Chapter 166 - Law of The Jungle
There were not many passengers on the ship, but each and everyone of them was the aces of Swords Gate at their respective cultivation levels. Many of them were trying to deduce who would their opponents would be in the duels against the Xiao Mang Celestial Race when they arrive at the celestial temple.
Zhong Yue already knew that the battlers were selected, but the others were unaware of it.
“I wonder who would be selected by Elder Feng to partake in the battles. The three junior martial siblings of the Spirit Nurturing level are quite strong. They are ranked in the top three of the Dragon and Tiger Challenger Board, their prowesses are about the same. Each and every one of them have spent six or seven years at the Spirit Nurturing level. Their foundations are incredibly strong and solid. But the strongest of the three would still be Qi Feng — so it will most probably be Junior Martial Brother Qi Feng.”
A thick-bearded Awakening Qi Practitioner measured the crowds on the ship, he said smilingly, “However, it’s hard to tell for the level of Rebirth. Junior Martial Brother Yu Zhengshu was the steadiest with his foundation being the most solid of all. However, although he was listed as the first in the Challenger List of Dragon and Tiger, but he has yet to duel against Junior Martial Sister Shui, Junior Martial Sister Qiu or Junior Martial Brother Zhong. Junior Martial Sister Shui is incredibly talented, her prowess is immensely strong; Junior Martial Sister Qiu possesses the Innate Wood Spirit Body, but it’s difficult for her to move around freely. Whereas, Junior Martial Brother Zhong is someone who can stand on par with Junior Martial Sister Shui — it’s hard to tell who would end up as the Swords Gate champion of the Rebirth level.”
‘Shui Qingyan’ held a smiling face, while Qiu Jin’er sat in her wheelchair, all the while, glancing furtively over at Zhong Yue from time to time.
Yu Zhengshu’s countenance was indifferent as he responded, “Who would dare to say that he is the strongest without having a duel? However, as of now, there is still no one daring enough to challenge me, which says enough in and of itself. Junior Martial Uncle Lei Teng, who is the strongest in the Awakening level?”
“Don’t call me junior martial uncle, I’m just eighteen this year.”
The brawny man Lei Teng laughed and said proudly, “Didn’t the Dragon and Tiger Challenger Board show everything clearly? I’m ranked first, Tao Qingmei second, and Li Shaozhuang third. If they could’ve beaten me, they would’ve done so already! The Swords Gate representative for the Awakening level would surely be me!”
The other two Awakening Qi Practitioners, Tao Qingmei and Li Shaozhuang both let out a cold sneer. Lei Teng raised his brows and cracked his knuckles, while he said smirkingly, “Come and have a duel if you are unconvinced!”
Li Shaozhuang spat in contempt and said, “Redneck! Looking over fifty-years-old, and yet you still act as if you’re still eighteen!”
“It’s the natural look of the Lei Hu Clan, I’m not pretending at all.”
Lei Teng was nonchalant, he turned to the hall masters and said smilingly, “Needless to say about the level of Atman Body, it must be Hall Master Zuo! Hall Master Tian and Hall Master Zuo have fought countless battles but he has never won. Now that Hall Master Tian has already advanced into the level of Inner Core, Hall Master Zuo is undoubtedly now the strongest in the level of Atman Body. The other two hall masters are only here to serve as foils.”
Zuo Xiangsheng heard his words and turned around to smile back at him.
Clearly, his words were not that pleasant in the ears of the two hall masters as their faces visibly darkened. One of them mumbled, “No wonder they say the Lei Hu Clan members are all gabbers, and indeed they are.”
Tian Yanzhong’s handsome countenance also betrayed hints of displeasure. They had a battle as Zuo Xiansheng snatched the title of Cloudless Hall Hall Master. At that time, they were both in the level of Atman Body and neither one could defeat the other; hence, the top position remained undecided and since then, they have both become good friends.
Ever since then, Tian Yanzhong would often look for Zuo Xiangsheng for a duel and engage in friendly bouts with each other with the techniques they had both learned. As a direct result, both of their prowesses had seen definite improvements.
Tian Yanzhong had advanced a step further into the Inner Core level, and yet, by Lei Teng’s words, it sounded as if he was still incapable of defeating Zuo Xiangsheng despite his higher leveled cultivation base. It was obvious that he would be displeased by this denigration.
The Lei Hu Clan members, regardless of age and gender, all look like brawny men. But all their mouths gossip like women, Tian Yanzhong thought in his heart.
He couldn't win against Zuo Xiangsheng even though he had reached the Inner Core level and that made him upset.
Lei Teng then turned to the other two Inner Core hall masters and Tan Yanzhong, he said, “However, it’s hard to decide who would be the one among the three hall masters. Hall Master Tian has only just recently advanced into the level, but his talents are the greatest. Hall Master Nan and Hall Master Jun have cultivated the Inner Core level for quite some time now, however, their strengths are not particularly impressive...”
The two hall masters, Nan Mingshan and Jun Lutang, glared at him, struggling to restrain themselves from dragging him over and punching him. Zhong Yue was in between laughter and tears as the banter played out and thought, Lei Hu Clan the gossipers, known to all lands. These words indeed aren’t without reason….
He was practicing the totem patterns of the divine third eye, trying to cultivate the sword eye as soon as possible to open the secret realm of the Yuan Shen. Nothing was easy at the beginning, the sword eye contained nine distinct totem patterns which were all made of sword carvings. The first totem pattern was the hardest to cultivate, but once the first totem pattern was successfully cultivated, it would only get easier from there.
The manifestation of the sword eye was done in the divine third eye of the Yuan Shen. Although Zhong Yue’s expressions were unchanging, above his psyche ocean in the divine third eye of his Yuan Shen, his lightning pool psyche constructed the totem patterns to brand it into the divine third eye.
“Zhong Shan Clan member, Zhong Shan Clan member, there are a total of four candidates in the Rebirth level, who do you think will be our representative?”, Lei Teng asked as he ran towards Zhong Yue.
Yu Zhengshu glanced over, his desire for combat was burning strong; whoever was sent up would naturally be the strongest in the Rebirth level, a matter that Yu Zhengshu took very seriously.
Zhong Yue smiled and shook his head, “You need not worry, Senior Martial Brother Yu, no one but I will be sent up in the Rebirth level.”
Yu Zhengshu let loose a breath and said, “Junior Martial Brother Zhong had demonstrated an overbearing killing will recently that greatly shook all of the inner hall. I admire your skills and I deeply regret that I never had the chance to duel with you. If I may, junior martial brother, how did you cultivate such a sharp killing intent?”
“By killing experts”, Zhong Yue answered seriously.
Yu Zhengshu was dumbfounded as he sounded, “Killing? How could you have the heart to kill when contending with your martial siblings?”
Zhong Yue sighed, he did not know how to react to Yu Zhengshu’s reaction.
In terms of prowess and cultivation base, Yu Zhengshu was strong in both. However, his thinking was too archaic and conservative. Although he was nominally the strongest in the Rebirth level of the inner hall disciples, his experiences and mentality were completely shaped by friendly duels and battles between his trusted martial siblings. Not once had he been exposed to a sliver of the numerous deadly battles that underpinned Zhong Yue’s cultivation journey thus far.
Lei Teng laughed, “Junior Martial Brother Yu, the experts that Junior Martial Brother Zhong was referring to were not humans. There are also a lot of experts in the monster race and celestial race. Junior Martial Sister Shui, who do you think will be next to battle? ”
‘Shui Qingyan’ smiled coquettishly and said, “Whoever it is, it won’t be me. Am I right, Senior Martial Brother Zhong?”
Zhong Yue’s countenance was all smiles as he responded, “Junior Martial Sister Shui is right, if Junior Martial Sister Shui is the contender, people will die.”
Both of them could sense the vigilance harbored in each other’s eyes when their sights met for a split second.
Another six or seven days passed, the river beneath the ship continued to travel onward and soon, they were out of the Great Wilderness. Meanwhile, Zhong Yue had also finished manifesting the first layer totem pattern, and was starting to work on the second layer.
“Disciples, the forces and state of affairs of the West Barren are complex and intricate, a far cry from the East Barren and Great Wilderness. Whether it be the words you utter, or the actions you take, everything must be done with the utmost caution.”
Feng Shouzhu suddenly said, “The West Barren was the divine court tens of thousands of years ago. And when the gods left, they had passed down their knowledge and their descendants. When we arrive at the West Barren, I want to see no reckless actions.”
“Divine court?”
The passengers aboard the ship were shocked, including Zhong Yue who knew nothing about the West Barren.
Divine Court? To use such a name, one could be crowned as a supreme emperor. Was there a magnate among the gods that built an empire – an imperial court that belonged to the gods? He thought to himself.
While Lei Teng said smilingly, “I’ve heard words, from the elders of Lei Hu Clan. There was a Deity Sovereign residing in the West Barren, ruling thousands of stars around us. And when this Deity Sovereign left, he brought along the gods with him; how many stars are dangling in the sky now was how many gods there were — and the elders said, the West Barren worshipped three thousand gods!”
Feng Shouzhu shook his head and said, “Not that many, but not much fewer than that either.”
Three thousand was clearly an exaggeration, but the statement itself intimated the sheer number of godly temples there were in the West Barren, and the intricate relations between its various forces.
It was the norm for a seemingly small and shabby temple to worship and consecrate an unearthly strong god. Even the most dilapidated temple should not be underestimated — you never know, there might be a living godly spirit that was worshipped in the temple.
Some of the temples were devastated due to their sparse population; while some of the temples were deserted along with the extinction of the celestials that worshiped the godly spirits. There were also temples that grew stronger and bigger, such as the Xiao Mang celestial temple.
The Xiao Mang celestials could reproduce at an enormous rate – their race only continued to expand at an explosive rate, causing their numbers and collective power to catapult and ultimately rise to one of the strongest celestial races in the West Barren.
However, most of the temples in West Barren were run by the small celestial races that numbered in the hundreds or thousands. There were even celestial temples that were worshipped by only a few celestials.
Feng Shouzhu gave them a rough explanation, “Each and every one of the celestial temples have their own history and tales – they are not something to be tampered with. When we arrived at the West Barren, we didn’t fly in the upper air above the temples, we do not simply intrude into the temples; and we do not act recklessly if even if we see the celestials sacrificing humans as offerings. We do not act recklessly if we’ve seen the celestials devouring humans, we do not act recklessly if we see the celestials using humans as materials to refine their soul weapons.”
One after another, the Qi Practitioners’ faces changed drastically, they could not help but to exclaim, “Elder!”
Feng Shouzhu’s countenance turned dark and solemn as he continued callously, “My words to not act recklessly are the orders you will all follow to the letter! I’ve now brought you out of the Great Wilderness, and I intend to bring you all back the same way I brought you in – alive. If anyone of you were to act recklessly, then I end up bringing back only be a ship full of corpses.”
He stood on the deck and gazed at the innumerable celestial temples beneath them as the ship slowly descended from the air to fly between the mountains.
The mountains were steep and sky-piercing, while the grandeur celestial temples stood on the mountains, suffusing an indelibly saintly and archaic air.
Feng Shouzhu lowered his voice, “If the ship flies across the top of the celestial temples, it’ll offend the celestial temples, and potentially lead to unnecessary troubles; which is why, we’ll fly in the low air. None of you have left the Great Wilderness before; and now, you may now take a look at the dangers and perils of the outside world that you’ve never seen before.”
Zhong Yue stood behind Qiu Jin’er, pushing the wooden wheelchair to the edge of the deck. The awe-inspiring scenery of the West Barren came into their eyes like a picturesque artwork — the land was laden with evergreen woods and snowy mountains seemed to reach up high into the infinite firmament. The celestial temples scattered across the land, and an uncountable number of humans could be seen working like slaves under the watchful eyes of the celestials, excavating stones and ores from the mountains like worker ants when looked at from afar.
Some of the human races were rebuilding the God Palace, and not occasionally, one could see people falling off the mountain to crash onto the ground to a pile of minced flesh and bone.
There were also innumerable humans dancing, worshipping, and reciting an unknown prayer, carrying a young girl that was beautifully dressed, only to be sacrificed to the celestial race that resided in the temple above the volcano.
The celestial residing in the temple was like an enormous monster, having three heads and six arms, with a smoking volcano behind him. He picked up the young girl and callously shoved her into his mouth.
“I give you my blessings to extinguish the volcano!”
After the God race had finished their meal, he raised his staff, extinguishing the fire within the volcano, and shouted, “Go ahead and resume your work, remember to pay your respects regularly, or disasters will once again befall on your lands!”
The peasants bowed down before leaving happily.
They even saw some human tribes sacrificing their children on rafts by the river, sending them down to be swallowed by the celestial race in the river temple.
“Can you see that?”
Feng Shouzhu’s tears wetted his face, and mumbled, “Those are our kind in the West Barren….”
“Why….” The Qi Practitioners on the ship lowered their heads, clenching their fists.
“Because the human race is too weak, and the fate of the weak is only to be ruthlessly devoured by the strong!” Feng Zhushou exclaimed.