by Mars Gravity
The arena was instantly a field of silence. Even the silent and expressionless Ling Kun from the Mighty Heaven Sword Region appeared to be surprised. Ling Yuefeng seemed as though he was struck by lightning and jump up and said in a quivering voice: “Space compression… This… This is… an Emperor Profound power!!”
Once the three words “Emperor Profound power” came out, they were like thunderclaps on a clear day as they sounded in everyone’s ears.
“Emperor… Emperor Profound? This, this… This can’t be possible, right?”
“How is that impossible! Villa Master Ling personally shouted it out himself! And if it’s not the true Emperor Profound Realm, how could Fen Moli be so fatigued after only taking one of her blows?”
“Oh my god, another Throne actually appeared in our Blue Wind Empire, and it’s actually such a young Throne. Even if she had just stepped into the Emperor Profound Realm this year, she has done it much earlier than Villa Master Ling… She’s the fastest person to reach the Emperor Profound Realm in these hundreds of years!”
“Then, other than the legendary Xu Fairy Mistress, another Throne has appeared in the Frozen Cloud Asgard! And it is rumored that the Grandmistress of Frozen Cloud Asgard is actually still in the Frozen Cloud Asgard, and has yet to pass away. If this rumor is also true, then doesn’t it mean that Frozen Cloud Asgard has three Thrones!? Even Burning Heaven Clan and Xiao Sect only has one Throne each!”
Everyone was astonished at the news of Chu Yuechan becoming a Throne. She was the Fairy of Frozen Beauty, who stood high up at the top and was like a descended immortal. Currently, in everyone’s eyes, she had undoubtedly stepped high above the clouds, as though she had turned into a real fairy which they could not even hope to look up to. In the Blue Wind Empire, Thrones were legendary existences, and even more so, unbeatable existences. There was a very important reason why there were only Four Major Sects in the Blue Wind Empire, and not “Five Major Sects”. Only the Four Major Sects possessed these unparalleled “Thrones”.
The expressions of everyone in Burning Heaven Clan and Xiao Sect changed. Another Throne appearing in the Frozen Cloud Asgard undoubtedly meant that they now fell behind by a large margin in terms of strength. Xiao Sect’s Sect Master Xiao Juetian slowly stood up, looked blankly at Chu Yuechan’s back figure for a moment, curled his lips, and then, slowly sat back onto his seat… Twenty years passed and she was still as entrancing. Even her back figure, was so beautiful, as though she was just a mere illusion. However, her current shine was so blinding that even he, the Sect Master of Xiao Sect, could only feel deeply ashamed.
Back then, after seeing Chu Yuechan for the first time in the Ranking Tournament, he was deeply entranced by her again, and had constantly dreamed about her. However, he was not as wild as Ling Yuefeng. Even more so, he did not embarrass himself like Ling Yuefeng wo had unhesitantly headed towards Frozen Cloud Asgard time and time again, only to return with empty hands. But, at the very least, he still felt that he was worthy enough for her…
But currently, he seemed to not even have the courage to look directly in her eyes any longer. Such a young Throne… Forget about now, even in the entire history of the Blue Wind Empire, such a person had never appeared before. It was as though the heavens were overly spoiling their beloved pet and had given her too many halos that were dazzling bright. And under these halos, he was not able to think of anyone in this Blue Wind Empire who was worthy for her…
At least, he personally admitted that he, the Sect Master of Xiao Sect himself, was not worthy.
In these several hundred years, many practitioners at half-step into the Emperor Profound Realm had appeared in the Four Major Sects, but, among the experts who had reached this level, in the end, less a tenth of them had entered the Emperor Profound Realm. Fen Moli had stopped at half-step into the Emperor Profound Realm for thirty odd years, and he could not help but accept the fact that it would be impossible for him to be called a true Throne in his entire life. Although there was only half a step difference between half-step into the Emperor Profound Realm and the Emperor Profound Realm, this half a step, was as though one had crossed into the heavens with just half a step from the earth. The difference in strength was overwhelming.
In front of a true Throne, a practitioner half-step into the Emperor Profound Realm was no different than a weak little infant; there were basically no threats to speak of. Fen Moli was simply inviting humiliation by taking the initiative to act against Chu Yuechan.
In the seats of the Burning Heaven Clan, Fen Juecheng rushed out at lightning speed. He held Fen Moli, who had fainted due to being severely injured or perhaps being angered, in his arms. He checked his injuries quickly before turning in Ling Yuefeng’s direction and bowing towards him: “Villa Master Ling, Elder Ling. Our disciple was severely injured and Elder Fen Moli was so anxious that he made such an impulsive action. Seeing that he had actually not caused much damage, and has already been taught a lesson by the Fairy of the Frozen Beauty, could you be magnanimous and forgive Elder Fen Moli. After the ranking tournament, I will personally bring him along to apologize to Villa Master Ling and Elder Ling.”
“Hmph!” Ling Yuefeng looked enraged: “As an esteemed elder of your clan, Fen Moli does not know how to act his age. He did not consider the severity of the issue and ignored the rules of the tournament. He even tried to severely injure a contestant that had just won. According to the rules of the tournament, not only Fen Moli, the entire Burning Heaven Clan has to be stripped of their participation right!”
After saying this, Ling Yuefeng appear to calm down a little: “Considering the fact that Fen Moli was anxious and had already been taught a lesson by the Fairy of Frozen Beauty, I will treat it as he has been punished. The matter will rest like this. The right to explore the ‘Heaven Basin Secret Realm’ shall also be retained. However, if such a thing happens again, not only will your right to explore the Heaven Basin Secret Realm be removed, I’m afraid that Burning Heaven Clan’s right to participate in the next ranking tournament will also be removed.”
Burning Heaven Clan was undoubtedly different from other clans. Ling Yuefeng did not want to offend them. Despite his harsh words, he had already take a big step back and gave them ample face. Fen Juecheg let out a huge sigh of relief as he bowed to Ling Yuefeng with a junior’s courtesy before bringing Fen Moli away from the Sword Discourse Arena.
All eyes fell back on Chu Yuechan. Yun Che took a step forward with a slight smile: “Fairy of the Frozen Beauty, thank you for saving…”
Before he had finished speaking, the ice spirit in front of him shook as the beauty and cool figure disappeared from the Sword Discourse Arena and returned back to her seat.
Yun Che silently laughed. As to the meaning behind his laugh, only he himself understood.
“This Chu Yuechan really isn’t simple. She is already a Throne at such a young age, it’s no wonder you were so mesmerized by her when you were young.” Xuanyuan Yufeng said without facing Ling Yuefeng.
Ling Yuefeng smiled slightly and replied: “Honey, what you said is wrong. When I was younger, I was not mesmerized by her talent, but by her looks. Little did I expect that she was not only beautiful but also this talented. This was indeed quite shocking.”
Seeing him smile so calmly, Xuanyuan Yufeng was suddenly relieved and shifted half her body onto Ling Yuefeng’s.
Second match of the Quarterfinals: Heavenly Sword Villa’s Ling Jie —— VS —— Heavenly Sword Villa’s Ling Feiyu.
Even though they both belonged to Heavenly Sword Villa, one was in the sixth level of the Spirit Profound Realm while the other was in the ninth. No matter how one looked at it, the result of the battle was obvious.
Ling Jie went on stage first and crossed his hands over his chest. He drew back the corners of his mouth slightly and looked completely unafraid. After quite some time, Ling Feiyu finally went onto stage and stood in front of Ling Jie. He looked somewhat conflicted.
“The two of you have be
en sparring so often. This time, are you both sure that you want to compete?” Ling Wugou emotionlessly asked as he stood outside the profound energy barrier. As an elder, he was very clear about the skill levels of the Villa’s young disciples.
Hearing his question, the people below the stage completely understood what it meant. The difference in strength between these two people must be very large. In their usual spars, they would always end up with one side completely suppressing the other. Even if they were to compete again, it would be impossible for a second outcome to happen, and they would merely be wasting their time.
Hearing Lin Wugou’s words, Ling Jie actually did not have that big of a reaction. However, the corner of Ling Feiyu’s lips moved, a slight struggle appeared in his eyes, and then, he finally sighed, and said. “Fine, I surrender.”
WHOAA——
The people below the stage instantly widened their eyes one after another…
The one who took the initiative to surrender was not Ling Jie who possessed merely the strength at the sixth level of the Spirit Profound Realm…
But, Ling Feiyu, who had easily smashed his way through into the Quarterfinals with his strength at the ninth level of the Spirit Profound Realm!!
Chapter 224: Xia Qingyue VS Xiao Kuanglei
“The one who took the initiative to back out was not Ling Jie but actually Ling Feiyu…” Yun Che was also astonished. In his previous matches, the strength that Ling Feiyu revealed was incomparably shocking. The practitioners in Group One were far from the level of those in Group Two, and Ling Feiyu was the publicly acknowledged strongest practitioner in Group One. Regardless of whether it was the Round of 32 or the Round of 16, he always had easily defeated his opponent in five exchanges. In this match against Ling Jie, everyone believed that Ling Jie would lose, or take the initiative to surrender. No one expected that the one who took the initiative to surrender would actually be Ling Feiyu!
“Does this mean, that Junior Brother Yun’s opponent for tomorrow is Ling Jie?” This result actually caused Cang Yue to subconsciously let out a small breath of relief. After all, no matter how you think about it, the sixth level of the Spirit Profound Realm sounds less menacing than the ninth level of the Spirit Profound Realm.
“Could it be that since Ling Jie is the Villa Master’s son, Ling Feiyu doesn’t dare to defeat him on stage, so he surrendered first?” Xia Yuanba scratched his head as he asked in confusion.
“No! If Heavenly Sword Villa was such a pompous place, it would never be able to become Blue Wind Empire’s number one power.” Yun Che slightly lowered his brows and took new look at the Ling Jie who happily laughed down the Sword Discourse Arena: “There is only one possibility, and it is that Ling Jie’s strength surpasses Ling Feiyu’s. Not only that, it probably far surpasses his… Looks like tomorrow would be a hard battle.”
He shifted his gaze towards Heavenly Sword Villa’s seating area, discovering tranquility in both Ling Yuefeng and Ling Yun’s expressions, as if what this outcome revealed was not the slightest bit unexpected.
The speed and results of the second match was completely unexpected as it came to a close. The third match came shortly after, with Heavenly Sword Villa’s Ling Yun and Frozen Cloud Asgard’s Shui Wushuang on opposite ends.
This was a showdown between Heavenly Sword Villa’s core disciple and Frozen Cloud Asgard’s core disciple. This kind of duel usually appeared as the final battle in the past, but this year’s group divisions had brought about an imbalance in average strength, making what ought to be the final battle of the tournament shift to an earlier date, the Quarterfinals.
And the speed of how this confrontation ended, was even faster than the second match.
“Wushuang, you can surrender this match if you want.” Chu Yueli suddenly said as Shui Wushuang was about to leap up onto the Sword Discourse Arena.
Shui Wushuang went silent for a moment, but did not dispute it. Instead, she softly said: “Yes.”
“Three years ago, your Senior Sister Mu’s strength had far surpassed the current you, yet suffered a crushing defeat to Ling Yun. Three years had passed since then and Ling Yun’s strength has enormously leapt again. You are simply not his match. As long as you’re even a little serious about it, you will be injured all over and lose in less than five moves. Since it’s like that, it’s better off to simply back out.”
While letting what others saw as their “core disciple” abandon the match, Chu Yueli had actually said that with a particular calmness. Her peerlessly beautiful eyes did not reveal the slightest hint of unwillingness and regret. Perhaps, this was merely a simple insignificant decision.
“Yes, Junior Master, Disciple understands.” Shui Wushuang slowly nodded, and then returned to her seat.
Ling Wugou then declared: “Frozen Cloud Asgard’s Shui Wushuang forfeits the match, Heavenly Sword Villa’s Ling Yun wins with a no match, and will be entering tomorrow’s Semifinals!”
Even though this result lead to much discussion among the crowd, it still wasn’t that unexpected. After all, Ling Yun’s strength was truly too terrifying. Even if Shui Wushuang was Frozen Cloud Asgard’s current core disciple, she simply did not have the power to win that matchup. Immediate forfeit was the most sensible of selections. But on one hand, Frozen Cloud Asgard still had one disciple remaining, which was Xia Qingyue, who had the lowest profound strength out of the three participating disciples. Her opponent also just happened to be Xiao Sect’s core disciple whose profound strength surpassed hers —— Xiao Kuanglei. If she lost, Frozen Cloud Asgard would have no chance to enter the Semifinals, and could only settle for fourth place.
Up until now, the only match that had officially been carried out was only Yun Che’s match against Fen Juebi, yet three out of the four appearing in tomorrow’s Semifinals had already been decided. It was Heavenly Sword Villa’s Ling brothers, Ling Yun and Ling Jie, as well as Blue Wind Imperial Family’s Yun Che.
Two of Heavenly Sword Villa’s members entering the top four was not outside of anyone’s expectations. But the fact that the top four had an additional disciple that did not belong to any of the Four Major Sects, who was only from the Blue Wind Imperial Family that had always placed in the middle to lower rankings, had made the entire ranking tournament become exceptionally unusual. The Blue Wind Imperial Family that had always received shame and never received glory in the ranking tournament had actually relied on a nobody, a mere seventeen year old disciple, to continuously make everyone get taken aback. His performance had allowed him to make his way into the individual top four placings. In this ranking tournament, Blue Wind Imperial Family’s power rankings was now also a guaranteed minimum of top three!!
As long as one was not blind, they could clearly see that after Yun Che had defeated Fen Juebi, the previously calm Qin Wushang laughed so hard that he had grimaced in pain. Even his incisors looked as if they were about to fall out.
“Fourth match of the Quarterfinals —— Frozen Cloud Asgard’s Xia Qingyue versus Xiao Sect’s Xiao Kuanglei! May the two contestants enter the Sword Discourse Arena within thirty breaths of time. If otherwise, it would be deemed as renouncing the match!”
Following Ling Wugou’s loud declaration, the numerous sounds of discussion in the Sword Discourse Arena stopped as it became a field of silence.
Xia Qingyue and Xiao Kuanglei were respectively Frozen Cloud Asgard and Xiao Sect’s remaining disciples. Whoever loses, would have no chance of entering the top four.
“Even though the talent of Frozen Cloud Asgard’s Xia Qingyue is shockingly enough to enter the eighth level of the Spirit Profound Realm at the age of seventeen, and is only one level short of the Ling Yun in the past, Frozen Cloud Asgard is still Frozen Cloud Asgard. It is impossible for them to nurture a true ‘Ling Yun’. She is too young. She is not old or experienced enough. For her profound strength to reach the eighth level of the Spirit Profound Realm so quickly, it is bound to be extremely unstable. As long as nothing completely unexpected happens, y
ou will win this match very easily. But, you still must never underestimate your opponent. In all the previous ranking tournaments, it is not known how many so-called geniuses had fallen to the three words ‘underestimating the opponent’. Understand?” Xiao Juetian reminded Xiao Kuanglei.
“Third brother, good luck. Burning Heaven Clan has already suffered a crushing defeat. As long as you win this match, our overall ranking will be a guaranteed minimum of top three. Moreover, there is more than a ninety nine percent chance that we would rank second. This will be our Xiao Sect’s historical breakthrough!” Xiao Kuangyu said as he patted Xiao Kuanglei’s shoulder with a serious expression on his face.
“Don’t worry. In this match, I will only win, and never lose! Don’t forget, I still have not taken out my Earth Shocking Sword. If I reveal the Earth Shocking Sword, forget about the Xia Qingyue at only the eighth level of the Spirit Profound Realm, even if it’s someone at the peak of the tenth level of the Spirit Profound Realm, it is still impossible for me to lose.” Xiao Kuanglei said with complete confidence.
“In the case of weaponry, we may not necessarily be at an advantage.” Xiao Wuji’s brows sank: “We have the Earth Shocking Sword, but don’t forget, Frozen Cloud Asgard has the ‘Ice Phoenix Snowflower Whip’. Shui Wushuang had already surrendered so in this match, Frozen Cloud Asgard has an even larger reason than us to not lose. This time, Frozen Cloud Asgard will inevitably give Xia Qingyue the Sky Profound Weapon.”
“Hmph. You are completely overthinking it. One must be in at least the Earth Profound Realm to master the ‘Ice Phoenix Snowflower Whip’. Even if it is in Xia Qingyue’s hands, it would at most display only thirty percent of its power. Besides, so what if it could actually exhibit all of its power? With the same Sky Profound Weapon in hand, Kuanglei’s experience and profound strength would far surpass Xia Qingyue’s. Don’t tell me that even that is not enough to defeat her?” Xiao Boyun said in a happy mood.