Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The nine forces were all there and they behaved appropriately, extending invitations to the mighty ones.
The Nanli tribe chose to work with Saint Chiming’s people right away, while the Zhu clan had also gotten their candidate to show up. In truth, it was the other seven tribes seeking to pick their candidates.
The Zhong clan extended their invitation to the candidate from Emperor Dong’s Palace and both parties reached an agreement. The Zhong clan was one of the top among the nine and very powerful. It was a collaboration between titans given that Emperor Dong’s Palace was just as powerful. Many in Emperor Kua’s City talked and looked forward to their collaboration. They saw that this collaboration had the capability to match the collaboration between the Zhu clan and the princess of Emperor Wu.
Afterwards, there would be word that the Raven tribe would work with Saint Jiuyou.
Ye Futian was at the inn the whole time. He felt rather exasperated as the news came in bit by bit. According to Shen Tianzhan, the stronger of the nine tribes seemed to have had their candidates in mind, and there was no one seeking to extend an invitation to him. It was apparent that he was not the preferred choice of any of the nine tribes.
He heard from Shen Tianzhan that the nine tribes placed greater importance on candidates who were mainly trained in fire powers. Not only was Ye Futian’s knowledge of his powers limited, but the other candidates were skilled in fire powers of the Crimson Dragon Realm. That likely explained why he was being ignored.
There were even descendants of the Renhuang, who were proficient in fire powers. The princess of Emperor Wu or the prince from Emperor Dong’s Palace were two such examples.
The other candidates were also members of skilled forces with fire-based power. The candidate from the Pang clan of Crimson Cloud City was from the Crimson Cloud Realm, and a descendant of a Renhuang as well.
There were also the Xi clan and the Chang clan from Jianmu City, and they too belonged to fire-based clans. Such as Flaming Prison City, which was proficient in Hellfire. While they were considered a weaker clan among the others, they were nonetheless very skilled in fire power.
He was the only one whom no one had seen use fire powers. That was probably why none of the stronger tribes dared to bet on him. One would have placed their bets on more likely candidates, and he apparently was not one of their top choices.
After some time, Ye Futian finally had invitations extended to him. The one who came first was an elder of the Beili tribe, who emanated a rather mystical aura. In terms of power ranking, the Beili tribe was in the middle of the nine. The elder wore a robe and held a scepter in his hand.
“We of the Beili tribe would like to extend our invitation to you, City Lord Ye, to enter the ruins with us. Would you take up the offer?” The elder from Beili tribe did not bother to beat around the bush.
“Why did you choose me, senior?” Ye Futian did not answer right away, choosing to ask with a smile instead.
“Among those who have obtained the Flames of the Way of Emperor Kua, your powers are the least known. As such, all nine tribes have their reservations about you, which I’m sure you can understand,” the elder explained. “Now, with the likes of the princess of Emperor Wu and the prince of the Emperor Dong’s Palace having decided which tribe to collaborate with, we of the Beili tribe would like to try it out with you, City Lord Ye. Were you to accept our offer, we would do our best to aid you within the ruins.”
It now made sense to Ye Futian. The best candidates had already been claimed by the top tribes and the Beili clan was in a rather awkward position. That was why they decided to bet on him. The Beili tribe simply wanted to try him out, instead of truly believing in what he was capable of.
However, Ye Futian did not mind any of that. He was not stupidly prideful enough to think that the nine tribes should have believed in his powers without question. Trust was built on the foundations of power after all. He had never even displayed what he was actually capable of, so there was no way he could have asked others to trust him.
Just when Ye Futian was about to accept, another voice was heard.
“City Lord Ye, we of the Wu clan would like to extend our invitation to have you collaborate with us.” The grey-robed elder who had extended his invitation to Ye Futian in front of the statue of Emperor Kua appeared.
Ye Futian looked at him and then at the elder of Beili tribe, feeling rather hesitant for a moment.
“City Lord Ye, we would be working with the Zhu clan on this expedition. We would have a better chance if we looked out for each other. The Zhu clan would actually like you to aid the princess of Emperor Wu. But of course, if your powers prove adequate, then there wouldn’t need to be any talk of aiding the princess. You could still reap whatever you wish within the ruins, so long as you make a show of working with them.”
The grey-robed elder of the Wu clan then added telepathically, “If you were to find something big, we of the Wu clan would do our best to help. Of course, even if you were to end up getting next to nothing, we wouldn’t mind. There is no need to put strict requirements on what must be done, after all.”
Ye Futian’s expression changed after hearing the elder’s telepathic words. The Wu clan seemed to be out to aid the Zhu clan. However, it seemed that the Wu clan was not as simple as they appeared. One of their own came to extend an invitation and laid the truth bare to him, appearing sincere and honest.
If the two tribes were to ally with each other and he was going to go along for the ride, it would definitely be more advantageous for him. Shen Tianzhan had reminded him that it was best to collaborate with the top few tribes.
The elder of Beili tribe spoke, after seeing Ye Futian’s hesitation. “It is up to you, City Lord Ye. It’d be fine, regardless of your choice.”
The Beili tribe invited Ye Futian with the intention of trying him out. If he declined, they would simply look for someone else. After all, nothing was set in stone before entering the ruins.
“All right then.” Ye Futian nodded. “As the Wu clan had extended an invitation earlier, I must give them priority.”
“It is fine.” The mighty one from the Beili tribe nodded decisively. “Well then, we shall meet again in the ruins.” He turned around and left.
Once the mighty one from the Beili tribe had gone, Ye Futian looked at the grey-robed elder. “What prompted you to extend an invitation to me again, senior?”
While several mighty ones had already been claimed, it was not as if the Wu clan had no options. Ye Futian was still not really held in high regard, so he never expected them to come to him again, let alone tell him secrets behind the deal.
“The princess of Emperor Wu mentioned you, City Lord Ye.” The grey-robed elder then smiled and added, “But I do hope you would keep what I told you privileged.”
“I understand.” Ye Futian nodded. He was not so lacking in character that he would have sold out the one who came to him. However, he wondered why the princess bothered bringing him up.
He asked Shen Tianzhan before and found that the princess’ surname was different. The realm that her father ruled had only been known as Emperor Wu’s Realm because of her father’s name. The princess’ name was actually Yin Tianjiao, meaning ‘genius.’ It was a testament of her father’s expectations for her.
Yin Tianjiao had indeed lived up to her given name. She had superb talents and came to Crimson Dragon Realm because of her proficiency with fire powers. She had been trained in the Regional Palace and was quite renowned in Crimson Dragon City. Recalling that fact, Ye Futian wondered if she had brought him up because of Yu Sheng.
Yu Sheng had trained at the Regional Palace and would have definitely interacted with the cultivators who were also there. He wondered if Yu Sheng had talked with Yin Tianjiao before.
“Well then, I shall take my leave. I will send someone to pick you up before we depart, City Lord Ye,” the grey-robed elder said. Ye Futian nodded and the elder left.
A group of people came to him next. Xia Qingyuan, Shen Tianzhan and some others were there.
The nine tribes had chosen their respective candidates for the collaboration and many looked forward to it. When everything was settled, it was time to depart.
The grey-robed elder came to invite Ye Futian and the others to depart together. The group left the inn and headed towards their destination. The nine tribes moved out at the same time, heading west from Emperor Kua’s City.
The nine tribes did not reside within the city itself. The city had once been a territory of Emperor Kua. It was only after Emperor Kua’s passing that the nine tribes began to move into Emperor Kua’s City’s. However, their headquarters remained in the areas surrounding the city, and they seemed to have ruled all of the western regions.
It was a desolate place which seemed endless, consisting of deserts and castles. The scorching sun shone on the land and a heat wave threatened to fry the entire area.
The further they went, the hotter it got, as if the entire place was covered in flames. The ground was like fire scorching their feet.
Amidst the heat-struck desolation, there was an area with statues. The largest of them all depicted Emperor Kua, with the others surrounding it. They were the mighty ones who had served Emperor Kua—the ancestors of the nine tribes. The gallery was in ruins, but in the center was a portal.
The people of Crimson Dragon Realm all somehow knew that this was not only Emperor Kua’s ruins, but also the ancestral land of the nine tribes. That was the place where they originated from. From here, they had taken all of the western regions in the Crimson Dragon Realm, reigning supreme over the entirety. Despite the passage of time, the ancestral land remained standing.
Some of those now present were members of top clans proficient in fire powers, but had not acquired the Flames of the Way themselves. However, there were also others who had entered the ancestral land before.
They landed and walked in a single direction. Mighty ones of the Zhu clan and Yin Tianjiao walked together, attracting the attention of many. Due to Yin Tianjiao’s renown in Crimson Dragon City and training at the Regional Palace, she attracted the most attention. It could have been said that she was very radiant.
Other than Yin Tianjiao, the one that attracted the most attention was the prince of Emperor Dong’s Palace. That was a Renhuang force native to the Crimson Dragon Realm. They were the absolute authority in the eastern region of the realm, so much so that not even the Crimson Dragon Emperor would interfere with their rule.
Emperor Dong’s Palace was of equal renown to Emperor Kua’s Hall. As the prince of Emperor Dong’s Palace prepared to enter Emperor Kua’s ruins, many became excited and wondered what would happened next.
Out of all the clans, it was the Zhong tribe that was working with the prince of Emperor Dong’s Palace. They were very powerful and definitely among the top three forces. The collaboration of two such parties was naturally worthy of note.
