Beast Tamer Ascension

Vol 2 Chapter 19: Dragon and Phoenix

It wasn’t that Wang Xiao was afraid of Lin Jing.

Though Lin Jing had made quite a name for himself, Wang Xiao dismissed Beast Tamers as practitioners of minor, unorthodox paths. Beast Taming Sect? He’d never even heard of it.

By contrast, the Heavenly Sword Gate was on a completely different level. As the foremost sword sect in the Ancient Celestial Kingdom, its reputation had long been illustrious.

With his lineage from a prominent cultivation clan and his innate Heavenly God Physique, Wang Xiao didn’t see defeating a Beast Taming Sect Qi Refinement cultivator as particularly honorable—even if Lin Jing had displayed extraordinary ability.

To him, Yuan Jing from the Heavenly Sword Gate was the most worthy opponent.

“Finally, my turn?” Yuan Jing, brimming with excitement after watching several duels, was practically itching to take the stage.

“Go on, then,” he said confidently, not even waiting for Lin Jing to reply before flying onto the stage on his sword, motioning for Lin Jing to step down.

“...” Lin Jing fell silent, exhaling a long, melancholic sigh after a moment.

Since the so-called “Heavenly Physique” cultivator was so indifferent, he couldn’t be blamed for being unkind in return. After the examination, the rumors about this incident in the cultivation world would be beyond his control.

“Let’s go,” Lin Jing called out to the Pine Leaf Mouse, stepping down from the stage. The Pine Leaf Mouse hesitated for a moment before quickly climbing onto Lin Jing’s shoulder.

In no time, only Yuan Jing, standing aloft on his sword, and Wang Xiao, clad in silver armor, remained on the stage.

“Draw your sword!” Wang Xiao demanded.

Yuan Jing, a sword cultivator who had refined the Acquired Sword Physique, prepared for battle. Just as the crowd anticipated a classic, traditional duel, something entirely unexpected happened.

As the chief examiner, Cao Ziwei, announced the start of the match, Yuan Jing, to everyone’s bewilderment, pulled out a bamboo rifle instead of his sword. With a swish, he ascended into the sky, flying on his sword while aiming the bamboo rifle at Wang Xiao and pulling the trigger!

This scene left the audience completely dumbfounded.

“What kind of joke is this!?”

Wang Xiao, wielder of the Heavenly God Physique, was enraged. Seeing Yuan Jing, an honest-to-goodness sword cultivator, stoop to such “gimmicks” made his blood boil.

Was this supposed to be fun?!

“Wind, rise!” he roared.

In an instant, the skies churned as winds gathered, and divine light shimmered faintly around Wang Xiao’s body, as though he were channeling the power of heaven and earth. The arena was soon engulfed in fierce gusts of wind, with a silver hurricane spiraling forth as he raised his arm.

Boom! Boom! BOOM!

The winds picked up streams of water, igniting the Spirit Beans within.

As countless Spirit Beans exploded beyond the hurricane’s reach, the sky turned dark with looming clouds.

“Lightning, descend!”

At Wang Xiao’s command, the blackened sky unleashed streaks of white lightning, striking directly at Yuan Jing mid-flight.

Unfazed, Yuan Jing calmly encased himself in a protective aura of sword energy. As the lightning descended, it was instantly dispersed by the sword energy surrounding him.

“Starry Slash!”

While summoning wind and lightning, Wang Xiao soared upward, wielding a battle blade forged from meteorite iron. Infused with starlight, he rode the winds to cleave at Yuan Jing.

“Careful! I’m going to draw my sword now!” Yuan Jing declared once again.

Just as Wang Xiao was about to retort with, “Draw your sword, my foot,” the mechanized bamboo rifle in Yuan Jing’s hands fired a barrage of blue streams resembling flying swords!

It turned out Yuan Jing had modified his mechanized bamboo rifle.

The water streams emanated intense sword energy!

“Sword Intent? He’s actually infused Sword Intent into the water streams!”

The water, imbued with the power of Sword Intent and accompanied by explosive Spirit Beans, tore through the hurricane in an instant, forcing Wang Xiao to redirect his slash toward the incoming “sword marbles.”

“Wow!” Ziling’er exclaimed in surprise. “It can be used like that? Looks like the only idiot who couldn’t modify the bamboo rifle was that useless Xu Zhizhi!”

Beside her, Xu Zhizhi: “???”

“How was I supposed to know you all would pull so many tricks!” he fumed, feeling thoroughly humiliated.

Lin Jing, watching from the sidelines, also looked surprised. Yuan Jing’s strength had grown immeasurably after refining his Sword Physique during his Foundation Establishment stage. Compared to their previous encounter in Bodhi Heaven, Yuan Jing was now on an entirely different level. Lin Jing had to admit that even if he and the Pine Leaf Mouse teamed up again, they’d probably lose to him.

“Look! The Heavenly God Physique is at it again—he’s summoned some kind of heavenly crater!”

As the “sword marbles” clashed with Wang Xiao’s Starry Slash, creating a violent explosion, an unexpected phenomenon occurred.

With a deafening boom, the sky suddenly ripped open, revealing a massive crater emitting both red and blue light.

“What kind of divine power is this?”

At first, everyone assumed it was some new ability related to the Heavenly God Physique, but in the next moment, beams of radiant light descended from the crater, one of which struck Wang Xiao directly.

“Wait, what is that?!”

Lin Jing, watching the spectacle from below, felt his heart race as an unsettling realization hit him.

The light from the crater didn’t just envelop Wang Xiao—it also covered Chen Lingxi of the Divine Talisman Sect, who was in the process of consuming pills to recover her True Energy and heal her injuries. Suddenly, she too was bathed in a pillar of light.

Seeing this, most cultivators finally understood what was happening.

“Cavern Heaven!”

“It’s a Cavern Heaven descending!”

“Wang Xiao, the Heavenly God Physique of the Wang Clan, and Chen Lingxi of the Divine Talisman Sect have been chosen by a Cavern Heaven!”

This unexpected development left many cultivators stunned. Without hesitation, they began forcibly kicking their own geniuses toward the descending pillars of light!

“Get in there, now!”

Even Elder Li from the Beast Taming Sect was aware of the Cavern Heaven’s entry loopholes, and naturally, most of the cultivators present knew about it too.

Before a Cavern Heaven fully materialized, cultivators of the same realm as those originally chosen could sneak in through the incomplete formations and try their luck at obtaining the opportunities inside.

“Pine Leaf Mouse, let’s go!!!”

Lin Jing immediately recalled the Pine Leaf Mouse and leaped toward the Cavern Heaven. Since Wang Xiao and Chen Lingxi were both at the ninth stage of Qi Refinement, the Cavern Heaven they triggered theoretically allowed all Qi Refinement cultivators to enter!

Seeing this, Xu Zhizhi and Gao Sheng hesitated for a moment before swiftly following suit.

“Opportunities!”

In just a few moments, over a hundred Qi Refinement-level examinees on-site all took advantage of the Cavern Heaven’s incomplete formation and rushed inside, hitching a ride on Wang Xiao and Chen Lingxi’s fortuitous encounter.

What was supposed to be a standard examination turned into a mass exodus. The examinees disappeared. Two examiners were also gone.

The autumn wind swept through the now-empty stage. Yuan Jing, who was still hovering on his sword, stared blankly at the desolate arena, lost in thought.

“Why did I rush to Foundation Establishment? Why!” Ziling’er, too, stood dumbfounded, staring at the pillar of light with a face full of regret.

If she had waited just one more month to break through to Foundation Establishment, she would’ve been able to enter the Cavern Heaven again!

The fame brought by breaking into Foundation Establishment was nothing compared to the fortune and opportunities a single entry into a Cavern Heaven could provide!

High above, Cao Ziwei stroked his chin, clearly surprised. “The timing of this Cavern Heaven’s descent is rather... convenient. So many prodigies managed to sneak in at once!”

The academy specifically sought out geniuses who had entered Cavern Heavens before because such individuals were more likely to trigger a second Cavern Heaven. If the Cavern Heavens repeatedly appeared within Hidden Dragon Academy’s grounds, more prodigies of the same realm would have opportunities to enter and claim their own fortunes.

However, even within the academy, such a spectacular scene—so many prodigies entering a Cavern Heaven simultaneously—was a rarity.

“Ladies and gentlemen!”

Cao Ziwei turned to address the many sect elders gathered below the stage. “Judging by the color of the Cavern Heaven’s light, it should be the Dragon-Phoenix Cavern Heaven. This is an incredible opportunity for every examinee who entered. I, Cao Ziwei, will guard the Cavern Heaven’s entrance until it ends. Those of you who wish to wait here are welcome to do so. If not, you may return to the academy, and the examination will resume once all the examinees have returned.”

Dragon-Phoenix Cavern Heaven...

As Cao Ziwei finished speaking, the gathered cultivators couldn’t help but grow anxious. Just moments ago, they had hurriedly thrown their juniors into the Cavern Heaven, desperate to avoid missing out on the opportunity.

But now, upon hearing the type of Cavern Heaven it was, unease swept through them.

The Dragon-Phoenix Cavern Heaven was exceptionally unique. While everyone who entered was guaranteed a chance at fortune, it was also unimaginably perilous.

“Oh no! It’s the Dragon-Phoenix Cavern Heaven! Did I just send my child to their death with my own foot?!”

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