AGM 344 - Strongest Contender
The Shi Clan involuntarily reminded Qin Wentian of himself.
There were two kinds of bloodlines existing in his body. One of them seemed to be the bloodline of an ancient primordial beast emperor. And despite his current cultivation base at the seventh level of Yuanfu, he still hadn’t fully excavated the complete secrets of his bloodline.
Two powerful bloodlines, his potential was endless, but it depended on him to uncover the secrets of his bloodline step by step.
The cultivators from the Shi Clan sat in their allocated seats. After everyone had settled down, several servants prepared good food and fragrant wine, setting up a banquet table in front of the crowd. The atmosphere was extremely relaxed, akin to that of a dinner party, there wasn’t any hint of fire powder in the air.
The various transcendent powers mingled and interacted harmoniously and no one looking at them now would think that they’d fought amongst themselves for several thousands of years.
“Seeing how all of you were able to give face and grace us with your presence, this matter is our honor. The younger generations are always destined to replace the older ones and seeing so many talented young cultivators among the group, I can’t help but feel gratified in my heart.” Around the Chen Clan’s circle, their leader was clad in luxurious robes emblazoned with an image of a giant sun.
“Brother Hua, has Nephew Taixu come as well?” The middle-aged man from the Chen Clan glanced in the direction of Hua Clan as he inquired. With regards to those with talent from the younger generation, Hua Taixu was ranked first. At the Yuanfu Realm, he had already dominated Grand Xia for many years.
“Taixu is trying to break through. If nothing goes wrong, he should step into the second level of Heavenly Dipper in a few days time.” A person from the Hua Clan replied with a smile that was laced with faint traces of pride. His words caused everyone to be slightly stunned, no wonder Hua Taixu was ranked first in the Heavenly Fate Ranking, he had already broken through to Heavenly Dipper and was now trying to step into the second level. Undoubtedly, the distance between him and those behind him, were gradually getting further and further away.
“Haha, seems like for the younger generation, Hua Taixu will surely become the leader of the Hua Clan.” The person from the Chen Clan laughed. With Hua Taixu’s radiance, he had long overshadowed those in the same generation as him, and even outshone some of his elders. Hua Taixu would definitely become the clan lord of the Hua Clan sooner or later.
“Isn’t Nephew Chen Wang the same as well?” The elder from Hua Clan politely stated.Chen Wang from the Great Solar Chen Clan was ranked second in the Heavenly Fate Rankings. His name was Chen Wang (Chen King), and it was rumored that this was not his original name but a name given to him after he’d proved himself through countless combat, ultimately signifying the hope his clan placed on him.
“He’s not that good, he’s still in the realm of Yuanfu and has yet to breakthrough.” The elder from Chen Clan laughed as he waved his hands, yet a faint trace of discontent could be seen from his countenance.
“Since Nephew Chen Wang chose to remain at the pinnacle of Yuanfu, he surely has his own plans.” The elder from Hua Clan casually laughed. He received news that Chen Wang already had the ability to step inside Heavenly Dipper quite some time ago, but for some reason, he was suppressing his cultivation base and limiting it to the pinnacle of Yuanfu.
“How about Nephew Shi Po?” The elder from Chen Clan changed the topic as he turned his gaze onto the Shi Clan.
Shi Po, ranked third on the Heavenly Fate Rankings.
“Same as Chen Wang, all those ranked behind him have already broken through to Heavenly Dipper yet he’s still at the pinnacle of Yuanfu,” someone from the Shi Clan indifferently replied.
As for the words, ‘those behind him’, the man was referring to the fourth ranker on the Heavenly Fate Rankings, Jing Wu from the Venerate Heavens Sect. “Hehe.” Those from the Chen Clan casually laughed, “I wonder if Emperor Azure, ranked fifth in the Heavenly Rankings has broken through or not. The Azure Emperor Palace has grown increasingly secretive in the last few years.”
“We shouldn’t bother ourselves too much on matters of the younger generations.. We will merely be spectators in the ranking battle at the end of the year,” Luo He calmly interjected, momentarily turning her gaze in the direction of her Pill Emperor Hall after she spoke.
“Luo He is right, the strongest contenders among the younger generations that are participating in the ranking battle are all here today. We only need to spectate in silence and enjoy their battle.” The middle-aged man from the Chen Clan gave a casual laugh, yet despite his attitude, the transcendent powers of Grand Xia all took the battle for positions on the Heavenly Fate Rankings extremely seriously.
In Grand Xia, there had always been a saying “The ranking battle for the Heavenly Fate Ranking had a strong connection with the luck and destiny of Grand Xia”. For transcendent powers with outstanding disciples, the higher they were ranked, that stronger their respective groups would be in the future.
For the clans and sects that had been founded by the Seven Grand Clans, they had occupied the core regions of Grand Xia for countless years. And among them, the transcendent powers from Ginkou were the strongest.
“Luo He, i’ve heard that your recently accepted disciple, Mo Qingcheng, has a Seven Apertures Mystical Heart, with a peerless countenance to match. I believe many of us here are curious about her, so why didn’t you bring her along today?” Someone turned to Luo He and asked.
“That lass is focusing on her cultivation and she doesn’t like crowds,” Luo He indifferently waved the comment aside, but an instant later, her countenance stiffened as though she sensed something. She faked a smile and replied, “But today, she’ll be paying her respects to the elders here.”
As the sound of her voice faded, a few silhouettes soared through the air, in the direction of the island. The maiden in the lead was clad in white, with an unmatched elegance and a flawless countenance.
The males in the crowd instantly froze, even elder-level figures stared in silence, awed by her beauty. No wonder even a genius at the level of Hua Taixu would be smitten by her. Such a maiden, with her excellent aptitude and talent, how could anyone not feel goodwill towards her?
How could the hearts of the disciples from the younger generations still be unmoved when even their elders were so affected?
All humans loved beautiful things, regardless if one was a talented genius or mediocre and incompetent. There were no exceptions.
Luo Huan tugged on Qin Wentian’s arms, causing him to smile painfully as he glanced at her. “Senior Sister, please don’t cause trouble.”
“She’s even more beautiful compared to before, could it be true that cultivation has the effect of enhancing one’s beauty? Seems like I need to work harder too.” Luo Huan laughed teasingly. Currently Mo Qingcheng exuded an aura of holiness.
Mo Qingcheng landed and walked towards the direction of the Pill Emperor Palace as she greeted, “Master.”
“Mhm, Qingcheng, quickly come and greet the elders.” Luo He nodded slightly. Mo Qingcheng turned to the crowd and bowed delicately, each and every movement was laced with exquisiteness and elegance, stirring people’s hearts. Countless young men followed her smallest of gestures, as though they had found the woman of their dreams.
“Qingcheng greets the elders,” Mo Qingcheng stated in a low voice. After which, she sat down beside Luo He and turned her gaze in the direction of the Ouyang Aristocrat Clan. Upon seeing Qin Wentian gazing at her, a mischievous glint of light involuntarily flickered in her eyes. This reaction startled Qin Wentian, as a warmth flowed into his heart. That expression in her eyes brought him back to memories past.
Several young men rubbed their eyes, that reaction of Mo Qingcheng earlier, had they seen wrongly?
“Luo He, congratulations on accepting such a fine disciple. I wonder if she already has someone in her heart? If there’s no one yet, maybe I can introduce some of the Chen Clan’s more outstanding talents from the younger generations?” The elder from the Chen Clan smiled.
Before Luo He could comment, Mo Qingcheng replied, “Elder, I already have someone in my heart.”
“Oh?” The expression on the Chen Clan’s elder face faltered for a second. Could it be that Mo Qingcheng had fallen for Hua Taixu? But taking into consideration Hua Taixu’s talent, both of them were truly a match made in Heaven.
Of course, she could be referring to Zhan Chen. Since both of them were from the Pill Emperor Hall, they could be considered as fellow disciples.
Familiarity breeds fondness, there wasn’t anything strange about that.
“I wonder which young hero has the luck to catch the eye of Miss Mo.” The elder from the Chen Clan laughed.
“All of you will know of him after the ranking battle at the end of the year.” Mo Qingcheng smiled as she replied, her words causing many to break into astonishment. In that case, it wasn’t Hua Taixu?
Not only that, it didn’t even sound like it was Zhan Chen.
“Let’s stop discussing this matter for now,” Luo He quietly commented, feeling a little unhappy.
“Mhm.” The middle-aged elder from Chen Clan nodded. Shifting his gaze in the direction of the Ouyang Aristocrat Clan, he asked. “Back then Nephew Ouyang proposed an exchange of pointers between the younger generations of the Ouyang Clan and my Great Solar Chen Clan. This was also the reason why I invited all of you here today. Aside from improving relations between us all, we can take a look at the talented elites of our younger generations that are currently not on the Heavenly Fate Rankings.”
Chen Wang, Shi Po and the rest hadn’t come today. Evidently, they had no intention of competing for a false glory of any sorts, they wanted to save their trump cards for the ranking battle at the end of the year. That place would be their real stage.
And Ouyang Kuangsheng was only at the seventh level of Yuanfu, if he wished to exchanged pointers, the Chen Clan would naturally oblige him.
“Would all of you be interested in letting the younger generations spar?” The Chen Clan elder smiled as he gazed at the crowd.
“How?” someone from the Wang Clan inquired.
“Since Nephew Ouyang’s cultivation base is at the seventh level of Yuanfu, why not all of us select some members of our respective sects or clans and see which among them in the younger generations is stronger? How about it?” The elder from the Chen Clan laughed as he continued, “In any case, exchanging pointers between the younger generations is only to liven things up, there’s no need to make matters too serious.”
“Sure, should we have some sort of reward to spur them on?” someone in the crowd asked.
“Why not? How about this, the final victor can propose a request to the other powers. As long as the request isn’t unreasonable, and there’s no objection from that power, we will allow that request. Any objections?” The elder from the Chen Clan cast his gaze around. The leaders of the various powers all nodded, a spar between the younger generations would indeed liven things up. But the Chen Clan’s plan today left no doubts that they wanted the Ouyang Aristocrat Clan to be humiliated.
They clearly knew that in the Chen Clan, other than Chen Wang, there was another demon-level talent currently at the seventh level of Yuanfu.
“Since everyone has agreed, quickly select the combatants. Those who are selected shall fight atop the battle arena.” As the sound of his voice faded, two figures walked out in the direction of the Chen Clan as they proceeded up the arena.
“As expected, it’s Chen Zhan.” The gazes of the crowd turned sharp when they saw whom the Chen Clan sent out. The combat prowess of Chen Zhan was so terrifying to the extent that he could war against someone at the ninth level of Yuanfu. His comprehension, in addition to the power of the Great Sun Universe Art, was too domineering.
“Will you assist me?” Ouyang Kuangsheng gazed at Qin Wentian. For this battle, if Qin Wentian accompanied him, there wouldn’t be any suspense.
“Mhm.” Qin Wentian nodded slightly. After hearing the words from the Chen Clan’s elder, he had already decided that he had to participate in this battle.
He would propose his own request. It was extremely simple, but also exceptionally important to him.
The two of them exchanged glances for a second before breaking out into laughter as they continued forwards and stepped up the battle arena. As for the combatants from the other six powers, they too, advanced forwards.
Wang Xiao naturally was among them. His gaze wasn’t fixated onto Chen Zhan of the Chen Clan but rather, he was glaring at Qin Wentian. He knew that there was a high probability that Qin Wentian was even more terrifying compared to Chen Zhan.
Even before enduring the baptism of the Heavenly Stele, Qin Wentian was already strong enough to injure Situ Po in a duel. Now, after experiencing the Heavenly Stele, Wang Xiao couldn’t even accurately gauge how strong the current Qin Wentian was. The only thing he was sure of was that Qin Wentian would definitely be countless times more stronger when compared to before. It seemed that the Chen Clan’s plans were already destined to fall to pieces.
“Qin Wentian, you dared to kill a member of my Hua Clan. Hmph, I’m going to teach you a lesson today.” In the direction of the Hua Clan, a young man coldly snorted. Qin Wentian couldn’t even be bothered to cast a glance at him.
The combatants, regardless of which power they were from, all exuded a powerful aura. At this moment, as the middle-aged elder from the Chen Clan was about to state the rules...“Ouyang, I don’t wish to waste any more time.” Qin Wentian added in a low voice, his words causing Ouyang Kuangsheng to start. What was this fellow planning?
But Qin Wentian pulled Ouyang Kuangsheng along as he advanced a step forward. “Since, the characters of our generation wish to battle, what’s the point if we don’t aim to be the strongest?”
The countenance of the crowd froze as they stared at Qin Wentian. What did this brat mean?
After which, Qin Wentian continued, “There’s no need for any rules. All of you, just come at us together.”
Ouyang Kuangsheng’s heart trembled. This fellow… but truth be told, to Qin Wentian, fighting against opponents of the same level really didn’t have any meaning to it!