Top-Tier Superpower Student

"Lin Tian, come here, I have a small task for you," Dragon Emperor called Lin Tian over.

Looking at the queue of Nidhogg members lined up in rows, Lin Tian was confused. He wanted to ask: Dragon Emperor, what are you planning to do?

Dragon Emperor pulled Lin Tian aside and said, "These newly recruited members of Nidhogg, most of them are not superpowered individuals. You will use your Ability Stone to awaken their superpowers."

Oh, so that's what this is about. No big deal, Lin Tian readily agreed.

Looking at the crowd of over four hundred people, Lin Tian gritted his teeth, pulled out a dagger, and cut his arm directly.

He fetched a bowl and caught the flowing blood.

"Big brother, what are you doing? Why are you bleeding yourself!" Li Chong exclaimed in shock.

Lin Tian nonchalantly replied, "I'm awakening their superpowers. Four hundred people, four hundred drops of blood. One bowl of blood, I don't even know if it will be enough!"

The Ability Stone could only be activated with Lin Tian's blood. If it were just one or two people, Lin Tian could bite his fingertip, but with over four hundred people, he had no choice but to endure the pain and bleed himself.

The first person stepped forward, and Lin Tian dipped a twig into the blood, dropping it onto the Ability Stone. The stone radiated a purple glow. Lin Tian said, "Place your hand here."

He excitedly placed his hand on the Ability Stone, and instantly, he was enveloped in a purple light. He was also a latent superpowered individual. Activated by the Ability Stone, he awakened his superpower, which was ice.

Raising his hand, he could shoot out more than a dozen ice pillars as thick as arms, more effective than arrows, easily killing enemies and significantly increasing his combat power.

"I've awakened a superpower, I've awakened a superpower, hahaha...!"

He shouted joyfully, quickly thanked Lin Tian, and hurried off to practice his newfound superpower.

This triggered excitement among the remaining four hundred people behind him. To truly awaken a superpower meant their strength could multiply immensely!

The second person also successfully awakened a superpower, which was fire.

However, the third person did not awaken any superpower. Clearly, he was not a latent superpowered individual, and the Ability Stone was useless to him.

..., ...

It took a whole day, and by evening, after every one of the more than four hundred people was activated by the Ability Stone, a total of two hundred seventy-eight individuals had awakened superpowers. The rest were fated to have no connection with superpowers in this life.

Exhausted by the day's events, Lin Tian returned to his dormitory and slept soundly through the night.

The next day, Dragon Emperor found Lin Tian, and the two had a conversation.

Dragon Emperor: "Remember the mysterious powerhouse we encountered during the seizure of the Ability Stone?"

Lin Tian: "I remember, he is your senior brother, now the leader of Hell, the strongest among the dark forces."

Dragon Emperor: "Right, his name is Murong Lie. The power of Hell is formidable, and just Nidhogg alone is far from being a match for them. Although lately, we have recruited nearly twice the number of soldiers than before, it's practically impossible to eradicate Hell."

Lin Tian remained silent, seeing the expression on Dragon Emperor's face, he had already thought of a strategy.

Dragon Emperor continued, "The people of Hell are demons who kill without blinking. They act without considering the consequences. Since Hell emerged, in just a few short days, they have slaughtered over a hundred disciples between the Sects in the Huaxia region, more crazily plundering the Sects' secret treasures. Within a short period, cries of grief and panic arose among the major Sects. To combat Hell, we must form an alliance, appoint an Alliance Hierarch, and unite all Sects' forces to fight against Hell."

"All the Sects?" Lin Tian was curious in his heart. He had really never heard about the Sect matters; the Shenxing Gate he saw during the fight for the Red Flame Stone was the first Sect he encountered.

Dragon Emperor said, "There are over sixty different Sects in the Huaxia region, big and small, with varying strengths and uneven numbers of members, sometimes fewer than ten, sometimes several hundred. They are hidden in various parts of Huaxia, very secretive, which is why few have seen them."

"Each Sect has a force of its own. If categorized by nature, our Nidhogg could also be considered a Sect."

"What, Nidhogg is also a Sect?" Lin Tian felt a trace of disbelief.

"The people from these Sects are all powerful, and relying on their strength, they are ambitious. Last century, they even reached their pinnacle, assassinating numerous imperial court officials with the intention of overthrowing the imperial court."

"With everyone in panic at that time, the chairman ordered the old chief and me to establish Nidhogg with the purpose of suppressing the other Sects and maintaining Huaxia's safety. So, from one perspective, our Nidhogg also belongs to the Sects."

"During the 1990s last century, Nidhogg's power peaked, overshadowing all the Sects, each of which yielded to Nidhogg. But after more than two decades of development, the Sects have rapidly risen. Last month, our Nidhogg was hit hard, so several powerful Sects have already begun to secretly make moves detrimental to Nidhogg and to Huaxia."

"What do you plan to do?" Lin Tian asked.

"I must severely deter them. Half a month ago, I issued a challenge to all Sects in Huaxia, asking them to choose a semi-step Condensed Mirror disciple to participate in a competition. The disciple who emerges as the champion, their Sect will be recognized as the leader of all Huaxia Sects, leading all the Sects to fight against Hell together."

Having said this, Dragon Emperor looked at Lin Tian.

Lin Tian guessed, "You're going to send me to the competition, aren't you!"

"Don't you dare?" the Dragon Emperor retorted.

"Of course, I dare, but I feel so much pressure. If I lose, all of Nidhogg will have to obey others," he said.

"It's good to feel pressure; turn it into motivation, and you will be able to win first place in this competition, bringing glory to both Nidhogg and Huaxia," the Dragon Emperor advised.

Lin Tian nodded; armed with the Burn the Heavens superpower, his confidence had greatly increased, and he was absolutely confident that he could clinch first place in the competition.

However, he also had a question, "Since it's a competition, why not choose the strongest but us disciples instead?"

The Dragon Emperor answered, "When strength reaches our level, everyone has some means of preserving their life. Unless it's a matter of life or death, we won't reveal our trump cards. To avoid exposing our trump cards to the public eye, we refrain from getting involved. Moreover, our very involvement could be immensely destructive, potentially leading to casualties among powerful figures such as Sect Masters and Elders. This not only damages relationships but could also provoke chaos within the Sects."

"I see," Lin Tian nodded, not expecting that so much was involved in a mere competition.

Seeing that Lin Tian understood nearly everything, the Dragon Emperor said, "We will set off in an hour. I will personally accompany you to the competition. Remember, even if it costs me my life, I need you to bring back first place. You're not only representing yourself but also Nidhogg and the prestige of Huaxia."

"Yes, sir!" Lin Tian responded with a standard military salute, showing rare solemnity before the Dragon Emperor.

Soon after, the Dragon Emperor chose a few powerful individuals to accompany Lin Tian. They boarded an airplane and headed to the competition venue.

During the journey, the Dragon Emperor warned Lin Tian that among the more than sixty Sects, all were trivial except for two against which they must fight with all their might.

One was called the Fierce Flame Sect, and the other, the Heavenly Sword Sect.

Both Sects possessed the strength to contend with Nidhogg and were eyeing the position of Alliance Hierarch this time.

In the Fierce Flame Sect, there was a disciple named Huo Shaotian, whose superpower was fire. He had reached the peak of half-step condensation and was hailed as a rare genius once in a century by his Sect, the designated successor to the Sect Leader.

In the Heavenly Sword Sect, there was also a disciple named Jian Cangsheng who had no superpower but practiced a set of swordsmanship. He wielded a Treasured Sword as flexibly as a swimming dragon, sharply and uniquely, also designated as the successor to the Sect Leader of the Heavenly Sword Sect.

Huo Shaotian and Jian Cangsheng were Lin Tian's biggest rivals. Facing them, one must not underestimate and must fight with full effort.

Lin Tian etched the Dragon Emperor's warning in his heart, vowing not to take these rivals lightly.

The plane flew for over an hour and landed amidst a dense forest.

From the plane, all that could be seen was a lush jungle, but once on the ground, it revealed a completely different scene.

The ground was a spacious area with ten competition platforms aligned side by side, and there were two rows of small tiled houses next to the platforms.

Every ten meters or so, there was a massive tree whose branches and leaves were thick, making it impossible to see the open ground below from above.

This was a temporary construction, with the platforms for competition and the tiled houses for accommodation.

Just as they entered the competition venue, a middle-aged man dressed in purple came over and greeted the Dragon Emperor with a bow of his hands, "Dragon Emperor, I have long admired your renowned name. Please, come inside."

The Dragon Emperor nodded and led Lin Tian inside.

The Dragon Emperor and Lin Tian stayed separately, with two rows of tiled houses— one side housing big figures like the Dragon Emperor and the other side housing disciples. A tall wall separated the two rows, keeping each group undisturbed.

Lin Tian was assigned to a room. Inside, it was very basic with only a bed, a tea kettle, no television, no computer, and no WiFi.

Although it was simple, it was clean. Given that the competition would last only a few days, Lin Tian did not mind where he stayed.

Then a woman walked in, holding a lunch box in one hand and a brief overview of the competition in the other.

Lin Tian opened the lunch box first; it had a combination of rice with a meat and a vegetable dish, akin to a typical meal in a cafeteria. After tasting it, he found the flavor to be quite acceptable, similar to what one might expect from a typical restaurant.

He then unfolded the piece of paper to examine the competition rules.

After a quick scan, he memorized the rules of the competition.

The competition had two stages, spread over two days involving sixty-four participants. On the first day, participants would draw lots and compete on the platforms to determine the top sixteen. The first place would score sixteen points, the second place fifteen points, and so forth.

Subsequently, all the Disciples would be released into a valley inhabited by fierce beasts and evildoers. The competition spanned ten hours during which killing one evildoer would score a point.

In the end, the scores from both stages would be summed up, and the one with the highest score would be declared the winner.

Right after Lin Tian finished reviewing the competition flow, the Taotie System suddenly issued a statement.

"Capturing the first place in this competition will yield a mysterious grand prize."