The Prodigies War

In the distant void, a young man stood out of the void, handsome and ethereal like an immortal in his neat and clean outfit.

“You are…Sword Demon Daoyuan?” Although Region Lord Heikong’s face was extremely gloomy, he was doubtful and anxious inside.

The sudden suppression of Region Lord Xuening had greatly shaken him, and he didn't need to think to know that it had come from the young man before him.

This also made Region Lord Heikong apprehensive and alert.

Meanwhile, Lin Xun replied with a faint smile, “Yes, it is I, your subordinate.”

Upon hearing the word subordinate, Heikong inwardly cringed and felt stifled. His expression in turn became increasingly unsightly.

Inhaling deeply to resist the urge to slap Lin Xun to death, he said, “I don’t have a subordinate as ‘capable’ as you. Just give it to me straight, what exactly are you plotting, having done so many things under my banner?!”

Lin Xun laughed, “Of course it’s to open up your territory and achieve an unparalleled feat.”

The veins on Heikong’s forehead popped up one by one as he gritted his teeth. “Is that so? I really didn't expect you to be so loyal.”

Region Lord Heikong felt that he would vomit blood in anger if this conversation continued like this.

He took a deep breath and said icily, “Stop talking in circles and be straightforward, or don't blame me for being impolite!”

Lin Xun asked laughingly, “Do you dare?”

Right at this moment, Sword Spirit Yezi arrived like a radiant flash and floated down on Lin Xun's shoulder, his voice calm, “What about this one?”

As he said this, he gazed at Heikong. A seriously wounded second-realm Emperor could be easily suppressed with a single strike.

Feeling Yezi's stare, Region Lord Heikong shivered as chills creeped up his heart. He finally understood where the young man in front of him got his confidence from.

Lin Xun put on a serious look. “Lord Heikong, you are a great person for taking me in as your subordinate. You demonstrate imposing courage and righteousness.

“Therefore, I've decided to do as much as I can to aid you, my liege, so that your mighty name will resonate throughout Frosty Air Region, and everyone will know of you and your deeds.”

A strongly unpleasant feeling washed through Heikong, and he said in shock and anger, “You… What exactly do you want to do?”

“You need not be alarmed. I’m only here to make sure that you get prepared for the future when all the forces in this Frosty Air Region will follow your lead. Only when that happens can I express my gratitude to you.” Lin Xun finished his speech with a smile and took his leave.

“Stop!” shouted Region Lord Heikong, confused and furious as the feeling that something was wrong kept growing stronger.

“My liege, I’m going to give you a bright future, so don’t do anything stupid and ruin it.” Lin Xun didn't look back as he left.

Heikong felt the impulse to make his move several times during this, but he ultimately held back.

He didn't dare.

The lesson of Region Lord Xuening was still fresh in his mind!

“Who on earth is Sword Demon Daoyuan…?” Only after a long time did Heikong calm down.

His face clouded over as he felt as though he had fallen into an invisible net, one that he could not break free from.

……

On this day.

Region Lord Heikong had slain Region Lord Xuening and achieved a total victory, annexing the latter's territory in one fell swoop.

As soon as the news spread, there was a sensation in the entire Frosty Air Region.

For normal cultivators, changing regional lords made no difference to their lives because as long as they lived in the Ancient Nebula Underworld, they were destined to be exploited anyway.

However, to the other eight regional lords, Region Lord Heikong’s triumph held a completely different meaning.

It meant that from today on, the situation where the great ten regional lords of Frosty Air Region standing on equal ground had become history, as ten had been reduced to nine.

As for Region Lord Heikong who had taken over Region Lord Xuening's territory, his overall force had more than doubled. His might and influence was now on an entirely different level!

“When did that fogey Heikong become so strong? Could it be that his cultivation has broken through to the third realm?” A regional lord was in disbelief.

“Now that his power has expanded twice as much, the monthly tribute he receives will reach an astronomical figure. His cultivation resources will be very rich…” Some people frowned in apprehension.

The Ancient Nebula Underworld was lawless and turbulent, and on top of that, the aeth qi in the air was thin. While this was fine for the average cultivator, for Emperor experts such a harsh environment was unable to fulfill their cultivation needs.

The great regional lords of Frosty Air Region each controlled a territory that had hundreds or even thousands of cities, from which they collected up to hundreds of millions of dao crystals every month.

However, Emperors like them needed to hand over a portion of that to the Holy Illumination Ancient Sect.

Only by doing so would they have the opportunity to exchange for some precious resources from the Holy Illumination Ancient Sect that fulfilled their own cultivation needs!

In short, if the average cultivator wanted to survive in the Underworld, they would need to enter a city and pay dao crystals for shelter.

The lord of each city would likewise need to pay tribute to their respective regional lord in order to gain the latter’s recognition.

Regional lords, for their own cultivation, also needed to pay tribute to Holy Illumination Ancient Sect, from whom they could purchase cultivation resources…

Without a doubt, the one who stood atop all those layers of exploitation and gained the most benefit was Holy Illumination Ancient Sect!

From this, one could see how powerful Holy Illumination Ancient Sect was as one of the Three Dark Giants.

Moreover, this was not only the case with Frosty Air Region. After all, there were a total of thirty-three regions in the Underworld!

To Region Lord Heikong, the expansion of his territory meant he would have more dao crystals to exchange with Holy Illumination Ancient Sect for the cultivation resources he needed.

This was what made the other regional lords uneasy.

All in all, Region Lord Heikong's annexation of Region Lord Xuening's territory was of extraordinary significance.

However, Region Lord Heikong himself…couldn't feel one bit happy!

At the thought that it was all calculated and arranged by someone else, indescribable shivers ran through him.

Sword Demon Daoyuan… What exactly is he going to do?

He couldn't figure it out.

……

Only a month had passed since Lin Xun had set foot in the Underworld.

A month ago, he had arrived at Nightmare City with no fame to his name, thus had been viewed as a naïve fat sheep and raised a small storm.

A month later, the name of Sword Demon Daoyuan was like a dazzling comet that shone brightly in the territories under Region Lord Heikong and Region Lord Xuening.

Many thought that without such a powerful subordinate as Sword Demon Daoyuan, it was impossible for Region Lord Heikong to take over the territory of Region Lord Xuening so smoothly.

Countless people lamented how capable Region Lord Heikong was for cultivating such an outstanding subordinate.

In short, although Lin Xun had become renowned, his fame was dependent on Region Lord Heikong.

People thought that he couldn’t have risen to fame in Frosty Air Region so quickly without the latter’s support.

This viewpoint was exactly what Lin Xun was happy to see.

The further the name Sword Demon Daoyuan spread, the sooner Xi could find him, but at the same time, the tallest tree in the woods suffered the most. Being too well-known came with a great deal of unnecessary troubles and storms.

After all, the new Nameless Esteemed Emperor had already descended in this world, while Lin Xun had no idea if Xi had successfully killed the purple-clothed woman called Yanxing or not.

Because of this, the first thing he thought of when making a name for himself was to put all the responsibility on Region Lord Heikong. In this way, the world would only deem that his rise was inseparable from the support of Region Lord Heikong no matter how famous he became.

Even in the scenario that someone would find and harass him, Region Lord Heikong would make an excellent shield.

This was Lin Xun's main intention!

It wasn't because he was bent on being sinister and wreaking havoc on Region Lord Heikong, but because it was Region Lord Heikong who had taken the initiative to come to his door wanting to subjugate him!

In a nutshell, Lin Xun had been happily playing along, and Heikong now had reaped what he had sown.

However, Lin Xun currently had other ideas.

Of the Three Dark Giants, both Holy Illumination Ancient Sect and Earth Treasury Realm had a deep enmity with him.

In the past years, whether in the Ancient Wasteland Domain or on the Ancient Nebula Road, the disciples of those two forces had only appeared before Lin Xun with the purpose of killing him!

How could Lin Xun not hold a grudge over this?

Moreover, he would never forget that the culprit behind the Lin Family's massacre was quasi-Emperor Baqi of Holy Illumination Ancient Sect!

The situation of Frosty Air Region was that it was under the control of Holy Illumination Ancient Sect, and the ten great regional lords here had to rely on this sect to survive.

If Frosty Air Region was stirred up, would Holy Illumination Ancient Sect…still be able to be a mere bystander?

Lin Xun was eager to test this out!

However, just as Lin Xun started to take action, an order issued by Holy Illumination Ancient Sect spread through the whole region at an unbelievable speed.

The content was simple: all the great regional lords were to search every corner of Frosty Air Region for the whereabouts of Lin Xun, a disciple of Fangchun Mountain!

The sudden event sent the region into an uproar.

The reason was that this order came with an extremely attractive reward. Merely being able to provide valuable clues would earn one a billion dao crystals!

Capturing Lin Xun was attached with an even more generous reward from Holy Illumination Ancient Sect: it would, within capability, satisfy any request one made!

A billion dao crystals might not be much in the eyes of Emperor experts, but they could not escape the temptation posed by a promise from Holy Illumination Ancient Sect.

The news of this order spread not only in Frosty Air Region but also in the other thirty-two regions of the Underworld almost immediately!

In other words, the entire Ancient Nebula Underworld heard of the wanted notice on Fangchun Mountain’s Lin Xun in just one day!

The implication of this was extraordinary.

Who could be so generous as to mobilize the power of the whole Underworld to deal with one person?

When Lin Xun heard of this, the first answer that came to his mind was…the newly arrived Nameless Esteemed Emperor!

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