Zhou Weiqing continued sitting there cultivating. The amount of time did not affect him at all, as he was fully immersed in his cultivation, and time seemed to breeze past. On the other hand, Gu Yingbing’s mindset was a little unstable. Although his cultivation level was very high, there was a severe shade in his heart regarding Zhou Weiqing. Naturally, that was because of Tian’er. The one that she truly loved was this mere human, not himself. Whenever he thought of this, Gu Yingbing’s heart was filled with pain and rage. He truly itched to tear Zhou Weiqing into shreds, only then would it assuage the sheer rage in his heart.
At this moment, all Gu Yingbing could think of was to defeat Zhou Weiqing as quickly as possible; to chase him away and allow him to marry Tian’er as quickly as possible. As long as all of this ended, he could have Tian’er to himself. It was more important to marry her and be intimate with her first, he could slowly cultivate her love for him over time.
Looking at Zhou Weiqing, he felt as if that fellow was looking more and more disagreeable to the eye by the second. He could only hope that this torturous wait would finally be over.
After more than two hours of waiting, Xue AoTian finally reappeared in the Grand Hall. As he did so, his previously overcast expression had vanished, resuming his usual impassive face; as if the previous events had not happened.
“Lion King, Bro Long, I have already prepared all the Heavenly Beasts for the first competition. Come, lets go.” As he said that, he headed back out once more towards the door.
Long Shiya quickly roused Zhou Weiqing, while the Lion King Gu Site led his son in following. As for the Tiger King Xue Aoying, he was the first to follow behind his brother, as the entire group headed towards the depths of the Heavenly Snow Castle.
Xue AoTian walked at the head of the group, but he moved slowly. From the back, none of the others could see his face or expression, but even as he moved at that stately speed in front, this top powerhouse of the world gave them all a feeling as he could not be overtaken.
Looking at Xue AoTian from behind, Long Shiya’s face changed slightly. He knew that in this life, he would truly never be able to pass this great mountain or obstacle that was Xue AoTian. All of his hopes could only fall upon his precious disciple. No matter how powerful a Heavenly Emperor was, in the end he was still restricted at the Heavenly Emperor stage.
…
The group walked for almost fifteen minutes, twisting and turning throughout the castle before they finally reached a large room. Within the sides of the room, there were stairs headed down, and Xue AoTian continued leading the group down. After almost three hundred yards down the spiralling stairs, at last they reached a strange holed out crypt.
This crypt did not have obvious signs of being man made, almost as if it was a naturally formed cave of sorts, filled with glowing brilliant ice crystals around, as well as snowy white Heavenly Cores studding the ceiling, providing light illuminating the entire area in a strangely dazzling yet warped sensation. As soon as the group entered, it felt as if they had entered some strange fantasy world. Without question, this was part of the Heavenly Snow Mountain, and one that was deep within the heart of it. It was also one of the most important sacred areas of the Heavenly Snow Mountain. Normally, if there were no critical issues or unique circumstances, no one was allowed to enter this place, let alone outsiders like Long Shiya and Zhou Weiqing. Even the Lion King Gu Site had never actually entered this area before.
On the other hand, Gu Yingbing was relatively familiar with this place. It was the zone where the Heavenly Snow Mountain kept and raised Heavenly Beasts.
The Heavenly Snow Mountain was very different from other Great Saint Lands. For the other Great Saint Lands, when they captured Heavenly Beasts, they would Seal and imprison them in order to let their Jewel Masters Skill Store from them. Of course, the Heavenly Snow Mountain was very different. The Divine Heavenly Spirit Tiger and Heavenly Divine Earth Spirit Lion were in a sense also Heavenly Beasts, top level Heavenly Beasts on the same rank as Dragons. As such, their own presence was of great deterrence and awe to any Heavenly Beasts. To be able to stay in the Heavenly Snow Mountain was considered a great honour, utmost honour, to any Heavenly Beast. As such, these Heavenly Beasts here could only be described as raised or cultivated, not caught or imprisoned.
Of course, to be able to stay in the Heavenly Snow Mountain, most of these Heavenly Beasts were of the Ice Attribute. Only then would they be able to survive in the cruel icy conditions of the peak.
One should not think that the depths of the Heavenly Snow Mountain would be warmer than the outer regions. On the contrary, the depths were much colder.
Only the direct bloodline of the Heavenly Snow Mountain would know that deep in the heart of the mountain there lay an unimaginably huge slab of Ice Jade. This Ice Jade could not possibly be harvested out, not even a Heavenly God Tier powerhouse could. This was the true reason why the Heavenly Snow Mountain maintained such a low temperature even right in the middle of the warm climate of the Ten Thousand Beast Heavens.
One of the main reasons why the Divine Heavenly Spirit Tigers had always suppressed the Heavenly Divine Earth Spirit Lions was also due to this. The Elemental Attributes of the Divine Heavenly Spirit Tigers were Divine, Spirit and Water, while the Heavenly Divine Earth Spirit Lions were that of Divine, Spirit and FIre. There was normally no difference in power between Water and Fire Attribute, but in the Heavenly Snow Mountain… that difference was clear.
The immense Ice Jade Slab had an impressive supplementary assistance to cultivation of ice and water Attributes. This was also a huge reason why Xue AoTian could actually reach the Heavenly God Tier stage. His own talents were undoubtedly outstanding, but it did not guarantee he could actually reach such a stage. However, with the aid of that massive Ice Jade Slab, his cultivation speed was fast enough to reach the Heavenly King Stage before the age of thirty, slowly allowing him to step by step climb up the paths towards the Heavenly God Tier.
…
The surrounding temperature continued dropping as the group moved along. Besides Xue AoTian, all the remaining members found that a thin layer mist had formed around their bodies.
Xue AoTian continued walking down the icy path, his slow measured strides seeming so casual like that of an ordinary human. As for the Lion King and Prince, the mist around them was glowing with a faint red, while that around Long Shiya was a six-coloured glow. After all, Long Shiya had the Water Attribute as well, and this environment was of no effect to him. In truth, when one reached the Heavenly Emperor Stage, it was difficult for external environment to affect them.
As for Zhou Weiqing, the mist surrounding him was extremely strange, grey in colour, surprising the rest of the party. In fact, he seemed to be totally fine, in an even more relaxed state that Gu Yingbing.
Although Zhou Weiqing did not have the Fire or Water Attributes, one should never forget what his bloodline contained. The Solidified Dragon Spirit had given him immunity to fire, but at the same time it had also strengthened his resistance to cold far beyond that of any ordinary person. Although the current temperature was at a terrifying low, he still did not feel anything. In truth, he himself was puzzled about the grey mist around his body. Strangely, he seemed to sense an evil aura about the icy depths, drawing his own Demonic Attribute, causing it to automatically come out of his body and surround him. In such a situation, his own cultivation level was actually aided. At least for his Demonic Attribute, his power levels was increased by at least thirty percent.
As for the Tiger King Xue Aoying, a blue mist surrounded his body. Although he was at the front of the party, his senses were extended out, continuously keeping watch over Zhou Weiqing. Xue Aoying had watched Tian’er grow up, and he knew this niece of his too well. For a man to draw the eye of his proud niece, how could he be ordinary? At least, the current changes around Zhou Weiqing’s body gave him a strange sensation, almost startling even, and he began to have some doubts about his original judgement on this entire competition.
At long last, under the lead of Xue AoTian, the entire group reached a wide space, almost a thousand square metres, with a height of more than thirty metres. This was possibly the biggest piece of open space in this icy caverns. At the side of the of this open cave, there was a dark hole, an entrance to another pitch black cave. It seemed very deep and quiet, but all of them could sense several powerful auras deep within. Some cold, some ferocious, some frenzied. Without question, those were the Heavenly Beasts Xue AoTian had referred to.
Xue AoTian said solemnly: “The first competition will soon begin. For the purpose of fairness, besides the last Heavenly Beast, I have prepared a pair of each of the first type of nine Heavenly Beasts, with each single of the pair for each competitor. As long as you manage to succeed in overwhelming one, you can go on to the next one, until one of you actually fails.”
Long Shiya said: “What if both of them successfully overwhelms all ten of your chosen Heavenly Beasts?”
Xue AoTian said proudly: “That is impossible. The last Heavenly Beast… is my partner.”
Hearing his words, Long Shiya couldn’t help but be caught by surprise: “You mean… it is…”
Xue AoTian nodded towards him and said: “Of course, otherwise, how can I truly test the true limit of these two? If they can successfully overwhelm the first nine Heavenly Beasts, then the final judgement will be determined by my old partner. I am sure my old partner will give a fair judgement, with its pride, it will never lie. Bro Long, what do you think?”
This time, Long Shiya did not hesitate to nod in agreement, saying: “I agree.” One could imagine, for a Heavenly Beast to gain the approval of the Six Ultimate Heavenly Emperor Long Shiya, even respect and even a slight fear, one could imagine how powerful this Heavenly Beast was. A power that even Long Shiya would not doubt its judgement.
Of course, Gu Site would not have any objections, and before Xue AoTian could ask him, he nodded in agreement as well.
Xue AoTian smiled faintly and said: “In that case, let us begin. Both of you, stand apart at a distance of thirty metres.”
Zhou Weiqing and Gu Yingbing immediately walked forward. Their gazes met momentarily, and it was as if obvious sparks flew in the air from the tension.
Although Gu Yingbing had the Fire Attribute, and would be slightly affected by such intense cold of the environment, he was after all a member of the Heavenly Snow Mountain, and he had already grown used to such an environment. Furthermore, as the saying goes, when the extreme meets, some good will come of it. In truth, when he cultivated his Fire Attribute Heavenly Energy in such intense icy conditions, it was also of some benefit.
At this moment, Gu Yingbing’s eyes were filled with palpable hate, as if he wanted to devour Zhou Weiqing. On the other hand, Zhou Weiqing looked calm and peaceful, and that calm caused Gu Yingbing to rage even more. To him, Zhou Weiqing was dreaming that he could even beat him!
Abruptly, Xue AoTian clapped his hands.
With that, two huge figures slowly walked out from the side cave. When the two Heavenly Beasts appeared, both the Tiger and Lion King’s expressions changed slightly. Although they knew that Xue AoTian would not choose some weak Heavenly Beasts, they had not expected that just the first one would be so powerful. After all, both Gu Yingbing and Zhou Weiqing had not reached the Heavenly King Stage, and such a test seemed just too tough.