Chapter 91 Little Witch joins!
Hearing her words, Zhou Weiqing said, with a look of disbelief on his face: “You would really be willing to have the Kalise Battle Team surrender?! Is the Heavenly Demon Sect really giving up on entering the Heavenly Jewel Island? Amongst the Five Great Saint Lands, you all should have the least chance of entering the Heavenly Jewel Island right?”
Little Witch sighed softly, saying: “No one can be as urgent, as eager, as hasty as us in wanting to enter the Heavenly Jewel Island. It is just because of that reason that I am unwilling to take a risk… unwilling to bet on a fifty percent chance. Of course, the other reason has to do with you.”
“No matter what, both myself and the Heavenly Demon Sect have decided not to make enemies out of you, and to at least have you on our good side. As such, I am truly sincere in that offer of surrendering in this quarterfinals. Of course, as I said, this is deal, not a gift; I do have a condition before we surrender.”
Hearing her words, the Fei Li Battle Team immediately revealed curious looks. Lin TianAo said: “Alright, Miss Wu, please do tell us your condition so we can decide.” Indeed, if they could actually avoid the next battle and enter the top four without a fight, it would undoubtedly be the best case scenario for the Fei Li Battle Team. Not only would they be able to enter the Heavenly Jewel Island, they would also be able to preserve all their strength for the upcoming semifinals and perhaps even beyond! Without question, even Lin TianAo was tempted. Of course, if her condition was too preposterous, he would still reject it without second thought.
Little Witch’s expression grew serious, and she looked at them before finally saying solemnly: “My condition is definitely not a difficult one, and is in fact a win-win situation. I want to join the Fei Li Battle Team, and become a part of you all. That way, I am guaranteed a spot in the top four, and in doing so, I will naturally be able to enter the Heavenly Jewel Island, and more importantly, gain a Heavenly Jewel Plaque as well.”
The members of the Fei Li Battle Team all had their own guesses of what Little Witch’s condition would have been, perhaps getting them to do something, or more likely, to do with Zhou Weiqing. Yet, none of them had actually dreamed that she would actually give such a condition, and for a moment, they all stared, stunned. After all, this ‘condition’ of hers was totally of no detriment to them at all, and was in fact very beneficial! A Battle Team consisted of eight members, with five main team members and three substitute members, but the Fei Li Battle Team was currently only at 7 members due to Shangguan Bing’er leaving. As such, with an ‘empty slot’ available, it would not hurt them to let Little Witch join them.
However, the worry that sparked in their mind was Little Witch’s identity. She was from the Heavenly Demon Sect, and was even the Holy Girl of the Sect; if her identity and status was discovered by the ZhongTian Empire officials, not only would their entire team be affected, probably being disqualified from the Tournament, and perhaps even worse, causing their entire Fei Li Empire to be looked upon as harbouring the Heavenly Demon Sect, and being treated as an enemy by the ZhongTian Empire and the other Empires.
As if she could read the worry in their hearts, Little Witch smiled faintly and said: “You all do not need to worry, even if Shangguan Longyin tries to examine me like he did with Zhou Weiqing, he would not be able to find any problem with me as well. That is because I am the Holy Girl of the Heavenly Demon Sect, and I am not under the bloodline restriction and seals of the Heavenly Demon Sect. As such, as long as I do not use the Demonic Attribute, there will be no problems at all. I can make an oath upon my Power Jewels.” The Fei Li Battle Team members lapsed into silence, deep in thought. Little Witch’s condition was not harsh at all, or could be said to be extremely good… Almost unbelievably good. Yet, it was exactly because of it being so good that they did not dare believe it so easily.
Little Witch sighed softly, then said: “I know that you all will not believe me so easily, nor do you want to. I am truly sincere about this offer, and let me explain to you why. Firstly, I truly do need to guarantee that I get a Heavenly Jewel Plaque this time round, as our Heavenly Demon Sect is in an awkward situation of needing it desperately. Yet, though it is extremely important, just being able to enter the Heavenly Jewel Island this time by entering the top 4 would allow me to purchase some necessities. As such, a single plaque would be sufficient to assuage our needs, at least for now. However, if we clash against your team, I do not have a 100% certainty that we can win and get through. This is too important to us, and I would rather ensure that I gain one Plaque which would meet my needs, than risk going for more and perhaps end up not getting anything.”
“Furthermore, and perhaps more importantly, I am doing this in order to get in his good books.” As she said that, she pointed to Zhou Weiqing. “That day, during your fight with the Dan Dun Battle Team, the power and talent he displayed then has caused us to reevaluate his true value, by a much higher margin. We have not had a good start, but our Heavenly Demon Sect will definitely not want him as our enemy, even if he is not willing to join us. We still hope that both sides of us can still remain on good terms. As such, after weighing everything, I decided to go ahead with this.”
Pausing a while, she continued: “This is definitely a win-win deal, and with me joining the Fei Li Battle Team, you all will gain a massive benefit. First of all, you do not have a six- Jeweled Heavenly Jewel Master in your team. Not to take anything away from your win against the Dan Dun Battle Team, but a lot of luck as well as their own underestimation of you factored heavily in that win definitely. Furthermore, amongst the four seeded teams, the Dan Dun Battle Team is undoubtedly the weakest, and now that you beat the Dan Dun Battle Team, they will definitely not underestimate you any longer. After entering the top four, if you want to go any further, you need much more power, absolute strength. I am personally confident in facing anyone of the same level as myself, and I can definitely help you gain a victory or two.”
Lin TianAo and the rest could definitely agree with her words. Their fight against her in the forest previously was still fresh in their minds, and her sheer power was definitely impressive indeed. Little Witch continued: “You all have never entered the top four, so you probably do not know the benefits of entering the top four and beyond besides the Heavenly Jewel Plaque. Well, let me tell you this: the rewards from the Heaven’s Expanse Palace is extremely impressive for the top four, and more importantly, the higher your position, the better the prize. In fact, if you actually manage to get the final champion, the leader of the team will be able to get a God Tier Consolidating Equipment Scroll Set as a reward, while the rest of the members will get a customized Zong Stage Consolidating Equipment Scroll designed and created specially for your needs by a Heaven’s Expanse Palace Zong Stage Master. As for the other ranked prizes, they are naturally a little worse, but mostly all Consolidating Equipment Scrolls. Besides that, there is also a one time, but rather hefty discount, for purchasing goods during that trip to the Heavenly Jewel Island. The first position team, for example, would actually enjoy a fifty percent discount rate! Do not underestimate this discount, as you all know, the high level materials and scrolls are extremely expensive. If you purchase some treasures worth a hundred million gold coins, you are already saving fifty million gold coins!”
Hearing Little Witch’s explanations, the team members’ hearts palpitated in excitement, the idea of entering the top four, and the various amazing prizes were definitely alluring indeed. Zhou Weiqing remained calm, asking impassively: “In your opinion, if you join our Battle Team, what do you estimate our final position to be?”
Little Witch smiled faintly, glanced at Fat Cat, then said a line that caused the Fei Li Battle Team members to gape in surprise. “Guaranteed second, and we will still have a possible fight for the first position.”
A thoughtful look crossed Zhou Weiqing’s face, and he nodded slightly, saying: “Very good. If you can swear a vow, I will believe you.”
“Leader?” His last two words were naturally directed towards Lin TianAo, and he looked towards the stable leader. As their gazes met, Lin TianAo nodded slightly towards him.
Little Witch giggled a little as she smiled happily, saying: “Alright, all set then. From now on, I’m the eighth member of the Fei Li Battle Team. I know that you all still have your suspicions, and I can only prove myself through my actions in the future. The first step will be tomorrow’s fight when I let the Kalise Battle Team surrender, after which I will look for you all to swear my oath. I believe that all of you will honour your word as well.” Lin TianAo said solemnly: “In that case, we have a deal.”
Little Witch stood up, looking at Zhou Weiqing flirtatiously, saying: “Zhou Weiqing, bring me to your room.”
Zhou Weiqing froze a little, looking at her with a guarded look: “What do you want to do? Let me tell you first that I am a honest and respectable person, not a wanton person! Even if you join our Battle Team, I will not give you my body that easily.”
*Pfff* Drunken Bao burst out laughing. “Yes… you are not a wanton person… when you’re wanton, you’re not a person! However, I do believe that you won’t be taken advantage of by Little Witch. Hahaha!”
Little Witch gave an angry humph, before saying: “I have something to say to you alone.” As she said that, she walked off ahead first.
Little Four heaved a loud sigh, saying: “All the good cabbages have been touched by the pig’s snout. Sigh… Why doesn’t such things happen to me?” Zhou Weiqing said exasperatedly: “Don’t give me that, if you besmirch my reputation, I’ll cancel your Scroll gift!” As he said that, he followed Little Witch towards his room.
*Swoosh* Fat Cat leaped quickly onto Zhou Weiqing’s shoulders. Hidden deep within her eyes, a strange light of curiosity and doubt could be seen.
Little Witch was waiting outside the door for Zhou Weiqing, and as the two of them entered his room, Fat Cat jumped onto the bed. As soon as she did so, she glared at Little Witch, not hiding her hostility towards her.
Little Witch did not even look at Fat Cat, instead smiling as she walked towards Zhou Weiqing, sitting right next to him, almost snuggling up to him as she lifted her arm and encircled Zhou Weiqing’s neck. Softly, she said: “Dearest, I never thought you were so powerful, even Shen Little Demon wasn’t a match for you. That was truly unexpected! Amazing!”
Little Witch’s arms were like water snakes, soft and seemingly boneless, and at such a close proximity, Zhou Weiqing could almost smell the faint fragrance from her. His heart fluttered a little, and he boldly wrapped his arms around her slim waist. “How did I become your dearest so quickly? As I said, I am not a wanton person.” “I’m not a wanton person either! Besides Daddy, no other man has ever touched me before.” A sly light entered Little Witch’s eyes. Aren’t you afraid that I will seize the chance to set a Seal or Curse upon you? Amongst the Darkness Seals, there are some lifelong curses!”
Zhou Weiqing grinned and said: “Heh, I am very certain that doing that to me is definitely not beneficial for you. Your Heavenly Demon Sect wants to get something from me, and not trying to kill me. If not, you all wouldn’t need to wait until now, or you could send any Heavenly King Jewel Master to kill me instead. Furthermore, in doing so, you might also lose your chance to enter the Heavenly Jewel Island. At least from the current circumstance, I am not afraid that you all will try anything with me. As for the Curse and Seals, do you really think they will work on me? As you know yourself, those who have the Demonic Attribute have a very strong resistance against the Darkness Curses, furthermore your own Demonic Attribute isn’t as pure as mine.”
“Hmph, so bad.” Little Witch twisted her mouth in a pout as she said: “Can’t you just pretend to be scared by me?” As she said that, she suddenly twisted her body and backed out of Zhou Weiqing’s embrace – as that rascal’s hand had boldly crept down her waist down almost towards her buttocks. Zhou Weiqing yelled out in lament deep in his heart at that; Little Witch’s slim and soft waist felt so good in his arms, and if he managed to hold her, wouldn’t that be great!
“Alright, let’s get to the point then. What did you want to talk to me about?” Since his attempts had failed, Zhou Weiqing simply decided to get off the bed and sit onto the couch, looking a little mockingly at Little Witch.
Little Witch said: “I just wanted to talk to you more about cooperating more closely. I am now certain that if you do decide to join our Heavenly Demon Sect, I can guarantee that given enough time with us, and accomplishing a few deeds for the Sect, you will definitely be our future Sect Leader.” As she said that, she blushed, saying in a softer, wavering voice: “At that point, I will be yours as well.”
Heavenly Demon Sect, Sect Leader? If Zhou Weiqing were to say he wasn’t tempted by that offer, it would be a lie. No matter that the Heavenly Demon Sect was being suppressed by the other Great Saint Lands, or that they were the weakest amongst the Great Saint Lands, it was still after all one of the Great Saint Lands. Despite being hunted for so many years, weren’t they still doing well and strong? They had even managed to infiltrate some of the Empires’ higher ranked officials, just like the Fei Li Empire, or perhaps the Kalise Empire. He was certain that it was not the only Empire which they had infiltrated, especially in the west. If he were to control such a powerful force, it would be extremely beneficial to his efforts in building up the Heavenly Bow Empire indeed.
Still, Zhou Weiqing did not fully trust Little Witch’s words. He indeed believed that with his abilities and strength, the Heavenly Demon Sect would indeed want him. However, he was not certain about the character and qualities of the Heavenly Demon Sect, and whether or not he wanted to be associated with them. After all, they did not have a good reputation. Although he seemed like a rogue who disdained rules and decorum, deep inside Zhou Weiqing was also heavily influenced by his father Admiral Zhou. Honour, righteousness, love for his country, all of that ran in his blood, no less than Admiral Zhou’s. Power could never be everything.
Little Witch saw Zhou Weiqing’s doubtful, hesitant eyes, and she sighed, saying: “I know, all along our Heavenly Demon Sect has a bad reputation. However, I ask you this, have you actually heard of any evil deeds that our Heavenly Demon Sect has committed? In truth, we can be considered a tightly knit organisation, but also a loose organization; after all, we are just a bunch of Heavenly Demon Jewel Masters who have banded together for survival. Perhaps, sometimes, we are on the extreme side of things, but that is the life we grow up with, hated and hunted from birth. At least, we will never be false gentlemen and dishonest in looking at ourselves. I will not force you, and you do not rush to give me your answer. I just hope that you will look at us and judge us for yourself instead of just from a reputation passed down. At least, we can talk more about it after the Heavenly Jewel Tournament is over. However, I must say that your performance in the preliminary heats has been overwhelmingly outstanding, and you have definitely drawn the attention of all of the Great Saint Lands. If
not for the fact that Shangguan Longyin came to your Rest
House the other day, perhaps some of the others might have already approached you by now. If the Heaven’s Expanse Palace is willing to let you stay in the Heavenly Jewel Island after the Tournament, you can actually stay for a while, and you might have more offers than you expect.”
As she spoke up to that point, Little Witch paused, then lifted up her right hand. With a flash of light, a thick book appeared in her hand. It had a grey cover, but lined with silver on the spine. The moment it appeared in her hands, Zhou Weiqing felt as if he had an instant connection to the book, which gave him a warm, almost familiar feeling.
Little Witch hesitated a little, then walked slowly towards Zhou Weiqing, handing him the book. “This is our Heavenly Demon Sect’s Secret Manual on the Demonic Attribute, its profound mysteries and techniques. Within it also holds the cultivation insights of our First Sect Leader, a First Generation Heavenly Demonic Jewel Master like yourself, who also has the Devour Skill you used. I will lend it to you for now, but you have to return it to me after the entire Tournament has ended.”
Zhou Weiqing did not move to take it, instead looking at her with a surprised expression, before saying: “Do you trust me that much? I have not made any promise to you. Aren’t you afraid that I will go against the Heavenly Demon Sect in the future?”
Little Witch shook her head, saying: “Elder Ming Wu and Ming Hua have both described you in great detail to me, and I have also been observing you since the start of the Tournament. In my eyes, you are a person of much ambition, passion, and ability. Sometimes, you might be rather hateful, but you are an upright person deep inside. We are all intelligent people, and after all the times we have come into contact with each other, I understand that the only way to touch you is to become a true friend, and the only way to do that is to start from somewhere with sincerity. I will treat this as an investment, hehe.”
Giggling as she finished her sentence, she shoved the
《Demonic Manual 》 into Zhou Weiqing’s hands. In a flash, she was out of the door, calling out as she left: “I’m leaving now, but I’m really angry! Just now, I said if you join the Heavenly Demon Sect you can marry me, but you, wooden block, had no reaction! Am I so unattractive?!” After saying that, she made a face at him before running off.
Zhou Weiqing stared at the door, speechless, with the book in his hands. From the first time he had met Little Witch until now, this was the first time he had actually been touched. Not just because of the 《Demonic Manual 》, but because of the word, sincerity.
Similarly startled by that word was Fat Cat, lying on the bed. Her eyes focused on Zhou Weiqing, as she mulled upon the word.
I’ve known him for almost three years, yet… have I ever been really sincere towards him? How long has Little Witch known him for only? Without knowing when, Fat Cat’s eyes slowly narrowed, pupils large as her eyes was filled with a strange light.
After a while, Zhou Weiqing took in a deep breath, calming himself down. Lowering his head to look at the 《 Demonic Manual 》 , he finally flipped it open and began to read seriously. As none of them had any experience with the top should be quite a long time before the end of the Heavenly Jewel Tournament, though he did not know exactly how long. However, it shouldn’t last that long, and to actually finish memorising this huge book would not be an easy task, and he would have to seize every moment he could to do so.
When he first started reading, Zhou Weiqing was going at it with the intention to memorise the entire book. However, after a moment, he was just too immersed in the contents of the book, and was lost in it.
Within the 《 Demonic Manual 》 contained all sorts of descriptions about Demonic Jewel Masters Awakening, their situations, as well as the various possible Stored Skills for the Demonic Attribute, how to use them in detail, and to make the most out of them. It also described examples similar to Zhou Weiqing’s situation, with naturally Awakened Demonic Attribute Skills, which were also known as Inborn Talents. They were also considered some of the greatest, and most powerful, Skills amongst all the Demonic Attributes, and out of all of them, the Devour Skill was definitely ranked right at the top of the pack.
According to the 《Demonic Manual》, the Devour Skill was not just a combination of Attack, Defense and Support Ability, but also a ‘Super’ Skill that was actually top notch at all three factors. In combat, not only did it weaken the enemy, reducing their Heavenly Energy, it also recovered the user’s own energy. More importantly, it was also an insane support skill that actually helped in everyday cultivation – to be able to drain another person or Heavenly Beast’s Heavenly Energy to increase the user’s, it was definitely an immense boost to cultivation speed.
Of course, that isn’t to say that the Devoured Heavenly Energy could directly or instantly become the user’s own. However, the user could make use of the Devoured Heavenly Energy, and also through the suppression of his own Heavenly Energy, draw out the essence and core of the Devoured Heavenly Energy and making it his own. In this way, the cultivation speed was definitely miles ahead of any other ordinary Heavenly Jewel Master.
Of course, if one used this Devour Skill to indiscriminately ‘farm’ other Jewel Masters for cultivation, the user would likely become a major target, with everyone rising up to destroy him. After all, such a Skill was just too terrifying, too overbearing. However, if used against Heavenly Beasts, there would be no such problems. Especially so if the user was able to control the Skill properly to ensure the Heavenly Beast was not drained dry, it could then recover its own Heavenly Energy slowly. As such, the Devour Skill could be considered a support cultivation Skill!
The only drawback of this Devour Skill was the fact that it needed to be at melee range for it to work. Even if a Demonic Jewel Master was at the Heavenly Shen Stage, they still needed to touch their opponent for the Devour Skill to activate. Of course, as their cultivation level raised, it wasn’t just the hands like Zhou Weiqing currently used, but slowly every part of the body could be used to activate Devour.
As soon as the Devour Skill was activated, it would be extremely difficult to break free of it, unless the opponent was of a higher cultivation level than the user, of perhaps six levels or more, before he would have a chance of breaking free.
Direct translation of an idiom again – traditionally means all the good stuff is taken by those who do not deserve them. Nowadays, especially in the internet culture, it’s used to talk about ‘relationships’. Eg. All the hot girls have ugly boyfriends
/ All the girls are taken by the bad boys etc.
Chapter 92 A Perfect Deal!
The sun shone high in the sky; it was a fine and cloudless day, and early in the morning, the ZhongTian Plaza was packed with a massive crowd as the morning sunshine sent its warm glow upon them.
The top eight teams of the Heavenly Jewel Tournament had already been decided, and as usual, there were the winners and losers; even amongst those who had entered the top eight, not all of them were happy and excited. Of course, the easiest example would be the Dan Dun Battle Team.
Although they had entered the top eight, their vice leader Han Bing had died at Fei Li Battle Team’s Han Bing’s hands, and although Shen Little Demon had survived, she was still currently in the midst of recovering and would not be able to fight.
Normally, the top eight quarterfinals fight would not have any surprise factors, but this year, it seemed like it would be different. Once again, citizens and visitors flocked to the ZhongTian Plaza early in the morning, a much larger crowd than normal. After all, it had been many decades since there had been any change in the top four teams, and today, perhaps history would be in the making. All of them wanted to witness this miraculous event.
Without question, the Fei Li Battle Team’s popularity had risen to the top. After defeating the Dan Dun Battle Team, in the eyes of the ordinary audience, they were a miraculous team that could definitely beat this relatively unknown team of the Kalise Empire to enter the top four, to create a legend of the first team outside of the four seeded teams to enter the top four in the last few centuries.
Indeed, even the ZhongTian Empire officials seemed to think the same, as the betting on their match was closed, as it seemed like they did not want to lose out on this seemingly sure-win match. Of course, perhaps Zhou Weiqing winning a hundred million gold coins had something to do with that decision.
Many of the surrounding Rest Houses were already empty; after the preliminary heats, the Battle Teams which did not enter the top eight were still allowed to stay and watch the last quarterfinals fight, but many of the eliminated teams had not chosen to do so, choosing to leave instead. After all, they had not entered the top eight, why stay and look at proof of their embarrassment? In the Dan Dun Battle Team Rest House.
Shen Little Demon still sat on the prime seat, her face an unhealthy pale complexion as she stared out of the Rest House. Looking at the bright sunshine and clear skies, a bitter smile crossed her lips. If the weather had been like this the other day, how could she possibly let that fellow win so easily like that?
As she thought up to that point, she gave a slight shudder as she couldn’t help but recall the Dark Demon God Lightning and the feeling as it struck her. If she had to describe it, it would be all pervasive, invasive, terrifying.
Although her Holy Flames of Light had already taken out a major bite of the Dark Demon God Lightning, and weakened it considerably, that deceptively small but savagely powerful attack had still landed on her, unblocked by her own powerful strike.
Shen Little Demon could still clearly remember how she felt the instant the Dark Demon God Lightning struck. At first, all she felt was cold, a bone chilling cold that was at its maximum. What followed next was a total darkness over her eyes, as she felt as if her meridians and internal organs were about to explode. That was the last thing she felt before she was knocked out, and the next thing she knew, she had awoken in her hotel bed.
The other Dan Dun Battle Team members did not try to hide the process of her healing from her, and she was told everything that had happened since she lost the fight. Towards Zhou Weiqing, she definitely did not have any shred of gratitude, just a strong hatred and anger. However, she knew that with Shangguan Longyin’s promise, she definitely could not take revenge, to repay his ‘kindness’ with ingratitude. Of course, the current Dan Dun Battle Team did not have the power to even contemplate taking revenge, and they could only wait til they returned to the Blood Red Hell before seeing what could be done.
At that point, a venomous look entered her eyes uncontrollably as she clenched her fists. Han Bing, do not worry. No matter what, I will take help you take revenge.
All of a sudden, Lan Feng, who had been standing at the entrance of the Rest House, suddenly said softly: “They are here.”
Shen Little Demon’s eyes shot wide open, her pupils narrowing as she took a step forward, seeing the Fei Li Battle Team members enter their Rest House. Subconsciously, her fists clenched again, and she gritted her teeth as her gaze fixed upon Zhou Weiqing. She could not forget the two large dark bruises forming palm marks on her chest that she saw when she awoke from her injuries…
In truth, Zhou Weiqing did not really do anything to her, it was because the Dark Demon God Lightning’s venom had been drawn out from there, causing the mark to form. Of course, that little rascal had obviously touched her there, and it was no wonder she hated him.
“Leader, what will our formation and strategy be today?” Lan Feng asked carefully.
Hearing him mention today’s fight, Shen Little Demon’s body wavered a little. To the Dan Dun Battle Team, after losing to the Fei Li Battle Team in the preliminary heats, they were out of luck as they would definitely have to face one of the other seeded teams in today’s quarterfinal fights. Alas, their streak of bad luck had continued… as they had drawn the WanShou Battle Team. The WanShou Battle Team had always been the champion for many years of the Heavenly Jewel Tournament, and were definitely the last opponent they would want.
As a team leader of a seeded team, Shen Little Demon was extremely clear that they would not have any hopes of victory against either the WanShou Battle Team or the ZhongTian Battle Team, as those two were usually the last two fighting for the champion spot in the Heavenly Jewel Tournament. Furthermore, the entire WanShou Battle Team main members were all of the six Jeweled cultivation level!
“There is no need to arrange any strategy. We will surrender without fighting. I will take full responsibility for our loss this time.” After saying that, Shen Little Demon turned around resolutely and walked back into the Rest House. Before doing so, she glared angrily at Zhou Weiqing more, as if trying to imprint his features into her mind.
Alas, no one ever pays attention to the losers, and the glory is always on the victor.
The Dan Dun Battle Team were not the only people looking at the Fei Li Battle Team. No matter the VIP Stage, other Battle Teams and even the audience, many of them were examining this ‘upstart’ team.
Little Witch walked directly to the Fei Li Battle Team, dressed in a Fei Li Battle Team uniform that she had actually ordered and bought specially, before sitting down right beside Zhou Weiqing. Currently, she kept her mischevious side well hidden, looking like a noble young lady, innocent and harmless to the core. Such a skilled acting, she was no lesser than Zhou Weiqing.
When Little Witch showed up early in the morning at their hotel wearing their Fei Li Battle Team uniform to look for them, the last worries in their hearts fell away and dissipated. No matter what, Little Witch was of high rank and status in the Heavenly Demon Sect, and there was no need for her to act like this just to try and cheat the Fei Li Battle Team. After all, in a true fight between both sides, no one could be a hundred percent confident of victory.
As Shangguan Tianxin proclaimed the start of the quarterfinals, it all officially began. Alas, it was as if fate had designed that the day would not be an exciting day, and as soon as the fights started, the first two were disappointing direct surrenders, much to the dismay of the entire crowd.
Kalise Battle Team. Surrender.
Dan Dun Battle Team. Surrender.
As such, the Fei Li Battle Team and WanShou Battle Team both won without a fight, entering the top four easily. The next two fights were almost just as unexciting, almost boring. The ZhongTian Battle Team showed their overbearing power, only sending out a single member to finish the entire fight. Under the elimination system of the quarterfinals, he destroyed all five of his opponents easily, and their team got through without any hiccups.
As for the last seeded team, the BaoPo Battle Team, backed by the Great Saint Land Passion Valley, they also showed their power, managing to win easily with only two team members. The day ended with two surrenders and two overwhelming victories, and the entire process was rather boring for the audience.
As such, the quarterfinals ended in less than half a day, and the final result was the ZhongTian Battle Team, WanShou Battle Team, BaoPo Battle Team and the Fei Li Battle Team ascending to the top four.
Although they had won without a fight, the entire Fei Li Battle Team members were filled with excitement. Top Four! By entering the top four, they had already created history, and would become heroes in the Fei Li Empire! Even Little Witch couldn’t hide her excitement. After all, it had been several decades since the Heavenly Demon Sect had last been able to enter the Heavenly Jewel Island, and she had at least successfully completed her mission. Shangguan Longyin walked out from the VIP stage, walking directly from the top onto the air as if there were some invisible steps in midair, walking slowly step by step towards the tournament stage in the center of the grand Plaza.
“ZhongTian, WanShou, BaoPo, Fei Li Battle Teams, the four of you have entered the top four. Tomorrow morning, please report to the Skill Storing Palace to receive your Heavenly Jewel Plaque. We will then head to the Heavenly Jewel Island in preparation for the next stage of the Tournament, and the rules and format of the latter portion of the Tournament will be announced in the Heavenly Jewel Island.” Shangguan Longyin announced in his deep voice to the crowd.
“We did it! We did it! We’re actually in the top four! Wahahaha—!” The excited Fei Li Battle Team members had been controlling themselves the entire morning, and they were finally able to leap up in excitement. Excited cheers erupted from all their mouths, and even Little Witch was no exception.
The past weeks through the entire tournament had definitely been a huge stress and toll on all of them, even the two members Xiao Yan and Drunken Bao who had not truly fought in any of the fights had been because of their severe injuries when meeting Little Witch on the road to the ZhongTian City. It could be said that, the entire Fei Li Battle Team had taken a huge toll in injuries throughout the course of their entire run, with Little Four and Zhou Weiqing both almost dying in their fights. It could be said that almost every step they took to get ahead in this Tournament had been fraught with peril and difficulty!
However, the moment they heard Shangguan Longyin’s proclamation, the previous bitterness, difficulty and pain seemed to all fall away. In their hearts, there was only pride and excitement. It had all been worth it. Top four, it was a rank that belonged to them, to the Fei Li Empire!
The other three seeded teams looked silently at the crazed members of the Fei Li Battle Team. None of them could mock their almost exaggerated cheers and celebrations. Indeed, for the Fei Li Battle Team to have done what they did, they indeed deserved their pride.
Lin TianAo held out his hands, and everyone piled their palms onto his. Looking at their leader’s red eyes, all of them followed suit as their emotions were carried along in the wave of happiness and excitement.
With a loud cry, Lin TianAo exclaimed: “Tonight, we shall not return unless we are drunk!” Top Four! Even if it was ‘just’ the top four, they had already written a new page in the history books of the Fei Li Empire, a page that would shock the annals of the Fei Li Empire, and perhaps unrepeatable! Not just the history of the Fei Li Empire, but even perhaps the entire Mainland!
…
That night, the bunch of fellows with too much surplus excited energy drank out nearly half of their inn’s alcohol, before falling in a dead drunk stupor.
When they first met, Zhou Weiqing, Ye Paopao and Shangguan Bing’er had been there as the substitute members, and they had been rather rejected and looked down upon. Of course, after that bet, and as they slowly showed their abilities and strength, they were slowly accepted by the main members of the Fei Li Battle Team, and their relationship had grown from there.
By the time the Heavenly Jewel Tournament had began, their cohesiveness, teamwork and friendship had grown bit by bit with every day they spent together, every fight, until now, when they were almost a single unit. …
Dawn.
Zhou Weiqing slowly awoke from his sleep. His body was rather different from an ordinary person, especially after several evolving, and was even stronger than any other Heavenly Jewel Master of the same cultivation level. As such, he had a much stronger resistance against any ‘poisons’, and a much stronger recovery rate, and alcohol was no different. Although they had binged so much the night before, he still awoke on the break of dawn.
Eh? Why is my arm feeling so numb? Moving his arm a little, Zhou Weiqing was shocked to find that there was another person in his arms, and as he lowered his head to look, he was left speechless, not knowing whether to laugh or to cry.
Little Witch was using his arm as a pillow, and had clearly been sleeping there for the night, and little Fat Cat was actually squeezed between the two, her little head also resting comfortably on Zhou Weiqing’s poor arm. As such, the moment Zhou Weiqing turned his head to look, the first thing he saw was Fat Cat’s round, furry head.
An evil, mischievous thought struck him, and with a huge grin, he lifted his hand and softly pinched Fat Cat’s nose.
Fat Cat was in a deep sleep, and even with her nose pinched, she actually didn’t wake up, instead opening her mouth and breathing through it.
Zhou Weiqing started a moment, before he almost burst out in laughter. Luckily, he managed to restrain himself, and he continued using his thumb and index finger to continue pressing her nose, and stretching his little finger down to press her jaw and closing her mouth. “–Wuu–” Fat Cat was startled awake, unable to breathe. When she opened her eyes, she saw Zhou Weiqing’s face with a wicked smile on it. Instantly, she struggled away from his hand, snarling as she pounced towards him.
“Hahaha!” Zhou Weiqing burst out laughing uncontrollably, catching hold of Fat Cat and cuddling her into his embrace. At the same time, he exerted himself and pulled out his arm from under Little Witch’s head.
Little Witch was also startled awake by that, and her eyes opened slowly, looking at the scene in front of her with blurry eyes. In the next instant, she saw Zhou Weiqing, and her eyes widened, pupils narrowing as she exclaimed in fright: “You… you… why are you on my bed?!”
Zhou Weiqing said exasperatedly: “Get your facts straight okay? It is not me who is on your bed, but you on my bed. Who knows why you are on my bed… Hmph. Be honest, what did you do to me last night? I feel strange down there.”
Little Witch vaulted up, jumping off the bed, looking at Zhou Weiqing suspiciously as she searched through her memory, straining to recall what had happened. Last night, all the members of the Fei Li Battle Team had been just too excited in celebrating, and all of them had drank too much. Of course, they did not use their Heavenly Energy to resist the effects of alcohol, or that would have been pointless. At first, Little Witch had only been drinking in order to get closer to them, as a way to improve her relationship with them buy drinking together. However, as time went by, and the effects of alcohol kicked in, she slowly integrated into the lively
atmosphere of their little party.
As the Holy Girl of the Heavenly Demon Sect, Little Witch had been given the most strictest education and upbringing since she was a little girl, and had never had the opportunity to surrender herself in such an indulgent abandon. Sensing the truly sincere joy from the other members of the Fei Li Battle Team, she slowly opened her heart and joined in the celebration, and at the end she had ended up being the one who drank the most, and even with the highest cultivation level, she had also ended up dead drunk. Her last memory was a blurry one of Zhou Weiqing telling her that he would send her back to her room.
Who knows what had happened after that, and she had ended up here and sleeping the night. Quickly looking down at her clothes, they seemed messy but all in place, and she did not feel anything untoward in her body. Luckily, it looks like that little rascal did not try to take advantage of her.
Even so, Little Witch blushed deeply. No matter how much she had been flirting with Zhou Weiqing in the past, that had been mostly an act. She was after all still a young girl who had never been touched by another man before, let alone sleeping together with one, even if nothing had really happened between them. It was more than enough for her to be so embarrassed that she wished the floor would open up and swallow her right at that moment.
“You…!”
Zhou Weiqing looked at her shamelessly, grinning as he said: “My dear beautiful lady, you must take responsibility for the things you do!”
Little Witch grabbed a pillow from the side, throwing it savagely at Zhou Weiqing before fleeing the room at top speed.
Zhou Weiqing quickly caught the pillow, looking at her run out. Only when she disappeared did the shameless look on his face disappear. In truth, he had been extremely embarrassed as well, and had only used this method to hide it. At least, this way, it wouldn’t be so awkward.
Still, our Dear Little Fatty had an unbelievably thick skin, and his embarrassment lasted less than a few moments before he turned back into his usual self, muttering to himself: “Ahh, what have I done, I have truly lost out! Hugging a beautiful lady to sleep, and I actually didn’t do anything? I am worse than a beast!” As he said that, he nabbed up Fat Cat, giving her bottom a little smack and saying with a humph: “Fat Cat, were you the one who ruined my chances last night?”
Fat Cat looked up, giving him the snub, a disdainful look in her eyes.
In fact, Zhou Weiqing’s little joke had been the fact! It was indeed Fat Cat who had ruined his ‘chances’ last night. Originally, Zhou Weiqing had topped onto the bed with Little Witch in his arms the night before, and with their bodies rubbing against each other and in an alcohol daze, perhaps something else might have happened last night. However, Fat Cat forcefully squeezed between the two of them, separating them, and without any further bodily contact, the two had quickly fallen into a deep sleep. Ordinary people would have a hangover in the morning after such heavy drinking, with a headache and a dry mouth being the norm; some with weaker physiques might even take an entire day to recover. However, Heavenly Jewel Masters were much stronger, and just circulating their Heavenly Energy would allow them to recover swiftly, and the only detriment might just be an unusually deep sleep through the night.
Since Zhou Weiqing was awake, he naturally did not let the others sleep further. Moving to all the rooms, he woke them up bathe, dress up, have breakfast, and pack up.
Although all of them did not have sufficient sleep, none of them complained. After all, they were about to ascend the Heavenly Jewel Island, and no one wanted to be late for that!
The dark green colour of their Fei Li Battle Team uniform was rather conspicuous, after all they had made their name fighting in the preliminary heats of the Heavenly Jewel Tournament. Even though it was still early in the morning when they left the hotel, the sun still rising in the morning sky, there were still passersby on the road who would gesticulate towards them, clearly having recognized them by their uniforms. Before long, they had reached the ZhongTian Plaza. The Skill Storing Palace of the ZhongTian Empire was right beside the Plaza.
As they headed towards the Skill Storing Palace, they were suddenly blocked by a group of people.
Stopping, they saw some familiar faces. Shen Little Demon, Lan Feg, as well as the other Dan Dun Battle Team members.
Lin TianAo reacted quickly, taking a step forward ahead of the rest of the Fei Li Battle Team members. Looking at Shen Little Demon, he said solemnly: “Team Leader Shen, how may I help you?”
Shen Little Demon glanced at Lin TianAo, before turning to look at Zhou Weiqing. “Zhou Weiqing, the mountains stand motionless but the water will continue flowing, this is not the end of it. I will always remember the lesson you have ‘gifted’ me. Senior Shangguan can protect you for now, but he will not be able to protect you forever. With your age, I believe that you will definitely be joining the next Heavenly Jewel Tournament. At that time, I will be thirty… and we will meet again.” From Shen Little Demon’s eyes, Zhou Weiqing could see the venom within. Smiling faintly, he said: “Miss Shen, do you really need to do that? Isn’t that just a loss? You seeded teams have occupied these positions for much too long, and change is always good right? What we have done is for your own good after all. Taking a fall is not a bad thing, and that will give you the drive to improve yourselves. Instead of thanking me, you are actually trying to take revenge? Do not worry, I will not hide away, and I will definitely be joining the next Heavenly Jewel Tournament. Next time, it will not be such a close shave anymore. I await our next fight.”
The Dan Dun Battle Team members glared angrily at Zhou Weiqing, almost on the verge of charging forth and brawling with him. Shen Little Demon lifted a hand to stop her companions, before saying coldly: “Zhou Weiqing, the next Heavenly Jewel Tournament is your death date. Let’s go.”
After saying that, she turned and left, leading her team members away.
As he watched their backs leaving, Zhou Weiqing laughed heartily and said: “Whether or not it is my death date is not decided yet, but Shen Little Demon, at that time, you better not let me have to cure your poison once more, and letting me touch your chest again. Aiiiyahh, it is not easy to be a good person these days! My kindness is repaid with ingratitude!”
Shen Little Demon was enraged until she almost spit out a mouthful of blood. Her body froze for a moment, before increasing her pace and leaving.
Looking at their retreating figures, Lin TianAo shook his head. “These seeded teams have truly been at the top for too long, and they aren’t able to accept any losses. Still, it isn’t a good thing to make too many enemies. Weiqing, remember this, being too inflexible also means being easier to break as well.”
Zhou Weiqing nodded, saying: “However, if there is no anger or enmity, there is no struggle. Stress and pressure also gives motivation, forcing us to work hard in cultivating. As long as we keep up and stay strong ourselves, so what if they are Great Saint Lands?”
*Clap**Clap**Clap* Little Witch was clapping away at the side. “That’s right! No need to be afraid of them! If they have the ability, let the Blood Red Hell come to the west, I will make sure they get more than they bargained for.” Zhou Weiqing glanced at her, saying exasperatedly: “From what I see, you are just happy to see the world in chaos. Come on, let’s report to the Skill Storing Palace.”
By now, Little Witch had also recovered to her normal state, as if nothing had happened last night. However, if one were to look closely, one might be able to notice that when she looked at Zhou Weiqing, her gaze seemed to linger slightly longer than usual.
Being held up by the Dan Dun Battle team did not affect the good moods of the Fei Li Battle Team, and they continued towards the Skill Storing Palace.
As the Heavenly Jewel Tournament had ended, the ZhongTian Plaza had reverted to its normal state, and was once again open to the public. As they passed by the Plaza, they finally reached the enormous Skill Storing Palace, which was as large and grand as any Royal Palace.
There were specially-assigned people awaiting for them at the Skill Storing Palace, all judges from the Heavenly Jewel Tournament Preliminary Heats. As soon as they reached the entrance, one of them guided them into the Skill Storing Palace. Entering this largest Skill Storing Palace in the entire ZhongTian Empire, Zhou Weiqing and his companions couldn’t help but look around in awe.
This Skill Storing Palace was just too huge, and just the entrance hall alone was more than fifty metres tall, and looking across that hall gave a boundless feel.
Just like the previous Skill Storing Palaces Zhou Weiqing had visited in the past, there were also many exits in the entrance hall for the various different Attributes. Of course, these exits were a lot larger, and to the left of every door, there was a huge, glowing gem of about a chi wide, that was like a mirror. Beside the door stood an employee of the Skill Storing Palace, dressed in white, looking to be guarding something.
The guide who had brought them into the hall said: “Please wait here, the other battle teams have not reached yet, so you’ll have to wait for them. I will be reporting to the Palace Master, and you all can have a look around. If you need anything, you can ask any of the other employees and they can introduce you to what you require.” After saying that, he left, leaving the team to their own devices.
Immediately, Zhou Weiqing did not hesitate as he walked towards the large doors on the right signifying the ‘other’ Attributes. Up until now, his Time Attribute only had a single Skill Stored within, the Absolute Delay. Yet, just the Absolute Delay alone had saved his life many times, snatching victories from the jaws of defeat especially against stronger opponents. Since the ZhongTian Skill Storing Palace was so huge, he decided to try his luck, hopefully they would have a Heavenly Beast with the Time Attribute for him to Store other Skills.
This is a pun. Basically 禽兽 (beasts) and 禽兽不如 (worse than beasts) are insults. Recently, especially in internet culture, there’s been a joke/pun about the two. Can’t really describe it, so i’ll give an example: ‘Eg. If I have intimate relations with this girl while she’s drunk, I’ll be a beast. But if I don’t take this opportunity, then I’m even worse than a beast!’. Not the best example, but that’s why sometimes it’s awkward to actually translate the meaning of a phrase =p Just like how other cultures wouldn’t understand memes I guess? Hope you guys got the gist of what it means The other members of the Fei Li Battle Team were also impressed with the huge Skill Storing Palace, and they also went to the doors of their respective Attributes to ask the employees about their own Skill Storing.
As Zhou Weiqing walked towards the right-most door, he asked the employee at the side of the door: “Hello, I would like to ask if you all have any Heavenly Beasts with the Time Attribute within this ‘Others’ exit?”
The employee had clearly noticed the group of them earlier, and naturally knew they were from the Fei Li Battle Team, who had managed to battle their way into the top four of the Heavenly Jewel Tournament. As such, he was extremely courteous as he replied: “Hold on a moment, let me check for you.”
As he said that, he lifted his hand and swiped it across the large gem on the side, and a strange sight appeared as the gem lit up in a dim gold light, and an image appeared on it.
Zhou Weiqing’s jaw dropped as he stared in shock. “What is that?!” The employee said proudly with a slight smile: “This is an invention by our Skill Storing Palace, and can only be found here. It consists of the Spatial, Light and Darkness Attributes, and our own specialised sealing formations and some other secret techniques to create this unique gemstone. It allows us
to store images and information, and it is extremely convenient for us to search through it. 1 We call it the Lustre Gem.”
As he said that, an array of light appeared as he continued controlling the device. Turning back to Zhou Weiqing, the employee said: “Alright, there are twenty seven Heavenly Beasts in total with the Time Attribute, of which twelve are of the Shi Stage, eight of the Zun Stage, seven of the Zong Stage or higher. You can actually check on their Skills and their effects and power here before you decide on which one you would like to try Storing, and that will save a lot of your time. Once you have chosen, we will send someone to send you to the corresponding Skill Storing Chamber. Here in our ZhongTian Skill Storing Palace, every of our Heavenly Beasts have their own personal chambers, even the lowest staged ones.”
Zhou Weiqing exclaimed in surprise: “Every Heavenly Beast has their own chamber? That must have taken so work, effort and space!” The employee smiled faintly, saying: “This must be your first time in our ZhongTian City right? This is actually not a secret, but the entire underground, 300 metres below the ZhongTian Plaza, it is all actually part of our Skill Storing Palace. We have the capacity to hold more than three thousand different
Heavenly Beasts!”
Hearing his words, Zhou Weiqing sucked in a cold breath. What sort of wealth was needed to splurge like that?! Sigh… the Heavenly Bow Empire did not even have a Skill Storing Palace, yet look at their Skill Storing Palace over here. This was truly the power of the top Empire… Envy, Jealousy, Hate!
After a moment of surprise, Zhou Weiqing focused his gaze on the gemstone screen, looking through the options as he prepared to choose two Time Attribute Skills to Store. If he could manage to gain two power Time Attribute Skills, it would undoubtedly be a huge benefit to their team effort in the upcoming matches.
“If you still have Elemental Jewels which have not gone through Skill Storing, I recommend that you hold off temporarily for now.” Just as Zhou Weiqing was looking through the options, a familiar voice rang out from behind him. At the same time, the employee beside him was already bowing at a ninety degree respectful bow from the waist. Zhou Weiqing turned in surprise to see that Shangguan Longyin and appeared behind him unknowingly, smiling at him.
“Hello, Senior Shangguan.” Towards Shangguan Longyin, he definitely had a very favourable impression.
Shangguan Longyin waved towards the employee, who quickly moved back to the far end, leaving the two alone.
“Weiqing, I have reported your terms to the two Palace Masters, and they have considered it very seriously. Unfortunately, we do not have any dragons, and are not able to meet that. Second Palace Master also indicated that he will not use Third Miss’ marriage as a bargaining chip.
Zhou Weiqing nodded rather indifferently, saying: “I understand. That’s alright then.” He had a firm grasp on psychology, and he knew that in bargaining, he could not show any sign of urgency, only then would he be able to gain the greatest benefit.
As expected, Shangguan Longyin quickly said: “Wait, don’t be so hasty, let me finish. The two Palace Masters said that if you are willing to sell your Immortal Deity Technique to us, we can use three God Tier Consolidating Equipment Scrolls to trade with you, and we can even specially design them for you. At the same time, we can let you stay in the Heavenly Jewel Island as long as you want, and the Heavenly Jewel Island’s Skill Storing Palace Headquarters will also be available for you
to go through Skill Storing as necessary.”
Hearing Shangguan Longyin’s words, Zhou Weiqing almost drooled with glee. Originally, he had thought that after much bargaining, he might be able to get a single custom made God Tier Consolidating Equipment Scroll, and that would be a great profit for him. Unexpectedly, their first counter offer had already been a direct three, with the added free Skill Storing! Without question, the Heavenly Beasts on the Heavenly Jewel Island were likely to be even better than those of the ZhongTian Skill Storing Palace, and this was perhaps why Shangguan Longyin had stopped him from choosing earlier.
The trade terms were so good that Zhou Weiqing was unable to reject them, and even his thick skin was unable to continue conning them further. In order to calm himself down, he did not agree at once, instead asking: “Senior Shangguan, what does this staying on the Heavenly Jewel Island as long as I want mean?” Shangguan Longyin said: “That is actually a right that only the Heaven’s Expanse Palace main bloodline has. Basically, what it means is as long as you want, you can leave and return to the Heavenly Jewel Island anytime you want, and nobody will stop you. Simply put, you will have an ‘infinite Heavenly Jewel Plaque’, or in other words, you will be considered a part of the Heavenly Jewel Island, but without any restrictions on your freedom.
In truth, the reason why Shangguan Longyin was here to speak to Zhou Weiqing today was because the two Palace Masters had discussed Zhou Weiqing’s situation in detail, examining every scrap of knowledge they had about this youth.
Shangguan Tianyue had not expected that this son-in-law to be of his actually had such an outstanding talent. Although he had not gone through any proper training of Heavenly Jewel Masters from a young age, and could be said to be extremely lacking in that sense, he had already achieved an unbelievable height after a mere three years of his Heavenly Jewels Awakening! That was already more than comparable to any of their main disciples or bloodline, in fact, perhaps not just in the Heaven’s Expanse Palace, but even the other Great Saint Lands too. Furthermore, Zhou Weiqing was still only seventeen years old, and he had a great future ahead indeed. When Shangguan Tianyue had heard Shangguan Xue’er’s report to him, he had finally acknowledged this son-in-law to- be of his, at least on a primary level for now. Soon after, Shangguan Longyin had came back with news about the cultivation technique of his and the willingness to do a trade. After much discussion between Shangguan Tianyue and his elder brother, the First Palace Master Shangguan Tianyang, they had finally came to such a decision.
Without question, the terms given by the Heaven’s Expanse Palace were highly advantageous, almost unbelievably good. It could be said that they did not bother bargaining, directly offering him their maximum bottom line. First of all, they wanted to see what Zhou Weiqing’s character was like facing such a huge enticement, and the other reason, perhaps more importantly, was to have an excuse to officially train and develop Zhou Weiqing properly, and to also keep him on good terms with the Heaven’s Expanse Palace. After all, the Heaven’s Expanse Palace was extremely huge, and though the two Palace Masters might have absolute power and say, they still needed to consider how their subordinates would think.
After listening to Shangguan Longyin’s words, Zhou Weiqing paused for a moment, deep in thought, before finally saying: “I’d like to thank Senior Shangguan and both Palace Masters for their kindness and generosity. With such favourable conditions, if I do not accept, I would be much too greedy. However, I do have a small request – I do not require designing custom God Tier Consolidating Equipment Scrolls as I have several designs in hand. I myself am actually a Consolidating Equipment Master, and I hope that the three sets of God Tier Consolidating Equipment Scrolls can be according to the
designs I have. At the same time, I also hope that I can watch during the creation of the three sets. Besides that, I am extremely happy with all the conditions.”
“You… you have God Tier Consolidating Equipment Scroll designs?! Could it be … a Legendary Set?” Shangguan Longyin exclaimed, looking at him in surprise.
Zhou Weiqing nodded, saying: “As you have seen, I already have a God Tier Consolidated Equipment, and that is the first piece of my Legendary Set. As such, I will definitely only Consolidate the other pieces of my Legendary Set in order to complete it.”
Shangguan Longyin nodded, saying: “That is not a big problem. Of course, if you have the designs it is even better, and will save us much trouble too. However, to watch our Masters at work, that might be difficult. After all, God Tier Consolidating Equipment Masters have very high status in the Heavenly Jewel Island, and even our Palace Masters aren’t able to order them to do anything they do not want. This will depend on your own luck; we can put forth the request to the Masters who will work on your sets, but whether or not they agree is up to them. If they do agree, that will be good; but if they do not agree, we will think of something else to compensate you with.”
Zhou Weiqing did not hesitate any further, smiling as he said: “Alright, then I fully accept all the terms of the trade. Even if the Seniors do not wish to, then that is fine.”
With Zhou Weiqing providing his own designs, it was much easier than customizing a design for him. Furthermore, by using his design, the God Tier Consolidating Equipment Master would naturally be able to remember it, and it would actually be a benefit to the Heavenly Jewel Island! As such, that was the reason why Shangguan Longyin said they would compensate him.”
Of course, Zhou Weiqing was extremely clear about that point. As a Consolidating Equipment Master himself, how could he not know about the importance and value of a Legendary Set design? However, he would not take out the entire set of designs, no matter how much money or favourable trades, he would never do so. After all, he had to ensure that this Legendary Set of his was unique, and one of a kind. This was his teacher Huyan Ao’s teaching lineage’s Founder’s fruit of painstaking labour, and was a top quality work that could possibly make history. How could he possibly sell or trade it away?
Of course, if it were only three designs out of the entire set, that would not be a big problem as the overall secret of the entire set would still be kept. With those three sets of Scrolls, it would be more than sufficient to tide him over until he reached the six-Jeweled cultivation level. By that time, he was also confident that his own Consolidating Equipment Master skills would be polished to a new height, and perhaps he wouldn’t be far from creating his own equipment by then. After all, some of the earlier Scrolls in the Sets did not totally require a God Tier Jewel Master power, with only a Zong Stage Jewel Master power required.
Even though Zhou Weiqing had an incredible talent on his Heavenly Jewel Master cultivation, he had never given up on the dream of becoming a God Tier Consolidating Equipment Master. After all, his goal was not just an ordinary fighter, an ordinary adventurer, but a leader, a leader who would bring his Empire to new heights. With the draw that a Consolidating Equipment Master brought to Jewel Masters, it was much more than being any ordinary powerhouse. He had already felt that deeply even as just a mere Mid Level Consolidating Equipment Master, experiencing first hand how important such a master could be. With that, how could he possibly give up such an important step to his dream? Furthermore, he held the hopes and dreams of his teacher Huyan Aobo as well, and he had given his promise.
As such, after some quick thought, Zhou Weiqing had added the request of watching the creation. No matter how good having the scrolls were, it would be even better if he could learn how to create them himself, and watching a God Tier Consolidating Master create them would definitely teach him something, paving the road for his future as an outstanding God Tier Consolidating Master of his own. Still, he did not want to add too many requests, at least trying to give the impression that he was honest, many naive. After all, his Immortal Deity Technique perhaps wasn’t worth that much! If not for his relationship with Shangguan Bing’er, perhaps he would be afraid that they would renege on the deal after realising the true nature of the technique.
How could poor Shangguan Longyin know that this honest looking youth in front of him, who was in truth more shrewd and cunning than a monkey, had already calculated so much. Seeing that Zhou Weiqing did not try to add anymore conditions, he immediately felt the impression of the youth increase another notch. Just in the time that they were discussing, the other three Battle Teams had slowly arrived one by one. These three teams stood at a distance from one another, without any discourse between one another, though they glared icily at each other once in a while.
Chapter 93 Heavenly Jewel Island!
As compared to the wide eyed curiosity the Fei Li Battle Team members had when they first entered the ZhongTian Skill Storing Palace, these other seeded teams with Great Saint Lands background seemed to be used to it. They did not look around, instead staying together and waiting to leave.
Shangguan Longyin patted Zhou Weiqing on the shoulder warmly, saying: “Alright, let’s go. It’s time to gather and head towards the Heavenly Jewel Island.”
From a detached point of view, Zhou Weiqing noticed that for the other three teams, the WanShou Battle Team were all dressed in white, the ZhongTian Battle Team in light blue, and the BaoPo Battle Team in yellow. Along with the dark green uniforms of the Fei Li Battle Team, there was certainly a contrast in colours today.
Yesterday, when they had officially entered the top four, they had been just too excited and overjoyed that they had not had the time to actually observe the other three seeded teams, and now he took the time and opportunity to observe them closely.
Currently, as he set his gaze upon them, Zhou Weiqing noticed that the two youths leading the WanShou Battle Team were about twenty six or twenty seven of age, and they actually looked exactly the same, clearly a set of twins. The two of them had cold looks upon their rather handsome faces, and the only way to differentiate them seemed to be a white lock of hair upon their heads. Both had the same white lock, but one had it on the left, while the other had it on the right.
As for the ZhongTian Empire, the leader also looked to be a youth of around twenty seven years old. Tall, well built and handsome, he looked calm and peaceful, but his eyes were deep and soulful like looking into a bottomless pool.
As for the Passion Valley team, it was another pair leading the team. This time, it was a young man and lady pair, and they stood there hand in hand, smiles on their faces. From the intimate way they acted, they were clearly a couple. The strangest thing about the Passion Valley was that out of the five main team members and three reserve members, all eight of them were made up of four couples! They truly lived up to their name of Passion Valley indeed.
Seeing that Shangguan Longyin had arrived, the other members of the Fei Li Battle Team hastily gathered. Lin TianAo stood at the front, with Zhou Weiqing standing just behind him. After the series of fights in the preliminary heats, Zhou Weiqing’s status in the Fei Li Battle Team was second only to Lin TianAo. If Lin TianAo was the symbol of strength, power and steadiness, the bedrock of their team, then Zhou Weiqing was the brains of the entire team. Of course, in their words, he was called their ‘Dog Head Military Advisor’…
Shangguan Longyin stood in front of the four Battle Teams, the smile on his face when speaking with Zhou Weiqing had vanished, he did not elaborate much, just saying a quick and simple line: “Follow me.”
Led by Shangguan Longyin, all of them headed out of the Skill Storing Palace. There was a line of five large horse carriages waiting for them on the road outside, each grand and luxurious, even more so than the one that the Heavenly Bow Unit Leader Hua Feng had used to ‘earn money’ in the past. Each of them had a team of eight gallant steeds harnessed to the carriage to pull them.
Shangguan Longyin motioned to them to get on, and he took the first horse carriage. The teams followed suit, each of them taking a horse carriage. As the horses galloped away, the five horse carriages sped away out of the ZhongTian City. Sinking back into the comfortable seats of the luxurious carriage, Zhou Weiqing relaxed, his face showing his enjoyment as he turned to Lin TianAo, who was sitting beside him, and asked: “Leader, do you know anything about this upcoming semifinals and finals? Any secrets perhaps?”
Lin TianAo shook his head, saying: “The four seeded teams have been the only ones to enter the top four for many decades, and they have always kept silent on the issue. After so many years of the Heavenly Jewel Tournament being held, I have actually never heard of the semifinal and final fixtures being passed around.” As he said that, he glanced subconsciously towards Little Witch. Without question, since she was from one of the Great Saint Lands, she was probably in a better position to have some knowledge about this.
Little Witch shrugged, saying: “Unfortunately, even though we are also a Great Saint Lands, we have never been through the top four personally as well. Although we have managed to get some news, it is definitely incomplete. As for the exact rules and fixtures, I do not know, but I have heard that this upcoming ‘fight’ will be held by all four teams at once, and may not be separated into a semifinals and finals fight. As for what exactly lies ahead, I do not know for sure.” Upon hearing that it would be an all out battle amongst the four team at once, the faces of the Fei Li Battle Team members changed. Although they knew that their overall strength had increased by a large amount due to Little Witch joining them, but they knew there was still a large gap between them and the other three seeded teams. No matter any one of the other seeded teams would be a large threat to them, let alone all of them.
Little Witch giggled and said: “Do not worry so much. I have said that our Battle Team will definitely get at least second, with the potential to even get the champion, and I truly meant it. Still, let’s wait and see when we get to the Heavenly Jewel Island and hear the actual rule. In any case, whatever happens, we have at least entered the top four, entered the Heavenly Jewel Island right?”
Although the rest of the team was still wary of Little Witch, but hearing her words, they all relaxed a little. Indeed, what she said was true. No matter what happened, they had already exceeded all their hopes and expectations, created history, and entered the Heavenly Jewel Island! In the future fights, they did not need to have any stress or pressure about doing well, and could just concentrate on doing their best.
… The horse carriages traveled for almost two hours before they finally left the ZhongTian City and headed down the official road. It was another hour of traveling before the speed finally started slowing down.
As the horse carriage stopped, they all disembarked. Right in front of them, they could see one of the huge rock pillars which supported the entire Heavenly Jewel Island.
Although they were already quite close to the pillar, one look could tell them that there was still some distance to it. Right below the pillar was a massive encampment, which surrounded the entire pillar.
Shangguan Longyin stood at the front, saying passively: “The sixteen grand pillars which support the Heavenly Jewel Island are each guarded by four Regiments of our ZhongTian Central Army. The Heavenly Jewel Island can be accessed by any of the sixteen pillars, but if anyone tries to break through to it by force… hmph–!”
Hearing his words, the ZhongTian Battle Team members showed respectful looks on her face, while the four couples of the Passion Valley had faint smiles on their face. Only the Heavenly Snow Mountain members had a rather deprecating look on their faces. Thirty two streaks of light shot forth from Shangguan Longyin in the next instant, separating immediately and reaching each and every one of the thirty members of the four Battle Teams. Subconsciously, everyone raised their hands to meet it, and in their palms a small plaque appeared.
None of them had even seen Shangguan Longyin move, and the thirty plaques had already been distributed to their targets. This was a show of power indeed!
Naturally, Zhou Weiqing also had a plaque, and as he examined it, he saw its top half was round in shape with a sharpened bottom half. It was a warm jade of a pale blue shade, and on it were inscribed the three words Heavenly Jewel Plaque. He could faintly sense a swirl of energy within the plaque itself, though he was unable to tell what material it was made out of.
“Let’s go.” Throwing down those two words, Shangguan Longyin soared into the air like a cloud as he headed towards the army camp.
Four Army Regiments was forty thousand soldiers, and guarding sixteen pillars meant an entire six hundred and forty thousand soldiers to guard them all! Just the central army of the ZhongTian Empire alone had so many soldiers, let alone the rest of its army!
As Zhou Weiqing flew along with his companions towards their destination, he couldn’t help but feel shocked in his heart.
In his eyes, the ZhongTian Empire was just too powerful, and yet, what did that entail for the power of the WanShou Empire? After all, the WanShou Empire alone was the entire north of the mainland, and was able to fight with almost all the other empires at once without losing. What sort of astonishing power did they have?!
Lost in his thoughts, Zhou Weiqing followed robotically behind the group as they entered the army camp in front. With Shangguan Longyin at the lead, and with the Heavenly Jewel Plaques in hand, they had no problems entering the heavily guarded encampment.
Observing coldly from the side, Zhou Weiqing noted that all the soldiers here were actually in full armour, and according to their different type of service arms, they had a different armor as well. For example, the archers were dressed in leather armour, scouts in light chain mail, and there were others with split mail, heavy armour and all sorts of different scale armours. It could be said that these ZhongTian Empire soldiers were armed to the teeth. Their personal strength aside, just their superior equipment already caused Zhou Weiqing’s eyes to lit up.
When will our Heavenly Bow Empire ever have an army like that! At this time, the urgency in Zhou Weiqing’s heart was at a highest possible point, and his hands gripped together tightly in fists.
The more he wandered the world, the more he saw, and the more he realised how little time he had. Compared to all these powerful Empires, or even some of the ‘weaker’ ones, his own Heavenly Bow Empire’s gap between them was more like an uncrossable chasm. How he wished that he could bring his Empire to as strong as them!
Zhou Weiqing had made the decision that besides buying some necessities, he would save the rest of the bulk of his winnings to bring back to the Heavenly Bow Empire. With this several millions of gold coins, it would at least be able to gear up their army, improve recruitment, and especially aid in training and improving their Jewel Masters. No matter what, it would be a great boost to his Empire’s growth. When he returned from the Fei Li Military Academy, he would join the army. Dad, just wait and see, when I finally return for good, I will replace you, and lead our Heavenly Bow Empire to become one of the strong empires of the world!
The supporting pillars were not actually fully straight all the way up, but with a slight incline in the centre. When they got very close to the pillar, they were able to see that steps had actually been carved into the pillar side.
In front of the steps, there were eight men guarding it, dressed in the white uniform of the ZhongTian Skill Storing Palace. They saluted and bowed towards Shangguan Longyin, before examining each and every one of the team members’ Heavenly Jewel Plaques before letting them through.
Shangguan Longyin said passively: “All of you Battle Teams should not cause trouble on the way up, not even with each other, if not your Tournament entry will be revoked.” After saying that, he vanished into a puff of green smoke as he sped up the pillar.
The four Battle Teams did not dare to be tardy, and they immediately followed suit up the steps.
From the distance, the rock pillar did not seem particularly large, but when they were right front of it, it was clearly as immense as a mountain. The ones to move out ahead were the ZhongTian Empire and the WanShou Empire, as the sixteen members of the two large Battle Teams soared into the air almost at the same time, rushing up to steps as if unwilling to play second fiddle to the other.
The BaoPo Battle Team members also followed suit right on their heels, but the Fei Li Battle Team members hurried along calmly.
“Leader, should we rush up as well?” Little Four said, clearly itching to go.
Lin TianAo shook his head, saying: “No, do not try to chase them. Firstly, we do not even know if we have the power and speed to catch up to them. This is just the trip to get up there, not part of the tournament, and we do not need to expend too much energy in doing so. Remember, Senior Shangguan said no getting into trouble as well. We’ll go up together, quickly but not hastily.”
The stairs or path up the pillar was rather precipitous, and Lin TianAo got Xiao Yan and Drunken Bao, who had the next highest cultivation levels in the team, to stay at the back as a precaution, while he himself took the front spot. In that formation, the team ascended the steps swiftly. No matter what they heard about it previously, it was only when they started climbing the pillars when they couldn’t help but sigh inwardly at the amazing miracles of nature, and what wonders it could conjure up with.
As the ground got further and further away, and the view got hazier, the steps up the pillar got steeper and even more dangerous. They could almost raise their hands and touch the step in front. It was almost impossible to estimate how much man-hours of effort, how much work and materials had been expended into cutting these steps into the pillars by the Heaven’s Expanse Palace, and to imagine they had done so for all sixteen pillars could almost blow one’s mind! After a thousand metres or so, they were totally surrounded by mist. Once again, Lin TianAo warned his companions to be careful as they all slowed down their climbing speed due to the lack of visibility. As they ascended higher, the temperature also dropped. Xiao Yan was forced to release his Fire Attribute Heavenly Energy in order to dissipate the mist directly surrounding them, and to provide some measure of heat for his companions. Every thousand metres or so they climbed meant about a six degree drop in temperature, but with Xiao Yan’s help and the strong physiques as Heavenly Jewel Masters, it was not a huge problem. They had heard that the pillars extended more than five thousand metres high, but they did not know the exact height. Since it was their first time climbing it, they wanted to be as careful as possible.
Slowly, the mist surrounding them grew thinner. After another hour of climbing, the sight before them changed almost abruptly, as they had broken past the bank of clouds and could actually see them below!
An amazing sight filled the eyes of the Fei Li Battle Team members. They could clearly see the skies right in front of them, a clear brilliant beautiful blue, the almost piercing sunlight, and at their feet was a huge mass of clouds that seemed almost impenetrable. Such a vision, it was as if they had wandered into another realm altogether, causing a strange feeling in their hearts.
This was, however, not the end of the road. Right above their heads, about two thousand metres away estimatedly, loomed the massive presence of the Heavenly Jewel Island. They could also see the other fifteen pillars supporting the huge island, painting a breathtaking picture before their eyes.
Heavenly Jewel Island. This was the Heavenly Jewel Island of legend!
Little Witch muttered to herself: “For the Heavenly Jewel Island to be called the greatest miracle of the entire mainland… It truly deserves its name. This is like a saintly paradise amongst the mortal world!”
She was not the only one who felt that way. This was also the first time seeing such a sight for each and every one of the Fei Li Battle Team members, and that sight sparked an awe and excitement in their hearts that couldn’t be expressed in words alone. Not even mentioning what they could possibly gain materially on this Heavenly Jewel Island, just the sheer view and majesty of this miraculous island was enough to shock their hearts and satisfy them. The size of the Heavenly Jewel Island itself was large, but not overly massive, at least in comparison to the sixteen pillars supporting it. Looking at it from the distance, they estimated jt was about the size of the ZhongTian City. From their view, the bottom of the island was entire pitch black, but as for what was on top, they would only be able to find out when they reached their destination.
Zhou Weiqing sucked in a deep breath, saying: “Wow indeed. But what happens if the Heavenly Jewel Island falls to the ground one day, wouldn’t it totally destroy the ZhongTian City below?”
Lin TianAo gave him a silencing gesture, saying: “Do not speak of that, not even as a joke. We are almost reaching the top, and I must warn all of you. When we reach the actual Heavenly Jewel Island, you all have to watch your words. This is the Heaven’s Expanse Palace, and there are power houses galore here. Safety first is of the utmost importance, and you should not cause any trouble. When there is nothing on, I want everyone to stick together as a group.”
All of them nodded in agreement, and finally Lin TianAo continued up, leading the way, satisfied. At this height, the temperature was naturally even lower. However, without the clouds blocking their vision, they were actually able to move at a much faster pace. They could see that the other three Battle Teams had already almost reached the Heavenly Jewel Island, and since it was relatively safer now, they decided to accelerate their pace as well.
Finally, after slightly under an hour, they reached the five thousand metre high Heavenly Jewel Island. After another check of their Heavenly Jewel Plaques, they went through a round of registration before entering the Heavenly Jewel Island.
The other three Battle Teams had long since reached, and many of them looked on impatiently while they waited for the Fei Li Battle Team to reach.
Shangguan Longyin said: “Alright, now that all of you are here, you can go ahead to take a break and have a good rest. The actual finals fight will begin three days later. In this three days, you can move about freely the island as you wish. However, be warned that there are some areas that are restricted, and if you are stopped, do not try to enter forcibly, otherwise you will be treated as a hostile invader. If you need anything or have any queries about the Heavenly Jewel Island, you can ask any of the employees here, and there will be someone assigned to bring all of you to your respective accommodations.”
After saying that, Shangguan Longyin seemed to meld into the air, disappearing in a flash.
Naturally, the members of the Fei Li Battle Team had heard Shangguan Longyin’s words clearly. However, they did not rush off into things, instead taking the time to take in the entirety of the sights and sounds of this new environment they were in.
As soon as they had entered the Heavenly Jewel Island, they realised that they no longer felt the biting cold that had been prevalent on their way up. Even the humidity level was actually higher than when they were climbing the pillars, being only slightly lower than ground level.
The surrounding area was full of grass and greenery, with many different types of plants flourishing. In the distance, there were several peaks forming a mountain range series, dotting the landscape. If not for the fact that they had just climbed up the rock pillars to reach this place, and could still it behind them, they could hardly belief that this was five thousand metres up in the sky! As compared to the Fei Li Battle Team’s surprise and curiosity, the other three Battle Teams were much better. After all, many of them had actually been here before.
The four assigned employees went to their respective Battle Teams to bring them to their accommodations, though strangely they did not head in the same direction, instead splitting up soon after. Clearly, their accommodations were all separate.
The white clad guide leading the Fei Li Battle Team looked to be about thirty years old of age, and Zhou Weiqing sidled up closer to him as they walked, asking curiously: “This Big Brother, for all of us, this is our first time on the Heavenly Jewel Island. Could you please introduce the entire island briefly to us?”
The white clad man smiled faintly, saying: “Of course I can. First of all, congratulations to you all for entering the top four. It has been many decades since a non seeded team has actually accomplished that. Alas, I was on duty during that period on the Island and wasn’t able to watch all the matches.”
“As for our Heavenly Jewel Island, there are actually three places which are the most famous. The Heaven’s Expanse Palace, the Consolidating Equipment Pavilion, and the Skill Storing Palace. The Heaven’s Expanse Palace is usually not open to the public, and is considered sacred ground in our entire Island. As such, most of the guests on the Island will visit the Consolidating Equipment Pavilion and the Skill Storing Palace; it can be said that both our Consolidating Equipment Pavilion and the Skill Storing Palace are considered top notch in the entire continent, literally unmatched. Later, when we reach your accommodations, you will see that it is not
far from those two famed areas, as it is all in the central zone of the Island. For all of you, the central zone of the Island is the only place open for access, and the other zones, especially the Wild Zone on the outside, are not to be accessed or you will be treated as hostile invaders.
Hearing their guide’s simple introduction, Zhou Weiqing had a rough picture of the entire Heavenly Jewel Island. Without question, the Wild Zone that was restricted to them definitely held many secrets. Perhaps the thirteen dragon caves or even other plant, animal treasures or rare ores could be found there. Of course, this Heavenly Jewel Island was the Heaven’s Expanse Palace’s, the heart of the ZhongTian Empire, and no one would mess around here for nothing.
As they walked deeper into the Island, the air became fresher, wetter, more comfortable; full of the faint fragrance of plants. Combined with the pure, soft rays of the sunshine bathing upon them, it was just like Little Witch had described previously –
Within the entire Fei Li Battle Team, the one who was the most intoxicated by the scene, almost deep in a reverie, was Little Witch. That was because she had the Life Attribute, and immersed in such a natural environment, she had a deep, profound sensation.
Led by the employee, they travelled almost for fifteen minutes before they reached the central zone that he had mentioned.
It was almost like a little ‘City’ in its own right, just without any city gates. After all, it was on the Heavenly Jewel Island, what need was there of tall walls and gates.
Along the broad lanes were shops lined on either side, and all the shopkeepers were dressed similarly to their guide. However, those shops were actually nothing to do with Heavenly Jewel Masters, either selling food, clothing or some necessities.
As per their guide’s introduction, the Fei Li Battle Team members realised that all those shops were actually not selling ordinary food or clothing, but actually rare treasures. For example, the food could be exotic Heavenly Beasts and/or rare plants, while the clothes were also made out of precious materials and unique handicraft. There were also specialised inns for those guests with the Heavenly Jewel Plaque. Of course, all those things were extremely expensive indeed.
According to their guide, even the cheapest inn would cost more than a thousand gold coins per night, and that wasn’t inclusive of meals. Of course, this time, as they were attending the Heavenly Jewel Tournament, their accommodations would be free, but that would only be during the period of the Heavenly Jewel Tournament.
As for the Heavenly Jewel Island, it was forbidden for anyone to spend the night in the streets, and they had to find some kind of accommodation, be it inns, hotels or whatnot. As such, if someone wanted to stay here for a long period of time to cultivate and make full use of their Skill Storing Palace and Consolidating Equipment Pavilion, they would have to prepare a colossal amount of gold coins first. This was one way for the Heavenly Jewel Island to restrict or limit their guests, at the same time a great way to profit greatly.
Very quickly, the members saw the Consolidating Equipment Pavilion and Skill Storing Palace in their sights, situated at the side of the zone, not far from each other. As for the other side of the central zone, it was covered with a cloudy mist, giving zero visibility. Clearly, that was the Heaven’s Expanse Palace, and they had some sort of unknown seal or protection which made use of the mist to hide themselves.
As compared to the ZhongTian City’s Skill Storing Palace and Consolidating Equipment Pavilion, the size of the ones on the Heavenly Jewel Island was much smaller, only about the size of the one that Zhou Weiqing had been to in the Flying Hill City. However, without a doubt, it was likely they were going for quality over quantity here.
The Fei Li Battle Team was housed in a nameless inn on the side, not far from the Consolidating Equipment Pavilion and Skill Storing Palace. It wasn’t particularly luxurious or grand, but was clean and neat. Even staying at such an inn alone cost at least a thousand gold coins per person per day, and that wasn’t even with individual rooms. The price was definitely insane.
Before the guide left, he told them that during the period of the Heavenly Jewel Tournament, their stay would be free, but it would not include their meals. As for what they wanted to eat, that would be up to them to handle themselves. As per usual, they gathered in Lin TianAo’s room. It had been early morning when they had set out from the ZhongTian City, and by now it was already in the afternoon, and they had to face the problem of lunch.
Ye Paopao couldn’t help but say: “Luckily we all won quite some money, otherwise we would have to starve all the way through this tournament. Earlier, when we were walking, I took a look at their prices and they were indeed terrifying.”
For Ye Paopao, a son of the Premier of the Fei Li Empire, to say that the food was expensive, and terrifyingly so, one could just imagine the sheer prices.
Drunken Bao patted Zhou Weiqing on the shoulder and grinned wickedly, saying: “No problem, we have our rich man here to treat us!”
Zhou Weiqing looked at him exasperatedly and said: “No way, I’m not treating you guys anymore.” Little Four grinned, saying: “Heh heh, Weiqing, you aren’t going to be so stingy right? During the tournament period, it’ll be at most a few tens of thousands of gold coins only, nothing much for you!”
Zhou Weiqing gave a humph, saying: “Keep dreaming, if you want me to feed you guys, that is no problem at all. I have loads of food in my Spatial Necklace to feed all of you for a month at least. I’m well prepared indeed. Heh heh.” As he said that, he quickly dug out a bunch of dry rations and fruits and placed them on the table.
“Ughh…. Weiqing, you are too sly!”
Zhou Weiqing laughed, saying: “Alright, everyone eat up quickly. After eating, we can head to the Consolidating Equipment Pavilion. I’ll settle all your gifts first, lest some people keep complaining that I’m stingy!”
Hearing that they were about to purchase the Consolidating Equipment Scrolls, everyone perked up, energized. They took barely half the time they usually took to eat, gorging everything down as they settled their lunch. After which, they rushed out of the inn and headed straight towards the Heavenly Jewel Island Consolidating Equipment Pavilion.
To any Heavenly Jewel Master, the Heavenly Jewel Island’s Consolidating Equipment Pavilion and Skill Storing Palace was considered a long cherished dream, perhaps even a place of legend. Here was where the true items of quality could be found.
From the outside, the Consolidating Equipment Pavilion in front of them looked so much smaller than the one in the ZhongTian City. Although it had four levels, they estimated that its total surface area was about a third of that of the ZhongTian City Consolidating Equipment Pavilion.
Surprisingly, there were no guards at the entrance, and the members of the Fei Li Battle Team walked in directly.
Within, the interior decorations of both Consolidating Equipment Pavilions were rather similarly, an old-school look that was simple but beautiful. As they entered the Pavilion, two white-clad employees came forward to greet them.
The two employees looked to be about twenty odd years of age, though they gave a vibe of a deep, steady, grounded feel, clearly no simple or ordinary people.
“Welcome guests, may I know what you require?” The white clad youth on the left said with a respectful smile.
Lin TianAo replied respectfully: “Thank you, we are here to look for Consolidating Equipment Scrolls. May I know if there are works by Zong Stage Consolidating Equipment Masters?”
Hearing his question, a smile crossed the two white clad employees faces involuntarily, and the one on the left said: “Honoured guests, this must be your first time here at our Consolidating Equipment Pavilion. Let me give a simple introduction of our Pavilion over here, each level is separated into two zones. The left zone are all completed Consolidating Equipment Scrolls, while the right zone are all the various materials for creating Consolidating Equipment Scrolls. This is the same for every level.”
“Amongst that, the first level is mostly Grandmaster and Zong Stage Consolidating Equipment Scrolls and their corresponding materials. At that level, we will not sell any Scrolls without Sockets. As for the second level, they are also still Grandmaster and Zong Stage Consolidating Equipment Scrolls, but the difference is that only Set Equipment are sold there, and not individual pieces. The third level would be God Level Consolidating Equipment Scrolls and their corresponding materials.”
Hearing his simple introduction, the members of the entire Battle Team were shocked. Although they already had a high evaluation of the Heavenly Jewel Consolidating Equipment Pavilion, they had still somewhat underestimated its sheer power.
Even their lowest quality Scrolls were Socketed Grandmaster Consolidating Equipment Master Scrolls, followed by Zong Stage ones, populating two entire levels… even more so was the fact that they had entire Consolidating Equipment Sets for sale! After all, an entire Set could mean making an ordinary Heavenly Jewel Master into a powerhouse! Furthermore, this wasn’t even counting the higher quality ones that the Heaven’s Expanse Palace would likely keep for themselves… what kind of unbelievable foundation and wealth they had to be able to do something like that.
The most surprising thing was that just the third level alone of the Consolidating Equipment Scroll was already selling God Tier Consolidating Equipment Scrolls. Such news caused them all to suck in deep cold breaths on shock. Zhou Weiqing couldn’t help but ask: “What about the fourth level? Does that mean… the fourth level is selling God Tier… Legendary Consolidating Equipment Sets?!
The guide shook his head, saying: “Not exactly; after all, those Legendary Consolidating Equipment Sets are considered priceless. Our Consolidating Equipment Pavilion has seven different type of Legendary Set designs, of which only the completed Scrolls of four of those can be sold. However, we only do equivalent barter trade for these, and will not sell them for gold coins, as they are much too valuable. As such, the fourth level is actually for custom made Consolidating Equipment Scrolls, and is open for all levels of Consolidating Equipment Masters from Zong Stage and above to customize any particular Equipment for you. Of course, the price for custom Scrolls are much more expensive, at least three times that of any ordinary Consolidating Equipment Scrolls of the same level.”
Without even caring about the price, as soon as the Fei Li Battle Team members heard that Legendary Sets could actually be traded for, all of them were totally stunned speechless. No matter whether or not someone could afford it, at least they now knew that it was available for trade! Little Witch stood at the side muttering to herself: “No wonder the Heavenly Jewel Island is called the richest place on the entire mainland…”
Little Four’s eyes lit up with glee as he exclaimed: “If only I had the money to buy an entire Legendary Set… ahhh… I’d be a super powerhouse in the future as well!”
Drunken Bao glared at him exasperatedly, saying: “Alright, stop daydreaming. That’s not even close to being realistic, do you think they are worth nothing? Those aren’t things that we can buy. Come on, let’s go look at the Zong Stage Consolidating Equipment Scrolls. If we can manage to get a good Zong Stage Consolidating Equipment Scroll, it will be truly worth the trip here indeed.”
In truth, the others were all somewhat daydreaming longingly, however silently, but they were all pulled back to reality by Drunken Bao’s words. An entire Legendary Set was so expensive that even a small or medium Empire would not be able to afford it no matter how hard they tried, let alone lone Heavenly Jewel Masters like themselves without any powerful backgrounds.
Without any further delay, they decided to head quickly to the first level and choose their Zong Stage Consolidating Equipment Scrolls.
Zhou Weiqing grabbed hold of Lin TianAo before he could follow the rest. Turning to Drunken Bao and the others, he said: “All of you go ahead and take your time choosing, and I will settle the bill when I come back down. Leader, let’s head up to the fourth floor to choose. After all, your situation is very different from them. In order to continue with your Assembly Set Shield, it definitely has to be a custom made Consolidating Equipment Scroll.”
Lin TianAo started, furrowing his brow as he said: “But… the price…”
Zhou Weiqing laughed heartily, saying: “From what I see, you are very close to reaching the six-Jeweled Cultivation level right? I know that it will be quite a long time before I can reach the Zong Stage Consolidating Equipment Master level, and there is no point wasting time waiting. Come, let’s go.” As he said that, he dragged Lin TianAo along with him.
Lin TianAo was an Ultimate Defense Heavenly Jewel Master, and one of outstanding talent and skill. More importantly, he was Zhou Weiqing’s Follower, and towards his own people, Zhou Weiqing had always been extremely generous. Increasing Lin TianAo’s power was in a way increasing his own power, and he would not skimp on spending on him. Lin TianAo had already started on this path of the Assembly Set Shield, the extreme method, and if he did not continue on the path, it would perhaps limit his growth and waste his talents. Zhou Weiqing definitely did not want that to happen, to waste such
potential by saving some money and causing his Assembly
Shield Set to ‘break’ from now on.
Lin TianAo did not continue protesting, following Zhou Weiqing’s lead. In his eyes, a warm smile could be faintly seen.
When he had first lost to Zhou Weiqing and became his Follower, it was undoubtedly with an unwilling heart. Being vexed, disappointed and resigned … those emotions barely scratched the surface of the turmoil in his heart. However, he was a man of his word, and he stuck to it no matter how he felt about it. Yet… as time went by, and the more time he spent together with Zhou Weiqing, that feeling slowly dissipated. It wasn’t just the unbelievable talent that Zhou Weiqing had displayed, his quick wit, character, all of which showed he would be a good leader to follow. But more importantly, it was the respect that Zhou Weiqing showed him.
In this Heavenly Jewel Tournament, he had been the leader in name, yet he had been Zhou Weiqing’s Follower. Naturally, one could imagine how conflicted he felt at the start. However, Zhou Weiqing had not tried to use that against him or displayed any sign of it, instead calling him Leader respectfully like a little brother. That, and more, had slowly caused any unpleasant feelings in his heart to slowly dissolve away in the sands of time.
They still had quite a lot of time, thus Zhou Weiqing did not rush to the fourth floor, instead bringing Lin TianAo to the right zone. Naturally, he was not there to buy any completed Consolidating Equipment Scrolls. As a Consolidating Equipment Master himself, he would not waste the money on buying completed Scrolls unless absolutely necessary. After all, his target was to become a Grandmaster, Zong Stage Master, and even God Tier Master in the future! As such, he needed to purchase some rarer materials required for those future stages in advance, in preparation for his future needs. Anyway, he had the money to spend currently, and he might as well use this opportunity the purchase what he needed now; those materials would not drop in value in any case, and could only go higher. From the ever-increasing prices of the Consolidating Equipment Scrolls in the market, he clearly realised that point.
Walking to the right zone of the first level, what entered Zhou Weiqing and Lin TianAo’s eyes was a dazzling array of goods, from Consolidating Equipment Paper, Ink, to the many varied materials required. From just a quick glance, Zhou Weiqing could tell they were all rare treasures indeed. “What?! Damn! That Black Voodoo Grass is at least 500 years old! Wait, what? Heavens! Is that a Green Jade Agave?! Ahhh… to use that to create a Zong Stage Consolidating Equipment Scroll would be rather a waste…”
Muttering crazily to himself, Zhou Weiqing looked around the entire zone, examining the amazing rare treasures and plants before his eyes. However, he also saw the prices listed under the items. The price was directly proportional to the rarity and quality of the items, and looking at all the various zeroes behind the prices, Zhou Weiqing couldn’t help but flinch with a bitter smile.
Up until this point, he had not even seen any item less than five thousand gold coins, and these were just merely single materials. From those prices, one could imagine how high the completed Scrolls would be. To describe the Heavenly Jewel Island Consolidating Equipment Pavilion’s prices as daylight robbery would not be an exaggeration.
At the same time, you could not complain a whit about those prices, and you could only pay those prices obediently. After all, they were not forcing anyone to buy the goods, yet these materials were so rare in the outside world, that the only possible place you might even have a chance of coming across them would be in an auction house. And in an auction, the prices might even be higher than the prices stated here!
After looking for a while, Zhou Weiqing couldn’t help but heave a huge sigh inwardly. So… a hundred million gold coins was really nothing! Luckily, this time, I’m able to trade the Immortal Deity Technique for God Tier Consolidating Equipment Scrolls.
After a quick look of all the various materials, Zhou Weiqing decided not to rush into purchasing the materials he wanted. After all, they still had a lot of time, and these materials were all so expensive. His mind was full of information that he had memorised from Huyan Aobo’s teachings, and he decided to process everything first before deciding. After all, he wanted to make full efficient use of these expensive materials, and by mixing them with some cheaper auxiliary materials when creating Consolidating Ink, he could save a rather drastic amount. However, in order to do that, he would need to take time and plan things out carefully. At the same time, he would have to think of what he needed to buy for Yun Li. Money was there to be spent, but he would definitely spend every cent of it wisely.
As such, Zhou Weiqing decided to put off his decision til later, and head upwards to see the higher levels first. When he got back, he could slowly plan what he wanted to buy, especially since he might want some materials from the higher levels as well. Of course, he would also have to plan his finances on how much he had left after buying the Zong Stage Consolidating Equipment Scrolls for his friends.
Leaving the first level, they entered the second one. Similarly, Zhou Weiqing led Lin TianAo to the right zone where the materials were being sold. When he entered the hall, he was surprised to see someone standing in front of a small shoot of grass, muttering softly to herself.
It was an old lady dressed in a long grey robe. She was not particularly tall, slightly plump, with a head of wild white hair cascading onto her shoulders messily. Not only was she muttering under her breath, she was also pointing at the shoot of grass, giving a rather strange and unusual.
Chapter 94 Triplets…
Looking at the weird old lady, Zhou Weiqing couldn’t help but walk up closer to her.
As every material was extremely valuable and expensive, they were all placed there with a transparent crystal cover protecting it. Buyers could only use their eyes to examine it, but not touch it, lest they damage or destroy it.
Yet, this strange old lady before him, the crystal cover over the stalk of grass had actually been moved to the side, and the stalk of grass was exposed to the air. She was even muttering and pointing at it, yet none of the employees seemed to come for her.
As he got closer, Zhou Weiqing could clearly hear what she was muttering about, as she seemed to speak directly to the little stalk of grass: “Little Bi’er, be good, hurry up and grow up, grow up, grandmother will find a good husband for you.”
Hearing her words, Zhou Weiqing almost laughed out loud, thinking to himself: This grandma, is she alright? Mental problems? But… if that’s the case, how could she possibly be in this Consolidating Equipment Pavilion? That feeling of welling laughter only lasted for a few seconds. The next moment, his entire body shook, his eyes widening in shock as he stared at the old lady.
The reason for that sudden change was because Zhou Weiqing could clearly see what had just happened. The little stalk of grass that the old lady was in front of was a Nether Jade Grass, a valuable plant, and it was actually swaying along with the old lady’s voice! Zhou Weiqing could vaguely see that around the Nether Jade Grass was a faint warping of light around it. The most stunning thing was that the Nether Jade Grass was actually growing swiftly as it swayed along, at such a speed that could actually be seen by the naked eye!
She… Wha… How did she do that? Zhou Weiqing was totally shocked. He could not believe his eyes, that a human could actually control the growth of such plants.
Even a Heavenly Jewel Master with the Life Attribute should not be able to do something like that, as the Life Attribute could only allow them to borrow a plant’s Life Aura, at most using it to control or improve their Personal Plant. Yet, for this Nether Jade Grass to be sold here, how could it possibly be her Personal Plant? If that was so, how could she possibly do that? For a moment, besides being stunned, Zhou Weiqing was left curious. Nether Jade Grass. A highly poisonous plant, but it also had another unique attribute. When ground into powder and mixed with some other materials, it would improve the miscibility, allowing items that would not mix together to do so. In creating those top quality Consolidating Ink, it was a rare and exceptional ingredient indeed. With it, the failure rate of creating Consolidating Ink dropped drastically, and the quality would also improve sharply.
Zhou Weiqing had seen a fully grown Nether Jade Grass earlier in the first level, and it was definitely one of the ‘must- buy’ materials that he had targeted in his plan.
Very quickly, he saw the difference between this stalk of Nether Jade Grass and the one he had see on the first level. As it grew swiftly before his eyes, a slender gold thread as thin as a bull’s fur slowly grew on its leaves.
The gold thread spread out across the entire leaf, almost covering it entirely, and its contrast with the original emerald green colour of the Nether Jade Grass was bright and fresh.
This … this is? Gold Fur Nether Jade Grass?! Once more, Zhou Weiqing’s heart was given a rude shock. As compared to ordinary Nether Jade Grass, the Gold Fur Nether Jade Grass was considered cream of the crop, a treasure amongst all treasures. It was no longer just a mere material for Consolidating Ink, instead used to create the prime fusion agent that was required in creating Consolidating Equipment Sets. When any Scroll which was part of a Consolidating Equipment Set was completed, no matter what level or rank it was, it needed a form of fusion in order to link the pieces to form the set.
There were many types of fusion agents, and this Gold Fur Nether Jade Grass was one of the highest quality ones, and even Legendary Sets required them as well as some other valuable materials to create. Zhou Weiqing had not expected to see it here in the second level of the Consolidating Equipment Pavilion.
Just as Zhou Weiqing was lost in deep thought, all of a sudden, the old lady beside him shuddered, a soft exclamation crying out from her mouth. The slow and steady growth of the Gold Fur Nether Jade Grass suddenly rose sharply in a burst, and the gold thread on its surface grew erratically instead of the previous orderly patterns.
“‘Trying to help the shoots grow by pulling them upward’ is truly not the way to go! Sigh… I overdid it…” The old lady said dejectedly.
Perhaps lady luck was smiling upon him, perhaps he had been focusing too hard on the Gold Fur Nether Jade Grass, when Zhou Weiqing saw its sudden burst of growth coupled with the draining of its life force, he almost subconsciously lifted his hand and waved towards the little plant, and without knowing why, he unleashed a quick Absolute Delay on it.
Almost instantly, the rapidly growing Gold Fur Nether Jade Grass paused for a moment, before resuming its growth at a much slower rate.
“Ehh?” The old lady, who had been ready to give up, cried out in sudden surprise, and she quickly gestured towards the little plant. Instantly, a gold light shone from the gold threads, and the previously scattered and messy threads realigned themselves neatly, with each leaf shining forth with a brilliant gold light. It was actually fully grown now!
*Phew* The old lady let loose a loud breath, a happy look on her face. With a twist of her wrist, a white jade box appeared in her hand. At the same time, her other hand waved towards the Gold Fur Nether Jade Grass, and the glowing plant floated up, performing a strange dance-somersault into the box. Even as the old lady closed the box, a faint glow could still be seen from within.
After doing that, only then did the old lady turn to look at Zhou Weiqing, and he was surprised to that this white haired old lady did not have any wrinkles, her skin smooth like a baby, with surprisingly beautiful features. One could imagine that she was once a top beauty when she was young.
“Little fellow, not bad at all, thank you for your Absolute Delay, or Little Bi’er might have not made it.”
Zhou Weiqing said respectfully: “I was just lucky enough to be there, it was a mere coincidence. Senior, can I ask you something, how did you manage to stimulate plants into growing quickly, especially such a top quality one like the Gold Fur Nether Jade Grass?”
A faint smile crossed the old lady’s face as she said: “Little Bi’er isn’t that top quality, but its growth speed is just too slow, and there is never enough to use. You have the Time Attribute, didn’t the other old fellows tell you how to control the growth of plants using that? As long as you do not overdo it like me earlier, with the Time Attribute, you usually will not fail.” “Eh? What old fellows?” Zhou Weiqing asked in surprise.
The old lady examined him closely, saying: “You do not know who I am?”
Zhou Weiqing started, then said: “This is the first time I have seen Senior. This junior is Zhou Weiqing, may I know Senior’s name?”
The old lady gave a soft hmmm sound, then abruptly, she lifted her hands, grabbing out at Zhou Weiqing’s left hand.
It seemed like her hand moved extremely slowly, but neither Zhou Weiqing nor the closeby Lin TianAo could react in time to stop her. It was as if as soon as she lifted her hands, Zhou Weiqing’s hand was already in her palm.
Zhou Weiqing did not feel any restrictions or seals on his body, but when the old lady held hold of his wrist, he felt a faint energy flow through his wrist.
“Ahh?” The old lady let go, surprise in her eyes. “Little fellow, you really aren’t a disciple of one of those old fellows?” Zhou Weiqing gave a abashed smile, saying: “Senior, I do not even know who you are talking about!”
Furrowing her brow, the old lady said: “Then how did you get on the Heavenly Jewel Island? I haven’t seen anyone with such a low cultivation level before on this Island, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen a little fellow with three Jewels. A Five-Jeweled little fellow like the one beside you is more common.”
Zhou Weiqing blushed, thinking to himself. This low cultivation level is really embarrassing, anyone can look down upon it.
“Senior, I am a member of the Fei Li Battle Team, here to attend the Heavenly Jewel Tournament finals.” He had his own guess about the status of this old lady, and he naturally did not try to hide anything as he replied respectfully.
The old lady stared blankly at Zhou Weiqing, a strange, unsteady look on her face. The next moment, she actually burst out laughing, looking towards Zhou Weiqing with a strange, predatory look, like a wolf looking at a sheep. Zhou Weiqing shuddered involuntarily, quickly saying: “Senior, if you have nothing else, I’m heading off to choose materials to buy. Goodbye.”
Just as he was about to turn to leave, the old lady interrupted him quickly: “Wait a moment. It looks like you are a Consolidating Equipment Master right? What level are you?”
Zhou Weiqing replied: “I’m almost reaching the High Level Consolidating Equipment Master stage.” Indeed, as his cultivation level had raised to the Three-Jeweled stage, his Heavenly Energy, vitality and Spirit Energy had all improved, and with his creating capabilities of Consolidating Equipment Scrolls, he could definitely be at the level of High Level Consolidating Equipment Master.
The old lady continued asking: “Then, who is your teacher?” Zhou Weiqing replied: “My teacher is Huyan Aobo.”
The old lady started, as if confused, before finally saying: “Huyan Aobo? Hmm… I’ve never heard of the name. Sigh… What am I thinking! How could a Consolidating Equipment Master not have a teacher? What a shame, what a shame.” As she said that, something appeared in the old lady’s palm in a flash, and she moved her hand in front of his face, saying: “Little fellow, since you have helped me earlier, I will gift you with this. With this, you can get a discount in buying anything from the Consolidating Equipment Pavilion.”
The item was was a silver ring, inlaid with a few small red rubies forming two words. When Zhou Weiqing looked at it closely, he could see that the two words were Wei Yang.
The old lady smiled faintly, saying: “That is my name. If you need to order any custom Scrolls, you can come to the fourth level to look for me.”
Zhou Weiqing took the ring, wearing it on his finger, happiness in his heart. He knew that his earlier guess was accurate, and this old lady was likely a Zong Stage Consolidating Equipment Master or higher.
“Senior Wei Yang, I was just about to head to the fourth level to order a Consolidating Equipment Scroll Set for this friend of mine. I will have to trouble you then.” As he said that, he pointed towards Lin TianAo at his side. Wei Yang glanced at Lin TianAo for a moment, then said: “What about yourself? Don’t you want to customize a Consolidating Equipment Scroll? Seeing as you helped me earlier, if it is for yourself, I will give it a half price discount.”
Zhou Weiqing hesitated a moment before finally saying: “I am currently not in need for that so I will not need to trouble Senior in that regard. In the future, when I do need it, I will definitely look for you. So… how about my friend…”
The reason why she says little Bi’er above, is 碧⼉, part of its name 碧幽草 (bi you cao, jade, nether, grass)
Direct translation of 拔苗助⻓, an idiom which describes a person, impatient for success, so acts as to destroy the very conditions upon which success depends. Basically, she is saying in trying to make the grass grow faster, she has failed and destroyed it. Wei Yang did not even look at Lin TianAo, staring piercingly at Zhou Weiqing as she said: “Child, I have lived a long life, but your talent is something I have never seen before. I hope you will not waste this chance. As you should already know, Consolidated Equipment are of utmost importance to any Heavenly Jewel Master, and even more so for one with talent like yours. I do not know if you have already Consolidated all three Jewels or not, but if you want to become a future great powerhouse, you must not waste any further Physical Jewels. To fully make use of your six Attribute Elemental Jewels, only a Legendary Set can truly match that.”
Hearing her words, Zhou Weiqing couldn’t help but be utterly shocked. After all, this old lady called Wei Yang had just held his wrist for a few seconds, and she already knew his secret of having six Attributes?!
What sort of power was that?
As if sensing his shock, Wei Yang smiled faintly, saying: “You do not need to be so surprised, my senses are far more attuned and receptive than most others. Ahh, what a shame! You already have a teacher, otherwise I will definitely take you as my disciple, no matter what it takes.” Although she spoke with a smiling face, but when she spoke those words, Zhou Weiqing did not doubt the resolve and seriousness of her intent.
Watching at the side, Lin TianAo’s shock was no lesser than Zhou Weiqing. He was not a Consolidating Equipment Master and did not understand some of what was said, but his cultivation level was much higher than Zhou Weiqing’s. As such, in observing this old lady, his senses told him a lot more. She gave him the impression as if she wasn’t real, as his senses couldn’t even detect a hint of her presence. Yet, she was definitely standing right in front of him, not an illusion at all. What did that mean? This old lady’s power was already far beyond either Zhou Weiqing or his own!
“Sis Wei Yang, is your Gold Fur Nether Jade Grass ready yet? Hurry up, we are only just waiting for that last one.” Right at that moment, they were abruptly interrupted by a deep resonant voice coming from outside. In the next instant, a tall, well built old man walked in.
The old man was dressed in a purple long robe, his greyish white spiky short hair stood up like porcupine needles. His features were good looking, an honest squarish feel, and he had an aura of stateliness about him. He was extremely well built, his physique almost rivalling Lin TianAo and Zhou Weiqing. However, he had a pair of very slim and slender hands, and they were the only part of him which were snow white, a strange contrast from the rest of his body.
Hearing the old man’s voice, Wei Yang did not even look back, instantly throwing the box with the Gold Fur Nether Jade Grass behind her.”
“You take it first, I have something to take care of.”
The old man caught the jade box easily, and as he did so, he swept his gaze across Zhou Weiqing and Lin TianAo. With some surprise, he said: “Wei Yang, are these some new little fellows that just arrived? When have you taken an interest in these little fellows? That is not the style of you, the Raksha of the Netherworld!”
Wei Yang spun around suddenly, glaring at the purple robed old man. In a serious tone, she said: “Ye RuiChen, if you want to die you can just tell me. If you dare call me by that ancient nickname again, this old lady will make sure you won’t be a man any longer.”
The purple clad old man’s expression froze, looking warily at Wei Yang. “Have you gone mad? Hmm, it seems like these two little fellows have quite some status in your heart huh? Let me see.”
Both Zhou Weiqing and Lin TianAo felt their vision blur before their eyes in a dazzle of purple flew towards them. However, Wei Yang also reacted instantly, and the very air around them seemed to warp violently, and a soft pushing force sent both of them further back. In the next instant, the air reverberated strongly in violent tremors, and they could see a grey shadow and purple shadow clashing at unbelievable speeds, flashing around like 2 beams of light. In just that short period of time, they had clashed an unknown amount of times.
Zhou Weiqing and Lin TianAo glanced at each other helplessly, not sure what exactly was going on, and why the two elders were fighting with each other.
“Hahaha! I knew there was something wrong with your reaction. For one of these young men to catch Wei Yan’s critical eye, hmmm… could it be that he has the talent to inherit our legacy and skills? The more you do not want me to have a look, the more I am determined in doing so!” The purple clad old man’s loud voice laughed out.
Wei Yang said angrily: “Ye RuiChen, are you asking for death? Hmph. That little fellow already has a master.” “So what if he has a master? As if his master can be stronger than me? That is not a problem at all!” Ye RuiChen said, grinning. “Wei Yang, you might have a higher cultivation level than me, but we both have the Spatial Attribute, and you know that if I am determined, it will not be that difficult for me to
test them out. At the most, I might sustain some minor injuries. Why must you insist on stopping me? Heh, it seems that their talent must be really something for you to react so strongly!”
“Enough with the nonsense. If you really dare to charge forward insistently, this old lady will cripple you like promised. I will not let you force this child.”
“Force? What is there to force? How old can these two little rascals be? So what if they have a master, this old man can go accept his teacher as my disciple, then he will become my grand-disciple right? Heh heh.”
Another flash, and the two separated from their clash, each standing at the side panting a little. Wei Yang glared angrily at Ye RuiChen, saying: “You are literally full of bullshit, so smelly. As if his master wouldn’t have his own master? You already have a few disciples, this old lady has finally found someone favourable, and you dare try to snatch from me?” Ye RuiChen grinned, saying: “Heh, your fox’s tail has revealed itself now right? What ‘he has a master’, all excuses! Who made a rule that a person can only have one master or teacher anyway? If you don’t want me to see, then fine, just be honest with me, which of the two is the one you have taken a fancy to, and what so outstanding about his talent?”
Right at that moment, a sudden low raspy voice interrupted them, traveling from beyond. “What are the two of you doing?! Hurry back up here, it’s almost the critical moment!”
Hearing that voice, both Wei Yang and Ye RuiChen’s face changed. They glanced at each other, and did not delay any further. In a flash, they both vanished, leaving the two youths standing there stupefied.
Lin TianAo turned towards Zhou Weiqing, saying in an uncertain tone: “Those two were so powerful, I couldn’t even tell what level they were at. Weiqing, what were they saying just now?”
Towards Wei Yang and Ye RuiChen’s conversation, Zhou Weiqing could understand the gist of it, and it seemed like it was an argument born out of his own talent. Without question, those two were definitely Zong Stage Consolidating Equipment Masters or higher! After some thought, Zhou Weiqing grinned and said: “I’m not a hundred percent sure myself, Leader, but let’s head to the fourth level to join in the fun!”
Lin TianAo furrowed his brow, saying: “Weiqing, they were fighting over you earlier, why would you send yourself into the tiger’s mouth? With their power levels, either of them could kill us with a single finger.”
Zhou Weiqing laughed heartily, saying: “There is only improvement when there is competition, it might even be better than they are fighting over me. Relax, I guarantee that there will be no danger; who knows if something good might even happen. Come on, let’s go have a look.” As he said that, he quickly moved towards the exit to the third level.
Although Lin TianAo was still wary, but he was no Consolidating Equipment Master, and did not understand much about that world, and he followed suit behind Zhou Weiqing.
After climbing up to the third level, just as they were about the ascend to the fourth level, they were halted. The ones who stopped them were four old men dressed in white, looking to be about sixty to seventy years. The one in the lead held up a hand to stop the two of them from continuing up the stairs, saying solemnly: “I’m sorry guests, the fourth level is temporarily closed. If both of you require
custom made Scrolls, you will need to wait some time before you can enter. Unfortunately, I am unable to give an estimate of how long is required.”
Hearing their words, a disappointed look flashed across Zhou Weiqing’s face, and he shook his head helplessly and said to Lin TianAo: “In that case, let’s go back down to look for materials. We can also have a look at the third level, perhaps we might find some good completed Scrolls.”
Just as he was about to turn around with Lin TianAo and leave, a familiar voice rang out from behind the four white clad guards. “Who is that making all the noise. Be quiet, do not disturb the Masters.”
Hearing that voice, it was as if Zhou Weiqing was struck by a bolt of lightning. Spinning around abruptly, he saw a young girl walk out from behind the four guards, a girl who had plagued his dreams. Wasn’t it just Shangguan Bing’er?!
“Bing’er!” Zhou Weiqing cried out excitedly. Shangguan Bing’er was wearing a white dress, and hearing Zhou Weiqing call her, she started, calling out in surprise: “Zhou Little Fatty?” As she said that, she walked out from behind the white clad guards.
When Zhou Weiqing had called out Bing’er, he had been a little wary at first. After all, the memory of being slapped by Shangguan Xue’er was still imprinted in his mind, especially the memory of the lasting pain.
However, upon looking closely, this Shangguan Bing’er did not have that cold aura of Shangguan Xue’er. Furthermore, she had called him Little Fatty on seeing him, and he did not hesitate any longer. He took a quick step forward, hugging her unhesitatingly.
As the saying goes, loss causes one to truly realise how important something is. When with the other members of the Fei Li Battle Team, Zhou Weiqing had not revealed how much he had been affected, how much he was missing her, for fear of affecting his teammates. But in truth, it had been plaguing him the whole time; otherwise, he wouldn’t have risked his life to fight Shen Little Demon with his all, to even reveal his hand against all his instincts. At this time, finally getting to see Bing’er again, he was overjoyed and just hugged her instantly.
Seeing Zhou Weiqing charge at her, Shangguan Bing’er was startled, lifting her hands as if to block him, but a little mischievous glint in her eyes.
However, this ‘Shangguan Bing’er’ had underestimated Zhou Weiqing’s strength. She did not want to really hurt Zhou Weiqing, and thus did not put in much strength, whereas had been overeager and used a little too much. He never thought that Shangguan Bing’er would reject his embrace, and as such he had just hugged her without thinking.
The result was that this ‘Shangguan Bing’er’’s arms had not managed to block Zhou Weiqing at all, instead having them trapped between them in the embrace.
Zhou Weiqing had been yearning for Shangguan Bing’er too much, and as soon as he hugged her, he kissed her full on the lips.
On being kissed, ‘Shangguan Bing’er started, totally shocked as she was kissed deeply. Soft… wet… fragrant… but wait… something was wrong? Zhou Weiqing was so lost in the kiss that his emotions were all in a mess, so much so that he almost did not sense something was wrong.
The four white-clad guards behind ‘Shangguan Bing’er’ were totally shocked, the only thing in their minds was one single question. Who … who is this? To even dare kiss this little devil girl of their Heaven’s Expanse Palace…
Being kissed by Zhou Weiqing, this ‘Shangguan Bing’er’’s eyes widened, her body shuddering. The next moment, a strange scene occurred.
‘Shangguan Bing’er’ started moving about in Zhou Weiqing’s arms, and in the next instant, her arms snaked out from between them like some flexible eels. Soon after, her left leg stomped hard on Zhou Weiqing’s right foot, causing him to look up in pained surprise.
Next, she grabbed hold of his shoulder, using her own left shoulder to strike him in the chest, and Zhou Weiqing was sent flying back in the air. That was indeed an amazing feat. After all, Zhou Weiqing’s strength was unbelievably powerful, and even if he had no vigilance against Shangguan Bing’er, that basic strength was still there, as well as a considerable body weight. Yet, this ‘Shangguan Bing’er’ had thrown him away without even using a bit of Heavenly Energy, clearly her strength, flexibility, coordination, was at a stunning level.
Seeing Zhou Weiqing getting thrown away, Lin TianAo was startled, quickly jumping in front to catch him. At the same time, that ‘Shangguan Bing’er’ charged forward in a leap, striking towards Zhou Weiqing in mid air, shouting: “Zhou Little Fatty, you’re asking for death!”
“Second sis! Be lenient!” Right at point, a voice rang out, and another white figure dashed down from the fourth level of the Consolidating Equipment Pavilion.
On hearing the voice, the ‘Shangguan Bing’er’ in midair hesitated, and her hands which had almost reached Zhou Weiqing drew back.
Only then was Zhou Weiqing safely caught by Lin TianAo, but at that point he was both shocked and angry in his heart. Shock that Shangguan Bing’er would actually strike him, and that the area where he had been grabbed was exactly the Clavicle Acupuncture Point, and the instant it had been grabbed, he felt two swirling cones of Heavenly Energy invading his Acupuncture Point, and although a large portion of it was blocked off by his energy whirlpool, it still caused his entire shoulder to go numb, otherwise he wouldn’t have been
thrown so easily.
As Lin TianAo placed Zhou Weiqing back onto a ground, a figure flashed down, soaring through the air and right into his arms.
“Little Fatty!” A cry, full of surprise, yearning, longing and love, and Shangguan Bing’er appeared right in front of Zhou Weiqing.
However, this time, Zhou Weiqing did not dare hug her. Subconsciously, he took a step back, his arms lifted warily in front of him. “You…”
Just as Zhou Weiqing was about to ask why Shangguan Bing’er had treated him like that, he was cut off, staring blankly ahead as he suddenly saw that on the stairs, not far away, there was another ‘Shangguan Bing’er’ glaring at him angrily. “Wha… Heavens… Who can tell me what is going on?!” Zhou Weiqing looked helplessly between the two Shangguan Bing’ers, his face muscles twitching.
The Shangguan Bing’er right in front of him cried out tearily: “Silly Little Fatty, I am your Bing’er! That is my second sister, Shangguan Fei’er!”
Zhou Weiqing stared, jaw agape: “You… you really are my Bing’er? How did your parents give birth to you all! You three sisters look so alike…”
As he said that, both his arms which had been held up guardedly fell down, and Shangguan Bing’er leaped into his embrace, hugging him by the waist tightly.
That familiar scent, that slightly quivering soft body in his arms, it finally seemed so real at last as Zhou Weiqing slowly tightened his arms around Shangguan Bing’er, muttering to himself: “Bing’er… my Bing’er…”
All of a sudden, a cold voice rang out from beyond: “Why is it so noisy.” Another white figure appeared at the entrance of the fourth level stairway. Another similar feature, with an icy cold expression – it was Shangguan Xue’er. Xue’er, Fei’er, Bing’er. The three sisters looked exactly alike, and when the three triplets appeared right in front of them, even Lin TianAo had no choice but to stare in shock. In his heart, he muttered to himself: Weiqing getting slapped previously and thrown this time, it was truly not his fault I guess! Perhaps if I were in his shoes, I would have done the same thing.
Hearing Shangguan Xue’er’s voice, Shangguan Bing’er quickly looked up, a blush tinging her beautiful face, but she could not bear to let go of Zhou Weiqing, leaning into his embrace. Just like him, she had felt the torment of being parted, and having finally seen her Little Fatty once more, how could she bear to leave him so quickly again?
Seeing Zhou Weiqing, Shangguan Xue’er started, her face growing even colder. Turning to Zhou Weiqing she said passively: “I once promised you that if your Fei Li Battle Team managed to enter the top four of the Heavenly Jewel Tournament, I would let you see Bing’er. Now, you both have met… you can leave now.”
“Big sis…” Shangguan Bing’er immediately cried out urgently. Looking at her, the cold on Shangguan Xue’er’s face actually thawed a little, growing gentler as she said: “Bing’er, you are at the critical moment. The Masters have been labouring hard for several days for your sake, in order to help you remould your Physical Jewels, you cannot waste everyone’s effort at this point. Come back in now, the Remoulding Scroll is almost complete now.”
Shangguan Bing’er held Zhou Weiqing’s hands, not wanting to leave.
Shangguan Xue’er furrowed her brow slightly, saying: “Come on Bing’er, we have to go. How about this, let him wait here, and when you finish remoulding your Physical Jewels, you can come back out here and chat with him. Just be sure to return to the Palace at night.”
Hearing her words, Shangguan bing’er was overjoyed, smiling happily as she said: “Thanks Big Sis. Little Fatty, you wait here for me okay, I’ll be right back here as soon as I’m done.”
Zhou Weiqing held her hands stubbornly, saying: “No, I don’t want you to leave.” Shangguan Bing’er started, but Shangguan Xue’er said coldly: “If you want the best for her, you better let go of her. The Remoulding Scroll can only be used on the instant it is created, and it will allow Bing’er’s Physical Jewels to be cleansed, remoulded and wiped to a clean slate, so she can Consolidate them again.
Hearing Shangguan Xue’er’s words, although he was still in an emotional state, Zhou Weiqing was greatly surprised. Remould Physical Jewels? Was that even possible? Weren’t Physical Jewels fixed forever once they had been Consolidated?!
Shangguan Bing’er looked pleadingly at Zhou Weiqing, saying: “Little Fatty, we have troubled so many people and spent so much in order to help me Remould my Physical Jewels, I cannot waste all the effort of these Masters. Just wait for me a while, I will be back as soon as possible.”
No matter how much he did not want her to leave, Zhou Weiqing could not allow Shangguan Bing’er to lose such an opportunity. Without question, with the Heaven’s Expanse Palace wealth, after Remoulding her Physical Jewels, Bing’er would be able to Consolidate top quality Consolidating Equipment Scrolls, likely God Tier ones, or even a Legendary Set! Shangguan Tianyue loved his daughters so much, and especially so for Shangguan Bing’er, who he felt he had let down for so many years, and he would definitely do all he could to give her the very best.
Thinking about all that, he finally let go of his hands unwillingly.
Shangguan Bing’er blushed as she tip toed closer to him, giving him a light kiss on his face before running lightly up the steps again.
Shangguan Xue’er glared coldly at Zhou Weiqing before turning back inside again, and only Shangguan Fei’er remained outside.
The white-clad guards who had stopped Zhou Weiqing and Lin TianAo were now looking upon him with a different look, mostly curiosity. They were all guessing who this youth was, who had kissed both Second and Third Miss!
Seeing that her Big Sis and Little Sis had left, Shangguan Fei’er gritted her teeth as she glared at Zhou Weiqing. “Zhou Lttle Fatty, you dared to steal my first kiss, you’re dead now!” Zhou Weiqing said with a wronged look on his face: “Can I be blamed for that?! Besides my mum and dad, only Bing’er ever calls me Little Fatty. Who asked you all to look exactly alike, and you also called me by that name, how could I guess it wasn’t Bing’er? Furthermore, you already stomped on my foot and threw me back, we should be even now right.”
Shangguan Fei’er’s beautiful big eyes glared angrily at him, as she looked at him in surprise, saying: “Even?! You stole this young lady’s first kiss, and you think we’re even so easily? Dream on! Even if you are third sis’ boyfriend, I will still torture you until you are begging for death, if not I will not be called Shangguan Fei’er!”
Zhou Weiqing laughed heartily, saying: “That’s not a good thing, after all you are Bing’er’s sister, if we are playing around in bed until I’m begging to die, ahh… such an awesome feeling… but that would be letting Bin’er down! Even if Bing’er won’t blame me, I would feel terrible in my heart! After all, I am a gentleman! Do not think that just because you look like Bing’er, I will fall in love with you.”
Shangguan Fei’er was totally shocked into silence by Zhou Weiqing’s teasing. From young, she had been notorious as the mischievous young miss of the Heaven’s Expanse Palace, and no one could do anything about her, as she became known as the Little Devil Girl. When she pranked any of the Heaven’s Expanse Palace disciples, how could they possibly dare retort or retaliate? Yet, this fellow in front of her had taken advantage of her, and still dared to retort back. All of a sudden, she felt a strange sense of freshness, a novel feeling that she
had not experienced before, and she was surprised to find that some of her anger had dissipated.
Her eyes swirling, a cunning plot came to her mind, and she pointed at Zhou Weiqing and said: “Fine, Zhou Weiqing, you just wait. Remember your words to me today, and you’ll live to regret it, I await the day you beg for my forgiveness.”
Zhou Weiqing said with a serious look on his face: “That’s no problem! As long as you say – ‘I want more’, I will likely be begging for forgiveness.”
Just having to watch his Bing’er leave his side, Zhou Weiqing was already in a bad mood. Furthermore, he did not have any favourable impression of Shangguan Tianyue or Shangguan Xue’er, and with Shangguan Fei’er provoking him now, how could he possibly stay quiet and still be Zhou Weiqing? In terms of glibness, how could Shangguan Fei’er be a match for him? Shangguan Fei’er was so angry that she was almost shivering: “Today Bing’er is nearby, and I won’t argue with you further. You just wait! Hmph!” As she said that, she turned and left.
Chapter 95 Zhou Weiqing’s Coming of Age ‘Ceremony!
The four white clad guards looked at Zhou Weiqing with pitying gazes. Offending the Heaven’s Expanse Little Devil Girl, he would definitely have a tough time ahead.
Zhou Weiqing turned to Lin TianAo and said: “I guess Bing’er will take while more, let’s go down and see how the rest are doing first. If they have already finished choosing their Consolidating Equipment Scrolls, I’ll settle their payments first before returning here by myself to wait for Bing’er. Leader, as for your Scroll, we’ll wait until tomorrow before coming here alright?”
Lin TianAo knew that it would be a rare chance for Zhou Weiqing and Shangguan Bing’er to meet up today, and he did not want to waste any time of it. Nodding, he said: “No problems, there is no rush for my Consolidating Equipment Scroll.”
Both of them returned to the first level to look for the other members of the Fei Li Battle Team, and they had already chosen their Scrolls. As a Consolidating Equipment Master, Zhou Weiqing helped them look through to see if their choices were good, and soon after, they made the purchases at the Consolidating Equipment Pavilion.
Although the members of the Fei Li Battle Team had all ‘conned’ Zhou Weiqing, they did not overdo it. Besides Lin TianAo, the other five had spent a total of sixteen million gold coins. Of course, this was after a ten percent discount.
As for Little Witch, Zhou Weiqing would naturally not pay for her. Currently, she was nowhere to be seen; after all, she was here this time on behalf of the Heavenly Demon Sect to purchase a large amount of Scrolls and Materials, and would likely be carrying a large amount of gold coins. As for what exactly she bought, Zhou Weiqing had no interest in finding out. It was the business of the Heavenly Demon Sect, and not a secret that he wanted to know, but no matter what, it was likely a massive purchase.
Zhou Weiqing turned to Lin TianAo and said: “You guys go ahead first, if you want to head back or explore the area further. I’ll be waiting for Bing’er.”
Lin TianAo said: “Do you want me to go with you?” This was after all the Heavenly Jewel Island, and could be said to be populated by many powerhouses. He was afraid that Zhou Weiqing might encounter any problems. Zhou Weiqing laughed and said: “That shouldn’t be necessary. In this place, I’m certain that any Heaven’s Expanse Palace disciple will be stronger than us; if anything really happens, even if you are there, it will not make any difference. Do not worry, I will be fine, I’ll just be waiting for Bing’er. We are after all guests for the Heavenly Jewel Tournament.”
Lin TianAo nodded, and the rest of them left. Just as Zhou Weiqing was about to head back up to the fourth level, Shangguan Longyin entered the Pavilion and spotted him.
“You all sure do not waste any time. After reporting to the Palace Masters about your requests, I returned to your inn to look for you, but you had already came to the Consolidating Equipment Pavilion. How was it? Did you find any suitable scrolls?” Shangguan Longyin asked sincerely.
Zhou Weiqing laughed heartily and said: “My companions have already chosen and purchased their own, and as for myself, I was of course waiting for you.”
Shangguan Longyin said: “Weiqing, the two Palace Masters have said, since the Heavenly Jewel Tournament is about to start, there isn’t sufficient time. We hope that you will go through the Tournament with all your power, and once the Tournament is over, no matter what the result is, we will go through the trade according to the terms you have mentioned. Is that alright?”
Zhou Weiqing said: “That sounds great. It’s a deal then.”
Shangguan Longyin said: “You still have two more days to prepare yourselves, and I hope you make use of that time wisely. The finals is a very different ball game from the preliminary heats, and everything will be decided in this one single ‘fight’. The other three teams have all entered the finals before, and they have some idea about the finals. Let me give you a simple idea about it – in the finals, you will be going through a massive free-for-all in a unique environment, you will find out more when it actually starts. I truly look forward to you pulling off a miracle once more.”
After saying that, Shangguan Longyin patted Zhou Weiqing on the shoulder before turning to leave.
One should not underestimate just that short and simple explanation that Shangguan Longyin had given Zhou Weiqing. To the Fei Li Battle Team, this being their first time at the finals of the Heavenly Jewel Tournament, and with their opponents all experienced, this could spell the difference between a swift defeat and some hope of success. In any case, it would at least give them two days of preparation. Zhou Weiqing hurried back down, managing to catch up with Lin TianAo at the first level, and told him about Shangguan Longyin’s description. After which, he headed back to the fourth level to wait for Shangguan Bing’er.
…
At the same time as Zhou Weiqing was anxiously waiting for Shangguan Bing’er, Shangguan Fei’er had already left the Consolidating Equipment Pavilion and had walked over to one of the inns on the Heavenly Jewel Island.
“Hello, Young Miss.” All the employees of the various establishments around the entire Heavenly Jewel Island were actually outer disciples of the Heaven’s Expanse Palace, and naturally they recognized Shangguan Fei’er, and most of them could differentiate the two Young Miss from their expressions and airs. As for Shangguan Bing’er, their Third Young Miss, she had just returned, and not many knew about her just yet.
Shangguan Fei’er looked to be in a huffy, irritable mood, and she said: “Where are the members of the ZhongTian Battle Team? Call them out, I want to see them.” Seeing her in such a mood, the employee did not dare to question her, and quickly headed in to comply with her request.
In moments, the eight members of the ZhongTian Battle Team had gathered at the main hall of the inn, including the youth leader who had caught the attention of Zhou Weiqing previously.
“Second Miss, what is the matter? Who angered you?” As soon as the youth saw Shangguan Fei’er, his eyes lit up and he quickly approached her.
Shangguan Fei’er gave a humph, and said: “That is none of your concern, Zhan LingTian, I need your help to do something.”
This Zhan LingTian was naturally the leader of the ZhongTian Battle Team, and was also one of the core disciples of this generation of the Heaven’s Expanse Palace, and he had training with the First Palace Master Shangguan Tianyang since a young age, and could be said to be one of the top few of the core disciples of their generation currently. In terms of cultivation level, he was also the cream of the crop. When he saw Shangguan Fei’er, he had gotten a headache. Even though Shangguan Fei’er and Shangguan Xue’er looked exactly the same, in Zhan LingTian’s heart, they were of totally different status. Since a young age, he had fallen for Shangguan Xue’er, but kept a respectful distance from the Little Devil Girl Shangguan Fei’er. Of course, seeing her here now, he could easily guess that it wouldn’t bode well for them.
Shangguan Fei’er glanced at the only female member of the ZhongTian Battle Team, then turned to Zhan LingTian and said: “Zhan LingTian, let me swap with her, I want to join the Battle Team and attend the Heavenly Jewel Tournament!”
“Whaa??” Zhan LingTian was caught by surprise. “Second Miss, please don’t joke around with me. How can that be possible? You are of exalted rank and status, and no harm must come to you. Should anything happen to you in the finals, how can I possibly take the responsibility for that? Furthermore, there are rules to the Tournament, and it is strictly forbidden to change team members after entering the Finals. Even though we are the organisers, we cannot break our own rules.”
Shangguan Fei’er said angrily: “Don’t talk to me about all those principles and rules. Is my power not strong enough? I do not care, I want to join! None of you really fought much in the preliminary heats, I’m sure no one will have even taken much note of the members, what’s wrong with just a quick swap. Nobody will notice!”
Originally, Zhan LingTian had gotten a slight headache when he saw her, but looking at her stubborn expression, it now grew into a severe migraine. He was clear on how difficult it was to get this Second Miss to change her mind once she had set her sights on something.
“Second Miss, this is a matter of principle. I’m sorry, but I definitely cannot agree to it. If you really insist on it, I will have to report to the Palace Masters.” As one of the leading disciples of the Heaven’s Expanse Palace, he would not give in so easily.
Hearing him bring up her father and uncle, Shangguan Fei’er knew she couldn’t continue forcing him. A mischievous look flashed in her eyes as she thought quickly, then she suddenly gave a loud sigh, saying: “Big Brother Zhan, don’t you know why I suddenly insist on joining the Heavenly Jewel Tournament?”
Zhan LingTian had also been curious about that, and he asked uncertainly: “Why is that?” Shangguan Fei’er’s eyes reddened, and she said pitiably: “Because… because big sis was bullied…”
“What did you say?!” Zhan LingTian exclaimed, a cold light flashing in his eyes. His stable countenance warped into a heavy killing intent, surprising even the other members of the ZhongTian Battle Team. None of them had ever seen their leader in such an enraged state.
Shangguan Fei’er continued sadly: “I am speaking the truth. In the Fei Li Battle Team, there is a little rascal called Zhou Weiqing, and he was the one who brought back my Third Sis, and is also my Third Sis’ boyfriend. However, that time in the ZhongTian City Consolidating Equipment Pavilion, he mistook Big Sis for Third Sis, and kissed her without warning… he just stole away Big Sis’ first kiss like that!”
“Big Sis actually wanted to kill him, but Third Sis appeared, and for her sake, she held back. However, I can still see that Big Sis was not happy, but with her character, you know she would never take action against that Zhou Weiqing. After all, he is Third Sis’ man! But… I won’t take it so easily, hmph, how can that fellow just steal Big Sis’ first kiss like that! Big Bro Zhan, I want to join the ZhongTian Battle Team in order to teach that rascal a lesson, to help Big Sis get some revenge. As long as we don’t kill or severely injure him, then we will be fine.” Although Zhan LingTian knew very well what Shangguan Fei’er’s character was like, her mischevious desire to stir up trouble notorious amongst the core disciples, but when he heard her words, he still fell for it, his eyes reddening in rage. After all, it was his idol, his love’s first kiss!
As the saying goes, caring causes mistakes. Even though Zhan LingTian was one of the top disciples in the Heaven’s Expanse Palace, perhaps one of the top of his generation in the entire mainland even, but he was still no exception to that. In his heart, Shangguan Xue’er was like his goddess, and for her first kiss to be stolen by some stranger, the rage and jealousy in his heart burned fiery hot.
Seeing the fiery rage in Zhan LingTian’s eyes, Shangguan Fei’er smirked to herself inwardly. She knew that as long as she mentioned her Big Sis, she could easily manipulate this stubborn blockhead. This Zhan LingTian was so infatuated by her Big Sis, alas she did not have any reciprocal feelings for him.
“Alright! I’ll let you join!” Zhan LingTian said curtly, his words filled with killing intent.
Shangguan Fei’er started, furrowing her brow, before saying in a low tone: “Big Bro Zhan, that Zhou Weiqing is hateful, but he is after all Third Sis’ fiance. You can teach him a lesson, but you better not try to kill him!”
Zhan LingTian looked at her, a cold light in his eyes, but he did not say anything else, instead turning back into his room.
…
Consolidating Equipment Pavilion.
Zhou Weiqing sat quietly cross-legged at the entrance of the stairway to the fourth level, his eyes closed as he cultivated his Immortal Deity Technique. His emotions were still in turmoil from seeing Shangguan Bing’er earlier, and he was barely able to concentrate.
Defeat Shangguan Xue’er, only then can you marry Bing’er. That was the condition that the Heaven’s Expanse Palace had set for him.
Naturally, Zhou Weiqing did not think that just because he had barely beaten Shen Little Demon from the Blood Red Hell, that he would be able to take on Shangguan Xue’er. He had personally experienced the sheer presence she had, and the overwhelming power he could sense from her.
Seven Jewels. Low Level Zong Stage Heavenly Jewel Master. Just her Heavenly Energy alone was more than twelve levels above his own. Furthermore, Shangguan Xue’er was from the Heaven’s Expanse Palace. Without even needing to verify, Zhou Weiqing was certain that she was using God Tier Consolidated Equipment, likely Legendary Sets. And unlike him or Shen Little Demon, she probably already had several pieces completed! The only advantage he would have over her would be his Elemental Jewels, but everything else he had would definitely pale in comparison, or perhaps even totally useless against her!
Direct translation of 关⼼则乱, which is an idiom shortened from the saying ⽆欲则刚 关⼼则乱. Basically, you can probably get the gist of the meaning from the direct translation, but the entire thing means ‘If you have no desires, you will not be easily affected or tricked by others. Once someone cares a lot about something/someone, it is easy to make mistakes or misjudgements when the thing in question is at risk Power. This was all due to a massive gap in power levels. As such, even though he didn’t know how long he had to wait for Bing’er, perhaps only a short amount of time, Zhou Weiqing did not want to waste any of it, and he sat there cultivating.
In the previous fight against the Dan Dun Battle Team, he had Devoured some of Shen Little Demon’s Heavenly Energy, then once more some of Lin TianAo’s Heavenly Energy when he was being healed, and then Shen Little Demon’s once again when he healed her. That had given him a huge overall boost to his Heavenly Energy, but it was very mixed and impure. As such, these few days, he had been refining and purifying this external Heavenly Energy and making it his own.
The Demonic Manual that Little Witch had lent him had given him a whole new insight to the Demonic Attribute, and more so the Devour Skill, and had also given him a new target for his future cultivation.
The Devour Skill was indeed a great skill in combat, but its true benefits actually lay out of combat, in supporting his cultivating, enabling him to Devour other humans or even Heavenly Beasts’ Heavenly Energy for his own use. Once that Devoured Heavenly Energy was cleansed and purified for his own use, it would truly belong to him. Of course, by that time, less than ten percent would be left, and he would still need constantly purify and meld it to make it his own, a rather tedious process. This would restrict those Heavenly Demon
Jewel Masters from using this Skill to gain a terrifying amount of power in a short amount of time.
Yet, even with all those restrictions, any Heavenly Jewel Master with the Devour Skill cultivated at speeds far beyond that of any ordinary talented Heavenly Jewel Master. Of course that was provided he or she had sufficient Heavenly Beasts or other Heavenly Jewel Masters to constantly Devour from.
Earlier, he had gone through all the levels of the Consolidating Equipment Pavilion and looked through the materials, and after thinking about it, he knew that he just had too many things he wanted to purchase. Still, he would not rush into it. After all, his finances were limited. His plan was to wait until after the Heavenly Jewel Tournament before starting his purchases. If they could get a decent ranking position in the Tournament, he would be able to make use of a better discount to purchase more materials.
At the same time, he had a new focus for his cultivation after today, with the Skill Storing Palace being the best place for him to train. That was because there were more than enough Heavenly Beasts for him to Devour there. As long as he was extremely careful in keeping it hidden, he should be safe from being discovered.
As he continued cultivating, he continued making his plans, deep in thought. In such a state, time passed by swiftly, and it was like a blink of an eye and evening had already come.
“Little Fatty.” A soft voice roused Zhou Weiqing from his cultivation, and his eyes snapped wide open instantly to see the beautiful face of Shangguan Bing’er in front of him, tears in her eyes.
Zhou Weiqing leaped up to his feet, grabbing her hands as he pulled her into an embrace.
Currently, she looked extremely exhausted, but the excitement in her eyes at their meeting was not diminished at all.
Shangguan Xue’er stood beside Shangguan Bing’er, an exact look, but a totally different aura and expression, forming a different beauty altogether. Alas, Zhou Weiqing only had eyes for his Bing’er, and did not even glance at Shangguan Xue’er. “Bing’er, you should come back earlier. You will need to cultivate in order to stablize your state, so you can properly go through fresh new Consolidating.” Even though she was speaking to her own beloved sister, Shangguan Xue’er’s voice still seemed cold.
Shangguan Bing’er nodded to her sister, saying: “Big Sis, I will be back before midnight.”
Zhou Weiqing did not greet Shangguan Xue’er, pulling Shangguan Bing’er away out of the Consolidating Equipment Pavilion and right back to the hotel where the Fei Li Battle Team were staying. He was almost half carrying Bing’er as he rushed into his room, slamming the door shut before hugging her tightly in his embrace.
At this moment, it was as if their hearts beat as one, melding together like they were about to break free of their chests and join together as their bodies pressed together, and their heartbeats raced increasingly.
“Little Fatty… Little Fatty…” Shangguan Bing’er muttered, as if not believing that what was happening in front of her was true, and it was all just a dream. Zhou Weiqing could feel Shangguan Bing’er’s body in his arms emitting a shocking heat, melting his body, his heart and his soul.
Lowering his head, he found her lips so naturally, kissing down lightly as if afraid of hurting her.
Shangguan Bing’er could clearly feel the pent up emotions, the excitement in the taut tension of his body, but yet Zhou Weiqing’s kiss was so soft and careful as his lips quivered.
Lifting her arms and wrapping them around his neck, she took the initiative to deepen the kiss, inexperienced and awkwardly, but very intensely as they felt their connection deepen even further.
Two fiery hot hearts, blossoming outward like fireworks in the skies, spreading into every inch of their body, that fire seeming to melt every part of them…
Within that room in the inn, a spring in the air thicker than that of the Heavenly Jewel Island grew, as love and yearning intertwined in the heat. Rough, powerful pantings, and soft sweet cries rose in sudden excitement, then dropped…
…
As night fell, the skies darkened, and the entire Heavenly Jewel Island was covered in clouds, shimmering with a layer of soft light.
Snuggling deep into Zhou Weiqing’s embrace, feeling his large hot hands lingering around her back, Shangguan Bing’er did not feel like moving at all, as if her body was like cotten candy.
This was not their first time, but as compared to their first time, especially for Shangguan Bing’er, it was the difference between Heaven and Hell.
This was a true joining of love, of flesh and spirit, and even she was rather shy and embarrassed about her earlier frantic excitement. Still now, in the warm afterglow, she felt that there was no distance between the two of them, as if they were part of each other now. Zhou Weiqing lowered his head, kissing her forehead and hair softly, a doting love in his eyes. How he wished that this moment could last forever!
And so they spent several moments just like that, tightly embraced together, neither willing to ruin that special moment, until…
“Ahhh—” Shangguan Bing’er gave a low cry of surprise, moving back a little fearfully, as she could clearly feel that ‘little monster’, that had brought her to the brinks of joy last night, yet now making her shy and scared, show signs of life once more.
Zhou Weiqing quickly moved back a little as well, saying embarrassedly: “I’m sorry Bing’er, I didn’t mean to. Bing’er, you’re tired, rest a while more.”
Shangguan Bing’er had been exhausted previously when she had come out of the fourth level of the Consolidating Equipment Pavilion, and yet both of them had spent the whole night in over-excited ‘activities’, all the way up till now. Looking at Bing’er’s, pale face, Zhou Weiqing felt an ache in his heart. “I… I don’t want to sleep, I want to talk with you a while more. Who knows when I’ll be able to see you again…” As she said that, her eyes reddened.
Zhou Weiqing quickly embraced her once more, saying resolutely: “Do not cry Bing’er, I will definitely work hard and train hard, to do my utmost to become worthy of bringing you away as soon as possible.”
Shangguan Bing’er put her head on his chest as she said: “Little Fatty, do not blame my father and sisters, I know they are doing everything for my good. In truth, they have already acknowledged your talent and capabilities, but father wants me to go through closed door cultivation to re-Consolidate my Physical Jewels and Elemental Jewel Skill Storing. That might require quite a long time.”
Zhou Weiqing nodded, saying: “That is a good thing. You stay here and train hard then, when I have grown sufficiently to prove myself, I will come to pick you up again.”
Shangguan Bing’er lifted her head to look at him, saying: “Little fool, do you really think I care about that? Actually, I wanted to leave with you no matter what, but father said that he missed mother so much, and wanted to reunite our entire family. Only if I stay in the Heavenly Jewel Island will he have the chance to bring mother back together. For both their sakes, and ours as well, that is the reason why I am staying. Since I am staying, that’s why I agreed to let father improve my power, so that when I return to the Heavenly Bow Empire to find you in the future, we can build up our Empire together. In my heart, I will always be a citizen of the Heavenly Bow Empire, and it will always be my home.”
Although she wasn’t willing to sleep, Shangguan Bing’er was just too tired. In Zhou Weiqing’s comfortable embrace, even as they spoke, she unknowingly fell into a deep sleep.
Zhou Weiqing stroked her hair and back tenderly, slowly circulating his Heavenly Energy carefully into her body to aid her recovery.
Alas, good times always never seemed to last. When an icy cold call came from outside their door, it shook both Zhou Weiqing and the sleeping Shangguan Bing’er from their reverie.
“Third sis, it’s time to go home.”
The cold voice was undoubtedly Shangguan Xue’er’s. It was already long past midnight, and Bing’er had not returned. As the big sister, she had been worried, and had came to look for her.
“Big sister, I’m coming out, wait for me a while.”
Zhou Weiqing looked on silently as the blushing Shangguan Bing’er dressed. He did not say anything, just quietly looking at her, helping her comb her hair, which had been messed up in the night.
As he did so, the more Shangguan Bing’er could not bear it, and tears welled in her eyes, though she forced herself not to cry.
“Little Fatty, don’t see me off alright… please?” She said pleadingly.
Zhou Weiqing’s voice was rather hoarse as he said: “Let me send you to the entrance of the Heaven’s Expanse Palace. Every second with you is worth it.”
Shangguan Bing’er shook her head, tears glittering as the motion jerked them into the air. “No! Little Fatty, if you do so, I’m afraid I will not be able to stand it. I will wait for you, no matter how long it takes, I will always wait for you. I will not go anywhere, nor will I leave the Heaven’s Expanse Palace until you come back, lest you aren’t able to find me. Alright?”
Zhou Weiqing held her tightly once more. “Bing’er… Bing’er… I will not let you wait long. I promise! In three to five years, I will definitely come back to the Heavenly Jewel Island and defeat your sister, to officially marry you!”
Shangguan Bing’er turned back, hugging him back with all her strength before finally releasing him, running out the door without looking back.
Shangguan Xue’er was standing at the doorway, and she had naturally heard their conversation. When Shangguan Bing’er ran past her, there was a strange look in her eyes, and she turned to Zhou Weiqing and said: “Do not disappoint Bing’er.” After that, she quickly left to catch up with her sister.
Zhou Weiqing stood at the door, dazed. He did not chase after them; he did not want to go against Bing’er’s last request to him. Yet, at that point, an indescribable sense of loss and intense longing overwhelmed him. In the corner of the room, Fat Cat popped her head out, staring blankly at Zhou Weiqing in the doorway, a complicated look in her eyes as well as she pawed the couch in front of her with her claws.
After a long moment, Zhou Weiqing finally seemed to snap out of it, abruptly turning around and saying: “Come on Fat Cat, let’s go to the Skill Storing Palace.”
Although it was already in the small hours of the morning, Zhou Weiqing could not still his restless heart. Fat Cat started a little, but quickly jumped onto his shoulder and sliding down into her usual spot in his arms. She did not know why, but at that moment, she particularly wanted to feel his warm embrace.
Feeling the warm furry body of Fat Cat in his arms, the empty feeling in Zhou Weiqing’s heart felt a little better.
After exiting the inn, the fresh cold air cleared Zhou Weiqing’s mind in a flash. Looking up, he was instantly caught by the breathtaking sight of a sky filled with stars, as if they were winking at him from a close distance, just a hand’s reach away from him.
Taking a huge breath, he held it in until his lungs felt like they were about to explode. Only then did Zhou Weiqing stop, expelling out his troubles in that one long breath.
The troubled look on his face disappeared, replaced by a resolute edge to it.
Zhou Weiqing was only seventeen years old, and yet, at this moment, he had finally truly grown up.
And his earlier re-uniting with Shangguan Bing’er, was just like his coming of age ceremony, signalling that he was now truly an adult, a man!
The Skill Storing Palace on the Heavenly Jewel Island was very close to their inn, and before long Zhou Weiqing had entered it. With the Heavenly Jewel Plaque, he easily gained access.
At first, he had been worried that the Skill Storing Palace might be closed at night, but on reaching his destination, he found that his worries had been unfounded, and that the Skill Storing Palace on the Heavenly Jewel Island was actually open everyday, at all hours.
The Skill Storing Palace here had a slightly different payment system as compared to the others Zhou Weiqing had visited before; when entering, no matter which level of Heavenly Beast one wanted to Skill Store from, every day was a flat fee of fifty thousand gold coins.
As compared to the lowest prices in some of the Empires’ Skill Storing Palace of five hundred gold coins, it was more than a hundred times more.
Still, no one would complain of it being too pricey.
That was because each and every one of the Heavenly Beasts in this Skill Storing Palace was painstakingly chosen, and only the best would be allowed to stay here, each having only the best, strongest or most useful Skills.
Amongst them, there was no lack of Heavenly King or even Heavenly Emperor stage Heavenly Beasts! As for whether there were even higher stage Heavenly God Heavenly Beasts, not many people knew.
Under normal circumstances, entering the Skill Storing Palace, the first thing Zhou Weiqing would have done would be to first Store his two last remaining Skills of the Time Attribute.
Yet, the current him was filled with the image of Shangguan Bing’er, and he could not maintain a calm head. In such a state, he had no patience to slowly look for the most suitable Skill for himself. Coming here in the dead of the night, his target was not to go through Skill Storing.
Under the guidance of an employee, Zhou Weiqing entered the depths of the Skill Storing Palace. The size of this place was actually smaller than that of the ZhongTian Empire Skill Storing Palace, but at every passageway there was a Lustre Gem.
The guide who brought Zhou Weiqing in asked him: “Which Heavenly Beast Attributes are you looking to Skill Store?”
Zhou Weiqing hesitated a moment, before asking solemnly: “Do you all have any Heavenly Beasts with both the Darkness Attribute and Demonic Attribute? Any stage is fine.”
The white clad guide looked at him in surprise, saying: “Please hold a moment, I will have to check regarding that request.”
As he said that, he walked to one of the Lustre Gems at the side and started to search for the required information.
Naturally, Zhou Weiqing had a reason for choosing a Heavenly Beast with both Darkness and Demonic Attributes. The reason he came here this night was actually to Devour a Heavenly Beast’s Heavenly Energy in order to cultivate faster.
After seeing Shangguan Bing’er, his thirst for power had grown to new heights, and he wasn’t even willing to waste any time, wanting to grow stronger in the shortest possible time to gain back his Bing’er.
As for why one which had both the Darkness and Demonic Attributes, there was naturally a reason for that as well. After reading through the Demonic Manual, Zhou Weiqing had a much deeper understanding of the intricate profound mysteries of the Devour Skill. According to the records in the Demonic Manual, when using the Devour Skill for the purpose of cultivation and training, the easiest for one to purify and absorb was the Heavenly Energy from Heavenly Beasts with both these attributes. That was because the Devour Skill was after all a Demonic Skill, and the Demonic Attribute was intricately linked to the Darkness Attribute.
In truth, having both the Darkness and Demonic Attributes was the hidden foundation that one had to have before they could actually have the Devour Skill.
As such, when the Devoured Heavenly Energy consisted of those two attributes, it would have the greatest fit with Zhou Weiqing’s own Heavenly Energy, allowing him to gain a greater proportion after purifying and absorbing, reducing wastage and greatly further increasing his rate of cultivation.
This was the fastest speed possible for cultivating!
Of course, a Heavenly Beast having both the Darkness and Demonic Attributes was even rarer than a human with those two attributes. If not for the fact that this was the Heavenly Jewel Island Skill Storing Palace, Zhou Weiqing would not even bother asking about this. It didn’t take long for the guide to finish his search and return to Zhou Weiqing, saying respectfully: “Sir, I have completed the search. Heavenly Beasts with those two Darkness and Demonic Attributes are extremely rare, and even in our Heavenly Jewel Island Skill Storing Palace, we only have two. One is a Top level Zong Stage Heavenly Beast, the Eight- Eyed Demon Spider, and the other is a Heavenly Emperor Stage Heavenly Beast, the Devil Dragon Girl.”
“However, in order to Skill Store Heavenly King Beasts and above, one needs to have a certain contribution to our Heavenly Jewel Island, otherwise a barter trade of equivalent exchange is required.”
Zhou Weiqing started: “Additional payment of gold coins isn’t accepted?”
The guide smiled as he shook his head, saying: “I’m sorry Sir, the value of Heavenly King Beasts and above isn’t measurable by just gold coins alone.”
Hearing his words, Zhou Weiqing nodded and said: “I see… so the fifty thousand gold coins here are just for Zong Stage Beasts. In that case, I’ll choose that Eight-Eyed Demon Spider you mentioned earlier then.” “Please follow me.” The guide nodded as he led Zhou Weiqing into the passageway where the Darkness Attribute Heavenly Beasts were.
As it was late in the night, the rather empty Skill Storing Palace was eerily quiet, and only their footsteps could be heard as they walked down the path led by the guide. As they walked, the guide told Zhou Weiqing: “In order to ensure the Heavenly Beasts are active and in a good environment, although they are given Seals and restrictions, the restrictions are much weaker than compared to other Skill Storing Palaces. The Eight-Eyed Demon Spider is a fierce, violent creature, and you need to be careful when you are going through Skill Storing later.”
Zhou Weiqing nodded towards him, saying: “Thanks for your advice, I will take care.”
The two walked almost a hundred metres through various passageways, twisting and turning before they finally reached a large door, about two metres tall and a metre wide. Clearly, there was a Sealed Heavenly Beast behind this door.
Finally, the guide stopped right before the door, pausing a second before saying: “Sir, the Eight-Eyed Demon Spider you requested is right behind that door. Please do note that you have one day in order to go through Skill Storing. If you do not come out within a day, you will be charged a second day’s fee even if you do not make full use of the time. After completing your Skill Storing, please return via the route we came by, and do not wander into any of the other Heavenly Beasts’ rooms, lest any harm comes to you.”
As he said that, he took out a key and opened the door, before motioning Zhou Weiqing to enter.
Zhou Weiqing thanked the guide before entering the room alone.
The room wasn’t large, though it was specially reserved only for the lone Heavenly Beast, and it was only about a dozen or so square metres. As soon as he entered the door, Zhou Weiqing spotted his target easily.
It was a huge spider, almost totally lifeless-grey in colour. It’s body was large, almost the size of a big millstone. As compared to ordinary spiders, its eight limbs were not long at all, but its large eight glowing eyes on its back were icy cold, almost terrifying.
Its entire body was also covered densely with black tattoo lines, almost forming a strange web design on its body. It’s relatively short legs were actually terrifying, with vicious reverse spikes studding it. On a single look, one could easily tell this was a fierce creature designed to be a killing machine.
This was the Eight-Eyed Demon Spider indeed. It truly lived up to its name.
Zhou Weiqing drew in a deep breath as soon as he saw the creature. Even someone used to seeing Heavenly Beasts like himself was almost caught by surprise. His earlier excitement cooled down instantly, as he forced himself to calm down.
Without even looking at the introduction, he understood clearly that if not for the fact that this Heavenly Beast was Sealed, he could not possibly even dream of facing it. In fact, even the entire Fei Li Battle Team together would not be a match for it.
Dual Attributes. Darkness and Demonic. Top Level Zong Stage!
That was already more than comparable to an ordinary nine- Jeweled Heavenly Jewel Master! Just as Zhou Weiqing was busy thinking, the Eight-Eyed Demon Spider decided to try to give him a show down, a scare. Its still, unmoving body abruptly charging forward in a sudden pounce at Zhou Weiqing.
Its swift, violent abrupt movement, coupled with the intense killing intent from all its eight eyes.
Almost subconsciously, Zhou Weiqing flew backwards in retreat, his back striking the door heavily. At the same time, the Eight-Eyed Demon Spider’s body was stopped in mid air, barely a metre from him.
It had been stopped by a long thick black chain, which seemed to made of an unknown material, tough and flexible as could be.
In just that short instant, Zhou Weiqing was startled into cold sweat. The Eight-Eyed Demon Spider looked at him, its eight eyes seeming to mock him as it glared coldly from its position.
“Damn it, are you asking for death?” Zhou Weiqing growled in a low tone. The sheer violent tyranny of the Eight-Eyed Demon Spider had sparked his own anger and fire.
He had originally already been in a bad mood, and had came here specially to train, and now he had met a creature testing his limits as well.
The muscles of both arms bulged out, growing at a sudden insane speed that the naked eye could follow. Soon after, the usual black tiger tattoos spread across his entire body, and with a savage stomp of his right foot, Zhou Weiqing suddenly charged forward towards the Eight-Eyed Demon Spider’s head.
If this powerful Heavenly Beast had not been Sealed, perhaps Zhou Weiqing could only attempt to run if he saw it, and even that would be a minuscule chance of escaping. Yet, now, it was severely restricted by the Darkness Seal on it, and it could barely unleash a fraction of its own power.
When Zhou Weiqing entered the Demonic Change State, the Eight-Eyed Demon Spider seemed to grow agitated. Seeing him charge forward, it emitted a shrill cry, its legs shrinking in as it lowered its back, revealing layers of scales like an armored covering.
Alas, what met its defenses was Zhou Weiqing’s Demonic Right Leg.
A loud explosion. The Eight-Eyed Demon Spider’s body was smashed savagely down onto the ground.
Chapter 96 Lustre Spatial Realm
The strongest part of Zhou Weiqing’s considerably powerful body was definitely his right leg, especially after his entire body had gone through its second evolution. Added on to the fact he was in the Demonic Change State, even if Lin TianAo was using his five-Jeweled Assembly Set Shield to block Zhou Weiqing’s right leg, he would be hard pressed to do so and remain standing stably.
Furthermore, that was just considering the pure brute strength of the blow. Within Zhou Weiqing’s Demonic Right Leg also contained a powerful mixture of Demonic and Darkness Energy, and once it struck an enemy, would be infused into his body. Although Zhou Weiqing’s current Heavenly Energy was not strong, but it was extremely high quality Darkness and Demonic Energy. In terms of energy grade, even the Eight-Eyed Demon Spider was unable to match it.
Facing such a blow, the Sealed Eight-Eyed Demon Spider was unable to dodge or block it, and could only take it head on with its tough armored scales. Alas, without sufficient Heavenly Energy to support itself, all its abilities were greatly reduced, even its defensive capabilities. In that massive explosion, its eight legs were unable to support its body, and it fell down hard onto the ground.
Another earsplitting shriek emitted from the Eight-Eyed Demon Spider, and a deep footprint was actually left on its armored back. That was still after Zhou Weiqing had held back a little, fearing that he would kill it, and he had only used the back of his foot, and not the ‘scorpion hook’ that his Demonic Right Leg had warped into in the Demonic Change State.
Zhou Weiqing glared at the Eight-Eyed Demon Spider with a murderous intent in his eyes, saying disdainfully: “You know you’ve been Sealed, and you still want to test this Big Bro? Hmph, you are truly asking for death. Be good at let me Devour from you, and I’ll let you off… Otherwise… You see this?!”
As he said that threateningly, he had already lifted up his Demonic Right Leg once more, this time placing the glowing black hook in front of the spider’s eight eyes. With his Heavenly Energy infused within, the hook was glowing, giving forth a cold, evil icy aura, enveloping the Eight-Eyed Demon Spider and causing it to shudder involuntarily.
The spider cried out in a low tone, though its eyes were still angry and recalcitrant, but its eight short legs spread out slowly, its body fully resting on the floor. With its legs spread out by its body, it naturally wasn’t able to move its body to attack. Although they had no common language, such a powerful Heavenly Beast was extremely intelligent, and it showed Zhou Weiqing that it wouldn’t fight back with its body language.
The character of the Eight-Eyed Demon Spider was violent and murderous, but it was extremely intelligent. Facing a human who could threaten its own life, it did not dare take any rash actions. Furthermore, it could sense a terrifying aura from Zhou Weiqing’s body. Earlier, when Zhou Weiqing had first entered, it had not sensed it, but as he unleashed the Demonic Change State, the aura grew much stronger… the aura of a pure bloodline ranked Heavenly Beast!
Zhou Weiqing gave a humph and said: “That’s better.”
As he said that, he placed both palms onto the back of the large spider, quickly activating the Devour Skill.
The Eight-Eyed Demon Spider’s eyes had previously shown its unwillingness to submit, even if its actions did the reverse. Yet, the moment Zhou Weiqing placed his palms on its back, it started struggling violently, and only a pure unadulterated terror was left remaining in its many eyes. Zhou Weiqing was caught by surprise and almost thrown off its back, and only through the might of his considerable strength was he able to hang on and suppress the spider’s movements.
It was inscribed within the Demonic Manual that when Heavenly Demon Masters with the Devour Skill unleashed it while in the Demonic Change state, they would be able to directly make use of the stolen energy to power their own attacks without first purifying and absorbing it, thus greatly increasing their sustainability in battle, just like what Zhou Weiqing had done in his fight with Shen Little Demon. However, this would disrupt them from continuing to Devour. Even so, during this process, it could allow the ‘maximum’ Heavenly Energy of the Heavenly Demon Master to increase greatly during the fight. This was also one of the most important reasons why Zhou Weiqing had managed to beat Shen Little Demon.
Currently, with the Devour Skill in effect and at maximum effort from Zhou Weiqing, the Eight-Eyed Demon Spider could sense its energy and life force being drained rapidly, causing it to feel shock and fear.
That was one of the most terrifying things about the Devour Skill; not only did it drain Heavenly Energy, but also life force! This Devoured life force could not only be used to heal wounds, but also to temporarily strengthen the user’s body and physique. Worse still, if the Devoured target continued being Devoured, it would eventually end up a dried up corpse. It would be just like the previous time when Zhou Weiqing had
used it on the forest direwolves for the first time.
For the Demonic Manual to state the Devour Skill was the most powerful tool of the Demonic Attribute, naturally it wasn’t just for fun. Just imagine, for a person to be drained of life and Heavenly Energy, it might even reduce his cultivation level!
With the Devour Skill active, Zhou Weiqing felt as if he was filled with infinite strength as power surged through him. He kept his hands pressed against the spider, the hook of his right leg stepping at the centre of its eyes as a precaution. At first, the Eight-Eyed Demon Spider wanted to attempt to get up and resist, but in its unfavorable position, it struggled to do so, and very quickly, it grew too weak to do anything else.
The massive influx of energy surged through Zhou Weiqing’s thick arms into his body, and in a few moments, he felt as if his entire body was bloated, brimming with excess energy until almost bursting point. As for the Eight-Eyed Demon Spider below him, the once lustrous glow of its armored shell was now dim.
It was barely ten second since he started before Zhou Weiqing quickly vaulted away from the Eight-Eyed Demon Spider’s back, jumping over to a corner which the spider could not reach before sitting cross legged in a meditative position to cultivate.
At the same time, he removed his Demonic Change State.
After all, Zhou Weiqing was still merely a three-Jeweled Heavenly Jewel Master, while the Eight-Eyed Demon Spider was a top level Zong Stage Heavenly Beast. Although it was no match for him due to its Seal, it was just unable to use its energy and abilities, and the power within still remained, far beyond what Zhou Weiqing could handle.
As such, Zhou Weiqing could only Devour a very tiny fraction of its Heavenly Energy and Life Force, before his own body was already at its limit. If he continued Devouring, he might even self-implode and die! After all, the true cultivation gap between the two was just too huge. After sitting down, Zhou Weiqing started cultivating with his Immortal Deity Technique, the fourteen Death Acupuncture Point energy whirlpools whirling like crazy. Due to the improvement to his physique, and the additional life energy he had just Devoured, the energy whirlpools were now whirling at a much faster rate.
Within his body, the black and grey currents of energy were swiftly torn apart by the energy whirlpools of the fourteen Death Acupuncture Points, slowly assimilating the Heavenly Energy as his own.
The corner of Zhou Weiqing’s lips moved upward in a slight, pleased smile. The Demonic Manual was accurate after all, and his efforts were well rewarded. The Darkness and Demonic Attribute imbued Heavenly Energy he had Devoured was indeed much more compatible with his own, and it was much faster to purify and absorb it to become his own, faster by several times as compared to when he was assimilating Shen Little Demon’s! As he had Devoured so much energy this time, nearly his maximum limit, Zhou Weiqing could clearly sense his Heavenly Energy growing at a respectable rate, bit by bit.
To actually sense their own Heavenly Energy growing while cultivating, that was definitely something unheard of to any Heavenly Jewel Master! Even the great cultivation techniques of the other Great Saint Lands did not have such an effect, yet Zhou Weiqing had clearly done so. The sheer advantage of having this Devour Skill was slowly showing itself now. Zhou Weiqing did not realise that the original owner of his very own black pearl, Dark Demon God Tiger, was notorious for cultivating with this Devour Skill.
After more than four hours, Zhou Weiqing finally opened his eyes slowly. When he did so, the Eight-Eyed Demon Spider was also startled awake, its body shuddering as it tried to back away in fear.
That feeling of its life force and Heavenly Energy both leaking away, out of its control, was just too terrifying. Not to mention it already had a certain intelligence, even a low level Heavenly Beast’s base instincts would be terrified of such a feeling… such a person!
Zhou Weiqing grinned and said: “Heh heh, don’t be afraid. I will make sure I do not kill you. After all, my hopes of cultivating fast are all on you.”
The poor trapped Eight-Eyed Demon Spider was ultimately unable to escape the clutches of Zhou Weiqing and his Devour. Of course, Zhou Weiqing did not dare underestimate the spider as well, making sure to enter the Demonic Change State first as a precaution despite its energy waste.
In truth, the previous Devouring of the Eight-Eyed Demon Spider was less than a tenth of its overall Heavenly Energy, and after four hours, it had already fully recovered the energy. Alas, more importantly, the recovery of life force was not so quick, and it had only recovered a little of that when Zhou Weiqing had pounced upon it again.
And so, one dejected terrified spider faced its impending disaster, as Zhou Weiqing continued the cycle of Devour, Absorb… Rinse and repeat, and Zhou Weiqing’s own Heavenly Energy grew at an astonishing rate!
Thirty two hours passed swiftly, immersed in his cultivation. It was already the third day of them entering the Heavenly Jewel Island, and finally Zhou Weiqing wasn’t able to continue from sheer hunger. Exiting the Skill Storing Palace, he returned to the inn.
Besides the massive hunger, Zhou Weiqing could sense something else – that he had Devoured way too much Heavenly Energy, his own control and finery unable to reach the same level as his Heavenly Energy. He would need to stabilize for some time before he could go about doing this again. As soon as he entered the inn, Zhou Weiqing bumped into Drunken Bao.
When Drunken Bao saw him, he was taken aback momentarily, before quickly giving him a light punch on the shoulder, saying: “Weiqing, you little rascal, why didn’t you tell us you were heading to the Skill Storing Palace, and for such a long time!? If not for the fact that we asked the employees of the island where you were, we would be all at a loss about where you were! Tomorrow is the finals match, everyone is waiting for you and Leader to discuss our strategy tomorrow.”
Zhou Weiqing scratched his head sheepishly, saying: “Sorry, I did take too long in the Skill Storing Palace. Bro Bao, let me just go grab a quick meal, you get the rest of the team to gather in Leader’s room. I’ll be there as soon as I finish eating.”
The past few days he had spent fully engrossed in cultivation, and his spirit usage wasn’t high, and the steady improvement of his cultivation and Heavenly Energy, as well as the usage of Devour, had kept his body in tip top condition. As such, he did not need much rest currently.
After less than an hour, and a massive meal later, Zhou Weiqing reunited with his teammates in Lin TianAo’s room. Little Witch was there as well, and from her smiling face, they could easily tell that she had accomplished her goals in the Heavenly Jewel Island, and definitely had no small gain. Lin TianAo glanced at Zhou Weiqing before saying: “Yesterday, we all discussed a simple strategy. Since it should be a team fight, then we will be fighting on overall strength. Little Witch has heard that for this fight, all eight members, both main team and reserve team alike, will have to fight. That is to say, all eight of us will get to take action. Since we are not sure of the exact rules, location of the fight or who we are fighting, we’ll just plan accordingly to our own strengths for now. When we fight, I will be right at the front handling our defenses. Crow, Drunken Bao, both of you will be at the flanks guarding our sides. Weiqing, you’ll be right in the middle, in charge of controlling the battlefield and supporting us all. Xiao Yan and Ye Paopao, both of you are skilled at long ranged attacks, so you will be right behind, and will be our main damage. Little Four, you will be in charge of scouting and supporting attacks. Little Witch, you will stay with Weiqing in the middle. You will be our ace, and when we meet any powerful enemies, you will have to give them a sudden surprise, unleashing all your power to defeat them in a quick swoop.”
Finally finishing, Lin TianAo looked towards Zhou Weiqing and said: “Weiqing, that is our draft plan so far. Do you have anything you want to add?” Zhou Weiqing thought for a moment, then said: “Do any of you know whether or not Heavenly Beasts can be used in this final fight?”
Little Witch said: “I do not know the exact rules, but it should be allowed. After all, the WanShou Battle Team will definitely have Beastmasters amongst their ranks. If they are not allowed to use Heavenly Beasts, that will have a huge impact on their power, and it will not be a fair fight at all. My guess is that there will be some sort of restrictions, perhaps on the numbers allowed or something else, but they should be allowed in general.”
Zhou Weiqing nodded and said: “Good. In that case, we can add a Icy Soul Heavenly Bear to each flank to support our defenses. They are extremely strong, and with the Wind and Ice Attribute to boot. With them added to our defenses, it will be a great effect. This way, it will also allow Drunken Bao and Crow to put some of their offensive power to good use.”
Drunken Bao grinned and said: “What about your little white tiger? That little fellow has evolved once right, we almost got killed from that, shouldn’t it be of good use in a fight as well?”
Hearing Drunken Bao bring up Fat Cat, a mysterious smile flashed across Zhou Weiqing’s face, and he said: “There is no hurry, let’s wait and see what happens when the fight starts. I will not let Fat Cat take action easily.”
Little Witch covered her mouth to conceal a giggle as she looked at Zhou Weiqing, a strange, amused look on her face. Only she could somewhat understand what Zhou Weiqing meant.
Lin TianAo said solemnly: “We do not know the exact details and rules of the fight, and there is also no point in guessing wildly. Since we have already entered the top four, we have already accomplished more than we set out to do. From now on, however further we go is up to us to pit our skills to the test. Let me remind everyone once more that I’d like everyone to keep safety first in mind. You have all just gotten a Zong Stage Consolidating Equipment Scroll, and you have a great future ahead. Your lives are much more important now.”
Everyone nodded in agreement. Zhou Weiqing stood up once more, stretching lazily before saying: “If that’s all, I’ll be heading off again.”
Lin TianAo started, before saying: “Tomorrow is the fight already, where are you going now?” Zhou Weiqing grinned and said: “I’m heading to the Skill Storing Palace once again. Do not worry, I’ll be back tonight, and I won’t take as long this round. I will definitely not miss tomorrow’s fight, you know how important it is to me as well.”
After saying that, Zhou Weiqing turned to leave with a wave of farewell to his friends.
The finals fight was about to start, and he had something very important to do. The past two days of cultivation had a clear and amazing effect, but he was still missing the last two Time Attribute Skills. If he could gain two more powerful skills before the the finals fight started, it would undoubtedly be a huge boon to not just himself, but the entire Fei Li Battle Team.
Exiting the inn, Zhou Weiqing looked around for an employee of the Heavenly Jewel Island and asked him: “Could you please help me look for Senior Shangguan Longyin, I am called Zhou Weiqing, and I have something very urgent to look for him. Please help me tell him that, and he will definitely come look for me. Thank you very much.”
Since he wanted to go through Skill Storing, and he was already on the Heavenly Jewel Island, a rare opportunity indeed, how could Zhou Weiqing be satisfied with merely storing from Zong Stage Heavenly Beasts? After all, Shangguan Longyin had mentioned previously that one of the conditions of trading for his Immortal Deity Technique was to allow him to go through Skill Storing in their Heavenly Jewel Island Skill Storing Palace without restriction. Although they hadn’t actually gone through the trade yet, he was still confident that Shangguan Longyin would allow him to Skill Store from Heavenly King Beasts or higher first. Combined with his Devour Skill, he would be able to quickly recover in time to easily store two Skills.
…
Dawn of the next day.
The members of the Fei Li Battle Team all got up, washed up, and were having their breakfast in the dining hall. The prices of food in the Heavenly Jewel Island were all rather expensive, but luckily the inn they were staying in at least provided breakfast for free. These few days, their main nourishment had naturally came from this free breakfast. As soon as they entered the dining hall, they saw Zhou Weiqing already seated there gorging away. His clothes were tattered, and his hair messy.
Little Four burst out laughing, saying: “Weiqing, last night did you go to the Skill Storing Palace or try to pick up some girl again? Could it be you got beaten up again?”
Zhou Weiqing glared at him exasperatedly and said: “Pick up your own head! I laboured hard through the whole night, it was tough but I managed to do it!”
Lin TianAo could see that although Zhou Weiqing’s appearance was in shambles, the look in his eyes was filled with joy and excitement. Without question, something good had definitely happened.
“Weiqing, do you need to rest a while? It will probably be a while more before the Heavenly Jewel Island staff come to bring us to the tournament grounds.” Lin TianAo asked.
Zhou Weiqing shook his head, a hearty grin on his face as he said: “No, that isn’t necessary, I’m in a good state now. I’ll just need to replenish my energy with a good meal.”
It had indeed been an eventful night for him. Just like he had expected, Shangguan Longyin had arrived to meet him, and had easily agreed to let him Skill Store any of the Heavenly Beasts in the Skill Storing Palace for free. Zhou Weiqing had actually Stored not two, but three Skills last night! That was the reason why he looked so shabby now, as he had barely succeeded in doing so, almost sustaining several injuries in the process of doing so.
However, his efforts had not been in vain, otherwise, he would not be in such an excited state yet. His three new Skills not only strengthened his overall power, but also brought some new abilities to the table that he did not previously have.
After all of them had eaten, they waited awhile more before the Heavenly Jewel Island guide arrived at the inn to pick them up.
Led by their guide, the entire team left the inn and headed towards the central zone of the Heavenly Jewel Island, which was covered in mist. Upon seeing the direction they were taking, they couldn’t help but wonder… could it be that the final fight would be held in the Heaven’s Expanse Palace itself?
It didn’t take long before the members of the Fei Li Battle Team saw the other three Battle Teams being led by their respective guides, each from different directions, all headed towards the misty central zone.
Zhou Weiqing was walking behind Lin TianAo, recalling the past few days in what could be called some rather miraculous experiences. All of a sudden, he felt himself shiver as an abrupt sense of cold enveloped his entire body.
Our dear Little Fatty had the sense of a wild beast, and this strange sensation was definitely a product of that, instantly rousing his guard. Subconsciously, he looked in a direction, catching a cold gaze filled with killing intent.
The owner of that gaze was the Leader of the ZhongTian Battle Team, Zhan LingTian, who was walking right at the head of his Battle Team.
Sensing the gaze filled with enmity, Zhou Weiqing was left puzzled. He couldn’t think of a reason why Zhan LingTian would look at him like that, after all he had not had any contact with him previously.
As their gazes met, a cold light flashed in Zhan LingTian’s eyes, and he narrowed them before turning away.
Zhou Weiqing pursed his lips, thinking to himself: So haughty! What so great about you, hmph, let’s see when the fight starts, we’ll see who has the last laugh! Lin TianAo could naturally sense the enmity between Zhan LingTian and Zhou Weiqing, and his heart sank a little. Towards Zhan LingTian, he wasn’t as optimistic as Zhou Weiqing. As the ZhongTian Battle Team leader, he was far beyond even Shen Little Demon, and she could be considered
easy pickings compared to him. Furthermore, he had heard of Zhan LingTian before, in the previous round of the Heavenly Jewel Tournament, Zhan LingTian had only been twenty two years old, but had already become the mainstay of their team then. The ZhongTian Empire could be said to be full of powerhouses, even in the younger generation, especially with the Heaven’s Expanse Palace’s support. For Zhan LingTian to
stand out from amongst such a heavy competition, he was
naturally not to be underestimated.
Amongst the ZhongTian Battle Team, the only female member seemed rather dull and unassuming, but if one really looked carefully, she seemed to possess a set of nimble, cunning eyes that belied her ordinary dull appearance, as they flashed with a mischievous light. Looking at the clash in the gazes of Zhan LingTian and Zhou Weiqing, her eyes lit up in glee.
The members of the WanShou Battle Team were all as frosty as usual, while the four couples of the BaoPo Battle Team looking at each other tenderly as usual. However, it was clear that the air between the four teams was rather nervous and tense, and the looks between teams were much reduced. After all, the final fight was about to begin.
The central zone of the Heavenly Jewel Island was not very big, and they soon reached it, the swirling mists right before their eyes. The guides soon stopped in front of them.
Shangguan Longyin stood there, still clad in white, shrouded by the mist in the background. Right behind him stood ten other white clad old men. They all looked to be around sixty years of age on the average, each looking stable and wise.
Seeing that all four teams were gathered here, Shangguan Longyin said passively: “The Heavenly Jewel Tournament Finals will soon begin. Now, let me first tell you the rules and fight format.”
“In our ZhongTian Empire and Heavenly Jewel Island Skill Storing Palaces, you should have all seen the Lustre Gem. It is indeed a rather miraculous item. Soon, you will be heading to the site of your upcoming finals fight, and it is also named somewhat similarly, the Lustre Spatial Realm.”
“The Lustre Spatial Realm… you can understand it as a special type of magical Formation, an ancient formation passed down from ages beyond, inscribed on the Heavenly Jewel Island. How it was formed, or who it was left by, nobody knows. When our Heaven’s Expanse Palace Great Founder and ancestor came to the Heavenly Jewel Island, it was already existing.”
“In a sense, the Lustre Spatial Realm is a new realm, a separate dimension not of this world. It is not very large, and its entire land surface is covered by virgin rainforest. We do not know how this realm was constructed, or if it is just a portal to another world, but what I can tell you is that whatever happens in that realm is totally real. That is to say, if you die there, it will be for good.” “The Lustre Spatial Realm rainforest is inhabited by many different types of Heavenly Beasts, from the lowest stages to the top end ones, and even we from the Heaven’s Expanse Palace do not know exactly where they may be found, as they could move around. In fact, every time we activate the Spatial Realm, the inner workings seem to be slightly different as well.”
“In order to activate and enter this Spatial Realm, it requires ten Spatial Attribute Upper Level Zong Stage Heavenly Jewel Masters or higher working together at the same time, infusing their Heavenly Energy into the formation. Even with all them working together, the maximum time we can keep it open is a month. As mentioned, your final fight will be held in this Lustre Spatial Realm, and once the fight begins, you all will be transported to this spatial realm at random. That is to say, each and every one of you will appear in a random location in the Spatial Realm, and we have no way of controlling that. Your next month will be spent there, and what happens next is dependent on all of your luck, power, and skill combined. What you all need to do is to do your best to survive while looking for your teammates, defeating your opponents and also enduring attacks from various Heavenly Beasts. The Battle Team which has the last remaining survivor or team of survivors will be the champion. If by the time the month ends, there is more than one survivor, then the ranking will be determined by the number of people left in the Lustre Spatial Realm.”
“Please do note that there are countless of Heavenly Beasts in the Lustre Spatial Realm, not just in terms of numbers, but also types. At the same time, any gains from killing Heavenly Beasts you all get is considered part of your rewards, and you do not have to submit them to our Heaven’s Expanse Palace. If you are actually able to capture and bring out any live Heavenly Beasts, you can also sell them to us, or go through any equivalent trade.”
“After this briefing, we will be giving each of you a small Lustre Gem and a Spatial Ring that can contain live Heavenly Beasts. These two objects will have to be returned to us when you exit the Lustre Spatial Realm. During the entire month which the fight lasts, if you meet an opponent that you feel you are unable to face, you can infuse your Heavenly Energy into the Lustre Gem, and it will instantly transport you out of the Lustre Spatial Realm.”
As he spoke up to that point, Shangguan Longyin’s voice turned sombre and serious: “Life is extremely precious, especially for all of you, so young… so talented… all of you are the cream of the crop of your generation, and your empire, your teachers, they have spent much time and effort in cultivating all of you. I’d like to ask that you do not treat your lives lightly, as soon as you meet anything you cannot face, you should activate the Lustre Gem immediately to save your lives. I will have specialised personnel in charge of healing any wounds you all suffer in the Lustre Spatial Realm. I know how
important this Tournament is, and the honour it signifies, but in the end, your life matters the most as well.”
After a slightly pause, Shangguan Longyin turned his gaze to the members of WanShou Battle Team and said: “I must remind you that in the Lustre Spatial Realm, if you are bringing your own Heavenly Beasts, I recommend that each one of you only bring one. That’s because within the Lustre Spatial Realm, there is a strange energy in the atmosphere that will cause non-native Heavenly Beasts to become irascible, violent and uncontrollable, and Heavenly Jewel Masters will need to continuously use their own spirit energy to aid their Heavenly Beasts and keeping them in a normal clear-headed state. Under such a circumstance, a single Heavenly Jewel Master is usually only able to protect one Heavenly Beasts, if you try to bring more in, it might possibly lead to all of them losing control.”
Hearing Shangguan Longyin’s words, the Fei Li Battle Team members exchanged helpless looks. It was obvious that all of their plans had gone to waste, and even Shangguan Longyin’s warning to Zhou Weiqing had gone to waste. It was indeed a team battle, but a rather unique one, in a special environment and highly different rules. In fact, once they entered the spatial realm, they would all be
separated, and had to depend on their own personal strength in order to fight and survive. Without question, this was the worst possible scenario for the Fei Li Battle Team. After all, in terms of pure cultivation level and battle strength, they were definitely the weakest of all four teams, even with the addition of Little Witch.
Shangguan Longyin gave a broad wave of his hand, and instantly one of the employees of the Heavenly Jewel Island walked up, handing each of the competitors a Spatial Ring and a Lustre Gem.
The lustre gem they received was almost exactly the same as the ones they had seen in the Skill Storing Palace, just a lot smaller. It was actually embedded into the top of the Spatial Ring, and it was easily accessible by just infusing Heavenly Energy through the ring and to the gem, easily activating it.
After everyone had gotten their Spatial Ring and Lustre Gem, Shangguan Longyin nodded, saying: “Within the Spatial Ring we have passed you, there is also sufficient food and water for thirty days. Prepare yourselves now, we will soon start the teleport.” As he said that, he lifted his hands in a signal to the ten old men behind him.
Ten white figures flashed in instant motion as they vanished into the mist.
Without a doubt, these ten old men were the ten Spatial Attribute Upper Level Zong Stage Heavenly Jewel Masters required to activate the Lustre Spatial Realm that Shangguan Longyin had mentioned earlier.
For the other three teams, they were pretty used to it. After all, they had been attending the finals of the Heavenly Jewel Tournament every three years, and they were also from their own respective Great Saint Lands. However, for the members of the Fei Li Battle Team, seeing all that happen in front of their eyes was a barrage against their sensibilities indeed.
The Spatial Attribute, one of the four greater attributes, was considered rather rare. To be able to cultivate up to the Upper Level Zong Stage, they were all considered rare powerhouses in their own right; out in the world, they would probably be renowned. Yet, here in the Heaven’s Expanse Palace, they could send out ten so easily just to open a portal formation. The Heaven’s Expanse Palace, to be known as the top of the five Great Saint Lands, they truly had an impressive wealth and background, living up to their name indeed. Watching the scene in front of them, the entire Fei Li Battle Team, Zhou Weiqing included, could feel how small they were.
The process did not take long. Very soon, the thick mist around the Heaven’s Expanse Palace started to change colour, its original white starting to turn a pale silver, and they could all sense an intense fluctuation of Spatial Energy around the area.
An unbelievably thick roll of atmospheric energy spread across the crowd, causing everyone to perk up. Realisation dawned upon Zhou Weiqing.
No wonder Shangguan Xue’er was able to reach the seven- Jeweled stage at such a young age of below twenty! The atmospheric energy in the whole Heavenly Jewel Island was already much higher than the mainland, and here at the vicinity of the Heaven’s Expanse Palace, it was even more so! Any Heavenly Jewel Master cultivating in such an environment would definitely find it much easier, yielding twice the result with half the effort. That was not even considering all their other wealth and treasures which could help their cultivation. The Heaven’s Expanse Palace had indeed made full use of the Heavenly Jewel Island to continually build their lead, walking step by step towards the top echelons of the world.
As the silver in the mist grew stronger, the silver light seemed to swirl and focus around Shangguan Longyin.
Abruptly, a piercing silver light shone forth from the center of the forming energy whirlpool… slowly turning into a gold colour. In the center of the energy whirlpool, it was as if a door was being opened, and if one looked closely, they would be able to sense that beyond the gold light lay another world.
Shangguan Longyin’s voice rang out: “Prepare yourselves to enter. You will enter the portal according to the last Heavenly Jewel Tournament’s placing. ZhongTian, WanShou, BaoPo, FeiLi. Your order of entry will be single file. Begin now!”
The ZhongTian Battle Team was the first to spring into action. Zhan LingTian, the leader of the ZhongTian Battle Team, who had shown such animosity towards Zhou Weiqing earlier, stood right in front; in a flash, he disappeared into the gold mist. Slowly, one by one, the entire team entered the light. Once they had all entered, the WanShou Battle Team followed, then the BaoPo Battle Team. When it was the Fei Li Battle Team’s turn, Zhou Weiqing silently sent the sleeping Fat Cat in his arms into the Spatial Ring he had received. He did not want any unknown accidents when entering the other realm.
As he did that, he said to his companions in a low tone: “When you all enter the Lustre Spatial Realm, do not rush into any action. Just try your best to stay hidden and slowly familiarize yourself with the area. Avoid any fights if possible, and do not draw attention to yourselves. Our first priority is to try and group up together. If any of us meet up with any opponents or Heavenly Beasts we aren’t able to handle, just use the Lustre Gem directly. We are originally the weakest team, and no one expects more of us, there is no shame even if we get a fourth position.”
They did not have much time, and Zhou Weiqing could not wait for a proper team meeting, and he quickly spoke his mind before they entered.
Lin TianAo nodded in agreement, signalling his support for Zhou Weiqing’s words. The rest of the team also agreed swiftly in understanding. The Heavenly Jewel Tournament had finally started, and all of them were excited and nervous indeed. Soon, it was finally their turn. Lin TianAo was the first to enter, with Zhou Weiqing following closely behind.
As he stepped into the golden mist, Zhou Weiqing instantly felt an indescribable sense of freedom flood his body, as his entire surroundings seemed to blur into an illusion. Soon after, he felt a strong suction power dragging his body charging in a direction. He did not know how long he moved, or how far it traveled, but he felt as if he had moved a massive distance indeed.
He seemed totally surrounded by a gold colour, and he couldn’t see anything else besides it. Abruptly, the gold light shone brighter, and Zhou Weiqing grunted in pain, closing his eyes. The next moment, his body tightened as the suction seemed to twist in a different direction for a moment, then a sense of realism returned to him.
Subconsciously, Zhou Weiqing instantly opened his eyes, and he was surprised to see that he was actually suspended in midair. Before he could react, he started falling at a breakneck speed.
Luckily, he wasn’t too far from the ground, and his body landed on a thick tree branch. After a succession of breaking branches, softening his blow, he finally crashed through the thick canopy and was now falling to the ground.
Having that buffer time, Zhou Weiqing cleared his mind quickly, unleashing his Heavenly Energy. At the same time, he grabbed out with his hand towards the tree trunk beside him to stabilize himself.
As his hand made contact with the tree trunk, Zhou Weiqing discovered that its wood was extremely tough, perhaps even tougher than his Heavenly Bow Empire’s Stars Wood!
With that stabilizing, he was able to drop down to the ground easily before starting to examine his surroundings.
As he looked around, Zhou Weiqing could not help but give an exclamation of surprise. It was hard to believe that the scene before his eyes was a man-made realm.
A beautiful blue sky and white clouds adorned the scene above his head, and all around him, it was all forestry, with no signs of any humans living there. The tree beside him which had broke his fall was almost twenty metres tall, a massive foliage. He was surprised to find that he could barely recognize most of the vegetation around him; most of which he had not even seen or heard of before.
The air was crisp and clear, the atmosphere even better than the Heavenly Jewel Island, with the temperature extremely good as well. Although he was surrounded by vegetation, the humidity wasn’t too high. In his eyes, this seemed like an almost perfect place for cultivation. Everything seemed so real, not at all like he was in a different realm. Without question, this was the Lustre Spatial Realm.
Leaning back into the large tree, Zhou Weiqing did not jump into action instantly. Taking his time to take in the sights and sounds, he thought to himself that he was rather lucky. At least, he had not been ambushed by Heavenly Beasts upon his entrance.
After a moment’s pause while he settled down, he quickly released Fat Cat from within the Spatial Ring.
Chapter 97 Fat Cat, Tian’er!
Just before Zhou Weiqing had entered the portal, he had thrown Fat Cat into the Spatial Ring abruptly, and without warning. As soon as she was let out, she instantly gave him an angry growl. However, her attention was quickly drawn away by the surrounding environment, and she jumped up onto Zhou Weiqing’s shoulder, her eyes roaming around.
Zhou Weiqing stroked her on the head, saying: “Previously, Senior Shangguan said that Heavenly Beasts will be affected here. Are you okay?”
Fat Cat gave a low, disdainful wuuu wuuu, lifting her little head proudly, as if to say ‘This place, how could it possibly affect me!’
Zhou Weiqing grinned, pulling Fat Cat from his shoulder into his arms, saying: “Fat Cat, we have been together for almost three years right. These three years, I have treated you so well! Good food, good drinks, everything! Now that we’re finally in this Heavenly Jewel Tournament Finals… it’s time you repay me right? Heh heh heh.”
Hearing his words, Fat Cat looked at Zhou Weiqing warily, giving a low wuu wuu sound as she struggled to get out of his arms.
Zhou Weiqing was holding her with one hand, the other hand unceremoniously on her round little buttocks. “Wait, let me finish. Sighh, in truth, I really do not want to say this, as I am afraid that after doing so, it can never be the same between us again.”
Lost in a contemplative deep thought, Zhou Weiqing brought Fat Cat in front of him, holding her to his cheek gently.
Fat Cat’s body stiffened, the wary look in her eyes disappearing. Her howls stopped as well, but a new look of being at a loss appeared in her eyes.
“However, we cannot continue like this forever, right? Furthermore, I do not know if we do so… perhaps one day you will just disappear without warning. After much thought, I finally steeled my resolve to have a good talk with you today.”
As he spoke up to that point, his words grew thicker with feeling. Bringing Fat Cat back into his embrace, he gave the ‘King’ word on her head a soft kiss. “When we first met, it was not long after I had become a Heavenly Jewel Master, when Bing’er was in danger and I had subconsciously and unknowingly activated the Demonic Change. When the fight had finally ended, you had suddenly appeared under my feet, and refused to leave me. In truth, at that time, I already thought that you approached me with some motive in mind. Although up to this point, I still do not know what that motive is, I am still very confident in my own judgement.”
“As we spent more time together, day after day, I was more and more certain that you were no ordinary Heavenly Beast. These few years, you were always by my side, but did not eat or drink… spending most of the time sleeping even… yet under such a circumstance, you were still able to evolve! Without question, you managed to gain something from me. However, no matter what, you do not owe me, and I was, and am, more than willing to let you continue gaining what you want from me.”
Hearing Zhou Weiqing’s words, Fat Cat’s eyes seemed to freeze, an invisible pressure emanating from its body, but Zhou Weiqing seemed oblivious as he continued.
“These few years, you have saved my life more than once. If not for you, perhaps I would have died long ago when we faced the Icy Soul Heavenly Bear… not just me, but also Bing’er, and my teachers. Furthermore, you have helped me so many times during Skill Storing, for the Silver Emperor… and even last night. If not for you, even though I have that unknown aura that can intimidate Heavenly Beasts, I still wouldn’t be able to Store Skills from Heavenly King Beasts and higher. It can be said that we have been together for so long in a reciprocity and mutual benefit based relationship, even when you evolved, you brought me along and I actually gained an additional level of Heavenly Energy.”
“However…” Zhou Weiqing stopped suddenly, a hesitant look on his face, but he continued: “However, between us, there has always been that invisible gulf. I do not want to feign ignorance any longer, and I hope that we can be honest with each other, to remove that divide between us. Although I have tried to deny my guesses many times, but after all that we have been true, I am extremely certain that my guess is accurate. Right… Tian’er?”
In the instance when Zhou Weiqing called out the two words, Tian’er, Fat Cat’s hair bristled up as her hackles raised up, staring at him wide-eyed in shock and disbelief.
Zhou Weiqing met her gaze impassively, saying: “I believe that my guess is accurate.” There was a moment of silence, the Fat Cat sighed, and she actually spoke out loud suddenly: “When did you know?”
Zhou Weiqing said with a bitter smile: “The first time I saw Tian’er, I had some suspicions. At that time, facing Ming Wu who could have easily killed me, and Tian’er suddenly appeared to tell him that I was already chosen by the Heavenly Snow Mountain. Yet, in all my memory, I knew that I had never had any contact with the Heavenly Snow Mountain; in fact at that point I didn’t even know of the Great Saint Lands. Furthermore, and perhaps more importantly, even though both your forms, either Fat Cat or Tian’er, might look extremely different, but one thing remains unchanged, your eyes.”
“From the start of my memory, the only purple eyes that I have seen were yours, and having been together for so long, they are naturally well inscribed in my memory. At first, I did not dare believe my ludicrous suspicions; after all, Tian’er was a human, and my little Fat Cat was little white tiger, how could they be the same person? Yet, as the days passed, and more events happened, especially when you first faced Shangguan Xue’er, the feelings of your aura and Attributes. Later on, once I heard about the Attributes that the Heavenly Snow Mountain was famed for… and only then did I dare to start believing in my wild speculation. My little Fat Cat was actually that mysterious young girl from the Heavenly Snow Mountain… Tian’er! That was the only explanation for all the strange happenings, the coincidences. After all, that time when you scared Ming Wu away, Fat Cat was not beside me!”
“In the end, the final confirmation to me that you are Tian’er was when Little Witch passed me the Demonic Manual, she secretly told me that the Heavenly Snow Mountain Lord was actually not human, but a powerful Heavenly Beast called the Divine Heavenly Spirit Tiger, the King of the Beasts.”
“As expected, it was here.” Fat Cat said angrily. “Zhou Little Fatty, get your dirty hands off my buttocks!”
A thick purple light shone out from Fat Cat’s body, and in a swift motion, she sprang out from Zhou Weiqing’s arms. The light intensified and spread out, and this time, Fat Cat did not grow larger, slowly morphing directly into human form in the middle of the purple glow.
Even though Zhou Weiqing had already guessed that Fat Cat was Tian’er, but it was still a guess, no matter how confident he had been in it. Now, it was the first time for him to witness the actual transformation with his own eyes, seeing the entire process, and was caught by surprise by it. White hair, purple eyes, a contrast that accentuated the cold beauty in front of him.
A tall slim figure, yet strangely curvaceous. Tian’er finally appeared in front of Zhou Weiqing once again, but this time, her face was filled with killing intent.
An abrupt intensified flash of the purple light, and Zhou Weiqing felt as if a needle was stabbed into his brain, causing him to feel dizzy. The next moment, a huge force travelled towards his buttocks, and his entire body flew up into air, causing him to smash into a huge tree ahead, before he finally crashed onto the ground.
That white clad figure, still trailing purple light, followed closely. Soon after, a series of shrill cries of pain rang out, along with loud sounds of crashes and beating.
“Stupid Zhou Little Fatty, you vulgar, perverted, disgusting person! Hmph! Who asked you to recognize me… who asked you to recognize me…”
“You still have the face to say we are together for three years… and what have you done all this while? Toying around with me, catching me to… to… bathe with you…” “If you hadn’t revealed who I was, I might still be able to tolerate you. Hmph… very good… since you actually know who I am now, then I’ll deal with you for all the grudges at once!”
“You little rascal, you already guessed I was Tian’er, and know I have a human form, and you still dared to touch my… buttocks earlier. Don’t you know a tiger’s bottom cannot be touched?!”
The pent up anger of the past three years poured out of Tian’er in a torrential flow, as fist ad foot crashed into flesh as she dealt out an angry beating.
Naturally, Zhou Weiqing was extremely cooperative, his hands covering his head as he did not dare resist, just howling in passionate cries of agony, as if he was suffering the worst torture in the world. Anyone who heard it might have cried in sorrow.
Tian’er beat him up for several minutes before she finally expended all her anger, finally stopping as she gasped for breath, her impressive chest heaving up and down. Looking down at Zhou Weiqing, her gaze will still angry, obviously she still hadn’t totally had her fill yet. In truth, although it seemed like she had been beating Zhou Weiqing savagely, that was all purely physical strength, without using any hint of Heavenly Energy at all.
Zhou Weiqing lay on the ground unresisting, his body curled in a ball, just like a well-cooked prawn, moaning sorrowfully.
“Get up! Stop acting already. Don’t think I do not know your stupid thick hide can easily take such a beating without any issues? Hmph!” Tian’er said angrily as she gave his buttocks another swift kick.
“Aiyahh!” Zhou Weiqing quickly jumped up, vaulting swiftly as he dodged behind a large tree.
Just like what Tian’er had said, this fellow was totally fine at all. With his physique, and the Immortal Deity Shield to boot, it was nigh impossible for anyone to hurt him without using Heavenly Energy.
Zhou Weiqing looked at her with a depressed look, saying: “Tian’er, you have beaten me up already. For the sake of the fact that I was so cooperative to let you hit me without resisting, your anger should be assuaged by now right. After all, in the past, you were the one who made the move to stick to me, rubbing against me. It was only years after taking you in that I knew you could become human right? When you are Fat Cat, you are so cute and cuddly, as an owner, petting my pet is very normal right? As for touching your buttocks, I have to explain it… you cannot blame me, who asked your buttocks to
be so pert and round!”
As he said that, he eyed the above-mentioned body part.
“Hmph! You little rascal, are you asking to die?!” Tian’er cried out angrily, about to pounce forward once again.
This is actually a literal meaning of an idiom. ⽼虎屁股摸不得. Generally taken to mean a person who cannot tolerate differing opinions, but TJSS is actually using it literally here! Zhou Weiqing quickly ran around the tree again, barely avoiding her. “Stop stop, I surrender! We are in the Lustre Spatial Realm, it wouldn’t be good if we attracted any unwanted attention!”
Tian’er gave a cold smirk, saying: “Don’t think I do not know the reason you revealed my identity at this moment. Your goal is for me to help you win this Heavenly Jewel Tournament right? Hmph, stop dreaming, I won’t let your wishful thinking come to fruition so easily.”
Zhou Weiqing lamented in a loud bemoan: “Fat Cat… don’t be so heartless. Although what you said is indeed true, but this is a win-win situation.”
Tian’er gave a loud hmph, saying: “Don’t give me that. Who is in a win-win situation with you?!”
Zhou Weiqing peeked his head out from behind the tree, asking: “If you do not want to help me, then what is your plan?” Hearing that question, Tian’er was the one at a loss instead. Just now, Zhou Weiqing had caught her by surprise in unmasking her identity, and she had returned to human form to beat up that fellow. Although that had indeed made her feel better, now that she was asked about her plans, Tian’er was instead blank. She herself did not know what her next step was.
All of a sudden, a great sense of loss enveloped her heart. She suddenly realised that since Zhou Weiqing now knew who she truly was, then they could no longer have the same relationship as before. She could no longer be just Fat Cat, staying by his side, settled in his arms, feeling his warmth and heartbeat as she cultivated in her sleep.
Looking at her dazed look, Zhou Weiqing thought to himself:
There’s hope!
“Fat Cat, how about this? Since you are not willing to help me, nor are you willing to tell me why exactly you were following all this time… why don’t we just pretend nothing happened, that I did not say anything. You can still become Fat Cat and follow by my side. I promise that I will not do anything untoward to you any longer… Alright?” “En?” Tian’er was startled out of her reverie by his words. She found herself highly tempted by Zhou Weiqing’s suggestion, but after some thought, she quickly dispelled the notion, saying angrily: “Since you already know my true identity and my human form, how could we possibly return to our original state? Are you daydreaming?”
Zhou Weiqing said bitterly: “But… I cannot bear to leave you. Even if I do not get your help, I still hope to stay with you forever. In our entire lifetimes, if we do not have any unique favourable turns or experiences, we would only live several dozen years, and we have already been together for three years of that. Three years… I have already grown used to waking up and seeing you as the first thing, used to that furry little body of yours nestled in my arms. Tian’er, I cannot leave you!”
“Indeed, when I revealed I know who you were, it was to borrow your power for this Heavenly Jewel Tournament. At the same time, I did not lie to you, I truly hope to remove that invisible divide between us. Because, I hope that you can always stay by my side, and never leave me. I feel that uncovering your identity now is better than having you leave quietly and abruptly some day. At least, this way, I have the situation in my own control, with a little hope of striving to get you to stay.” “I know that in your heart, I am just a vulgar, perverted scoundrel. However, even scoundrels have human rights, scoundrels also have feelings! Amongst your powers, I guess that you have the Saint Attribute, the Spirit Attribute right? That means you should have the power to manipulate another
person’s memories. Come then, use it on me, let me forget that Fat Cat is Tian’er. This way, we can still continue as we have… right? I’m sorry, I did not think that you would mind being uncovered this much. However, even if you manipulate my memories, you must make sure that you leave the memories of the time we spent together. I … I … I do not want to totally forget you.”
As he finished his long, impassioned speech, Zhou Weiqing closed his eyes slowly, a peaceful look on his face. His body was totally relaxed, with nary a sign that he would resist at all.
Most Heavenly Beasts’ instincts and senses were usually much keener than humans, let alone a Divine Heavenly Spirit Tiger, the absolute top of the pyramid of Heavenly Beasts.
Tian’er stared blankly at Zhou Weiqing, totally nonplussed. She could clearly sense that when he spoke those words, he was being totally sincere, his true sentiments heartfelt. The current him was totally defenseless, his guard totally down, awaiting for her to modify his memories. Bastard, this bastard! Didn’t he know that totally dropping his guard, especially of his mind and spirit, if his mind was attacked, he could become a total retard?
He… he really cares for me so much? Trusts me so much?
Without knowing why, Tian’er felt as if something was stuck in her throat, that Zhou Weiqing in front of her suddenly not so hateful after all.
Right at that moment, Tian’er abruptly whipped her head towards the sky. At the same time, she shouted out: “Be careful!”
A thick gold light burst forth suddenly from her body, enveloping Zhou Weiqing’s body instantly. At the same time, her entire body flew towards him at breakneck speed.
Two purple glows shot out from her eyes, striking perfectly at a blood-red panther Heavenly Beast that had just pounced down from the tree canopy above.
Zhou Weiqing’s defenseless body was sent flying by Tian’er’s charge, and the blood red panther was also struck by the purple light from her eyes, and it cried out instantly in pain. Even so, its two paws left two deep marks where Zhou Weiqing was standing a moment ago, the two marks giving forth an intense heat, as if molten lava was flowing through them.
*Peng* a loud crash as both Zhou Weiqing and Tian’er crashed into the ground, with Tian’er landing on top of him. Zhou Weiqing’s closed eyes snapped open, to see Tian’er’s beautiful purple orbs in front of him.
“Fat Cat! Ahh, no, Tian’er! I…”
Before Zhou Weiqing could finish his sentence, Tian’er’s cheeks were stained with a blush. She could naturally sense her chest pressed against Zhou Weiqing as well.
With a flash, she quickly leaped away. In mid air, a strong gold light burst forth from her once more, descending like a gold pillar from the heavens, landing directly on the blood red panther which had just recovered from its momentarily stunned state.
Instantly, another pained cry emitted from the panther’s mouth, as it was enveloped by a thick gold mist. The next instant, Tian’er landed right beside it. Struck by the gold light, the blood red panther seemed to be greatly weakened. Tian’er’s right palm struck its waist area, and it was unable to dodge at all.
A soft sound of impact, followed by another burst of gold light, enveloping the blood red panther once more as it flew back in the air.
This time, the powerful gold light surrounding it proved more powerful. It did not even have time to cry out, and its entire body seemed to dissolve into the gold light, with only a blood-red nucleus core falling to the ground.
Zhou Weiqing stared, jaw agape, at the scene in front of him. Although he knew that Tian’er was extremely powerful, he had not expected her to be THIS powerful.
That blood red panther was at least a Zong Stage Heavenly Beast, but in Tian’er’s hands, it did not even have a chance to react before being slain by her, and so overwhelmingly that it didn’t even have remains left! What kind of power was that?!
“Why don’t you get up already!” Tian’er said to Zhou Weiqing exasperatedly. However, the gaze from her purple eyes was gentle. Zhou Weiqing started a little, before quickly jumping up. Looking at Tian’er in front of him, turned around as she refused to look at him, he felt his emotions befuddled.
Without question, in his heart, the one he loved most was Shangguan Bing’er. However, no matter Fat Cat or Tian’er, he had an undeniable link to her… and indescribable emotion.
If Mu’En was here, he would definitely tell Zhou Weiqing that this was fraternity of man, the base depravity that almost all men suffered from.
Due to the difference in physiological structure and setup, men’s interest and thirst for sexual relations was a lot stronger than women’s. In general, as long as they saw someone beautiful from the opposite opposite gender, it would spark interest in them. This was not a shift in love or emotions, just their base nature. Just like most men would wish they could have several wives or concubines, when they saw a beautiful lady, thoughts or dreams would be sparked in their minds… it was inevitable.
Yet, as for most women, this was not the same, as they were usually loyal and faithful for life. That was because their own requirement for sex was lower than men, with a greater need for emotional dependence. Of course, there were always some exceptions, but usually once a woman truly loved a man, it was for good. This was also the same reason why many women could not understand why a man would be so philandering, and they would call this physiologically induced phenomenon ‘being perverted’.
Without question, if one were to appraise or judge him, Zhou Weiqing was definitely a perverted man. Facing any beautiful woman, his immunity dropped drastically. At the same time, Shangguan Bing’er was a woman who understood this clearly, as she had told Zhou Weiqing long ago. Although she did take it to heart, but she did not directly oppose it, as long as she was the most important in his heart.
This was a smart woman’s choice in their society, allowing her man to be together with her without any pressure, to be able to love her wholeheartedly. As such, in Zhou Weiqing’s heart, no one could ever displace Shangguan Bing’er’s position as number one in his heart, and perhaps her leniency had something to do with it.
“Why are you staring at me? You better be careful, this is a dangerous place after all! Who wants to remove your memories!?” Just like Zhou Weiqing was befuddled, Tian’er was just as much so. She did not look at Zhou Weiqing, because she did not know how to face him. It could be said that Tian’er had witnessed the growth of Zhou Weiqing and Shangguan Bing’er’s relationship and feelings from almost the start to present. She did not know how she herself felt about Zhou Weiqing. At first, it was purely just to make use of him, but as time went by… could she really
just be using him only? The answer was clearly no.
Today, Zhou Weiqing had unmasked her, and not only was Tian’er surprised, but also a little afraid… and helpless. Subconsciously, she was actually more afraid than Zhou Weiqing about leaving him, and what Zhou Weiqing had said earlier had struck her right in her heart, moving her deeply. At least, she could clearly sense that Zhou Weiqing did have some feelings for her… though what exactly those feelings were she wasn’t willing to face. As long as there were some feelings… that made her feel less anxious… more assured… “How about… you change back to Fat Cat. Just like previously, following me, I definitely will not tell anyone about you, okay?”
Tian’er turned back around, looking at him rebukingly as she said: “Hmph, you’re still calling me Fat Cat? You want me to turn back so you can bully me?!”
“Heh heh.” Zhou Weiqing laughed foolishly. “At least when you are as Fat Cat, I can hug you to sleep like I’m used to! If I try to sleep with you like you are now… heh… I will definitely do commit something foolishly wrong.”
“You…” Tian’er flushed a deep red, glaring at him savagely. “Don’t try to tease me like your Bing’er, I’m not so good tempered like her. Hmph. With your current power levels, this young lady can easily take you down!”
Zhou Weiqing put his arm casually around Tian’er’s shoulders, saying: “I do not know whether or not your temper is good, but I am definitely sure that your tolerance level is much stronger than Bing’er. Otherwise, I’ve touched Fat Cat’s little bottom so many times, but you’ve never really lost your temper.” He knew that saying that would get him into trouble, and as soon as he said those words, he instantly used Blink and vanished on the spot, just managing to barely dodge a flying kick from Tian’er.
“Beautiful Lady Tian’er, I’m wrong! Come on, let’s go. This suave young fellow will protect you.” Zhou Weiqing stuck his head out from behind the tree he had Blinked behind, grinning as he apologised.
Tian’er’s reactions and behavior had allowed his heart to rest easy. Without question, Tian’er had some feelings for him, otherwise she wouldn’t treated him that way or reacted in such manners. The icy cold expression on her face was quite an act, much different from the cold aura fro Shangguan Xue’er, which seemed to be down to the core.
Tian’er looked at him with a complicated look on her face, before walking down to a large tree and sitting down. Beckoning towards Zhou Weiqing, she said: “Come here.”
Zhou Weiqing looked at her warily, saying: “No… you’re using your beauty to trap me right?” Tian’er said exasperatedly: “Trap your head! Didn’t you say we had a gulf between us? I’ll tell you what you want to know about myself.”
Zhou Weiqing looked at her in surprise: “You’ll really tell me?”
Tian’er nodded her head slightly.
Quickly, Zhou Weiqing rushed to her side in delight, sitting down right beside her. This time, he did not attempt to take advantage of her, keeping a small distance as he sat down, looking towards her as he waited for her to speak.
Tian’er sighed deeply before saying: “Perhaps meeting you was part of my destiny… a disaster that I am fated to go through as training.”
Zhou Weiqing immediately interrupted her: “What do you mean disaster?! It should be a lucky romantic encounter! Meeting such a young handsome fellow like myself, you should be honoured!” Tian’er exclaimed angrily: “If you keep interrupting me with nonsense, I’m not going to continue telling you!”
Zhou Weiqing immediately shut up, his hand flying to his mouth as he gave a fake look of horror. That mischievous, playful look causing Tian’er to almost burst out laughing.
“Your guess earlier was mostly right, I am indeed from the Heavenly Snow Mountain, and one of the direct bloodline inheritors. My father is the current Heavenly Snow Mountain Lord, also the strongest man in the world today, the only Heavenly God Stage Powerhouse in the entire mainland today.”
Heavenly God Stage. Those words caused Zhou Weiqing’s heart to twist savagely for a moment, the meaning behind them just too strong indeed. Heavenly God Stage, that was also the very pinnacle of Heavenly Jewel Masters, twelve sets of Heavenly Jewels, with a cultivation level that was nearly the maximum. The most powerful man in the world today. What a domineering and powerful title indeed!
“My status in the Heavenly Snow Mountain is comparable to that of Little Witch in the Heavenly Demon Sect, Shen Little Demon in the Blood Red Hell, and Shangguan Xue’er in the Heaven’s Expanse Palace; the successor as the next Heavenly Snow Mountain Lord.” “Our Heavenly Snow Mountain direct bloodline and disciples are mainly non human, all powerful Heavenly Beasts in the world today. Only those Heavenly Beasts of the Heavenly King Stage and higher, or those with unique bloodlines and meridians, have the ability to take human form. In truth, our
Heavenly Snow Mountain is mainly made up of these Heavenly Beasts who have the ability to take human form. This is also the reason why the other Great Saint Lands have such enmity towards us.”
Zhou Weiqing couldn’t help but ask in surprise: “Does that mean that those representatives of the WanShou Empire Battle Team are also Heavenly Beasts in human form?”
Tian’er shook her head, saying: “Of course not… do you really think that it is so easy for a Heavenly Beast to take human form? They are merely the outer sect disciples of Heavenly Snow Mountain, mostly the humans from the WanShou Empire whom we have taken in as disciples in aid of their training. As for the direct bloodlines or inner circle of our Heavenly Snow Mountain, only those powerful Heavenly Beasts who can take human form will be part of that group.”
“Amongst the Heavenly Beasts of the Heavenly Snow Mountain, our Divine Heavenly Spirit Tiger bloodline is considered one of the top royal bloodlines. Alas, our numbers are just too few, and we have no choice but to inter-marry with other Heavenly Beasts, and if the child happens to be of the Divine Heavenly Spirit Tiger bloodline, they can inherit. This generation of Divine Heavenly Spirit Tiger bloodlines in our Heavenly Snow Mountain, including myself and my father, we only number seven! As such, as soon as I entered my Transformation Phase, just about to take human form, my father arranged a marriage for me.”
“Indeed, the strongest bloodline in our Heavenly Snow Mountain is us, the Divine Heavenly Spirit Tigers, and the next strongest would be the Divine Spirit Flame Lions. In the Heavenly Snow Mountain, their status is second only to us. The future husband Father had chosen for me was the current Lion King’s only son, one of the most talented of our generation in the Heavenly Snow Mountain. At the age of thirty, he already reached the eight-Jeweled cultivation level, and is at the same level as Shangguan Xue’er.”
Upon hearing that, Zhou Weiqing suddenly interrupted with a question: “Wait a moment, didn’t you say that the Divine Spirit Flame Lion King’s son is at the eight-Jeweled cultivation level, but Shangguan Xue’er is only at the seven-Jeweled cultivation level. Why did you say they were at the same level?” Tian’er gave a cold smirk, saying: “Did you think it’d be so easy to marry your dear Bing’er? To defeat Shangguan Xue’er? She is after all the heir and successor to the Heaven’s Expanse Palace, and thus has the most powerful Legendary Set in the world, the Boundless Infinitum Set! Any ordinary Heavenly
Jewel Masters facing, even if they were nine-Jeweled, let alone eight-Jeweled ones, they might not be able to defeat her! She is no ordinary seven-Jeweled Heavenly Jewel Master, and coupled with the Boundless Infinitum Set, she can even fight against ordinary Heavenly King Masters. For you to challenge
her, it is impossible, at least with your current power levels. For our Heavenly Snow Mountain to be able to fight with her at the eight-Jeweled cultivation level is already a testament to our power.
“Similarly, even though my father is the only Heavenly God Stage powerhouse in the world, but facing the current Heaven’s Expanse Palace Master, Shangguan Tianyang, who is at the Heavenly Emperor Stage, he can only suppress him, perhaps barely defeating him, but will never be able to kill him in single combat. That Legendary Boundless Infinitum Set truly lives up to its name as the top Legendary Set in the world. In not for this, do you really think that our Heavenly Snow Mountain would have an overall strength lower than the Heaven’s Expanse Palace? Zhou Weiqing nodded, saying: “Alright, go on then. What were you saying before I interrupted you. Your father arranged a marriage for you, so what happened next?”
Tian’er’s face grew ugly as she said: “I do not like him at all… That fellow is just a blockhead who only thinks about fighting and cultivating. Being with him is totally joyless, let alone being happy for life. My life, my happiness, I will hold it in my own hands, and not arranged for me. So, on the surface, I agreed, then I secretly ran away from home.”
“Ehhh… Runaway?” Zhou Weiqing looked at her, a vague smirk on his face.
Tian’er gave a humph as she said: “So what if I ran away from home?! I was forced to by my father. Hmph, wanting me to marry that fellow after I Transform? No way am I going to agree to that. Alas, who knew that after I escaped from the WanShou Empire, I wandered into the Fei Li Empire and bumped into you little bad boy.”
Zhou Weiqing said with a wronged look on his face: “Hey… beautiful lady… you must set the record straight. It was you who came up to me, not I who forced you to look for me. How am the one who’s bad? I didn’t do anything to you.” Tian’er said angrily: “You… you even touched me down there… what else do you want!?”
Zhou Weiqing grinned and said: “Heh heh… but the one who came up to me was indeed you right.”
Tian’er flushed deeply, saying: “That was because of the attraction of your Elemental Attributes, not because of you!”
“I remember… that was the first time you entered the Demonic Change State I believe. At that time, the aura and power you were emanating, even though I wa smiles away I was still able to sense it. Us Divine Heavenly Spirit Tigers have the two Saint Attributes, the Divine and Spirit Attributes, and our senses are extremely sharp and honed. At that time, I could already sense that you actually had the other two Saint Attributes, Evil and Time.”
“Ordinary Heavenly Jewel Masters think that there are only three Saint Attributes, Divine, Spirit and Time. However, the truth is that a first generation Evil Attribute is definitely at the level of one of the Saint Attributes. This is especially so since you have the Devour Attribute, which can be considered equal or even greater than any of the attributes of the other three Saint Attributes, and can last you as a main skill throughout your life and career as a Heavenly Jewel Master. That is also the reason why Little Witch has been trying so hard to curry favour with you… if you actually join their Heavenly Demon Sect, I estimate that in ten, twenty years, given time for your talent to fully flourish, the Heavenly Demon Sect might truly become a force to be reckoned with.”
Zhou Weiqing looked at her teasingly, saying: “Hey, you’ve gone off topic, continue saying why you came latching onto me.”
“Who’s latching onto you?!” Tian’er glared at him exasperatedly as she exclaimed indignantly. “At that time, when I sensed that you actually had the other two Saint Attributes, Evil and Time, I was shocked. Not just shocked, but at the same time, overjoyed. The real reason why I stayed by your side is because of an old legend.”
“Legend?” Zhou Weiqing looked at her in surprise. “What legend?”
Tian’er’s eyes gleamed as she said: “An old legend passed down from ancient time states that if one can gather all four of the Great Saint Attributes and cultivate at the same time, they will complement and boost each other, and with that comes the chance of perhaps breaking through the Heavenly God Stage into an unknown, higher stage. Our Heavenly Jewel Master cultivation is known as the Heavenly Jewel Twelve Changes, and in breaking through past the Heavenly God Stage into this new stage of legend, it is the Thirteenth Change of us Heavenly Jewel Masters, also known as the Heavenly Change Stage. Heavenly Change… signifying he would can even change
the heavens!”
When Zhou Weiqing heard her words, he was immediately caught by surprise. This was the first time he had heard that there was anything beyond the Heavenly Jewel Twelve Changes, a level beyond his previous imagination. After all, in this world, there was only one known Heavenly Jewel Master who had actually reached the Heavenly God Stage – Tian’er’s father, the Heavenly Snow Mountain Lord!
Chapter 98 I’ll wait for you to conquer me
Tian’er continued: “That was the real reason why I decided to stay by your side, to see if the legend held any truth, whether or not being with you, and with the Four Great Saint Attributes combined, would there be any change.”
Zhou Weiqing quickly asked: “So… what is the result? Was there any change?”
Tian’er nodded, saying: “Yes, of course there was. Otherwise, why would I stay for so long by your side. Before I knew it, it’s already three years…”
Speaking up to that point, she hesitated a moment before changing the topic: “When I’m with you, especially when in contact, the two Saint Attributes that I have will be activated and roused up by your two Saint Attributes, indistinctly forming a unique, new energy field. Thus far you have not been able to sense this as you have not entered the Zun Stage yet, but I was able to quietly cultivate in this energy field, and in doing so being able to absorb the purest form of the world’s energy. That is the reason why I had no need to eat or drink, and this pure energy is more than able to sustain and nourish me. In doing so, it also imbued my body with much more spirit, strengthening and spiritualizing it. If not for that energy field, do you really think your Immortal Deity Technique is sufficient to let you break through to three Jewels in a mere three years, to the state where you are almost reaching four Jewels? Although your Immortal Deity Technique is quite miraculous, it is still not at the point where you can cultivate so rapidly…”
Zhou Weiqing said rather nonchalantly, as he did not really agree: “Is it really that fast? Compared to you, Little Witch or Shangguan Xue’er… none of you are that much older than I am, and you are already at the six or seven Jeweled cultivation level. I’m merely at the three-Jeweled cultivation level… how could it be considered fast by any stretch of the imagination?”
Tian’er pursed her lips, saying: “Undoubtedly, our cultivation levels are much higher than yours… but have you thought about how we… the heirs, members of the direct bloodline, or core disciples of the Great Saint Lands actually train and cultivate?”
“From the time that we are one month old, our little bodies are immersed in all sorts of treasures, medicines in order to give us a head start and build a strong and powerful foundation, improving our physiques. At the age of three, we start cultivating Heavenly Energy, and before the age of five, most of us have already Awakened our Heavenly Jewels. After that, the rest of our young lives are spent in the specially chosen training grounds which have the densest atmospheric energy for our absorption. To us, we do not have any childhood, with every single day of our lives spent either cultivating… or cultivating. We spend all those years doing
nothing but that, persevering, training with all our might.
Coupled with our own innate talent and the fact that we do not have to worry about Consolidating Equipment or Skill Storing, that is the reason why we are able to reach such heights at our age. It can be said that even for the Great Saint Lands, to foster and train disciples like ourselves takes an astronomical cost. Each generation, only a few select disciples will have that opportunity. That’s why the Blood Red Hell will not let you off so easily since you all killed Han Bing… you cannot imagine how much they have spent in developing a talent like him…”
When she spoke of having no childhood, Tian’er’s eyes revealed a faint sorrow.
“As I spent more time with you, I began to enter my Transformation Phase. That was also the reason why I spent so much time sleeping. Originally, for us Heavenly Beasts, the Transformation Phase is considered one of the most dangerous for us, and we usually only go through it with the protection of our elders and family guarding us. Even so, it is an extremely dangerous and painful process, not to mention long, before we actually succeed in Transforming. However, this time, due to the strange energy field between us, generated by the Four Great Saint Attributes, my Transformation Phase did not have any bottleneck, and I entered it with relative ease.”
“Soon after, my cultivation level made astonishing progress, advancing by leaps and bounds; during that evolving, I even broke through the seven-Jeweled Stage. That was truly a miracle; after all, when I was young, I was actually very naughty and playful. My father doted on me, and although I did spend a lot of time cultivating, it was definitely not comparable to someone like Shangguan Xue’er. Yet, I was still able to catch up to her in such a short period of time, reaching the seven-Jeweled stage. This… is the power of the Four Great Saint Attributes energy field. If this continues, I estimate that it will not take me another five more years before I can start attempting to breakthrough to the Heavenly King Stage… and perhaps become the youngest ever Heavenly King Master in the world today! I believe that similarly to its aid to my Transformation Phase, it will also reduce the bottlenecks in breaking through to the Heavenly King Stage, and it will prove much less difficult than for any other Heavenly Jewel Master.”
Pausing as she spoke up to that point, a yearning look entered Tian’er’s eyes, though it was quickly replaced by a complicated look. “Father once told me that if I want to gain something, it will always come at a cost. In the past, I did not understand what he meant… but now that I have spent several years with you, I think I have slowly began understanding the meaning.”
“Weiqing… do you know? In order to gain the greatest benefit for my cultivation, I should have killed you.” Tian’er continued faintly.
Zhou Weiqing started, shocked by the sudden proclamation, as he felt an abrupt cold on his back.
“At that time, when I had just completed my Transformation Phase, if I had killed you then and drained you of your spirit, soul and blood… perhaps, by now, I would already be much more powerful than Shangguan Xue’er. However, I was unable to take action.”
“I kept telling himself that the reason I did not take action was because I needed to continue using the Four Great Saint Attributes energy field for cultivation… that it would not be too late to kill you after I had broken through to the Heavenly King Master Stage. But… I knew that I was lying to myself, giving myself excuses for what I knew to be fact – that I could no longer bring myself to kill you.” As she spoke those words, her eyes reddened. Indeed, as she told Zhou Weiqing all of this, it was also the first time that she had truly faced her feelings head on. Looking at this little rascal in front of her, her heart struggled with itself.
“Zhou Weiqing, your Demonic Change State is truly different from any before, unlike what others may think, it isn’t just as simple as being attributed to a First Generation Heavenly Demon Master. Within your bloodline lies the aura of an unbelievably powerful and high ranked Heavenly Beast, such an aura and scent that I have not seen before in my life. I can confirm that this Heavenly Beast is also a tiger-type, and definitely of equal or higher rank as us Divine Heavenly Spirit Tigers. It is also that scent and aura within your bloodline that caused me to…”
Tian’er last few words that she had almost said it was actually ‘start falling for you’. She was not trying to make an excuse, but was indeed telling the truth. After all, Divine Heavenly Spirit Tigers were the spiritual leaders and holy beasts of the entire WanShou Empire, considered the top bloodline of the Heavenly Snow Mountain, especially since it was the bloodline of the current Mountain Lord. They were extremely proud of their own bloodline, and of themselves, feeling like their bloodline was the most noble and powerful in the entire world. Even when considering the Divine Spirit Flame Lions, second only to them, and usually considered almost at the same level as them, Tian’er was a little disdainful. That was one of the reasons why she ran away from her arranged marriage. Although she said that the Dark Demon God Tiger bloodline of Zhou Weiqing’s was perhaps equal to her own Divine Heavenly Spirit Tiger, it was actually at a much higher ranking level. This was also one of the reasons she stayed so long by Zhou Weiqing’s side, causing her to slowly be entangled and trapped in a web of emotions and feelings.
If it were any other person, it would have been extremely difficult, perhaps impossible, to move Tian’er. Instead of saying Zhou Weiqing had moved her, perhaps it could be said that his bloodline had conquered her. In the Heavenly Beast world, the phrase conquer was very apt. In order to win a mate, power and strength was of primary importance in the Heavenly Beast world. When Zhou Weiqing had gone through his own second evolution, just the bloodline essence and aura had given Tian’er an irresistible, unbreakable feeling. This was especially further accentuated that day when Zhou Weiqing and Shangguan Bing’er had that one crazy night, causing Tian’er to be filled with a strong desire as well. Of course, this was something that she would never ever tell Zhou Weiqing.
Of course, Zhou Weiqing did not know anything about such inside information regarding bloodlines. Hearing Tian’er speak of it, he just assumed she was shy and it was just her excuse, and he just grinned widely and kept silent. “What are you laughing at? Hmph, you scoundrel!” Tian’er gave our dear Little Fatty a swift kick.
Zhou Weiqing continued grinning as he said: “Heh heh, I’m just overjoyed at my own suave attractiveness! Even such a beautiful lady like Tian’er can fall for me!”
Tian’er gave a loud humph and said: “Like means like, so what about it? We Heavenly Beasts are very direct, I have indeed fallen for you, and I have chosen you as my mate. Therefore, you have to protect me in future, and work hard for my sake as well.”
“Ahh?” Zhou Weiqing stared at her, mouth agape. He had only been teasing her, and had definitely not expected such a response. For all the girls that he had met previously, even those with a more open-minded, forthright characters like Little Witch and Ming Hua would never have said something like that outright. Yet, Tian’er had done just that so very naturally, saying that she had fallen for him without beating around the bush, and that had definitely caught him by surprise.
Heavenly Beasts usually had active and direct characters, daring to love and hate outright, not fearing to show their emotions. Although Tian’er felt a little bashful inside, she still self-examined her own feelings and emotions; since her identity had already been exposed by Zhou Weiqing, she decided to simply face her own truths and speak out forthrightly.
Love was something that had to be fought for. This was the world of Heavenly Beasts. They would not give up their love just because of something so petty like bashfulness.
Zhou Weiqing originally had a wicked, teasing grin on his face, but hearing Tian’er admitting that she liked him so readily, it was his turn to be embarrassed.”
Tian’er gave a humph as she said: “Bing’er did not strictly restrict you from having other women… within reason. In our Heavenly Snow Mountain, the stronger the Heavenly Beast, the more mates they would have. This is the same for both male or females. The more mates, the more it shows one’s power, ability and status. My father has several dozen concubines, and not a single one of them would dare to have another man. Whoever dares touch them would be a challenge to my father. If one day, I find that you are not able to protect me, or perhaps do not have anything for me to like any further, I will also leave you. In truth, this is not just our Heavenly Beast’s world, though we might be more obvious about it. It is also the same in your human world… power is everything in the end.” Tian’er’s words and perspective could be said to be seemingly very different from any human’s perspective, and Zhou Weiqing couldn’t help but twitch helplessly, and he could not resist saying: “Does that mean that… besides me… you will look for other men?”
Tian’er saw his gloomy look and felt a surge of glee in her heart: “That will be up to you and your ability. If you have the ability to make me commit wholeheartedly to you, just like my father, I will naturally not look for anyone else. Just like, if you can ‘conquer’ the three Shangguan sisters, I will be very proud of you! Ohh, but I have to warn you… if my father discovers my whereabouts, my fiancé will definitely come looking for me. If you are actually serious about marrying me, you will have to get through two extremely tough barriers. The first is my fiancé; you will have to defeat him in fair combat, to convince him with your power. The next would be my father, you will have to somehow gain his approval.”
Zhou Weiqing asked tentatively: “What happens if I can’t defeat your so-called fiancé, or perhaps not able to win the approval of your father?”
Tian’er lifted her hands, rubbing them softly across Zhou Weiqing’s cheek as she said gently: “In that case, I’m afraid there is only one ending.” Death. Naturally, Zhou Weiqing knew what the ending she was alluding to would be, and a wave of depression struck his heart.
Although the Heaven’s Expanse Palace hadn’t treated him well in regards to Shangguan Bing’er, being rather overbearing in their attitudes. However, no matter what, they had not treated him badly, rather gently in fact, with only the condition that he defeated Shangguan Xue’er, and without even giving him a time limit! Yet, Tian’er’s side was much more savage… If he lost, that would be the end of him for good. Zhou Weiqing couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. I have really gone looking for trouble for nothing, why did I have to go unmask her, isn’t that adding on to my long list of troubles?
Despite his inward complaints, he still lifted his hand and drew Tian’er into his embrace, leaning down frankly into a kiss.
Tian’er, who had been so forthright in professing her love just moments ago, was instantly flustered, and she quickly slipped out of his arms in a swift movement, saying: “What are you doing?”
Zhou Weiqing said exasperatedly: “If your fiancé comes to kill me, and I haven’t even touched you yet, isn’t it such a huge disadvantage to me? Quick, come here, let your hubby collect some interest first.”
Tian’er giggled, saying: “In your dreams! If you want to touch me… sure! But, you must follow our Heavenly Snow Mountain rules. You’ve already gotten past the most difficult obstacle, as I have already falen for you. In order to get intimate for me, it is very easy; as long as you can defeat me, that means you have the power to conquer me, and you can do anything you want with me. As for now… you’re still far from it.” As she said that with a lilt in her voice, she gave him a provoking, teasing waggle of her finger.
Exasperated, Zhou Weiqing said huffily: “You just wait. It won’t take long, and I’ll let you know my power. Hmph, your little bottom better watch out!”
Tian’er smiled faintly, saying: “I’m waiting eager for such a day, waiting for you to conquer me. But as for now, we better get through this Heavenly Jewel Tournament of yours first…”
The two of them had already stayed at their starting area for almost an hour, but besides the panther which had attacked them earlier, it had been relatively quiet. Zhou Weiqing savagely ‘molested’ Tian’er with his gaze once through, before finally saying: “So… does that mean you have are actually willing to help me?”
Tian’er said: “You are my man, of course I will help you. This Lustre Spatial Realm is truly strange. Normally, it stands to reason that any Heavenly Beast would be able to sense the high ranking Heavenly Beast aura from both you and I, and would never dare to attack us. Only a Heavenly Beast of at least Heavenly King Stage and higher could possibly dare do such a thing. Yet, just now, that little panther actually dared to ambush us… it must be due to the unique properties of this Spatial Realm.”
Zhou Weiqing nodded in agreement, saying: “Indeed. We should also make our move now, we’ve spent enough time here. I wonder how the rest are doing, I hope they are all okay. We should just be careful and start looking around for signs of the other team members, and hopefully we can all gather together as soon as possible.” As he said that, he lifted his head to look at the sun high up in the skies of the Lustre Spatial Realm, before turning to a nearby tree and striking out at it, leaving a mark. Although these huge trees were extremely tough, with Zhou Weiqing’s power, it wasn’t too difficult to strip it of some bark. *Swoosh* Tian’er leapt up into the air, transforming back into the little Fat Cat as she did so, landing perfectly on Zhou Weiqing’s shoulder. Her beautiful purple eyes were filled with a warning look as she said: “Don’t you dare touch me willfully, otherwise I’ll hit you so hard that your teeth fall out!”
Zhou Weiqing laughed heartily, saying: “No touching means no touching. Wait until I conquer you, I’ll definitely touch you everyday! Hmph! I’m a man with high aspirations!”
Although Zhou Weiqing knew that clarifying Tian’er’s true identity as well as the reasons she had found him and clung to him, as well as affirming their relationship, would definitely bring him many problems in the future, Zhou Weiqing did not care now. He was definitely in a good mood; at least that invisible yet yawning gap between the two of them had now vanished into thin air, and he had also found out about Tian’er’s true feelings. As for the problems from the Heavenly Snow Mountain… it wasn’t as if he lacked problems now right? Pressure and stress also brings about motivation and impetus – Zhou Weiqing was extremely clear about this point.
Zhou Weiqing continued moving ahead slowly and carefully, his senses extended to maximum capability as he probed the surrounding forest. Every time he walked a certain distance, he would leave a mark on one of the trees. He had a very good memory, and coupled with an estimation of direction using the shadow of the trees from the sun rays, he was able to start plotting a rough map of the area in his head, slowly perfecting it as he walked around the forest.
In doing so, Zhou Weiqing walked for almost an hour without meeting any problems, but he did not dare relax. He knew that for the Heavenly Jewel Tournament to be held here, it definitely had its share of danger.
“Fat Cat, let’s climb up a tree to have a look from the canopy. That way, we will be able to see into the distance, and hopefully discover something.” Zhou Weiqing said to Tian’er.
Fat Cat nodded, saying: “That sounds good, let’s head up then. But you should be careful, I just keep having the premonition that this Lustre Spatial Realm isn’t as simple as it seems, it definitely holds some untold dangers.”
After nodding in agreement, Zhou Weiqing looked around for a suitable tree to climb. Settling upon a particular thick and stout large tree, he began his climb. His hands forming a claw shape, he struck the ground hard with his right foot, propelling himself into the air in a quick burst. His hands swiftly struck the tree trunk several times to continue his upwards momentum, and in a few swift strikes he was up in the canopy layer of the tree.
Looking down from the vantage position of the tall tree canopy, it was definitely a large improvement in vision and line of sight. Looking ahead, it was a seemingly endless sea of green as the tree canopies formed a ‘field’ in the sky, the expanse of the breathtakingly beautiful blue heavens almost seeming translucent, almost transparent.
Zhou Weiqing muttered to himself: “Such a huge forest… and to only bring in thirty two people… in just a month’s time… it should be impossible for any of us to meet without some crazy stroke of luck. If my guess isn’t wrong, this Heavenly Jewel Tournament is for us to compete on our survival skills… that is to say overall strength. Of course, there is also a large element of luck here… if anyone were to meet a Heavenly King Stage Heavenly Beast upon entering the Spatial Realm, they would probably be eliminated instantly.”
In the short time that he was muttering to himself, Zhou Weiqing’s thoughts were suddenly interrupted. Looking ahead in shock, he saw that the skies in the distance had totally turned red. The next moment, a deep red flash accompanied by a searing heat crossed the skies, almost filling the entire immense sky! As the temperature of the air rose drastically, the startled Zhou Weiqing ducked down under the branches into the cover of the leaves. The sudden rush of searing hot air passed by in a flash, and its passing caused several of the smaller branches sticking out to be burned to crisp, and the top leaves of canopy
also turned a withered yellow.
“What was that?!” Zhou Weiqing exclaimed in shock, as he asked Fat Cat.
Fat Cat was also in a state of shock. “That… that… it seemed like… like… a Skill… a Heavenly Beast Skill…”
Zhou Weiqing stared in shock, mouth agape, before finally gathering himself to speak: “That’s impossible right? That red light just now covered almost ten thousand square metres… can a Heavenly Beast actually use such a terrifying skill of such an area of effect?!”
Fat Cat looked at Zhuo Weiqing, taking in a deep breath as her eyes gleamed: “Yes… my father can.”
Zhou Weiqing felt as if he had just swallowed a whole chicken’s egg, his voice changing as he said: “Dearest… are you trying to tell me that… that… in this Lustre Spatial Realm… there is a Heavenly God Stage Heavenly Beast…?”
Fat Cat gave a bitter smile and said: “I’m afraid that is the reality of the situation. Do not ask me why as well… I do not know either.”
Zhou Weiqing carefully craned his head out of the canopy to look once more, and he was shocked to see in a huge creature in the distance, flying towards their direction.
It was at least a hundred metres long by his estimation, covered in a dark red scales, with a pair of huge wings extending from its back, looking slightly similar to a large iguana with massive claws.
It… was … a dragon!
Chapter 99 Dual Ten-Star Rated Time Attribute Skills!
What was the reaction when someone saw a huge dragon that should only exist in legends?
Zhou Weiqing’s reaction was very simple; he instantly cursed out loud: “F*ck!”
Without a slightest bit of hesitation, he half climbed half rolled down the tree, not daring to stay a second longer at the top of the trees.
Right at that moment, the Lustre Gem inlaid on the Spatial Ring shuddered a little, and Shangguan Longyin’s deep voice suddenly came from within: “Fei Li Battle Team Member, Little Four, has retreated from the Lustre Spatial Realm. The Fei Li Battle Team has lost a member.”
Zhou Weiqing started a little at first, before finally reacting. So… this Lustre Gem could actually be used as a communication tool in the Lustre Spatial Realm, although it seemed like it was only single-directional, it was still rather amazing in its own right. Still, he couldn’t help but feel somewhat gloomy. After all, there were only thirty two members out of all the Battle Teams, yet the first one to be eliminated was from their Fei Li Battle Team… that was not a good omen. Still, Zhou Weiqing could totally guess how Little Four had been eliminated.
Little Four had the ability to fly, and without question, that fellow had probably flown up above the treetops, thinking it would be safer there, and perhaps he had been the one to draw the attention of the huge dragon. Perhaps that terrifying flame skill which covered more than ten thousand square metres was even actually targeted at Little Four, with himself being the innocent victim caught in the crossfire.
Shaking his head helplessly, Zhou Weiqing looked at Fat Cat on his shoulder, saying: “It looks like we can not enter the air, or even reveal ourselves then. I’m afraid that the big fellow just now is most likely the strongest presence in this entire Lustre Spatial Realm. I hope that Little Four managed to activate the Lustre Gem in time to escape it.
Fat Cat said: “Oh? Do I detect a sense of defeat in my indomitable Little Fatty?”
Zhou Weiqing shook his head, saying: “Not exactly… It’s just that this place is just too full of unknown factors, yet also filled with danger all around. I truly dislike not being in control of the situation.”
Right at that instant, a loud long dragon’s cry rang out from the skies. Instantly, the entire Lustre Spatial Realm seemed to freeze, still and silent. Originally, the air was filled with sounds from bugs, birds and animals all around, but now, in the moment, that all disappeared. The silence was deafening.
This was the awe inspiring majesty of a high ranked powerhouse… Dragonfear!
Zhou Weiqing did not dare climb up to get a better look at the large dragon despite his curiosity. He did not want to be the second person to be eliminated.
Although Fat Cat was much more powerful than himself, even with the two of them added together, they would barely be able to tickle the dragon. Together, they would probably be just a tasty snack for it.
As the dragon’s cry echoed through the forest, the intense pressure from above lasted for a while before slowly disappearing. Zhou Weiqing let loose a breath he had been subconsciously holding. Turning to Fat Cat, he asked: “Any ideas on what to do next?”
Fat Cat shook her head, saying: “This is also my first time here, how could I have any concrete ideas? In truth, it will be extremely difficult for your Fei Li Battle Team to gain a good result. The key will rest upon you and Little Witch alone.”
Zhou Weiqing started: “What about Leader? He is very powerful in his own right too.”
Fat Cat shook her cute little tiger’s head before saying: “Unfortunately, he will not be able to make it in these circumstances. Previously, I urged you to bet with him because I could sense his talent and potential especially in defense, and that he would be a powerful ultimate defense Heavenly Jewel Master in future. Alas, under the current circumstances, defense alone will be somewhat useless for surviving in the forest. Unless… He somehow meets up with either you or Little Witch, which would bring the sum of your powers, and correspondingly your chances, to a much greater height. Unfortunately, as you have seen yourself, this Lustre Spatial Realm is extremely large, and meeting up with one another will be a tall order at least. As such, I estimate that he will not have a good time. As soon as meets any powerful opponents, the lack of offense and speed will prove his downfall.”
Zhou Weiqing said: “True enough. We might be having a tough time, but that doesn’t mean the other three teams will be doing much better right. They would also be facing similar dangers and problems.”
Fat Cat giggled before saying: “You think too much, and also severely underestimate the Great Saint Lands. Everything else aside, the rest of them have experienced or at least have knowledge of this Heavenly Jewel Tournament Finals before. Just this experience alone eclipses your Fei Li Battle Team. For example, the members of the other three teams would definitely know about the existence of that dragon, and would never make the mistake of flying into the air like Little Four.”
“Alright, enough said. Let’s move along as well as explore the surroundings. Whatever comes will come, be it good luck or bad luck, we will have to face it. As dangerous as this Lustre Spatial Realm is, it also has its hidden gems and treasures that we can gain from.”
Zhou Weiqing nodded. Picking a direction at random, they continued along. …
Four hours later.
Zhou Weiqing stopped at a rather large clearing to have a rest and some food. In the past few hours, they had ran into eight Heavenly Beasts. These Heavenly Beasts were mostly not very powerful, just at the Shi Stage, but they had attacked them nonetheless. The strongest ones were at the Zun Stage, and overall Zhou Weiqing had been able to handle them by himself.
After having a quick simple meal of dry rations, they sat and rested for a while. Just as Zhou Weiqing was about to continue his explorations, Fat Cat, still on his shoulder, perked her head up, eyes gleaming as she said softly: “Someone is coming. Be careful!” As she said that, she leapt into his arms once more, staying hidden from direct sight.
Of course, she had her own reasons why she hid instead of directly helping Zhou Weiqing to fight. Currently, Zhou Weiqing was still very far from the heights of his power, with much room to grow. Undoubtedly, actual combat would be a great opportunity for him to learn, to grow and to gain experience. Only when fighting in actual combat could a Heavenly Jewel Master improve in all areas that just cultivation alone could not provide, areas like control, usage of Skills etc. As such, unless the situation was critical, Fat Cat would not easily take action. In her eyes, this Lustre Spatial Realm could be considered Zhou Weiqing’s training grounds.
With Fat Cat’s warning, Zhou Weiqing moved in a flash, dodging behind a large tree swiftly, gathering his senses while reining in his own energy to conceal his presence. At the same time, he subtly released the Touch of Darkness Skill to further boost his senses to the maximum.
As soon as he had finished hiding, two figures appeared, silent and swift. They did not make any noise, nor give out any signs of energy.
Although Zhou Weiqing could not see them with his eyes, his Touch of Darkness enabled him to sense that the two were a male and female respectively. Just from their movements, Zhou Weiqing was able to tell their origin, as they were moving along hand-in-hand. Amongst the four Battle Teams, it was without question that only one of the Battle Teams would have a scene like that, and that was the BaoPo Battle Team which had the background support of the Passion Valley.
Zhou Weiqing couldn’t help but be shocked in his heart. Indeed, what Fat Cat had said was too true, and he could never underestimate the Great Saint Lands. These BaoPo Battle Team couples could actually join up together, and with the two of them working together, it would undoubtedly increase their overall power and safety. Perhaps they had some secret arts that enabled them to sense each other?
Alas, with all four of the Battle Teams in the Lustre Spatial Realm, it could be said that they were all opponents, even enemies! What should I do? Attack? Continue hiding?
With Tian’er’s help, he was confident that they would able to take a 2v2 fight with this couple in front of them. Alas, he did not know how much help she would be willing to give now.
After a short moment of consideration, Zhou Weiqing finally decided to stay on the side of caution, dispelling the notion of fighting with them.
After all, the finals would last an entire month. If he expended too much effort on the first day, it would not be beneficial to his overall strategy.
With that in mind, Zhou Weiqing reinforced his concealment, keeping a tight hold on his own energy as he waited silently for the BaoPo couple to pass by. The two of them walked very slowly; just like what Zhou Weiqing had done previously, they kept their senses peeled in observation as they moved along.
Just as they were about 20 yards from the huge tree which Zhou Weiqing was hiding behind, enroute to pass by, all of a sudden a soft rustling sound caused the two to halt in their tracks, their gazes snapping towards Zhou Weiqing’s hiding spot.
Since the two of them heard the sound, naturally so did Zhou Weiqing. That was because the rustling sound had been caused by Fat Cat moving around in his arms. He did not even have time to think why she would do that on purpose, as he had to instantly react to the incoming danger.
The Overlord Bow coalescing instantly, and at the same time, Zhou Weiqing jumped backwards in a flash. He did not even need to use his eyes to take aim, just his enhanced senses alone allowing him to clearly know where the other pair was. Six arrows flew out almost at the same time, accompanied by the shrill whistling sound of their flight as the sped towards the man and woman respectively.
Zhou Weiqing was a person who liked to be in control, and he did not like to leave his fate in another person’s hands if he had a choice, not even if the person was Tian’er. As such, as soon as he launched his attack, he retreated at top speed deeper into the forest. He knew that a complicated terrain like the forest, and a greater distance between his foes, would be the best way for him to unleash his full power. As long as he could
maintain a distance of at least a hundred yards from his opponents, even if he met the strongest powerhouses in the other Battle Teams, he had confidence of fighting with them.
Six reverberating whines followed by six explosions, almost simultaneously, as the Twisting Bowstring Archery Skill combined with the explosive effect of the Overlord Bow took effect, the shockwaves from the explosion traveling almost in a several li radius. The surprising thing was that Zhou Weiqing could clearly sense that the six arrows had actually all missed their targets.
The ability in which Zhou Weiqing had the most confidence was not his Demonic Change State, or his Devour Skill, or even his Legendary Hammers, but his archery. The torturous years he had spent training in the Heavenly Bow Unit, coupled with outstanding talent and hard work, had left his archery skill above even that of his teacher, Mu En. After all, he was a Heavenly Jewel Master, better able to make full use of the skill that his teacher had invented and perfected. Not to mention that the distance between his foes was only several dozen yards, even if it were several hundred yards, he had the confidence that he would not miss!
Yet, two shadowy figures, with an illusory light, flashed towards Zhou Weiqing from two different directions at breakneck speeds, boxing him in a pincer move.
Currently, Zhou Weiqing was already using the full power of his Demonic Right Leg as well as his Wind Attribute to bring his speed to nearly his maximum heights, and he was definitely no slouch in that department. However, his two foes were clearly edging him out in terms of speed, closing the gap slowly and steadily.
Zhou Weiqing did not turn around, but the arrows continued streaming from his hands, striking out unerringly towards his opponents, as he continuously changed different archery styles. He had absolute confidence that even if his opponent was of the six-Jeweled cultivation level, as long as they were struck by his arrows, it would at the bare minimum slow them down.
Alas, things did not go according to plan. Every arrow that he shot towards them seemed to be deflected by a strange force as soon as it neared them, or perhaps the more accurate term would be ‘guided away’, as the arrows seemed to slide away from them just as they were about to hit. The power of the Twisting Bowstring Archery Skill and the Overlord Bow could not come to fruition if the arrows just did not hit!
As the gap closed slowly, they were soon less than twenty yards from Zhou Weiqing. All of a sudden, the male member of the BaoPo Battle Team suddenly raised his hands towards Zhou Weiqing in an abrupt motion. Instantly, Zhou Weiqing felt everything slow down around him, and his body froze slightly in midair. In just that moment, the two opponents had already arrived by his side.
Blink. Left with no choice, Zhou Weiqing could only use his last line of defensive, and two flashes of light passed by where his body was a moment ago, barely missing him.
“Wait! Hold on a second!” Zhou Weiqing shouted out loud, as he dodged behind a tree.
Surprisingly, the two BaoPo Battle Team members actually listened to him. They did not attack any further, resuming their hand holding, though their attentions and spirits were fully focused on Zhou Weiqing.
Zhou Weiqing stuck his head out cautiously, the customary honest grin on his face as he said: “Please, let’s not fight first, hear me out if you will, I have a proposition.”
This BaoPo Battle Team couple were extremely attractive; the guy suave and handsome, and his lady beautifully stunning, looking the picture of a match made in heaven. Still, Zhou Weiqing recalled that they were not the two who had been leading the pack of BaoPo Battle Team members earlier, and shouldn’t be the most powerful in the team.
The two of them looked at him curiously, interested in what he had to say. They were not in a rush; they had seen all of the Fei Li Battle Team’s fights, and Zhou Weiqing’s fight against Shen Little Demon had definitely left them a deep impression. Still, that did not mean that it was sufficient for them to attach too much importance to him.
After all, not only did they have the numbers advantage, but as the members of the Passion Valley, they were extremely well versed in fighting together as a couple. Besides that, they had their pride as a member of a Great Saint Lands, and they felt they already had a good grasp on his powers and abilities, and were hence not afraid that he could escape their control. More importantly, the Blood Red Hell had always been the weakest of the four Great Saint Lands joining the Heavenly Jewel Tournament, usually taking the last position.
Seeing that they did not take action and were willing to hear him out, Zhou Weiqing stepped out from behind the tree, smiling as he said: “Hello, my name is Zhou Weiqing, may I have the honour of knowing your two esteemed names?” The man said: “My name is Ao Le, and this is my wife, Liu Yinan. Brother Zhou, your fight with Shen Little Demon in the preliminary heats was indeed amazing, beating her then has truly given you a name in that one fight, and it should be my honour to meet you.” As he said that, he lifted up his hand and
smoothed his hair. Clearly, he placed much importance on customs and ceremony.
Zhou Weiqing quickly said: “You are too kind, you are too kind. That was mostly luck indeed.”
Ao Le smiled faintly, saying: “Bro Zhou, your Demonic Change State is indeed impressively powerful. I am quite clear about Shen Little Demon’s power, having fought her before, and I am confident of being equal to her. If I were to meet Bro Zhou for the first time, I would also definitely be hard pressed to take you down. In any case, enough with the pleasantries, why did Bro Zhou call out to us? This Lustre Spatial Realm is not very peaceful, and we do not want to stay too long here.”
Inwardly, Zhou Weiqing was cursing away. What call out to you?! Isn’t it you two who chased me all the way? From this Ao Le’s words, he could tell that this fellow would be extremely difficult to handle. Although he was smiling away, his gaze was unwavering and focused, clearly the type who had a strong heart and resolute mind. This would not be an easy foe indeed. “Bro Ao Le, it is like this. As you know, this is the first time our Fei Li Battle Team has actually entered the Finals of the Heavenly Jewel Tournament, and we have no experience at all, and are all unfamiliar with the Lustre Spatial Realm. As such, we know that we have no chance at all to get the
championship, and have resigned ourselves so. However, in truth, we are likely to get the 4th position, but that would be rather sad and embarrassing. As such, I hope that we can cooperate together with the BaoPo Battle Team.”
“Cooperate?” Ao Le looked on with interest at Zhou Weiqing, saying: “So… what sort of cooperation did you have in mind?”
Zhou Weiqing continued: “Amongst the four teams in the Tournament, our Fei Li Battle Team is definitely the weakest. Also, I might be wrong, but I think that your BaoPo Battle Team should not be stronger than the WanShou or ZhongTian Battle Teams right? That is to say… both our teams are the two weakest teams in the Tournament. If we can work together, we could possibly get a much better result in this Tournament. For example, the three of us are currently together… Under such a situation, working together, if we meet any of the ZhongTian or WanShou Battle Team members, we will have a good chance of winning. If we meet anyone from our two Battle Teams, that would be even better, and we can keep growing our team while slowly whittling down the numbers of the ZhongTian and WanShou Battle Team members. In the end… perhaps we might actually be able to throw them all out of the Lustre Spatial Realm.”
“At that point, the final champion will naturally be your BaoPo Battle Team, and we can also benefit from association to get a second position. Isn’t that a win-win situation ripe for cooperation?”
Hearing Zhou Weiqing’s words, Ao Le laughed heartily, saying: “Bro Zhou… that is a very good suggestion, and a great plan indeed. however , do you know what was the final placing in the last Heavenly Jewel Tournament?”
Zhou Weiqing started a little before saying: “No, I do not.” Ao Le smiled faintly, saying: “The final placement last
Tournament was ZhongTian in the first place, us BaoPo in the
second place, WanShou in the third place and DanDun in the fourth, and last place. Can you guess why something like that would happen?”
Zhou Weiqing’s heart sank as he said: “Could it be… you and the ZhongTian Battle Team…” Still smiling faintly, Ao Le inclined his head, saying: “Indeed, your guess is very accurate. Our BaoPo Empire and ZhongTian Empire have always been allies, no matter in war, or in this Heavenly Jewel Tournament. The WanShou Battle Team is indeed powerful, but they are our common enemies.
Furthermore, our Passion Valley also has a secret arts allowing man and wife like us to have a very close connection. As such, even though we are in this Lustre Spatial Realm, we are able to reunite relatively easily, to get a numbers advantage. Your plan is very good indeed, and I am truly impressed, but I’m afraid
that your Fei Li Battle Team does not have the qualification to
work together with us. I’m sorry Bro Zhou… Now, do you want to use your Lustre Gem directly, or do we have to force you to do so?”
Ao Le had been polite, almost amiable, the entire time, but with those words of not having the qualification, he showed the pride and arrogance of a disciple of the Great Saint Lands, as well as his disdain for the Fei Li Battle Team. From the beginning, he had not even felt they were worthy of his attentions as opponents, and naturally would not cooperate with them.
Zhou Weiqing grinned broadly. Naturally, he had hoped that his suggestion would be accepted, and if it were, he was confident in making it work, as it would be a good win-win situation. As for how the final result would be, it would be hard to say. Yet, that did not mean he was afraid of them. Ao Le’s words had confirmed that there was no longer any shred of possibility of them working together, and a fight was definitely coming.
Ao Le saw that natural big grin on Zhou Weiqing’s face, and couldn’t help but ask: “Bro Zhou, what are you grinning about.”
Zhou Weiqing said calmly: “I’m grinning because your time in this Tournament has come to its end.”
As he said that, he struck the ground hard with his right foot, his entire body charging forward towards the pair like a cannonball. In midair, his entire body turned a darker black shade as the familiar black tiger tattoos covered his entire body and a powerful, violent aura erupted from him. It was the Demonic Change State.
Seeing Zhou Weiqing charge at them, A cold light flashed in Ao Le’s eyes, and he smiled coldly: “Hmph, I am not Shen Little Demon!”
Both Ao Le and Liu Yinan raised their hands, unleashing their Heavenly Jewels at once. Ao Le was at the six-Jeweled cultivation level, while Liu Yinan was at the five-Jeweled level. Ao Le’s Physical Jewels were the same as Zhou Weiqing’s, the Icy Jade representing Strength, while Liu Yinan’s were the Waxy Jade representing stamina. As for their Elemental Jewels, both of theirs were exactly the same, and they did not bother concealing them at all.
It was a rather strange looking gemstone, its entire body a dull dim yellow colour, but it was glowing with a soft light that seemed to twist and warp the very air around it.
A weird yellow light flashed out from their hands respectively, twisting the light rays as it sped towards Zhou Weiqing and enveloped him,
Instantly, Zhou Weiqing slowed drastically in mid charge, as if he was acting in some slow motion picture.
Slow Barrier!
That strange barrier of yellow light was naturally the Slow Barrier that Ao Le and Liu Yinan had unleashed with their combined efforts. They both had Stored the same Skill, and releasing it together would not only increase its power, but also its area of effect.
Realising that his speed had been slowed drastically, a alarmed, panicked look appeared on Zhou Weiqing’s face, as his flailing fists in the air slowed to a crawl as he struggled with all his might, only to see his speed grow slower and slower.
Ao Le did not rush into attacking Zhou Weiqing, instead smiling as he said: “Bro Zhou, how is the feeling of this Slow Barrier of our husband and wife team? In truth, losing to our Time Attribute should be an honour to you. After all, the Time Attribute is one of the three Great Saint Attributes; even in the Heaven’s Expanse Palace, no one has an Attribute like this. Although your Evil Attribute is not bad, but alas your cultivation level is just too low. Facing this Slow Barrier that both of us have worked together to release, you do not stand a chance…”
As he said that, Ao Le lifted up his left hand, waving it towards Zhou Weiqing. At the same time, he stuck out his index finger and middle fingers, slowly drawing a line in midair at Zhou Weiqing’s body.
Two lines of yellow light shot out from his two fingers, not making a sound as they struck out at Zhou Weiqing, who felt everything darken around him, as if everything had become unreal, all part of an illusion.
Ao Le’s voice seemed to come from all directions: “This Skill is called Interlocking Time. The two bouts of light from my fingers will each slow and hasten the time in the area by one second respectively. Time will start changing, warping and become unstable, causing a massive energy field. This is similar in principle to your Spatial Rend, just that my Interlocking Time cannot be dodged. Goodbye now, Bro Zhou.”
The Interlocking Time Skill was not just a powerful attacking skill, but was also considered a Control Skill at the same time. As one of the Great Saint Attributes, the Time Attribute was definitely a force to be reckoned with, and not one of its Skills could be considered ‘simple’.
Zhou Weiqing had already been slowed and stuck in the Slow Barrier, and now with this Interlocking Skill used upon him, it was as if his entire body was frozen in space and time, unable to move. From the way things were going, it seemed as if the two bouts of yellow light were about to tear his body into two.
From Ao Le’s perspective, the only hope for Zhou Weiqing now was to activate his Lustre Gem and retreat from the Spatial Realm, otherwise he would be torn apart by his powerful skill. After all, the power levels between the two of them was just too huge, and his Interlocking Time Skill was also one of the top Time Skills available.
Yet… just as Ao Le and Liu Yinan thought that victory was in their grasp, a strange sight occurred…
A layer of invisible, twisting light appeared around Zhou Weiqing’s body, streaking across momentarily before disappearing. Just that one short moment, but it changed the entire battle situation. Ao Le’s Interlocking Time Skill actually appeared behind Zhou Weiqing, and he also abruptly resumed his original speed.
Both sides were already extremely close by this point, and this abrupt change happened too suddenly for the two to react. Ao Le had already thought they had the victory in their grasp, and was in the midst of ‘acting cool’ when the sudden change occurred. As such, he did not have any time to react before Zhou Weiqing appeared right in front of him.
Zhou Weiqing’s other hand was pointed at Liu Yinan, striking out thrice. Three Skills flashed out at her; the Fetters of Wind, Touch of Darkness and Spatial Shackles.
Without question, unleashing these three powerful Control Skills at once was a huge drain on Zhou Weiqing’s Heavenly Energy. However, at this moment, he could not take any risk, the risk of Liu Yinan who was so close by having the possibility of disrupting his perfect plan. The Fetters of Wind and Touch of Darkness tightened around the five-Jeweled Liu Yinan instantly. She was after all not six- Jeweled like her husband, and the gap between her and Zhou Weiqing wasn’t as large, and it would definitely take her a longer time to break free of his Control. Finally, the Spatial Shackles snapped into place as a silver shield shimmered into place around her, at the same time breaking the handhold between her and Ao Le, forcing them apart.
At the same time as he unleashed the Skills upon Liu Yinan, Zhou Weiqing also gave a vicious kick towards Ao Le’s chest with his right foot.
Everything happened just too abruptly, and Ao Le was caught totally by surprise. When a person met with something that was totally out of his imagination, he would definitely be stunned momentarily, no matter how high his cultivation level was. As such, despite their disparity in power levels, he only had the time to move his hands up to protect his chest, channeling as much Heavenly Energy as he could to protect himself from Zhou Weiqing’s kick.
Everything Zhou Weiqing had done up to this point could be said to be in preparation for this very move. Even the extent of how he had been affected by the Slow Barrier, as well as how it affected his archery, all of it was real, but also targeted to numb
his opponents and to let them think he was totally helpless against their Slow Barrier and give him the opportunity to have this one decisive strike. Now that his plans had come together to this moment of fruition, how could he possibly let Ao Le have a chance to react?
Power and strength was definitely extremely important in a fight, but intelligence could always be another deciding factor indeed.
A massive explosion, as Zhou Weiqing’s right foot slammed hard into the intersection of Ao Le’s arms at the center of his chest. *Crackkk* Along with the explosion, the sickening sound of Ao Le’s right arm being broken could be heard, and he flew backwards from the sheer impact and inertia, as a mouthful of blood sprayed out involuntarily.
This was also after considering the fact that the Heavenly Energy difference between the two was just too huge, with Ao Le’s cultivation level far above Zhou Weiqing, allowing him to dissipate a large portion of the impacting force. After all, the sheer power and brute strength of Zhou Weiqing’s Demonic Right Leg was absolutely terrifying, able to shake even Lin TianAo’s Five-Jeweled Assembly Shield Set. Knocking Ao Le back did not put a gap between the two. That was because under the effects of the Demonic Change State, Zhou Weiqing’s right leg had transformed into the scorpion hook, which he had managed to hook onto Ao Le’s arm, and his entire body followed suit along with Ao Le.
The sharp pain in his arm, the absolute agony of his sternum being broken, combined to cause Ao Le’s eyes to turn bloodshot. At the same time, he sensed a bone chilling energy invade his body from Zhou Weiqing’s right foot, causing him to shudder violently. In a fluster, he quickly gathered all his remaining energy to unleash his strongest Skills and Consolidated Equipment. At this point, he could no longer afford to hold back at all, and all that was left in his heart was the desire to rip Zhou Weiqing into shreds.
Alas, at this point, a strange warped light seemed to spread out from Zhou Weiqing’s right leg. Instantly, not just the Skills and Equipment that Ao Le was about to unleash, but also the source of cold invading his body was interrupted.
Zhou Weiqing vaulted backwards in the air, retreating instantly, while Ao Le landed hard on the ground with a loud thud. Blue. Black. Grey. Three lights swirled around his broken right arm for a moment, before vanishing. Ao Le wanted to leap to his feet, but he suddenly lost control of his body as it trembled uncontrollably. Once again, he was chilled to the bone, but this time it seemed to come from within, as his entire body convulsed, and lost in the spasms, his original thought of jumping up to strike at Zhou Weiqing was lost, and he could barely use the original Heavenly Energy for his offensive Skill and guide it to protect his heart. At the same time, he had to focus all his might in gathering all his Heavenly Energy in an attempt to drive out that terrifying cold from his body.
“Ao Le!” Liu Yinan finally broke free of Zhou Weiqing’s three Control Skills. She could not even care about striking out at Zhou Weiqing, quickly leaping to Ao Le’s side to support his unsteady, shaking body.
Landing at a distance from them, Zhou Weiqing was totally pale and shaking as well, but he still maintained himself in the Demonic Change State, though he half-knelt on the ground, panting heavily as he tried to gather himself once more. In just that short span of time, he had expanded more than seventy percent of all his Heavenly Energy. Without question, having an Elemental Jewel with six Attributes provided him with much power, with a large amount of great Skill Selections to use. Alas, his Heavenly Energy was just not sufficient to unleash all of these Skills without repercussions, especially since some of those Skills he
had just used were extremely energy consuming.
“How did you do that? I do not believe that you can dodge past my Interlocking Time Skill!” Ao Le stood up straight with Liu Yinan’s help, but instead of tending to his injuries, he asked Zhou Weiqing urgently.
Zhou Weiqing grinned, saying: “Heh… it was an unexpected surprise right? You are right, your Interlocking Time Skill is indeed extremely powerful, and isn’t something that I can withstand. Even under the Demonic Change State, if I was under effects any longer, I would have probably died. Alas, you were just too overconfident in your own Skills. The Interlocking Time Skill is not perfect, or unbreakable. To be more accurate, every skill, under a particular circumstance, has a chance of being broken or resolved. What I used was the Time Disorder Skill… so you can rest assured it is definitely a Skill worthy of your loss.”
Ao Le’s eyes widened; even his pupils dilated with shock. This time, even Liu Yinan couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise: “Time Disorder?! You… you actually have the Time Attribute as well?! But… but… why do you not have the specific yellow colour light of the Time Attribute?”
Zhou Weiqing shrugged, saying: “I do not know about that… The Time Disorder Skill, with my low cultivation level, only has a mere one second effect, but that one second was more than enough to disrupt Bro Ao Le’s Interlocking Time Skill, and also temporarily disabling your Slow Barrier. That allowed me to escape their area of effects just in time to launch my attack. You were too confident, and too careless, and so I succeeded.”
Liu Yinan gave a cold laugh: “Hmph, do you think that just by breaking Ao Le’s arm, you can beat us?”
Zhou Weiqing laughed heartily, saying: “Look carefully at your husband. Indeed, you can definitely beat me alone now at the state that I’m in, and force me to leave the Heavenly Jewel Tournament. However, if you do that, I’m afraid that Bro Ao Le’s life will be lost.”
Surprised by his words, Liu Yinan quickly turned to examine Ao Le. She immediately discovered that perhaps Zhou Weiqing might not be lying. Unknowingly, Ao Le’s face was ashen grey, his body trembling violently. Although he was still awake, his teeth were gritted as he tried to contain the pain, and he could not even speak.
Earlier, when Zhou Weiqing had kicked Ao Le and followed him as he flew back, he had unleashed his strongest offensive Skill in his arsenal in midair – the Dark Demon God Lightning!
At such a close range, if Zhou Weiqing had unleashed the full power of the Dark Demon God Lightning on Ao Le, it would be without a doubt that Ao Le would perish. However, if that happened, Zhou Weiqing would be too weak, and Liu Yinan would definitely go crazy in trying to take revenge on him. Without considering Fat Cat’s intervention, he might be killed or forced to escape via the Lustre Gem.
Even if he could escape the Lustre Spatial Realm, the Fei Li Battle Team had already made too enemies this Tournament. The Bai Da Empire, Dan Dun Empire, both of whom had fresh enmity towards them. If they added another BaoPo Empire, it would definitely not be a good sign. No matter what, Zhou Weiqing would definitely not kill off Ao Le, even if it might cost him the Tournament.
In the time that the Dark Demon God Lightning was unleashed, the triple Attribute venom was forced out from Zhou Weiqing’s right foot into Ao Le’s body. Although it wasn’t as powerful as the direct strike from the Dark Demon God Lightning, the strong venom still caused him a large amount of pain.
The next moment after unleashing the Dark Demon God Lightning, Zhou Weiqing used his other new Stored Skill, also of the Time Attribute, called: Time Interrupt.
That was a Skill that Zhou Weiqing had Stored from a Heavenly King Stage Heavenly Beast. At that time when he was attempting to Store it, even with Fat Cat’s help, he had tried a total of twenty six times before finally succeeding. Even without active resistance from the Heavenly Beast, his Skill Storing had still failed so many times… one could just imagine how insanely powerful that Heavenly Beast was.
The reason for the successive failures was just exactly this Personal Skill of this Heavenly King Stage Beast, the Time Interrupt.
The Time Interrupt Skill was an area of effect Skill, and according to the records of the Skill Storing Palace, if a Heavenly King Stage Master activated this Skill, within a hundred yards radius, all Heavenly Jewel Masters who were activating Skills or Consolidated Equipment would have them disrupted, or any channeling Skills would be interrupted as well.
The difference from the Heavenly Lightning Shock was that Consolidated Equipment which had already been summoned would not vanish, but Skills which were already in effect would be disrupted.
Without question, this was another powerful Control Skill, but Zhou Weiqing had to think for a long time before finally deciding to Store it.
The Skill he had used earlier to disrupt Ao Le’s Interlocking Time, the Time Disorder Skill, was a life-saving type support skill, and this Time Interrupt was a powerful Crowd Control Skill. Its only shortcoming was that when it was unleashed, it would not differentiate between friend and foe, and everything and anyone caught within its area of effect would be affected by it. The most powerful and overbearing thing about it was actually its success conditions – it actually had an Absolute Success Rate as long as the person in question was within three levels of the user. Anyone of more than three levels higher than the user would have its effects reduced accordingly. Perhaps this Skill was too powerful, and its cooldown was an astonishing one hour! With Zhou Weiqing’s mere three-Jeweled cultivation level, when he used the Skill it would only be a three yard radius with him at the center, pretty much only of use at close range.
However, at that point, he was right beside Ao Le,almost joined to him by the scorpion hook, and naturally the effect of the Skill was at its maximum.
Chapter 100 Black-White Dual Evil Spirits
Using the Time Interrupt Skill right after the Dark Demon God Lightning Skill was a master stroke. The final effect was that as soon as the Triple Attribute Venom was infused into Ao Le’s body, his own Dark Demon God Lightning Skill was disrupted before it could fully burst into effect. At the same time, Ao Le’s last ditch effort at retaliating with his Skills and Consolidated Equipment had also been stopped.
In this way, Zhou Weiqing’s full plan had come into effect, and he had made his escape without injury. The deadly venom was now injected in his opponent, sufficient to threaten his life without claiming it straight away. It was far from the strongest effect of the Skill, but perfect for what he needed currently; not taking his opponent’s life while ensuring his own escape.
In truth, since Zhou Weiqing also had the Time Attribute and Skills, when he first shot at Ao Le and Liu Yinan, he could already sense that they had been using the Time Attribute to subtly guide his arrows away. If he had truly wanted to hit them, he could just make use of the Time Interrupt Skill with his arrows, it would be able to disrupt their Slow Barrier and allow him to shoot them. In this way, he would definitely be able to injure them, but to what degree Zhou Weiqing would not be able to fully control.
As such, he kept holding back, planning, thinking, waiting. He wanted them to underestimate him, at the same time he needed time to come up with a plan to deal with them.
Fighting in a head on fight would be foolish; not only did they outnumber him, but even if either of them were alone, Zhou Weiqing had no confidence in being able to take them easily. The only way would be to act weak, allow them to underestimate him, and bet it all in a single strike. Only with such an elaborate, meticulous plan would have the slightest chance of tricking them and defeating them.
Once again, Zhou Weiqing had proven himself capable to defeating a stronger opponent with his wits. In that short period of time, he had used everything in his arsenal, fully exploiting the advantage of having so many Attributes and Control Skills, unleashing them all at the risk of being fully depleted of Heavenly Energy. It had indeed been a risky proposition, but his bet had paid off, as he had successfully wounded Ao Le while escaping unharmed. He already had the mental preparation in case his plan failed, at worst, he would be forced out of the Tournament, but he was confident that if his life was in any danger, Fat Cat would not stay silent. Looking at her husband’s suffering look, Liu Yinan was flustered, quickly attempting to circulate her own Heavenly Energy into his body to help him. Alas, things did not improve as she thought, as the Heavenly Energy she infused only caused Ao Le more pain, his shivering growing more violent. This was also with the Dark Demon God Lightning’s full power cut off at the start, otherwise Ao Le might have already lapsed into unconsciousness.
“You… what did you do to him?” Liu Yinan looked at Zhou Weiqing with a mix of fright and anger.
Zhou Weiqing grinned and said: “Nothing much, just a little venom. It isn’t that serious, but… well… let’s just say that even Senior Shangguan Longyin was unable to cure it. Do you remember our Fei Li Battle Team’s fight against the Dan Dun Battle Team? At the end, this was the Skill I used to defeat Shen Little Demon. She was dying from this very poison, but it was Senior Shangguan Longyin who made the guarantee to let them not take revenge on us, so I detoxified her. At that time, Senior Shangguan led the entire Dan Dun Battle Team to look for us in our Rest House… I believe you should remember that scene right?”
“Of course, you can choose to disbelief my words, but the venom will not wait for anyone, not even I can control that. If anything untoward happens to your husband… don’t blame me for not warning you. Sigh… a human only has one life… for him to be afflicted by this venom, even if you both leave the Lustre Spatial Realm, it will not vanish. In this world, besides myself, no one else can detoxify him from this venom.”
Hearing Zhou Weiqing’s words, Liu Yinan quickly recalled that day when the Dan Dun Battle Team had carried Shen Little Demon into the Fei Li Battle Team Rest House, led by Shangguan Longyin. She vaguely remembered hearing something about Shen Little Demon being poisoned, but being from the Passion Valley, they had not paid too much attention to it. After all, they had pride in their Time Attribute and Control, and did not think that they would actually be hit by Zhou Weiqing’s Skill. Alas, they had severely underestimated him, not expecting him to have the Time Attribute as well. Now that Ao Le was poisoned, as the saying goes, the more you care about someone, the less objective you will become when the person is question is in danger. How could Liu Yinan stay calm and collected in such a situation?
“What do you want?” She said angrily.
Zhou Weiqing laughed out, saying: “I do not want anything much… originally, I only had good intentions, offering to work together with you two. Alas, you all choose not to accept my good intentions, and chose to be enemies with me instead… so how can you blame me? I do not have many demands, just for you two to retreat from the Lustre Spatial Realm now, from the Heavenly Jewel Tournament. I will then draw out the venom from Bro Ao Le. How does that sound?”
The love and marital relation between Liu Yinan and Ao Le was very deep, and she did not even hesitate a second before nodding in agreement, saying: “Alright, you detoxify him now. Once I am sure he is okay, we will activate the Lustre Gem and retreat from the Tournament.”
Zhou Weiqing waggled a finger at her, saying: “No, no. Miss Liu, I am sorry… as I am in the weaker side now, that will not do. Here’s how I will detoxify him if you agree. I will first remove the majority of Bro Ao Le’s venom, alleviating his condition, and you both can retreat from the Lustre Spatial Realm. I guarantee that after that, as long as Bro Ao Le circulates his Heavenly Energy to protect himself, he will be fine for more than a month. Once the Heavenly Jewel Tournament is over, I will then fully detoxify all the remaining venom.”
Liu Yinan said angrily: “Nonsense, how can I possibly believe you?! What if you refuse to help Ao Le after the Tournament?” Zhou Weiqing looked at her helplessly, saying: “Big Sis, think about that for a moment please? I have no enmity or hate towards you two, why would I possibly kill him? All I am doing is for the sake of the Tournament, once you two are out, I have no possible clash with you. Do you think that offending the
Passion Valley is something fun for me to do? Or that I am that stupid as to go back on my word for no gain? Of course, if you do not agree with my suggestion, then I will have no choice but to die together with Bro Ao Le. My mere little life… being able to exchange it for Bro Ao Le’s life, I guess it is worth my while.”
As he ended his passionate speech, he gave the look of an indifferent, scoundrelly look, causing Liu Yinan to be angered into a frosty look, yet she could not do anything about it. In terms of power and fighting, these disciples of the Great Saint Lands were definitely at the top of their game, but in terms of intelligence and emotional quotients, how could they possibly compare to this little Scoundrel Zhou Weiqing, who had lived and learned with the God Eye Scoundrel Mu En for so long?
A complicated look appeared in Liu Yinan’s eyes, as she was clearly struggling. To be forced out of the Heavenly Jewel Tournament like that, no matter her or Ao Le would not be happy. After all, even amongst the Passion Valley disciples of their generation, there was much competition. Being eliminated from the Heavenly Jewel Tournament after less than a day, it would definitely affect their standings in the Passion Valley.
Zhou Weiqing did not rush her, waiting patiently and calmly at the side. At the same time, he gave a sigh on purpose, saying: “Haiz, there are so many Heavenly Beasts in this Lustre Spatial Realm… if you can’t decide fast and a Heavenly Beast comes around, if we aren’t able to block it in time and Bro Ao Le takes another injury, please don’t blame me alright….”
As he said that, he waved his right hand. A flash of light, and he summoned out one of the Icy Soul Heavenly Beasts from his Spatial Ring.
The two baby Icy Soul Heavenly Bears he had brought back so long ago were now all big and grown up, already at the Middle Level Zun Stage, comparable to an ordinary Five- Jeweled Heavenly Jewel Master. Of course, they still had some distance from a Five-Jeweled Master, but being a Dual Attribute Heavenly Beast, they were definitely pretty powerful. At the same time, Zhou Weiqing’s Immortal Deity Technique had been helping him recover at maximum speed, and even if Liu Yinan decided to abandon Ao Le and attack him, with the Icy Soul Heavenly Bear’s help, he would be able to delay her enough for him to recover. Facing a Five-Jeweled Liu Yinan, having completed all his Skill Storing, Zhou Weiqing was confident of taking a fight.
Seeing the Icy Soul Heavenly Bear that Zhou Weiqing had brought out giving her a low warning roar, the last vestiges of hope for Liu Yinan were dashed. She had originally been considering if she could capture Zhou Weiqing, forcing him to cure Ao Le, but it was clear now that she had no chance.
Discharging an angry, pent up breath, Liu Yinan said angrily: “The mountains stand but the rivers run. Next time, we will not let you go so easily. I agree to your terms, help Ao Le remove the poison now.”
As she said that, she helped Ao Le to sit down, then in order to prove she would not launch any sneak attack on Zhou Weiqing, she stepped back slowly to a safe distance.
Zhou Weiqing was not afraid that she would renege on her agreement. Someone so afraid of death like him would have many survival tools at his disposal, not to mention Fat Cat in his bosom and the Icy Soul Heavenly Bear Da Huang beside him. Walking next to Ao Le, seeing the complicated expression of mixed regret, anger and pain on his face, Zhou Weiqing grinned, saying: “Bro Ao Le, I will only attack those who attack me… Sigh… We could have had a good time cooperating with each other… Why did you have to do that?”
As he said that, he placed both palms on Ao Le’s shoulders. Activating his Devour Skill, he began draining Ao Le’s Heavenly Energy to replenish his depleted supplies.
What could be faster recovery than directly draining and replenishing one’s Heavenly Energy from another person? Needless to say, even the considerable recovery rate of his Immortal Deity Technique paled in comparison. There was no rush to draw out the venom, which was a very easy task for Zhou Weiqing; it would be best that he recovered totally first. After all, Ao Le was a disciple of the Passion Valley, and his Heavenly Energy was relatively pure. Furthermore, with the Time Attribute, it was quite compatible to Zhou Weiqing, and he was enjoying the easy Devouring indeed. It might not have the same effect as the Darkness and Demonic Attribute Energy, but it was close.
Very soon, Zhou Weiqing had fully recovered all of his Expended Heavenly Energy, but he decided it would be a waste of such a rare opportunity if he did not continue Devouring more.
As he Devoured the husband’s Heavenly Energy, this little rascal still turned to comfort Liu Yinan, telling her that it would take some time to help him draw out the poison.
Zhou Weiqing continued until he could no longer continue Devouring Heavenly Energy, the bloated feeling signifying he had reached his limit. Only then did he subtly move his right foot near Ao Le’s back, drawing out a large portion of the Triple Attribute Venom, only leaving a trace in his system. At this point, some colour finally returned to Ao Le’s pale face.
Sighing, Ao Le let loose the breath he had been holding, looking at Zhou Weiqing with a complicated look on his face. Finally, he nodded and said: “Bro Zhou, your teachings today, Ao Le will always remember it.”
Zhou Weiqing helped him stand up, clapping him on the shoulder like they were best friends, saying: “I hope that we can work together in the future Bro Ao Le, I have never thought of being enemies with you from the BaoPo Battle Team.” Ao Le gave a cold smile as he said: “Perhaps. We shall see. I will be waiting for Bro Zhou outside. Yinan, let’s go.” As he said that, he activated his Lustre Gem, and in a gold flash, he vanished instantly. Beside him, Liu Yinan also did the same, following suit a split second later.
Moments later, Shangguan Longyin’s voice traveled out from the Lustre Gem. “BaoPo Battle Team members Ao Le and Liu Yinan have been eliminated.”
Hearing those words, Zhou Weiqing did not know what the others were thinking, but he at least knew that he was in a really good mood. To take out two disciples from the Passion Valley by himself, he couldn’t help but feel proud of himself.
Fat Cat wriggled out from Zhou Weiqing’s embrace, taking her usual position on his shoulder, a strange gleam in her eyes as she looked at him. Zhou Weiqing looked back at her, grinning widely as he said: “Heh, if you want to praise me, go ahead, quick! Don’t you think I’m especially suave today? Taking down a couple from the Passion Valley so easily.”
Fat Cat gave a humph. “What so suave? It was just too stupid of the two of them, that gave you the chance to beat them.”
Although she said that, in truth, deep within her heart she was shocked and amazed by the combat style, and result, of Zhou Weiqing’s fight. Especially since he had held back, yet in a realistic manner that showed he was stuck in the Slow Barrier, causing them to lower their guard and underestimate him. It could be said to be a perfect act, with every step planned out all the way until the final blows. Although she herself was at the seven-Jeweled cultivation level, but the couples of the Passion Valley were extremely well versed in fighting together and matching each other in combat. Even if it were her facing the pair, she was confident of beating them, but it would definitely take a huge cost. To be able to take them down so easily like Zhou Weiqing, without any loss to himself, and even resulting in him fully recovered and more… it was definitely extremely impressive… almost unbelievable! Zhou Weiqing said: “Let’s not rush. I need to cultivate for a while, to assimilate Ao Le’s Heavenly Energy.” After all, the Devoured Energy was not yet his own, and as long as he did not use it in combat soon, he would have to purify and absorb it as his own.
Ao Le’s Heavenly Energy was not too difficult for Zhou Weiqing to absorb. With Fat Cat and Da Huang protecting him, Zhou Weiqing spent about an hour cultivating before completely absorbing all of it. Not only was he back at maximum energy, he had improved yet again. He could clearly sense that he was getting ever closer to the Fifteenth Level of Heavenly Energy.
It wouldn’t take long for him to break through to the next level. Of course, he would not take the risk of breaking through now in such an environment, and it could all wait until after the Heavenly Jewel Tournament ended.
…
The forest was just too massive, and before they knew it, three days had passed. Zhou Weiqing and Fat Cat walked along, intermittently swapping out Da Huang and Er Huang to join them, exploring the forest. Along the way, they met with some minor encounters, but nothing serious or dangerous. As long as it was a Zong Stage Heavenly Beast or lower, Zhou Weiqing could easily handle it, at most with the help of one of the Icy Soul Heavenly Bears. With the huge, tough Bear in front as a meat shield, Zhou Weiqing could stay at the back sneakily throwing out Control Skills and launching attacks. Of course, if it were just a mere Zun Stage Heavenly Beast, it would be easily destroyed by a few swipes from Da Huang or Er Huang. They had even killed off a few of the weaker Low Level Zong Stage Heavenly Beasts which attacked them.
The only one time which they had been in relative danger was when they met this Mid Level Zong Stage Strong-Arm Demonic Ape, whose strength was so powerful that the young Heavenly Bears could not hold on against. In the end, Zhou Weiqing was forced to use the Demonic Change State, to meet strength with strength. With Da Huang by his side, he had barely slain the Ape.
In the last three days, Fat Cat had not taken action at all. Also, they had not met any other humans during this time, be it friend or foe. At the same time, the Lustre Gem remained silent, with no one else being eliminated from the Tournament.
“Fat Cat, do you think we’ll just keep going on like this for an entire month? Such a huge forest, if we aren’t particularly lucky or unlucky, depending on the situation, it will be possible to even meet another person!”
Fat Cat refused to take her Tian’er form, slumping on his shoulders as she said: “I do not know, but since the Heaven’s Expanse Palace has set the Finals of the Tournament to be here, there has to be some deeper meaning. A tenth of the time has already passed… Perhaps it will not be long before something changes.”
Right after she said that, as if it were some sort of signal, the Lustre Gem on Zhou Weiqing’s finger suddenly shuddered violently, and Shangguan Longyin’s voice appeared once more at last.
“A tenth of the finals time has passed, and the competition area will be halved. You will all be teleported to a new random area. Please prepare yourselves, the teleportation will begin in ten seconds. Countdown starting now. 10… 9… 8…”
“En??” Zhou Weiqing was totally caught by surprise. Just as he was at a loss of what to do, a gold light appeared out of nowhere, descending from the skies, enveloping him totally. The Lustre Gem on his finger also lit up brightly. “Quick! Put me and Da Huang back into the Spatial Ring!” Fat Cat cried out urgently.
Zhou Weiqing realised what she meant, and quickly reacted, drawing the two into his Spatial Ring.
“4… 3… 2… 1… Teleport.”
Accompanying Shangguan Longyin’s low, sombre voice, the gold light brightened to a blinding degree, and the surrounding objects seemed to turn blurry, unreal. The next instant, Zhou Weiqing felt as if everything around him was warped and twisted, and the gold light flashed once more, and he felt the same as he had three days ago again. This time, it lasted for about half a minute, before the surroundings seemed to clear up in front of him.
This time, Zhou Weiqing was much luckier, and he appeared directly on the ground. Not far ahead of him was a large tree.
“Careful!” Fat Cat’s voice rang out once more, and she actually burst free of the Spatial Ring by herself. At the same time, a gold light wrapped itself around Zhou Weiqing’s body, filled with a divine aura. A thick, mixed black and grey smoke flashed towards them, striking perfectly on the gold shield around Zhou Weiqing, causing an earsplitting sound that reverberated through the forest, and in that instant, the gold light shuddered violently.
Zhou Weiqing quickly dove to the ground, at the same time unleashing his Time Disorder Skill, warping the air around his body. Although it only lasted a split second, it was sufficient to cause a momentary disruption in the black-grey smoke, causing it to lose its target. With a quick vault back up, Zhou Weiqing took cover behind the large tree.
“Ehh?! Weiqing, is that you?” A familiar voice rang out from not far off.
Zhou Weiqing was currently bathed in cold sweat. In that instant, he had felt a powerful sense of danger overcome in, as if his life would end in that very second. He was just about to enter the Demonic Change State, but on hearing the voice, and remembering the type of attack, his heart moved, and he gave up the idea of entering the Demonic Change State.
“Little Witch, it is me! Are you trying to kill your own dear husband?” Zhou Weiqing clambered up from the ground. Little Witch also appeared from behind a tree not far away. Looking at Zhou Weiqing, she heaved a sigh of relief. “Whose dear husband are you? When you join the Heavenly Demon Sect then you can say that to me, I will not object at all.”
As she said that, she giggled, laughing as she jumped, instantly appearing in front of Zhou Weiqing in a flash.
Being able to meet Little Witch here, Zhou Weiqing was naturally delighted. In the entire current Fei Li Battle Team, she was definitely the strongest person, even Lin TianAo was no match for her. If he could work together with her, no matter what enemy they met from here on, Zhou Weiqing was confident of taking the fight.
“Little Witch, have you met any of the others? Or any opponents?” Zhou Weiqing asked anxiously.
Little Witch shook her head, saying: “This place is just too large. From the start of the finals up until this point when we were teleported here, you are the first person I have met.”
“Little Fatty, get away from her. Didn’t you see that she tried to kill you just now? If not for me, you’d be dead by now.” Fat Cat’s voice rang out. She was standing on Zhou Weiqing’s shoulder, her eyes filled with enmity as she glared at Little Witch angrily.
Little Witch looked at her in surprise, saying: “Ohh? Sis Tian’er, how come you aren’t hiding any longer? You have finally decided to speak?”
Fat Cat gave a cold humph, saying: “Whether or not I speak is none of your business. You better be careful. It is only because of the fact that you are currently a member of the Fei Li Battle Team that I will forgive you this once. If you dare have any untoward actions, I will definitely kill you instantly.”
Little Witch pursed her lips disdainfully, saying: “I admit that your cultivation level is higher than mine, and your Consolidated Equipment is slightly better as well. However, if you want to kill me, I’m afraid that you will still not be able to do so. In any case, who said I want to kill Weiqing; just now I sensed someone nearby, and thought it was an enemy, and I subconsciously launched an attack. Anyway, with Zhou Weiqing’s tough body and resilience, even if he really took my attack head on, do you think that attack could have killed, or even injured him severely? It would at most be a light injury.”
Sensing the enmity between the two ladies, Zhou Weiqing couldn’t help but feel an encroaching headache. “I say… You two… Can we have some peace? We are after all in the same boat, and we should work together properly. If you two keep fighting between yourselves, how can we even possibly go further in the Tournament?”
Little Witch pursed her lips, an aggrieved look on her face as she said sobbingly: “Weiqing, say… Do you want me or her?”
A gold flash, and Fat Cat warped into her human form, appearing at the other side of Zhou Weiqing, linking arms with him unceremoniously, pressing her body to his closely. At the same time, her impressive bosom, larger than Little Witch’s by a cup, pressed against him, and she looked at Little Witch provocatively, saying: “Of course he wants me. Two days ago, he just confessed to me. We have already been together for years, bathed together, and slept together… What about you? Have you?! You are merely an outsider.”
Feeling the fiery hot, bouncy firmness pressing against his side, Zhou Weiqing swallowed hard. However, he did not dare to do anything rash, as Tian’er had a concealed hand near his subcostal nerve. If he dared do anything untoward, he did not doubt that she would not hesitate to beat him up.
Tian’er’s words caused him to feel dizzy. Although everything she said was true, that they had ‘slept’ together, and ‘bathed’ together… obviously Zhou Weiqing had not enjoyed the true ‘benefits’ of such an arrangement…
Little Witch looked at Tian’er’s provoking gaze and was instantly angered. In a flash, she appeared at the other side of Zhou Weiqing, grabbing on to his other arm and hugging it as she said disdainfully: “What so good about a milk cow? Isn’t it just more milk? Hmph. If I remember correctly, someone already has a fiance, but you still want to be with Weiqing? You think that old man of yours will agree? Furthermore, that fiance of yours will come looking for Weiqing’s trouble! Weiqing, let me warn you first, that father of Tian’er has a really bad temper, and her fiance is so fierce and violent. If you dare to attempt being with her…. Hmph hmph… you will not have good times ahead.”
Zhou Weiqing looked to the left, then to the right. Although he was enjoying himself being sandwiched by two top beauties, he couldn’t help but ask: “Oh, do you two already know each other previously? One of you from the Heavenly Demon Sect, while the other from the Heavenly Snow Mountain, how come you two seem so familiar with each other?”
Little Witch said: “Every ten years, the Five Great Saint Lands have a gathering. We have met before.” Tian’er said proudly: “That’s right, the ten year gathering of the Five Great Saint Lands. The one which the Heavenly Demon Sect always takes the honourable last position. From what I see, it won’t be long before the Five Great Saint Lands becomes the Four Great Saint Lands. Little Fatty, as long as you can defeat my fiance and get my father’s approval, with our Heavenly Snow Mountain behind you, even the Heaven’s Expanse Palace will not dare to do anything to you!” Zhou Weiqing blinked, then said: “Tian’er… in truth…. Look at it this way. See, if I marry you, Bing’er and Little Witch… doesn’t that mean I will have the Heaven’s Expanse Palace, Heavenly Snow Mountain and Heavenly Demon Sect behind me and supporting me? With such a powerful background, I’ll be able to walk around the entire mainland without any fear, and no one can do anything to me. Heh heh heh heh.”
“Shameless!”
“Are you trying to die?”
Both girls cried out angrily. Originally, the lucky fellow Zhou Weiqing who had been enjoying some ‘sexy times’ between the two suddenly felt a sudden sharp pain on both sides of his body as the soft sides of his waist experienced the ultimate move of the ladies, the 180 degree pinch! The next moment, he had been tossed out, smashing into a large tree in a cross shaped fashion before slowly sliding down.
“You two are too violent, how can you all treat your future husband like this? Sigh… My dearest Bing’er is still the best! She will not treat me like this!” “Shut up!”
Once again, both girls yelled at him in chorus, causing him to hide behind a tree in fear, afraid to continue speaking.
Little Witch and Tian’er looked at each other, before giving of another synchronized cold humph, turning their heads to ignore the other.
Eight years ago was the previous Five Great Saint Lands gathering. At that time, Little Witch had met Tian’er, and both girls had become rivals as they fought, an enmity growing between them. Although Little Witch was from the Heavenly Demon Sect, which could not compare to the Heavenly Snow Mountain which Tian’er was from, but Tian’er had been a lot naughtier from a young age, not cultivating as hard. As such, at that time, both girls had been pretty much equal in power, fighting each other in an extremely tough fight to result in a stalemate. That had been the start of a rivalry, an enmity, ever since. Every time they had met since that time, their eyes would turn red when their eyes met. Although Tian’er’s cultivation level had raised by leaps and bounds after being together with Zhou Weiqing for so long, Little Witch was still not afraid of her. Of course, in front of Zhou Weiqing, they did not continue their argument any further. It could be said that currently Zhou Weiqing was their common balance point, otherwise these two violent girls might actually have a fight right at that moment, despite the situation they were in.
Zhou Weiqing walked out from behind the tree, helplessly looking at the two girls, one black and one white. Smiling bitterly, he said: “You two, if you continue arguing, I’m going to leave first by myself.”
Little Witch said: “Who wants to argue with her, I’m so gentle, kind and cute, I wouldn’t argue with some milk cows!”
“I’m a tiger, not a cow. The most noble Divine Heavenly Spirit Tiger.” Tian’er said airily. “I know you are just jealous that your breasts are too tiny, envying mine… so big sister won’t dispute with you. Anyway, I know Little Fatty likes them big… right, Little Fatty? Aren’t you very skilled at estimating dimensions? Tell her, what is my cup size?”
Almost subconsciously, Zhou Weiqing exclaimed: “36E, that is truly impressive!” Little Witch glared at him, saying: “Stupid Weiqing, are you joining forces with her to bully me?!”
Just as the three of them were arguing in a messy entanglement, all of a sudden, a blinding glare intensified through the canopy of the trees, causing the entire area to brighten significantly, drawing all their attentions.
Zhou Weiqing immediately jumped up into the air, striking the tree trunk several times for leverage as he flew up into the tree canopy high above. When he reached the top, he was surprised to see that in the distance, there was a mass of gold light spreading out throughout the sky.
“What is this?” Zhou Weiqing was extremely curious. Although the gold light was magnificently beautiful, it did not seem to emanate any energy waves.
Little Witch and Tian’er appeared beside him silently, and Tian’er furrowed her brow, saying: “That is the Heaven’s Expanse Palace’s Summoning Signal Flare, I have seen it once before. Its light rays are very unique, bright and easily noticeable, but without any energy signature which will lower the chances of attracting any Heavenly Beasts attention. They are extremely expensive to make, and for a Heaven’s Expanse Palace disciple to use it, there has to be something extremely important. I wonder it could be that would be so urgent? Could it be that one is being surrounded by our Heavenly Snow Mountain disciples? However, the teleportation has just ended, that shouldn’t happen so quickly as of yet right.”
Little Witch turned to Zhou Weiqing, saying: “Should we avoid it, or go have a look and see what is actually going on?”
Zhou Weiqing was silent for a moment as he pondered the options, before he finally said: “If you two can promise to work together, and not drag each other down, then we can go and have a look. Otherwise, I will turn and run without hesitation, and you both don’t have to follow me.” As he said that, he had an uncharacteristic serious face, looking solemnly into the distance as he refused to look at them.
Little Witch sidled closer to Zhou Weiqing, saying in a sweet gentle tone: “Weiqing, don’t be angry… I won’t argue with her anymore, I’ll listen to you. I’m not like some others, big breasted bimbos who ignores the general interest of the group.”
Tian’er gave a disdainful humph, saying: “I can’t be bothered to argue with you. Weiqing, I will conceal myself first.” As she said that, she once again morphed into her Fat Cat form, resuming her usual place in his bosom. The other Battle Teams did not know that Zhou Weiqing had such a powerhouse like Tian’er by his side, and keeping herself hidden would undoubtedly give them the greatest possible advantage along with the surprise factor.
Zhou Weiqing still had a scowl on his face, as he said: “Alright then, in that case, let’s go.” After saying that, he made the first move, jumping back down onto the ground and moving swiftly in the direction of the signal flare.
As he did so, he continued keeping a close watch on his surroundings, but at the same time, he was also laughing to himself in his heart. Towards these two beautiful but deadly ‘Black-White Dual Evil Spirits’, it was clear that he would have to act serious and businesslike to keep them off guard and listening to him. Perhaps that was the benefit of acting foolish most of the time. In any case, no matter what happened in the future, he just needed to get through this Heavenly Jewel Tournament first, and think about the future… later.
“Someone is coming. A lone person.” Fat Cat’s voice rang softly in their ears. Although these few days she had not participated in combat, with her incredible senses as a top ranked Heavenly Beast and just her cultivation level alone, she was always able to sense any incoming danger before Zhou Weiqing did, keeping him forewarned. It was not that she didn’t want to take action, but rather that she wanted to give him every opportunity to take fights and learn as much as possible. Anytime she deemed an attack was too much for Zhou Weiqing to take, then she would definitely take action. Of course, that had only occurred once, which was the time she had blocked Little Witch’s attack. It could be said that with Fat Cat around, although Zhou Weiqing was only at a mere three- Jeweled cultivation level, he had a secret Seven-Jeweled cultivation level ace up his sleeve, a Great Saint Lands Seven- Jeweled Heavenly Jewel Master!
Upon hearing Fat Cat’s warning, Little Witch warped into black smoke, disappearing into thin air. Zhou Weiqing also flash stepped, dodging behind a large tree instantly to conceal himself for an ambush.
Right at that moment, a figure flew in from afar, and Zhou Weiqing could finally see clearly that the person in question was wearing a light blue uniform – a member of the ZhongTian Battle Team!
When Fat Cat had warned him that there was only one opponent, Zhou Weiqing had made the preparations to battle. With Little Witch around, he was confident that the two of them would be able to handle any of their opponents in the Tournament. After all, they would be fighting two versus one, let alone with a hidden Fat Cat as their ace up their sleeves.
The Touch of Darkness intercepted the figure in her path of movement, and in that instant, a strong black light shone brilliantly around her, enveloping her and wrapping around her all over.
*Poof**Poof**Poof**Poof* A long series of explosions sounded out, and the Touch of Darkness was actually only able to cause the swift moving figure to pause a moment, before being shattered by her powerful Heavenly Energy.
The incoming person had an insanely fast reaction. After breaking free from the Touch of Darkness, she did not continue charging forward, instead the tip of her foot touching the ground, her entire body spinning to the side, forcibly changing her own path of movement as she flashed three yards to the left.
Just in that instant, a black light flashed across where her body would have been if she had continued down her original path. In the midst of a swirling black mist, Little Witch appeared once again. Previously, Little Witch had told Zhou Weiqing that as the daughter of the Heavenly Demon Sect Master, and as the Holy Girl of the Sect, she was not bound by any Darkness Seals. As such, even if she was found to be using the Darkness or Demonic Attributes, much like in Zhou Weiqing’s case, the Heaven’s Expanse Palace would not do anything to her. This was also the reason why the Heavenly Demon Sect was willing to allow her to come here personally.
Alas, this strike that Little Witch had been so confident in actually landed amiss, not even able to force her opponent to defend herself, and she couldn’t help but be startled momentarily.
At this point, Zhou Weiqing and Little Witch could finally see their opponent clearly. It was a young lady, the only lady member in the entire ZhongTian Battle Team.
On the surface, her physical appearance was very ordinary, but when both Zhou Weiqing and Little Witch rested their eyes on her hands, the Physical Jewels around her right wrist, their eyes were filled with intense shock.
The reason was simple. That was because around the young lady’s right wrist… Twelve Physical Jewels encircled slowly… Yup, twelve. Twelve Jewels. Zhou Weiqing did a double take as he stared, jaw agape. Rubbing his eyes furiously, he looked once more before confirming that his eyes had not been mistaken. The Physical Jewels around her wrist were neatly lined in pairs, the one on top was the Waxy Jade type, while the one at the bottom was a Red Jade, both the Pure Colours signifying she was a Heavenly Jewel Master. The only difference was that each Jewel was slightly smaller than an
ordinary Heavenly Jewel Master’s Physical Jewel.
“This is a mutated Physical Jewel, and in this case, a Mutated Duo Physical Jewel! Such a Mutated Duo Physical Jewel is almost as rare as your six Attribute Elemental Jewel, and I have never heard of, let alone seen one. I never expected that the Heaven’s Expanse Palace would have a disciple like this.”
As Fat Cat’s voice sounded in Zhou Weiqing’s ear, he couldn’t help but put forth the question: “What is a mutated Physical Jewel?!”
Fat Cat said: “In very rare occasions, a Heavenly Jewel Master’s Physical Jewels are mutated in some way or the other, and in her case, with double the amount of Physical Jewels, is one of the rarest and most powerful of all the mutations. That is to say, she has two types of Physical Jewels, each as powerful as any of our Heavenly Jewel Master Physical Jewels, giving her a boost of 1.5. For example, you are of the Strength Attribute, and only your Strength is boosted by your Physical Jewels, but for her, both her Flexibility and Coordination are boosted. As such, although you can see that she has twelve Physical Jewels, she is actually at the Six-Jeweled cultivation level. Even so, her close combat skills must be terrifying, not something any six-Jeweled Heavenly Jewel Master can compare to. She is truly a unique close combat or melee type Heavenly Jewel Master. Furthermore, this type of mutated Physical Jewels are only able to Consolidate the two Physical Jewels into a single Consolidated Equipment, but each piece is larger than any ordinary Heavenly Jewel Master’s. This person
will not be an easy foe.”
In the time that Fat Cat and Zhou Weiqing were conversing, Little Witch had already clashed with this young lady member of the ZhongTian Battle Team.
Dodging Little Witch’s strike, both ladies’ eyes met in mid air, their furious gazes clashing. On the next moment, they launched their next attacks simultaneously.
Little Witch warped into black mist, directly heading towards the young lady in hopes of enveloping her totally, but the young lady in question was definitely no pushover. Striking both her arms against each other, a strange metallic clash sounded out, and she did not even attempt to dodge the black mist that Little Witch had formed, allowing herself to be enveloped within.
This is the literal translation of the latter half of an idiom (仇
⼈相⻅,分外眼红) 分外眼红 – which says when foes meet, their
eyes will turn red as they come face to face
This is a direct translation of a ‘naming’ phrase. The ⿊⽩双煞was a famous nickname for a pair of ‘heroes’ in the Chinese Classic, The Water Margin 《⽔浒传》, Zhang Shun 张顺 and Li Kui 李逵, as two characters so different and contrasting yet seeming cast from the same coin. Zhang Shun was known as the ‘White Stripe in the Waves’, famous for his water combat, hence the White in the name, while Li Kui was known as the Black Whirlwind. Both of them were well known to be ferocious in battle, hence the ‘evil spirits’. Later on, this phrase would be ‘stolen’ to be used on any similar pairing, whether aptly, or as a pun. In this case, this is also the reason of the Title referring to the two girls