Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
This did not only happen to Jiang Yi and Yin Ruobing. Phenomena were happening all over the place!
In the Soul-Returning Cliff of the hellish-grade challenge, Zhan Tianlei’s sprinting body paused. He discovered that the sky had split open. Energy engulfed him and carried him all the way up to the skies. Suddenly, he felt excitement beyond measure. He was almost at the end of the fifth-stage. Now, he could see the exit not far away from where he was. What did this mean? It meant that the Mystic Divine Palace was going to be his.
As his body got sucked into the darkness, he saw a flash of light in front of his eyes. He was in a huge hall. There were two other people inside with him.
“Yi Chan, Jian Wuying? Why are you here?”
Zhan Tianlei’s excited heart sank. Jian Wuying and Yi Chan were looking back at him, astonished. The two of them had already finished the seventh stage and were going to break through to the eighth. They both thought that they would win the Mystic Divine Palace as well, but they did not expect to see Zhan Tianlei here.
What made them even more confused was that there seemed to be a formless magical power around them. They could no longer activate their essence force. Their divine senses did not seem to be working. If they could not touch their essence force, this meant that their weapons would be of no use, their divine shields could not be congealed, and their armors could not be summoned.
“What’s going on?”
Zhan Tianlei did not dare to move. There were restrictions all over the Soul-Returning Cliff earlier. This place looked safe, but who knew for sure what would happen here? He looked around the huge hall, searching for clues as to what was happening.
The huge hall was empty—there was nothing inside. It looked just like a Martial Arts Demonstration Hall. Yi Chan and Jian Wuying observed the place for a long while but could not find any clues as well.
“Young man!”
Suddenly, they heard a cool voice from behind them. It made this peaceful hall seem exceptionally hollow, and it gave the three of them the shock of their lives. The good thing was that their temperaments were quite good. They quickly recovered. Their eyes brightened at the same time.
There were no outsiders in the Mystic Divine Palace. There were only its guardians. This guardian of the Mystic Divine Palace, Ao Lu, had already returned to the Endless Deep Sea. This meant that this voice belonged to the owner of the Mystic Divine Palace. The three of them thought that this voice sounded exceptionally turbid and carried a mysterious force with it. It made them want to kneel down and worship him.
Plop!
Without any hesitation, the three of them got down on one knee as a form of the deepest respect. No matter what, the Mystic Thearch was a hero among humans. Any martial artist who was in the peak-stage of martial dao would be worthy of their respect.
“I am the Mystic Thearch Palace, but this is just a wisp of my divine soul that I have left behind in the Mystic Divine Palace. Congratulations on getting here after passing the test. Now, you have just one last step before you can obtain my Mystic Divine Palace, as well as two treasures that I have left behind in here.”
The voice continued to speak and the three of their hearts thudded. Even Yi Chan’s breathing was beginning to get labored. Ever since she was a young girl, she trained in zen. She hardly ever felt joy or sadness. Her heart had always been as calm as the waters.
Yet, she was a young woman after all—a human at that. She was no saint. If she could obtain this Mystic Divine Palace, the Yi Clan would benefit greatly. She had to do her best to fight for the palace. What’s more, every martial artist that she knew desired the palace and the two treasures within it greatly. None of them would want anything more.
The three of them dared not speak. They held their breaths and waited for the Mystic Thearch to continue explaining to them. Although this was just a wisp of the Mystic Thearch’s divine soul and that it had no sentience to speak of, the three of them still were terrified of angering the Mystic Thearch. None of them wanted to lose their chance to win the palace.
“The rules are simple!”
The Mystic Thearch spoke once more. “Only one person may inherit the treasures that I have left behind. Therefore, only one of you can live on. Either you kill the others and obtain the treasure, or you get killed by the restrictions that I have put in place. You only have one road to walk down. My descendant must be ruthless in killing. This is the only way that you would be able to take control of the millions of demonic beasts and protect the human race. The battle will begin in ten seconds.”
Boom!
Something seemed to explode in the three of their minds. Zhan Tianlei, Jian Wuying, and Yi Chan were stunned. The three of them were disciples of the Nine Thearch Clans. It was fine if they argued and fought ordinarily just for the sake of it. However, anyone would feel fear if they were asked to kill one another out of nowhere. The rules of each clan were very clear—whoever dared to kill a disciple of any of the Nine Thearch Clans would perish.
However, Zhan Tianlei and Jian Wuying’s expressions hardened at once. Their clan rules paled in comparison to the prospect of getting the Mystic Divine Palace and the two treasures within it. What’s more, the Mystic Thearch had already made it very clear—even if they held themselves back, they would be killed. If they did not kill, they would be killed. No one wanted to die.
Zhan Tianlei and Jian Wuying stood up at once. They looked at each other warily. Yi Chan was on her feet as well, but there were mixed emotions in her eyes. She was not one to kill. She might not think much about killing demonic beasts, but killing people? Killing disciples of the Nine Thearch Clans at that? She did not know if she could bring herself to do that. In her heart, she did not want to fight with her own kind over something that an outsider said.
“Yi Chan, we can join forces to fight Zhan Tianlei. Otherwise, we will both die.”
Jian Wuying sent a voice transmission to Yi Chan. Zhan Tianlei was a Demigod. Their essence force was restricted here. They could not use their dao patterns and could only depend on their physical skills to fight. However, Zhan Tianlei’s body was a lot stronger than both of theirs. Naturally, Jian Wuying would want to collaborate with Yi Chan in order to kill Zhan Tianlei, then they would battle it out against each other.
Swish!
Zhan Tianlei was already moving. His body became a blur as he charged toward them. His first target was Yi Chan, not Jian Wuying. There was not a hint of aggression in Yi Chan’s eyes. She stepped back with one leg and said calmly, “The two of you can fight it out. I don’t want the Mystic Divine Palace anymore. Even if you kill me, I will accept it!”
Jian Wuying saw Zhan Tianlei’s cool gaze lock in on him. There was a twinkle in his eye as he raised the Soul Hooking Flute in his hand. He shouted coolly, “Zhan Tianlei, your body may be strong, and I may not be able to activate my essence force. However, the moment I blow into this, I can destroy you.”
“Go ahead and try!”
Zhan Tianlei laughed mirthlessly. He charged toward Jian Wuying. Since Yi Chan did not want to fight, the Mystic Thearch’s restrictions would naturally kill her. Zhan Tianlei would not have to expend his effort.
“Kill!”
Jian Wuying did not blow into his Soul-Hooking Flute. Since Zhan Tianlei had a god spirit, his Divine Sound Heaven Skill would be of no use to him. A black metal hook appeared in his hand, reflecting a bit of light back into his eyes. It was obvious that the hook was poisonous. His killing intent intensifying, he laughed, “Zhan Tianlei, this Blood-Sucking Hook of mine is lined with poison. Just one scratch, and you will surely die. Get ready to perish.”
The cruel battle had begun. Who would live, and who would die? Nobody knew. Yi Chan retreated to the corner of the hall and closed her eyes. Her face was a mask of calm. She was ready to die.
…
“Only one person may inherit the treasures that I have left behind. Therefore, only one of you can live on. Either you kill the others and obtain the treasure, or you get killed by the restrictions that I have put in place. You only have one road to walk down…”
At the same time, in another huge hall, Jiang Yi and Yin Ruobing heard the same instructions. After entering the big hall, Jiang Yi regained consciousness. He was still groggy when he heard the Mystic Thearch’s voice.
Boom!
After receiving the instruction, there was a blast in both of their minds. They looked at each other, terrified. They did not even hear what the Mystic Thearch said toward the end.
Time seemed to stop at that moment. Yin Ruobing looked hopeless and tortured. Jiang Yi looked outraged. He shouted out furiously, “Mystic Thearch, we don’t want the Mystic Divine Palace anymore! We back out of the competition!”
It was a pity that the Mystic Thearch said nothing in response to him. Jiang Yi heard his own voice echo back at him within the hall for a long time.
Three seconds, five seconds… ten seconds!
Ten seconds passed. A bright light shone from above them, and a terrifying aura filled the hall. It was almost as if the Mystic Divine Palace’s restrictions would kill them at any moment.
Swish!
Jiang Yi and Yin Ruobing moved at the exact same moment. Yin Ruobing pulled out a small red dagger from inside her sleeve while Jiang Yi made a knife-hand. He ran toward Yin Ruobing.
