Chapter 801: Noble Clans’ Decision
The old man of the Jiang Clan smiled gently and dispersed the other people on the warship’s bow. Aside from the two core geniuses of each clan, only the group leaders remained.
These four elderlies were all grandmaster-level Martial Sages. Furthermore, they gave off a bright light from their foreheads that suggested that they had comprehended wills.
All of these elderlies’ cultivation was no weaker than the Supreme Sky Sect’s Elder Bai’s. They even seemed to be stronger.
At a close and careful inspection, these elderlies’ Heavenly Sage Laws looked like they were connected to each other, forming halos, and were too many to count.
Clearly, these people already reached the peak of Martial Sage. They were only one step away from becoming quasi-Emperors.
The old man from the Jiang Clan spoke first, “This time, everyone has the same objective. For the sake of avoiding internal conflict, I feel that we should all come to an agreement.”
The leader from the Ying Clan was an attractive old woman. One man and one girl stood behind her. The man looked handsome and emanated a strong, righteous, kingly aura from his forehead.
If Xiao Chen were here, he would recognize the girl as Ying Qiong, who made a deal with him.
However, at this moment, Ying Qiong was dressed in magnificent golden Battle Armor. This armor hugged all the curves of her perfect figure. She wore a golden phoenix crown on her head, looking elegant and dignified.
Ying Qiong’s prim and proper expression would be hard to connect with that playful and mischievous girl Xiao Chen had seen in the Star Grave Palace.
The old woman from the Ying Clan said, “We definitely have to come to an agreement. It is just how do we do it? Old Brother Jiang, do you have any good ideas?”
The Yan Clan and Lin Clan seniors remained silent. Clearly, they agreed with having an agreement and were waiting for the Jiang Clan old man to present his suggestion.
The Jiang Clan old man smiled and replied, “It is very simple. It will just be a fair competition relying on their own strength. We will not fight among ourselves. Later, a thousand thrones will appear in the air. Each of these thrones will have a number behind them.
“As long as one can sit on the throne, the number behind it will indicate their rank on the Proud Son of Heaven Ranking. Those in the top ten will obtain the right to the Heavenly Dew Divine Spring.”
Everyone knew about this rule. Every time the Proud Son of Heaven Ranking refreshed, this would happen, getting a new set of rankings.
Everyone gazed at this peak Martial Sage of the Jiang Clan, waiting for him to continue.
“The higher the ranking, the better the reward. However, with the wealth of our four clans, we don’t really care about some of the rewards from the Martial God Palace. There is no need to fight for fame, either. We just need to obtain spots. Any rank within the top ten is acceptable.
“This time, we brought many of our clans’ disciples. However, we all know that the ones that can actually compete are the scions who have comprehended a will.
“In this aspect, our four clans are not lacking. All our clans have two scions who comprehended wills. That means that we will be able to obtain eight spots.”
At this point, the Jiang Clan old man paused. Then he continued, “What I want to say is simple: no matter which of the top ten thrones, as long as one of the core disciples of our four clans are fighting for it, the other seven have to give up on it unconditionally and fight for another throne.
The grandmaster-level Martial Sages of the other three clans all lowered their heads and entered deep thought. They all felt that they could accept what the Jiang Clan old man said.
Given this, the Sovereign Noble Clans could limit internal conflict to the greatest degree, gaining the most benefit for every clan.
The Ying Clan old woman turned around and discussed with Ying Qiong and the other scion for a while. Then she turned back and said, “Our Ying Clan agrees to this arrangement.”
The Lin Clan senior nodded and said, “Our Lin Clan agrees as well.”
The Yan Clan grandmaster-level Martial Sage turned back and whispered, “Shisan, Shisi, what do you think.”
[TL note: Shisan and Shisi are numbers; Shisan is 13 and Shisi is 14. There is a good chance that the Yan Clan names their scions by number, likely in order of birth or maybe strength.]
Of the two Yan Clan scions, one of them was Yan Shisan, whom Xiao Chen had met before. The other was Yan Shisi.
The two’s numbers were very similar, but they had different temperaments. Yan Shisan cultivated the way of the killing sword. He had a stern, emotionless countenance, an appearance that pushed people away.
However, Yan Shisi had a carefree and bright expression that naturally gave an impression of friendliness.
Yan Shisi smiled gently and said clearly, “First Elder can just decide. I do not have any opinion about this.”
Yan Shisan moved his lips slightly and mumbled, “Anything is fine.”
Finally, the Yan Clan also agreed to this arrangement. After that, the Jiang Clan old man smiled and said, “Good. Let’s discuss the specifics now of how to use the other disciples of the clans to harass the other competitors.”
Just as the four Sovereign Noble Clans hashed out how to obtain the most spots, the leaders of the Three Holy Lands were not sitting by idly but anxiously conferring.
At the same time, those who believed that their strength was sufficient to obtain a spot among the top ten anxiously made plans as well.
However, the disciples of most sects did not think of ranking in the top ten at all. To them, this Sage War was just an event of the human race that happened every four years.
What most of these disciples wanted to do was make use of this refresh to get a place on the Proud Son of Heaven Ranking by taking advantage of the chaos.
As for the Heavenly Dew Divine Spring, it was destined to be an impossible dream. It was not something they could attempt.
When the Sovereign Noble Clans arrived, the excited atmosphere reached its peak. The cultivators clamored endlessly, discussing who would end up in the top ten.
Anyone who could stand out from the chaos of all the geniuses would gain the attention of everyone. The past glory was history.
One could only truly gain a place in this great age by obtaining a top ten rank.
“Ka ca! Ka ca!”
Starting from Xiao Chen’s lamp, the thousand lamps of the Proud Son of Heaven Ranking shattered relentlessly. The entire place turned silent. Everyone knew that the true chaotic battle would soon begin.
“Frivolous until the end of time; I move about unfettered, going as I please!”
“My glory shall not extinguish for ten thousand years; the hot-bloodedness flows on endlessly!”
“I trample on countless, young and old; I gaze on with anticipation, but no one answers my call!”
“I hold the sun and moon in my hand, plucking stars from the sky; what can all my enemies throughout the world do to me?!”
……
When the highest lantern of the pyramid shattered, a sagely song rang out, echoing in the sky, like the song of the Heavenly Dao.
The Sage imprints of human history all turned into light and soared into the sky. The voices of the many Sages reverberated in the world.
The disciples of the various sects in the surrounding warships all felt incredibly excited. Under the influence of the sagely song, they felt like they had been sent to the Ancient Era, the golden age of the human race.
This period was the peak age of the martial way in the past, when a hundred races fought each other. The human race took the lead, its glory shining everywhere. With their great strength and intelligence, the human disciples carved out places for themselves. Their inheritance handed down through the ages, never falling.
This was the age of a poetic saga. Heroes appeared in droves, endless outstanding talents. Emperors abounded like clouds; Sages filled the land.
Now that the age of geniuses was here again, the peak of the Martial Epoch might come once more. Who could stand unrivaled under the heavens, leading billions of humans and giving rise to immortal glory?
“Since ancient times, the Sages have been lonely. All these mortal concerns will eventually turn to dust!”
A desolate sagely voice suddenly rang out. The sound of the Heavenly Dao spreading like fire immediately stopped. The image of a white-haired old man appeared in the sky.
This was an Ancient Era sovereign. The mental imprint he left behind remained to this day, unextinguished.
This sovereign pointed to the sky, and the other human Sages all performed the same action. “Boom!” Space trembled, and a small world opened there.
A dark night scene covered the land. A vast star map slowly unfolded in the sky above. Thrones with numbers behind them appeared in the dreamlike river of stars, drifting along in it as it glowed.
After summoning out this scene of the infinite starry heavens, the ancient Sage marks all extinguished and disappeared.
The silence only lasted for a moment. The various sect disciples from the thousands of warships shot into the air like arrows. They gave off lights in all sorts of colors, revealing fervent gazes in their eyes as they flew to the thrones drifting in the starry heavens.
In that instant, nearly a hundred thousand cultivators charged out at the same moment. Such a vast and majestic scene was indescribable.
Naturally, this starry heavens was not the actual starry heavens. It was just a small world opened by the human Sages.
However, the number of cultivators was no exaggeration. Figures kept leaping out of the many warships, continuously increasing the number.
The sight of the many disciples flying to the small world at the same time made many of the seniors sigh.
There were a thousand thrones in the starry heavens. Each throne had a number, formed by light, that represented the ranking the possessor of the throne would obtain.
Ten thrones stood out in the apex of the starry heavens. Each of these thrones appeared in a different corner, giving off a dazzling light. Of the ten, one golden throne stood out in particular.
Not only was this throne in the highest location, but its golden light was also the most eye-catching and splendorous. With two soaring dragons carved on its armrests, it gave off the tyrannical aura of a sovereign.
This was the throne of the top rank of the Proud Son of Heaven Ranking. Now, it was empty.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
Suddenly, crashing sounds came from the air. Just when the cultivators in front were about to reach the starry heavens, they seemed to collide into something all of a sudden.
A strong rebound made their faces turn green and swell. Their Quintessence scattered as they miserably fell downwards.
However, many strong sect cultivators managed to penetrate this barrier. They did not seem to encounter much resistance as they rushed excitedly towards the thrones with high rankings.
This invisible barrier was probably the first test. Without a certain level of strength, one would not qualify for a place on the Proud Son of Heaven Ranking. Even though the rankings were refreshed, it did not mean that people could fish in troubled waters.
The other disciples on the deck of the Supreme Sky Sect’s warship had already made their moves. Only Xiao Chen and Shui Lingling had not left yet.
Shui Lingling glanced at the already chaotic sky and said softly, “Junior Brother Xiao Chen, I’ll go ahead. See you in the highest area of the starry heavens.”
The Profound Sun Bird on Shui Lingling’s shoulder gave a sharp cry. Then it turned into a clump of flames rapidly growing larger. Finally, it carried her swiftly up to the starry heavens.
Xiao Chen watched as the many cultivators showed excited expressions while arduously struggling towards their goals. He felt moved. It was every cultivator’s blessing to be born in this great age.