In Emperor Xia’s Realm, there was a palace, complex and without boundaries, reaching high into the sky. It stood like a temple of the gods in Emperor Xia’s Realm. It was also the tallest building in all of Emperor Xia’s Realm that even the Ninth Layer of Heaven of Jiutian Temple dared not surpass in height.
This place was where Emperor Xia cultivated—the Renhuang Palace of Emperor Xia’s Realm.
At this time in this Renhuang Palace, a person clad in men’s clothing yet appearing more beautiful than a woman, stood on the step of a staircase listening to the news brought by the people below.
“Ye Futian, palace lord of the Barren State Holy Zhi Palace in the Nine States, brought Yu Sheng, and both of them came up through the Sky Stairwell to the Upper Worlds, and no one was able to stop them. Later, the two went to Jiutian Temple and reached the Eighth Layer of Heaven in a single day. Furthermore, in the Seventh Layer of Heaven, it was one battling nine opponents who promised in three days’ time to challenge everyone in the Eighth Layer of Heaven and told Pei Qianying to wait for him in the Ninth Layer of Heaven.”
Xia Qingyuan quietly listened to the reports made by the people below. Her eyes were steady and calm. She remembered the young man who did not want to follow her to begin the trials during Saint Xia birthday feast in Nine States. While she was the Supervising Inspector in the Lower Worlds of Nine States, she had heard that Ye Futian had extreme talent, which was the reason for her invitation, but it was refused.
It appeared that he was absolutely confident in his own power. Even if he did not receive the qualification as one of the Heavenly Chosen Ones to cultivate in the Upper Worlds, he was still able to climb the Sky Stairwell and had fought his way to Emperor Xia’s Realm.
“Send a messenger to Jueying Palace and have Jueying Sword Saint bring the stripped and controlled life spirit of Ye Wuchen to the Jiutian Temple in three days’ time. If the people of Nine States should win, the life spirit must be returned,” Xia Qingyuan said.
“Yes.” The person bowed and answered, then asked, “Will princess be going?” If Xia Qingyuan was to go along, he would also need to go to Jiutian Temple and let Jiutian Temple Lord know in advance to arrange everything.
“I’m thinking about it. You may go,” Xia Qingyuan said calmly, and immediately the man withdrew and left. This news quickly spread within the Emperor Xia’s Realm, and as it gained momentum, it set off great commotion amongst the people.
The battle of the Jiutian Ranking had always been the grandest event in Emperor Xia’s Realm. The battles of each season of the Jiutian Ranking would always cause a stir. What was more, this time around, someone from the Lower Worlds of Nine States had boldly announced they would conquer the Ninth Layer of Heaven and challenged Pei Qianying, who was on the Jiutian Ranking.
The news spread from Jiutian Temple. This person from the Lower Worlds of the Nine States, who claimed to have no equal in the Nine States, was invincible in his plane and was the only palace lord of a holy land who was not of the Saint Plane and yet commanded saints. His talent and influence were obvious.
Many concluded that Ye Futian and his group should have no problem getting through the Eighth Layer of Heaven. After all, Gu Dongliu had already gotten nine consecutive victories, after one more he would be able to get to the Ninth Layer of Heaven and Ye Futian should be able to do the same.
The battle that was to take place three days from this time was labeled by everyone in the Emperor Xia’s Realm as the fight between the geniuses of the Lower Worlds and those of Emperor Xia’s Realm. With the Jiutian Temple’s intention to fan the flames of excitement, the waves that this had created could only be imagined.
It was rumored that several people who were on the Jiutian Ranking were highly interested in this battle and would personally attend Jiutian Temple that day to witness someone step up to the Jiutian Ranking to challenge Pei Qianying.
Those who had a record of consecutive victories in the Eight Layer of Heaven of the Jiutian Ranking were appearing one after the other, stating that they would also participate in Jiutian Temple. Everyone was optimistic that Ye Futian and Gu Dongliu would be able to enter the Ninth Layer of Heaven. It was as if these top players in the Eighth Layer of Heaven were just their stepping stones. Therefore, one could only imagine how they felt at the moment. They wanted to see just how strong this unparalleled figure of the Nine States really was, how he dared to make such audacious claims.
For the practitioners of Emperor Xia’s Realm, three days passed by in the blink of an eye. On this day, Jiutian Temple was sizzling. Early in the morning, the bottom layer of the Jiutian Temple was already full of people, occupied by those who arrived in advance, as this was the layer that everyone could enter. Although the view would not be as clear as the ones above, it was still possible to see the projection of the battles for the Jiutian Ranking. Therefore, a seat there was highly desirable. Other than that, countless people walked toward every layer of heaven in Jiutian Temple.
Even in the Eight Layer of Heaven, there were already many people who had arrived, and the view stands were full. Even some of the well-known saints had already come to Jiutian Temple to observe the battle today. This demonstrated how much attention was garnered by this battle.
Outside Jiutian Temple, countless people were waiting.
“Wang Jin!” many exclaimed.
Wang Jin, the cultivator of the Eighth Layer of Heaven in Jiutian Temple, had not appeared in Jiutian Temple for a long time. His most brilliant record was nine straight wins, but he was defeated when he took on the battle of the Jiutian Ranking. His opponent entered the Ninth Layer of Heaven and he had to start again from the beginning.
Right now, he had accrued a seven-game winning streak, but in fact, he had been a cultivator who had won nine consecutive victories. As such, Wang Jin’s strength was definitely at the pinnacle of the Eighth Layer of Heaven.
“Mu Fanchen.” At this moment, another figure descended. It was Mu Fanchen, who lost to Gu Dongliu the day before and had come to fight again today.
After eight consecutive victories, he was defeated the day before. At the moment, he had no winning streak to his name, and that was equivalent to no streak at all. If Ye Futian and Yu Sheng wanted to take on the Jiutian Ranking, they must take him on in the first battle and defeat him.
“It’s Yu Zhan, that battle madman.” Another figure arrived and it was Yu Zhan, the owner of the eight-game winning record at the moment. But like Wang Jin, he had a nine-game winning streak before, was defeated, and had to start over again. If Mu Fanchen and Gu Dongliu did not match up the day before, it was very possible that Gu Dongliu would have matched up with him.
“This time, everyone is here?”
“This lineup…”
The hearts of many beat wildly, but they were excited inside. This was too crazy. Those famous top fighters who were defeated in the Eight Layer of Heaven were all coming today. Some even wondered if Ye Futian and Yu Sheng could get to the Ninth Layer of Heaven and meet Pei Qianying.
The arrival of these people meant that anyone who had a winning streak had a brilliant record before and that they had gathered in Jiutian Temple today. There was no doubt that since they were present, Jiutian Temple would choose this group to battle to make the fights even more captivating.
So, what would be the outcome?
It was crazy.
The last Jiutian Temple competitions were crazy. It was Little Princess Xia Qingyuan who ran through the gauntlet of the Jiutian Temple and went all the way through to the Ninth Layer of Heaven. Today, they seemed to witness the same madness from when Little Princess Xia Qingyuan challenged Jiutian Temple last time around.
Of course, this would only make the crowd more excited. It was just that they never expected someone from the Lower Worlds to have caused such a great sensation. They only hoped that he was truly strong, otherwise, he would be a joke if he could not even enter the Ninth Layer of Heaven.
At this time, a procession of cultivators appeared in the void. When they were close to arriving at Jiutian Temple, they then began descending.
“It’s the people from Jueying Palace.”
“Even the Jueying Sword Saint has personally arrived.”
All eyes were focused on the handsome and slender young man with incomparable grace next to Jueying Sword Saint. This battle started because of him.
Pei Qianying, son of Jueying Sword Saint, cultivator on the Jiutian Ranking.
The talent of Pei Qianying could be described as extremely exceptional. Back then, he entered the Ninth Layer of Heaven as an upper-level sage and gained a spot on the Jiutian Ranking to allow everyone to witness his rare talent. Even the lord of the Jiutian Temple had said that in the future, when Pei Qianying was in the magi and sage plane, he would be able to enter the Ninth Layer of Heaven.
It was said that at the moment, Pei Qianying had already reached the peak of the Magi Plane and was only one step away from the Sage Plane. At the pinnacle of the Magi Plane on the Jiutian Ranking, in this plane, he was the top contender.
“Pei Qianying, three days ago Ye Futian told you to wait for him in the Ninth Layer of Heaven, what do you think about that?” a voice said from the crowd. Before the fight, such trash talking undoubtedly fueled more excitement, but most would choose to ignore such distraction. But at this time, Pei Qianying stopped in his tracks. His attention turned to somewhere in the crowd, his eyes as sharp as a sword. The person who spoke in the crowd felt Pei Qianying’s gaze and felt a tingling pain in their eyes. Immediately, he lowered his head and did not dare to engage with those eyes.
“When I was young, my father never demonstrated his true strength in front of me. I cultivated in swordsmanship, and as I was expert in at all kinds of methods, I thought I was superb in swordsmanship, that I was equal with my father. It was not until later on that I realized how foolish I was. When cultivation reaches a higher level, this truth will be more apparent,” Pei Qianying said slowly and everyone was momentarily stunned. They seemed to understand that he was inferring something.
“I heard that they were from the Lower Worlds of Nine States and think of themselves as incomparable, as if there are no talents in Jiutian Temple. They want to enter the Ninth Layer of Heaven and even compare themselves with the Little Princess.” Pei Qianying continued to speak slowly, “Perhaps, after today, they will know more about the meaning of respect.”
After that, Pei Qianying picked up his feet and moved forward. Everyone watched his departing figure, and then an explosion, like a terrible wave, washed over Jiutian Temple. They had thought that Pei Qianying would be quiet, but this time not only did Pei Qianying answer the question, but he had also publicly mocked Ye Futian from the Lower Worlds as being ignorant and without respect. Undoubtedly, this would only make everyone even more excited and increase their expectations for the upcoming battle.
After that, there were extraordinary characters arriving gradually. The crowd had even seen several who were already on the Jiutian Ranking. Some even openly asked them about their views on Pei Qianying. Most of these people just smiled without comment and chose to walk toward the Ninth Layer of Heaven instead.
They would witness this battle in the Ninth Layer of Heaven.
Many people were waiting, waiting for the arrival of Ye Futian and the others. Finally, when a procession of people came with the sword, the moment they landed on the ground, the emotion of the crowd had reached the boiling point.
Finally, Ye Futian and his people had arrived. And today, they once again brought Ye Wuchen again. At this point, from Ye Wuchen’s brow chakra, there seemed to be an even more intense spiritual fluctuation, apparently perceiving something.
The Jueying Sword Saint had brought his life spirit, and Ye Wuchen had never given up his spirit, refusing to detach the connection to his life spirit. If it was detached, he would only lose his life spirit, making it difficult to move forward in cultivation. But if he persisted, the consequence could very well be the complete collapse of his spiritual will, leading to his eventual death.
But he had chosen the latter.
Ye Futian and his group moved forward step by step, ascending the stairs toward Jiutian Temple. Watching them leave, everyone felt a strong sense of determination and belief!