The day of the Sky Splitting Sword School Talent Selection has finally arrived, pract.i.tioners and wanderers could be seen making their way towards the central square of Machen Town, each dressed in their unique martial wear hoisting various weapons on their backs or carrying them by their sides.

The central square was an expansive area stretching out for hundreds of meters, standing proudly behind it was a vast mansion twice the size of the Feng Clan"s Manor. The gates opened, and an array of soldiers stood within the central square surrounding the town lord and his wife who remained positioned at their center.

Currently, they were both looking at the large platform in the center of the square, watching as a group of men with shiny armor and bright flame-like capes escorted a few individuals dressed in sky blue robes towards the central area of the platform. Within that group were also the forms of Xuan Bei and Madam Xuan who traveled alongside a man who carried a dignifying presence, he wore a decorated robe with flame engraved pendant around his neck.

Following beside them was a group of mysterious origin, each of its individuals wore plain white robes carrying a unique type of aura. There was a unique woman who stood out amongst this group, an otherworldly kind of beauty capable of striking the hearts of almost any man.

As they positioned themselves at the center of the platform, a few significant influential persons could also be seen making their way to the platform. These persons were the groups from the Tang Clan, Xin Clan, Sheng Imperial Clan, Southern Wasteland, and the Golden Dragon Empire, followed along by the other top-cla.s.s hidden sects.

They arranged themselves at opposing corners as the organizers being that of the Sky Splitting Sword Sect and Bright Flame Kingdom"s forces remained positioned at the core.

A few pract.i.tioners seeing this scene muttered softly.

"To think that there would be such an arrangement in Machen Town"s Talent Selection, why would so many big-time clans and major influences take such a keen interest here?" A vagabond said.

"Hmm, it seems today will not be an ordinary selection," A female pract.i.tioner said.

As the crowd chattered amongst themselves, a commotion could be heard coming from behind them. A group of men followed by prominent local figures walked on the scene. However, when the hidden forces saw who they were, they didn"t have any reaction as the men did not go up the platform but went to the side of the Town Lord"s group.

"Hey, isn"t that the Xiang Family Clan?" A local woman said.

"Yeah, it looks like the genius of our town is still looking to partic.i.p.ate against these guys. Do you think he still has a shot?" A man said as he seemed to have only a small amount of knowledge regarding the talents of the gathered talents.

"I"m not so sure... if it was his older brother, we might have been able to see an interesting show. But since it"s just him, I"d say he won"t last more than a few rounds," A woman said.

"What about the son of the Huan Clan?" Another local individual asked.

"I haven"t heard any details regarding him for a while now, he"s probably still out training and has yet to return," The other individual replied.

The Townlord seeing this group appeared quickly walked out from his shield of guards and welcomed them with a smile.

"I see that Clan Leader Xiang Tian and Clan Leader Huan Mang have made it on time. What do you think about the Talent Selections? Do you guys have any confidence in your sons coming out on top?" The Townlord casually asked.

Huan Mang frowned as he did not reply but looked at the powerhouses gathered on top of the central platform.

Xiang Tian hearing his question responded after cupping his hands, "Respected Townlord, surely you jest! We may have stood a shot of claiming the top positions originally, but with the current situation..." As he said this, he cast his vision towards the stage and sighed before continuing.

"With these many powers gathered here, it"s hard to say what"s truly going to happen..." Xiang Tian said in an uncertain tone.

The Townlord hearing his reply smiled as if he didn"t listen to what he said or noticed Huan Mang"s expression he continued, "Hmm, what about your son Xiang Shu? It"s been a while since I"ve last seen him fight, how is his progress recently?"

"Haha! You could say that while he"s quite talented, he still quite far when compared to his older brother at the same age," Xiang Tian replied lightly.

However, if one looked carefully, one would see a look of disappointment hidden within his eyes as he looked towards the back of his group and saw the indifferent form standing there.

"Is that so? Well I suppose that"s too bad and here I was looking forward to seeing another "Dark Horse" rising from my Machen Town," The Townlord said as a look of sadness came on his face, he then muttered in a faintly audible tone, "Since a horse won"t do, a "Dark Mouse" won"t be too bad would it?"

"Excuse me? Were you saying something?" Xiang Tian asked as if he had misheard.

"It"s nothing, nothing! Brother Xiang!" The Townlord replied while waving his hands casually.

Xiang Tian seeing this frowned as he clenched his fists tightly but did not take action. As the wife of the Townlord saw this, she grinned to herself as she thought, "Hmph! This husband of mine is certainly taking out his stress caused by these major characters on this fellow. I wonder how I should punish him later."

As the group continued to converse, the number of pract.i.tioners and wanderers who had gathered within the Central Square had reached its peak. The Sky Splitting Sword School noticing this had decided to begin the welcoming for the Talent Selection"s official commencement.

However, right when they were about to get started there was a new group that made their way into the square, they were all dressed in stylized scarlet robes with long dark gold sleeves, as their bright red hairs flowed gently with the wind. Leading this group were four people, two middle-aged men or rather now youthful looking men who both seemed to be at the peak of their 30"s.

A beautiful red-haired woman was walking alongside a handsome red-haired young man, he shouldered two unique swords on his back, each with a sharp presence that looked like it could cut through anything.

Also walking with them was a large, robust figure, two-meters tall, he had short black hair and carried an odd-looking bow on his back.

Behind him were three individuals who wore similar types of clothes, the first was a blue-haired man with a sizeable black conical hat. Followed by a st.u.r.dy silver-white haired young man with an old white scarf wrapped around his neck, and lastly was a beautiful jade haired young girl.

Further behind them were two mighty looking elders, one with spiky red hair and another with his head in wrappings that flowed about the air with the rising winds. Behind them were a group of other figures with red hair, who were followed along by an organized squad of men who each wore crimson-red masks.

As Feng Yunlong, Feng Junling, Feng Xingyu, Hui Ying and Feng Yu along with Dai Lin, Miren Fei and Lang Kuang made their way to a slightly large corner of the square. They were accompanied by Elder Duan, Elder Chen, a few core officials of the family and the Crimson-Masked Soldiers 2nd Unit.

The crowd who saw these individuals started gossiping.

"The Feng Clan is also partic.i.p.ating?" A local woman said in surprise.

"That can"t be right, could it be that they are just here to observe the Talent Selections? Or do they have another member of their family who"s going to partic.i.p.ate?" Another local figure asked.

"Most likely so, for there is no way that their clan"s young master is ready for this kind of stage. After all, he performed his coming of age ceremony not too long ago." The individual replied.

"Wait! Isn"t that..." Suddenly another figure shouted as he noticed someone who was beside Feng Yu.

"Blue Thunder Dai Lin! No wonder they"re here, it seems that the servant will be the one fighting for his master..." The individual said as he looked towards Dai Lin in awe.

A few influential figures who stood on the central platform also noticed this scene and cast their visions towards the Feng Clan group. A look of surprise could be seen on a few especially on that of Xin Family"s young miss.

"So, you finally show yourself. I wonder, what kind of strength do you truly possess?" Xin Qing said as she looked at Feng Yu walking beside Dai Lin and Hui Ying.

"Dai Lin of the Blue Thunder..." Tang Wu muttered as a visible battle intent shone within his eyes.

Ji Weng and Xuan Bei looked towards Dai Lin with a fierce light in their eyes, as the Southern Wasteland Youth and Mysterious Spear Youth from the Golden Dragon Empire looked towards Feng Yu silently.

"Hmph!" Xiang Tian snorted as he looked towards the Feng Clan while gripping his fists in anger.

Xiang Shu who was quiet and indifferent glanced towards Feng Yu for a moment before removing his vision as if he wasn"t worth his time.

Feng Yu smiled as he felt the visions of certain individuals fall upon himself but showed no signs of discomfort or interest as he calmly walked with the group towards a s.p.a.cious area. Quickly, their family reached their destination and directed their visions towards the central platform.

Feng Junling took a quick inspection of the individual on the platform with his spiritual sense before swiftly removing it.

"Hmm, what was that just now?" Xun Yanshan said as he glanced around the square.

The man from the Midnight Temple and the unknown man from the Southern Wasteland group also looked around the square with a puzzled look in their eyes.

Feng Junling smiled as he sent a voice transmission to Feng Yunlong, "It seems we have quite a few "heavyweights" gathered at this party."

"Really? Then what are our odds if there is a confrontation?" Feng Yunlong said as he frowned slightly.

"I"d say 30 - 70, but that is under the circ.u.mstances of us not utilizing second layer or even third layer strength," Feng Junling replied as a wave of battle intent rose within him.

"I"ve only derived a small portion of our bloodline, right now I can only barely manage the second layer," Feng Yunlong said in a slightly embarra.s.sed tone.

"Don"t worry, I"ll handle it if the situation calls for me to act," Feng Junling replied with a look of confidence in his face.

Feng Yunlong seeing his older brother like this couldn"t help but smile as he thought to himself, "It"s been a long, long, time since I"ve last seen Junling with such a look on his face."

Feng Xingyu who was observing them smiled as she said, "It looks like the eldest brother is eager to run amok once more."

Dai Lin who was feeling the stares from others glanced indifferently towards them while speaking with Feng Yu, "Young Master, can I truly partic.i.p.ate in this tournament? Would I not be interfering with the clan"s plans?"

Feng Yu hearing Dai Lin"s question replied, "You do not need to overly concern yourself regarding the plans of the family, just consider this event as a place to temper your strength."

"Understood!" Dai Lin replied as excitement shone in his eyes.

Feng Yu looked towards Lang Kuang and Miren Fei and spoke once more, "Make sure to give it your best. There aren"t many opportunities where you"ll get to meet so many talents gathered together, strive to make the best of this selection and improve your skills."

"Yes, Young Master!" They both replied.

Lang Kuang gripped his fist tightly causing his muscles to bulge, as Miren Fei glanced around at the compet.i.tors with a charming light shining in her eyes.

Finally, a Sky Splitting Sword School elder walked to the center of the platform then clapped his hands together.

Clap! In a brief moment, silence took over the square. The Sky Splitting Sword elder seeing this smiled as he spoke to the crowd.

"Greetings everyone! I would like to offer my grat.i.tude for your interest in our School"s Annual Talent Selection. Some of you have travel=led from distant lands, and the journey must have been especially dangerous. For your relentless efforts and time taken to attend our school"s talent selection, we would like to offer you our sincerest grat.i.tude, congrats on making it here!" As the elder said this, he paused for a moment to observe the audience before speaking once more.

"Without further ado, welcome to the beginning of the Talent Selections!" The elder said as a bright light shone within his eyes, the winds in the area began to pick up as it calmly blew around the central square.

A woman seated on the platform looked at the sky and muttered softly, "It has begun..."