Brother Who Determines the Fate of the Nation: My Great Emperor's Cultivation Level Exposed by

The demonic cultivator strongholds on the eastern border were much weaker than expected. The stronghold leaders, consisting of twelve Foundation Establishment stage demonic cultivators and one early Golden Core stage cultivator, were wiped out in half a day under the command of the elder.

Su Xuan stayed in the middle of the group the whole time, making three moves, each time finishing off the opponent perfectly, without standing out or holding them back.

After the mission was completed, Su Xuan received exactly forty contribution points.

On the morning of the second day after the flying artifact carried more than 300 inner disciples back to the sect, a long, drawn-out bell rang out from the direction of the main peak.

Once, twice, three times.

The sound continued unabated, echoing through the valley.

Four, five, six.

The disciples of the third peak of the inner sect emerged from their caves and looked up towards the main peak.

Seven times, eight times, nine times.

Nine tolls of the bell, their lingering resonance echoing through the mountains.

"Nine chimes! Nine chimes!" A young disciple from the neighboring cave rushed out of the door, barefoot on the stone steps, his face flushed as he shouted down the mountain.

"The Inner Sect Grand Competition! The once-in-a-decade Inner Sect Grand Competition is about to begin!"

Su Xuan leaned against the entrance of the cave, listening to the commotion that filled the mountain.

Half an hour later, the sect square was crowded with people. A deacon elder in the late Golden Core stage stood on the high platform and officially announced the news.

"One month later, the inner sect competition will be held. The top three will be directly promoted to true disciples and enter the main peak for cultivation."

The square erupted in chaos. More than three hundred inner disciples were discussing it excitedly, nervously, eagerly, or dejectedly feeling they had no chance. All sorts of emotions were mixed together, making it as noisy as a vegetable market.

Su Xuan stood on the outermost edge of the crowd, and after hearing the news, he turned around and left.

Before they had gone ten steps, three people caught up from behind.

"Senior Brother Su!" Li Yuan, an inner disciple who had worked with him on a border mission to move ore, came forward, followed by two young men who had joined the sect at the same time.

"A few of us are planning to form a team for intensive training and practice against each other. Do you want to join us?"

Su Xuan didn't stop walking, but turned her head to glance at him.

"No, I'm used to practicing alone."

Li Yuan took two steps to catch up.

"But our opponents in the Grand Competition are all veteran disciples at the peak of Foundation Establishment. We, who are in the middle stage of Foundation Establishment, simply cannot win without teaming up."

Su Xuan waved his hand.

"If you can't beat them, you can't beat them; participation is what matters."

Li Yuan stood there, watching Su Xuan's dusty figure disappear around the bend in the mountain path, and scratched his head.

"Is this person genuinely calm or just lacking in ambition?"

"Fine, if you don't want to come, you don't have to." The disciple behind him tugged at his sleeve.

"He's always like this, a loner, so let him be."

The stone door of the cave was closed, and the humming sound of the spirit-gathering array shut out all the noise from the outside world.

Su Xuan sat at the stone table, tapping his fingers lightly on the surface.

True disciples, from the main peak's spiritual veins, are accepted as disciples by high-level Golden Core cultivators.

The Five Elements Foundation Building Technique has only gathered the two primal forces of fire and water so far; it is still missing three sacred artifacts: metal, wood, and earth.

Any one of these three items could trigger a major war between sects; it's unrealistic to expect to find them by chance outside.

The Vajra Sect has a history spanning thousands of years and its foundation is unfathomable. The inner disciples have no access to the secret treasures within the sect.

Only those who become true disciples are qualified to enter the core area and have access to the sect's most secret resources and information.

This is the path we must take.

But you can't walk too conspicuously.

A rogue cultivator who has only been a disciple for a little over a year suddenly displays overwhelming strength in the inner sect competition. Any elder with a brain would investigate his background.

The first investigation revealed that the origin of the artifacts was unknown, and the next investigation revealed an old case involving the successive deaths of two Golden Core cultivators from the direction of Thunder City.

trouble.

Su Xuan stopped pointing; the plan was complete.

He only uses his physical strength and basic spiritual power to present himself as a body-cultivating fanatic who has been diligently practicing physical techniques and accumulating strength for a future breakthrough.

The Vajra Sect is a physical cultivation sect, so it's not surprising that it produces a genius with an exceptional physical body; on the contrary, it makes the higher-ups feel proud.

The dual-attribute spiritual power of water and fire, the Samadhi True Fire, and the power to burn the heavens and boil the seas were all suppressed in the deepest part of the dantian, not a single trace of them could leak out.

Pure physical strength combined with the golden markings of the Vajra Indestructible Wisdom King's body is enough.

There's no need for those trump cards to crush these inner disciples at the peak of Foundation Establishment.

Blue Star, Dragon Kingdom Live Stream Room.

The density of bullet comments suddenly surged at the moment Su Xuan closed the door and began to calculate.

"Here it comes! Su Shen is finally switching from the path of survival to the path of showing off!"

"Playing dumb to fool the enemy is a done deal! I'll act like a weakling the whole time, then take them down one by one with a single punch. I can't wait to see the expressions on those prodigies' faces!"

"Hilarious! After more than a year of training, everyone thought he was just an average disciple with a mid-level skill level, but he completely crushed everyone in the competition. The contrast is incredible."

"My expectations are sky-high, but I can't heal anyone; every time I try, something goes wrong!"

Within the forbidden area.

Su Ruo stared at the figure tapping on the table on the screen. Her body, which had been tense for a long time, finally relaxed. Her brother had been safe in the sect for more than a year. There was no fighting or life-or-death crisis. This was the most reassuring time she had ever experienced while watching the live stream.

There are still ten days until the competition.

Su Xuan left the cave and headed towards the sect's market along the mountain path.

The market was ten times busier than usual, with inner disciples everywhere buying supplies for the upcoming battle, and long queues forming outside the pill shops and magic weapon shops.

Su Xuan didn't go to the popular shops, but turned straight into a secluded alley deep in the market and stopped in front of a small shop without a sign.

The shop was dimly lit, and an old man was sitting behind the counter, dozing off.

Su Xuan knocked on the counter.

"How many of the highest-grade talismans are there that can block divine sense detection?"

The old man opened one eye and looked him up and down.

"Kid, those things are really expensive, five hundred spirit stones a piece. Can you afford them?"

Su Xuan took out a bag of spirit stones from his storage ring and threw it on the counter with a crisp clatter.

Ten.

The old man opened both eyes, reached over the spirit stone bag and counted them, then deftly pulled a wooden box from under the counter and pushed it over.

"Ten spirit-concealing talismans can completely block the spiritual sense probing of those below the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm, block about 70% of those in the late-stage of the Golden Core realm, and don't count on those in the Nascent Soul realm."

enough.

The highest-ranking referee in the Inner Sect Competition is only at the late Golden Core stage; the Supreme Elders at the Nascent Soul stage would not personally step onto the field to watch a group of Foundation Establishment stage juniors fight.

Su Xuan put away the wooden box, turned around and left the shop.

Three days before the competition, a list circulated wildly among the inner disciples.

The twelve favorites to win the championship.

The top three names are all veteran talents who have been practicing for more than five years.

Their cultivation levels have all reached the peak of Foundation Establishment, with one foot already in the Golden Core stage, making them the undisputed future core members of the sect.

First, Zhou Tianxing, at the peak of Foundation Establishment, cultivates the Vajra Subduing Demon Fist, the sect's signature technique. His physical strength is said to be close to that of a Golden Core cultivator in the early stages.

Second, Shen Yuheng, at the peak of Foundation Establishment, cultivates both sword and body techniques, and has never been defeated in seven years since entering the sect.

Third, Zhao Ling'er, at the peak of Foundation Establishment, is the only female seed player of the Vajra Sect, and is skilled in the silk-reeling technique that uses softness to overcome hardness.

The list circulated among the inner disciples, and everyone was discussing which of the three would come in first place.

Su Xuan's name is not within the scope of any discussion.

Having been a disciple for over a year, he barely passed the quarterly competition to be promoted to inner disciple. He doesn't socialize or stand out, and in everyone's eyes, he's just an ordinary mid-level disciple, not even in the top thirty.

Li Yuan ran up to him with the list, his face beaming with excitement. "Senior Brother Su, look! Zhou Tianxing and Shen Yuheng are definitely going to fight this time. Last year in the minor competition, they almost went all out. This time in the major competition, they're going head-to-head. How exciting!"

Su Xuan glanced at the three names on the list.

Peak of Foundation Establishment, half-step into Golden Core.

The training ground was a hundred feet in circumference, with a black iron-cast arena suspended in the center of the field. Restriction patterns flowed on the surface of the arena, emitting a faint golden light.

More than three hundred inner disciples lined up around the arena, arranged in order of seniority.

On the high platform, seven rosewood chairs were lined up in a row, with the sect leader in the center and six Golden Core elders sitting on either side. The spiritual pressure descended heavily, making the area below completely quiet.

Su Xuan stood at the end of the line for the Seventh Peak. His gray inner sect robe had faded from washing, and his broken iron sword was still hanging diagonally on his back. He was inconspicuous in the crowd.

"Round 1, No. 37 vs. No. 112."

After the elder in charge announced the number, Su Xuan glanced at the bamboo slip in his hand: number one hundred and twelve.

He stepped onto the ring.

Approaching from the opposite direction was a robust man in his thirties. His spiritual energy fluctuations were stable and profound, indicating he was a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. Two silver lines were embroidered on the cuffs of his inner sect robe, suggesting he was an experienced disciple who had been in the sect for at least three years.

The man glanced at Su Xuan, his gaze lingering for a moment on Su Xuan's faded robes, and a slight smirk appeared on his lips.

"Mid-stage Foundation Establishment?"

The man stretched his neck, and his joints cracked.

"Kid, you're out of luck."

Su Xuan didn't reply, standing still with his hands hanging at his sides, not even striking a pose.

"start."

As soon as the deacon finished speaking, the man opposite him clasped his hands together, and a thick, earthy-yellow spiritual energy condensed into a fist-sized rock projectile, which came crashing down with a sharp whooshing sound.

The rock projectile struck Su Xuan squarely in the chest.

boom.

Stone fragments flew everywhere, dust rose, and the view on the arena was mostly obscured.

Someone in the audience gasped.

"Damn it, that hit the nail on the head."

Li Yuan stood in the seventh peak's queue, his face pale.

The smoke and dust dissipated.

Su Xuan stood still, not moving an inch. His robe was torn open by the rock bullet, revealing the skin underneath.

There were no wounds, no bloodstains, not even a red mark.

The entire room fell silent for a moment.

The man's pupils contracted sharply, and before he could react, Su Xuan had already taken a step forward.

He took a step that covered three zhang (approximately 10 meters).

The fist slammed into the man's protective aura on his chest, creating a white sonic boom ring in the air. The protective aura shattered into countless points of light, and the man was sent flying backward, rolling three times at the edge of the arena, with half of his body hanging outside the platform.

One punch.

It was just one punch from beginning to end.

A deathly silence fell over the crowd below the arena. More than three hundred people stared at the gray-robed figure on the stage, and no one spoke.

On the high platform, the Third Elder, sitting in the third chair on the left, leaned forward slightly, his fingers twirling his beard pausing for a moment.

"The physical body is quite good."

The fourth elder beside him nodded.

Which peak?

"Seventh Peak, promoted from the outer sect quarterly competition last year."

"Yes, you have a solid foundation."

In the second round, Su Xuan's opponent was a sword cultivator at the peak of the late Foundation Establishment stage. He immediately summoned his flying sword, and the sword light fiercely attacked.

Su Xuan dodged the three sword lights by sidestepping, but the fourth sword light struck his shoulder with a crisp clang, and the flying sword bounced off.

He raised his hand and grasped the blade of the fifth flying sword, his fingers pinching the edge, not a drop of blood seeping from between his fingers.

The swordsman's face froze completely.

Su Xuan released his grip, and the flying sword flew back crookedly, with five clear finger marks on its blade.

Then he walked over and punched the man off the stage.

The third round, the peak of Foundation Establishment, body cultivation.

Two punches.

The fourth round, the peak of Foundation Establishment, the talisman cultivator.

Two punches later, the first shattered the protective talisman, and the second sent the opponent flying.

From the second round onwards, the whispers from the audience never stopped, and by the end of the fourth round, the discussions had turned into open exclamations of amazement.

"Who's that guy in the gray robe on the Seventh Peak? I've never heard of him before."

"His name is Su Xuan. He's a rogue cultivator who only started last year. He barely passed the minimum requirement in the quarterly competition of the outer sect."

"Just barely crossed the line? You call that just barely crossing the line?"

Li Yuan stood in the line, his mouth agape, wide enough to fit an egg, unable to close it for a long time.

Blue Star, Dragon Kingdom Live Stream Room.

The density of the bullet comments was explosive.

"One punch, one kill; one punch, one kill. Is Su Shen playing whack-a-mole?"

"They couldn't even scratch him, they're letting him off so easily, the Pacific Ocean couldn't hold them all, brothers!"

"Hilarious! That swordsman's flying sword hit Su Shen's shoulder, but the sword bounced off and he was unharmed. The swordsman completely lost his composure on the spot."

"Look closely at the reactions of those elders on the platform; they've already started to sit up straight. Su Shen has laid enough bait."

Semi-finals.

Su Xuan stood in the center of the arena. A burly man, nine feet tall, walked up to him. His muscles bulged and veins rippled under his skin. The arena trembled slightly with every step he took.

Zhou Tianxing.

The most popular favorite to win this competition is a Foundation Establishment Peak cultivator who practices the Vajra Subduing Demon Fist, the sect's signature technique. He is the nephew of the Second Elder and has never been defeated in his five years of training.

The discussion from the audience instantly reached its peak.

"Here they come, here they come, the main character has arrived!"

"Su Xuan's previous opponents were all too weak; Zhou Tianxing is the real test."

"It's hard to say. Zhou Tianxing's physical strength is close to that of the early Golden Core stage. No matter how tough Su Xuan is, he can't possibly be tougher than him, right?"

Zhou Tianxing stood still, looking down at Su Xuan, a gray-robed youth who was a head shorter than him.

"Your physical body is indeed quite good." Zhou Tianxing cracked his knuckles as he moved them.

"But that's the end of it."

Su Xuan looked up at him but didn't say anything.

"start."

Zhou Tianxing roared, his muscles bulged, and a thick golden luster appeared on his skin.

That was the external manifestation of the Vajra Subduing Demon Fist at its peak, his entire body enveloped in a layer of golden protective energy shield, making him look exactly like a war god forged from gold and iron.

As he took a step forward, a spiderweb-like crack appeared on the arena.

The man had already rushed in front of Su Xuan, his golden iron fist wrapped in howling wind, slamming head-on into him.

This punch was several times more powerful than all the previous opponents combined.

Someone in the audience gasped in surprise.

Su Xuan stood still and raised his right fist.

Deep within his body, a faint light appeared on the circulation path of the Vajra Indestructible Vidyaraja Body. Golden patterns spread from his fist to his arm, and as his blood surged, a faint golden-red halo appeared on his ordinary fist.

Just a tiny bit, nothing more.

The two fists clashed.

boom.

The sound exploded, and a visible shockwave spread in all directions from between the two men's fists.

The protective patterns on the surface of the arena flickered and trembled, and the disciples in the first three rows below were forced back several steps by the shockwave.

Zhou Tianxing's golden protective shield of qi began to shatter from the surface of his fist. The cracks spread to his arms, chest, abdomen, and entire body at a visible speed, accompanied by a series of cracking sounds.

The next instant, he was sent flying backward.

One hundred zhang.

It slammed heavily against the stone wall at the edge of the training ground, creating a human-shaped dent, and rubble rained down.

Of the more than 300 people in the audience, not a single person uttered a sound.

Even the Golden Core elders on the high platform were stunned for a moment.

Quiet.

A deathly silence.

Zhou Tianxing slid down the stone wall and knelt on the ground.

The entire right arm, from the fist to the shoulder, was covered in fine cracks, and blood dripped from between the fingers onto the ground.

The golden aura dissipated completely, and he trembled as he raised his head, his wide eyes filled with only one emotion.

impossible.

The second elder in the audience suddenly stood up from his chair, his face ashen, and was about to say something.

An elderly figure stood up even faster than him.

Elder Lingguang.

Peak Golden Core stage, one of the most senior elders in the Vajra Sect.

Having lived in seclusion for years and detached from worldly affairs, being invited to serve as a referee in this competition is an immense honor.

At this moment, the old man stared intently at the gray-robed youth on the stage, his withered fingers gripping the armrest of the chair, his knuckles cracking.