The Supreme God of Martial Arts
Chapter 422 Awarding The Winners

The Outstanding Talents Exchange Games hosted by the Emperor of the Violet Orchid Empire had finally drawn to a close.

The top three on the ranking list were as follows.

Austin ranked first, Leo second and Symon the third.

Strictly speaking, among the three of them, only Leo belonged to one of the main five sects, which was a fact that brought great shame to the Sect Leaders. It was a relief that Austin was originally from the Sun Sect, or else they would have been even more embarrassed.

The audience had been abuzz about the results, quietly discussing them in whispers. When the Emperor rose from his Golden Throne, his smile hushed everyone into silence. The supreme authority looked around solemnly without saying a word.

His innate regal dignity commanded everyone's attention naturally. The ornate canopy over his head was gradually lifted up, adding even more stateliness to the moment.

Embroidered with multi-hued clouds and nine-claw golden dragons, the canopy captivated the audience. The dragons flitted between the clouds as if they were blessing the mortal world with rain and dew—a symbol for the imperial rule as part of the divine order.

The crowd including the powerful sect leaders watched the Emperor in awe. They too had grown silent ever since the Emperor rose from his seat.

The fact was that the Emperor, the one and only ruler of the Violet Orchid Empire didn't command respect and awe only because he was supreme royalty. That he belonged to the Sky Realm filled everyone with wonder.

For most cultivators, Sky Realm was unattainable despite dedicating their whole lives to that aim. An emperor in the Sky Realm was enough to put down any differences.

"Attention please.”

The Emperor started his eloquent speech.

"I'm pleased to announce that

the Outstanding Talents Exchange Games of this year have successfully ended.

It is an event that time and again defines honor, courage and excellence. Cultivators have always vied for the top, simply because, they understand the significance of the tournament, which represents everything a cultivator ought to be, at his finest. The talents that have marked themselves apart from hundreds of warriors

will be the force driving the future prosperity of the Violet Orchid Empire. In a way, the rise or fall of the Empire greatly relies on them.” "Tin, why is he so cheesy? And his talking in such a bureaucratic tone is so putting off.”

Ever since the games ended, Dewey had been following Austin around to flatter him, which to Austin was an unexpected gain.

Austin knew what Dewey wanted from him. Although Dewey had always pretended to be weak, Austin felt that Dewey had quite some potential.

The Emperor suddenly paused for a second. He looked in Dewey and Austin's direction as if he had noticed Dewey complaining just now. His casual glance at Austin and Dewey was enough to make them feel suffocated as if they were buried under a rock.

"Hush ... Don't comment now."

Austin darted a comment at his stupefied companion.

"Austin, Leo and Symon, the top three cultivators and winners of this year's Outstanding Talents Exchange Games, represent the best minds of the young generation. I'm firmly convinced that your potential and talent will bring you unparalleled success and fame!"

The Emperor had locked his gaze on Austin now.

Evidently, Austin piqued his curiosity.

All of a sudden, Austin felt something extremely bizarre. To be specific, he felt naked, as if the Emperor was looking at and into his body! Every cell, every drop of blood, every organ, and every part of his soul were throbbing with indignation as they were suddenly exposed by another person.

"He's peeking into my internal being!"

Austin was alarmed right away, not sure about his intention.

A faint golden light glimmered in the Emperor's long and dignified eyes as he gazed at his most powerful warrior.

Yes, he was peeking into Austin’s body!

He was eager to make sense of all the potential this young man possessed, so he was using his spiritual sense to probe into Austin, trying to find out his hidden secret.

Being the highest authority and belonging to a rather high cultivation base, the Emperor should have never felt the need to do this. And yet Austin's performance during the Games had made him too curious.

He believed that there was something extraordinary about Austin, almost like a hidden secret that was the key to understanding his strength.

“His spiritual sense is almost irresistible!"

Being controlled by the Emperor's strong spiritual sense, Austin was both amazed and alert.

The spiritual sense was achievable from the Mysterious Realm, so it was not surprising that the Emperor had such strong spiritual sense as a cultivator in the Sky Realm.

Quickly, Austin brought back his breath to normal. He started to gauge the Emperor's sense and realized that the Emperor's spiritual sense was not much stronger than his. Austin's spiritual sense could reach places as far as 3000 meters which made the difference between their reach not more than 20 meters.

But the skill that the Emperor used felt really mysterious and unfathomable.

"Alright. There's nothing special about my body except that vital energy stone in the elixir field anyway."

Austin thought to himself and concentrated all of his spiritual sense around his elixir field as defense while remaining willingly exposed otherwise.

Suddenly!

"Well. That's quite unusual. What just happened?”

When the Emperor finally reached the elixir field of Austin with his secret skill called the Buddha's Eye, he found it to be blocked by something thick and intangible. No matter how hard he tried, he constantly failed to penetrate Austin's elixir field.

After a few failed attempts, he had to admit that his Buddha's Eye could not get into Austin’s elixir field, which greatly surprised him.

But soon he calmed down and stopped trying. As an emperor, it was inappropriate of him to keep investigating a young man like that in public.

From what the Buddha's Eye saw, there was nothing special about Austin's body. He's just exceedingly strong and vibrant. But that kind of physical prowess is highly ordinary, which means Austin is just another person.

But what happened when I tried to look at his elixir field? My spiritual sense got blocked by another sense which was nearly as strong as mine. How odd! There's no way that he owns such a strong spiritual sense. He just made a breakthrough into the Mysterious Realm! Why? But obviously if he is blocking his elixir field, his secret lies in there somewhere.’

The Emperor ruminated over his attempt.

"All right. Now, the top fifty cultivators and the Sect Leaders of the five main sects, please come with me. We shall be awarding the winners in the Imperial Golden Hall.”

Right after the Emperor, the rest mentioned followed him into a teleportation array. In just a couple of seconds, they were already in a magnificent palace.

The ceiling seemed to reach for the sky as it could accommodate 10 elephants one on top of the other. The mesmerizing white jade paved the floor and glistering gold sheathed the walls. The hall was dotted with several sculptures of beasts that were embedded with rubies and sapphire adding to the grandeur of the palace.

The legendary Golden Throne gleamed with the shine of thousands of jewels encrusted into a special gold. This was the Emperor's seat from where he looked down on everybody.

The rest, including the top fifty contestants, the Sect Leaders, the Emperor's counsels and generals, stood stately in two lines.

Each position was arranged strictly according to their status and everything was orderly.

At this moment, the Emperor finally didn't look as stern as before and smiled faintly.

"Tonight, I will live up to the promise I made before the Games!

Austin, the champion of this year, come to me!"

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