Since the number of competition participants is enormous, the organizers have prepared dozens of competition areas divided into several levels. Some of them are reserved for cultivators in the Ten Mortal Realms; some are for cultivators in the Five God Realms; and some are for cultivators in the Three Immortal Realms.
The rewards that cultivators can also receive vary from one to another, with the rewards for cultivators in the Ten Mortal Realms being the lowest. Meanwhile, the rewards for cultivators in the Three Immortal Realms are the highest, especially for those representing all the sects in that domain.
Even though the prizes for cultivators in the Ten Mortal Realms were the lowest, the people seemed eager to participate in the competition, except for Ling Yunās children. They didnāt participate for the rewards, as their father could provide them with much better items; instead, they wanted to test their fighting skills.
Unlike Ling Yun, several of his wives, such as Shuang Yuzhu, Huang Zhimei, Xuanyin Yue, Xue Jing, Long Nu, and Chu Nanhua, were very enthusiastic about the competition. At first, the first two women wanted to participate in the competition using the names of their two sects, but they abandoned their plans at the last moment.
"Daddy."
"Hmm?" Ling Yun took Sheng Ai from Sheng Mingās arms and sat her on his lap. He was still confused because the little female immortal was growing so fast, and his daughter was almost a year old now. She looked much bigger than other children her age, which made her look like a two- or three-year-old. "Are you uncomfortable here, Little Ai?"
"No."
Sheng Ai leaned against Ling Yunās chest, looking at the cultivators already prepared in the competition arenas.
"Will my mothers, brothers, and sisters win the competition, Daddy?"
Ling Yun held Sheng Aiās small hands. "They are much stronger than their opponents, but the number of winners of this competition is small, so only a few of them can win it. I brought them here not to win the competition, but rather to use those people as stepping stones to test their abilities."
"Why donāt you want them to win this competition, Daddy?" Sheng Ai looked up at Ling Yun, her big eyes blinking a few times with a hint of curiosity.
Ling Yun looked at Sheng Aiās expression with a smile. "Because the competition prizes for rogue cultivators are worthless compared to the fighting experience theyāll gain."
"Why donāt you participate in the competition, Daddy?"
Sheng Ming gently patted Sheng Aiās head. "If your father participates in this competition, his presence will overpower the other cultivators, and he will defeat them effortlessly."
"Is daddy stronger than you, Mommy?"
"Yes," Sheng Ming nodded. "Your father is the strongest cultivator in this universe, and the only person who can match him is Huang Lingzhu."
"Can I be as strong as them when I grow up, Mommy?" Sheng Ai blinked her large eyes several times.
Sheng Ming felt confused about being her daughter, but then Ling Yun spoke. "Little Ai, if you want to be as strong as me and Huang Lingzhu, you have to cultivate and train hard. If you slack off, you wonāt be able to reach our level."
"I will listen to you, Daddy. I will cultivate and train hard, and I will never be lazy."
"Smart girl." Ling Yun bent down and kissed Sheng Aiās forehead. "Letās watch them compete with those cultivators."
"Yes, Daddy."
Ling Yun observed the matches in all the arenas using his senses, but he didnāt focus on that because he was confident in the abilities of all his wives and children; instead, he focused more on searching for the whereabouts of those demons and devils.
Since the system map couldnāt detect them, Bai Xuanyue helped Ling Yun by marking those people with special marks, so he could monitor them easily.
After he could distinguish between heretics and normal cultivators, Ling Yun immediately checked their status. He discovered that many of those hereticsā cultivation had already reached the Three Immortal Realms, and most of them had already reached the Five God Realms.
Ling Yun discussed their identities with Yu Shuang, who immediately told him many things. He furrowed his forehead when he told him that some of them were the sect masters of several sects in the domain. However, it raised a question in his mind as to why those heretics did not choose the people from the Heavenly Star Sect.
Ling Yun asked Bai Xuanyue to check on the people from the Heavenly Star Sect present on the island, but the female immortal told him that they were normal, which further confused him. āIs there something I missed? Or are the people from the sect useless to those heretics?ā
"What are you thinking, Husband?" Sheng Ming whispered.
"Those heretics," Ling Yun told Sheng Ming about some of the oddities he had discovered. "Do you think they have another goal besides taking that sword?"
Sheng Ming nodded slightly. "Thatās a possibility, husband. However, I canāt predict their ultimate goal, so weāll have to wait for them to make their move first."
"Yes," Ling Yun agreed with her. "Huang Hao arrived in this domain yesterday, and there are still a few of us here, so Iām sure we can deal with those heretics."
"Look over there, Daddy!" Sheng Ai pointed to one of the competition arenas, where Yi Mingxia was walking up. "My grandma will fight for the first time! Will she succeed in defeating her opponent?"
"Your grandmother has been training for a long time in the dream space, and her first opponent is not that strong, so she will defeat him easily." Ling Yun rubbed the little girlās head, looking at several other arenas, where several of his wives and children were already ready to compete. "Their opponents are not those heretics, so they should be safe."
Evening quickly arrived, and all the first matches were finally over. The competition organizers asked everyone to take a break, and they would continue the second matches tomorrow morning.
Ling Yun and the others hadnāt expected the first matches to last so long, but Huang Zhimei had informed them that the competition usually lasted for days. After all, the number of participants in the competition was simply too numerous, and some matches took up a significant amount of time.
All of Ling Yunās wives and children managed to win their first match, which was not surprising at all. After all, they had trained for so long in the dream space, and they always pushed themselves to the limit every time they trained.
As for the disciples from the Heavenly Star Sect, many of them lost their first matches, but the special disciples managed to defeat their opponents.
Ling Yun wasnāt too happy because the heretics hadnāt shown any significant movement in their first matches, which was perplexing for him. Moreover, their numbers were quite large, and he couldnāt reveal their identities, so he couldnāt take action against them yet.
Since there was no accommodation on the island, the participants and spectators of the competition set up tents to spend the night there. The domain residents could have returned to their respective islands and sects, but they would rather not waste time traveling back and forth.
Ling Yun searched for a place large enough to accommodate all his wives and children, and they set up several tents surrounding a large campfire. They didnāt need to worry about foods because they had prepared plenty of provisions before leaving for the domain, so they didnāt need to waste time cooking.
Yu Shuang and the disciples of the Heavenly Star Sect set up their tents not far from the location of Ling Yun and his group, which was in accordance with his request. That way, he could protect them if those heretics made a sudden move.
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"Hmm?" Huang Hao looked at Ling Yun, who appeared in front of her with Sheng Ai. "Is this your daughter with Sheng Ming?"
Sheng Ai stretched out both hands to Huang Hao. "Pretty aunt, hug me."
"Such an adorable little girl." Huang Hao took Sheng Ai from her father. She took a small crystal and gave it to the little girl. "This is our meeting gift, Little Ai. Iāve heard about you, but this is my first time meeting you."
"What crystal is this, Aunt?"
"A memory crystal." Huang Hao shows Sheng Ai how the crystal works. "Do you like it? You can record all your activities every day using this crystal."
Sheng Ai kissed Huang Haoās cheeks. "I like it so much! Thank you for your gift, Aunt."
"Haha," Huang Hao softly laughed. "You look a lot like your mother, Little Ai."
Ling Yun didnāt say anything and watched Huang Haoās excited expression closely. He had heard from Long Hun that the woman in front of him wanted to have a child, but it never came true because the old dragon was not ready to have one.
Huang Hao raised an eyebrow. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Nothing." Ling Yun shook his head. "I was just surprised because you werenāt as cold as usual, and this is the first time Iāve seen you smile warmly. Are you that eager to have children?"
Huang Haoās smile disappeared as soon as Ling Yun asked that. "Even though Iām an immortal beast, Iām still a woman, so Iāve always longed for a child. Unfortunately, I never got pregnant until my master died, which makes me quite regretful."
"I see." Ling Yun nodded in understanding and shifted the topic directly. "Did you find anything from those heretics?"
Huang Hao shook her head. "Those heretics are deliberately holding back and waiting for a signal to act."
"Jian Xieshen and Xie Zuzhou."
"Thatās right." Huang Hao nodded. "Huang Lingzhu guessed that old devil would accompany Jian Xieshen, especially since the latter had not fully recovered."