《Heavenly Domination》
CH:1 New Legacy Disciple
In the Blue Cloud country exists a city called Azure city. Just outside of this city was a cave, a shepherd was currently passing by when suddenly a blue light flashed and there appeared a teenage boy that looked about 13 years old. He had long black hair, handsome facial features and a lean body. His eyes were blue which the shepherd found weird, he never saw people with blue eyes in his entire life.
The boy approached the shepherd and asked ¡®¡¯Mister, what country is this?¡¯¡¯
The shepherd laughed and replied ¡®¡¯Boy did you fall out of the sky? We are in the Azure province of the Blue Cloud country of course¡¯¡¯
The boy was still staring at the shepherd with a blank expression, then he tried to search his memories and found something.
¡®¡¯North Star¡¯¡¯ he thought to himself while frowning a bit.
¡®¡¯Thank you for the information mister¡¯¡¯ said the boy while turning around and walking towards the city.
¡®¡¯What an interesting fellow¡¯¡¯ thought the shepherd and walked away.
The boy was walking towards the city gate, some people were just passing through with no problems. But when he got to the gate, the guards suddenly stopped him.
¡®¡¯Where do you think you¡¯re going beggar?¡¯¡¯
The boy suddenly realized that he did not know what he was wearing, he looked down at himself and saw that his clothes were all tattered and ripped apart.
¡®¡¯I¡¯m sorry misters, I just got into a small accident not so long ago and need to get new clothes, I hope you will not make things difficult for me¡¯¡¯ said the boy with a blank expression, with his hands crossed behind his back.
¡®¡¯Okay then if you are here to buy clothes then prove that you have money for it, otherwise you can scram¡¯¡¯ said one of the guards arrogantly.
Suddenly the boy¡¯s expression turned serious and his eyes were shining bright blue. The two guards felt a pressure that they never before felt in their life. Before they realized it they were both on their knees and it felt like a deity was looking down on them from above.
A voice like thunder sounded inside their heads ¡®¡¯you are not qualified to talk down to me¡¯¡¯
Suddenly the boy felt a hand touch him on the shoulders ¡®¡¯That is quite enough boy, these guards will die if you exert any more soul pressure on them¡¯¡¯
The boy turned around and saw the shepherd that he met before, but now he was dressed in some fine clothing and his look was different, he looked middle-aged, he had black hair with some traces of gray and a well-built body.
¡®¡¯Why don¡¯t you come inside the city with me, I will show you around¡¯¡¯ said the mysterious shepherd while smiling.
They boy nodded and followed him inside. The two guards stood up and looked at each other with terrified faces ¡®¡¯That was¡chief Cao Chen¡¯¡¯ said one of the guards.
¡®¡¯Yes, he will definitely punish that kid now¡¯¡¯ said the second guard.
The boy and the shepherd were inside the city now, while walking beside each other the shepherd said ¡®¡¯My name is Cao Chen, I am the chief of the Azure Dragon sect of this city, what about you boy?¡±
The boy looked at Cao Chen, after some seconds he smiled and replied ¡®¡¯I guess you can call me Tianshen¡¯¡¯
¡®¡¯Tianshen? Such an imposing name¡¯¡¯ smiled Cao Chen.
¡®¡¯That was quite the soul pressure you used there, I can see that your cultivation is only at the first stage of Qi Accumulation, very impressive Tianshen¡¯¡¯ said Cao Chen smilingly.
¡®¡¯In a way cultivation depends on the soul, one¡¯s cultivation and fighting prowess is only as strong as their soul after all¡¯¡¯ said Tianshen.
¡®¡¯Impressive, you only look about twelve or thirteen years old but to have such knowledge and wisdom is rare. How about this Tianshen, join my Azure Dragon sect, I guarantee I will not mistreat you¡¯¡¯ said Cao Chen while smiling.
Tianshen kept silent, soon they reached a peak of a mountain inside the Azure city.
¡®¡¯This is the Azure Dragon sect, we have thousands of disciples coming from other cities and villages around the area¡¯¡¯ Said Cao Chen proudly, but then his face fell a bit as he continued ¡®¡¯we were once the top sect in the Azure province, but that was a thousand years ago, all we have left is the legacy of our founder, and we can¡¯t even be considered top ten in the province now. So I will understand if you will not want to join my sect¡¯¡¯
Tianshen looked at Cao Chen with his mysterious eyes, after thinking for a bit he said ¡®¡¯Best in the Azure Province? How about I help you make this sect the best in the whole Blue Cloud country?¡¯¡¯ Said Tianshen with a faint smile.
Cao Chen looked at him dumbfounded, ''the best in the whole Blue Cloud country'' was a hell of a statement to make. But something told him from this boy¡¯s expression that his confidence was not a mere boast, as a cultivator who has lived for quite a long time Cao Shen could tell when someone was merely boasting.
Although he still did not fully believe in what Tianshen said, Cao Chen laughed and said ¡®¡¯so be it, I can see that you are talented, your cultivation might be the lowest of the lowest but the amount of soul power you have is abnormal, you can become a core disciple here and climb your way up the ranks¡¯¡¯
Tianshen smiled and replied ¡®¡¯Core disciple? How about you make me a legacy disciple and I guarantee that your sect will rise to the top of this country in a year?¡¯¡¯
Cao Chen could not help but open his mouth, was this little boy making fun of him? Legacy disciple? Each sect had only one of those and they were second in the hierarchy only to the chief and equal to the vice-chief, one could not just become a legacy disciple. Strength was also a huge factor to be a legacy disciple, but this boy was just in the early stage of the Qi Accumulation realm. Not to mention that the decision needed to be made by all of the elders of the sect.
The world of cultivation was divided into nine realms:
Qi Accumulation realm, Core Formation realm, Earth realm, Sky realm, Heavenly realm, Martial King realm, Martial Emperor realm, Martial Venerable realm
and the Saint realm which was the highest cultivation that could be achieved as far as the historical records of the continent said. Each of them were further divided into nine stages from one which was the weakest to nine which was the strongest.
Cao Chen looked at the boy in front of him that had a confident smile, he did not know why but he could not help but trust in him, there was something enigmatic about this boy.
After a couple of minutes Cao Chen said ¡®¡¯Come with me, we shall meet the elders and we will decide, but don¡¯t get your hopes up, even though I am the chief, there are some things that even I can¡¯t just do on a whim, so I hope you can prove yourself to them, i will not interfere no matter what¡¯¡¯
Tianshen smiled and said ¡®¡¯you should not worry about such a trivial thing, tomorrow you will be announcing a new legacy disciple¡¯¡¯
Cao Chen grabbed Tianshen and flew into the sky, it is worth mentioning that not many cultivators could fly in the Azure province, it was a sign that the person has reached at least the Sky realm. After a while they arrived inside a majestic tower that had a dragon statue coiled around it. When they entered inside there were 9 elders waiting for them, they all stood up and greeted with cupped fists ¡®¡¯we pay respects to the chief¡¯¡¯.
¡®¡¯Sit down, be at ease everyone¡¯¡¯ smiled Cao Chen, Tianshen had a good impression of him until now, in the world of cultivation, meeting nice people was not such a common occurrence as it worked by the rule of the jungle, the strong always ruled the weak.
Tianshen stood in the middle of the room while Cao Chen sat in the main seat and spoke ¡®¡¯elders, I have gathered you here today because I think I found us a peerless genius, and it is in our best interest to make him into our legacy disciple, that if of course if majority will agree¡¯¡¯
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Whispers instantly broke out between the elders, they were all sizing up Tianshen, suddenly a man with white long hair and long beard spoke ¡®¡¯chief, picking a legacy disciple is not such a trivial matter that can be done on a whim, we don¡¯t know of this boy¡¯s origins, not to mention his low cultivation, we have two or three core disciples that are much more worthy of the position, so how is he even remotely qualified to represent our sect as a legacy disciple?¡¯¡¯
Before the chief could speak Tianshen suddenly lifted his hand up and signaled for Cao Chen to let him handle it.
Then Tianshen pointed to the elder that just spoke and said ¡®¡¯you, how long have you been stuck in the 7th Sky realm?¡¯¡¯
The elder was astonished ¡®¡¯boy how dare you not show respect to the elders and refer to them as ¡®you¡¯?¡¯¡¯ he said angrily, but deep down he was still trying to figure out how did this weak boy see through his cultivation, and not only that, the boy also could tell that this elder has been stuck on the same level for years.
Tianshen was no longer smiling and had a blank expression, he replied ¡®¡¯first, I am still not a member of this sect so I will not be addressing any of you with your titles, second, by tomorrow I will be the legacy disciple so the only one that will be addressed by me with his title is Cao Chen, and third¡¡¯¡¯ by this time Tianshen¡¯s eyes were shining blue and the elders could sense a faint pressure coming from him which made them shiver ¡®¡¯¡you a not qualified for me to address you otherwise¡¯¡¯
All the elders were dumbstruck, what an audacious fellow. That aside though, they just realized that they have been scared by this young 13 year old boy who was at the first Qi Accumulation realm.
The elder that has just been scolded by Tianshen suddenly smiled and said ¡®¡¯what a soul pressure, for a thirteen year old boy of the first Qi Accumulation realm to have this much soul power is unheard of¡¯¡¯
He suddenly sat down and continued ¡®¡¯Tianshen was it? You can call me Jin Hai, do you have some advice for me as to how to advance my cultivation? It is indeed true that I have been stuck in the 7th sky realm for years now¡¯¡¯
Tianshen¡¯s expression went back to normal and he crossed his arms behind his back while speaking ¡®¡¯you practice pill concoction right? I can tell by your soul power, unfortunately the pill concoction technique you practice is not suitable for you and that is the simple reason why your cultivation has not progressed. If I become the legacy disciple I will give you a new pill concoction technique which is suitable for you and your cultivation will start improving again in about a month¡¯¡¯ said Tianshen confidently.
By this point most of the elders were impressed, but some were still suspicious.
Then another elder that looked the eldest one of everyone spoke ¡®¡¯how about me Tianshen? My cultivation has not improved for the past fifty years, what could be the reason?¡¯¡¯
Tianshen looked at the elder and replied ¡®¡¯you have reached the end of your potential, plus if I am not mistaken, you have used some kind of technique to prolong your lifespan for the past 50 years. To be quite frank, it is amazing you are still alive and your cultivation has not deteriorated, so you should feel lucky¡¯¡¯
The elders looked even more amazed, by their looks Tianshen could tell that they knew the answer to the question, they were just testing him.
Suddenly the chief Cao Chen spoke ¡®¡¯as you can all see, Tianshen has the knowledge and wisdom of an old monster, even though he is thirteen, he is undoubtedly a peerless genius that has the potential to bring our sect to its former glory or maybe even beyond that, I want to call a vote. If more than half of the nine elders will agree, then Tianshen shall be our new legacy disciple starting tomorrow¡¯¡¯.
The elders all looked at each other, then another man stood up which sat the closest to the chief, he had an ugly expression on his face and was clearly not happy with what was occurring in front of him.
He spoke in an arrogant tone ¡®¡¯ Cao Chen as the vice-chief I am against this, he is clearly too weak to be a legacy disciple, plus we have my son Kong Feng, he is the strongest disciple we have and he is definitely more suitable to be the legacy disciple, his talent is excellent and as you all know, his combat prowess is also amazing since he can fight opponents one cultivation level higher that himself¡¯¡¯
Cao Chen frowned, this vice-chief Kong Zhi did not put him in his eyes and addressed him by name in front of the rest of the elders, that was a clear challenge of authority. Everyone in the sect knew that Kong Zhi had his eyes on the chief seat for a long time, the only reason he is still the vice chief is because Cao Chen is a bit stronger.
Cao Chen sighed, he knew this would happen and that Kong Zhi will never agree to give the position to anyone but his son.
Suddenly a chuckle was heard by the elders, they realized it was Tianshen.
Tianshen came forward and said ¡®¡¯ he can fight people one cultivation level higher than him? What is so amazing about that?¡¯¡¯
Kong Zhi laughed loudly and pointed his finger at Tianshen while saying ¡®¡¯brat you are talking as if you can do any better, I¡¯m curious to see you try¡¯¡¯
¡®¡¯sure¡¯¡¯ replied Tianshen instantly while having a blank expression.
¡®¡¯Good, good. Guards, bring us some disciples of the second Qi accumulation realm to fifth¡¯¡¯ said Kong Zhi.
''''Kong Zhi, isn''t 2nd Accumulation realm enough? asked Cao Chen worryingly.
''''He was the one who bragged so let us see if he can back up the talk and if he is indeed worthy of being the legacy disciple'''' said Kong Zhi with an evil grin on his face.
The guards soon came back with four disciples, 2nd through 5th Qi accumulation realm.
Kong Zhi explained what was going on and the disciple started staring at Tianshen like they would eat him for breakfast. ¡®¡¯Is this a joke?¡¯¡¯ they thought, 1st Qi accumulation level is the lowest of the lowest, just barely above the mortals.
Tianshen saw how these disciples were looking at him, he then looked back at the elders and said ¡®¡¯Just a warning to everyone here, when I fight, I fight to kill, do not blame me if none of them come out alive¡¯¡¯
Before the elders could respond the strongest disciple out of the bunch said ¡®¡¯Looks like even bugs can shamelessly brag nowadays, so be it, let¡¯s have a death match¡¯¡¯
The elders looked at each other, then at Cao Chen then slowly nodded in agreement. If Tianshen wanted to be their legacy disciple he has to at least be this amazing.
The four disciples charged at Tianshen but before they could get close, they felt their movements slowing down and a couple of seconds later they stopped completely, they looked at Tianshen and realized that he was not in front of them anymore. Then they felt a chill run down their spine, they felt a killing intent so strong, it¡¯s enough to drive people mad from fear.
It felt like a deity was passing judgment upon them. Then they heard an imposing but at the same time ghastly voice coming from behind them:
¡®¡¯I told you that when I fight, I fight to kill¡¯¡¯ and before they knew it all four of their heads flew up into the sky. All this happened in the span of 10 seconds. Tianshen wiped the blood off his hand and crossed his arms behind his back again while staring at the elders. By now most of them were thinking ¡®¡¯what kind of demon is this kid?¡¯¡¯ No thirteen year old should be so experienced and efficient in killing. A thirteen year old boy just chopped off four heads like he was cutting grass, and did it with a straight face, not to mention all four of the opponents had a higher cultivation but all ended up equally miserable.
Then Tianshen spoke ¡®¡¯I assume this is enough to prove that I can not only fight opponents one level higher than me, but at least four levels higher, now tell me, Kong Zhi, what is so amazing about your son?¡¯¡¯
CH:2 A Walk In The Azure Dragon Sect
Kong Zhi was grinding his teeth at this point. He would have never in his wildest dreams expect to meet such a young boy that can be also so scary and ruthless at the same time.
¡®¡¯He may have used some trick¡¯¡¯ said Kong Zhi while turning to Cao Chen.
Cao Chen had a serious face but deep down he was happy and excited, such a talent was really unheard of. He felt like he made the right choice, since he really risked his reputation as the sect leader to bring Tianshen here.
¡®¡¯We are both Heavenly realm experts Kong Zhi, are you telling me that a person of the Qi Accumulation realm can cheat in front of you and me and get away with it?¡¯¡¯
Kong Zhi was running out of options at this point so he could only rely on his influence on this other elders to prevent Tianshen from becoming a legacy disciple.
¡®¡¯Since Tianshen has proven himself we shall have the vote, if you approve of Tianshen as our legacy disciple then raise a hand¡¯¡¯ said Cao Chen. Of the nine elders, 6 raised their hands instantly, the other three including Kong Zhi did not. Tianshen noticed this, he now had a clear view of the politics in the sect.
¡®¡¯I hope for your own good, that you do not provoke me Kong Zhi¡¯¡¯ thought Tianshen to himself.
¡®¡¯Excellent! We shall have the ceremony tomorrow¡¯¡¯ said Cao Chen happily.
¡®¡¯No need for all the formalities chief. Just Give me a courtyard for cultivation, as I am still in the Qi accumulation realm, I need to get stronger faster. Or the other disciples will think that I¡¯m a joke¡¯¡¯ Smiled Tianshen and then added ¡®¡¯you can just make the announcement that our sect has a new legacy disciple¡¯¡¯
The elders liked how Tianshen carries himself. Arrogant, but rightfully so, logical, wise, does not like to show off, and seems wholeheartedly focused on cultivation. All that was left was to see the results.
¡®¡¯Alright then, if that is what you wish¡¯¡¯ said Cao Chen.
Then Cao Chen called another disciple in and told him to bring Tianshen to the ¡®Lonely Peak¡¯. That was the peak reserved for the Legacy disciple. It is worth to mention that only an elder was allowed to occupy a peak in the sect, this just shows the status of a legacy disciple.
¡®¡¯Eldest brother Tianshen I am Qiu Wentian¡¯¡¯ said the young disciple while cupping his fists towards Tianshen. Qiu Wentian was a 14 year old boy, close to Tianshen¡¯s age (at least in body), he had fairly handsome features, both his eyes and hair color were dark, and his body was lean.
His cultivation was in the 5th Qi accumulation realm.
Tianshen also cupped his fists and said ¡®¡¯No need for the formalities brother Wentian, just call me brother Tianshen¡¯¡¯
Qiu Wentian smiled because he was expecting Tianshen to be very conceited, it was a pleasant surprise for him. While on the way Qiu Wentian was looking at Tianshen and sizing him up.
He finally gathered the courage to ask him ¡®¡¯brother Tianshen, you look so young, how did you manage to convince the elders to give you the legacy disciple spot?¡¯¡¯
Tianshen turned serious and while looking at Wentian said ¡®¡¯I beat them into submission¡¯¡¯
Qiu Wentian opened his mouth in astonishment ¡®¡¯really?¡¯¡¯
¡®¡¯No¡¯¡¯ replied Tianshen while bursting into laughter. It took Wentian a moment to realize that Tianshen was just messing with him and he also burst into laughter. The two talked more on the way to the lonely peak. Tianshen took quite a liking to this Qiu Wentian and told him that he can come to his peak whenever he wants. Wentian was very happy and felt like he made a new friend, since outer sect disciples like him were treated like trash by the inner disciples, he felt like he made a strong ally in the sect, plus he really liked Tianshen¡¯s company.
Wentian gave Tianshen his legacy disciple robes and his unique medallion that he can carry, it was a symbol of authority and chief Cao Chen made sure to emphasize it to Tianshen.
After Wentian left, Tianshen sat inside one of the rooms in his courtyard, which was fairly small and seemed very old, but he did not mind. While sitting down he started recollecting all of his memories of his previous life and the road to cultivation, since he did not have time to do it since he opened his eyes in the cave. While his mind was drifting through his memories he remembered what kind of being he was and all the power he could wield. With the power he had in his previous life, not to mention erasing a small country like the Blue Cloud country, he could erase entire galaxies with a mere thought. But strangely enough, he did not miss that kind of power. If any other cultivator was given the opportunity to wield that kind of power, they would give up everything in their lives to get it.
But the all-powerful being himself refused it in the end, even though it took him some million years to arrive to the decision to erase himself and reincarnate at this moment. While sitting in the middle of his courtyard he stared into the starry sky and sighed ¡®¡¯Nobody knows what is true loneliness until they reach the apex, what is like to have no equal, and live without a challenge. A hundred thousand years felt like a second and can only be compared to a grain of sand in a desert of time. I¡¯ve seen countless worlds end and countless ones be born. If I knew that the top would be so boring I would have done things differently back then. Well no use for regrets anymore, this is the reason why I¡¯m here in this time, to do things differently, I don¡¯t know how many years have passed since my death and how many of those higher beings knew of it. I¡¯m curious to see what is going on up there right now. It¡¯s going to take some time to get there of course, but I¡¯m getting excited just from the thought of challenging those old fogeys again. Bottom line is, anyone who tries to get in my path will meet a miserable end¡¯¡¯
Tianshen stopped bothering with the past, he stood up, entered a room and sat cross-legged to cultivate.
¡®¡¯My soul strength is too strong for my cultivation level right now, and continuous use of it like today will slow down my progress so I have to seal most of it until my cultivation level catches up with it.¡¯¡¯ thought Tianshen.
So he performed some hand seals and put his index finger on his forehead where a blue circle formed and then vanished, so now he could start cultivating. In order for one to cultivate, constant meditation was sometimes enough and sometimes not. Some stages of cultivation requires pure meditation to reach enlightenment while some other stages require special items, specifically Qi stones. Qi stones were divided into grades that were named after the cultivation realms. In other words if you are a person at the Qi accumulation realm, you should use Qi accumulation stones and so forth. Qi stones were also the common currency of the cultivation world. Qi stones were so popular and so widely used because the Qi is not abundant and evenly spread in every area of the world. So cultivators invented the Qi stone to capture Qi and use it whenever they wanted. It is worth mentioning that for people like Tianshen Qi stones were also necessary at this moment, because in his previous life he was used to controlling all Qi in existence, but now he is in a lower world where the Qi is scarce. Luckily Tianshen joined a sect as a legacy disciple so he had no shortage of resources at his disposal at the moment.
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Tianshen was sitting down, around him were a lot of Qi accumulation stones, he started feeling abundant amounts of Qi flowing into him. After twenty minutes he had reached the 2nd Qi accumulation realm. After thirty more minutes he reached the 3rd Qi accumulation realm. His progress slowed down a bit with each stage but it was still relatively easy for him to break through these beginner realms. After five hours of meditation he had reached the fifth Qi accumulation realm. It is worth mentioning that if any other person saw Tianshen¡¯s speed of breakthrough, they would die from shame of being inferior. But besides talent, the other big factor responsible for Tianshen¡¯s quick breakthroughs is that he has already done it before, and being the existence that he was in the previous life, he obviously knew what the best way to cultivate was. After 5 hours Tianshen stood up, he noticed that it was already morning and decided to take a stroll and get more familiar with the sect. He changed into his legacy disciple chang pao, which was white with a blue dragon on the back. He walked down the peak and saw that Qiu Wentian was already waiting for him.
¡®¡¯Wentian, haven¡¯t I told you that you can come to my peak any time you want?¡¯¡¯
Asked Tianshen with a smile.
¡®¡¯Don¡¯t misunderstand brother Tianshen, I was ordered by the top elder of the outer sect that I should not come here at all¡¯¡¯ said Wentian hesitantly with his head down, but the he continued ¡®¡¯He said mentioned something about you not being an official legacy disciple and that you will be replaced sooner or later¡¯¡¯
Tianshen was still smiling and asked ¡®¡¯Is this outer sect elder part of the nine that I met yesterday?¡±
Wentian chuckled and replied ¡®¡¯of course not but he is one of the subordinates of the elders that did not vote for you yesterday¡¯¡¯
¡®¡¯Understood, let us take a stroll in the outer sect then¡¯¡¯ said Tianshen, but this time his smile had a glimpse of sinister in it.
Wentian nodded and led the way but something told him that that smile he just saw was a sign of a disaster to come.
All of the peaks of the sect were in the core region, Tianshen¡¯s was no different, so that means that they had to walk through the core sect and inner sect to reach the outer sect.
The core sect area was empty with not a soul to be seen, this attracted Tianshen¡¯s attention so he asked Wentian about it.
¡®¡¯The core sect has only ten disciples and they all cultivate all the time or travel around the province to gain experience¡¯¡¯ explained Wentian.
Tianshen nodded and continued walking. After reaching the inner sect, things became livelier, there were thousands of students outside practicing martial techniques or being taught by elders in the ways of cultivation. The rumor about the new legacy disciple had spread by now so everyone knew about it. A lot of people were whispering around Tianshen. Wentian wanted to say something but Tianshen stopped him, this confused Wentian so he asked ¡®¡¯brother Tianshen, they are not giving you the respect they are supposed to, why are you stopping me from scolding them?¡¯¡¯
Tianshen smiled and said ¡®¡¯you are still too inexperienced Wentian, first you are not strong enough to scold them as they are inner disciples and it will just cause trouble for you. Second, what have I done to earn their respect? I am not the type of person that will expect other people¡¯s respect just because of my status. Let it be, as long as they are not trying to do me any harm, we will get along fine¡¯¡¯
This made Wentian realize how shortsighted he was and also made him respect Tianshen even more. They continued walking while ignoring the gossip and whispers, soon they reached the outer sect. The outer sect had many times more disciples than the inner sect which was not surprising for Tianshen, the levels of pure Qi in the Azure Province are so low that it is hard to advance even for the most talented individuals. So many people never reached the Core Formation realm which was the requirement to join the inner sect. There were disciples in the age ranges of 10 to 17, there was a rule that if you cannot reach the Core Formation realm by the age of 18, then you are kicked out of the sect.
As soon as they got to the outer sect some young disciples that looked about 10 to 12 approached Tianshen and cupped their fists at him ¡®¡¯greetings to the legacy disciple¡¯¡¯ they said.
Tianshen smiled and greeted them back, he also saw a small girl that looked about 10 years old that looked at him with sparkling eyes but was obviously too shy to approach him. As soon as Tianshen saw her he was interested in her. The reason for that is that Tianshen saw that there were something special about this girl¡¯s body. In the cultivation world there existed people that had special bodies that had an affinity towards certain types of techniques and powers, but these people were very rare even in the vast starry sky so Tianshen was surprised to find one in this remote place. He saw that her cultivation level was at the 1st Qi accumulation realm. She obviously just started her path on the road of cultivation and without proper guidance a special body like hers will go to waste. He approached her and spoke with a smile ¡®¡¯what is your name little girl?¡¯¡¯
The girl was blushing and avoided to look at Tianshen, she faintly spoke her name ¡®¡¯Xia Bingyue greets eldest brother Tianshen¡¯¡¯
¡®¡¯A fitting name for such a body¡¯¡¯ murmured Tianshen in response which made the girl blush even more
¡®¡¯what did he mean? Is he a pervert by any chance?¡¯¡¯ thought the girl to herself.
Tianshen just smiled at her again and walked away. Suddenly a bell sounded throughout the outer sect.
Tianshen turned to Wentian with a curious look.
Wentian replied ¡®¡¯the sound of this bell signifies that it is time for the weekly lecture from the top outer sect elder, elder Cai Kun, nobody is allowed to be absent so I apologize brother Tianshen, I will have to leave you for now¡¯¡¯
Tianshen smiled ¡®¡¯do not worry, just go, I will watch from the sides, who knows maybe I will gain some insights into cultivation¡¯¡¯ said Tianshen.
Wentian laughed because he got the sarcastic tone of Tianshen.
People started gathering around a small stage that was in the center of a huge square in the middle of the outer sect. When everyone gathered, a man walked onto the stage, he took a look at the disciples and said ¡®¡¯welcome to the weekly lecture outer disciples, I hope that this week some of you will be able to reach enlightenment and make a breakthrough in cultivation since it has been a couple of months since anyone had done so, the talent here is really low¡¯¡¯
Most of the disciples frowned when they heard that, was it really that they talent were low? Or something else entirely?
CH:3 Do You Want To Reach The Apex?
Elder Cai Kun signaled the disciples to sit down. After a moment of silence he started speaking
¡®¡¯Today I will be speaking about the essence of cultivation, and the truths behind it. Can anyone tell me what cultivation is?¡¯¡¯
A young boy at the front said ¡®¡¯cultivation is the means to obtain power¡¯¡¯
¡®¡¯Wrong¡¯¡¯ said elder Cai Kun ¡®¡¯Cultivation is not a means to obtain power, it IS power itself¡¯¡¯
The lecture was still going after one hour. Tianshen was listening while lying on a tree not too far away. In this one hour he sighed so many times in disappointment.
¡®¡¯It is no wonder this sect has fallen so low in the past thousand years, if every Elder here is as incompetent as this one then things will only keep getting worse¡¯¡¯ thought Tianshen. This elder obviously did not know what he was talking about. He was not speaking because he had something to say, but because he wanted to say something. When the second hour went by Tianshen could not take it anymore and jumped down from the tree. He started walking towards the small stage in the middle of the square. When the elder saw him he stopped speaking, everyone¡¯s eyes focused on Tianshen. The Elder Cai Kun frowned when he realized who it was, but he quickly tried to put on polite face and cupped his fists towards Tianshen, which did not escape Tianshen¡¯s eyes of course.
Before Cai Kun could open his mouth Tianshen lifted his hand and signaled him to stay silent. Cai Kun gritted his teeth, the difference in status between them was like heaven and earth but Cai Kun still thought that Tianshen owed him some respect because he is a senior.
Tianshen walked onto the platform with his hands crossed behind his back and stopped in front of Cai Kun and said in a calm tone ¡®¡¯It is no wonder that nobody here can gain enlightenment and make a cultivation breakthrough, since what you spoke of for the past two hours has nothing to do with the true essence of cultivation¡¯¡¯
Some students gasped, they never thought that Tianshen would be so forward. Some thought that Tianshen just came to cause trouble and show off his legacy disciple title. Some others secretly rejoiced. Finally there was someone that spoke up to this tyrannical elder Cai Kun, many people hated him since he did not care about the disciples here and never accepted any other knowledge from anyone besides of what he knows, not to mention he endorsed bullying and violence from stronger student towards the weaker ones.
Elder Cai Kun said through his gritted teeth ¡®¡¯what could the legacy disciple mean by that? Perhaps you have a better idea of what is the true essence of cultivation?¡¯¡¯
¡®¡¯You can drop the fake niceties with me, any person here with a bit of brain can tell that you hate me. And even more that you don¡¯t care about the progress of these disciples. Which in turn also means that you do not care about the prosperity of this sect¡¯¡¯ said Tianshen in a calm but imposing manner.
The disciples were taken aback, this fellow was sharp with his words, and his gaze contained a natural superiority. It is a gaze with which a ruler gazes at his subjects. Under such a piercing gaze people could not help but feel inferior, but at the same time it filled them with respect and veneration for the person standing in front of them.
Cai Kun could not take it anymore and was about to burst, but at that moment Tianshen released some of his now mostly sealed soul power, his eyes started shining a bright blue color and Cai Kun suddenly felt a majestic pressure pushing him down, it is like this pressure was commanding him to kneel. If Cai Kun¡¯s cultivation was not in the late stages of the Core Formation realm and that the majority of Tianshen¡¯s soul power was now sealed, Cai Kun would be laying down on his face a long time ago. The pressure was contained to only the stage so the disciples did not feel it, but they understood what was happening, this was soul power, everyone had it in them, but not everyone could control it, not to mention at a low cultivation level like Tianshen¡¯s.
Tianshen then spoke ¡®¡¯I did not give you a permission to speak¡¯¡¯
By this point Cai Kun has lost all face, and was scared shitless. He had heard the rumors from other elders that this Tianshen was a like an ancient demon inside a boy¡¯s body but he only believed it to be rumor and that it was all exaggerated. At this moment he understood that all the rumors did not do this little demon justice.
Tianshen retracted the soul pressure and spoke once again ¡®¡¯from now on you are only to speak when spoken to, understand?¡¯¡¯
Cai Cun gulped while staring at Tianshen and nodded.
¡®¡¯Good¡¯¡¯ said Tianshen ¡®¡¯now let me ask you Cai Kun, how can you claim to know what is the essence of cultivation?¡¯¡¯
Cai Kun did not know how to respond but felt like he had to say something anyway so he replied ¡®¡¯I have lived for many years and experienced things that these youngsters have not, my cultivation level is much higher than theirs, therefore of course I know what is the essence of cultivation¡¯¡¯
¡®¡¯So you base your knowledge only on your age and on the fact that you have more experience than these disciples, to me it sounds more like you are trying to feed your own ego, and feel superior to others. Looks like you are even more of an idiot that I initially thought. Everyone listen carefully because I only say things once and never repeat myself unless absolutely necessary¡¯¡¯ said Tianshen while turning to the disciples now.
¡®¡¯The initial question was ¡®what is the essence of cultivation¡¯. You cannot answer that question before you understand what the meaning of essence itself is. Essence can be understood in a couple of ways, it can be the nature of something, its indispensable quality. Now think, what is the nature and indispensable quality of cultivation?¡¯¡¯
At this point many people closed their eyes and fell into a deep meditation, while others were still trying to figure out the words of Tianshen. Suddenly people felt a lot of spontaneous surges of Qi, some people had a breakthrough on the spot.
¡®¡¯For those of you who are still trying to find the answer, let me help. The nature and indispensable quality of cultivation is what YOU make it out to be. Do not forget that your path in cultivation is your own unique path, only you can give yourself the correct answer to that question¡¯¡¯ said Tianshen calmly. Now even more people started to break through, at this point about ninety-five percent of the people present had cultivation breakthroughs, some very talented ones even had two in a row. And there were two people that had three in a row. One of them was the little girl Xia Bingyue, and the other was Qiu Wentian. Tianshen smiled when he saw this, he indeed had good eyes for people. He then turned back to Cai Kun and asked in a serious manner ¡®¡¯do you understand now?¡¯¡¯
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Cai Kun looked perplexed and still very angry inside, but this time he did not show his anger in any way. He replied ¡®¡¯yes legacy disciple, I will keep your words in my mind¡¯¡¯
Tianshen turned away and prepared to leave, but then stopped and spoke with his back to Cai Kun ¡®¡¯from today onwards Qiu Wentian and Xia Bingyue are dismissed from the outer sect and will be joining me at the lonely peak, make sure that their personal things are delivered there as soon as possible¡¯¡¯ then he just walked away into the distance.
As soon as Tianshen left Cai Kun finally regained his composure, but deep inside a seed of jealousy and hatred was planted in him. He swore to himself at that moment that he would someday avenge the shame Tianshen caused him today. At the same time Qiu Wentian was very excited that he will be living on the lonely peak with Tianshen, he really felt grateful, while Xia Bingyue was just blushing endlessly while thinking to herself ¡®¡¯this Tianshen really IS a pervert¡¯¡¯.
Soon after Tianshen returned to his peak and resumed cultivation. Word of what happened in the outer sect quickly reached everyone and even got to the ear of the nine elders and Chief Cao Chen. Most of the elders were happy and felt like they made the right choice, while some others were not so happy. Kong Zhi now fully understood that Tianshen will be a thorn in his back that needs to be taken out no matter what. He secretly made the decision that he will do his best to make trouble for him and take him out as soon as possible in order to proceed with his plan to take over the sect.
Meanwhile Qiu Wentian and Xia Bingyue were making their way up to the top of the lonely peak. Bingyue was keeping silent almost the whole way so Wentian tried to break the ice
¡®¡¯I see that there is something troubling you junior sister Bingyue, you can speak your mind¡¯¡¯
Bingyue turned to him and asked in a shyly ¡®¡¯why has senior brother Tianshen picked me of all people to join him? I am only at the 3rd Qi accumulation stage, how am I going to be of any help to him? Or¡is it perhaps for other reasons?¡¯¡¯
Wentian was surprised and also embarrassed, how did this little girl know anything about adult things? She looked barely eleven years old. He replied ¡®¡¯Tianshen is a mysterious figure so I couldn¡¯t possibly know why he picked you over others, but if had to guess it is because he sees potential in you. Oh¡ and rest assured, he is not the kind of person you think he is¡¯¡¯ laughed Wentian.
Bingyue was relieved and cheered up, she was much more talkative the rest of the way and bonded a lot with Wentian. When they arrived at the peak, they knocked on the door ¡®¡¯you may enter¡¯¡¯ said Tianshen.
They both entered, while Wentian just went straight in and made himself at home in the first empty room he saw, Bingyue was still standing there looking at Tianshen sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed. He suddenly opened his eyes and gave Bingyue a gentle look while smiling ¡®¡¯from today you don¡¯t have to call me big brother again okay?¡¯¡¯
Bingyue smiled ¡®¡¯okay¡¯¡¯
Tianshen was relieved, he thought that it would be harder to approach this little girl and make her feel more comfortable around him but it seems Wentian did the job for him. Bingyue occupied another room and then they all gathered in the middle of the courtyard. It was almost nighttime and the sun was just about to set. Some stars started to shine down and behind the clouds you could see a bright moon.
Tianshen suddenly got serious and looked at them both ¡®¡¯I am going to ask you both a question and depending on your answer, the fate of your whole life will be decided¡¯¡¯
They both looked at him with a curious but at the same time a bit anxious expressions.
Tianshen then fell into a deep silence for some minutes as if he was contemplating or calculating something.
He then asked them ¡®¡¯what is it that you guys dream of? What is your deepest goal or desire in life?¡¯¡¯
Another big moment of silence followed, then Wentian spoke ¡®¡¯my dream is to be at the top of the cultivation world in order to protect my loved ones and gain their respect and approval, while at the same time strike fear in those who wish to harm them and destroy them¡¯¡¯
Tianshen nodded in approval then turned his head to Bingyue.
She thought for some moments then replied ¡®¡¯I think being too strong will come with a big burden¡¡¯¡¯ Tianshen was astonished for a moment and lost his usual calm demeanor for a second. ¡®¡¯This girl is indeed worthy¡¯¡¯ he thought. ¡®¡¯Continue¡¯¡¯ Ha said.
¡®¡¯¡but as long as I am not the only one that gets to become strong, and I can be besides my friends while doing that, then I think it will not be so bad¡¯¡¯
Tianshen smiled at both of them ¡®¡¯I have one last question for you guys¡¡¯¡¯ this time he looked straight at them with a piercing gaze and with a hint of excitement within his eyes, they felt like he could see straight through their very souls. ¡®¡¯¡do you guys wish to reach the apex with me?¡¯¡¯
At the time Wentian and Bingyue did not think too much about this question and answered instantly with a ¡®yes¡¯. The reason for that was that Tianshen¡¯s idea of the apex and theirs was like the difference between heaven and earth. Tianshen¡¯s idea of apex was to rule the starry sky with his friends while also being free from worldly affairs. While the apex Wentian and Bingyue thought of was to reach the Saint realm, little did they know. It would be only many-many years after this night that both of them would realize that they signed up for much more than they ever expected. And they would laugh about how smart and how stupid was this decision at the same time.
CH:4 Sword of Judgment
Meanwhile the rumor that the Azure Dragon sect has gotten a new legacy disciple has spread in the Azure province. On the other side of the province there was a huge mountain, on the peak of that mountain was a majestic, castle-like building with very tall walls. Inside those walls in one of the rooms sat 9 girls, they all looked like they were in their teens and they were all staring at the one in the main seat. The girl in the main seat had an icy gaze and she looked like she was irritated.
One of them spoke to the girl in the main seat ¡®¡¯Xia Ning, we should go retrieve the young lady as soon as possible, a mere Azure Dragon sect is not qualified to take her from us¡¯¡¯
The girl in the main seat named Xia Ning nodded and said ¡®¡¯You are right, it does not matter if she ran away or not, our master may have been lenient on her but I won¡¯t be. Ready the carriage, it will take us about a week to arrive at the Azure Dragon sect¡¯¡¯
One of the other girls said worryingly ¡®¡¯sister Ning there are rumors of a new legacy disciple in the Azure Dragon sect, the chief and the senior generation of their sect may not cause trouble for us if we go to retrieve the young lady, but we don¡¯t know how strong this new legacy disciple is, maybe we should proceed with caution¡¯¡¯
¡®¡¯You don¡¯t need to worry about that, how strong could a legacy disciple of the Azure Dragon sect possibly be? They have been on the decline for a thousand years now and are only considered a second-rate sect, plus don¡¯t forget that I¡¯m ranked fifth on the Azure province¡¯s Earth ranking, there are only 4 people of the junior generation that can match me¡¯¡¯ said Xia Ning in an irritated tone.
Xia Ning was obviously a very proud and arrogant person that did not put many people in her eyes.
¡®¡¯You are right sister Ning, plus we are members of the Ice God sect, who could possibly dare to stand in our way¡¯¡¯ said another girl passionately.
At the same time, on Tianshen¡¯s lonely peak, all three friends were now cultivating. Wentian and Bingyue were surprised by the difference in the amount of Qi that existed on the peak as compared to the outer sect area, it was a big difference.
Suddenly Tianshen said ¡®¡¯both of you stop¡¯¡¯
They both stopped and looked at him curiously.
¡®¡¯What I¡¯m about to teach you is only for your ears and should never be disclosed to anyone unless you want a calamity to befall you. Now listen carefully. Bingyue, you got the Divine Ice God body, so unless you cultivate a suitable ice technique, you will never reach your full potential. As for you Wentian, you don¡¯t have any special body but I can sense that your bloodline has a great affinity towards the fire element¡¯¡¯ said Tianshen seriously.
They both looked at each other clearly surprised.
¡®¡¯I never knew that¡¯¡¯ said Wentian
¡®¡¯Divine Ice God?¡¯¡¯ Said Bingyue surprised. ¡®¡¯What is that exactly?¡¯¡¯ she asked.
Wentian smiled and said ¡®¡¯that means¡ not to mention the Blue Cloud country or the whole continent, you are probably more talented than 99% of people you will ever meet here. Unless they also have a special body or a strong bloodline. Bloodlines can be attained and it is not necessary to be born with one, of course you need great luck to get one. I sense a weak fire bloodline on Wentian but it needs to be strengthened in the future. As for special bodies, you are born with them and they are rare in every corner of the starry sky, the strength you can draw out will depend if you cultivated correctly. This is the main reason why I picked you both out of the others, your inner potential is vastly better than anyone here, and it would be a waste if idiots like that Cai Kun was the one teaching you¡¯¡¯
They were both very surprised when they heard that, but what surprised them even more is how Tianshen knew all of this information, it was like there was nothing in this world that he did not know. Plus they finally understood why Tianshen picked them out of everyone to be by his side.
Tianshen as if reading their minds said ¡®¡¯But don¡¯t misunderstand, if I saw that you were shameless people and treated others with contempt, I would have never picked you to begin with. The reason I picked you is because I can see that you are both forthright and honest¡¯¡¯
¡®¡¯Now let me impart you both with the cultivation methods suitable for you, and remember, everything I told you stays in this room¡¯¡¯
They both looked excitedly and nodded.
Tianshen stretched out his hands and touched both of their foreheads, Wentian suddenly felt a scorching hot sensation spreading through his body and a book appeared inside his head, the title read ¡®Golden Crow Flame¡¯. Meanwhile Bingyue felt an ice cold sensation and a book also appeared in her head, but this book was much thicker and looked much more ancient than Wentian¡¯s, the title read ¡®Divine Ice God¡¯.
¡®¡¯Cultivate diligently, from now on your progress compared to the others will be multiplied by many times, your understanding of the technique will depend on your own efforts of course¡¯¡¯
Said Tianshen seriously, then sat down again and continued cultivating. Wentian and Bingyue started cultivating, they were surprised on how profound the writings were but they felt a natural affinity towards them so for now it was not too hard to cultivate their respective techniques. Meanwhile in Tianshen¡¯s head, a book also appeared, it read ¡®Sword of Judgment¡¯. Tianshen smiled and felt a bit nostalgic ¡®¡¯we can finally reunite, it will take me some time to condense you and a fair bit of soul power, but it¡¯s well worth it¡¯¡¯
Tianshen concentrated and unleashed his soul power into one spot in front of him. He frowned a bit and started sweating a lot. Slowly an outline of an ethereal sword started forming in front of him. Time was passing slowly, and Tianshen felt some Qi fluctuations from Wentian and Bingyue, they were making successive breakthroughs.
This made Tianshen happy but he could not express it at this time since the sword condensation was taking everything he had. He smiled bitterly ¡®¡¯I really underestimated you old friend, looks like I have to release my seal just to condense you¡¯¡¯ he thought. So he touched his forehead and unleashed the seal on his soul power. A colossal amount of soul power was instantly felt by Bingyue and Wentian which made them stop cultivating. They both looked at Tianshen worryingly, they already witnessed his soul power the previous day when he used it to restrain Cai Kun, they never imagined that that was just a small fraction of it.
But nothing surprised them about Tianshen anymore, to them he was a huge mystery but they fully trusted him and what he was doing. At this point Tianshen made a sound similar to a war cry ¡®¡¯aaaahhhh¡¯¡¯ and the sword in front of him started looking less and less transparent. Two streams of blood ran down from his nostrils, he was really giving it his all. It was the first time that Wentian and Bingyue saw Tianshen exerting this much effort to do something, since everything seemed so natural and easy for him.
After one more hour the sword fully condensed. Tianshen opened his eyes, he looked weak and pale, he touched his forehead again and sealed his soul power, but this time he sealed it completely, and the reason for that was that he overused it while his cultivation was still too low so he needed to seal it completely for it to recover. The other two approached him slowly as he stood up.
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¡®¡¯Tianshen are you okay?¡¯¡¯ Asked Wentian with a worried look.
¡®¡¯Don¡¯t worry Wentian, although I overused by soul power and it will take about a week to recover, it was worth it just for this sword¡¯¡¯ said Tianshen while lifting the sword in his hand. The sword was bright azure color and it¡¯s hilt was a normal shape, it looked like a very average sword if you ignore the color, it was not too small and not too large, about a meter long. On the hilt a small writing was visible that said ¡¯Judgment sword¡¯.
Wentian and Bingyue were astonished, although they were still new to the world of cultivation, it was well know that you cannot create something from nothing, and here was Tianshen, condensing a sword purely from his soul power.
¡®¡¯Don¡¯t be so surprised, although it may seem amazing to you guys, this is nothing for some cultivators that are out there in the starry sky¡¯¡¯ said Tianshen while wiping the blood from his nose with a tissue.
¡®¡¯Tianshen, you mean to say that there are cultivators outside of the world we know?¡¯¡¯ asked Wentian curiously.
¡®¡¯This is a story for another time, you should both go back to cultivating, although the sect may seem peaceful to you guys, there are some dark forces moving here. I sense trouble coming, we should all be prepared. And by the way congratulations to you both for making another breakthrough¡¯¡¯ said Tianshen with a smile.
Wentian was half step into the Core Formation realm at this point, while Bingyue was in the 7th Qi accumulation realm.
¡®¡¯It was all thanks to you brother Tianshen¡¯¡¯ said Bingyue with a smile.
Tianshen patted her head gently and said ¡®¡¯ There is no need for thanks between brothers and sisters, from now on we look out for each other¡¯¡¯
Bingyue blushed a bit and avoided Tianshen¡¯s gaze. Wentian saw that Bingyue totally had a crush on Tianshen and burst out into laughter.
¡®¡¯From now on, all three of us are going into secluded cultivation for the next week, I sense trouble coming so we need to be stronger¡¯¡¯ said Tianshen seriously.
After they chatted a bit more they all went into cultivation. The days were passing by pretty fast, when you are in secluded cultivation you barely notice the flow of time. Tianshen was cultivating the Sword of Judgment, it had nine stages, each stage required diligent cultivation and insight into the way of the sword. Each stage was also stronger than the previous one.
Wentian¡¯s Golden Crow Flames and Bingyue¡¯s Divine Ice God were no different, each had nine stages to them and the higher the stage, the more power you can use.
In the blink of an eye, a whole week has went by. At this moment all three were still sitting cross-legged in their respective rooms and cultivating. Their progress in the past week was immense, enough to put any so called genius of the Azure province to shame. Wentian at this point was at the 2nd Core Formation realm, Bingyue was at the 9th Qi accumulation realm, just half a step in Core Formation. Tianshen was also at the 9th Qi accumulation realm but he was already trying to break through into Core Formation. This means that he was at a critical stage of cultivation and that he could not be disturbed, not to mention that he was also at the final stages of recovering his soul power.
Wentian and Bingyue stopped cultivating since Tianshen told them that a week was all they needed for now. They both decided to go out for some fresh air outside of their building while waiting for Tianshen to break through. Their benefits from Tianshen¡¯s guidance were indeed huge. None of them imagined that in just a week they would make so many breakthroughs, this was unheard of in the history of the Azure province, so they knew that Tianshen¡¯s methods were very profound and mysterious.
While they were outside, they saw an outer disciple running towards them with a frown on his face.
The disciple stopped in front of them panting and said ¡®¡¯Sister Bingyue, there are some women from the Ice God sect that are causing a ruckus in the outer sect, they said that if the Azure Dragon sect does not present you to them in an hour, it will be considered as disrespect to their sect and it may cause a sect war between them and our sect. Elder Cai Kun told me to come find you and bring you there immediately because we cannot afford to offend the Ice God sect¡¯¡¯
Bingyue frowned and looked at Wentian helplessly.
Wentian was surprised and asked ¡®¡¯Bingyue, what is your relation to the Ice God sect?¡±
Bingyue sighed in a sad way ¡®¡¯The chief of the Ice God sect is my master, they are an all-women sect that has zero contact with anyone and absolutely prohibits any kind of relationship with men or any outsiders for that matter. I did not want to live out all of my life in this kind of sect that prohibits relationships or friendships with any other people but their own¡¯¡¯
Wentian was surprised but there was still a question he wanted to ask ¡®¡¯Why did you join their sect to begin with then?¡¯¡¯
Bingyue¡¯s eyes became watery at this point ¡®¡¯they don¡¯t recruit disciples in the Ice God sect, they just abduct young girls from their families or from the streets, I was an orphan when they found me so it was easier for them¡¯¡¯ said Bingyue with tears in her eyes.
Wentian patted her head gently and said ¡®¡¯don¡¯t worry, you don¡¯t have to go anywhere, me and Tianshen are going to protect you¡¯¡¯
Bingyue smiled and wiped her tears. They knew that they could not disturb Tianshen at the moment so they were going to just stay there and not go anywhere.
Wentian turned back to the disciple and said ¡®¡¯you can go back and tell elder Cai Kun that Bingyue is not going anywhere, she belongs here in the Azure Dragon sect where her friends are¡¯¡¯
The disciple felt helpless, he just nodded and ran back to the outer sect.
After some time the disciple arrived at the scene were the Ice God disciples were at, elder Cai Kun was standing there with a the rest of the outer sect elders. Eight girls were standing in front of them, and behind them was a closed carriage. The disciple ran towards elder Cai Kun and said ¡®¡¯elder, disciple Bingyue refused to come and said that she wants nothing to do with the Ice God sect¡¯¡¯
Cai Kun frowned and shouted ¡®¡¯useless trash, you had one thing to do!¡¯¡¯
Then he turned to the girls and said ¡®¡¯my apologies but Bingyue refuses to come, I will go there myself and bring her to you now¡¯¡¯
It was obvious that he was scared of the Ice God sect and did not want to sacrifice the relationship the Azure Dragon sect had with them for one trivial disciple.
¡®¡¯No need¡¯¡¯ a voice sounded from inside the carriage.
Everyone turned to look at the carriage, a girl came out of there. She looked stunningly beautiful, her body and face were both seductive. Her skin was snow-white and she had light blonde hair. Yet her gaze was piercingly cold.
¡®¡¯we will go get her ourselves¡¯¡¯ she proceeded to say.
CH:5 Trouble Arrives
Cai Kun was frowning, he knew that he couldn¡¯t avoid trouble today, the Ice God sect was one of the top five sects in the province. You can¡¯t just offend a titan like that because of a single girl. The only problem Cai Kun thought about was that little devil Tianshen. He knew that if the Ice God sect disciples went to his mountain, it would probably not end well for anyone and would only make the relationship between the two sects deteriorate. But at the same time he felt relieved, now all the responsibility of the situation will fall on Tianshen and not on him. Also it was an opportunity to create trouble for the sect chief Cao Chen, since Cai Kun supported Kong Zhi for the position of sect chief it would be good to put the current chief in a tough spot.
Xia Ning pointed at Cai Kun and said ¡®¡¯you, tell me where is Bingyue¡¯¡¯
Cai Kun looked at her with a cunning but polite smile ¡®¡¯Miss Ning of the Ice God sect I presume? Please follow me I will lead you to her, although I have to warn you, she lives on the lonely peak so getting her out of there may be more troublesome than you think¡¯¡¯
When some of the disciples that were gathered around and watching the scene heard the name Ning of Ice God sect they gasped.
Someone on the sideline said ¡®¡¯Ning? As in Xia Ning? Wow, this is not going to end well¡¯¡¯
A person next to him asked ¡®¡¯ Xia Ning? Who is that?¡¯¡¯
The person replied ¡®¡¯Have you been living under a rock? Don¡¯t you know Xia Ning, the legacy disciple of the Ice God sect? She is ranked 5th on the Earth ranking of the Azure province. The Earth ranking ranks the top ten young cultivators under the age of eighteen and she is ranked 5th while she is only sixteen years old. This means only four people of the younger generation in the whole province are stronger than her. Rumors say that her cultivation is already at the 2nd Earth realm¡¯¡¯
People that heard this opened their mouths in astonishment. 2nd Earth Realm at sixteen years old? Even the top elder of the outer sect Cai Kun was weaker than her.
Xia Ning frowned and said ¡®¡¯since you know my name and status, why would you say that it will be troublesome to get her? What is so special about this lonely peak you¡¯re speaking about, who would possibly dare to stand in my way?¡¯¡¯
Cai Kun smiled even more politely this time ¡®¡¯Miss Ning, I¡¯m afraid that the lonely peak is the home of our legacy disciple Tianshen, he does not appreciate people disturbing him and only a select few have the right to step foot onto that mountain. I¡¯m just warning you that a conflict may arise¡¯¡¯
Cai Kun was obviously trying to ignite a conflict between the two, he also knew that Tianshen¡¯s cultivation was much weaker so this was also his way of taking revenge for the shame Tianshen put him through a week ago.
¡®¡¯humph, bring me to this lonely peak, this Tianshen better not get in my way or I¡¯m afraid that the Azure Dragon sect will have to lose its legacy disciple today.
Cai Kun laughed on the inside ¡®¡¯please follow me miss Ning¡¯¡¯
He started running quickly towards the core region of the sect where all the peaks were located. Soon they arrived in the inner sect. When people saw nine icy beauties passing by with elder Cai Kun and where they were heading, everyone got excited, whispers broke through the crowd.
¡®¡¯Did someone come to challenge our legacy disciple? People thought.
Someone else said ¡®¡¯Can¡¯t you feel the ice Qi surrounding them? Plus they are all beautiful females. They are definitely from the Ice God sect, the one in the front is probably the legacy disciple of the Ice God sect and she¡¯s here to challenge Tianshen. This will most definitely be a good show to watch, let¡¯s follow them¡¯¡¯
The disciples of the inner sect started following behind them one by one to witness what was going to happen. Soon a huge crowd of people gathered behind Cai Kun and the Ice God sect girls and they were all heading towards the lonely mountain.
After some time, they arrived at the peak of the mountain. At the top of the mountain they saw a not too big but also not too small building, at the front of the door stood a young man that looked to be about thirteen to fifteen years old. A scorching hot Qi was visible around him.
It was Qiu Wentian. As soon as he saw the Ice God sect disciples and Cai Kun, not to mention the huge crowd of disciples behind them he frowned. He was not expecting this incident to become this big. But he still kept his calm, he spent about a week around Tianshen now so he was greatly influenced by his character and how he carried himself. Plus he was completely loyal to Tianshen, and was sure that when he finished his secluded cultivation, he will take care of it. All Qiu Wentian had to do was hold off until then.
Xia Ning Looked at Qiu Wentian and tried to sense his cultivation ¡®¡¯2nd Core Formation realm, looks like the legacy disciple of the Azure Dragon sect can only amount to this much¡¯¡¯ she said.
But secretly inside her, she had to admit that this person¡¯s scorching Qi was the complete opposite of her ice Qi and it made her feel uncomfortable even though he was much weaker than her.
¡®¡¯Tianshen I presume? You are much weaker than I thought, looks like the Azure Dragon sect has fallen even lower than I initially thought¡¯¡¯ said Xia Ning arrogantly.
Wentian looked at her calmly and said ¡®¡¯you should turn back and not cause trouble here, unless you want to die a miserable death¡¯¡¯
The girls instantly got angry, one of them scolded ¡®¡¯How dare you talk to the legacy disciple of the Ice God sect like that? Do you not know death? The words you just uttered now are enough to sentence you to death, insect!¡¯¡¯
Wentian still kept his calm, he knew that he was not nearly strong enough to stop them but he would try his best to stall for time. Suddenly he thought of something.
¡®¡¯Since the disciples of the Ice God sect are so proud and arrogant, how about we have a fair fight? I am at the 2nd Core Formation Realm as you can see, I can sense that two of you girls are at the 3rd level of Core Formation, you can both come and fight me at the same time, and if I win you will have to leave this place¡¯¡¯ said Qiu Wentian with a smile.
Xia Ning looked at him and said ¡®¡¯and what if you lose?¡¯¡¯
Wentian thought about it for a second and said ¡®¡¯if I can¡¯t even protect one friend then I am not worthy to live in this world anymore. If I lose you can take my life¡¯¡¯
One of the girls laughed and said ¡®¡¯You think your life is worth the same with Bingyue¡¯s? Don¡¯t make us laugh!¡¯¡¯
Xia Ning, smiled and said ¡®¡¯Sure let¡¯s do it, I want to see just how you are planning to defeat two of our inner sect disciples that are one cultivation level higher than you¡¯¡¯
Wentian smiled back and said ¡®¡¯You better keep your promise¡¯¡¯
Then he stepped forward while the other two girls stood on the opposite side. They started releasing an ice cold Qi, it is worth mentioning that all of the Ice sect girls cultivated the same ice technique.
They released their ice Qi and started charging toward Wentian.
Wentian release his golden crow flames and also charged at them. The two girls each lifted a hand and shouted ¡®¡¯Ice spike!¡¯¡¯ Two ice spikes were now flying towards Wentian.
Wentian uttered a war cry and released more of his golden crow Qi.
Huge golden flames were now surrounding him. The two ice spikes reached him and entered the sea of flames. From the sidelines it looked like they hit him and he was doomed. A cloud of dust was now around the area where Wentian was.
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The two Ice God sect disciple looked at the cloud and said ¡®¡¯hmph, a weakling is still a weakling no matter how you look at it¡¯¡¯
But suddenly Wentian walked out of the dust, he was completely unharmed. His eye were now shining a bright golden color and the flames around him got even bigger and hotter.
¡®¡¯Is this all you¡¯ve got?¡¯¡¯ said Wentian with a smile.
Then he charged at them, they finally clashed and a huge boom echoed around the lonely peak.
At this point Tianshen who was still sitting cross-legged inside felt the Qi fluctuations outside of the building and knew that there was trouble. But he was at a critical moment of braking through so he couldn¡¯t just leave and go help. He could only hope that Wentian could hold them off long enough until he could move again.
Bingyue was standing next to Tianshen with a troubled look on her face ¡®¡¯brother Tianshen, please finish soon, I could not live with myself if something happened to Wentian because of me¡¯¡¯
The battle between Wentian and the two Ice God sect disciples was going on for about half an hour now. What astonished the audience was that Wentian seemed to have the upper hand, he was slowly pushing the two girls back. It seemed like the element difference in their technique was a huge factor for that.
Suddenly Wentian jumped back and said ¡®¡¯it¡¯s time we finish this¡¯¡¯ he released his Golden crow Qi to the max and shouted ¡®¡¯Golden crow flames stage one, divine golden flame!!¡¯¡¯
He opened his mouth and spit a huge golden flame at the two girls. At this point the two girls were scared, the flame heat was too much for them to handle, and made them uncomfortable. Fire was the natural enemy of ice so they were at an elemental disadvantage.
Their clothes were tattered and they looked like they were desperate. When the flame was about to reach them, a huge ice wall suddenly formed in front of them and protected them from the flames. The two attacks collided, and lifted a huge cloud of dust.
After the cloud of dust cleared up, the two girls were in a bad shape and laying on the floor with burns on their bodies. But another girl was standing in front of them. She obviously protected them from the attack because it was more than they could handle.
The new girl had an ugly look on her face ¡®¡¯How dare you try to kill two disciples of the Ice God sect, you will pay for this with your life today¡¯¡¯
This new girl was no pushover, when Wentian sensed her Qi he knew that he was no match for her. She was at the 7th Core Formation realm, he knew she was one of the strongest of the bunch.
He wiped the dust of his clothes and said ¡®¡¯ they lost, you should keep your promise and leave¡¯¡¯
The crowd was astonished ¡®¡¯since when was Qiu Wentian this strong?¡¯¡¯ they thought.
They Ice God sect disciple looked at Qiu Wentian and said ¡®¡¯we agreed to a battle, we never said you were allowed to kill them, as such the agreement is off, you will die today¡¯¡¯
Xian Ning was just staring at what was happening without any reaction, which means she didn¡¯t mind how things were progressing.
Wentian frowned ¡®¡¯I didn¡¯t know that Ice God sect disciples were the type to break an agreement. Plus I didn¡¯t try to kill them, they are one cultivation level above me so you can only blame them for being being weak¡¯¡¯
A this point the inner sect disciples that came to see a show were cheering for Qiu Wentian, he was domineering, strong and confident. In their eyes, this was how a cultivator should be. When facing adversity, just face it head on and fight it with everything you have.
The disciple that defended the other two girls frowned and said ¡®¡¯Tianshen was it, you are indeed strong for a guy at the 2nd Core Formation realm, but don¡¯t fool yourself¡¯¡¯ You are not qualified for our legacy disciple to even fight you one on one. Are you not ashamed?¡¯¡¯
Wentian laughed loudly ¡®¡¯hahahaha¡ Who said that I am Tianshen? Are you an idiot?¡¯¡¯
At this point Xia Ning that was standing in the back got angry and pointed her finger at Wentian. Before he could react, an ice spike pierced his chest. It came out from behind fully piercing him.
Xia Ning was now walking towards Wentian ¡®¡¯Everyone step aside. So you are telling me that this Tianshen did not even come out of his house to meet me head on and sent some insect to face me? Is he trying to humiliate me?¡¯¡¯
Wentian was laying on the floor in a pool of blood, but he was trying to stand up. At this point Bingyue ran out of the building and knelt besides Wentian. ¡®¡¯Wentian!! Don¡¯t move that¡¯s enough, you don¡¯t have to do anything anymore¡¯¡¯
Xia Ning saw Bingyue and said with a smirk on her face ¡®¡¯Junior sister, you finally come out. It is time you come back to the sect. You made master sad you know?¡¯¡¯
Bingyue had tears in her eyes ¡®¡¯sister Ning, please stop it, don¡¯t hurt anyone anymore , I will come, just let him live¡¯¡¯
Xia Ning laughed ¡®¡¯he hurt two of our sisters, you think he can just get away with an impaled chest? You will come back either you want it or not, and this pathetic excuse of a cultivator will die here today¡¯¡¯
Bingyue was desperate, at this point tears were falling endlessly from her eyes. Inside her she decide that she will do everything in her power to also stall for time until Tianshen comes, and fight.
But before she could act on her thoughts, a Qi fluctuation came from the building, then a second, then a third. Tianshen had just broken through three times in a row, it was unknow if it was because of anger or not.
Then everyone felt a chill run down their spines, suddenly everyone felt a killing intent so cold and vicious. And it was coming from the building behind Bingyue and Wentian. The killing intent was so strong that some people in the crowd fell to their knees in a fetal position.
Then a colossal amount of soul power crushed onto Xia Ning and the girls around her. It was the first time in her life that someone scared Xia Ning so much besides her master, but she was still standing straight. But the girls around her and the crowd all knelt down long ago from the pressure. It was suffocating.
Then a youth opened the door of the building and walked out, he had long black hair and bright blue eyes that were shining like two bright stars at this point. Xia Ning was surprised because the youth looked no more than thirteen years old and his cultivation was at the 3rd Core Formation relam. How could he have such perfect control of his soul power and exert this colossal soul pressure? This was not normal. At this point Xia Ning realized that she may have messed with someone that she wasn¡¯t supposed to. But it was too late.
Tianshen stopped about ten meters away from Xia Ning. The look in his eyes gave Xia Ning the impression that this boy in front of her could erase her from existence any time he wanted if he so wished it. The piercing cold look in his eyes made her feel small and insignificant.
Suddenly Tianshen opened his mouth and a majestic voice sounded throughout the whole mountain
¡®¡¯Kneel¡¯¡¯
Before Xia Ning could even make a move, she was already on her knees. The pressure was so crushing that when her knees hit the ground, they crushed it to pieces.
Tianshen looked at the miserable shape Wentian was in and Bingyue¡¯s tears.
He then turned to Xia Ning again and with a piercing ice cold gaze and a chilling killing intent, he uttered some words that Xia Ning would not forget for the rest of her life ¡®¡¯How dare you harm my people¡ you filthy insect?¡¯¡¯
CH:6 I am the Law
Tianshen was looking down at the kneeling Ice God sect disciples in front of him while still releasing his crushing soul pressure and killing intent.
One of the girls gathered up some courage and lifted her head up and said to Tianshen through gritted teeth ¡®¡¯Do you know what you¡¯re doing? After this day there will be no place for you to hide in the Azure Province! The Ice God sect will hunt you down to the ends of continent if necessary if you dare to harm us¡¯¡¯
Tianshen was not even looking at her, he was still staring at Xia Ning, and said in a calm manner
¡®¡¯Little girl, there are people in this world that you cannot afford to provoke no matter what, you made one fatal miscalculation when you decided to come here, and that was you assuming that I give a fuck about some Ice God sect. After I kill all of you I will pay a visit to your Ice God sect and erase it. A sect that abducts children against their will and brainwashes them is not worth existing¡¯¡¯
When Xia Ning and the girls heard what Tianshen said they were dumbstruck. He was talking about erasing one of the top sects of the Azure province as if he was talking about eating breakfast. But something gave them the feeling that he was not kidding when he said that.
Tianshen continued ¡®¡¯it just so happens that people like you are the ones I hate the most. Proud and arrogant but can¡¯t back it up, you think you are better than everyone because of your social status as disciples of some stupid Ice God sect. You think that you stand above the law and can do whatever you want, well let me tell you something¡¡¯¡¯ Said Tianshen while extending his right hand.
A one meter long sword materialized in his hand out of nowhere ¡®¡¯¡I am the Law¡¯¡¯ said Tianshen and swung his sword towards the girl that just spoke before. She wanted to scream but she realized that she can¡¯t, then everything went dark. Her head was now laying on the ground next to her lifeless body.
People gasped, how domineering and arrogant, who would dare utter words like ¡®I am the law¡¯ besides this guy in front of them? Plus, he really dared to kill the Ice God sect disciples.
Tianshen swung his sword a second time and another head flew from the shoulders of another girl. He then proceeded to chop the rest of the heads of the girls.
Xia Ning at this point was trembling from fear, she looked at the person that was currently killing her sect sisters one by one and she saw that his face was devoid of emotion. How could a thirteen year old boy be so merciless, how could someone of his age be so ruthless? He was cutting heads like he was cutting grass. Then she realized something, there was only one kind of person that could kill so ruthlessly without even blinking. It was the kind of person that bathed in the blood of countless people. Was it hundreds? Thousands? Millions?
She did not know, the truth is that Tianshen did not know the answer to that question either. He had long since lost count of how many people, demons, beasts and all kinds of life-forms he had slain.
Now he stood in front of Xia Ning with the sword of judgment in his hand. Xia Ning looked him in the eyes, she felt like she was staring into a bottomless pit. The she felt regret, she felt boundless regret. She wished that she did not provoke this death god, she wished that she had not acted so arrogant in front of others, she wished that she had another chance so she could change her ways.
Then tears started falling from her eyes, she wanted to plead for mercy but she knew it was useless. Then the image of her master came into her mind, her master was the only person that ever truly cared for her. She knew how sad her master would be when the news of her death would get to her.
Suddenly when Xia Ning seemed to lose all hope, a voice resounded throughout the lonely peak
¡®¡¯Boy let my disciple go, she has went and offended someone she shouldn¡¯t have. If you want to blame someone then blame me for not raising her correctly¡¯¡¯
Then a middle aged woman appeared above the scene, her hair was snow-white, even though she looked middle aged, Tianshen could tell that she was once a peerless beauty, she was floating in the air and looking down at her disciple with a worried look on her face.
¡®¡¯Master!!¡¯¡¯ shouted Xia Ning with tears in her eyes.
Tianshen glanced at her ¡®¡¯She is stronger than chief Cao Chen¡¯¡¯ he thought.
¡®¡¯If you want to plead mercy for your disciple then come down here where our eyes can meet on the same level, you are not qualified to look down on me from there¡¯¡¯
At this point Tianshen retracted his killing intent and soul power, everyone finally felt like they could breathe again. The reason Tianshen retracted his soul power is because he did not feel any ill intent from this middle aged woman.
The woman sighed and flew down and stood opposite of Tianshen. Suddenly ten more people landed next to Tianshen, all of them had strong auras, especially the one in the middle, it was the chief Cao Chen.
¡®¡¯Xia Qing, it has been a while¡¯¡¯ said Cao Chen with a smile
¡®¡¯It indeed has been a while Cao Chen, I¡¯m sorry we have to reunite under these circumstances, it would be much more comforting if my dear disciple did not have a blade pointed at her neck¡¯¡¯
Said Xia Qing with a worried face.
Cao Chen turned to Tianshen ¡®¡¯Tianshen this is enough, you have already avenged you friend, plus his wounds can be healed, let¡¯s not escalate this any further¡¯¡¯
Tianshen looked at Cao Chen then back to Xia Ning who was still kneeling in front of him.
¡®¡¯I hope that nine of your junior sisters dying because of your selfishness was a good enough lesson for you¡¯¡¯ he said emotionlessly.
Chief Xia Qing spoke before Xia Ning could ¡®¡¯you can rest assured that she will be further punished for her actions, as for your friend¡¯s wound, here¡¯¡¯ She threw a green pill towards Tianshen and he caught it. He immediately recognized the pill, it was an Earth grade restoration pill of high quality.
Tianshen went and gave it to Wentian while smiling at him ¡®¡¯I¡¯m sorry I was late brother, you have done well¡¯¡¯
Wentian smiled back at him ¡®¡¯Just a scratch¡¯¡¯
Bingyue was finally relieved and smiled at both of them.
¡®¡¯Bingyue, you have grown well. And it looks like you finally found a family. I know you never felt at home in the Ice God sect, but I never wanted anything but for you to be happy, cherish your friends¡¯¡¯ said Xia Qing with a smile. It seemed like she was genuinely happy for Bingyue.
Bingyue smiled back at her without saying anything.
Tianshen was surprised, the difference between Xia Qing and Xia Ning was huge, how could the disciple be so different from the master?
¡®¡¯Cao Chen I apologize for my disciple again, I have been in secluded cultivation for the past two years trying to break through, before I knew it Ning¡¯er status as a legacy disciple went to her head. I happened to exit my secluded cultivation yesterday and as soon as I heard that Ning¡¯er came here to retrieve Bingye I came her as fast as I could¡¯¡¯
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. *sigh ¡®¡¯looks like I wasn¡¯t on time to save everyone¡¯¡¯ said Xia Qing with a sad face.
Then she added ¡®¡¯Looks like you really found yourself a monstrous genius as a legacy disciple Cao Chen, the Azure Dragon sect is destined to make a comeback soon¡¯¡¯
Then she turned back to Tianshen and said ¡®¡¯ I don¡¯t know what you heard about our sect, but we are not an evil bunch of women who brainwash little girls. We do indeed abduct girls from families but only from the families where the girls are abused and not treated in the right way.
Each and every one of these girls has a story, so don¡¯t judge us too harshly¡¯¡¯
Tianshen indeed felt like he rushed a bit in judging the Ice God sect.
¡®¡¯Your disciple has potential, although her personality may be rotten, I hope today¡¯s event taught her a valuable life lesson¡¯¡¯ said Tianshen with a smile
¡®¡¯as for the girls I just killed, I have zero regrets. No matter how sad and difficult their childhood was, it does not justify them acting in the way they did¡¯¡¯ he added, then he turned around started walking back towards his courtyard while supporting Wentian, Bingyue followed closely behind them.
Xian Qing sighed again, then she flicked her hand and all the bodies and heads of the dead girls flew into a spatial ring she was wearing.
She put her hand on Xia Ning¡¯s shoulder ¡®¡¯let¡¯s go back, you are going to go into secluded cultivation and reflect upon your actions¡¯¡¯
She then said goodbye to Cao Chen and flew off.
Cao Chen and the nine elders left while Cai Kun dispersed the crowd. At this point Cai Kun lost all hope for revenge, what he witnessed today was beyond of what he could understand. He made the decision to never provoke Tianshen and change his ways. It looked like he was finally going to take his outer sect elder job seriously and help the disciples grow.
The next couple of days were uneventful, while the three friends were cultivating on the lonely peak. The news of what happened on the lonely peak spread through the sect and inevitably through the province. Rumor said that the Ice goddess herself, Xia Ning went to the Azure Dragon sect to cause trouble but ended up kneeling and begging for mercy in front of a guy named Tianshen who was apparently the new legacy disciple of the Azure Dragon sect.
The rumors were of course highly exaggerated. But still people started paying more attention towards the Azure Dragon sect now.
¡®¡¯Does this not mean that this Tianshen is strong enough to be ranked at least fifth in the Earth ranking of the Azure province?¡¯¡¯ people were gossiping.
¡®¡¯Looks like this year¡¯s Earth ranking competition is going to have a rising star¡¯¡¯
Two more days passed by, in those two days Tianshen was cultivating and sometimes giving pointers on cultivation to the sect elders that were stuck in their cultivation. Most disciples now respected Tianshen, some out of fear, others out of pure veneration.
Today Tianshen was sitting in his courtyard drinking tea when Wentian came in
¡®¡¯Wentian, any news from the sect?¡¯¡¯ asked Tianshen with a smile
Wentian sat down next to Tianshen ¡®¡¯Yes, in a week¡¯s time it is the yearly Azure Dragon sect ranking tournament, but it¡¯s not only a tournament to rank the strongest disciples of the sect. The other purpose is to determine this year¡¯s ten core disciples. So not even the core disciples are exempted from the competition and they can lose their place¡¯¡¯
Tianshen nodded in approval ¡®¡¯It is a good way to keep even the core disciples from slacking. But since I am already the legacy disciple I don¡¯t think I will be participating. But you and Bingyue should, this is a good chance for both of you to prove yourself to the whole sect.
One week should be enough for you and Bingyue to cultivate your respective techniques to the second stage¡¯¡¯
Wentian agreed ¡®¡¯yes, I¡¯ve been feeling that I¡¯m close to advancing to the second stage of the Golden Crow flames for the past two days, plus my cultivation is at the 4th Core Formation realm now, I think I may be able to rank in the top ten if I cultivate for the next week¡¯¡¯
¡®¡¯Then what are you waiting for? Go¡¯¡¯ said Tianshen with a smile. He was really cheerful for the past couple of days. He really forgot what it was like to be around friends and sharing these simple happy moments with them. This also reassured him that he was not wrong in choosing to abandon his previous life. This time he did not want to rise on his own, he wanted to bring his friends to the top with him.
Wentian went to his room and closed the door behind him. Coincidentally as soon as Wentian¡¯s door closed, Bingyue¡¯s door opened and she walked into the courtyard and sat next to Tianshen.
¡®¡¯Bingyue, your advancement is too scary¡¯¡¯ said Tianshen with a smile while checking her cultivation. She was already at the 2nd Core formation realm.
Bingyue blushed ¡®¡¯don¡¯t make fun of me brother Tianshen, you are still the monster out of the three of us¡¯¡¯ she said while pouting her lips in a cute way.
She wasn¡¯t wrong, Tianshen was already at the 5th Core formation realm and his Sword of Judgment advanced to the second stage.
¡®¡¯Little Bingyue, you know you make me sad when you call me a monster like that, you make it sound like I¡¯m some kind of evil villain¡¯¡¯ said Tianshen while pretending to be sad and staring into the sky like he was just immensely hurt.
Bingyue caught his sarcastic tone ¡®¡¯Hmph, of course you¡¯re evil, and a pervert too!¡¯¡¯ she said. Then she stormed back into her room.
Tianshen laughed loudly ¡®¡¯this little girl is too easy to tease¡¯¡¯
Then continued drinking his tea ¡®¡¯this life was indeed worth it¡¯¡¯ he thought.
Meanwhile in another area of the sect.
Elder Kong Zhi was sitting in a beautiful pavilion on his mountain peak, next to him sat two youths. They looked almost identical, the only difference was that one was a bit younger and shorter.
¡®¡¯Kong Feng, Kong Jie, I expect an even better performance than last year, you better not disappoint me¡¯¡¯ said Kong Zhi in a serious manner.
Kong Feng said ¡®¡¯Don¡¯t worry father I am already half step into the Earth Realm and Ji¡¯er is a the 6th Core Formation realm. Who would possibly stand a chance against me besides that annoying Cao Bai?¡¯¡¯
¡®¡¯Come to think of it, she¡¯s been away for training for the past three months, she should be returning to the sect any day now¡¯¡¯ said Kong Jie with a frown.
¡®¡¯It does not matter, I have full confidence in both of you. Just be careful of that Tianshen, who knows he might just decide to participate in the ranking tournament because he feels like it. Cao Chen just lets him do whatever he wants, his status has become too strong in the sect for me to openly challenge at this point. Whatever we do must be done secretly from now on¡¯¡¯ Said Kong Zhi with a serous face.
¡®¡¯Father, rest assured, if that fake legacy disciple decided to join in the ranking battle I¡¯ll defeat him in front of everyone and prove that I am the only one worthy of that spot¡¯¡¯ said Kong Feng confidently.
At this moment outside of the Azure Dragon sect, a girl was walking towards the entrance. She stopped for a moment and looked at the lonely peak that was visible from the distance.
¡®¡¯this year I will definitely get that spot¡¯¡¯ she said with a confident smile and continued walking towards the sect entrance.
CH:7 Cao Bai
She looked to be about 14 years old, she had long black hair which was falling down just below her waist. Her delicate face brimmed with confidence but did not have any arrogance on it. One thing that the vast majority of males would say if they saw this girl is: Extremely beautiful. But although she indeed was extremely beautiful there was one thing quite odd about her, she was wearing male clothes and armor.
The girl was now closing in to the gates of the sect, the two guards that were standing outside of the gate saw her and immediately greeted her respectfully with cupped fists
¡®¡¯Miss Bai, welcome back to the sect. We hope your training was successful¡¯¡¯
She smiled at them which made the two guards blush, and said ¡®¡¯it was indeed a success, by the end of this year I will enter the Earth Ranking¡¯s top ten for sure and revive our sect as the new legacy disciple¡¯¡¯
The two disciples looked at each other nervously and said ¡®¡¯Umm¡ miss Bai, you should go inside the sect and talk with the Chief, there are some news that you might want to hear from him personally¡¯¡¯
She looked at them in a curious way, then nodded at them and proceeded towards the core area of the sect. On the way she passed through the outer sect and noticed that the outer sect main elder Cai Kun was teaching cultivation to a lot of students and seemed like he was actually putting effort into it. Which surprised her, she knew that this Cai Kun was a good for nothing that only cared for himself. She found it very odd, she was gone for only five months but so much seems to have changed.
The place now looked much livelier and it seemed like there were less conflicts, plus she noticed that the average cultivation level of the outer sect disciples had risen dramatically. She felt happy for them but at the same time felt that something was just too odd.
What she saw in the inner sect was not much different. It is worth mentioning that the reason the average cultivation of the disciples improved so much was because Tianshen was passing down knowledge to the elders who then passed it on to the disciples. Thanks to Tianshen the sect was now functioning on an entirely different level than it was before, but the only ones that knew of the fact that Tianshen was passing down knowledge to the elders, were only the nine elders themselves and the Chief Cao Chen.
Then she finally arrived at one of the peaks, this peak was the main one and it had a majestic tower on top of it with a dragon coiled around it. The girl entered the building, as soon as the servants saw her they bowed down to her respectfully.
Suddenly she heard a voice coming from the main hall ¡®¡¯9th Core Formation realm, you have indeed improved my dear daughter¡¯¡¯
The man coming from the main hall was the Chief Cao Chen, it turns out that this girl Cao Bai was his daughter. Cao Chen approached her and sized her up then let out a happy laugh
¡®¡¯hahaha! My daughter is indeed a genius! Now with two monstrous geniuses within the sect, our future is limitless¡¯¡¯ he said in a cheerful way.
Cao Bai bowed to her father while smiling and said ¡®¡¯Father, I hope you have been well, I¡¯m sorry for being away for so long¡¯¡¯
¡®¡¯my daughter, don¡¯t apologize for such things, come, let¡¯s sit. Tell me all about your journey¡¯¡¯
They sat down, Cao Chen gestured for the servants to bring food and tea while Cao Bai was taking off her armor. Cao Chen looked at her and sighed in a depressing manner ¡®¡¯Little Bai, how many times did I tell you that wearing such clothes is unbefitting of a lady like you?¡¯¡¯
Cao Bai just took off the armor and replied ¡®¡¯Father, we have talked about this many times, I am a warrior, and all great warriors wear amazing shiny armor and clothes¡¯¡¯
¡®¡¯But you don¡¯t have to wear male armor and clothes little Bai, I can get you the female version of the same armor if you want to. Plus you will never find a suitable husband if you dress like that¡¯¡¯ said Cao Chen while hoping that she would agree, it indeed really bothered him that his daughter wore male clothing while being such a peerless beauty.
¡®¡¯No need father, showing too much femininity will only make people think that I¡¯m weak, plus I don¡¯t ever plan to get married to anyone, I don¡¯t think there is a single male in this province that would be able to handle me anyway¡¯¡¯
she said half-jokingly.
Cao Chen shrugged and sighed at the same time, it look like he had to give up on convincing her for now.
¡®¡¯But on another note, father, why is the sect so different? Even Cai Kun of the outer sect is taking his job seriously, there is surely something going on right?¡¯¡¯ she asked curiously.
¡®¡¯Umm, little Bai this¡ you may not be very happy, but just give me a minute to explain¡¯¡¯
said Cao hen with a worried look. He knew how much his daughter wanted the legacy disciple position but he wanted to wait until she was a bit older and reached the Earth Realm first, which he knew that she would very soon, but by a turn of fate, he met Tianshen and everything changed.
So he didn¡¯t know how to exactly explain everything that happened in the past week and half. Plus he was worried that Cao Bai will get mad and will go challenge Tianshen, and knowing how monstrous that kid was, he was afraid for his daughter¡¯s safety.
He smiled at her nervously and said ¡®¡¯Little Bai, just don¡¯t do anything rash and hear me out¡¡¯¡¯
After that, Cao Chen told his daughter the whole story about how he met Tianshen, how intimidating and monstrously genius he is, everything that he did in the outer sect, and then finally about the event with the Ice God sect that shocked the whole province.
¡®¡¯Do not worry about it too much father, I understand your decision and I will not cause him trouble, however if he is as monstrously genius as you describe him to be then he should fight me and prove it. Just your word is not enough, I have my warrior¡¯s pride too you know¡¯¡¯ Said Cao Bai in a serious way.
Then she continued ¡®¡¯I will go to his peak personally and challenge him, don¡¯t try to stop me father¡¯¡¯
¡®¡¯No, little Bai please don¡¯t, he is quite eccentric and does not take kindly to people just going to his peak¡¯¡¯ said Cao Chen with a worried look, something was telling him that is daughter would still go no matter what he said.
¡®¡¯Father, we warriors have our own pride, I don¡¯t care how much of an eccentric or monstrously genius he is, at the end of the day, he is still a thirteen year old boy¡¯¡¯ she said proudly.
Cao Chen sighed ¡®¡¯you¡¯ve really taken after your mother, just don¡¯t be disrespectful to him¡¯¡¯
It looks like his daughter had to learn the hard way, he thought to himself.
¡®¡¯Don¡¯t worry father, if he can beat me, then he is indeed worthy of that position more than me, I just want a battle, that¡¯s all¡¯¡¯
The father and daughter continued chatting for many hours while eating and drinking.
Soon it was nighttime and the stars started to shine brightly above the Azure Dragon Sect.
Tianshen was currently sitting outside and gazing at the stars, he had a melancholic look on his face. He felt like these stars were calling him, but he could not go yet, not until he was strong enough. How many years would it take? It did not matter to him, time was something that he always had a lot of. Suddenly he sensed a foreign Qi entering his mountain and he smiled.
¡®¡¯9th Core Formation realm, not even bothering to hide your presence, is this an open challenge then?¡¯¡¯ He stood up and disappeared from where he stood, next instant he appeared in front of his building with his arms crossed behind his back, waiting to see who it was. He did not sense any killing intent so he knew it wasn¡¯t someone coming to cause trouble, but he could still sense the battle intent of this person, which he liked. Having a desire to do battle while suppressing the instinct to kill your opponent was hard and could only be achieved by continuous meditation.
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Soon a silhouette was visible coming from the trees just in front of Tianshen. It was a female with a beautiful face and long black hair, but what surprised Tianshen were not her looks, but her choice of clothes and armor. Even though Tianshen had to admit, this girl was a peerless beauty and would be considered as such even in the vast starry sky, he would not be tempted by such things. As an ancient being that lived for god-knows how many years, he met many celestial beauties and goddesses throughout his journey. Just looks were far from enough to faze a being like Tianshen.
¡®¡¯Is this girl a tomboy?¡¯¡¯ Thought Tianshen
Cao Bai came and stood about five meters opposite of Tianshen, she was impressed by what she saw. Young, extremely young. Cultivation already at the 5th Core Formation realm. She also had to admit that this boy in front of her was extremely handsome. His whole demeanor and stature screamed nothing but complete confidence and superiority. Cao Bai could already discern that much from just a look at Tianshen.
Tianshen broke the silence by saying ¡®¡¯Are you just going to stand there little girl? Did you not come here to challenge me? Or did you see how handsome I was and decided that you want to be my wife instead? Just so you know, I don¡¯t like tomboys too much, plus I¡¯m not planning to take on any wives as of yet, so you have to wait in line¡¯¡¯
What came out of the boys mouth astonished Cao Bai, a moment ago this youngster seemed so elegant and imposing, but now with his words he gave her the impression of a pervert. She instantly got mad and scolded ¡®¡¯little girl? Hahaha, I¡¯m obviously older than you by a year, how can you call me little girl? And I¡¯m not a tomboy you idiot, I¡¯m a warrior. Did you hit that head of yours somewhere and became stupid? Me marrying you? Hmph, not even in your dreams, little boy¡¯¡¯
Tianshen looked at her for a moment and laughed loudly ¡®¡¯hahaha, little girl, you are amusing, I like you already. Although you suck at trash-talking and you¡¯re a tomboy, maybe I can teach you a thing or two. Come, draw your sword¡¯¡¯
Cao Bai gritted her teeth, this boy in front of her was skilled when it comes to words, she had to admit that trying to trash-talk back was useless.
She drew her Sword, it was about two meters long and looked very heavy. She was holding it firmly with both of her hands and stood in a fighting position.
¡®¡¯Hmm, good stance, not too many openings, but still needs a lot of improvement¡¯¡¯ commented Tianshen while still standing with his hands behind his back.
Cao Bai said ¡®¡¯my father told me that you have a monstrous soul power, so I know I can¡¯t defeat you if we both went all out. So I¡¯m challenging you to a pure sword fight, if you can beat me, then you are indeed worthy of being the legacy disciple¡¯¡¯
Tianshen smiled ¡®¡¯little girl, what makes you think you are worthy for me to draw my sword?¡¯¡¯ asked Tianshen.
Cao Bai could not take any more trash-talking and made her move ¡®¡¯if you refuse to fight with your sword then I will force you to do so¡¯¡¯
She suddenly disappeared and when she reappeared she was behind Tianshen, she swung her sword at his head but before she could hit anything Tianshen was already gone. She lifted her sword up and turned around. Tianshen was standing there still with his arms crossed behind his back.
¡®¡¯Good movement skill, but that sword and heavy armor are slowing you down, practice for ten million years, and maybe you can match my speed, little girl¡¯¡¯ said Tianshen with a smile on his face. He was obviously still trash-talking the girl and messing with her.
Cao Bai was surprised, this boy that was four cultivation realms lower than her and could outmatch her speed. Plus the fact that he was commenting on her every move and trash-talking at the same time really got on her nerves.
She charged at him again¡ then again¡ then again. She was chasing him around for about an hour and was still not able to even touch him with her sword.
At this point she was sweating and looked miserable ¡®¡¯are you just going to run away all the time and avoid battle? Aren¡¯t you ashamed?¡¯¡¯ asked Cao Bai with a serious face.
¡®¡¯What is there to be ashamed of, it¡¯s not that I¡¯m running away, it¡¯s just that you¡¯re too slow to hit me. Or do you expect me to just stand there and wait for you to cut my head off?¡¯¡¯ said Tianshen mockingly.
¡®¡¯If you took that armor off maybe you would have a chance of making me draw my sword¡¯¡¯ said Tianshen with a smirk.
Cao Bai gritted her teeth and took off the armor, her delicate figure was not visible through her clothes.
Tianshen smiled and extended his hand forwards, an unimpressive one meter sword that looked very ordinary condensed in his hand, the only special thing about it was its azure color and the writing on the hilt which said ¡®Sword of Judgment¡¯.
Cao Bai was finally rejoicing that this youngster was taking her seriously.
¡®¡¯Come¡¯¡¯ said Tianshen seriously.
Cao Bai charged at him, this time she was many times faster and they soon clashed with their swords. The exchanges produced loud metal sounds that were heard throughout the mountain and the area around it.
Tianshen had to indeed admit that she was good with the sword, at least for her age.
After about one more hour of intense fighting, at least intense on Cao Bai¡¯s part, they broke apart and stood opposite each other.
¡®¡¯This final clash will decide everything¡¯¡¯ said Cao Bai in a serious manner.
¡®¡¯Oh we¡¯re done already? Okay, let¡¯s finish this then, I want to go do some more stargazing you know, I don¡¯t have time to waste on little tomboys¡¯¡¯ said Tianshen with a smile
Cao Bai gritted her teeth in anger again and tried to suppress her urge to strangle this boy in front of her.
After a moment of silence, Tianshen caught her off guard and charged first, she realized that she had to defend and got into a defensive stance, Tianshen made to swing his sword at her and she swung back to meet his attack. But at that instant when Tianshen¡¯s sword was about to hit Cao Bai¡¯s. Cao Bai saw it disappear into thin air, and that alarmed her.
What happened next, Cao Bai would not forget for the rest of her life. Tianshen moved like a snake and avoided her sword while appearing behind her, she was totally open and she thought she was done, Tianshen was going to deliver the finishing blow.
But next a slapping sound was heard throughout the mountain. Cao Bai felt a burning sensation on a part of her body she did not expect Tianshen to hit her. Yes, Tianshen had just slapped this girl¡¯s ass.
She blushed so hard her face looked like it was going to explode. She dropped her sword and started running away from the mountain while screaming in a childish voice ¡®¡¯you big bully! Pervert! You will pay for this!¡¯¡¯
Tianshen looked at his hand which also had a tingling sensation on it now ¡®¡¯maybe I hit her too hard¡¯¡¯ he thought. Then he gathered Cao Bai¡¯s armor and sword which were now on the floor and went back into his building to cultivate.
CH:8 Azure Dragon Sect Ranking Tournament
Tianshen went back to his courtyard and sat down cross legged after storing Cao Bai¡¯s things into the storage ring gifted to him by Cao Chen a couple of days ago.
It¡¯s important to mention that in the Blue Cloud country and the rest of the known continent, storage rings were divided into three categories: lower, middle, and higher quality. The lower quality had approximately a 10x10 meter space inside it. The middle ones had about 50x50 and the higher ones about 100x100.
Storage rings were only useful until a certain level of cultivation because after some point, cultivators learn how to manipulate space and can create their own portable storage space which is also many times bigger than any of the storage rings can provide.
Tianshen spent the rest of the time he had left until the Azure Dragon sect ranking tournament by diligently cultivating his Sword of Judgment, he wanted it to reach stage two so he concentrated more on the technique itself than his cultivation, as he thought that with his current strength, without overusing his soul power he could face opponents of the 1st Earth Realm.
He also started cultivating a second technique. It was a technique that he used a lot in his previous life and it helped him a lot on his road to reach the top. This technique was called the ¡®Buddha Body¡¯. By cultivating this technique one¡¯s physical strength and would advance by leaps and bounds. Not only did it increase physical strength, it also increases the body¡¯s resistance to powerful attacks.
Since he was now in the Core Formation realm, advancing was a bit harder now but it still wasn¡¯t enough to significantly slow him down. Besides the monstrous talent that he possessed for cultivation since his previous life, he now also had the vast knowledge of a transcendent being so he indeed had an unfair advantage compared to others. But considering the challenges and hardships he had to face in his previous lifetime when starting cultivation for the first time, he fully deserved what he had now.
The day of the Azure Dragon sect ranking tournament finally arrived and all three friends exited their secluded cultivation. Tianshen was still at the 5th Core Formation realm, Bingyue was the same. While Wentian was now at the 7th Core Formation realm.
They never dreamt that their speed of advancement would be so monstrous after Tianshen bestowed upon them the Golden Crow Flames and the Divine Ice God techniques. They finally understood that Tianshen really changed their destiny and saved the many extra years of cultivation.
Tianshen looked at both of his friends and smiled at them ¡®¡¯are you guys ready?¡¯¡¯ he asked.
They both nodded while smiling back at Tianshen. After that, they exited the building and started going down the mountain to make their way towards the main fighting stage which was located in the center of the core region. Today, all of the disciples of the Azure Dragon sect would gather around the main fighting stage and witness the fights.
It is important to mention that only disciples that were at least of the 5th Core formation realm could participate in the ranking tournament. But everyone was still welcome to come watch the battles regardless of their cultivation level.
The three of them arrived at the place where the main stage was located, the place was already flooded with people. The stage was huge, about a thousand meters wide and a thousand meters long. On one side of the stage, located on a higher ground were eleven seats of honor which were reserved for the ten elders and the legacy disciple. Around the stage were ten pavilions that were reserved for the ten core disciples and their people. And behind the pavilions around the whole stage you could see huge stands where thousands of people could sit to watch the battles.
Tianshen looked at his two friends and extended his hands, in each of his hand was a necklace.
¡®¡¯Wear them and they will hide your cultivation level from your opponents. This way you have the element of surprise. I adjusted both of them to match the level of power you possess at the moment. So if you suddenly reach a new level of power during battle they will break, so just keep that in mind¡¯¡¯ said Tianshen.
¡®¡¯Good luck, I will be watching you¡¯¡¯ he added while smiling at them.
They both took one necklace and wore it while thanking Tianshen. Then they proceeded to the stands with the rest of the disciples and waited their turn to be called up to fight. They were living with Tianshen but in the sect they were still considered outer sect disciples so they had to go wait with the others.
The ten elders and Cao Chen arrived and sat on their seats, shortly after Tianshen also arrived next to them, he greeted them and sat next to the chief. Many disciples were looking at Tianshen with veneration while some others gave him angry and jealous looks. He chose to ignore everyone as he did not have anything to prove. As far as he was concerned, if anyone had a problem with him they could openly challenge him if they dared.
Below the main seats, in each of the pavilions sat a core disciple. Some of them were alone while others had a gang of people with them. Each of the pavilions had a number above it which indicated the ranking of the core disciples.
It¡¯s worth mentioning that what differentiated the inner sect disciples from the core disciples was that the inner sect disciples were all people with cultivations between the 1st and 5th Core Formation realm while the core disciples were between the 6th and the 9th Core formation realm.
¡®¡¯The level of core disciples in this sect is weak, if it was any major sect outside of this province, the core disciples would probably be on a whole other level compared to the inner sect disciples¡¯¡¯ thought Tianshen while sighing. He really had some work to do to raise the average level of the disciples and elders in this sect if he wanted to bring back the sect to the top of the province. But he was not worried since he still around a year to do so.
In the pavilion with the number ten above it sat a youth that looked to be about sixteen years old. He was muscular and had a very large body. Tianshen checked his cultivation level and saw that it was at the 6th Core formation realm.
In the 9th through 6th pavilion sat four girls. All four of them were relatively good looking and all had cultivations of at the 7th Core formation realm. In the pavilion with the number five above it sat another boy, his facial features looked awfully similar with the guy that was currently sitting in the pavilion that had the number one above it. But what surprised Tianshen about this guy was that he had a lower cultivation that the three girls that were ranked below him. He was at the 6th Core formation level, so Tianshen assumed that this guys was relatively talented since he could most likely fight people with at least one cultivation level higher than him.
In the 4th pavilion sat a person that looked much older than the others. He actually looked like he was in his late twenties. He had a smile on his face while looking at everyone but Tianshen could tell that that smile was fake and he was actually a cunning fox.
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In the 3rd pavilion sat a boy that looked very young but very ordinary and unimpressive at the same time. He looked to be about fourteen years old, the same age as Tianshen. He was at the 8th Core formation realm. Something about this boy gave Tianshen an ominous feeling. His gut told him that this boy was not as simple as he looked.
Unlike the other pavilions that Tianshen observed before, in the second one he saw a face that was familiar to him. She was stunningly beautiful with delicate facial features. It was Cao Bai, the moment Tianshen looked at her, she looked back at him, blushed, and with a ¡®¡¯hmph¡¯¡¯ turned her head around.
Tianshen suddenly had a cunning evil smile on his face. He suddenly stood up, which drew a lot of gazes towards him. He then proceeded to walk down from the platform that the main seats were located and started walking towards one of the pavilions. People started to whisper and speculate what kind of trouble this demon was going to cause this time. When everyone saw that Tianshen was walking towards the 2nd pavilion, everyone gasped.
¡®¡¯Did he really like older sister Cao Bai so much that he had to approach her now in front of everyone? Isn¡¯t this a bit excessive?¡¯¡¯ some people said.
Then someone else speculated ¡®¡¯maybe he knows that she is strong and just wants to challenge her¡¯¡¯
People¡¯s thoughts were running wild at that moment. Then one of the elders on the platform turned to Cao Chen and said ¡®¡¯Chief, I understand that your daughter is a peerless beauty, but isn¡¯t this the wrong time for Tianshen to confess?¡¯¡¯
Cao Chen knew that his daughter went to challenge Tianshen, but for the past week, whenever he attempted to ask her about the result she was just blushing crazily then always acted like she had just remembered something important she had to do and then ran off.
¡®¡¯little Bai challenged Tianshen to a battle about a week ago, so I don¡¯t think Tianshen is going there to confess to her. Maybe they became friends after their battle¡¯¡¯ said Cao Chen while smiling. But deep inside, he did not mind if his daughter and Tianshen fell in love with each other. Tianshen was a monstrous genius with an unmeasurable future, and the legacy disciple of his sect. Plus Cao Chen really liked the boy¡¯s demeanor too do he thought that it was his daughter¡¯s good fortune to find a man like Tianshen.
When Wentian and Bingyue saw Tianshen walking towards Cao Bai, Wentian reacted with a big smile. He really admired this guy¡¯s luck with women. Bingyue was less than amused, she just hmphed and said ¡®¡¯pervert¡¯¡¯ with a dissatisfied face.
At this moment Tianshen was outside of Cao Bai¡¯s pavilion, she was looking at him with a dissatisfied face. She knew this guy was causing a ruckus in front of everyone on purpose but she didn¡¯t know the reason.
¡®¡¯Maybe he wants to humiliate me in front of everyone because he defeated me in a sword fight?¡¯¡¯ she thought to herself and suddenly frowned.
Tianshen produced a set of armor and a sword from his storage ring and walked up to her, with a louder than usual voice and deceivingly polite smile he said ¡®¡¯little Bai, you forgot your armor and sword at my place from the other night, you should be more careful and not forget your stuff next time you decide to pay me a night visit okay?¡¯¡¯
Everyone around had their mouths open, including the elders and Cao Chen.
¡®¡¯Aren¡¯t they a bit too young to be spending nights together?¡¯¡¯ Thought Cao Chen.
People started whispering and making all kinds of assumptions about what kind of nights Tianshen and Cao Bai had together. Wentian and Bingyue were also as surprised as everyone else. Wentian now had an even bigger grin on his face, this brother of his indeed had some amazing methods when it comes to women. Bingyue was mumbling something about perverts while staring at Tianshen angrily.
Cao Bai was red from top to bottom as this point. She was glaring at Tianshen and was looking like she was ready to explode from anger. Never in her wildest dreams did she expect that Tianshen was this cunning. He was clearly taking advantage of her. She wanted to jump into a hole to hide from embarrassment.
She tried to calm herself down while also trying to convince herself that it wasn¡¯t a big deal.
After that she quickly stored her armor inside her storage ring while sheathing the sword behind her back.
¡®¡¯Thank you for returning my things brother Tianshen, I will surely visit you soon to learn more sword skills from you¡¯¡¯ she said while forcing a smile.
¡®¡¯Of course little Bai, you¡¯re welcome to join me any night to learn my sword skills¡¯¡¯ said Tianshen while turning and walking back towards the platform, giving zero chance to Cao Bai to reply to him.
She gritted her teeth ¡®¡¯I will strangle this guy for sure after this tournament¡¯¡¯ she thought.
Tianshen returned to his seat and soon everyone went back to speculating and discussing about the tournament that was about to start.
¡®¡¯Chief Cao Chen, do not misunderstand, I was really just teaching little Bai sword skills since she is still very lacking¡¯¡¯ said Tianshen with an apologetic look.
Cao Chen thought about it for a moment then patted Tianshen¡¯s shoulder and said with a laugh
¡®¡¯hahaha, of course Tianshen, my precious daughter is in your care, you better not disappoint me¡¯¡¯
Something told Tianshen that this Cao Chen really took his joke too seriously and wasn;t following the situation so he just went along with it.
¡®¡¯Of course¡¯¡¯ he smiled at Cao Chen.
¡®¡¯By the way, chief Cao Chen, who is that guy in the first pavilion?¡¯¡¯ asked Tianshen.
¡®¡¯That is Kong Zhi¡¯s eldest son, Kong Feng. He is not far away from the Earth realm and will probably soon have a breakthrough¡¯¡¯ said Cao Chen. He then leaned towards Tianshen¡¯s ear and whispered ¡®¡¯Be careful with this one, he is strong and he has been after the legacy disciple position for a while now, he will most likely cause trouble for you in the future¡¯¡¯
¡®¡¯Chief Cao Chen, do I look like the person that can be easily messed with? If he comes looking for trouble it will only seal his fate¡¯¡¯ said Tianshen emotionlessly.
Cao Chen nodded in approval. A bit more time then passed and everyone was now present for the event.
Cao Chen the stood up ¡®¡¯Disciples and elders of the Azure Dragon sect, I welcome you to our yearly ranking tournament. I hope each and every one of you had cultivated diligently for the past year so you can come on to the stage today and fight for a chance to become a core disciple. Vice chief Kong Zhi will now explain the rules of the tournament¡¯¡¯
Kong Zhi then stood up and gestured with his hand, next moment three servants brought a huge crystal about the size of a human, and put it in the middle of the stage.
¡®¡¯This year we have way more participants compared to last year which is something to be happy about. But alas we still need to have an elimination round before the actual tournament starts. This crystal will measure your talent, you will use your soul power on the crystal and it will indicate the level of your talent by changing color¡¯¡¯
¡®¡¯There are five colors, white means ordinary talent, yellow means above average, red means good, blue means great and purple means excellent. Now everyone that is of the 5th Core formation realm and above line up and wait for your turn. I don¡¯t think I need to mention that if you are below the 5th Core formation realm and plan to sneak into the competition, the crystal will release a lethal attack and you will die. Core disciples are also not exempted from this preliminary test¡¯¡¯
CH:9 The Talent Test
Kong Zhi Continued speaking ¡®¡¯The top 100 most talented people will proceed to the main competition, the rest will be eliminated¡¯¡¯
Many people thought it was unfair for them to be eliminated in the preliminary round before even getting a chance to fight, but this is how the cultivation world worked. Your talent for cultivation is everything, it indicates how far you can reach and how strong you can become during your lifetime. The sect only wants to put their resources into talented people that can bring them success in the future.
At this point it is important to mention that being a cultivator was not your only choice in the cultivation world. The world had countless mortals who had no talent for cultivation and therefore lived ordinary lives. The difference was that their lifespan was much shorter than that of a cultivator. Some people that had low cultivation talent chose to become alchemists or blacksmiths. Some others even sought to change their fate by risking their life in tombs left by famous cultivators.
In some corners of the world, certain alchemists and blacksmiths were treated with greater respect than cultivators. Especially the ones that were talented in cultivation, alchemy and blacksmithing at the same time.
But at the end of the day, a strong cultivator held absolute authority and power in this world, some alchemists and blacksmiths had a great reputation because they excelled in what they did and made great fortunes because of it. But if it ever came down to a dispute between a strong cultivator and a famous alchemist, the strong cultivator would obliterate him.
At this point people started lining up in front of the crystal, there were about a thousand of them that wanted to participate. Wentian and Bingyue were in the back of the line, they were wearing outer sect robes and did not want to attract attention to themselves. So they kid behind the crowd of inner core disciples.
Then suddenly Kong Feng spoke from the first pavilion to his father ¡®¡¯Father, we should let the core disciples do the test first since it¡¯s going to take too long for all these people to finish the test¡¯¡¯
Kong Zhi smiled at his son, then turned back and looked at Cao Chen, who in turn nodded to Kong Zhi and said ¡®¡¯sure why not? They are core disciples after all, they should have privileges¡¯¡¯
¡®¡¯Okay then, we will start from the core disciples, Feng¡¯er you go first then¡¯¡¯ said Kong Zhi proudly with a confident expression. He was sure that this son of his will most likely be the most talented out of the bunch, but even if he wasn¡¯t, he was still the strongest so there was no need to worry at all.
Kong Feng walked out of his pavilion and people started cheering for him, he was really popular in the sect and a lot of people aspired to be like him. That was probably also one of the reasons why he disliked Tianshen so much and wanted to take the legacy disciple position from him, because now he had to share the glory and attention with someone else besides Cao Bai.
He walked up to the crystal and touched it with his hand, then released his soul power. The crystal then started changing colors, after a moment it settled on a deep blue, which meant that he was in the upper limit of the blue category.
The crowd burst into cheers, their first core disciple had a great talent. Some people were now wondering what kind of talent Tianshen had and were regretting that he was not participating in the competition since they felt like they were missing out on a good show.
But before everyone knew it, Kong Feng spoke again, but this time he was directly speaking to Tianshen.
¡®¡¯brother Tianshen, everyone knows that you are now our legacy disciple. But not many people know what kind of talent you have. I don¡¯t mean to be rude, but how do we know that you are even qualified to sit in the position that you are sitting in now?¡¯¡¯ he said with a smirk, totally not trying to hide his hostility.
Cao Bai that was watching from her pavilion had a smirk on her face ¡®¡¯this idiot doesn¡¯t know what he¡¯s getting himself into¡¯¡¯ she thought.
Tianshen looked at his with a blank expression and replied ¡®¡¯I have nothing to prove to anyone here, the chief and elders picked me to be your legacy disciple, are you saying that you don¡¯t trust their judgment?¡¯¡¯
Kong Feng looked taken aback, he did not expect this Tianshen to be so good at arguing. He hurried to fix the situation ¡®¡¯Of course I¡¯m not saying that, but I think everyone here is still curious about what talent our legacy disciple possesses. I¡¯m asking you if you want to participate with us so everyone can witness it. If you don¡¯t dare, you don¡¯t have to of course¡¯¡¯
Tianshen¡¯s face went from expressionless to a slight smile ¡®¡¯so be it, I will go after everyone is done¡¯¡¯ he replied to Kong Feng. If this Kong Feng really wanted to be humiliated so much then he wouldn¡¯t mind doing it.
Kong Feng was walking back to his pavilion while Cao Bai was passing next to him to go next. She was not wearing any armor which surprised people, she looked even more beautiful. Their eyes met and she said to him ¡®¡¯you think your talent is better that everyone else here? Don¡¯t make me laugh¡¯¡¯
People seemed to also cheer for Cao Bai a lot, although most of her fans were males unlike Kong Feng. She then touched the crystal and released her soul power, Tianshen could feel that it was clearly more powerful than the one Kong Feng released so he already knew what the result would be and he smiled.
After a moment the crystal turned deep blue, and then slowly changed to light purple, and settled there. People started cheering even louder than before, nobody expected that Cao Bai would be more talented than Kong Feng. That means it was only a matter of time before her cultivation passed his.
Cao Chen laughed loudly while Kong Zhi had an ugly expression on his face but then quickly calmed down. ¡®¡¯This doesn¡¯t mean anything¡¯¡¯ he thought.
Cao Bai was not walking back with a smile and announced to everyone with a loud voice ¡®¡¯this year¡¯s first place is definitely mine!¡¯¡¯ while lifting her fist to the sky.
People were cheering, their blood was boiling, and they were excited for the competition that was going to begin soon.
¡®¡¯If I was you I wouldn¡¯t be so sure¡¯¡¯ thought Tianshen to himself while smiling.
Next came the boy from the 3rd pavilion ¡®¡¯Miss Cao Bai, don¡¯t underestimate the rest of us, you might be surprised by the end of this competition¡¯¡¯ he said with a smile and then proceeded to touch the crystal.
It instantly turned deep blue and then stopped at light purple like Cao Bai. People were surprised nobody expected this. One purple was already amazing but two from three was really unexpected.
The youth calmly walked back while still having a smile on his face. He did not mind that people were cheering less for him.
Tianshen turned to Cao Chen and asked ¡®¡¯chief, who is that boy?¡¯¡¯
Cao Chen replied ¡®¡¯His name is Jin Ju, he joined our sect last year and climbed the ladders pretty fast and at the end claimed 3rd place in the last year¡¯s ranking tournament¡¯¡¯
¡®¡¯you should watch out¡¯¡¯ said Tianshen with a serious look.
¡®¡¯you noticed too?¡± Asked Cao Chen with a surprised face.
Tianshen nodded to him and then they stayed silent while watching the rest of the preliminaries.
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The talent test was proceeding smoothly and there were no surprises anymore after the first three core disciples. The 4th ranked core disciple had a deep red color crystal, the 5th which was Kong Feng¡¯s brother Kong Jie got a light blue, then the rest of the core disciples all got deep red.
Then the inner disciples started approaching and touching the crystal one by one, some of them got white and others got yellow, then there was the occasional red, a couple of them even got light blue.
The elders were all keeping track of the colors so they can rank the top hundred. The elders understood how the crystal functions better than anyone else since they were the ones that created it. Yes, the crystal only had five colors to it but the result also depended a lot on how light or deep the color is. Being strong, experienced cultivators, their eyesight was much sharper than any disciple¡¯s.
Then came Wentian¡¯s turn. It was at that moment when most people finally noticed that there were two people with outer sect disciple robes within the participants.
¡®¡¯Shameless bastards wanted to sneak into the competition, they deserve punisgment!¡¯¡¯ some people shouted from the crowd.
¡®¡¯Are they trying to get themselves killed or something?¡¯¡¯ commented the 10th core disciple with disdain.
¡®¡¯Haha, insects will be insects at the end of the day¡¯¡¯ laughed Kong Jie
Kong Zhi who was the main judge besides Cao Chen looked at Wentian and Bingyue and said ¡®¡¯you know what if your cultivation level is not sufficient you will die?¡¯¡¯
Wentian nodded with a confident look. As far as he was concerned this was his time to shine, he spent the past two years in the outer sect getting bullied by others and learned almost absolutely nothing. Then he spent two weeks with Tianshen and advanced by leaps and bounds, he wanted to make his brother Tianshen proud and nothing would stand in his way.
¡®¡¯If you are sure then proceed¡¯¡¯ said Kong Zhi with a nonchalant look, they could both die for all he cared. The only thing he cared for was for Kong Feng to get first place again.
Wentian walked up to the crystal and before touching it, he looked at Tianshen who was sitting on the platform. Tianshen smiled at him and nodded.
¡®¡¯Look guys, eldest brother Tianshen just nodded at him¡¯¡¯ someone said
¡®¡¯Wait aren¡¯t those two the disciples that Tianshen took from the outer sect? Could it be that they already reached 5th Core formation realm? That¡¯s unthinkable!¡¯¡¯ someone else said.
Almost everyone noticed the brief interaction Wentian had with Tianshen and understood the connection. Most people already knew that there were two more people living on the lonely peak with Tianshen, and they were both outer sect disciples. But rumors said that one of them defeated two Ice God sect inner disciples when they went to the lonely peak to cause trouble.
Everyone was now curious as to how these two would do.
Wentian then touched the crystal, it didn¡¯t even change colors before it settled on one, like what happened with the others. This time when Wentian touched it, instantly turned a very deep purple color and almost started turning black but Wentian suddenly took his hand away, and silently walked back towards the line.
Tianshen suddenly smiled brightly ¡®¡¯so he did it, I expected nothing less¡¯¡¯ he thought to himself.
Everyone was astonished, some elders had a smile on their face while a couple of others had an ugly expression. Cao Chen was smiling and turned towards his right ¡®¡¯Tianshen, your methods are indeed extraordinary, how did you manage to make them grow so much in such a short amount of time?¡¯¡¯ he asked curiously.
Tianshen just smiled back at Cao Chen and did not reply. Cao Chen took no offense from that, he was already used to Tianshen being mysterious and he did not mind Tianshen not telling him his methods. He was happy that he stumbled upon Tianshen and thought that he made the right choice of risking to make him the legacy disciple.
Then Bingyue walked up to the crystal, she was very shy and never did well around huge crowds like this. She was trembling a bit and was obviously quite nervous. Unlike Wentian, she had zero confidence in herself, nobody except Tianshen ever praised her or showed that they care.
While she was still looking down on the floor, being nervous. Suddenly someone touched her hand, she trembled a bit and looked up. The she saw Tianshen¡¯s face smiling at her while holding her hand.
¡®¡¯There is nothing to be afraid of Bingyue, whatever happens I¡¯m always going to be there to protect you, if you fail I will help you succeed, if you fall I will pick you up, if someone wants to hurt you I will slaughter them, there is nothing in this world that should make you nervous or afraid when you are by my side¡¯¡¯ said Tianshen with a smile.
For Bingyue, Tianshen¡¯s voice right now was like that of a guardian angel. She suddenly felt safe and more confident that she ever felt before. Then Tianshen disappeared and reappeared back on his seat. Many people in the crowd did not even see how he moved which amazed them.
¡®¡¯What a great movement technique¡¯¡¯ whispered Cao Bai to herself
She saw how close Tianshen and Xia Bingyue were and she could not help but feel a bit jealous. But she suppressed those feelings very fast.
Xia Bingyue gathered up her courage and touched the crystal while unleashing her soul power.
Much like Wentian, the crystal instantly turned deep purple and then black but Bingyue also took her hand away in time before it completely turned black.
People were surprised, Kong Zhi clearly stated that purple was the last color and mentioned nothing about black but two people looked like they were going to get it before they obviously stopped on purpose. People cheered for Bingyue, they found her really cute so everyone took a liking to her, plus he talent was monstrous.
Then about a dozen more people tried out the crystal without any significant results. That was when Tianshen stood up and walked towards the crystal with an emotionless face. Some elders and disciples that witnessed the Ice God sect incident knew what it means when Tianshen¡¯s expression turns blank and emotionless, that is when the inner demon comes out, it is like he is a totally different person. Some elders knew that he was generally a very cheerful and polite person, and especially so with the people that were treating him with respect. But they also knew that there was another side of him that was reserved only for the unlucky bastards who tried to stand in his way or humiliated the people close to him. For those people he was capable of turning into a God of judgment that valued human lives no more than the lives of bugs.
Tianshen stood in front of the crystal and released his soul power without even touching it. Everyone suddenly felt an intense pressure, it felt like they were suffocating but they still tried their best to keep watching the crystal.
But they were disappointed because before they knew it, the crystal instantly turned black and after a second it shattered into pieces.
It was dead silent now and nobody was speaking, if a needle fell to the ground now everyone would probably hear it.
Tianshen then turned emotionlessly towards Kong Feng who was now sitting in his pavilion, completely astonished ¡®¡¯Convinced?¡¯¡¯ he asked him while looking him straight in the eyes.
Kong Feng felt like those eyes resembled two dark holes that could swallow everything in this world.
CH:10 Wentians Anger
Kong Feng tried his best to quickly calm himself down. He did not want other people to think that he was afraid of Tianshen. He proceeded to put on a fake smile and while acting confident said ¡®¡¯Ah bad luck brother Tianshen, I guess we will never know if you have a good talent since the crystal was obviously faulty and it broke as soon as you released some soul power¡¯¡¯
¡®¡¯Of course it was faulty¡¯¡¯ said Tianshen sarcastically. Then he just turned around and walked back to his seat like nothing happened.
Although Kong Feng was arrogant, he was no idiot so he picked up on Tianshen¡¯s sarcasm.
¡®¡¯Just you wait¡¯¡¯ he thought to himself. As far as Kong Feng was concerned, after he won this competition, Tianshen was next in line.
But just as Kong Feng thought that he would get away with his ridiculous claim of the crystal being faulty, Cao Bai who was still sitting in her pavilion turned to him and said ¡®¡¯Kong Feng, didn¡¯t you humiliate yourself enough already? When will you understand that the world does not revolve around you and there are people out there that are much more talented than you? There must be a limit to how shameless one can be¡¯¡¯
Kong Feng¡¯s face turned ugly, he pointed his finger at Cao Bai and said angrily ¡®¡¯losers have no right to speak to me, the truth of the words one speaks have zero significance in front of absolute power. And while I¡¯m the absolute power among the disciples here, your words aren¡¯t worth anything. Soon you will receive a beating like you did last year so just sit tight¡¯¡¯
Cao Bai did not get angry with his words, she just turned around and with a serious face said ¡®¡¯we¡¯ll see about that¡¯¡¯.
The crowd obviously heard this exchange between Kong Feng and Cao Bai, they started to get excited for the competition that was to come. The number one and number two core disciples were at it again, these two never got along ever since they were still kids. But their conflicts never escalated since both of their fathers were the chief and vice-chief of the sect.
Kong Zhi was still staring at the now broken crystal, the disciples did not know it but the crystal indeed had another color to it which was black, and the reason the elders mutually decided to not mention the color was for two reasons. First, they wanted to hide it from the disciples so that they thought that purple was the highest, so their confidence would not drop as much when knowing that nobody could reach the highest color. And second, when it comes to talent, black color meant inestimable, so they really did not believe that anyone could reach it to begin with.
¡®¡¯Kong Zhi, let us proceed to the main event¡¯¡¯ said Cao Chen.
Kong Zhi suddenly came back to his senses, he already estimated that Tianshen¡¯s talent was monstrous so this wasn¡¯t a big surprise to him. What surprised him the most were the other two who managed to turn the crystal black for a moment. And they removed their hands as soon as it turned black so that meant that they were trying to hide their talent.
Kong Zhi knew that these two were just some nobodies from the outer sect until two weeks ago. But now suddenly two more monsters appeared besides Tianshen. This told him on thing, Tianshen had some extraordinary secrets about cultivation. Kong Zhi¡¯s mind was running wild with greed now, he had to get his hands on those secrets.
He left those thoughts behind for now though and started explaining the competition to the hundred people that were left.
¡®¡¯This year¡¯s competition will go as follows, the main stage will be further divided into ten smaller stages that will be numbered from one to ten. The core disciples will step onto the stage according to their ranking. As for the other hundred challengers, they will draw numbers at random from this box, what number you draw indicates which stage you will be fighting on. Once everyone draws a number, each stage should have eleven fighters. Then the people on the stages will fight it out until only two people remain standing on the stage. That way we will reach the top twenty, after that, I will further explain how we will proceed with the rest of the tournament¡¯¡¯ explained Kong Zhi.
Then he added ¡®¡¯It is also important to mention that once there are two people left on one stage, further fighting is prohibited. If you are knocked out of the stage¡¯s boundaries, it¡¯s considered a loss. You are also not allowed to knock out all your opponents at the same time even if you have the power to do so, since we need two people at the end. And one last thing, you are not allowed to kill. That is all, let us proceed to the first phase of the tournament¡¯¡¯
Cao Chen then stood up and took out a jade pendant in the shape of an azure dragon. He then lifted it high in the air. The stage started responding to the pendant and slowly started splitting itself in ten smaller stages that were all the same in size. After a moment the process was completed, there were now ten stages which were numbered from one to ten.
The core disciples all stood up and walked out of their pavilions. They all then walked up on the stage according to their rankings.
Kong Zhi the gestured with his hand and the servants brought out a big box and placed it down in front of the hundred challengers.
¡®¡¯line up and draw your number, then proceed to the corresponding stage¡¯¡¯ said Kong Zhi.
The hundred challengers started drawing numbers and climbing onto the stages. At this moment it was Bingyue¡¯s turn, she put her hand inside the box and took out the number ten.
Then Wentian took out the number five.
¡®¡¯Bingyue, no need to be nervous, remember, Tianshen is watching¡¯¡¯ said Wentian with a smile
¡®¡¯don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m no longer nervous Wentian¡¯¡¯ said Bingyue with a smile and then turned and looked at Tianshen who was smiling at her from the platform.
¡®¡¯Looks like Tianshen really managed to boost up her confidence¡¯¡¯ Wentian thought.
Both of them wished each other good luck and climbed their stages. After some more minutes everyone drew their numbers and each stage now had eleven people on it.
At this point everyone was trying to sense each other¡¯s cultivation. The muscular 10th core disciple was standing confidently on the stage, he suddenly frowned when he realized that he could not sense Bingyue¡¯s cultivation. This made him nervous but he did not show it.
He knew that none of the other participants would try to attack him since he was stronger than them. Instead they would probably try to go for the weakest ones first and fight it out with each other until one of them was remaining. Many people were content with only entering the top twenty.
At this point everyone already picked their targets for when the battle started. Wentian also observed his opponents. Since he was at the 7th Core Formation realm, he was not worried about this stage of the tournament. At this point not even the 5th ranked core disciple Kong Jie would be his match, even if he could fight opponents one realm higher than him.
The reason for that was that after Wentian mastered the second stage of the Golden Crow flames, his combat prowess increased dramatically, he was estimating that he could now fight opponents that were two realms higher than him. He was sure Bingyue was the same so he did not worry about her either.
Kong Jie did not know this though, and being the brother of Kong Feng and growing up while looking up to his older brother, he did not differ much from him in terms of arrogance and conceitedness.
Kong Jie looked at everyone and said arrogantly ¡®¡¯if any one of you dares to attack me, you will end up miserable, you better fight it out between yourselves and act like I don¡¯t exist, understood?¡¯¡¯
The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. The disciples did not like him, but considering this guy¡¯s status there was really nothing they could do, plus they were not confident in beating him anyway.
Wentian was the only one that ignored what Kong Jie said. He suddenly sat down cross legged and closed his eyes.
¡®¡¯Hey you! Are you deaf?¡¯¡¯ Shouted Kong Jie angrily.
Wentian kept ignoring him and continued his mediation like nobody around him existed.
Kong Jie gritted his teeth and said to the other disciples ¡®¡¯As soon as the battle starts, I want you guys to knock that guy off the stage first, maybe break a leg or an arm too as punishment for ignoring me¡¯¡¯
The others sighed, they really did not want to do it, but this guy really asked for it.
Kong Zhi now returned to his seat, then Cao Chen stood up and shouted ¡®¡¯Let the Battles begin!¡¯¡¯
As soon as Cao Chen shouted, the crowd¡¯s cheers started to get louder and louder, everyone was very excited to see the battles. Some were keeping a special eye on Wentian and Bingyue since they were now considered dark horse in the tournament. Their talent turned out to be greater than everyone else¡¯s so no logical person would underestimate them.
On Bingyue¡¯s stage, as soon as the battle started, chaos instantly ensued. People started fighting each other left and right and Qi attacks were flying everywhere. One girl saw Bingyue standing in one corner of the stage and charged towards her with a sword.
Bingyue responded instantly ¡®¡¯Divine Ice God stage one, Frozen sword¡¯¡¯
A beautiful sword made entirely out of ice materialized in Bingyue¡¯s hand.
¡®¡¯A sword made out of ice? Little girl, you underestimate me too much!¡¯¡¯ shouted the female disciple while swinging her sword at Bingyue.
Bingyue met the girl¡¯s attack with her own sword. They clashed and surprisingly, the sword of the female disciple was cut through like butter. Bingyue was careful not to hurt the other disciple as she was too gentle and innocent.
The female disciple fell on the floor shocked. Bingyue put her ice sword towards the neck of the female disciple and said ¡®¡¯you should surrender now¡¯¡¯.
The female disciple had no other choice ¡®¡¯I surrender¡¯¡¯ she said reluctantly.
She then jumped down from the stage. At the same time four more people were knocked off the 10th stage. There were now six remaining, and they were all looking for an easy opponent. They all turned and looked at Bingyue, because she was just eleven years old, she seemed like the youngest and weakest one. But looks can be deceiving. Bingyue suddenly released her soul power and instilled her Divine Ice God Qi into it. Suddenly the temperature on the 10th stage dropped dramatically and it started freezing rapidly.
The soul power that Bingyue released combined with the chilling cold made the disciples understand that she was not an opponent that they could handle, even though they could not sense her cultivation at all.
They suddenly turned and picked other targets and started fighting among themselves.
At the same time that all of this was happening. On the 5th stage, the disciples that were ordered to beat Wentian were all closing in on Wentian who was still sitting cross legged with his eyes closed.
But they noticed that the closer they got to him, the hotter they got. It was abnormally hot.
When they were ten meters away from him they found that the heat was now almost unbearable.
Suddenly Wentian opened his eyes and said ¡®¡¯Golden Crow Flames first stage, Divine Golden Flame¡¯¡¯ he then opened his mouth and spit fire around himself.
The disciples instantly backed away as the heat was now hurting them even though they were not directly touching the flames.
¡®¡¯I don¡¯t want to hurt you guys, you better stay away from me for the rest of this tournament or the consequences will be severe¡¯¡¯ said Wentian to the disciples while releasing some killing intent that made a chill run down their spine.
Tianshen who was watching from the platform smiled ¡®¡¯this rascal really learned well, that killing intent is not too bad for his level¡¯¡¯
The disciples all turned to Kong Jie with an apologetic look, they could not even approach this guy, much less beat him.
Kong Jie was feeling nervous at this point ¡®¡¯this guy is much stronger than I thought, I better not risk it and take out the others quickly so I can advance¡¯¡¯ he thought to himself.
He then released his soul power and Qi and charges at the disciples, they really were no match for him, one by one they started flying off the stage and landing heavily on the floor. They all ended up in a miserable shape.
Wentian was observing from behind the wall of flames that he was surrounded by.
¡®¡¯This guy shows no mercy even though they are people from the same sect, what a disgusting guy¡¯¡¯
Kong Jie made quick work of almost all of them, now there was only one left, he was laying on the floor terrified of what was to come. He saw how merciless this Kong jie was. Some of his fellow disciples were now laying outside of the stage with broken bones, some of those injuries may even be irreversible.
Kong Jie made to grab the disciple by the head but at that moment he felt a scorching sensation on his hand that was burning through his skin.
¡®¡¯Argh!¡¯¡¯ He immediately jumped back ten meters while shouting in pain and holding his hand.
He lifted his head up and saw Wentian standing next to the disciple that he was just going to attack.
¡®¡¯How dare you hit me? You will suffer greatly for this!¡¯¡¯ shouted Kong Jie angrily.
Wentian looked at him with an angry face ¡®¡¯a worthless dog like you who does not show mercy to his fellow brothers and sisters of the same sect has no right to participate in this competition. Let¡¯s see how you like being treated the same way¡¯¡¯ said Wentian.
He then released his soul power and his Golden Crow Flame which was now surrounding his whole body. It looked like his whole body was on fire now, but the flames had no effect on him.
¡®¡¯Look Wentian is about to fight Kong Jie!¡¯¡¯ someone in the crowd shouted.
Suddenly everyone¡¯s attention was turned to the fifth stage. Kong Zhi who was sitting at the platform with the rest of the elders frowned ¡®¡¯this is not good¡¯¡¯ he thought.
Before Kong Jie could make a move, Wentian moved extremely fast and landed a punch on his face. Not to mention the force of the punch, the fire was also burning his face.
¡®¡¯AAAARGHH!!¡¯¡¯ Kong Jie flew ten meters back from the punch and landed on the floor of the stage with a bang.
The crowd was surprised by Wentian¡¯s strength and how easily he was beating Kong Jie.
Loud cheers were now resounding throughout the whole arena. Wentian was quickly becoming a crowd favorite. His demeanor somewhat reminded the crowd of Tianshen, although Wentian showed much more emotion than Tianshen.
Wentian now retracted his soul power and Golden Crow Flame. He then proceeded to slowly walk towards Kong Jie.
He stopped in front of him and took a look at his face, it was now half burned from the jaw and down the neck on his left side. He was really in a miserable state.
Wentian crouched down and grabbed him by the hair while looking at his face with disgust.
¡®¡¯I wonder, do pieces of trash like you feel any regret in situations like these?¡¯¡¯ asked Wentian.
Kong Jie spoke through his gritted teeth and blood flowing out of his mouth ¡®¡¯my brother is going to kill you for sure in the next round of the competition¡¯¡¯
¡®¡¯you should be more concerned about yourself now¡¯¡¯ said Wentian. And while holding Kong Jie by the hair, he slammed his face on to the stage floor. Some of his teeth instantly shattered and flew out of his mouth, blood was now dripping from all over Kong Jie¡¯s face to the stage floor.
On the first stage Kong Feng was gripping his fists so tightly that some blood was visible.
¡®¡¯You will die, I swear I will kill you in the next round!¡¯¡¯ he shouted.
Kong Zhi was also far from happy at this point, but he still had to maintain apperances as an elder so he couldn¡¯t intervene.
He stood up and shouted ¡®¡¯Jie¡¯er, surrender!¡¯¡¯
Kong Jie hear his father and was just about to open his mouth to surrender, but before he could make a sound, his head was slammed into the stage floor again, then again¡then again.
By this point his face was unrecognizable. Wentian then stood up while still holding him by the hair and dragged him to the edge of the 5th arena and threw him out like he was a piece of trash.
¡®¡¯You¡¯re lucky that we¡¯re not allowed to kill¡¯¡¯ said Wentian angrily and then turned around, walked to the other disciple and said to him ¡®¡¯Congratulations for making the top twenty¡¯¡¯.
The disciple stood up and bowed down to Wentian¡¯¡¯ Thank you older brother Wentian for saving me and avenging our brothers¡¯¡¯
¡®¡¯don¡¯t mention it, soon pieces of trash like him will not have a place in our sect anymore¡¯¡¯ said Wentian.
Cao Chen then stood up and shouted ¡®¡¯Stage five, match over!¡¯¡¯
The crowd then burst into loud cheers.
CH:11 Top Ten
The whole crowd was cheering for Wentian, but he did not seem to care much. As far as he was concerned, defeating Kong Jie meant nothing, he was aiming for the top so if there were no miscalculations on his part, he knew that at some point he would either have to fight Cao Bai or Kong Feng. Wentian knew that he was probably not a match for any of the two with his current strength, but his competitive nature and his cultivator¡¯s spirit would never let him step away from a challenge like this.
He was taught by Tianshen that a cultivator¡¯s spirit should be indomitable, that is what separated a great cultivator from a regular one. As a cultivator, you should be able to live your life how you want, with no regrets. You should be able to face any adversity or even death itself if necessary.
Wentian ignored the loud cheers, sat cross-legged in the middle of the stage and closed his eyes to cultivate.
Kong Zhi landed next to his son who was now being treated for his injuries. He looked at his unconscious and now deformed face and frowned. He knew it would be hard to reverse the heavy damage inflicted on his face. Half of it looked scorched and the other half beaten to a pulp.
He pulled out a pill and fed it to Kong Jie hastily, suddenly a pleasant green aura surrounded Kong Jie.
Kong Zhi turned to the healers and said with a grim face ¡®¡¯take him to the infirmary, you better do your best to fix him unless you all want to die¡¯¡¯
The healers all gulped from fear, bowed to Kong Zhi, then took Kong Jie away.
Kong Zhi took one last glance at Wentian, then looked at Kong Feng as if he was saying ¡®¡¯you know what to do¡¯¡¯. Kong Feng nodded at his father without saying a word, then proceeded to beating everyone on his stage. It was not even a challenge for him, soon only him and one more disciple were left on the stage.
Cao Chen announced the stage one battle to be also over.
On the 10th stage there were only 3 people standing at the moment, the muscular 10th core disciple, Bingyue and another youth who looked to be in a pretty bad shape after all the fighting. He looked at both of his opponents and sighed, he knew he did not stand a chance against either of them.
One was the 10th core disciple and the other girl could release a Qi so cold that could make you freeze to the bone. The disciple just bowed down to both and said ¡®¡¯I know I¡¯m not a match for you two, so I concede¡¯¡¯. He then proceeded to jump down from the stage, and this was how the 10th stage battle was concluded.
On the other stages, nothing eventful was happening. The results were according to everyone¡¯s expectations, the core disciples either made quick work of their opponents or just did nothing because nobody was brave enough to attack them.
After one more hour of fighting, slowly there were only twenty people left standing on each stage. At this moment Cao Chen stood up again ¡®¡¯we will now move to the next stage of the competition. At this point I would like to let the ones that were not core disciples until now know that you will have a two hour rest and then you will have the right to challenge any core disciple you want to directly enter the top ten if you want. But if you don¡¯t want to then you will have to abandon the competition now and enter the top twenty. An exception to this is Qiu Wentian who already defeated one of the top ten¡¯¡¯ said Cao Chen.
Most of the challengers felt discouraged, but they were still happy for entering top twenty. That would put them in the top ten strongest people of the inner sect.
Tianshen also thought that this was unfair but he knew better than anyone how the world of cultivation worked. Only the strong survive, there is no room for weaklings at the top. Plus the sect still had to give the core disciples some advantages in the competition, this is what it meant to be a core disciple. You gain status and you are treated better compared to others.
Bingyue did not know who to challenge, in her eyes all these core disciples looked intimidating. And her ambitions of entering the top ten were not as big as Wentian¡¯s, not to mention she was still eleven years old so she had plenty of time to prove herself in the future. An eleven year old girl at the 5th Core Formation realm was unheard of in the Azure province.
After two hours of rest, Bingyue made the choice to challenge the muscular 10th core disciple which was the most logical choice to her.
¡®¡¯Now is anyone willing to challenge a core disciple and secure their place in the top ten?¡¯¡¯ asked Cao Chen.
Bingyue cupped her fists towards the Chief ¡®¡¯I will be challenging the 10th core disciple sect Chief¡¯¡¯.
No one else from the challengers dared to fight any of the core disciples so they all settled to the top twenty.
Cao Chen smiled at her, he expected nothing less from Tianshen¡¯s friends. Which made him even happier because now he knew that his daughter associating with Tianshen would make her progress a lot.
¡®¡¯Okay then, everyone else move away from the stages¡¯¡¯ said Cao Chen.
Everyone moved away, then Cao Chen lifted up the dragon-shaped jade pendant again and the ten stages became one again. In the middle of the stage Bingyue was now facing the 10th core disciple.
¡®¡¯My name is Tao Wen, little girl you should have settled on top twenty. This is not a playground for kids like you. I may be the 10th ranked core disciple but if you think I¡¯m weak then you underestimated me too much¡¯¡¯ said the muscular guy confidently while staring down at Bingyue, he looked like a giant compared to her.
Bingyue just cupped her fists to him and said ¡®¡¯let¡¯s have a fair fight¡¯¡¯.
¡®¡¯Let the battle begin!¡¯¡¯ said Cao Chen.
Tao Wen immediately released his soul power and dashed towards Bingyue. It is important to mention that this Tao Wen did not use any kind of weapons. He looked like a brute giant that only used his body as a weapon.
Tao Wen formed his hand into a huge fist and punched towards Bingyue while shouting ¡®¡¯Desolation fist!¡¯¡¯.
A fist formed from soul power condensed in front of him and was now moving towards Bingyue.
Bingyue also released some soul power and condensed her ice sword. She then slashed at the incoming fist.
¡®¡¯Clang¡¯¡¯ the sword collided with the fist. But just when the crowd thought that the clash would last a bit more, the fist was suddenly cut into two and disappeared into thin air.
¡®¡¯Do you still believe that I made the wrong choice in choosing you to battle?¡¯¡¯ said Bingyue while smiling confidently.
Tianshen and Wentian laughed at the same time, they were thinking the same thing. ¡®¡¯Since when did this shy girl learn to talk trash?¡¯¡¯
¡®¡¯Don¡¯t get too cocky kid, I was just testing your power¡¯¡¯ said Tao Wen.
He then released even more soul power ¡®¡¯Iron body!¡¯¡¯
The soul power then surrounded his whole body and formed a visible thick aura around him.
He then charged at Bingyue and soon was a meter away from her. He then punched, she tried to meet the punch with her sword but she underestimated the punch.
With another ¡®¡¯clang¡¯¡¯ sound, fist and sword collided, but this time Bingyue was sent flying 10 meters away. She landed on her back but did not receive much damage since she defended correctly with her sword.Stolen novel; please report.
¡®¡¯Little girl, I don¡¯t like bullying kids, you should surrender while you can¡¯¡¯ said Tao Wen.
He was acting righteous but there was an obvious arrogance to his tone.
Bingyue could feel his arrogance and that made her lose confidence, the Qi and soul power around her was becoming chaotic and unstable. During the time she spent with Tianshen and Wentian, she did not do much fighting but she always learned from watching them. Especially Tianshen, she wanted to be courageous and fearless like him, and someday protect her friends instead of them protecting her.
She really wasn¡¯t all that innocent and shy like people thought she was, with Wentian and Tianshen she was normal and outgoing, many times even trying to tease them, but she had a problem with crowds which made her lose confidence and concentration many times.
She then remembered the same words that Tianshen told to Wentian that day. ¡®¡¯A cultivator¡¯s spirit should be indomitable¡¯¡¯.
She may be a young girl barely in her teens and she did go through rough time as an orphan, but as a cultivator, through Tianshen¡¯s words, she realized that she has to put all of those feelings aside. A sudden realization hit her ¡®¡¯what does it matter what others think of me or how they look at me? As long as I have those two with me, everything else should not matter. From now on, I will also set high goals like Wentian and do my best in everything, that is the least I can do to repay Tianshen¡¯s kindness to me¡¯¡¯.
She stood up and smiled. Her Qi was now fluctuating even more chaotically than before.
Tao Wen looked at her and laughed loudly ¡®¡¯HAHAHA, girl did that one punch made you lose your mind or something? What are you smiling about? You Qi is so chaotic you probably can¡¯t even fight properly like that¡¯¡¯
Tianshen who was watching from the platform smiled ¡®¡¯looks like my little Bingyue has grown yet again, this battle is over now¡¯¡¯
At this moment the necklace that Bingyue was wearing on her neck suddenly shattered into pieces and her Qi and soul power both progressed by a realm. She just had a breakthrough in the middle of a battle because of enlightenment. Her Qi then stabilized.
It¡¯s important to mention that simple enlightenment can also lead to cultivation breakthroughs, enlightenment does not necessarily have to be the realization of something deeply profound. Especially at Bingyue¡¯s age, enlightenment can come by the realization and understanding of simple things.
When people felt her cultivation they were astonished. Tao Wen no longer had an arrogant smile on his face, instead it was replaced by a frown.
¡®¡¯6th Core Formation realm? Tianshen, how old is this girl again?¡¯¡¯ Asked Cao Chen with a stunned face.
¡®¡¯She¡¯s eleven years old Chief¡¯¡¯ said Tianshen with a smile.
When the other elders that were listening heard what Tianshen said they were fully stupefied.
¡®¡¯eleven years old and at the 6th Core Formation? This is unheard of in the history of the Azure province, even the sect ancestor reached the 6th Core formation realm at twelve according to the records¡¯¡¯ commented another elder.
¡®¡¯Indeed, a peerless genius, I will take her as a personal disciple¡¯¡¯ said another elder
¡®¡¯She does not need a master¡¯¡¯ said Tianshen looking at the elder with a serious expression.
¡®¡¯Indeed, she has Tianshen to guide her on the way of cultivation, we old fogeys should stick to taking care of the sect and teaching everyone in the best way possible¡¯¡¯ said another elder with a smile.
At this moment Bingyue was looking at Tao Wen with a confident smile.
¡®¡¯I should thank you brother Tao Wen, without fighting you, I may have not reached this point. But unfortunately I have to move on in this competition because there are certain people I don¡¯t want to disappoint, so I can¡¯t thank you right now. Maybe I¡¯ll repay you someday¡¯¡¯
She then materialized her Ice Sword again, but this time she used her soul power and condensed it around the sword like Tao Wen did around his body. She was learning while fighting. Since Tao Wen used his soul power to strengthen his body and defeat her sword, she would strengthen her sword.
Tao Wen saw the thick icy aura formed around the sword and frowned, he now knew that that sword could pierce him.
Bingyue released more soul power and ice Qi and the area around her started to rapidly freeze. She did not use any fancy moves or techniques, she just charged at Tao Wen. He knew that the sword could probably pierce him now but he still had his pride so he chose to take it head on with his hands.
¡®¡¯IRON BODY!!¡¯¡¯ He shouted while releasing his Qi and Soul power to the maximum.
But just as he was preparing to meet the sword, he heard Bingyue mumble ¡®¡¯Divine Ice God stage two, Frost slash¡¯¡¯ suddenly the area within a hundred meter radius around Bingyue froze, the chilling cold made Tao Wen scared, he suddenly felt like he could not breathe as the cold air made him feel a burning sensation every time he took a breath.
Then he felt a sense of impending doom, it was not killing intent, but something told him that if he didn¡¯t dodge, he was about to die. But he could not move as his feet were frozen solid to the ground. The sword was just a second away from piercing him when he shouted ¡®¡¯I CONCEADE!!!¡¯¡¯
The sword then stopped millimeters from his throat and all the cold Qi and Soul power disappeared.
¡®¡¯There, that wasn¡¯t so hard was it?¡¯¡¯ asked Bingyue while smiling at him in a childish way.
That smile terrified Tao Wen for some reason, the fact that this little girl in front of him looked so innocent now but just seconds ago she was ready to cut his head off made a chill run down his spine.
Cao Bai that was looking from the sidelines frowned, gave Wentian a look and then looked up a Tianshen sitting on the platform. ¡®¡¯Is this Devil trying to create a team of monsters or something?¡¯¡¯
Tianshen caught her looking at him and waved at her with a mischievous smirk on his face.
She ¡®¡¯hmphed¡¯¡¯ and turned her head away while blushing a bit.
Tianshen really enjoyed teasing this girl.
¡®¡¯The battle is over, Xia Bingyue will advance to the top ten¡¯¡¯ Cao Chen announced to the crowd.
People started cheering loudly for Bingyue, she walked off the stage and stood next to Wentian while smiling at him.
Wentian patted her head ¡®¡¯at this rate you will soon be stronger than me, I have to cultivate even harder¡¯¡¯ he said in a cheerful way.
¡®¡¯Don¡¯t joke around Wentian, my Ice Qi is the complete opposite of you Fire Qi, so I felt the Qi fluctuations when we were cultivating back on the lonely peak, you big liar, you think you can hide things from me just because I¡¯m younger?¡¯¡¯ said Bingyue with pouted lips, she looked very cute when she was getting mad.
Wentian smiled while rubbing the back of his head ¡®¡¯guilty, looks like I was found out, that means Tianshen probably knows too¡¯¡¯
¡®¡¯Of course, you really think we can hide anything from him?¡¯¡¯ She smiled while they both looked up at Tianshen. He was also looking down at them and smiling in a proud way.
Everything until now was within his calculations, there was just one thing that did not sit right with him. He then turned his look to the 3rd rank core disciple Jin Ju. Tianshen already knew that this guy was hiding something and it was something dangerous, but he could not figure out what for now.
CH:12 Conspiracy
Cao Chen stood up again ¡®¡¯Now that we have our top ten, we will proceed to the final stage of the tournament, you will draw random numbers again and will fight one on one with the person who draws the same number as you, killing is not allowed¡¯¡¯
The servants then brought a wooden box which had ten crystals in them, each crystal contained a number of small dragons in it, from one to five.
¡®¡¯We will now proceed with the draw, Kong Feng come forth¡¯¡¯ said Cao Chen while signaling for Kong Feng.
Kong Feng put his hand in the box and drew a crystal with three dragons in it.
Then his name was written first on the tournament sheet for everyone to see.
Cao Bai then drew a crystal with the number five, Jin Ju drew number two. The 4th core disciple Song Shun drew number four, Wentian drew number four like Song Shun, which means they would fight each other.
The 6th core disciple Shao Ya drew number five like Cao Bai, the 7th core disciple Xiao Lei drew number one, the 8th core disciple Yang Lin drew number 3 like Kong Feng and the 9th core disciple Xie Shu drew number 2 and got matched with Jin ju.
Then finally Bingyue drew the last number which was number one.
¡®¡¯Now that we are done with the draw the tournament sheet looks like this¡¯¡¯ said Cao Chen.
7th core disciple Xiao Lei VS Xia Bingyue
3rd core disciple Jin Ju VS 9th core disciple Xie Shu
1st core disciple Kong Feng VS 8th core disciple Yang Lin
4th core disciple Song Shun VS Qiu Wentian
2nd core disciple Cao Bai VS 6th core disciple Shao Ya
Cao Chen then continued ¡®¡¯Go back to your pavilions, the first battle will start immediately. Xiao Lei and Xia Bingyue, enter the stage.¡¯¡¯
They both stepped onto the stage and were now facing each other with a 20 meter distance between them.
¡®¡¯I know that I¡¯m not a match for you after your recent breakthrough Xia Bingyue, but that doesn¡¯t mean that I can¡¯t try my best¡¯¡¯ said Xiao Lei with a serious expression.
¡®¡¯I would expect nothing less from a core disciple¡¯¡¯ said Bingyue with a smile.
¡®¡¯Divine Ice God first stage¡¯¡¯ the Ice sword appeared in Bingyue¡¯s hand, she then lifted it into the air and charged at Xiao Lei while releasing her ice Qi and soul power.
Xiao Lei released her Qi and soul power and when the sword was about to hit her she disappeared from Bingyue¡¯s sight.
Bingyue immediately turned around and guarded with her sword, this was the right choice since in the next moment Xiao Lei was slashing at Bingyue¡¯s back with a thin sword that looked like a needle. Bingyue had no idea where Xiao Lei was hiding that sword before.
¡®¡¯CLANG¡¯¡¯ the two swords clashed and sent Qi waves around the stage.
¡®¡¯Good speed, this may be troublesome for Bingyue if she doesn¡¯t find a way to immobilize her first¡¯¡¯ thought Wentian to himself.
At the same time the crowd was cheering crazily, they finally were seeing some action between the top.
The two girls broke contact with their swords and both flew ten meters back.
¡®¡¯That¡¯s an amazing movement technique¡¯¡¯ said Bingyue with a surprised face.
¡®¡¯This is the Profound Wind technique that my Xiao clan has passed down for generations, you can¡¯t catch me like this Xia Bingyue, much less hurt me¡¯¡¯ said Xiao Lei with a smirk.
Xiao Lei then disappeared from Bingyue¡¯s field of vision again and attacked from her left, with Bingyue barely managing to defend in time.
Bingyue retreated fifty meters away quickly, her plan for now was to keep her distance until she finds a way to deal with Xiao Lei.
¡®¡¯This will be a good lesson for Bingyue, sometimes the technique you use may be the difference between life and death in battles between opponents of similar cultivation realms¡¯¡¯ thought Wentian to himself while smiling. He was not worried for Bingyue, she was a smart girl and it wouldn¡¯t take her long to figure something out.
¡®¡¯She is not so powerful, her sword slashes aren¡¯t hurting me. But her speed is amazing, if I manage to take away her speed then it¡¯s over¡¯¡¯ thought Bingyue, and then an idea came to her head and she smiled.
Xiao Lei who was charging at Bingyue again with her amazing speed, saw that Bingyue was smiling which gave her an uneasy feeling.
When Xiao Lei closed in on Bingyue she felt a chilling cold Qi, the floor and the air in a fifty meter radius started freezing rapidly. And before she knew it, she fell into Bingyue¡¯s trap. Both of her feet were now frozen solid to the ground, and the ice was spreading up her legs slowly.
Bingyue then walked towards Xiao Lei and pointed her sword at her throat ¡®¡¯you lose¡¯¡¯ she said with a smile.
Xiao Lei sighed, then said ¡®¡¯I concede!¡¯¡¯
The crowd burst into cheers and applause, and Cao Chen announced Bingyue as the winner.
¡®¡¯Next battle Jin Ju VS Xie Shu¡¯¡¯ said Cao Chen while gesturing for both of them to step onto the stage. But Jin Ju just remained seated. This surprised the crowd but in the next moment the voice of Xie Shu sounded from the 9th pavilion ¡¯¡¯I concede¡¯¡¯.
Jin Ju smiled while having his eyes closed and sipping his wine. It looked like he knew that she would concede so he didn¡¯t even bother moving.
Cao Chen sighed ¡®¡¯second battle, winner Jin Ju. Third battle Kong Feng VS Yang Lin proceed to the stage¡¯¡¯
¡®¡¯I concede¡¯¡¯ shouted Yang Lin while looking scared, looks like even the thought of fighting Kong Feng scared her, she knew she was not even close to his level. Not to mention Kong Feng was notorious for his brutality and mercilessness against his opponents, no matter who they were.
The crowd didn¡¯t blame her for conceding at all, everyone knew she stood no chance and would probably get badly hurt if she tried to fight.
¡®¡¯Kong Feng wins battle three, next is Qiu Wentian against Song Shun, step onto the stage¡¯¡¯ said Cao Chen.
Both of them gave each other a side glance from their respective pavilions and stood up, then while they were walking to the stage Wentian said to Song Shun ¡®¡¯you should know that you are not my match, why get in my way? I will have to fight Cao Bai in the next round most likely¡¯¡¯
¡®¡¯Oh? I don¡¯t know, you can think and take a wild guess why I¡¯m fighting you here¡¯¡¯ said Song Shun with a sinister grin on his face and then added ¡®¡¯maybe if you stopped hiding your cultivation I would instantly surrender¡¯¡¯. He now had a sarcastic grin, which Wentian thought made him look like an idiot.
From what Song Shun said, Wentian could speculate that this guy was Kong Feng¡¯s lackey and his only goal was to make Wentian¡¯s advance in the competition as hard as possible.
They both stopped opposite of each other on the stage, with about 50 meters space between them.
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Song Shun still had a sinister grin on his face while looking at Wentian.
¡®¡¯Let the battle begin!!¡¯¡¯ shouted Cao Chen.
As soon as Cao Chen announced the start of the battle, Song Shun released his soul power and his Qi, his cultivation was at the 8th Core formation realm.
¡®¡¯Your run in this tournament ends here you filthy bastard, how dare you hurt Kong Jie like that!!¡¯¡¯
¡®¡¯This idiot is too emotional, he went and blew his cover¡¯¡¯ thought Kong Feng while facepalming himself.
It looked like Song Shun was going all out from the get go, he was trying to inflict the worst possible injury to Wentian even if that meant he would lose.
¡®¡¯WATER METHOD!!¡¯¡¯ shouted Song Shun, all of his soul power and Qi started fluctuating, slowly it all started gathering above him and formed into a huge wall of water. Song Shun then performed some hand seals and the water started forming huge razor spikes. There were about a thousand of them and they were all about a meter long. The water that formed the spikes was spinning which would add to their piercing effect.
¡®¡¯This is my ultimate attack!! Now let me see you try to defend against this!!¡¯¡¯ shouted Song Shun who now looked a bit pale, he really overdid it with his Qi and soul power in order to release this attack.
¡®¡¯Tianshen, it looks like your friend might be in a bit of trouble this time¡¯¡¯ said Kong Zhi with a grin on his face while observing the stage.
¡®¡¯Oh, I wonder¡¯¡¯ smiled Tianshen lightly. He knew that Wentian held a secret but he didn¡¯t know if he would use it at this moment.
Wentian who had a blank face suddenly smiled ¡®¡¯You think just because your Qi and soul power has compatibility with the water element that it¡¯s enough to extinguish my fire? If so then you will be disappointed¡¯¡¯ said Wentian.
¡®¡¯Stop with the bullshit and eat this!!¡¯¡¯ shouted Song Shun, he then extended his hands forward and all of the water spikes started flying towards Wentian very fast.
Wentian closed his eyes for a second and then muttered in a low voice ¡®¡¯Divine Golden Crow Flames, stage two¡¡¯¡¯
The water spikes were now just a couple of seconds away from hitting Wentian when he suddenly opened his eyes and shouted ¡®¡¯¡Golden Fire Storm!!¡¯¡¯
Amazing golden flames started to come out of his body, the temperature in a twenty meter radius around Wentian rose to the extreme. In a second, a hurricane of fire formed with Wentian in the center of it.
The crowd roared with cheers, most of them were shouting Wentian¡¯s name. He really did become a favorite in the sect. Especially with the girls, he was far from being unattractive, plus he was strong and behaved righteously. A lot of girls dreamt of dating boys like him.
The water spikes finally collided with the fire storm, but contrary to Song Shuan¡¯s expectations, the fire was not being extinguished, not only that, it could not even pass the wall of flames around Wentian since the water was being evaporated as soon as it got close to the fire.
Wentian then shouted ¡®¡¯Divine Golden Flame¡¯¡¯ and proceeded to spit a huge wall of flames at the rest of the water spikes that were closing in.
After about ten seconds everything settled down, there were no more flames or water, but the stage was full of steam now, caused by the collision of such big amounts of fire and water.
Song Shuan was in a weak state and could not see very well with all the steam around, he used all of his soul power on that one attack but he underestimated Wentian¡¯s strength, and his control of fire.
Suddenly Song Shuan saw a hand coming out of the steam and before he could react that hand grabbed him by the face and slammed him into the ground with a lot of force.
¡®¡¯AAARGH¡¯¡¯ Before Song Shuan knew it he was heavily slammed into the stage floor which buried half of his body in it. He spit a mouthful of blood and passed out on the spot.
From the outside, the crowd did not know what was happening. The only ones that could see were the elders and Tianshen.
Tianshen looked at Kong Zhi and with a smile said ¡®¡¯what were you saying?¡¯¡¯
Kong Zhi gritted his teeth but didn¡¯t say anything, inside he was smiling because this competition would be meaningless soon. Nobody knew that besides him, his sons and his elder supporters.
After a minute the steam cleared out and the crowd and the rest of the competitors saw Wentian standing next to a passed out, buried in the ground Song Shuan.
The crowd roared in cheers and applause, some girls were blushing crazily while looking at Wentian.
¡®¡¯Battle number four, winner Qiu Wentian¡¯¡¯ announced Cao Chen with a smile. He was happy that this year¡¯s core disciples are so strong, but he couldn¡¯t shake off this eerie feeling he had from the beginning of this competition. He knew that something was wrong and he knew that Tianshen noticed it too but he just couldn¡¯t put his finger on it.
The healers took Song Shuan to the infirmary and Wentian walked back to his pavilion and sat down cross legged to recover his Qi and soul power for the next battle.
¡®¡¯Last battle of this round, Cao Bai against Shao Ya, proceed to the stage¡¯¡¯ announced Cao Chen.
Cao Bai and Shao Ya stood opposite each other on the stage, they were both smiling. Obviously their relationship was good.
¡®¡¯Elder sister Bai, let¡¯s have a good fight, please go easy on me¡¯¡¯ said Shao Ya while cupping her fists towards Cao Bai and smiling.
Cao Bai smiled and cupped her fists back to Shao Ya ¡®¡¯You have grown a lot since I last saw you Shao Ya, let¡¯s have a good fight¡¯¡¯
Meanwhile, in a not so distant place, about a day¡¯s worth of travel from the Azure Dragon sect, inside a forest were walking three people. The one in the middle wore an elegant golden robe and gave off the aura of a king. He was a tall, middle aged man handsome facial features. The other two walking on both of his sides were two elderly people but their cultivation was also very profound, yet their clothing was a bit simples compared to the one in the middle.
The man in the middle said ¡®¡¯is everything ready? We need to move out as soon as possible or we will miss the chance, Kong Zhi said that we have to be there in one day¡¯¡¯
One of the elders nodded and replied respectfully ¡®¡¯Chief Tang Huo, rest assured, everyone is ready and standing by, we will move out in about an hour, and will arrive at the Azure Dragon sect in about a day¡¯¡¯
¡®¡¯Good, good, if Ju¡¯er¡¯s and Kong Zhi¡¯s information from one month ago is accurate, then the Azure Dragon sect should be at it¡¯s weakest now, plus Kong Zhi said that Cao Chen can¡¯t use the ancestor¡¯s protection power to defend his sect, this is the perfect opportunity to extinguish the Azure Dragon sect from this province. Our Tang Clan has ruled this province for a thousand years now since the fall of the Azure Dragon sect, we should tie up the loose ends¡¯¡¯ said the man in the middle that was called Tang Huo.
At his point the three men exited the forest and came to stand at the edge of a small cliff. All three looked down with a satisfactory expression and smiled.
The reason they were smiling is because they were looking down at a huge camp of thousands of cultivator warriors. From elders to disciples, they all looked arrogant, exuded a superior aura and looked like they were ready to kill.
CH:13 A Story About A Fish
Back at the Azure Dragon Sect, the sun was already setting, the battle between Cao Bai and Shao Ya just finished, with Cao Bai having the obvious advantage throughout the whole battle. What surprised everyone, especially Cao Chen, was that Cao Bai did not wear her usual over-sized male battle armor for the battle against Shao Ya, instead she was wearing a beautiful white hanfu dress.
¡®¡¯Looks like your tomboy daughter finally decided to act like a woman Chief, I wonder why¡¡¯¡¯ said Tianshen with a chuckle.
¡®¡¯You better take care of my daughter in the future Tianshen¡¯¡¯ said Cao Chen with a serious face.
¡®¡¯I think the chief misunderstood my relationship with Cao Bai, we are just acquaintances¡¯¡¯ said Tianshen to Cao Chen with a half apologetic look.
Then he added ¡®¡¯but her talent isn¡¯t half bad, plus I like the honorable warrior attitude she has. Does chief want me to take her in?¡¯¡¯
Cao Chen understood what Tianshen meant. He saw the tremendous progress that the people close to him had and he would lie if he said that he didn¡¯t want the same for his daughter.
¡®¡¯I don¡¯t know what you did to make those two disciples so strong in such a short amount of time, but if you are willing to give the same opportunity to my daughter, then I would have to trouble you with her¡¯¡¯ said Cao Chen with a smile.
¡®¡¯You misunderstood again chief, what those two achieved until now is a result of their hard work. All I did was to show them the path, either they can walk that path or not, will depend only on them, same goes for Cao Bai¡¯¡¯ said Tianshen seriously.
Cao Chen looked at Tianshen with a curious look. This youth in front of him was a mystery that he felt he would never uncover. Of course he had his suspicions about his identity, there were many rumors of old ancestors reincarnating and getting a second chance at life. Some were born with memories of their past life, and some others without. But Cao Chen did not understand the profound forces that were at work behind reincarnation, his knowledge was limited to the Azure province and the Blue Cloud country. In the grand scale of the world, Cao Chen could not even be considered a village boy.
Cao Chen suddenly said ¡®¡¯Tianshen, the tournament will go on a ten hour brake before we proceed to the semi-finals, can I have a word with you in private later?¡¯¡¯
Tianshen saw the serious look in Cao Chen¡¯s face and replied ¡®¡¯of course¡¯¡¯ with a smile.
Cao Chen then stood up and said ¡®¡¯Everyone can take a rest now, the tournament will resume in ten hours. Now that we have our final five contestants, since it is an odd number, two of you will have to fight a preliminary battle to determine the four semifinalists. Again, the two people that will have to fight the preliminary battle will be decided by random, that way it is fair for everyone. I will see all of you back here in ten hours, you can go back to your respective areas now¡¯¡¯
While people were on the move, the elders stood up and then flew away to their respective peaks, except Kong Zhi, he was joined by Kong Feng and they took off in the direction of the infirmary.
Cao Bai then approached her father while avoiding Tianshen ¡®¡¯Father, are we going back?¡¯¡¯ she asked.
¡®¡¯Yes, let us go¡¯¡¯ he then grabbed Tianshen and Cao Bai by the shoulder and was about to fly when Cao Bai asked with pouted lips ¡®¡¯Why is HE coming with us?¡¯¡¯
¡®¡¯Bai¡¯er, you should be more respectful to the legacy disciple, plus, I have things I wish to discuss with him, that¡¯s why he is coming with us¡¯¡¯ said Cao Chen, and then immediately flew off while taking both of them with him.
Cao Bai had a dissatisfied look on her face throughout the way and was avoiding Tianshen¡¯s gaze.
Tianshen was not taking it to heart, he met countless girls that acted the way she did in his previous life.
They soon arrived at the main peak and Tianshen saw the now familiar tower with a coiled dragon around it. This tower looked like a relic of the past glory of the Azure Dragon sect. Tianshen still remembered the promise he made to Cao Chen on the night he became the legacy disciple, and he intended to fulfil that promise.
When all three entered the tower, the servants welcomed then with a bow and one of them said ¡®¡¯If Chief wishes to have dinner, everything is prepared¡¯¡¯
¡®¡¯Thank you but no need. Bai¡¯er you can go cultivate, I and Tianshen will be in the main hall¡¯¡¯ said Cao Chen with a serious face.
Cao Bai saw her father¡¯s expression so she knew that he had something serious to discuss with Tianshen. She decided to not inquire any further.
¡®¡¯Alright father, I will be in my room cultivating if you need me¡¯¡¯ she said. After that she threw one last glance at Tianshen, turned around and left.
Cao Chen gestured Tianshen to follow him, they soon arrived at the main hall. That was where Tianshen became the legacy disciple not so long ago.
Cao Chen shut the door behind him and walked towards a window that had a beautiful view of the whole sect and the night sky.
While still with his back to Tianshen he spoke ¡®¡¯Tianshen, you noticed what I saw today at the talent test, what do you think?¡¯¡¯
Tianshen¡¯s face became serious ¡®¡¯than Jin Ju obviously did not use all of his soul power, which means he tried to hide his real potential. If I didn¡¯t know better I would think that he was just hiding it because he wanted to surprise everyone in the competition and get first place. But his overall lack of interest in this tournament contradicts that, not to mention the fake smile that never leaves his face. That guy is trouble for sure, as to what kind of trouble, I do not know¡¯¡¯
¡®¡¯I already deduced that much myself, some of the elders probably did too. How would you suggest I handle it? I can¡¯t afford to put the sect at risk¡¯¡¯ said Cao Chen while still looking out of the window.
¡®¡¯You are the Chief, that decision lies with you. But I have the feeling that the Chief didn¡¯t bring me here just to ask my opinion about a certain disciple¡¯¡¯ said Tianshen.
Cao Chen turned around and looked at Tianshen, and then said ¡®¡¯Tianshen, I recognize that your ways are mysterious and despite your age, your knowledge is vast, of course I am interested in your opinion¡¯¡¯
¡®¡¯The Chief doesn¡¯t have to beat around the bush with me, you can ask me whatever you want. If I can answer, then I will¡¯¡¯ said Tianshen with a serious look. He already had an idea why Cao Chen brought him here, it was inevitable considering what happened with the Ice God sect and Wentian¡¯s and Bingyue¡¯s rapid growth.
¡®¡¯Then excuse me if I¡¯m rude, but I do have one question for you, I¡¯ve been contemplating it for a while but I can¡¯t figure it out. Who are you really? Something tells me that it was not a mere coincidence when we met outside of that cave¡¯¡¯ said Cao Chen with a serious expression. He was also being cautious because if his speculations on Tianshen being a reincarnated ancestor were true, then he did not want to be disrespectful.
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¡®¡¯Either our meeting outside of that cave was a coincidence or not, I¡¯m not sure. Fate works in mysterious ways. As for who I am, even if I told you, you would not understand unless you have a sense of the true scale of the world you live in, which you don¡¯t, not even close in fact. Now if your next question is to ask me to explain to you the true scale of the world, you better think hard before you ask that question. I really don¡¯t mind telling you since it was never my intention to hide knowledge from the people that deserve it, but you have to think if you can handle it first¡¯¡¯ said Tianshen seriously with his hands crossed behind his back.
Cao Chen was surprised by how straightforward Tianshen was, even though he did not get a straight answer from him, by what he just heard he could assume that his own speculations weren¡¯t far from the truth.
¡®¡¯The true scale of the world I live in?¡¯¡¯ thought Cao Chen. He would be lying to himself if he said he wasn¡¯t curious. Even though by the Azure province¡¯s standards he was considered a top expert, he was aware that in the rest of the Blue Cloud country there were people that could kill him easily.
Not to mention the neighboring Green Cloud country and beyond. He never travelled there himself but he read once in the ancient records of history that the Blue Cloud country was just one of the nine countries that made up a big continent. He also read that the Blue Cloud country was the smallest and the weakest one in terms of cultivation. The ancient records said that some of the cultivators in those countries reached the peak of cultivation and could destroy mountains and evaporate seas with just the flick of a finger. But that was as far as Cao Chen¡¯s knowledge went.
¡®¡¯So I assume you are a reincarnation of some ancestor from a big faraway country? Asked Cao Chen with a curious and excited face. If Tianshen indeed was a reincarnated ancestor from a faraway country, it was Cao Chen¡¯s great luck to meet him, it meant that his sect could indeed reach the top of the Blue Cloud country with his help.
¡®¡¯Since you are asking further, I take it that you are prepared for what you are about to hear?¡¯¡¯ asked Tianshen. Then he walked towards the window that Cao Chen was standing next to and looked out of it into the starry sky.
¡®¡¯Try me¡¯¡¯ said Cao Chen with a serious look. But on the inside, he was trembling with excitement.
Tianshen sighed while looking at the starry sky, then turned around and looked at Cao Chen. His expression became solemn as he said ¡®¡¯Let me tell you a story. There was once a small fish born inside a small pond. The quality of the water inside the pond, personal luck and how hard a fish works determines how much a fish will grow. This fish worked very hard, its luck was fairly good and the water in its pond was decent. It kept growing and growing while at the same time competing with the other fish in many ways, then at some point it became the biggest fish inside the pond and it no longer fitted. It started looking outside and realized that there are more ponds like the one it lived in, some even bigger with better water quality and with bigger fish inside them. Sticking to its unquenchable thirst for knowledge and further growth, it took a leap of faith and jumped into another pond bigger than its own. There it continued to grow even more and again became the biggest fish, now since it was much bigger, it could see much farther, it looked outside again, but this time it realized that what it initially thought was a bunch of ponds, was actually a huge lake. Then the process repeated, it became the biggest fish in the lake and looked outside to find that it wasn¡¯t a lake, but a sea. Then it realized that the sea was actually a part of a huge ocean, and this ocean connected with countless other oceans to from what then looked like an endless body of water. Against all odds and after countless sacrifices and near death experiences, the fish became the biggest in that huge body of water, again it gazed outside and realized that there are other bodies of water similar to its own. By this time, it was wondering ¡®who created all of this?¡¯, so it became the biggest fish in all known existence because it thought that in that way it could look even farther so it would get the answers it was searching for. ¡®It worked before right, why not again?¡¯ it thought to itself. But then after countless tries, the fish slowly became aware that further growth is impossible, and nobody was able to give it the answers it was looking for¡ then came regret, loneliness, sadness¡It wanted to return back to its original small pond but it couldn¡¯t fit there anymore¡ so it decided that it would prefer death instead¡¯¡¯
At this point Tianshen turned and looked at the starry sky again, his deep blue eyes reflected the stars perfectly.
Cao Chen was not stupid so he could connect two and two together. He understood that Tianshen was talking metaphorically. The small pond was the village or city one is born, then you realize there are other cities and villages, those cities and villages are part of a country, the country is part of a continent, the continent is part of a planet, the planet is part of a star system and so on. By now Cao Chen understood that Tianshen was basically saying that there are more cultivators outside in the starry sky, and even more beyond that.
¡®¡¯What kind of power did those people have? What does it take to go out there? How does Tianshen know all of this?¡¯¡¯ questions were popping up in Cao Chen¡¯s head on after another.
These thoughts made Cao Chen tremble. He did not know why he was trembling, but what he knew for sure was that it was not fear or excitement. It felt more like a sense of insignificance, it was an indescribably depressing feeling. A feeling that he never experienced before. At this point, he did not want to know more, he feared that knowing more will drive him mad.
Tianshen turned around and looked at the obviously distressed Cao Chen, he looked dazed and was staring at nothing. Tianshen walked towards him and patted him on the shoulder ¡®¡¯snap out of it, you may be a small fish in a small pond now, but I promise you that I will make you the biggest fish in your pond¡¯¡¯ said Tianshen with a smile.
Cao Chen then regained his composure and forced a smile. He really needed some time to digest all of that.
¡®¡¯I¡¯m hungry, let¡¯s eat. I hope you have some good food here¡¯¡¯ said Tianshen with a smile while walking towards the door.
Cao Chen followed behind him. While looking at his back, another question popped up in his head ¡®¡¯is it possible that this youth in front of me is the fish from the story?¡¯¡¯
CH:14 The secret oath
Tianshen and Cao Chen were both sitting opposite each other while enjoying the food and drinks brought by the servants. Food was not a priority for cultivators since they were beings that transcended the average mortal. Some could go months and even years without eating or sleeping, and some others still liked to enjoy the taste of food and the occasional sleep.
Cao Chen had mostly calmed down from the shock he received earlier and was feeling happy. One of the reasons was that now he understood that Tianshen¡¯s words about turning the Azure Dragon sect into the top sect in the Blue Cloud country was not a mere boast, another reason was that he knew that his daughter would now surely have a limitless future if she stuck with Tianshen and it would not take her too long to surpass her own father in terms of cultivation.
¡®¡¯Chief Cao Chen¡¡¯¡¯ said Tianshen suddenly which woke up Cao Chen from his happy thoughts.
¡®¡¯Ah, hehehe. Tianshen, no need for the honorifics, you can just call me by my name¡¯¡¯ said Cao Chen with a wide smile. His intentions were clear, now that he had a very vague idea of what kind of being Tianshen was, he did not dare to be even the least bit disrespectful to him and did not want to be called ¡®chief¡¯ by him.
¡®¡¯I know what you are thinking. It does not matter what I used to be, what matters is what I am now, you are the ¡®Chief¡¯ of the sect and I am a disciple, thus I shall be addressing you as ¡®Chief¡¯. But all that aside, I have a question. I assume you have an ancestor in your sect, tell me about him¡¯¡¯
Cao Chen was surprised that Tianshen still wanted to call him ¡®Chief¡¯, but once he heard that Tianshen was also interested in the sect ancestor, he got really excited. With a wide smile that looked like that of a kid he started to narrate proudly.
¡®¡¯our ancestor was known as the Azure Dragon, he was a cultivator that originated from this province, but he did not stop here. Since his childhood he had an extraordinary talent, at some point this province could no longer hold him so he travelled across the Blue Cloud country and shocked everyone with his talent for cultivation and his battle prowess. He almost reached the peak of the Blue Cloud country in terms of cultivation, and the people that could rival him could be counted on one hand. When he was about 200 years old, he established the Azure Dragon sect and this province was renamed from ¡®Tang province¡¯ to ¡®Azure province¡¯ in his honor. The Tang clan that ruled the province for a very long time was not happy at all about this, so by the use of despicable means and with external help from the Royal Tang Clan that rules the Blue Cloud country, they managed to poison him with a deadly poison that not even with his Martial King realm cultivation could be dispelled. That was a 1000 years ago, and ever since then, our sect has been on the decline and the Tang Clan of the Azure province only keeps getting stronger¡¯¡¯.
At this point Cao Chen¡¯s expression became gloomy. Tianshen could see on his expression that there was a deep thirst for revenge hidden deep inside.
¡®¡¯So the Tang clan of the Azure province is not the only Tang clan?¡¯¡¯ asked Tianshen.
¡®¡¯No, they are only a branch family of the Royal Tang clan that rules the Blue cloud country, that is one of the reasons that nobody dares to offend them or go against them. Since our ancestor died, the people that can oppose the Royal Tang clan are non-existent since most of them have either died of old age or have been secretly disposed of by the Royal Tang clan themselves¡¯¡¯ said Cao Chen with a hopeless expression.
¡®¡¯So the ancestor¡¯s cultivation was at the level of Martial King realm? What stage exactly?¡¯¡¯ asked Tianshen calmly.
¡®¡¯As far as my late master told me before he passed on the sect to me, our ancestor has a cultivation of the 2nd Martial King realm before he died from the poison. That is around the peak of cultivation anyone can reach in the Blue Cloud country. The King of the Royal Tang clan was rumored to be at the 3rd Martial King realm back then¡¯¡¯ said Cao Chen.
¡®¡¯Did he leave anything behind that could help you protect the sect in case of an emergency?¡¯¡¯ asked Tianshen seriously this time.
Cao Chen was startled for a moment and then replied with an embarrassed look on his face ¡®¡¯Yes he did, there is a tomb here in the restricted area of the sect where he is buried. The problem is that none of the sect chiefs that rules the sect since his death have been able to enter that tomb. We have a treasure that can temporarily hold off a strong attack in case of emergency but I don¡¯t think it is enough. Whatever is inside that tomb, can definitely change the fate of our sect¡¯¡¯
Cao Chen then asked curiously ¡®¡¯But why are you asking all of this? Could it be that you know something I don¡¯t?¡¯¡¯
¡®¡¯Tell me something, what is the elemental attribute of the technique that the Tang clan cultivates?¡¯¡¯ asked Tianshen.
Cao Chen looked surprised at the question and wondered what did it have to do with anything, but he still replied ¡®¡¯they cultivate the ¡®Profound Wind Sword¡¯ technique, all of their elders and juniors are proficient users of the wind sword and develop sword force at a really young age¡¯¡¯
Tianshen suddenly clicked and understood everything, he smiled lightly and said ¡®¡¯hmph, as I thought. Do you remember when that Jin Ju instilled his soul power into the crystal? For a split moment I felt a wisp of sword force¡¯¡¯
Cao Chen¡¯s expression became serious, after thinking for a moment he asked ¡®¡¯so you¡¯re suspecting him of being a spy from the Tang clan? But we can¡¯t make that assumption just because he has sword force right?¡¯¡¯
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¡®¡¯Of course not. First of all, the sword force he unintentionally released was wind sword force, which is awfully similar to the Tang clan¡¯s that you described. And second, now we know that not only did he try to hide his real potential during that talent test, he also hid his sword force and never used it in any of the battles¡¯¡¯
Cao Chen suddenly understood, he indeed thought that it was very suspicious and it was impossible for so many coincidences to happen at the same time. But if Jin Ju was indeed a spy from the Tang clan, Cao Chen did not know what the best way to proceed was. He did not know the position that this Jin Ju held in the Tang clan and his importance to the clan, so if he harmed him in any way it would be equal to incurring the wrath of the Tang clan, which was equal to digging your own grave in the Azure province.
Tianshen noticed Cao Chen¡¯s troubled look and said ¡®¡¯I need you to take me to the ancestor¡¯s tomb as soon as possible, preferably before the tournament starts, in a few hours when the tournament resumes I want you to do something¡¡¯¡¯
Meanwhile on a distant mountain which was covered by snow, in the Ice God sect.
Five women were sitting on a round table made of ice, the temperature in the room was ice cold. Any other cultivator of the Azure province would feel cold in this room but the 5 women seemed very comfortable and did not mind the cold at all. That was because they all cultivated the Ice technique of the Ice God sect.
The main seat was occupied by the chief Xia Qing, she had an icy solemn look on her face, and she gave people the impression that she was an icy goddess that was completely detached from worldly affairs. The other four women around her were all middle aged but were also beauties, they also had almost equally icy looks on their faces, the only difference is that when they were looking at Xia Qing, they had expressions of reverence and respect on their faces.
These were the famous ¡®Ice fairies¡¯ of the Azure cloud province, which is the name everyone knew them by.
¡®¡¯Report¡¯¡¯ said Xia Qing with a serious look.
¡®¡¯Chief Qing, we have reports from our spies that the Tang clan has mobilized all of its forces and are now moving towards what looks like the direction of the Azure Dragon sect¡¯¡¯ said one of the icy fairies.
Xia Qing frowned and had a worried look on her face. She then said ¡®¡¯everyone, thank you for your hard work, leave me and Zhou Ru alone for some time and await further orders¡¯¡¯
Three women but one stood up and bowed to Xia Qing before leaving them alone. The woman that stayed behind with Xia Qing turned to her and said ¡®¡¯ Xia Qing, you¡¯re not really thinking of helping that Cao Chen are you? It doesn¡¯t matter what relationship you had with him when you were young, you are now the Chief of the Ice God sect and our late master would not be happy if she knew that you broke your promise to her¡¯¡¯
¡®¡¯Zhou Ru, you would be right if there weren¡¯t certain circumstances that basically force us to help them. There are some things that our master told to only me and not you because I was the one that succeeded the sect¡¯¡¯ said Xia Qing.
¡®¡¯What things?¡¯¡¯ asked Zhou Ru surprised, she never knew that her and Xia Qing¡¯s master hid some things from her. They were both disciples of the previous Chief of the Ice God sect.
¡®¡¯I assume you know of the great ancestor of the Azure Dragon sect?¡¯¡¯
¡®¡¯Of course who doesn¡¯t, Azure Dragon is the greatest cultivator to ever exist in our province¡¯¡¯ said Zhou Ru.
¡®¡¯You are right, but what people do not know is that our ancestor of the Ice God sect and the ancestor of the White Tiger sect were greatly indebted to senior Azure Dragon. You think it is a coincidence that the Azure Dragon sect, the White Tiger sect and our Ice God sect were all created in the span of a year?¡¯¡¯ asked Xia Qing with a smile.
Zhou Ru had a surprised expression on her face, this was information that she heard for the first time in her life.
¡®¡¯Our ancestor and the White Tiger ancestor were indebted to the Azure Dragon? How?¡¯¡¯ she asked.
¡®¡¯Senior Azure Dragon saved our ancestor and the White Tiger ancestor from certain death when they were young, after that they became friends and travelled a bit together. They swore to him that when they created their own sect, that they would always protect the Azure Dragon sect against it¡¯s enemies, and senior Azure Dragon told them that his sect will do the same. And so this knowledge was passed down from sect chief to sect chief. It is not surprising that you don¡¯t know since this is supposed to be a secret oath that only the three ancestors knew of¡¯¡¯
Zhou Ru was astonished at this point, she would have never guessed that there was such a secret relationship between the three sects. Since on the surface, the Azure Dragon sect, the Ice God sect and the White Tiger sect barely had any dealing with each other. But now she understood that that was the whole point of the relationship being secret.
¡®¡¯So now you understand that, I am not only going to help Cao Chen because of our past relationship, it is also because we have the sacred duty to do so. Give the order to the elders to stay in the sect and to double the guard and our defenses. Call the other Ice Fairies, we are going to the Azure Dragon sect immediately¡¯¡¯ said Xia Qing with a serious tone.
Zhou Ru nodded before disappearing into thin air.
CH:15 Panhu
In another area of the Azure province stood a huge city, this city had majestic white walls with a lot of guards on top of them. The entrance to the city was shaped in the head of a tiger with an open mouth. If one had to compare this city with the Azure Dragon sect or the Ice God sect in terms of size, they would realize that it is vastly bigger. In fact there was only one other city in the Azure province that could rival this one in terms of size and population and it was the Tang city, the home of the Tang clan and the ¡®de facto¡¯ capital of the Azure province.
It was common knowledge in the Azure province that in terms of population and size this city and the Tang city were about even, but in terms of power, the Tang city was a bit more powerful because the chief of the Tang clan was a bit stronger than the chief of this city. But the category in which this city exceeded the Tang city, was economy.
It was considered the trade center of the Azure province since its geographical position was the most ideal for that. It was located close to the border between the Azure province, the Spirit province and the Sacred province. So it was basically situated at the crossroads between three provinces of the Blue Cloud country.
On one side of the city one could see a seemingly unending mountain range, with peaks reaching as high as 10000 meters. This was the Titan Mountain Range, the reason for the name was that the mountain peaks were all around the same height and they looked like they were titans competing with each other for who is going to reach the end of the sky. Everyone in the Azure province knew that once you reach the Titan mountains, you have reached the border of the province. If you crossed the North-West part of the mountains, you were going to the Spirit province. If you crossed the South-West part of the mountains, you were going to the Sacred province. The only difference was that while the Spirit province was only a bit bigger than the Azure province and a bit stronger overall, the Sacred province was a colossus compared to the other two.
On the top of the majestic tiger¡¯s head at the entrance of the city was a carved golden writing which read ¡®White Tiger City¡¯.
This was the White Tiger city, the trade center of the Azure province and the home and domain of the White Tiger sect.
At this moment in the very center of the White Tiger city inside a majestic hall sat 17 people. All 17 had profound cultivations, especially the one sitting in the main seat. He was a man that looked like he was in his late fifties. That was not his real age of course, since cultivators look much younger than they are and have lifespans ranging from a 100 to a 1000 years and more depending on the cultivation level.
The man in the main seat was surrounded by the aura of a king, his hair and beard were snow-white, his eyebrows looked like two swords and his gaze was deep and profound. He was about 2.5 meters tall, in fact the other 16 men surrounding him were all taller than 2 meters. This was a characteristic of those that cultivated the White Tiger sect technique, which was called ¡®White Tiger of Annihilation¡¯. The name was given to it by the ancestor of the sect for its explosive attacking power and immense physical strength.
The 16 elders surrounding the Chief of the White Tiger sect were called the ¡¯Tiger claws¡¯. And they were numbered from 16 to 1 in terms of their power. On their white robes each one of them also had a writing on the back with their specific number.
¡®¡¯Our sources tell us that the Tang clan is moving against the Azure Dragon sect, we cannot possibly miss the fun, everyone get ready, we are going to the Azure Dragon sect immediately¡¯¡¯ Said the chief of the sect with a smirk on his face, he looked like he did not care much for the result of the battle between the Azure Dragon sect and the Tang clan, and he just wanted to have some fun.
The 16 claws all sighed but nodded in agreement, they knew that their chief always decides things on a whim and was generally a very impulsive person. He once destroyed a small sect when he was younger because they dared to make fun of him.
Back in the Azure Dragon sect, Tianshen was now standing in front of the entrance to the restricted area of the sect. Cao Chen was standing next to him and said with a serious expression ¡®¡¯this path will lead you to the tomb, but be careful while crossing the forest, it makes people see unpleasant illusions, some people that trespassed here before were driven mad and swallowed by the forest¡¯¡¯
Tianshen smiled lightly ¡®¡¯Do not worry chief, go back and proceed with the tournament as I instructed you, then wait for me. I will arrive when the time is right¡¯¡¯
Cao Chen nodded and disappeared from Tianshen¡¯s sight. Tianshen turned around and looked deep into the dark path of the forest, the darkness of the forest could not extinguish the deep blue glow in Tianshen¡¯s eyes. He then proceeded to walk into the darkness at a slow pace.
As soon as he entered the forest, things around him started twisting, in the next moment he found himself standing inside a small house. The house looked very poor with barely any windows in it. Just a bed, a table and three chairs.
At the moment there was a woman lying on the bed with other 3 women surrounding her. She looked like she was giving birth. There was also a man pacing back and forth outside of the house with a worried look on his face.
If one tried to feel the cultivation of these people, they would find that they had none. Yes, they were just mortals. Tianshen recognized the woman instantly and a big frown appeared on his face.
¡®¡¯You dare look into my memories and show me illusions of my past life?¡¯¡¯ said Tianshen with a commanding tone. His eyes started shining bright blue like two stars, he lifted his hand and made a grabbing motion, and suddenly the scene distorted again and came back to normal.
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Tianshen stood there for a couple of minutes without moving then smiled slightly ¡®¡¯laughable¡¯¡¯ he said, and then continued moving deeper into the forest.
After about an hour of walking the scene around him changed again and he found himself staring at a bloody battlefield, the earth and the sky were painted red with blood and there was a person in the middle, the person¡¯s cultivation was profound, much stronger than anyone in the Azure province. The person held a sword in his hand, it was an unimpressive sword, the only thing standing out about it was its dark blue color and the faint writing which could be seen on the hilt which read ¡®Sword of Judgment¡¯.
Tianshen again lifted his hand and easily destroyed the illusion. After that he sighed, as if recalling that specific moment which he just saw in his memories and continued walking.
After some more time of walking Tianshen started to see the exit of the forest which meant that he arrived at the tomb. Just as he was about 10 steps from exiting the forest everything distorted once again and this time, Tianshen found himself staring at another scene.
But this time his reaction was much different, his pupils contracted and a deep frown emerged on his face as he watched a man drenched in blood holding a woman in his hands. The man was screaming with an inhuman voice and was crying blood at the same time.
But after a short moment Tianshen¡¯s expression became extremely calm and focused.
He turned around towards the forest and said once again with a commanding tone ¡®¡¯I decided to overlook the previous 2 times, but every dragon has a reverse scale. Now should I come back into the forest to find you, or will you present yourself to me?¡¯¡¯
After speaking these words Tianshen released his soul power, the whole forest started to shake.
¡®¡¯Still not coming out?¡¯¡¯ said Tianshen.
He increased the release of soul power and the trees and bushes now looked like they were about to wither from the intense pressure.
Tianshen then circulated the Buddha Body technique and punched the ground, the whole ground around a 500m radius shook intensely ad the trees in that area lost their leaves.
In the next moment a baby-like voice sounded in front of Tianshen ¡®¡¯no more please! No more! You will destroy the whole forest! Just stop!¡¯¡¯
Tianshen retracted his fist from the ground and his soul power. He then looked in front of him and saw a small white puppy which surprised him. He immediately recognized the species, this was in fact a demon beast but not just any demon beast. It was a demon beast with a divine bloodline, the ¡®Dragon-Dog divine beast¡¯. As to how it got here, Tianshen could only guess. This was a demon beast with a bloodline that was rare even in ancient times when Tianshen was at his peak.
¡®¡¯What are you looking at you big bully? You think that just because you are strong, you have the right to resist this sir¡¯s illusions and destroy this sir¡¯s forest? Watch how I will bite you to death!¡¯¡¯ Screamed the puppy in a cute baby voice then jumped to attack Tianshen with its sharp teeth.
Tianshen lifted his hand and with a swift move caught the little puppy by the fur on its back.
¡®¡¯How dare you? Let this sir go this instant, unless you want a calamity to befall you!¡¯¡¯ shouted the puppy.
Tianshen lifted the puppy so that he could face it and then said ¡®¡¯Dragon-Dogs don¡¯t have the ability to produce illusions, how can you do it? Is it the forest?¡¯¡¯ He asked with an emotionless look.
The puppy got startled for a second, this human just named its divine bloodline and guessed how he produced the illusions with just a single look.
¡®¡¯hahaha, now that you know this sir¡¯s noble bloodline and awesomeness, you better put me down¡¯¡¯ said the puppy with a proud arrogant look on its face.
Then the puppy proceeded to say ¡®¡¯you probably want this sir to become your divine beast companion now right? Right? Because you know how awesome I am. But too bad this sir has no owner because nobody deserves to be our owner¡¯¡¯
Tianshen suddenly tossed the puppy away like a dirty cloth and turned around while saying ¡®¡¯sorry, not interested in pets¡¯¡¯. And then he started walking towards the tomb.
¡®¡¯How dare you toss this sir around and call us a ¡®pet¡¯ you lowly human? And how dare you not want this sir as your beast companion? People would prostrate themselves on the ground to take this sir as a beast companion you hear me!!?¡¯¡¯
Tianshen continued walking without turning back, he was now in front of a stone wall. There was no visible entrance to the tomb, but the wall was covered in ancient writing, so Tianshen guessed that the writings were the clue for how to open the tomb.
Just when he was about to try to decipher the writing¡ ¡®¡¯Hey! You want to enter the old geezer¡¯s tomb right? Right? This sir can show you if you want¡¯¡¯ sounded a baby voice from behind him.
Tianshen turned to the puppy and said ¡®¡¯show me¡¯¡¯.
¡®¡¯If you bow down and kowtow to this sir a 100 times, maybe this sir will think about it¡¯¡¯ said the puppy with a proud and conceited look on its face.
Before the puppy could say anything more Tianshen was already holding it by the fur on its back again and staring at it. When the puppy saw Tianshen¡¯s gaze this time, it felt a chill run down its spine. It was a smile but not a smile at the same time.
¡®¡¯Little puppy, tell me your name¡¯¡¯ said Tianshen with a murderous smile on his face.
¡®¡¯Th-th-this sir¡¯s name is Panhu¡¯¡¯ said the puppy while stuttering out of fear.
¡®¡¯Tell me Panhu, do you want to reach the apex?¡¯¡¯
CH:16 The Tomb
The little puppy stared at Tianshen for a moment with a confused look. ¡®¡¯Apex? Was this another way of saying: do you want to die?¡¯¡¯ thought Panhu.
¡®¡¯Tell me the way to get in and I will give you the cultivation technique of your Dragon-Dog race. Deal?¡¯¡¯ said Tianshen while still holding the little puppy at eye-level.
Panhu¡¯s eyes widened when he heard Tianshen say ¡®¡¯cultivation technique of the Dragon-Dog race¡¯¡¯. He had the cultivation technique of his race stored in his memories from the moment he was born, but he always knew that it was not the complete technique. That¡¯s why Panhu¡¯s cultivation for a demon beast of his race was very low. It was only at the 5th Core Formation realm like Tianshen¡¯s. But while 5th Core Formation might sound impressive for the Azure province, compared to the ancestors of Panhu, he couldn¡¯t even be considered an insect.
¡®¡¯St-stop boasting human! How could you have the full cultivation technique of the Dragon-Dog beast race?¡¯¡¯ asked Panhu.
Tianshen was calmly smiling now ¡®¡¯You should have seen the illusions that the forest projected to me through you right? If you did see the illusions, then you should know that I¡¯m not a being of this world, and I¡¯m sure as hell not a being that you could ever hope to understand the ways of. How about this, I can see that you only have the first 3 stages of the Dragon-Dog race¡¯s technique, I will give you two more stages as insurance now if you tell me the way to get into the tomb. And I will give you the rest if you become my beast companion. What do you say?¡¯¡¯
The little puppy looked like it was in deep thought for a moment. Then it suddenly smiled and said ¡®¡¯Deal, but you better not lie to this sir or I will bite you to death, and when this sir becomes your companion beast, you better treat me right. I want a lot of human beauties, a lot! You hear me?¡¯¡¯
¡®¡¯You shouldn¡¯t be worried about beauties, with how small and cute you are, they will all be begging you for permission to pet you¡¯¡¯ said Tianshen with a smile.
¡®¡¯Who¡¯s cute you bastard? This sir is a divine demon beast, I am as muscular and mighty as they come. By the way, what it your name?¡¯¡¯ said the puppy with its cute baby voice.
¡®¡¯Sure-sure, whatever makes you feel better. You can call me Tianshen, now stand still for a second, I will impart the 4th and 5th stage of the Dragon-Dog cultivation technique to you¡¯¡¯ said Tianshen while putting Panhu down.
Then Tianshen extended his finger and pointed at Panhu¡¯s forehead, a blue ray of light came out of the tip of Tianshen¡¯s finger and entered Panhu¡¯s head. As soon as the blue ray entered Panhu¡¯s head, he opened his eyes wide with shock. ¡®¡¯This human really wasn¡¯t just boasting¡¡¯¡¯
¡®¡¯Now that you have the next two stages of the technique, your advancements in cultivation will be even faster, not to mention your combat prowess which will increase exponentially. I will bestow the rest of the technique to you when we finish the blood contract¡¯¡¯ said Tianshen.
¡®¡¯You really have some great ability Tianshen, consider this sir impressed. Okay, stand back, I will now open the tomb for you. All the other geezers that came before you for the past 1000 years were clueless and never managed to open the tomb because they overlooked the forest. They thought that the forest was just an obstacle. But by defeating the illusions in the forest, and more specifically me, you gain the qualification to enter the tomb¡¯¡¯ said Panhu with a proud tone.
¡®¡¯So you¡¯ve been in this forest for the past 1000 years? Did you know Azure Dragon?¡¯¡¯ asked Tianshen curiously.
¡®¡¯The old geezer? Of course I knew him, he found me when I was still an egg and raised me. When he was at death¡¯s door from the poison, he asked of me to guard this forest for him until someone ¡®worthy¡¯ shows up. This sir of course said yes because I owed him a favor for raising me¡¯¡¯ said Panhu with a half-serious face this time.
Tianshen did not ask more, right now he needed to concentrate on what he was going to face inside the tomb. Since tombs were not something that cultivators at Tianshen¡¯s level could face. Tombs of powerful cultivators like the Azure Dragon were full of traps and other hidden dangers. But of course, Tianshen was not just any cultivator. According to his calculations, as long as Cao Chen¡¯s information on the Azure Dragon being a cultivator of the 2nd Martial King realm was correct, then he thought that he could get through the tomb without exerting 100% of his soul power, but about 95%. Granted, he would be exhausted after the fact anyway, but if this Azure Dragon was really a cultivator of the 2nd Martial King realm, then whatever was inside this tomb was definitely worth it for Tianshen at his current level.
Panhu stood in front of the stone wall and muttered some words, after which he bit the tip of his paw and spilled some drops on it. After a moment of silence the stone wall started rumbling and a huge gate 10 meters tall materialized.
¡®¡¯You can proceed inside, but I must advise you to be careful. With your cultivation, it is very likely that you won¡¯t even be able to enter, much less come out alive¡¯¡¯ said Panhu seriously.
¡®¡¯You¡¯re coming with me¡¯¡¯ said Tianshen with an evil smirk on his face.
¡®¡¯The geezer instructed this sir to not accompany any of the people that attempt to enter the tomb so don¡¯t even think about it¡¯¡¯ replied the little puppy with a concerned face.
¡®¡¯I could not care less what he said, what matters is that I¡¯m asking you to come with me, and that is what is going to happen, you¡¯re about a couple of billion years too early to be able to talk back to me or reject me. Now be a good pet and follow me¡¯¡¯ replied Tianshen with a serious face as he started walking calmly towards the stone door.
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The puppy looked like it wanted to talk back and scold this stupid human but after a moment of thinking it gave up, sighed and just followed behind Tianshen. This human was just too domineering for the little puppy. The dragon-dog race was a race of beasts that possessed intelligence that at least rivaled that of humans, so by now Panhu already realized that the youngster walking in front of him was not a being of this world. He exuded the commanding aura of a being that oversees the fate of everything around him, which made one not being able to refuse him. Panhu had the feeling that refusing this person was like going against the Heavens themselves.
Just as Tianshen was one step away from the stone door, he detected an invisible force-field that covered it. Tianshen recognized this as being Spirit power. It surprised him because he did not expect such a small, trash province on a barren planet like this could have a person that could use spirit power to some degree, even if the spirit power was the weakest of the weak by his standards. It looked like the person who built this tomb had a faint grasp of the profound principles behind spirit power, which meant that he came in contact with people from outside the province or even beyond that, otherwise it was basically impossible for him to develop spirit power by himself.
Panhu, who clearly knew what was ahead of them stayed quiet because he wanted to observe how this person in front of him would deal with a spirit power force field. Panhu himself had some grasp over spirit power, otherwise he would not be able to control the illusions of the forest to their fullest potential.
Spirit power was a mysterious and ancient art, legends said that the laws of the Universe itself followed the Spirit principles to some extent. On this planet, spirit power was greatly underdeveloped and nobody actually understood the mysteries behind it. As far as the knowledge of this planet went, spirit power could be used to set up simple and complex formations that could have different effects, such as force-fields.
After a moment, Panhu watched as Tianshen extended his hand forward toward a specific area of the force-field and poked it with the tip of his finger. The force-field then materialized for a second, after which it broke like a glass wall into many pieces and dissipated into thin air.
Panhu was surprised and did not know what to say. That was when Tianshen turned his head around and looked at him blankly and said: ¡®¡¯You shouldn¡¯t be surprised, with the memories bestowed to you by your dragon-dog ancestors¡¯ blood, you most certainly have a grasp of Spirit power, you should know enough to realize that this kind of spirit power is not even close to be considered at the basic first stage. If I allowed something like this to hinder my advance forward then it would be equal to slapping myself in the face.¡¯¡¯
¡®¡¯But you didn¡¯t even use Spirit power yourself to break that force-field, how did you do it?¡¯¡¯ asked Panhu with a puzzled face.
¡®¡¯Every Spirit power formation has a weak point, that is if you know enough about Spirit power to be able to detect the weakness to begin with. This specific one was so sloppily made that I didn¡¯t even have to use Spirit power to break it, just injecting my soul force into the weak point is enough to break it.¡¯¡¯ Said Tianshen with a smile, after which he turned around and entered through the door.
The insides of the tomb were pitch black with no visibility whatsoever, but as soon as Tianshen stepped foot inside it, torches started to light up which revealed a long hallway. The walls and the ceiling of the hallway were all colored in bronze and one could detect different sceneries carved into the wall.
Tianshen started walking steadily forward with the puppy following closely behind him. After a couple of minutes of walking, Tianshen realized that the carvings on the bronze walls depicted different stages of the Azure Dragon Ancestor¡¯s life.
Although Tianshen was walking and spoke no word to the puppy, he was secretly looking down on this tomb. It¡¯s not that it wasn¡¯t up to his standards, or that he was expecting more. It was that he generally looked down on tombs built by cultivators for themselves. To him it was laughable that a cultivator was basically building his own grave. In Tianshen¡¯s mind, Cultivation meant going against the will of the Heavens and achieving the peak, immortality, endless wisdom and power, how could one achieve those if they were dead? He didn¡¯t see death as something which should be glorified by building luxurious tombs. Death for lowly beings such as the Azure Dragon Ancestor meant the end of the road, not many had the chance to cross the Yellow Springs and reincarnate even in the upper realms.
Tianshen soon reached the end of the hallway and entered a big hall as more torches lit up revealing his surroundings. The hall was big and the walls and ceiling were built from pure gold, in the middle of the hall itself, there stood an altar with a transparent cup in the middle of it which contained some kind of liquid substance inside. The altar was also surrounded by numerous golden chests full of riches, weapons and pouches full of cultivation medicines that looked like they were enough to support a small sect.
Tianshen observed his surroundings carefully, after which he took a step forward in the direction of the altar. Suddenly a mysterious Qi appeared which made Tianshen a bit uncomfortable, and a male voice that sounded like it came out of no specific direction spoke in a domineering manner: ¡®¡¯Welcome challenger, since you now entered this tomb, you will be subjected to 3 tests which will all measure different aspects of yourself, there is no turning back. You now have 2 choices, the first choice is to pass the tests, failure of which will result in a painful death.¡¯¡¯
¡®¡¯How about the second choice?¡¯¡¯ asked Tianshen seriously.
¡®¡¯Your second choice is to refuse taking the tests and die a painless death immediately.¡¯¡¯
CH:17 The Third Option
After hearing what the voice said, Tianshen turned around and looked at the little puppy. Panhu was still at this point standing behind him, but was still not saying a word.
¡®Is that the voice of the Azure Dragon?¡¯¡¯ asked Tianshen.
After a moment Panhu replied ¡®¡¯No, as I recall this voice should belong to one of his trusted subordinates Shao Long. He was the supreme elder of the then established Azure Dragon sect¡¯¡¯.
Tianshen faintly smiled as if figuring something out, then turned around and started walking in the direction of the altar. Step by step he was soon standing in front of the transparent cup that was still in laying in the middle of the altar. He could now smell fragrance of the liquid inside the cup and could tell that it was a mixture made from the pill of truth. The pill of truth was not a very complicated pill to make and it was mainly used on prisoners or in various situations of war to extract information from people. So the pill of truth did what it was named after, it made people tell the truth, but there were many adverse side-effects, one of which was intense brain damage.
As Tianshen was pondering about these things the voice spoke again ¡®¡¯You already walked towards the altar so the first test shall now start, there is no turning back.¡¯¡¯
Tianshen stood in place for a minute as if thinking, after which he calmly spoke two words ¡®¡¯I refuse¡¯¡¯.
At this point an ethereal figure materialized in the air above the altar, it was the figure of a middle-aged, tall, muscular man that wore golden armor all over his body. Behind his large body one could faintly see a golden sword which was strapped to his back. He was exuding the aura of a fierce warrior that faced countless battles, which Tianshen confirmed by looking at the numerous war scars on his face. At the same time a colossal pressure was weighing on Tianshen and Panhu, a pressure of a 2nd stage Martial King.
This surprised Tianshen because Cao Chen had told him beforehand that the ancestor had a cultivation of a 2nd stage Martial King. So this either meant that the Azure Dragon and his sidekicks were on equal footing in terms of cultivation, or that the Azure Dragon was much stronger than everyone previously thought. After making this deduction, Tianshen became a bit uneasy since he enter this tomb thinking that 95% of his now sealed soul power would be enough to conquer the tomb and it¡¯s dangers, but now after witnessing how strong one of the Azure Dragon¡¯s subordinates were, he was not so sure anymore.
Shao Long was staring at Tianshen with a piercing gaze and it felt like a devastating storm could erupt at any moment.
¡®¡¯So you choose death?¡¯¡¯ asked Shao Long who now crossed his large arms in front of him.
Tianshen calmly looked back at Shao Long with an equally piercing gaze as if accepting the challenge and replied ¡®¡¯A mere remnant soul of the Martial King realm dares to look down on me? Choose death? Death is never a choice for me, death is the choice I give to those standing in my way, and in case you haven¡¯t noticed, you are standing in my way.¡¯¡¯
If anyone from outside of the tomb could hear the words that Tianshen spoke now about someone being a ¡®mere Martial King¡¯, they would surely vomit blood. What is a Martial King? Being a Martial King meant standing on top of at least the Azure Province. It was common knowledge that in the Azure Province, the strongest expert was a 3rd stage Martial King, and he was the now retired Head of the Tang Clan. As for beyond the Azure province of the Blue Cloud country, there were other provinces that had cultivators who had already reached the limits of a Martial King and maybe beyond that.
(Cultivation Levels Reminder: Qi Accumulation, Core Formation, Earth Realm, Sky Realm, Heavenly Realm, Martial King, Martial Emperor, Martial Venerable, Saint.)
Shao Long was visibly taken aback and felt wronged by the words of the teenager, not only could this teenager tell that Shao Long was a remnant soul, he was also looking down at a Martial King. All that aside, the boy looked like he was around 15 years old and had a 5th Core Formation cultivation level.
Tianshen continued ¡®¡¯Since I was born my sole goal was to go against the will of the Heavens, I do not conform to choices given to me by others, I do not play by other people¡¯s rules, even the Heavens themselves would not dare to decide my death for me, I choose option three¡¯¡¯. At this point Tianshen¡¯s long black hair was fluttering as a gust of wind arrived seemingly out of nowhere, his blue eyes were shining like two stars and the pressure in the room increased by many levels.
Panhu jumped back and kept his distance from Tianshen and Shao Long, he wanted no part of this. He also noticed that although Shao Long seemed to be struggling to keep a straight face while facing Tianshen¡¯s Soul Power; he was not affected at all, this told him that Tianshen was controlling his Soul Power in a way that it doesn¡¯t spread to every corner of the hall, but was only targeting Shao Long. This would make the concentration of Soul Power targeting Shao Long much thicker so in turn, much more powerful.
Shao Long was greatly surprised to say the least, he felt an immense Soul Power coming from within the youth in front of him, a Soul Power that was in no way inferior to his own.
¡®¡¯How can this boy have such an immense Soul Power? The disproportion of Soul Power to his cultivation level should have killed him by now¡¯¡¯ thought Shao Long to himself. But before he could even think further or make any moves Tianshen spoke yet again:
¡®¡¯Since you were so courteous and nice as to give me two choices, I¡¯m going to show you the same amount of respect and courteousness as you have shown me. So you have two choices; choice one: step out of my way. Choice two: Your remnant soul gets crushed by my soul power, and any wisp of chance you have to live ten to twenty more years as a soul will be over this instant¡¯¡¯ After Tianshen finished speaking, the Soul pressure increased yet again, by this point Shao Long could no longer float in the air and had to drop down to the floor.
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Shao Long realized that he bit off more than he could chew, but he also had a warrior spirit and never backed away from a challenge. Everything Tianshen said about his remnant soul having about 10-20 more years to live was true, so he sighed and said ¡®¡¯I was put here to test the one that will be strong, righteous and courageous enough to pass Azure Dragon¡¯s test and gain his inheritance, but I would never think that I would be the one being tested. Fate plays strange games, I don¡¯t know who you are and how powerful you truly are but I have nothing to lose, my remnant soul will disappear soon, so I accept your challenge and I accept the consequences¡¯¡¯. After saying that, Shao Long unsheathed his sword and in a split second appeared before Tianshen.
As he was swinging his sword straight at Tianshen¡¯s forehead, he saw the youth in front of him smiling and not being fazed at all. Being a true fierce warrior that has gone through countless of battles, being underestimated like this enraged him even further. So he circulated his remaining Soul Power to the maximum and swung his sword at Tianshen with everything he had.
As the sword was about to reach Tianshen¡¯s forehead, a shiny blue circle appeared on it in a split second. The sword made contact with the blue circle, everything in Shao Long¡¯s head went black, the hall around him, Tianshen and the little puppy disappeared. In the next moment he found himself standing on water, he looked around, and he only thing he saw was an endless Ocean; endless in the literal sense of the word. He extended his senses downwards and realized that he could not reach the bottom of this ocean. But looking closer, he understood that the ocean was not actually an ocean, it was soul power. After which Shao Long felt multiple shivers go down his spine.
¡®¡¯M-m-monster¡¯¡¯ he stuttered as he fell on his knees with sweat running all over him.
¡®¡¯Wait, I¡¯m sweating¡¯¡¯ he realized, then he looked at himself and realized that he was no longer ethereal but had a body.
After which he heard a voice coming from nowhere: ¡®¡¯I like and respect your indomitable fighting spirit, and so I am giving you a chance, as for what this chance is; that is for you to figure out.¡¯¡¯ After which the voice never spoke another word.
Back in hall, Tianshen was still standing in his original place. To Panhu, who was watching from the sidelines it looked like Shao Long just disappeared into thin air, and he no longer had any doubts about how strong Tianshen actually is and that he really isn¡¯t a being from this world.
Tianshen extended his hand and grabbed the truth pill solution and stored it in his spatial ring. After which he turned around and looked at Panhu and said ¡®¡¯The Dragon-Dog race eats jewelry, precious stones and weapons to help with cultivation, so this hall is my gift to you as your future companion. Stay here and cultivate while I proceed further, it shouldn¡¯t take more than two to three hours.¡¯¡¯
After which Tianshen continued walking towards the next hallway that would lead him deeper into the tomb. Panhu stared at the back of the youth walking away for a moment after which he looked at all the precious things around him and couldn¡¯t help but drool at the sight.
¡®¡¯Looks like this sir will be having a feast after so many years¡¯¡¯ said the little puppy and then jumped towards the closest wall and started biting off the gold.
Meanwhile Tianshen was walking through another hallway, what surprised him though was that he could detect numerous traps almost every step he took, but after walking for a while he soon discovered that none of them were activating. He did not find it entirely weird, he was aware of the other two remnant souls that still existed in this tomb, one belonged to the Azure Dragon of course, and the other was his second-in-command. They were definitely aware of what went on in the first hall so they realized that traps were useless against someone like Tianshen¡¯¡¯
Outside of the tomb, in the Azure Dragon sect, about 5 hours were left until the next phase of the tournament restarted.
Cao Chen was pacing back and forth in his chambers, thinking about what Tianshen instructed him to do before he left for the tomb. He expected a brilliant plan to figure out the position of Jin Ju in the Tang clan and proceed accordingly. But all Tianshen told him was: ¡®¡¯Proceed with the tournament as before, let the events unfold, always let your enemies think that you are playing by their rules and make them think that you are weaker than you actually are¡¯¡¯.
By this point Cao Chen had full trust in Tianshen but he had his doubts as to how Tianshen chose to deal with this situation, it was as if Tianshen did not take into account the possibility of many people dying at all. Cao Chen would be lying to himself if he said that the way that Tianshen treated human lives in general did not bother him. The image of Tianshen¡¯s emotionless expression every time he takes a head was still very fresh in Cao Chen¡¯s head.
After some pondering and a lot of sighing, Cao Chen finally sat down and tried to meditate. He needed to calm himself before everything went down, it seemed like he was going crazy for trusting the future of his sect to a person he met not so long ago, but if there was one thing Cao Chen would never doubt; it was that even though Tianshen was not the most benevolent or caring person he ever met, he would absolutely not let his people come under any harm.
CH:18 The Azure Dragon
Tianshen now arrived in another hall, not so different from the previous one; except this one was much bigger. Before he even stepped foot inside the hall he already saw two men waiting for him in the center of the room, both ethereal like Shao Long which meant that they were also remnant souls.
They were both dressed simply and unimpressively, which gave the impression that they have long lost interest in the materialistic world, even during the time they were alive.
The one on the left had long white hair and a white beard which reached his waist. His eyebrows were similarly long on each side. He was quite short and had a gentle look on his face which made him seem more like a wise old man than a cultivator, not to mention his aura which was calm and completely under control.
The man on the left smiled when he saw Tianshen, after which he cupped his fists, bowed in his direction ¡®¡¯Greetings ascendant, I am called Long Wenhe, to my left is Long Tianlan, the Azure Dragon¡¯¡¯ he spoke as he gestured towards the man on his left.
The Azure Dragon looked like a middle aged man had long black hair with a few strands of white, all tied in a ponytail. He had an average build and was about 185cm tall, his eyebrows were arched up like two swords and the pupils of his eyes were reptilian with a vertical slit.
The Azure dragon also proceeded to cup his fists to Tianshen and addressed him in a very respectful tone ¡®¡¯Senior ascendant, we were waiting for you for a long time, your coming was prophesized to me by another ascendant that I have accidentally met during my travels¡¯¡¯.
Tianshen was surprised, he did not expect to be treated so courteously and with such politeness, they were even calling him a senior. ¡®Ascendant¡¯? His coming was prophesized? But what surprised him the most was the fact that both of the people in front of him had extraordinary cultivations by the Azure province standards. Long Wenhe was a 1st stage Martial Emperor and the Azure Dragon was even more impressive at the 9th stage of Martial Emperor. Not to mention those dragon eyes, when Tianshen saw them he sensed a faint trace of divine dragon blood running through the Azure Dragon¡¯s body.
Tianshen pondered for a moment and then asked the immediate questions that came to his mind ¡®¡¯Why are you calling me an ascendant? What prophecy? Why are your cultivations so high? And most importantly, where did you get that drop of divine dragon blood running through your veins?¡¯¡¯.
The Azure Dragon replied ¡®¡¯reporting to senior, when I was still a youth that barely started on his path of cultivation, I offended some people that I shouldn¡¯t have and found myself in a dire situation, after a long battle and a lot of fleeing I managed to barely escape with my life. I found a secluded cave which back then I thought to be empty. But, inside I found a certain person, this person was a not a being of this world, just like you. He bestowed upon me a drop of what he called the Divine Dragon blood, and told me to never reveal this secret to anyone in this world because a calamity will befall me. The dragon blood healed my fatal injuries, strengthened my bone and muscle structure, and boosted my cultivation speed by a considerable amount, coupled with the already decent talent I had for cultivation, it did not take me long to reach the Martial King realm which put me on top of the Azure Province. Back then, the Tang clan branch located here in the province would not dare challenge me, but I also could not move against them since I had family and friends that would die in the process. So I made a deal with them that I would establish a sect here in the province then move on to the Spirit province to face new challenges, in exchange they would not harm my sect and let them flourish.¡¯¡¯ At this point the Azure Dragon sighed, and had a sad look on his face.
¡®¡¯I¡¯m assuming things didn¡¯t go according to the agreement?¡¯¡¯ asked Tianshen.
¡®¡¯No, after I left for the spirit province I met Long Wenhe and Shao Long, we became sworn brothers and travelled the whole Blue Cloud country together, conquering every province. Our cultivations all reached the Martial Emperor realm and the Blue Cloud country could no longer hold us, so we travelled to the neighboring Green Cloud country, there we realized that we were just frogs in a well, the challenges were harder, the law of the jungle was even more prevalent in the neighboring countries. But, we still pushed on, faced countless near death experiences, conquered countless Tombs and gained inheritances from old Ancestors. Many years passed and my cultivation almost reached the peak of the continent. Shao Long was the youngest so he was at the 2nd stage Martial Emperor realm, that is enough to rule a small country like the Blue Cloud country on this continent. Long Wenhe was at the 1st stage Martial Venerable realm and I was stuck at the 9th stage of Martial Venerable, just a step away from reaching the Saint realm. Back then, the people that were called Saints in the continent could be counted on one hand. The Tang Dynasty that rules the continent were watching me and my friends closely, our growth scared them, they felt like we will challenge their authority over the continent. So initially they tried to recruit us and wanted us to swear an oath of allegiance to them and the Empire. But we refused, our sights were set far beyond this world, and how could I ever settle for the mediocrity of this small planet when I knew that there are more worlds out there; higher mountains to climb¡¡¯¡¯
He then continued ¡®¡¯Long story short, my family was massacred, my Azure Dragon sect was razed to the ground and my cultivation sealed by the 3 Saint realm experts of the Tang Dynasty. Same for Long Wenhe and Shao Long. When our cultivations were sealed they no longer considered us a threat, our progress was completely halted and we were banished back to the Azure Province where I grieved for many years. The loss of my kin and sect had almost driven me insane, if not for the constant support of Shao Long and Long Wenhe. We reestablished the Azure Dragon Sect and kept a low profile. On one of my travels later in time I met the senior who bestowed me with the Divine Dragon blood. The senior prophesized to me that one day there will be another one like him who will set foot on this forsaken planet and help me get justice and take my sect to new heights, but when that time comes, I will be already dead. The rest you probably know yourself¡¯¡¯.
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Tianshen listened carefully all this time, he respected the fact that the Azure Dragon refused to bow down until the last moment. It also seemed like Cao Chen and the rest of the sect had no idea that their ancestor was actually much more famous and powerful than they could ever imagine. Not to mention the Blue Cloud country, he almost conquered the whole continent. Something in this whole story reminded Tianshen of his past life and his own humble beginnings.
As for the prophecy and who that ¡®¡¯senior¡¯¡¯ in the story was talking about, Tianshen honestly had his doubts that it was actually himself. Whoever that person was, they could not possibly have such extraordinary powers of Divination as to predict the future of a person like Tianshen.
¡®¡¯Unless¡some of the laws of the Universe changed since the time I chose to erase my existence¡¯¡¯ thought Tianshen to himself. It was just speculation, but the prospect of something changing in the laws of the Universe meant that there were new possibilities this time around that Tianshen did not expect before he decided to reincarnate himself 3 billion years ago. This new possibility excited Tianshen and he wanted to cultivate even faster now to revisit some of his old roots, and discover who this new person or people were that could change the laws of the Universe.
¡®¡¯I¡¯m going to be honest, I do not know if I am the person that you think I am. Divination is a very ancient art that very few have a grasp of, it is not something that can be learned, but is inherent from birth. I can assure you that I am indeed not of this world, and my true identity and existence is not something that even that ¡®senior¡¯ you mentioned can predict or fathom. But I will tell you this, fate made me reincarnate into this body, close to your Azure Dragon sect; I took a liking to many people here and some of them I can even consider friends. So you can rest assured that while I¡¯m around, nothing can happen to your sect, however¡ As for the Tang Dynasty that rules the continent, or any of their branch families that are scattered all over it; It is not my responsibility to get revenge for you¡¯¡¯ said Tianshen with a serious look.
As touching and tragic the story of the Azure Dragon was, Tianshen saw no reason to meddle with the business of the rulers of a small continent on a barren planet.
The Azure Dragon seemed unwilling to accept such a thing, one could still see the fires of revenge burning in his eyes. He opened his mouth to say more and try to convince Tianshen but Tianshen lifted his hand and stopped him.
¡®¡¯I haven¡¯t finished. Although it is not my responsibility and I really don¡¯t see any reason to help you get your revenge; as it so happens, I might have uncovered a spy from the local Tang Clan in your sect right now. Which leads me to believe that not only are they keeping a close eye on your descendants, they are probably planning to attack soon since the sect is at its most vulnerable now. So with that being said, if the Tang Clan dares to lay a finger on the Azure Dragon sect, I can assure you that there will be no corner for them in this Universe to hide in.¡¯¡¯
The Azure Dragon and Long Wenhe bowed and thanked Tianshen after which they asked ¡®¡¯Did you really destroy Shao Long¡¯s remnant soul?¡¯¡¯
To which Tianshen smiled and replied ¡®¡¯Not to worry, I really took a liking to the guy¡¯s spirit and decided to send him to a certain nice place where he might or might not gain enlightenment. Remnant souls are a piece of soul that cultivators leave behind for many different reasons, but in doing so they prevent their original souls from entering the Yellow Springs, so their souls are stuck in a limbo between the world of living and the dead, which is nothingness. If he manages to strengthen his soul in the next 2-3 years inside the place I sent him to, he might be strong enough to feel a connection with his original soul, and direct it to cross the Yellow Springs and reincarnate, after which I can help him find the body that his soul reincarnated into and merge with his remnant soul. Which means that he can reincarnate and still regain all the memories from his past life¡¯¡¯.
Long Wenhe and Azure Dragon stared blankly for a second before completely digesting what was just said. All of this information was new to them. They instantly thought that that might just have a new chance at life, if only Tianshen helped them.
Tianshen of course already knew what they were thinking so he said ¡®¡¯If you guys serve me well in the next few months I¡¯ll give you the same chance. You have also given me lots of information about the outside world and it¡¯s politics and different powers. I have plans to take your sect to unimaginable heights, so I will need you to stop hiding in this tomb and start contributing to your sect¡¯s advancement. I will notify you as soon as I solve the Tang Clan problem. After that, we will rise to the top of this province in no time. But before that, I need you to pass on to me whatever inheritance techniques, weapons and riches you have in this tomb, your sect needs all it can take now.¡¯¡¯
After some more talking and exchanging information, Tianshen stored everything valuable there was in his spatial ring and was preparing to leave the tomb and head back to tell the news to Cao Chen.
As Tianshen was walking away the Azure Dragon said with a smile ¡®¡¯senior Tianshen, please take care of that stupid dog for me?¡¯¡¯
Tianshen turned back and looked at the Azure Dragon and replied ¡®¡¯Don¡¯t worry, although that stupid pet is still technically a baby by the standards of his race, if he sticks close to me, one day he is going to be a being that even Gods and Demons would not dare to cross¡¯¡¯.
After saying that, Tianshen turned around and walked away leaving the Azure Dragon and Long Wenhe with an astonished look once again.
CH:19 Shaking the Azure Province (Part 1)
Tianshen arrived back at the hall where Panhu was, only to find that there was no hall left at all. Then Tianshen noticed a big furry ball laying in one of the corners of the now non-existent hall.
¡®¡¯This little shit ate so much in such a short amount of time, can¡¯t imagine how much this glutton will eat when he gets bigger¡¯¡¯ Tianshen thought to himself while facepalming.
He approached the big fur ball and noticed that it was snoring, so Tianshen kicked at what seemed like an oversized butt.
¡®¡¯AHHHH!! What the hell human? Don¡¯t you even have the decency to let this sir sleep in peace after such a glorious feast?¡¯¡¯ shouted the fur ball while jumping up.
¡®¡¯Get yourself together, you¡¯re coming with me to the sect¡¯¡¯ said Tianshen while staring at the puppy with a stern look.
¡®¡¯OK OK, you don¡¯t have to be so mean you know! So did you meet the geezer?¡¯¡¯
¡®¡¯As a matter of fact I did, he told me to be very strict with you and beat you 3 times a day¡¯¡¯
¡®¡¯Bullshit, if you dare mistreat this sir I¡¯ll bite you to death¡¯¡¯ said the puppy after which it suddenly shrunk and returned to its normal size.
¡®¡¯Come, let¡¯s not waste any more time. Until now I was trying to keep a relatively low profile whenever I could but after I finished talking with the Azure Dragon and was walking back I suddenly got an idea and I feel like trying it to see what happens¡¯¡¯ said Tianshen as he was starting to walk towards the exit of the tomb.
¡®¡¯Do you always want to try ideas that just pop into your head out of nowhere?¡¯¡¯ asked Panhu in a sarcastic tone while walking besides him.
Tianshen thought about it for a moment then simply replied ¡®¡¯Yes¡you got a problem?¡¯¡¯ while turning to look at the puppy.
¡®¡¯Actually no, I like that a lot¡¯¡¯ said Panhu with an evil grin.
¡®¡¯Okay then, hop on my shoulder, we have to hurry back as soon as possible so we can start making the preparations¡¯¡¯ said Tianshen as the two were approaching the exit of the tomb.
The little puppy hopped on Tianshen¡¯s shoulder and the two disappeared into the distance.
After some time, Tianshen arrived back at the familiar Dragon Tower inside the Azure Dragon sect, when the guards outside saw him coming the cupped their fists in show of respect and opened the doors for him.
Inside the Tower in one of the halls, Cao Chen was sitting with his daughter Cao Bai and chatting. When Cao Chen saw Tianshen approaching he immediately stood up and almost ran towards him.
¡®¡¯So? How did it go?¡¯¡¯ he asked with the curious face of a child.
¡®¡¯I¡¯d say it went pretty good¡¯¡¯ replied Tianshen with a smile.
¡®¡¯Good, good¡that¡¯s very good¡¯¡¯ said Cao Chen who by this point could explode from the excitement.
¡®¡¯Father, what are you two talking about? What went well?¡¯¡¯ asked Cao Bai who was now approaching the two from behind Cao Chen.
¡®¡¯Hhahaha, my sweet daughter, our sect will finally live to see a bright day and it is all thanks to Tianshen. He went to the ancestor¡¯s tomb and managed to enter and gain the inheritance¡¯¡¯ said Cao Chen with a smile that at this point had reached his ears.
Cao Bai looked at Tianshen with a perplexed look ¡®¡¯Just how many secrets does this kid have on him?¡¯¡¯ she thought to herself. Things that she considered impossible were happening all the time around this youth standing in front of her, by this point she was almost used to it and didn¡¯t even think about doubting what her father said.
Tianshen took out his spatial ring, giving it to Cao Chen and said ¡®¡¯Well you are half right, technically I didn¡¯t ¡®gain¡¯ the inheritance, it was given to me willingly. In this spatial ring you will find enough riches, inheritance techniques and weapons to propel the sect straight into the top 10 of the Azure Province in the shortest amount of time possible. But I was thinking that I¡¯m not satisfied with that, we will do much more than enter the top 10 today, you just have to forget about what I told you before and follow new instructions¡¯¡¯
Cao Chen took the ring and sensed what was inside, after which he almost cried tears of joy, everything that Tianshen said was 100% true.
As Cao Chen was still checking the contents of the spatial ring, Cao Bai noticed a little fur ball behind Tianshen¡¯s shoulder peeking at her. Before she realized what was happening, the little fur ball jumped like a flash of light into her arms and snuck his head into her chest.
¡®¡¯Little sister, you are a fairy blessed by the heavens, this sir has never seen such beauty in his entire life¡¯¡¯ said the little puppy while rubbing his head on Cao Bai¡¯s bosom.
Just when Tianshen thought that this dumb puppy was about to die a painful death, he saw a scene that almost made him couch blood.
¡®¡¯Kyaaa, such a cutie!! And such a gentleman, you can come play with this sister anytime you want¡¯¡¯ shouted Cao Bai in a very unusual girly voice while hugging the puppy and pushing it further into her chest.
¡®¡¯So the tomboy ice-princess has this side to her too huh?¡¯¡¯ asked Tianshen in a sarcastic way.
¡®¡¯Sh-shut up you idiot¡¯¡¯ said Cao Bai after which she just turned around and left with Panhu.
¡®¡¯You shouldn¡¯t tease her like that Tianshen, she¡¯s still a little girl¡¯¡¯ said Cao Chen with a smile, he was in very high spirits right now.
He then continued ¡®¡¯let¡¯s sit down, you need to tell me everything that happened¡¯¡¯
After they both sat down and got served some tea, Tianshen told Cao Chen everything that happened in the forest and then the tomb. Throughout the conversation Cao Chen would many times open his mouth, then as if realizing it he would immediately close it, which Tianshen found quite funny.
¡®¡¯I see, I was aware about the connection of our sect with the Ice God sect and the White Tiger sect, but I never knew that such a thing as a remnant soul could exist, not to mention such a thing as an Empire that rules our whole continent, I really am a frog at the bottom of a well¡¯¡¯ sighed Cao Chen after an hour-long conversation with Tianshen.
¡®¡¯It makes sense for you not to know about remnant souls since cultivators become aware of it when they reach the Martial King realm, that is when you begin to strengthen your soul exponentially and the possibilities for the discovery of new ways to use your soul power in combination with the Qi to your advantage increase too.¡¯¡¯ said Tianshen with a smile.
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Then Tianshen continued ¡®¡¯As for my new plan, I decided that I don¡¯t want to stay idle anymore, we can wait for our enemies to strike and meet them head-on and bear the casualties¡ Or we can strike first and bear zero casualties¡¯¡¯.
¡®¡¯What do you mean by that?¡¯¡¯ ask Cao Chen with a puzzled and a little bit worried expression.
¡®¡¯Before I tell you anymore I need to be sure of something, I want you to hold an urgent meeting with all the sect elders and as many disciples and outer sect elders as possible, this meeting has to be public. Then leave the rest to me¡¯¡¯ said Tianshen with a confident expression.
¡®¡¯But that means we will have to postpone the tournament¡¯¡¯ said Cao Chen.
¡®¡¯Indeed, but the future of your sect is much more important than a little tournament¡¯¡¯ replied Tianshen.
¡®¡¯Alright, then so be it, I leave everything in your hands Tianshen¡¯¡¯ said Cao Chen with a smile. It seemed like at this point he had full trust in Tianshen, even if it meant that he wasn¡¯t making every decision himself from now on, he was content at long as the Azure Dragon sect prospered.
After about 30 minutes everyone in the sect received word to urgently gather back at the stadium where the tournament was previously held. Disciples and lower elders were flocking from all corners of the sect, it was announces that everyone has to be present for an urgent message from the sect chief.
After some time the stands around the stadium and the areas around it were all packed with thousands of people, the elders were all sitting in their respective seat. Most of them had a puzzled look on their face, since when was the chief was making public announcements in the open like this? Wasn¡¯t this a bit too much?
There were also some faces that were visibly tense and uncomfortable, especially those of Kong Zhi and his sons. The Tang Clan was supposed to arrive with their army in some hours, could Cao Chen have possibly intercepted some information about the attack and their betrayal?
Tianshen took a seat next to Cao Chen, his face had a rare expression of excitement, by looking at him one would think that he looked like a kid waiting to witness a good show. Little did most know, that Tianshen was going to be the star of the show.
¡®¡¯Everyone settle down and be quiet, I have gathered you all today because the Legacy disciple Tianshen has a few words to say to all of you. Tianshen?¡¯¡¯ Cao Chen gestured for Tianshen to take the stage.
Tianshen stood up and in the next moment he was in the center of the stage. He had his arms crossed behind his back and was looking at the crowd around him who were all curiously looking at him and wondering what he was about to say.
¡®¡¯Everyone, I would like to thank you all for gathering on such a short notice, it shows me that even though this sect has went through a thousand years of decline, we are still taking things seriously, our vigilance, our spirit and our thirst to reach the top of the cultivation world never dwindled. And for that you all have my respect.¡¯¡¯
The people around felt a sense of pride when they heard Tianshen¡¯s words, it was indeed the truth. Although the sect was at its weakest ever, the elders and disciples still took their cultivation and jobs seriously, and were carrying the name of the Azure Dragon with pride, no matter when and where.
¡®¡¯But alas¡¡¯¡¯ Tianshen continued: ¡®¡¯¡not everyone here has the sect¡¯s best interests at heart, I have recently received information that some wolves in sheep clothing are hiding in our sect, and therefore I gathered all of you here to witness this with your own eyes, so there is no doubt in your mind that whoever is a traitor, will die a traitor¡¯s death¡¯¡¯.
Suddenly whispers broke out in the crowd, speculations were already going through everyone¡¯s mind as to who Tianshen was referring to when he mentioned traitors and wolves in sheep clothing.
Kong Zhi¡¯s expression became ugly and he suddenly had a bad premonition, but he was not yet sure if Tianshen was referring to him so he kept his calm and signaled his two sons to do the same.
Tianshen then took out a small cup from inside his spatial ring, it was the Truth pill solution he took from the Azure Dragon tomb ¡®¡¯Elder Jin Hai, you are the sect¡¯s pill master and have years of experience so I ask you if you could join me down here and identify what pill solution is in this cup¡¯¡¯.
Elder Jin Hai looked at Cao Chen who nodded at him in approval, after which he joined Tianshen on the stage and took the cup from him. After about 5 minutes of smelling and observing the liquid he announced ¡®¡¯This is a truth pill solution, whoever drinks this will be forced to answer every question truthfully until it¡¯s effects diminish, the side effects range from mild to severe brain damage¡¯¡¯.
Tianshen smiled and asked ¡®¡¯So it would be fair to say that this pill solution is illegal to use on disciples and if used, the punishment would be severe?¡¯¡¯
¡®¡¯Indeed¡¯¡¯ replied Jin Hai. He could already see where this was going, Tianshen was going to use the truth pill solution on who he thinks to be the traitor, but if it turned out that he was wrong, he would face the consequences, so it was a gamble.
¡®¡¯So it would be also fair to say that if I were to use this solution on someone that turns out to be a traitor, it would be considered perfectly legal and according to the rules?¡¯¡¯ asked Tianshen.
¡®¡¯That is indeed true¡¯¡¯ nodded Jin Hai.
¡®¡¯Good, then I would like for a certain individual to come drink this potion for me now, Jin Ju why don¡¯t you strut over here for me?¡¯¡¯ said Tianshen while staring down Jin Ju with a piercing gaze.
At this moment everyone¡¯s eyes fell on Jin Ju, not to mention the disciples, even some of the elders were surprised. Jin Ju? He was an extraordinary talent only inferior to Kong Feng and Cao Bai, plus he was much younger than them so he would surpass them both at some point, he was a model disciple, everyone looked up to him and respected him.
Jin Ju¡¯s face became ugly, he didn¡¯t know what to do. Drinking that truth pill solution was equal to committing suicide, but at the same time, refusing to drink it would mean that he¡¯s admitting to being a traitor. On Kong Zhi¡¯s side, everyone calmed down, at least they didn¡¯t figure out that much. They didn¡¯t care that much if Jin Ju died here and was labeled as a traitor, that only meant that the Tang Clan¡¯s vengeance would be that much worse, so Kong Zhi benefitted anyway.
CH:20 Shaking the Azure Province (Part 2)
It did not look like Jin Ju would comply, some people were even supporting Jin Ju but did not dare to voice their opinions. Who would be dumb enough to drink that solution? It was the same as telling to someone: If you don¡¯t come here and willingly become a retard, you will be labeled as a traitor.
Many people were conflicted about Tianshen¡¯s methods. But what if he was a traitor? Didn¡¯t that mean that Tianshen is doing the sect a great service and possibly preventing a future calamity? For some disciples, if they had to choose between Jin Ju becoming brain damaged or facing a possible future sect destruction, they were willing to take their chances on Jin Ju drinking that truth pill solution.
Cao Chen noticed that things were at a stalemate and not moving on in any way, so he had a sudden idea and stood up ¡®¡¯Jin Ju, I have reasons to suspect that you are a spy from another sect and Tianshen is acting under my orders, so rest assured if it turns out that I am wrong, I swear that I will take my own life and may all of my future generations be cursed with infertility.¡¯¡¯
Everyone was surprised yet again, Chief Cao Chen was either very certain about Jin Ju being a traitor, or he was covering up for Tianshen, or maybe this was just a prelude to the main event, thought a few.
Jin Ju suddenly screamed, jumped from his seat and tried to run away at full speed, but before he could go anywhere elder Jin Hai had already caught him and put a pill in his mouth, suddenly Jin Ju could not move any of his limbs.
Elder Jin Hai brought him back while everyone was still staring, some with an open mouth and some with satisfied expressions. For some, Jin Ju running away meant that he pretty much admitted to being a traitor, while to others it meant that he was just scared of drinking the pill of truth solution.
¡®¡¯Chief Cao Chen, do I have permission to give him the solution?¡¯¡¯ asked Tianshen.
¡®¡¯Yes¡¯¡¯ replied Cao Chen. He was glad that Tianshen was treating him as a Chief in front of people, he was well aware that if it was just them two in a room, Tianshen would never care for Cao Chen¡¯s permission.
Tianshen was also doing this on purpose, he wanted to strengthen Cao Chen¡¯s position in the sect, many elders were leaning towards Kong Zhi being the chief nowadays but that was only for political reasons. None of them were aware of Kong Zhi¡¯s betrayal.
Tianshen poured the full cup of truth pill solution into Jin Ju¡¯s mouth while elder Jin Hai was holding him.
After a moment Jin Ju¡¯s eyes and expression became blank, it looked like he was staring into nothing lost all sense his surroundings.
Tianshen approached then turned to the crowd and said ¡®¡¯Now we will all know the truth about who he serves and who he really is¡¯¡¯.
After which he turned back to look at Jin Ju and asked him: ¡®¡¯Who are you? What is your real name?¡¯¡¯
¡®¡¯My name is Tang Ju of the Tang Clan¡¯¡¯ he replied while still having that blank expression on his face.
Many gasps were heard in the crowd, other people furrowed their eyebrows and others stomped at the ground in anger. A few girls in the crowd who were in love with ¡®Jin Ju¡¯ even started sobbing, nobody knew if it was out of disappointment because their beloved was a spy sent from the Tang Clan which was a mortal enemy of the Azure Dragon Sect, or because they knew what kind of fate awaited him now that the truth was out.
A lot of Elders instantly turned to Cao Chen and demanded the immediate execution of the spy, even Kong Zhi pretended to join them. But it was painfully obvious at this point, even to the elders that favored Kong Zhi that he did not mean a word from what he was saying.
This made Cao Chen happy, he was winning the favor of the elders that heavily opposed him politically in the past few years, it seemed like everything was turning around in just the span of a few weeks since he met the person called Tianshen.
Suddenly when the talk and whispering was getting a bit out of hand Tianshen asked more questions which silenced the crowd instantly and they returned to being attentive listeners.
¡®¡¯What is your position in the Tang Clan? Why are you spying on the Azure Dragon Sect? I want you to tell me all of your plans.¡¯¡¯
¡®¡¯I am the youngest son of Patriarch Tang Huo, I was raised in a secluded environment from a young age with the sole purpose of infiltrating this sect when the time is right. I was to work with people on the inside who were dissatisfied with Cao Chen. My father is currently leading a large force from the Tang Clan to raze the Azure Dragon Sect and The Azure City to the ground, in fact he should be arriving in a few hours, it was originally planned that they will attack while the tournament is still going on the the sect is at it¡¯s weakest.¡¯¡¯ replied Tang Ju.
After all of this was heard, a lot of the crowd turned to look at each other in astonishment. So it wasn¡¯t just about a spy infiltrating the sect, apparently there were people working with the Tang Clan from the inside.
Kong Zhi¡¯s face became white from fear, he did not know what to do. He had a lot of supporters in the sect, but none of them would follow him if they knew that he committed such treason. That is why he kept it between himself and his sons to begin with. Another thing that Kong Zhi realized is that he was played for a fool by Tang Huo. He was never planning to hand the reigns of the Azure Dragon sect to him once he killed Cao Chen and the other high ranking elders, instead he was planning to destroy the whole sect from the very beginning.
Kong Zhi might have been a rotten, treacherous man driven by his thirst for power and status, but he was not an idiot. He knew that it was all over for him, he might as well come out and say it before Tianshen asked the question himself. At least in that way he could say that only he was the traitor and exclude his two sons, and in that way saving them the penalty of death. Or maybe he could even plead with Cao Chen and the rest of the elders to let him live since the Tang Clan was on its way here and he could be useful in battle as he is the second strongest cultivator here after Cao Chen.
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After pondering all of that, Kong Zhi stood up and raised his hand. After which he said: ¡®¡¯I was the traitor, I gave information to Tang Ju and he passed it to Tang Huo. But I never wanted the destruction of the sect, what I was promised is being the Chief of a new reformed Azure Dragon sect, one that is prosperous and is supported by the Tang Clan instead of opposing it. I am willing to face the consequences, just don¡¯t harm my two sons, they had no part in this.¡¯¡¯
After saying that, Kong Zhi looked like he aged by 30 years in a single moment.
¡®¡¯Kong Zhi how could you?¡¯¡¯
¡®¡¯Yeah, we supported you Kong Zhi!¡¯¡¯
¡®¡¯Traitor, kill him!¡±
A lot of shouting was heard left and right from elders until a loud voice broke the shouting ¡®¡¯SILENCE!¡¯¡¯.
It was the chief Cao Chen who was now standing in front of his seat, but he was not angry, the only expression on his face was disappointment and disgust.
¡®¡¯Kong Zhi by committing such treason you have shamed your family, our sect and our ancestors. You leave me no choice but to sentence you to death. Elders your assistance please?¡¯¡¯
The rest of the elders came and encircled Kong Zhi who now dropped from his seat and knelt on the ground.
But just as everyone thought the show was over the voice of Tianshen sounded yet again ¡®¡¯Who else besides Kong Zhi knew of the treason and worked with him?¡¯¡¯
Everyone turned towards Tianshen and then looked at Tang Ju.
¡®¡¯His sons, Kong Feng and Kong Jie. Not only did they know about it, they worked closely together by trying to create dissent amongst disciples and promote hatred for Cao Chen¡¯¡¯.
Suddenly Kong Feng and Kong Jie both rushed at Tianshen from the crowd while shouting at him ¡®¡¯You bastard! You ruined everything! If we¡¯re dying then you¡¯re going down with us!¡¯¡¯
As the elders were about to make a move Cao Chen stopped them from doing so. The reason he did that was so that Tianshen could gain popularity amongst the sect too by killing these two traitors and cement himself as the Legacy disciple.
Kong Zhi shouted ¡®¡¯NO you fools STOP!¡¯¡¯ but it was too late.
Both Kong Feng and Kong Jie were already swinging their swords at Tianshen from two different angles, just as Kong Jie¡¯s sword was about to make contact with Tianshen¡¯s back, Kong Jie heard a voice coming from behind him ¡®¡¯Not only a sore loser, but also a traitor, let me put you out of your misery already¡¯¡¯ after which a beam of flames shot into Kong Jie¡¯s back and pierced him completely by incinerating all of his internal organs and then exiting through his chest.
While Kong Jie was still in the process of dropping dead on the ground, Tianshen extended his hand to meet Kong Feng¡¯s sword. The Sword of Judgment appeared in Tianshen¡¯s hand.
¡®¡¯You haven¡¯t tasted blood in a long time old friend, I offer this poor soul to you¡¯¡¯ whispered Tianshen to his sword after which the two swords clashed multiple times.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Kong Feng seemed like he was an unleashed beast and was raining aimless attacks at Tianshen from multiple angles out of anger and frustration. Tianshen defended and avoided each attack gracefully and with a lot of ease. The difference between the fighting style of the two was like comparing heaven and earth, one was chaotic and unrefined, while the other was calm, precise and lethal. Lethal because after about 15 to 20 exchanges Tianshen avoided one of Kong Feng¡¯s attacks with lightning speed while jumping through the air towards him.
Everyone heard a slash, after which Kong Feng¡¯s head flew into the air. Kong Feng used multiple profound techniques during this short fight, they all missed because of his anger though. But Tianshen used no profound techniques, it was just good footwork and amazing swordplay.
As Kong Feng¡¯s head hit the ground, so did the body of his brother Kong Jie, which revealed the man that killed him who was currently standing behind him with a trace of golden flames still burning on his hand. It was Qiu Wentian.
Tianshen¡¯s and Wentian¡¯s eyes met and they both nodded at each other in understanding.
Kong Zhi who just witnessed both of his sons being slain in front of his eyes gathered up all of his power and prepared to launch a long distance attack on Tianshen, but before he could do that a heavy hand full of azure scales punched him in the head and completely destroyed it. This was of course Cao Chen¡¯s hand.
¡®¡¯Enough blood has been spilled today, let¡¯s make sure no more is spilled by preparing for the Tang Clan. Everyone is to wait here for one hour for further instructions, the elders and Tianshen are coming with me to discuss strategy¡¯¡¯ after which the elders flew away and Cao Chen and Tianshen soon followed.
Tianshen took Tang Ju with him as he thought that he may still be useful in many ways.
Everyone left behind on the stands and the stage felt uneasy and anxious. This was the Tang clan they were facing after all. Everyone knew that in a head to head collision the Tang Clan would obliterate the Azure Dragon sect with a relative ease. Patriarch Tang Huo was at the 9th stage Heavenly Realm while the Chief Cao Chen was at the 2nd stage Heavenly Realm, which was a difference of 7 stages. Not to mention that the overall average strength of the elders and the disciples of the Tang Clan was also much higher than the Azure Dragon sect. The only advantage that the Azure Dragon Sect had was that they were fighting on their own turf.
¡®¡¯Now it is a matter of taking advantage of that, and who better to do that than Tianshen?¡¯¡¯ thought Wentian to himself while smiling. He had zero doubts that his friend will be able to pull another miracle.
CH:21 Shaking the Azure Province (Part 3)
It has been approximately an hour since the events that led to Kong Zhi¡¯s and his sons¡¯ death. The high elders and the lower elders all had their time to discuss possible strategies they could use to defend against the attack that would soon come from the Tang Clan.
Instead of doing that thought they were all disagreeing and bickering for the past hour as everyone thought they had the best solution. Some proposed fleeing, some others proposed fight to the death, and some others even voiced some opinions that went along the lines of ¡®Let¡¯s surrender and live to fight another day¡¯.
Tianshen sat silently and never uttered a single word as he wanted to witness how the sect would act in times of a potential catastrophe. No need to say that he was completely disappointed by the indecisiveness of some elders, and the recklessness and cowardice of others.
Cao Chen was also observing the discussion and did not say much, at the same time he was also observing Tianshen¡¯s reactions and he could already tell that he was less than impressed by the inadequacy of most of these people.
Silence fell inside the hall, one could hear a pin drop at this point. At this moment Tianshen stood up and said ¡®¡¯I have listened carefully to all of you for the past hour, and I have to say I am thoroughly disappointed. Not one of you even had the respect to let your sect Chief speak his mind, instead you bickered between yourselves like old women. It is in times of great strife that one can see the true character of a person, and all of you failed miserably. It is no wonder that this sect has fallen so much in the past years, if there is no internal unity then there can be no prosperity¡¯¡¯.
Some of the elders lowered their heads in shame, they knew full well that their performance was less than impressive. Some others stood up in protest, especially the lower elders that haven¡¯t had the chance to see Tianshen much, or know of his power.
¡®¡¯Ignorant junior, since when was it your place to speak in here? Just because the chief brought you here does not give you the right to speak out of turn¡¯¡¯ scoffed one of the lower elders.
¡®¡¯You¡¯re the one that is speaking out of turn you idiot, a mere lower elder talking to the legacy disciple as if you are higher than him? Are you tired of living!?¡¯¡¯ shouted high elder Jin Hai.
¡®¡¯That is quite enough!¡¯¡¯ said Cao Chen while standing up from his main seat, which made everyone else besides Tianshen sit down.
¡®¡¯From this day forward Jin Hai will be the vice-chief of our Azure Dragon sect, he has shown his loyalty for many years, and the people that can rival him in terms of pill mastery can be counted on one hand in the Azure province. That is my first decision before we start talking about how we defend against the Tang Clan.¡¯¡¯
At this point a lot of elders stood up and cupped their fists towards Jin Hai ¡®¡¯Greetings to the new vice-chief¡¯¡¯ they all shouted in unison.
¡®¡¯Now as for Tianshen, let it be known that from this day, I give him unlimited rights in the sect, he comes and goes as he pleases, he can have any resource at his disposal anytime he wants, and his status will be equal to mine and Jin Hai¡¯s. He will be involved in every important decision that concerns the future of our sect. Anyone who disagrees with this decision is to come forward now.¡¯¡¯ Said Cao Chen in a commanding tone.
Nobody of course dared to step forward even if some of the elders had ugly expressions on their faces. Cao Chen did not mind that, he knew that the time has come to make some very drastic decisions regarding the future of the Azure Dragon sect, and if that meant getting rid of some annoying thorns from his back, he would do so in a fast and efficient way.
As for Tianshen, he did not care at all about any social status given to him, in his own mind none of the people in front of him were worthy to decide on his social status. This was not petty arrogance, it was a deep-rooted belief that he gained by being a God-like deity for billions of years.
He could invest his time and maybe some emotions into these people, but at the end of the day it was all for his own amusement. The only 2 people that he truly cared about until now was Wentian and Bingyue who he decided to take under his turf, as for the rest of the sect; the only reason he was still helping them and staying around was because he was craving the excitement and emotional stimulation that came with events like these. He deeply missed being involved in battles, politics and human daily affairs in general. In other words, he missed the adventure.
After another moment of silence Cao Chen gestured for Tianshen to continue speaking, which he did ¡®¡¯Good, now that you¡¯re all done butting your heads and deciding on everyone¡¯s social status and power, maybe we can get down to actual important matters. For those of you that don¡¯t know, I have recently visited the Azure Dragon ancestor¡¯s tomb, and managed to open it and gain the inheritance. I have given everything to the Chief and he will distribute it how he sees fit. The inheritance includes many Earth, Sky and Heaven grade treasures, a handful of King grade, as well as one Emperor grade treasure weapon which will be used by the chief himself¡¯¡¯.
At this point many elders gasped and others had an open mouth. Treasures came in different grades which were Mortal, Earth, Sky, King, Emperor, Venerable and Saint. Each grade was further divided into low, middle and high. Mortal grades were used by Qi Accumulation and Core Formation realm cultivators, the rest of the grades correspond to each cultivation realm. This did not mean that a cultivator could not use a treasure that was a higher grade that their cultivation realm. If for example a person of the Earth Realm used a Sky grade weapon, they would win against someone at the same cultivation realm using an Earth grade treasure, but they would still not be able to bring out the treasure¡¯s full power. As for someone using a treasure which was two grades higher than their cultivation realm, it was like using any other normal treasure of their grade, they wouldn¡¯t be able to get even close to using its full potential.
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The reason many elders were awestruck by what Tianshen said was that no sect in the Azure Province had an Emperor grade treasure except the Tang Clan, but only their retired ex-Patriarch was allowed to use it in case of a catastrophic event. This made them all feel much more confident and at the same time grateful to their Ancestor.
¡®¡¯In any case, the Chief will not be able to bring out the Emperor grade weapon¡¯s full power because his cultivation is lacking, but I have a solution for that. I don¡¯t know if any of you are aware of something called Spirit power?¡¯¡¯ asked Tianshen while looking around the room.
One of the oldest looking elders replied ¡®¡¯I have read of such a power in ancient texts, but such power has not been seen for many-many centuries in our province, or any of the neighboring ones for that matter, it might as well be a myth¡¯¡¯.
¡®¡¯Indeed, my master once told me about it, he even mentioned how our Ancestor was able to wield this Spirit power, he used to infuse it into weapons and create barriers with it¡¯¡¯ said Cao Chen.
Tianshen had a serious look on his face and said ¡®¡¯What I am about to say stays in this room unless I give you permission to spread it, anyone who leaks this information I will kill without question¡¯¡¯. After giving this strict warning Tianshen continued
¡®¡¯Spirit power can be used in many more ways than just create barriers, and if you have the talent for it, anyone can learn it. Some people view spirit power as another ability that cultivators can learn, but it is much more than that, Spirit power is fundamental to every cultivator in order for them to advance past a certain level of cultivation. Our Universe and the laws that bind it together all consist of three vital parts, the Qi, the Spirit and the Soul. One that cultivates only one of the three will not go far on the road of cultivation, one that cultivates two of them will have moderate success, but the one who cultivates all three can reach unimaginable heights.¡¯¡¯
Everyone was listening attentively as if they were being lectured by a great Master, a select few even entered a state of enlightenment and their Qi and Soul power was fluctuating restlessly. Tianshen was satisfied by this, these few elders including Cao Chen were all on their way to unlock the door to the way of the Spirit.
Tianshen continued ¡®¡¯This way of cultivation is called ¡®The Way of the Spirit¡¯. Spirit power, unlike cultivation of the Qi and the Soul, is divided into twelve levels, the first three are called he Mortal Spirit, from 4th to 6th they are called The Divine Spirit, from 7th to 9th they are called the Transcendent Spirit, and the final three are called the God Spirit. Breaking through each level is countless times harder than Qi and Soul cultivation, for the sole reason that Qi exists and has been scattered around the Universe since the beginning of time, it is there for everyone to absorb and cultivate. As for the Soul it usually grows together with the cultivation of the Qi. But the Spirit is different, it depends on the person¡¯s will and conviction. A lot of people can unlock the doors to the way of the spirit, but not many can cultivate it, even less are the people who can cultivate it to a high level. So although a lot of you will probably be able to unlock the way of the spirit under my guidance, don¡¯t expect to reach far.¡¯¡¯
After Tianshen stopped speaking, Cao Chen and Jin Hai both started glowing in a white light, which was a sign of them unlocking the way of the spirit. This meant that they could now cultivate it and maybe use it to a certain extent.
¡®¡¯This is good, both of them have unlocked the way of the spirit and will now be able to see and wield spirit power to a certain extent. This will be vital to our success today. As I was saying, Spirit power can be used in many more ways than just setting up barriers; so today I will set up a huge formation around the Azure City, it will involve using a lot of Spirit, Qi and Soul power so I will most likely be exhausted at the end. I will give you instructions on how to use the formation to your advantage, I will need eight elders that will be in charge of this formation by infusing their Qi in it, the formation¡¯s success will depend on these eight people¡¯s coordination. Chief Cao Chen, I live the selection of those eight people to you. As for the Emperor grade treasure weapon left to you by the ancestor, it is already infused with Spirit power. I will create the formation in such a way that it will allow you to bring out the strength of this weapon for a short period of time. I¡¯m certain it will be enough to drive the invading Tang Clan away¡¯¡¯. Tianshen finished speaking, after which he turned around and walked towards the exit while gesturing people to follow him.
They all went outside the hall after which Tianshen sat down cross-legged as White light started glowing around him which only Cao Chen and Jin Hai could see. He then started to make hand signs and speak incantations in a tongue none of the people present understood. The white light around Tianshen formed into complex geometrical symbols which all flew into all directions of the City.
The elders were staring in awe and were wondering where did this youth learn all of this, was he even really a youth or an old monster in the body of a boy?
They were all woken up from their thought by Tianshen¡¯s voice as he said ¡®¡¯This will take me another couple of hours to finish, Chief Cao Chen, I need the eight people to sit with me here right now, after that you can leave us here, distribute all the treasure weapons to the elders and take defensive positions at the edge of the formation, I trust you can see where that is now¡¯¡¯.
Cao Chen nodded and selected eight elders of the 1st stage of the Sky Realm. After that he distributed the treasures to the rest of the elders and led all of them and the rest of the disciples towards the white light that only he and Jin Hai could see. A this moment a huge, white dome-like structure made out of many complex symbols was visible to Cao Chen, Jin Hai and a certain puppy which was hiding in the bosom of Cao Bai.
Time was passing by, everyone was on edge and anxious but the elders who witnessed Tianshen¡¯s planning and power reassured everyone.
The Azure Dragon sect was ready to face the enemy, many people resolved to die today and already accepted the fact. Little did they know that no more Azure Dragon Sect blood would be spilled today. In fact, today was the day that the Azure Dragon sect would shake the foundations of the whole province.
CH:22 Shaking the Azure Province (Part 4)
Tianshen was finished with setting up the Spirit Formation, after which his Spirit Power, Qi and Soul Power were almost exhausted. He took some time to teach the eight elders of the Sky Realm how to control the formation which went surprisingly well. The elders took all of his teachings and directions seriously, without the slightest hint of contempt of arrogance just because they were learning all this from a young boy.
The eight elders sat down cross-legged in a circle and infused their Soul Power and Qi into the formation, although they could not see the formation with their eyes since none of them had unlocked the path of the spirit yet, they could feel it with their Qi and Soul Power.
Tianshen was still sitting next to them and was trying to replenish his exhausted Qi, and Soul Power and Spirit Power as fast as possible. He was almost sure that there could be no mishaps in his plan and he trusted the eight elders to carry out their duty without fail, but he still wanted to be in shape and ready for anything just in case. He was aware that it would take time to replenish all of the Qi, Soul Power and Spirit he lost but that did not stop him from trying as hard as he could.
On Cao Chen¡¯s side, he and Jin Hai at this moment could see the thick dome-like barrier formation that was now surrounding the Azure City. All the mortal citizens and weak cultivators were ordered to stay inside their homes, which they complied with without question.
After two more hours passed, Cao Chen who was looking into the distant sky, saw something that looked like a massive black cloud and it was approaching the Azure Dragon sect at an amazing speed. Soon everyone could see that the ¡®cloud¡¯ was really not a cloud but thousands of massive swords of different sizes. On those massive swords stood thousands of cultivators ranging from the Earth Realm to the Heavenly Realm.
But there were three auras that stood out to Cao Chen while he was observing the enemy¡¯s ranks, all three were coming from the three biggest swords that were in the very front of the formation. And all three of the swords, although massive, had only one cultivator each on top of them.
The closer they approached, the more the frown on Cao Chen¡¯s face was visible. Cao Chen could not be considered in the top 10 of the Azure Province in terms of strength or status, so he knew very well that today was not the day that he would repel the Tang Clan with his personal strength; everything today was in the hands of Tianshen.
The reason that Cao Chen had an increasingly ugly expression was because after a while, he recognized the three people leading the Tang Clan, there was not a single soul that did not know the one in the middle. It was none other than the Patriarch of the Tang Clan, Tang Huo. He was wearing a golden robe while his long black hair fluttered in the wind, his gaze was as sharp as a sword¡¯s and he gave off the unmistakable aura of a King. This was a true Martial King level existence, one of the few in the Azure Province. He was named Huo because of his fiery spirit, but most people connected it to his temper.
Cao Chen could accept it if it was just this Tang Huo leading the Tang Clan to battle, but it looked like the Tang Clan was really making the utmost effort this time around. Cao Chen could not recognize the two others on the left and right of Tang Huo, so he could only speculate according to his knowledge.
The two men on the left and right of Tang Huo both looked very old, and they both also possessed a Kingly aura that was in no way inferior to that of Tang Huo¡¯s.
¡®¡¯Three people of the Martial King realm? And the two on the sides are not weaker than Tang Huo himself, isn¡¯t this a bit too much?¡¯¡¯ said Jin Hai who was standing next to Cao Chen and had the same ugly expression on his face.
¡®¡¯Does chief know who the other two are?¡¯¡¯ asked another elder from behind Cao Chen.
Cao Chen thought for a moment after which he replied with a serious expression ¡®¡¯It really does not matter who they are, our mission remains the same and we stick to Tianshen¡¯s instructions. But¡ I might have an idea of who they are if you really want to know that much. Although very simple, they are still wearing Tang Clan robes, which means they are members of the Tang Clan and not outsider help. Their auras are about on the same level as Tang Huo, and Tang Huo is a 1st stage Martial King, so from that we know that they are both 1st stage Martial Kings as well. And lastly, judging by how old they look despite their high cultivation level can only mean that they are not cultivators that belong to our generation, or any of the recent ones before us. Taking all this into account, I think it¡¯s safe to assume that they are the High Elder advisors of the previous Tang Clan Patriarch who has long been in secluded cultivation trying to prolong his lifespan. If I¡¯m not mistaken their names are Tang Jianshu and Tang Jianbing, they are old monsters that are no less than 400 years old. Not even Tang Huo himself would dare to show them any disrespect as he¡¯s only a junior compared to them.¡¯¡¯
Hearing what Cao Chen said, everyone felt a cold sweat run down their backs. They really did not even stand a chance in a head to head collision. It¡¯s important to know that the strongest cultivator in the Azure Dragon sect was Cao Chen with a cultivation of a 5th stage Heavenly Realm. Strictly speaking, if any of the three Martial Kings wanted to, they could kill Cao Chen with a single slap, and now they had to face three of those at the same time, not to mention the thousands on thousands of cultivators behind those three. It was really all down to how strong Tianshen¡¯s formation is, because otherwise, everyone would die today.
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A lot of people that were not aware until now, at this point realized the disparity between the Azure Dragon sect and the Tang Clan which made them feel dejected. How could they allow the sect to fall this low? A dragon is supposed to soar in the skies and look down on the world with disdain, not being stepped on by a single Tang Clan. It was at this moment that a lot of Azure Dragon sect elders and disciples made a promise to themselves, that if they survive today, they would work a hundred times harder, a hundred times faster and with a hundred times more zeal and conviction to make the sect reach the top of the province where it once belonged.
As many of these different and similar thoughts were running through everyone¡¯s mind, all of the Tang Clan cultivators that were flying on the swords suddenly jumped down from them. Before anyone could realize the thousands of flying swords increased their speed and were all heading towards the Azure Dragon city.
A rain of massive swords that blocked out the sky is all that the Azure Dragon sect cultivators could see, but just as the swords were about to crash into the city, a white barrier covered in ancient symbols materialized.
On the Tang Clan side, the three leading figures had a surprised look on their faces, as the swords crashed into the barrier.
BOOM, BOOM, BOOM ,BOOM!! Thousands of loud explosions were heard in a 200Km radius.
After the explosions stopped, all that the Tang Clan could see was a large cloud of dust which now covered the Azure Dragon city. The Tang Clan¡¯s army roared in cheers and battle cries thinking that most of the city would now be in ruins, but the three people in the front were carefully observing the dust cloud while still frowning and not speaking a word to each other.
Meanwhile in the Azure Dragon sect, in a certain spot, eight elders were sitting cross-legged in a circle and infusing their Qi and Soul power into the formation. Tianshen was sitting next to them and had a serene expression on his face while meditating. Although he was in a state of meditation, he was still using small part of his soul power in order to follow the events happening outside, so he had a clear image of everything occurring.
After a while the huge dust cloud settled down and the Azure Dragon city came into view. The roars and the battle cries on the side of the Tang Clan instantly stopped as the city which they thought would now be lying in ruins, still stood untouched.
The patriarch of the Tang Clan made a gesture for his army to advance behind him as he flew down with the other two elders. They stopped in front of the city and were now staring at the thousands of cultivators of the Azure Dragon sect standing on the opposite side of the city walls, led by two men who Tang Huo recognized as being Cao Chen and Jin Hai.
Tang Huo then spoke with an excessively arrogant tone ¡®¡¯I am assuming that Kong Zhi and his two incompetent sons failed me, but no matter. Cao Chen, you should have known that this day would come. I don¡¯t know what this barrier you set up around your city is, but I assure you that it will not last. So now I¡¯m giving you a once in a lifetime chance to drop down your weapons and surrender to me willingly, I can promise that I will give you all an honorable death, deserving of the descendants of the Azure Dragon¡¯¡¯
¡®¡¯You haven¡¯t changed in the least Tang Huo, always greedy for more power. You could have just ignored our existence since we never desired to take your place as the rulers of this province. All we ever wanted was to be free to cultivate without fear and be treated fairly by you. But you are right, I should have known that this day would come, I was too na?ve to think that your clan would leave the past behind them. So be it then, from today onwards I am announcing that the Azure Dragon sect will not rest until the Tang Clan of the Azure Province is eradicated, we will use any means and methods available to us to make sure that from today you don¡¯t have a single day of peace in this province, we have sat idly for far too long, we have disgraced our ancestors for far too long¡¡¯¡¯ Cao Chen stopped for a moment and took out an azure colored scepter which was shaped like a long Dragon with the head being one end, and the tail being the other. The aura around the area instantly changed and became overbearing, even the aura of the three leading Tang Clan experts was a bit suppressed by the scepter.
One of the two Elders on Tang Huo¡¯s side, Tang Jianshu instantly frowned as a cold sweat ran down his back, after which he mumbled a single word: ¡®¡¯Emperor¡¡¯¡¯ but before he could finish what he was intending to say, Cao Chen shouted ¡®¡¯¡the Azure Dragon shall soar through the skies once again!¡¯¡¯
And that was the moment when a battle cry that sounded more like the roar of a Dragon resounded through the area. The Azure Dragon sect¡¯s battle cry shook the Earth and the Sky itself. This day would go down in the Blue Country¡¯s history as the day when the Dragon broke the shackles that bound him for so long and would finally open its wings of revenge that would cover and bathe in blood not only the Azure Province, but the whole country itself.