanced at the figure, feeling a sense of familiarity and even closeness, a feeling that puzzled her.

"Who is this? He seems to be at the eighth level of the True Martial Realm. Is he here to challenge the True Martial Pavilion too?"

Su Yuning had intended to leave but decided to stay.

The familiar figure had already entered the True Martial Pavilion.

Inside the first level of the True Martial Pavilion, Su Xin stood, observing the ten battle puppets ahead, a smile playing on his lips.

"Five years ago, I first challenged the True Martial Pavilion at thirteen, giving it my all but failing at the tenth level. In the following two years, my swordsmanship improved significantly, and I estimated I could pass the tenth level easily. But in these three years... my bloodline awakened, my comprehension greatly increased, and I could even develop more advanced sword techniques and moves from a single sword art."

"Now, my swordsmanship has improved immensely since then. If I give it my all, I wonder how many levels I can pass?"

Su Xin felt a sense of anticipation.

The True Martial Pavilion's assessment focused solely on skill, not cultivation level.

And this skill, in essence, was Su Xin's swordsmanship!!

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