Chapter 101 Seven Stars Accompanying the Moon!
A dark gold light sprang out, soaring into the skies. It was clearly the Consolidating Equipment God Protective Aura. Furthermore, two appeared at the same time!
Also at the six-Jeweled cultivation level, Little Witch just gave a muffled humph, the grey-black smoke retreating from their young lady opponent.
Only the did Zhou Weiqing finally see a pair of armoured bracers on both of the young lady’s arms.
A thick, solid bracers that extended downwards in layers, causing her arms to seem as if they were double their size. The most attention catching thing was that both her hands were also now covered with dark gold gloves, extremely large, and tipped with seven inch long gleaming gold claws. Although he was still quite from her, Zhou Weiqing couldn’t help but feel a chill down his spine as he looked at them.
Although it was two full sets of bracers and gloves, it was actually made up of only two Consolidated Equipment. Yet, to any other ordinary Heavenly Jewel Master, all of that combined was already more than the size and density of three pieces of Consolidated Equipment. Naturally, as Tian’er had explained earlier, that was because her mutated duo Physical Jewels being able to Consolidate a larger Consolidated Equipment.
Little Witch had been knocked back almost ten yards, back in human form, a surprised, almost self-doubting look on her face.
The female ZhongTian Battle Team member gave a low, raspy laugh, almost like an ear-piercing screech in the night. “It is useless, my melee attacks have a supplementary energy effect… did you really think that just because you are mostly immune to physical effects in that form, you can be immune to mine? Heh… Darkness and Evil Attributes. I never expected that even a top powerhouse from the Heavenly Demon Sect will actually join our Heavenly Jewel Tournament.”
Little Witch’s gaze froze, and she said coldly: “Mutated Duo Physical Jewels. I have only heard that amongst the young generation of the Heaven’s Expanse Palace, Shangguan Xue’er is the strongest, followed by Zhan LingTian. Both of them have already reached the seven Jewel cultivation level. Although you are only at the six-Jeweled cultivation level, I can see that you are probably at the top echelons as well, second only to them. I’d like to know, who are you from the Heaven’s Expanse Palace… what is your name?”
The ear piercing laugh issued once more from the girl’s mouth: “My name isn’t important. Use your Demonic Change now, otherwise, you will not have a chance to do so.”
In truth, in terms of cultivation level, Little Witch was equal to this young lady. However, she was severely disadvantaged in terms of Consolidated Equipment.
Although Little Witch was the Heavenly Demon Sect’ Holy Girl, she actually only had a single Consolidated Equipment, which was the short blade in her hands. She could have easily Consolidated more Equipment, but would not ‘waste’ a Jewel on a non-God Tier Consolidating Equipment. Although the Heavenly Demon Sect was still considered one of the Five Great Saint Lands, their power was truly far from any of the other Four Great Saint Lands. It would perhaps not be an exaggeration to say that they might no longer deserve to be one of the Great Saint Lands any longer. Even as the Holy Girl of the Sect, she did not have more God Tier Consolidated Equipment to use, while her opponent had two… Furthermore, it was clear that the set of bracers and gloves with claws was most likely part of a set. In that instant that they had clashed previously, if not for the fact that she had sensed something was wrong and retreated quickly, perhaps Little Witch would have been injured now.
Brilliant rays of light burst forth from Little Witch’s eyes, like stars in the skies, and her lustrous black hair swirled in the air despite the lack of wind, somehow turning blue to the very roots, lengthening all the way down her back.
A layer of blue tattoos covered her skin. However, unlike Zhou Weiqing, her muscles did not bulge out, instead she seemed to turn sleeker, more compact, and a beautiful, brilliant blue hibiscus mutabilis flower appeared behind her, wavering in the air.
In terms of her Elemental Jewels and Attributes, besides Zhou Weiqing, Little Witch was extremely confident in herself, that she was near the pinnacle of the world. Demonic Attribute, Darkness Attribute and Life Attribute. Three Attributes, all of which were considered very rare. Although she was not a first generation self-awakened Demonic Jewel Master, her bloodline and Attribute was pure enough that she could almost be considered a Second Generation Demonic Jewel Master. All three of her Attributes were extremely powerful, and had their own uses. Furthermore, she had trained in the Demonic Manual Arts since a young age. If not for the fact that she had been waiting to gather more God Tier Consolidated Equipment, and was thus very limited in terms of her Physical Jewels Consolidated Equipment, with only a single Consolidated Equipment short blade as her weapon, she would definitely be one of the top of her entire generation.
Demonic Change State. Little Witch had activated her own Demonic Change without hesitation. Just like what her opponent had said, despite how ‘ugly’ it might have sounded, if she did not use it now, she knew that she would not have a chance against that powerful ZhongTian Battle Team female member. This young lady with her Mutated Duo Physical Jewels was definitely a severe threat to Little Witch, and more so, had sparked a strong competitive spirit within her. After all, Tian’er and Zhou Weiqing were looking on at the side, how could she possibly show any signs of weakness?
In the Demonic Change State, Little Witch was filled with a strange new sensuous attractiveness. Although she did not turn muscled or stouter like Zhou Weiqing, she turned taller, her four limbs all lengthened, a subtle demonic, inhuman beauty married to the beauty of a human, bringing a fresh new attraction to her.
A dim blue-grey coloured light swirled around her body, and as she lifted her hands, the pressure from her grew markedly, a new light within her eyes. The female ZhongTian Battle Team member also grew more serious, the expression on her face changing. Taking a small half-step forward with her left leg, she maintained her body in a unique position, giving forth a feeling like she was a female panther which was about to pounce at any moment.
In the next instant, both girls launched their attacks almost at the same time, darting towards each other like lightning.
The blue hibiscus mutabilis flower behind Little Witch burst forth with a myriad of bright blue rays of light, enveloping the entire radius of about ten yards. Little Witch’s speed also reached a terrifying level, the short blade in her hands slashing forward, trailing a grey-blue light like a rainbow in the skies as it struck savagely at her opponent.
At the same time, the female ZhongTian Battle Team member gave a cold humph, lifting both her hands in retaliation. The gold claws of her gloves seemed to shudder in the air with a strange rhythm. At the same time, her entire body was enveloped in a layer of green light, causing her to dart about in midair, as if her body was a falling leaf. The massive amount of blue light rays totally surrounded her, but was constantly kept at bay by the green light around her, which subtly knocked them away, while she seemed to pass through the nooks and cranny where the light was not present. *Clang*
With a swipe of her left claws, the gleaming gold metal claws striking hard against the shimmering blue-grey Energy Blade of Little Witch’s, actually catching it as if it were solid material. Another swipe with the right claws, and an explosion sounded out. The powerful strike of Little Witch was shattered in mid air, dissipating into pieces.
The blue hibiscus mutabilis flower continued sending tendrils of light against the young lady, as she seemed to be off balance after her attack. Alas, what happened next was totally unexpected; her body bent itself in an unimaginable angle, as if she had been cut off at the waist, and she somehow found another angle with the least amount of attacks, bouncing back up through there as her feet tapped the ground again, her body spinning in midair right through all the attacks. At the same time, both her arms and claws spun in a corkscrew motion, along with a bright gold light, causing the blue rain of light attacks from the blue hibiscus to be blocked from the outside. In such a state, her body flew towards Little Witch.
Facing such a ferocious attack, Little Witch drew in a deep breath, the blue tattoos on her body lighting up so much so that she seemed like a huge blue light bulb. Even the short blade in her hand was glowing blue, and in the next instance, her right hand gripping the blade abruptly turned pitch black. It was not another ray of light, but rather because she had launched her own counterattack, slashing downward with it towards her encroaching foe.
Fusion Skill! Although this was the first time Zhou Weiqing had seen Little Witch use this Skill, he could instantly sense and tell that it was a Fusion Skill, with both the Life and Demonic Attributes, somehow launched with the short blade as the medium; it was definitely not any ordinary skill.
As the blade and claws clashed once more in a screech of metal, the resulting ear piercing noise forced Zhou Weiqing to subconsciously cover his ears in pain.
He could also clearly see uncountable fireworks sparking from the clash between the two. Even with the powerful blow that Little Witch had dealt out, she couldn’t help but stagger back nine steps before standing back up, leaving nine deep imprints on the ground.
*Clang**Clang* Another bout of loud explosions.
As both figures flew apart from the clash, Little Witch’s expression had clearly changed. With a twist of her left wrist, she pointed up to the skies, and the blue hibiscus mutabilis flower behind her bathed her with a pale blue light, easing her strained expression. Still, she looked pale and ashen, and it was clear that the hand in which she had been holding her short blade was now trembling.
As for the female ZhongTian Battle Team member, the result of the clash had her somersaulting in midair, retreating about six steps before steadying herself. A strange, blueish-grey colour flashed across her face, but as she circulated her own Heavenly Energy, it was soon dispersed.
From the result of this powerful clash between the two, it was clear that Little Witch was still at the disadvantage. Little Witch’s brilliant eyes had turned a blue hue, and they glinted in a demonic light as she said: “Who made a rule that I can’t have companions? Although I am not too willing to admit it, I have to say that I am unable to deal with you myself… But what if it is the two of us against you?”
She was not the type of person who was too stubborn and proud to accept help. If she knew she could not do it but continued to push through for nothing despite available help, then that would just be being stupid. Zhou Weiqing’s cultivation level might be still very low in comparison, but with his vast amount of high ranked skills and cunning ways of using them, with him supporting her by the side, Little Witch was confident of taking care of this opponent in front of them, who was only slightly edging her out in combat.
Right at that moment, a whistling sound abruptly pierced the air, and almost at the same time as the sound started, an arrow arrived right in front of the young lady.
Zhou Weiqing was barely thirty yards from her, and at such a close distance, the Overlord Bow’s bowstring barely sounded before the arrow had reached its target. When a Heavenly Jewel Master reached a certain cultivation level or power level, they had a certain sensitivity towards danger, otherwise she would not have sensed Zhou Weiqing so easily previously, before he had even pulled his bowstring.
Zhou Weiqing could clearly see that she seemed to just sway back and forth. Just a tiny motion. More accurately, that little movement was done before Zhou Weiqing’s arrow even left the bowstring.
*Swoosh* The arrow barely missed her, almost barely grazing her skin as it shot across, but she did not even blink as it did so.
Zhou Weiqing stared in shock, his mouth agape. It had to be known that he had locked on to her, perfectly confident in that arrow, and she had actually dodged it without using any Skills, unlike the BaoPo couple who had used their Time Attribute previously. If before today, anyone had told him that someone would be able to dodge his arrows at a distance of thirty yards, and just through physical means alone, Zhou Weiqing would definitely think that person was crazy. Yet, the evidence was right before his eyes, and he had no choice but to accept it.
Dodging and blocking were two totally different things. If it was blocking, then Zhou Weiqing’s imbued Skills on the arrows would still take effect. However, if it were dodged, then those imbued skills would naturally lose their effect. In the distance beyond, a huge tree exploded as the arrow struck it.
What sort of swift judgement, what sort of movement and speed did that require? Looking at her expression, it was clear that she had been very confident in dodging his arrow!
Prior to this, Zhou Weiqing had always thought that among the six Physical Attributes, coordination and flexibility were the two most useless Attributes, especially in actual combat. After all, as their cultivation levels grew higher, everyone would be mostly using their powerful Heavenly Energy and Consolidated Equipment, as well as Stored Skills. Alas, now he knew that he was extremely wrong. There was no useless Attribute, only useless Heavenly Jewel Masters. Everything was all up to the user, and how he or she made use of what they had to the utmost. This female ZhongTian Battle Team member had just made use of the Coordination and Flexibility Attributes, along with her terrifying speed, to dodge the attack he had been so confident in.
With a mocking, disdainful smirk, the young lady did not even look at Zhou Weiqing, instead looking at Little Witch as she said: “Looks like your companion isn’t too strong!” Little Witch giggled, glancing at Zhou Weiqing. At the same time, she thought to herself: This Zhou Little Fatty will definitely be enraged to hear his power put down like that, to be looked down upon so disdainfully.
She was not wrong. Indeed, our dear Zhou Little Fatty was extremely angry, and the consequences were dire. For the archery skills that he was the most proud of to be dissed by his opponent, how could he stand there and take it so easily?
Wriggling the five fingers of his right hand, Zhou Weiqing suddenly took a massive breath. With a flick of his wrist, three arrows appeared from his Spatial Ring, pinned neatly between his fingers. In that moment, he seemed to enter an ethereal state of unearthly concentration. The tip of his foot struck the trunk of the tree in front of him lightly, using it as a pivot to send his entire body flying backwards. At the same time, the three arrows flew out; in the process, his five fingers danced through several complicated gestures, half twisting the bow string, plucking the bowstring, striking the arrows, etc etc and more.
In the very instant that the three arrows flew out, another four followed suit one after the other. In total, seven arrows, each flying out in a different direction. This archery skill of his had a rather interesting name: Seven Stars Accompanying the Moon
This was actually an archery skill that Zhou Weiqing had created, bringing together all the styles he had learned as well as the unique powers that he had. Originally, when Mu En was teaching him everything he knew about archery, he had told him that in order to become a true Archer, he had to have something that was his own. If he only learned what his teachers offered him, his archery could be good, but would lack the last critical component, a true spirit within, and would only be a ‘dead thing’.
Mu En was not the best teacher, nor was he the strongest, as he wasn’t even a Heavenly Jewel Master. However, he was definitely a great teacher, a great guide for Zhou Weiqing. What he imparted to Zhou Weiqing was a direction, a line of thinking. This Seven Stars Accompanying the Moon Archery Skill had been slowly developed over the years, and it had only been after entering the Fei Li Military Academy that he had finally completed the Skill. Besides his own practice, he had never used it in actual combat yet. It was not that he did not want to do so in the Heavenly Jewel Tournament, but it was just not too suitable for a arena style competition and the tournament format. Even now, he was still in the midst of slowly perfecting this Seven Stars Accompanying the Moon Archery Skill of his. As the seven arrows flew out, Zhou Weiqing sat back down onto the ground suddenly, the Overlord Bow in his hands vanishing. His face was pale and ashen, and he collapse down onto the ground, drained. Firing these seven arrows had actually depleted all of his Heavenly Energy, leaving him totally
exhausted.
The reason was simple. Among the seven arrows, each of them were imbued with his Stored Skills. Unleashing only seven Skills normally would not deplete his Heavenly Energy, but doing so at almost the same time almost caused him to lose control of the energy whirlpools of his body. If not for the fact that his physique was a lot stronger than any ordinary Heavenly Jewel Master’s, he might have inflicted self injuries just unleashing this Skill.
*Swoosh* Zhou Weiqing did not even look at the battle field any longer, immediately releasing Da Huang and Er Huang from his Spatial Ring. Placing one hand each on their shoulders, he unleashed his Devour Skill in an attempt to quickly replenish his Heavenly Energy.
Anyway, they were not able to fight continuously by his side in this Lustre Spatial Realm, and just Devouring a bit of Heavenly Energy would not harm them, and they would quickly recover. Caught by Zhou Weiqing’s Devour Skill, Da Huang and Er Huang revealed looks of panic and fear. However, they knew and trusted Zhou Weiqing implicitly, and did not resist his Devouring.
Seven shrill shrieks pierced the air, almost at the same time, forming one loud long sound.
The disdainful look of the female ZhongTian Battle Team member changed immediately, as she was astonished to find that of the seven arrows that shot out from behind the trees, none were actually headed towards her, instead shooting in various directions, causing her to be unable to make any accurate judgements.
The unknown was usually the most scary, especially when it wasn’t in your own control. Looking at Little Witch warily, she extended her arms in preparation as she took a combat ready stance.
Although Little Witch had not actually worked and fought with together with Zhou Weiqing before, she was extremely experienced in battle. At this point, she was not in a hurry. Smiling, she stood there on her position unmoving, instead raising her hands above her head, the blue tattoos around her body shining brightly again as the blue hibiscus behind her glowed brightly. Thick blue light seemed to gather around her short blade.
Without question, Little Witch was biding her time, gathering power in order to unleash a powerful Skill.
Such a Skill was undoubtedly terrifyingly powerful, but it also had a clear drawback. The charging time of it was just too long, and it would be easy to interrupt. Of course, this sort of Skill requiring a charge up time usually meant a correspondingly high strength and power.
This was an extremely sneaky, but correct, action for Little Witch to take. If the female ZhongTian Battle Team member attacked her, she might leave herself open to Zhou Weiqing’s strange attack skill, letting it unleash its full potential. Yet, if she did not attack her, she would not be able to interrupt Little Witch’s charging, as she had to constantly be on the lookout for Zhou Weiqing’s ambush. More importantly, she did not know how or what Zhou Weiqing’s attack would do, and just standing there charging would not disrupt his. At the same time, she would be doing something useful, possibly giving her the chance to do a follow up or even finishing blow. This could be said to be an arrow killing several birds! An amazingly intelligent plan that could only force their opponent into a dilemma. Indeed, the moment she started charging her Skill, the female ZhongTian Battle Team member’s expression changed, and she couldn’t help but hesitate a split second. At that very instance, Zhou Weiqing’s Seven Stars Accompanying the Moon arrows had almost reached her.
The seven arrows all appeared almost at the same time in her senses. Surprisingly, all of them had a strange ‘wavering’ movement that somehow prevented her to fully lock onto them, and they each were glowing with a different colour.
The weirdest thing was that the seven arrows were not flying fast at all. Compared to any normal shooting, they were considered slow, almost floating in the air.
Soon, the arrows were barely ten yards from her, and in that moment, a cold light flashed in her eyes. She had already gotten a good estimation and judgement of the traveling path of all the arrows, or so she thought at least. At that point, she burst into explosive action, her body charging forward as she bobbed and weaved, her body swaying slightly in a strange rhythm as she attempted to charge through this ‘net’ of arrows.
However… was her judgement truly accurate? Alas, this time, the answer was a big no. The seven arrows in midair actually changed directions almost simultaneously.
The leading arrow seemed to slip to the side, just an almost imperceptible amount. As it did so, its tail feathers lightly brushed against the next arrow. This caused a chain reaction, and all seven arrows actually had their directions changed subtly!
Such archery… Such skill… The only words that could come close to describing it would be breathtaking, almost impossible. Even Little Witch, who was in the midst of charging up her own Skill, couldn’t help but reveal a surprised look. In her heart, she knew that even if she took the place of the female ZhongTian Battle Team member, she would not fare any better.
The Seven Stars Accompanying the Moon Archery Skill was an extremely powerful skill, actually drained all of Zhou Weiqing’s considerable Heavenly Energy in order to launch. He had slowly developed this skill over the course of the three years spent with the Heavenly Bow Unit and beyond, how could it be so easily broken like that?
With the sudden unexpected change in speed and direction, it was almost impossible to for the female ZhongTian Battle Team member to dodge it anymore. Without a choice, she could only extend her claws, striking out swiftly to block the seven arrows.
*Poof* The first arrow struck her God Tier Consolidated Claws, and was instantly destroyed by the powerful claws. The explosive effect of the Overlord Bow was totally useless, but surprisingly, the speedy, charging figure of the young lady was abruptly slowed, almost drastically.
The Absolute Delay Skill had taken effect on her instantly.
The invisible stress that this young lady had put on Zhou Weiqing was extremely huge, and he knew that if he wanted to suppress her, to allow his Seven Stars Accompanying the Moon Archery Skill and their corresponding imbued Skills to have their maximum effect, then he had to do so from the very start. As such, the first arrow to reach her would definitely have to be the Absolute Delay Skill, with its Absolute Effect.
To any Heavenly Jewel Master powerhouse, judgement and control, of both themselves and their opponents, was equally important. The Absolute Delay not only slowed down her speed, but more importantly, it broke her rhythm and judgement. Soon, the other arrows struck her as well, not a single one were successfully dodged, with one even managing to get past her claws to strike her, but it was also shattered by her protective aura of Heavenly Energy.
Following the Absolute Delay was a flurry of three more Control or Debuff Skills, Curse of Darkness, Fetters of Wind and Touch of Darkness.
Although Zhou Weiqing’s cultivation level was far lower than hers, she was under the effect of the Absolute Delay, and the three Control Skills managed to slow her down further as they all took effect.
The fifth arrow that followed was the one that got through her slowed claws, and was shattered by her protective Heavenly Energy aura. Yet, this was imbued with one of the most critical skills of Zhou Weiqing’s, the one that had gotten him through so many tough fights – the Heavenly Lightning Shock. Along with the massive ensuing explosion came the powerful effect of the Heavenly Lightning Shock. Alas, once more, the female ZhongTian Battle Team member showed her terrifying power. Under the effects of the Absolute Delay and the three Control Skills, and the sheer power of the Heavenly Lightning Shock, her Consolidated Equipment should ordinarily have been disrupted and removed.
However, instead of that happening, she burst forth in full power at that time, with two strong rays of dark gold light bursting forth from her Consolidated Claws and Bracers. In the midst of the explosion of the Heavenly Lightning Shock, her Equipment shuddered and the light dimmed, but it actually held strong and was not disrupted! She had actually succeeded in forcibly resisting the Heavenly Lightning Shock Skill!
Zhou Weiqing, who was currently at the sidelines watching as he continued recovering his Heavenly Energy, couldn’t help but shout in his heart: Damn!!
This lady is just too terrifying! Even after being affected by so many of my Skills, she can still resist the Heavenly Lightning Shock?! Ugh… that throws my plans off that she hasn’t lost her Consolidated Equipment, my final blow of the Seven Stars Accompanying the Moon might not be sufficient to take her down after all. Out of the seven arrows, five had already hit. Surprisingly, the last two did not strike her, instead hitting each other in midair.
Did Zhou Weiqing make a mistake? No, the answer was naturally no.
An almost miraculous sight occurred next; as the two arrows collided with each other, they each released a green light and silver light respectively. The two lights merged into one in midair, and that green-silver light flashed in midair, a small green-silver knife of light striking out towards the female ZhongTian Battle Team member.
Although she had actually managed to resist Zhou Weiqing’s Heavenly Lightning Shock, the Control Skills were still in effect on her. At that point, she had just spent all her energy, making use of the inherent Skill within her Consolidated Claws to barely resist the Heavenly Lightning Shock, and was currently in a state of recovering and off balance.
This silver-green light was naturally Zhou Weiqing’s strongest offensive skill before he had gotten the Dark Demon God Lightning. It was the Silver Emperor Spatial Rend, a Fusion Skill of the Silver Emperor Wing Slash and the Spatial Rend. When she saw that strike, Little Witch, who had been ready to unleash her charged up skill in tandem with Zhou Weiqing’s last blow for maximum effect, was actually so shocked that she missed a beat, slowing down and failing to strike at the same time.
Seven arrows in rapid succession, with such a chain of effects, with each arrow imbued with a Skill. More importantly, the last final blow was actually a Fusion Skill created with two arrows! What kind of amazing archery was that! This was also the first time she had witnessed Zhou Weiqing display such abilities.
*Clang* *Wenng*
The Silver Emperor Spatial Rend was still blocked by her claws as she set them in a crossed position in front of her defensively. Even so, not being in good condition herself, not only was her charge stopped in her tracks, her hands were knocked upwards as he broke through her guard.
Yet again, this young lady showed Zhou Weiqing and Little Witch that the considerable power she had already displayed was not her limit. Under such an unfavourable situation, she made the best choice she could.
Another two Dark Gold Light sprung up abruptly from her body, one after the other. The first lasting for a second, before it was followed by the other.
This time, Zhou Weiqing and Little Witch couldn’t help but have their expressions change once more.
It was actually another two pieces of God Tier Consolidated Equipment!
God Tier Consolidated Equipment were the absolute top tier of Physical Jewel Consolidated Equipment, with each having extremely powerful capabilities worthy of turning the tide in battle. This female ZhongTian Battle Team member had actually suppressed Little Witch with just a pair of bracers and clawed gloves, and yet now she had actually released another two God Tier Consolidated Equipment. The Heaven’s Expanse Palace was just too rich…
Originally, with Zhou Weiqing’s Seven Stars Accompanying the Moon, he and Little Witch were at the absolute advantage; as long as Little Witch unleashed her charged-up Skill, they had been confident of winning.
Alas, who knew that their opponent had actually held these two powerful God Tier Consolidated Equipment in reserve, and with their respective God Protective Auras, she had saved herself from potential doom. Do not underestimate just this short time of merely two seconds, not only did it prevent her from losing there and then, it had also delayed the time so that most of Zhou Weiqing’s Control Skills had run out, with only the Curse of Doom still in duration. More importantly, it had given her a short time to recover slightly.
In fact, she had actually made a minor judgement in error; or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that Little Witch’s minor error and delay had actually helped their team instead! Originally, she had judged that Little Witch would take action right after Zhou Weiqing’s attack had landed. As such, she had released her Consolidated Equipment God Protective Auras right after she blocked Zhou Weiqing’s Silver Emperor Spatial Rend, with the aim of blocking Little Witch’s attack. Both their power levels were extremely close, and even though it was a powerful charged Skill, she knew that Little Witch should not be able to break her God Protective Auras so easily. Alas, her judgement had been awry. Who could have expected that Little Witch had been so surprised about Zhou Weiqing’s final attack that she had slowed her attack for a split second. That had resulted her in being able to witness the start of the God Protective Auras. As such, she continued holding
back her attack for a better time.
This time, a dark gold armored shoulder pauldrons extended from her shoulders, with its beautiful overhanging protrusions, forming a beautiful pattern. The shoulder pauldrons extended from the shoulder all the way down the back, covering most of her back, and a pair of hue gold wings spread out from the back, with the outer side of the wings being a dark gold colour, filled with lines of tattoos, and its underside a pure brilliant gold, the contrasting forming an astonish beauty.
A six-Jeweled Heavenly Jewel Master having four God Tier Consolidated Equipment, looking to be part of a Legendary Set. That in itself was a huge statement. This young lady was definitely one of the young powerhouses that the Heaven’s Expanse Palace had spent much time, effort and resources in developing!
Furthermore, her four God Tier Consolidated Equipment were very different from other Consolidated Equipments. It was not just the fact that they were part of a Legendary Set, but more so that her Physical Jewels were mutated duo Jewels. As such, each piece of Consolidated Equipment was a lot larger… and correspondingly more powerful as well. This was a massive advantage to her indeed, allowing her to cover a much
greater surface area.
Generally speaking, if a Heavenly Jewel Master wanted an entire set of armour to cover his whole body, it would require at least ten pieces before being able to do so. However, from the look of her, it would probably only require eight pieces to complete cover her, and that was considering the pair of terrifying claws and the huge wings on her back!
In the instant that the Consolidated Equipment God Protective Aura disappeared, Little Witch finally launched her attack.
A deep blue light, as if crossing the ages, floating towards her opponent, brushing against her as if a light kiss from a lover, yet also seeming like the rain that had been swept along by the winds, soft, gentle, but incessant and pervasive.
The female ZhongTian Battle Team member had a very serious look on her face. The two seconds of recovery had bought her time, and also allowed the effects of the Absolute Delay and other Control Skills to vanish, but the Curse of Doom was still in effect, and she did not have the time to dispel it. Furthermore, she was still off balance, and Little Witch was using her full power in the Demonic Change State. As such, she could only react hastily.
As the blue light struck the interlocked claws… this time, there was no violent clash or explosions, just a soft buzzing sound.
Little Witch stood still, her body swaying slightly from the impact. The blue light surrounding her vanished, along with the tattoos. After unleashing this blow, she was unable to continue maintaining the Demonic Change State.
At the same time, a grey-blue light flashed in the female ZhongTian Battle Team member’s eyes. She staggered back seven steps, but it was not as simple as that. Each step she took back, her body seemed to sway a little, as if she was flowing along in a strong current. In this way, with each step, she was able to neutralise the power of Little Witch’s attack, bit by bit. As such, seven steps later, she was finally able to stand upright. Even so, she couldn’t help but cry out, spitting out a mouthful of fresh blood. The strange thing was that as soon as the mouthful of blood was spat out, it warped into a blue-grey light, and vanished into the air. At the same time, the blue-grey in her eyes also slowly dissipated.
Panting sounds issued out from both Little Witch and her opponent. In this strike, Little Witch had depleted a large amount of Heavenly Energy, and similarly her opponent. At the same time, even though this female ZhongTian Battle Team member had made use of her four God Tier Legendary Set Consolidated Equipment to withstand the flurry of attacks, she had still finally been injured.
The entire fight had not been long, but both sides were already exhausted. Even with Zhou Weiqing and Little Witch working today with all their might, they had only gained the advantage on this female ZhongTian Battle Team member, and had not defeated her totally!
Little Witch smiled faintly, saying: “If you had just one more God Tier Consolidated Equipment, then we would have lost by now. Unfortunately, you just have the four. If I have not guessed wrongly, this Legendary Set should be specially designed and crafted for you by the God Tier Consolidating Equipment Masters of the Heaven’s Expanse Palace right?” Her meaning was extremely clear. That earlier strike of hers had used up a large portion of her Heavenly Energy. If the female ZhongTian Battle Team member had another God Tier Consolidated Equipment, just the Consolidating Equipment God Protective Aura would have allowed her to block it, instead of being forced to take the blow, and thus would have undoubtedly give her the upper hand.
There was a complicated look in the female ZhongTian Battle Team member. All this while, she had never harboured the thought that she might lose, as she had utmost confidence in her own power and abilities. In the Heaven’s Expanse Palace, even Zhan LingTian who was at a higher cultivation level than her could not take her down easily. Yet… at this current moment, she was feeling the fatigue of fighting the two.
It wasn’t exactly because of Little Witch in front of her, but more because of the hidden archer behind – Zhou Weiqing, or rather the combination of the two. With Little Witch there, even if she wanted to attack Zhou Weiqing, it was rather out of the question. Yet, with Zhou Weiqing at the side, she was highly restricted, having to constantly be on the lookout for his supporting attacks. Currently, she had already used all four of her God Tier Legendary Set Consolidated Equipment, but at the same time it was also a huge drain on her Heavenly Energy. At this moment, Zhou Weiqing slowly walked out from his cover behind the trees. After Devouring Heavenly Energy from Da Huang and Er Huang, he had recovered his Heavenly Energy back to his maximum. Of course, that was not his own Heavenly Energy, and he had to use it very soon, or assimilate it as his own; otherwise it would be lost. However, no matter what, with the help of his Devour Skill once more, he had regained his fighting capabilities.
Seeing Zhou Weiqing, the female ZhongTian Battle Team member’s reaction was immense, as she stared at him in shock, exclaiming: “What? It’s actually you?!”
Zhou Weiqing grinned and said: “Heh, Little Witch and I are teammates, how could it not be me? Didn’t you say my arrows weren’t up to speed? How is it? How does my Seven Stars Accompanying the Moon feel?”
Chapter 102 Shangguan Fei’er – Master of Close Combat!
As he said that, he slowly walked closer to the center of the battlefield. He did not continue using his Overlord Bow. After all, she was wearing four God Tier Consolidated Equipment. Added on to the fact that their Heavenly Energy levels were just so far apart, and her Equipment covered most of her upper body, he knew that he would not be able to continue doing much with just archery. As such, he decided he might as well just walk out, to fight together with Little Witch. After all, in melee combat, he was better able to use more Skills without expending as much Heavenly Energy, to support Little Witch at the same time.
The female ZhongTian Battle Team member glared savagely at Zhou Weiqing, and he couldn’t help but feel goosepimples rise from the glare. In her eyes, he sensed not just an ordinary enmity, but a faint hate, and a strange, almost unreadable, emotion as well.
“I’m going to beat you until all your teeth drop out!” Two rays of gold light exploded forth from her back, directly from her wings, pushing her forward like a bolt of gold lightning streaking through the skies as she charged towards Zhou Weiqing. Her speed was already more than double her previous. Little Witch was startled, and she too hastily charged towards Zhou Weiqing, and in that instant, he became the focal point of the two of them.
“Little Witch, attack together!” Facing such a powerful foe, Zhou Weiqing did not panic, yelling out to his teammate as a red light glowed in his eyes. The next moment, his body expanded as his muscles bulged out, and an icy cold evil aura emanated from his body as the black tiger tattoos erupted all around his body. His entire body sounded out with a series of chilling bone-cracking sounds as it readjusted itself, and most noticeably, his pair of hands had become large ‘tiger-like’ claws as he stared with bloodshot eyes at the female ZhongTian Battle Team member.
This young lady is just too troublesome to deal with, we have to finish her off as soon as possible. That was the sole thought currently in Zhou Weiqing’s mind. As such, he did not hesitate to enter the Demonic Change State. After all, with his Immortal Deity Technique, he had a rather insane rate of recovery, even if he would not be able to continue Devouring Heavenly Energy, he was still still confident of being able to recover faster than either Little Witch or their opponent.
With the aid of her Consolidated Equipment Wings, the female ZhongTian Battle Team member was definitely faster than Little Witch, whose Demonic Change State had vanished, and she easily reached him first. Both her hands struck out at him, but the strange thing was that when her hands were raised to strike, the original seven inch claws were actually drawn back into the Consolidated Gloves. As she drew back her arms, her hands struck towards his shoulders.
She is going easy on me? That was Zhou Weiqing’s first thought. From the present circumstance, it seemed so, although he did not know why she would do that, it was clear that in withdrawing the claws, she was going easy on him.
A dark gold light rose forth around Zhou Weiqing’s body. He did not dare to take on this female ZhongTian Battle Team member that even Little Witch had problems with all by himself. The only way he could achieve victory was by working together with Little Witch.
His Consolidating Equipment God Protective Aura collided with her dark gold Consolidated Gloves, and a loud explosion ensued. Alas, it did not even last a second before shattering.
With a God Tier Consolidated Equipment, it was much easier to break through a Consolidating Equipment God Protective Aura, not to mention the massive gap between their cultivation levels. The next instant, her hands were already at his shoulders.
The strangest thing was that in that moment, it was as if her own shoulders seemed to lengthen, and the Dark Gold Consolidated Gloves had already struck his shoulders.
One could imagine, if the claws had been extended at that point, Zhou Weiqing’s shoulders would have already been pierced through.
A silver light flashed brightly. In the last second, Zhou Weiqing had activated the Blink Skill, disappearing and reappearing at the side. At the same time, he was drenched in cold sweat. He had been too confident in his Consolidating Equipment God Protective Aura. He knew that he could not make such a mistake again. If she had not pulled her punches, he might have been crippled by now. Of course, that was not considering Fat Cat’s possible intervention.
Zhou Weiqing’s Blink had given Little Witch sufficient time for Little Witch to reach and react. A black shadow extended from Little Witch’s feet to Zhou Weiqing’s feet. In the next moment, she had appeared right behind Zhou Weiqing; if one did not look closely, it was as if they were a single person as she was pressed right behind him. This Skill of Little Witch’s was called Shadow Chase, a very versatile support/offense Skill. Not only could it be used against enemies, it could also be used on allies! If used against enemies, it would allow her to continuously stay behind the enemy no matter how far or fast he moved, and she would be able to continue launching attacks while doing so… until the enemy was defeated or killed. However, if it were used on an ally, it would become a great support skill, allowing her to follow hidden behind her ally, able to launch sneak attacks from behind. The Shadow Chase also had the additional benefit of giving a small attack boost.
With the female ZhongTian Battle Team member’s powerful close combat skills, Little Witch naturally did not attempt to use the Shadow Chase on her and play to her enemy’s strengths. However, using it on Zhou Weiqing was perfect; no matter how Zhou Weiqing moved, she would follow suit. That would allow her not only to combine defenses, but also launch attacks from any angle in combination.
At the same time as Zhou Weiqing Blinked away, the pair of Legendary Dual God Strength Hammers appeared in his hands. Seeing the huge hammers, the female ZhongTian Battle Team members started slightly. Zhou Weiqing did not hold back, as his crying-face hammer instantly hurtling down towards her.
It had to be known that he was still currently in the Demonic Change State, and his originally already terrifying strength was further tripled from that. Added to that the Strength boost from the Legendary Hammers, as a specialised Strength Type Consolidated Equipment… Although the Heavenly Energy and cultivation level difference between the two was extremely huge, just pure physical strength alone would help close the gap by leaps and bounds. After all, she was a close combat specialist with coordination, flexibility and skill.
With both hands raised, the female ZhongTian Battle Team member chose to clash with Zhou Weiqing directly. Seeing his miserable three sets of Heavenly Jewels, she had lots of confidence in herself.
However, in the instance when the fists and hammers met, she realised with a shock that she had been just too wrong.
Zhou Weiqing’s strength was not fully correspondent to his cultivation level; his physical strength had already reached an astonishing high indeed. As both sides clashed, the female ZhongTian Battle team member realised that she was unable to take it. Shocked, she couldn’t help but quickly change tactics, swapping from a punch to a push, as her right leg kicked out towards Zhou Weiqing with a vicious kick. At the same time, her palms moved out to the sides, making use of the traction force in that moment to push herself away.
The clash of the two sides was in an extremely short period of time, and to be able to react so swiftly like that, the advantages of her Mutated Duo Physical Jewels was clearly shown. Perhaps in terms of pure strength she was no match for Zhou Weiqing, but in terms of coordination and flexibility, Zhou Weiqing was similarly far from her level.
Alas, at this point, a grey-black light pierced forth from beneath Zhou Weiqing’s arms, as if a star in the night, striking towards her abdomen. Little Witch, well hidden behind Zhou Weiqing, had also made her move.
With the Shadow Chase, Little Witch had been pressed close behind Zhou Weiqing, hidden from sight as she calmly and coldly examined her opponent’s actions. Originally, she had planned to take action when he was unable to block their opponent’s attacks, and to aid him in defense. However, seeing Zhou Weiqing’s hammer strike actually forcing their enemy to move back, how could she possibly waste such an opportunity?
Even so, pressed to such circumstances, the female ZhongTian Battle team member showed off her power again. Despite the dire situation, she still managed to suck in a deep breath in midair, greatly bringing in her chest and stomach as she spun her body, causing Little Witch’s short blade to miss by a hair as it swiped across where her abdomen had been a split second ago, almost scraping her. At the same time, using the tip of her feet as a pivot, she spun around in midair, withdrawing the foot which had been lashing out towards Zhou Weiqing, while the claws of her gloves shot out once more, one striking out towards Zhou Weiqing’s incoming smiling-face hammer, and the other towards Little Witch’s hands.
Seeing that her strike had missed, Little Witch immediately drew back her short blade, while Zhou Weiqing’s hammer seemed to smash hard against his opponent’s claws.
Alas, the smiling-face hammer was in its illusory mode, but his opponent had expected it to hold the same power as the previous crying-face hammer, and she had exerted all her strength in order to block it. Instantly, the gold claws flashed across the hammer and right through it, causing her to lose her balance unexpectedly as she overexerted her strength in the wrong manner.
Having already been forced to change positions in midair twice by Zhou Weiqing and Little Witch in such a short period of time, she was just truly in a terrible position now. No matter how flexible and skilled she was, there just was no room for her to change positions again in that moment.
How could Zhou Weiqing possibly let go of such a perfect opportunity? The crying-face hammer which had clashed with his opponent earlier came rushing back in a savage blow once more.
In such a moment of danger, off balance and with no other option, she was left with no other choice but to accept the blow. The only thing she could do was to spread the wings of her back in order to protect herself the best she could.
*Claaannngg* A massive sound rang out, and she felt a sweet taste rising in her throat. Her entire body flew backwards from the savage blow, and at the same time, she cried out as she vomited out a whole mouth of blood. As Zhou Weiqing’s crying-face hammer came crashing into her, it was now imbued with a Skill. Once more, the Heavenly Lightning Shock entered the battlefield.
Of course, this time, the result would not be the same as its debut appearance. The Legendary Hammers were able to boost Zhou Weiqing’s Skills when they were unleashed from the hammers, furthermore, she had just taken such a heavy blow, definitely sustaining injuries and being thrown off guard. With this single hammer, the female ZhongTian Battle Team member’s Consolidated Wings were disrupted by the Heavenly Lightning Shock, disappearing instantly.
She was not the first person to be tricked and disadvantaged by his pair of Legendary Dual God Strength Hammers, and would definitely not be the last. In their earlier clash, after maximum efforts from Little Witch and Zhou Weiqing, a huge amount of her Heavenly Energy had already been spent. At this point, her confidence in her close combat capabilities had actually caused her to be struck by this hammer, and she was now in a severe disadvantageous position.
Tornado Strike. Zhou Weiqing did not dare give his opponent any chance to recover, pressing their advantage instantly as he unleashed his Wind Attribute Skill that he had Stored from the Icy Soul Heavenly Bears. Immediately, his speed increased in a burst as he flew towards the female ZhongTian Battle Team member. At the same time, he pointed the crying-face symbol Legendary Hammer in his hand towards her, reapplying the Curse of Doom.
Zhou Weiqing could clearly sense that Little Witch behind him had started storing power as she charged up her Skill once more. In such a circumstance, even if his own attack could not finish their foe off, there was still no chance for her victory, barring any unexpected miracles.
Even so, the team of Little Witch and Zhou Weiqing should already have been strong enough to beat most ordinary seven- Jeweled Lower Zong Stage Heavenly Jewel Masters. Being forced to such a state by just a single six-Jeweled member from the ZhongTian Battle Team, barely beating her after both of them had used all their hidden aces, they were definitely not overjoyed by their ‘victory’. “Zhou Little Fatty, you dare?!” Right at that moment when she was struck with the Curse of Doom, the female ZhongTian Battle Team member actually stopped resisting, glaring angrily at Zhou Weiqing as she cried out loud. Of course, this time she used her original voice, the clear crisp beautiful voice clearly with a note of anger within. Lifting her hands and with a slight tilt of her claws, a well crafted mask flew off her face.
Zhou Weiqing, who was charging at her with all his might, propelled by his Tornado Strike Skill, was shocked by the sudden sight in front of him. He was totally stunned to see that the common look of that female ZhongTian Battle Team member was now… exactly the same as Shangguan Bing’er!
Although logic told him that this could not be Shangguan Bing’er in front of him, as the power levels was just too different, he could not bring himself to continue his attack. Even if it were any of her two sisters, how could he possibly really injure them?
Without hesitation, Zhou Weiqing instantly dismissed the two Legendary Hammers in his hands. Still in midair, his right leg struck the ground savagely, changing the direction just before he rammed into her.
As for Little Witch, when she saw the female ZhongTian Battle Team member reveal her true appearance, she was also surprised. She quickly removed her Shadow Chase skill, skipping lightly to the side.
Seeing Zhou Weiqing pass by her, the female ZhongTian Battle Team member felt the anger rise within her, and couldn’t help but give his buttock a swift kick.
This young lady opponent of theirs was no other than Shangguan Bing’er’s second sister, Shangguan Fei’er. Having had her first kiss stolen by Zhou Weiqing, she had been so vexed that she had instigated Zhan LingTian’s anger, getting him to secretly sneak her into the ZhongTian Battle Team by using a mask to disguise herself. In such a manner, she had entered this Finals of the Heavenly Jewel Tournament to seek revenge.
Although Shangguan Fei’er’s cultivation level was not as high as Shangguan Fei’er, she was also extremely talented, one of the top genius of the young generation, with the Mutated Duo Physical Jewels, which was one of the rarest and more powerful mutations. If not for the fact that she had such an important status in the Heaven’s Expanse Palace, how could she possibly get so many God Tier Consolidating Equipment Masters to help her design and create a specialised Legendary Set? After all, these God Tier Consolidating Equipment Masters had an extremely exalted status within the Heaven’s Expanse Palace, and they had no other obligation besides helping only the Palace Master and the direct heir to create the Boundless Infinitum Set. Besides that, they could not be forced to help the Heaven’s Expanse Palace. Shangguan Fei’er had coaxed and pestered them unceasingly with all her wiles before successfully getting her current four God Tier Consolidated Equipment. The Little Demon Girl of the Heaven’s Expanse Palace was indeed notorious in the entire Heavenly Jewel Island, perhaps her name was even more known than her elder sister Shangguan Xue’er, the heir and future Palace Master!
As such, she had never expected that with all her power, she could actually lose to the combination of Zhou Weiqing and Little Witch! Even though the two of them were working together, she had four God Tier Consolidated Equipment, all part of a Legendary Set!
Still in midair, Zhou Weiqing received the kick from her and instantly lost his balance. *Peng* He crashed right into a large tree before tumbling down onto the ground. However, even this kick gave Shangguan Fei’er a large surprise. When her foot connected with Zhou Weiqing, a powerful elastic force burst forth from his muscles involuntarily, the shockwaves actually causing her right foot to be numbed momentarily. At the same time, it was clear that a
strange white light formed a whirlpool around the spot she had kicked, dissipating the Heavenly Energy around her kick.
Even though she had not used much Heavenly Energy in that kick, it was without question that Zhou Weiqing’s defense was far beyond any Three-Jeweled Heavenly Jewel Master, even taking into account his Demonic Change State.
In the distance, Little Witch stared at the two of them, saying in surprise: “Weiqing, what is going on?”
Zhou Weiqing vaulted back up from the ground, releasing his Demonic Change State as he looked gloomily at Shangguan Fei’er before saying: “How would I know what is going on? She is definitely not Bing’er… and I don’t think it is Shangguan Xue’er either… You… you are Shangguan Fei’er right?”
Shangguan Fei’er gave a cold smile, saying: “Hmph! So you can still remember who I am! Zhou Weiqing, if you dare touch me again today, I will make sure that you will never ever end up with Bing’er!” “You dare threaten me?” Zhou Weiqing said angrily. “I have already gone easy on you!”
Shangguan Fei’er gave a disdainful humph, saying: “You two are fighting me two against one, and you dare say you have gone easy on me? I sneaked into this Heavenly Jewel Tournament because of you!”
Zhou Weiqing couldn’t help but say curiously: “Huh? You sneaked into the Tournament because of me? Why? Have you fallen for me too?!”
“Bullshit! You took advantage of me, and now you are trying to deny it? If you do not give me a good accounting, I will not let you off.” Shangguan Fei’er snarled angrily, her face a mask of anger. She had been doted upon lovingly since she was young, and no one would ever dare to take advantage of her. Yet, her first kiss had just been stolen like that. Her fury was far beyond even Shangguan Xue’er’s.
After all, no matter what, Shangguan Xue’er was the heir and future Palace Master of the Heaven’s Expanse Palace. She had been trained from young as such, and her character was definitely more suited as well, being a lot more logical and trained to see reason. Alas, Shangguan Fei’er was definitely not the same, and she was the vengeful type indeed, how could she possibly let Zhou Weiqing go so easily.
Little Witch looked at Zhou Weiqing strangely, saying: “Weiqing, you are just too beastly, you won’t even let Bing’er’s sister go? Alright, this is a personal matter then, you two settle it on your own, I’ll be by the side.” As she said that, she turned around and walked away.
It was Zhou Weiqing’s turn to get angry. “Beastly your head! Didn’t you see she looks exactly the same as Bing’er? They are triplets, who could possibly recognize them from each other? I didn’t take advantage of her on purpose, furthermore it was just a little kiss… That time, Shangguan Xue’er gave a such a huge slap that my face was swollen for days, but this girl gave me such a beating already!”
Shangguan Fei’er defended herself, saying: “If I do not blame you, then who?! Who asked you not to look clearly before running over to take advantage of me? In any case, I don’t care, since you already kissed me, then you better give a good accounting of yourself, otherwise I won’t let it go so easily.”
Zhou Weiqing gave a cold humph before saying: “Do as you wish. If you can, just kill me then.” Just as the atmosphere was freezing as the impasse continued, all of a sudden, the sky lit up once more a another Heaven’s Expanse Palace signal flare burst out.
Shangguan Fei’er’s face changed. Although she was capricious and headstrong, she still could put the big picture ahead of her own needs. Seeing the second signal flare light up, it could only mean one thing: The ZhongTian Battle Team was in huge trouble.
“I’ll deal with you later.” Saying that, she spun around and flew off swiftly in the direction of the signal flare.
Looking at her retreating figure, Zhou Weiqing had a gloomy expression on his face. What am I do to?! A future fight and opponent, Shangguan Xue’er, is already giving me a huge headache, and now an unreasonable sister Shangguan Fei’er is added to the mix. Furthermore, her power is almost just as strong, and definitely not someone I can handle by myself. Add in this Little Witch, mischievous and unpredictable as she is, and the wonderful but trouble-bringing Tian’er in his arms… That is not even mentioning his own dear Bing’er…
The saying goes ‘Three women can form an opera’, but he had five beside him! Each with a terrifying background, each with a murky connection to him. How was he going to continue living from now on!
Seeing that Shangguan Fei’er had left, Little Witch sidled up to Zhou Weiqing, saying apologetically: “Weiqing, I did not know it was all a misunderstanding, and I thought you had really taken advantage of her. You won’t blame me right?”
Zhou Weiqing looked at her exasperatedly, saying: “What blame? Come on let’s go as well, we should have a look at what happened to the ZhongTian Battle Team, that they actually need to use their signal flare twice.” No matter what, they had to try to finish this Heavenly Jewel Tournament the best they could. By that them, after he left the Heavenly Jewel Island, the immense sea will allow the fish to leap at liberty, and the vast sky will allow birds to fly freely. At the most, he will run away from them all, and when he was powerful enough, he would return to bring Bing’er away. Too many women is also a cause of headache! Although Zhou Weiqing loved beautiful women, he was also afraid of trouble. Furthermore, besides Tian’er, who he had deeper feelings for, both Shangguan Xue’er and Fei’er were half enemies or sorts, and even Little Witch was together with him more for a mutually beneficial agreement. Running away from them, Zhou Weiqing would not feel any burden in his heart. Little Witch flew closer to Zhou Weiqing. She could clearly sense a slight coldness from him, and couldn’t help but furrow her brow slightly. This young man looked to be honest and naive on the surface, but he was extremely cunning inside. He might act the part of a pervert at times, but in truth, no one could really tell what he was thinking inside. Such a strange, unpredictable nature, it was truly mystifying.
From Little Witch’s perspective, her first impression of Zhou Weiqing at first was that she did not like this young man. The only reason she followed by his side, even sacrificing her own values to flirt and seduce him, it was all for the Heavenly Demon Sect.
However, as they spent more time together, she realised that Zhou Weiqing was always constantly surprising her. He was clearly only at the three-Jeweled cultivation level, yet he could always accomplish deeds that no one else could.
Women always liked the strong, especially women with a background like hers, from a Great Saint Lands, used to seeing so many genius and talents. In order to conquer their hearts, one had to be able to have the power to conquer them first.
Zhou Weiqing naturally did not have the power to do so currently, but the display of his unbelievable talent was truly obvious throughout the entire Heavenly Jewel Tournament. He might not be extremely handsome, but he had a certain bad boy charm about him that slowly grew more pleasing to the eye to Little Witch, bit by bit. In that moment when Zhou Weiqing turned to leave, she suddenly felt a small sense of loss. She knew that in Zhou Weiqing’s heart, she could never be equal to
Tian’er, let alone Shangguan Bing’er.
Just as she was lost in wild thoughts, she suddenly looked up to see that Tian’er, in her Fat Cat form, had leaped up onto Zhou Weiqing’s shoulder, looking at her with a provocative look on her face.
Little Witch glared at her, before quickly leaping into the air and chasing after Zhou Weiqing. At the same time, a Life Attribute recovery Skill fell upon Zhou Weiqing, to alleviate the pain he felt from Shangguan Fei’er’s kick.
Chance… she had to wait for and seize an opportunity! This was the sole thought in Little Witch’s mind. As for when such an opportunity would appear, she did not know, but she believed in her heart that it would eventually appear for her.
In just the few moments they had milled around, Shangguan Fei’er had already disappeared into the distance. However, with the signal flare clear in the distance, they would not have any trouble following her.
Zhou Weiqing did not proceed ahead at a quick pace, as he still needed to circulate his Immortal Deity Technique in order to recover his Heavenly Energy. Furthermore, Little Witch had also expended a large amount of Heavenly Energy earlier, and she did not have the recovery speed of Zhou Weiqing. As such, the two of them moved on at a leisurely pace towards the direction of the signal flare.
That is a very literal translation of a chinese saying. Basically, it’s saying that when many women are together, they cannot resist chit chatting with each other and discussing secrets, with each voicing their opinion etc. The more there are, the more lively the atmosphere, until one can almost form an opera.
Another literal translation, basically means he will be free to do whatever he wants then The unique Summoning Signal Flare of the Heaven’s Expanse Palace had quite a large area of effect, and unleashed high up in the air, it was extremely clear to see. The unique thing was that even after the first burst of light dissipated, it would still leave a point of light, lasting a long time, to lead a way.
As the saying goes, watching the mountain as you run will kill horses, especially in such a dense forest, as Zhou Weiqing and Little Witch walked along while recovering their Heavenly Energy, they took more than an hour before they finally got close to the signal flare. One could imagine how huge the Lustre Spatial Realm was just from that alone.
In the distance, Zhou Weiqing and Little Witch could sense the powerful violent fluctuations of Heavenly Energy. By this time, they did not even need the guidance of the signal flare; just the Heavenly Energy fluctuations alone would be already to lead them to their target.
Exchanging looks, the pair did not hasten their speed, instead slowing down. “How has your Heavenly Energy recovered?” Zhou Weiqing asked Little Witch. In this one hour, his own Heavenly Energy had already recovered to his maximum.
Little Witch nodded, saying: “I’ve recovered between sixty and seventy percent. There should be no problems fighting.”
Zhou Weiqing said: “Be careful. For the ZhongTian Battle Team members to actually use their signal flare, it has to be something really important or powerful. If not an extremely powerful Heavenly Beast, it might be the WanShou Battle Team members. We should not rush to take action, and just watch to see what is going on first.”
“I’ll listen to you.” Little Witch said in a cute, obedient manner, causing Zhou Weiqing’s gaze to stall for a moment. In the end, it is hard for a leopard to change its spots, just like ‘somebody’s’ perverted nature.
The pair continued along slowly and carefully. As they did so, the violent fluctuations of Heavenly Energy grew stronger, and they could hear crashing sounds ahead.
After pressing ahead about thirty more yards, as they looked through a bunch of trees, Zhou Weiqing could not help but be shocked by the sight in front of him.
What appeared in front of him was so far out of his expectations, yet what he had imagined had also come true!
In that midst of that huge, dense forest, a large clearing was in front of his eyes, and there were a lot of people fighting in the clearing currently.
There were quite a few groups of fights, but the most intense amongst them was the current ZhongTian Battle Team leader Zhan LingTian and the WanShou Battle Team leader, a white clad young man. The two clashed in midair, causing a series of loud violent explosions. Both were moving at extreme speeds, and at Zhou Weiqing’s level, he was hard pressed to even follow their movements with his eyes, being able to only see seven sets of Jewels vaguely around their wrists.
To reach the seven-Jeweled cultivation level before the age of thirty, that was already close to the maximum possibility.
The glare of the signal flare above was starting to diminish, and the fights had all intensified. Besides the aforementioned fight between the two leaders, there were still many other fights. Of course, the side with fewer numbers was the WanShou Battle Team, while the one with greater numbers was the ZhongTIan Battle Team and the BaoPo Battle Team members.
The members of the WanShou Battle Team were truly powerful. Currently, all eight of their members were there. Besides the leader who was fighting with Zhan LingTian, the other members were all fighting in a one versus two situation against the ZhongTian and BaoPo Battle Team members. They each had summoned a powerful Heavenly Beast to support them, and from a single glance, they all seemed to be at least at the Low Level Zong Stage or higher. Amongst them, there was a huge, totally white ape at the Upper Level Zong Stage, drawing attention instantly with its colossal power. The person fighting with it was none other than the one who had just parted from them, Shangguan Fei’er.
At this moment, Shangguan Fei’er had only released her bracers and gloved claws, and was fighting the giant ape to a standstill.
From the looks of things, the ZhongTian Battle Team’s side held the upper hand. After all, all eight of them were there, along with six of the Passion Valley members, totalling fourteen of the top fighters of their generation. In terms of power, the Passion Valley member were undoubtedly slightly weaker. However, they were all husband and wife couples, and their rapport allowed their teamwork and cooperation to definitely bring their power levels to another level, as they were able to account for each other’s strengths and weaknesses, bringing their overall power to equal the other two stronger Saint Lands.
As for the ZhongTian Battle Team members, their individual strength might be slightly weaker than the WanShou Battle Team members as well. However, in terms of Consolidated Equipment, they clearly had a lead. For outstanding young talents like themselves who had grown into powerhouses of their own right, the threat of a Heavenly Beast was much lesser. With their numbers disadvantage, the seven members of the WanShou Battle Team (excluding the leader), were on the verge of losing.
However, this was not the most surprising thing to Zhou Weiqing, nor was it the thing that drew most of his attention. What drew his gaze instantly… was at the back of the battlefield.
At the back of the battlefield, there was a hill, almost a small mountain. At the bottom of the hill, there was a large cave, and within that cave lay a massive presence. Dragon.
It was a dragon!
From the looks of it, it was about eighty percent similar looking to the one that Zhou Weiqing had seen in the air previously, just a little smaller. However, it was currently in terrible shape, its massive body lying there unmoving, and under it, a stream of blood pooled around it. Right in front of it lay a large, almost two metre long egg, glowing brilliantly, lighting up the dark cave.
The egg itself was pure white in colour, but it was glowing in a red brilliance.
The dying dragon was licking the surface of the giant egg gently.
Without question, the reason why the ZhongTian Battle Team released its signal flare was definitely not because of the WanShou Battle Team, but because of this dragon and the dragon’s egg! As for how this dragon was injured, Zhou Weiqing could not guess how. After all, any dragon’s power was not something any of them, or even all of them combined, could handle. However, he was certain that this dragon in front of them no longer had any fight left in it.
The members of the WanShou Battle Team seemed to be protecting the dragon, while the ZhongTian Battle Team and BaoPo Battle Team members seemed to be trying to get to it to steal its egg.
A dragon could be said to be an entire treasure trove. Not just its body, its blood, its scales, bones and horns, almost every part of it was a treasured material to Heavenly Jewel Masters. Furthermore, there was an egg there, clearly laid not long ago. What was a priceless treasure in itself! No matter who, if one could hatch a dragon’s egg and own a dragon, what kind of honour and treasure would that be!? Given sufficient time to grow, that dragon could be a future Heavenly God Powerhouse.
In truth, what Zhou Weiqing did not know was that this Lustre Spatial Realm was actually created by the dragon race. They had been on the verge of extinction, and a long time ago, they had done so in order to preserve their bloodline and ensure the survival of their race. It was only many years later that the Heaven’s Expanse Palace would discover it on the Heavenly Jewel Island.
As for the entrance restriction of this Lustre Spatial Realm was that the age had to be lower than thirty.
This was the restriction that the dragon race had initially set upon this Spatial Realm as a layer of protection.
The demise and endangerment of the dragon race was largely due to the human race. Even though each dragon was extremely powerful, how could they compare in sheer numbers with humans? In front of these crafty, greedy humans, they were just like a huge treasure trove awaiting to be plundered. DragonSlayer, that used to be an honoured name, a name that signified overnight wealth and fame!
The pride of the dragon race had resulted in them not living together, and this had given the humans an unlimited opportunity. Finally, by the time the last few surviving elder dragons had realised this, they were faced with a dying race. They had chosen the Heavenly Jewel Island as their last stand together against the humans in a final fight. In this final battle, they had slaughtered almost all the human powerhouses, but they were also driven to the verge of extinction. With the last of their strength, they had created the Lustre Spatial Realm on this Heavenly Jewel Island, placing several dragon eggs within, hoping that their future kin could flourish and grow in this new world. It was also because of this that the dragons hated humans so much.
In order to prevent humans from threatening their descendants, they had placed the restriction of the age of thirty on the Lustre Spatial Realm, forever restricting any humans above the age of thirty from entering.
In actual fact, the last surviving elder dragons who had created this Lustre Spatial Realm had not realised that in that destructive final battle, almost all of the human powerhouses of that time had been vanquished, with much of their legacy lost. There had been almost no more threat to dragons at that time.
Many years later, when the Heaven’s Expanse Palace had discovered the secret to this Spatial Realm, that generation of Heavenly Snow Mountain Lord had also discovered the secret through other means.
The Heavenly Snow Mountain was the sacred realm of Heavenly Beasts, and the main bloodlines of the Heavenly Snow Mountain had always been partners and allies of dragonkind. The Divine Heavenly Spirit Tigers and dragonkind had very close relationships, and had once ruled to world together. It was only until the humans had grown in strength that everything had changed.
When they had found out that the dragons still existed in the Lustre Spatial Realm, the Heavenly Snow Mountain was overjoyed. Alas, by that time, they could no longer defeat the Heaven’s Expanse Palace easily.
Finally, both sides came to a grudging agreement, and that was the real reason behind the hosting of the Heavenly Jewel Tournament. The cunning Heaven’s Expanse Palace Master of that time had craftily drawn in the other Great Saint Lands into the Tournament as well, and as time passed, it grew into a Tournament that encompassed all the Empires of the world. However, the finals of the Tournament was always held in the Lustre Spatial Realm, their original target.
Only the ZhongTian Battle Team and the WanShou Battle Team truly knew about the secret behind the Lustre Spatial Realm, behind the Heavenly Jewel Tournament. Every Heavenly Jewel Tournament, their goal was not the final placing in the tournament, but to find the dragons within the Lustre Spatial Realm. The Lustre Spatial Realm could only be opened every three years, as such, no matter the Heaven’s Expanse Palace or the Heavenly Snow Mountain, they were not worried that the other side would try to sneak into the Lustre Spatial Realm between that time period.
Of course, none of the young fighters would be of anymatch for an adult dragon, but they could still search for the remains of dead dragons, or even dragon eggs.
The Heavenly Jewel Tournament had been held for so many years, so many times, and between the ZhongTian Battle Team and the WanShou Battle Team, they had only found some scattered dragon bones or scales in the past. As for finding a dragon’s egg, this was truly the first time, let alone having a dying dragon without any strength left right beside the egg.
In truth, the WanShou Battle Team’s main target in entering the Lustre Spatial Realm was actually to harass and stop the ZhongTian Battle Team, to prevent them from gaining too much from the Lustre Spatial Realm, allowing the dragons in this fair land to have a chance to grow and flourish again, in hopes that one day they would grow strong enough to leave this unique spatial realm and join forces with the Heavenly Snow Mountain again. As for the ZhongTian Battle Team’s target, it was naturally to gain as much as possible from these dragons.
The first person to find the dying dragon was a WanShou Battle Team member, but not long after, a ZhongTian Battle Team member had stumbled upon them. WIthout hesitation, he had released the signal flare. After all, with the BaoPo Battle Team’s help, their combined strengths was definitely above the WanShou Battle Team.
Basically, if you keep your eye on something far in the distance, it will seem closer than it really is
Chapter 103 Heavenly Skill Image, Demonic Dragon Lady!
As time passed, all the remaining members of the three teams had gathered there, resulting in this massive fight now.
Of course, they were not the only one in this place. In the corner of the trees, almost all of the Fei Li Battle Team members were hidden. They too had been drawn here by the two signal flares, but just like Zhou Weiqing and Little Witch, they remained hidden in the trees, not wanting to be drawn into such a huge fight.
Such a huge and grand scene, especially with a large dragon in the background, it was truly the first time for Zhou Weiqing. However, after a short moment of surprise, his attention was drawn.
What drew his attention was not the dragon egg, nor the ever-intensifying fight in the clearing. It was a pair of eyes. The eyes belonging to the dying dragon…
What a pair of eyes it was! They did not look at the fight outside, silently looking at the egg in front of itself, using its head to rub gently against it as it licked the traces of blood on it away outside. Gently. Softly.
Its eyes were so gentle, so touching. Two large tears welled up and rolled down, as if those expressive eyes were speak to the egg. Dear child, mother will not be able to protect you anymore.
Looking at those eyes, feeling the emotions within them… Gentle… love… unwillingness… sorrow… hurt… Zhou Weiqing felt as if his blood was boiling within his body as emotion welled up.
This was a mother’s true love for her child! At that moment, it was as if he forgot how valuable a dragon could be. In his heart, there was only those eyes… and the love for a child.
“Little Witch.” Zhou Weiqing said softly.
“What?” Little Witch was startled by his sudden voice. She had also been staring at the sight in front of them, but she had been focusing on the fight, the various skills and powers of their possible enemies. At the same time, her heart was also palpitating in excitement at the sight of the dragon and its egg, and the possibilities. Zhou Weiqing said solemnly: “Can you heal that dragon?”
Little Witch started. “Weiqing, are you kidding? Heal the dragon? Don’t you know what would happen once the dragon recovers, what kind of result that would be? This is the chance of a lifetime for us! We can wait for them to fight it out, and we can effortlessly reap all the advantages… Don’t you know how valuable that dragon’s body will be, not to mention a dragon egg?”
A cold light flashed in Zhou Weiqing’s eyes, and he lifted up his right hand. The Demonic Manual that Little Witch had lent him appeared in his hand, and he pushed it into her hands. Giving her a cold look, he didn’t say anything else, stepping with large strides out of the forest into the clearing.
Little Witch hugged the Demonic Manual, staring blankly at his retreating back. She had clearly seen a hint of disdain in those cold eyes of Zhou Weiqing’s.
He…he… why did he look at me like that?
The next instant, Zhou Weiqing told her the answer with his actions. With a hint of hesitation, Zhou Weiqing strode into the battlefield, the Overlord Bow in his hands. The bowstring moving like lightning, twelve arrows had already shot out, striking out towards the ZhongTian and BaoPo Battle Team members.
What he used was exactly what Shangguan Bing’er had used previously, the Harassment Archery Style.
However, his harassment style was slightly different from Shangguan Bing’er’s; his firing rate was slightly slower, but with the Overlord Bow’s explosive effect and the twisting bowstring effect of improving the destructive power; even a five-Jeweled or six-Jeweled Heavenly Jewel Master could not easily ignore his arrows.
As a series of explosions rang out, the originally retreating WanShou Battle Team members felt the pressure on them lessen considerably, and their status of continuously losing ground finally stabilized.
“Zhou Weiqing, are you crazy?!” Shangguan Fei’er’s voice rang out, an urgent look on her face.
The Overlord Bow in Zhou Weiqing’s hands did not stop, the twanging of the bowstring sounding out as a continuous flow of arrows flew out, seemingly always managing to find the trickiest, craftiest angles, greatly changing the flow of the battle.
“I’m not crazy.”
Shangguan Fei’er cried out angrily: “You are Bing’er’s fiance, you should be standing by our side! How can you side with the WanShou Battle Team ilk?!”
Zhou Weiqing said passively: “What ilk? I cannot stand by and watch a newly born child, and a dying mother die in your hands. No matter how bad the WanShou Empire is, how many monstrous deeds they have committed, at least now they are protecting this mother and child. And now, my goal is the same as theirs.”
As he said that, he did not stop firing, as the stream of arrows continued steadily. Although he was only at the three-Jeweled cultivation level, Mu En’s Twisting Bowstring Archery Skill allowed his arrows to actually play a large part in this fight, forcing the entire battlefield back into a standstill. Although the WanShou Battle Team was still at a slight disadvantage, it was already much better than just a moment ago. Hearing Zhou Weiqing’s words, a look of uncertainty flickered with Shangguan Fei’er’s eyes. Turning to look at the dragon, she felt a twinge in her heart, and her eyes changed once again. As for how Zhou Weiqing had looked at her a moment ago, it also left a deep impression in her heart. That resolute determination, the resolve to forge ahead in the path no matter how much the world would hate him for it, forming an aura about him that shook her heart. After all, it could be said that any single person on the battlefield was at a much higher cultivation level than him, but when he stepped onto the battlefield with such a resolve, it felt as if he was the center of the battlefield instead.
Such a sudden change in heart caused her to pause momentarily in mid fight, her actions slowing. Originally, her Consolidated Claws had caused much damage to the large white ape she was fighting, but now she subconsciously slowed her attacks.
“Fei Li Battle Team members, follow Weiqing’s lead. Join the fight!” A loud, resonant deep voice rang out suddenly. Under Lin TianAo’s lead, the hidden members of the Fei Li Battle Team made their entrance onto the battlefield.
Lin TianAo charged forth in the lead, with Crow, Drunken Bao, Xiao Yan, Ye Paopao following close behind. The five of them did not rush into the fight, instead gathering quickly around Zhou Weiqing.
Earlier, when Zhou Weiqing had suddenly charged out onto the battlefield to join the fight, all the members of the Fei Li Battle Team had been shocked. After a moment of gathering his thoughts, Lin TianAo had also brought the other team members to join in. Although they knew that this might put them in an opposing position with the ZhongTian and BaoPo Battle Team, perhaps even having a detrimental effect on the three Empires whose borders all met with the WanShou Empire’s, and were on the same boat in terms of countering them, they still did not hesitate to join in. After all, how could they possibly stand around and watch Zhou Weiqing fight alone?
A ray of white light seemed to shoot forth from Zhou Weiqing’s bosom, swiftly growing to form a white figure in the air. In moments, it had turned into a three metre large white tiger. It was Fat Cat!
Fat Cat’s face was currently filled with tears. She had not tried to ask Zhou Weiqing to do anything, but when Zhou Weiqing had stood out and made the decision to help the dragon mother, the last small barrier in her heart towards Zhou Weiqing had finally broken. No matter what flaws he had, at least he had this kind heart within right? Wasn’t that more than enough?
Fat Cat did not say anything to Zhou Weiqing, but in her heart, she had already given him more a thousand words. In that moment, she had totally fallen for him through and through, and she knew that from now on, there could be no other man in her life besides him.
Fat Cat’s appearance and the effect it had on the WanShou Battle Team members was far beyond Zhou Weiqing’s expectations.
Zhan LingTian was also shocked to the core, exclaiming: “Divine Heavenly Spirit Tiger?!”
Seeing the huge white tiger was a massive confidence and morale boost to all the WanShou Battle Team members, as if their spirit and vitality had been uplifted. In that instance, even their Heavenly Energy seemed to burst forth with new strength, as if receiving a boost. As for their Heavenly Beasts, it was even more so. Instantly, the tides of battle turned once again, as they steadily drew even with their opponents. Nine bouts of gold light shot out from Fat Cat’s body, landing perfectly on Zhou Weiqing and the eight WanShou Battle Team members. They felt their bodies heat up, as if the Heavenly Energy within their body was given a boost; at the same time, their Heavenly Energy usage when using Skills also dropped
drastically.
The Divine Attribute. Amongst the three Great Saint Attributes, it was the one with the greatest support and healing capabilities, with even the powerful resurrection ability!
After unleashing the powerful support Skill to the eight of them, Fat Cat did not stay and join the fight, instead flying swiftly towards the dragon, the thick gold light still flowing out of her body and enveloping the dying dragon.
When the dragon saw Fat Cat, its originally dim and lifeless eyes brightened with a ray of hope. However, the hope wasn’t targeted at itself. Instead, it continuously gave a low wuuu wuuu sound towards her, bumping the egg in front of it gently, as if telling Fat Cat to take care of it.
Fat Cat shook her head towards the dragon, as the gold light of her Divine Attribute burst out brilliantly towards the it. The true reason why this dragon had ended up like this was actually because of the egg in front of it. It was much larger than any normal dragon egg, and although she had barely managed to lay it out, this female dragon had also been severely injured internally and also exhausted by that, causing it to lose much blood.
No matter how strong a dragon was, and how great and tenacious the life force of a dragonkin usually was, this was a mix of serious internal and external injuries, directly draining its life force. Yet, at this time when it was at its weakest, it had been found by the ZhongTian Battle Team members.
The Divine Attribute was definitely the strongest Attribute at Healing, but there was just too huge a gap between Fat Cat and the Dragon’s cultivation levels. In other words, with her cultivation level, it was impossible for her to save such a huge and powerful dragon, especially one who had sustained such fatal injuries.
Tian’er’s Heavenly Energy was being drained at an alarmingly rapid rate, but alas, she could still sense that the life force of the dragon was still leaving it slowly.
“Senior Ye Paopao, do you have any Healing Skills?” Zhou Weiqing asked Ye Paopao urgently as he continued firing arrows. At the same time, he also gave a questioning glance to Drunken Bao.
He had been together with Tian’er for so long, and they could, to a certain extent, read each other’s minds. Just with the short exchange of glances, he could tell from her eyes that she could not possibly heal the dragon just by herself, not even just to stabilize her wounds.
Ye Paopao said: “We will do our best.” Although he did not have any Water Attribute Healing Skills, just the Water Attribute Heavenly Energy alone had some healing properties. As long as he circulated it gently in aid, it could at least help replenish the dragon’s body, and lessen the load on Tian’er. At the same time, Drunken Bao had the Light Attribute. Although the healing properties of the Light Attribute was no match for Tian’er’s Divine Attribute, it was still not to be underestimated. At least, it was better than nothing in this case! Both of them quickly moved towards the backline, unleashing their Heavenly Energy towards the dragon.
With their help, Tian’er’s expression grew better. Under their efforts, the rate of the Life force ebbing out of the mother dragon slowed drastically.
Right at that moment, a sudden burst of blue light shot past them and fell onto the mother dragon. The thick blue light was not hostile, gentle and filled with Life Attribute Heavenly Energy, imbued with life force. With this fresh infusion of immense life energy, the mother dragon’s wounds finally stabilized, her scary looking wounds finally stopping their bleeding, and her ebbing life force finally started recovering slowly instead.
Tian’er turned around in surprise, only to see Little Witch. She did not know when or how Little Witch had arrived beside her, but the familiar blue hibiscus mutabilis was behind her, constantly infusing a large amount of life energy into the mother dragon. At the same time, a few rays of light shot forth from the hibiscus to wrap around a few nearby large trees, drawing their life force to replenish the mother dragon’s.
In that moment, among all the Elemental Attributes, all the four which held any form of healing properties were present. Water, Light, Life and Divine. Instantly, the healing effect seemed to multiply, and take full effect on the mother dragon. Her eyes slowly turned from sorrow to a surprised delight, and with a slow lift of one of her claws, she pulled the large egg in front of her into her embrace before closing her eyes. Without question, she was cooperating with the four healers in circulating the energy in self recovery.
At that side, it seemed things had stabilized. But the ZhongTian Battle Team leader, Zhan LingTian, was growing more and more furious.
Originally, everything was going according to plan, everything falling in place perfectly for them. The dragon, the egg, both were pretty much in their bag. At most, they would have to give the BaoPo Battle Team some benefits to reward them for their help. Who could have expected that this Zhou Weiqing would jump out and ruin everything, followed by a Divine Heavenly Spirit Tiger and those Fei Li Battle Team members! They were actually somehow reversing that sure- win battle situation!
The moment he saw Zhou Weiqing, he instantly remembered what Shangguan Fei’er told him. It was this bastard that had stolen the first kiss of his goddess. Now, he was here once more to ruin his perfect time.
The more he thought about this, the more furious Zhan LingTian got, until it reached a breaking point.
All of a sudden, the God Tier Consolidated Long Spear in Zhan LingTian’s hands swept out, forcing back his opponent in an abrupt motion. With a sudden flash, he appeared right before Zhou Weiqing, the spear striking out towards him!
The Elemental Jewels around Zhan LingTian’s left wrist was also an Alexandrite stone! He had two Elemental Attributes, but although it was only two attributes, they were an unbelievably unique existence in their own right. His two Attributes were actually the Light and Darkness Attribute, two absolute opposites!
Ordinarily, if two opposite attributes like that appeared for a single person, then there should be no possibility for him to cultivate. In fact, there would exist the possibility of self imploding if he should try to force himself to cultivate.
However, this Zhan LingTian was truly unique. He had started cultivating from a young age, and had actually managed to cultivate these two opposing attributes through sheer talent and willpower. The entire left half of his body held the Darkness Attribute, while the entire right half of his body held the Light Attribute. The middle intersection of his body was the divider, protected by Heavenly Energy.
Indeed, the Light and Darkness Attributes were opposing, but if coordinated and mixed well with proper control, that opposing power could actually be taken advantage of, causing it to have an extremely great strength.
In the entire younger generation of the Heaven’s Expanse Palace, if one were to ignore the Consolidated Equipment and just focus on cultivation level alone, Zhan LingTian was actually the top. It was only because Shangguan Xue’er had the Boundless Infinitum Set that her overall power was above his.
It was not without reason that Zhan LingTian was called the top genius within the past several hundred years in the Heaven’s Expanse Palace. At least, he had shown he was able to take the upper hand in a fight with the leader of the Heavenly Snow Mountain. After all, he was facing another Heavenly Beast at the same time, a Snow Eagle.
Currently, Zhan LingTian’s heart was filled with a violent killing intent, as he targeted Zhou Weiqing with all his might. That killing aura, almost coalesced into a tangible feeling caused Zhou Weiqing to almost suffocate.
A flash of yellow light. With a swift step, Lin TianAo appeared in front of Zhou Weiqing, his five-Jeweled Assembly Shield Set blocking the incoming blow unhesitatingly.
Zhan LingTian’s Consolidated Equipment was also a specially designed Legendary Set, but with a maximum of nine pieces only. He currently had four pieces, just like Shangguan Fei’er.
The long spear in his hands was one of the Legendary Set pieces, 1.2 zhang, as thick as an infant’s arms. One half of it was gold, and the other half black, even down to the sharp end. In between the gold and black colour, there was a faint white line separating the two; it was almost a mirror image of his own internal body mechanism.
As the spear pierced out, it was imbued with both Light and Darkness Heavenly Energy. As soon as the two energies left the spear, they immediately caused an immense explosion.
When Light met Darkness, the effect was even more obvious than water meeting fire. This was even more so when considering Zhan LingTian’s seven-Jeweled cultivation level.
In that massive explosion, even with Lin TianAo’s powerful defenses, he was still knocked back by that powerful strike. The next instant, with a tilt of his spear, Zhan LingTian sent him flying back.
In terms of cultivation level, Zhan LingTian was above Shangguan Fei’er, and his absolute power was comparable or even higher than hers as well, especially with his battle experience, killing intent and resolution, it was not something that Shangguan Fei’er had within her, at least not currently.
Without Lin TianAo to block him, Zhan LingTian was now facing Zhou Weiqing directly. Having knocked Lin TianAo back with the front of the spear, he struck down savagely and swiftly towards Zhou Weiqing’s chest with the butt of the spear.
However, Lin TianAo’s block had given Zhou Weiqing the opportunity to unleash his Demonic Change State. Only under the Demonic Change State would he have the slightest chance of protecting himself from Zhan LingTian.
His Legendary Dual God Strength Hammers appeared unhesitatingly. Due to the fact that he had already used the Consolidating Equipment God Protective Aura once today, it did not appear once more. With the crying-face hammer, Zhou Weiqing struck upwards, forcibly blocking Zhan LingTian’s attack. At the same time, the WanShou Battle Team leader recovered himself, striking out towards Zhan LingTian’s back.
Another massive explosion. Zhou Weiqing felt himself swallowed by a previously incomparable explosion, as if he was in the midst of a maelstrom. In that moment, he could no longer hear anything from outside, as if he had been transported to another world by himself.
Even with his immense strength, the boost from the Demonic Change State and his Legendary Hammers, he was still unable to block Zhan LingTian’s spear. The crying-face hammer was forcibly knocked back, smashing onto his own chest and sending him flying back.
The Immortal Deity Shield burst into effect at this moment, the fourteen energy whirlpools at his Death Acupuncture Points whirling at their maximum speed, combining efforts to accept the blow and reduce it.
Luckily, Zhan LingTian had been blocked by Lin TianAo earlier. Although he had easily knocked Lin TianAo away, and this blow was dealt with intense anger, he still had to focus some attention towards the dire threat from the WanShou Battle Team leader behind him. As such, he did not dare to use his full strength in the attack.
Thanks to that, Zhou Weiqing managed to survive it. Even so, when he was sent flying back, he could not help but vomit out a mouthful of fresh blood.
At the same time, he did not let Zhan LingTian get off scot- free. The crying-face hammer had been imbued with the boosted Curse of Doom, landing on him as well.
After knocking both Lin TianAo and Zhou Weiqing back, Zhan LingTian swept his right foot out, forcibly kicking Crow, who had been striking down with both her axes, and sending her flying back as well. In the next instant, he twisted his body, barely avoiding Xiao Yan’s fireball. With his spear as a pivot, he vaulted back up again, and was once again clashing with the WanShou Battle Team leader without skipping a beat. In just the few short moments, Zhan LingTian had used his full power to its maximum effect. Although he did not succeed in killing Zhou Weiqing as planned, he had managed to stop the young archer from shooting his harassing arrows, and also dealt him an injury. The power of his Light and Darkness Spear had definitely given Zhou Weiqing a heavy blow. If not for Lin TianAo, and the power of his Legendary hammer, he might have been blown into bits by now.
So Strong! Zhou Weiqing exclaimed in his heart. Although he had vomited out a mouthful of blood, his injury wasn’t too serious, while Zhan LingTian’s blow had also sparked the ferocity in his heart.
With a furious yell, Zhou Weiqing swung the Legendary Hammers in his hands, his right leg striking the ground savagely as he leapt up high.
The swirling thick black tiger tattoos on his body started to fluctuate violently, as if they were all coming to life. This was especially so for the ‘King’ word on his forehead, which was currently glowing brilliantly.
In mid air, Zhou Weiqing’s eyes turned cold, his entire body giving forth a strange aura. In that instant, his gaze seemed to give others a noble arrogance, an unassuming yet exalted loftiness, as if the people below him were all merely lowly beings. His eyes, which had turned bloodshot earlier due to the Demonic Change State, had suddenly turned a deep purple.
Hammers in hand, his physique broadened further by the Demonic Change State, when his body rose up into the air to the maximum point as propelled by his kick, he suddenly stopped right there in the sky, hovering there instead of falling back down as if he could defy gravity.
A noble and proud air suddenly filled the air, and the two Legendary Hammers in his hands abruptly glowed with a purple-red light.
As Zhou Weiqing levitated in the sky, a five metre tall phantom illusory image slowly appeared behind him.
When that phantom illusory image appeared, everyone on the battlefield slowed down or stopped. Even the mother dragon, whose eyes had been closed as she was in the midst of healing, opened her eyes to stare at Zhou Weiqing in midair.
Zhan LingTian exclaimed in shock: “Heavenly Skill Image!” As the name might suggest, Heavenly Skill Image referred to having the image of the Heavenly Beast primed and appearing when the Elemental Jewel Stored Skill was used. However, in order for this to happen, that Heavenly Beast had to be at the Heavenly God Stage!
Even an ordinary Heavenly God Stage Beast’s Skill would be rated at twelve stars, definitely the very definition of terrifying.
How could it be? How could this be?!
At that moment, not just Zhan LingTian, but everyone present, had that in their mind. This Zhou Weiqing was merely a three-Jeweled Heavenly Jewel Master, how could he possibly have a Heavenly God Stage Skill?! Even in the Heavenly Jewel Island Skill Storing Palace, there were only very few Heavenly God Stage Heavenly Beasts, each of them gathered painstakingly by generations of Heaven’s Expanse Palace powerhouses, expending much manpower and effort in doing so.
One 丈 (zhang) is about 3.3metres Furthermore, the Heavenly Jewel Island Skill Storing Palace had a strict rule in place. For the Heavenly God Stage Heavenly Beasts, even the direct bloodline of the Heaven’s Expanse Palace had to reach at least the Heavenly King Stage and above, and be given permission by the upper echelons of the Heaven’s Expanse Palace before being allowed into try Skill Storing on them. No outsiders were actually even allowed to enter that portion of the Skill Storing Palace.
In the entire mainland, Heavenly God Stage Heavenly Beasts were extremely rare, though perhaps not as rare as Heavenly God Stage Jewel Masters, it could still be described as rare as the feathers of a phoenix and the horns of a qilin. To even find a Heavenly God Stage Heavenly Beasts was something so rare, and to find one Sealed or willing to be Skill Stored, it could be said that even in the entire mainland, one could count on the fingers of a hand.
What was so great about this Zhou Weiqing? What sort of insane luck did he have to be able to find a Heavenly God Stage Heavenly Beast, and more so, to successfully Skill Store! After all, even if it were a Heavenly King Stage powerhouse attempting to Skill Store from a Heavenly God Stage Heavenly Beast, the success rate was barely one in ten thousand. That was to say, if this Heavenly King Stage powerhouse were unlucky, it might take more than thirty years of continuous trying before succeeding. Even a lucky one might still take ten years or so.
In fact, for a Heavenly Emperor Stage powerhouse attempting to Skill Store from a Heavenly God Stage Heavenly Beast, the current known record in the entire mainland was five years and nine days!
Yet, on this Heavenly Jewel Tournament grounds, one such Skill had just appeared. How could everyone not be shocked to the core? No matter what Zhou Weiqing’s cultivation level was, when he released this Skill that could summon the Heavenly Skill Image, he undoubtedly became the focal point of the entire battlefield.
The Heavenly Skill Image behind Zhou Weiqing was not very clear, just a vague silhouette, a dim purple-red in colour. Its upper body seemed to be that of a human female, long hair cascading down, but its lower body clearly had a large thick tail wrapped around. Towards such an image, everyone was left puzzled. None of them had any idea what kind of Heavenly Beast looked like this.
Of course, it was normal for them to be clueless about this. This Heavenly Beast that Zhou Weiqing had Skill Stored from was indeed from the Heavenly Jewel Island Skill Storing Palace. However, it was a Heavenly Beast that no other person had Skill Stored from before, although the Heaven’s Expanse Palace had actually caught this beast over four hundred years ago! Let alone the ZhongTian Battle Team members being unable to recognize it, even if the Heaven’s Expanse Palace Master Shangguan Tianyang was here, he might not be able to recognize it as well!
In fact, the Heavenly Beast that Zhou Weiqing had Skill Stored from was actually not at the Heavenly God Stage. If it truly were, no matter how high ranked his and Fat Cat’s Heavenly Beast auras were, with their current cultivation level it was not possible for him to succeed.
The Heavenly Beast he had Skill Stored from was actually a Heavenly Emperor Stage Heavenly Beast, but it was one of the most powerful amongst the ranks of Heavenly Emperor Stage beasts, with its power coming infinitely close to the Heavenly God Stage, though it had not broken through the final layer. In addition to that, due to the fact that it was an extremely powerful Dual Attribute Skill, when he had unleashed the Skill, it had actually generated the Heavenly Skill Image.
The Heavenly Beast which Zhou Weiqing had Skill Stored from was called the Demonic Dragon Lady, rumoured to be descendants of the offspring between the mating of dragon and human, a half-blood half dragon half human, with the cunning and intelligence of humans, and power close to that of a dragon. Even if a Heavenly God Stage Heavenly Beast faced off with it, it would still be able to hold its own.
Four hundred odd years ago, the Heaven’s Expanse Palace had spent more than 30 years planning, arranging and finally capturing this Demonic Dragon Lady. Even so, they had expended many resources in doing so, with even the then- Palace Master perishing in the fight.
When they had caught the Demonic Dragon Lady, they had been overjoyed, thinking they could recoup their losses by Skill Storing powerful Skills from it. Alas, who knew that the Demonic Dragon Lady was not simply a Dual Attribute Heavenly Beast like they had judged previously, with the Darkness and Evil (Demonic) Attribute separate, but in fact, her both Attributes were intertwined closely, especially so for all her Skills. As such, this resulted in an increased difficulty in Skill Storing in addition to the original difficulty of being a Heavenly Emperor Stage Beast. Not only that, the Heavenly Jewel Master had to have both the Demonic and Darkness Attributes in order to succeed, adding yet another layer of difficulty. Of course, those two Attributes were commonly found only in the Heavenly Demon Sect, and the Heaven’s Expanse Palace did not have anyone with both those Attributes at the same time. Naturally, they did not want to give any advantage to the Heavenly Demon Sect, and would not be so foolish as to let the Heavenly Demon Sect benefit from this Heavenly Beast. As a result, in the past few hundred years, no one had successfully Skill Stored from it.
The first time that Zhou Weiqing had entered the Heavenly Jewel Island Skill Storing Palace and checked regarding his various Attributes, he had found out about the existence of this Demonic Dragon Lady, he had taken careful note for the future times that he visited the Skill Storing Palace. Although the Demonic Dragon Lady had already been Sealed for over four hundred years, and was extremely beaten down, it still gave him huge problems. If not for Fat Cat’s help, as she suppressed the Demonic Dragon Lady with her Spirit and Divine Attributes, giving enough time for Zhou Weiqing to Devour the last bits of her energy before Skill Storing, he would not have stood a chance. Even so, it had not been an easy task for them both. That was the reason why he had returned back to the inn so late after Skill Storing, and why the rest of the team saw him in such a shabby shape when he returned.
Zhou Weiqing pointed the Legendary Hammer in his right hand towards Zhan LingTian, who had just shown his impressive prowess, and a purple red light erupted from it towards him.
Zhan LingTian’s heart sank. Facing Zhou Weiqing’s Heavenly God Stage Skill, he knew that he had no chance to dodge it. Instantly, he reacted in the best way possible, channeling his Heavenly Energy with all his might; at the same time, he flew backward as far as possible, trying to put as much distance between him and Zhou Weiqing as he could.
A cold smirk appeared on Zhou Weiqing’s lips. Although this Skill of his was not exactly at the Heavenly God Stage, it was still a top powered Dual Attribute Fusion Skill of the Heavenly Emperor Stage. In terms of its effects, it was definitely comparable to most ordinary Heavenly God Stage Skills.
The Demonic Dragon Lady had many powerful Skills, but in order to use many of them they had extremely harsh restrictions, amongst which was the amount of Heavenly Energy required was at the Heavenly King Stage or higher. As such, even if Zhou Weiqing had Skill Stored some of its more powerful Skills, he would be unable to use them at will, just like the Dark Demon God Lightning.
As such, after careful thinking and consideration, for the sake of the Heavenly Jewel Tournament, Zhou Weiqing had decided to Store an Absolute type Support-type Control Skill.
When his Legendary Hammer pointed towards Zhan LingTian, the surrounding people on the battlefield could clearly see a strange purple-red symbol appear above Zhan LingTian’s head, swirling in a mixed purple and red light. It was soon followed by another purple-red light that was shot forth from the Hammer. Let alone dodging it, Zhan LingTian was not even able to see it clearly before his retreating body was struck by it, causing him to stiffen as his entire body was enveloped in the purple-red light.
A strange sight occurred next. The four God Tier Consolidated Equipment that Zhan LingTian had already summoned out disappeared like snow vanishing in the summer heat. At the same time, his entire body turned that same purple-red colour. Zhan LingTian was struck by a sudden fear as he realised he was unable to do anything. His Consolidated Equipment had disappeared, as if he was totally cut off from them. When he tried to use any of his Stored Skills, he found that he was also cut off from his Elemental Jewels. As a result, he was unable to access any of his Elemental Attribute powers, only able to access the pure Heavenly Energy within his body.
“Thirty Seconds. He will not be able to use any Consolidated Equipment or Stored Skills. Leave it to me for now. Go handle the others.” Zhou Weiqing shouted out loud while still in midair, right before he landed onto the ground. Clearly, he had been shouting out to the WanShou Battle Team leader.
The Skill that he Stored from the Demonic Dragon Lady was called the Dragon Silencing Seal, and its most powerful effect was that it was Absolute. As soon as it was unleashed, the target would not be able to dodge or block it; once Zhou Weiqing had locked onto his target, he or she would definitely have to withstand the effect of the Dragon Silencing Seal.
Dragon Silencing Seal did not have any offensive power at all, but it could Absolutely Silence and Restrict its target. Once afflicted by the Seal, the target would not be able to use any Consolidated Equipment or Stored Skills. At the three-Jeweled cultivation level, Zhou Weiqing was able to Seal his target for thirty seconds! Another benefit of the Dragon Silencing Seal was that it did not require him to use any of his own Heavenly Energy. However, at the same time, its usage was also highly restricted. Currently, he was only able to use it three times a day.
When his cultivation was higher, the Skill would naturally improve and evolve as well. According to the records, at the Heavenly King Stage, the Dragon Silencing Seal would turn from a single target Seal to an area of effect Seal, affecting everyone in a set area.
Thirty seconds. That was an extremely long time, especially in the heat of battle. Once a Heavenly Jewel Master lost the ability to summon his Consolidated Equipment or use his Stored Skills, that would be tantamount to losing almost sixty to eighty percent of his total power. This Dragon Silencing Seal might not have offensive power, but its use in combat was definitely top notch.
Like most Absolute Skills, the Dragon Silencing Seal would be much more useful and powerful when used against opponents of higher cultivation level; the higher the target, the better the effect. After all, the higher their cultivation usually meant their Consolidated Equipment and Stored Skill was much more powerful, and thus their reliance on them would also increase.
In such a way, Zhou Weiqing’s very first Dragon Silencing Seal was given to Zhan LingTian. Hmph! Aren’t you so powerful? Let’s see how you fair without all your Consolidated Equipment and Stored Skills!
As soon as the Dragon Silencing Seal came into effect, Zhou Weiqing did not hesitate to charge towards Zhan LingTian. Thirty seconds. It might be a long time, but at the same time he could not dally in this period where Zhan LingTIan had been turned into a fangless tiger.
Of course, Zhan LingTIan was still able to access his own Heavenly Energy, and the huge gap between him and Zhou Weiqing still existed. However, Zhou Weiqing had the huge advantage granted to him by his sheer physical strength, while Zhan LingTian’s Physical Jewel was that of Stamina. His defenses might be slightly tougher, but he was definitely the type of Heavenly Jewel Master that tended towards his Elemental Jewels. In this, he was the exact opposite of Shangguan Fei’er.
If Shangguan Fei’er had been the target of the Dragon Silencing Seal, she would not have been so affectd. After all, with her own Heavenly Energy and her formidable close combat skills, she was still able to unleash a large percentage of power.
However, Zhan LingTian was different. His greatest strength was the terrifying power of the Light and Darkness Attributes mixed together. Once his Elemental Jewel Stored Skills were Sealed, he would naturally be unable to access the two Elements, and his threat level with just the pure Heavenly Energy.
Furthermore, Zhou Weiqing was in the Demonic Change State, with the Dual Legendary Hammers in his hands and having Sealed Zhan LingTian, he had absolute confidence in taking on Zhan LingTian directly, especially since he still had the surprise factor in hand. WIthout a doubt, the cunning young fighter would not let such a chance go so easily and waste his thirty seconds.
Upon landing on the ground, Zhou Weiqing stomped down hard, and as he swiftly activated his Tornado Strike Skill, charging forth towards Zhan LingTian.
When the Wanshou Battle Team leader heard Zhou Weiqing’s shout, he started momentarily. However, he reacted swiftly, turning and charging towards another one of the ZhongTian Battle Team members.
In terms of overall strength, he was actually above Zhan LingTian. After all, his Heavenly Beast was the huge ape fighting with Shangguan Fei’er. Although both fights resulted in a disadvantageous situation, it did not change the fact that he had taken on the top two powerhouses of his opposing team… All by himself! Currently, given a bit of time to recover, he was able to launch a fresh attack from an extremely advantageous position.
I think I’ve mentioned this before – literal translation of 凤⽑麟⾓, its meaning should be obvious, just alluding to something being extremely rare
Chapter 104 Sealing a dragon?!
The other members of the Fei Li Battle Team also took action swiftly. With Lin TianAo covering the rest, Xiao Yan and Crow were in charge of offense. Towards a powerhouse like Zhan LingTian or Shangguan Fei’er, they might not be of much use, but they would definitely not have any problems holding their own against some of the other ZhongTian Battle Team members. In that short moment, the tides of battle had turned, and for the first time, the ZhongTian and BaoPo Battle Teams were on the disadvantage.
Under the boost of the Tornado Strike, it took Zhou Weiqing barely a split second to reach Zhan LingTian. All the pent up vexed feelings and anger exploded forth in his single strike. Didn’t it feel good to hit me just now? Now is my turn to show you my power!
The Dual Legendary Hammers, boosted by the Tornado Strike, smashed down savagely towards Zhan LingTian’s head.
Facing an opponent of merely three-Jewels, especially since it was this Zhou Weiqing who had stolen his goddess, Shangguan Xue’er’s first kiss, how could Zhan LingTian be willing to show any weakness in front him. Although he was still under the Dragon Silencing Seal, his body totally purple- red in colour as his abilities were Sealed, in his mind, he was still confident. After all, they were still more than twelve levels of Heavenly Energy apart, how could Zhou Weiqing possibly take him on directly.
Facing Zhou Weiqing’s hammers, Zhan LingTian did not try to dodge; instead, both fists struck upwards, taking the blows head on.
*Poof* A soft sound rang out, and Zhan LingTian started, caught by surprise. He clearly saw his fists pass right through the huge Hammer that Zhou Weiqing had swung at him. What sort of rubbish is that?
As his Legendary Hammer’s Consolidating Equipment God Protective Aura had been used during his fight with Shangguan Fei’er. As such, when Zhou Weiqing had unleashed his two Legendary Hammers earlier, the God Protective Aura had not appeared. This had also caused Zhan LingTian to greatly underestimate the power of the hammers. When his fists had hit the ‘air’, he had not tried to recover himself, and much of the strength of the blow was lost.
Just as he thought Zhou Weiqing’s two Hammer was merely trash, the crying-face Hammer had followed suit behind the smiling-face Hammer. Having suffered at the hands of these two hammers before, Shangguan Fei’er shouted out in the distance: “Bro Zhan, be careful!”
Alas, her shout had been a split second too late. The two hammers had struck down almost at the same time, and once again, the wily trickery of the two hammers had found another victim.
Without being able to use his Consolidated Equipment and Stored Skills, Zhan LingTIan’s power had already been restricted to a large degree. Now, with most of the energy of this blow tricked away and dissipated, the crying-face Hammer smashed down savagely onto his hands.
*Boom* A loud crash. The Tornado Strike doubling his strength, the Demonic Change State boosting his strength, and even the Legendary Hammers boosted his strength. All of this added up to this one massive burst of power.
The terrifying strength combined together to form an unstoppable impact.
In that instant, Zhan LingTian felt as if his hands had been struck by an entire mountain range. In that critical moment of danger, his fists moved swiftly, almost vibrating as he struck out his palm ten times, circulating all his energy to his hands. Undoubtedly, this was the best reaction he could have, but alas it was just too late. The original blow of his fists had already been tricked away by the smiling-face hammer, and facing the full power of the crying-faced hammer, how could a last second defense be of much use?
A series of bone shattering sounds rang out, and Zhan LingTian flew back.
Zhou Weiqing laughed heartily, his body continuing his charge forward, a quick Touch of Darkness grabbing hold of Zhan LingTian. Once again, his hammers struck downwards, smashing into Zhan LingTian.
This time, Zhan LingTian’s powerful Heavenly Xu Energy was released out, the thick energy forming a shield around his body automatically to protect himself.
Even so, the powerful shockwaves from the violent blow still caused him to vomit out a mouthful of fresh blood.
Earlier, the Heavenly Energy could only barely protect his arms, and currently both his palms were totally shattered. It would definitely take quite a long time to fully heal from such a heavy injury.
That second blow from the Hammers had actually sent Zhan LingTian into the earth itself, and Zhou Weiqing did not stop, his right foot following suit. Zhan LingTian was a top powerhouse, and now that he had the advantage, he pressed it through all the way, not wanting to give any quarter and end up losing to carelessness.
*Peng* The violent Demonic Right Foot kicked right into Zhan LingTian’s chest. The power behind it was no weaker than the two hammers, and the scorpion hook actually pierced right through the Heavenly Energy Protective Shield around Zhan LingTian.
Once again, Zhou Weiqing completed the perfect timing by using his Time Interrupt Skill to disrupt his Dark Demon God Lightning, just like he had previously done with Ao Le. The Triple Attribute Poison of the Dark Demon God Lightning entered Zhan LingTian’s body perfectly, and at the same time the kick sent him flying back once more.
“Zhou Little Fatty! Show mercy!” Shangguan Fei’er’s urgent voice rang out; at the same time she abandoned the large ape, jumping swiftly and charging towards them. Shangguan Tianyang and Shangguan Tianyue had so much hopes invested in Zhan LingTian. If this young talent really died here in the Heavenly Jewel Tournament, it would be an unbelievably huge blow to the entire Heaven’s Expanse Palace. No matter how naughty or mischievous this Little Demon Girl
of the Heaven’s Expanse Palace was, she could not ignore the big picture and the interests of the Heaven’s Expanse Palace. In that moment, she quickly jumped forward to stop Zhou Weiqing.
Zhou Weiqing laughed heartily, saying: “Second sis, give me a kiss and I’ll let him go.” Naturally, he was just teasing her. How could he possibly kill Zhan LingTian and breed a true hatred with the Heaven’s Expanse Palace? Of course, Zhou Weiqing did not know about the killing intent that Zhan LingTian had against him, but for the sake of being with Bing’er, he would not easily kill anyone from the ZhongTian Battle Team.
“Are you asking to die?” Shangguan Fei’er yelled out in a mix of fury and bashfulness, right as she pounced towards Zhou Weiqing.
Zhou Weiqing grinned. Currently, the purple red Heavenly Skill Image of the Demonic Dragon Lady was still behind him, and with a swipe of his right hammer, a purple red ray of light shone directly on Shanguan Fei’er.
Shangguan Fei‘Er had been pouncing forth with bared fangs and brandished claws. In order to prevent Zhou Weiqing from killing Zhan LingTian, she did not hesitate to use up more Heavenly Energy in summoning her God Tier Consolidated Wings.
As the Dragon Silencing Skill sprang into effect around her, all four of her Consolidated Equipment vanished. Her body, which had been flying forward, started falling down to the ground.
With another swipe of his hammer, Zhou Weiqing unleashed his Thousand Lightning Strikes Skill. Shangguan Fei’er had been circulating her Heavenly Energy to regain her balance, and struck with the Skill, she felt herself numbed for a split second as her body continued falling instead. Under any ordinary circumstances, even without her Consolidated Equipment, she would not be afraid of Zhou Weiqing’s Skills. Alas, at this point, she was stuck in midair, caught by surprise. More importantly, she had been through several large battles today without any rest, and her Heavenly Energy was already heavily drained, with barely twenty or thirty percent left at best. In such a circumstance, she had been struck by Zhou Weiqing’s Skill.
With a Blink, Zhou Weiqing appeared right above her, his left hand grabbing towards her shoulder as he unleashed his Devour Skill, draining her Heavenly Energy to replenish his own.
How could Shangguan Fei’er let him succeed so easily. Spinning her body around, she burst forth with her remaining Heavenly Energy. Alas, this was the time when Zhou Weiqing’s large number of Control Skills could come into play. With the large loss of Heavenly Energy, and her Consolidated Equipment and Stored Skills Sealed away, Shangguan Fei’er’s power had already been stripped down to almost the same level as Zhou Weiqing. Facing any opponent of the same level, Zhou Weiqing’s massive number of Control Skills was definitely an easy key to victory.
Just as her body started spinning, she felt the air warp around her strangely, and all of her movements went awry. The next moment, Zhou Weiqing’s palm slapped down hard on her pert little bottom, the resounding smack ringing in the air.
An unmarried innocent girl being struck in such a sensitive portion, anyone in her place would be shocked to the core. Furthermore, Zhou Weiqing’s other hand was still Devouring her Heavenly Energy. When the palm struck her pert little bottom, it had also signalled the end of her struggles momentarily. As for the earlier warping of the air, it had been the Interlocking Time Skill of Zhou Weiqing once more.
En… The feel is so good, that elasticity! As Zhou Weiqing’s palm struck down, this little rascal was suddenly entranced by the feeling. As his other hand Devoured her Heavenly Energy, his right hand smacked down discourteously a few more times. Of course, he did not go too far, and did not use any Heavenly Energy when striking down.
“Wasn’t it just a little misunderstanding?! An accidental kiss? Did you really have to chase me down all the way into the Heavenly Jewel Tournament to beat me?! Let me teach you a lesson on behalf of your father!”
*Piak* *Piak*
“Hmph Hmph! If this tiger doesn’t demonstrate his power, you’ll think I’m just a sick cat! Now you should know how formidable I am huh! Although I am your brother-in-law, that doesn’t mean you can bully me at will.” *Piak* *Piak* Another two slaps down.
*Waah* Shangguan Fei’er could not break free of Zhou Weiqing’s grasp no matter how hard she tried, and as she felt the sting in her buttocks, she felt so wronged and vexed in her heart, and all of a sudden, she burst out into tears.
It was Zhou Weiqing’s turn to be dumbfounded. When he had slapped down with his palm originally, it had been because of a burst of righteous anger. This Shangguan Fei’er had sneaked into the Lustre Realm to take revenge on him, to ruin his entire Tournament Finals, totally directed at him alone. At that point, he had just been releasing his grievances that way. Who knew that this rascal, after striking down twice, had felt so good that his perverted nature caused him to strike twice more subconsciously…. Now in the end, he had caused her to cry!
As his mind suddenly cleared, Zhou Weiqing felt a sense of regret wash over him.
This Shangguan Fei’er had been beaten by him; if she went back and cried to Bing’er, and incite discord, wouldn’t Bing’er be angry with him? On seeing that, he did not dare continue hitting her, quickly releasing her hand.
“Zhou Little Fatty, just you wait!” Shangguan Fei’er was crying like a pear blossom bathed in the rain, a true weeping beauty, her hands to her buttocks protectively as she glared angrily at Zhou Weiqing. She did not stay here any longer, and in a gold flash, she had activated the Lustre Gem, disappearing instantly.
The other ZhongTian Battle Team members who were still fighting looked at Zhou Weiqing with a strange gaze. If he had examined their eyes closely at that point, he would have discovered that these ZhongTian Battle Team members were looking at him with respect, and a little pity.
Indeed! This Little Demon Girl of the Heaven’s Expanse Palace that had always caused so much trouble had actually been hit, and to the point that she was crying! That was something they had never seen before! After all, they had all been bullied by Shangguan Fei’er before, and now that Zhou Weiqing had administered a beating to her, it had actually given them a favourable impression of their young opponent. Of course, that was clearly because he had not truly injured her, if not they would have pit their lives to attack him. By this time, Zhan LingTian had crawled back up from the ground. In the short moment that Zhou Weiqing was facing Shangguan Fei’er, the Dragon Silencing Seal on him had worn off. However, the current Zhan LingTian was in dire straits. His arms hung limply by his side, the shattered and fractured bones unable to hold them up. His body had also sustained severe injuries, especially from the last kick from Zhou Weiqing, the Triple Attribute poison causing his face to turn a blue black colour.
Zhan LingTian’s cultivation level and willpower was indeed strong. Even with the Triple Attribute poison and all his injuries, he had actually managed to force himself to stand up with the support of his powerful Heavenly Energy. At this moment, he was glaring at Zhou Weiqing, his eyes full of venom.
“Zhou Weiqing.” He bit out the words viciously, before activating the Lustre Gem as well. In a flash of gold light, Zhan LingTian also vanished from the Lustre Spatial Realm.
As Zhou Weiqing burst forth with that surprising and powerful Dragon Silencing Seal, dealing with Zhan LingTian and Shangguan Fei’ consecutively, the tables had turned drastically. By this point, another ZhongTian Battle Team member and a husband wife pair had all been forced to retreat from the Lustre Spatial Realm. The situation looked bleak, almost impossible, for their side, and Zhan LingTian naturally did not stay and embarrass himself further
In truth, the ones who had been the most shocked by Zhou Weiqing were the WanShou Battle Team members.
The WanShou Battle Team members may not speak much, but that did not mean they were stupid. Before entering the Lustre Spatial Realm, they had not seen any sign of Tian’er, obviously someone had to bring her in. Since she had jumped up from Zhou Weiqing, that in itself had spoken volumes.
Tian’er’s disappearance had caused the Heavenly Snow Mountain Lord to be furious, and he had sent his men all around the Boundless Mainland in search for her, to no avail.
When they had seen Tian’er together with this mere three- Jeweled Zhou Weiqing, they had been rather shocked, especially since Tian’er had leaped out from his bosom. That in itself left them highly puzzled. However, when Zhou Weiqing showed his power and revealed his Dragon Silencing Seal, that had truly given them a rude shock.
What followed next had definitely proven the sheer power of that Dragon Silencing Seal. Even though it was without a doubt that Zhan LingTian and especially Shangguan Fei’er had been exhausted after their long fights, with much of their Heavenly Energy expended, they were after all still the strongest two in the entire ZhongTian Battle Team, perhaps even the top three within the entire young generation of the Heaven’s Expanse Palace. For a three-Jeweled Heavenly Jewel Master to be able to defeat both of them, to force them to leave the Lustre Spatial Realm, it could be said that Zhou Weiqing had single handedly won them the fight. If not for him, even if the Fei Li battle Team joined the fray, the tides of battle might still end up in the ZhongTian and BaoPo Battle Teams’ favour. With just the Dragon Silencing Seal, his Legendary Hammers, and a few Control Skills, Zhou Weiqing had critically injured Zhan LingTian, smacked Shangguan Fei’er’s bottom, and forced the two strongest powerhouses to leave the Lustre Spatial Realm. If anyone had to guess that this little Upper Level Shi Stage Heavenly Jewel Master would be the deciding lynchpin of the entire Heavenly Jewel Tournament, to be the gem that glowed the brightest, who would have believed it?!
The remaining members of the BaoPo and ZhongTian Battle Teams knew that there was almost no point in fighting, as they had no chance in winning any longer. Of course, they were not satisfied with such an outcome, but nonetheless, there was almost no longer any suspense about the results. Just as they were putting up the last resistance before the end, all of a sudden, they were all interrupted by a loud, clear dragon cry that rang out through the skies.
The dragon cry caused the entire Lustre Spatial Realm to reverberate, ringing with exasperation, urgency and a red hot rage.
The next moment, a massive figure appeared high up in the skies, which turned blood red along with its appearance. In mid air, a thick Fire Elemental Attribute gathered, causing everyone to feel as if they were bathed in a sea of fire.
A body length over hundred metres. It was the huge dragon that Zhou Weiqing had seen earlier. It was also the father of the dragon egg, and the husband of the mother dragon they were fighting over. Earlier, it had been guarding by its beloved wife’s side, but there had been an abrupt change in the Lustre Spatial Realm, and it had been teleported to another area without warning. In order to seek its wife’s aura, it had wasted too much time, and by the time it successfully detected its wife’s aura, it was shocked to sense that she was already on the verge of death.
Filled with rage, pain and regret, the male adult dragon charged forth at full speed towards where it sensed its wife was. At the same time, it could sense that there were a large number of those hated humans there as well.
Without question, it had been those dratted humans that had forced its beloved wife into such danger. As such, as soon as it appeared, it angrily activated its Skill.
The WanShou Battle Team and the Fei Li Battle Team were protecting and helping the mother dragon with all their might. Alas, at this time, who could speak sense to an enraged dragon?
Gloating looks appeared in the eyes of the remaining members of the ZhongTian and BaoPo Battle Team. After all, they had already been facing a sure loss scenario, and the dragon coming in would not make things worse for them. On the other hand, it could possibly mean their opponents would lose out totally as well. Since we can not gain any benefits, you guys can forget about benefiting from that mother dragon as well! That was definitely the thought in their heads.
With a mindset like this, the ZhongTian and BaoPo Battle Team members did not hesitate to activate their Lustre Gems. They definitely did not want to risk waiting for the dragon to unleash its Skill before leaving… what if the dragon’s Skill had some way of restricting Spatial Transfers, they would be left as a pile of ash. After all, that dragon was clearly a Heavenly God Stage Heavenly Beast!
Of course, it wasn’t just them; both the Fei Li and WanShou Battle Team members did the same. Although their hearts were feeling extremely wronged and aggrieved, at this time, survival was much more important than any rewards. A continuous stream of gold lights lit up as the Lustre Gems brought contestant after contestant out of the Lustre Spatial Realm.
“Hurry up, Weiqing, we have to leave as well. That dragon has gone crazy with rage!” Tian’er’s voice was filled with terror as she jumped right into Zhou Weiqing’s arms, and actually disappeared right into his Spatial Ring without ceremony. She needed Zhou Weiqing to bring her out of the Lustre Spatial Realm, and did not waste any time. After all, facing a Heavenly God Stage powerhouse, and an angry one to boot like the dragon in front of them, no matter who it was, they would feel an uncontrollable fear.
With all those youthful powerhouses, all at a higher cultivation level than Zhou Weiqing, beating a hasty retreat in fear, how could he not be afraid as well? He was afraid, definitely. Zhou Weiqing was just as afraid, or perhaps even more. However, he had one unique attribute that no one else in that battlefield had. From young, he had always been afraid of being beaten up, afraid of dying. Whenever he made a mistake, he would have to think of how not to be beaten by his father, or perhaps have his beating lessened. As a result, before any beating, he had to calm himself down, to search via any means possible to reduce the incoming pain.
Crying, wailing, acting, misdirection etc etc. This had also resulted in Zhou Weiqing being able to react extremely calmly in any situation, to put his mind to work swiftly.
It was exactly this character that had allowed him to turn the tides in a critical moment of danger. Not once, but several times.
When the dragon had appeared, as it was bellowing in rage and preparing to let loose a powerful Skill, even under such a huge stress situation, immeasurable pressure and fear, he could still clearly notice that the mother dragon, who had been stabilized by the efforts of the four healers, had lifted its head urgently and cried out into the skies.
Due to her massive injuries, it was too weak and thus its voice was very soft, and many of the escaping competitors missed it. However, Zhou Weiqing still noticed that after that soft cry, the aura of the male dragon wavered a little. That was to say, the male dragon had actually heard what its mate had to say.
The others had all left, but Zhou Weiqing decided to lay down his life for a bet. Of course, he wouldn’t joke around with his life so easily.
Raising his Legendary Hammers into the air, the Dragon Silencing Seal’s last appearance for the day activated, as Zhou Weiqing gifted it to the huge and powerful male dragon high up in the skies.
As the purple red light arced up into the skies, it struck the dragon firmly. Towards Absolute effect Skills like this or the Absolute Delay, even the Legendary Hammers could not boost its effect. However, it was still able to able to help boost the cast distance to reach the dragon high above.
The massive dragon which was already unable to to stop itself from unleashing its Skill, but all of a sudden, its entire massive body was enveloped with a purple red colour. It did not have any Consolidated Equipment, but it had its own dragon race innate talents and skills. In that instance, the Dragon Silencing Seal had brought about a critical use, stopping the Skill which had just been about to come out. All purple and red, the massive dragon stared down in shock from up above.
Tian’er had been right indeed. Earlier, the dragon had been mad with rage. Because of that, even though it had heard its wife’s shouts, it had still gone on stubbornly to try and kill all the humans. At this point, with its Skill suddenly disrupted, it had time to cool down from its unparalleled rage, assuaging its fury. Along with its wife urgent calls as well as sensing its wife’s life force stabilizing, the large dragon finally calmed down.
Folding its wings back in, the massive dragon swooped down to land in the clearing in front of the cave.
At this moment, Zhou Weiqing was undoubtedly very nervous. The Lustre Gem was in his palm, which was soaked in cold sweat now, as his eyes locked on the massive dragon. As soon as things looked too terrible, he would instantly activate the Lustre Gem and escape.
However, since he had already forged his path to this step, Zhou Weiqing would not give up easily until there was no other choice. He truly believed that any race had the capacity for gratitude. He and the others had saved the mother dragon, and as soon as this male dragon calmed down, he believed that it would not attack him for no reason.
There were two reasons why Zhou Weiqing was taking such a huge risk in staying for so long. Firstly, it was for the Heavenly Jewel Tournament; by staying that long, it had allowed him to actually gain the championship of the Tournament now, as he was the only person left in the entire Lustre Spatial Realm. The second reason was because he wanted to take the risk, and to bet on the dragon; if it actually calmed down, perhaps it might actually reward him with something.
Feeling that pity for the dying mother dragon was Zhou Weiqing’s inner kindness rising to the core; but at the same time, if there was any gain to be had, he would reject or abandon it. If the dragon was willing to reward him, that would be a legitimate gain, and he would be pleased and justified in accepting in. Such gains were something he would never reject, though it was not the basis of him helping it.
As the Dragon swooped down closer and closer, that invisible pressure also grew stronger. Fat Cat was in his Spatial Ring, and naturally did not know what was happening outside. However, Zhou Weiqing was betting; at this point, he would not leave until the last possible second. Another huge explosion. In the end, the male dragon did not smash directly into Zhou Weiqing, instead landing about fifty yards from him, and as it did so, the resulting tremors caused Zhou Weiqing to be knocked off his feet to land on his buttocks.
The violent, almost maniacal gaze of the male dragon fixated upon him, not hiding its hostility. However, at this moment, the mother dragon which was lying on the ground called out urgently. It even lifted up one claw in an attempt to pull her mate back, but it was just too weak at the moment, and could not even succeed in that full motion.
Upon hearing its wife’s call, the male dragon finally gave up its threatening look at Zhou Weiqing, quickly turning back to its mate. Layer after layer of Divine Attribute Heavenly Energy surged out from its body, the shining brilliant gold light rays entering the mother dragon’s body.
With its mate’s help, the mother dragon’s eyes grew gentler, looking once more at the male dragon with much love and sentiment, its eyes slowly closed as it rested its large head upon the male dragon’s wings. Even despite that, the mother dragon did not forget the egg that had almost cost it its life, its wing wrapped protectively around it.
This was the greatest, most selfless love in the world. The great maternal love!
Seeing the dragon family wrapped together in such a peaceful sight, bathed in the Divine gold light, Zhou Weiqing could not help but look on with almost infatuated sentiment. He was clear that his actions today could possibly have severely offended the Heaven’s Expanse Palace, and might even become a huge barrier towards himself and Bing’er.
However, he did not regret anything, especially after looking at the sight before him, he could not feel any sense of regret. He had saved a great mother. Looking at the mother dragon, he couldn’t help but think of his own mother. It’s been so long since I’ve gone home… I miss mother indeed. When I get back from the Heavenly Jewel Tournament, and the academy semester ends, I will definitely have to go back and look for mother.
Unknowingly, Zhou Weiqing’s eyes had grown moist. The male dragon’s power and Divine Attribute was far beyond Tian’er, and it was a matter of moments before the mother dragon’s scales once again glowed with a healthy brilliance.
Previously, the reason why the male dragon had been so bad tempered was because the mother dragon had been going through a terribly difficult labour, and even with all its power, it could do nothing to help its beloved mate. It was under such a circumstance that Little Four had become the first unlucky soul to be sent out of the Lustre Spatial Realm.
The male dragon had been guarding its wife all this time with all the feelings of anxiety, and seeing that the mother dragon was about to lay her egg… their child… it had also began preparations to heal and save its mate as soon as possible. Who knew that right at that critical moment, the entire Spatial Realm had gone through a strange change, and both dragons had been brutally separated. It was also this exact coincidence that had given the ZhongTian and BaoPo Battle Team members this unheard of opportunity to take action.
The time seemed to pass slowly in such an atmosphere. After a while, Fat Cat squirmed out of Zhou Weiqing’s Spatial Realm. When she saw that she was still in the Lustre Spatial Realm, she was given a frightening shock. Soon after, she spotted the dragon family and their condition and breathed a sigh of relief as she instantly understood what had happened.
Morphing into her human form, Tian’er, she stood beside Zhou Weiqing and said in a soft complaint: “You are just too daring in this case.”
Zhou Weiqing laughed heartily, saying: “With the Lustre Gem, that is not really a huge risk. After all, once I used the Dragon Silencing Seal on the dragon, it wouldn’t be able to use any Skill. Of course, that won’t affect the power difference between us much, but more importantly, it will not be able to restrict me from using the Lustre Gem. In such a case, once it calms down with the help of the mother dragon, there shouldn’t be any danger. You know how scared of dying I am, this was a calculated risk that I decided to take, I would never joke around with my life!”
Tian’er held Zhou Weiqing’s arm, saying softly: “Weiqing, what you did today has truly made me look at you in a whole different light. I thank you with all my heart for what you have done for that mother dragon. If you had chosen to stand on its opposing side earlier, I truly do not know what I would have done, but I know my heart would be broken. I didn’t expect your heart would be so kindly as well. When we get out, I will definitely give you a reward.” Zhou Weiqing grinned, saying: “Heh heh, what reward? I wouldn’t mind if the reward was you!”
Tian’er rolled her eyes at him, blushing as she muttered: “You scoundrel.”
Since the time Zhou Weiqing had met Tian’er in her human form, this was the first time he had seen her with such an almost feminine action. Added to her alluring figure, that hint of shyness and charm was definitely a ‘killing blow’.
Right at that moment, the male dragon sudden lifted its head and looked at Tian’er and Zhou Weiqing. Although it no longer gave off any sense of hostility, that pure powerful dragon aura still caused their hearts to skip a beat.
“Both of you, please come over.” The deep rumbling voice seemed to come from all directions.
Tian’er continued clutching at Zhou Weiqing’s arm like a drowning man would grasp a lifesaver. Both of them could sense that the dragon did not have any hostile intent towards them, but even as they walked towards it, they felt as if their legs were wobbling. The two of them walked slowly to almost ten yards from the dragon family before they stopped.
The dragon turned its gaze on Tian’er first, nodding to her as he said: “You are of the Divine Heavenly Spirit Tiger bloodline right. I thank you sincerely, my friend, for extending a helping hand during my wife and child’s most critical and dangerous moment. My wife told me that it was you and your kin who had helped to block our enemies’ attacks.”
Tian’er let go off Zhou Weiqing’s arms and gave a respectful curtsey to it: “Honoured Senior Dragon, us Divine Heavenly Spirit Tigers have always been good friends and allies to the dragon kind, and it is our duty as the Heavenly Snow Mountain core disciples to extend a helping hand. There is no need for thanks.”
The male dragon turned his gaze to Zhou Weiqing, saying: “What about you then? My wife said that it was you who truly turned the tide of the battle. Although your power is extremely puny, I can still sense the aura of a Demonic Dragon Lady on you, and more so, the strange of aura of an unknown tiger… of a bloodline that even makes my heart palpitate. So, young man, why did you save my wife and child?” Zhou Weiqing knew that this male dragon was no less intelligent than any human. Its question was in itself a sort of test. If he did not answer correctly, all his previous efforts would have be for naught.
“Hello, honoured Senior Dragon. To be honest, I have no way to answer your question, because I myself do not know why I took action. In truth, it went against all logic for me to do so, but when I saw this Senior Lady Dragon looking at her child, those eyes of hers made me think of my own mother. At that moment, I could only think that if my mother was in the same position, she would also use all of her life to protect me. So, I just wanted to do my own bit to help out. Now that your family has been reunited, it is time for us to leave then.”
As he said that, Zhou Weiqing grabbed hold of Tian’er’s hand and ‘pulled’ her into his Spatial Realm. Without saying anything else, he activated the Lustre Gem in his hands.
At that moment, he was furious, because as soon as the male dragon asked the question, he knew that it suspected his motives in helping the mother dragon.
Without a doubt, he had stayed because he had wanted to get some form of reward. That was without question. However, when he had taken action to save the mother dragon, that had not been in his mind at all.
Now that the dragon family was reunited and safe, at least his original goal had been accomplished. Why would he need to gain anything from them? At that point, between gain and pride, Zhou Weiqing chose the latter. After all, even though he was still weak, he still had his dignity and pride.
The male dragon started a little, then it raised its left claw swiftly. A thick gold light enveloped Zhou Weiqing, forcibly breaking the transfer of the Lustre Gem. The thirty seconds of the Dragon Silencing Seal had already long ended.
Zhou Weiqing started, looking at the dragon curiously: “Senior, do you have anything else?”
The male dragon’s gaze gentled, and it said apologetically: “I’m sorry young man, I should not have doubted your motives. You humans are just too notorious for being cunning, and it was not easy for me to trust any of you.”
Zhou Weiqing smiled passively, saying: “In any case, it is up to you to believe or not. I have never thought of myself as a good person, and all I care about is being true to myself. Senior Dragon, if there is nothing else, please allow this young junior to take his leave.”
No matter how he seemed on the surface, that pride that Zhou Weiqing had inherited from Admiral Zhou was ingrained deep in his bones. At this point, he no longer had any intention of gaining any benefit from the male dragon; his motives had already been suspected, if he stayed to try and get anything from them, wasn’t it the same as saying that his motives was indeed impure?
The pride in his heart made him unwilling to wait any longer, and he activated the Lustre Gem once more without hesitation.
The dragon stared blankly as the gold light sprang forth once more. It could sense that pride in Zhou Weiqing’s eyes and countenance, his raised head and straightened back as his actions spoke the same tale as his bearing. In that instant, the powerful beast felt a strange sensation in its heart.
This was just a mere insect-like human, but he was just so proud, not even willing to speak any further with itself. In the flash of gold light, just as Zhou Weiqing was about to vanish, the huge dragon seemed to make up its mind. A red bolt of light shot out from its claws, striking Zhou Weiqing’s back and forming a sigil. The next moment, Zhou Weiqing disappeared from the Lustre Spatial Realm.
Zhou Weiqing had totally not seen or sensed what the dragon had done; during the entire process he had only felt a slight heat on his back before he was transported out, and in the next moment he had vanished in the gold light of the transporting Lustre Gem. He had dismissed it as part of the teleportation, but little did he know that there was now a dark red sigil on his back.
As the Lustre Spatial Realm returned to its usual calm, the male dragon turned back its gaze to its mate, its gaze soft and gentle again. If there was anyone else there to examine it closely, he would be able to discover that one of the brightest reverse scales around the dragon’s neck had actually disappeared.
As the gold light flashed, the environment around Zhou Weiqing started to grow clearer, and he suddenly appeared in the shrouded portion of the Heavenly Jewel Island where they had begun their journey. In front of Shangguan Longyin was Zhan LingTian, seated in a cross-legged meditation position.
Currently, Zhan LingTian had his eyes closed, his entire body covered with a layer of black-blue colour.
Besides him, all the members of the other Battle Teams were here as well. As soon as Zhou Weiqing appeared, he immediately became the focus of the entire assembly, as everyone turned to look at him. Anger, malice, both good and bad intentions, a mass of different emotions was palpable in the air. However, Zhou Weiqing was not in a good mood, and he could not care less what the others were thinking at that moment.
Seeing Zhou Weiqing appear, Shangguan Longyin furrowed his brow before saying: “Fei Li Battle Team member, Zhou Weiqing, was the last to leave the Lustre Spatial Realm. The Heavenly Jewel Tournament champion is the Fei Li Battle Team, the second position is the WanShou Battle Team, third position the ZhongTian Battle Team, and the fourth position is the BaoPo Battle Team. This round of Heavenly Jewel Tournament is complete, you may all return to your inns to rest for now, leave your wounded here for now, I will take care of them.” The WanShou Battle Team members glanced meaningfully at Zhou Weiqing before walking off. The BaoPo Battle Team members also took their leave, and the only remaining people there were the ZhongTian and Fei Li Battle Team members.
Legend says that the few reverse scales of the dragon not only holds much its power, but it is also their weakness. If anyone touches those scales, it will be extremely provoked. Hence, the idiom ⻰有逆鳞 which is exactly Dragons have reverse scales when literally translated, actually means everyone has their ‘weak point’ which will enrage them if touched
Chapter 105 Champion!
Zhou Weiqing first spotted Ao Le in the midst of the crowd. Without speaking, he walked up to Ao Le, putting his hand to Ao Le’s shoulder and released his Devour Technique, drawing out the poison from within.
After completing that, he spun around and walked towards Zhan LingTian. The process repeated itself silently, and the poison was also drawn out from Zhan LingTian’s body. Finally, Zhou Weiqing turned to Shangguan Longyin, giving him a slight bow before turning around and walking off without saying a word.
Shangguan Longyin watched him leave, his brow slightly furrowed, though he remained silent.
One of the ZhongTian Battle Team members couldn’t help but pipe out: “Elder, if not for this Zhou Weiqing, perhaps we would have succeeded today. That is an entire dragon’s corpse and a dragon egg! Furthermore, that dragon egg has to be a mutated one, otherwise it shouldn’t be that large.”
Shangguan Longyin looked at him coldly, and the member who had spoken up felt a chill run down his spine, and quickly kept his mouth shut. Shangguan Longyin said solemnly: “Bring LingTian to heal, his hand needs attention as soon as possible, go ask Sixth Elder to help.”
The members of the Battle Team made a sound of acquiescence, and turned towards the Heaven’s Expanse Palace. Shangguan Fei’er also tiptoed along, hoping to sneak away with the rest of the team.
“Fei’er, you stay here a while…”
Shangguan Fei’er winced slightly as she stopped in her tracks, before turning and saying sweetly: “Yes Fourth Uncle, is there anything I can help you with?”
Shangguan Longyin glared at her: “You are truly getting bolder and bolder! You actually sneaked into the Heavenly Jewel Tournament! Don’t you know, if not for the fact that you sneaked into the Tournament, and also broke the rules, I could have severely punished that Little Witch from the Heavenly Demon Sect and that Divine Heavenly Spirit Tiger from the Heavenly Snow Mountain.”
According to the rules that the Five Great Saint Lands had worked out for the Tournament, none of their direct bloodlines were allowed to join in the Tournament. This round, it was clear that the rules had been flouted.
Shangguan Fei’er lowered her head, silent, but her eyes continued darting around, watching the retreating figure of Zhou Weiqing in the distance.
Shangguan Longyin continued solemnly: “Zhou Weiqing, that child, actually has connection with the Heavenly Demon Sect and the Heavenly Snow Mountain. This was definitely out of my expectations. From your observations in the Lustre Spatial Realm, can you tell what is his actual relations with those two?”
Shangguan Fei’er finally spoke: “From what I can see, he is not very close with that Little Witch from the Heavenly Demon Sect, but it seems he is quite close to the Divine Heavenly Spirit Tiger from the Heavenly Snow Mountain. However it seems like even the other Heavenly Snow Mountain members do not know that she is with him. When she appeared, all the WanShou Battle Team members were shocked; that was clearly not an act, and they definitely did not know about this previously.”
Shangguan Longyin nodded and said: “What about Zhou Weiqing himself? What do you think about him?” Without hesitation, Shangguan Fei’er said: “He is a lot better than I had first thought. When he went to rescue that dying female dragon, it was clearly without any ulterior motive, just purely wanting to rescue an injured mother. It definitely surprised me, rather far from my previous first impression of
him. Fourth Uncle, you should know that I have always had a good eye especially in sizing people up. At that moment when he took action, his body language, and more so, his eyes, definitely could not lie to anyone.”
In that moment she spoke, she couldn’t help but think of those resolute eyes of Zhou Weiqing’s when he had taken action. Without knowing why, Shangguan Fei’er suddenly felt that her curiosity of him had overtaken the anger towards him… As she thought of those resolute eyes, and then his sheer presence when he had unleashed the Dragon Silencing Seal, she suddenly felt her heart race involuntarily.
Shangguan Longyin nodded, saying: “Indeed… but he did destroy such an unbelievably rare chance… perhaps the only chance of our lifetime. I’m afraid that in the next few hundred or even the next few thousand years, we will never get another chance like that again. Furthermore, from the way he rushed out of the Lustre Spatial Realm and the way he acted after that, it’s likely he did not even gain anything from those dragons. Once again… that was out of my expectation. Shangguan Fei’er burst into giggles as she said: “From his expression, I could see that too. Didn’t you see, when he came out, he looked as if everyone owed him money. Bing’er has certainly found an interesting husband.”
Shangguan Longyin gave a humph and said: “You are just too mischievous. This time I will definitely have to report this to Second Palace Master… this time you are too much! If he doesn’t ground you for a few days, you will not learn!”
“Nooo! Fourth Uncle, please don’t, I know I’m wrong already!” Shangguan Fei’er gave a heartrending cry and she turned and fled, disappearing swiftly into the distance.
Looking at her fleeing figure, a faint smile appeared on Shangguan Longyin’s lips. Towards this mischievous ‘little demon girl’ of theirs, even the First and Second Palace Masters could not do anything about her, let alone himself.
…
When he returned to the inn, Zhou Weiqing did not speak to his companions, instead returning to his room. In truth, he had always been an easygoing person, and by this time most of his anger had already dissipated, though he just did not feel like speaking then. Sitting cross legged on his bed, he started cultivating once more.
This time in the Lustre Spatial Realm, he had fought several tough fights, especially against those much stronger than him. That had given him valuable combat experience, especially in the usage of his own skills, and their various mixes and combinations. Now, it was the perfect time for him to carefully consider them and properly assimilate that experience to his own combat styles.
Before this, who would have thought that the final champion of the Heavenly Jewel Tournament would be their Fei Li Battle Team? Even amongst their own team, it was likely that none of them had thought it would be possible. It could be said that he had actually brought about the result all by himself, forcibly dragging them to the top spot through sheer power, luck and judgement. Otherwise, with the overall power of their team, how could they possibly defeat the other three teams?
His cultivation lasted the entire night, and it was only until the next morning that Zhou Weiqing roused from his cultivation, brimming with energy. At the same time, he could sense that he was on the verge of breaking through to the next level. As soon as he broke through the fifteenth Death Acupuncture Point, his Heavenly Energy would reach the fifteenth level, one step closer to his Fourth Jewel.
“Weiqing, are you awake?” All of a sudden, Lin TianAo’s voice rang out from behind his room door.
Zhou Weiqing said: “Leader? Come on in.”
The door opened, and Lin TianAo walked in. He was alone, and as he walked towards Zhou Weiqing, he suddenly opened his arms and gave Zhou Weiqing a big hug.
Zhou Weiqing was totally taken aback, shocked into silence.
Lin TianAo finally let go of him and said: “Thank you Weiqing. Thank you for letting me end my previous life on a perfect note.”
“Do you know? At that time when I lost the bet to you and became your Lifetime Follower, I was so depressed, as if all my hopes and dreams had been dashed. Almost thirty years of hard work, cultivating, with my whole life and bright future ahead. I had a grand ambition. All that, gone, as I was just going to become someone’s Follower. And all of that because I got too greedy. At that time, when I asked you for three months of time, it was for this very Heavenly Jewel Tournament. I had hoped to go all out, to test my limit and do my very best in this Tournament, to at least give my previous life a good ending.”
“In the end, you actually joined the Fei Li Battle Team as well. As time went by, and the more I interacted with you, I slowly realised that being your Follower wasn’t such a bad thing after all. Although your cultivation level is still far below mind, but with you around, it seems like things are always exciting, keeping my blood afire. Furthermore, your character is definitely trustworthy, and you have a talent that is far beyond myself, far beyond even what I imagined possible. Perhaps, being your Follower will be the luckiest thing that happened to me. Together with you, I believe that a few dozen years down the road, I will be able to witness a miracle happen… a miracle that belongs only to you…” “At least, that is currently so. After all, before we attended this Heavenly Jewel Tournament, who would have thought that our Fei Li Battle Team would even attend the finals, let alone end up as the champion right?”
Lin TianAo was clearly very agitated, at least Zhou Weiqing had never seen him in such an emotional state before.
“Leader, we have a long road ahead of us. Thank you for your trust. You are not just my Follower, but my big brother. I do not need you to witness me creating any miracles, instead I hope that you will join me in creating the miracle together. I trust that together, we will be able to do it!”
As he said that, Zhou Weiqing also gave Lin TianAo a big hug.
The final Champion position could be said to be the thing that dissolved the last remaining barrier between Lin TianAo and Zhou Weiqing from their previous bet.
In Lin TianAo’s heart, it was Zhou Weiqing who had finally let him accomplish the greatest dream he had. At the same time, the last few months had built up a huge respect for this young man, not just in terms of his amazing talent in the Heavenly Jewel Master field, but his character, wit, power and intelligence. From what Zhou Weiqing had displayed, Lin TianAo even had a feeling like he had to look up to this
younger man.
Although Zhou Weiqing was currently only at a mere three- Jeweled cultivation level, in truth his overall strength was at least comparable to any ordinary five-Jeweled Heavenly Jewel Master, or perhaps even greater. With his Immortal Deity Technique and the Devour Technique, his sustainability in combat was extremely strong. Adding to that his multiple powerful, highly rated Skills, especially ones like the Dragon Silencing Seal which were supreme Skills rated about the same as the Twelve Star Heavenly God Stage Skills, he could possibly even challenge six-Jeweled, or perhaps even seven-Jeweled Heavenly Jewel Masters. Even if he were to face Zhan LingTian at full power, he might still be able to hold his own, at least for some time. After all, that Dragon Silencing Seal alone was just too overbearingly powerful.
Of course, that was not to say that the Dragon Silencing Seal was invincible. If Zhan LingTian had been careful enough when facing Zhou Weiqing, just going full on defense mode after he had been Sealed, he could have lasted for the maximum ninety seconds of his daily three Dragon Silencing Seals’ effects. Once that happened, Zhou Weiqing would not have a chance against him once more. Alas, perhaps caught by surprise, or just being too arrogant or lost in the moment, that had not happened.
Of course, hindsight was always twenty twenty, but there was no such thing as ‘Regret Medicine’. At least in this Heavenly Jewel Tournament, Zhan LingTian had taken a huge loss.
Originally, when Lin TianAo first met Zhou Weiqing, his power levels were rather weak in his eyes. Even though at that time Zhou Weiqing was already at the three-Jeweled cultivation level, Lin TianAo had been highly confident of beating him.
It could be said that Lin TianAo had witnessed Zhou Weiqing’s growth. Although he was still at the three-Jeweled cultivation level, but in terms of real combat ability, he had grown far beyond his original power. Lin TianAo knew that if he were to fight with Zhou Weiqing now and they both went all out, he would not have a chance. Just the Dragon Silencing Seal alone would destroy his greatest advantage, his Five Jeweled Assembly Set Shield; not to mention all the other powerful skills that Zhou Weiqing had and their combinations. Lin TianAo truly believed that as time passed and Zhou Weiqing’s cultivation level was raised, he would definitely become a supreme powerhouse that could rival any from the Five Great Saint Lands.
Zhou Weiqing stretched lazily, feeling his entire body comfortable and filled with strength. After finally having a great rest at night, all the fatigue, stress and exhausted spirit due to the entire Heavenly Jewel Tournament had finally been wiped out, leaving him in tip top condition.
“Leader, did the Heaven’s Expanse Palace mention when we can get our Tournament rewards?”
Lin TianAo smiled bitterly: “No, they haven’t mentioned anything yet. Yesterday, when we came back, none of the Heaven’s Expanse Palace members came about. This is the Heavenly Jewel Island, and we did ruin their efforts. I think let alone getting our rewards, if we can live to get out of the island, it will already be a good result. No matter what, we still have the honour and pride of winning the Championship of the Heavenly Jewel Tournament. That is something that we will always have.”
A light flashed in Zhou Weiqing’s eyes. If the Heaven’s Expanse Palace truly wanted to take revenge on them, even if they did not kill the team and just chased them out, it would still be a huge loss to them all, especially to Zhou Weiqing. Besides the rewards, just the trade he had with the Heaven’s Expanse Palace was immense. After all, it was three God Tier Consolidated Equipment… and all part of his Legendary Set!
Still, Zhou Weiqing did not regret anything. After all, a man had to own his actions, and there were some thing that just could not be measured just by benefits alone. In one’s youth, one had to have a few impulsive or rash moments, no matter if it were seemingly senseless, or even harmful to oneself… at least he had made his decision, taken action with resolution. If one had to live with pure reason the whole life, what colour would there be in life?
At the same time, Zhou Weiqing also believed that even if the Heaven’s Expanse Palace cancelled their trade, they would still give out the Tournament Rewards. After all, it was their own promise, and the entire Heavenly Jewel Tournament was known to the entire mainland. As the top of the Great Saint Lands, if they did not have that basic integrity, how could they live up to their reputation as a Great Saint Land. Furthermore, the most important thing was, what had been done was already done, and there was no way of reversing things. Even if the Heaven’s Expanse Palace wanted to take revenge on him or the Fei Li Battle Team, it would not give them back their losses. Under such a circumstance, what would they gain from taking revenge on them? As such, Zhou Weiqing was still more confident in the Heaven’s Expanse Palace than Lin TianAo.
“Leader, do not worry, it should be fine. What has happened has happened, even if they kill us now, they will no longer be able to get that dragon. In such a case, what is the point? Furthermore, the fact is that I was the biggest factor for their loss, so they shouldn’t take it out on the rest of team, and hopefully considering mine and Bing’er’s relationship, I should be safe as well.”
Lin TianAo nodded, saying: “I hope that is truly so.”
Just at that moment, Little Four’s voice traveled from outside the door: “Boss, the Heaven’s Expanse Palace staff are here.”
Lin TianAo’s expression changed, looking at Zhou Weiqing with a serious look. Zhou Weiqing nodded back, and they left the room together.
As the pair headed out, they met with the staff representing the Heaven’s Expanse Palace. This time, there were two of them, both middle aged men of about forty years of age. The rest of the Fei Li Battle Team also streamed out of their rooms; Lin TianAo’s worry was also the same as theirs. That was also the reason why they had not been celebrating like crazy even after becoming the champion.
“Who is the leader of the Fei Li Battle Team? Please follow me to collect your rewards from the Heavenly Jewel Tournament.” The white clad man on the left said.
Lin TianAo said: “Hi, I am the leader of the Fei Li Battle Team, Lin TianAo.”
The white clad man nodded and said: “Alright, follow me then. Before that, please collect all the Lustre Gems and Spatial Rings that were given out to your team previously.”
Lin TianAo did as instructed, swiftly collecting the Lustre Gems and Spatial Rings. Alas, as the time they had spent in the Lustre Spatial Realm was just too short, none of them had actually managed to collect anything from within.
As for the other white clad staff, he said: “Who is Zhou Weiqing, please follow me, our Palace Master wishes to see you.” Hearing his words, the other members of the Fei Li Battle Team grew nervous, subconsciously gathering behind Zhou Weiqing and Lin TianAo. In that moment, everyone’s hearts were palpitating quickly. In their minds, they were thinking that was it a trap that only Lin TianAo and Zhou Weiqing were
called?
Zhou Weiqing smiled faintly and said: “Everyone, do not worry, Leader and I will be back soon.”
A faint smile appeared on Lin TianAo’s face as well. After a short moment, he had also realised that what Zhou Weiqing said was right – it seemed like the Heaven’s Expanse Palace had decided not to take any revenge on them, at least nothing directly. Since they had already sent someone to summon them, it meant they were not going to deal with them. Otherwise, this was the Heavenly Jewel Island after all, if the Heaven’s Expanse Palace truly wanted to deal with them, it would be an easy task, and there was no need for any tricks or shenanigans.
Seeing the smiles on their faces, the remaining members, who had been so concerned that they had lost their cool, were relieved. Zhou Weiqing and Lin TianAo each followed one of the white clad staff members out of the inn.
Both sides did not take the same route. The Heavenly Jewel Tournament was over, and the four teams would be awarded with their respective rewards today. After that, besides the ZhongTian Battle Team, the rest would likely leave the Heavenly Jewel Island. Of course, they could still stay around if they wanted, but the cost of living here was not something that most people could sustain. Previously, the team, and especially Zhou Weiqing, had won quite a large sum of gold from their bets. However, as soon as they entered the Heavenly Jewel Island’s Consolidating Equipment Pavilion and Skill Storing Palace, they understood that bit of gold they had was merely a drop of water in the sea. That was not even considering the sheer prices of just food and lodging in the Heavenly Jewel Island.
Zhou Weiqing followed his white clad guide, and soon they arrived back at the mist where they had previously entered the Lustre Spatial Realm.
“Please hold this, and infuse your Heavenly Energy within.” The white clad guide turned around and handed Zhou Weiqing a gold-red gemstone. As Zhou Weiqing received the gemstone, he examined it. The gemstone was larger than the Lustre Gem they had been given in the Tournament, and as he infused his Heavenly Energy within, a bright golden red light shot forth from the stone. The swirling white mist around them instantly turned the same golden red hue, gathering towards his body.
The white clad guide also did the same with another gem, and the same thing happened as well. Zhou Weiqing had always been a fast thinker, and instantly inspiration struck him as he suddenly understood what was up with the Heaven’s Expanse Palace. The current gemstone in his hands was somewhat similar in nature to the Lustre Gem, and it was likely that their effects were similar as well. Furthermore, he could sense the thick Spatial Energy around him swirling about as well.
As such, Zhou Weiqing immediately guessed that this white mist was possibly just the Heaven’s Expanse Palace cover. The real Heaven’s Expanse Palace was possibly in another separate Spatial Realm, something like the Lustre Spatial Realm. They truly deserved their name as one of the Great Saint Lands.
The golden red light persisted for almost ten seconds, before the two of them vanished in a bright flash. In the next instant, Zhou Weiqing appeared in another area.
The moment the golden red light dissipated from around him, Zhou Weiqing’s heart was filled with shock. In front of his eyes lay a whole new world, filled with a light blue hue.
Right above in the light blue skies, the sun was a strange orange red, though its light was not eye piercing. The entire ground seemed to be paved with some sort of jade, but it did not reflect light, seeming to have its own dull glow of its own. On that light blue surface, all sorts of rare and precious plants grew. However, all of that majestic beauty was eclipsed by a massive Palace right in front of him, shining brightly in a sky- blue colour.
In front of the Palace was a large patch of grass, and behind the Palace was actually a massive three hundred metre tall waterfall, pouring down as if from the skies, bringing the damp sensation to their faces. However, the surprising thing was that there was actually no sound.
This was like a saint’s paradise on earth, and at the moment, everything just seemed so surreal, almost unreal. The white clad guide gave Zhou Weiqing an inviting gesture, along with a respectful expression, and they both headed towards the Palace.
Chapter 106 Heaven’s Expanse Palace Master!
As he walked almost blankly towards the paradise-like Palace, Zhou Weiqing was still lost in shock. At the same time, he was filled with curiosity. Everything else aside, just the looks of this place was already enough to live up to its name of Great Saint Land.
Very quickly, they arrived in front of the Palace. Zhou Weiqing couldn’t help but ask his guide: “Senior, don’t you have guards here?” Naturally, the reason he asked was because he could not see or even sense any guards in front or around the massive Palace.
The white clad guide turned his head towards Zhou Weiqing and said passively: “Our Heavenly Palace does not require any guards.”
Zhou Weiqing scolded himself inwardly for asking such a foolish question. Since he had already guessed that this Heaven’s Expanse Palace was in a solitary Spatial Realm of its own, unless one had the gemstone he had previously used, who else could get in easily? It was only after they entered the Palace that Zhou Weiqing finally saw other people – four youths dressed in light blue robes, standing at both sides of a large hall.
The decorations within the Palace were not very grand or resplendent, just a simple light blue colour with a few gems embedded to complete the simple but beautiful look. However, each of those gems were sufficient to give Zhou Weiqing a shock, as their size, hue and purity was definitely breathtaking. Any of these gems would be worth a fortune in the outside world.
The white clad guide walked to the center of the large hall, lifting his right hand and a light blue gemstone appeared in it. Soon after, a light blue light shone forth from the gemstone, spreading out swiftly and instantly covering every nook and cranny of this thousand metre large hall.
A magnificent sight accompanied the splendour of the blue light as it spread around the whole hall. The surrounding walls, ten metres tall, all with various gemstones inlaid. These gemstones seemed to be activated by the incoming blue light, and all of them burst forth with their own light as well. In that moment, the entire hall was filled with a cacophony of colours, strange yet beautiful. On the floor, symbols and formations started to appear one after the other, varied colours, from simple designs to complicated formations. The thick Heavenly Energy filling the entire hall caused Zhou Weiqing’s shocked heart to reverberate once more.
The white clad guide gestured towards Zhou Weiqing, signalling for him to follow behind, before turning and walking to one of the gold formations that had appeared in the midst of the hall floor.
Subconsciously, Zhou Weiqing followed suit. Before he could even see what the white clad guide had done, another gold ray of light appeared around them, and once again their surroundings seemed to blur. Another teleportation.
In that moment, Zhou Weiqing seemed to grasp a certain understanding of the structure of the Heaven’s Expanse Palace. He understood that whether or not the actual Heaven’s Expanse Palace was this Palace, or part of it, this grand hall was merely a transfer station. In order to reach the more important portions of the Heaven’s Expanse Palace, the only way would be to go through these formations’ teleportations. Furthermore, he guessed that depending on one’s rank within the Heaven’s Expanse Palace, the number of formations one could access would differ accordingly. No wonder the Heaven’s Expanse Palace did not require guards; even ignoring the difficulty of accessing the Spatial Realm from the Heavenly Jewel Island, just differentiating and breaking through all of these teleportation formations was unbelievably difficult.
Another flash of gold light, and both Zhou Weiqing and his white clad guide appeared in another space. It was another wide hall, but this time the colouring was all different; from the light blue of the previous hall to a light gold colour. The entire hall was covered with a light mist, and on inner side of the hall there were three grand large chairs raised up slightly atop a dais. There were three men at the area, and Zhou Weiqing suddenly realised that he recognized two of the three men.
Of the three chairs, two were filled, the center and left one, with the one on the right empty. There was another man standing right below the left chair.
The man standing there was the most familiar to Zhou Weiqing; Shangguan Longyin, the ZhongTian Empire Skill Storing Palace Master.
The ZhongTian Skill Storing Palace could be said to be largest, most well stocked, and most powerful Skill Storing Palace in the entire Boundless Mainland. As its Palace Master, even ignoring Shangguan Longyin’s own considerable personal power, just the resources and manpower he could mobilize and bring into play was absolutely terrifying. Yet, even so, in this hall, he did not even have a seat, instead standing there with his hands by his side.
As for the two seated, Zhou Weiqing also recognized one of them, the one seated on the left. He was dressed in a long white robe, a gold crown with an inlaid dragon symbol on his head. He looked young and handsome, but his eyes showed his maturity and profound insight. Just from appearance alone, it was definitely difficult to tell his real age.
This man had once left a deep impression on Zhou Weiqing. That was because he was the father of the beautiful triplet sisters, Shangguan Bing’er, Fei’er and Xue’er, the Second Palace Master of the Heaven’s Expanse Palace, Shangguan Tianyue.
With men of power like Shangguan Longyin standing respectfully to the side and Shangguan Tianyue seated at the side, it was not difficult to guess the identity of the one seated in the main seat.
Seated up straight on the main seat was a middle aged man. His features were at least seventy percent similar to Shangguan Tianyue, though seeming warmer and gentler in comparison, giving forth a harmless, innocuous feel. This was especially so for his eyes; the moment Zhou Weiqing looked into those eyes, he felt as if he was bathed in warmth, like a fresh spring breeze had filled the room, giving him a feeling as if he were very close to the man.
The white clad guide who had brought Zhou Weiqing here gave a ninety degree bow to all three men before slowly moving back. Before long, he had disappeared into the mist behind.
After a short moment of analysis in his heart, Zhou Weiqing quickly readjusted himself. Bowing slightly, he said evenly, neither haughty nor humble: “Hello three Seniors…”
Shangguan Tianyue said coldly: “Zhou Weiqing, do you know what you have done wrong?!”
Zhou Weiqing looked at his future father in law, a surprised look on his face as he said: “Father in law, may I know what your little son in law has done wrong?”
Hearing this ‘father in law’, both Shangguan Longyin and the middle aged man in the middle started. Shangguan Tianyue’s body froze in place. He had not expected that in the Heaven’s Expanse Palace, this little rascal Zhou Weiqing would actually dare to call him that.
“Who’s your father in law?!” Shangguan Tianyue shouted angrily. In truth, he was actually very good at controlling himself, but who knew why, every time he saw Zhou Weiqing, especially now with that surprised look on his face and the way he called him father in law, he just couldn’t control his anger.
Zhou Weiqing grinned and said: “Father in law, you might as well accept my address of you. I will definitely marry Bing’er, and Bing’er will also definitely marry me. Since I will have to call you that in future, why not now than later?”
Hearing his words, both Shangguan Longyin and the middle aged man couldn’t help but reveal a smile on their faces.
In using such shameless methods at this point, Zhou Weiqing actually had much deeper meaning, it was not just some senseless provocation of Shangguan Tianyue.
Since the Heaven’s Expanse Palace was already willing to give them the Heavenly Jewel Tournament rewards, it already proved that they were not about to make things difficult for him. However, he had after all ruined their great chance in the Lustre Spatial Realm, so they would definitely have to pressure him a little, perhaps even make use of this chance to lower the price for the Immortal Deity Technique trade. Now, with him shamelessly calling Shangguan Tianyue his father in law, not only would it relax the entire atmosphere, it was also a subtle
reminder to the three men of status in front of him – as if saying ‘Don’t try to scare me, my psyche is stronger than you think. Furthermore, I’m already your Heaven’s Expanse Palace future son-in-law, we’re all the same family, don’t be too hard on me’.
Shangguan Tianyue smacked his palm on the armrest of his chair, an overbearing pressure instantly enveloping Zhou Weiqing, as if about to tear his body apart.
Zhou Weiqing immediately felt as if the air around his body was congealed into a solid, pressuring against him from all directions like several mountains were pressing down. His entire bloodstream seemed to slow, as if following suit with the air around him and congealing.
However, the smile on his face did not break, and he stood there smiling faintly at Shangguan Tianyue.
How could Shangguan Tianyue not understand that smile. This little rascal clearly knew that he could not kill him. In truth, Shangguan Tianyue indeed could not kill him. After all, his own beloved daughter had already been taken advantage of by this little rascal, and was fully head over heels in love with him. What would happen to her if he was really killed off?
“Alright, enough, Tianyue.” The middle aged man in the middle lifted his right hand slightly, and instantly Zhou Weiqing felt his body lighten, all the pressure disappearing in an instant. Shangguan Tianyue gave an angry humph, glaring at him coldly for a moment before turning his gaze away.
“Weiqing, before you actually become our Heaven’s Expanse Palace son in law, I’ll call you this first.” the middle aged man smiled faintly as he said. It was as if he would never ever lose his temper, his voice as gentle as his gaze. Along with his intimate addressing, it was easy for anyone to have a favourable, close impression of him.
Zhou Weiqing’s observation skills were not to be trifled with. When the middle aged man opened his mouth, he felt his heart skip a beat. Even when compared to Shangguan Tianyue, this smiling, gentle middle aged man gave him an even greater pressure inside. The reason was simple – as soon as he started speaking, Zhou Weiqing could clearly see that Shangguan Longyin, standing at the side, revealed a respectful look on his face. Even when Shangguan Tianyue was speaking earlier or putting pressure on him, Shangguan Longyin had been smiling as he watched. That could only mean that Shangguan Longyin’s respect towards this middle aged man was far beyond that towards Shangguan Tianyue.
Zhou Weiqing’s judgement was pretty accurate. The gentle warmth of the middle aged man was not actually due to his own character, but a natural phenomenon caused by the Heaven’s Expanse Palace main training technique, the Boundless Infinitum Technique, being cultivated to the maximum. As for Shangguan Tianyue, his cultivation was still quite a distance from the middle aged man’s.
“My name is Shangguan Tianyang, the Heaven’s Expanse Palace Master. I believe you should know very clearly the reason why we have called you here. Now that the Heavenly Jewel Tournament has ended, the trade that we have agreed upon can be carried out.”
This Heaven’s Expanse Palace Master, the leader of the top of the Five Great Saint Lands, one of the strongest people in the entire Boundless Mainland. With just a simple, almost casual statement, he dismissed the entire incident of Zhou Weiqing ruining the ZhongTian Battle Team’s actions in the Lustre Spatial Realm, as if nothing had happened. Just this generous bearing of his alone, it was definitely enough to make one admire him deeply.
Zhou Weiqing bowed slightly towards Shangguan Tianyang before saying: “Hello Senior Shangguan. In that case, we can start our trade then. However, before that, I have another small request, would Senior be okay with that?” At the side, Shangguan Tianyue piped out coldly: “Another request? We did not dwell upon your actions in the Lustre Spatial Realm, and you still dare to make another request? Don’t you know that for us to have such an opportunity in the Lustre Spatial Realm, how difficult that is? It was definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity, perhaps never again in ten thousand years. The dragon corpse aside, just that dragon egg alone would allow us to chase those barbarians from the WanShou Empire back to the north.”
Zhou Weiqing smiled faintly, saying calmly and leisurely: “My future father in law, I just have one question for you. If Aunty Tangxian and Bing’er were to be surrounded and attacked by enemies, who were trying to gain some treasure from them, what would you think? I was just trying to help a mother only. I do not know any grand principles or morals, but I just know that everyone has a mother, and any child without a mother is just so pitiful. I admit, that my actions were indeed rash. However, I do not regret any of it. If I had to make the same choice again, I believe that I would still do the same every time.”
“You…” Shangguan Tianyue realised that his usual control and composure was easily tested by this little rascal. Shangguan Tianyue smiled faintly and said: “What is done is done. Even if we blame you, that would not solve anything. I do admire your filial piety. Alright, enough about that. What is your request?”
Zhou Weiqing said: “If I am not wrong, one of the rewards of the Champion of the Heavenly Jewel Tournament is a God Tier Consolidating Equipment for the team leader of the winning Battle Team right?”
Shangguan Longyin said: “That’s right. The Champion Team’s leader will gain a set of God Tier Consolidating Equipment Scrolls, and the other team members will each gain a Zong Stage Consolidating Equipment Scroll set, as well as one chance to Skill Store a Heavenly King Stage Heavenly Beast in the Skill Storing Palace. The time for that Skill Storing will be three months, but it can be redeemed in the future. That is to say, you all can actually wait until a few years later when your cultivation level is higher and you have more confidence in Skill Storing a Heavenly King Stage Beast before returning to the Heavenly Jewel Island Skill Storing Palace. Why do you ask, are you thinking of claiming that God Tier Consolidating Equipment as well?”
When Shangguan Longyin said that, his expression was a little strange. The reason was simple, not just himself, even the two Palace Masters could not understand why a mere three- Jeweled Heavenly Jewel Master like Zhou Weiqing could successfully Skill Store a Heavenly King Stage Skill, let alone one ultimate skill like a Heavenly God Stage Skill!
After the Heavenly Jewel Tournament, all the members of the ZhongTian Battle Team had given their own detailed reports to their superiors, and naturally the Palace Masters knew all about it. Among the reports, the key piece of information was definitely the Dragon Silencing Seal that Zhou Weiqing had used to instantly change the tide of battle.
It could be said that without the Dragon Silencing Seal, the huge advantage that the ZhongTian and BaoPo Battle Team had could not be so easily overturned. With Zhan LingTian at full power, he could have beaten his opponent, and turned towards the dying mother dragon. At the very least, he could have stolen the dragon egg.
It was only because Zhou Weiqing had managed to Seal Zhan LingTian with the Dragon Silencing Seal, defeating him swiftly and heavily injuring him. After that, he had also Sealed Shangguan Fei’er, who was now currently being grounded. It was the loss of these top two members of the team that allowed the WanShou Battle Team to turn the battle in their favour, also delaying the fight long enough for the male dragon to return, and totally ruin the chance for good.
After hearing about the Dragon Silencing Seal, Shangguan Longyin had also done a deep investigation, and the Demonic Dragon Lady had once again reached the eyes of the upper echelons of the Heaven’s Expanse Palace.
This Demonic Dragon Lady had never been Skill Stored from before, yet now this Heavenly Emperor Stage Beast had actually been Skill Stored with an unbelievably powerful Skill that actually had the Heavenly Skill Image, ever so close to the Heavenly God Stage. After so many centuries of being ignored, the Demonic Dragon Lady was once again thrown into the spotlight. Alas, the Heaven’s Expanse Palace did not have anyone that could meet the requirements in Skill Storing from it.
Still, after Shangguan Longyin had carefully analysed Zhou Weiqing’s powers, he still could not understand how Zhou Weiqing had managed to undergo the Skill Storing of a Heavenly Beast so far above him.
Successfully Skill Storing above one’s power and cultivation level, that was something that the Heaven’s Expanse Palace had experimented with and succeeded in as well. However, the power gap could not be too great, and it was also only possible for Nine Star rated Skills and below. Furthermore, this accomplishment was the legacy handed down after centuries in the Heaven’s Expanse Palace, the fruit of labour of countless ancestors’ experience and after expending so much treasure, resources and manpower. Yet, who did Zhou Weiqing have? He had entered the Skill Storing Palace alone, and had actually succeeded in such a monumental task in such a short period of time!
Shangguan Longyin still clearly remembered the day when Zhou Weiqing had asked him about allowing him to have a look at the Heavenly King Stage Beasts and higher. It had barely been more than a day from the Heavenly Jewel Tournament finals. Yet, he had used the Dragon Silencing Seal soon after in the Tournament. In all of the Heaven’s Expanse Palace records, no other place had ever captured a Demonic Dragon Lady besides themselves. That was to say, from all evidence and inference, Zhou Weiqing had succeeded in Skill Storing from the Demonic Dragon Lady after a single try, and had gotten such a powerful, almost nature-defying skill to boot!
Was it just luck? Then… his luck was just too unbelievable already. Yet, as he recalled, Zhou Weiqing had several highly rated Skills as well! Could it be just all luck? Zhou Weiqing smiled faintly and said: “No, it’s not that I want that God Tier Consolidating Equipment. I just hope that the great God Tier Consolidating Equipment Masters of the Heavenly Jewel Island can help our team leader custom make that one. That is extremely important to our leader.” Previously, of the Zong Stage Consolidating Equipment Scroll set that he had promised to the entire team, only Lin TianAo had not managed to get one. This time, with the chance to gain a God Tier Consolidating Equipment, it would definitely be highly critical for Lin TianAo to get one which was custom designed and created for his specific purpose. That would allow Lin TianAo to continue along the lines of his previous Assembly Shield Set, further improving his defense and overall power.
As for Zhou Weiqing, he was currently about to gain three God Tier Consolidating Equipments. That was more than enough for his current needs, and in the next few years, he would not require any more. Even if he reached the six- Jeweled cultivation level or higher, having four God Tier Consolidated Equipment was already much more than enough to last him for a long while. Furthermore, Lin TianAo was his Follower. In Zhou Weiqing’s heart, he was definitely of utmost importance, especially for one so afraid of dying like Zhou Weiqing, improving Lin TianAo’s defensive capabilities was definitely something he took very seriously. From the process of how the Fei Li Battle Team had managed to gain their championship, it was without question that Zhou Weiqing had done the most. Furthermore, Lin TianAo was his Lifetime Follower. If he truly wished to take the God Tier Consolidating Equipment reward as his own, it was likely that none of the team members would object. At the same time, the Heaven’s Expanse Palace would also have no reason to object,
after all they would also gain yet another new Consolidating
Equipment Scroll design, while they would not lose anything in exchange. However, Zhou Weiqing truly believed that improving Lin TianAo’s power was equally important as his own; furthermore he had no urgent need of it.
Shangguan Tianyang’s expression changed minutely before he said: “Oh? You are not planning to take that God Tier Consolidating Equipment for yourself?” Even though he was the Heaven’s Expanse Palace Master, he had still never heard of anyone who would refuse to take a God Tier Consolidating Equipment for himself; Zhou Weiqing was definitely the first that he had heard of. After all, every piece of Consolidating Equipment was priceless!
Zhou Weiqing smiled faintly before saying: “This junior will already be getting three God Tier Consolidating Equipment with the trade with the Heaven’s Expanse Palace, and in the near future I will not have a need for any more. Furthermore, according to the rules of the Tournament, that reward is originally for our leader anyway. In order to get the championship, it is the hard work of our entire team, not just myself.”
Shangguan Tianyang smiled faintly and said: “I have a suggestion, and you can consider it. If you agree, we can go about both trades at the same time.”
“Senior, what is your suggestion?” Zhou Weiqing said calmly.
Shangguan Tianyang said: “If you are willing to tell us your method of successfully Skill Storing from Heavenly Beasts way above your cultivation and power level, our Heaven’s Expanse Palace can help you complete your entire Legendary Set. I’m sure you should have the whole set designs right?”
As soon as Shangguan Tianyang said that, Shangguan Tianyue had a surprised look on his face. On the other hand, Shangguan Longyin remained calm, as if he had expected something like this.
This was an entire Legendary Set! All God Tier Consolidating Equipment! Towards any Heavenly Jewel Master, this was an unbelievable enticement that was definitely irresistible. Zhou Weiqing was no different. As soon as he heard Shangguan Tianyang speak his offer, his entire body and heart was stunned, and he almost burst out in agreement at once.
With an entire Legendary Set, along with his Devour Skill and the Immortal Deity Technique, he had confidence of breaking through to the Heavenly God Stage in the future, and reach the pinnacle of the world!
On the other side of things, since the Heaven’s Expanse Palace has agreed to create an entire Legendary Set for him, wasn’t it tantamount to Shangguan Tianyang agreeing to his marriage with Shangguan Bing’er? As the Palace Master of the Heaven’s Expanse Palace, his word would definitely hold sway.
Furthermore, with the support of the Heaven’s Expanse Palace behind him, he would be able to accomplish all his goals with much less time and effort; even the Heavenly Bow Empire would benefit greatly from it.
However, was everything as perfect as it seemed on the surface?
Just as Zhou Weiqing was about to exclaim his agreement to Shangguan Tianyang, Mu En’s visage suddenly appeared in his mind. Abruptly he recalled his old teacher telling him: “If one day, you meet something that is too good to be true, so good that you cannot resist it, then you must first ask yourself three times… Why? Why? Why? Because most of the times, when a pie drops down from heaven, it is usually poisoned.”
These words from Mu En had been carved deeply in his head, because when Mu En had told him that, it had been with an uncharacteristic seriousness, and he had repeated himself three times with utmost solemn and earnest force.
Why? Why would Shangguan Tianyue give something unbelievably good like that to me? Zhou Weiqing’s heart started skipping hard as he forced himself to stop and think hard.
The next moment, the impulsive light in his eyes retreated, and a calm steadiness returned to his face. Looking at Shangguan Tianyang, a thoughtful look appeared in his eyes.
It was the three powerhouses from the Heaven’s Expanse Palace’s turn to be surprised. If they looked inwardly, even if they were in Zhou Weiqing’s position, at his age and cultivation level, facing such an unbelievably tempting offer, they would definitely agree without hesitation. It could be said that the most shocked was the one who had come brought up the suggestion, Shangguan Tianyang. When he had spoken regarding helping Zhou Weiqing complete his entire Legendary Set, he had noticed the expression on Zhou Weiqing’s face. He had personally seen the wild joy and
excitement on his face, and then the sudden change to
calmness just before he spoke out to agree. In some way, it could be said that such a sudden switch to a calm reaction was almost unjustified and illogical.
Where did Zhou Weiqing’s calm and cool-headed thinking come from? That was because, when he asked himself ‘Why?’, he suddenly thought about something contradictory that he did not want to admit, but had no choice but to admit. That… was his own character.
That’s the literal translation. He is basically referencing an idiom 天上掉下来的馅饼 – which basically says ‘A pie drops down from heaven’, meaning something so good has happened to someone. Zhou Weiqing loved his freedom; that showed in his thinking, his unrestrained and unbridled mind that jumped about freely. He had always dreamed of soaring around like a bird or swimming the oceans like a fish, to live a free life of his dreams. He would never hope that he would be restricted or tied to a single place.
Without question, if he agreed on Shangguan Tianyang’s suggestion, he would lose that freedom, with the seal of the Heaven’s Expanse Palace placed on him deeply. From there on, he would always be influenced and controlled by the Heaven’s Expanse Palace, no longer belonging to himself or even his own homeland.
When Zhou Weiqing thought about this point, he immediately calmed down. Of course, that was not to say that he could never pay the price of freedom, but it was a matter of whether or not it was worth it.
On deeper thought and self reflection, the answer was no. That was because, what the Heaven’s Expanse Palace was offering, Zhou Weiqing was confident that with his own hard work and efforts, he would eventually be able to accomplish it by himself. In that case, why should he give up his own freedom for a shortcut that would only save him some time? As he slowly calmed down, he began to ask himself the second ‘why’. Why would Shangguan Tianyang give such an attractive offer? To complete an entire Legendary Set, the cost of that
was so exorbitant that even the wealthy Heaven’s Expanse Palace could not easily ignore it.
Furthermore, even if they knew his Skill Storing method, they would not be able to duplicate it. First of all, they did not have the strange tiger bloodline that they did, and they also did not have help from Fat Cat. If he told them about his method of Elemental Jewel Skill Storing, that would undoubtedly be betraying Fat Cat, and that was something Zhou Weiqing would not do. Earlier, when he had left the inn, it was because of the fact he was afraid things might be difficult for Fat Cat that he left her in the inn.
So, why would the Heaven’s Expanse Palace give him such favourable terms? When Zhou Weiqing calmed down and thought further, he quickly understood the reasons.
If Zhou Weiqing really accepted Shangguan Tianyang’s terms, only then would the Heaven’s Expanse Palace know about his Skill Storing methods. That meant that at least currently they did not know that this method could not be duplicated by them. As such, it also meant that in their eyes, it would definitely be worth that price. After all, a method that allowed one to Skill Store from Heavenly Beasts of much greater power levels, that was a priceless treasure that could be passed down as a legacy to generations down the road, and was
of almost unthinkable value to the Heaven’s Expanse Palace. In comparison, a mere Legendary Set was of nothing if one were to put it in perspective of a Great Saint Lands. Of course, that was all on the premise that they could make use of the method.
Secondly, if the Heaven’s Expanse Palace helped Zhou Weiqing create his entire Legendary Set, that would mean that he would have to give them the entire Legendary Set design. That would also mean the Heaven’s Expanse Palace would gain a new full Legendary Set design. This might not seem to be as valuable as an actual Legendary Set Equipments, but in truth, that was only for an individual person. In the point of view of a Great Saint Lands, the two were definitely of almost equal worth. After all, with the design, they would be able to continually create more of these for their own use.
Thirdly, by making the entire Legendary Set for Zhou Weiqing, it would bind him to the Heaven’s Expanse Palace tightly. After all, not only was the Legendary Set difficult to make, he would also need to continually grow in cultivation level before he could use the next ones. In such a way, there would be yet another invisible thread binding Zhou Weiqing to them, leaving his heart and soul with the Heaven’s Expanse Palace. In addition to his connection with Shangguan Bing’er, after some time, it would not be difficult to slowly absorb Zhou Weiqing into the Heaven’s Expanse Palace. In the end, wouldn’t that mean that this Legendary Set would end up working for
the Heaven’s Expanse Palace?
It could be said that on the surface, it would seem like the Heaven’s Expanse Palace was offering a lot, but in truth, what they gained was so much more. Other material gains aside, they would be gaining an outstanding talent, allowing them to groom him further as well.
When Zhou Weiqing thought through all of that, he couldn’t help but feel an even greater sense of gratitude towards Mu En. There was always two sides to a coin, and one often had to examine something thoroughly to find out all sides. Behind a massive benefit, there was usually either a corresponding trap, danger or poison. Zhou Weiqing felt his hands twitch slightly… in that moment he truly understood why his father had sent him to this old fellow nicknamed the God Eye Scoundrel, and why as he did so, he had told him that learning from Mu En would allow him to better survive in this world, even without any powers. “Why are you still hesitating?” Shangguan Tianyue asked Zhou Weiqing impatiently.
A small smile tugged at the corners of Zhou Weiqing’s lips, and he said: “Thank you Senior Shangguan for that great offer, this junior is truly honoured. However, I am also a Consolidating Equipment Master, and I hope that one day I can become a God Tier Consolidating Equipment Master as well, to wear the Equipment that I have personally created. I am afraid I have to refuse this tempting offer.”
“You are actually refusing the offer?!” Shangguan Tianyue stared at Zhou Weiqing in shock, as if looking at an idiot.
Shangguan Longyin also had a surprised look on his face, the expression in his eyes changed as he looked at Zhou Weiqing.
Shangguan Tianyang started momentarily, then he smiled gently and lifted his hands in a soft clapping. “Good… good… good.”
Three ‘good’s. But it caused Zhou Weiqing’s heart to skip three beats alongside. He could not tell what Shangguan Tianyang was thinking about at all. Nodding towards Zhou Weiqing, Shangguan Tianyang said: “I believe that in this world, there isn’t another person who will reject the offer I just made. Weiqing, I must admit that I have underestimated you. From now on, I will treat you like someone of my own level. Of course, that is because of your
possibility and future. In that case, our previous trade will still go through as promised, and the custom God Tier Consolidated Equipment designed for your Fei Li Battle Team Leader, I shall also agree to that.”
“Thank you Senior.” Zhou Weiqing bowed deeply once more. As the saying goes, it is never wrong to be polite, especially since with the connection of Bing’er, these few men in front of him were considered his elders and relatives as well. Not wanting to be tied fully by a trade was one thing, but he still had to give them the respect they deserved.
“There is no need for thanks, it is what you have earned. Longyin, the rest I leave it to you. You can bring Weiqing to go about the trade we have agreed upon.”
“Yes, Palace Master.” Shangguan Longyin turned and bowed deeply towards Shangguan Tianyang. In the next instant, he flash stepped in front of Zhou Weiqing, and the two disappeared swiftly in a bright flash of gold light. After the two had vanished, Shangguan Tianyang looked towards Shangguan Tianyue and said smilingly: “Second Brother, what do you think?”
Shangguan Tianyue’s angry expression disappeared, and he smiled: “That child’s character… it looks like Bing’er has made a good choice.”
The smile on Shangguan Tianyang’s face grew a little strange, and he sighed softly as he said: “I’m just afraid that this child will be the same as you when you were young.”
Naturally, Shangguan Tianyue knew what his own big brother was talking about, and couldn’t help but flush slightly in embarrassment, as he said: “Big Brother, don’t mention about such things so far back in the past. Who hasn’t been young and stupid before? That little rascal Zhou Weiqing… in this aspect alone… hmph, he is even stronger than I am. Besides Bing’er, he has still some relations with that Little Witch. I even heard that this little brat actually accidentally kissed Fei’er.”
Originally, when Zhou Weiqing accidentally kissed Shangguan Xue’er, no one else was around. With her nature, naturally she would not go around spreading it about, and only Shangguan Fei’er had managed to find out, and even so that had been deviously. As such, these two elders here did not know about that matter.
Shangguan Tianyang said with a faint smile: “You shouldn’t keep scaring that poor little fellow. After all, no matter what, you are his future father-in-law. In truth, to us, everything else are just minor details… as long as both sides are willing, us old fellows shouldn’t interfere too much the younger generation. This Zhou Weiqing might be a little cunning and wily, but there is a side of him buried deep in his bones that I truly like. To be honest, before today, I would never imagine that anyone could possibly reject the offer I made just now, let alone someone of his age. Although I am a little disappointed that we aren’t able to fully bind him to us in that way, I can’t help but feel overjoyed with him. After all, no matter what, he is your son-in-law.”
Shangguan Tianyue gave a rather discontented humph. “What son-in-law? Wait for him to defeat Xue’er first!”
Shangguan Tianyang said: “You ahh… you are just too stubborn. You have clearly approved of him, yet you must always act like that. However, that child has truly shown too much of himself in this Heavenly Jewel Tournament, and that may not be a good thing. Luckily, he is not as flighty and impulsive as most other youths of his age. Well, at least with the Heavenly Demon Sect and Heavenly Snow Mountain people around him, we should not need to worry too much about his safety.”
Shangguan Tianyue said: “Enough about that little brat. I do not know why, he can really rile me up so easily. Perhaps it is the feeling that every father has for the fellow who steals his daughter away. Anyway, Brother, I will be heading to the Heavenly Bow Empire to bring Xian’er back. With Bing’er here, and now that I finally have her actual location, no matter what, this time I will definitely bring her back.”
Shangguan Tianyang nodded, saying: “Xian’er has suffered a lot for you. You should hurry and bring her back.”
Shangguan Tianyue said: “What about the border? Should we send some men to help? Recently, the WanShou Empire have been attacking viciously.”
Hearing him mention the WanShou Empire, Shangguan Tianyang furrowed his brow, saying: “No, we’ll have to hold on that temporarily. Once we actually send people to join in the fight, it will be finally truly tearing open the relations with the Heavenly Snow Mountain. Although in terms of overall combat, we might be slightly ahead, fighting in the north is just too unfavourable for us. Furthermore, if the two of our Great Saint Lands fight, it might cause a mass world war in the entire mainland, dragging all of the Great Saint Lands into war as well.”
A cold light flashed in Shangguan Tianyue’s eyes and he said coldly: “So what if we are dragged into war? With the power of our Heaven’s Expanse Palace… and with the support of the Passion Valley and the Blood Red Hell, I do not believe we cannot suppress the Heavenly Snow Mountain.”
Shangguan Tianyang gave a bitter smile and said: “If it were as easy as you say, I would not need to be so troubled all the time. You should know as well that the WanShou Empire occupies the entire north, but that place is a bitter cold, sparse land. In such a place, ordinary humans cannot survive in such a place. Furthermore, such conditions are very beneficial for the WanShou Empire and Heavenly Snow Mountain powerhouses to fight. Even if all three of our Great Saint Land powerhouses invade them, we will not be a match in their territory. Even if we are actually able to temporarily defeat the Heavenly Snow Mountain powerhouses, all they need to do is to retreat deeper into their lands, and what can we do? Our ordinary armies are not able to join in the invasion due to the conditions, and our personal strength is limited after all. Even a Heavenly God Stage powerhouse, when facing an army of millions, will eventually fall, no matter how many he might take with him. Furthermore, in terms of ordinary soldiers, the power of the WanShou Empire is unmatchable and add on to the fact that they have no northern border to worry about… if not for the threat of our three Great Saint Lands, they would have invaded and crushed the rest of the Boundless Mainland long ago. Alas, we can still be a deterrence in terms of defense,
but we do not have the capabilities of offense. After all, do not forget that all these years, the Beastmaster Armies of the Heavenly Snow Mountain has obeyed our treaty and not fought in the wars since.”
He is referring to Tang Xian, his wife
Chapter 107 Breakthrough! Heavenly Shen Energy Third Stage!
Upon hearing the words Beastmaster Armies, Shangguan Tianyue’s face changed. He clearly dreaded them, and with a sigh he said: “You’re right brother, I am too impatient. It’s just that every year as I see the namelist of our dead warriors, it breaks my heart. To keep the status quo going and fight in such a war of attrition is also not a good solution.”
Shangguan Tianyang said: “Yes… but alas we have no choice about it, and only the heavens can do anything about it. The WanShou Empire might be huge, but they are in the bitter cold northlands; the food supplies there are extremely limited, and when it comes to winter time, if they do not attack us and raid our lands, many of their citizens would perish. For survival, they have no choice but to invade us. On our end, we have to defend our own lands, to protect our citizens. Such is nature that we are forced to fight with each other. It’s not like we can just gift them with food, to let them grow strong before they invade the entire mainland right.”
Shangguan Tianyue shook his head helplessly, saying: “Alright, let’s stop talking about such depressing matters. I will head to find Xian’er first… By the way, Big Brother, how has your closed door cultivation been lately? Any opportunity to breakthrough?” A hint of disappointment appeared in the gentle eyes of Shangguan Tianyang, and he shook he head lightly: “It is still the same… no success in sight. Our human bodies and talents just cannot compare to the Divine Heavenly Spirit Tigers, and it is just too difficult to break through that last step. I have been at the peak of the Heavenly Emperor Stage for over a dozen years, and all these years I have been striving with all my might to perfect myself and breakthrough to the last stage. Alas, I have always hit a wall due to the limitations of my body and physique, always failing at the last step. I’m afraid that the gap between myself and Xue HaoTian will have grown further. The next Five-Year Great Saint Lands Meet, I wonder if I will still be able to suppress him in overall power… How about you second brother? How is your situation?”
Shangguan Tianyue said: “I have now stabilized myself at the Low Level Heavenly Emperor Stage. However, if I want to break through to the Mid Level, I estimate that it will take me at least five to ten years.”
Shangguan Tianyang smiled faintly and said: “Luckily you have also reached the Heavenly Emperor Stage. With the power of us two brothers combined, along with our Legendary Sets, even if Xue HaoTian had improved, we will not lose to him.” As he spoke up to that point, Shangguan Tianyang seemed to be lost in recollection. “Speaking of which, the only person that I truly admire is that Xue HaoTian. Even though he isn’t a human, his cultivation talent is just too shocking, one that comes back barely once in ten thousand years. In all the records of our Heaven’s Expanse Palace, for someone to break through the Heavenly King Stage before forty, Heavenly Emperor Stage at fifty and Heavenly God Stage at sixty… he is truly the only person.”
Shangguan Tianyue said in an ashamed tone: “Indeed! Previously, I stayed at the Heavenly King Stage for almost twenty five years, even though I reached that Heavenly King Stage before Xue HaoTian, alas his speed of cultivation is far beyond mine, and he has long since surpassed me. Big Brother, is having the Saint Attribute that much of an advantage?”
Shangguan Tianyang suddenly laughed, saying: “If you really want to know how advantageous the Saint Attributes have, you can just look to your son-in-law. Thinking about it, if he had actually agreed to my terms today and officially joined our Heaven’s Expanse Palace, I’m confident that in the not too distant future, he can be another peerless talent like Xue HaoTian. After all, that son in law of yours not only has the Time Attribute, he is also a first generation Demonic Attribute Master… that’s two Saint Attributes! Not only that, he actually has six Attributes in total, with the other four none too shabby as well. Now that he is only at the three-Jeweled cultivation level, he has already Stored Skills like that Dragon Silencing Seal… even Xue HaoTian, a Divine Heavenly Spirit Tiger of such pure bloodline, had not done that right.”
Shangguan Tianyue gave a humph and said: “Don’t keep mentioning that little brat, lest I get angry again.”
Shangguan Tianyang said: “Alright, you go ahead first. You need to pack up and find Xian’er as soon as possible and bring her home.”
Shangguan Tianyue said: “Hold on a moment, I am curious to see exactly what that little rascal’s cultivation technique is.”
Shangguan Tianyang smiled faintly, but did not say anything further. He could clearly see that although Shangguan Tianyue was stubborn on the surface, he had already started to care for Zhou Weiqing. Just like what Zhou Weiqing himself had hoped, his efforts throughout the Heavenly Jewel Tournament had definitely displayed his talent, power and character to his future father in law and gained his approval.
For top class powerhouses like the Shangguan brothers, they would not simply look at a Heavenly Jewel Master’s cultivation level. After all, cultivation level was only one aspect of a Heavenly Jewel Master’s overall power. What Zhou Weiqing had displayed in the Heavenly Jewel Tournament was not his own cultivation level, it was that terrifying combat prowess, and undeniable potential and talent, but also his leadership capabilities, keen intelligence, and overall package. Without a doubt, that had stunned even these top powerhouses. It could be said that besides his cultivation level, Zhou Weiqing was
equal to, or perhaps already surpassed any of the top disciples of all the Great Saint Lands.
The two brothers did not have to wait long; soon, a bright light shone once more and Shangguan Longyin appeared again in the hall. However, this time, his expression was extremely weird. He held a book in his hands, and he swiftly stepped up to Shangguan Tianyang and Tianyue.
“First Palace Master, Second Palace Master.” Shangguan Longyin bowed slightly.
Shangguan Tianyue said: “Done so quickly?”
Previously, Shangguan Longyin had brought Zhou Weiqing to another area to make a copy of his Immortal Deity Technique. Shangguan Tianyang had imagined that that cultivation technique should be extremely complicated and long, but who knew they had barely waited an hour and Shangguan Longyin had already returned. After all, any of the top end cultivation techniques were extremely difficult and intricate, and no detail could be missed out.
Shangguan Longyin gave a bitter smile and passed the book over, saying: “First Palace Master, I think you better see for yourself. I don’t even know how to describe it.”
Shangguan Tianyang took up the book, and Shangguan Tianyue also moved over to look over his brother’s shoulder. The two Heavenly Emperor Stage powerhouses both started reading the contents of the book.
In truth, Zhou Weiqing was truly strong in many aspects, but in terms of his handwriting… that was truly hard for anyone to scrounge up any praise for it. Although it was not totally unreadable, it was more than enough for the two readers to furrow their brows. Of course, that was not a huge problem, at most they just needed to find someone else to make another copy. However, the bigger problem now was the contents…
After a moment, both Shangguan Tianyang and Tianyue stared at each other blankly. Shangguan Tianyue couldn’t help but exclaim: “This is his so-called godlike Immortal Deity Technique? Is this used to commit suicide??”
Shangguan Tianyang looked up towards Shangguan Longyin and said: “Longyin, are you certain that Zhou Weiqing is truly cultivating this technique?”
Shangguan Longyin smiled bitterly and said: “That is what truly made me feel helpless. After he wrote down this manual, I was the first to read through it, and I was totally puzzled then as well. After which, I followed the manual and its circulation techniques to examine Zhou Weiqing’s body. I can definitely confirm that he is truly cultivating with this technique. However, my thinking is the same as Second Palace Master’s… this cultivation technique can be likened to being suicidal. Who would be willing to bet one’s life so easily just to cultivate?”
Shangguan Tianyang furrowed his brow, then said: “Could he be hiding anything else?”
Shangguan Longyin shook his head, saying: “That shouldn’t be the case. Zhou Weiqing also said that he is about to breakthrough his fifteenth Death Acupuncture Point, and we can witness him doing so in verification of the technique.” Shangguan Tianyue said: “Big brother, what do you think?”
Shangguan Tianyang thought for a moment, before finally saying: “Alright, then do as he says, let him breakthrough in front of us. I want to see if this method of breaking through the Death Acupuncture Points with Heavenly Energy… could it really be a unique technique that no one else has thought of?”
The Immortal Deity Technique could be considered rather simplistic in nature, which was why it took such a short time to copy the entire manual. After all, it was basically listing the circulation routes and meridian points one had to take care of when breaking through each Death Acupuncture Point.
With Shangguan Tianyang’s instructions in hand, Shangguan Longyin set off. Before long, Zhou Weiqing appeared in front of them once more.
Seeing the two Shangguan brothers, Zhou Weiqing grinned happily and said: “Future Father in law, Future Uncle, I never expected we would meet again so quickly.”
Shangguan Tianyang said solemnly: “Weiqing, that Immortal Deity Technique of yours is truly too shocking. Is it really a technique that can be successfully cultivated? Do not risk your life just to get a few Consolidating Equipment… When you attempt to break through your Death Acupuncture Point, with our cultivation level we can easily sense every bit of Heavenly Energy and how it is circulating throughout your entire body.”
His meaning was clear; telling Zhou Weiqing that it was pointless to attempt to lie to them, and if he should not risk his life for no reason.
Of course, in this, Zhou Weiqing had a clear conscience. His Immortal Deity Technique was indeed rather unbelievable, but it was indeed the cultivation technique he was cultivating. In theory, there was nothing wrong at all with their trade; of course, whether or not they could make use of the technique was another matter altogether.
With a grin, Zhou Weiqing sat cross legged on the ground, saying: “Heh heh, I will break through the next Death Acupuncture Point right now for you all to witness, and you can carefully sense every detail of it to see whether or not my Immortal Deity Technique can be used. As for why I can survive the breaking through of all these Death Acupuncture Points, to be honest, I am also not certain why… but I sense that it could be because of my own bloodlines that allow me to have an extremely powerful recovery rate. I will not lie to you three, this Immortal Deity Technique of mine is truly tantamount to suicide, and perhaps only one in ten thousand people can cultivate it. Even if one succeeds in breaking through the first Death Acupuncture Point, from then on, each and every other Death Acupuncture Point one breaks through is also a matter of life and death. From the start of my cultivation til now… the amount of pain I had to go through… heh heh.”
Perhaps he had grown used to it, or perhaps because of Bing’er, all of a sudden Zhou Weiqing found that he was no longer as afraid of that violent pain that the Immortal Deity Technique signified every time he broke through a Death Acupuncture Point; at least for now his psyche was without any problems in that matter.
He did not say anything further, and without further ado, he started cultivating. He knew that with the power of the two in front of him, they could easily sense everything about his cultivation and breakthrough.
Zhou Weiqing had long since memorised the circulation route to breakthrough the next Death Acupuncture Point, and his Heavenly Energy had long reached the maximum of his current stage. Circulating his Heavenly Energy, he gathered his massively thick Heavenly Energy which had formed into the liquid state, passing through all fourteen energy whirlpools and picking up speed… before striking out directly at the fifteenth Death Acupuncture Point.
The Jiuwei Acupuncture Point.
Position: Seven inches above the abdomen, half inch below the appendix ensiformis.
Channel Vessel Type: Ren(Channel) Meridian, the connecting point for many meridians. Once broken through, it would also affect the epigastric arteries, veins, liver, gallbladder and even the heart, causing the bloodstream to slow down and even stop, causing death.
This was the Second Death Acupuncture Point in the chest area that was part of the Third Portion of the Immortal Deity Technique. Sensing the energy fluctuations from Zhou Weiqing’s Dantian, Shangguan Tianyang and Tianyue immediately focused their attentions on him. At their level, they did not need to be in contact with his body to be able to sense every minute change in his Heavenly Energy.
When Zhou Weiqing circulated that immense amount of Heavenly Energy and charged it in a straightforward fashion towards the Jiuwei Death Acupuncture Point at the chest area, they could sense the massive energy surging forth like a herd of wild horses, with no hint of hesitation. Even Heavenly Emperor Stage powerhouses like Shangguan Tianyang and Shangguan Tianyue couldn’t help but stare at each other in shock. Such a thing, even they would not dare to easily try.
*Poof* Zhou Weiqing’s body was like an air balloon which had been pierced through, and a vast amount of Heavenly Energy burst forth from his Jiuwei Acupuncture Point. At the same time, fresh blood spurted out from his mouth, and his entire body began trembling violently, his Heavenly Energy spewing out from that breach in his meridian channels. Shangguan Tianyang and Shangguan Longyin did not move, as cold logic told them that since Zhou Weiqing had dared to do that, he had his own reasons. No one would toy with their own life like that so simply.
On the other hand, it was Shangguan Tianyue, who had always seemed so cold, and hostile towards Zhou Weiqing, couldn’t help but lifting a hand in an attempt to aid him. As the saying goes, once one cares about something, logic goes out of the window. After he knew about the relation between his daughter and Zhou Weiqing, he had already treated the youth as half a son-in-law in his heart, though he would never show it out to the young man directly.
Shangguan Tianyang grabbed hold of Shangguan Tianyue’s hand, motioning for him to remain calm. At the same time, he continued focusing his senses in on the detailed movement of Heavenly Energy of Zhou Weiqing.
It was barely the short time of a few breaths, but already Zhou Weiqing’s clothes were totally soaked with sweat, and his face was pale and ashen. That alone showed how much pain he was in, but he gritted his teeth and did not make a sound, enduring the intense pain as best he could. In his mind, Zhou Weiqing could only continually utter the words to keep himself sane: For Bing’er!
Indeed, in order to be together with Bing’er as soon as possible, no matter how much he had to go through, it was definitely worth it. This was the conviction in his heart that supported him through all the pain, bringing his endurance up several notches. With the last dredges of his consciousness, he willed his remaining Heavenly Energy to circulate through the requisite circulation paths, forcibly preventing too much from escaping via the broken Death Acupuncture Point.
The hidden reserve powers that he had not absorbed after his second evolving was once more activated, and once again, that familiar biting cold spread throughout every inch of his body. Currently, the two Shangguan brothers could sense that it was as if Zhou Weiqing’s blood was literally boiling, his entire body as if on fire, burning away at his blood, soul and even life. All of this was happening in some strange fashion.
Furthermore, they could clearly sense that this was not under Zhou Weiqing’s control. Just like he had said earlier, this was a sort of self-rescue arising from his own bloodline. In that instant, a ferocious killing aura emanated from Zhou Weiqing’s body, and the black tiger tattoos appeared once more on his skin.The black undulating stripes seeming to rush crazily towards his chest, gathering there to form a strange dark whirlpool.
By this time, Shangguan Tianyang and Shangguan Tianyue revealed slight despondent looks. They knew that Zhou Weiqing had not lied; besides all that, they could also clearly sense the fourteen energy whirlpools drawing in energy into his body, exactly just as described in the Immortal Deity Technique. At this point, the two of them instantly thought of the Demonic Change; despite all of their experience, they could not imagine any other reason besides the Demonic Change aiding Zhou Weiqing in successfully cultivating this suicidal technique.
Time passed minute after minute. Zhou Weiqing’s trembling finally started to slow down, but no one noticed that at the center of his back, a dim red light was spreading out, following the tiger tattoos and seeping deep into his body. The red scale that was originally covering more than a third of his back slowly disappeared into his body.
Hot. Unbelievable heat. That was the feeling that Zhou Weiqing was currently feeling, as if his entire back was being flayed and burnt, yet it was strangely not painful at all. Instead, the reverse was true as that heat seared through his body, causing the intense pain in his chest to diminish slightly, aiding him in suppressing it. In addition to the Dark Demon God Tiger’s bloodline awakening in him after the second evolving he had gone through, this time his breakthrough actually seemed easier than any of his other times! Not only was the pain lesser, the time he had to endure the pain was also reduced.
Of course, Zhou Weiqing did not know that in this time that he was breaking through to the fifteenth stage of Heavenly Energy, the second Death Acupuncture Point of the 3rd portion of the Immortal Deity Technique, something had already merged into his body.
As the time passed by slowly, the three powerhouses of the Heaven’s Expanse Palace, Shangguan Tianyang, Shangguan Tianyue and Shangguan Longyin, stood by patiently, waiting silently at the side. At the same time, they closely examined every single change within Zhou Weiqing’s body. Even so, they were still unable to sense the large dragon’s reverse scale seeping into and merging with Zhou Weiqing’s body.
There could only be one reason that something like this could happen – their cultivation level was not up to speed yet.
The dragon was a Heavenly God Stage powerhouse; although the Shangguan brothers’ combat power was able to equal a Heavenly God Stage powerhouse due to their Legendary Set Equipment, but just in terms of cultivation level alone, they were still at quite a distance from that stage. As such, they were not able to sense what the dragon had branded onto Zhou Weiqing’s back.
As for the dragons in the Lustre Spatial Realm, they could do nothing about them. No matter how powerful the Heaven’s Expanse Palace was, that restriction of entering set to thirty years of age and lower was something they could not surpass. Barring any surprises like during the Heavenly Jewel Tournament, they could pose no threat to the dragons. As such, they currently had no idea that the male dragon had been filled with guilt and gratitude after suspecting Zhou Weiqing’s motives after saving its wife, and had given him an unbelievable gift due to that.
“Big brother… how? That Immortal Deity Technique of his seems to be real, but if we actually go through that trade with him, it is a big loss to us!” Shangguan Tianyue said to Shangguan Tianyang.
Shangguan Tianyang glanced at his brother before saying exasperatedly: “You do not need to help that little rascal test the waters, don’t I know already know what you are thinking? With our Heaven’s Expanse Palace position and status, could we still break our word to such a little fellow? Since that Immortal Deity Technique can truly be cultivated, he has already proven himself; if we aren’t able to cultivate it, it is our own lack of prowess, and there is no reason for us to renege on the agreement now. However, I will have to bring up an additional request to him.”
Just as Shangguan Tianyue was about to ask what additional request that was, Zhou Weiqing suddenly awoke from his cultivation.
After breaking through his fifteenth Death Acupuncture Point, it gave Zhou Weiqing the feeling that all of his previously existing energy whirlpools were strengthened and larger. In an analogy to a game of go chess (weiqi), after having placed fourteen pieces down, the fifteenth piece was a masterful play that was not just a simple addition of one. In terms of improvement, not just the amount of Heavenly Energy he had, the quality, as well as the energy whirlpools itself and their radius of effect; all of which was improved greatly. The amount of liquified Heavenly Energy circulating within him was also clearly increased. Although there was a still a distance between fully flooding his meridian channels, Zhou Weiqing knew that he had definitely taken a huge firm step forward in his cultivation. At least, he would be safe until his next break through point. Taking a deep breath, Zhou Weiqing stood up shakily from the ground; although his clothes were all sticky and uncomfortable, breaking through once more gave him an immense joy.
“How is it, future father in law, uncle? What are your thoughts about my Immortal Deity Technique?” Zhou Weiqing laughed heartily as he smoothed his hair, which was matted with sweat.
Shangguan TIanyue gave a cold humph, saying exasperatedly: “This Immortal Deity Technique of yours is akin to suicide, are you trying to make my daughter a widow when she is still young?? I have decided, unless you complete breaking through all thirty Death Acupuncture Points, you can forget about marrying my daughter.”
Zhou Weiqing had been feeling a little smug, patting himself on the back for successfully tricking the Heaven’s Expanse Palace into giving him such a good trade. Alas, upon hearing Shangguan Tianyue’s words, his jaw dropped, as his heart tightened in shock. Could this be the legendary saying ‘When the cup of happiness overflows, disaster follows!’
Shangguan Tianyang chuckled, then said with a hint of emotion: “Indeed, behind every success is an untold amount of suffering and hard work… that is just too true no matter in what field. No wonder you are able to unleash such powerful combat skills at just the three-Jeweled cultivation level, especially that sustainability. Just in terms of this cultivation technique of yours alone, it can be considered unmatched amongst all cultivation techniques. Alas, it is just too difficult to cultivate, and the basic requirements to do so is nearly impossible to reach. To any ordinary Heavenly Jewel Master, it is truly tantamount to suicide to attempt to cultivate it.”
Zhou Weiqing immediately put on a pitiful look, saying softly: “Uncle, the Heaven’s Expanse Palace won’t renege on the agreement right?”
Of course, Zhou Weiqing had chosen his words wisely, saying ‘the Heaven’s Expanse Palace reneging’ instead of ‘Shangguan Tianyang reneging’, naturally that was to put pressure on them not to do just that.
Shangguan Tianyang was not so easily irritated, and he smiled faintly as he said: “I have already said that your Immortal Deity Technique is truly an outstanding and unparalleled technique indeed. Since that is so, why would we renege on the agreement? At least, we now know that there is such a technique in the world. Although currently no one in our Heaven’s Expanse Palace can use this cultivation technique, that does not mean that no one in the future will be able to succeed. That is the meaning of a Great Saint Lands, sometimes a legacy is more important. In any case, our trade will be completed as previously agreed. However, I do have one additional request I hope you can agree to.”
Zhou Weiqing narrowed his eyes, smiling as he said: “Senior, please do state your request; if it is within my means, I will definitely agree.” His words sounded beautiful, but in truth he had left a large loophole to give himself leeway. Shangguan Tianyang suddenly had the strange impression that the person in front of him bargaining was not a young man, but a wily old bird.
Zhou Weiqing might only be at the young age of seventeen, but he carried with him the legacy of Mu En and all of his worldly experience. “I hope that you will never let this Immortal Deity Technique fall in any other’s hands, especially the Heavenly Demon Sect. Of course, that is just in terms of sales or gifting, if you take a disciple of your own in the future, that is not part of the restriction.”
Zhou Weiqing was momentarily puzzled, but after a moment of thought, he instantly understood what Shangguan Tianyang meant.
They must think that my success in cultivating the Immortal Deity Technique comes from my Demonic Change, and fear that if the Heavenly Demon Sect gains this Immortal Deity Technique, they would become insanely strong. No wonder Shangguan Tianyang would give such a request.
If Zhou Weiqing didn’t try to squeeze more gains from such a situation, he would not be Zhou Weiqing. As soon as he understood Shangguan Tianyang’s apprehension, he immediately said with a hesitant, dismayed tone: “Uncle, that’s not part of our original agreement… since it’s an additional request…” Upon hearing his words, Shangguan Tianyue couldn’t help but cry out angrily: “You little brat, with your useless technique, we’re already being very kind to continue the trade with you, and you’re still trying to con us further?!”
Zhou Weiqing instantly said in a depressed tone: “Future father in law, don’t think that I am taking advantage of you all, on the other hand I have taken a huge loss. Originally, you said that as long as I defeat Shangguan Xue’er, you will marry Bing’er to me. Now, it has turned to me breaking through all thirty Death Acupuncture Points… I would be more than willing to give up all my gains from this trade, and agree to your additional request if you agree to let me bring Bing’er away with me. In comparison with Bing’er, what use do I have for a Legendary Set?”
“You…” Shangguan Tianyue was at a momentary loss for words.
Shangguan Tianyue smiled faintly and said: “So, what do you want then?”
Zhou Weiqing grinned and said: “The Heaven’s Expanse Palace is the greatest of the Great Saint Lands, and has the support of the strongest empire in the whole mainland behind it, naturally it is the most wealthy. I also won’t be too greedy and make things difficult for uncle, how about giving me a few Socketing Scrolls? I won’t ask for much, how about a hundred?”
Shangguan Tianyue almost vomited out a mouth of blood from anger, shouting: “A hundred?! Why don’t you say a thousand?? You think the Socketing Scrolls grow like cabbages?!”
After all, a Socketing Scroll was actually more valuable than any Grandmaster Consolidating Equipment Scroll; although not as expensive to craft as a Zong Stage Consolidating Equipment Scroll, in terms of market value, it was pretty much equal, since it was extremely useful to most. For Zhou Weiqing to ask for a hundred at once, that was definitely an exorbitant, otherworldly price.
Shangguan Tianyang smiled faintly and said: “Ten pieces.
Weiqing, being overly greedy can often result in the reverse.”
Instantly, Zhou Weiqing said: “Alright, ten pieces sounds good. Deal!”
These Socketing Scrolls were still of great use to Zhou Weiqing. Long ago, he had used a single Socketing Scroll to add an additional socket on his Overlord Bow, thus allowing him to imbue two Skills when he shot his arrows, greatly improving his versatility in combat. Although the Overlord Bow was ultimately constrained by its grade, and no matter how many Sockets he added to it, it would never reach the same stage as a God Tier Consolidating Equipment, but with Zhou Weiqing’s Alexandrite’s Cat’s Eye and his many Attributes, along with his various powerful highly rated Skills, the more Skills the Overlord Bow could imbue, the greater his combat prowess would be, not to mention his flexibility as well.
Of course, with Zhou Weiqing’s current Heavenly Energy, it was actually still optimum for him to only imbue a single Skill per arrow, lest his Heavenly Energy run out too quickly. However, his Heavenly Energy could only grow from here on.
“Longyin, bring him to the Heavenly Jewel Consolidating Equipment Pavilion.” Shangguan Tianyang waved towards them and gave his instructions quickly. To continue bargaining with this wily young rascal, even he was getting a headache.
This little rascal was so cunning, yet always knowing his limits and not being irritating, always seeming to be able to push to the point to gain the maximum possible. This was definitely not something that anyone could accomplish. Shangguan Longyin agreed respectfully, and before Zhou Weiqing could react, Shangguan Longyin had brought him along in a teleport once more.
Shangguan Tianyang said: “Second Brother, send someone to inform all of the three Great Saint Lands disciples, especially our own Heaven’s Expanse Palace, and the Passion Valley, that no one is to take action against the Fei Li Battle Team, especially Zhou Weiqing.”
Shangguan Tianyue started momentarily, looking to his big brother curiously.
Shangguan Tianyang said exasperatedly: “Oh just go on ahead, as if you wouldn’t do the same without me telling you? Don’t I know you well enough? Just from your actions just now, I can already tell that you are liking that cunning little son-in-law of yours more and more. Hmph, as if I couldn’t tell from your chiming in with such perfect harmony with him and setting him up.”
Shangguan Tianyue gave an embarrassed grin, and did not speak further, quickly turning and disappearing into a flash of gold light. …
It was an easy trip to leave the Heaven’s Expanse Palace; once again Zhou Weiqing went through the two teleports with Shangguan Longyin, and they were soon back at the white mist area.
After leaving the Heaven’s Expanse Palace, Shangguan Longyin clapped Zhou Weiqing on the shoulder and said with a faint smile on his face: “Weiqing, do not disappoint the two Palace Masters and their kindness.”
Zhou Weiqing smiled back and said: “No matter what, the Heaven’s Expanse Palace will always be Bing’er’s maiden home…”
Between intelligent people, it was not necessary to speak too much.
Before long, Shangguan Longyin had brought Zhou Weiqing to the Heavenly Jewel Island Consolidating Equipment Pavilion once more. This time, they did not stop at the bottom levels, directly heading to the top level of the Consolidating Equipment Pavilion. Shangguan Longyin said: “I will get someone to summon your Fei Li Battle Team Leader here; his God Tier Consolidating Equipment Scroll will be much more difficult than your three, after all it needs to be custom designed. Yours should be much easier in comparison, since you already have the designs and we do not lack the materials. In any case, this should all take some time, so I suggest that all of your Fei Li Battle Team members can stay in the Heavenly Jewel Island for this period of time. I will arrange for someone to arrange for their food and lodging. You can stay here in the Consolidating Equipment Pavilion, the Masters have already agreed to allow you to watch and learn as they create your Consolidating Equipment Scrolls.
To a lower level Consolidating Equipment Master, designing and the actual creation of the Scrolls were equally important. However, to the high level Consolidating Equipment Masters, especially at the God Tier Stage, the design was of utmost importance and difficulty.
This was also the reason why the Founder of Zhou Weiqing’s Consolidating Equipment Master sect had been exhausted to death after designing that Legendary Set.
In any case, since Zhou Weiqing had the designs, it would be much easier for the three Consolidating Equipment Scrolls to be created. However, Zhou Weiqing had not told Shangguan Longyin that in creating Scrolls for him, only one was necessary, not ten. This would not only save a great amount of materials, but also a lot of time. The reason he had not mentioned it thus far was firstly, to keep some of his own secrets, and more so to keep something in hand to bargain with the God Tier Consolidating Equipment Masters.
Zhou Weiqing was extremely clear that although these God Tier Consolidating Equipment Masters stayed in the Heavenly Jewel Island, they did not actually belong to the Heaven’s Expanse Palace, and the Heaven’s Expanse Palace did not have much restricting power on them, as they were in more of a collaborative relationship than master / subordinate type relationship. As such, these God Tier Consolidating Equipment Masters had a unique, independent standing in the Heavenly Jewel Island.
…
The Consolidating Equipment Pavilion Fourth Level was very different from the levels below. Here, there was no wide halls and displays, only a single corridor. Along the corridor, there were a total of four doors, simple and without any decorations. In total, there were ten white clad guards of over sixty years of age guarding the doors. Seeing Shangguan Longyin, the ten guards bowed slightly, but their faces remained impassive.
Among the ten white clad guards, Zhou Weiqing recognized a few of them; the Upper Level Zong Stage Spatial Heavenly Jewel Masters who had been in charge of activating their entry to the Lustre Spatial Realm. That was to say, all of the ten guards here should be nine-Jeweled powerhouses!
Although there shouldn’t be any Heavenly King Stage powerhouses amongst them, but this was after all the Heavenly Jewel Island. Furthermore… ten Upper Level Zong Stage Heavenly Jewel Masters! What kind of terrifying power was that? On the mainland, just ten of them alone could easily invade and take over a city by themselves.
Upper Level Zong Stage, a powerhouse that could rival a Battalion of trained and experienced soldiers. Even though the soldiers might be good at working together, if they did not have any Heavenly Jewel Masters amongst them, an Upper Level Zong Stage Master could still destroy an entire Battalion without much trouble.
Shangguan Longyin turned to the leading white clad guard and asked: “Are the three Masters here?” The guard nodded, saying: “They are in their individual labs.”
Shangguan Longyin said: “Could I trouble Bro Ji to report to the Masters, tell them that I have brought the previously mentioned designs.”
The white clad guard nodded before turning and entering one of the doors.
From Shangguan Longyin’s attitude towards that guard, Zhou Weiqing could clearly see that his previous guess had been wrong, and that this white clad guard should definitely be of the Heavenly King Stage. In the Heavenly Jewel Master world, power was status, and barring those who had close relations, those of different power would not speak in such equal tones to each other. Indeed… the Heavenly Jewel Island, the Heaven’s Expanse Palace was a place with hidden dragons and crouching tigers.
It did not take long, and that Heavenly King Stage guard walked back out, saying: “The three Masters invite Bro Shangguan in.” “Thank you.” Only then did Shangguan Longyin bring Zhou Weiqing into that same door.
As they entered the door, Zhou Weiqing could see the floor was paved with an unknown type of stone. The stone was glittering and translucent, as if carved from white jade. Upon entering, he could smell a strange scent, as if a mix from countless of different plants.
This was another wide hall, extremely broad, almost five hundred square metres in size. In the dead center of the hall, there was a massive table, almost five metres wide and ten metres long, filled with many different objects. All around the hall were different sorts of treasures, plants and ores, strewn about messily.
Standing around the table stood three people; they seemed to be discussing something, and none of them looked up as Zhou Weiqing and Shangguan Longyin approached.
Shangguan Longyin bowed towards the three respectfully, then whispered to Zhou Weiqing: “Previously, I have already mentioned everything about our deals to the three Masters. You can just hand over your designs to the three Masters. I have already sent someone to bring your Team Leader here as well.” “Thank you Senior.” Zhou Weiqing had a very favourable impression of Shangguan Longyin, and this thanks of his was truly heartfelt.
Shangguan Longyin retreated silently from the room, while Zhou Weiqing stepped forward slowly. He was extremely curious about the God Tier Consolidating Equipment Masters, and more so, about how they would create the God Tier Consolidating Equipment Scrolls. As compared to the joy of gaining three Legendary Set pieces, Zhou Weiqing was actually more excited about the opportunity to witness and learn from these three God Tier Consolidating Equipment Masters. That was truly the most priceless thing he would gain.
Chapter 108 Solidified Dragon Spirit and ‘Hate Ground No Handle’ Set!
Zhou Weiqing did not walk up directly. He knew that not only were the God Tier Consolidating Equipment Masters of high status, they themselves were extremely powerful Heavenly Jewel Masters in their own right. Angering them would not be a wise decision indeed.
Due to his previous breakthrough to the fifteenth stage of Heavenly Energy, Zhou Weiqing’s clothes had all been soaked through with sweat. He was currently feeling rather uncomfortable, as he had not had the time to change as Shangguan Longyin had brought him here directly after that.
Since he was already here, he was no longer in a hurry to get things done, and decided to make the most of his time here. Looking around, he quickly spotted a place which looked like a toilet, and he stepped quickly towards it.
As he had guessed, there was a large jar of clean water in that small room, and our dear Zhou Little Fatty quickly stripped himself down and wiped himself clean. After which, he took out a fresh set of clothing from his Spatial Necklace and changed into them, before walking out refreshed. Stretching lazily, he did not interrupt the three God Tier Consolidating Equipment Masters, who were still in the midst of their discussion, and sat down silently on the floor to cultivate while waiting.
Although that previous breakthrough of his had been easier than most of his other times, but the Immortal Deity Technique was after all a cultivation technique that went against the norm, against the heavens itself, and the act of breaking through had drained his vitality and sustained some internal injuries. Furthermore, much of Zhou Weiqing’s Heavenly Energy had also been dissipated, and it was a good opportunity for him to rest and recuperate. His thinking was extremely simple; he could only learn the best from the three Masters only if he was in tip top condition.
“Haha… little brat… you are very calm indeed!” A loud, clear voice rang out, startling Zhou Weiqing from his cultivation.
Lifting his head, he saw that the three Masters had stopped their discussion and had turned to look at him. The more surprising thing was that Zhou Weiqing realised he recognized two of them!
The first one was the old lady whom he had helped in growing the Gold Fur Nether Jade Grass in the lower level of the Consolidating Equipment Pavilion previously, named Wei Yang. Previously, she had even gifted him with a ring, which was currently on Zhou Weiqing’s finger.
The one who had spoke was also one he recognized, the purple clad old man named Ye Ruichen who had fought with Wei Yang that same day. He was currently looking at Zhou Weiqing with a heated gaze.
Right between the two of them was another old man, with white beard and hair. Compared to both Wei Yang and Ye Ruichen, he looked about at least twenty years older, almost as if he was one foot into his grave. However, his set of bright eyes seemed to belie that as they shone with a deep wisdom.
Zhou Weiqing bowed down deeply and he said respectfully: “This Junior Zhou Weiqing greets my three God Tier Seniors.”
Wei Yang smiled faintly and said: “Little friend, we meet again. After that day, I specially went to inquire about where you were from, and only then did I find out that you were here for the Heavenly Jewel Tournament, and more so that you are the trading partner of the Heaven’s Expanse Palace this time. Three Legendary Set pieces… little fellow, your appetite sure isn’t small!” Zhou Weiqing laughed heartily and said: “Of course I have also given up a sufficient price in return! Otherwise, how could the Heaven’s Expanse Palace possibly agree to such a trade? Furthermore, this is also a great benefit to three Seniors right.”
Wei Yang looked at him with interest and she said: “Oh? Do say, how is this of a great benefit to us?”
Zhou Weiqing said: “Three Seniors are all God Tier Consolidating Equipment Masters, and are undoubtedly already standing at the pinnacle of the world. It is unlikely that anything much can interest either of three Seniors… Besides those rare treasured materials, only those unique Consolidating Equipment Designs passed down as long lost legacies could possibly interest the three of you. Coincidentally, this time, the three God Tier Consolidating Equipment that I have requested are all with myself providing the designs. With the Legendary Set designs in hand, it will definitely save three Seniors much time, effort and spirit. Furthermore, being able to reference other God Tier Consolidating Equipment Master’s designs, I’m sure it will be able to provide three Seniors with some inspiration.”
Ye Ruichen laughed out heartily, saying: “Little fellow, you are rather smart aren’t you. Of course, if not for that, the three of us might not have agreed to help with that trade. After all, between our own experiments and creations, we do not have much spare time at all. Your name is Zhou Weiqing right? I’ll call you Weiqing then. In the entire mainland, there are only four known God Tier Consolidating Equipment Masters; besides us three, there is one more in the Heavenly Snow
Mountain. I hear that you are also a Consolidating Equipment Master, then you should also know that in order to reach the God Tier stage, just training hard by yourself is not enough. You will also need sufficient materials as well as a good teacher. This old man has been immersed in this field for dozens of years, and I am well experienced in this area. If you are willing, I am willing to take you as my disciple, and let you inherit my legacy. How about that?”
Although Ye Ruichen had already mentioned something like that previously when they had met in the Heavenly Jewel Consolidating Equipment Pavilion, Zhou Weiqing had not expected him to be so directly. They had just met once more, and he had already started talking about taking him as a disciple. In that moment, Zhou Weiqing couldn’t help but start momentarily, at a loss for words.
At the side, Wei Yang was infuriated, crying out angrily: “Bullshit! Ye Ruichen, don’t you have any sense of shame at all? I was the one who discovered this child first, and you already have a disciple, and you still want to snatch with me? Do you even know anything about this child? Even if he wants to take a Master, it should be me!”
Ye Ruichen remained calm as he said with a grin: “I might not trust anyone else, but how can I not trust Wei Yang Sis’ eyes? For you to take a fancy to anyone, how bad can he be eh? It’s true that I have some disciples, but they are just token disciples, not a true disciple at all, it’s totally different. I need someone to carry on my legacy!”
“You too, be quiet.” The white haired old man in the middle finally spoke, the raspy low voice holding a strange magnetism, easily leaving a deep impression.
The two went silent, though Wei Yang glared at Ye Ruichen, who returned it with a cheeky grin. However, his own gaze was also unrelenting.
“Child, come here.” The white haired old man beckoned towards Zhou Weiqing.
Zhou Weiqing walked forward almost subconsciously, as if the white haired old man had some sort of magic in his voice, and he could not go against what he said. Walking slowly forward, Zhou Weiqing stepped in front of the white haired old man, who extended a skinny hand and said: “Give me your left hand.”
Zhou Weiqing extended his left hand, and the old man’s withered hand grasped his wrist firmly.
To Zhou Weiqing, the strangest thing was that although the old man’s hand was scrawny and withered, when his hand grasped his own wrist, it had a strange soft and flexibility, almost as if his fists did not have bones within.
A soft Heavenly Energy entered his body through his hands, giving Zhou Weiqing a lazy warm feeling as it circulated around. Instantly, Zhou Weiqing felt his spirits lifted, his previously dissipated spirit and Heavenly Energy recovering swiftly. Just this measure of cultivation level alone was startling indeed.
All of a sudden, the old man’s eyes seemed to gleam as he stared into Zhou Weiqing’s eyes, making a soft sound of curiosity. “Ehh, six Attributes… You actually have six Attributes! Wind, Lightning, Spatial, Darkness, Demonic and Time. No wonder… no wonder Wei Yang will take fancy to you.” Hearing the old man’s words, Ye Ruichen at the side widened his eyes in surprised, exclaiming: “Six Attributes?! Even the Shangguan brothers only have four attributes, yet this little fellow actually has six?! More so… with the Wind, Spatial and Time Attributes, the three greatest attributes for Consolidating Equipment Masters. Wei Yang, your luck is indeed just too good, to be able to meet such an unbelievable prodigy like this.”
The gleam in the white haired old man’s eyes disappeared, and he lifted his other hand to grasp at Zhou Weiqing’s other wrist. “Strength Attribute Physical Jewel… Hmmm… Ehh? What is this? This… this… … !?”
Abruptly, he revealed a shock that was way beyond his previous surprise, almost to the point he forgot himself and lost his composure.
Both Wei Yang and Ye Ruichen was equally shocked. In their memories, they could not recall anything that could cause this white haired old man to be so shocked.
“… Dragon Spirit… Solidified Dragon Spirit! It’s actually a Solidified Dragon Spirit! That’s just too inconceivable! How is this possible!?” The white haired old man muttered to himself, though Zhou Weiqing could not understand what he was saying. Curious, Zhou Weiqing asked: “Senior, what is a Solidified Dragon Spirit?”
The white haired old man’s gaze grew fierce, and he clutched tightly onto Zhou Weiqing’s wrists as he said solemnly: “Where did you meet dragons? Where did your Solidified Dragon Spirit come from?!”
Zhou Weiqing knew he had no chance of resisting, and said with a bitter smile: “Senior, I have seen a dragon in the Heavenly Jewel Tournament, but about that Solidified Dragon Spirit… I don’t even have any idea what that Solidified Dragon Spirit is, how could I possibly reply you?”
The white haired old man relaxed his tight grip as he furrowed his brow, saying slowly: “The Heavenly Jewel Tournament? Lustre Spatial Realm? Little friend, can you tell me the whole process about how you met the dragon once through?”
Many people already knew what had happened in the Heavenly Jewel Tournament finals, and Zhou Weiqing did not think he needed to hide anything. As such, he described the entire process of the Heavenly Jewel Tournament and the times he had met the dragon. Of course, he did not mention about Little Witch and Tian’er. Hearing Zhou Weiqing’s description, the white haired old man released his hands. From the words, tone, expression and bearing, he could easily tell that Zhou Weiqing was not lying. However, if that dragon did not give him anything, where did this Solidified Dragon Spirit come from?
“Senior, you still haven’t told me what exactly this Solidified Dragon Spirit is?” Zhou Weiqing asked, burning with curiosity.
The white haired old man said slowly: “The Solidified Dragon Spirit is tantamount to a dragon imbuing a power strength and solidifying it onto a human. You can liken it to the imbued Skill on a Consolidated Equipment, and it can be used at any time. However, such a situation has not been seen or even heard of in hundreds and thousands of years, and I have only read of it in some very ancient tomes.”
“According to the records on the old tomes, there are only two types of people who can gain this Solidified Dragon Spirit. The first is someone who has submitted and sworn allegiance to dragonkind, while the other is someone who has done a great kindness to the dragon race. According to the situation you described, I guess you should be the latter. That dragon must have unleashed the Solidified Dragon Spirit upon you without you knowing it.” Zhou Weiqing said uncertainly: “Where is this Solidified Dragon Spirit? How did Senior manage to sense it?”
The white haired old man said: “The Solidified Dragon Spirit is within your Physical Jewel. That dragon is a Heavenly God Stage powerhouse, and its cultivation level is beyond me. If not for the fact that I used my Heavenly Energy to examine your Physical Jewel closely earlier, I would not have been able to discover it.” Zhou Weiqing continued asking: “But… I am unable to sense anything about this Solidified Dragon Spirit, let alone any extra Skills from the dragon!”
The white haired old man said: “That is because your Solidified Dragon Spirit has not fully Awakened yet. The dragon race has many legacy Skills, but under the Solidified Dragon Spirit, you can at most gain three Skills. Although I do not know what exactly the Skills this dragon has gifted you, I can definitely say for sure that they must be extremely powerful ones. The more powerful the Skills imbued within the Solidified Dragon Spirit are, the later the Awakening will be. From what I can sense of this Solidified Dragon Spirit, without any special circumstances, you will have to wait til at least the ninth Jewel stage before it will truly Awaken. As such, I can conjecture that within your Solidified Dragon Spirit lies some of the more powerful Skills of dragonkind.”
Despite hearing the white haired old man’s words, Zhou Weiqing could not find it within himself to feel too excited. He already had several highly rated Skills, and although he was still glad to get the Solidified Dragon Spirit, the nine-Jeweled cultivation level was just too far off to be of any use to him any time soon. The white haired old man continued: “Child, you cannot let anyone else know about this, or you might bring about danger or even death to yourself.” As he said that, he sighed lightly and said: “I never dreamed that in my twilight years, I would actually be able to witness the Solidified Dragon Spirit with my
own eyes, I guess that is some luck in itself. I hope you can reach the nin-Jeweled stage as soon as possible, so I can hopefully see what the dragon skills are like for myself before I pass on.”
Zhou Weiqing grinned and said: “Heh, I am even more eager than Senior to reach such a cultivation level.”
The white haired old man said: “This old man’s name is Xing Tianyi. If you wish, you can call me Old Xing. Alright, let us see your designs then.”
“Okay.” Zhou Weiqing did not hesitate further, reaching into his Spatial Ring and retrieving the second, third and fourth pieces of his Legendary Set design, passing them to Xing Tianyi’s hands.
Xing Tianyi took one of the designs, and passed the other two to Wei Yang and Ye Ruichen. The three Masters ignored Zhou Weiqing then, fully absorbed in examining their respective designs. Solidified Dragon Spirit. Currently, Zhou Weiqing was left alone, mulling about the new information he had received. At the same time, he thought back to the dragon family, thinking to himself that he had wronged the male dragon. It had indeed given him the most precious Solidified Dragon Spirit, looks like he had gotten angry for nothing.
Of course, what Zhou Weiqing did not know was that the dragon had unwillingly given it out in the last second. If not for his own tenacity and stubborness in teleporting away so swiftly, perhaps the dragon would not have given him something like this.
“The Legacy of Strength?!” At that moment, Xing Tianyi cried out softly. He had barely examined the design in his hands for a few moments before he lifted up his head once more.
Ye Ruichen and Wei Yang also lifted up their heads, the two exchanging looks with a dismayed expression, but they nodded towards Xing Tianyi.
Ye Ruichen said: “It is indeed the Legacy of Strength. But… Wasn’t it said to be lost? The Legacy of Strength Consolidating Equipment Masters have not been seen in ages. Weiqing, is this what your teacher passed to you? A total of ten in the Legendary Set… Could it be that you have them all?”
Zhou Weiqing blinked innocently: “Can I say no?”
Ye Ruichen scolded him laughingly: “What? Do you think this old man will try and steal from you? Although the Legacy of Strength design is indeed a rare treasure, it still pales slightly in comparison to the Boundless Infinitum Set.”
Wei Yang sighed and said: “It looks like my hopes of gaining a disciple will be dashed, I can’t possibly steal the only disciple from the Legacy of Strength.”
Xing Tianyi said: “The Legacy of Strength set is also known as the ‘Hate Ground No Handle’ set. The meaning behind that is the one who uses this Legendary Set has such immense strength that he hates the fact there is no handle on the ground for him to hold, to pull the whole earth up. Although it is of course an exaggeration, it is without a doubt that whoever can wear the entire set of the ‘Hate Ground No Handle’ Set, he can be said to be first in physical strength in the whole world.
This was the first time that Zhou Weiqing had actually heard of the name of his legacy Legendary Set. ‘Hate Ground No Handle’. What an overbearing name indeed! Instantly, Zhou Weiqing fell in love with this description of the Legacy of Strength.
Xing Tianyi looked meaningfully at Wei Yang, saying: “It is indeed our honour to see this ‘Hate Ground No Handle’ set designs. That year, the great Master, Founder of the Legacy of Strength, single handedly designed this entire Legendary Set. Such brilliance and tenacity, I have to admit I am far from a match for him. Although, according to all our guesses, the Legacy of Strength set is behind the Boundless Infinitum Set and the God Vanquishing Heavenly Spirit Set, ranking third in all the Legendary Sets, but in truth, that is only an estimation. Both these sets have had the entire completed Set created and used before, but this ‘Hate Ground No Handle’ set has not. As a result, what its true power is… no one can truly say for sure.”
Wei Yang looked to Zhou Weiqing and said: “Child, do you really have the entire set designs for the ‘Hate Ground No Handle’ Legendary Set?”
It wasn’t just Wei Yang who was interested; both Xing Tianyi and Ye Ruichen’s gazes focused on Zhou Weiqing. Sensing their urgent looks, Zhou Weiqing said simply: “Yes, my Teacher has passed down the entire Legendary Set designs to me.” Xing Tianyi took a deep breath and said: “Since your teacher has already passed down the set designs to you, that means you are now the Sect Leader of the Legacy of Strength now. Your teacher is indeed very lucky to have found a disciple with your talent, you will definitely make him proud. The three designs that you passed us, is it starting from the first piece?”
Zhou Weiqing said: “Old Xing, I have already successfully consolidated the first piece of the Legendary Set. As such, the designs I passed to the three Seniors are the second, third and fourth.”
Xing Tianyi nodded, saying: “Indeed, each and every piece of the design is a priceless treasure in its own right!” Although he did not ask Zhou Weiqing for the designs, the hopeful look in his eyes was clear.
Ye Ruichen was much more direct, saying to Zhou Weiqing in a solemn voice: “Little Fellow, how about this? We three old fellows have our own savings over these years, besides the three pieces that the Heaven’s Expanse Palace has promised you, we are willing to help you create all the other pieces as well, out of our own pockets. The only thing we need is to be able to see the entire set design. What do you think?” As compared to Shangguan Tianyang’s previous offer, this time Zhou Weiqing was even more tempted. Naturally, that was because the three God Tier Consolidating Equipment Masters did not have any ulterior motives, and they were only offering this because of their sheer love and persistence
towards Consolidating Equipment Scrolls and furthering their skills.
Looking at their gazes filled with hope, Zhou Weiqing thought for a moment before saying: “Thank you Seniors for your support. However, I’m afraid that I am unable to make a decision now. I am really tempted by the offer, but this Legendary Set Design is a legacy passed down from my Sect Founder… I have to ask my teacher before I can agree to this.”
Consolidating Equipment Masters naturally had their own way of thinking. In their eyes, a Legendary Set designs were definitely a priceless treasure, with unmatched value. Even compared to an entire set of Legendary Set Consolidating Equipment Scrolls, it was worth much more to them. The reason was simple: A simple set could only be used by, and benefit one person. However, what about a set of designs? As long as one had sufficient materials, that meant you could create countless sets of that same Legendary Set! Of course, that was an idealization or best case scenario. In truth, this three God Tier Consolidating Equipment Masters in front of him had designed their own Legendary Sets. With the three of them working together, they had spent over thirty years working on and designing two sets of Legendary Set Equipment that they were pretty happy with. However, both sets were still only at the nine-piece level. This was also the reason why Xing Tianyi said that he respected the Founder of the Legacy of Strength so much.
Xing Tianyi nodded slightly, saying: “Child, you do not need to feel awkward about it, we totally understand. That is just a suggestion from us, and we can wait until you ask your teacher.”
Right at that moment, a knocking sound came from the door. The white clad guard who had brought Zhou Weiqing and Shangguan Longyin in earlier walked in once more. This time, he had brought Lin TianAo together with him.
Seeing Zhou Weiqing there, Lin TianAo started, before releasing a relieved breath. Both of them exchanged glances, smiling faintly.
“Three Great Masters, this is this year’s champion team of the Heavenly Jewel Tournament, the Fei Li Battle Team’s leader.” The white clad guard introduced Lin TianAo, before bowing respectfully and retreating from the room.
Lin TianAo quickly stepped forward to Zhou Weiqing’s side, bowing respectfully towards the three Masters, saying: “Junior Lin TianAo greets the three Seniors.”
Earlier, when he had heard that Zhou Weiqing had asked for the God Tier Consolidating Equipment Scrolls to be given to him, and the request for custom designing them, the surprise in his heart was indescribable. He was not of noble birth, and had worked his way from the bottom step by step, struggling with all his might and hard work. He did not inherit any legacies or have any run of luck, and even his Five Assembly Shield Set was the fruits of labour of his own talent and hard work being recognized by the Heavenly Jewel Academy. Through his life, he had suffered much to finally earn what he had, and he, more than most, knew how valuable each and every Consolidating Equipment Scroll was.
When Lin TianAo found out that Zhou Weiqing had insisted that he keep this most important reward, even with his normal steady, stable character, his heart couldn’t help but beat violently. As a Heavenly Jewel Master, who had not dreamt about getting a God Tier Consolidating Equipment? He was no exception. However, very quickly, he calmed down. Not only was he Zhou Weiqing’s Follower, but in terms of the Heavenly Jewel Tournament and their results, Zhou Weiqing had played a much more important part than himself from start to finish. It could be said that without Zhou Weiqing, they could not even enter the top four, let alone be the champion.
At this moment, Ye Ruichen, who was clearly a little gloomy about not being able to see the entire ‘Hate Ground No Handle’ set design, piped out: “You are teammates with this little rascal Zhou Weiqing right? Since you require a custom made equipment, show us your power and let us know what your requirements are.” As God Tier Consolidating Equipment Masters and powerhouses in their own rights, the three of them could easily see that Lin TianAo’s cultivation level was much higher than Zhou Weiqing. As the Fei Li Battle Team leader, it was without question that his capabilities and skills were already in a fixed design or state, and it was likely he had already Consolidated most of his Physical Jewels. At such a point, it was already too late for him to wear a Legendary Set. As such, if they had to custom design one for him, it would likely be just an ‘ordinary’ God Tier Consolidated Equipment. With the skills of the three Masters together, to design and create a single God Tier Consolidating Equipment was relatively simple. As such, Ye Ruichen planned to finish Lin TianAo’s one first before discussing with Wei Yan and Xing Tianyi regarding Zhou Weiqing’s Legendary Set pieces. To them, that was the more important task. Although there were only three pieces of the designs, it was already sufficient to provide them with much inspiration and useful fuel for thought.
“Weiqing, this God Tier Consolidating Equipment Scroll reward should belong to you. I cannot accept it.” Lin TianAo finally steeled his resolve to voice out his mind. It had to be known how hard it was for him to say those words, to reject such a temptation. He did not have the sheer talent of Zhou Weiqing, did not have the Demonic Change, nor the various plenty rare Attributes of that Zhou Weiqing had, nor was he a Consolidating Equipment Master. There were some things that Zhou Weiqing could dismiss as less importance, but to Lin TianAo and his experience, they were things that could not be dismissed easily.
Zhou Weiqing lifted up his hand to Lin TianAo’s shoulders, silencing him. “Leader, enough said. This time, for us to enter the Tournament, you are our official leader. Perhaps, I might have a slightly higher contribution, but without you, or any of the team, we could not have entered the top four. You are the pillar of our Battle Team, and also the soul of it. This is truly what you deserve. Furthermore, even if you argue that it isn’t so, don’t forget that we are now tied together. The stronger you are, the better it is for me as well. Also, I am currently only at the three-Jeweled cultivation stage and I already have two Consolidated Equipment; this time I have already gone through a trade with the Heaven’s Expanse Palace, and the three Masters will be creating three God Tier Consolidating Equipment Scrolls for me, and that will be more than sufficient for me to use for quite a while. So, Leader, you do not need to be so courteous with me. Take what you deserve, you need this reward more than I do.”
No one in the Fei Li Battle Team knew about the trade between Zhou Weiqing and Heaven’s Expanse Palace, only Tian’er knew a bit about it. When Lin TianAo heard about it, especially that he would gain three God Tier Consolidating Equipment Scroll, his eyes bulged out in shock. Although this was the Heavenly Jewel Island, since when were God Tier Consolidating Equipment Scrolls so commonplace?!
Seeing the two of them giving way to each other, Xing Tianyi nodded slightly in approval, and Wei Yang was smiling faintly. Even the previously impatient Ye Ruichen’s gaze turned gentle.
As a God Tier Consolidating Equipment Master, their greatest hope was naturally that they could research, design and create the best Consolidating Equipment. However, at the same time, they hoped that the Consolidating Equipments they created could be used by those with good characters. No matter Zhou Weiqing or Lin TianAo, both of them were willing to give up a God Tier Consolidating Equipment to each other, this was more than enough to see their characters. Although the three Masters did not say anything, they nodded inwardly to themselves.
Lin TianAo was still hesitating, but Zhou Weiqing had already dragged him to the front, saying in a mysterious tone: “Old Ye, although this big bro of mine is only getting a single God Tier Consolidating Equipment, the difficulty is not simple at all. Heh. Big bro, show the three Masters your current Consolidating Equipment.”
As a Consolidating Equipment Master himself, Zhou Weiqing knew how tough it was to continue creating Consolidating Equipment for Lin TianAo. For his Assembly Set Shield, the more pieces one added to it, the difficulty in creating the next piece grew exponentially. For example, his first shield was merely a low level Consolidating Equipment Scroll, the second already a mid level one, the third a high level one, while both fourth and fifth were Grandmaster ones.
In order to continue with the Assembly Shield Set, it would undoubtedly be increasingly difficult. If it were just simply to continue his sixth shield, it would be simple for these three God Tier Masters; after all, a simple Low Level Zong Stage Consolidating Equipment Scroll would do, it was just take a little design work on their part.
However, according to the Heavenly Jewel Tournament rules, Lin TianAo should receive a God Tier Consolidating Equipment, and if they were to try to add a God Tier Consolidating Equipment as the sixth piece of his Assembly Set, that would be a lot more difficult indeed. Lin TianAo looked at Zhou Weiqing for a while, but did not say anything else. Circulating his Heavenly Energy, he released his Heavenly Jewels and summoned his Assembly Shield Set for the three Masters to see clearly. As the shield formed right in front of them, it made a clanging sound that rang throughout the silent hall, and looking at the five shields assembling into one, even the three Masters couldn’t help but reveal a slight surprise on their faces.
It could be said that Assembly Set Consolidating Equipment were not rare, but for one to start it on their first Consolidating Equipment and continue all the way to the fifth, this was indeed extremely rare. This was especially so for someone like Lin TianAo, whose attributes were already the Ultimate Defense, and with this Assembly Set Shield as a complement. Someone of such extremes was indeed even rarer.
Furthermore, generally speaking, most Assembly Set Consolidating Equipment were usually weapons, as these Heavenly Jewel Masters would depend on their Assembly Set Weapons and their strong burst of offense to defeat their enemies swiftly. It wasn’t that nobody had ever chosen to use an Assembly Set Shield, but it was indeed highly rare for a Heavenly Jewel Master to totally give up their own offensive capabilities. As such, previous Assembly Shield Sets were at most two to three pieces. Ye Ruichen nodded slightly and said: “Interesting… very interesting indeed. Little fellow, you are thinking to continue with this Assembly Shield Set, or are you looking to make an individual powerful weapon?”
Before Lin TianAo could reply, Wei Yang pursed her lips scornfully at the side and said: “Are you trying to act foolish? Weiqing already said that this would be troublesome even for us, naturally that means he wants to continue with the Assembly Set. Otherwise, how could an ordinary God Tier Consolidating Equipment Scroll be of any trouble to us? However, in any case, this isn’t any big trouble at all.”
Ye Ruichen said exasperatedly: “Not a big trouble?! If the sixth shield were to be a God Tier Consolidating Equipment, that isn’t an easy task at all. Furthermore, what would his future ones be like… he would have to somehow have them all be God Tier Consolidating Equipment Scrolls as well, otherwise he can’t continue with his Assembly Set. How could this not be a big trouble?”
Wei Yang gave a disdainful humph and said: “What do you know! His first five shields have a very good foundation and are designed and layered on very well. This sixth shield is indeed not suitable to use a God Tier Consolidating Equipment, but that doesn’t mean the future ones aren’t as well. In truth, it is easy to solve his problem, as long as we help him continue the Assembly Set before the God Tier piece, naturally all of it will fall into place.”
As she said that, she turned to Lin TianAo and continued: “The situation is like this little fellow – if you truly want to carry on with your defenses to the max and flourish your Assembly Set all the way to the end, your sixth shield cannot be at the God Tier level. Otherwise, you can never even reach the tenth shield.”
Even though they were God Tier Consolidating Equipment Masters, when they were helping others calculate their future development strength, they wouldn’t foolishly calculate up to the twelfth Jewel. Calculating up to the Heavenly King Stage
(10) was already usually the max. Of course, Legendary Sets aside.
Lin TianAo was much more respectful than Zhou Weiqing, bowing as he said: “Please Senior, direct this junior, I will definitely listen and follow.”
Wei Yang nodded and said: “I like Weiqing a lot, and I can see that you two are really close. Very well, it is your lucky day. According to the current situation of your Assembly Shield Set, I will suggest that your sixth, seventh and eighth piece be made
of Zong Stage Consolidating Equipment Scrolls, and only the ninth piece be at the God Tier Consolidating Equipment level. This way, not only will it be able to continue on your current Assembly Set’s sequencing and formation, it will also continue building on its foundation and be more properly defined in its Assembly. As such, despite being of lower rank, the overall boost in power when assembled together is multiplied exponentially. At the same time, in theory at least, it will also allow your Assembly Shield Set to raise all the way up to the twelve Jewel stage. The reason why I suggest you start with the God Tier Consolidating Equipment Scroll at the ninth Jewel is because the Upper Zong Stage level is considered the impossible bottleneck for almost all Heavenly Jewel Masters. When you reach that level, if you have a God Tier Consolidating Equipment to help you then, it will also be of aid
to help you in breaking through to the Heavenly King Stage.”
Hearing Wei Yang, a God Tier Master of such experience, with her words and advice, Lin TianAo instantly felt as if a new door had opened in front of him, the path clear. Nodding his head repeatedly, he said: “Thank you Senior, but how could I possibly gain another three Zong Stage Consolidating Equipment Shields?”
Zhou Weiqing’s observational skills and people’s skills were top notch, and he quickly cut in: “Big brother, that’s where you are wrong already. You should quickly thank Aunty Wei Yang, since Aunty Wei Yang has already brought it up, that means she is already willing to help you complete all your front few Zong Stage Assembly Shields as well!”
Upon hearing Zhou Weiqing call her Aunty, Wei Yang started. As the saying goes, you might hit a snake with a stick but it could climb right up along the stick, and after a moment of being taken aback, Wei Yang couldn’t help but smile to herself.
Ye Ruichen’s eyes widened and he exclaimed: “Weiqing, you little fellow, what did you call her? Aunty? She can already be your grandmother, with many years to boot!”
Zhou Weiqing widened his eyes in surprise, saying: “Really?! But… From what I see, Aunty Wei Yang is only at the age to be my aunt! Old Ye, you shouldn’t try to fool this young junior.”
Before Ye Ruichen could open his mouth again, Wei Yang said: “If he wants to call me Aunty then so be it! Weiqing is right, Lin TianAo, leave your Assembly Shield Set to me, I will help you up to your ninth piece. As for your Scrolls after that, it will have to depend on your own self.” Hearing Wei Yang’s words, Lin TianAo was overjoyed, bowing deeply once more with his face filled with gratitude. He was extremely clear that if he truly managed to get his Assembly Shield Set all the way to nine Jewels, that would be an amazing feat indeed. Furthermore, one of the pieces would be a God Tier Consolidated Equipment! Breaking through to the Heavenly King Stage was something nobody could guarantee, not even someone as talented as Zhou Weiqing, there was always the possibility of being stuck at the nine Jeweled stage. As such, to be able to reach a peak strength at the nine-Jeweled stage was something almost every Heavenly Jewel Master worked towards.
If Lin TianAo’s Assembly Shield Set could go all the way to nine pieces, combined with his Ultimate Defense Attributes, he would undoubtedly be a fortress in his own right. At that point, even a Heavenly King Stage powerhouse might not be able to break his defences.
Xing Tianyi smiled faintly, saying: “In that case, let us begin. I will start mixing and creating the Consolidating Ink for Weiqing’s three Legendary Set pieces. Wei Yang, Ruichen, you two join forces to come up with the rest of the Assembly Set Shield designs, and create them. Once you two are done, come over to help me and the three of us can join forces to complete the Legendary Set pieces.” Wei Yang and Ye Ruichen nodded their heads. Without a doubt, that was the best arrangement. With their skill in creating Consolidating Equipment Scrolls, with the designs in hand, even a Legendary Set was not too difficult.
Literal translation of 打蛇随棍上, basically means one taking advantage of an opportunity to make a request
Chapter 109 Joy and Fortune, Shock and Tragedy!
As time passed day by day, the three Masters grew even busier since the day Zhou Weiqing and Lin TianAo arrived.
After that day, Lin TianAo returned back to the inn to rejoin the rest of the Battle Team. After discussion with Zhou Weiqing, the Fei Li Battle Team decided to stay in the Heavenly Jewel Island until they could all collect their scrolls and leave. With the three Masters working together, it was estimated that it would barely take a month to complete all their Scrolls. After all, even though Zhou Weiqing’s Legendary Set was not easy to create, he only needed a single Scroll per Equipment.
They had already been away for such a long time, and Zhou Weiqing wanted to get back to the Fei Li Empire as soon as possible. Although Bing’er could not leave anytime soon, he still had many things to do in the Fei Li Military Academy. Feelings and relationships were very important, but the goal in his heart had never wavered as well – to help the Heavenly Bow Empire grow strong.
As such, after much thought, Zhou Weiqing had decided to give up attempting to gain extra Legendary Set pieces from the three Masters, telling them the secret that he only required one Scroll to successfully Consolidate Equipment.
The three Masters had treated him very well, and Zhou Weiqing’s honesty let their impression of him grow even more favourable.
As such, in the next thirty seven days after Lin TianAo returned to the inn, Zhou Weiqing did not leave the laboratory hall. He spent every single day together with the three Masters; although his Consolidating Equipment Master skill was not sufficient to help the three Masters, he could still be a minor assistant.
With the prowess of the Three Masters at creating Consolidating Equipment, it caused a deep and lasting impression and influence on Zhou Weiqing. Although the three Masters could not take him as disciple, they were not stingy in teaching this young man with the utmost suitable talents in the field of Consolidating Equipment Masters, and had a good character to boot. Of course, this was also because they knew that Zhou Weiqing was the future son in law of the Heaven’s Expanse Palace, and the Heaven’s Expanse Palace had agreed to let him watch them, otherwise Zhou Weiqing might not have learned anything so easily. Three days after Zhou Weiqing started his closed door training with the three Masters, Little Witch left. Her mission had been fulfilled, and she needed to return to the Heavenly Demon Sect as soon as possible in case any trouble occurred. After all, her true identity was easily discovered.
As for the others, they naturally were in no hurry to leave. The Heavenly Jewel Island was not only beautiful and with a great atmosphere, great air; more importantly, the Heavenly Energy here was extremely thick and strong. Training here was definitely much faster and more efficient for anyone; this was even more so for those Heavenly Jewel Masters like them who were at a lower cultivation level.
With Shangguan Longyin’s promise, their food and lodging were all free, and the rest of the team, led by Lin TianAo, settled down quietly to wait for Zhou Weiqing.
This time, attending the Heavenly Jewel Tournament, it could be said that each and every one of the Fei Li Battle Team members had gained massively throughout. Besides the large amount of combat experience and improvement in cultivation level or the money they had won betting, just the two Zong Stage Consolidating Equipment Scrolls they had gained alone more than enough to put a huge grin on their faces. Besides the one that Zhou Weiqing had given them, each member of the Champion Battle Team had gotten another set of Zong Stage Consolidating Equipment Scrolls, and they could just pick one out from the Consolidating Equipment Pavilion.
As soon as their cultivation levels reached the sufficient requirement, the entire power level of the whole Fei Li Battle Team would rise up to a whole new level.
…
37 days later.
When a disheveled and unkempt Zhou Weiqing returned to the inn where the Fei Li Battle Team members were staying, his appearance was just too shocking. Crow couldn’t recognize him on first sight and almost kicked him out of the inn.
It took almost two hours of cleaning and grooming before Zhou Weiqing finally resumed his original appearance.
“Weiqing, don’t tell me that in the last thirty seven days you have not bathed at all?!” Drunken Bao looked at the freshly cleaned Zhou Weiqing, whose skin was clearly paler from more than a month of not seeing the sun, and said helplessly. Zhou Weiqing gave a bitter smile and said: “Just a simple cleaning, yes, but there were just too many things to do every day, so many things to learn, there was just no time for me to properly wash up! When the Masters are creating the Consolidating Equipment Scrolls, every step of the way, every
little move has such deep meaning behind it. This opportunity is such a rare chance for me, and perhaps I will never get to experience anything like it in the future. So… even if I can’t learn everything, I will just have to memorize everything I possibly can. Heh, when I become a powerful Consolidating
Equipment Master in the future, you guys won’t have to worry about your Consolidating Equipment Scrolls anymore!”
As he said that, Zhou Weiqing took out four simple black boxes from his Spatial Realm, and handed it to Lin TianAo.
Instantly, Lin TianAo’s gaze turned searing hot. Without question, the four boxes contained the four future Consolidating Equipment Shields for his Assembly Set, including one God Tier Stage one!
Silently keeping the four boxes into his Spatial Realm, the heat in Lin TianAo’s eyes slowly faded away, to be replaced by a resolute determination. Sweeping his gaze across the other members of the Fei Li Battle Team, Lin TianAo suddenly said slowly and solemnly: “I have something to proclaim to all of you…”
Hearing his words, Zhou Weiqing seemed to understand something. He did not speak, instead sitting down silently to the side. The other member’s eyes turned to focus on Lin TianAo.
Drawing a deep breath, Lin TianAo continued: “This year’s Heavenly Jewel Tournament is finally over, and this is also the final step in my journey in the Heavenly Jewel Academy. From today onwards, I have graduated, and am a free man, and I will no longer be your team leader anymore. When we return to the Fei Li Empire, I will not return to the Academy anymore. My deepest gratitude to all of you for accompanying me on this final journey of mine in my studying years, and to give it a perfect ending.”
Xiao Yan, normally of few words, couldn’t help but ask: “Big bro, you aren’t returning to the Academy? Where are you going then? This is also my graduation… Where are you going, I will follow you…”
Lin TianAo looked at Zhou Weiqing, then turned back to the rest, saying: “At this point, there is no need for me to hide anything from the rest of you any longer. In truth, before we began the journey to the Heavenly Jewel Tournament, I had already become Weiqing’s Lifetime Follower. However, he was kind enough to give me this three months of my own time to come join this Heavenly Jewel Tournament.”
“What?!” Besides Zhou Weiqing, a surprised chorus burst forth from everyone’s mouths.
The most shocked was definitely Ye Paopao. He had seen Lin TianAo’s power with his own eyes. Perhaps in this Heavenly Jewel Tournament, Lin TianAo’s showing had not been the most dazzling or eye catching, but it was without a doubt that in the entire Fei Li Empire’s younger generation, no one could compete with him. It was clear that Lin TianAo would definitely be a powerhouse in his own right in the future, an unbelievably strong ultimate defense Heavenly Jewel Master.
Someone like this was an immense aid to anyone, as a partner or Follower. Instantly, an influx of emotions swamped Ye Paopao, envy, jealousy…
Lin TianAo smiled faintly, but there was no bitterness in it at all. He began to tell the story of how he had met Zhou Weiqing, of how he had witnessed Zhou Weiqing betting with Yun Li, and how he had tried to seize the opportunity to bet with the two of them… all of it in a relative summary.
“ Greed caused me to lose my freedom, but there is no
such thing was ‘Regret Medicine’ in this world. A loss is a loss, and I am willing to own up to it. However, at that time, for the sake of this final Heavenly Jewel Tournament, I asked Weiqing for a three month break, and he agreed. At that time, all I thought was that no matter what, I just wanted to put in my all for this Tournament before thinking about the future. Besides this Heavenly Jewel Tournament, my future seemed totally bleak.”
“However, who knew that Weiqing would be like a nightmare following me, ending up as my teammate to join this Heavenly Jewel Tournament. At first, I was rather unhappy and unconvinced deep in my heart, feeling like I had lost in such an unjust fashion. However, as time passed, and we fought battle after battle together… I’m sure all of you have seen what Weiqing has done throughout, and there is no need for me to say anything further. In any case, in terms of cultivation level, he is perhaps the lowest amongst us, but I dare say that in terms of overall power… he is the strongest.”
“More importantly, after interacting with him for these few months, I have truly gotten to know Weiqing. His intelligence, wit, decisive resolution, bravery, unswerving will, his strength and talents, yet without arrogance. It is as if I can see his future… and being able to Follow someone like this, a genius Heavenly Jewel Master and Consolidating Equipment Master who I believe can create a miracle in the future, I now feel that
I am too lucky.”
As he spoke up to this point, Lin TianAo abruptly stood up, taking a step forward towards Zhou Weiqing, and went down on one knee. “From today onwards, the Fei Li Battle Team Leader Lin TianAo no longer exists; there is only Zhou Weiqing’s Follower Lin TianAo!”
Zhou Weiqing was taken aback by the sudden kneeling, and he quickly stepped forward to grab Lin TianAo’s arm to pull him up. At this point, the entire room was dead silent.
Xiao Yan’s eyes were filled with shock, and Drunken Bao and Little Four had their heads bowed low. Crow was also staring at the two of them in a confused loss, while Ye Paopao’s eyes was filled with envy.
All of a sudden, Xiao Yan also stood up and walked beside Lin TianAo, a faint smile appearing on his face. Facing Lin TianAo, he said: “Leader, do you think you can get rid of me so easily? That’s not possible. Weiqing, do you still want another Temporary Follower?”
Could there be anything better? How could Zhou Weiqing possibly reject such an outstanding and talented Heavenly Jewel Master like Xiao Yan. Without hesitation, he said: “I do, of course I do!”
Xiao Yan said: “Very good, then I am willing to become your Follower as well. Of course, you must continue improving on your part as well, otherwise if I find that you are no longer worth me Following, I will not hesitate to leave, even if Leader still stands by your side.”
Zhou Weiqing grinned and said shamelessly: “Following a future Heavenly God Master, you will not regret this!”
At this point, Drunken Bao also lifted up his head, but the one he looked to was Little Four beside him. “Brother, I am ashamed of ourselves for breaking our own vow. We are all true men, and we can hold ourselves to our own words. Since Leader can do it, how can we not as well? No matter what you chose, I have already made up my mind. Weiqing, I also want to be your Lifetime Follower… not just because of Leader, but also because I have already lost to you a long time back. Give me a Seal.” As he said that, he too stood up resolutely and walked in front of Zhou Weiqing, going down on one knee.
Little Four stood up as well as cried out angrily: “Damn! Do you think I’m not a man of my word?! Weiqing, I too will keep my promise. Come on!” Happiness seemed to come so suddenly, leaving Zhou Weiqing rather caught off guard. He quickly supported the two up, saying: “Sealing isn’t required, do you think I have no trust in your characters? We are all good brothers, and we are still a team.”
Upon saying that, Zhou Weiqing turned to Lin TianAo, saying: “I will no longer call you Leader, but you will always be my big brother.” As soon as his words ended, a silver light flashed, and instantly Zhou Weiqing appeared beside Lin TianAo. His speed was just too fast, and no one had expected him to move so suddenly with a Blink Skill. In that moment, his palm pressed upon Lin TianAo’s forehead.
A dark red light shone forth, and before Lin TianAo could react or resist, it was too late.
The dark red Seal rose above his skin, and was silently erased, and when Zhou Weiqing removed his right hand, Lin TianAo stood there, stunned. The others were also equally stunned, their eyes filled with disbelief. That was because… Zhou Weiqing had actually removed the Blood Rites – Seal of Darkness he had on Lin TianAo.
Ye Paopao totally could not believe what had happened before his eyes. This Zhou Weiqing had actually let go of such an outstanding Follower with such future like Lin TianAo?!
Zhou Weiqing smiled faintly, looking into Lin TianAo’s eyes before saying: “I said just now, we will be brothers in the future. You are my big brother, and no matter what you decide, I will not begrudge any decision you make. If there is any Seal between us brothers, how can I be fit to be called your brother, right?”
Before Lin TianAo could say anything, Drunken Bao had hugged Zhou Weiqing around his neck hard, laughing heartily as he said: “Weiqing, Bro has not misjudged you indeed. Well done indeed!”
Xiao Yan and Little Four also laughed happily. Strangely, Lin TianAo did not speak. After the short moment of surprise, his expression resumed to normal. Some things were not meant to be spoken. No matter whether he had the Seal of Darkness upon him or not, in his mind, he would forever be Zhou Weiqing’s Lifetime Follower. Ye Paopao suddenly said: “Crow, what’s wrong?” He was after all the son of the Premier of the Fei Li Empire, and naturally could not follow suit behind the rest of the team and become Zhou Weiqing’s Follower. He had inadvertently been looking around and spotted Crow, who had also not expressed anything yet, and couldn’t help but start at the look at her. She was currently wearing a distressed, woebegotten expression on her face.
With the bitter look on her face, Crow said: “I also want to be your brothers… to be with you all always. But… but… I have to go look for my fiance… I … I …”
Zhou Weiqing laughed heartily and said: “Even if you go look for fiance, how can that stop us from being bros? When we return to the Fei Li Empire, I will help you look for him!”
The flavour of the Fei Li Battle Team had definitely changed. The team was still the same, but it was no longer with the basis of ‘Fei Li’. Zhou Weiqing had taken control indeed.
Being able to gain the support of these companions, it was far beyond the help that gaining the support of his entire class at the Fei Li Military Academy. “Zhou Weiqing.” Just as the atmosphere was going well and harmonious, a cold voice suddenly rang out from outside.
Zhou Weiqing turned to look, and without knowing when, Shangguan Xue’er was standing right outside the door. She still had her cold aura and impassive expression on, the light blue dress she was wearing accentuating that cold feeling she gave off.
“Shangguan Xue’er?” Zhou Weiqing looked at her curiously. It was obvious from her expression and aura that this was not Bing’er, who would not treat him this way. However, no matter facing either of her other two sisters, Shangguan Xue’er or Fei’er, Zhou Weiqing had a terrible headache.
Both of them were Bing’er’s sisters, and with that relationship in mind, he could never do anything against them, even if he could bring himself to – considering how much they looked like Bing’er. However, Zhou Weiqing had also suffered many disadvantages at their hands. Previously, Shangguan Xue’er had giving him a heavy tight slap, while Shangguan Fei’er had knocked him off his feet, almost making him fall into pieces. Facing these two, in truth he would rather keep a respectful distance if possible. Shangguan Xue’er nodded towards Zhou Weiqing, saying passively: “Come with me.” After saying that, she did not pause and turned to leave.
Zhou Weiqing followed her hesitatingly, and she stopped after a turn in the inn corridor, silently waiting for him to catch up.
“Ice Mountain Girl, why are you here looking for me?” Zhou Weiqing stopped about two metres from her, asking teasingly.
Although he did not have any designs on Shangguan Xue’er, especially since she was the heir and future Palace Master of the Heaven’s Expanse Palace, this little rascal could not help having some fantasies in the past about ‘gaining’ all three sisters, especially after knowing they were triplets… Heh heh…
Of course, all of that were just fantasies secretly in his heart. Everything else, if Shangguan Bing’er knew that our dear Zhou Little Fatty was thinking about her sisters that way, she would definitely not let him off.
In truth, it was perhaps normal for Zhou Weiqing to have such thoughts. Any normal man would definitely fantasize about something like that! When Shangguan Xue’er heard him call her ‘Ice Mountain Girl’, with his eyes roving over her body like a little scoundrel, the anger in her heart rose uncontrollably again.
Just like how Shangguan Tianyue was unable to control himself when facing Zhou Weiqing, this young lady who had her first kiss stolen by this little rascal was the same.
However, Shangguan Xue’er did not flare up. That was because… today was a very unique circumstance. No matter how hateful he was today, she would not lose her temper at him.
“You are from the Heavenly Bow Empire… right?” Shangguan Xue’er said coldly.
Zhou Weiqing started. He had not expected that Shangguan Xue’er would ask such a question. A questioning look in his eyes, he said: “Yes, I am! Why? Shouldn’t Bing’er have told you that a long time ago?”
Shangguan Xue’er furrowed her brow, remaining silent for a moment, before giving a soft sigh. Softly, she said: “I hope that you can remain calm after hearing my words.” Hearing her words, Zhou Weiqing’s originally joyous heart sank like a rock, a gnawing feeling in his stomach rising. If the person who said this to him had been Shangguan Fei’er, perhaps he would not have taken it to heart. However, this was Shangguan Xue’er in front of him, the heir to the Heaven’s Expanse Palace. With her status, she would not make some low class joke like that to him. The only reason she could say something like that … could only mean that something had happened to the Heavenly Bow Empire.
With the topic involving his own home, the Indecorous, joking appearance that Zhou Weiqing had up disappeared instantly. Pausing a second to calm himself down, he finally turned to Shangguan Xue’er and said: “Okay, please tell me the news.”
Shangguan Xue’er looked at him meaningfully before saying: “Yesterday, we just received news that the Kalise Empire received support from the Bai Da Empire. They seized the opportunity that Admiral Zhou from the Heavenly Bow Empire had returned to the Heavenly Bow City and launched a surprise attack. Striking with a force of ten times that of the border troops of the Heavenly Bow Empire, they struck right into the heart, swiftly invading deep into the Heavenly Bow Empire territories right into the Heavenly Bow City.” “What?!” Even though Zhou Weiqing had been prepared for some bad news, but this was just too sudden and too immense. Shaken immensely, his face turned ashen pale.
At this point, Zhou Weiqing had totally forgotten about the ‘dangers’ of Shangguan Xue’er, with a quick step forward, he grabbed her by her deceptively frail looking shoulders, shouting: “What… What did you say?!”
Shaken by the shoulders, Shangguan Xue’er gently knocked his hands away, but did not do anything further. She did not know why, but when she saw this young man in front of her pouncing towards her like an injured wild beast, she did not dodge. Especially when she saw that terrifying bloodshot eyes of his, she somehow felt a small sharp pain in her heart.
“Calm down.” Shangguan Xue’er lifted her hand and slapped it lightly against Zhou Weiqing’s forehead. Immediately, a cool sensation traveled to his head, causing his boiling blood to calm down slightly.
Zhou Weiqing’s breathing was laboured, and at this point, the Fei Li Battle Team had rushed out of the room to his back, clearly having heard his previous cry. Shangguan Xue’er ignored them, continuing: “We have confirmed reports that it is definitely true. The Bai Da Empire must have planned this for a while, using the Kalise Empire as a springboard, launching their attacks from several directions. Unfortunately, the Heavenly Bow Empire’s army strength is just too low, and I’m afraid your entire Empire is probably occupied by now.”
Regaining some measure of his calmness, Zhou Weiqing said in a trembling voice: “What about now? How about the Heavenly Bow City?”
The Heavenly Bow Empire was his homeland, and his entire family was there. His parents, godfather, Sis Ru Se, his teachers in the Heavenly Bow Unit… All his loved ones!
A sudden war… a swift and abrupt invasion. Zhou Weiqing’s heart and mind was utterly confused and disconcerted. At the moment, he wished that he could grow a pair of wings, to fly right back to the Heavenly Bow Empire, to find his father and fight together with him.
Shangguan Xue’er said: “The Bai Da Empire was just too determined and well planned in their execution of the attack. The one who led the attack was the Empire Master of the Bai Da Empire, their top powerhouse, a Heavenly Jewel Master of Heavenly King Stage. With him were six other Upper Level Zong Stage Heavenly Jewel Masters. By the time the news travelled to us, it has already been around five days from the start of the attack… and with the massive difference in power… I’m afraid that even Admiral Zhou will not be able to do anything to save the capital city. By now… The Heavenly Bow City should be…”
Zhou Weiqing’s body swayed, and Lin TianAo who was behind him quickly supported him, if not he would have collapsed onto the ground.
Currently, Zhou Weiqing felt as if his body was feeble and totally devoid of strength, and tears streamed uncontrollably from his eyes. Lin TianAo was supporting him fully, and could sense that Zhou Weiqing’s entire body was trembling violently. His emotions were fluctuating at an insane peak, and even his skin was starting to show the tiger tattoos of his Demonic Change State as he began to lose control.
Shangguan Xue’er took two steps forward towards Zhou Weiqing and said firmly: “The matter has already happened, and already to an irreversible point. Even if the Fei Li Empire got the news and counterattacked, it is already too late to save your Heavenly Bow Empire. I have not told Bing’er this news yet… she is at a critical point in her closed door cultivation, and I do not wish for her to be affected adversely by it yet. I hope you understand. This is all I can tell you so far. Father asked me to tell you not to return to the Heavenly Bow Empire now. A mantis cannot stop a chariot, and to attempt to do so would not be wise. You are the last hope of the Heavenly Bow Empire.” After saying that, she looked deeply at Zhou Weiqing once more before sighing lightly, and turning to leave.
Zhou Weiqing did not know when Shangguan Xue’er left; his mind was a total blank. The other members of the Fei Li Battle Team also had ugly expressions on their faces. Just a moment ago, they had all been celebrating together, filled with brotherly emotions and happiness for their achievements together. Yet, just a short moment later, Zhou Weiqing had suffered such a nigh-fatal blow.
In a white flash, Fat Cat warped into Tian’er, softly standing by Zhou Weiqing’s side. She received him from Lin TianAo’s hands, embracing him fully.
Normally, if this happened, Zhou Weiqing would be unbelievably delighted, definitely seizing the opportunity to take advantage of her. However, the current him was staring ahead with empty eyes, as if zombified and devoid of will, and he did not even attempt to move at all, letting Tian’er hold him limply. At such a time, no one knew how to comfort him. His homeland had been invaded and destroyed, an entire Empire. Friends, family… even the land which he had grown up in was now the property of its invader’s. Such a massive blow, it wasn’t something that could be easily recovered from.
Tian’er supported Zhou Weiqing back to his room. Regarding her identity, the other members of the Fei Li Battle Team knew only a little, but no one would ask more questions at this time. In their hearts, Tian’er was at least much more acceptable than Little Witch; after all, she had been following beside Zhou Weiqing since they met him.
Helping Zhou Weiqing to sit on the bed, Tian’er rested his head on her bosom. At this time, she did not have any thoughts of steering clear or avoiding him, allowing him to rest on her bountiful chest, as if trying to use her warmth to comfort his heart.
“Weiqing, at such a time, you must be strong. Shangguan Xue’er is right, you are the last hope of the Heavenly Bow Empire.”
Zhou Weiqing did not make any sound, but the tears in his eyes slowly stopped, and the glaze behind his eyes slowly disappeared as his vision consolidated once more. However, his eyes seemed totally different from the past now; no longer was there that spirited and cheerful light, just a cold resolution.
Sitting up slowly, Zhou Weiqing took a few deep breaths, calming down his body’s trembling. He turned to Tian’er and said: “Could you go out for a while, I just need to be quiet and alone for a short while.”
Tian’er hesitated a moment, before standing up. Hugging his head, she gave him a light kiss on his forehead before turning and walking out, closing the door behind her. She believed that her Weiqing would definitely be able to pull himself together.
Just like that, Zhou Weiqing sat there, silent, unmoving. It was as if he had become a statue. Although he did not enter the Demonic Change State, in the dark room, his eyes were clearly bloodshot.
…
In Lin TianAo’s room.
Lin TianAo looked at the rest of the team, then said softly: “No matter what Weiqing decides, I will go together with him. If the rest of you have any other plans, you should leave now. I will not blame you.”
Nobody knew what Zhou Weiqing would decide upon doing; if he made up his mind to return to the Heavenly Bow Empire, then it would definitely be entering the dragon’s den, a hazardous, almost suicidal mission indeed. As such, Lin TianAo spoke those words. If they wished, for them to leave before Zhou Weiqing made such a decision.
Drunken Bao said angrily: “Boss, what kind of people do you treat us as?! At such a time, it is even more important for us to be by Weiqing’s side. Hmph. Even such an impossible task as the Heavenly Jewel Tournament championship, we have accomplished it, what else is there to be afraid of?! What kind of bullshit is this Bai Da Empire, Your Father, I, have long since wanted to look for trouble with them!”
Xiao Yan and Little Four both nodded their heads in agreement. Crow furrowed her brow and said: “It looks like I will have to delay looking for my fiance for a while.”
Ye Paopao said: “I will not be joining you guys, adding just me alone won’t make a difference. I will head back to the Fei Li Empire immediately; my father is the Premier, and if we can launch an attack from the Fei Li Empire towards the Bai Da Empire, that will be the greatest help to Weiqing.”
Lin TianAo nodded and said: “That is a good choice. Paopao, you return to the Fei Li Empire then, at least find out everything you can about the Heavenly Bow Empire, especially what happened to Weiqing’s family. As long as they are still alive, then we have a chance to rescue them…”
Ye Paopao nodded and said: “There is no time to waste then, I will leave immediately. I will do my best.”
After saying that, he immediately packed up and left the Heavenly Jewel Island. After all, though it was difficult to enter the Heavenly Jewel Island, there was no restrictions on leaving at any time.
Ye Paopao had left swiftly, but the next day was was a slow torturous one for the rest of the team. Zhou Weiqing’s room remained silent, and though they tried several times to go see him, they were stopped by Tian’er who was standing outside the door. The current Zhou Weiqing needed time alone, quiet.
… The next morning, when Zhou Weiqing appeared in front of them again, it gave them a shock. Just from appearance alone, he did not seem very different, but those blood red eyes and pale skin was indeed terrifying. It was clear that he had not slept in that whole day and night.
In truth, not only did Zhou Weiqing not sleep at all, during the whole time he had sat there unmoving. He was only seventeen years old this year, but now he suddenly looked as if he had aged and matured, as if he were the same age as Drunken Bao or Little Four.
“Weiqing, no matter what you decide to do, we have already decided to follow you…” Lin TianAo stepped forward, giving Zhou Weiqing a big hug.
Zhou Weiqing also clapped him on the back and said: “Everyone, do not worry. I am alright.”
Drunken Bao waved his fist in the air and said: “Weiqing, in that case, let’s charge to the Heavenly Bow Empire and kill all those Bai Da Empire bastards!”
To everyone’s surprise, Zhou Weiqing shook his head. The current him was cold and calm, almost to a terrifying degree. “No, we will not return to the Heavenly Bow Empire. We need to stay in the Heavenly Jewel Island for a short while more. I estimate… at least ten days to a month, then we shall return to the Fei Li Empire.”
“En?” Zhou Weiqing’s words left the entire Fei Li Battle Team confused.
Returning to the Fei Li Empire, they could understand it. Without question, that was the best thing to do at this moment. Heading to the Fei Li Empire as a base of operations before deciding their next step was definitely better than charging into the Heavenly Bow Empire without a plan and virtually committing suicide. However, the wait was what confused them all.
Zhou Weiqing said: “You all do not need to worry about me, just stay here for a while. I will be gone for a time; when I return, we can leave for the Fei Li Empire.”
After saying that, he vanished in a flash, leaving the inn swiftly.
“Where is he going?” Drunken Bao asked curiously. Lin TianAo furrowed his brow, shaking his head to signal that he was also not sure.
Tian’er’s voice rang out: “He should be heading to the Heavenly Jewel Island’s Skill Storing Palace. If my guess isn’t wrong, he should be trying to bring his cultivation level to the fourth Jewel stage, to power up as much as possible before leaving the Heavenly Jewel Island. I do not know what he was thinking about yesterday, but I am sure that he must have thought things through clearly and planned ahead about the future.”
Indeed, Tian’er’s guess was not wrong. Zhou Weiqing was currently in the Skill Storing Palace, once again choosing Heavenly Beasts with the Darkness and Demonic Attributes, using the Devour Skill to cultivate as fast as possible.
Previously, when he had accompanied the three Masters and was watching and learning as they created the Consolidating Equipment Scrolls for the thirty seven days, he had also been cultivating. After all, his Immortal Deity Technique did not require him to specially cultivate and would automatically continue improving due to the energy whirlpools. This was especially so in an environment like the Heavenly Jewel Island, with its intense and thick atmospheric energy. As such, although Zhou Weiqing had broken through to the fifteenth stage of the Heavenly Energy not long ago, but he had already stabilized and improved, and he believed that he was not too far from the sixteenth level. Furthermore, under such an external stimulation, his training regiment was far different
from anything he had done previously.
No moderation. No control. Just a near insane-level of frenetic cultivation.
Every time he used the Devour Skill, it was as if Zhou Weiqing was a devil, squeezing the most out of his body. He would absorb Heavenly Energy to his limits, and beyond, pushing himself far and above what was humanly possible. Furthermore, he spent most of that time in the Demonic Change State, pushing his boundaries in all manner, before finally sitting down to cultivate and absorb the energy.
He did not sleep, did not rest, and did not eat, only taking tiny breaks to sip water for survival. The current him was using the methodology of the three-thousand tempering in Devouring and cultivating his Heavenly Energy!
The Devour Skill was undoubtedly powerful, but such a method of cultivation was a massive toll on the body. Luckily, he had already broken through fifteen Death Acupuncture Points, and the fifteen energy whirlpools could help him sustain himself and help relieve the pressure. Furthermore, his body had already gone through evolving twice, and his physique was definitely much stronger, tougher and flexible than it had ever been. As such, even despite this almost suicidal method of pushing his limits, he barely managed to survive.
The pain and agony from the body was one matter, but the more important thing was the changes in Zhou Weiqing’s psyche. If previously one were to describe him as a cunning, wily but cheerful person, then the current him seemed to be growing colder and colder as he went through this training.
His Demonic Change State was indeed controllable, but spending so much time in such a state, and especially so with such a sleepless, restless and almost self-harming training schedule, plus the continued usage of the Devour Skill, caused Zhou Weiqing to start having a cold aura about his disposition, the killing intent surrounding him increasing daily.
During this period, Shangguan Xue’er had gotten news of what he was doing and came to see him once, and she had since reported it to her uncle, Shangguan Tianyang. However, Shangguan Tianyang did not send anyone to stop Zhou Weiqing. The reason was simple, the current Zhou Weiqing needed some way to vent, to release stress. This method might be harmful to his body and psyche, but if he did not vent in such a manner, perhaps he might do something even worse.
Shangguan Xue’er even asked Shangguan Tianyang whether or not they should tell Shangguan Bing’er about the matter. Without question, allowing Bing’er to speak to and comfort Zhou Weiqing was the best solution.
However, Shangguan Tianyang overruled her suggestion, telling her: As a man, there are some things that one has to face and overcome by himself, only then can he truly grow up. Having Bing’er comfort him is only the easy way out, not the best way.
Just like that, Zhou Weiqing did not eat for almost twenty three days, with only some clear water to sustain himself, cultivating with all his might without sleep or rest, until the day came he could breakthrough his next Death Acupuncture Point…
Chapter 110 Entering the Zun Stage
His meridian channels engorged with Heavenly Energy, Zhou Weiqing was currently in a disheveled state, his hair had grown so long that it spread messily down his shoulders and back. Although it was in a dark room, one could still spot his eerily bloodshot eyes.
As one’s cultivation level grew, each and every level of Heavenly Energy was undoubtedly tougher to reach, and the next level would always take a greater amount of Heavenly Energy. Zhou Weiqing’s original estimation of ten days was not fulfilled, and it took him an additional twenty three days on top of the thirty seven days spent with the three Masters, before he finally reached the breakthrough point once more.
Without hesitation, Zhou Weiqing immediately began his final burst towards breaking through.
At this moment, despite his ‘mistreatment’ of himself, his body and physique was not weak at all. After all, Heavenly Energy was the atmospheric energy that all Heavenly Jewel Masters needed and absorbed, and was in itself extremely good for the human body. Just this energy alone was able to sustain a Heavenly Jewel Master for a long period of time without much problems; although it wasn’t the same as Tian’er being able to live without food and drink, it was still able to keep one alive for some time without issues.
Zhou Weiqing continued cultivating non-stop; although this type of cultivation would place a large toll on his body, at the same time, as the saying goes, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. As long as he managed the get through this without any long term damage, it would actually have a sort of tempering effect on his body as well.
The twenty three days had passed, and currently Zhou Weiqing’s body was actually stronger and tougher than before, and his Heavenly Energy much thicker. However, he was facing with another huge problem – his spirit.
After twenty three days without sleep and rest, furthermore with full concentration on cultivating, it had already exhausted his spirit to the point of breakdown.
Normally, over twenty days of cultivation was nothing for a Heavenly Jewel Master; after all, cultivating was a sort of rest in itself. However, Zhou Weiqing was different. He was making use of the Devour Skill to its maximum before cleansing and absorbing the Heavenly Energy gained. Under such a circumstance, with his body at the risk of having problems at any time, he had to fully concentrate on not just the Skill, but also in the cleansing and absorption process. Only then could he ensure that he could properly absorb all the Heavenly Energy without future issues.
At the same time, this also took a large toll on his spirit, with only a slight rest at the ending part of each cultivation cycle, which was definitely not sufficient considering how much he expended. If not for that stubborn conviction in his mind supporting him, he would have collapsed long ago.
Even so, under such a circumstance, when Zhou Weiqing felt that his Heavenly Energy was already sufficient, he steeled his resolve and chose to breakthrough the next Death Acupuncture Point.
*BANG*– The sixteenth Death Acupuncture Point broke instantly. Under the tremendous pain, Zhou Weiqing lost control of his body almost immediately due to the resulting involuntary violent shaking. However, he still managed to force himself to focus his spirit in full concentration. Currently, his mind was fixated with the faces of his mother, father, and all the kinsmen, friends, and teachers in the Heavenly Bow Empire.
Tears flowed down his face once more. In his mind, he vowed. Mother, father, you must stay alive, you must! Wait for me please, I will definitely take revenge for all of you, and revive the Heavenly Bow Empire!
Although Zhou Weiqing knew that the possibility of survival for his parents were almost zero, unless he actually heard reports of their demise, he would hold that hope deep in his heart.
That day, when he had sat there in his room alone, he had been filled with despair. He understood his father’s character all too well. With his father’s cultivation level, it would have been extremely easy for him to escape… if he wanted to. However, he knew that his father would not do such a thing. His father’s temperament was such that he would stay til his last drop of blood, never leaving such a battlefield, and would rather choose to die with his soldiers.
What about his mother? What would his mother do? Zhou Weiqing was also clear that his mother would definitely stay by his father’s side, no matter how much protection she got, as soon as his father died, his mother would soon follow suit.
At that moment, Zhou Weiqing’s heart had only one wish, that his father was in front of him, even if he were beating him like he was young, no matter how hard, or scolding him… All he wanted to see was his father’s old fashioned, stubborn and strict face.
Alas, all of that was just too far from his… perhaps for forever.
Father, mother, if both of you are dead, I will definitely let the Kalise Empire and the Bai Da Empire pay a hundred, a thousand times! Please, father, mother, wait for your Little Fatty to come back!
It was just because he had already the worst possibility in mind, Zhou Weiqing had decided to stay back. At a mere three- Jeweled cultivation level, he knew that he would be useless against an army. The only thing he could do was the seize this opportunity in the Heavenly Jewel Island, to boost his cultivation level as much as he could in a short period of time, and gain some extra Skills in their Skill Storing Palace, before returning to the Fei Li Empire to plan his next step. That was the best thing he could do.
Having forced himself to calm down and live with that despair, Zhou Weiqing could make that best choice. He had already thought about his next few possible steps – naturally, it would not be possible for him to continue staying at the Fei Li Military Academy until graduation. As soon as he returned to the Fei Li Empire, he would have to find out exactly what happened to the Heavenly Bow Empire and the current status. After that, he would have to find a path to tread; perhaps a path that had not been in any of his previous plans, or perhaps one that he had not planned to step on just so soon.
As the saying goes, an oppressed army fighting with desperate courage is sure to win. When one is pushed to the edge, even a rat will fight with an immeasurable courage. Even though Zhou Weiqing’s spirit was at the verge of breaking down, his sheer stubborn will, that infinite yearning for his family and friends, allowed him to somehow persevere through everything. Gritting his teeth through everything, it was only until that broken through sixteenth Death Acupuncture Point had finally been sealed back and the energy whirlpool formed, and the fourth Jewel forming around his wrists, signalling his success… only then did he finally faint, fully exhausted.
…
Zhou Weiqing remained fully unconscious for three days and three nights, and by the time he awoke once more, he found that he was in his room in the inn. Tian’er was sitting there silently by his bed, and when she saw him rouse from his sleep, she stroke his face softly and said gently: “Wait here, I will get something for you to eat.”
She did not try to persuade him; at this point, it was useless to say anything. Tian’er knew that the only thing she could do was to accompany him and to support him. That would be the best help she could offer. At least, until he fully calmed down.
Zhou Weiqing’s spirit and consciousness slowly recovered, and with a quick thought, started circulating his Heavenly Energy around his body, and the sixteen energy whirlpools started spinning faster. A layer of shimmering white light seemed to seep out from his body; it was the newly improved Immortal Deity Shield.
With his sixteenth Death Acupuncture Point broken through, both his wrists showed the fresh new Jewel each. Under normal circumstances, Zhou Weiqing would need at least three months more to breakthrough to this stage, but he had forcibly accomplished it by risking his health and life.
Four Jewels. That was also stepping up from the Shi Stage to the Zun Stage, from the Upper Level Shi Stage to the Lower Level Zun Stage. This was not an extremely tough bottleneck, but to someone like Zhou Weiqing who used such a method of cultivation, it was indeed another life and death trial.
Tian’er returned to the room, carrying a bowl of meat porridge. Receiving the bowl from her, Zhou Weiqing gulped it down swiftly with large mouthfuls. He was an intelligent person after all, and even though he had suffered such a massive blow, this nigh-suicidal training to him was also a sort of venting. That did not mean he would relax or feel happy, but at least it aided in stabilizing his emotions.
Swiftly gobbling up the entire bowl of porridge, Zhou Weiqing turned to Tian’er and said: “Thank you, Tian’er.” Seeing her rather haggard, exhausted face, a look of apology appeared on his face.
Tian’er shook her head slightly and said: “There is no need to thank me. Congratulations on breaking through to the four- Jewel Stage.”
Zhou Weiqing smiled bitterly and said: “There is still a long way to go.”
Tian’er kept silent for a while, before finally asking him: “When do you plan to leave?” A sorrowful light flashed in Zhou Weiqing’s eyes, and he said: “Alas, by now, the dust has already settled in the Heavenly Bow Empire… and it is too late to just react foolishly. I will take a few more days to complete my fourth Jewel’s Skills, then I will leave for the Fei Li City.”
Tian’er nodded silently, then said: “Rest a while before you go. If anything happens to you, there will be no more chances left for the Heavenly Bow Empire.”
Zhou Weiqing forced a smile onto his face and said reassuringly: “I am fine, the earlier I return, the earlier I can arrange other things as well. Do not worry, I will be alright.”
As he said that, he stood up to leave, planning to head once more to the Skill Storing Palace to complete Skill Storing on his Fourth Jewel.
However, this time, Tian’er did not let him do as he wished. Standing up abruptly, she grabbed hold of Zhou Weiqing’s arm. As he started in surprise, Tian’er had already wrapped both arms around his neck, standing on tiptoe as she kissed him on the lips suddenly. As their lips met, Zhou Weiqing’s eyes widened as they lost focus in shock. Tian’er pressed her body closer, her voluptuous, fiery hot body seemed like a body of molten lava, melting Zhou Weiqing down.
Tian’er exerted some pressure on her feet, and Zhou Weiqing lost his balance. Almost instantly, both of them fell onto the bed, with Tian’er on top.
Currently, her face was totally red, her entire person like a beautiful ripe peach as she pressed down against Zhou Weiqing.
Their lips parted, and Zhou Weiqing stared in shock at her. Tian’er’s breathing was urgent, and she murmured softly: “I said that I would give you a reward for saving that dragon family… And I’ll give it now…”
“Tian’er…” Zhou Weiqing only had time to cry out once, before his lips were once again sealed with another kiss.
Zhou Weiqing stared at her with wide eyes. Currently, all he could see in her eyes was a deep purple, and in a flash, he felt a sense of relaxation, and the sensations of his body felt magnified. Tian’er’s kisses were very clumsy, but searing hot. In terms of her figure, amongst all the girls that Zhou Weiqing knew, she was definitely the most voluptuous, and perhaps only Principal Cai Cai could come close. However, in terms of the wild nature of the Divine Heavenly Spirit Tiger, none could compare.
A wild, ferocious aura overwhelmed him, and Zhou Weiqing felt as if his entire body was being melted down by Tian’er. However, he was no longer a virgin, and after a short moment of stunned shock, a violent desire mixed with pain rose within, and he hugged Tian’er hard. A red light rose within his eyes again, and the temperature of his body rose rapidly, as if ignited by Tian’er.
Tian’er’s eyes closed slowly. Currently, she was both excited and afraid, almost flustered. Although she knew what she wanted, in truth she did not know what she was doing. Towards the relations between men and women, she did not know much, with most of her knowledged learned from her peeking at Zhou Weiqing and Shangguan Bing’er’s intimate relations. However, watching was one thing, but actually experiencing it on her own was another matter altogether. When Zhou Weiqing’ large hands encircled her slim waist and the sweet curvature below, her body began to tremble.
Her flustered inner heart wanted her to dodge away, but she was no ordinary human. At this moment, she had already chosen to give Zhou Weiqing this most precious reward, and more so also to heal his wounded heart, to slightly relax that taut heartstrings that were at maximum tension for so long. Otherwise, she was afraid that if he stayed in that state any longer, he would breakdown totally. As such, no matter how much she wanted to dodge away, she had made her decision and would only turn this flustered embarrassment into wild action.
Tian’er’s amazing curves sparked all of Zhou Weiqing’s burning desire, and abruptly, he flipped himself around, pressing her down below instead.
The past few days, his heart had been fully tightened and sealed up, and it was finally being reopened in this unique method by Tian’er. The fire in Zhou Weiqing’s heart was being reignited, like a huge fiery oven, slowly swallowing Tian’er… Zhou Weiqing returned her kisses crazily, all over, and Tian’er couldn’t help but wriggle around. She could not describe her own feelings, as if afraid, or joyous, as their bodies moved together.
A faint mist seemed to rise up in the room, and the temperature rose as well. Faintly, it was as if the very air in the room seemed to form a semblance of a black and white tiger intertwined, the black tiger exalted high spirited, the white tiger shy at the side, and their soft cries rang out through the room.
A sudden sharp pain, and a feral savage nature was sparked once more. The blue tiger tattoos and black tiger tattoos appeared respectively on the two young bodies. At the same time, the light of their four Saint Attributes shone brightly, enveloping both of them.
As the pain turned into a strange numbness, the painful cries slowly turned into a low moans, quivering with anticipation and need.
Along with the numbness came a joy that she had never experienced before, and as her wild nature sparked up, the bright light in the room also strengthened to the maximum point. Even in every nook and cranny of the room, that intense Heavenly Energy undulations could be felt.
Outside the door, the Fei Li Battle Team members were gathered; they had been guarding the door together.
However, they currently had all had a strange look on their faces.
Tian’er’s wild cries were not muffled by the doors, and they did not need to guess what was happening within the room. How could their expressions not be strange?
Like a Guardian Saint, Lin TianAo stood right outside the door impassively. Looking at Drunken Bao, Xiao Yan and Little Four, and their expressions, he said exasperatedly: “You guys, go back to your room.”
Drunken Bao moved closer and said in a low tone: “Boss, even if we go back to our rooms, that will not do! This Lady Tian’er’s cries are just too… tempting… we better go out and have a walk, or we will not be able to take it.” Crow’s tall stature allowed her to peek over Drunken Bao to say: “Weiqing is so vigorous! Sigh… why does he refuse to follow me back to the Gold Crow Tribe? What a shame!”
Lin TianAo glared at them and said: “What is in those heads of yours! This Lady Tian’er is sacrificing so much for Weiqing’s sake, to ensure that he doesn’t get lost in his despair and suffering. I warn you all, you better be more respectful to her in the future. For a girl to do such a thing for a man, to give up her most precious thing for his sake in such a time of danger and need… what she has done for Weiqing is more than enough to earn our respect.”
In the end, Drunken Bao and the rest fled the scene. For virile young men like them, hearing sounds like that was definitely not a good thing, too much stimulation and excitement …
Only Lin TianAo remained outside the door, and he persevered for four hours, before he was forced to pour a bucket of ice cold water on his heated head as well. Only then did the sounds from the room slowly quieten.
Zhou Weiqing fell into a deep sleep, and Tian’er lay on his chest, her eyes closed slightly, her slightly bruised body pressed against him as she was still breathing deeply from their exertions.
After finally releasing all his pent up emotions, mixed with that deep seated fatigue, Zhou Weiqing was dead to the world in his sleep. His brow had finally smoothed out as he was relaxed at last, and holding his face lightly, Tian’er smiled faintly.
“You little fool, don’t you know that when you resolutely decided to save that mother and baby dragon, my heart had already been conquered by you. You little rascal, making me hurt so much, I don’t know how Bing’er could withstand you…”
Feeling a heady mix of feelings, euphoria and exhaustion, she too drifted off into sleep, wrapped in Zhou Weiqing’s arms.
Finally in a deep, sound sleep, Zhou Weiqing only woke up after a whole day of rest. When he awoke, he felt refreshed and full of energy. Sitting up on the bed, Zhou Weiqing looked around, but he was all alone, and found that he was wrapped in a soft warm blanket, and his body had not only been cleansed, he was also dressed in a fresh set of clothes. Tian’er, it had to be Tian’er. Although Zhou Weiqing was not clear what exactly had happened, but he was sure that Tian’er had arranged it all.
The door opened, and Lin TianAo walked in from outside. “Ahh, Weiqing, you’re awake!”
Although Zhou Weiqing’s face had always been very thick, when he saw Lin TianAo’s strange expression and eyes, he couldn’t help but blush slightly, but couldn’t help saying: “Big Brother, where is Tian’er?”
Lin TianAo smiled and said: “She went to get some food for you. Weiqing, you better treat her well…”
Zhou Weiqing nodded.
After that joyous release last night, he had finally walked out from the shadow of that heavy blow, or at least taken the first few steps out. The hate in his heart was no less, but at least he would not do anything foolish anymore.
Right at that moment, Tian’er appeared at the door, balancing a tray in her hands as she walked in. Seeing Zhou Weiqing standing there, her face turned red and she lowered her head slightly.
Lin TianAo smiled faintly before turning to leave, closing the door behind him, leaving the two young lovers alone.
Tian’er walked silently to the side, placing the tray on the table. It was another bowl of delicious smelling meat porridge.
Zhou Weiqing took a step forward, holding her hands and pulling her into his embrace tightly. Burying his face between her hair and neck, breathing in her scent, his grip involuntarily tightened around her.
“Tian’er… it is so good to have you by my side…”
Hearing his words, Tian’er quivered gently, and she held Zhou Weiqing by the waist. Alas, Zhou Weiqing did not see that at that moment, her eyes were filled with a faint sorrow.
“Weiqing, you better eat something first. I’ll accompany you to the Skill Storing Palace after this.” Zhou Weiqing nodded before releasing her. Giving her a light kiss on her face, at the same time seizing the opportunity to squeeze some areas and causing her to cry out, a mischievous grin appeared on his face before he sat down at the table and started eating.
Tian’er looked at him in a mix of tenderness and caution, before crossing her arms huffily. However, there was a hint of relief in her eyes. At least, her little bad boy Zhou Little Fatty was back. Although she knew he still hid many things in his heart, and that such deep wounds could not heal so easily, at least on the surface he was almost normal again.
“Tian’er, why is it that after we did it just now, my Heavenly Energy seems to have increased so much. I feel like I am already close to breaking through to the next level again!” Zhou Weiqing exclaimed curiously.
Tian’er’s face turned beet red and she said huffily: “I won’t tell you. Quick, be good and eat up!”
Zhou Weiqing grabbed onto her and pulled her closer, pressing her full bottom against his thigh intimately. Embracing her fully, he said: “Tell me quick, otherwise I’ll be forced to try it out again for myself.” As he said that, his hands wandered around her waist. “Wuuu… Wait … I’ll say, I’ll say…” Tian’er quickly grabbed his wandering hands and stopped them. “It should be because of our Saint Attributes mixing together. I do not know about the exact details, but previously when I broke through from the Zun Stage into the Lower Level Zong Stage, it was also with the aid of your two Saint Attributes, Demonic and Time. As I said, it seems like when our four Saint Attributes are together, it seems to form some sort of unique barrier or aura, allowing our cultivation speeds to be a lot faster than when we are
alone. When… when we… you and I… you know… perhaps that had also caused our Heavenly Energy to mix together and improve due to that.”
Zhou Weiqing was naturally not the only person to gain massive benefits, and Tian’er had indeed gained a lot as well. Of course, her cultivation level was much higher than Zhou Weiqing’s, so it did not seem as obvious.
Zhou Weiqing stared at her, jaw agape, before saying: “Doesn’t that mean… if we do it more often, isn’t it even better than any cultivation technique?!”
“You…” Tian’er blushed deeply as she broke free of his grasp, embarrassed. “You’re not allowed to think of such naughty things like that. That was just a one time reward for you, only this once! Furthermore… even if we… do it again in the future… it will not have the same effect as the first time.”
Zhou Weiqing looked her Tian’er’s appealing, and said a little bleakly, guilt in his eyes: “Tian’er… Thank you. I’m so sorry, I really should not have taken you at this kind of time.”
Tian’er made a soft sound, back facing him, before finally shaking her head silently. At last she said: “It… was of my own wish… No matter what happens in the future, you will always be my only man.” Zhou Weiqing stood up, holding onto Tian’er’s hands and he kissed them lightly before saying: “Come on, let’s go to the Skill Storing Palace.”
“En.”
Zhou Weiqing informed Lin TianAo quickly before heading to the Skill Storing Palace together with Tian’er. This time, they stayed there for three whole days.
In this three days, not only did Zhou Weiqing complete all the Skill Storing of his fourth Elemental Jewel, he also managed to complete Consolidating the next two pieces of his Legendary Set. By the time he walked out from the Skill Storing Palace, holding onto Tian’er’s hands as he did so, he felt as if he were totally reborn.
When they had first arrived at the ZhongTian City to join the Heavenly Jewel Tournament, he was only at a mere three- Jeweled cultivation level, and both his Stored Skills and Consolidated Equipment were not completed then. Yet, now, he was already a four-Jeweled Low Level Zun Stage Heavenly Jewel Master, with all Consolidated Equipment and Stored Skills to boot. More so, he had gained many powerful, highly rated Skills, and now had a total of three Legendary Set pieces! His entire power levels had definitely skyrocketed, a mighty force to be reckoned with.
“Weiqing, let us rest for a day, we’ll leave tomorrow ok?” Tian’er said softly.
It was already in the evening at that time, and descending from the Heavenly Jewel Island was not too safe. As such, Zhou Weiqing agreed, and the two returned to their inn. Zhou Weiqing went to look for one of the employees on the Heavenly Jewel Island to pass a message to Shangguan Longyin that the entire Fei Li Battle Team would be leaving the next day.
The night grew later, and Zhou Weiqing stood by his window, staring out into the distance. The Heavenly Jewel Island was high up above the sea level, and here, he could see many stars that were usually covered on the ground. The stars in the skies seemed to be like many precious jewels embedded in the heavens, twinkling and shining, a beautiful and grand sight.
Looking in the direction of the Heavenly Bow Empire, Zhou Weiqing’s fists clenched hard. Father, Mother, Godfather, I will definitely take revenge for all of you. Even if it is just me alone, no matter how long it takes, I will definitely destroy the Kalise and Bai Da Empires.
At that moment, his mind involuntarily thought of the Lustre Spatial Realm, and that unbelievably powerful sight of the majestic Heavenly God Stage Dragon and the Skill it had unleashed, overwhelming the entire skies. Although a Heavenly God Stage powerhouse could not stand and fight against an entire army of a million strong, but even if once was a failure, a second time was a failure, that did not mean he would fail forever. Zhou Weiqing had thought things through and come up with a basic plan. If possible, he would try his best to raise an army of his own to restore his homeland. If that was not possible, then he would cultivate hard, training hard to become a powerhouse, a killing machine, stabbing right into the heart of the enemy.
A soft, warm body pressed against him from behind, and a pair of arms encircled his waist gently. Zhou Weiqing turned around slowly to see Tian’er, especially beautiful under the shimmering moonlight, dressed in a snow white long dress, accentuating her long flowing white hair and the pair of mesmerising purple eyes.
She is my woman now! Zhou Weiqing couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride well up within his heart. Gently, he wrapped Tian’er in his arms. At that point, he suddenly felt a wild dream overcome him. If one day, when everything ended and the dust settled, he would bring Bing’er and Tian’er to this beautiful Heavenly Jewel Island to stay forever, and not have a care in the world. That would be wonderful indeed.
Tian’er lowered her head, covering her sorrowful eyes, burying her head into Zhou Weiqing’s chest as she said softly: “Weiqing, take me.”
How could Zhou Weiqing resist such a request? Stretching out his arms, he lifted Tian’er up in his embrace, feeling her soft body trembling. Instantly, the negative emotions in his heart disappeared once more, as the two young lovers intertwined in both body and soul.
This was another sleepless night; not just for Zhou Weiqing and Tian’er, but also the other poor fellows in the inn. When Tian’er’s loud, wild cries rang out loud, Zhou Weiqing couldn’t help but think to the future, that they would have to find a more desolate and widely spaced place to live in.
Tian’er seemed even wilder this night; having tasted the forbidden fruit of desire, she was actually more on the initiative this time. At such a young and hot blooded age, naturally our dear Zhou Little Fatty was not to be outdone. After a long, drawn out ‘fight’, the white tiger finally lost out to the black tiger, begging for mercy as it was ‘defeated’…
“En?” When Zhou Weiqing was awoken from his dreams by the sun shining in from the window, he subconsciously embraced the figure beside him, only to meet with nothingness.
Tian’er was not beside him, and Zhou Weiqing sat up on the bed, stretching himself as he sensed the faint scent Tian’er had left in the air, and a great sense of satisfaction filled his heart.
The truth had indeed proven itself, and Tian’er was indeed right. As the two had coupled the second time, their Heavenly Energy had only improved slightly, definitely nothing in comparison to the immense increase of the first time. Even so, as Zhou Weiqing woke up in the morning, he felt as if his body was lighter, feeling great overall.
In his most painful moment, she was there for him. At the time when he was almost about to break down, she had used her soft body to gently comfort his aching heart. Perhaps, their road ahead would be extremely tough and fraught with difficulties, but no matter what, Zhou Weiqing would not back down. She was his, forever.
Looking around, Zhou Weiqing suddenly spotted a letter lying on the bed where Tian’er had been last night. Picking it up, he opened it casually. However, when he saw the first line of words of the letter, he suddenly froze.
“Weiqing, by the time you read this, I will have left. Although it was unbelievably difficult to make this decision, I have no choice but to do so and leave you. I’m sorry Weiqing, that I have to leave you in the time of your greatest need, but I have no choice at all…”
Tian’er’s words were somewhat jumbled, clearly when she was writing this letter, she had been at such a loss. “In the Heavenly Jewel Tournament finals, the members of the WanShou Battle Team had already spotted me. When you were learning from the three Masters, they came looking for me, asking me to return together with them. However, I rejected them. Alas, now that they have already spotted my whereabouts, they also realised that something is between us. They already left a while back, but I stayed here to wait for your return. I’m afraid that by now, Father will have sent men, and that fiance of mine, here to look for me.” “You are already in too much… way too much trouble. I cannot allow you to get into more trouble because of me, to be hurt because of me. As such, I have no choice but to leave. Luckily, before I do so, I am able to give myself to you. Do not worry, since I am already yours, that will never ever change.
No matter how much they try to force me, I will only be Zhou Weiqing’s woman.”
“Father only has one child, and as his only daughter, he will not force me too much. As long as I threaten him with my death, he will not be able to do anything to me. However, I’m afraid that in the near future, I will not be able to look for you.”
“Do not come looking for me, please, I beg you. I know that with your character, it is easy for you to throw caution to the wind, to put your all in doing something despite any dangers. If you really do so, then you will be wasting the painstaking trouble that I have gone through now. You have many important things to do, and many people depending on you now. At least, before you have sufficient power, you cannot come looking for me. For myself, I will try my best to persuade my father.”
“I may have left, but I have no regrets, only a longing for you. Weiqing, you have never told me that you loved me yet, but… I love you.” The final words were her signing off: Your Tian’er, your Fat Cat.
Grasping the letter in his hands tightly, Zhou Weiqing rushed out of the room into the clear fresh air outside. The chill of the morning gave his heart a slight chill of bleakness.
Bing’er would not return with him, and Tian’er had also left. Although he knew that Tian’er had done so for his own sake, he couldn’t help but feel a sharp pain in his heart.
Tian’er, I love you! Zhou Weiqing howled out loud in his heart. Alas, Tian’er was no longer able to hear it. Who knew when he would be able to actually speak those words to her directly.
…
Descending the Heavenly Jewel Island, the team purchased fourteen fine horses. With seven of them each riding one, they galloped at top speed towards the Fei Li Empire.
In the end, Zhou Weiqing did not go looking for Tian’er. His feelings were undoubtedly important, but at this moment, the demise of his homeland filled his heart. Furthermore, at this moment, he truly did not have the power and qualification to go looking for Tian’er.
The reason why there were seven of them was because they were joined by someone else from the Heavenly Jewel Island. It was a twenty three year old young lady, with a rather easy to remember name, Dou Dou.
Dou Dou did not belong to the Heaven’s Expanse Palace, but she was the direct disciple of Xing Tianyi, the head of the three Masters!
Previously, after the thirty seven days Zhou Weiqing had spent learning from the three Masters, Xing Tianyi had asked Zhou Weiqing to bring this young disciple of his along to travel and experience the world.
Dou Dou had been adopted since she was a baby, and brought up by Xing Tianyi. All her life, she had lived in the Heavenly Jewel Island, and it could be said that she was extremely sheltered, with no contact at all with the outside world. Xing Tianyi hoped that she could go out into the real world and experience everything for herself. With Zhou Weiqing’s protection, he was also more at ease. This was also a decision Xing Tianyi had made after learning from the Heaven’s Expanse Palace about how Zhou Weiqing had risked falling out with the Heaven’s Expanse Palace when he had protected that mother dragon and egg in the Lustre Spatial Realm.
In comparison with his power, Xing Tianyi’s choice was more because of his appreciation of Zhou Weiqing’s character.
As for Dou Dou, Zhou Weiqing had actually only met her for the first time after leaving the Heavenly Jewel Island. The events of the Heavenly Bow Empire had caused him to be confused and disconcerted, and he had totally forgotten about his previous promise. However, when Xing Tianyi had been notified by the Heaven’s Expanse Palace about Zhou Weiqing’s leaving, he quickly sent Dou Dou out personally to join him.
At that point, Zhou Weiqing had told Xing Tianyi that this time, when he returned, he would definitely be facing many dangers, and did not recommend bringing Dou Dou along. After all, he could not even guarantee his own safety, let alone hers. However, Xing Tianyi insisted in him bringing her along, indicating that she could protect herself, and that it was time that she got out to experience the world.
In the end, Zhou Weiqing did not reject it. Not only did he owe the three Masters a lot, this young lady Dou Dou was also a powerful and skilled Grandmaster Consolidating Equipment Master in her own right. According to Xing Tianyi, she was already not far from reaching the Zong Stage!
After all, Xing Tianyi could be said to be the current top God Tier Consolidating Equipment Master in the entire world, and could his personal disciple be bad at all?
This Dou Dou was not especially beautiful, especially when compared with top beauties like the three Shangguan sisters, Tian’er and Little Witch; her looks were above average at best, and a far cry from them. However, she brought a totally different feeling to the rest of the Fei Li Battle Team members.
Dou Dou had one favourite hobby, and that was eating. She did not have much contact with the outside world at all, and in terms of her character, she was a little blur in that sense. She did not know about the perils of human character, and as long as someone gave her something good to eat, she would follow along. Of course, for Zhou Weiqing to successfully bring her along, besides her Master’s instructions, he had indeed used that tactic.