Primordial Era: I am a treasure trove, full of magical treasures.

After listening to what the Heavenly Dao said, Xuanbao remained silent for a moment, and then—

"this one?"

The will of Heaven was taken aback: "What?"

"I mean, is that all?" Xuanbao curled his lip, looking disgusted. "Peak of the fourth level of Sainthood? And a cripple who hasn't recovered from serious injuries? I thought he was some important figure. I was a little nervous."

Heaven's Way: "..."

It wanted to remind Xuanbao that he was only at the peak of the second level of the Hunyuan Daluo Golden Immortal realm, still two minor realms away from others. However, remembering the fear it had felt from being attacked by the Chaos Bell and the Eternal Spear, it wisely chose to remain silent.

Xuanbao, however, was completely unaware of how arrogant his words were, and began to calculate to himself: "A Saint at the peak of the fourth level of the Heavenly Realm, still seriously injured, hiding in the temple pretending to be a god... Hmm, it's not that I can't fight him. But if I were to fight him head-on, I would inevitably have to use some of my trump cards, which wouldn't be worthwhile."

Xuanbao stroked his chin, his eyes gleaming.

"A direct confrontation isn't worthwhile, so let's try a different approach."

Xuanbao raised his head, looking at the floating sphere of light representing the will of Heaven, a meaningful smile playing on his lips: "Hey, since you are the Heavenly Dao of the Cangxuan Realm, you should be able to sense everything that happens in this world, right?"

The Heavenly Dao's will trembled slightly, its tone carrying a hint of wariness: "Theoretically... yes. As long as it's within the Cangxuan Realm, nothing can escape my perception. But Ancestor Cangxuan's cultivation is higher than mine, and I cannot probe the area of ​​his temple."

"That's enough." Xuanbao snapped his fingers, his smile growing even brighter. "Then let me ask you—what are the hobbies of that old fellow, Ancestor Cangxuan? Or rather, what is it that he particularly cares about?"

The will of Heaven remained silent for a moment, seemingly searching through memories from countless eras past.

"Does his... love of collecting geniuses count?"

"A genius?" Xuanbao raised an eyebrow.

"Indeed." The voice of the Heavenly Dao was tinged with complexity. "Every thousand years, that old scoundrel Cangxuan holds a 'Gathering of Prodigies,' selecting the most outstanding young geniuses from the four continents of the Cangxuan Realm and sending them to the Divine Temple. Ostensibly, it's to 'bestow fortune and cultivate future generations,' but in reality—"

"Actually, all those geniuses ended up in his stomach, right?" Xuanbao chimed in, his tone revealing a hint of understanding.

The Heavenly Dao remained silent for a moment before slowly saying, "Yes. Those geniuses were sent into the temple and never came out again. I can sense that their auras completely disappeared after entering the depths of the temple—not even a trace of their souls remained."

"Devouring the essence of geniuses to heal its own injuries." Xuanbao scoffed, "Truly the style of a Chaos Demon God, utterly unoriginal."

"When is the next Pride Tournament?"

The will of Heaven paused for a moment, then replied, "According to tradition, the next Heavenly Pride Gathering... will be in three years."

"Three years..." Xuanbao stroked his chin, his smile growing wider. "The timing is just right."

The will of Heaven was somewhat puzzled: "What do you intend to do?"

Xuanbao didn't answer directly, but instead asked, "Tell me, if there were a 'genius' with such high talent and excellent aptitude that even Ancestor Cangxuan was moved—what would he do?"

The will of Heaven answered without hesitation: "He will personally receive the genius and then devour him to replenish his own source."

"That's right." Xuanbao clapped his hands and said with a smile, "But what if—that 'genius' is actually here to kill him?"

The Will of Heaven: "..."

Its sphere of light trembled violently a few times, clearly shocked by Xuanbao's audacious idea.

"You...you plan to infiltrate the Heavenly Pride Tournament?!" The voice of the Heavenly Dao's will trembled slightly. "But you are a Primordial Golden Immortal! No matter how you disguise yourself, you can't possibly fool Ancestor Cangxuan, can you? He is a Saint of the Fourth Heaven!"

"Who said I was going in person?"

Xuanbao rolled its eyes at it, then raised its hand and waved—

A streak of light flew out from his sleeve, landed on the ground, and transformed into a human figure.

The figure was eight feet tall, with a handsome face, sword-like eyebrows, and bright eyes, exuding a vigorous and energetic aura. His cultivation was only at the mid-stage of the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm, but his spirit and innate pride made it clear that he was a rare and promising talent.

The Heavenly Dao's will examined it carefully, then suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "This...this is...an avatar?!"

"To be precise, this is still me," Xuanbao proudly introduced. "I sealed a wisp of my original divine soul into this body, leaving only the most basic cultivation instincts and talents. Not to mention Ancestor Cangxuan, even if a Saint at the fifth level came, he wouldn't be able to see any flaws—because this body is a true genius to begin with."

The will of Heaven circled the clone several times, growing increasingly alarmed with each glance.

This clone, in terms of flesh and blood, meridians, acupoints, and even the fluctuations of the soul and the rhythm of the breath, is exactly the same as a true Taiyi Golden Immortal genius! In fact, his talent is so high that even the will of Heaven felt a trace of jealousy—his cultivation aptitude is almost perfect!

"This...how is this possible..." the Heavenly Dao Will murmured, "Even a Great Luo Golden Immortal couldn't disguise their avatar so perfectly..."

"Of course not a Grand Luo Golden Immortal." Xuanbao grinned, revealing a set of white teeth. "But I am a Primordial Grand Luo Golden Immortal, and I also master the Three Thousand Laws. Creating a perfect physical body is as easy for me as molding clay."

The will of Heaven fell silent.

It suddenly felt that losing to such a monster wasn't so shameful after all.

"Then... do you intend to send this clone to participate in the Heavenly Pride Tournament?" the Heavenly Dao Will asked cautiously.

"That's right." Xuanbao patted the clone's shoulder and said with a smile, "Once he shines at the conference, he will naturally alarm Ancestor Cangxuan. At that time, the Ancestor will definitely personally receive this 'peerless genius,' and then—hehe."

The Will of Heaven: "...And then?"

"And then?" Xuanbao blinked, looking completely innocent. "Then, this 'peerless genius' of mine will, at the moment of being devoured, 'accidentally self-destruct a few innate spiritual treasures for fun.'"

The Will of Heaven: "..."

Its sphere of light trembled violently, as if it might explode at any moment: "You...you're going to self-destruct your innate spiritual treasure? Do you have many innate spiritual treasures?!"

"Don't worry, not all of them." Xuanbao waved his hand, giving him a "don't make a fuss" look. "It's just a few innate spiritual treasures. Everyone has them, right?"

The will of Heaven remained silent for a long time.

It suddenly felt that submitting to this smiling guy might not be such a bad thing—at least, it wouldn't become the target of his schemes.

"Then... what do I need to do?" the will of Heaven asked.

"You don't need to do anything." Xuanbao waved his hand. "Just pretend you don't know anything and do what you're supposed to do. After I deal with Ancestor Cangxuan, I'll come and help you sort out the laws of the Cangxuan Realm—you're such a stifled Heavenly Dao, you can't even manage your own world."

The Will of Heaven: "…………"

It wanted to argue, but couldn't find a reason to, so it could only swallow its anger.

Xuanbao had arranged everything and was preparing to leave the Heavenly Dao Space when he suddenly stopped and turned back to ask, "By the way, is that Ancestor Cangxuan male or female?"

The will of Heaven was taken aback: "Huh?"

"Nothing, just asking." Xuanbao waved his hand, and with a flicker, disappeared into the Heavenly Dao Space.

Only the sphere of light representing the will of Heaven remained, scattered and disordered in the void.

It had lived through countless eras and seen countless powerful beings, but it had never seen anything like Xuanbao before—a strange creature with formidable strength, meticulous mind, and a penchant for joking around.

"The primordial world... the world created by Pangu... were all of these monsters?" The will of Heaven murmured to itself, the sphere of light trembling slightly, as if deeply worried about its future fate.

Three years is but a fleeting moment in the vast world of Cangxuan Realm.

But for those young geniuses aspiring to participate in the Tianjiao Conference, these three years are the most important and crucial three years of their lives.

The Grand Gathering of Pride and Pride, held once every millennium.

This is the grandest event in the Cangxuan Realm, a stage that countless young geniuses dream of. As long as one can stand out in the conference, be selected by the God Emperor, and be sent to the temple to receive the "blessing of the ancestors," one can rise to the top in one step and become the most dazzling existence in the Cangxuan Realm.

This rule has remained unchanged for countless years.

No one has ever questioned why those geniuses who were sent to the temple never came out again.

Because of the deliberate shaping by the Cangxuan Ancestor, everyone believed that those geniuses were kept by the Ancestor's side and personally taught, becoming the top guardians of the Cangxuan Realm.

What a beautiful lie.

Cangxuan Realm, Eastern Continent, Tianyuan City.

Tianyuan City is exceptionally lively today.

The city's largest square was packed with people, shoulder to shoulder. In the center of the square stood a towering arena, hundreds of feet high, its sides inscribed with array runes that shimmered with various colors. Above the arena, a huge crystal screen floated, displaying the names and records of the contestants.

This is the selection site for the East Continent Division of the Tianjiao Tournament.

Young geniuses from major cities and forces across the Eastern Continent have gathered here to compete for one hundred qualifying spots. Those who make it into the top one hundred will travel to the Central Continent to participate in the finals and compete against the most outstanding geniuses from the four continents.

If one can break into the top ten, one will gain the qualification to meet the God Emperor and enter the temple.

At this moment, two young cultivators are engaged in a fierce battle on the arena.

One of them was a woman dressed in red, wielding a fiery red longsword. Her swordsmanship was fierce, each strike carrying scorching fiery sword energy, forcing her opponent to retreat repeatedly. Her cultivation was at the early stage of the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm, which was already considered top-tier among the younger generation in the Eastern Continent.

However, the audience's attention was not on her.

All eyes were drawn to a corner below the arena.

There stood a young man.

He was dressed in a simple blue cloth robe, with a handsome face, sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, and a lazy smile on his lips. He leaned against a pillar, arms crossed, watching the competition on the stage with utter boredom, as if this highly anticipated tournament of prodigies was nothing more than a tedious monkey show to him.

"Who is that person? I've never seen him before?"

"I don't know... but judging from his expression, he doesn't seem nervous at all?"

"Just putting on an act, huh? They'll probably be eliminated in the first round."

"Exactly, exactly. Dressed so shabbily, they obviously don't come from any wealthy or influential family."

People around them were talking amongst themselves, their words full of disdain.

The young man—who was naturally Xuanbao's "seed" clone—seemed completely oblivious to the discussions, still leaning against the pillar, lazily yawning.

"Next match—Lin Xuan of the Qingyun Sect versus—Ye Chen, a rogue cultivator!"

The names of the next matchup were displayed on the crystal screen.

The young man—that is, "Ye Chen"—finally moved.

He stretched and loosened his muscles before slowly walking onto the ring.

His opponent was a young man dressed in a blue Taoist robe, wielding a longsword of superior-grade innate spiritual treasure level, and exuding the aura of a late-stage Taiyi Golden Immortal—a whole minor realm higher than Ye Chen.

"Lin Xuan of Qingyun Sect." The young man bowed respectfully, his tone tinged with arrogance. "So you're that 'rogue cultivator' Ye Chen? I advise you to admit defeat yourself, lest you get hurt later and people accuse me of bullying you."

Ye Chen looked at him and smiled.

That smile was gentle and friendly.

But for some reason, Lin Xuan felt a chill run down his spine when he saw that smile.

"Please." Ye Chen made a "please" gesture.

Lin Xuan snorted coldly, said no more nonsense, and with a flick of his longsword, a sharp sword aura slashed towards Ye Chen!

That sword energy contained the sharpness and speed of the law of metal, as fast as lightning, and unstoppable!

The audience gasped in surprise, as if they could already see Ye Chen being defeated by a single sword strike.

Then--

They saw that Ye Chen simply raised his right hand slightly.

Extend two fingers.

It caught the sword energy.

"Click—"

With a crisp sound, the sharp sword energy, powerful enough to kill an ordinary Taiyi Golden Immortal, shattered inch by inch between Ye Chen's two fingers, just like glass!

The entire room fell silent.

Lin Xuan's eyes widened, his face filled with disbelief: "This...how is this possible?!"

Ye Chen flicked his fingers and looked at him with a smile: "That's it?"

Lin Xuan's face turned bright red, and with a roar, he unleashed his strongest killing move!

However, there was no suspense whatsoever.

Ye Chen used only one move—or rather, not even a single move, but a light palm strike—to send Lin Xuan, sword and all, flying off the stage.

The whole process was so fast it was breathtaking.

It happened so fast that many people didn't even realize what was happening.

It wasn't until Lin Xuan crashed heavily to the ground, creating a large crater, and fell unconscious that everyone finally came to their senses.

"We won?! We won?!"

"One move?! Just one move?!"

"Isn't Ye Chen a mid-stage Taiyi Golden Immortal? How did he instantly kill Lin Xuan, a late-stage Taiyi Golden Immortal, in one move?!"

"Genius! This is a true genius!"

The entire square instantly erupted in excitement!

Ye Chen simply patted non-existent dust off his hands, then lazily walked off the stage, leaned back against the pillar, and continued yawning.

It was as if his stunning victory just now was nothing more than casually swatting a mosquito.

Among the crowd, several mysterious figures dressed in black robes were staring intently at Ye Chen's back.

Their eyes gleamed with a greedy and excited light.

"A peerless genius... absolutely a peerless genius!"

"Quickly report to His Majesty the Divine Emperor—an extraordinary figure has emerged in the Eastern Continent!"