Swallowing the Stars: Heart of the Martial God

Chapter 26 The King of Qianwu Kingdom: I'd like to

Cao Benqi's words struck like a heavy hammer against the hearts of millions of geniuses.

The square was initially deathly silent, but then a chorus of voices surged forth.

"How arrogant! Does he really think he's guaranteed to take first place?" A leopard-man genius clenched his fist, his eyes flashing with anger, which stirred up a storm of emotions among the surrounding crowd.

“But he really does have the ability…” someone in the crowd muttered quietly, which drew a chorus of praise and agreement.

The geniuses from various cosmic nations glared angrily, some showed resentment, and many more lowered their heads in silence.

The terrifying aura Cao Benqi exuded forced them to admit that he indeed had the right to be arrogant.

"Competing for second place?" Ling Xuan looked at Cao Benqi, who was acting arrogantly in the center of the square, and a sneer appeared on his lips. "Are you talking about yourself? So soon, you're already in a hurry to find an opponent to compete with you for second place? I'm telling you right now, I'm going to take the first place. Even if the Lord of Yan God Kingdom personally descends, he can't stop him. I'm telling you."

These words caused an uproar in the audience.

There was an even more pretentious one who brought along the ruler of the universe.

Blood Sword Marquis, standing to the side, couldn't help but swallow hard, wanting to reach out and help Ling Xuan close his eyes. The Lord of the Flame God Kingdom was a more powerful being than the Lord of the Qianwu Kingdom. You brat, don't you know to take it easy? I wonder if the Lord can handle it.

The geniuses of the Qianwu Universe Kingdom cheered wildly.

"Flame Demon, Flame Demon."

"What are you? How dare you challenge me?" Cao Benqi sneered, his aura surging.

"Is being the first-place winner of this year's Genius Battle enough?" Ling Xuan retorted sharply, not giving an inch.

"You're courting death!" Cao Benqi's eyes widened, a red halberd appeared in his hand, and he vanished from his spot in an instant.

"Humph~"

A soft cough silenced the chaotic square. Cao Benqi appeared behind Ling Xuan, his red halberd raised high but hovering above Ling Xuan's head, unable to fall. Meanwhile, the tip of Ling Xuan's three-pointed double-edged sword was also stuck at Cao Benqi's throat.

"I see you don't take my Giant Axe Arena seriously at all, daring to cause trouble at such a grand event as the Genius Battle." A man in golden armor appeared in the sky above the entire Giant Axe Continent.

The powerful leaders who led the geniuses from various countries to participate in the battle all knelt on one knee in the square and bowed their heads to the man in the sky.

“Venerable Beiyan, we have absolutely no intention of belittling the giant arena.”

"I don't think so!" Venerable Beiyan said coldly, his aura pressing down without diminishing at all.

Under his oppressive aura, everyone present broke out in a cold sweat. Although Venerable Beiyan did not deliberately suppress those little guys at the Stellar level, the surrounding air pressure was enough to make them feel suffocated.

"Is this the power of a Universe Venerable?" Ling Xuan also felt a jolt of fear, and his desire for power deepened once again. He felt extremely fortunate about his decision to use the Heaven-Covering Technique as a supplementary cultivation method to quickly improve his combat strength.

The once bustling square fell completely silent; you could hear a pin drop.

The somber atmosphere lasted for ten minutes, until even the immortals felt they couldn't hold on any longer, at which point Venerable Beiyan withdrew his aura.

"The majesty of the Giant Axe Arena cannot be challenged; this is just a small lesson."

"Thank you, Venerable One." These immortal powerhouses in the square had to thank the other party for his admonition; this was the difference in status brought about by strength.

Call ~
Ling Xuan also let out a soft breath; the pressure exerted by that Venerable Beiyan just now was too great.

"Hmph, lucky kid." Cao Benqi lowered the halberd he had raised high. He didn't dare to be presumptuous in front of the Universe Venerable, especially since this was just a virtual universe and he couldn't really kill Ling Xuan here.

“You should thank the Venerable One properly, otherwise you would already be a corpse,” Ling Xuan retorted.

"I'll pass that on to you. When the real competition comes, you won't have such good luck." Cao Benqi ignored Ling Xuan and returned to his own team.

Back in the group, the Immortal leader of the Yan Shen Universe Kingdom asked, "So, are you confident?"

"That kid's fire and spatial laws are far inferior to mine. He's just a clown. In the official competition, he won't be a match for me. I'll teach him the consequences of offending my Yan Shen Clan." Cao Benqi looked down on Ling Xuan. "That's good. This year's champion will definitely be from my Yan Shen Universe Kingdom."

……

"Hahaha, Zhulong, this kid said even the Lord of Yanshen Kingdom couldn't stop him. Can you handle him?" The Lord of Qianwu Kingdom laughed as he looked at King Zhulong.

"Yan Shen? This is no big deal." Zhulong King picked up the wine cup in front of him, took a sip, and said calmly.

"Really? If you can't hold on, you can tell me. I still owe the clan a lot of treasure points, and the clan won't abandon me." The Qianwu King also smiled and drank a cup.

"No, no, I know Yan Shen well enough. He's not that narrow-minded." Zhulong King relaxed. "If Ling Xuan really wins against Cao Benqi, he'll just congratulate him."

The ruler of Qianwu Kingdom gave Zhulong King a deep look. He found the old man increasingly unfathomable. The more ancient and powerful the being, the more relaxed he seemed to be when interacting with him, as if he had something to rely on.

However, he was much more obedient when facing some young powerhouses, such as some newly breakthrough Universe Venerables, whom the Candle Dragon King would avoid.

"Should we give Ling Xuan a reminder? He was completely outmatched in that last attack. If Bei Yan hadn't inexplicably taken sides, Ling Xuan definitely wouldn't have been able to react and counterattack."

"No need. Ling Xuan is a member of Yan Feng's clan and has inherited Yan Feng's will."

The ruler of Qianwu Kingdom exclaimed in surprise, "I said, you old thing, how can you be so arrogant? So you are a member of that person's clan."

"Hahaha." The Candle Dragon King shook his head and laughed loudly, but didn't say anything more.

"Wait a minute, you old codger, you're not that person's son, are you?"

"Bullshit!" the Candle Dragon King retorted, glaring. "You're the one who's his son."

"I'd like to," the King of Qianwu said, spreading his hands. "I'd be willing to be his grandson, let alone his son."

Zhulong King: ...

……

On the Giant Axe Square, Blood Sword Marquis distributed the tokens to everyone, gave a few brief instructions, and then slipped away. He was afraid that if he stayed any longer, he would encounter danger. He felt safer only if he returned to the King's side.

As soon as he left, the troops from the Qianwu Universe Kingdom surrounded Ling Xuan.

"Flame Demon, are you really confident in defeating that Flame God?" someone asked. Just now, Ling Xuan had publicly provoked that super genius, which could be considered a slight representation of the geniuses of the Qianwu Universe Kingdom.

Even if Ling Xuan ultimately loses, it will not diminish his strength. After all, the super beings of all major forces unanimously believe that Cao Benqi is the champion of this year's Genius Battle and a super genius that appears only once every hundred million epochs.

To dare to face such a powerful opponent already makes one infinitely stronger than them.

Ling Xuan pushed through the crowd, his expression calm. "You'll find out when the competition starts. I need to go back to cultivate now."

After saying that, he left the square and returned to his room, number one.

"This Yan Emperor truly deserves to be called a super genius who can become the master of the universe and awe the world. His talent is terrifying," Ling Xuan thought to himself.

“Your talent is now comparable to that of the Great Emperor in his youth. Are you feeling the pressure, kid?” The Void Mirror spoke to Ling Xuan for the first time in a long time.

P.S.: The protagonist isn't a dragon-human; he looks just like all of you handsome readers. Those who guessed he had the backing of the Dragon Lord were all wrong.

The Lord of Dragons is indeed one of the more ancient cosmic rulers of humankind, but the original work doesn't say he's the oldest one.

I also hinted at the protagonist's identity and background; the first volume is called "Barbarian Boy." The opening also introduces the customs and traditions of their tribe, so the clues are actually quite obvious.

By the way, you guys won't stop watching just because the main character is as handsome as you are and not a dragon, right? No way!!

(End of this chapter)