The country of Clearwater was a rank 4 country.
The spiritual aura here was far thicker than the Brightmoon Country.
Headed by the Spirit Stream Sect, their history dated back to thousands of years in the past.
However, this was nothing compared to Ancient Grand Xia Empire which was once a rank 6 country.
For the Clear Water country to have been selected as the place for this year's competition, it was their fortune.
People from all the neighbouring countries had arrived here to participate in this selection process. It caused the trade to boom while their cultivators also got much exposure.
The area around the Spirit Stream Sect was packed with carriages and Magical beasts from the different clans and sects who wanted their members to participate in the examination.
When the group of Yun Tianlong arrived, their dragon carriage which caused everyone else to run away in their country, became ordinary here.
In the main hall of the Spirit Stream Sect, a middle-aged man with sword-like eyebrows was sitting there and rubbing his beard.
He was looking at the crowd of people in front of him seemingly lost in thought.
His cultivation base wasn't visible to all others, but those who could discern it would find that he gave off the fluctuations of a Late-Stage Nascent Soul Cultivator.
Although his cultivation base was very high for someone who looked so young, among the people who were surrounding him, three more old men had a similar cultivation base.
"Lord Zhao, how are this year's candidates?" One of the old-timers asked him. His voice was extremely respectful.
"Not bad." The man replied after some consideration.
Hearing this, everyone else had solemn gazes. The 'Not bad' in his words meant that there were quite a few strong candidates here.
The venue of examination this time was far harder than previous years. It wasn't a good sign for their descendants who were to participate in the competition.
Zhao Yu was one of the highest-ranking elders from the Martial palace of the Xia Imperial Academy.
Whether it was his conduct or his bearing, one could easily feel his strong imposingness.
The number of enemies that have felled to his blade was countless. Even though he was calmly sitting there, the old monsters who hadn't fought others for a long time, felt like they were in the presence of a vicious beast.
Only a person with such strength and cultivation was capable of overseeing everyone here.
The strong would be respected everywhere.
"Fellow Daoist Shui, we'll start in just a few more hours. Is the relocation formation alright?" Zhao Yu asked.
"Yes, lord protector. We have already checked things through."
The old man who answered was none other than Shui An, the sect master of the Spirit Stream Sect.
"Right, the relocation formation is of utmost importance. Tell the formation masters who are busy repairing your protection formation to go too."
Shui An quickly responded. "Actually it's already repaired and even stronger than before."
Zhao Yu's eyes flickered. "If you don't mind me asking, how did your formation got destroyed in the first place?" He had been curious about this matter but never got time to ask.
However, as soon as he asked this question, he saw that Shui An's expression became ugly. He shouldn't have asked that question.
Zhao Yu waved his hand. "Forget it, this Zhao was just curious. You don't need to answer it."
Shui An showed a bitter expression on his face before letting out a sigh. "Actually, it is not a big secret. Lord Protector would get the answer if you ask any elder in the sect."
Thus, he recounted how Yun Dingxing had come to extort them a few months ago and taken half of their spirit stones and precious elixirs.
As Zhao Yu continued to listen, his face first contorted before letting out a bark of laughter.
"Hahaha… Prince Dingxing hasn't changed his habits even after so many years…"
In reality, Zhao Yu admired Yun Dingxing's strength. Although the latter might act a bit too extreme, he had the strength and status to back up his action.
It didn't matter if the man wasn't even from his race, the strong were respected everywhere!
When he saw that many other sect masters were similarly showing an ugly expression, he understood that Yun Dingxing had done quite a number on these people.
Stopping his laughter, he looked at these people and consoled them, "Fellow Daoists don't need to worry about him anymore. I have heard that Prince Yun has left already left this region. If you are fortunate, you may never see him again in your life."
Hearing this news, everyone present here was elated. Some of them couldn't believe his words.
"Is… is he really gone?"
"Why would I lie to you?" Zhao Yu chortled.
Gone! That evil star was finally gone!
Shui An almost teared up.
For the past few decades, they were one of the only few sects who knew the identity of Yun Dingxing's wife.
Her identity was so great that all of them were frightened to put half a step inside Brightmoon country.
"That Long Qianmei is even more of an evil disaster than her husband! Hai, how could a small clan like that give birth to a peerless devil like her?" He inwardly sighed.
Maybe thousand years of that clan's luck and destiny had converged on a single person which gave birth to her?
Anyway, for someone like her to appear once again was impossible.
The Long Clan hadn't had a single person who was fortunate to join Grand Xia after that.
Looking at the tens of thousands of cultivators, he let out a sigh.
"How many would have their dreams shattered? How many would rise like dragons? And how many of them would never come back?"
Among the large number of cultivators, those who came from prominent clans were easily distinguishable from the others.
First of all, they were all surrounded by the elders of their clans or sects. Secondly, their looks, bearing and cultivation bases were something that the ordinary cultivators couldn't compare with.
Among the huge sea of cultivators, the duo of a man and woman stood out from the others.
The man had a handsome face and looked quite extraordinary. He wore a white robe and which had marks of swords embroidered in it with golden silk.
Beside him stood an extremely beautiful girl who looked no older than 20 years. From their facial features, it looked as if the two of them were siblings.
Just like her brother, she was also clothed in white robes. Her innocent face and lithe figure made her look like a blossoming flower.
Other men around her couldn't help but steal glances at her.
The girl seemed to be uncomfortable with so many men eyeing her. Her beautiful eyebrows frowned as she spoke in an irritated tone, "Elder brother, all these men are looking at me with such disgusting expression!"
The young man beside her laughed a bit. He looked at his sister with a doting gaze and said, "Ling'er, back in the clan, no one dared to profane you in fear of offending me! However, now that we are here, there are hundreds of people like me here. Why should they respect you?"
The girl was dissatisfied with her brother's reply. Although she understood his words, she didn't want to accept them. "Elder Brother, I believe that even among all of these cultivators, you would are certainly the strongest!"
Hearing his sister's words, the man laughed a bit. His sister was too lovable, but she was a bit too naïve.
"Sigh, what am I going to do with you?" Although he softly held her hands, the aura around him no longer remain gentle.
With a thought, his late-stage Yin Yang Cleansing aura rushed out. Everyone who stood near him at that time felt as if a sharp sword had passed through them.
Poof!
Feeling as if their internal organs were cut open, the men sprayed blood from their mouths. Faces paled, they immediately backed away from him.
"What a sharp sword aura! Who is he?" A man hastily tried to heal himself and asked in a panicked voice.
"You don't recognise Bai Qingsong?"
"Bai Qingsong, the number one sword cultivator known as Demon sword from Pristine Snow country?!"
Hearing this name, the people further backed away from them. As for those stealing glances at the girl, they scurried away in fear of their lives.
The girl was quite satisfied with the situation.
"Hehe, look Elder brother, didn't I say you that even among all these people? You are the best!" Her voice was very cheerful.
The man shook his head at her naivety. Although she was very talented, in the end, her experiences were quite limited. "Ling'er, you are underestimating others too much. The people who ran away were all just small fries. Real experts wouldn't be intimidated by this little stunt at all. Look even at that man, even though he has a lower cultivation base than me, he isn't affected at all!"
The girl's eyes shifted to where her brother was pointing to see a lone youth standing over there. Once she looked over, she could no longer shift her eyes.
The man seemed to be of a similar age to her. A chiselled face, eyes that glowed like gems and a head full of white hair that gave him a bit of an aged appearance. He was the most handsome man she had ever seen in her life.
Noticing their gaze, the youth turned his head. He looked at Bai Qingsing for a moment, nodded at him and then looked away. From the beginning, he didn't spare a single glance at the girl beside Bai Qingsong.
This person was none other than Tianlong who had retracted all of his demonic features.
Bai Qingsong's eyes sparkled. He was at the late stages of Yin Yang Cleansing. However, the youth in front of them who seemed to be only at the peak of Qi Condensation wasn't affected by his aura at all.
"Hey, what kind of reaction is that? Do you know who my brother is?" The girl spoke in a dissatisfied tone.
Tianlong frowned. "No, I do not know who he is."
He hadn't put the two people in his eyes at all. Guaranteed the man was strong and he couldn't handle the latter, but he could easily run away. As for the girl, he wouldn't even need to lift a finger to kill her.
"You!" The girl had just wanted to strike a conversation with him using her brother's prestige. However, she didn't imagine that she would receive such a reply.
Bai Qingsong wasn't angered at his reply. On the contrary, he felt that the man was quite interesting. He stopped his sister and said, "Fellow Daoist, please don't mind her rudeness. This one is called Bai Qingsong, I wonder how I may you?"
Toanlong could ignore the girl, but the man was different. Also considering how despite having cultivation, he was addressing Tianlong as 'Fellow Daoist, it would be extremely offensive to not return the greetings.
He sighed and clasped his hands towards Bai Qingsong and said in a respectful tone, "This one's called Yun Fan. I wonder if senior has something to say?"
The man silently noted the name on his mind. He smiled and said, "Fellow Daoist seems to have high attainment in swords. I'm impressed."
Tianlong let down his guard. He shook his head and said, "I dare not accept senior's praise. Your mastery of the sword path far exceeds my own. If I'm not wrong, you have even condensed sword type spirit veins."
Bai Qingsong's eyes widened in surprise. He indeed possessed Sword Spirit veins but he had barely let out their aura while driving everyone away.
"Surname Yun, Hmm…" The girl interrupted them. "Among all the clans that share the surname, there is Haining, Tiansun and Li Guang city's clans. From which of them are you?"
Tianlong furrowed his brows. She was being too nosy. "I'm just a nobody who cultivated independently. I have no connection with any of those prestigious clans."
"Is that so…" She didn't believe him.
Bai Qingsong didn't believe it either. But since the other party didn't want to reveal his identity, he wouldn't bother checking either. He started to chat about the different cultivators that were participating this time.
"Does Fellow Daoist know that Poison king's disciple Zhen Wuji is also participating? That man is said to have once wiped out an entire valley of cultivators…"