Chapter 255: Chapter 254: Breaking the Heavens (Part 2)

A magnate in a feathered, purple robe sighed. "The results are truly far from ideal. For this Hidden Dragon Points Competition, we had just over eight hundred returning students and nearly three thousand new geniuses. Now, only a few days in, almost half of the new students have already been forcibly eliminated!"

A hush fell over the grand hall.

Fifth Elder Ouyang Xu of Taiwei Hall felt a sense of resignation. During this Hidden Dragon Points Competition, the performance of the ordinary new students was average, and even the few seed-level geniuses he had high hopes for were also unremarkable.

The new students he had placed great hope in, Elder Vermilion Bird Ji Huang’er and Lu Qingxue, both had lackluster performances.

Ji Huang’er was doing slightly better, but Lu Qingxue had joined the Celestial Sea Pavilion and was being utterly suppressed by the previous Elder Vermilion Bird, Lin Fei.

Most of the other seed-level geniuses were also being held in check by the returning students, unable to make any significant moves.

The performance of some returning students, on the other hand, was nothing short of stunning.

Not only were they dominating the new students, but they had also swept the top three hundred spots on the Memorial Stone.

For instance, those in the top ten on the Memorial Stone—like War King Ouyang Yu, Flame Monarch Luo Lie, Son of the Night Ye Youming, Bishui Traceless Luo Monarch, and the Blood Bat King—were each putting on a dazzling display.

Moreover, the four Great Elders from the previous year held a firm grip on the top four spots, controlling the overall situation.

A Colorful Robe Female Elder who had remained silent until now let her enchanting eyes drift to the Memorial Stone. She chuckled softly. "To be fair, it’s not that the new students are too weak this time, but that the returning students are simply monstrously talented. Among the top ten, even Ye Youming at tenth place has already achieved a Ninth-Grade Flowering for his White Lotus Mark. The four Great Elders in the top four have even reached the Eleventh Grade!"

"Especially Elder Black Tortoise Jin Ruyi, ranked second, and Elder Vermilion Bird Lin Fei, ranked first. Just a day ago, they both transformed their White Lotus Marks into a Honglian!"

A smile touched Yuqing Tian’s lips as he spoke in admiration. "Those two have indeed performed exceptionally well. Jin Ruyi single-handedly killed three Half-Step Beast Kings in a row. Such power is simply astounding among geniuses of the same tier. And then there’s Elder Vermilion Bird Lin Fei—unparalleled in her strategic mind, meticulous in her planning. She used the Earth Profound Technique to collapse an Earth Vein, wiping out dozens of Black-striped Golden Rhinoceroses in one fell swoop! As we all know, the Black-striped Golden Rhinoceros is an extremely formidable Alien Species. Individually, they’re on par with powerful First-level Barbarian Beasts, and that herd even included two Half-Step Beast Kings!"

A gray-robed Elder suddenly interjected. "Compared to the four Great Elders from last year, the performance of these new ones is simply pathetic!"

The entire Star Hall fell silent.

All the elders present were veterans of All Stars Academy. They held immense power and controlled the recruitment pipeline of fresh blood for the Star Sect.

The poor performance of this new generation’s top students undoubtedly reflected their dereliction of duty, or at the very least, their poor judgment.

Throughout the hall, some elders wore grim expressions. The few from the Celestial Market Hall responsible for this year’s recruitment were so ashamed they could barely look up.

Just then, a new change suddenly appeared on the Memorial Stone.

A crimson light suddenly shot up from beyond the 365th rank on the Memorial Stone. With a flash of white light, it landed at the 153rd position.

A Fourth-Grade White Lotus materialized!

Fifth Elder Ouyang Xu of Taiwei Hall’s gaze sharpened, and he asked in confusion, "The one hundred and fifty-third place... Elder Cyan Dragon Qin Feng?"

After a moment, the elder smiled. "A new student has finally made a showing. It seems the newcomers aren’t as weak as everyone imagined!"

The elders from the Celestial Market Hall lifted their heads slightly, a glimmer of hope dawning on their faces as they stared at the Memorial Stone.

After glancing at those elders, the gray-robed Elder remarked, "This Qin Feng’s performance is indeed somewhat unexpected."

After offering that brief praise, the gray-robed Elder shook his head again. "However, one hundred and fifty-third place isn’t that high. It’s impressive among the new students, but compared to the returning geniuses, it’s merely average."

However, just then, the Memorial Stone changed again.

At the 153rd position, a White Lotus appeared and, in the next instant, shot directly up to 98th place.

A Sixth-Grade Flowering of the White Lotus!

He had jumped two grades in an instant!

In the Star Hall, all the elders’ gazes snapped to the Memorial Stone.

Within the Star Hall, some of the elders were visibly stirred.

A magnate from Taiwei Hall muttered to himself, ’He jumped two grades in an instant to reach ninety-eighth place. What did this Qin Feng do? As far as I know, to go from a Fourth-Grade to a Sixth-Grade Flowering, one must kill at least twenty-four First-level Barbarian Beasts...’

"Could he have done what Elder Vermilion Bird Lin Fei did and used some special method to wipe out an entire small clan of Barbaric Beasts?"

A look of delight flashed in the eyes of the Celestial Market Hall elders. They lifted their heads and puffed out their chests slightly.

It wasn’t a total wash after all. A new student had finally broken into the top one hundred.

As their gazes swept the hall, the elders still felt a bit lacking in confidence, but they could at least stand their ground now. It was a far cry from the feeling of sitting on pins and needles just moments before.

Suddenly, at that very moment, an extraordinary light burst forth from the Memorial Stone.

A brilliant light flashed.

A beam of white light erupted from the 98th spot. To the absolute shock of the elders, it tore past rank after rank, breaking straight into the top ten.

A flash of crimson light followed, and with the force of a tidal wave, it blew past tenth place, ninth, eighth... and in the next moment, it dislodged the previous Elder White Tiger, Ye Nantian, to claim the third position.

The crimson lotus was so vivid, so dazzling!

Elder Cyan Dragon Qin Feng!!

In the Star Hall, the assembled elders stared at one another in utter bewilderment.

Elder Ouyang Xu of Taiwei Hall flatly rejected the notion. "Impossible, Junior Brother Changfeng! The Memorial Stone was left behind by the Founding Ancestor. How could it possibly make a mistake?"

The gray-robed magnate, his eyes wide in disbelief, pointed at the Memorial Stone and demanded, "Then how could that kid jump from ninety-eighth place into the top three in the blink of an eye? Going from a Sixth-Grade Flowering straight to a Twelfth-Grade one? Don’t tell me he killed a Beast King, or that he slew a dozen Half-Step Beast Kings at once! That’s utterly impossible!"

"I also find it impossible," Yuqing Tian started. "To suddenly jump from a Sixth-Grade to a Twelfth-Grade Flowering... Isn’t that a bit..."

Yuqing Tian trailed off, but everyone present understood his unspoken words.

’How could a new student possibly enter the top three?’

’And in the blink of an eye, no less! Jumping from ninety-eighth into the top ten, climbing right over the heads of countless returning geniuses to land in the top three!’

Many of the elders looked doubtful.

To go from a Sixth-Grade to a Twelfth-Grade Flowering directly was indeed hard to believe.

Qin Feng’s information was no secret to the elders present. With a cultivation at the Martial Arts Twelve Heavens Realm, he was nothing but an ant in the eyes of a Half-Step Beast King, to say nothing of a Tier Two Beast King.

’Could an ant scheme to kill a giant elephant? Was that even possible?’

After a moment of contemplation, Elder Ouyang Xu of Taiwei Hall stood up, walked to the front of the hall, and announced, "Worry not. I will use one of my Divine Abilities to see the truth of this matter for myself."

"He possesses the White Lotus Ancestor’s White Lotus Mark. I shall cast the Water Moon Mirror Flower Great Divine Power. Through that mark, everything this young man has done in recent days will become crystal clear for all of you to see!"

(Thank you all for your support, my brothers. I’ve seen all the comments in the review section. I’ll say no more, but starting next Saturday, I’ll be back to releasing four Chapters a day. There’s one more update this afternoon~)