Chapter 774: Curiosity

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Qin Zhong, one of the Nine Warriors of the Zhisheng Cliffs, had always been known as the most talented fighter amongst the youngest generation. He was the Vanquisher of Sage in the Noble Peak Realm, the strongest amongst his peers at the Cliffs, but had lost at the hands of Ye Futian.

Huang Jiuge, descendent of the Sovereign Family, placed second in the Law Battle of Holy Zhi Palace. Ye Futian, being the winner, later entered the Holy Zhi Palace to cultivate.

Huang Juige and Qin Zhong were individuals with refined temperament, and when they stood face to face an invisible current began to course around them. As if to accentuate the moment’s tension, Ye Futian’s musical notes gradually became higher and higher; the Emperor had started his journey to conquer the world.

Massive air spheres began to collide, the ensuing gusts running wildly over Huang Jiuge and Qin Zhong until their clothing was tattered and windblown. Qin Zhong immediately perceived a great aura of suppression, and faintly observed that the area was being repressed by a massive shadow; he knew that Huang Jiuge was releasing his rule power.

Buzz. Inconceivable, brilliant rays of gold flashed down from the skies, pulverizing all other power. With a long, shrill cry a divine bird appeared. A Dragon Eagle, its golden torso sparkling and each feather sharp. A forceful cyclone formed, the shadow of the Dragon Eagle continued to expand, and a golden hurricane manifested between heaven and earth. A countless number of feathers shot out, sailing across the space towards Huang Jiuge.

It was truly a battle of the sages; those stronger than the nobles, with minds that could kill across sheer space.

Boom! An equally shocking wave exploded upon Huang Jiuge’s body, and illusions of combat began to appear, simulating a battlefield. Knights with war spears upon chariots swept across the field.

Spears stretched out and clashed with the feathers of the golden Dragon Eagle mid-air, creating a terrible storm. The two entities poised in the midst of this dreadful battlefield with the music soaring ever higher, piercing the battlefield and reaching the ears of all involved. At this moment, the dignitaries of Nine State felt less like they were at a banquet, and more like they were in the middle of a battlefield filled with spears and horses.

Just then Qin Zhong’s body began to slowly levitate, the great wings of the Dragon Eagle spreading. From the firmament came an even more frightful storm; some dignitaries at the banquet even began to set up defenses to isolate the interference of the battlefield.

Many looked up toward Qin Zhong; he appeared brilliantly beautiful at this moment.

The Dragon Eagle glided in the sky, while Qin Zhong stretched out his palms and pointed toward the sky. Sudden deadly streams of gold shot through the air, each one resembling a glittering and arrogant Dragon Eagle soaring towards Huang Jiuge.

A Renhuang Bow appeared abruptly in front of Huang Jiuge. With the Renhuang Bow in his hand, an immensely powerful spiritual energy locked onto the incoming attacks. Threads of rule power turned into arrows, propelled by the bowstring to pierce through the space with incredible speed. The sound of continuous blasts announced the simultaneous destruction of every Dragon Eagle illusion headed his way.

The glittering arrows even locked onto Qin Zhong, descending upon him. Qin Zhong was surrounded by a moving, destructive storm, the shining golden feathers of the Dragon Eagle shielding his front. When the arrows contacted the Eagle’s feathers, there were clear sounds of impact that signaled their intention to punch through. But the great feathers trembled violently and sent streams of destructive golden rays to crush the arrows.

As the beautiful feathers fluttered through the space, Qin Zhong’s eyes focused on Huang Jiuge, and the feathers trembled again. Qin Zhong’s body became a shining arc and the golden feathers of the Dragon Eagle slashed through the sky, sharper than any sword blade. Shrieking, the feathers flew through the expanse like golden lightning, as if to bisect Huang Jiuge’s body.

Almost at the same instant, an impressive shadow appeared behind Huang Jiuge resembling the Absolute Renhuang and wielding the Renhuang Sword. It cleaved toward the expanse with piercing lightning as it slashed towards the descending Dragon Eagle.

BOOM!

A blinding light exploded from where the two entities collided, destructive waves coiling around the surrounding area as the immense Dragon Eagle was propelled upward toward the firmament by the shock.

“How strong!” The onlookers felt the exhilaration of the collision, and silently applauded. Such strength would indicate the character of an unmatched genius.

Within the battlefield, Huang Jiuge’s body rose gradually into the air, the solemnity radiating from the Renhuang Body enveloping the earth and sky. Dreadful illusions of war instantly appeared, surrounding the area and suppressing the firmament.

Suppression rule power, and an exceptionally unusual one at that, many people thought. Huang Jiuge was a Spirit Elemental Mandate Sorcerer, but he mainly trained in martial arts. This rule of Martial Will took command of the expanse, turning the space into his own arena.

Racing chariots and other martial illusions swept out across the field as Qin Zhong’s body became one with the Life Spirit of the Dragon Eagle circling above, its gnashing wings turning into a golden storm that immolated the powers that attacked him.

“Cut and pulverize.” Qin Zhong’s rule power was equally devastating. After all, he was known to be the most naturally gifted among the Nine Warriors of Zhisheng Cliffs.

Just then, the piercing power of the string music became even greater, as if the battle between the two had no bearing on the contagious power of the music. It made the blood boil, and as if to witness the coming of the Emperor the music endowed rays of holiness upon Huang Jiuge. Naturally, everyone could sense that there were no additional powers afoot; it would be impossible for Ye Futian to play tricks in front of the saints.

“There have always been rumors that the Sovereign Family of the Barren State was also the descendant of the ancient Renhuang clan, so this Huang Jiuge should be the descendant of the Barren State Sovereign Family. This kind of power indeed resembles that of Renhuang’s descendants,” commented the cultivator of the Xia Clan. Many looked at him with smile. Nine State had even more successors; Xia Clan itself was a branch from the Emperor Xia.

In the meantime, the Renhuang Body took possession of Huang Jiuge. He appeared as the true Renhuang now, stepping out wielding the Renhuang Sword while the power of his suppression rule crushed the space nearby. At the same time, behind Qin Zhong, all the feathers on the Dragon Eagle shone brightly, bursting with power as wild winds blew across the expanse.

Huang Jiuge stepped across the field, the shadow of Renhuang wielding its sword slashing down towards Qin Zhong. But the Dragon Eagle behind him flapped and expanded its wings furiously, every feather continually extending and turning into two sharp blades that cut through the expanse.

An even more powerful collision than the last was now at hand; Renhuang smashed straight down and the Dragon Eagle’s wings covered the sky.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Again and again the attacks exploded against each other, the destructive power surging up from the earth and towards the sky. In front of the banquet the dignitaries set up an even stronger light screen to guard against the waves of battle.

BAM! Another loud blast. The current of destruction remained, but the battle had finally stopped.

Everyone turned their gaze to the battlefield and saw that Qin Zhong had been blasted into the ground, the feathers of the Dragon Eagle scattered and broken while Huang Jiuge held the Renhuang Sword aloft, in front of Ye Futian. Even now Ye Futian continued playing as the climax of the piece approached its end, slowly bringing closure to the piece. He controlled the rhythm of the music skillfully, keeping it hidden in the background, and allowing the music to revolve around the cadence of the battle.

In this fight, Qin Zhong of Zhisheng Cliffs had been defeated.

Qin Zhong looked at Huang Jiuge, the breath in his body fluttered. He lay defeated by a great suppressive power. No tricks, just an incredibly aggressive offensive. And then he turned to look at Ye Futian. In the past when he stepped into the Barren State Law Palace, the public opinion of Law Battle Platform swept the disciples of the Law Palace, and all thought that the Barren State had no talent. But Ye Futian and Huang Jiuge both defeated him. And then there was Yu Sheng, who, if at the same plane as he, the outcome would be unknown.

Cultivators were abundant in the land of the Nine States, but Qin Zhong was defeated by several from the Barren State alone. He thought of his past pride and found it foolish. From now on he needed to reflect upon himself and concentrate on training.

Then Ye Futian stood up, bowed slightly to Xihua Saint and said, “I beg your indulgence.” Ye Futian turned and walked towards his seat, followed by Huang Jiuge. Nothing more was said, and nothing more needed to be said.

Kong Yao had wanted to make a fuss at the banquet; this battle had been enough of a response to him.

In the direction of Zhisheng Cliffs, Kong Yao’s countenance was extremely foul. This time at the Nine States Forum, not only were all the disciples of Zhisheng Cliffs eliminated, but Qin Zhong had been defeated again by the Barren State at the banquet. All the geniuses at Zhisheng Cliffs were crushed by disciples of the Barren State; this was an unimaginable humiliation.

“Spectacular,” Xihua Saint lauded approvingly.

“Indeed, spectacular,” nodded the Glass Saint, smiling. “both the martial arts, and the music.”

Everyone nodded in agreement. In this battle there was one more person from the Barren State who had demonstrated his strength, and even in such a battle, the brilliance of the music could not be overshadowed. Praise given towards the music was therefore considerable.

Many watched Ye Futian as he sat down, while Huang Jiuge quietly sat behind him and the thought from before had started to manifest again. Yu Sheng, Xu Que, and many other extraordinary individuals were incredibly distinguished but the leader of the younger generation of the Barren State was Ye Futian. These people all gathered together around him. No one, young or old, would dissent.

The same praise was heaped upon Huang Jiuge, who had truly fought the battle for Ye Futian to spite Kong Yao. So many excellent figures had gathered around that handsome youth. Just exactly what was his attraction? Or just how mighty was Ye Futian’s talent?

“I’m so curious about the strength of this young Lord Ye.” Great Zhou Sacred King laughed. The curiosity was not merely from him, but many others at the banquet.

In chess, he could crack the Divine Dragon Board.

In music, he could play the Emperor’s Ukiyo with unparalleled excellence.

In martial arts, he had defeated Qi Zhong, had surpassed all his peers in the Barren State, and had been elected as Palace Lord by many top sages as the leader of the Barren State.

Such a figure would indeed ignite the curiosity of many, especially after Yu Sheng, Huang Jiuge, and all of the others had already showcased their excellence!