It was worth it for people to come to watch the tournament today. They got to watch some drama for free. It was a rare, exciting drama; they got to see the second most powerful man in the Earth Domain act like a scoundrel in a marketplace, going back on his word.
The Phantom King had a stubborn character, and he emphasized heavily on rules. He had always given the impression that he meant his words and that it would be extremely hard for him to take orders back once given out. Today, even Yi Tu thought he had misheard the Phantom King. Yi Tu and company had knelt down to him for an entire day and night outside his study when he sentenced Yi Piaopiao back then, and yet the Phantom King did not pay them any attention.
Has something possessed this old antique today?
The Earth Emanations Sovereign blinked hard, confused. He had even taken out his Primordial Spiritual Treasure. The most important thing was he had put the Phantom King on a spot in front of so many people. How could the Phantom King go back on his word, given his character? Now, not only was he going back on his word, but he was even being so direct about it in front of so many people. It seemed that he did not even want to try and preserve his reputation.
Wrong!
The Earth Emanations Sovereign very quickly figured everything out and subtly sighed pitifully. He had been too careless. He forgot the might of Jiang Yi’s divine song. Earlier on, he had hidden fifty kilometers from the Battle Arena and had not felt the prowess of the song. There were too many Phantom Race formidable martial artists around. It was only when Jiang Yi woke the four divine beasts up that he sent his divine senses out to scan the area.
Even then, he was too far away to feel the true power of the divine song. The Phantom King, on the other hand, must have felt it very clearly.
In addition, the Earth Emanations Sovereign was speaking so highly of Jiang Yi. The Phantom King might have hated Jiang Yi, but he must have thought something of him. He must have figured out that Jiang Yi would have no problem becoming a King-Ranked martial artist, whether he could surpass the Phantom King or not.
If he let Yi Piaopiao go and allowed the Earth Emanations Sovereign to bring her back to the Earth Emanations Domain, he would lose his daughter forever. What’s more, given Jiang Yi’s character, the latter would not set foot in the Saint Spirit Domain again!
Would he be willing to give up his own daughter and his grandson, who had limitless potential, all for a Primordial Spiritual Treasure?
Was this deal worth it?
Nobody could say for sure. The Phantom King did not know which was more valuable. All he could do was depend on his gut. He could not allow the Earth Emanations Sovereign to get what he wanted. The more the latter wanted Jiang Yi, the more tightly he would hold on!
This was because he knew that, while the Earth Emanations Sovereign was known for being a good person, he also had never been taken advantage of in his life. He was a very intelligent man.
“Phantom King!”
The Earth Emanations Sovereign would never start a fight with the Phantom King. He would not be able to win. He could only say frustratedly, “It’s not good for you to do this, is it? There are so many of your descendants watching. I hadn’t noticed before that you were an unreasonable man.”
The Earth Emanations Sovereign was elegant in his speech, but everyone could tell: he was mocking the Phantom King for discarding his own reputation.
“I have always been this unreasonable; so what?”
The Phantom King glared at him. It looked like he was hell-bent on going back on his word this time. He tilted his chin up as he looked at the Earth Emanations Sovereign. “If you’re not happy about it, you can fight me. If you can beat me, you can do whatever you want!”
“…”
The entire place was silent. Ordinary people did not dare to let out a single sound. Even the Little Eagle King would not have dared to challenge the Phantom King.
The Earth Emanations Sovereign was rendered completely speechless now. Shrugging his shoulders, he sent a voice transmission: “She’s your own daughter; you can decide if you want to keep her or not. You don’t want the Primordial Spiritual Treasure, and I wouldn’t bear to part with it either. How about this… if you let Piaopiao out of the Saint Prison, I can make Jiang Yi promise never to cause trouble for the Phantom Race again. How’s that? Her son is already so old; you should at least let Piaopiao take one look at him, right?”
The Earth Emanations Sovereign made another offer. He was prepared to do something for Jiang Yi. He wanted to get Yi Piaopiao out of her suffering and allow the mother and son to meet for the first time. This time, his voice transmission carried a bit of a begging tone. One could say he was giving the Phantom King the respect that he deserved.
The Phantom King became conflicted again. He was stubborn and critical, but Yi Piaopiao was his favorite daughter. Whose heart wouldn’t hurt? Yet, rules were rules. If everybody did what Yi Piaopiao did and went to the Lower Domain to have children, what would become of the Phantom Race’s reputation? The Phantom Race would become a laughingstock in Earth Domain.
“No!”
The Phantom King quickly made up his mind. Even if he wanted to let her go, he could not do it now. Otherwise, the Earth Emanations Sovereign would get all the credit for it, and Jiang Yi would immediately lean towards the Earth Emanations Sovereign and hate the Phantom Race. Then, he would rather keep the Primordial Spiritual Treasure.
Thus, he decided to avert his gaze from the Earth Emanations Sovereign. He scanned Yi Tu with a cool gaze and said, “Yi Tu, name Jiang Yi champion of the Wen Fight. This tournament has ended. Give out the prizes and send our guests off!”
Swish!
The Phantom King flew towards the Saint Spirit Mountain and disappeared before everyone’s eyes. However, before he left, he sent a voice transmission to Jiang Yi: “Brat, when you realize quintessence, then I will let Piaopiao out. Of course… if you think you have what it takes, you can kill your way into the Saint Spirit Mountain!”
With that, the Phantom King flew off, leaving behind a crowd of stunned people. Yi Tu did not know what to do. He cleared his throat and flushed red as he said, “The Wen Fight has ended. Jiang Yi has won first place. In second place is He Xiang, and in third place is Wu Dao. We have come to the end of the tournament. Everyone can go home!”
Swish! Swish! Swish!
The audience on the spectator’s stands flew up into the sky towards Heavenly Charm City. No matter where they were headed, they knew they had to leave at once. Otherwise, if Yi Tu got angry, many people would suffer for it. What’s more, they dared not spread what happened today after leaving.
“This old thing is really shameless!”
The Earth Emanations Sovereign cursed under his breath. He turned to Jiang Yi and sent a voice transmission: “Jiang Yi, I’m sorry. This old antique is too stubborn. I sent him a voice transmission earlier, asking him to let you meet your mother. It’s a pity he’s an old antique… I’m afraid you won’t get to meet your mother this time, but don’t worry. Once we leave, I think your mother will be sent to the first level of the Saint Prison. She will not be suffering as much anymore. Of course, given the old antique’s temper, it seems impossible that he would let her off early.”
Jiang Yi nodded. From the Phantom King’s voice transmission, he could sense a hint of interest. His heart relaxed slightly. At least after the commotion this time, Yi Piaopiao would not have to endure the terrifying gravity of the Eighteenth Level.
Quintessence!
Jiang Yi’s eyes lit up. This time, he had found the Heaven Spring Rhythm that had been hidden deep in his soul spirit. If he managed to realize it quickly after today, there would be hope for Yi Piaopiao being released early.
“Sovereign!”
He turned towards the Earth Emanations Sovereign, wanting to say something. At last, however, he said nothing. The Earth Emanations Sovereign smiled slightly and patted Jiang Yi on the shoulder. He said nothing as well. Everything was understood.
The Earth Emanations Sovereign turned to Jiang Xiaonu who was grabbing onto Jiang Yi for her life. His head hurt as he turned to the Little Eagle King. “Little Eagle King, let your sister come back with us for a while. We will send her back to Ink Feather Mystic Realm after that. Given her current state, I don’t think you would be able to take her away as well.”
The Little Eagle King remained expressionless, but he was furious inside. Yet, he knew that this little sister of his seemed to have a temper very similar to his. He did not want to push his luck. Thus, he could only agree and report the matter to the Eagle Empress. He glared at Jiang Yi, his eyes filled with hatred. Then, he flew up into the air and flew towards Heavenly Charm City without saying another word.
The formidable martial artists of the Ink Feather Race did not leave. The Little Eagle King had left them a voice transmission, telling them to follow Jiang Xiaonu. If anything untoward happened to her, they would not be allowed back!
“Alright!”
The Earth Emanations Sovereign scanned the crowd and said, “Let’s go back!”
Yi Tu gave out the prizes and handed Jiang Yi a ring. He did not say anything but only nodded at Jiang Yi. Jiang Yi did not move. Instead, he looked around and asked, “Who has a guqin?”
Since they were fated not to meet this time, he wanted to play a song for Yi Piaopiao just once before he left. He wanted to send a message to her: that he would realize quintessence as quickly as he could, and then come back to fetch her. If the Phantom King went back on his word in the future, he would have no choice but to cause bloodshed on the Saint Spirit Mountain.
