The appearances of young geniuses who were already famous in several Devata Realms would naturally attract everyone’s attention.
On the contrary, those who were unknown, whose strength was not inferior to the famous young prodigies, did not make a splash with their arrivals.
Meanwhile, Duan Ling Tian was unaware that two of his friends would also be participating in the Devata Realms’ Battle of the Geniuses. He was also unaware that the general opinion was that he was only participating to gain experience. No one thought he would do well in the Devata Realms’ Battle of the Geniuses due to his young age.
…
As was human nature, where there were a lot of people, conflict would certainly arise.
Fights broke out almost every day in the accommodations for the participants of the Devata Realms’ Battle of the Geniuses. There were group fights and individual fights, and as long as no one died, the people from the Heavenly Palace of the Primeval Heaven tasked with supervising the participants would not intervene.
Although the young geniuses were all younger than 1,000 years old, they were all the cream of the crop in their respective Devata Realms. The strongest among them was comparable to a Five Star God of War. Therefore, the person from the Heavenly Palace of the Primeval Heaven tasked with supervising the participants was a Six Star God of War. Only someone of that level, at least, would be able to control these young and arrogant geniuses.
At this time, a genius from the Jade Emperor Heaven and a genius from the Lofty Garden Heaven were bickering.
“Our Jade Emperor Heaven has a young genius who’s only a little more than 600 years old! He passed the Title Temple’s test and obtained a place to participate in the Devata Realms’ Battle of the Geniuses. Does your Lofty Garden Heaven have anyone like that?”
Not wanting to be outdone, the genius from the Lofty Garden Heaven said with a sneer. “Perhaps, the passing standard for the Title Temple in the Jade Emperor Heaven is just really low…”
“The passing standard is low?” The genius from Jade Emperor Heaven scoffed. He seemed ready to fight as he continued to say, “Su Li is one of the strongest among us. You dare say he was only selected because of the low passing standard? Do you want to fight?”
“Let’s fight then. It’s not like I have anything to fear…”
Just like that, a fight broke out between the geniuses from the Jade Emperor Heaven and the Lofty Garden Heaven. In the end, their fight ended in a draw. Both of their strengths, which were almost equivalent to a titled Celestial Emperor, were similar.
Meanwhile, the onlookers who had grown numb to fights breaking out were surprised by the words of the genius from the Jade Emperor Heaven. There was someone in the Jade Emperor Heaven who was only a little more than 600 years old but was among the strongest among the young geniuses? Did this not mean that person possessed the strength of a titled Celestial Emperor despite being only slightly more than 600 years old?
“Can you imagine someone who’s just a little more than 600 years old possessing the strength of a titled Celestial Emperor?”
“Heavens! In the history of all Devata Realms, there are only a few people with that kind of strength at that age, right? To think such a genius appeared in the Jade Emperor Heaven!”
“Is it true though?”
The words of the genius from the Jade Emperor Heaven caused quite a stir, and it did not take long before word of it began to spread. With that, a few pieces of information were made known as well. Most people, at this time, knew that the genius, who was only a little more than 600 years old but possessed the strength of a titled Celestial Emperor, was called Su Li.
‘Su Li?’ As soon as Duan Ling Tian left his wooden house, he overheard the conversation about the genius from the Jade Emperor Heaven who possessed the strength of a titled Celestial Emperor despite only being a little more than 600 years old.
‘It seems like Su Li has improved tremendously…’ Duan Ling Tian shook his head with a smile on his face. Naturally, it did not take long for him to figure out his good friend, Su Li, was the person everyone was discussing.
Su Li already had a breakthrough during Duan Ling Tian’s visit to the Thousand Tribulations Sword Sect in the Jade Heaven Emperor’s Nandou Territory. With the cultivation resources and environment in the Thousand Tribulations Sword, he had no doubt Su Li’s cultivation would sore if the Thousand Tribulations Sword Sect seriously nurtured Su Li.
At that time, before Duan Ling Tian left the Thousand Tribulations Sword Sect, he had heard from Zhuge Feng, the Master of the Thousand Tribulations Sword Sect’s Gan Jiang Progeny, that the sect was planning to pour all their resources into someone who was capable of leading the sect to greater heights in the future. The person who had been selected was none other than Su Li.
The Thousand Tribulations Sword Sect had high hopes for Su Li. They hoped that Su Li would be able to defeat the Heavenly Emperor of the Jade Emperor Heaven in the future and take over as the new Heavenly Emperor. This would naturally allow the sect to rise to the highest peak in the Jade Emperor Heaven.
Meanwhile, as soon as Duan Ling Tian appeared, he had caught many people’s attention as well.
“Hey, isn’t that Duan Ling Tian? The true disciple of the Heavenly Emperor of the Solitary Destructive Heaven?”
“He’s handsome and has an extraordinary bearing. However, he’s only a little more than 600 years old so how powerful can he be?”
“The difference between him and Su Li is really big. Although both of them are only slightly over 600 years old, Su Li can easily crush him…”
Due to the duo’s similar age, many people began comparing them. Most people, if not all, were convinced Duan Ling Tian was much weaker than Su Li.
Duan Ling Tian who overheard this discussion as well was not bothered at all. Instead, he asked for directions to the wooden houses where the participants from the Jade Emperor Heaven were staying.
The group of participants from the Jade Emperor Heaven had picked wooden houses next to each other. They watched as Duan Ling Tian made his way over. They were aware of his identity; after all, they were not deaf and had heard about him being the true disciple of the Heavenly Emperor of the Solitary Destructive Heaven.
They also learned that the only true disciple of the legendary Heavenly Emperor Feng Qing Yang was only a little more than 600 years old. Despite the Jade Emperor Heaven having someone who was only slightly older than 600 years old but possessed the strength of a titled Celestial Emperor, they did not believe there would be another person like that. After all, such a person like Su Li was incredibly rare. What was the possibility of having two of such a genius in the same generation?
“Excuse me, do you know where Su Li is staying?” Duan Ling Tian asked politely with a smile as he looked at one of the young geniuses from the Jade Emperor Heaven.
“You’re looking for Su Li?” The young genius from the Jade Emperor Heaven frowned as soon as he heard Duan Ling Tian’s question. He shook his head and tried to dissuade Duan Ling Tian, “Duan Ling Tian, I understand it must be upsetting to hear about powerful Su Li is when you’re both the same age. Perhaps, it’s even more upsetting because you’re the only true disciple of the Heavenly Emperor of the Solitary Destructive Heaven. It’s best you forget about challenging Su Li to prove your worth so as to save yourself from the humiliation of defeat. After all, Su Li’s stronger than new titled Celestial Emperors…”
Duan Ling Tian felt rather speechless when he heard the other person’s words. He knew the other person had misunderstood his intention. However, his eyes lit up when he heard the latter part of the other person’s words. ‘Su Li’s stronger than new titled Celestial Emperors? Doesn’t this mean he’s a Two Star God of War, at least?’
“You’ve misunderstood me,” Duan Ling Tian looked at the young genius from the Jade Emperor Heaven and said as he shook his head, “I’m not here to challenge Su Li. I want to see him because he’s a friend of mine…”
“Su Li’s your friend?” The genius from the Jade Emperor Heaven was shocked by Duan Ling Tian’s words. He did not expect Su Li to be acquainted with the only true disciple of the Heavenly Emperor of the Solitary Destructive Heaven. He did not doubt Duan Ling Tian’s words, considering Duan Ling Tian’s identity. Moreover, Su Li might be stronger now, but Su Li’s status could not compare to Duan Ling Tian’s status.
Therefore, the genius from the Jade Emperor Heaven hurriedly led Duan Ling Tian to Su Li.
Soon enough, Duan Ling Tian saw Su Li.
As soon as Su Li saw Duan Ling Tian, he laughed heartily. “I heard about you as soon as I arrived. However, I heard you haven’t left your wooden house at all since you arrived. I didn’t come to see you since I was afraid of disturbing your closed-door cultivation. Come, let’s catch up inside!”
Some of the geniuses from the Jade Emperor Heaven watched in surprise as Su Li led Duan Ling Tian into his wooden house.
“It seems like Su Li and Duan Ling Tian are really good friends!”
“You’re right. They look like old friends.”
“I wonder how Su Li got to know the true disciple of the Heavenly Emperor of the Solitary Destructive Heaven?”
Meanwhile, Duan Ling Tian took a seat in front of the wooden table in the wooden house.
The wooden house was spacious enough to accommodate the duo.
After taking a seat, Duan Ling Tian said, “It’s been several hundred years since we last met. How have you been all these years?”
“I’ve been well,” Su Li replied with a smile, “The sect has given me everything they had because they have high hopes for me. However, I can’t help but feel even more pressure because of that…” His smile turned slightly bitter at the end of his sentence.
“You know what their expectations are, right?” Duan Ling Tian asked. During his last visit to the Thousand Tribulations Sword Sect, Zhuge Feng, the Master of the Gan Jiang Progeny, had said that the future of the sect rested on Su Li’s shoulders. The sect’s wish was for Su Li to defeat the current Heavenly Emperor of the Jade Emperor and take over as the new Heavenly Emperor. However, at that time, Su Li was still unaware of the sect’s intention. Zhuge Feng had even told Duan Ling Tian to keep the matter from Su Li since he did not want Su Li to feel pressured.
“Based on your question, it seems like you know about it as well?” Su Li smiled wryly.
Duan Ling Tian said sheepishly, “Well, I learned about it during my last visit. However, I was asked not to mention it to you to avoid you feeling pressured. I was afraid it’d negatively impact you if I told you about…”
Su Lu sighed and shook his head. “There’s no going back now. The Thousand Tribulations Sword Sect has given me so much, I can only try to fulfill their wish to repay them…”
“I know you can do it,” Duan Ling Tian said encouragingly, “I’m sure I’ll have a Heavenly Emperor for a friend in the future.”
