The Zhong family of Icefire City is a six-star power, considered mid-tier among six-star powers, and is not particularly strong.

However, Zhong Ao is like his name; he is incredibly arrogant.

Lu Fengyao said, "He does have the capital to be arrogant. He was born with an Icefire Dao Body, which is the best physique for cultivating the Zhong family's techniques."

"He cultivates both the Great Dao of Fire and the Dao of Ice simultaneously, and can unleash super-strong combat power with both."

"When he was in the Heavenly Venerable Realm, he could fight above his level, but after reaching the Dao Venerable Realm, he hasn't had any corresponding combat achievements."

"Also, because he cultivates the Great Dao of Fire, his temper isn't very good, and sometimes he loses control."

Cultivating both the Great Dao of Fire and the Dao of Ice simultaneously, and sometimes losing control—Lin Moyu felt that he probably hadn't managed to balance the two Great Daos well.

While Lu Fengyao was speaking, someone finally entered the venue.

He stepped in; wherever his left foot landed, ice covered the ground. Wherever his right foot landed, there were scorched marks.

Zhong Ao had quite an air about him, and his entrance was impressive, but whenever everyone looked at him, it was like looking at a joke.

A young woman followed behind Zhong Ao. The woman was only in the Heavenly Venerable Realm, and she was very beautiful, following Zhong Ao step by step.

Zhong Ao ignored everyone's gaze and came to his own seat, which was also the only empty one.

He frowned, clearly very dissatisfied with his seat, but he still sat down.

His gaze swept across, lingering on a few geniuses in the Dao Venerate Second Realm, with a fighting spirit in his eyes.

However, no one paid any attention to his fighting spirit.

In the eyes of many, Zhong Ao was more like an idiot living in his own world.

Zhong Ao finally saw Lu Fengyao and Lin Moyu, and the Taunt in his eyes became even stronger. He didn't think at all about why he was sitting at Right 46 while Lu Fengyao was sitting at Left 10, and why the gap between the two was so obvious.

Lin Moyu smiled and said, "This guy's brain doesn't work very well."

Lu Fengyao agreed with Lin Moyu's words, "People who cultivate the Great Dao of Fire don't have very good brains."

After Zhong Ao sat down, the hundred geniuses finally all arrived.

Lin Moyu's spiritual sense told him that above the sky, a large number of Dao Venerables were already observing this Heavenly Pride Tournament.

A majestic voice rang out, and an old man appeared in the sky.

No one knew the old man's identity, but everyone could feel a terrifying pressure from him. This old man's realm was terrifying, at least reaching the Dao Venerable 7th Realm.

The old man's aura permeated the air, and the entire venue was silent. Even the lake surface had no ripples; it was incredibly quiet. Everyone didn't even dare to breathe; this oppressive pressure came from the soul level.

Until the old man spoke, breaking the silence, "The people have all arrived, and this session of the Heavenly Pride Tournament officially begins. The first round of the tournament: Listening to the Dao!"

Without too much nonsense, the old man waved his hand, and from Left 1 to Left 50, and Right 1 to Right 50, a hundred chairs flew up simultaneously to above the lake surface.

The chairs hovered, staying at a height of ten meters above the lake. Meanwhile, the attendants like Lin Moyu remained in their original places without any change.

The order of the hundred chairs on the lake did not change; they were still arranged according to the Left 1 and Right 1 positions. An invisible force shrouded the lake, and the sounds from outside the lake could not enter the lake. No matter how the people by the lake communicated and talked, it would not affect those in the lake listening to the Dao.

The old man announced the rules, "Listen to my Dao, comprehend my Dao, and use my Dao to resist. Only those who last long will win; those who fall into the water are defeated!"

The rules were very simple: the old man would lecture on the Dao, and the hundred people in the lake would listen. When lecturing on the Dao, the chairs would gradually descend toward the lake surface, and one must use the old man's Dao to keep the chairs from falling. Whoever lasts the longest is the final winner. Once a chair falls into the lake, they are eliminated.

After hearing the rules, Lin Moyu realized that this round was a test of comprehension. Not only did they have to listen to the old man lecture on the Dao, but they also had to immediately comprehend it. If their comprehension was insufficient, they would fall into the lake and be eliminated. Elimination was a small matter, but losing face was a big one. No one wanted to be eliminated, at least not the first to be eliminated. The first round did not compare cultivation realms, which was indeed good news for those with lower rankings.

The majestic voice rang out again! "Silence, the lecture begins!"

A Great Dao appeared in the sky, and a hundred strands of invisible force descended, landing with extreme precision on every genius. The invisible force was like a pair of large hands, trying to press them downward.

The old man's power was too strong; even though they were geniuses, facing the old man's Great Dao power, they were no different from ordinary people.

At the same time as the Great Dao appeared, the old man began to lecture on the Dao. Strange syllables were spat out from the old man's mouth, and the old man's figure simultaneously became blurry, merging with the Great Dao. At this moment, the sound seemed to come from the Great Dao.

Every syllable contained a special meaning, which needed to be comprehended and understood on one's own. Just comprehending and understanding was not enough; one also needed to learn to master these powers and use them to resist the descending invisible force. At this time, one could not use one's own power, otherwise one would be directly eliminated.

As soon as the lecture began, everyone's chairs started to descend. The speed of descent was very slow, moving about ten meters every minute. They were ten meters away from the lake surface, which meant that if they couldn't comprehend the Dao the old man was lecturing on, their chairs would fall into the lake in ten minutes.

The hundred geniuses listened attentively to the Dao, trying hard to comprehend it. It wasn't just these geniuses; the people sitting by the lake were also listening to the Dao. However, the Dao heard by these people by the lake was very weak, and the effect was not good. Furthermore, their cultivation realms were not even at the Dao Venerable level, making it difficult for them to understand and perceive the Dao like those geniuses.

Lin Moyu closed his eyes and listened. One after another, the Dao sounds came in, fragmented and scattered, feeling somewhat nonsensical. Not only could he not understand, but the more he listened, the more uncomfortable he felt. Trying to understand the Dao from it was simply impossible. But the hundred Dao Venerables on the lake were listening with great interest; clearly, what they heard was different from what he heard.

Lin Moyu felt something was wrong. Although he was not on the lake and only heard peripheral sounds, it shouldn't be like this. Looking at the people around him, they seemed to have the same feeling. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration hit him. "Wrong, wrong. Listening to the Dao isn't done with the ears, but with the soul!"

Lin Moyu sealed his ears and perceived the outside world with his soul. In an instant, his soul vibrated, and sounds of the Great Dao rushed in like a tolling bell. His soul twisted, and he was almost injured. Fortunately, his soul had already reached the Dao Venerable Realm; otherwise, this impact would definitely not have been pleasant.

"This Dao isn't something you can just listen to casually!" Lin Moyu chuckled inwardly, and then began to truly listen to the Great Dao.

The Dao the old man was lecturing on was the resonance and vibration triggered between him and the Great Dao, forming a special and profound truth. "Is this a secret technique?"

Lin Moyu vaguely felt that the old man's Dao contained a secret technique, and it was a secret technique at the soul level. This secret technique was very unique; it could be used without being fully comprehended. The deeper the comprehension, the stronger the power that could be unleashed. What the geniuses had to do was to comprehend this secret technique and then use it to resist the pressure descending from the sky to ensure they didn't fall into the lake.

Five minutes had passed since the lecture began, and everyone's chairs had already descended by half. In another five minutes, they would fall into the lake. Suddenly, Saintess Xianlian began to move. A peculiar aura rose from her soul, and her chair stopped descending. With this single action, she already stood out from the crowd and took the lead.

Saintess Xianlian was the first to comprehend the secret technique in the Great Dao, allowing herself to stop the downward trend. After successfully casting the secret technique, Saintess Xianlian breathed a sigh of relief. She opened her beautiful eyes and scanned the area, a smile couldn't help but bloom on her lips, and a look of pride appeared in her eyes. She was the only one among everyone who had comprehended the secret technique, and when she looked at the others, she had a sense of looking down upon them.

Suddenly, her gaze narrowed slightly; someone else had also cast the secret technique. Lu Fengyao was only a few seconds slower than Saintess Xianlian in comprehending the secret technique and also stopped the downward trend. At this moment, Lu Fengyao's position was slightly lower than Saintess Xianlian's. Stopping the downward trend was just the beginning; it was far from time to be happy. As long as one relaxed, it was possible for latecomers to surpass them, ultimately being overtaken. In this Dao-listening competition, one could not let their guard down from beginning to end.

Following the two, more people soon comprehended the secret technique and stopped their downward trend. The order of comprehension, except for Lu Fengyao, which was somewhat unexpected, was basically the same as the order, with little difference. The biggest discrepancy was Lu Fengyao. Lu Fengyao's position was at Left 10, with an actual ranking of nineteenth, yet she was the second to comprehend the secret technique. To a certain extent, Lu Fengyao's comprehension could be ranked second among the hundred people.

More and more people comprehended the secret technique. The incredibly arrogant Zhong Ao was the thirty-third to comprehend the secret technique; his comprehension could be considered quite good. However, he was clearly dissatisfied. Finding that his ranking was behind, he immediately closed his eyes and comprehended with all his might.

In the sky, above the array. A large number of Dao Venerables were observing this Heavenly Pride Tournament. These Dao Venerables all came from various powers. Most of these Dao Venerables were below the third realm; these Dao Venerables were mainly there to watch the fun and see the current geniuses. Only a few Dao Venerables had extremely high realms, basically all at the Dao Venerable 6th Realm. They had only come to the Eastern Continent after the Dongling Empire's recent action and had not been hunted down by the Dongling Empire.

"Saintess Xianlian's aptitude is indeed extraordinary. Senior Huangfu's Soul Ascension Secret Technique is not so easy to comprehend."

"Indeed, although it is only the basic part of the Soul Ascension Secret Technique, it is still an extraordinary technique. Even for you and me, it would take some effort to comprehend it."

"The aptitude of this girl, Lu Fengyao, is also extremely strong. No wonder she is being cultivated with all the Lu family's efforts. This kind of talent is top-tier wherever it is placed."

"Compared to these two girls, the others are somewhat unsatisfactory. It is estimated that they won't be able to last too long in the end."

"Senior Xiahou's Dao increases in intensity at the tenth minute. If they cannot comprehend it in time, falling into the lake is a matter of time."

"In any case, it is an indisputable fact that Saintess Xianlian was the first to comprehend it. It is truly enviable that the Ancient Lotus Holy Land can produce such a prodigy."

There were also Dao Venerables from the Ancient Lotus Holy Land present. She had a smile on her face, clearly very satisfied with Saintess Xianlian's performance. Taking the lead in the first round, it was as if the title of the strongest genius was already in her hands.

At this moment, a figure appeared in front of them; it was Senior Xiahou, who was lecturing to the geniuses. Lecturing to everyone did not require his personal presence; an avatar was enough. He looked at the lake, but his gaze did not look at anyone else, but at Lin Moyu. "The first person to comprehend the Soul Ascension Secret Technique was not Saintess Xianlian."

As soon as these words were spoken, the several Dao Venerables present were stunned. The height of the hundred people on the lake was right there, and Saintess Xianlian was in the highest position; if not her, then who else could it be? Someone followed Senior Xiahou's gaze and saw Lin Moyu. Lin Moyu was hovering with his chair. Although it was less than half a meter off the ground, it had truly floated up. Someone asked, "Senior Xiahou, is he the first one to comprehend the Soul Ascension Secret Technique?" Senior Xiahou just nodded slightly and did not speak. His eyes carried a few traces of curiosity, and he seemed very interested in Lin Moyu. The next second, he tapped his finger lightly, and an invisible force descended from the sky, landing on Lin Moyu.

Lin Moyu suddenly felt an invisible force descend, and his whole body fell uncontrollably. Almost instinctively, his soul activated the secret technique, resisting the invisible force, and he stabilized again. Lin Moyu kept his mind focused, continued to listen to the Great Dao, and continued to comprehend the secret technique. Senior Xiahou's actions were seen by the Dao Venerables. They naturally understood what Senior Xiahou had done and could not help but show surprise. A Dao Venerable whispered, "He actually blocked it so easily."