Chapter 0359: The Xuanwu Sky-Supporting Mountain

Chapter 0359: The Xuanwu Sky-Supporting Mountain

Xiao Yuemei kissed Qin Yun's cheek, giggled, and skipped away, disappearing in an instant to live her carefree life.

Hong Yan remained mostly silent along the way, as he had lost to Xiao Yuemei several times and felt somewhat humiliated.

Now that Xiao Yuemei was gone, he finally spoke up, "Old Qin, what exactly is your background? That girl seems very close to you!"

"She's a little sister I know—quite mischievous!" Qin Yun laughed.

"Not just mischievous—she's downright cunning! And her strength is formidable... She's not even a princess, and she totally fooled me!" Hong Yan couldn't help but curse under his breath.

He was also grateful to Qin Yun, as without him, he would never have gotten his things back.

Hong Yan knew where the Xuanwu Sky-Supporting Mountain was located, and Xiao Yuemei had instructed him to take Qin Yun there.

"Old Qin, let me tell you first! To participate in the Xuanying Trials, you need to be under forty years old and at the Martial Realm!" Hong Yan said, "You must be over a hundred, maybe even two hundred years old, right? Why bother joining in the fun?"

Qin Yun frowned, "Can they really detect my true age? Are they that advanced?"

Zi Qingcheng looked like a woman in her twenties, but she had lived for a very long time, and he couldn't tell her age.

"You might not know this, but they’ve got a special device that can detect a person's age! I don't know the specifics, but you'll see for yourself when we get there!" Hong Yan laughed.

...

In Wuhuang, near the Yunlong Mountain Range, lies the Northern Region, where a famous tall mountain called the Xuanwu Sky-Supporting Mountain stands.

This mountain is incredibly high, appearing like a pillar from a distance, stretching straight into the sky. It is said to be over a hundred thousand meters tall.

At its highest peak, the temperature alternates between extreme cold and heat, earning it the name "Land of Frost and Flame."

After nearly ten days of travel, Qin Yun and Hong Yan finally caught sight of the Xuanwu Sky-Supporting Mountain!

"It’s enormous!" Qin Yun exclaimed in awe from afar.

"At the mountain's peak, there's a very powerful King-Level Sect!" Hong Yan gazed longingly at the summit, "My father promised to do his best to get me into a King-Level Sect!"

King-Level Sects are on par with martial kingdoms in terms of strength, boasting numerous martial arts traditions.

If a martial kingdom’s prince enters one of these King-Level Sects, they can learn more martial arts, which is also a way to enhance their strength.

"We’re not interested in Mortal-Level Sects—our aim is always the King-Level ones!" Hong Yan smiled proudly, "Soon, I’ll be a disciple of a King-Level Sect! When that happens, I’ll throw a big celebration and invite you, Old Qin, to visit Hongwu Country!"

"No problem!" Qin Yun figured that just making it into a Mortal-Level Sect would be an accomplishment.

For ordinary people like them, entering a King-Level Sect would require outstanding performance in a Mortal-Level Sect before being selected.

There aren't many King-Level Sects; in the entire Wuhuang, there are only seven.

In contrast, there are dozens of Mortal-Level Sects!

...

At the foot of the Xuanwu Sky-Supporting Mountain lies a vast flat area, where a massive arena, two to three hundred meters wide, has been erected.

The arena is surrounded by eighty-one towering formation pillars, each standing over ten meters tall, allowing for fierce martial battles to take place.

A grand hall stands not far from the arena, where sign-ups and other formalities happen.

When Qin Yun and Hong Yan arrived, it was already the last day.

They hurried into the hall to register.

The hall was empty; those who wanted to participate had already registered. At this time, they were pitching tents and resting at the mountain's base, waiting for the event to start.

Every five years, one to two thousand Martial Warriors would participate in the Xuan Ying Trials.

Those who could step into the Martial Warrior realm before the age of forty were considered to have excellent talent and were recognized by various Xuan-level sects and schools.

"I want to register for the selection!" Qin Yun walked to a counter and said to an old lady.

The old lady took out a round disk and smiled kindly, "Place your hand on the disk, and I will check your age!"

Hong Yan leaned in to watch, eager to know Qin Yun's true age.

In his mind, Qin Yun was a hundred-year-old man!

When Qin Yun placed his hand on the disk, the number "nineteen" popped up, making Hong Yan gape at Qin Yun, his eyes wide as saucers!

"Nineteen years old and already a Martial Warrior, that's really something!" the old lady chuckled. "But you still need to pass the selection to show your true strength!"

"My name is Qin Yun," Qin Yun said.

"Alright, here is your participation jade token. The registration fee is ten thousand purple spirit coins," the old lady said.

Qin Yun handed over ten thousand purple spirit coins, though it pained him to do so, took the jade token, and dripped blood on it to bind it to himself.

Hong Yan followed Qin Yun out of the hall, remaining silent the entire way.

Others only knew that Qin Yun was a Martial Warrior, but Hong Yan knew that Qin Yun was also a senior Runes Master!

He was well aware that achieving such accomplishments at the age of nineteen was rare even in Wuhuang!

"Old Man Qin..." Hong Yan felt a bit awkward having called Qin Yun that for so long, so he quickly caught himself, "Brother Yun, you're really young! To think you're already a senior Runes Master!"

Qin Yun smiled, "I never said I was an old man; you just assumed that."

Hong Yan cupped his hands towards Qin Yun and said, "I misjudged you! Don't worry, with your strength, getting into a Xuan-level sect or school should be no problem!"

Neither of them set up tents; they just pulled out chairs and sat down, waiting for the dawn when the selection assessment would begin!

...

At the foot of the Xuanwu Qitian Mountain, the air was thick with tension.

In Wuhuang, there were many large and small martial families.

These families' descendants could only grow stronger by joining those sects to train.

Out of two thousand Martial Warriors, only twenty or thirty might ultimately enter a Xuan-level sect!

No one knew what the selection assessment would involve, but it wouldn't be a martial competition.

Although there was a martial platform there, holding a competition with nearly two thousand Martial Warriors would take forever.

At dawn, the warriors gathered on the martial platform.

The one overseeing the selection assessment was the old lady who handled registration, known to everyone as Granny Ye.

Granny Ye was dressed in a set of light silver armor, looking energetic. She was an eighth-level warrior in the Martial Dao realm, friendly and kind, a very warm-hearted old lady.

She floated into the air and said, "The selection process is simple, but it's not easy to pass the selection and enter a Mystic-level sect!"

"You need to go to the 70,000-meter height of Xuanwu Qitian Mountain, where there is a lot of condensed Xuan ice. You need to channel the Xuan ice energy and pour it into the jade token, fill it completely before returning!"

"The first sixteen to return here will be chosen by the Mystic-level sects!"

Everyone looked towards the towering Xuanwu Qitian Mountain, where the icy areas were the regions with Xuan ice energy.

Getting to that place is not easy!

"Do you all understand? Then get moving now! Be careful, if you can't keep up, don't overdo it, or you could die!" Granny Ye shouted, "Begin!"

After the start, many warriors quickly used their lightness skills to fly towards Xuanwu Qitian Mountain!

As they approached the mountain wall, they discovered a peculiar cold current constantly pressing down.

To fly up, they had to push against this strong cold current, which required a huge amount of energy.

Qin Yun tried and found it difficult to ascend, as the energy consumption was rapid, and he certainly couldn't sustain it to the height where the Xuan ice energy was located.

He opted to climb the mountain wall to reach the icy areas.

While climbing, he wasn't as hindered by the cold current, but he couldn't ascend as quickly.

Out of nearly two thousand warriors in the Martial Dao realm, right from the start, a large group was already climbing at the forefront, these warriors were the strongest among them.

Among these people, their skill levels were immediately obvious.

Qin Yun was in a fairly advanced position.

From a distance, the massive Xuanwu Qitian Mountain had many small dots continuously climbing upwards, with several hundred people leading the pack!

Only sixteen people could ultimately enter the Mystic-level sects, making the competition incredibly intense.

"At this speed, it will take at least one or two days to reach the area with condensed Xuan ice!" Qin Yun looked up and quickly increased his speed.

To secure a stable ranking, he exerted eighty percent of his strength, climbing frantically...

A day passed, and it was now night, with the high areas of Xuanwu Qitian Mountain extremely cold.

Originally, there were nearly two thousand warriors climbing, but now over a thousand had dropped out, some suffering severe injuries!

Even at night, Qin Yun continued to climb upwards. Because there were two to three hundred people at a similar height, if he paused, he might fall behind.

The Martial Dao realm warriors who could reach this height were all of similar skill levels.

Qin Yun looked around and noticed that many were in their thirties or forties, individuals who had long been in the Martial Dao realm. They were well-equipped and thoroughly prepared.

Some warriors even had pills to consume!

"I need to go faster! The night is cold, and many people have slowed down. With the heavenly lion bloodline, I am not afraid of the cold!"

Qin Yun suddenly picked up his pace, which surprised many warriors.

They had thought that everyone would feel the cold at night and that their speeds would be similar.

But now, more than ten warriors suddenly sped up, pushing against the constantly pressing cold current, rapidly climbing the mountain wall.

Qin Yun didn't expect that there were many experts here who maintained the same pace as everyone during the day but suddenly sped up at night, leaving the others behind!

The freezing night was unbearable...

The warriors on the cliff couldn't help but cheer as the Nine Sun rose.

In just one night, over a hundred people gave up and slowly made their way down the mountain.

Dozens of climbers were at the very top, each far apart, and with the snow and wind swirling, they couldn’t see each other.

"Brother... could you come and help me? I'm in a bad way right now. Give me some inner energy to help me get through this, so I can have the strength to descend and not fall to my death!"

A man wearing a fur coat shouted to Qin Yun, who was not far away.

They were thousands of meters up, and the icy wind was growing fiercer. If they fell, they would either die or be severely injured.

Qin Yun hesitated for a moment before slowly making his way over.

"Hey, I'm Xing Feike, grandson of the Luoxuan City lord! I'm really glad to meet you!" Xing Feike said with a smile as he saw Qin Yun approaching.

"Pleasure to meet you!" Qin Yun also smiled politely.

Just as he approached, the smiling Xing Feike suddenly swung a punch at him!