Even the top three Sacred Flames on the Sacred Flame List are so formidable that even Celestial Sovereigns of the Saint Rank dare not easily provoke them, for the energy of the top three Sacred Flames is extremely terrifying.
The third-ranked Ancient Emperor Flame possesses the power to fuse all flames, making it the emperor of all flames.
The second-ranked Heaven-Burning Spirit Flame is so fearsome that no one dares to touch it; once touched, one would be instantly incinerated into nothingness, even for a super-strong Celestial Sovereign.
The first-ranked Holy Light Immortal Flame is rarely mentioned in the Great Thousand World, and no one has ever seen it; they only know its name.
The flame for this year's Selection Ceremony is the ancestral flame of the Sacred Flame Heavenly Palace. In the past, the founder of the Sacred Flame Heavenly Palace, the Ten Thousand Flames Ancestor, controlled the Sacred Spirit Flame and slew countless demon emperors from the outer realms, earning a formidable reputation. However, after the Ten Thousand Flames Ancestor's demise, no one could control this flame.
The reason the Sacred Flame Heavenly Palace holds this Selection Ceremony every five years is due to the ancestral decree left by the Ten Thousand Flames Ancestor, which states that only the one who can control the Sacred Spirit Flame can become the master of the Sacred Flame Heavenly Palace.
Even the Celestial Sovereigns of the Sacred Flame Heavenly Palace are helpless against this flame, so they have made it public, hoping that a suitable person can control it and become the master of the Sacred Flame Heavenly Palace.
However, the Selection Ceremony is limited to the younger generation, as the Sacred Flame Heavenly Palace needs a future leader who is an outstanding figure. Of course, this idea is somewhat naive, as even Celestial Sovereigns cannot control the Sacred Spirit Flame, so how could anyone from the younger generation manage to do so?
But nothing is absolute, and there might just be such a young genius. Therefore, the Sacred Flame Heavenly Palace has been waiting, hoping for a world-class prodigy to control the Sacred Flame Heavenly Palace. Once such a person appears, they will surely become another top-tier super-strong figure like the Ten Thousand Flames Ancestor of the past.
The people of the Sacred Flame Heavenly Palace have no doubt about this, for they believe that if a young hero can control the Sacred Spirit Flame, they will surely lead the Sacred Flame Heavenly Palace back to its peak glory.
Although taming the Sacred Spirit Flame is extremely difficult, many young people still participate every year because it is a tremendous opportunity for them. If they succeed in taming the Sacred Spirit Flame, they can instantly rise to prominence!
Controlling a super-strong force is what young people dream of, so even though they know it is extremely difficult, they still participate, just in case they succeed. No one can predict this; only by trying can they know.
When the news of the Sacred Flame Selection Ceremony spread, countless young people from the Holy Luo Continent flocked to the Sacred Flame Heavenly Palace, not wanting to miss this opportunity.
The young generation in the Eastern Capital naturally would not miss such a good opportunity, and some of the prodigies also headed straight for the Sacred Flame Heavenly Palace.
For a time, the topic of the Sacred Flame Selection Ceremony became a hot topic in the entire Eastern Capital, and everyone wondered if anyone could obtain the Sacred Spirit Flame this year.
However, just as everyone's attention was focused on the Sacred Flame Selection Ceremony, the Spirit Gathering Mountain, which had been dormant for a year, finally erupted!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A series of deafening explosions echoed across the sky of the Eastern Capital. With the explosions, the entire Eastern Capital began to shake violently, buildings swayed, and cracks spread across the ground, a terrifying sight!
This sudden celestial anomaly shocked everyone in the Eastern Capital. Figures quickly soared into the air, and after a thorough investigation, they soon discovered the source of the anomaly.
It was the massive Spirit Gathering Mountain!
At this moment, the ten-thousand-foot-tall Spirit Gathering Mountain was shaking violently for some unknown reason. Brilliant light erupted from within, turning the night as bright as day.
Under the bright light, everyone could clearly see that the massive Spirit Gathering Mountain was beginning to crack, with fissures rapidly spreading in all directions, and boulders rolling down.
This bizarre scene left everyone in shock, as they had never seen anything like it before!
Rumble!
As everyone's gaze turned to the Spirit Gathering Mountain, rolling thunder echoed across the sky, and dense black clouds gathered above the mountain, casting a terrifying celestial pressure over the area.
"This is... the celestial anomaly of someone advancing from the Ninth Rank of the Sovereign Realm to the Earth Sovereign Realm!"
Looking at the terrifying celestial pressure, the three middle-aged men at the forefront of the Eastern Capital exchanged glances, all seeing astonishment in each other's eyes. These three men were the heads of the three major families of the Eastern Capital, and with their keen eyes, they had already discerned the situation.
Swoosh!
The black clouds surged wildly, and in the next moment, a terrifying purple lightning bolt shot out and drilled into the Spirit Gathering Mountain.
Sizzle! Sizzle!
Two more terrifying purple lightning bolts struck, carrying an extremely formidable momentum and smashing into the Spirit Gathering Mountain, causing a part of it to collapse instantly, leaving the onlookers in shock.
The black clouds grew even denser, and even more terrifying lightning bolts struck the Spirit Gathering Mountain, causing it to collapse continuously, forming a ten-thousand-foot-deep crater in the center.
Countless people watched the disfigured Spirit Gathering Mountain with horror, feeling an indescribable fear. The vast celestial pressure was truly terrifying.
Suddenly, a ten-thousand-foot-long lightning bolt descended from the sky, a terrifying strike that even the three heads of the major families in the Eastern Capital felt their scalps tingle, and all three were Earth Sovereigns.
Boom!
The final lightning bolt struck, and the terrifying force spread out from the impact point, creating a massive ten-thousand-foot-deep crater in a few moments, almost leveling the entire Spirit Gathering Mountain.
As the terrifying strike landed, the vast celestial pressure finally dissipated, and the sky returned to calm, but everyone's hearts were still pounding.
At this moment, a streak of light quickly shot out from the bottom of the massive crater and appeared in the sky above the Spirit Gathering Mountain, to the surprise of everyone.
The figure was surrounded by terrifying purple lightning, but the lightning could not harm him in the slightest. As the lightning dissipated, a young man in a black robe slowly appeared under the moonlight, shocking everyone!
What surprised everyone even more was that this young figure emitted a terrifying pressure, making it difficult for them to breathe. They had only felt such a terrifying pressure from one type of strong individual.
That was an Earth Sovereign!
So, the young man in the black robe before them was actually an Earth Sovereign?
Countless shocked gazes were fixed on the black-robed figure under the moonlight, their eyes filled with disbelief. Such a young Earth Sovereign truly had an extremely terrifying talent!
However, this unfamiliar black-robed young man soon made them realize something. Could he be the mysterious person who absorbed the nine spirit pools a year ago?
At this moment, the vast spiritual energy surging within Xiao Yan made him feel very comfortable. This was the difference between the Sovereign Realm and the Earth Sovereign Realm. The difference was like that between heaven and earth. The spiritual energy within an Earth Sovereign was far beyond what a Sovereign could imagine, and even the Sovereign Sea had become incredibly pure and vast!