by Translator: BornToBe; Author: Ordinary Magician (平凡魔术师); Licensed From: 17k
Everyone was deathly silent. Ye Qingkuang was an Empyrean, but he had been injured. Everyone, including Ye Qingkuang, stared in shock at the newcomer.
A light sound rang out as that person slowly sheathed his sword. The sound wasn’t loud, but it possessed a great impact to their ears. That attack had looked completely insignificant and natural, and yet it had injured an Empyrean.
“You were actually able to use Heavenly Dao energy to resist my Sword Qi. As expected of an Empyrean,” said that person lightly, a bit of shock in his eyes.
“Who are you?!” Ye Qingkuang wiped his face. His Heavenly Dao energy circulated, and his injury vanished. His divine item, the Steel Coiling Dragon Staff, appeared in his other hand.
He felt a sensation of terror toward this sword-wielding man. Just now, he had almost been slain. Just thinking about it made him afraid.
“Long Chen’s subordinate, the Dragonblood Legion’s fourth captain, Yue Zifeng.”
This man was Yue Zifeng. When Long Chen had created the Dragonblood Legion, there had been three hundred and sixty members split into four groups led by four captains.
Long Chen had decided to have Gu Yang, Li Qi, Song Mingyuan, and Yue Zifeng be the captains. Wilde was like a child and couldn’t command others, while that little fellow Guo Ran was too frivolous. He liked showing off too much.
“Long Chen’s subordinate, the Dragonblood Legion’s fourth captain, Yue Zifeng…”
These words resounded through the air, backed by Yue Zifeng’s spiritual yuan. Each word was like a blade piercing everyone’s ears. With the impression left behind by his unstoppable sword, his voice seemed to pierce their souls.
“How terrifying. A captain is already so powerful? Just how strong is the Dragonblood Legion?” Everyone was intimidated by Yue Zifeng. His sword was too marvelous, too shocking, too terrifying.
“Isn’t your Dragon Slaughtering Convention’s goal to kill my boss and my Dragonblood Legion? Why would you refuse us at the door?” asked Yue Zifeng coldly.
“Hmph, fine. Tomorrow, I’ll put you in your place, and I won’t give you a second chance to sneak attack me,” snorted Ye Qingkuang. Strangely, despite overflowing with battle intent a moment ago, he now returned to the city.
In any case, he was truly shameless. Yue Zifeng’s attack had been a direct, head-on one, but somehow he managed to call it a sneak attack.
Yue Zifeng smiled indifferently and didn’t bother with him. He cupped his fists toward Xia Yunchong, Xia Youluo, Bao Buping, and Chang Hao.
“I’m not very eloquent. I hope you won’t mind.”
“Not being eloquent is the right thing. Being skilled at killing is better. Brother, this sword of yours is quite amazing. Do you still remember me? We fought together once on Devil Spirit Mountain.” Bao Buping was very friendly, and he even patted Yue Zifeng’s shoulder.
“This isn’t the place to talk. Let’s enter the city first and see what they have inside,” said Chang Hao impatiently.
Now that Chang Hao said this, the other four nodded. They walked into the city, quickly reaching the inner city gates.
Once they entered the inner city, Xia Yunchong snorted, “It seems the Grand Han has completely given their capital away. These city walls are new. Each of these bricks has the fluctuations of formation runes. The capital is definitely a nest of dragons and tigers.”
Bao Buping, Chang Hao, and Yue Zifeng didn’t understand anything about formations, but having grown up in the Grand Xia’s imperial family, Xia Yunchong had been taught many things from a young age. He saw through some clues.
Although the walls looked old, the formation runes still let out some faint fluctuations that couldn’t escape Xia Yunchong’s senses.
“Whatever. In any case, Long Chen will definitely handle them. I believe in him,” said Bao Buping confidently.
After how Long Chen had led them in Devil Spirit Mountain, Bao Buping and Chang Hao had been completely won over by his intelligence and methods. Their confidence in him was practically blind. They felt that no matter what trap the other side had, it would be nothing to Long Chen.
Once they were inside the inner city, Yue Zifeng took the lead. Countless gazes turned to him, filled with hostility as well as curiosity.
Those who could enter the inner city were essentially at least rank nine Celestials. It was rare to find a single rank eight Celestial.
“I didn’t think there were so many geniuses in the Eastern Xuan Region. Why didn’t the old man tell me? Fuck, it couldn’t be that he intentionally let us brag so we would be slapped in the face now? How evil!” grumbled Bao Buping. He thought of when he had said big words in front of the old man. It seemed the old man’s expression had become a bit odd at that time…
“My imperial father said that the change in the world is silently starting. Heavenly geniuses are rising. We’re about to enter the great era. The Martial Heaven Continent’s karmic luck is erupting, causing heavenly geniuses to be born like spring bamboo. Before, not even one in a hundred rank eight Celestials would advance to rank nine Celestials. Now, as long as a person’s talent isn’t terrible, there’s an over fifty percent chance of them advancing to rank nine Celestials,” said Xia Yunchong.
Just as he finished saying this, he looked at Yue Zifeng with some shock. Only now did he realize Yue Zifeng was like Long Chen. There weren’t the slightest Heavenly Dao fluctuations coming from him.
“What’s this great era? Our family’s old man also mentioned it, but when we asked him about it, he ignored us,” said Bao Buping.
Xia Yunchong said, “The so-called great era refers to a period in the Martial Heaven Continent’s rise and fall. There are a total of five great eras recorded in history. Each time, it came right before the Martial Heaven Continent faced calamity. On the verge of destruction, the continent gives birth to geniuses to fight it. Rumor has it that the great era is the Martial Heaven Continent’s way of protecting itself.”
“Protecting itself?”
Xia Yunchong nodded. “If we consider the Martial Heaven Continent to be a living entity, it will need to react when its life is threatened. Of course, what I’m saying is only legend and folklore. No one knows whether or not it’s true. But personally, I feel like the chances of this being true are high. That’s because the five great eras always began before a dark era, when there was a danger to the Martial Heaven Continent. Each time there is a great era, heavenly geniuses rise. During this era, a peerless expert needs to lead them all against the danger. Those peerless experts are all given a resounding and domineering title: Sovereign.”
Hearing this explanation, Yue Zifeng, Bao Buping, and Chang Hao were all enlightened. This was their first time hearing these ancient secrets.
“In all of history, there were five great eras and five Sovereigns. Now that heavenly geniuses are bursting into existence, it shows that the great era isn’t far off. Think about it. Just how rare were rank nine Celestials a few years ago? Empyreans only existed in legend. Now, they’ve all appeared. We’ve managed to catch this great era,” said Xia Yunchong.
“Hehe, our luck’s pretty good. Then let’s see just who in our generation gets to be Sovereign. I wonder whether I’ll have a chance?” wondered Chang Hao.
“Yes, you definitely will. I trust my eyesight,” said Bao Buping confidently.
“Really? How can you tell?” asked Chang Hao.
“Just from your name I feel like you have the style of a Sovereign,” said Bao Buping.
“My name?”
“Think about it. Your name is Chang Hao. A man who dares to Hao, and Chang Hao at that. If you aren’t the Sovereign, who else could it be?” Bao Buping wiggled his eyebrows with a wretched smile.[1]
“Fuck, you’re just messing around!” raged Chang Hao. He finally realized what Bao Buping was saying. He was splitting his Hao into two parts.
Xia Yunchong was speechless as he understood, but Yue Zifeng and Xia Youluo didn’t react.
The five of them co
ntinued onward under the gaze of countless experts, and they quickly reached the central plaza. There was a huge execution stand there, with Cloud bound to it. There was a cold ax-head over its head. It was a divine item.
“Cloud!”
When Yue Zifeng saw Cloud’s current state, his eyes turned icy-cold with killing intent. Now that he saw Cloud in person, he noticed that its state was even more miserable than what the photographic jade revealed. Yue Zifeng clenched his fists tightly, and the veins on his forehead bulged. These people had gone too far. They were tormenting Cloud.
“Let’s save Cloud now.” Bao Buping and Chang Hao both had explosive tempers. When they had first met on the battlefield, Cloud had been like a divine stead, fighting alone against Gui Yan’s Ghost General. Just how majestic had it been? Now it had fallen into its current state, and that immediately provoked their fury.
“Since everyone here has come for the Dragon Slaughtering Convention, then find a good seat for yourself. Don’t make any stupid moves, or you might draw a killer to yourself…” Just at this moment, a cold shout rang out from the distance.
[1] The Hao character is composed of an upper and lower part, and . is kind of like fuck the heavens. Very domineering. Definitely the style of a Sovereign.
Chapter 1545 Low Level Technique
Following the voice, Yue Zifeng saw a very loathsome face. That face was recognizable by all. It was the face of the host of the Dragon Slaughtering Convention, Sha Guangyan.
That face had been spread throughout every corner of the Eastern Xuan Region. Although that face wasn’t very good to look at, everyone recognized it.
“Eliminate him.” Bao Buping glared at him. He and Chang Hao had an urge to kill him right now. The scenes in the photographic jade had been too fateful.
“Don’t be impetuous. Wait for boss to come,” said Yue Zifeng. Now was not the time to take rash action. Since their opponents dared to let them in, they had to have countless traps arranged. If they did anything now, they would only suffer.
“But.. Cloud, it…” Bao Buping looked at Cloud who was on its last breaths.
“We can’t save Cloud. The chains piercing its body are backed by divine runes. This entire execution stand is a true divine item. Those chains have not only chained Cloud’s body, but have also chained its soul. Even if we were able to drag Cloud’s body off, Cloud’s soul will be pulled out of it. It’s a very insidious torture device,” said Xia Yunchong gloomily.
“It’s that vicious? Then doesn’t that mean it’s impossible to save Cloud?” raged Bao Buping.
“Yes, unless Meng Qi comes. With her great soul energy, she can suppress the spiritual hooks of these chains. Otherwise, even if boss comes, he won’t necessarily be able to save Cloud,” said Yue Zifeng. When it came to matters of the soul, Meng Qi was the most skilled out of them.
Yue Zifeng looked back at the unconscious Cloud and turned away. “Let’s go. We’ll find a place to wait for boss.”
Only then did Bao Buping and the others see that the surroundings of the execution stand, the huge plaza, was split into three regions.
The side where Sha Guangyan was at had thousands of experts present, and they were staring coldly at them.
On the other side of the execution stand was an empty space. That place had clearly been arranged for Long Chen.
Between the two sides were a few individuals. The very design of the plaza had clearly taken this arrangement into consideration.
Sha Guangyan’s side had the most people. His side was full of people who viewed Long Chen as an enemy and were ready to kill him.
As for the people in the middle, they were neutral. They hadn’t come with any intention of helping either side.
This was something smart by Sha Guangyan. It allowed the experts who were hesitating and didn’t know which side to join to also come.
In Long Chen’s region, there were only five isolated figures standing. Bao Buping looked left and right and directly sat on his butt. Xia Yunchong had already taken out a blanket from his spatial ring and placed it down. “This is good. It’ll be quieter.”
Yue Zifeng sat and closed his eyes, seeming to enter a meditative state.
On the other hand, Bao Buping and Chang Hao were unable to sit still. They were looking at the people on the other side. They were clearly appraising just how many tough opponents there were over there.
Up on the stage, Sha Guangyan smiled. To his left was Peng Wansheng, while to his right was Ye Qingkuang. Ye Qingkuang’s expression was still gloomy because of Yue Zifeng’s sword. That exchange had lost him face.
“Yue Zifeng’s arrival is good. I was really worried Long Chen wouldn’t come. Then all our arrangements would have gone to waste,” said Sha Guangyan.
Peng Wansheng nodded. “Since Yue Zifeng has come, it means Long Chen’s definitely going to come. This time, he’ll definitely die. We’ll finally be able to wipe away our disgrace.”
There was a faint divine mark glowing on Peng Wansheng’s forehead. He had reached a new level since his last fight against Long Chen. After condensing his Yuan Spirit to a certain extent, Peng Wansheng had awakened more divine abilities of the ancient races. He was prepared to personally defeat Long Chen.
Sha Guangyan smiled. “Don’t worry, as long as Long Chen comes, he’ll definitely die. This will be his burial ground.”
The fact that Yue Zifeng and the others were here set their minds at ease. They had absolute confidence in their arrangements.
Time passed bit by bit. The day slowly darkened, but lanterns kept the plaza bright. More and more experts arrived. Tomorrow at noon, the Dragon Slaughtering Convention would officially begin.
A few geniuses with a certain level of status or who viewed themselves highly hadn’t wanted to come too early. However, if they still didn’t come now, they wouldn’t have a good place for themselves when the show started. So now was the perfect time to arrive.
These people either joined Sha Guangyan’s side or the neutral side. No one came to Long Chen’s side. They still had only five people.
“Long Chen’s side only has five pieces of trash? How-”
A rank nine Celestial was in the midst of mocking Bao Buping and the others when a cold light pierced his head. He collapsed on the ground dead, with an expression of disbelief frozen on his face.
A sword slowly returned to its sheath. Yue Zifeng hadn’t even opened his eyes. “Standing in the neutral camp yet intentionally provoking us. Your schemes are obvious.”
The experts standing in the neutral camp couldn’t help but frown upon seeing one of them be killed just for saying something provocative, but when they heard Yue Zifeng’s words, they understood.
Those standing in the neutral camp had come just to watch, or were people who didn’t wish to curry favor with Sha Guangyan and the others, yet also didn’t want to become hostile with Long Chen.
For someone in the neutral camp to suddenly try to provoke them, it was clear he had set himself there on purpose. It was to push the neutral camp’s people closer to the other camp.
However, Yue Zifeng hadn’t given him a chance to carry out his scheme. Yue Zifeng had killed him in one attack. Everyone understood what he was doing.
“As expected of the murderous devil king’s subordinate. You’re all so vicious. Are you provoking the neutral camp’s warriors? Or are you so arrogant that you don’t give a damn about all the experts in the world and think you can kill them all? We won’t stand for this!” Another expert from the neutral camp spoke out.
His tone was very sharp as he attempted to provoke the neutral camp’s anger. Yue Zifeng’s conduct truly did feel a bit like a slap in the face.
“Don’t ‘we’ us. This is the neutral camp. We came to watch, and we aren’t backing any side before the truth is clear. Don’t think we’re brainless fools that are so easy to fool. If we were, we’d have already chosen a side. So those people scheming to draw trouble for us should hurry up and scram.”
; A white-robed man with a scholar’s band on his head and a white fan immediately counterattacked.
The scholarly man was handsome and was clearly opinionated. He wouldn’t be so easily shaken by others.
The person who had criticized Yue Zifeng frowned, glaring at the white-robed man. He was just about to speak when he was suddenly kicked away by others.
“Hurry up and scram. Stop faking. Do you think we’re fools?” Clearly, people weren’t so easy to trick. Just the fact that he would randomly try to provoke Yue Zifeng and the others exposed him completely.
No one liked the feeling of being used. Many of them had almost been tricked, and they were angry now.
Yue Zifeng was a bit surprised and looked at the white-robed man. He hadn’t expected someone to actually speak up for them. This person actually did not submit to force and had some brains. His sense of righteousness was something only a few people had.
The white-robed man also had a certain level of fame. Quite a few people recognized him.
The white-robed man suddenly said, “I should have stood on the side opposing Long Chen as I really dislike him. He’s too tyrannical and vicious. Ignoring whether or not he was wrongly accused, the way he slaughters fellow experts of the Righteous path is not the conduct of a noble character. However, I chose to be neutral because some people are just even more despicable and shameless, tormenting the weak to force others to fight. Long Chen might not be noble, but some people are even viler.”
An uproar exploded. This person had huge guts to say such a thing. Did he not want his life anymore?
Sha Guangyan, Peng Wansheng, and Ye Qingkuang’s expressions turned dark. Their gazes were as sharp as a blade.
“This person really is tired of living.” Sha Guangyan’s voice came from between the cracks of his teeth. This person was just a rank nine Celestial. Although he had some fame, as long as the three of them attacked, he wouldn’t be able to receive a single blow.