Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The rules of selection of the Holy Zhi Palace were very simple. Anyone who walked out would need to display his power and talents in actual combat. Regardless of whether he won or not, he would have a chance to be selected, as long as his performance was sufficiently outstanding.
Everyone would try their best to display their talents and win the fight because they might be eliminated if they lost and were not selected by any sage of the Holy Zhi Palace. Those who won could continue battling even if they were not selected yet.
Zhuge Ping was the first to fight. Unfortunately, he underestimated his opponent and lost. Moreover, the Holy Zhi Palace did not give him a second chance. This was indeed a very miserable ending for him. After all, he was a junior genius in the Zhuge Family and it was not easy for him to even reach this stage. There were only three people from the Zhuge Family in total.
“Who will participate in the second battle?” the cultivator from the Holy Zhi Palace continued. The atmosphere in the battlefield became tenser. With the lesson learned from Zhuge Ping’s failure, nobody would dare to underestimate their opponents anymore. At the moment, everyone was just one step away from entering the Holy Zhi Palace.
“Me,” someone said in a low tone. Then, everyone saw a person walk out. Realizing his identity, many people seemed to be surprised.
Why did he actually walk out so soon?
It was Xie Ji from the Sacred Fire Sect.
Xie Ji was the most outstanding disciple from his clan in this generation, and his position was even higher than Du Ao. Of course, he was also more powerful and he was currently at the peak of grade seven of the Noble Plane. If he really fought, who would be able to deal with him except for a few top geniuses?
Nevertheless, there were many people left on the battlefield. Nobody thought that Xie Ji would choose them as the opponent.
Xie Ji turned his head and looked in a certain direction. Immediately, some surprise flashed across the faces of many. Then, Xie Ji pointed at Ye Futian and said, “You.”
Err… Many people were bewildered. Xie Ji, who was a genius from the Sacred Fire Sect and also a grade seven noble, wanted to challenge someone in the Arcana Plane. It was almost like bullying.
Clearly, Xie Ji chose so purely to get revenge on Du Ao, and not to display his talents so that he could be chosen by the Holy Zhi Palace.
“Huh? Can he even do this?” Yi Xiaoshi squinted. Lifting his head, he looked at the Holy Zhi Palace and asked, “Can I fight for him instead?”
“No,” the cultivator from the Holy Zhi Palace replied. “The rules of the elimination tournament are as such. Anyone can choose his opponent freely. Of course, the person being challenged can also admit defeat. After all, he is not the one whose performance will be assessed in this round.”
Ye Futian was the one being challenged, so it would not matter even if he lost. Later, he would have the chance to actively challenge other people to display his talents. Otherwise, it would be very unfair to those with lower levels, because they might be challenged by a much more powerful cultivator.
Nevertheless, despite this being the case, Xie Ji seemed to be bullying Ye Futian with his status and level. Xie Ji would normally feel disdained to do so. However, Du Ao was killed, so his actions could be understood.
“Don’t go.” Hua Jieyu looked at Ye Futian. Yi Xiaoshi and the rest also shook their heads at Ye Futian.
“It wouldn’t matter for me to just feel how strong he is,” Ye Futian said, smiling. Then, he walked to the center of the arena.
Xie Ji was one of the most powerful people present on the battlefield. Ye Futian really wanted to try how strong he was. Previously, Ye Futian had used the Polearm of Divine Destruction in the battles. At the moment, he did not have any ritual implement or Emperor Will. Xie Ji, who was a grade seven noble, was three levels above him. Furthermore, even among the grade seven nobles, Xie Ji was considered to have a superior combat power. The difference was indeed very large. However, since Ye Futian had arrived here, he would need to face opponents like Xie Ji anyway. It would be good for him to have some experience in advance.
“Sacred Fire Sect Xie Ji, grade-7 noble.” Xie Ji stared at Ye Futian with a gloomy look.
“Let’s start.” In the last battle, Ye Futian had already mentioned his name and level, so he did not repeat it.
Once he finished speaking, a trace of dark flame appeared in the pupils of Xie Ji. A terrifying Noble Will charged directly into Ye Futian’s mind. At once, Ye Futian felt a frightening dark fire lotus appear in his Spiritual Will. The lotus grew and expanded continuously and released much pressure, trying to engulf and incinerate his will.
It was still Noble Will. However, Xie Ji’s level was much higher than his, so the will was obviously much strong. In Ye Futian’s Spiritual Will, a mysterious radiance was born, much like the radiance from the stars. The pure radiance enveloped his Spiritual Will, protecting it from the erosion.
Buzz! The appalling dark fire lotus started burning directly in Ye Futian’s mind. The attack was indeed dominating, trying to incinerate his Spiritual Will. It was already way more powerful than mere pressure from Noble Will.
Xie Ji was a Spirit Elemental Mandate Sorcerer. Fire was only one of his abilities. Only a Spirit Elemental Sorcerer could do more than just pressuring his opponent with his Noble Will; he could launch an actual attack directly with Spiritual Energy.
The pure starry radiance enveloped Ye Futian’s Spiritual Will and allowed the dark lotus to attack it freely, but its defense could not be broken. The radiance was the core of the Saint Will Ye Futian had inherited from the martial arts battlefield. The three beams of divine light came into being precisely from the core and could be controlled by it. That was why the chiefs of Blazing Sun School and Bright Moon School would fall into Ye Futian’s trap and he even managed to secretly learn their techniques.
Xie Ji launched an attack with his Spiritual Will directly; he was trying to kill Ye Futian.
Realizing that the spiritual attack actually did not manage to destroy Ye Futian, Xie Ji started to control the fire-elemental Spiritual Qi around him. Immediately, many traces of dark flames appeared around Ye Futian, turning into many dark lotuses. Everyone lotus contained an enormous amount of destructive powers. Whenever a Spirit Elemental Mandate Sorcerer cast a spell, the casting speed and power of the spell would be higher.
The dark lotuses circled rapidly around Ye Futian’s body, and a scorching wave of dark flames engulfed the region Ye Futian was in. Ice Will suddenly appeared and a layer of frost emerged around Ye Futian. However, under the scorching heat, the ice was evaporated directly, producing a sizzling sound. Xie Ji’s level was way higher than him.
“Why is he still fighting?” Outside the arena, Li Qingyi, Qin Yin, and Loulan Xue were watching. Although they did not manage to stay on the battlefield, they were still paying close attention to Ye Futian’s battle. At the moment, they were all somewhat anxious.
Suddenly, a powerful wave of meteorite storm appeared around Ye Futian. They turned into the Constitution of Stars, resisting the burning flames. The wildly rotating dark lotuses converged to form a huge dark lotus, enveloping Ye Futian’s body. The meteorite storm was engulfed directly, and many meteorites were burnt into nothingness.
“Burn!” Xie Ji shouted coldly. The dark fire lotus engulfed everything in its path. At once, Ye Futian shot towards the sky like a bolt of lightning. The dark lotus closed, trying to incinerate Ye Futian inside it.
A golden bolt of lightning flashed across the sky and Ye Futian managed to charge out. At the moment, he was wearing a golden piece of armor and showered in starry radiance. Around him, the radiance of the dark flames still seemed to be flowing. A terrifying air current exploded and only then did the flames slowly dissipate.
“He’s actually not incinerated.” Many people looked at Ye Futian, whose defense was really amazing.
Xie Ji lifted his head and looked at Ye Futian. He extended his palm again, but Ye Futian smiled and said, “Nice attack. I admit defeat.” Then, he backed off and exited from the stage, returning to his original position.
Xie Ji glanced coldly at Ye Futian. Although the fight was short, he could already feel that Ye Futian was not weak. Both his Spiritual Energy and physical defense were way beyond that of an ordinary Arcana Plane cultivator. Even a grade eight noble would have been burnt to death under such an attack.
Zhuge Xing looked at the scene emotionlessly. He did not walk up to the stage just now precisely because he knew that Ye Futian could admit defeat directly. It was pointless for him to challenge Ye Futian.
Yan Jiu, Bing Yi, Chu Shang, and many people from Nantian House had also been paying attention to this battle.
“Without the ritual implement, he indeed can’t make it far.” Bing Yi looked at Ye Futian. It seemed like Ye Futian’s ritual implement was extremely powerful.
“Xie Ji, are you willing to join an island of the Thousand Holy Islands to cultivate?” someone on the sky stairwell asked. Xie Ji looked in that direction and replied, “No.”
“Then you can go down first,” the person said emotionlessly. Even though Xie Ji had only fought with Ye Futian, there were still people from the Thousand Holy Islands who were willing to accept Xie Ji. He rejected the offer, but it was also what they had expected.
The Core Island of the Holy Zhi Palace would only choose its disciples among the last hundred people left. The top geniuses would certainly not choose to join any of the Thousand Holy Islands in advance. They would be part of the last hundred cultivators.
“Next,” the cultivator from the Holy Zhi Palace said.
After that, many cultivators walked out one after another and challenged various people. Some people were chosen and entered the Holy Zhi Palace, while others performed poorly and were eliminated. Of course, a minority rejected the offers from the Thousand Holy Islands and wanted to stay in the arena. Their goal was obvious.
As the battle continued, a few extremely outstanding geniuses also participated. For example, when Huang Jiuge from Sovereign Family walked out, he randomly chose a grade seven noble. He punched out and his Sovereign Spiritual Qi turned into a pure-blooded dragon. The overpowering attack crushed his opponent directly.
When Xu Que from Tingxue House fought, a murderous aura filled the arena. He struck out his hand and a blood mark appeared on his opponent’s neck. He showed mercy because he was in an arena under the Holy Zhi Palace. Otherwise, his opponent would have been killed by a single attack.
Zhuge Xing also took part in a battle. He only raised his hand and pointed in the air. A bolt of lightning penetrated across the sky and struck onto his opponent who immediately collapsed.
When Bai Ze from White Cloud City attacked, many people could not even see what he had done before his opponent fell onto the ground.
Chi Meng from Demon God Clan only stood there and his violent-looking body was unshakable. He managed to lift his opponent up easily as if he was actually a domineering demon god.
Many other top geniuses from various places took part in the battle one after another and displayed their shocking combat powers. The people who were left behind were all elites, but the top geniuses seemed to be in another level. They were able to crush their opponents. Without any exception, these people rejected the offers from the Thousand Holy Islands. Their stage would only be the last part of the elimination tournament.
Many people were looking forward to that, wondering how brilliant the battles would be when these people fought against each other.
The night below the Holy Zhi Palace looked just like the day. A cultivator had cast a spell to create an illusion so that it would always be daytime in the arena. Nobody felt any fatigue, including the spectators.
Eventually, a few hundred cultivators had walked out, many of which had real talents. The important figures of the Holy Zhi Palace looked at every battle with much interest.
“Ultimately, this arena belongs to those people. It seems like I wouldn’t be able to see the scene that you have described.” Zhuge Canyang glanced at Ye Futian and his friends who were in silence. There were too many outstanding people. In fact, he also believed in Zhuge Mingyue’s insight. If Ye Futian was a grade seven noble, he would be able to stand at the center of the battle stage. However, as an Arcana Plane cultivator, he was really too weak.
Against the more powerful people, he might not even be able to fight. It was not just Zhuge Canyang. In fact, many people felt this way. As the battles continued, people began to pay less and less attention to Ye Futian. This arena did not belong to him.
Suddenly, another cultivator walked out, attracting the eyes of many. Someone in the crowd said, “He’s Yan Nan from Sword Saint Villa. He is very talented in sword skills and not much weaker than Yan Jiu. His position in Sword Saint Villa is extraordinary because he’s very strong.”
Many people looked at Yan Nan. At the moment, everyone left behind in the arena could be considered as a genius.
Yan Nan walked to the center of the arena and looked in Ye Futian’s direction. Previously, when Ye Futian took over their relic by force, he was also present, so he still remembered this clearly. However, he did not challenge Ye Futian again. Ye Futian was only in the Arcana Plane and he might admit defeat if he was challenged. How boring that would be.
“You, come out.” Yan Nan stared at Ye Wuchen, who was also a swordsman. Moreover, Ye Wuchen had inherited the relic from Flying Sword City.
