Chapter 1728 — Chapter 1728 End of Tournament of Rising Stars

"A heaven-defying talent that would make even the most talented individuals in the Nine Heavens look ordinary. I don't believe such a being exists, nor am I going to waste my time finding out," said a handsome man with long black hair tied into a ponytail.

The second Celestial Overlord looked at Xu Jiaqi and said, "Why don't you go and check him out, Senior Sister Xu? It's been a while since you last recruited someone with significant talents in the faction."

"…" Xu Jiaqi remained silent; as did Senior Bai.

The information that a monster like Yuan existed in the Celestial Overlords was strictly restricted due to Xu Jiaqi's efforts to keep his existence hidden until he was powerful enough to walk amongst them properly with his head held high.

If the members of the Celestial Overlords realized that someone not even in the Divine Realm was among their elite ranks, some might find issues with it and cause trouble for Yuan.

While Celestial Overlords like Xu Jiaqi hold immense authority in the faction, they were not in complete command over every member in the faction due to the existence of more than one Celestial Overlord, each having their own group or sub-faction.

For example, the faction had four members at the rank of Celestial Overlords, and each would hold a certain percentage of control over the faction. That percentage varied based on how many members each of the Celestial Overlords or their members had recruited. The members' loyalty toward each Celestial Overlord also varied.

As of this moment, Xu Jiaqi had the lowest percentage, but those within her group could be considered the elite of elites, consisting of the most powerful members in the faction.

As for the other Celestial Overlords, they had Xu Jiaqi beat in quantity. Moreover, while numbers play a big role, it wasn't as if the members of the faction could recruit anybody they saw to inflate their numbers.

"I'll pass." Xu Jiaqi said.

"Eh? Why not? I thought you loved gathering those with extreme talents. This guy sounds like he's right up your alley."

Xu Jiaqi feared that if she recruited this mysterious monster and the others found out about Yuan's existence later on, things might get messy due to her monopoly of two monsters.

While she wasn't afraid of the other Celestial Overlords or their complaining, she feared that it might cause strife and affect the entire faction. 'I only need Yuan. They can have this guy.' Xu Jiaqi thought to herself.

She was also aware of how powerful Yuan's Heaven Refining Physique could become, so she wasn't worried about his potential being surpassed by some nobody.

"I have enough talented individuals by my side already. If I get another one, you'll all be complaining, especially if his talent is as amazing as Kelan claims, anyway." Xu Jiaqi sneered.

"Are you sure? Kelan is from your group, so you have priority over this man, regardless of our feelings."

"Yes, I am sure."

Xu Jiaqi's decision really surprised and puzzled many individuals there. She would typically be the first to jump at the opportunity to recruit someone highly talented, but she didn't seem interested this time for some reason.

Unbeknownst to them, Xu Jiaqi had already secretly recruited a monster and thought this new monster wasn't worth unnecessary drama. Only Senior Bai understood Xu Jiaqi's thoughts.

"In that case, I'll go take a look at this young man," said the third Celestial Overlord. She was sitting beside Xu Jiaqi and was the one who addressed her as Senior Sister.

"Don't come complaining to me if he turns out to be the real deal, okay?"

"Celestial Overlord Qing, are you going to go down yourself, or should one of us go in your stead?" One of the Overlords there asked.

"There's a reason Kelan didn't outright recruit him but contacted Overlord Bai instead. Would you send your servant to invite an Emperor to your banquet? No, you'd show up yourself to show your sincerity." Celestial Overlord Qing explained her reasoning.

Sometime later, Senior Bai notified Kelan that Celestial Overlord Qing would be the one to recruit Yuan. Naturally, Kelan was incredibly upset by this decision.

"Why would she be the one coming?! I notified you because I wanted Celestial Overlord Xu to recruit him!"

Senior Bai explained the skepticism the others had about his information and Xu Jiaqi's reason for not recruiting another monster.

"They think I am misunderstanding something?! That's outrageous and slanderous! When have I ever made a bad judgment of talents?! I'm telling you that Celestial Overlord Xu will immensely regret not having this guy in her group! He's even more monstrous than Yuan!"

"What's done has been done… Unless you are willing to risk offending Celestial Overlord Qing and recruit him before she arrives, go ahead."

Kelan swallowed nervously at the thought of offending another Celestial Overlord—one that was not in his group. He'd essentially make an enemy out of everyone under Celestial Overlord Qing.

"Haaa… Why did the Celestial Overlords split up in such a fashion? I heard it wasn't like this when the founder was still alive." Kelan sighed.

The Celestial Overlords were in complete unity when the founder of the Celestial Overlords was still in control. There were even more Celestial Overlords at that time than currently. Yet, nobody tried to fight for authority or acquire more control, and they were all loyal to the founder.

"Lady Xu is currently working to return the Celestial Overlords to its former glory. However, these things take a tremendous amount of time and energy." Senior Bai said. "Also, she believes in Yuan more, even if he may be a little behind now."

"I also believe in Yuan, but there's truly something unfathomable about this man surnamed Xiao. Whatever. If Celestial Overlord Xu refuses to recruit him, there's nothing else I can do. I also don't want to offend Celestial Overlord Qing, as she's also very scary in her own right."

Meanwhile, Yuan faced his next moment, a young man wielding a sword.

"Wang Ming, and I'll be your next opponent."

"A sword, huh? Let me change my weapon real quick." Yuan swapped his spear for a sword.

Their fight began shortly later.

Neither of them really spoke to each other. Instead, they used their swords to do the talking.

Wang Ming's sword gushed with powerful Sword Aura, but it was still behind Yuan's ordinary Sword Aura.

Realizing this, Wang Ming used his cultivation to make up for the difference.

Only being weaker than Li Jinxi, Wang Ming was the second strongest member of the Demon Sealing Faction, and his performance only further solidified his position.

His movements were perfectly executed, and his sword techniques were on the verge of perfection. His Sword Aura was also impressive for someone his age, something only seen in the upper heavens. Yet, despite his excellence, he was still several steps behind Yuan… in every aspect.

'Damn it! This is exactly like fighting Yuan!' Wang Ming gritted his teeth when he realized he couldn't gain any advantage or overpower his opponent, and he was having flashbacks of his first encounter with Yuan.

"You're not bad, but in my eyes, you're only slightly better than my last opponent." Yuan provoked him.

Wang Ming's eyes flickered with fighting spirit, and his aura abruptly soared.

[Sword Energy!]

Wang Ming swung his sword at Yuan, releasing a powerful beam of energy that resembled Yuan's Heaven Splitting Sword Strike. "Hmph." Yuan also swung his sword, but instead of using Sword Aura, his sword displayed Enhanced Sword Aura, cutting right through Wang Ming's technique.

"Enhanced Sword Aura?!" Kelan cried out loud as he witnessed Wang Ming being struck.

"Enhanced… Sword Aura…?" Wang Ming muttered in disbelief as he felt the sensation of his body being sliced in half.

'Not just Sword Aura and Spear Aura, but he also knows Enhanced Sword Aura?! There's no way he's less than thirty years old!' Kelan started to question Yuan's true age, as his achievements seemed far too extraordinary for someone so young.

"No way! He defeated another Spirit Enlightenment cultivator while only being Spirit Grandmaster! How is this making any sense?!"

"That must be Enhanced Sword Aura just now! It's my first time witnessing it, but it's so distinct from Sword Aura!"

While the spectators were in an uproar, Yuan looked at Li Jinxi and inquired, "Are you next?"

After a moment of silence, she said, "I want to, but I will deal with you once I finish this tournament."

"If you say so."

Yuan looked at the other participants, who all appeared to be stricken with immense fear.

"I guess there will be no more challengers for now." Yuan returned to the Ning Family's booth the next moment.

The tournament resumed shortly after, but most of the top 20 participants had lost their desire to fight. In the end, Li Jinxi swept away the rest of the tournament without any effort and became the champion.

"The champion of this year's Tournament of Rising Stars is Li Jinxi, a rogue cultivator!" The judge announced.

The crowd cheered for her, but the celebration was short-lived since everyone knew there was still one more fight left to be fought.

After winning the tournament, Li Jinxi stepped onto one of the stages and beckoned Yuan with a finger.

Once Yuan entered the stage, he said, "Since this is the last fight, and I can tell you're different from the others, let's make use of this entire stadium instead of just a single stage."

"I am fine with that," she calmly said.