Ancient Godly Monarch - Chapter 125

Chapter 125: Reappearance of Sword Light

Qin Wentian’s gaze abruptly shifted over in Sikong Mingyue’s direction, a sharp glint of light radiating from his eyes.
According to Mo Qingcheng, the Crown Prince of Snowcloud, Xiao Lǜ had extraordinary talent and extremely vast ambitions. Not only that, the perpetrator of the earlier incident regarding Qin Yao was most likely him.
Sikong Mingyue also locked gazes with Qin Wentian. After a single glance, he calmly turned around and sat down on the 1st towering platform, acting as though all of this had nothing to do with him.
Meanwhile, on the 7th towering platform, a silhouette abruptly stomped off the ground and soared through the air. Momentarily, the silhouette flew over the 8th platform like a great bird and continued on, before landing on the 9th platform not far off from Qin Wentian.
This person was none other than the 6th Night. He had a sturdy and muscular build, and didn’t seem to be too young. But despite his build, the speed of his movements was astounding, indicating that he also had an excellent movement technique.
“Interesting, i didn’t think that before Orchon made his move, the first to take action against Qin Wentian would be a cultivator from the Snowcloud Country instead. I’ve also heard that Xiao Lǜ’s popularity and network in his country was particularly overwhelming. Those elites from the Snowcloud Country should all have very good relationships with Xiao Lǜ.”

As many people were still speculating, 6th Night had already walked up to f Qin Wentian. He didn’t say anything and only stared at Qin Wentian, akin to how a hunter stares at his prey.
Qin Wentian stared at his opponent. This person appeared rather mature, and gave off a solid and unflustered feeling. He most likely had tremendous battle experience.

Rubbing his interspatial ring, an ancient halberd appeared in Qin Wentian’s palms as he spoke out, “This ancient halberd’s Divine Imprint had already been destroyed by me, and it is no longer a Divine Weapon. The organizers are welcome to check.”
An aged figure flew through the air and landed by the side of Qin Wentian. After inspecting the halberd, the figure nodded his head. “This is indeed not a Divine Weapon, it has no augmentation effect. Thus, it is allowed to be used.”
“This fellow actually destroyed the imprint of a Divine Weapon. What a waste, the wealth of Divine Inscriptionists is not to be belittled.” Many people murmured in their hearts. Seeing that Qin Wentian wanted to wield a weapon, it seems that he was also feeling some pressure regarding the advancement to the 3rd round of the Jun Lin Banquet.
“Hmph.” The 6th Night coldly smiled, an aura of violence erupted forth from him as a beast-type Astral Soul was released. An extremely gigantic demonic beast adorned with curved horns, something akin to a celestial bull, appeared. It’s wild and baleful aura surged, and crackling sounds relentlessly rang out as the body of 6th Night expanded.
“Brother Bull, don’t hit him too hard, okay?” 7th Night laughed gaily at the side. An earth-shattering boom echoed out as the huge steps of 6th Night rocked the ground, moving in Qin Wentian’s direction.
Boom, boom, boom… The aura 6th Night was releasing got stronger and stronger. It was as though he had completely transformed into a mad bull, and was frenziedly sprinting over towards Qin Wentian.
Qin Wentian clutched the ancient halberd tightly in his hand as he waited for an opportunity to strike. As 6th Night rushed over, Qin Wentian executed the Azure Dragon Stance with a stomp of his feet. A faint shadow of a Azure Dragon manifested as it roared before it blasted forwards, colliding with the body of 6th Night.
Rumble! The faint shadow of the Azure Dragon exploded, and 6th Night went berserk. He continued pushing forth with his palms, intending to use his bare hands to catch hold of Qin Wentian’s halberd.
Qin Wentian’s steps slightly shifted, executing the Garuda Movement Technique as his speed explosively increased. However, with no intention of giving up, 6th Night continued chasing, The sounds of their continued clashes rang out.
“I wonder how strong the defense of this particular beast-type Astral Soul is?”
Qin Wentian gave a cold laugh, as he stomped heavily onto the ground. As he pierced out again with the ancient halberd, the sound of a terrifying sharpness tore through the air. It was unknown how much power that strike of his contained.
Buzz! The body of 6th Night shifted sideways slightly, narrowly avoiding the strike of Qin Wentian. That clumsy looking body belied the swiftness of his movement speed. 6th Night directly used power to contest against power, smashing apart the pressure emitted by the ancient halberd. Extending out his left palm, he grabbed and locked onto the ancient halberd, as his body barreled towards Qin Wentian.

The crowd discovered that at this moment, the body of 6th Night was enveloped by a corona of demonic light, exuding a terrifying aura. With this body strike of his, even mountains would crumble upon impact.
“This is Brother Bull’s Crazed Bull’s Howl, a middle-tier earth-grade innate technique. One can only succeed in cultivating this technique by absorbing the demonic essences of mighty bull-type demonic beasts.” 7th Night laughed, as the body of 6th Night, augmented by the force of his innate technique, inched closer and closer to Qin Wentian’s body.
As the body of 6th Night neared Qin Wentian, that terrifying pressure that felt akin to the gallop of 10,000 horses frenziedly smashed onto his body.
The Divine Energy within Qin Wentian’s Stellar Meridians erupted with crazy speed. Qin Wentian’s left palm abruptly blasted out, executing the Falling Mountain Palms as a manifestation of a gigantic mountain slammed downwards, onto the body of 6th Night.
In that instant of impact, it was as though currents of pressure could be visibly seen flowing about.
“Blocked?” An expression of immense shock appeared on the countenance of 7th Night. The power of 6th Night’s attack was extremely clear to her; the force of this type of attack was definitely unquestionable, born from one of the most violent methods of attack. How could Qin Wentian block it with his mere cultivation base at the 7th level of Arterial Circulation?
She had no idea that the Divine Energy within Qin Wentian’s body was condensed and converted from Astral Energy that originated from the 5th Heavenly Layer. Also, in addition to that, the Divine Energy was converted with the aid of a 2nd-level Mountain-type Divine Imprint. How could his mountain-type innate technique, the Falling Mountain Palms, not contain terrifying power? He easily blocked the mad rush of his opponent.
ROAR! 6th Night howled in rage, as he once again sprinted madly towards Qin Wentian, intending to knock Qin Wentian off the platform.
“Let go.” Qin Wentian spoke to 6th Night. His gaze abruptly filled with a sense of imposing dominance, prepared to to subjugate 6th Night.
“Get lost.” 6th Night continued roaring in rage. Although Qin Wentian valiantly defended, he was still pushed to the boundary of the 9th platform. Many in the crowd were nervously spectating this scene.
Was Qin Wentian going to be eliminated so early in the 1st battle of the 2nd round of the Jun Lin Banquet?
“Courting death.” Qin Wentian roared in anger, causing the crowd to freeze in stupefaction. No one had thought that Qin Wentian was also capable of uttering such words.
At this moment, the Divine Energy within his body frenziedly gathered in a spiral, forming a sword-type Divine Imprint. Currently, Qin Wentian was able to form these types of 1st-level inscriptions almost instantly.
As the sword-type Divine Imprint fully finished forming, it transformed into a terrifyingly sharp sword, hidden within his Stellar Meridians. However, no one other than him had any idea about what had just happened. They only knew that 6th Night was about to succeed in blasting Qin Wentian off the platform.
Chi… Qin Wentian opened his mouth, and in that instant, he spat out a ray of incomparably sharp sword light.
“Argh…” A pitiful cry rang out as 6th Night’s movements instantly stopped. The sharp sword formed from the sword light that Qin Wentian had spat out broke apart 6th Night’s demonic qi protective barrier, and pierced right into one of his eyes. The aura and pressure that 6th Night was releasing madly leaked out as the ray of sword light dissipated. However, the damage was already done.
“Scram.” Both of them were already at the edge of the platform. At this moment, Qin Wentian grabbed hold of 6th Night’s body and directly tossed him off.
The abrupt change caused many of the spectators to feel a sense of astonishment, as they regarded Qin Wentian with a bizarre expression on their faces.
He was even able to spit out a sharp sword, this fellow, what ability did he really have? How unexpected.
Orchon’s countenance also visibly changed. He had once personally witnessed Qin Wentian spitting out a palm imprint before. But now, Qin Wentian’s proficiency with this ability seemed to have strengthened many times compared to before, having directly spat out a sharp sword and caught his opponent unaware.
Not only that, it was similar to the battle against Jiang Xiu. Qin Wentian was not a sword user, and was definitely not proficient in sword arts. Where had the sword come from?

In the spectator’s stand over at the Mo Clan’s sitting area, a sharp light flickered in the eyes of Mo Qingcheng’s father as he intoned in a low voice. “The transmission rate of Astral Energy within this child’s meridians is incredibly smooth. But, how on earth did he managed to spit out that sharp sword?”
Not only him, even those powerful Yuanfu Realm spectators in the Emperor Star Academy’s sitting area, were also wondering how on earth Qin Wentian had done that.
This ability was extremely rare. It was as though no one among the elders had heard of it before. Could this be a personal technique which Qin Wentian had created based on his comprehensions? If that was the case, they would have to reassess their evaluation of Qin Wentian.
Instead of showing concern for the blinded 6th Night, those in the spectators’ stand were wondering how Qin Wentian had accomplished that. It was not that the spectators were cold blooded, they were just too used to the injuries and death that were prevalent in the world of cultivators. After all, how many fallen geniuses appeared in the Jun Lin Banquet each year? Injuries and deaths were extremely common here.
However, those from Snowcloud did not think of it this way. Not only was 6th Night defeated, he was also blinded. This meant that he had lost the capabilities to fight against the other contestants. The battle between him and Qin Wentian was also his final battle.
“Bring him to the palace for treatment.” Chu Tianjiao calmly instructed, as a few silhouettes appeared. They brought 6th Night away, flying off on demonic beasts.
After the defeat of 6th Night, the crowd started re-evaluating their perception of Qin Wentian’s strength. With the ability to spit out sharp swords, and attacking with no signs of preparation, Qin Wentian was a figure that one could never engage with in close combat. If one did, not only would they have to concentrate on gaining control of the rhythm of the battle, they would have to anticipate sneak attacks from that weird ability of his. How could one be constantly vigilant especially in an intense battle? 6th Night was the perfect example.
18 contestants. After a battle, only 17 remained.
“Seems like Qin Wentian really had a high probability of advancing to the top 9 rankings.” Many people were silently speculating in their hearts. Some even regretted not betting on Qin Wentian before. After this battle, the payout rates set by Drunken Wonder would naturally be re-adjusted. If they still want to bet, they would have no choice but to follow the new payout rate.
Fan Le was especially emotional. He had bet his whole fortune on Qin Wentian. If Qin Wentian could advance to the top nine… nay, the top three, wouldn’t that be perfect?

Sikong Mingyue stared at Qin Wentian, as an extremely sharp glint of light could be seen flickering in the depths of his eyes.
“The first fight has ended, but the battle is not concluded yet. Let’s continue on.” This time round before Sikong Mingyue had a chance to speak, Qin Wentian was already slowly walking towards 7th Night with the ancient halberd in hand.
The tip of the ancient halberd produced a grinding, ear-piercing sound as Qin Wentian dragged it across the ground. The aura he was releasing continued to relentlessly rise.
At this moment, an imposing pressure emitted forth from Qin Wentian’s body. Arrogant and unruly, if the ancient halberd slashes out, who dares fight against me? This aura was so intense that it felt as though it was carved into the bones, giving people the feeling that a peerless martial god had just been born.
It was as though he was overlooking the world from an unreachable height, as he slowly ambled forward.
At this moment, 7th Night felt a fearsome, suffocating pressure advancing towards her!
TN Note: That peerless martial god reference. The raws were 绝世强者 – which can be literally translated to Peerless Strong Existence/Peerless Expert, etc. I was contemplating for like 10 minutes to use peerless existence/expert or peerless martial god. Decided to go with PMG in the end :p

Chapter 126: Explosiveness of Emperor Star Academy

Feeling the pressure Qin Wentian was emitting, 7th Night fluttered her eyelashes. With a smile aimed towards Qin Wentian, she stated, “Wentian gege, would you really bear to attack me?”

7th Night’s pitiful looking countenance was extremely moving. At this instant, Qin Wentian felt as though the person he was facing against wasn’t 7th Night.
‘Wentian gege’, only that little lass Bai Qing would refer to him this way.
After the Bai Clan relocated to the Royal Capital, Qin Wentian never saw Bai Qing ever again. Now that a year had passed, he wondered how she was.
At this instant, a wave of coldness abruptly appeared. Qin Wentian’s countenance immediately changed. This coldness was an illusion. 7th Night was endowed with the ability to create illusions. Strengthening his will, his heart became tough as stone, and his gaze became as sharp as spears. The peerless, unmatched aura once again surfaced as he stepped forth towards 7th Night.
7th Night’s soul-stirring eyes continued staring at Qin Wentian, but this time around, she felt herself sinking into the depths of a dreamscape. The dream-will that Qin Wentian’s eyes emitted was capable of luring her into a trance-like state, leaving her defenseless, sorely unable to extricate herself. Similar to 7th Night, Qin Wentian’s innate technique was also unleashed through his eyes.
Buzz. The ancient halberd slashed out as Qin Wentian leaped through the air. Descending from the sky, the pressure Qin Wentian emitted was akin to a ferocious tiger, incomparably tyrannical.
“Wentian gege, you are so ruthless.” 7th Night pitifully mumbled, but Qin Wentian proved invulnerable to her attempts to ensnare him. The ancient halberd slashed down as 7th Night finally began her counter-attack. Cold ice froze Qin Wentian’s ancient halberd, and ice lances formed and shattered countless times in the air. With each shattering, the number of ice lances multiplied.
Qin Wentian continued wielding the ancient halberd in a continuous dance of motion. The howl of the azure dragon, the roar of the white tiger, accompanied by the shrill cries of the vermillion bird rang out as the ancient halberd swept out in an arc. The numerous ice lances in the air were destroyed by the force of that sweep, crumbling into nothingness as Qin Wentian’s dominating attack continued towards 7th Night.
7th Night rapidly retreated, yet Qin Wentian didn’t intend to give her even an inch of breathing space. 6th Night had overwhelming power. while 7th Night were proficient at control and illusion techniques. Since that was the case, he would overwhelm her with pure strength.
7th Night released her Astral Soul, as a huge icy python manifested. Its eyes were eerily staring at Qin Wentian, emitting an extremely demonic feeling
At the same time, 7th Night’s palm wavered. The icy python shrieked as it explosively dashed forwards, clashing directly against Qin Wentian’s ancient halberd.
“Wentian gege.” 7th Night once again called out. Abruptly, a terrifying radiance of Astral Light enveloped her body. Two golden wings began to sprout from her back. At the same time, a storm of golden sword blades barraged towards Qin Wentian. All this happened instantaneously, and the suddenness of the explosive attack made it almost impossible for anyone to dodge.

“This should be her 2nd Astral Soul. Her first Astral Soul was that icy gigantic python, which bestowed her the power to ensnare others in illusions.” The pupils of the crowd contracted; they had all been tricked by 7th Night. Her powers of illusion actually came from her first Astral Soul, that demonic icy python.
To think her 2nd Astral Soul was actually a pair of wings. Tthe radiance it emitted was incomparably resplendent, and it was also capable of firing feather-like sword attacks that sought to lacerate Qin Wentian’s body into nothingness.
By now, the ancient halberd in Qin Wentian’s right hand was already fully frozen solid by 7th Night. 7th Night’s feathers were shot out at a crafty angle, aimed for Qin Wentian’s right side.
Qin Wentian immediately relinquished his hold on the frozen halberd, allowing it to fall to the ground. A palm imprint that was emanating golden light was blasted out by Qin Wentian. The thunderous sounds the palm imprint emitted were akin to a terrifying tsunami, and at the same time, staring at his opponent, Qin Wentian spat out a ray of incomparably sharp sword light.
This battle caused the spectators to be filled with wonder. How marvelous! Regardless whether it was Qin Wentian or 7th Night, their attacking methods were incredibly violent and excelled at catching their opponent unaware.
7th Night’s body abruptly spiralled through the air. In that instant, the entire sky was covered by a golden radiance, as 7th Night’s beautiful golden wings resembled the wings of a real phoenix. The graceful figure of 7th Night danced about as she spun rapidly in a circle while hovering in the air. Qin Wentian’s sword light actually dissipated the moment it came into contact with her body.

Only now did Qin Wentian discovered how dangerous 7th Night actually was. 7th Night’s golden feathers were akin to a storm of 10,000 swords, like the herald of certain death, slashing towards Qin Wentian and tearing apart the void.
“7th Night’s strength isn’t any weaker than that of 6th Night.” Many people exclaimed, indeed, the Jun Lin Banquet’s battles were all extremely fascinating.
Rumble! A terrifying, gushing sound echoed out within Qin Wentian’s Stellar Meridians. The Divine Energy compacted by the 2nd level Mountain-type Divine Imprint were seething and surging, as it flowed without hindrance and gathered within Qin Wentian’s palm. Qin Wentian took several steps backwards before stomping fiercely on the ground. The intensive tremors caused by the might of that stomp shook the entire platform.

Immediately after, Qin Wentian executed the Falling Mountain Palms, and an actual mountain peak manifested before ruthlessly slamming down towards 7th Night. In the face of that falling mountain, how tiny and inconsequential the figure of 7th Night appeared.
As per what he had decided, he would use absolute strength to break 7th Night apart.
Boom! The mountain peak struck against 7th Night’s rapidly revolving body. Instantly, her dance slowed, involuntarily letting out a low scream as her inner organs were all shaken from the impact.
“Get down.” Qin Wentian appeared in front of 7th Night. His palms blasted 7th Night away, causing 7th Night to be flung out of the platform. Her steps stumbled as she retreated backwards upon coming into contact with the ground.
Her countenance was filled with an unnatural redness, and finally after regaining control, she spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. Although her attacks were powerful, her defense was a far cry from her attack power. How could she resist Qin Wentian’s Falling Mountain Palms that was further augmented by Mountain-type Divine Energy. Also, instantly after the impact, Qin Wentian sent out another palm strike in order to move in for the kill, resulting in her suffering from serious injuries.
Picking up the ancient halberd which he dropped earlier, Qin Wentian stood there silently. His gaze wasn’t directed at 7th Night but rather at the other eight platforms. The slight wind billowed his robes, as his long hair danced about in the air. His eyes, were riveted on Sikong Mingyue as though he was making a silent announcement: You are more than welcome to test how deep my waters are.

Qin Wentian participated in the first two battles of the Jun Lin Banquet’s second round.
In the first battle, he defeated the 6th Night.
In the second battle, he defeated 7th Night.
“Are you still able to participate as a challenger?” The aged figure standing beside Chu Tianjiao inquired. 7th Night opened her eyes and replied, “Give me some time. Please let the other battles to proceed first.”
“Very well, I will let you rest for the duration of one battle.” The aged figure nodded. Each participant had a chance to return one time as a challenger. Since 7th Night didn’t want to give up despite her injuries, he would give her a chance.
Only Qin Wentian remained on the 9th platform. He sat down crossed-legged and retrieved a Yuan Meteor Stone from his robes. Releasing his Astral Souls, Qin Wentian began cultivating by using his Astral Souls to absorb the Astral Energy within the Yuan Meteor Stone.
What he needed was the purest form of Astral Yuan Energy. Thus, for the Yuan Meteor Stone in his hands that had fallen from the 2nd Heavenly Layer, he could only extract the purest form of Astral Energy by absorbing it through his Astral Souls.
“Seems like the final Falling Mountain Palm Imprint expended a great deal of Qin Wentian’s energy.” Many people were speculating. Qin Wentian would try to recover his energy as soon as possible by making use of this period of resting time.
The capacity of a cultivator’s body was limited with regards to storing of Astral Energy. The higher one’s cultivation, the larger the capacity for storage.
Naturally, for those powerful innate techniques, they would similarly have a high level of Astral Energy expenditure. If one could defeat his opponents by using lower level innate techniques, there would be no one willing to go all out and expend all the Astral Energy stored within their body.
“The Seven Nights of my Snowcloud Country actually suffered defeat one after another.” Sikong Mingyue stated calmly. Those from Snowcloud only felt that their face had been entirely thrown away.
Currently, there was only a total of five people who hailed from Snowcloud Country that still remained on the platforms. They were none other than Sikong Mingyue, 2nd Sword, 3rd Sword, 3rd Night and 4th Night.

These people had an extremely solemn expression on their faces as they once again shifted their gaze onto the ninth platform.
“Is the Snowcloud Country planning to gang up on my Chu Country?” Luo Huan laughed as she strolled slowly towards 4th Night. Since 7th Night had the duration of a battle to recuperate, she would help Qin Wentian.
4th Night’s gaze turned heavy as he regarded Luo Huan. During the first round of the Jun Lin Banquet, he had observed Luo Huan. The flexibility of this woman was extremely frightening.
With a long whip in her hands, Luo Huan walked towards 4th Night. Abruptly, the whip in her hands danced about, causing the skies to be covered by the whip’s shadows, akin to ten million sharp swords, lashing out towards 4th Night.
4th Night moved, as his palms wavered. A greenish light appeared out of nowhere and shrouded his body, protecting it. At the same time, he bore the brunt of the ten million whip lashes as he dashed towards Luo Huan.
“What is this defense?” The crowd had a flabbergasted expression on their face. Was it perhaps because Luo Huan’s attack were numerous but sorely lacking in power?
Luo Huan also sped towards her opponent. During the instant they exchanged blows, 4th Night’s hands transformed into a sabre light that slashed out at Luo Huan. Luo Huan shifted sideways, narrowly avoiding the attack, while at the same moment, one of her hands had actually grabbed hold of 4th Night’s shoulder.
Rumble! 4th Night blasted out with his fist. The fist light of his attack directly smashed towards Luo Huan’s body. Luo Huan’s body contorted as she bent over, avoiding the strike. Her willowy waist was like the arching of a powerful bow as she sprang forward with an explosive momentum. Her body lunged forwards through the air, coiling around 4th Night.
“Scram.” A terrifying sabre Qi emanated from 4th Night’s body as he released his Astral Soul.
Luo Huan’s body begun to revolve about frenziedly in a spiral, spinning countless circles in an instant with a speed that was even faster than that of 7th Night. The crowd discovered that 4th Night’s body seemed to have been buried by the countless whip lashes. The speed of his sabre attacks was actually slower when compared to her revolutions.
Mustang laughed lightly as he saw the scene. Luo Huan’s performance was within his expectations. Truth to be told, only an extremely limited number of people knew how terrifying Luo Huan’s talent truly was. Usually she would always play the fool, laughing about, making jokes. But during key critical moments, she was able to explode forth with such terrifying power.
4th Night was overwhelmed by his opponent’s swift attacks. The sabre light he was emitting eventually got weaker and weaker, to the point where it dissipated. Only then did Luo Huan stop her revolutions. Luo Huan’s sexy legs were cradled around 4th Night’s head, and countless wounds could be seen on 4th Night’s body, his body buried under Luo Huan’s the merciless whip.
“Yet another dark horse.”
Several in the crowd exclaimed in shock, Luo Huan was actually capable of unleashing such power despite using a peculiar Astral Soul which many of them despise.
The combination of Drooping Willow Astral Soul and Great Vine Astral Soul, could actually be so overwhelming! This effect wasn’t brought about by merely combining the power of the two Astral Souls. Naturally, Luo Huan’s strength and ability were a huge contribution to be able to meld the two Astral Souls so perfectly.

“Oh my sister, why didn’t you remind me earlier.” Fan Le had a bitter face below the platform. He had forgotten to bet on his Senior Sister Luo Huan!

Chapter 127: Gu Xing

Atop the platform, Luo Huan was still suppressing 4th Night. The spectators could see that she had no intentions of letting go. Despite her beautiful countenance, the spectators couldn’t help but feel a trace of coldness creeping in their hearts, does she really want the life of 4th Night?
Being suppressed for such a long time, 4th Night should be suffering from asphyxiation.
“He has already been defeated, why are you not letting him go?” Sikong Mingyue cast his gaze onto Luo Huan as he icily spoke.
“I’ve not heard his admission of defeat.” Luo Huan laughed, “what happens if he attacks me after I release him?”
The cold glint of light in Sikong Mingyue’s eyes intensified, but Luo Huan’s actions were not against the rules. However, the extent of her suppression was such that 4th Night didn’t even has a chance to speak.
It wasn’t that 4th Night was weak, but the method of Luo Huan’s attacks was too crafty and unexpected. The combination of her double Astral Souls actually granted her such perfect flexibility, akin to the long whip in her hands.
Even before the full might of 4th Night could be displayed, he had already entered into a hopeless situation.
“Sometimes it’s good if you know when to stop. It’s better not to go too far.” Sikong Mingyue calmly replied.
“Earlier when you guys were preparing to engage my Junior Brother Qin in continuous battles, did you think of this?” Luo Huan continued laughing. Obviously, she disdained what the cultivators of Snowcloud were planning to do, and thus had decided to seize the initiative, beginning the counterattack of the Emperor Star Academy.
Sikong Mingyue had nothing to say in response to that, as an extremely terrifying killing intent erupted forth from his body. Looking at 4th Night, he icily replied, “I will get revenge for you.”
“This sister me is not so cruel.” Luo Huan laughed, as she finally released 4th Night. Giving a swift kick, 4th Night was booted off of the platform.
As 4th Night was released, he gasped and drew in a huge breath, before promptly fainting away. Obviously, he could no longer participate as a challenger.

“These people were so ruthless, they had no intention of even allowing their defeated opponents to stand on the platform again.” Many were silently exclaiming in their hearts. Qin Wentian was thus, and so was Luo Huan.
4th Night lost his right as a challenger, but 7th Night still had a chance. However, her countenance was still bloodless and pale, the duration of the earlier battle was insufficient for her to recover from her injuries.

“Forget it, rest well.” Sikong Mingyue instructed 7th Night.
7th Night unwillingly nodded her head, as she gave up her right to become a challenger.
At this moment, 4th Night, 6th Night, and 7th Night, were all eliminated. There were only 15 left out of the 18 contestants that had advanced to the 2nd round of the Jun Lin Banquet.
While only four contestants that hailed from Snowcloud remained.
The bitter truth of this ending wasn’t something Snowcloud wanted to see. Travelling from so far away to Chu, and even co-hosting the Jun Lin Banquet with Chu, their face and pride would totally be lost if the results of the Jun Lin Banquet were as such.
“Choose your own opponents.” Sikong Mingyue calmly remarked and an instant later, the several figures still remaining on the platforms made their move.
3rd Night approached Kuang Shen.

2nd Sword approached Shi Jun.
3rd Sword had wanted to approached Qin Wentian, but abruptly, a silhouette appeared in front of him, barring his way on the 5th platform in the midst of him making his way to Qin Wentian. This silhouette belonged to none other than the silent youth, Gu Xing.
From the beginning to now, Gu Xing had not spoken a single word. Taciturn, silent, his personality similar to his name, like the most aloof of all constellations in the skies. However, during the first round of battle, he had defeated 5th Night. Nobody would dare to look down on him.
At this moment, Gu Xing was standing in front of 3rd Night. It was unknown if he was intentionally helping Qin Wentian, or was just merely interested in dueling with 3rd Night.
But no matter what his intentions were, the spectators knew that this would definitely be a fascinating battle to watch.
Sikong Mingyue initially wanted to act, but soon after, he came to a stop as he surveyed the ongoing battles in three directions.
“The Snowcloud Country ran out of patience.” Many were speculating in their hearts.
2nd Sword’s released his sword intent, as a terrifying storm could be felt swirling around his body. Flicking his finger, boundless sword lights flew towards Shi Jun – ranked 8th of the 10 prodigies.
Shi Jun’s body was akin to a block of the toughest stone. He blasted out with a fist as a block of granite materialised. However, that block of granite was instantly demolished, the impact of it actually causing him to retreat a step.
The Sword Qi gushing from 2nd Sword’s body was incomparably sharp. Shi Jun had once fought against Jiang Xiu, the sword intent of Jiang Xiu was far from being able to match 2nd Sword.
If one were to say the sword intent of Jiang Xiu was comparable to autumn rain, the sword intent of 2nd Sword could only be described as that of a torrential storm.
As for 3rd Night, he struck out against ranked 9th of the 10 prodigies at the same time. 3rd Night’s attacks were somewhat similar to that of 6th Night, both of them chose to focus on the cultivation of strength. With a great axe in his hand, he lunged towards Kuang Shen.
Kuang Shen was an expert in the usage of sabres. Using the tyranny of sabres, he contended against 3rd Night. And after each and every exchange, the spectators discovered that the sabre of Kuang Shen would always be slowed by half a beat, as he was forced back by his opponent’s attack. This indicated that in terms of strength, he wasn’t on the same level as 3rd Night.
3rd Night was using absolute strength to break apart his sabre techniques
“Although the attacks of his great axe techniques appear clumsy, they were actually incredibly profound. The sabre of Kuang Shen was sorely suppressed. Shi Jun and Kuang Shen of the 10 prodigies will most likely suffer a defeat this time round.” The spectators were silently speculating in their hearts. This time, there will most definitely be a change in the second half of the rankings within the 10 prodigies.
Orchon, Luo Huan, Qin Wentian, and even Luo Cheng were currently already ranked within the 10 prodigies.

There would always be geniuses overtaking each other in the country. Those that were not up to par would naturally fade away over time, replaced by other stronger talents. This was reality.
As for 3rd Sword, he had also released his sword-type Astral Soul at this moment, as his sword intent begun gushing forth from his body.
Gu Xing continued standing there, with no fluctuations in his expression. However, when he stared at his opponent, a terrifying cold glint of light could be seen in his eyes.
In the midst of that cold light, one could feel waves of coldness emanating from it.
The sword lights he manifested were akin to shadows as 3rd Sword pierced forwards with his sword. This was a flawless execution of his sword-type innate technique, it was as though with the existence of his sword light, no other light would be able to share the same stage as it. The resplendent radiance all belonged to his sword alone.
Puchi~
A crisp sound rang out, causing people to freeze in shock. 3rd Sword was also similarly stunned.
His sword, had actually managed to pierced into the left arm of Gu Xing. He had originally intended for his sword to block the paths of retreat of Gu Xing, but who would have thought that Gu Xing didn’t even retreat, or chose to dodge. He stood there unmoving as the sword of 3rd Sword easily pierced him.
The combat experiences of 3rd Sword could be said to be extremely abundant. But even he had never witnessed such a scene before. That was why he was dumbfounded.
While at the same time, Gu Xing grabbed hold of the sword that was pierced into his body. His eyes stared directly into 3rd Sword’s, and after an instant, 3rd Sword only felt a piercing pain in his eyes. Following which, a palm strike landed on the head of 3rd Sword, as a thunderous sound rang out. 3rd Sword was flung through the air, as he let out a blood-curdling scream, before slamming heavily on the ground outside the platform. His face was already smashed into a pulp of bloody flesh.
The sudden end of the battle caused the spectators to be dumbfounded as they stared around absentmindedly.

The sword embedded in Gu Xing’s left arm had already disappeared. Without the continual support of Astral Energy, the power of the Astral Soul could no longer be transformed into a sword.

Gu Xing returned to his original position, and sat down with his legs crossed. There wasn’t a lot of blood leaking out of his wound, and to everyone’s surprise, his wound was actually recovering right in front of their eyes.
“What a terrifying regeneration ability. What exactly is his Astral Soul?” The hearts of the spectators trembled, and the silhouette of Gu Xing was deeply imprinted upon their minds.
His name was Gu Xing, a lonely star. Currently, his countenance had returned to that previous calm look of his, and no one knew what he was thinking.
Actually, in the first round when he had defeated 5th Night, many great powers in the Royal Capital had already begun to launch investigations into Gu Xing. However, it was as though Gu Xing didn’t exist in the Chu Country at all. Despite their powerful information network, they were unable to find anything about Gu Xing’s background. This person had no history attached to him, it was as though he only appeared in Chu just as the Jun Lin Banquet commenced, and defeated 5th Night.
And now, Gu Xing also defeated 3rd Sword.
Other than 3rd Sword being defeated, the two others from Snowcloud won against their opponents. Shi Jun and Kuang Shen were both defeated, but still had a chance to challenge others. As for 3rd Sword, he no longer had the capability to fight anymore.
Shi Jun and Kuang Shen contemplated who to challenge, while the other contestants sat quietly on their platforms.
Shi Jun began walking towards Chu Chen of the Royal Academy.
Meanwhile Kuang Shen was still pondering. And as he saw the little prince of Chu, Chu Chen easily defeating Shi Jun, the coldness in his heart became more intense by several degrees.
None of the remaining contestants were easy to deal with.
The capabilities of Luo Qianqiu, Sikong Mingyue, the 2nd Sword, and the 3rd Night were needless to say.
Orchon, Luo Huan, and Gu Xing were similarly also extremely terrifying.

Hou Tie from the Godly General Martial Palace was also exceptionally powerful, and as for Leng Ya, he was also a ruthless character. The only two remaining contestants – other than those peak Arterial Circulation cultivators from the Godly General Palace – were the ranked 6th prodigy, Jiang Feng, as well as Qin Wentian.
Wanting to advance to the 3rd round was too difficult. Even if he won the next battle, there was a high probability that he would be eliminated in the battle after that.
Finally, gritting his teeth, Kuang Shen made his decision as he walked towards Qin Wentian. After all, he had witnessed all of Qin Wentian’s earlier battles. Although Qin Wentian was powerful, he was still somewhat clear about the abilities Qin Wentian possessed. Not only that, Qin Wentian had already exhausted a great amount of his Astral Energy, and was still trying to recover. This, was the best chance to deal with him.
As Kuang Shen appeared in front of Qin Wentian, Qin Wentian opened his eyes, staring at Kuang Shen as he stood up.
“It appears that I’ve been too ‘nice’ after all.” Qin Wentian murmured. He didn’t choose to use his ancient halberd. The Astral Energy in his 7 circular pathways begun to seethe and surged. The sound of the Astral Energy gushing within Qin Wentian’s body could even be clearly heard by the spectators. At this moment, Kuang Shen’s countenance stiffened, as his gaze grew heavy.
An illusory pair of Garuda Wings flickered on the back of Qin Wentian. And the next moment, Qin Wentian disappeared from his original spot, blasting forwards with the Emptiness Imprint.
Kuang Shen raised his sabre and slashed out. The sabre lights of his broke apart the Emptiness Imprint. However, Qin Wentian’s silhouette disappeared instantly again and appeared at the side of Kuang Shen, then he blasted out another palm strike.
Kuang Shen executed his movement technique to its limits as he dodged the palms of Qin Wentian. An instant later, the spectators saw the palm imprints of Qin Wentian covering the entire sky.
The sabre of Kuang Shen weaved madly as he danced about, impenetrable by even the wind and rain. But despite this, the spectators could see that Kuang Shen would inevitably be defeated if it continued on.
And as expected, after a while, the sabre weavings of Kuang Shen became increasingly chaotic. Qin Wentian sent out another palm strikes as Kuang Shen slashed out with his sabre, but at this moment, Qin Wentian spat out a ray of sword light, causing Kuang Shen’s countenance to change as he hurriedly raised his sabre in defense.

Boom! A terrifying palm imprint landed on Kuang Shen’s body, and the force of it catapulted his body into the air. When Kuang Shen finally slammed onto the ground outside the platform, he spat out mouthful after mouthful of fresh blood. It was as though the entire set of meridians in his body had been destroyed.
At this moment, Qin Wentian gradually lowered his legs. Did the fool think that he was only capable of spitting out sword lights?
Who said that palm techniques couldn’t be executed by his feet?
At this moment, of the 18 original contestants, only 12 remained.
And once three more were eliminated, the top nine contestants would appear. The hearts of the crowd were palpitating with excitement and nervousness – especially those that had placed their bets!

Chapter 128: Sikong Mingyue

At this moment, the 12 remaining contestants on the 9 platforms were:

Snowcloud – Sikong Mingyue, 2nd Sword, 3rd Night.

Chu – Luo Qianqiu, Qin Wentian, Gu Xing, Luo Huan, Orchon, Hou Tie, Leng Ya, Chu Chen and Jiang Feng.
Following which, there would still be a need to eliminate three more participants before the 2nd round of the Jun Lin Banquet could be concluded. Currently, all the contestants remaining were extremely tough to deal with, so it wouldn’t be easy to eliminate any of them.
Sikong Mingyue and Luo Qianqiu were untouchable existences.
2nd Sword and 3rd Night were the strongest opponents from Snowcloud other than Sikong Ming Yue.
As for Orchon, Heaven’s Wonder had high expectations of him this year. Not only that, he had also exhibited his talent inside the Astral River Hall back in the Emperor Star Academy.
Gu Xing was a madman that has no regards for his own life; nobody dared to antagonise him.
Luo Huan had a perfect combination of her dual Astral Souls, and wasn’t easy to stand up against.
As for Qin Wentian, he grew stronger and stronger after each battle he fought.
Both Hou Tie and Leng Ya were from the mysterious Godly General Martial Palace, and no one knew where their actual levels of strength lay.
Jiang Feng was the strongest Arterial Circulation Cultivator in all of the Divine Wind Academy, and was also ranked 6th among the 10 prodigies. This also meant that of the five other prodigies that joined the Jun Lin Banquet this year, he was ranked first.
Prince Chu Chen was an obscure figure in the past. However, he’d easily defeated Shi Jun of the 10 prodigies with minimal effort. No one knew what other trump cards he held.
If it was possible, the spectators didn’t want to see any of the remaining 12 contestants being eliminated.
Regretfully, only nine of them would be able to advance to the 3rd round. Three of the 12 contestants were destined to be eliminated, leaving the stage of the Jun Lin Banquet.
At this moment, Sikong Mingyue slowly shifted his gaze onto Luo Huan.
Earlier, Luo Huan had totally disregarded him and wrecked 4th Night.
Now, he would let Luo Huan pay the price.
Buzz! A raging wind billowed passed. Sikong Mingyue’s steps appeared gentle and light, but it was as though each of his steps contained a formless wind-type energy that caused his long hair to flutter.
Gushing forth from Sikong Mingyue’s body, a terrifying surge of killing intent madly rose. It transformed into an overwhelming baleful aura, instantly sweeping over all the contestants at the 9 platforms.
Qin Wentian narrowed his eyes. Sikong Mingyue’s killing intent was truly terrifying. It was as though he would deciminate anything that dared to stand in his way.
And now, Sikong Mingyue was deliberately targeting Luo Huan.
“Senior Sister, if you can’t defeat him, just admit defeat.” Qin Wentian called out. Luo Huan nodded her head as her countenance grew heavy. The pressure that Sikong Mingyue was giving her was exceptionally great.
“Sikong Mingyue is finally making his move.” The gazes of the spectators were fixated onto him. It was as though as long as he made a move, everyone’s attentions would be focused on him.
“Sikong Mingyue’s strength is truly tyrannical. However, Heaven’s Wonder pegged him as the 2nd strongest contestant, a rank behind Luo Qianqiu. How much stronger the martial prowess of Luo Qianqiu would be for Heaven’s Wonder to give him such a high level of recognition.”
The spectators were silently speculating. Luo Qianqiu hadn’t even been ranked within the 10 prodigies a year ago. Now, in just the span of a single year, could he really attain the top ranking in the Jun Lin Banquet and sweep across the world?
In reality, with the efficiency of Heaven’s Wonder’s information network, they would naturally have already investigated and understood roughly the power level of each of the contestants. If not, how could they have computed the betting rates?
As for Luo Qianqiu, they were also clearly aware of his background. Not only that, they also knew of the mission Luo Qianqiu was trying to accomplish. Hence, for the Jun Lin Banquet this year, Luo Qianqiu had to obtain the championship no matter what – he had to enter the 7th level of the Heavenly Star Pavilion!
Thus, Luo Qianqiu couldn’t afford to lose.
At this moment, Qin Wentian also felt tremendous pressure. At his current level of strength, he did not have confidence to win against Luo Qianqiu and Sikong Mingyue. But despite so, he wanted to fight for it, and would do so with all his efforts. A year was too long, he wanted to fight for the present.
However, how could merely having faith and a strong belief be sufficient to guarantee victory? Qin Wentian had to think this through carefully; how would he be able to win against Sikong Mingyue and Luo Qianqiu? On this stage, the two of them would be his greatest barrier. Only by surpassing both of them would he be able to reach the peak.
Upon reaching the platform Luo Huan was standing at, Sikong Mingyue didn’t slow his steps as he continued walking towards Luo Huan.
Currently, Luo Huan had already released both of her astral souls, and was awaiting for Sikong Mingyue’s arrival. Although she knew she would never defeat her opponent, she still wanted to see how strong exactly Sikong Mingyue was. She decided that she would probe out Sikong Mingyue’s abilities and see what his trump cards truly were.
Sikong Mingyue merely flicked his finger in the direction of Luo Huan, and an instant later, a vast, overwhelming wave of killing intent erupted forwards. The waves of killing intent solidified and transformed into the ancient form of the word ‘Massacre’, which flew towards Luo Huan at lightning-fast speed.
Luo Huan’s countenance wavered. Her body was incomparably flexible, but Sikong Mingyue had decided to use long-range attacks to deal with her. Not only that, the power of the word imprint could not be belittled. If the imprint were to land on one’s body, the body of the recipient would most likely be penetrated through.
Wielding a long whip in her hands, a storm of wind and rain was unleashed by her lashes. Each of her lashes was akin to rain falling in multi-directions, like numerous sharp swords. Her attacks clashed directly with the word imprint. Despite so, Luo Huan’s attack was effortlessly broken through. The word imprint continued flying forwards with no reduction to its power.
“Kill!” Sikong Mingyue took another step forwards. He had no need to engage in close combat with Luo Huan. Flicking out another finger, numerous imprints of the ancient form of the word ‘Massacre’ manifested as they frenziedly gushed towards Luo Huan.
Luo Huan unceasingly retreated as it became exceedingly tough for her to defend. A moment later, she has already retreated to the boundary of the platform, and would soon be defeated.
“Under the pressure of Sikong Mingyue, even someone at Luo Huan’s level of strength has no way to defend against it. One can clearly see the disparity in martial prowess despite the two contestants having a similar level of cultivation. Sikong Mingyue’s attack contains the power of his Astral Soul within it. Not only that, he even empowers the innate technique to such an extent, integrating his killing intent perfectly together with it.”
Some of the stronger spectators were exclaiming silently in their hearts. Sikong Mingyue was too powerful, he was clearly at a different level when compared to the rest of the contestants. No wonder he was pegged by Heaven’s Wonder as the 2nd strongest contestant in the Jun Lin Banquet.
As one of the Duo Prides of Snowcloud, his reputation was clearly well deserved.
As he saw that Luo Huan was still not defeated, an even stronger surge of killing intent flashed past his eyes. His silhouette flickered and instantly, Sikong Mingyue disappeared as all the word imprints seemed to merge together, before blasting towards Luo Huan.
Upon seeing this, many spectators began to get nervous. An inexhaustible amount of vines abruptly appeared, as though they wanted to envelop the attack of Sikong Mingyue. However, Sikong Mingyue struck out lightly with his palms through the air, the power of the palm seemingly transformed into a formless pattern, vibrating the void.
Puchi! Luo Huan immediately vomit out a mouthful of blood, her countenance turned extremely pale. She had been struck by the baleful Qi of the word imprint. Luo Huan continued retreating, wanting to step down the platform as she called out, “I admit……defeat.”
But even before the word ‘defeat’ had the chance to sound out, Sikong Mingyue had already struck out with both his palms in the direction of Luo Huan, causing her pale face to turn even paler.
Her Astral Souls gave her perfect flexibility, and granted her the ability to dodge opponent’s attack with ease in close combat. However, Luo Huan was extremely weak in the areas of purely attacking and defending, and currently, this terrifying long range impact attack blasting towards her seemed as if it wanted her life.
Luo Huan abruptly began to spiral rapidly in the air, manifesting a tornado, with her body shrouded within. The terrifying word imprint blasted onto the tornado with a deafening sound as Luo Huan’s body was flung out by the impact, smashing heavily onto the ground, causing her to repeatedly spit out huge mouthful of fresh blood.
Her haggard countenance caused many to take pity on her.
“Senior Sister.” Qin Wentian froze at the edge of his platform, looking down at Luo Huan.
At the same time, a few silhouettes from the spectator’s stand flickered as they appeared next to Luo Huan. One of them was Mustang while the other actually was Mo Qingcheng.
“I have some medicinal pills with me.” Mo Qingcheng withdrew a pill as she fed it into Luo Huan’s mouth. The pill immediately dissolved upon entering her mouth, and an instant later, a wave of coolness inundated Luo Huan’s entire body. That pill appeared to be extremely efficacious in healing injuries. Not only that, it was also capable of restoring one’s Qi, blood and vitality.
“Will Senior Sister be alright?” Qin Wentian inquired, looking at Mustang.

“Miss Mo gave her a 2nd-grade top-tier medicinal pill, which should be sufficient to enable Luo Huan to recover from her injuries.” Mustang cast a glance at Mo Qingcheng.
Qin Wentian visibly relaxed as he smiled at Mo Qingcheng.
“Don’t worry, that day when you were unconscious in the outskirts of Sky Harmony City, you had also ingested this pill before.” Mo Qingcheng laughed as she walked away, causing Qin Wentian to be dumbfounded for a moment, before he recovered. So that day, to save him, Mo Qingcheng had fed him such a precious pill.
“I want to retain my rights as a challenger, please give me the duration of a battle to recover.” Luo Huan gazed at the aged figure standing beside Chu Tianjiao.
“Fine.” The aged figure agreed. Luo Huan closed her eyes as she harmonized the energy flows in her body.
Qin Wentian’s gaze slowly shifted. While looking at Sikong Mingyue, his anger surged, and a cold glint of light radiated from his eyes.
“The duration of a battle?” Sikong Mingyue stared back at Qin Wentian, his eyes flickering similarly with a cold light.
However, at this moment, a silhouette appeared in front of Sikong Mingyue, blocking his line of sight to Qin Wentian.
There was actually someone that dared to take the initiative in challenging Sikong Mingyue?
This person was actually none other than Gu Xing.
A puzzled expression appeared on Qin Wentian’s face. Why did it feel as though this Gu Xing wanted to help him time and time again?
“Seems like, Qin Wentian’s position should already be secured.” The spectators were thinking.
Currently, only three more contestants needed to be eliminated before the top 9 rankings would be known.
As per the rules, since Luo Huan wanted to return as a challenger, whoever lost would be eliminated, thus accounting for one of the names.
And if Gu Xing was defeated by Sikong Mingyue, he would naturally return as a challenger as well. And after the battle, yet another name would have to be eliminated.
If that’s the case, there was only a single name remaining.
Even if Luo Qianqiu or Orchon wanted to challenge and defeat Qin Wentian, he would still have a chance to return as a challenger. The probability of him being in the final nine was extremely high.
However, at this moment, against all expectations, Qin Wentian actually took the initiative. He walked off his platform, and finally appearing in front of 3rd Night.
This battle he sought was not for himself, but for the sake of Luo Huan!

Chapter 129: The Halberd’s Inclination

Sikong Mingyue’s strength was obviously many times greater than Luo Huan’s.
Earlier, the spectators had clearly seen that when Luo Huan had stepped down from the platform, on the verge of admitting defeat, Sikong Mingyue had continued executing a powerful attack before the word ‘defeat’ could be called out.
He did not want to merely defeat Luo Huan, but sought to kill her instead.
On the stage of the Jun Lin Banquet, death and injury were extremely common. But if the contestants battling didn’t have any deep-seated bitterness or grudges, they would stop once the line was crossed, like earlier, when Luo Huan defeated 4th Night. Even though she’d let 4th Night suffer a bit and caused him to lose his chance to be a challenger, she had still showed mercy in the end, and spared 4th Night even though she could have killed him.
During Qin Wentian’s battle with 6th Night, he’d had no choice but to injure 6th Night’s eyes. However, he had still showed mercy in the end.
If Sikong Mingyue wanted revenge, he could directly seek Qin Wentian out for it. If that was the case, he wouldn’t be as angered as this. However, Sikong Mingyue obviously didn’t wish for things to be so simple. He wanted to kill Luo Huan first before killing Qin Wentian.
If that was so, what was there to be feared about in a battle of life and death?
The tip of the ancient halberd emitted an icy, ear-piercing sound as it grinded against the ground. It was as though it was echoing the anger of its owner.
Qin Wentian stood in front of 3rd Night. And currently, on the face of the youth, there were no longer any traces of the sunny smile from before. All that remained was icy coldness.
A great axe appeared in 3rd Night’s hand. Similar to 6th Night, he also possessed overwhelming strength, and was undoubtedly stronger than him. However, he wouldn’t underestimate Qin Wentian.
You can have a strong sense of self-confidence and conviction that you will win. But despite this, a cultivator must not be blinded by their strength and underestimate their opponents. If not, they will surely be the ones suffering at the end.

“The attack strength of your ancient halberd is not strong enough.” 3rd Night spat out, adopting a frivolous air. However, his silhouette on the platform gave off the sense that he was as steady as a heavy mountain.

Qin Wentian didn’t reply as he continued forwards. At this moment, his steps were slow and unhurried, making people feel as if he was leisurely strolling through the park.
Upon seeing this, 3rd Night slightly furrowed his brows. Seeing how serene Qin Wentian was now actually gave him a faint sense of danger. It was as though he was currently facing a sleeping, gigantic, demonic beast that could awaken at any moment.
And at this moment, the spectators saw that the eyes of Qin Wentian were tightly shut. Peace and harmony could be seen etched on his face, as though he was asleep. Despite so, his footsteps continued forwards, as though he was in a mysterious realm.
Half asleep and half awake. Currently as Qin Wentian stood there, his stance was filled with countless flaws that could be exploited but yet at the same time, his stance appeared to be perfect.

3rd Night frowned as he brandished his great axe. A hegemonic aura filled with killing intent gushed out from him and towards Qin Wentian. However, Qin Wentian’s eyes were still closed, as though he couldn’t be bothered at all.
“Die!” 3rd Night roared in anger as he chopped his great axe down towards Qin Wentian.
The stance which he executed this strike in was extremely profound. He wanted to see how Qin Wentian would react to this attack of his.
The instant the great axe swung down, Qin Wentian’s eyes snapped open. The next moment, the Qi of Heaven and Earth fluctuated as it seemingly underwent a transformation.
3rd Night’s perception was as though it was embroiled inside a dream. He was facing against an extremely overwhelming opponent that he would never be able to defeat.
Qin Wentian who was 3rd Night’s opponent, seemed as if he had a power that transcended the Heavens.
Buzz! A raging wind billowed by as Qin Wentian transformed into a blur of shadows. The aura he emanated in that moment was extremely majestic, akin to countless mountains, with the intent of smashing apart 3rd Night’s meagre killing intent.
At that moment, Qin Wentian was like a war god. 3rd Night didn’t even have the heart to defend against his attack.

“Mountain Splitter.”
Qin Wentian himself was also fully immersed in his dream. This strike of his was like he was a real god of war.
The first stance of the Great Dream Halberd Art was the Mountain Splitter Stance. This was currently also the only stance of it. The spectators only saw a faint shadow carrying an ancient halberd smashing towards 3rd Night with boundless might.
The Astral Light emitted by the great axe, which 3rd Night had used to test Qin Wentian, directly shattered into pieces, as though it was as thin as a piece of paper.
3rd Night struggled to lift his axe as he continued chopping out. However, the speed of the ancient halberd was too quick and too ferocious. The spectators only saw a huge flash of light, and the great axe was flung out of 3rd Night’s grasp, spiraling through the air.
Puchi!
A crisp sound rang out as the ancient halberd embedded itself in the centre of 3rd Night’s brows.
The tip of the halberd, as well as the crescent edge, sliced into 3rd Night’s head simultaneously, stealing his life away in an instant.
3rd Night had fallen.
Qin Wentian, after suppressing him, had decimated him totally with only a single strike.
This was during the crucial moment before the top nine contestants would be born. However, at this very moment, a genius had fallen.
Duo Prides, 3rd Sword, 7th Night, and all those contestants that participated in the Jun Lin Banquet from Snowcloud country were all stunned into silence. Without 1st Night and 2nd Night, 3rd Night could be considered one of the strongest. But, he had actually died.
In that instant, even the void seemed to freeze. The gazes of everyone landed on that dominating youth.
That attack of his was too shocking.
“So he has always been hiding his true strength.” Many spectators silently remarked.

In the direction of the Emperor Star Academy allocated seats, Mustang and the rest had looks of bewilderment on their faces. Glancing about, Mustang involuntarily asked, “Does the Emperor Star Academy have this type of innate technique?”
“I don’t think so? At the very least, I’ve never seen anyone using it before.”
“Definitely not, this halberd art he executed seems to be a creation of his own.” Someone spoke, causing the hearts of the rest to slightly tremble.
The might of the halberd art that they had seen could already be considered an earth-grade, lower tier innate technique and could be even be considered perfection at the earth-grade.
However, his cultivation base was only at the 7th level of Arterial Circulation. How could he have attained the perfection stage? But that strike of his earlier… was indeed at the perfection stage! If Qin Wentian’s cultivation base was higher, the might of his earlier attack might have even exceeded that of a earth-grade, low-tier innate technique.
And for those who had once seen the 3rd level Divine Inscription Painting created by Qin Wentian, they would sense that the aura of the innate technique unleashed by him, was extremely similar to that of the painting.
Could it be that the Divine Inscription Painting had a connection with his innate technique?
As Qin Wentian pulled out his ancient halberd, someone came up the platform to collect the corpse of 3rd Night.
At the same time, the battle between Gu Xing and Sikong Mingyue had also ended. The instant Gu Xing witnessed Qin Wentian killing 3rd Night, h’de voluntarily left the platform.
And since that was the case, only nine contestants remained standing on the platform out of the original 18.
Below the platforms, Gu Xing and Luo Huan stood there. Both of them still had the right to return as a challenger.
This meant that the 2nd round of the Jun Lin Banquet would come to an end after two more battles, one by Luo Huan and another by Gu Xing.
Sikong Mingyue directed his gaze at Qin Wentian as a wave of overwhelming killing intent gushed over to Qin Wentian,
Qin Wentian continued standing there, returning his gaze. His countenance was still unperturbed as he slowly raised the ancient halberd in his hands, pointing the tip of the halberd directly at Sikong Mingyue.
His meaning was clear, even without words to articulate it.
The spectators seemed to sense two waves of killing intent colliding against each other in mid air.
The aura of Sikong Mingyue was filled with rage and killing intent, while the aura of Qin Wentian, although it looked calm and steady on the surface, had an unyielding determination to battle that could be felt.
Sikong Mingyue was one of the two top contestants that had obtained the highest recognition in the Jun Lin Banquet. By pointing his halberd straight at Sikong Mingyue, it was obvious that he intended to challenge Sikong Mingyue.
And what’s even more interesting was that both of them at this moment would surely be advancing to the 3rd round of the Jun Lin Banquet. The battle between them was a foregone conclusion and would definitely occur sooner or later.
Would Qin Wentian be able to even stand before Sikong Mingyue? Sikong Mingyue was one of the Duo Prides that enjoyed a reputation at the same level as Xiao Lǜ. In the Jun Lin Banquet this year, he had been the strongest cultivator from Snowcloud Country.
It was as though a warm current was flowing through the bodies of the spectators. This feeling was that of hot blood rising. Even if they didn’t think Qin Wentian would win, the spectators still wanted to see the ending.
It was precisely these conflicts that caused the Jun Lin Banquet to be so filled with colours, increasing the anticipation of the spectators..
“Luo Huan and Gu Xing won’t challenge Qin Wentian. This means that Qin Wentian will surely be one of the nine contestants that advances. What a pity, I didn’t bet on him earlier.” Someone in the crowd lamented. Before the 2nd round commenced, the payout rate for Qin Wentian obtaining the top nine ranking had been 1:4. If he had betted on Qin Wentian, he would have made a killing.
At this moment, Fan Le was laughing extremely loudly in his heart. Qin Wentian has already obtained top nine. And after this, he could only hope Qin Wentian would do his best and somehow miraculously obtain one of the top three positions. If that was the case, he would be striking gold. He would be one of the wealthiest cultivators under the realm of Yuanfu.

Not only that, even cultivators at Yuanfu might not be able to match his wealth. Fan Le had already begun dreaming his beautiful dream.
And amidst the crowd, Immortal Drunken Wine and that young man from before were standing there as well.
That young man smiled as he stated, “I’ve already made 100 Yuan Meteor Stones, let’s go buy some wine later.”
“Since that’s the case, I won’t hold back.” Immortal Drunken Wine laughed happily. Although he had never underestimated Qin Wentian, he was also surprised, as he hadn’t predicted that Qin Wentian had the power to kill 3rd Night in a single strike.
After thinking this, he involuntarily thought back to the Yuan Meteor Stones he’d casually betted. What if his bet really came through? Wouldn’t that mean he would be able to drink good wine for a very long time?
Naturally, the probability of this happening was extremely small. Because, the two Yuan Meteor Stones he had bet, were for Qin Wentian to obtain the championship!

Chapter 130: Top Nine

 

At this moment, only nine contestants remained on the platforms. Qin Wentian, Luo Qianqiu, Sikong Mingyue, 2nd Sword, Orchon, Hou Tie, Leng Ya, Chu Chen and Jiang Feng.

And two out of these nine would have to accept the challenges of Luo Huan and Gu Xing. The victors would proceed to the next round, enjoying the glory of being the top nine contestants.

And among them, there were some that didn’t participate in the battles of the 2nd round. They couldn’t be bothered to make a move, and there was also no one that dared to move against them. Some examples of this were Luo Qianqiu, Orchon and Hou Tie.

In the 2nd round, these examples didn’t experience even a single battle. Qin Wentian was in most of the battles that occurred. After his performance, the spectators all looked at him in a new light. Currently, Qin Wentian already had half a foot in the top nine rankings, or it would be better to say that he was already in the top nine rankings.

Many in the crowd were impressed by him. And in the Royal Capital, almost everyone already knew that this youth, Qin Wentian – who originated from Sky Harmony City – had only enrolled in the Emperor Star Academy a year ago, a full year less compared to the two years of Luo Qianqiu!

“The two of you, start choosing your opponents.” The aged figure beside Chu Tianjiao spoke.

After Luo Huan finished her recuperation, she opened her eyes and let out a charm-filled laugh. After which, she stood up and lightly nodded in the direction of Mo Qingcheng, indicating her thanks. The 2nd-grade top tier medicinal pill Mo Qingcheng gave her could be considered a miracle pill. The injuries she sustained in her battle earlier had already totally healed, allowing her to gain back her original level of strength within such a short span of time.

And as for Gu Xing, he wasn’t injured at all. He voluntarily gave up the battle earlier after Qin Wentian won. From the predictions of the crowd, Gu Xing would most likely be part of the final top nine positions. Nobody dared to underestimate him despite him keeping a low profile.

Both of them walked up to the platform. Luo Huan chose the 6th ranked prodigy Jiang Feng, while Gu Xing chose Leng Ya from the Godly General Martial Palace as his opponent.

Their choices were not surprising in the least. If the spectators were to choose, they would also choose from Jiang Feng, Leng Ya, or Chu Chen. However, the little prince Chu Chen should have many hidden trump cards for unexpected situations. It was only logical for Luo Huan and Gu Xing to challenge the other two instead.

And with regards to the results of the final battle, Gu Xing defeated Leng Ya, while Luo Huan who just recovered from her injuries, also defeated Jiang Feng.

Luo Huan was even stronger than Jiang Feng, but was easily defeated by Sikong Mingyue. All of them were geniuses, yet the disparity between them was this great.

After Luo Huan defeated Jiang Feng, all the prodigies that joined the Jun Lin Banquet this year had been fully eliminated.

This scenario wasn’t that surprising to behold. After all, in the cruel cultivation world, one would naturally regress if one failed to advance forward.

There were 10 members in the ranks of the 10 prodigies. The first five had already broken through to Yuanfu, while the last five were all eliminated during the Jun Lin Banquet this year.

Luo Qianqiu, Orchon, Qin Wentian, Luo Huan, Hou Tie, Chu Chen – any of them would be able to replace the positions of the fallen prodigies.

And at the same time, the top nine rankings were finally unveiled. The top nine contestants were: Sikong Mingyue, 2nd Sword, Luo Qianqiu, Orchon, Qin Wentian, Luo Huan, Hou Tie, Chu Chen and Gu Xing.

And of the remaining contestants, two were from Snowcloud Country—Sikong Mingyue and 2nd Sword. At the same time, both of them were extremely terrifying existences. Sikong Mingyue could almost certainly be ranked within the top three, and 2nd Sword had a high probability of being ranked within the top three as well.

And there were a total of seven that hailed from Chu.

The most resplendent was still the Emperor Star Academy. Because among those in the top nine, there were a total of four that originated from the Emperor Star Academy.

Luo Qianqiu, Orchon, Qin Wentian and Luo Huan!

There were no weaklings among these four.

The Emperor Star Academy truly deserved its reputation as the number one martial academy in Chu. This reputation was accumulated through the years, and because they would often produce elites and geniuses, many unpolished gems would also be extremely willing to enrol in the Emperor Star Academy.

And for Chu – other than the contestants from Emperor Star Academy – Godly General Martial Academy had Hou Tie, and the Royal Academy had Chu Chen as well. At the very least, the Royal Clan would still have some face considering that the two other martial academy ran on their support.

Not only that, there was still the youth with the mysterious background – Gu Xing.

The nine remaining contestants didn’t have any hints of satisfaction on their faces. They all knew that the battles in the 3rd round would definitely be even more brutal.

These remaining nine would compete for their ultimate placing in the last round of the Jun Lin Banquet.

They may face opponents like Luo Qianqiu, Sikong Mingyue, or even 2nd Sword.

And the battles at the 3rd round, be it the intensity, or the difficulty, would naturally surge immeasurably as well.

And at this moment, from behind the Chu Emperor Seat, a total of nine people walked towards the platforms.

These nine people each possessed a small case, and in the centre of those small cases, there was a jade token that was delivered to the nine remaining contestants respectively.

And so, one of the nine also appeared in front of Qin Wentian. After which, that person spoke, “Engrave your name onto it.”

Qin Wentian naturally understood the rules of the Jun Lin Banquet. He didn’t say anything as he engraved the three words, ‘Qin Wentian’, onto the jade token.

After that, the person took the jade token back as he brought the case away. And when the nine deliverers gathered, they placed each of the nine jade tokens into a case together, flipping them over, before mixing up the order.

After that, they left the platform immediately, while leaving the case with the nine tokens atop the platform.

“Who is willing to do the last honor?” Chu Tianjiao, sitting on the Chu Emperor Seat, glanced about as he smiled at the crowd

“Let me do it.” A powerful expert from the Ye Clan stood up.

“We will have to trouble Senior Liuyang to do so then.” Chu Tianjiao smiled. Liuyang

Liuyang retrieved three jade tokens randomly and placed them in his hands. With a gentle push of his palms, the three jade tokens hovered in the air, and the names engraved on the tokens appeared in front of the crowd.

“Luo Qianqiu, 2nd Sword, Luo Huan.”

As the three names were shown, the spectators couldn’t help but sigh in regret for Luo Huan. She was truly unlucky to be grouped with Luo Qianqiu and 2nd Sword.

The 3rd round of the Jun Lin Banquet would be a group battle. The nine contestants would be divided into three groups, and the contestants in each group would then battle with each other to determine who would be the first, second and third.

After which, those that obtained the first position of each group would proceed to the strongest stage, and fight for the top three positions.

For those that attained the 2nd position of each group, they would proceed and fight for the 4th to 6th positions.

And for those that obtained the last position of each group, they would then fight for the 7th to 9th positions.

Luo Huan would need to contend with Luo Qianqiu and 2nd Sword to determine her ranking. She was truly unlucky as she had a high probability to be ranked last in this group.

Ye Liuyang withdrew another three jade tokens and caused them to hover in the air again. This time round, the spectators had a strange expression on their faces and they couldn’t help but cast a glance at Qin Wentian.

Earlier, Qin Wentian pointed his ancient halberd straight at Sikong Mingyue. His intent to battle was overwhelming.

And now, they would finally have the chance to battle. The 2nd group consisted of Sikong Mingyue, Qin Wentian and Chu Chen.

Since the names of the first two groups had been unveiled, the spectators were already able to guess who the last group consisted of. But despite this, Ye Liuyang still did the same procedure, allowing the jade tokens to hover in the air. The last group consisted of the remaining three contestants – Orchon, Gu Xing and Hou Tie.

The groupings of the 3rd round cause the spectators to be filled with intense anticipation. Regardless of which grouping it was, they were sufficient to cause the crowd to feel that their blood was boiling with excitement.

Luo Qianqiu, 2nd Sword, Luo Huan.

Sikong Mingyue, Qin Wentian, Chu Chen.

Orchon, Gu Xing, Hou Tie.

As Qin Wentian stood on the platform, he sensed a malevolent glance filled with sharpness locking onto him. Shifting his gaze over, he discovered Sikong Mingyue walking towards him. Even before the battle started, killing intent could already be felt in the air.

At this moment, in the Emperor Chu District, on the Azure Dragon Jadeite Seat, Chu Tianjiao stood up as he smiled, “Let me begin by announcing the rules of the final round of this year’s Jun Lin Banquet. All the contestants will battle within their groups to determine who will be the number one, number two and number three”

“For the three number ones, they will contend for the top three rankings of the Jun Lin Banquet.”

“For the three number twos, they will contend for the 4th to 6th rank.

“And for the three number threes, the 7th to 9th rank.”

“Other than that, the one ranked 7th will have a single chance to challenge those in the 4th to 6th rank. The one ranked 4th will similarly have a chance to challenge those in the top three rankings.”

Chu Tianjiao explained, as he confirmed the rules of the final round.

“Okay, this will be all for today. We will continue the final round of the Jun Lin Banquet tomorrow.” Chu Tianjiao announced, causing many of the spectators to have dissatisfied and unhappy expressions on their faces.

What was he doing, the groupings of the last round has already been determined, but they must still wait one more day to see the final battles? This feeling was too unbearable.

“Go, let’s go to Drunken Wonder to take a look. Now that the groupings are determined, the payout rates may change as well, this is a chance!”

“Right, my chance is here. This means that there will be new payout rates calculated for each of the segments, I’m going to try my luck.”

And thus, many in the crowd headed towards Drunken Wonder, preparing their bets. And within them, the majority had already made a killing from their earlier bets on who would obtain the top nine rankings. How could they not seize the chance to make another killing this time round!

Chapter 131: The silhouette that lighted up the starry skies

Qin Wentian continued standing on the platform, with no intention to leave. And on the platform directly opposite of him, stood Sikong Mingyue, gazing directly at him.
Sikong Mingyue didn’t say anything, but that killing intent he emanated could clearly be felt. His intention was evident even without saying.
“Where are Qin Zhi and Qin Shang?” Qin Wentian asked as he stared at Sikong Mingyue. Since Sikong Mingyue deliberately targeted him after a single sentence from Xiao Lǜ, the relationship between them should be extremely close. And if that was the case, Sikong Mingyue should also know about Qin Zhi and Qin Shang.
“Qin Zhi, Qin Shang.” Sikong Mingyue exhibited an expression of contemplation before continuing, “After they heard about their father being besieged, they most likely already rushed off to the front lines. No matter what, they are still the relatives of one of the candidates to be the Crown Prince’s wife. The Snowcloud Country wouldn’t make things difficult for these minor characters.”
Sikong Mingyue couldn’t even be bothered about Qin Shang and Qin Zhi. To him – and to Snowcloud – these two had no value at all.
“Allow me to correct you. My sister Qin Yao has no relations with the crown prince of Snowcloud. Not only that, she will also not be returning there.” Qin Wentian retorted sharply, challenging Sikong Mingyue directly.
“Everyone in Snowcloud already knows that she’s one of the candidates to be selected for the Crown Prince’s wife. Since this is the case, no matter where she is, she has to return to Snowcloud. If not, where would the face of Snowcloud be?”
Sikong Mingyue turned around after speaking and walked away, his back facing Qin Wentian.
“You should worry about yourself. For the battle tomorrow, if Qin Yao apologises to the Crown Prince, I may still show mercy.” Sikong Mingyue remarked with his back facing Qin Wentian. The matter of apology he was referring to was obviously Qin Yao’s stay in Chu – her unwillingness to return to Snowcloud.
“Truly arrogant.” Qin Wentian gazed at the departing back of Sikong Mingyue. Back then, Xiao Lǜ may have made use of Qin Yao to make some unknown deals with Chu Tianjiao. Now he still had the gall to turn the situation around, blaming Qin Yao for not returning to Snowcloud?
The reason was only because if Qin Yao stayed in Chu, Xiao Lǜ would have no face. After all, Qin Yao was unable to provide a satisfactory reason.
However, if back then Chu Tianjiao succeeded and Qin Yao became a sacrifice, Snowcloud would probably react differently.
“This opponent is truly hard to deal with. If you can’t, just give up, don’t contend for the top three positions.” Luo Huan intoned in a low voice. She fought against Sikong Mingyue before and was extremely clear on how hegemonic his attacks could be.
“Don’t contend?” Qin Wentian gazed at the horizons. He was already standing on the grandest stage of Chu, how could he give up so easily?
Inclining his head, staring at the spectators’ stand, Qin Wentian could make out many familiar faces in the crowd.
Mo Qingcheng was sitting in the Mo Clan’s seating area, and had a radiant smile displayed on her face. Clenching her dainty fist, she pumped it in the air, indicating that she was rooting for Qin Wentian.
And in the seating area that the Divine Weapon Pavilion was allocated, An Liuyan, Yang Chen and Francis was also there, indicating their support by nodding their heads.
In the direction of the Emperor Star Academy’s seats, Mustang had a face full of smiles. Not only that, Qin Wentian also noticed a silhouette wearing a conical bamboo hat sitting behind Mustang. He knew that this person was none other than Ren Qianxing.
The gazes of those looking at him were all filled with anticipation, waiting for him to display his radiance in the last round of the Jun Lin Banquet.
Although Luo Qianqiu was also a student from the Emperor Star Academy, he wasn’t the representative of it. In fact, the Emperor Star Academy was trying to bar his path. The true representative of Emperor Star Academy was Qin Wentian, while Luo Qianqiu represented the Nine Mystical Palace.
Orchon was also a student of the Emperor Star Academy, but because of his noble birth, it could be said that in comparison to the Emperor Star Academy, he represented the Ou Clan more.
Only Luo Huan and Qin Wentian could be considered the ‘pure’ representatives from the academy, and thus the Emperor Star Academy was hoping to witness their brilliant performances.
Seeing that the spectators from the Emperor Star Academy has yet to depart, Qin Wentian strode forwards, moving towards them.
“What’s wrong?” Mustang smiled as he saw Qin Wentian approaching.
“Teacher, I wish to go to the Astral River Hall, however I do not have sufficient authority to enter.” Qin Wentian explained.
“I’ll bring you there.” Behind Mustang, Ren Qianxing who was wearing the conical bamboo hat interjected, directly opening up a backdoor for Qin Wentian.
“Thank you.” Qin Wentian nodded and smiled as he departed together with Ren Qianxing, returning to the Emperor Star Academy.
Today, the gambling establishment that was Heaven’s Wonder went totally crazy. Every branch of Heaven’s Wonder, especially Drunken Wonder, was swamped by crowds of people, so packed that no one could even enter.
The groupings of the 3rd round were already determined. The payout rates for the nine battles were also already computed.
The first group consisted of Luo Qianqiu, 2nd Sword and Luo Huan. The one that obtained the most recognition was undoubtedly Luo Qianqiu, followed by 2nd Sword, and then Luo Huan.
In the second group were Sikong Mingyue, Qin Wentian and Chu Chen. The one that obtained the most recognition, was naturally Sikong Mingyue, while Qin Wentian and Chu Chen both had the same odds. This meant that for the battle between Qin Wentian and Chu Chen, regardless of who it was that won, the payout rate would remain at 1:2. If that was the case, it was all up to the individual judgement of the gamblers.
As for the last group, it was Orchon, Gu Xing and Hou Tie. The one that obtained the most recognition was Orchon, followed by Gu Xing, and lastly Hou Tie.
And comparing the three groups, the three contestants that obtained the highest level of recognition were Luo Qianqiu, Sikong Mingyue and Orchon respectively. Hence, the payout rates for these three contestants, should they obtain the top three positions, was also the lowest.
The payout rate of Qin Wentian obtaining the top ranking remained unchanged. It was still at 1:400.
But there was some adjustments to the payout rate should he obtain a position in the top three. Currently, it was lowered to 1:80, which also meant that there were some gamblers that started to trust Qin Wentian.
It was too difficult if Qin Wentian wanted to slaughter his way into the top three positions. Firstly, he had to defeat Sikong Mingyue. Either that or he had to obtain the 4th or the 7th position before slowly slaughtering his way up the ranks.
However, the difficulty of this was tremendously high, almost impossible.
………………
The grounds of Emperor Star Academy still seemed as empty as before. The students of the academy had a greater interest in the Jun Lin Banquet than the other academies. The reason being that the contestants of the Jun Lin Banquet originated from the Emperor Star Academy frequently.
All of them hoped that one day, it would be they themselves standing there on the stage, their name resounding famously throughout Chu!
5th Level of the Astral River Hall.
Qin Wentian sat there cross-leggedly. This time round, he didn’t opt to linger, but instead he broke through the restrictions of the earlier levels and arrived at the 5th level in one breath.
Inclining his head, he looked up at the gorgeous starlit skies.
Revolutions of runic lines interweaved together, transforming into a terrifying fist light, as the light filled the skies with a multitude of fist shadows, blasting directly at his consciousness.
Boom!
The will of Qin Wentian relentlessly endured the shockwaves’ vibrations, as booming sounds echoed out relentlessly in his mind. Despite this, he still remained as steady as a boulder.
And despite being on the 5th level, he was still able to clearly see the intricate patterns of the runic lines interweaving. Were it other cultivators, they may not even be able to sense the intricacies of the 5th level, and would merely endure the pressure blindly. This was one of the abilities bestowed upon him as a result of his high level of sensory abilities and immense affinity.
And after he endured the astral pressure for an extended period of time, Qin Wentian gradually began to get used to the depth and intensity of this type of pressure-attack. Slowly, after his body acclimated to the pressure, Qin Wentian didn’t rushed to break apart the restriction on the 5th level. Previously, the instant he set foot on the 6th level, he had sensed how tyrannical and terrifying the astral pressure was.
The skies had already darkened, and within the Astral River Hall, the 5th level shone brightly like a beacon. However, other than the old guardian, no one else was near the Astral River Hall. Thus no one noticed the radiance of the second starlit sky.
The darkness of the night deepened.
The academy was as though it was filled with traces of loneliness. At this moment, a returning female student laid flat on the ground, smiling lightly as she admired the beautiful starry sky.
She heard that there were four students from the academy participating in the Jun Lin Banquet. How dazzling they were, when would it be her turn to shine as brightly as them?
And in this very instant, a ray of resplendent, blinding light erupted forth, causing the female student to be flabbergasted. On the dome of Heaven, it was as though a second piece of starlit sky had appeared, brightening up the darkness of the Emperor Star Academy.
The female student abruptly stood up and cast her gaze over to the distance, only to see that in a certain direction, a bright glow exploded forwards. It was so dazzling that it could be compared to the constellations shining in the sky.
“It’s the Astral River Hall. The flash of radiance that day shone once again.”
The female student started trembling as she jogged in the direction of the Astral River Hall. After arriving there, her heart shuddered intensely as she saw that the 6th level was the source of the light.
The 6th level, someone actually stepped onto the 6th level?! Which of the illustrious seniors or elders from the Emperor Star Academy was it?
She had heard of the legends before. For one to step into the 6th level, this meant that they had a chance of forming innate links with constellations of the 6th Heavenly Layer and condensing an Astral Soul from there. Normally, even for those sovereigns at the Heavenly Dipper Level, they would only be able to condense an Astral Soul from the 4th Heavenly Layer. How strong would one’s sensory abilities and affinity need to be for them to condense an Astral Soul from the 6th Heavenly Layer?
Not only that, a monstrous sensory ability would at most allow you to sense the Astral River of the 6th Heavenly Layer, but the astral pressure there was totally sufficient to collapse a person’s will and consciousness.
The brilliance of the night sky over the Emperor Star Academy lasted for quite some time. And those students that still remained in the academy were wildly conjecturing – which powerful senior was it that possessed such a monstrous affinity? Weren’t his sensory abilities a little too terrifying?
As the darkness of the night increasingly deepened, the resplendent radiance still stayed the same. The female student sat at a remote corner far away from the Astral River Hall with her eyes lightly shut, as though she was currently taking a nap.
And at this moment, waves of a gentle commotion drifted over as the female student opened her eyes. After which, she saw the silhouette of a youth walking out from within the Astral River Hall. As her gaze shift over, it was as though the youth had sensed it, as he too shifted his gaze in her direction, before turning and departing from the area.
The heart of the female student thumped wildly as she involuntarily let out a gasp. Hurriedly covering her mouth with her hands, an expression of immense shock and awe was displayed on her face.
Who had she seen?
That was Qin Wentian!

Inclining her head, the 2nd piece of starlit skies disappeared and the Astral River Hall no longer emitted light. However, the heart of the female student was unable calm down even after a long time.

Chapter 132: Damn old fogey?

After returning to his residence, Qin Wentian began cultivating. However at this moment, his condition wasn’t too good.
In his dream, Qin Wentian sat underneath a starlit sky, and above him, numerous revolutions of runic lines frenziedly interweaved intricately as they transformed into countless fist shadows that filled the skies. As the fist shadows blasted downwards, Qin Wentian calmly sat there. He knew that they were incapable of injuring him because this was inside his dreamscape.
Currently, Qin Wentian was trying to recreate and emulate the scenario from the 1st level of the Astral River Hall to the 5th level. On the 5th level, he sensed the beautiful runic lines metamorphosing into a spiral black hole before they transformed into terrifying fist lights, pounding downwards. However, when he stepped onto the 6th level, the fist lights he felt were no longer fist lights, but were instead heavenly fist shadows powered by the might of the constellations wanting to decimate both the Heavens and Earth,
Each fist shadow was like a constellation, the magnificent view of tens of millions of constellations smashing downwards, causing fear even in the hearts of intrepid heroes. Especially in that instant when the pressure blasted against his consciousness; the tens of millions of constellations amalgamated together, becoming a single entity, transforming into a stream of light as his body violently shuddered from the impact.
“How gorgeous.” Qin Wentian inclined his head as he gazed at the starlit skies in his dreams, immersing himself within.
After several moments, the Astral Energy in Qin Wentian’s body started surging, as a Heavenly Hammer coalesced from Astral Light appeared in his hands. Abruptly, Qin Wentian swung the hammer downwards, slamming it onto the ground, creating a Divine Imprint that resembled the starlit skies from before. Within the imprint, countless miniature superimposed constellations could be seen revolving about slowly in circular motion.
“If I inscribe this Divine Imprint onto a weapon, the augmentation effects would be so great that it’s unimaginable. Maybe I can even create a top-tier, 3rd-grade Divine Weapon.” Qin Wentian drew in a deep breath and felt excitement in his heart. After which, he created a pencil and paper, and started to inscribe the imprint underneath the starry skies.
After a long period of time, he attempted the inscription process many times, and finally, Qin Wentian succeeded in inscribing the 2nd Divine Imprint of his very own creation.
Just as before, a silhouette wielded the ancient halberd with a single hand. This strike was as heavy as a mountain, and at the instant when the ancient halberd pierced out, a terrifying spiral appeared. At the tip of the halberd, numerous constellations could be seen revolving in beautiful arcs as they blasted forwards with the terrifying spiral, giving people a sensation that it was capable of devouring anything.
“This will be the second stance of my Great Dream Halberd Art, the Fallen Star Stance.” Qin Wentian murmured in a low voice.
Now, there were already two stances of the Great Dream Halbard art that he created. The first stance was Mountain Splitter, while the second was Fallen Star.
The requirement was that he had to gather and condense sufficient amounts of Astral Energy before it could be used. However, to Qin Wentian who was able to condense Divine Energy, this wasn’t a problem at all.
Standing up, Qin Wentian began to practice the second stance Fallen Star inside his dreamscape. It was one thing using his imagination to inscribe the Divine Imprint, but if he wanted to use it in real combat, the requirements would naturally be higher by several times and would certainly not be so easy.
The insight of Fallen Star’s creation was naturally comprehended from the Astral River Hall. However, it was impossible to emulate the power levels of the terrifying spiral black hole from the 5th and 6th level in the Astral River Hall. At most, the power of the attacks he executed would be on par with the astral pressure of the 3rd level. Despite this, it was already sufficient to elevate his attacking prowess by several times. This second created stance of his would be his strongest attack since the creation of Mountain Splitter. Its power was undoubtedly countless times mightier when compared to Mountain Splitter.
Qin Wentian frenziedly cultivated while lamenting that time was not enough. Even though Little Rascal’s speed was incredibly fast, it would still need some time to reach the Chu Emperor District. This was also the reason why there was almost no one left in the Emperor Star Academy, as the distance to there was too great. For those that has no demonic beasts as mounts, they would waste too much time travelling back and forth.
And in the end, Qin Wentian had not completely mastered Fallen Star. He hurriedly absorbed Astral Energy from his Yuan Meteor Stones to replenish the energy in his body, while silently lamenting that time passed too fast.
As the Astral Energy within his body recovered to the optimal level, Qin Wentian’s will drifted to within his sea of consciousness. Over there, he saw the tiny Astral Being once again.

This was the inheritance left to him by the damn old fogey his father, transformed from a stone that used to hang around his neck. Before, he had witnessed many incredible things from the memory fragments of the tiny Astral Being, even obtaining heaven-defying techniques such as the Spirit Refinement Method. Although it wasn’t some godly innate techniques, Qin Wentian didn’t dare to put a price on the worth of the Spirit Refinement Method. He knew that if, somehow, the Spirit Refinement Method was leaked, it would cause the entire Chu Country to be topsy-turvy.
“The 3rd round of the Jun Lin Banquet is imminent, I wonder which memory fragment would I obtain this time round. Let’s hope I’m lucky.” Qin Wentian murmured in his heart. After feeling the killing intent and power level of Sikong Mingyue, Qin Wentian felt tremendous pressure. His level of strength still wasn’t sufficient for him to obtain the championship, especially with the fact that his Fallen Star Stance has yet to be fully mastered. That was why he hoped to be lucky enough to obtain some memory fragments that may be of use to him.
As his will drifted into the Astral Being, Qin Wentian once again felt as though he just stepped inside a boundless Astral River with many pieces of astral memory fragments located within.
Qin Wentian’s will drifted about, and the Yuan Meteor Stones clutched in his hands transformed into a terrifying light stream, frenziedly gushing towards the tiny Astral Being as his will came into contact with the memory fragments. He didn’t hesitate to exhaust large amounts of Yuan Meteor Stones, as he wanted to try to see if he could find a method to heighten his combat prowess.
Fragment after fragment was absorbed into Qin Wentian’s consciousness, Qin Wentian lit up a total of 10 astral memory fragments before his consciousness was finally expelled from that of the tiny Astral Being. Opening his eyes, he felt his heart strings being slightly wrenched as he glanced at the empty husks of Yuan Meteor Stones littered on the ground.
Such an astronomical price. If it were not for the Divine Weapon Pavilion giving him an almost inexhaustible amount of Astral Stones to support him in his cultivation, it would be impossible for him to even light up one astral memory fragment.
Qin Wentian didn’t have time to continue feeling heartache over these expended husks of Yuan Meteor Stones. He directly shut his eyes as he digested the memories, hoping to find something of use to him.
In the first fragment, his heart involuntarily trembled as he observed the memory stored in it.
He saw numerous peerless experts engaging in an all-out war, standing in between Heaven and Earth. These peerless experts were all fearsome existences that he would never have the chance to interact with.

However, the reason for the trembling of his heart was because he saw… a certain someone.
Uncle Black!
In the scenes that flashed by, Uncle Black wasn’t crippled, his body was whole and healthy. As his black hair draped across his shoulders, he emitted a demonic charm so good-looking that Qin Wentian almost failed to recognised him.
And beside Uncle Black, there was a middle-aged figure. Qin Wentian had seen this person before, he was none other than the godly existence Qin Wentian witnessed in the Qin Heavenly Divine Sect. The middle-aged figure had his hands crossed behind his back, while Uncle Black stood beside him, as though he was his subordinate.
This scene was extremely short-lived. As Qin Wentian’s consciousness retreated out of the memory fragment, his eyes reddened and his fists were tightly clenched, as though he was in anguish.
Looking at the high-spiritedness of Uncle Black back then, it was extremely hard for him to match it with the ‘crippled’ old man who brought him up. Who was it that crippled Uncle Black? What sort of battle did he experience?
And who on earth was that middle-aged figure? Why did he appear every single time?
Drawing in a deep breath, Qin Wentian continued digesting the memories. Following which, he witnessed many scenes. However, he discovered a common point across all the memories – the middle-aged figure was in every one of them.
Qin Wentian made a bold hypothesis, could it be that the memory fragments of the tiny Astral Being originated from this middle-aged man?
If that was the case, wasn’t his memory all already shattered and transformed into the countless fragments?
And who exactly was he? Could he be the damn old fogey?
As he thought of this, a huge wave arose in Qin Wentian’s heart. According to Uncle Black, that mystical stone from before was the only thing the damn old fogey left behind for him. If what he guessed was right, if the astral memory fragments contained within the tiny Astral Being were the memories of the middle-aged man, there was a high probability that he was his birth father!

If that really was the case, it made sense why Uncle Black was always protecting him from the shadows. Uncle Black should either be the subordinate or an extremely close friend of the middle-aged man – as evident from the fact that even after Uncle Black was crippled, he still spared no efforts in taking care of Qin Wentian, nurturing him and watching him grow up.
At this moment, Qin Wentian had already forgotten his original intentions. Immersing himself in the memories, trying to find clues of his own background, he devoured the memory fragments rapidly one after another, with one last piece of memory fragment remaining.
His last memory was of a youth standing next to many towering structures. An expression of extreme stubborness could be seen on his face, not matching the majestic aura of his surroundings. As he sat down cross-leggedly, more stubborness flickered in the depths of his eyes, as astral light circulated around his index finger. All of a sudden, the youth stabbed his finger straight into his own body, while at the same time reciting an oracular chant. The sound of the chant, somehow, drifted into Qin Wentian’s mind.
Instantly, the entire body of the youth turned red. Within his body, inside his blood, the fetters of bloodline appeared as they flickered in and out of existence. As his finger pierced into his body, and after the oracular chant took effect, the layers of fetters unceasingly broke apart while the figure of the youth was covered in blood as he let out several blood-curdling screams, his body trembling as though he was in great agony.
Even after his consciousness exited the memory fragment, Qin Wentian’s heart shuddered intensely.
So, the 12 connecting styles of life needle technique originated from there.
And not only that, that needle technique seemed to have been specifically created for that very purpose.
In his memories, the finger technique of the youth were exactly the same as the needle technique Uncle Black taught him. However, the finger technique of that youth seemed to be able to permanently release the seal of the fetters that bound his bloodline limit, while the 12 connecting styles of life needle technique was only able to temporarily release the seal.
“Uncle Black must have feared that my body wouldn’t be able to take the backlash and thus created a weaker version of the finger technique.”
Qin Wentian sighed, even the bloodline limit of that middle-aged man was the same as him. It seemed like his conjecture was correct. That youth in the last memory should have been the middle-aged man when he was younger.
“There shouldn’t be any mistakes. That damn old fogey left all his memories to me. If that’s the case, could it be that he is already dead?” Qin Wentian sighed again as he stared at the starry skies.
The deeds that his old man dared to do in his youth, why would he not dare too?
He, Qin Wentian, wasn’t an abandoned orphan. Not only that, his father was someone incredibly remarkable.
Since that was the case, he shouldn’t let the damn old fogey be disappointed.
As he thought of this, Qin Wentian shut his eyes as his finger glowed with Astral Light. Abruptly, using the essence and methods of the 12 connecting styles of life needle technique, he too stabbed his finger into his body. An instant later, the unsealing technique circulated.

His blood started to seethe with ever increasing fury!

Chapter 133: A Missing Contestant?

The skies gradually brightened. Today was the final round of battle for the contestants in the Jun Lin Banquet.
Today, the top nine contestants has already been grouped into threes and would determine their final individual ranking by battling with each other.
And today, the masses that swamped the Chu Emperor District also created history, there were even more people compared to the previous two days.
As for the inns and towering buildings near by, they were all already fully packed. Some of the crowd stood in front of the windows or at the highest points of the towering buildings, casting their gazes onto the grand stage of the Jun Lin Banquet.
Everyone was filled with anticipation regarding the clashes today. How fascinating would it be?
The grand feast was already prepared as valuable guests arrived shortly after. Chu Tianjiao and Xiao Lǜ were already there. Looking at the countless waves of people, Chu Tianjiao had a face filled with smiles. The Jun Lin Banquet hadn’t been this magnificent for many years, it seemed like the contestants this year were all really popular.
And in the spectators’ stand, in the area allocated to the Star River Association, the vice president of the Star River Association, Zuo Yin had also personally arrived. And beside him was Murin and a few other people who held important positions in the Star River Association.
“Murin, the thing I assigned to you earlier, you botched it totally didn’t you.” Zuo Yin spoke to Murin, causing his countenance to turn somewhat unsightly.
Zuo Yin was naturally referring to the Divine Inscription painting of Qin Wentian’s back then. Zuo Yin had instructed Murin to obtain the painting at any costs and to invite the inscriptionist back to the Star River Association.
“Vice President Zuo, there were some mishaps but I’ve really tried my best.” Murin replied in a low voice.
“Oh?” Zuo Yin calmly continued, “But why did I hear that the painting was created by Qin Wentian? Not only that, when you were in the Sky Harmony City, you had the chance to recruit him into the Star River Association, but instead you pissed him off for no reason, which eventually paved the way for him to join the Divine Weapon Pavilion instead. Is this matter true?”
“It is. Back then I tried to persuade him, however this person was too arrogant and looked down on our Star River Association, which was why I decided to hand him over to the Ye Clan to deal with. As for the things that happened later, I could not have predicted them.” Murin’s countenance was exceedingly ugly to behold, to think that the vice president had even investigated this matter.
“Hmph.” Zuo Yin was extremely unhappy as he coldly snorted. Now Qin Wentian was so famous, how could he not know about the earlier incidents?
If that day, Murin had successfully inducted Qin Wentian into the Star River Association, with his talent, it wasn’t impossible for him to be nurtured to become the future vice president of the Star River Association.
“I wonder what his final ranking will be when the Jun Lin Banquet has concluded.” Zuo Yin silently remarked in his heart.
It wasn’t only him. At this moment, everyone was filled with anticipation with regards to what the final ranking of the Jun Lin Banquet would be like.
In the area allocated to the Mo Clan, Mo Qingcheng’s father sat, and was talking to her who was sitting by his side, “Qingcheng, what do you think the final ranking position of the little fellow will be?”
“I have no idea, maybe one of the top three?” Mo Qingcheng smiled.
“Wow, you believe in him so much?” Mo Qingcheng’s father exclaimed. After all, it was incredibly difficult to get into the top three.
He naturally knew of the background of Luo Qianqiu. Not only that, but Sikong Mingyue was someone who had also obtained recognition from the Nine Mystical Palace, and was extremely powerful. It was going to be beyond difficult if Qin Wentian wanted to surpass them.
And as for the last slot in the top three rankings, there was Orchon, 2nd Sword, Chu Chen and Hou Tie. How could it be so easy to obtain one of top three rankings?
“No matter what his final ranking is, his achievements in the Jun Lin Banquet this time round are already sufficient for him to feel pride. It’s extremely rare to see someone like him be able to win in combat despite fighting against people with a higher cultivation base. After all, he’s only at the 7th level of Arterial Circulation, but the amount of Astral Energy contained within his body and the power of it seem to be many times more terrifying compared to others. The reason should be because his Astral Souls were condensed from a higher Heavenly Layer when compared to the others’.”
Father Mo mumbled in a low voice. Other than this, the terrifying aspects about Qin Wentian were his proficiency with his innate techniques, as well as his repertoire of strange attacks – spitting out swordlight or unleashing palm strikes with his feet, the degree of control he exhibited wasn’t something anyone could do. He was filled with immense curiosity towards Qin Wentian.
Beside the dragon seat of the Chu Emperor District stood Luo Qianqiu. Beside him was a middle aged man of little words that had been standing there ever since the start of the banquet.
And at this moment, his gaze shifted to Luo Qianqiu by the side as he stated, “Qianqiu, today will all depend on you.”
“The champion of the Jun Lin Banquet will most definitely be me.” Luo Qianqiu nodded his head in assurance. This was his destiny, obtaining the top ranking of the Jun Lin Banquet. He would definitely be the champion this year.
“I humbly request Uncle not to interfere in my battle with Sikong Mingyue. I don’t need him to give me any concessions, I want to fight him at his full power.” Luo Qianqiu spoke in a low voice. If this was heard by others, they would definitely be shocked by the implied meaning. Were there still manipulations within the shadows in the Jun Lin Banquet?
In this world, as long as one had enough strength, there would be no restrictions. The Jun Lin Banquet, was the same as well. “Very well.” The middle aged man nodded his head, yet he silently thought in his heart, Luo Qianqiu was still too young. Given how long he had lived, the middle aged man understood the logic that sometimes, to accomplish one’s objectives, it doesn’t matter what methods one used.
This time round, he came here with a mission. Luo Qianqiu had to ascend to the 7th level of the Heavenly Star Pavilion.
Which also meant that no matter what, Luo Qianqiu had to obtain the championship of the Jun Lin Banquet.
At this moment, Luo Qianqiu slowly strode forth, and an instant later, he stood atop the first towering platform.

Sikong Mingyue mirrored his actions, but walked to the 2nd towering platform instead. After all, he was in the second group.

Those that were fighting today all proceeded respectively to their assigned platforms. Very quickly, the silhouettes of eight people appeared on the three platforms. But yet, there was still one missing contestant.
On the 2nd towering platform, there were only two figures. Sikong Mingyue and Chu Chen stood there, but Qin Wentian was nowhere to be seen.
Today was the last battle of the Jun Lin Banquet, even if he wanted to be late, he shouldn’t have chosen this moment.

Unless Qin Wentian didn’t dare to come.
Chu Tianjiao didn’t announce the start of the 3rd round, but chose to wait for a period of time instead. However, as time flowed by, Qin Wentian still didn’t appear, which caused many people to start whispering to each other.
Unless, it was really because of fear? Qin Wentian was afraid to battle with Sikong Mingyue. But if this was the case, he could just have admitted defeat, why did he need to miss the Jun Lin Banquet?
Or could it be he was unable to bear the shame of admitting defeat, and thus intentionally wanted to skip the Jun Lin Banquet?
“This fellow, why hasn’t he appeared?” Mustang appeared slightly nervous as he looked at Ren Qianxing who was sitting behind him.
“There’s no need to disturb him, since he chose to do this, there has to be a reason behind it” Ren Qianxing calmly replied, causing Mustang to feel extremely astonished. Elder Ren actually had this much trust in Qin Wentian? It seems like no matter what Qin Wentian did, he would support him all the way.
Even if he missed the Jun Lin Banquet, he would definitely have a reason.
“Let the first battle commence.” Chu Tianjiao finally spoke, choosing not to wait any longer.
Standing atop the first towering platform, there was Luo Qianqiu, 2nd Sword and Luo Huan.
“The first battle, Luo Qianqiu versus 2nd Sword.” The aged figure beside Chu Tianjiao stated.

As Luo Huan walked to the side of the platform, leaving behind Luo Qianqiu and 2nd Sword, a terrifying aura gushed forth from both of them.

Terrifying arcs of lightning energy surrounded the entirety of Luo Qianqiu’s body, crackling and howling in preparation.
The body of 2nd Sword was surrounded by a monstrous Sword Qi, gushing about so powerfully that it seemed it was mighty enough to split apart the Heavens.
“You are not my match.” Luo Qianqiu glanced at the skies. The final round of the Jun Lin Banquet was finally here, he had waited for this moment since a very long time ago.
“Easy for you to say, we will only know if that’s true after we fight.” 2nd Sword dashed forwards, as his Sword Qi frenziedly gushed forth. At this moment, he was extremely dangerous.
Following 2nd Sword’s relentless advance, the Sword Qi he emitted got stronger and stronger. His Sword Qi transformed into actual sword light as they pierced towards Luo Qianqiu. But, at this moment, Luo Qianqiu’s aura surged madly, as though it was howling in anger.
The aura he emitted rose to the 9th level from the 8th level of Arterial Circulation. In his earlier battles, he had intentionally suppressed his cultivation base and fought at the power of the 8th level.
And now there was no need for him to suppress himself any longer. His true power exploded forth completely.
The Sword Qi gushing forth from 2nd Sword seemed to falter in its advance, but still, when it neared Luo Qianqiu’s body, the Sword Qi manifested into a gigantic greatsword that smashed down from skies, as though it wanted to sunder both Heaven and Earth.
However, Luo Qianqiu merely glanced upwards as a faint illusion of a thunder god appeared behind his back. Pushing upwards with a palm created from lightning, he directly stopped the downwards slash of the gigantic sword, shattering it into countless pieces.
Boom. Stepping forwards, Luo Qianqiu vanished from sight while the lightning palm from before extended outwards, the terrifying energies within decimating everything.
2nd Sword madly slashed out, and at this moment, 10,000 filaments of sword light shot forth in all directions. However, the lightning palm transformed into the form of a python as it coiled around the filaments of sword light, while a current of terrifying lightning energy blasted into 2nd Sword, causing his body to convulse uncontrollably.

“Scram.” Luo Qianqiu sent a palm out as that lightning palm blasted into 2nd Sword, causing his body to be flung away from the impact. And when he finally landed, he bowed slightly to Luo Qianqiu, as he stated, “I concede.”

2nd Sword was totally convinced of his defeat.
“Luo Qianqiu is too powerful.” The hearts of many were shuddering.
The spectators also finally understood why Luo Qianqiu’s payout rates were computed as such. The Heaven’s Wonder had already determined that he was the one destined to obtain the championship of the Jun Lin Banquet this year.
“The second battle, 2nd Sword versus Luo Huan.”
The aged figure spoke. Luo Qianqiu walked to the side and left the platform to Luo Huan and 2nd Sword.
Right from the beginning, 2nd Sword used his ultimate attack. The filaments of sword lights shot forth rapidly in the direction of Luo Huan, not even giving her the chance to breathe. Although she had perfect flexibility and close combat was her strong point, she didn’t even have the chance to get close to 2nd Sword. Finally, with no suspense, Luo Huan was defeated.
Since this was the case, there was no longer any need for Luo Huan to fight with Qin Wentian.
The results for rankings of the 1st platform: Luo Qianqiu, followed by 2nd Sword and Luo Huan. Even though Luo Huan wasn’t weak, when compared to the two of them, she could only be ranked the last.
The gaze of the spectators shifted over to the 2nd platform. Even now, Qin Wentian was missing, only Sikong Mingyue and Chu Chen stood there.
Where the hell was Qin Wentian?

Did he really intend to dodge the Jun Lin Banquet?

Chapter 134: Arrival in the nick of time

 

The aged figure beside Chu Tianjiao glanced towards the 2nd platform as he spoke, “Let the battle on the 3rd platform commence first.”

The Jun Lin banquet was the grandest event of Chu, it was just too much of a pity if one missed it. This old man was willing to give some more time to Qin Wentian, in hopes that he’d arrive in time.

“The first battle, Orchon versus Hou Tie.” The aged figure spoke, as Orchon and Hou Tie faced each other in opposition.

Orchon wielded a long spear in his hand, his Astral Soul flickering into existence. At this moment, his entire person was akin to a spear, it gave off a terrifyingly sharp sensation to others.

Raising his spear, he pointed it straight at Hou Tie. An instant later, spear light exploded outwards as he stepped forwards, his terrifyingly sharp aura rising frenziedly.

Hou Tie wasn’t one to be outdone. He released both of his Astral Souls.

His first Astral Soul was a Heavenly Ox, while his second Astral Soul was a White Tiger. Both of his Astral Souls belonged to the beast-type category. There was a connection between this and the environment he’d grown up in.

The Godly General Martial Palace was situated deep within the Dark Forest, and hadn’t participated in any exchanges with the other Martial Academies. Their usual daily training was foraging in the wild and hunting demonic beasts for survival. Each and every one of their students had been tempered by these exceedingly violent training methods—engaging in combat with the different types of demonic beasts in the Dark Forest, and being defeated, equaled death.

In this type of environment, the majority of cultivators in the Godly General Martial Palace would naturally prefer beast-type Astral Souls. To them, beast-type Astral Souls were the greatest of all.

An incomparably violent aura gushed forth from Hou Tie. Every step of his caused the ground to trembled. His eyes were filled with red, and struck fear into the hearts of the spectators.

However, Orchon’s aura didn’t weaken in the slightest. As he strode forwards, his terrifying aura became increasingly monstrous, and a terrifying spiral appeared in front of him.

Abruptly, Orchon lunged forwards, his long spear piercing forwards as a stream of light appeared. Ripping sounds could be heard from the air, as if his spear wanted to tear the void apart.

Boom. Hou Tie directly punched forwards with his fist, directly connecting with Orchon’s long spear. This caused the pupils of several in the crowd to narrow, wasn’t this too arrogant? Using one’s bare fists to meet a sharp spear.

Naturally, Hou Tie also executed his innate technique. An unparallel strength shook the long spear, causing the spear’s body to shudder.

Abruptly, at the same instant, a cold light exploded forth from the spear head, piercing right into Hou Tie’s eyes.

Hou Tie roared in anger, his whole person like a maddened beast as he rushed forward. His palm strikes had the force of a demonic beast—both incredibly powerful, and augmented by his aura of violence.

Orchon was as calm as before. Hou Tie’s great strength wasn’t able to shake his heart in the slightest. His countenance remained unperturbed, and gave off a sense of impending danger.

On the stage of the Jun Lin banquet, one had to be prepared for each and every battle.

Orchon sent out his left palm, as tens of thousands filaments of spear light burst out, piercing forwards in all directions. Hou Tie howled, and both of their attacks clashed together with frightening impact.

He actually chose to verse strength with strength.

An instant later, both of their silhouettes were covered by a layer of terrifying Qi, one could even feel a fearsome aura pulsating in the atmosphere

The sharp sounds of a spear and the howl of a demonic beast echoed throughout the air. No one had predicted that Hou Tie was actually this strong, and was able to fight Orchon to such a degree.

“Time to end this.” Orchon calmly stated, as a column of spear light unfolded like a lotus, breaking apart Hou Tie’s attack and defence, and directly piercing into his arms, causing Hou Tie to retreat in defeat.

If he had no way to fight for the top three ranking, he could still try for the 4th to 6th position. It wasn’t worth it to continue the battle, and risk being seriously injured.

After a short respite, the second battle commenced. Hou Tie versus Gu Xing.

This battle wasn’t as fascinating as the first fight. Hou Tie and Gu Xing were both mad men, and went all out from the very beginning,

The degree of violence that they fought with left the spectators speechless. Weren’t they simply throwing their lives away?

Hou Tie was also speechless, to think that he’d share the same platform as this crazy guy. Initially, he was relieved that his group hadn’t had Luo Qianqiu or Sikong Mingyue. But now, if he lost this battle, he’d only be able to contend for the 7th to 9th position. Against merely Gu Xing, he couldn’t afford to lose.

The two of them fought with frenzy and no regards for their lives. Finally Hou Tie defeated Gu Xing, but had in turn expended the entirety of the Astral Energy in his body. Immediately afterwards, he sat down on the platform, and began using Yuan Meteor Stones to replenish his Astral Energy.

If the next fight was as crazy as this, he’d probably have to give up. Luckily, at the end, Gu Xing had seemed to relax slightly, and hadn’t fought with his life on the line, which gave Hou Tie a narrow victory.

“Gu Xing seems to be able to continue still, but he actually chose to give up. It’s as if his purpose for participating in the Jun Lin banquet wasn’t because of the rankings.” The spectators murmured, wondering what Gu Xing was thinking. However, no matter what, a defeat was still a defeat.

The rankings of the 3rd Group were out. Orchon was first, Hou Tie was second, and Gu Xing was third.

Following which, only one more group remained. Yet, Qin Wentian still hadn’t appeared.

“Sikong Mingyue, you will verse Chu Chen.” The aged figure spoke.

“I concede.” Chu Chen laughed, causing the spectators to be dumbfounded. But then again, it made sense.

It appeared that Chu Chen wanted to save his strength. Without Qin Wentian, he’d directly be ranked second. Since this was the case, he could contend for the 4th to 6th position. If he obtained the 4th rank, he’d then have the chance to challenge Orchon, and to contend for one of the top three positions. After all, he’d witnessed the martial prowess of 2nd Sword and Hou Tie earlier, and didn’t dare to be careless. That was why he might as well concede directly, towards Sikong Mingyue.

“Although conceding would usually cause one to be castigated, Chu Chen made a wise decision.” The spectators were silently exclaiming that indeed, this Chu Chen was truly intelligent.

“Since that’s the case, for this group, Sikong Mingyue will be ranked first, while Chu Chen shall be second.”

The aged figure started to announce the results. It seemed as though Qin Wentian had decided to miss this.

“Next, Luo Qianqiu, Sikong Mingyue, and Orchon will proceed to the first towering platform in order to determine the top three positions.”

“Second Sword, Chu Chen, and Hou Tie, proceed to the 2nd towering platform in order to determine the 4th to 6th position.”

“Luo Huan and Gu Xing will contend for the 7th and 8th position on the 3rd towering platform. Any questions? If not, let the battles begin.”

The aged figure continued, announcing the end result, causing many to be filled with anticipation. Although Qin Wentian wasn’t present, the following battles would still be fascinating to behold.

“Qin Wentian, you asshole!” Fan Le wanted to cry. He’d had such great hopes for Qin Wentian, but why hadn’t he appeared, how could he not appear!?

If Qin Wentian fought, even if he didn’t manage to get into the top three, Fan Le still wouldn’t have minded it that much.

Many people felt regret for Qin Wentian. The elders from the academy, the people from the Mo Clan, Mu Clan, and Divine Weapon Pavilion, they were all sighing in their hearts.

“I saw Qin Wentian yesterday.” At this moment, within the crowd, a feeble sounding voice rang out, causing many to shift their gazes over to the owner of the voice.

“Yu Xuan, is what you say true? Where is Qin Wentian now?” An elder that Yu Xuan’s teacher involuntarily asked after spotting her in the crowd.

“I saw him when I returned to the academy.” The young girl shyly spoke, as she gazed at the elders of the academy who were all staring at her. Under the weight of their gazes, she couldn’t help but feel a little nervous.

“He…Qin Wentian…I saw him walking out from the 6th level of the Astral River Hall.” Yu Xuan whispered weakly, and all of a sudden, the entire Chu Emperor District fell silent.

Qin Wentian walked out from the 6th level of the Astral River Hall?

Although many in the crowd weren’t members of the Emperor Star Academy, they knew of famous landmarks such as the Heavenly Star Pavilion, Astral River Hall, and the Dreamsky Forest. Unless they weren’t from Chu.

And for those that knew of the Astral River Hall, they naturally understood what it meant for Qin Wentian to be said to have stepped onto the 6th level.

“Are you kidding?” A cold voice drifted over. Qiu Mo stood up from his seat. As a Yuanfu Realm student, he’d naturally have a seat allocated to him for this Banquet.

“That time in the Astral River Hall, didn’t he stop at the 4th level? You actually said that he came out from the 6th level? Not to mention Qin Wentian, even all of the elders present here today have never once stepped onto the 6th level.” Qiu Mo coldly refuted. “Yu Xuan, this is not the place for you to speak of your crap.”

The spectators all nodded their heads. Qiu Mo made sense. How ludicrous were Yu Xuan’s words? Even if she’d said the 5th level, they would’ve still found it unbelievable.

“I personally witnessed it.” Yu Xuan grew red as she heard Qiu Mo’s rebuttal, and exclaimed angrily.

“What an ignorant lass.” Qiu Mo coldly snorted, “Did you also step onto the 5th level, or the 6th level, and also see him walk out from there?”

“No, but…”

“Since it’s no, then shut the f*ck up.” Qiu Mo replied coldly, “You have no rights to talk in the Jun Lin banquet, get lost.”

Yu Xuan actually still wanted to continue, but after hearing Qiu Mo’s words, she gave up and faded into the background.

“Since you know that this is the grand stage of the Jun Lin banquet, then what qualifications do you have to talk?” Abruptly, another voice drifted out. The crowd turned around, trying to see who the owner of the voice was, only to see a youthful silhouette walking slowly out from within the crowd, with a snowy white puppy trotting beside him.

The youth that appeared was naturally Qin Wentian. And upon seeing his appearance, smiles lit up on the faces of many in the crowd.

Qin Wentian had finally appeared!

“You almost gave this fatty a heart attack.” Fan Le patted his chest, as he exclaimed somewhat depressedly. This fellow was finally here!