The Supreme Eternal Prime God : 1000x System From Beginning

Chapter 20 – When the Gods Begin to Watch

The morning sun bathed Azure Dragon Academy in golden light, illuminating the towering stone pagodas, the vast courtyards lined with ancient statues, the coliseum where the Outer Court Selection Tournament had entered its next stage. The first round was over. The battlefield had been cleared. The weak had been eliminated.

And now, only sixty-four remained.

The true battles would begin now.

One-on-one duels.

A test of absolute strength.

No alliances. No distractions. No second chances.

Just combat.

And for the first time in decades, the entire academy was watching.

Xiao Lin stood at the edge of the coliseum, his golden-flecked eyes flickering across the massive stone arena where the duels would soon take place. His expression was calm, unreadable, but beneath the surface, his Qi hummed with boundless energy, his blood surging with quiet anticipation.

He had spent the night refining his power, circulating his Supreme Divine Qi, compressing it, sharpening it, molding it into something far more precise, far more lethal. His Primal Codex Physique had already adapted, his meridians expanding, his body strengthening, his senses sharper than ever before.

He was ready.

But the others?

They were not.

The watching disciples whispered amongst themselves, their voices hushed, their eyes flickering toward Xiao Lin with barely concealed apprehension.

"He’s in the second bracket," someone muttered. "That means we’ll see his fight in the later rounds."

"I don’t care when he fights. Whoever faces him first is already dead."

"How is he this strong? He was crippled a month ago!"

"We don’t know what kind of technique he’s cultivating… but it’s unnatural. Even the Elders are paying attention now."

A murmur of quiet agreement spread through the crowd.

Because now, Xiao Lin was no longer just a rising talent.

He was an anomaly.

A force that defied the natural order of cultivation.

And that made him dangerous.

High above the arena, in a secluded chamber overlooking the battlefield, a group of Inner Court Elders sat in silent observation.

One of them, an aged man with piercing eyes, exhaled slowly, his fingers tapping against the polished armrest of his chair. "That boy… he is different."

The others nodded in quiet agreement.

They had seen countless prodigies before.

Countless so-called "geniuses" who burned brightly only to fade away, consumed by their own ambition, their own arrogance.

But this one?

This Xiao Lin?

He did not simply fight to win.

He fought to dominate.

To crush.

To erase.

One of the younger Elders, his arms crossed, let out a small chuckle. "Perhaps we should be cautious."@@novelbin@@

Another Elder scoffed. "Caution? He’s still a Qi Gathering Realm disciple. Let’s not exaggerate."

But the eldest among them only shook his head, his eyes narrowing.

"He reminds me of someone."

The others fell silent.

They all knew who he was referring to.

And that realization made the room feel colder.

Meanwhile, far from the prying eyes of the academy, deep within a hidden chamber where only the most trusted members of Zhan Kanzi’s faction gathered, a meeting was taking place.

Zhan Kanzi sat at the head of the table, his fingers intertwined, his dark eyes half-lidded in quiet contemplation. Around him, his subordinates spoke in hurried, anxious voices, their tones filled with frustration and barely restrained fear.

"We can’t fight him directly."

"Brute force has already failed. If we send more people after him, we’ll only lose more men."

"The academy is watching now. If we make a move, it has to be… smarter."

A long silence followed.

Then—

Zhan Kanzi exhaled slowly, his lips curling into a small, sharp smirk.

"Then we won’t fight him."

The others hesitated, confused.

Zhan Kanzi leaned forward, his fingers tapping against the table in slow, deliberate rhythm.

"We’ll let the academy fight him for us."

A pause.

Then, a wicked smile spread across his lips.

"All we need… is a single mistake."

Back in the coliseum, Xiao Lin stood still, his hands tucked into the folds of his robes, his expression composed, indifferent, as the official matchups for the second round were displayed upon the massive stone board at the center of the arena.

One-on-one duels.

His first opponent was a Seventh Level Qi Gathering Realm disciple.

Strong.

But irrelevant.

Xiao Lin barely glanced at the name before looking away, already uninterested.

But just as he turned, he felt it.

A presence.

A weight.

A subtle shift in the air.

Someone was watching him.

Not with fear.

Not with envy.

But with curiosity.

Slowly, Xiao Lin lifted his gaze—

And met the eyes of an Inner Court disciple.

The man stood at the far end of the courtyard, his arms crossed, his robes embroidered with golden threads, a mark of one of the academy’s elite ranks.

He was not an Elder.

But he was close.

A prodigy of the Inner Court.

And now, his sharp, amused gaze was locked onto Xiao Lin with genuine interest.

"You’re an amusing one," the Inner Court disciple murmured, his smirk widening.

Xiao Lin did not respond.

He simply waited.

A moment of silence passed between them.

Then, the Inner Court disciple chuckled softly, shaking his head.

"I’ll be watching your fights," he said.

Then, he turned and walked away.

Xiao Lin’s gaze lingered on him for a brief moment before shifting back toward the arena.

Another obstacle.

Another piece on the board.

But none of it mattered.

Because by the time this tournament was over—

Xiao Lin would no longer be just a competitor.

He would be the only name that mattered.