Xuanwu War Sovereign

Chapter 417: Chapter 416: Enemies on a Narrow Road, Qian Kai

"A fifteen-year-old Fourth Grade Alchemist! Who would have thought he’d come from our Qin Family!" Qin Mo Feng stroked his long silver beard, his eyes shining.

It wasn’t just him; many other Qin Family Elders were visibly thrilled, their expressions animated with excitement.

Qin Qingsong, the Qin Family Patriarch, sighed in amazement. "Truly unexpected. If I hadn’t happened to flip through the family registry a few months ago, we might never have known that this Qin Feng comes from a branch of our very own Mountain and River City Qin Family!"

But what surprised him even more was the talent Qin Feng had demonstrated.

Although they had previously discovered Qin Feng’s identity, the Qin Family hadn’t paid it much attention.

Mountain and River City was too far from the City of Many Stars. While Qin Feng had made a considerable name for himself, his fame was mostly confined to the city and its immediate surroundings.

It was only when the members of the Qin Family came to the City of Many Stars for the Star Martial Arts Assembly that they were surprised to find just how famous Qin Feng had become.

This revelation immediately set the minds of the Qin Family members turning.

Leaving aside how astounding it was for a fifteen-year-old to be a Fourth Grade Alchemist...

Qin Feng’s influence alone was enough. If he were willing to lend his support to the Qin Family of Mountain and River City, they would surely rise to new heights.

Qin Tianjiao’s expression was grim. Seeing the ecstatic Qin Family Elders, he couldn’t very well admit that he had thoroughly offended his kinsman.

If word got out, he would likely be deemed a traitor to the entire Qin Family of Mountain and River City.

"With Qin Feng’s influence, our Qin Family’s promotion to a County Family is practically set in stone!"

A County Family ruled over an entire prefecture. By then, the Qin Family would no longer be limited to the confines of Mountain and River City. The so-called Eight Great Families would all vanish completely.

There would be only one voice in all of Mountain and River City: the voice of the Qin Family.

Qin Qingsong was immensely pleased. His gaze fell on the purple-robed youth. "Tianjiao, do you have a relationship with Qin Feng? Logically, you should be close, since you both hail from Mountain and River City. Tianjiao, if that’s the case, you must make an introduction on behalf of the family!"

At his side, the Qin Family’s old ancestor also chuckled. "Tianjiao, the future of our family rests on you young ones. If you can win Qin Feng’s support, I can promise you this: the moment you graduate from All Stars Academy, I will have your father name you the Young Patriarch!"

The Young Patriarch. That meant he would be the undisputed next Patriarch of the Qin Family.

However, none of the Qin Family members noticed that the color was draining from Qin Tianjiao’s face.

...

「Half a day later, in the rest area.」

RUMBLE...

The stone door to the private room rumbled open, and Qin Feng stepped out, unable to completely hide the joy in his eyes. The refinement of the Fire of Hope had been unexpectedly successful.

In just half a day, he had completed the initial refinement of the Fire of Hope.

After emerging from his seclusion and making a few inquiries, Qin Feng learned that the fifth round was over and the sixth—the round to narrow the field from twenty-four to twelve—had already begun.

’Wasn’t it supposed to be fifty advancing to twenty-five?’

Qin Feng was confused for a moment, but then he remembered the fiasco involving the Martial God Emperor’s Son, Wu Pojun, and Song Jing. They had both been eliminated simultaneously, which meant one extra person was out and one less spot was available.

’So, fifty were narrowed down to twenty-four.’

As he stepped through the gates of the Arena of the Stars, a wave of frenzied energy washed over him. The stands, capable of holding over a hundred thousand spectators, were a roaring cauldron of sound. Cheers and shouts crashed against his mind like a tidal wave.

Even though he’d experienced it many times before, walking into the Arena of the Stars still made his blood race, and a flush of Blood Qi rushed to his cheeks.

Qin Feng’s arrival went unnoticed. Everyone was captivated by the matches on the platforms, so very few people saw him come in.

Ji Huang’Er spotted him from the crowd, but the red-robed girl merely shot him a glance before quickly looking away.

Qin Feng scanned the Houwu District, which was now sharply divided into two sections: an area for the eliminated and one for the active contestants.

In the eliminated section, he saw that the entire freshman faction was present, save for himself and Qian Kai. Lu Qingxue, Ji Huang’Er, Chi Ling’Er, Celestial Monarch Lu, Zhangsun Wu Ya, Ling Du Xu, and Wan Jianyi were all there.

Joining them were the vast majority of geniuses from the second, third, and fourth years.

Across all four grades of All Stars Academy, those to make it to the sixth round were himself, Qian Kai, and Zhang Xuan. The third-year experts had been almost completely wiped out.

Four people remained from the fourth year: Tan Mingfeng, current leader of the Five Elements Team; Wang Dao Yi, leader of the Taichu Team; Ling Shuanghua, current Pavilion Master of the Heaven’s Edge Sea Pavilion; and Zhong Lin, current leader of the White Poplar Team.

The rest were six Outer Disciples from the Star Sect.

In total, thirteen people from the Star Sect had made it to the sixth round. In comparison, the Nine Great Empires’ faction had fared slightly worse, with only eleven of their contestants advancing.

They were led by the five remaining Emperor’s Sons.

As things stood, the Star Sect clearly held the advantage.

Qin Feng quietly found a seat and closed his eyes to resume his cultivation.

’Excellence is born of diligence and destroyed by idleness. Success comes from thoughtful planning and is lost to impulsiveness.’

In the Elder District, a group of Elders watched the matches on the platforms, their expressions somewhat relaxed. The situation for All Stars Academy was looking quite favorable. Although they hadn’t achieved the overwhelming dominance they had hoped for, they were in a great position overall.

More importantly, the Star Sect’s contestants had slain many of the Nine Great Empires’ most pivotal geniuses.

Taking out geniuses like Long Zhan and Qu Ao was a greater victory than defeating an army of a million soldiers. The Nine Great Empires had suffered a devastating blow to their core strength this time.

Of course, many geniuses from the Star Sect and All Stars Academy had also shed their blood on the tournament platforms.

In the VIP section, the Sovereigns of the Nine Great Empires wore grim expressions. They had come well-prepared for this assembly. The geniuses who had made it to the finals were the absolute cream of the crop from their nations’ younger generations.

These losses were heart-wrenching.

’We cannot lose!’

’We have paid too great a price this time. We must crush the momentum of All Stars Academy! If we can seize first place, our Nine Great Empires’ grand undertaking will be halfway to completion. Then, the old ancestors of our Royal Families can finally implement the next phase of the plan!’

’Hopefully, we can deal the Star Sect a devastating blow!’

’Don’t be anxious. Our remaining champions are the elite of the elite—hidden prodigies from our Royal Families. We have prepared for so long, pouring nearly the full might of our nations into nurturing them. I am certain they are bound to give All Stars Academy and the Star Sect a huge surprise!’

’Exactly. This time, we, the Nine Great Empires, will show the Star Sect that our nations are not to be trifled with!’

As the Sovereigns exchanged their thoughts via Divine Thought, a sharp, combative aura churned in their eyes, adding an invisible layer of clashing blades to the atmosphere of the Arena of the Stars.

...

「Houwu District.」

Leaning back in his seat, Qin Feng made no effort to pay attention to the ongoing matches.

He closed his eyes, concentrating his entire mind on familiarizing himself with the Ancient Poison Flame and the Fire of Hope.

Qin Feng hoped to master the two newest flames within his body in the shortest time possible. Both were exceptionally profound and terrifyingly powerful.

This was especially true for the Fire of Hope, a flame of the Heaven and Earth Divine Fire Level.

Refinement was not the same as complete mastery.

With every bit of familiarity he gained over these two flames, his power would increase significantly.

In Qin Feng’s opinion, it was far better to use this time to comprehend and master these two flames than to watch the other matches.

Two hours later, Qin Feng heard an announcement.

"For the sixth match on Platform Two, will Qin Feng and Qian Kai of Cyan Dragon Academy please take the stage!"

Qin Feng’s eyes snapped open, a flicker of surprise in their depths. At the same moment in the Houwu District, Qian Kai’s expression changed, and his gaze landed squarely on Qin Feng.

Cold smiles appeared on both their faces simultaneously. It seemed fate had a way of bringing rivals together.

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