Chapter 1947: Competiting
In the Holy City, there was a Holy Mountain surrounded by a mysterious energy. In the distance, not far from the mountain, there was a flatland, forming the central part of the Holy City. It was extremely vast and occupied by many gigantic buildings. From there, and especially from one gigantic building, people could see the holy mountain in the distance.
It was the Great Imperial Palace.
The Great Imperial Palace had a long history in the Holy City. Some people said that it had existed for even longer than the four universities. It was situated on a dragon vein underneath the Holy City. The energies there seemed like they would never disappear. Many of their people had shaken the whole world. The Great Imperial Palace was in charge of deciding who could be on the Imperial Ranking List.
The sun was dazzling as it illuminated the buildings. There were many people looking in the direction of the mountain. Many small silhouettes appeared on the holy mountain and rushed over, gradually appearing in the people’s field of vision. They were strong cultivators from the Great Imperial Palace.
“Some disciples from the Great Imperial Palace.” People’s eyes were gleaming. There were nine people in the group, who arrived at the top of a flight of stairs. The leader waved, and a magnificent golden list appeared.
On the list, there were many names. One of them was Ying Cheng.
“Imperial Ranking List!” Many people were awed when they saw that list. That list was one of the most famous lists of the Holy City: the Imperial Ranking List, the list of the strongest cultivators of the Huang Qi layer of the city. They were all powerful and influential individuals!
The disciples of the Great Imperial Palace will also be on the Imperial Ranking List someday, just like those nine people. Back then, they were on the Imperial Ranking List. Now they’ve become great emperors!, thought the crowd, looking at the nine disciples. They were all incredible: Feng Shen Tian, Pei Dong Lai, Ao Yun Xiao… those three cultivators had shaken the world back in the days.
The leader of the group waved again. The Imperial Ranking List floated in the sky and glittered. A strong wind started blowing.
At the top of the flight of stairs, in front of the nine people, a gigantic table appeared. There was a pen atop it.
“Every ten years, on the Pathfinder Day of the Imperial Ranking List, the glorious history of the city is rewritten!” recited a voice in a solemn and respectful way. The crowd’s excitement grew. They all hoped their names would be on the list someday. Even though the list could change anytime, the biggest changes were every ten years during the Pathfinder Day of the Imperial Ranking List. Each time, there were big changes.
Everybody remained silent in the crowd, their hearts pounding. At that moment, they could see a boundless ocean of people, all staring at the list. The list contained the most incredible cultivators of the Holy City.
Lin Feng was also in the crowd. Hou Qing Lin, Lin Wu Shang, Meng Qing, and many other people from Tiantai were with him.
“There will be much blood today.” whispered Hou Qing Lin. Lin Feng appeared quite calm. He looked at the people at the top of the flight of stairs, the people from the Great Imperial Palace. They were all geniuses from the Holy City, they were on the Imperial Ranking List in the past, and now they managed it.
At that moment, the leader of the Great Imperial Palace looked at the sun. He smiled and said, “One more hour and we’ll begin!”
“Bro, Yin Yue,” said Lin Wu Shang, gazing into the distance. He could see the strong cultivators of the Yin Clan: Yin Rui, Yin Gu Tian, and Yin Yue.
Lin Feng frowned. Yin Rui was talking to someone, they looked happy and kept laughing. Behind him was Pei Dong Qing. They were with people from the Pei Clan…
—
“Brother Ren,” said the leader of the Pei Clan. The leader of the Pei Clan and Yin Rui walked over to someone and smiled.
“Just call me Tian Xing, gentlemen,” said the leader of the Great Imperial Palace with a smile. These two people were both older than him.
“Cultivators don’t have to adhere to formalities and stick to rules, cultivation and strength are the most important things,” said the strong cultivator of the Pei Clan, laughing, “Thirty years ago, you dazzled on the Pathfinder Day of the Imperial Ranking List. You were the best one. Your name was at the top of the list. You have caught up with us already, you’re excellent.”
“Ren Tian Xing.” Many people looked at the leader, their eyes glittering with sharp lights. Ren Tian Xing used to be the first person on the Imperial Ranking List thirty years before, known to be extremely arrogant. Now he looked wise, calm, and serene. Many people remembered how terrifying and cruel he used to be.
“Thirty years have passed, I feel ashamed,” said Ren Tian Xing patiently. The strong cultivator of the Pei Dong Lai smiled at Pei Dong Lai and said, “Dong Lai, learn from him.”
“Dong Lai is extremely talented. He’ll definitely surpass me someday,” said Ren Tian Xing, smiling at Pei Dong Lai.
“Brother Ren, please teach the younger generation,” agreed the strong cultivator of the Pei Clan. “By the way, after the end of the event, Yin Rui will make a public announcement. He has some good news.”
“Is that so?” Ren Tian Xing looked at Yin Rui. Yin Rui smiled and nodded, “Brother Ren, apart from that, after the event, I hope that Yin Gu Tian will be able to join the Great Imperial Palace. He’s extremely talented. I’m sure you can help recommend him.”
“I’ve heard about Gu Tian, good. After that, I’ll take him to the Great Imperial Palace,” replied Ren Tian Xing smiling.
“The Great Imperial Palace always needs more power and influence. The Yin Clan, the Pei Clan, and so on are very powerful. The Great Imperial Palace is happy to have people from such incredible groups.” chattered the crowd when they saw those people smiling and chatting happily.
—-
At that moment, Lin Wu Shang pulled a long face. The Yin Clan and the Pei Clan had excellent relations, it wasn’t a good thing for him.
He looked at Yin Yue, who was also looking at him. However, Pei Dong Qing noticed this. He walked over to Yin Yue and stayed in front of her to prevent Lin Wu Shang and Yin Yue from looking at one another. He said to Yin Yue, “Little Yue, after the end of the event, my grandfather will announce the good news about us.”
“Bastard!” said Yin Yue icily. Pei Dong Qing pulled a long face. He turned around and looked at Lin Wu Shang, smiling icily and showing him his middle finger.
“I’ll kill that bastard!” swore Lin Wu Shang icily. He clenched his fists, popping his bones.
“Cold and detached!” said a voice in his brain. It was Lin Feng. “If you’re that easily angered, how can you be a good cultivator?” Lin Feng asked Wu Shang. Wu Shang came back to his senses. He could remain calm when it came to other things, but Yin Yue…
“Lin Feng,” said someone at that moment. Lin Feng noticed someone from the Ji Clan addressing him. “Where is Ji Jiang?” the leader of the Ji Clan asked him icily.
“How could I know about the whereabouts of the members of your clan?” retorted Lin Feng disdainfully.
“After Yin Rui’s birthday party, Ji Jiang followed you to exchange views on cultivation with you, but then he disappeared. Some people also died. You killed them, right?” the leader of the Ji Clan demanded icily.
“People who attempt to kill me must die,” said Lin Feng coldly, before turning away.
The leader of the Ji Clan was furious and said icily, “Very good, Lin Feng, you will regret what you did!”
“So you can try to kill people, but they can’t strike back,” sighed Lin Feng, shaking his head. Ji Chang, Ji Wuyou, and Ji Chang’s Club all bullied Tiantai’s people, and back then the Ji Clan didn’t say anything. And when people became stronger and got their revenge or struck back, they threatened them. They didn’t let people of the same generation compete, they always got involved and plotted against them. Some ancient clans had no principles. It was always the same; power, influence and strength were the most important things in the cultivation world. If Lin Feng hadn’t acted on the day of Ji Chang’s Champion ceremony, the consequences would have been tragic for him and his friends.
Of course, Lin Feng could have ignored all of that, remained discreet and forgotten about those people. He could have given up, he could have stopped competing. He could have stopped becoming stronger. But that wasn’t Lin Feng’s personality. He was ready to die for his convictions, beliefs, and to become stronger!
The Pathfinder Day of the Imperial Ranking List was about competing, too. Only the best genius would rank first, and blood had to be spilled. Maybe Lin Feng would offend even more groups on today. Maybe he would die too. But he would never give up!
