Swallowing the Stars: Heart of the Martial God

Chapter 22: A Father-Son Showdown
"Ling Xuan has arrived." The Candle Dragon King keenly sensed their arrival, and a kind smile appeared on his aged face.

"Greetings, Ancestor." Marquis Manlong and Ling Xuan quickly bowed respectfully, their postures upright and their attitudes devout.

"Please sit down," the Candle Dragon King casually waved his hand, indicating that the two did not need to stand on ceremony.

He has experienced countless vicissitudes throughout these endless years, witnessing countless rises and falls, glory and disgrace. Many formalities and cumbersome procedures have long since become like fleeting clouds in his eyes, no longer important.

However, Manlong Hou and Ling Xuan dared not relax in the slightest. In their hearts, the person in front of them was the source of the bloodline of the Zhulong clan and the foundation of the entire clan's strength.

After the two carefully took their seats, the Candle Dragon King narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze sharp as he scrutinized Ling Xuan: "I have long heard of your talent; it is quite remarkable, far surpassing my own back then. When I was your age, I was far from reaching the planetary level."

As he spoke, the Candle Dragon King fell into deep reminiscence, his eyes filled with longing for the past.

"Our achievements today are all thanks to the hard work and dedication of our ancestors over the years," said Manlonghou with heartfelt emotion.

The Candle Dragon King was not of planetary blood back then, and humanity had just been born and was struggling to survive in the universe, facing a situation many times more difficult than it is now.

All his achievements were accumulated step by step in the brutal battles fought in blood and fire.

"When people get old, they can't help but reminisce about the past whenever they see outstanding young creatures," the Candle Dragon King sighed softly.

The Candle Dragon King picked up his ancient wine cup, his eyes filled with both expectation and hidden worry as he looked at Ling Xuan: "Little fellow, you mustn't get too cocky."

"I heard that this year's Genius Battle has produced an extraordinary guy, a super genius who appears only once every hundred million epochs."

Ling Xuan was slightly taken aback upon hearing this. At present, his understanding of the laws of fire and space was only comparable to that of geniuses like Bolan who had lived for tens of thousands of epochs. Compared with monstrous talents who were rare to encounter even in hundreds of millions of epochs, the gap was immeasurable.

Seemingly sensing the seriousness in the boy's eyes, the Candle Dragon King raised his hand and gently waved, a gentle force soothing Ling Xuan's tense nerves: "However, there's no need to feel too much pressure. This year, the Giant Axe Arena has exceptionally given an extra spot to enter the Giant Axe Secret Realm. You just need to maintain a top-two finish." He stroked his long crimson beard, his tone softening, "Your biggest weakness is that you haven't cultivated for long enough. That guy is even older than your great-grandfather, so there's no need to compete with him."

"Ancestor, I will not admit defeat easily!" Ling Xuan suddenly stood up. Although his understanding of the laws is not as good as his opponent's now, there is still some time before the finals, and he can catch up. Moreover, his strongest combat power is not based on his understanding of the laws, but on his cheat code.

"It's good to have confidence." A hint of relief flashed in the eyes of the Candle Dragon King. He raised his hand and gestured, causing the spatial laws of the entire temple to fluctuate violently. Countless runes emerged from the walls. "You will cultivate here with me for the next few days. I will demonstrate the spatial laws for you, hoping it will help you comprehend the laws."

Before he could finish speaking, he seemed to remember something and clapped his hands and laughed: "But if you can really win first place, I'll risk my reputation and beg the super being at the Giant Axe Arena to personally take you as his disciple!"

"You are the most talented of my descendants, and I hope you can go even higher and further."

"Thank you, ancestor!"

At this moment, he felt not only an opportunity, but also the heavy expectations of the entire Zhulong clan.

"Alright, hurry up and cultivate." The Candle Dragon King waved away the spatial barrier beside Ling Xuan, then turned to look at the Savage Dragon Marquis. "Savage Dragon, if you have nothing else to do, you can go down now."

After the Marquis of Manlong bowed and left, the entire temple fell silent.

With a flick of his finger, the Candle Dragon King tore the void apart as if by an invisible claw, and twelve pitch-black chains, imbued with chaotic energy, emerged.

Dark purple runes flowed across the surface of the chains, twisting and deforming in mid-air to transform into twelve phantom dragons that spewed out ghostly blue flames, coiling menacingly around Ling Xuan.

"This is the materialization of the spatial laws I have come to understand; you should try to comprehend them with your heart." The Candle Dragon King waved his sleeve lightly.

Ling Xuan immediately sat cross-legged and closed his eyes slightly.

Crimson flames rose around him, colliding with the dark, illusory dragon form and creating crackling sounds.

His consciousness pierced the vortex of laws like a sharp sword, attempting to capture that fleeting inspiration.

In the days that followed, Ling Xuan began to cultivate under the guidance of the Void Mirror and the Candle Dragon King, while also occasionally listening to the Candle Dragon King secretly tell him about the information of that super genius who appeared once every hundred million epochs.

He also had an advantage over his opponent, which was that the opponent knew nothing about him, while he could learn some information about the opponent through the extensive network of the Candle Dragon Ancestor.

Meanwhile, on the planet Manlong, the Mangu tribe...

"Hahaha, wife, I've signed up!" A handsome but somewhat rough-looking man boasted to his wife and daughter with exaggerated gestures.

"Dad, what are you signing up for?" Ling Xue asked, puzzled. "Of course, it's the once-in-five-thousand-years All-Humanity Peak Genius Battle! I, Ling Tianhe, am an unparalleled genius, how could I miss such a grand event? When the time comes, I'll fight my way into the finals with Xiao Xuan, and our father and son will put on a legendary show of competing on the same stage." Ling Tianhe grinned from ear to ear, as if he could already see himself battling against masters from all over the universe, becoming famous throughout the cosmos.

"Father, please don't make things worse," Ling Yue advised helplessly. Her father's talent was clearly just average; he had only reached the ninth level of the Stellar Realm in the last ten years thanks to the resources the clan had bestowed upon the third son.

If it weren't for the spiritual essence crystal core and soul-nourishing fruit that the third brother brought back, Dad wouldn't even be able to comprehend the domain. Now he actually wants to participate in some kind of genius battle. Isn't that a joke?

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Ling Tianhe blushed. "Father, I'm just participating for the sake of it."

Ling Yue thought about it and realized that he wasn't wrong, but it would be awkward if the father and son actually ran into each other.

What will my brother do then?
I can't exactly hit my dad, can I?
But since she couldn't stop her father from participating in the Genius Battle, she had no choice but to leave it at that.

In any case, it will be the father and son who have a headache later.

Time flies like an arrow, and the moment for the Battle of Geniuses to begin has finally arrived.

More than seven billion super geniuses from the Qianwu Universe Kingdom gathered together.

"The qualifiers will be divided into one hundred world zones. Which zone are you in?" asked the Candle Dragon King.

"Sector 77 of the World".

"Go!"

The countdown suddenly resounded throughout the heavens and earth, a clear universal language carrying immense pressure that caused the entire continent to tremble: "Mass teleportation is imminent, countdown, 60...59...58..."

As the final syllable of "1" faded, more than seven billion rays of light simultaneously illuminated the scene, and the figures of the crowd vanished into the void like bubbles.

In the same instant, one hundred independent worlds in the virtual universe were formed.

As the grandest competition of geniuses in human history, this event has attracted the attention of everyone from immortal powerhouses to ordinary citizens. Countless eyes are watching every move in the various arenas through virtual screens.

Ling Xuan appeared at the foot of a tall building, with a screen displaying his personal information in front of him. Having experienced a similar teleportation before, Ling Xuan quickly regained his senses, while the other contestants not far from him were still clutching their heads, not yet recovered.

"Points delivered right to my door." Ling Xuan's lips curled into a cold smile. With a flick of his three-pointed double-edged sword, the entire space was ignited by crimson-gold flames.

The fiery domain, hundreds of meters in diameter, suddenly contracted like a cage, and the runes flowing on the blade burst forth with dazzling light.

As the longsword swept horizontally, a blazing blade of light, carrying an aura of destruction, burst forth from the sky, distorting the air into vortexes wherever it passed.

Before the screams could even be heard, 108 figures were reduced to dust in the flames.

The virtual screen in front of Ling Xuan was flashing wildly:
Participant: Ling Xuan (Candle Dragon Empire)
Points: 108
Ranking: 0001
World Sector: World Sector 77

Time: The preliminary elimination will last for 30 days. When the time is up, the entire preliminary round will end, and the winner will be determined by the final score.

Note: The 77th World Zone is a continent simulated based on the appearance of the 'Modo Planet' of the Qianwu Universe Kingdom in reality, with a land area of ​​more than 13 million square kilometers.

The hardness of buildings and ground surfaces in the area all reach level B9.

Scoring rules: 1 point is awarded for each player killed, and 50% of the opponent's points are gained; defeating a strong player yields double the reward.

Leaderboard Rules: Deceased players retain their ranking. If a player has enough points, even if they lose 50% of their points upon death, they still have a chance to enter the top 1001.

At the top of the standings, the name "Ling Xuan" was flashing a dazzling red light.

Upon entering the arena, he swiftly and decisively killed 108 bewildered opponents with a single strike, making him arguably the first person to achieve this feat since the Genius Battle began.

I'm asking for votes, to read further, to add to my favorites, to comment, and to invest.

I haven't received any monthly passes in ages, I really want some!

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(End of this chapter)