Rise of the Demon God

"Don't be happy so soon. It is not as simple as that.  If it was a competition between the leaders of the other worlds and me, I might have been as confident as you. Still, my victory wasn't assured as the other leaders are just as strong. But the conditions are different," Emperor Meng Lian said as he sighed. 

"The ranking won't depend on the strength of the leaders," he continued.

"The ranking won't depend on our strength? What does that mean? What will it depend on?" Patriarch Qin asked. 

"Could it be on a test of something other than strength? Like comprehension?" Sect Master Min theorized.

The Emperor shook his head slowly as he answered, "No. Some of the planets have different sets of Cultivation methods. Some aren't even humans. Comprehension can't be used to decide rankings."

"Exactly. That's what I thought too," Patriarch Qin muttered. "Strength seemed like the best factor to rank, but they're not even using that. What could they be using?" 

"Your Majesty, please end this suspense. We can't think of what they could be using. They can't use the wealth of worlds, can they? We would definitely lose then." Sect Master Min said.

" You're not wrong. Strength will determine the ranking. The only difference is that it won't be the strength of us from the old generation, but it would be the strength of the youngsters," the Emperor answered.

"Strength of the younger generation? Why is that the case? The younger generation hadn't comprehended the true basics of the cultivation. Only when they become older are they able to show the best a world has to offer. Why the strength of the youngsters then?" One of the guests asked his friend, seemingly curious.

He kept his voice low to make sure the Emperor won't hear him. 

' A competition between the younger generation? That too with the people of other worlds?' Long Chen wondered.

'If it's the truth, the people from Mingyu's world might come as well,' he thought. He was hopeful that it was the best way. He wouldn't need to take the risk if it was like this.

Even though the old man had spoken in a low voice, the Emperor still managed to hear him.

The Emperor gazed at the old man, who started sweating, wondering if the Emperor heard him.

"They don't wish to see the best of the world. They don't wish to see the Cultivators that are properly molded by their world's strengthening methods. They want to see how effective the methods of the world are at the earlier stages. So they have decided to test youngsters," the Emperor said with an expressionless face.

"Younger generation? It would be a test for the youngsters?"

People started getting concerned. Even though the youngsters they had were promising, but their method was different. Cultivation made people stronger the longer they cultivated. It was less effective in earlier stages as each breakthrough improved their strength by a little.

With higher Cultivation, each breakthrough came with hundreds of times more strength than previous Realms. This was the basis of Cultivation.

The other worlds also used Cultivation, but there were some worlds that didn't use Cultivation.

There were Beastkins that used pure strength. Their method had similar improvement with each breakthrough. That's why they held the advantage in initial levels and young age. There were many more species like them as well.

Testing the older generation was best for this world but testing the young generation was a disadvantage and everyone knew it.

Patriarch Qin also seemed worried. He didn't like this mode of competition. He roamed his gaze on everyone in the hall and noticed that they were all looking worried as well. It was as if they had all lost the hopes of being the winner.

Only the world of the first Rank person was allowed to mine the resources of other planets. If they didn't win rank one, not only would they not get any resources, they would also lose the resources of their own world since the first ranked world will be allowed to mine their resources without paying.

This would be a big blow. Some were even internally upset that the Emperor had agreed to this unfair deal which they had no chance of winning.

Patriarch Qin shared the same perspective. He was similarly upset, but his face changed as he saw one person sitting at the front table.

Long Chen looked towards the white-haired man who was looking towards their table. It seemed as if he was looking straight at him at the moment.

Patriarch Qin grinned as his lips arched. He opened his lips and said, "Everyone! We don't have to worry so much. This is not too bad either. I believe we all forgot about someone. We can still win. I can't believe I didn't notice at first! How could I be so blind."

'Crap! Is he able to see my Cultivation? No. Even if he can see my Cultivation, he should only be able to see a Peak Sky Realm Cultivator. He wouldn't think that I can win for them. That is... Until he is able to see my true fighting strength.' Long Chen thought as he squinted his eyes.

'Does he really know? If he blows the cover on my strength, the Emperor might immediately be suspicious of my identity. I must stay ready to escape,' he thought as he clenched his fist.

His eyes didn't move from Patriarch Qin for even a second as he eagerly waited to listen to his next words.

"We forgot about someone?" 

"Who?"

"Is there someone who will assure us of victory?"

"Who can be so strong?"

All guests started getting excited as they heard the words of the Patriarch.

It raised the hope of victory in their eyes once again. Was there really a secret genius who could make them win?

"I guess you all haven't noticed either. Even though his majesty can't take part, the Crown Prince can take part from our side. He is a once in a Millennia genius who has broken all Cultivation records," Patriarch Qin said as he grinned.

Hearing his words, Long Chen was the one who seemed most relieved. He released his fist as he relaxed. So the old man was looking at the man who was sitting near him. The Crown Prince of this Kingdom. He was scared for no reason. He wanted to laugh at himself for getting so severe at a misunderstanding.

"Patriarch Qin, His Highness is definitely a genius that has never been seen before. I believe he would lead us to great heights once he has reached his full potential. Even in the coming rankings, I think he would make us rank really high but still... Taking rank one as a youngster compared to people from the Dark World and the beastkins is still tough as a Cultivator," Sect Master Min said softly, shaking his head. 

" I believe you all haven't noticed yet. Why would His Majesty agree to ranking like this if he wasn't sure that we could win?" Patriarch Qin asked, grinning. 

"This..."

Just this one sentence of Patriarch of the Qin clan managed to stun everyone. 

He was right. Why would Emperor Meng agree to ranking like this if he didn't think he could win? There must be a secret behind it. What could it be? Everyone wondered as they gazed at the Emperor. 

Emperor Meng sat silently with an amused smile on his face. 

"Am I right, Your Majesty?" Patriarch Qin asked. 

The Emperor neither confirmed nor denied. He asked, "Interesting observation, Old Man Qin. So, why do you think I agreed?" 

"I am no one to understand all the mysteries and reasoning behind Your Majesty's decision, but I do have an assumption," Patriarch Qin replied.

"Oh? What assumption. Speak," the Emperor asked. 

"My assumption is pretty simple. A long time ago, I had heads that His Highness the crown prince had found an ancient body Strengthening Skill. It was said to be used by someone who had risen to the Immortal World just using that single skill," Patriarch Qin answered.

"Crown Prince's strength is already many times higher than his Cultivation because of his talent. Previously, I had thought that he would become a much stronger person with this skill that he had discovered," he continued.

"We had all thought the same, but that wasn't what happened, was it? From what I remember, it was said that the skill was too tough to Cultivate for anyone. Even His Highness failed to cultivate it. Why are you bringing up that Skill?" Sect Master Min asked. 

"That was what we heard, but it's not impossible to comprehend the skill you once failed to comprehend, is it? You just need a grown-up understanding and full determination. All of these are the things that the crown prince has. That makes me believe he has succeeded in Cultivating that skill now. That might be the reason His Majesty agreed." Patriarch Qin answered.