Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Time passed, and more and more people were seen at Tombkeeper Village. The tranquility of the village seemed to have been broken, and many kept their guard up. They seemed prepared and knew something would have happened to the village.
One sword diagram after another hovered before Ye Futian in the small house that he stayed in. The diagrams were handed to him by the Village Chief that day, which were the sword matrix diagram in the Nether Sword Mound. The Chief had handed them to him to allow him to comprehend them beforehand.
Ye Futian felt a sense of familiarity from those sword diagrams, which originated from the time when he was breaking the game back in the Chess Saint Villa. The ten sword diagrams seemed to be the Ten Major Sword Matrixes, corresponding to the nine matrixes and the eventual nine interconnected matrixes of the Celestial Dragon Chess Game at the Chess Saint Villa.
While the Chess Saint was able to get familiar with the sword matrixes of the Nether Sword Mound, he was unable to completely fathom the entire thing and replicate them in the Chess Saint Villa. Compared to the ones at the villa, the one Ye Futian was seeing there was the actual source, which might be more powerful. While Ye Futian had broken the Celestial Dragon Chess Game before, he nonetheless had to be cautious, and so he spent his days working on comprehending the matrix.
At the very moment, his spiritual will was completely immersed within the sword diagrams. The ten diagrams seemed to be ten different ultimate arts of the sword, bringing terrifying power to bear. He had even allowed his Third Brother, Ye Wuchen, Xu Que, and Zui Qianchou to sense the diagrams. They all were trained in the way of the sword, and their experience verified Ye Futian’s guess. Those matrixes imbued within the sword diagrams were incredibly powerful art of the sword.
Ye Futian then heard footsteps and waved his hand, making the diagrams disappear. He peered outside the door and saw the figure who walked in simply looked at him, without saying anything. She seemed to be in a rather bad mood as well.
“What is it, little girl?” Ye Futian smiled and asked.
“There are quite a lot of people from all over the nine states here in the village. Some are pretty awesome. Do you want to reconsider going in for the moment?” Yaya looked at Ye Futian and said.
Ye Futian looked puzzled before a beaming smile appeared in his eyes. He looked at her and answered, “You’re worried about your brother then?”
“Worried about you? Sheesh!” Yaya turned her head away, but she quickly found something off with that action. Wait, am I admitting that he’s my brother now?
She turned around and saw Ye Futian looking at her with a half smile. She could not help but glare at him. This guy sure knows how to play me. Sister Jieyu was right about him after all.
“You don’t look like that girl who went to beat everyone at the Nine State Forum at all now.” Ye Futian smiled and added. Yaya deemed everyone from the Nine States unworthy of fighting her during the Nine State Forum. She deemed herself the supreme one until she was beaten by Yu Sheng eventually. And now, she was worried about Ye Futian.
“Things were different back then.” Yaya looked at Ye Futian and added, “The Village Chief said that this time, the fate of the village is concerned and he had us prepare. You’re not from the village, so this has nothing to do with you. So what are you staying here for?”
Ye Futian, of course, knew that things were indeed different. The Nine State Forum was an event to test the skills of the sacred grounds of all Nine States. It was a grand event that involved all Nine States and whatever happened, all sacred grounds would have demonstrated a good measure of decent attitude. However, things this time was concerned about the Number One Sword of the Nine States, the unparalleled sword matrix of the Sword Saint of the Void, as well as a fearsome training ground.
Ye Futian walked up and knocked Yaya on the head. The little girl simply glared at him without resisting.
She has gotten used to it!
“Well, I’ll still have to take care of you.” Ye Futian walked out of the room and asked, “Are there many in the village now?”
“Yeah.” Yaya nodded. “Many went to look for the Chief.”
“Well, that’s to say that we don’t have much time left,” Ye Futian said lightly. It was a given that he needed to completely master the sword diagrams before going into the Nether Sword Mound, so as to have a chance of coming out alive. He might have had a death wish if he were to simply walk in there at his current plane level, unprepared. The place was able to trap even saints, after all.
At that moment, footsteps were heard from afar. Ye Futian turned his eyes at the sound and saw a group of people with exceptional bearing walking in his direction. The one taking the lead was none other than Liu Zong, whom he had seen several times.
“So you’re here at the Tombkeeper Village as well, Palace Lord Ye,” Liu Zong said with a smile.
Ye Futian peered at the people behind Liu Zong and found all nine students of the Chess Saint to be present. There were also mighty ones from Xihua Sacred Mountain. However, Liu Zong was the one taking the lead instead, which spoke volumes of his status at that sacred ground.
Other than that, Liu Zong had also acquired the Chess Saint’s lineage, and he was possibly the one who knew the Nether Sword Mound best, other than the chief. The Chess Saint was, after all, trapped within the sword mound.
Yang Xiao, a student of the Chess Saint, also nodded casually at Ye Futian. Ye Futian had good impressions of the students of the Chess Saint. They had their own stances in this case, as it concerned their teacher. However, he was rather puzzled about Li Kaishan, who was known to be an honest man. Even his brothers and sisters felt rather surprised at what he did before. But then again, not of that mattered now, and none of that had anything to do with Ye Futian.
“The Chief asked me to come, and I’ve been here for quite some time.” Ye Futian continued with a smile, “So, why is the Xihua Sacred Mountain entourage here?”
Ye Futian’s presence alone served as an answer to some questions, and there was no need to hide anything by then. Many would have guessed that it was either Ye Futian or Yu Sheng chosen as the successor by the Tombkeeper Village.
“I’m sure you know, Palace Lord Ye, that senior Chess Saint was now trapped within the Nether Sword Mound. We are here to rescue him.” Liu Zong smiled and said, “You also broke the Celestial Dragon Chess Game back at the Chess Saint Villa, Palace Lord Ye. Would you mind giving us a hand? I’m thinking that if the rescue is a success, the Chess Saint will have immense gratitude for you and will be sure to reward you handsomely, Palace Lord Ye.”
“I’m, of course, willing, but since the Chess Saint has chosen you, I’m sure that it naturally means that he trusts you and the Xihua Sacred Mountain more. My plane level is still low, and the Barren State lacks mighty ones as well. I’m afraid that we cannot be of much help,” Ye Futian replied humbly.
Liu Zong took a good look at Ye Futian and nodded lightly. “If the opportunity presents itself, I do wish that you will be able to help us out, Palace Lord Ye. At the very least, be it me or Xihua Sacred Mountain, we look forward to your performance, and we do not wish to see ourselves at opposing sides with you, Palace Lord Ye.” He finished and left with a smile.
All of the Chess Saint’s students walked past Ye Futian. Jiu Gongzi walked up to Ye Futian and patted his shoulder, leaving with a bitter smile. He was an acquaintance of Ye Futian back at the Chess Saint Villa, and he was not hoping to see both of them standing at opposing sides.
However, both he and Ye Futian knew what Liu Zong meant. If the Tombkeeper Village had indeed chosen Ye Futian and his group to be the successor, as speculated by many outside, then what Liu Zong and the people of Xihua Sacred Mountain were required to do would definitely clash with Ye Futian’s objective. It would then be inevitable for them to be on opposing sides.
Liu Zong was simply persuading Ye Futian at a roundabout manner.
Ye Futian saw them leave, and Yaya showed up behind him. A tinge of worry was seen in his eyes.
That was precisely the reason. The thing that she worried would happen happened, and that motivated her to persuade Ye Futian to leave. While she did not know much, she was nonetheless capable of sensing the simplest of dangers, just like how she was able to sense that both Ye Futian and Hua Jieyu were genuinely nice to her.
A sound of something streaking through the air was heard from afar. Ye Futian lifted his head and saw silhouettes appearing in various corners in the air. Furthermore, they appeared in groups of tens. They looked down and saw Ye Futian. Someone among them asked, “So he’s Ye Futian, the Palace Lord of the Holy Zhi Palace of the Barren State?”
“Indeed.” Someone nodded.
“We’ll spar for a bit when we have the chance,” someone said to Ye Futian from the air before quickly disappearing from sight.
Palace Lord Ye Futian and Yu Sheng of the Holy Zhi Palace of the Barren State had both become incredibly renowned figures after the Nine State Forum. Even geniuses from all sacred grounds of the nine states had at least heard of them. Not many participated in the Nine State Forum, and many from the sacred grounds who showed up did not participate in the Nine State Forum. As such, they were all very curious about the group from the Barren State. But then again, their goal for this trip was not Ye Futian; they were there for the Nether Sword Mound.
Ye Futian continued to hear many more zipping about in the sky after those other groups left. More and more people showed up in the village.
“It seems that they will be working at the same time,” Ye Futian said in a low voice. He knew many from all over the nine states would show up. However, most of them were only present outside the village, and there were few who came to look at what happened at the village.
That day, however, it became obvious that someone was taking the lead, and many from sacred grounds all over the nine states began moving into the village en masse, no longer hiding their presence.
Bright lights dazzled in the air, and Ye Futian looked up. He saw a phoenix carriage arriving and knew right away where those people came from.
It was the Golden Phoenix Army of the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty. The phoenix designs on their clothes were incredibly dazzling and eye-catching.
“Halt,” someone from the carriage said and the army halted.
An elegantly dressed youth turned around and asked, “What is it, Ziyi?”
“I saw a familiar face. I’m going to take a look.” Zhou Ziyi walked out of the carriage, and Ye Futian turned his head at her direction. What is this woman up to now?
Zhou Ya, Zhou You, and Zhou Zichao were all on that carriage in the air as well. Their expressions all seemed cold, looking at Ye Futian. A youth with powerful aura on the carriage asked, “He is?”
“Ye Futian,” Zhou Ya answered. That youth’s expression turned incredibly sharp. So that is him.
Zhou Ziyi descended from above and stood right above Ye Futian. The people of the Barren State all came to Ye Futian’s side seeing the scene, sweeping their eyes at the Golden Phoenix Army in the air.
“Why are you here at Tombkeeper Village?” Zhou Ziyi looked down and asked Ye Futian.
“What does that have to do with you?” Ye Futian answered with a puzzled look. Hasn’t this woman learned anything?
“It indeed has nothing to do with me, but a word of advice nonetheless: while you people performed admirably in the Nine State Forum, the Barren State is still the Barren State. That event represents nothing here. Whatever you’re up to, it’s best to act according to your ability.” Zhou Ziyi flew up as soon as she was done talking.
Xihua Sacred Mountain and the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty were discussing a marriage alliance. Liu Zong was to marry a princess from the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty, and that princess would most certainly be her.
Liu Zong shouldered the expectations of three major forces: Xihua Sacred Mountain, the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty, and the Chess Saint Villa. He alone almost represented more than half of the Eastern State. He was unable to afford to lose on this trip.
According to what Zhou Ziyi knew, the chess game at the Chess Saint Villa had something to do with the Nether Sword Mound. As such, Ye Futian, who had broken the Celestial Dragon Chess Game before, became a variable in this case. It was for that very reason that she reminded Ye Futian to act according to his ability. Ye Futian was still unworthy of fighting with Liu Zong over anything!
