Chapter 996 – Meeting Li Shengyan Again
The white-bone platform at the top of the mountain gently sloped upward and took up an area of more than a thousand meters. It was completely white and was made out of a giant piece of bone, which seemed to be the remains of an ancient monstrous creature. Hundreds of martial artists filled the stage, who were all the top experts from the various races.
Ye Qingyu looked around and saw that the weakest expert amongst them had Peak Saint cultivation.
Every single person here had clearly emerged victorious from other Life and Death Platforms and they all sized each other up warily, their bodies glowing with a yuan qi light that was as abundant as the sea. They each resembled a giant ball of glowing light, but on closer observation, he discovered that they were all injured to varying degrees. Some of them had traces of dried bloodstains; some had cracks and slashes on their clothes or armor; some exuded a stable aura; while others were clearly using some kind of secret treasure to heal their injuries or replenish their yuan qi. These were obviously the survivors who had killed their way past the Life and Death Platforms to arrive here.
He was also not surprised to see dozens of corpses, who had obviously only died recently because the pungent stench of blood was still very strong. A skirmish must have erupted on this platform for some reason that resulted in these experts being killed here.
Where there were people, there would be battles.
Where there were battles, there would be deaths.
Especially in such a place where no one would bat an eyelid if a Peak Great Saint perished in battle.
And he was not surprised to see a few familiar faces on this platform.
The Young Lord of the Sinful Pit's hair was dry and messy, and he stood in his trademark pose with his arms crossed over his chest, with a blade of grass sticking out from the corner of his lips. He exuded a blood-colored, violent, murderous aura, and he was accompanied by two old men clad in blood-red armor. These two men were both Great Saints and were probably the Great Saint experts of the Sinful Pit.
Those from the Sky Meteor Sect were present as well. However, after the Sacred Son of the Sky Meteor Sect perished at the Black Demon Abyss, another top expert from the Sky Meteor Sect had emerged. And it was rumored that he was even more talented and powerful than the Sacred Son of the Sky Meteor Sect. The handsome young man with sharp angular eyebrows standing in the midst of the experts from the Sky Meteor Sect was probably the legendary new Sacred Son of the Sky Meteor Sect. He looked like a vicious character.
Ye Qingyu also spotted those from the Black Demon Abyss, but unfortunately, he did not see the Little Princess of the Black Demon Abyss in the group.
He was surprised to see the successor of White Jade Capital, the [White Fairy], amongst the crowd. Her white skirts were completely unstained as though she had not taken part in the bloody battles on the Life and Death Platform. She stood alone on the spot, aloof and withdrawn from the rest of the crowd.
As expected, the [Fatally Beautiful Fairy] was also present, but she was only accompanied by three divine cavalrymen, including Xia Yubing. The divine war chariot was nowhere to be seen and bloodstains could be seen on all three cavalrymen. As they stood together, they seemed weaker, but he knew that he could not underestimate them.
He formed a brief understanding of the situation after looking around.
Just as he thought, there was no weakling amongst all who were present.
The previous tests at the Reincarnation Hall of the Chaos Demon Emperor were all aimed at ensuring the survival of the fittest. Those who had made it this far had emerged victorious through all the previous battles.
Ye Qingyu slowly made his way upward.
"Hmm? I didn't expect to see more than twenty Human Race experts here." There was a flash of surprise in his eyes after he quickly took in his surroundings.
The Human Race had always been the weaker race, having always been bullied and suppressed by the other foreign races for thousands of years. Even though Quasi-emperors and Emperors had emerged from the Human Race, it was hard to reverse the innate decline of their race because some of them were sycophants and spineless creatures like Thousand Illusion Elder, while even more of them reveled in internal strife and killed other humans. Ye Qingyu had assumed that very few Human Race experts would be able to make it this far, but to his surprise, there were more than twenty of them. This number was very large compared to the number of experts from the various races.
Despite their numbers, he could tell upon closer observation that a large majority of them were seriously injured. Some of them had slash marks from sharp claws on their bodies, while several others were completely bathed in blood—even their hair was clumped together with blood, as though they had just climbed out from a river of blood.
Ye Qingyu was most surprised to see an extremely familiar figure amongst the Human Race experts.
This was the descendant of [Quasi-emperor Xiaofei], the bald fatty—Li Shengyan.
This fatty had predictably made his way here.
If he is here, does that mean that [Quasi-emperor Xiaofei] has also come?
Ye Qingyu suddenly felt elated.
He reacted like someone traveling alone in the dark who had suddenly spotted a lamp. He felt as though all the pressure in his heart had immediately lifted.
As long as [Quasi-emperor Xiaofei] was around, the Human Race would definitely not face any serious trouble.
"Hey! Brother Ye Qingyu! Hahaha, I've waited so long for you to come." Li Shengyan also noticed Ye Qingyu at the same time, as though he had sensed his arrival, and his eyes lit up as he called out Ye Qingyu's name loudly and joyously.
His voice seemed exceptionally piercing and loud on this bone platform.
Everyone turned to look at the fatty.
Ye Qingyu nodded in acknowledgment and ignored everyone's stares as he walked toward Li Shengyan.
"Haha, I've missed you so much, my brother!" Li Shengyan gave him a warm hug. His surreptitious winks showed that he was different from his previous lecherous image.
"It has indeed been a while… I didn't expect to see you here." Ye Qingyu had a rather good impression of this fatty.
They had not met since the battle at the Black Moon Immortal Palace when the fatty had brought [Quasi-emperor Xiaofei's] decree to save him, so it was truly a long time since they had last met.
Li Shengyan looked appraisingly at Ye Qingyu from head to toe, then a teasing look flashed through his eyes as he said with a smile, "You've improved a lot in such a short time, hehe. I knew that you'd be here and also heard news of your arrival through other sources before, but I just didn't expect that you'd be so slow."
Is this person praising me or mocking me?
Ye Qingyu felt slightly awkward.
However, he had also sensed earlier that Li Shengyan's cultivation had also improved significantly during this period of time. Li Shengyan's cultivation and condensation of yuan qi were almost comparable to his, so he could tell that Li Shengyan had greatly benefited from being with [Quasi-emperor Xiaofei] during this period.
"Oh yes, since you're here, then… will His Highness Quasi-emperor also be coming?" Ye Qingyu had not discovered [Quasi-emperor Xiaofei's] aura or silhouette when he was observing his surroundings earlier.
Is [Quasi-emperor Xiaofei] not going to fight for such a rare and precious opportunity?
Or could His Highness Quasi-emperor be currently in hiding?
"Hmm, I'm not exactly sure either. His ways have been mysterious and he has his own plans, so it wouldn't be proper for me to question him either. As for me, I'm sure you can tell that I'm obviously here to take part in the fun. How could I be absent when there's such a major event going on?" Li Shengyan's expression suddenly turned solemn and his strange behavior was as though he would automatically be the only spokesperson for any topic that concerned his ancestor.
It wouldn't be proper for you to ask
I'm sure that even if you did ask, [Quasi-emperor Xiaofei] wouldn't tell you anyway.
Ye Qingyu was left feeling speechless and he shook his head with a smile, but he did not expose Li Shengyan's little lie.
He had been hoping to thank [Quasi-emperor Xiaofei] in person. After all, [Quasi-emperor Xiaofei's] decree had protected him from many dangers and threats.
They exchanged a few more words, then Li Shengyan suddenly slapped his bald head and exclaimed loudly, "Oh, how forgetful could I be? Come, let me introduce you to several respectable and famous Human Race seniors."
Then, he dragged Ye Qingyu over to a group of humans and walked up to several human experts who were chatting amongst themselves.
"Hello everyone, hahaha, I'd like to introduce my good friend, the third deputy spokesperson of the Human Race—Ye Qingyu!" Li Shengyan said loudly, looking proud of himself. He even tacked on another sentence as he added mysteriously and smugly, "We have been through life and death together. I'm sure you have all heard his name, haha!"
"The legendary [Ice Sword Killing God]?"
"That successful young man who is the new Heaven's Prideling of the Human Race?"
Several Human Race experts beside him looked surprised.
These were the masters and patriarchs of the large Human Race forces and families in the myriad domains. They were all very well-read and highly experienced and also extremely shrewd. Despite their outward calmness, their eyes still clearly showed their surprise and astonishment.
"Hehe, hehe, yes, that's him, my brother!" Li Shengyan dragged Ye Qingyu over and placed his chubby arm around his shoulders, looking as though he was the older brother who would protect Ye Qingyu.
His casual and relaxed stance showed that he was on very good terms with these Human Race experts.
Ye Qingyu's eyes gleamed and he secretly assessed the people in front of him even as he greeted them in a friendly manner, "Greetings, seniors. I'm Ye Qingyu."
He was friendly to them because these people seemed close to Li Shengyan. Birds of a feather flock together, so he could tell that they were not evil characters. Then, after he observed their auras, he concluded that these few people should be from influential and upright forces, so by establishing good relations with them, this would be beneficial to the future development of the Heaven Wasteland Domain. Furthermore, now that they were at the final stage, it would be better for him to make friends rather than enemies who could backstab him.
"I'm Zhang Daowu, the master of the Yao Mountain Sect. I've heard many stories about your achievements despite your young age and know that you're a talented scholar. Now that we've gotten the opportunity to meet, I truly believe that the younger generation of humans will surpass the older generation in the future." The person who spoke looked to be about fifty or sixty years of age. He was thin with white hair that flowed like a waterfall. He exuded an elegant aura and was clad in high-quality, icy-blue silk long robes. The exquisite bamboo leaf embroidery around the edges of his robes complemented the white jade pin in his hair and made him look even more outstanding. The fan he was gently waving was definitely an extraordinary item. All sixteen ribs of the folding fan were carved from white jade, and the painting of a spring mountain scenery on the leaf of the fan was beautifully done with delicate lines and bright colors. It looked very natural and exuded the natural aura of spring.
"Outstanding geniuses emerge from every generation, and we feel very pleased and gratified to be able to meet people like Spokesperson Ye Qingyu and Li Shengyan, who are the outstanding men of your generation. I'm the forty-seventh master of the Pill Dao Sect, Situ Kongming, and I'm pleased to meet you." The master of the Pill Dao Sect looked to be around forty years of age. His brows were sharp and his eyes were bright. His face was smooth and unwrinkled, and he was clad in inky-green Taoist robes with barely noticeable bloodstains on his sleeves. His greyish-black hair was half-tied up and held together with a bamboo hairpin. He was on the thin side, his stance was elegant and refined, and he gave off a faint herbal scent. His mannerisms were humble and polite, exhibiting the attitude of a grandmaster.
He held a horsetail whisk in the crook of his arm. It was made from the hair of a deer and its handle was carved from black jade. Its handle glowed faintly as though wisps of Dao energy encircled it.
