"Oh? You mean my second uncle found a helper to participate in the selection competition for the Buddha's Son?"
Eight hundred li outside Luojia City, in the main hall of the Great Thunder Sound Pavilion on Thunder Sound Mountain. A man of extremely handsome features, yet with a hint of malevolence, let out a cold laugh upon hearing the report from a maidservant below.
"Young Master, if the Second Pavilion Master's chosen person truly breaks into the top ten, then I fear at that time..." An elder beside the man spoke with a hint of nervousness in his expression, looking at the man.
The man waved his hand before the elder could finish and said, "My second uncle has deep brotherly affection for my father. But to enter the top ten is not an easy task. Moreover, all the people in the Great Thunder Sound Pavilion are now my people. Even if my father truly wakes up, so what?"
"But..." The elder hesitated to speak again.
The man frowned impatiently, "What, even you doubt my ability now? This position of the Great Thunder Sound Pavilion Master, I, Jiang Tong, am destined to take!"
"Young Master, please calm your anger. The position of the Great Thunder Sound Pavilion Master will undoubtedly be yours. This old servant was merely overthinking things," the elder said, bowing respectfully as if in fear.
Jiang Tong's expression eased considerably. After a moment of thought, he slowly spoke, "Although everything is under control, we must still be cautious. Elder Liu, send me the strength and information of that person within three days. I want to see what kind of helper my second uncle has found."
"Yes!" Elder Liu bowed again and then moved swiftly towards the hall's exit.
...
In a guest room of the VIP section at the Yue Lai Pavilion.
After setting up a barrier, Li Xuan moved his thoughts and spoke, "Little Brush, shouldn't you explain to me why you knew Jiang Shang was looking for the Snow Ganoderma Nine Lotuses?"
"Young Master, if I said I guessed it, would you believe me?" the Heavenly Dao Brush replied.
Li Xuan's face immediately darkened. Was this treating him like an idiot?
"Young Master, I can know the destinies of all living beings. Of course, except for those that transcend my comprehension. For example, your Master, or you, Young Master. For others, I can roughly understand their life's trajectory. But I cannot speak of it, as it goes against the Heavenly Dao," the Heavenly Dao Brush said after a moment of silence.
"To know but not to speak, Little Brush, are you holding back quite a bit?" Li Xuan asked curiously.
The Heavenly Dao Brush let out a wry smile, "Young Master, I am merely a brush. All living beings operate according to my Master's rules and systems. It is natural that I can know. However, knowing is one thing, but to reveal it is something I cannot bear."
"I understand," Li Xuan nodded slightly. There were similar fortune-tellers or diviners in the mortal world. Revealing too much of the heavenly secrets would result in retribution, like the 'five losses and three shortages.'
"Master, I think this broken brush is really telling the truth this time," Cang Ling Tower interjected.
"Alright, I have no more questions," Li Xuan said with a smile.
"By the way, Master, if you do break into the top ten, won't you have to stay in Buddhism? According to Jiang Shang, the top ten Buddha's Sons will be chosen to enter the Buddhist sect," Cang Ling Tower asked.
Li Xuan was also taken aback. He had only been thinking about the Snow Ganoderma Nine Lotuses and had truly overlooked this matter.
After all, Buddhism was the ruler of the entire Blissful Continent. Not to mention Shakyamuni's formidable strength, even any one of his twelve supreme experts would be enough to defeat Li Xuan. Furthermore, this was merely the overt strength of Buddhism; the true situation was likely known only to Shakyamuni and a few others, with no one else able to grasp it clearly.
However, Li Xuan then smiled. With the Sword of Mastery in his hand, who could possibly keep him here?
"Even the ancestral land is being infiltrated? My nephew's ambition is quite significant. My elder brother is not even dead yet, and he's already this impatient? Yang Jian, you will personally guard the ancestral land. No one is allowed to enter without my spiritual token."
"I want to see what schemes my nephew is hatching," Jiang Shang said with a cold snort in the Small Thunder Sound Pavilion of Luojia City after hearing the report from the man beside him.
"Second Pavilion Master, rest assured, your subordinate will protect the ancestral land!" Yang Jian clasped his hands in response.
As Yang Jian departed, a hint of weariness appeared on Jiang Shang's face, and he murmured, "Elder brother, elder brother, if it is finally discovered that this wicked son of yours is responsible, what choice will I have?"
Time flew by, and ten days passed in the blink of an eye.
"Yesterday, the final data was released. The number of participants in this Buddha's Son selection competition has reached over 630,000. The Heavenly Mystery Gate has compiled a Dragon-Tiger Ranking. Those who can enter this ranking have a strength that has reached the Divine Comprehension realm. These are your ultimate opponents," Jiang Shang said directly to Li Xuan.
"Dragon-Tiger Ranking? How many people are on this list?" Li Xuan asked with some surprise.
"There are over ten thousand people on this Dragon-Tiger Ranking, but all of them are categorized in the Tiger Ranking." Jiang Shang paused and continued, "As for the Dragon Ranking, there are a thousand people. The strength of these thousand people is at least at the peak of the Divine Comprehension realm. The strongest among them is unknown. These thousand people are likely the top thousand Buddha's Sons from the previous term."
Li Xuan's expression became slightly serious. There were over a thousand existences at the peak of the Divine Comprehension realm on this Blissful Continent. As he continued to train, his vision broadened.
"Do you have confidence?" Jiang Shang asked with a smile, seeing Li Xuan's silence.
Li Xuan smiled and replied, "If I say I don't, Senior will likely feel anxious. If I say I have confidence, I'm afraid Senior won't entirely believe me. Everything will depend on the results once it begins."
"Since that is the case, I will await the outcome," Jiang Shang said, nodding with satisfaction.
"This Jiang Shang is not simple either, I presume," Li Xuan mused for a moment after Jiang Shang left, then returned to his room.
"Pavilion Master Jiang, I heard that besides me, you've also invited another external aid?" On the top floor of the Small Thunder Sound Pavilion, a man dressed in scholar's robes sat opposite Jiang Shang. The man had shoulder-length hair and sharp features. His sword-like eyebrows raised slightly, and he looked at Jiang Shang with a meaningful gaze.
"Heh heh, young friend Shu Qian, please don't mind. Each top force has two recommendation slots, and our Thunder Sound Pavilion naturally won't waste them. Young friend Shu Qian is a peerless prodigy, so why worry about our Thunder Sound Pavilion inviting another outsider?" Jiang Shang said with a smile.
"Very well, since Pavilion Master Jiang has already given away this slot, I naturally won't say anything more. I only hope that the outsider Pavilion Master Jiang invited is not eliminated in the preliminary rounds. Otherwise, it would be better to have my junior disciple accompany me."
"Alright, the preliminary rounds are in five days, and it's time for me to make some preparations. Pavilion Master Jiang, farewell," Shu Qian said, standing up and leaving.
Watching Shu Qian depart, Jiang Shang's expression gradually turned stern. "Compared to character, this Shu Qian is far inferior to Li Xuan. If my elder brother did not urgently need the Snow Ganoderma Nine Lotuses, you, a mere disciple from the Zhen Yin Continent, would not be qualified to stand before this old man and act so arrogant."