Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Ye Futian looked up at Saint Xihua and narrowed his eyes a bit. He was still smiling, but inside, he was cold.
Were they finally ready to make a move?
Ever since the events at Nether Sword Mound, Ye Futian had suspected that the specter of Saint Xihua had been looming behind Liu Zong. Without Saint Xihua’s support, Liu Zong would not have been so bold as to even bury alive people from Xihua Sacred Mountain in his sacrifice.
Now, Saint Xihua was asking him to surrender the Sword Matrix of the Void and admit his mistakes. He clearly knew this was impossible. If he really had the Sword Matrix of the Void and gave it to his opponent he would be under his control. Would the Barren State survive that? But Saint Xihua had still proposed this. It was really just an excuse to get things started. Behind this marriage alliance must be the fact that these two great holy lands of the Eastern State had already allocated the benefits. As for the specifics, he did not know.
“If I had the Sword Matrix of the Void, do you think that there would be a wedding today?” said Ye Futian with a smile. All eyes fell on him. They naturally knew what he meant. If he really controlled the Sword Matrix of the Void, then the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty might no longer exist.
“Perhaps your level is not high enough to wield the Sword Matrix of the Void, and you can only control its techniques,” said Saint Xihua with a smile. “Of course, if you say you don’t have it, I’m willing to believe you. But as long as you are sincere about this, it is no problem. For example, you could give that sword spirit girl. Or, I have heard that Ye Wuchen, the disciple of the Barren State, has obtained a few sword wills. Moreover, they were obtained in Renhuang’s ruins, so they may have been his sword wills. These can take the place of the Sword Matrix of the Void.”
As Saint Xihua spoke, everyone’s eyes fell on the one-armed figure behind Ye Futian.
Had Ye Wuchen obtained Renhuang’s sword wills? Although this was only a conjecture, if these were really Renhuang’s sword wills, they would be enough to interest the Saints of the Barren State.
Ye Futian’s heart grew colder as he heard Saint Xihua’s words. These light and airy words were pushing Ye Wuchen into a vortex.
“You must be joking. If Wuchen had really obtained Renhuang’s sword wills, how could he have returned to the Barren State? I heard that Liu Zong also obtained some of Renhuang’s treasures in the ruins, which made him stronger. No wonder you have made him your heir. It looks like the Great Zhou Sacred King married him to the Princess in order to prepare for him inheriting both great holy lands,” said Ye Futian. He had heard that Liu Zong had had great luck, but he didn’t know what he had specifically found. But since Saint Xihua had mentioned the Renhuang sword wills, he could naturally use this topic to retaliate against his opponent.
“As for surrendering treasures and apologizing, I think that perhaps you have not figured out who started this Sacred War. The Barren State has taken a thrashing all along, and our casualties have been heavy. The one who should apologize is the Great Zhou Sacred King,” continued Ye Futian. “I think that with your high status, you should be able to make a clear distinction between right and wrong and will not show partiality due to a marriage alliance by bullying my weak Barren State.”
When everyone heard Ye Futian’s words they could not help but blush with shame. The Barren State had taken a thrashing all along? In the largest battles, had it not been the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty who had come to grief?
Bully the weak Barren State? At the moment the Barren State could not be said to be weak.
Ye Futian was quite eloquent. He had said that he believed that Saint Xihua could distinguish between right and wrong. This would block him from doing anything underhanded.
“The Barren State seems to have not lost much in the Sacred War between the Holy Zhi Palace and the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty. Instead, the three top forces of the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty were torn up by the roots. For you to say that the Barren State is weak and is being bullied is too modest,” said Saint Xihua calmly. “Our marriage alliance was not done deliberately to bully the Holy Zhi Palace. After all, I still have a lot of appreciation for you, which is why I deliberately invited you here for a mediation. I hope there will not be any unhappiness in the future.”
“You say it’s mediation, but all that will happen is that we will apologize,” said Ye Futian.
“You said that the Barren State is weak. If it had not been for the Supervising Inspector saying that Saint-level figures could not get involved in the war, who knows what would have happened to the Holy Zhi Palace? Now, the Great Zhou Sacred King has given the Princess in marriage to Xihua Sacred Mountain. If Liu Zong, the son of Xihua Sacred Mountain sees that Zhou Ziyi is in peril, can he just stand by and watch? What a dilemma for Xihua Sacred Mountain!” Saint Xihua’s manner grew colder, and he said with a little bit of severity, “Is it so hard for you to admit a mistake, Lord Ye?” As he said this, a bit of saintly presence suffused him, making the banquet extraordinarily silent.
Everyone ate and drank quietly. No one intervened. Saint Xihua was obviously looking for an excuse to participate in the Sacred War.
This was a disaster for the Barren State.
The Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty had put the Holy Zhi Palace in a terrible fix.
Ye Futian stared at Saint Xihua and said, “You are trying to force me to do something I am unwilling to do. The Great Zhou Sacred King should be the one making a concession.”
“By saying this, are you determined to persist in your selfishness?” Saint Xihua said coldly.
Everyone from the Barren State’s face was cold as they looked up at Saint Xihua.
Ye Futian nodded slightly. He smiled and raised his glass, then drained it. He put it down and then once again looked at Saint Xihua. He asked, “This is my second time coming to Xihua Sacred Mountain, do you remember the circumstances of the first time?”
Saint Xihua frowned. Everyone thought back several years to the Nine State Forum. That must be what Ye Futian was talking about.
“At that time, the Barren State was weak and was written off by all the holy lands of the Nine States. Even when we attended the Nine State Forum, it was only in the servant seats. Yu Sheng did not accept this, and so he walked onto the platform to question this. At that time, you disdained him. Before the war, no one cared about the Barren State’s feelings,” said Ye Futian slowly. “At that time, it must be that all the holy lands thought that the disciples of the Barren State must be unbridled to dare to ask such questions. At the next Nine State Forum, most of the power of the holy lands were targeted at us. But how did it end that time?” Ye Futian’s eyes burned as he stared at Saint Xihua.
Saint Xihua’s face sank, and his eyes went cold. The result of that Nine State Forum was that he had personally apologized and forfeited a divine implement. The Barren State had taken first place, and on the whole, was the most dazzling.
At that time, although he had apologized, Ye Futian was still very polite and respectful, so no one had said anything.
But now he had brought it up again.
This situation was similar to the one all those years ago.
“This Sacred War was caused by the Great Zhou Sacred King being too overbearing, but now you want me to apologize? Weakness was the original sin,” continued Ye Futian. “Liu Zong buried many cultivators alive at Nether Sword Mound, even Sages from Xihua Sacred Mountain and the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty, as well as many of Chess Saint’s disciples. Is Liu Zong guilty? Has he ever apologized?”
Everyone looked up at Liu Zong. He had not only never apologized; he had even been made the son of Xihua Sacred Mountain and its future inheritor. Now he was marrying the Princess of the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty and had invited all the holy lands of the Nine States to his wedding.
“You are too arrogant.” At that moment, Rain Saint stepped forward from below the platform, and the pressure of the Divine Path swept out. His face was extremely cold. Today was meant to be Liu Zong’s day of joy, and Ye Futian had accused him of a crime.
Ye Futian glanced at Rain Saint. He had understood what Saint Xihua had meant. He clearly intended to enter the Sacred War. In that case, he would be a little bit arrogant. All those years ago, he had let Saint Xihua keep face at the Nine State Forum, but now he was preparing to harm the Barren State. He had no more reason to let him keep face.
“After this marriage, what do you plan to do next, Saint Xihua?” asked Ye Futian. He was too lazy to ask in a roundabout way, so he was direct.
“I have already said all I need to say, Ye Futian. Do you insist on this path?” Saint Xihua’s voice was low.
“You’ve already said it? Are you saying that if the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty has problems you can’t just stand by with folded arms?” asked Ye Futian with a smile. “You and the Great Zhou Sacred King must have discussed this before the marriage.”
Saint Xihua looked at him coldly. This Ye Futian was really a thorn in his side. He was not letting him keep any face.
“If this is why you invited me here today, I am here now. Whatever Xihua Sacred Mountain is planning to do, please do it,” said Ye Futian. “As for the feast, I’m afraid I can no longer participate, so I will leave.” Upon saying this, he stood to leave. Behind and beside him, the others from the Barren State got up and followed him.
“Such arrogance!” came a cold voice. Ye Futian turned around and saw a man put his glass down and look up at him. It was the Head Saint of Zhisheng Cliffs in Yu State, who had been given the title of Saint Zhi.
“If the palace had not invited Emperor Xia to get involved all those years ago, the Holy Zhi Palace would no longer exist, and we would not have this arrogant man at our feast,” said Saint Zhi coldly. He looked at Ye Futian. “I want to remind you of something, Ye Futian. When the Holy Zhi Palace invited Emperor Xia, he said that after the next Battle of Proving Holiness if there were no Saints in the Barren State, the palace would be outlawed. Zhisheng Cliffs must not do anything against you, but since a Saint has come to the Barren State, you can no longer say that you are being bullied.”
Everyone’s hearts trembled as they heard Saint Zhi’s words. Another holy land had declared themselves against the Barren State. Xihua Sacred Mountain, the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty, and the Zhisheng Cliffs. If the three holy lands joined hands, it would be enough to wipe out the Holy Zhi Palace.
The Holy Zhi Palace was possibly about to face its doom.
Ye Futian looked at Saint Zhi. Previously, Yue Jiangliu had reminded him that Kong Yao had arrived at Xihua Sacred Mountain a few days in advance. Zhisheng Cliffs and the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty had possibly also reached some sort of agreement. By targeting the Barren State, they each distributed their advantages.
He thought that with Zhisheng Cliffs’ strength being behind that of the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty and Xihua Sacred Mountain, the benefit that they would get was probably the chance to occupy the Barren State’s holy land and take the Sage Hall for their own. As for Xihua Sacred Mountain and the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty, what would they get?
At this moment, Ye Futian had Little Condor give an order at the palace!
