Family Cultivation: Evergreen of the Song Family

"clang--"

A blood-red shield appeared in front of Long Han. Gu Xueying suddenly thrust out her spear, the spear light transforming into a soaring silver dragon, which crashed heavily into the shield, creating violent ripples and causing the surrounding space to tremble slightly.

This move was incredibly powerful, with the roar of a dragon echoing throughout the entire cloud-filled arena. However, Long Han remained as steady as a mountain, his hands behind his back, looking at Gu Xueying with a mocking expression.

"It seems I overestimated you. Does the Myriad Manifestations Palace have no one left? Even someone like you is qualified to participate in the Five Academies Grand Competition!"

The spear tip seemed to pierce into a steel wall, and no matter how hard Gu Xueying tried, she could not advance any further.

Long Han's decision to let her have three moves was not a joke or arrogance; he genuinely possessed the strength and confidence to do so.

Born into an ordinary family, she was already a rare genius in the southwest of the Tianshan Mountains. She single-handedly stormed into the gates of the Wanxiang Palace branch, becoming the youngest spear master in the history of the Wanxiang Palace branch. She also defeated many geniuses and qualified to participate in the Five Academies Tournament.

But in front of a top genius like Long Han from the Five Academies, her proud spear skills seemed so powerless.

Seeing the mockery on the other person's face, an invisible force brewed in her heart and then erupted.

His inner magical power surged, and the silver spear in his hand emitted a dazzling spear light. These spear lights gathered around the spear and transformed into a lifelike silver dragon, raising its head and glaring angrily, its scales bristling, and a powerful dragon might permeating the air between the opening and closing of its huge eyes.

Long Han's mockery subsided slightly, but he still kept his hands behind his back and made no special movements.

"hold head high--"

An angry and high-pitched dragon roar resounded, and the silver dragon opened its blood-red maw and rushed out, shattering the blood-red barrier in front of Long Han in an instant, as if it wanted to swallow him whole.

The silver dragon, formed from the sharp spear light, landed on Long Han's face, causing a faint stinging sensation.

"crash"

Just as the dragon was about to be swallowed by that gaping maw, blood-red chains formed from pure law power surged wildly from the surrounding space like vines, firmly locking the limbs and body of the silver dragon formed from the spear light.

The moment the chains of law touched the silver dragon's body, plumes of black smoke billowed up, and the silver dragon, writhing wildly, vanished into nothingness.

Even now, Long Han had not moved an inch, nor had he made a single move.

"This……"

Gu Xueying's Dao Heart trembled. Her all-out, supreme attack had only managed to lift the hem of Long Han's robe?
"This attack was barely passable, but not enough. You have one last chance to strike, so don't disappoint this Holy Son." Long An's tone was arrogant, with a clear hint of mockery in his eyes.

"I know I'm no match for you." Gu Xueying slowly lowered her gun, her tone somber, as if she were deliberately suppressing a certain emotion within her.

Upon hearing this, Long An's disdain deepened, and he said indifferently, "What, are you giving up already?"

Gu Xueying suddenly raised her head, her phoenix eyes staring directly into Long Han's eyes, a fierce light like that of a wild beast gleaming in her eyes. She said in a calm tone, "I am indeed no match for you, but I am confident that I can make you pay the price for your arrogance!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Gu Xueying leaped up, transforming into a white streak and rushing towards the azure sky. Blood-red light emanated from her body, and a long, bloody gash appeared on the palm of her hand holding the gun.

The nearly boiling blood in his body flowed continuously into the silver spear in his hand, radiating a dazzling light that was hard to look at directly. Endless spiritual energy gathered in the spear and concentrated at its tip.

As the saying goes, a flash of cold light arrives first, followed by a spear thrust out like a dragon.

When the power was concentrated to the extreme, Gu Xueying, who was high above and whose skin was already somewhat withered, thrust out the spear that she had risked everything for!
"hold head high--"

Gu Xueying merged with her spear, transforming into a terrifying crimson light. With a dragon's roar, the crimson light descended from the sky, causing the space to tremble uncontrollably wherever it passed.

Seeing this powerful shot that could shake the heavens and earth, Long Han finally suppressed the contempt in his eyes, replacing it with a solemn expression.

Under normal circumstances, this shot, though powerful, would pose very limited threat to him. However, because of his previous boast, he is unable to move, which greatly restricts his performance.

Gu Xueying chose to gamble everything at this moment because she saw this rare opportunity.

If Long Han chooses to dodge, he will have to admit defeat on the spot according to his previous boast; otherwise, it will not only be his face that is slapped, but the face of the entire Beast Taming Sect.

If Long Han chooses to stand still and take the hit head-on, he will most likely be seriously injured.

Gu Xueying was absolutely confident in her strike; even a Golden Core cultivator at the peak of their cultivation would have to temporarily avoid its power.

Long Han's hands moved rapidly, forming hand seals so fast that they almost left afterimages. Blood-red barriers appeared above his head, and countless chains formed by the power of laws spread wildly upwards at that moment.

"boom……"

"Rumble"

With a series of loud bangs, the blood-red barriers in the sky were shattered in the blink of an eye, at a shocking speed. The law chains that had successfully withstood Gu Xueying's second move also failed to create a miracle, crumbling inch by inch in the powerful force of the blood light in just one breath.

"puff"

The crimson light pierced directly into Long Han's chest, but it seemed to have hit an invisible barrier, penetrating less than half an inch before stopping.

As the gunfire swept through, Long Han's upper garment shattered, revealing a blue scale armor that was gleaming with a bluish light.

It was this scale armor that blocked Gu Xueying's spear and deflected most of its force; the spear tip only pierced the skin of Long Han's chest, nothing more.

Feeling a slight stinging pain in his chest and seeing the shattered scales, Long Han's anger reached its peak.

Although this scale armor is only at the level of a high-grade spiritual treasure, its value far exceeds that of a spiritual treasure. This is because the scales used to refine this scale armor came from a demon lord-level [Azure Scale Winged Dragon], which is extremely precious. The entire Beast Taming Sect, or rather, the entire Dragon Clan, only has this one piece.

This was also his greatest source of confidence in defeating Zhao Yin and wiping away his previous humiliation. Not only was this exposed in advance by this shot, but several of his scales were also destroyed.

These few scales were nothing to him; he could easily recover. What truly angered him was that Gu Xueying had actually injured him. Even though it was just a puncture to the skin that would heal in the blink of an eye, it still filled him with boundless rage.

Because this was a major stain on his life.

Especially with the example of Song Changsheng emerging unscathed, his current state seems even more glaring.

Of course, this was also his own fault for being too overconfident. If he had gone all out, with his strength, this situation wouldn't have happened. "You're asking for death!"

Long Han's expression was icy cold. An ancient bloodline within him was wildly reviving, and that power almost made Gu Xueying breathless.

Fortunately, she remembered Ling Xiao's earlier instructions and quickly put away her gun, then decisively said, "I admit defeat!"

Her words seemed to freeze Long Han in place; even with endless rage surging within him, he couldn't bring his raised claws down.

According to the rules of the Five Colleges Competition, if either side explicitly concedes defeat, the other side must unconditionally stop fighting. Otherwise, not only will the person who started the fight be disqualified from the competition, but their college will also be disqualified, and they will face severe penalties.

Even though Long An was resentful, he could only suppress his anger at this moment.

He never expected that Gu Xueying would admit defeat so readily, giving him no chance to make a move after just three moves.

Gu Xueying calmly wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, flicked her spear to remove the trace of crimson blood from the tip, and then turned back to the platform where the Myriad Manifestations Palace was located without looking at Long Han again.

Although the planned strategy was not achieved, she knew in her heart that this result was truly unacceptable to Long An.

Upon returning to the platform, before Gu Xueying could even utter a word in response to everyone's concerned inquiries, she suddenly fainted.

Long Han, suppressing his anger, won the competition. Looking at Gu Xueying lying in Cai Die's arms from afar, his eyes were filled with murderous intent.

"If we encounter anyone from the Myriad Manifestations Palace later, we need not hold back!"

The group looked at each other, but still clasped their hands in agreement.

The elder leading the Beast Taming Sect spoke earnestly: "Even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit. Holy Son, you should learn from this battle and never be so careless again. Do not forget the purpose of this trip."

A cold glint flashed in Long An's eyes. He did not respond to the elder's advice, and it was unclear whether he had listened or not.

"Have you found it?" The old woman leading the [Tianshui Ji Clan] asked Ji Liangyu beside her telepathically.

Ji Liangyu nodded slightly and said, "He's just a brainless brute whose mind is affected by his bloodline. He's nothing to worry about."

"That being said, the pterosaur armor he wears and the [Azure Scaled Pterosaur] he wields are no ordinary items. If the young clan leader encounters him, he must proceed with caution."

"I am not him, and I would not do such a foolish thing that would tie my own hands. Please rest assured, Mother-in-law." Ji Liangyu made no attempt to hide the contempt she held for Long An in her words.

"Ji Liangyu, instructor of the Tianshui Ji Clan branch, versus Zhao Ai, instructor of the Zhulu Academy!" The clear and melodious voice of Yingyue Zhenjun echoed in the air.

Ji Liangyu calmly stepped into the air, looked at the platform where the Great Zhen Immortal Dynasty was located, and said indifferently, "Come and fight!"

……

This qualifying round, which can only be described as brutal, lasted for seven days and six nights, spanning more than seventy hours before finally coming to an end.

During this period, there were crushing victories like those of Song Changsheng and Ji Liangyu, who emerged unscathed, as well as hard-fought battles like those of Shangguan Yi and Xiong Tu, where both sides were evenly matched and ultimately suffered heavy losses.

All twenty-four contestants who took the stage could be described as having a clear conscience.

Even so, under the cruel competition system, half of these top talents will still be eliminated.

In the end, Wanxiang Palace had four players advance to the finals, making it the faction with the most players advancing.

However, Cai Die was seriously injured in the competition and it would be difficult for her to recover without ten days to half a month of recuperation. Unless she draws a "bye" in the next round or encounters Xiong Tu, who is also seriously injured, she will only be eliminated.

Next up is the Great Zhen Immortal Dynasty, where three people successfully advanced. However, they were unlucky this time. First, Shangguan Yi encountered an opponent who could restrain him, and the highly anticipated Third Prince Zhao Ai encountered Ji Liangyu, the young clan leader of the Tianshui Ji Clan. He was defeated after only a quarter of an hour in her hands.

Fortunately, the eldest prince Zhao Yin successfully turned the tide, eliminating Ma Xiangri, who was also highly anticipated by the Beast Taming Sect, in just three moves.

Three members of the Beast Taming Sect also advanced to the next round, but Xiong Tu was severely injured and had almost no chance of advancing.

The Ji family of Tianshui had an unfavorable start, and their luck continued to be poor. They not only encountered Song Changsheng, but also Ling Xiao. In the end, only two of them successfully advanced to the next round.

Bai Ding Ge fared poorly; apart from Li Yufeng, who drew a "bye" draw, all four contestants who participated in the first round were eliminated, leaving none behind.

Li Chengye, the young sect leader whom they regarded as their last hope, did not even make it past the first round.

The one who eliminated him was Baili Yuntu, who had been keeping a low profile all along. His swordsmanship was superb, and combined with his powerful sword formation, he fought Li Chengye for three hours and finally eliminated him.

Such a result surprised not only Bai Ding Pavilion, but also the spectators. Bai Ding Pavilion's performance this year was so poor. If it weren't for Li Yufeng, who drew a "bye" draw, they would have all gone home in the first round.

From that moment on, True Monarch Qianlian never had a kind expression on his face again.

Since the Five Academies Competition began, no force has ever been so quickly defeated, yet they were the ones who encountered it.

Who would have thought that the Hundred Cauldrons Pavilion, which performed so poorly this time, had won first place in the previous Five Academies Tournament with overwhelming force?

There was a full six hundred years between the two Five Academies Grand Competitions, and the Hundred Cauldrons Pavilion took a detour for almost six hundred years.

Perhaps, from the moment the former young sect leader Li Chengzong died young, their fate was sealed.

"The first round of the Five Academies Grand Competition has come to an end. There will be a three-day break, after which the second round of the competition will begin!" True Monarch Yingyue brought the first round of the Five Academies Grand Competition to a brief close.

The three days were for the participants to recover from their injuries and also for discussing tactics for the next round.

The competition in the next round will undoubtedly be even more brutal. After all, none of the four seeded players, plus the dark horse Song Changsheng, have been eliminated yet. The next round is the thirteen to seven round. Apart from one lucky person who drew a "bye", the remaining seven people will have to compete with these five for the remaining spots!
Either one or two seeded players will be eliminated, or only two out of seven regular players can advance.

Either way, it's far more brutal than the qualifying rounds.

...(End of chapter)