Chapter 998: Fierce Battle Between Dragon and Tiger!

The fifteenth of May, the Buddha Bathing Festival.

The entire city of Kaihuang was a scene of jubilation, festooned with lanterns and banners as the common folk rose early to bow before their household Buddha statues.

Those who could afford it would visit the Kaihuang Temple to pay reverence to Buddha and offer food to the monks to commemorate the birth of the World-Honored One, demonstrating the deep piety of the city’s people and their profound respect for the Lord.

Even someone like Lu Yang, who understood nothing of the power of incense offering, could feel the energy of devotion manifesting at this very moment.

Perhaps the dense accumulation of masterless incense power in the Buddhist Kingdom was forged precisely through this day-after-day accumulation.

Only one person harbored a slight grievance regarding the occasion.

"This Immortal's birthday is not today," the Immortal Fairy grumbled, her lips pouted in discontent.

Lu Yang’s interest was piqued, and he inquired, "Then on which day is your birthday, Fairy?"

Come to think of it, despite knowing her for so long, he still did not know the date of her birth.

"The first day of the sixth lunar month."

"Then what sort of day is today?" Lu Yang felt that a festival could not simply appear out of thin air; today surely held some kind of commemorative significance.

The Immortal Fairy stroked her chin with a soft hiss, finding Little Yang's question somewhat tricky: "The fifteenth of May, of course. This Immortal has spent it so many times, who knows... ah, wait, no, this Immortal is only sixteen years old."

The Immortal Fairy shot a wary glance at Lu Yang, wondering if he had overheard her muttering to herself just now.

Like a wise minister, Lu Yang well knew that some things must be feigned unheard even if they were caught; assuming a look of utter bewilderment, he asked, "Fairy, why are you staring at me like that?"

Only then did the Immortal Fairy ease her mind and resume her recollection.

"I remember now! Today is the anniversary of the first time this Immortal defeated the four of them, including Immortal Ying Tian, after achieving immortality!"

Lu Yang looked toward the citizens splashing water along the streets in celebration, his expression growing rather subtle.

Was today truly a day worthy of such celebration?

The streets of Kaihuang City were teeming with dense throngs of people, marking the most bustling occasion since the city's founding, surpassing any previous Buddha Bathing Festival in history.

Even Master Duan Chen was overjoyed; he knew the two of them possessed great influence, but he never expected it to reach such magnitudes—several times the highest historical peak, leaving the monks tasked with maintaining order stretched thin and severely short-handed.

As Lu Yang and his companion passed by, they glanced at the roaring martial arena, which was completely surrounded by a dense crowd.

Upon the stage, cultivators of Qi Condensation, Foundation Establishment, and Golden Core stages each displayed their divine abilities, striving to pass the preliminary rounds.

Serving as judges, it was naturally impossible for Lu Yang and his companion to commentate on every single match, as that would devalue their status.

Only when the cultivators emerged from the masses by passing the preliminaries and entering the top eight would the two step forward as judges to offer their commentary.

Thus, even if a cultivator cared nothing for the prizes, they would try every possible means to squeeze into the top eight just to receive words from the duo.

Should the pair offer even a single word of praise, it would suffice to make that person famous.

"Their skills are rather mediocre," Lu Yang remarked after a few glances, noting that they were all mid-tier for their realms, with the better ones barely reaching the upper-middle, finding it difficult to even challenge those of higher levels.

"Just make do with it. Did you think this was our sect, where geniuses roam everywhere?"

Suddenly, a commotion stirred within the crowd as someone pointed at a Golden Core cultivator ascending the stage, exclaiming in great surprise, "Look, that is Huo Ying! It is said he completed the Vermilion Bird Trial of the Vermilion Bird Temple and ascended to the ninety-ninth rank on the Earth Ranking!"

"Why would he come here?"

Lu Yang wore a peculiar expression as he turned to ask Meng Jingzhou, "What on earth is this Earth Ranking?"

Meng Jingzhou shook his head likewise. "Never heard of it."

Lu Yang tapped the shoulder of the spectator shouting loudest at the outermost edge, assuming the man would know.

"Excuse me, could you tell me what this Earth Ranking is?"

The man turned around, astonished by Lu Yang’s question. "You don't even know of the Earth Ranking?"

"Indeed, we are cultivators from the Great Xia, here to participate in the competition within the Buddhist Kingdom," Lu Yang answered honestly.

"Ah, no wonder you are unaware. To motivate our cultivators, the Xitian Temple of our Buddhist Kingdom ranks the practitioners here."

"There are three lists in total: the Mortal Ranking for Foundation Establishment, the Earth Ranking for Golden Core, and the Heaven Ranking for Nascent Soul. Each list contains exactly one hundred spots."

"See Huo Ying up there on the stage? He is ranked ninety-ninth on the Earth Ranking of the genius charts, the ninety-ninth among all Golden Core cultivators! It is said that even ordinary early Nascent Soul cultivators are no match for him. Though no battle records have spread yet, everyone says his strength is fully comparable to an established early Nascent Soul practitioner!"

The man grew increasingly excited as he spoke, as though Huo Ying were some incredibly magnificent figure.

"Who could have guessed he would participate in Kaihuang City’s Buddha Bathing Festival? With this, I fear the other cultivators stand no chance at all!"

Lu Yang came to a sudden realization; no wonder this Huo Ying fellow seemed to possess some skill, given that he could earn a rank among the Golden Cores of the Buddhist Kingdom, making him a genius comparable to Madam White Bone.

"Why is there no further ranking above the Heaven Ranking? I wanted to see where I might place," Meng Jingzhou remarked with a regretful shake of his head, lamenting his late arrival to the Buddhist Kingdom; had he known of such charts, he would have come during his Nascent Soul stage.

Suddenly, the crowd erupted in cheers once more, the waves of sound rising higher and higher.

"It is Fang Wudi! Fang Wudi, ranked ninety-fifth on the Earth Ranking, has arrived as well!"

"What? The very Fang Wudi who obtained the supreme technique of the Hengsha Secret Realm!"

"To think that even he has come!"

"A clash between a dragon and a tiger!"

A battle between two ranked experts of the Earth Ranking—what a rare spectacle to behold!

"Fang Wudi, I did not expect you to come as well!" Huo Ying’s expression turned solemn, as though confronting a formidable foe. He had never exchanged blows with Fang Wudi, but he had heard many tales regarding him; there was undoubtedly a reason the other man ranked above him.

"I have heard that you possess the Innate Supreme Physique, born with a golden dragon circling before merging into your form to become your birthmark. Furthermore, at the hour of noon, you absorbed pure Yang energy to draw Qi into your body, achieving Foundation Establishment within a hundred days and forming your Golden Core within the Hengsha Secret Realm. Your external martial arts have forged you into iron skin and brass bones, pushing the path of body refinement almost to its absolute pinnacle!"

"Just passing through, and testing my skills along the way," Fang Wudi replied, drawing an eyebrow-height staff forged from fine iron from his storage ring; none knew how many desperate outlaws had perished beneath this weapon.

"Huo Ying, you are not lacking either. I hear your mother was the Holy Maiden of the Tongxuan Sacred Ground, tempering your body with great medicinal herbs before you were even born. At birth, you held a strand of innate purple Qi, and later wiped out the Wolf Bandits, battled flying corpses, traversed three thousand miles of desert, escorted sacred relics in matchless combat, turned fierce in anger for a fair lady, and defected from the Sacred Ground without a single word of regret—truly admirable..."

The two locked eyes, and combat was on the verge of erupting at any second!

The blood of the spectators boiled with excitement, never expecting to witness such a duel right at the commencement of the Buddha Bathing Festival!

Lu Yang watched the battle between Huo Ying and Fang Wudi intently, seeing them evenly matched. He could not help but sigh, finding it difficult to imagine that there were three other people ranked between them.

"The Buddhist Kingdom truly possesses masters of great insight, to be able to devise a ranking when the gap is so miniscule."

Meng Jingzhou watched for a long while, utterly failing to see anything extraordinary about the two.

"Wait, after praising each other for so long, this is all the skill they have? Back when I was in the Golden Core stage, I could have taken both of them at once."