The battle of the Celestial Ascendance Podium was fundamentally different to the battle of the Celestial Ascendance Road.

The battle of the Celestial Ascendance Road took place in a sealed cavern, and the objective was to slay beasts and daemons.

The battle of the Celestial Ascendance Podium, however, was a brutal battle royale that took place under the eyes of tens of thousands.

The Qi Condensing Pill and the Daemon Suppressing Sword only added fuel to the fire. The rewards stimulated the greed of everyone partic.i.p.ating, to fight hard and s.n.a.t.c.h the Celestial Ball.

There was not a single person among the finalists whose eyes did not reflect the yellow greed in their hearts. The only emotion being projected out was the desire to obtain glory and the treasures that came along with it. 

Wu Yu was no exception.

The so-called ‘Celestial Ball’ was currently in Woodsong’s hands. It was a white sphere, with a landscape painting which looked quite like a map engraved upon it. n.o.body knew what the ball was made out of.

The objective was to be in possession of the ball for more than 60 breaths continuously. If one succeeded in doing so, they would win the event and win the prizes!

Of course, one had to ensure that they were still on the podium to win.

The eyes of the spectating servants were burning with excitement and expectation, giving immense pressure to the partic.i.p.ating servants. To add to that, numerous Sect Disciples were also viewing the exam from the sky, adding to stress that the partic.i.p.ating servants currently felt.

“Once I drop the Celestial Ball, the battle of the Celestial Ascendance Podium will begin!” Woodsong’s voice resounded through the mountain.

Huo!

The moment that everyone had been waiting for finally arrived. The ball was tossed  into the air, in a beautiful arc, before dropping down with horrendous speed.

Woodsong silently painted a target on Wu Yu’s back by manipulating the descent of the ball to make it fall near him, and upon noticing that, almost all the partic.i.p.ators in the exam charged towards him.

Wu Yu frowned as danger descended upon him.

“The start of the battle is the time when there are most compet.i.tors active. Whoever holds the ball will become the focus of everyone’s attacks. I’m not that strong compared to the other partic.i.p.ators, so forcibly holding onto the ball is a joke.”

After a.n.a.lyzing his situation, Wu Yu knew what he had to do. He would try to find a gap and sneak out when most of the partic.i.p.ators had charged near him to avoid the ensuing battle. And it was just like he predicted; after he managed to sneak out, his original position burst with people, and the battle over the Celestial Ball  begun.

“Phew.”

Wu Yu stood near the edge of the podium, silently observing the mob fight it out, making it very difficult for him to join the fray.

There were some people who had the same idea as him.

The majority of the partic.i.p.ants were fighting for the Celestial Ball, but some people were on the sidelines, waiting for the right moment to strike.

————–

It was noon, and the sun was high in the sky, emitting warm rays of light that felt comfortable on the skin. The rays s.h.i.+ned on Wu Yu, stimulating his skin and flesh to radiate a pale golden light.

“The fifth technique of the

> is

>. I think it’s most suitable to cultivate this technique in a battle under the sun, because I can absorb True Sunfire and merge it with my blood to form boiling Golden Battle Blood! And once the battle blood spreads throughout every inch of my body, I will reach the 5th Heavenly Stage of the Body Forging Phase, which was my Martial Cultivation level 3 years ago.”

He had changed his blood before, so Wu Yu was quite familiar with the process. Of course, once he reached the 5th Heavenly Stage, he would not have any advantages over other people, because it was a brand new stage to him!

————-

“Don’t think of running away!”

There was a chaotic battle going on, and Wu Yu  standing on the sidelines, was noticed. A big burly servant who was one head taller than Wu Yu sprinted towards him, like an ox on two legs, his hand holding a battleaxe. He swung it fiercely at Wu Yu’s head.

Wu Yu retaliated.

“

>!”

This was the first style of

>, which was like the warm up attack of the technique. The technique had several different variations, and the image one would get upon executing it was that of a brave warrior, stepping into the ocean, breaking apart the waves and the winds in his way, in search of whales to slay.

Right now, Wu Yu’s opponent was a giant whale.

Clang!

A huge noise resounded.

Wu Yu’s hands and eyes were focused, his feet nimble, and he accurately hit the weak spot of the battleaxe, causing it to fly out of the burly servants hands. Even though the burly servant seemed tall and powerful, Wu Yu was shown to be the stronger of the two.

Pa!

Wu Yu dished out a sweep kick, dropping the servant, then crashed into him, causing him to fly off the podium and drop into the pit with a plunk.

————–

“Wu Yu.”

In the sky, seated upon Celestial Cranes, the faces of Situ Jin and his cronies drained of colour.

“Look at how easily he defeated a 6th Heavenly Stage expert! It seems like this Wu Yu is now as powerful as we are!” Huaqian You bit her soft red lips, and her delicate body frame trembled, obviously uncomfortable when faced with the facts in front of her.

“That’s all fluff. If he encountered me, I could kill him in 2 or 3 attacks.” Situ Jin did not want to look cowardly in front of such a beauty.

Of course, Sun Wudao had also seen the unbelievable scene take place. He had spent a lot of effort trying locate Wu Yu in the chaotic battlefield, and upon seeing Wu Yu’s clean win against his opponent, he really wanted to jump onto the podium and fight alongside him.

“Powerful!”

The servants of Yan Li Mountain next to Sun Wudao were also sighing.

————–

After defeating three more idiotic (because they did not see how easily he dispatched the burly servant) partic.i.p.ators, the servants eyeing Wu Yu finally acknowledged his strength, and did not to provoke him further. Wu Yu was happy about that, because he could idle about! At that moment, something big happened at the center of the podium.

“Zhao Danlong has s.n.a.t.c.hed the Celestial Ball!”

“But, there are many people who’re surrounding and closing in on him.”

It was quite obvious that Zhao Danlong had a lot of confidence in himself, but this was a battlefield with 100 people on it. Maybe he could fight off 10 people, but how about the rest of the group?

Wu Yu could see that Zhao Danlong was currently in quite a pickle. He had pulled out all the stops, trying to hold onto the ball by intimidating, threatening, and greatly injuring his opponents. He managed to hold onto the ball for 20 breaths, eliminating more than 10 people. Unfortunately, Ju Huo launched a sneak attack, causing him to lose the ball and nearly fall off the podium.

Currently, Zhao Danlong was drenched in blood from head to toe, staggering towards the edge of the podium to hide. Seeing the condition he was in, some people wanted to eliminate him from the compet.i.tion by knocking him off the podium when he looked at his weakest. But a lean camel is still bigger than a horse (means that a greatly injured Zhao was still dangerous in this context). Even though Zhao was greatly injured and did not have the strength to s.n.a.t.c.h the Celestial Ball anymore, he still had the power and strength to remain on the podium.

“Wu Yu.”

Zhao Danlong noticed Wu Yu, who wasn’t quite far away from where he was standing.

“You petty little man; do you only know how to hide in the shadows?” Zhao smiled coldly.

“A battle is not all about charging in without a second thought. Winning is everything, and n.o.body cares by what means.” Wu Yu replied calmly.

That was his motto back when he was still a general in East Yue Wu.

If he had to attack, then he’d attack when the best opportunity presented itself to him.

“Coward!”

Zhao Danlong clenched his teeth.

Wu Yu did not bother replying.

The melee was quite fierce and violent; people were frequently dropping out, and the number of people still able to put up a fight decreased as time pa.s.sed. Of course, the rate that people dropped out started to decrease as the battle reached its climax.

Currently, the person being mobbed was Ju Huo, who had the Celestial Ball in his hand.

His footwork technique was very intricate and profound, allowing him to stroll around the battlefield. Around 40 servants were behind his back chasing after him, which was less than the number of servants chasing Zhao Danlong before.

45 breaths!

Ju Huo had already endured for 45 breaths!

After 15 more breaths, the Qi Condensing Pill and the Daemon Suppressing Sword would be his!

Qing Mang had already waited for this moment for a long time. n.o.body could deny that the three 7th Heavenly Stage experts were the strongest out of the lot.

“Qing Mang, don’t you dare s.n.a.t.c.h the ball from me!” Ju Huo eyed her.

Qing Mang did not say anything in response, but continued to hide within the crowd. Ju Huo only had to protect the ball for a bit more and he’d win the event, but it was a pity that there were just too many people pursuing him. He only had one hand to defend with because he had to hold the Celestial Ball, and the Celestial Ball weighed an incredible 1000 jin.

Shua!

An azure sword light brushed past, opening several wounds on Ju Huo’s body. His arm had been struck particularly heavily as well, causing him to follow in Zhao Danlong’s footsteps.

“Haha! n.o.body’s going to get the Celestial Ball!” Zhao Danlong could not help but laugh maniacally. It was as he said – there were many entrance exams in the past where n.o.body had managed to obtain and keep hold of the Celestial Ball for more than 60 seconds.

“Qing Mang has a chance?” Woodsong smiled. Qing Mang was the little sister of one of his apprentices, so if her future was going to be good and bright, he could bask in her success.

“Maybe not.” Su Yanli pointed at the currently uninjured Wu Yu.

“This boy has a lot of surprising abilities and has great patience, but there are currently 60 people still left on the podium. Half of them do not care about obtaining the Celestial Ball, but the rest of the servants are competing for it. The odds to succeed have certainly increased, but Wu Yu’s current power cannot compare with a 7th Heavenly Stage expert. His Martial Techniques are not profound and strong enough. Qing Mang is stronger than him in all these aspects, so I think his chances are quite low to be honest.” Woodsong a.n.a.lyzed.

What he said was right. Wu Yu had only reached the 4th Heavenly Stage, so he could not best Qing Mang in a direct fight.

————-

“He wants to get the Celestial Ball, haha! If he actually manages to do it, I’ll eat Lin Er’s s.h.i.+t!” Situ Jin had been so infuriated by recent events that he could not control himself from speaking in such a vulgar manner.

“Situ Jin, you…” Huaqian You could not believe that Situ Jin, with his background, would speak so vulgarly.

“Qian You, I’m so sorry. I’m just very disheartened by today’s events.” Situ Jin hurriedly explained. Having to apologise dragged him into an even worse mood.

————-

Qing Mang was quite smart. After wounding Ju Huo, she did not immediately dive in and s.n.a.t.c.h the ball, but retreated and let the rest of the servants fight over it. That would help decrease the number of compet.i.tors.

None of the servants that obtained the ball after that managed to hold on to it for more than 10 breaths. Before long, the number of people still left on the podium was getting closer to 30, and many servants had decided to give up on trying to obtain the Celestial Ball. After all, n.o.body wanted to risk not pa.s.sing the exam to get the celestial ball!

“Wu Yu, do you want to s.n.a.t.c.h the Celestial Ball?” Qing Mang raised her head to stare at Wu Yu, who was much taller than her. Ju Huo and Zhao Danlong were both heavily injured, so she believed that Wu Yu was her only opponent left.

“Of course.” Wu Yu replied, grasping hold of his sword and rus.h.i.+ng into battle with a few long strides.

A good opportunity had finally presented itself.

Qing Mang did not say anything more, rus.h.i.+ng into the crowd with her footwork technique

“If the 10 of you still want to s.n.a.t.c.h the ball from me, don’t blame me for being discourteous!” The little girl widened her eyes, scaring away the 15 or so servants that wanted to compete for the ball. There were around 40 people left on the podium, and only 15 out of the 40 still had the desire to s.n.a.t.c.h away the Celestial Ball. Even if they united to gang upon Qing Mang, their chances of success were still extremely low, so they decided to give up.

“Wu Yu, your turn.”

Qing Mang held the Celestial Ball in one hand, and pointed her s.h.i.+ning azure longsword at Wu Yu.

At that moment, all eyes were focused on the two, waiting for the final confrontation to happen.

One was the young man who was placed first in the Celestial Ascendance Road event, and the other was the person who was generally acknowledged as the servant with the most latent talent!

Wu Yu, in all his life, did not expect his final opponent to be her. Even though Qing Mang was small and young, she was smarter than Ju Huo and Zhao Danlong, managing to wait until now to attack and scare away the remaining servants.

Her knowledge regarding human nature and the battlefield was not bad for her age.

But Wu Yu was not going to give up on the Celestial Ball, and right now, he was the only person who held a small chance to face off against Qing Mang.

He obviously could not win against a 7th Heavenly Stage expert in a direct confrontation, but Wu Yu’s advantage against Qing Mang was that he did not have to use a hand to hold the Celestial Ball. This meant that Qing Mang only had one hand free to face him, and she would not be in her best battle state because the ball weighed 1000 jin.  This was something her little, delicate body could not entirely cope with.

————–

“Haha, this is going to be spectacular!” Woodsong stroked his beard whilst laughing. “I’ll place my bet on Qing Mang.”

“Wood Elder you bully! But Wu Yu is one of my servants, so I’ll place my bet on Wu Yu.” Su Yanli lifted her veil to reveal her eyes, gazing intently at the young man who was taking his first steps into the Dao of Celestials.