# Chapter 680: Unexpected Turmoil
Looking at that smile, Xue Wuchang was momentarily stunned. It was such a pure, clean smile. This young man who stood at the pinnacle of the Snow Domain Grand Competition still had a pure land within his heart—clear, clean, allowing the smile blooming on his face to be so spotless, as if it had cast off all the dust and grime of the world.
Xue Wuchang also smiled. How many years had it been since he had revealed such a relaxed smile? Sometimes, the stirring of heartstrings was just that simple—moved by a simple smile.
"Lin Feng, congratulations." Xue Wuchang spoke, his voice carrying sincerity. At this moment, he truly admired the young man before him. Sometimes he was so arrogant, and other times, he was so pure.
It had been a long time since he had admired someone like this. Even though he had seen countless geniuses in the Divine Palace, no one had ever moved him the way Lin Feng did—from the bottom of his heart, liking and appreciating him, hoping that Lin Feng would continue walking down the path of martial arts, creating his own brilliance.
"Thank you." A hint of a smile also appeared in Lin Feng's eyes. He could feel the sincerity in Xue Wuchang's gaze. His keen senses could easily distinguish between goodwill and false smiles.
"Alright, the Snow Domain Grand Competition is over. Regardless of your rankings, prepare yourselves. All of you will come with me to the Divine Palace once more."
Xue Wuchang's gaze swept across the crowd as he spoke, causing the onlookers' eyes to freeze. The Snow Domain Grand Competition was over?
Many of them still hadn't fully recovered, as if they were still immersed in those shocking battles, especially the last two fights, which continued to echo in their minds—stirring scenes that could not be erased.
Now that the Snow Domain Grand Competition had ended, was the Divine Palace going to reward these final ranked experts?
"I wonder what reward Lin Feng will receive." The crowd murmured to themselves, all guessing what the first-place Lin Feng would get, whether it could elevate his strength to another level. If Lin Feng became even stronger, that would truly be terrifying.
Even with Lin Feng's current cultivation, below the Heavenly Martial Realm, defeating him was too difficult.
Imperial Mausoleum was already extremely powerful, using the power of the Azure Heaven Bloodline to control the Azure Heaven Will, making the power of heaven and earth serve him. His own cultivation had directly stepped into the peak of the Mysterious Martial Realm. Yet before Lin Feng, he still lost.
And Duan Wudao, also at the terrifying cultivation of the Ninth Layer of Mysterious Martial Realm, though not yet at the peak. However, with his King's Qi and Sealing Will, plus his Martial Soul Seal Gate and the sealing divine abilities he had created, it was too difficult for anyone in the Mysterious Martial Realm to defeat Duan Wudao. At least, the crowd couldn't think of anyone who could defeat such an expert.
But Lin Feng had done it. He had defeated Duan Wudao. Therefore, below the Heavenly Martial Realm, Lin Feng was already very difficult to defeat. If his strength and cultivation became even stronger, Lin Feng could truly be called invincible below the Heavenly Martial Realm. Unless a Heavenly Martial Realm expert personally took action, no one could defeat him.
Besides these experts, there were also the empires.
The four great empire forces of the Snow Domain had brought their experts to participate in the Snow Domain Grand Competition. If they achieved good results, they would receive tremendous benefits. And on Dragon Mountain Empire's side, first, second, and fourth place were all their people. This kind of battle record was too terrifying. Also, Snow Moon Kingdom—first and second place both came from Snow Moon. It seemed Snow Moon Kingdom would also receive great opportunities.
Now, the time for rewards had arrived.
Those experts who participated in the Snow Domain Grand Competition were all eager. Even if they hadn't obtained good rankings, they were still looking forward to it. Since they had come to participate in the Snow Domain Grand Competition, they were considered decent geniuses. The Divine Palace shouldn't treat them poorly. If the items were too inferior, the Divine Palace wouldn't be able to offer them. So, many people appeared quite excited.
Only Duan Wudao, Imperial Mausoleum, and a few others weren't very happy. They had come for first place, but this ultimate glory had been seized by Lin Feng.
"Prepare yourselves. Follow me and depart." Xue Wuchang said with a smile. Many experts who had participated in the Snow Domain Grand Competition rose into the air one by one, preparing to head to the Divine Palace.
But at that moment, within the crowd, several terrifying auras suddenly erupted, causing the hearts of the crowd to tremble violently.
They saw several figures in the void intercepting Xue Wuchang's path. These figures appeared very ordinary, even showing no abnormalities. But the faint auras they released at this moment shocked and terrified the crowd, as if they wanted to prostrate themselves on the ground and submit to them.
"Heavenly Martial Realm!" The crowd's hearts trembled violently. These people who had appeared were terrifying existences of the Heavenly Martial Realm.
"Hehe." A few more light laughs sounded. Around the battle platform, from all directions of Xue Wuchang, figures stepped through the void, surrounding Xue Wuchang and the Snow Domain Grand Competition crowd. These people all had sharp gazes, and the auras they casually released made people feel fear.
"Hmm?" The eyes of those geniuses from the Snow Domain Grand Competition all trembled. What was going on? So many experts. Why had so many experts suddenly appeared? And each one had terrifying cultivation. They rarely saw such experts in normal times. Even the strongest among them had rarely seen so many Heavenly Martial Realm experts appear together.
"Over a dozen Heavenly Martial Realm experts!" The crowd's eyes also trembled violently, just like the participants. What was happening?
Could it be that the Snow Domain Grand Competition hadn't truly ended, and there was still turmoil?
The person with the ugliest expression was undoubtedly Xue Wuchang. These people were all Heavenly Martial Realm experts, mingling among the crowd, concealing their cultivation, only now releasing their power to block his path. Xue Wuchang's cold gaze seemed to have already guessed something.
"You all don't seem to be from the Snow Domain. Where have you come from, and what do you intend to do now?" Xue Wuchang's gaze swept across the crowd as he asked, but inwardly he felt somewhat anxious. He didn't know if the Divine Palace had received news. If the Divine Palace didn't know, today would be disastrous.
"Hehe, your Divine Palace doesn't belong to the Snow Domain either, yet you're still swindling people here in the Snow Domain." A sarcastic voice rang out, startling the crowd. The Divine Palace didn't belong to the Snow Domain either, and was swindling people in the Snow Domain?
What did this person mean by that?
"My Divine Palace has established its foundation in the Snow Domain for several hundred years. The Snow Domain Grand Competition is held once every decade. My Divine Palace excavates young geniuses from the Snow Domain and helps them grow stronger. How can you say we don't belong to the Snow Domain? And what do you mean by swindling people?" Xue Wuchang shouted sternly, appearing very displeased. Just as he had guessed, these people had come with ill intentions.
"Since ancient times, it has been difficult to offer charcoal in the snow, but easy to add flowers to brocade. They are already geniuses of the Snow Domain. Your Divine Palace gathered them here to conduct the so-called Snow Domain Grand Competition. Indeed, you have gathered the geniuses of the Snow Domain. But as for cultivating geniuses, that's pure nonsense. Who doesn't know how to cultivate geniuses? It's not just your Divine Palace that can do it. Dare you say that your Divine Palace rewards them without requiring them to do anything?"
One person's words were sharp, sarcastic, and mocking, causing Xue Wuchang's eyes to twitch, his expression growing uglier and uglier.
The Snow Domain Grand Competition was over, and everything was about to be settled. He never expected that these people, for some unknown reason, would travel thousands of miles to the Snow Domain to cause trouble and sabotage the Divine Palace's affairs.
"The Divine Palace will follow their opinions and let them choose freely. We will never force them." Xue Wuchang didn't deny it either, speaking frankly. But these words indeed made the crowd's eyes freeze. The Divine Palace actually needed the geniuses who participated in the Snow Domain Grand Competition to do things, and Xue Wuchang had admitted it.
Many of their gazes turned toward the beautiful women who had come from the Divine Palace. That evening banquet and these outstanding women of the Divine Palace all seemed to be courting them.
Behind this Snow Domain Grand Competition, there were indeed hidden secrets unknown to the public.
"Since you follow their opinions and let them choose for themselves, why not lay everything out clearly now and let them choose? When they reach the Divine Palace, what kind of choice is that? Do they still have the qualification to choose?"
Someone said sinisterly, their voice piercing. They wouldn't let these people leave.
This session of the Snow Domain Grand Competition had several geniuses that made their hearts stir. If they entered the Divine Palace, it would be unfavorable for them!
PS: Thanks to 61456607 for the tip!