Above the Canopy, Below the Roots

Vast world.

The young prodigies gazed at the eight Saints in the sky with fervent eyes, knowing what these eight Saints represented - they were the pinnacle of existence in the star realm, capable of sitting alone atop the mountain.

If a sect had one Saint, it could be called a top-tier sect.

The Blue Sky Sword Sea suddenly had eight, and these eight were all long-established Saints. Several of them even had their own great forces and were legendary figures.

And that rumored master of the Blue Sky Sword Sea was even more formidable, able to gather so many Saints together, willingly joining the Blue Sky Sword Sea.

Chi Yu stood at the front, arms crossed. Although the Eight Saints of Blue Sky were equals, the other Saints believed that Chi Yu, with the highest cultivation, should be the second-in-command, so they let him speak.

Chi Yu's expression was solemn as he spoke slowly.

"The Blue Sky Sword Sea has just begun and needs a foundation. You may become the future foundation of the Blue Sky Sword Sea. There are three thousand positions, and only the best among you can enter. I hope you all will strive forward, overcome all difficulties, and fulfill your wishes."

It was an official speech, proving that choosing Chi Yu to speak was indeed correct. If they had let Emperor Capital speak, who knows what he would have said.

"It's rare to hear Chi Yu say so much," Qiu Li sighed.

"It's a rare day," Hu Linye chuckled lightly.

The Eight Saints of Blue Sky only needed to make an appearance at the beginning. The rules and rankings for later would be decided by the Blue Sky elders.

An interesting point about the Blue Sky Sword Sea selection was that it wasn't a simple advancement system, but rather a competition of victories.

The young cultivators who came here would fight thirty rounds in rotation. The top half with the most victories would advance. If there were ties, those with the same number of victories would fight again.

This system avoided the unfortunate situation of two top prodigies fighting in the early stages and having to eliminate one. It also allowed for a more objective display of each cultivator's combat ability.

As for injuries after the fights, there was no need to worry. The Blue Sky Sword Sea had more than enough medicinal pills, and they were genuinely top-quality pills. One pill could fully heal anyone below the Sea Inversing Realm.

The referees on the battlefield were two Saints, ensuring that no deaths would occur.

The young prodigies waited eagerly for the rankings, their eyes gazing longingly at the Blue Sky Sword Sea not far ahead.

It was indeed a majestic sight.

Whether it was the vast blue sky or the deep sword sea, what impressed them most was the enormous flying sword suspended in the center.

It truly inspired awe.

The prodigies from distant stars were even more amazed. Seeing such a grand scene, they felt a sense of trepidation, unsure if they could stand out among so many cultivators.

There were indeed many cultivators participating in the selection.

So much so that Chen Xia, standing on the flying sword and surveying the scene, frowned and asked,

"How many people are participating in the selection?"

"About three billion," Chi Yu replied behind him.

"..." Chen Xia didn't know how to respond, but he had anticipated this and had the Eight Saints bring in their sect members, so the current scene wasn't chaotic.

Selecting three thousand from three billion young cultivators truly meant the elite of the elite.

It took a long time to rank all the prodigies on the selection field. After the sun and moon had cycled, the order of the young talents was finally arranged, and the trials were about to begin in succession.

Though called battles, these young cultivators hardly knew what real battle was. In the eyes of the Saints, these cultivators' fights looked more like roughhousing.

Chen Xia would occasionally come to watch. He didn't say anything and didn't stand in high places, but stood among the crowd, watching the trials on the selection field.

The selection field was vast, connecting two stars. Two Saints each guarded one star. This time, the guarding Saints were Emperor Capital and Qiu Li, who were old partners.

They extended their divine senses to their fullest, each enveloping the star they guarded, preventing the cultivators fighting within from dying.

Many elders were in the spectator area, most of them having come with the young prodigies. They were very excited, shouting along with the movements on the selection field.

"Kill, well done, kill him, that's it!"

"Come on, charge!"

"..."

Chen Xia took a rough look and found that most of these prodigies were average in skill, but there were some formidable ones who, as prodigies, should be at the level of Great Emperor Seedlings.

The disciple selection for the Blue Sky Sword Sea was the biggest event in the star realm in recent years.

And it lasted for a long time.

Three months later, the three billion selection cultivators were reduced to just thirty thousand.

Those who advanced were indeed prodigies.

Emperor Capital's face was beaming with joy because his sect had the most cultivators advancing. He deliberately walked with his hands on his hips in front of Qiu Li, laughing,

"Ah, I told them to hold back a bit, hold back a bit. Why are they still using so much force? Could it be that your sect's cultivators are too weak?"

Qiu Li's expression tightened, too angry to say a word.

Hold back?

Hold back my ass!

The cultivators from Emperor Capital's sect treated his sect's cultivators like mortal enemies, bringing out all their divine abilities and trump cards, as if they'd never won before.

It was probably that bastard Emperor Capital who specifically instructed them to do so.

The other Saint sects also had many young cultivators advance, all true prodigies. Now it was time to select three thousand from these thirty thousand.

The other cultivators who didn't advance didn't rush to leave, wanting to watch the selection to the end.

These thirty thousand cultivators had an extra reward - they could face the master of the Blue Sky Sword Sea directly.

Thirty thousand people waited below, all with fervent expressions, full of anticipation.

The Eight Saints of Blue Sky each took their seats above, in various postures. None of them were sitting properly, and it even seemed like they were bickering?

They waited for footsteps to sound from the highest point.

The Eight Saints of Blue Sky instantly became well-behaved, their expressions serious and postures correct.

On the high platform, between heaven and earth.

A calm figure in a cyan robe walked out, stopping at the highest point, facing the crowd, and smiling lightly.

"Hello, everyone."

His quality was still so high.

"Idle chat is futile. Here, I will make a direct promise to you. For those who can obtain one of the three thousand disciple positions, I will give an additional reward..."

Chen Xia paused, looking down at the Eight Saints of Blue Sky, then continued.

"The three thousand disciples may request to learn a top-tier divine ability from one of the Eight Saints of Blue Sky."

This sentence instantly ignited the enthusiasm of the cultivators below.

Li Yue's expression became resentful, feeling that Chen Xia was being too casual as a sect master, always using them as laborers.

The passion of the thirty thousand cultivators ignited, and the battles became even more fierce. Soon, the final three thousand positions were decided.

Among them were thirteen Great Emperor Seedlings. The top five hundred of the remaining prodigies were of the Mythical Race and Supreme Race, while the rest were mostly of the Ancient Race.

This gathered about ninety percent of the top prodigies in the star realm.

Now that the Blue Sky Sword Sea had its "canopy" for shade and its "foundation" for growth, it truly became identical to what it was before.

Moreover, the Blue Sky Sword Sea would not only become the hegemon of the star realm, but in the future, it would become the hegemon of the entire Great Heaven.

This was the Blue Sky Sword Sea.

This was Chen Xia.