Everyone suddenly understood.
It turned out Yuan Hong's bloodline was so extraordinary, no wonder he possessed such peerless strength. It was only natural.
He was the son of a Heavenly Venerate.
And not just any Heavenly Venerate.
He was a supreme overlord of the Heavenly Court, a supreme Heavenly Venerate who had weathered countless Heavenly Realm epochs and tribulations.
Even in the era of that one, Yuan Wu Heavenly Venerate had already made a name for himself across the Ten Great Heavenly Realms, a top-tier expert among Heavenly Venerates.
If not for this, he wouldn't have been personally sought after and trusted by Dao Yi Heavenly Venerate.
Now, assisting Dao Yi Heavenly Venerate in guarding the Heavenly Court, he had obtained countless supreme treasures, his strength becoming even more unfathomable.
Compared to Yuan Hong, the descendants and successors of the Central Continent's Heavenly Venerate families paled in comparison.
"I can guarantee that the champion of this Heavenly Court Genius Battle will be Yuan Hong!"
"Indeed, I think so too. The son of a Heavenly Venerate, who can contend with him?"
Countless powerful beings favored Yuan Hong.
"Heh, not necessarily! While the son of a Heavenly Venerate indeed has an extraordinary identity, there is also a super prodigy among the top four who is a reincarnation of a Heavenly Venerate!"
Some held different opinions.
They believed Yuan Hong did not yet possess truly invincible strength among his peers.
"Heh, reincarnation of a Heavenly Venerate also depends on the circumstances. Do you think there aren't any quasi-Heavenly Venerate reincarnations or even Heavenly Venerate reincarnations among the top hundred? They were defeated just the same. I recall Yuan Hong defeating no less than three quasi-Heavenly Venerate reincarnated prodigies, and one true Heavenly Venerate reincarnation!"
Someone immediately retorted, presenting strong evidence.
Another person said, "Those Heavenly Venerate reincarnated geniuses, firstly, their awakened imprints are not deep, and secondly, their achievements in their previous lives were limited; they were merely ordinary Heavenly Venerates. However, there is one person among the top four who is different! Gong Yuan of the Tai Xu Realm, do you know who his previous incarnation was?"
"The master of the Chaos Heavenly Palace, who once dominated the Central Heavenly Realm many epochs ago, the Chaos Heavenly Lord who had survived more than seven cycles of Heavenly Realm tribulations!"
"What?! His previous incarnation survived more than seven epoch cycles! Doesn't that mean he possesses more than seven paths of power?" The surrounding powerful beings were all shocked.
It was considered good for an ordinary Heavenly Venerate to survive two to three great tribulations of Heavenly Realm epochs.
Many Heavenly Venerates couldn't even survive one great tribulation of a Heavenly Realm epoch and could only fall into obscurity.
Or, some Heavenly Venerates had means to ensure their reincarnation.
In short, formidable figures like the Chaos Heavenly Lord were rare elites even in the long river of time across countless epochs.
It was unexpected that Gong Yuan of the Tai Xu Realm was the reincarnation of this Chaos Heavenly Lord, no wonder he was so highly valued and nurtured by Tai Xu Heavenly Venerate.
Given time,
Perhaps the Heavenly Court would have another immensely powerful Heavenly Venerate overlord.
As countless powerful beings engaged in heated discussions,
Ling Fan paid no heed to the performances of these peerless Heavenly Court prodigies.
His eyes were solely on Lan Xueyi.
Today, he had risked immense danger to enter the Heavenly Court, his sole purpose being to take Lan Xueyi away.
Whoever dared to block his path,
Be it the son of a Heavenly Venerate, he would kill the son of a Heavenly Venerate.
If it were an ancient Heavenly Venerate reincarnation with seven paths, he would kill the seven-path Heavenly Venerate reincarnation!
If...
A Heavenly Venerate blocked his way.
Then he would tread over the Heavenly Venerate's corpse!
Ling Fan's will was as firm as a rock.
He glanced at Lan Xueyi in the distance.
However, his gaze did not linger on Lan Xueyi for too long, lest Yuan Wu Heavenly Venerate nearby detect anything unusual.
Now was not the time for a direct confrontation with an ancient Heavenly Venerate overlord of the Heavenly Court.
Ling Fan closed his eyes, madly absorbing the power of the Longevity Pool.
Several hours later,
Not only had his condition recovered to its peak, but he had also subtly made new progress.
On the other side,
The other three peerless prodigies who had advanced to the top four were the same, bathing in the immortal liquid of the Longevity Pool, their auras becoming even more profound.
"What is about to proceed next... is the semifinals."
"The first match."
"Fan Lin, the Deputy Sect Master of Qing Xuan Sect in Jinzhou, versus Zhuang Zhiyuan, the direct disciple of Longevity Heavenly Venerate from the Longevity Pavilion!"
As the quasi-Heavenly Venerate expert from the Heavenly Court announced the first semifinal match, the atmosphere in the plaza instantly ignited, drawing the absolute attention of all.
"I wonder who will win this battle?"
"That Fan Lin is the dark horse of this competition. The other three in the top four are peerless Heavenly Court prodigies, and he is the only one from a minor sect in Jinzhou to reach this stage! I wonder if he can continue his dark horse streak."
"Heh, it's probably a bit difficult. No matter how strong he is, he's only at the half-step Emperor Venerate realm. That Gao Qiu, a mere reincarnation of an Emperor Venerate, is nothing compared to a direct disciple of Longevity Heavenly Venerate."
"That statement is not an exaggeration at all. It is said that Zhuang Zhiyuan has received the true teachings of Longevity Heavenly Venerate, and his cultivation is unfathomable. Rumor has it that he once cultivated in a forbidden zone on the edge of the Central Heavenly Realm and successfully escaped from a terrifying heretical Heavenly Venerate! To fight a Heavenly Venerate, not die, and still escape alive, speaks volumes of his extraordinary strength."
"Tsk tsk, these peerless Heavenly Court prodigies are truly monstrous geniuses of the ages."
"It seems Fan Lin's good luck ends here. His hope of marrying the Heavenly Venerate's adopted daughter is likely just a pipe dream."
"That's only natural! It is said that this adopted daughter of the Heavenly Venerate is the exceptionally rare Nine Deaths Spirit Phoenix Body, a physique that has appeared only a handful of times from ancient times to the present, recognized as one of the strongest bloodlines. Upon surviving the fifth death tribulation, she can achieve Heavenly Venerate status. If she can overcome the hurdle of the eighth death tribulation, she even has a chance to touch the supreme realm of Great Heavenly Venerate, but it is almost impossible for a Nine Deaths Spirit Phoenix Body to achieve this, let alone survive the legendary final ninth tribulation."
"For such an unparalleled genius daughter, if you were from the Heavenly Court, would you let such a resource fall into the hands of others?"
"Of course not!"
"Then it's settled, Fan Lin's fate is already sealed. He is merely here to make up the numbers."
"The one who wins the championship and ultimately wins the beauty's hand will undoubtedly be one of these three: Gong Yuan of the Tai Xu Realm, Yuan Hong of Yuan Wu Palace, or Zhuang Zhiyuan of Longevity Pavilion."
Countless powerful beings discussed with great relish.
"Heh, our discussions here are meaningless. Let's just watch them battle it out."
"That's true."
As a colossal extraterrestrial star was pulled closer to the fragmented continent where the plaza was located,
Ling Fan and Zhuang Zhiyuan, under the gaze of countless eyes, stepped onto the grand battlefield.
"Are you really Brother Fan..."
A deep worry was hidden in the depths of Lan Xueyi's beautiful eyes.
She had already survived the fifth tribulation of the Nine Deaths Spirit Phoenix Body in the lower realm and successfully ascended to the Central Heavenly Realm. After entering the Heavenly Realm, she had also survived the sixth death tribulation, reaching the proud cultivation of a quasi-Heavenly Venerate. It was precisely because of this that she deeply understood the terrifying strength of the Heavenly Court's peerless prodigies like Zhuang Zhiyuan.
Even in her current state, she had no confidence in defeating Zhuang Zhiyuan, Gong Yuan, or Yuan Hong.