Peerless Empress: One Woman, One Sword, Slaying Through Myriad Realms

Ye Wuxi's eyes lit up. In each competition, there were very few people at the Xuanwu Realm, so the spirit stone reward was quite substantial.

She's penniless right now, so this ranking is something she can try to achieve.

……

The next morning, Ye Xicheng led ten disciples of the Ye family, including Ye Wuxi, as well as Ye Qingqing and Ye Hong, towards the palace.

The grand competition is currently taking place outside the palace. The enormous training ground is so vast that it could easily accommodate ten thousand people without feeling crowded.

In the center of the vast training ground, several huge square battle platforms were erected.

Meanwhile, a grandstand was erected in each of the four directions (east, south, west, and north) around the training ground.

The three stands, east, west, and south, were already filled with people—the city lords of various cities in the Tianfeng Kingdom. Before them stood ten outstanding young men selected from their respective cities, exuding an extraordinary aura.

There were also many people watching from below the stands.

The north-facing stands were reserved for the royal family and the major powers of the capital.

When Ye Xicheng led Ye Wuxi and the others to their seats on the north stand, almost all the major powers, except for the royal family, had already arrived.

Opposite the Ye family were members of the Qin family. Ye Xicheng looked at the young man in the lead and snorted coldly.

Qin Hao lowered his eyes. He could afford to offend the Ye family now; once he joined a more powerful sect, he would make them pay.

Soon after, His Majesty and Empress, dressed in dragon and phoenix robes, also appeared, but they were not standing at the very front.

At the forefront was a young, beautiful woman in a white dress, next to whom stood a middle-aged man in a similarly white uniform, and half a step behind was a middle-aged man in a blue robe.

The royal family followed behind.

Small countries like Tianfeng Kingdom are nothing compared to powerful sects. Their emperors and empresses are nothing more than ants ruling over a small area. Not to mention anything else, if the Fengling Sect wanted to, it could easily destroy the royal family...

"Elder Yan, Elder Sun, Elder Wang, please take your seats," Emperor Lin Tianba said respectfully.

Elder Wang said in a deep voice, "Elder Yan, Elder Sun, please go first."

Everyone was somewhat surprised. They were familiar with Elder Wang; Wang Yan was an elder of the Wind Spirit Sect, specifically in charge of student recruitment for the Heavenly Wind Kingdom.

They actually gave up their seats today; just who are those two people?

After the three were seated, the emperor and empress led the rest of the royal family to sit down on one side.

Elder Wang turned his head, somewhat puzzled, and asked, "Two elders, what brings you here today?"

Elder Sun laughed and said, "Elder Wang, don't worry about us. We're just passing by. You can compete however you like."

He then beckoned to a young man in a black brocade robe next to Lin Tianba, "Dongxu, come sit here with me."

Lin Dongxu nodded with a smile, got up and sat down next to him, a seat even closer to Lin Tianba's. However, Lin Tianba maintained his smile throughout, showing no sign of dissatisfaction.

Lin Dongxu is the second prince, exceptionally talented. It's said he gained the favor of a senior at a young age and joined a sect, though no one knows exactly which one.

Elder Wang smiled and said, "So the Second Prince has joined the Heavenly Sword Sect. Congratulations..."

Lin Dongxu smiled and nodded, but didn't say anything more. The Wind Spirit Sect was nothing compared to the Heavenly Sword Sect.

The young woman just pursed her lips.

Lin Dongxu noticed the gaze and respectfully said, "Senior Sister Yan, is there any important matter that brings you to Tianfeng Kingdom? I will certainly help if I can." This Yan Jingyao wasn't invited by him...

Yan Jingyao said lazily, "Does this elder need to report to you when I come and go as I please?"

Lin Dongxu quickly replied, "I wouldn't dare."

Elder Sun snorted coldly, "Yan Jingyao, what brings you here? What are you here for?"

Yan Jingyao smiled faintly, "Naturally, I've come to keep an eye on Elder Sun..."

A tense atmosphere filled the stage.

Ye Wuxi, who was not far away, was somewhat puzzled. Heavenly Sword Sect?

Ye Qingqing and Ye Hong, having only been at the Fengling Sect for a short time, knew more.

Ye Qingqing whispered, "The Heavenly Sword Sect is a fifth-grade sect, much stronger than the Wind Spirit Sect. Under normal circumstances, the Heavenly Sword Sect would never recruit students in a small country like the Heavenly Wind Kingdom..."

Ye Wuxi frowned slightly. So that's how it is. It seems the Second Prince is extremely favored by Elder Sun. The royal family has connections with the Heavenly Sword Sect; this isn't a good thing. It will make her revenge even more difficult. If she could also join the Heavenly Sword Sect…

Qin Hao looked at the person at the head of the table and his face lit up with joy. He had agreed to marry the princess and had been waiting for this day. The Second Prince had promised him that as long as he won first place in the competition, he would be introduced to the elders of the Heavenly Sword Sect.

Once he goes to the Heavenly Sword Sect, he will only become stronger, and Ye Wuxi will be nothing to him...

Lin Tianba smiled and said, "Elder Wang, may the competition begin?"

Elder Wang nodded, then flashed to the center of the platform, where a white stone tablet, fifty meters tall, appeared, divided into ten sections.

Every year, over two thousand people participate in the competition, but only the top fifty are selected. Naturally, it's impossible to hold the competition for a long time.

Therefore, it was divided into two parts: talent test and martial arts competition.

The talent test will eliminate most of the participants, only taking the top 500. Even with high cultivation level, poor talent can lead to immediate elimination, as talent determines a martial artist's ceiling, while temporary cultivation level can be artificially boosted with elixirs and doesn't necessarily indicate anything.

"Everyone who received the competition jade token, come over here one by one for a talent test," Elder Wang's voice rang out.

Everyone is familiar with the talent testing monument; most major families have one, though none are as large as the one used by sects. The young disciples of various families and their city lords all stepped onto it and landed on the martial arts arena.

Ye Wuxi followed the rest of the Ye family to the training ground, but didn't rush to test it. She had tested her affinity for elemental energy before.

However, she has now acquired a Five Elements constitution. It's unclear how this talent monument will manifest. If it differs from her previous water attribute, it might arouse suspicion...

"I'll go first," a burly young man, already at the eighth level of the Spirit Martial Realm, placed his palm on the testing tablet.

The next second, the lower three sections of the test pillar suddenly lit up with blue light, indicating the lower three grades of water attribute.

Elder Wang shook his head and called out loudly, "Next!"

Each section of this testing monument represents the grade of spiritual affinity, while the colors represent attributes such as metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. A third-grade talent is considered a low-grade talent, with limited potential; generally speaking, one wouldn't be able to advance to the second stage...

Soon, young men from various cities stepped forward to take the test, but unfortunately, most of them had low-grade talent.

The major cities quickly completed their tests, and only then did the scions of the various factions in the imperial city begin to take their turn for testing.

There are about two hundred disciples from the Imperial City, and their talent is generally higher than that of disciples from other cities. In previous years, most of the fifty disciples came from the Imperial City.

"I'll do it," Qin Kong, a disciple of the Qin family, suddenly placed his palm on the testing pillar.

The four sections beneath the stone tablet glowed red, indicating a mid-fourth-grade fire attribute, which was not bad.

As the people from the imperial city stepped forward to take the test, Wang Yan's complexion gradually improved.

Hazuki, a fifth-grade wood-attribute wood elementalist.

Ye Hu, a mid-level rank fire attribute

Ye Qing, a fourth-grade water-attribute character.

Lin Qianrou, a fourth-grade water-attribute character.

Lin Yang, a fifth-grade fire attribute cultivator.

Lin Yu, a mid-level rank fire attribute