Chapter 2273: Que
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
When Supreme Saint Xueqi returned to Vastsea Manor, Gu Chenzi, Supreme Saint Yi Xuan, and Lord Xia Yu were already waiting outside the manor.
The moment they saw Zhang Ruochen come down from the carriage, they welcomed him like a hero. Supreme Saint Yi Xuan laughed loudly. “The battle on the street has made your name known all over the world. I’m afraid no one will dare to look down on our Bloodsky Clan at the Celestial-Hunting Festival.”
Many cultivators were paying attention to the battle between Zhang Ruochen, Xu, and Supreme Saint Yanhong on the street. The news spread like wildfire to all the major forces in Winterpage City.
The cultivators of Bloodsky Clan who gathered around looked at Zhang Ruochen differently.
They became respectful and fearful.
That was the look they had when facing a superior.
Zhang Ruochen’s face did not show a trace of joy. Instead, his expression was solemn. He said with a heavy heart, “Let’s talk inside.”
Gu Chenzi, Lord Xia Yu, and Supreme Saint Yi Xuan saw some clues. They immediately stopped smiling and followed Zhang Ruochen into Vastsea Manor. Then, they entered Sevenstar Imperial Palace.
They did not speak on their way to the palace. The atmosphere was heavy.
When they arrived at the main hall, Zhang Ruochen sat at the top like an emperor. He still did not speak, as if he was thinking about something.
Gu Chenzi asked, “What exactly happened? Is Xu and Supreme Saint Yanhong’s cultivation far stronger than it looks?”
Zhang Ruochen shook his head lightly and finally spoke, “Xu and Supreme Saint Yanhong didn’t use their true bodies or their true powers. It was a somewhat tentative fight, which was hard for us to see through their strength.
“But I can roughly guess that their combat strength is higher than Lord Xia Yu’s.”
“Xu hasn’t even condensed a Grade Three Saintwill. How can he be stronger than me? I’m afraid you didn’t see how I cut off Yue Tinghai’s arm. Do you want to try?”
Lord Xia Yu snorted. She wasn’t convinced.
Zhang Ruochen didn’t seem to see Lord Xia Yu’s battle intent. “Xu has the Primodial Ghost Emperor-Level Neverwilt Physique,” he said. “He can absorb countless ghosts and become one. “Although he only showed the tip of the iceberg of his strength when he was at the street, I can infer from some clues that he has absorbed more than 10 million ghosts into his Primodial Ghost Emperor-Level physique.
“Based on my a.n.a.lysis, I can tell that those ghosts he absorbed aren’t mortals. They were cultivators when they were alive.
“One million ghosts can form a Thousand-Koan Realm Ghost Emperor-Level physique. If the strength of ten Ghost Emperor-Level bodies were combined with a high-level Thousand-Koan Realm Saint Technique, even your Grade Three Saintwill wouldn’t be able to withstand it, right?”
“I’ve looked through the information on Xu. The Emperor-level Heavenly Sight that he cultivated is a high-level Thousand-Koan Realm Saint Technique. With this technique, he once heavily injured a Thousand-Koan Realm Supreme Saint in the Battlefield of Merits.”
Lord Xia Yu’s eyes flashed with shock. She did not expect the Primordial Ghost Emperor-Level Neverwilt Physique to be so powerful.
Gu Chenzi said, “Lord Xia Yu has just broken through to the Great Perfection of the Hundred-Shackle Realm. She did not have the time to cultivate a high-level Thousand-Koan Realm Saint Technique. In terms of foundation, she is indeed lacking compared to Lord Xia Yu.
“However, if Xu is unable to fuse with the Grade Three Saintwill, it is only a matter of time before Lord Xia Yu overpowers him.”
Supreme Saint Yi Xuan was annoyed. “It’s all my fault. If he didn’t take away the Spring of Chaos, how could he have grown so powerful?”
Gu Chenzi was still confused. Since Zhang Ruochen was able to escape from the combined attacks of Xu and Supreme Saint Yanhong, even if they were stronger than Lord Xia Yu, there was a limit to their strength.
With the strength of the Three Top Elites of Bloodsky Clan, they could fight against Xu and Supreme Saint Yanhong together.
But why was Zhang Ruochen’s mood so volatile?
Zhang Ruochen said, “After breaking through the encirclement of Xu and Saint Yanhong, I met another cultivator whose cultivation far surpa.s.ses the two of them.”
“Who is it? Wu Jiang?” Gu Chenzi asked.
Zhang Ruochen shook his head and said, “No, Wu Jiang is far inferior to him. Even if the three of you join hands with me, we might not be his match.”
Lord Xia Yu, Supreme Saint Yi Xuan, and Gu Chenzi were all stunned.
They knew that Zhang Ruochen did not joke. Since he had said it so carefully, it must have been carefully a.n.a.lyzed and calculated.
Gu Chenzi a.n.a.lyzed the situation and said, “How is this possible? Wu Jiang is ranked fifth among cultivators who attained the Great Perfection at Hundred-Shackle Realm. The only ones stronger than him are Luo Shengtian, Yanhuang Tu, and Lan Ying.
“Although Luo Shengtian’s ranking is higher than Wu Jiang’s, the two of them have never fought before. Based on past battle records, even if Luo Shengtian was stronger than Wu Jiang, he wouldn’t be much stronger. “Moreover, if he wanted to test you, he had already made his move on Arena of Life and Death. He wouldn’t have waited until now.
“Yan Huangtu, who is ranked third, rarely makes a move in public. His latest battle record goes back to 120 years ago. It’s impossible to judge his current strength.
“However, since you went to Jianyin District, you must have fought with Yan Wushen before and tested each other’s strength. Logically speaking, there is no point for Yan Huangtu to make a move anymore. So he should not be the one.
“So most likely, that cultivator should be Lan Ying, the Divine Fetus.
“There are too many rumors regarding Lan Ying. Any cultivator at the same realm would feel fear towards him. He is an opponent that is almost impossible to defeat.
“I once saw Lan Ying. At that time, we were both Saint Kings and were on the verge of breaking through to the Supreme Saint realm. I was also considered a top elite. I was pretty conceited and never thought that anyone in the same cultivation rank could defeat me.
“However, Lan Ying left a deep impression on me that time. He killed a Supreme Saint, who was on par with me, with a single sword strike. It was clean and neat. It was as if he was the embodiment of slaughter.
“At that time, I thought that even if six of me joined hands, I wouldn’t be able to block the six swords on his back.
“If there really was an opponent that even the Three Top Elites of Bloodsky Clan couldn’t defeat, then it could only be Yan Huangtu or Lan Ying. Among them, the possibility of Lan Ying is higher.”
Lord Xia Yu revealed a cold expression, he said, “At that time, Lan Ying must have borrowed external forces. During the Celestial-Hunting Festival, Lan Ying cannot borrow external forces, and he can only use one weapon, so his advantage will be greatly weakened.
“I don’t believe that with your current cultivation, you would be killed instantly by him.”
Supreme Saint Yi Xuan said, “That’s right. With our current cultivation, no living being below the Thousand-Koan Realm can defeat the three of us by themselves.
“Only Zhang Ruochen and Yan Wushen might be able to do it in the future.
“I guess Zhang Ruochen met a Thousand-Koan Realm attendee.
Zhang Ruochen had looked through the information of Lan Ying. He was sure that Lan Ying had never practiced the Path of Oblivion, so it was impossible for Lan Ying to be that person.
As for the Thousand-Koan Realm attendee…
Zhang Ruochen had made the same guess, but he ruled it out.
The guests of the Thousand-Koan Realm could not partic.i.p.ate in the Celestial Hunting. There was no need for them to test Zhang Ruochen’s strength. Moreover, before the black figure left, he said, “The so-called Yuanhui level genius is nothing more than this.”
From this, one could infer the character of this person:
He was very confident and compet.i.tive. He valued fame and fortune. He was jealous, dissatisfied, and disdainful of Zhang Ruochen and Yan Wushen, who were called “Yuanhui level” geniuses.
If he was really a Thousand-Koan Realm Supreme Saint, he wouldn’t be proud even if he chopped off a strand of Zhang Ruochen’s hair.
After all, the difference between Hundred-Shackle Realm and Thousand-Koan Realm was too big. Many Thousand-Koan Realm Supreme Saints had such strength.
Zhang Ruochen said, “Have you forgotten that there’s a mysterious existence ranked first among the cultivators with Great Perfection attainment at Hundred-Shackle Realm?”
Gu Chenzi frowned and said, “The ranking of the Hundred-Shackle Realm cultivators, who achieved Great Perfection, was compiled by Realm of Star Ocean. At the beginning, it only included 47 Supreme Saints. As some hidden powerful figures were revealed, it has now expanded to 58.”
“However, the ranking of the top ten has never changed. It tells us their strength is definitely far superior to other Supreme Saints who have reached the Great Perfection of Hundred-Shackle Realm.”
“Among them, the most puzzling one is the person who is ranked first. There is only one word written on the list, Que.”
“At the beginning, everyone thought that his name was Que.
“However, some deities have tried to probe this person, but they get nothing.
“Therefore, everyone thought that Realm of Star Ocean deliberately left the first place for you or Yan Wushen.
“After all, you two are too powerful. Once you reach the Great Perfection of the Hundred-Shackle Realm, you will definitely be the first.”
Zhang Ruochen said, “Even the deities couldn’t figure him out?”
“This is absolutely true,” Gu Chenzi said.
Zhang Ruochen said, “If he is a Master of Oblivion, he can already control the power of Oblivion perfectly. Can the deities figure him out?”
“This…” Gu Chenzi didn’t know how to answer.
Any cultivator had a respectful att.i.tude toward the power of Oblivion.
There were too few beings practicing Oblivion; it was too rare. Because of this rare and unknown, all cultivators were in awe and didn’t know how to deal with it.
For example, if there would only be one cultivator practicing the Path of Time existed in one Yuanhui, other cultivators would not know how to deal with the power of Time and didn’t have a way to resist such an attack. Then, they would be filled with respect for a Master of Time. But in reality, although few cultivators were cultivating the Path of Time, it wasn’t rare. Moreover, one or two Masters of Time could be born in every era. Hence, after studying the Path of Time more, other cultivators would know how to resist and deal with it, so their respect for it also became lesser.
Lord Xia Yu said, “If he is a Master of Oblivion — even the deities can’t predict anything about him, then how does Realm of Star Ocean know Him?”
“What if he is a cultivator trained by Realm of Star Ocean or the Fane of Destiny?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
“It’s not impossible.”
Gu Chenzi’s expression also became serious. He said again, “The power of Oblivion may not be able to resist the deities’ probe all the time. However, if it’s the Fane of Destiny who hides everything about a cultivator, no matter how powerful the deities are, they can’t predict or probe anything about him.”
“Que will be the biggest variable in this Celestial-Hunting Festival,” Zhang Ruochen said.
He had a clear feeling that the black figure was hostile to him.
In the following time, Zhang Ruochen turned on Sundial again. He tried his best to refine the wine power of the Twelve Blossoms and break the first Shackle.
He used the Path of Truth and found that the first Shackle was on his right arm.
Before he drank the Twelve Blossoms, Zhang Ruochen had taken a Fugue pill. He tried dozens of times, but failed.
He practiced in Sundial for about a year before completely absorbing the Twelve Blossoms’ wine power.
He took another Fugue pill, but he still did not break the first Shackle. What was better than before was that the Shackle that had not reacted previously shook slightly.
It was a good start!
‘Next, I have to grind them slowly. Iron rods can be ground into needles. I don’t believe that I can’t break a shackle,’ Zhang Ruochen thought.
Under everyone’s expectations, the seventh day of the fifth month finally arrived.
The Celestial-Hunting Festival was a grand ceremony that made all Infernal Court cultivators rejoice no matter where they were. Cultivators of all clans attending the festival became a favorite conversation topic among all Infernal Court cultivators. They placed their hopes on the attendees representing the honor of all the big forces.
The representatives from Bloodsky Clan — 50 Supreme Saints and 50 Saint Kings — had already gathered together and were ready to go. They were full of vigor.
Some rode on Supreme Sain savage beasts, followed by dozens of Saint Slaves. They wore Regal-level armor, and their capes fluttered in the wind.
Some rode on Regal-level war chariots. Beside them were four beautiful female cultivators on their Sainthood.
…
Each of the guests was quite high-profile. They showed their most majestic, wealthy, and powerful side. They were high-spirited and ambitious. They wanted to compete with other forces in terms of imposing manner.
At this moment, Sevenstar Imperial Palace had become the size of a normal palace. It was carried out of Vastsea Manor by 18 Ghost Kings who had survived six tribulations.
All the cultivators of Bloodsky Clan were immediately outcla.s.sed.
“Th-That is Sevenstar Imperial Palace. It’s the palace where WarG.o.d Bloodximius once lived. Did you see that figure sitting in the grand hall? It’s Zhang Ruochen.”
“My G.o.d! WarG.o.d Bloodximius actually pa.s.sed Sevenstar Imperial Palace to Zhang Ruochen. Is he the heir of the Xue Jue Family?”
…
All the cultivators of Bloodsky Clan were in an uproar.
Not many cultivators knew that Zhang Ruochen had become the owner of Sevenstar Imperial Palace. Those who knew did not publicize it. That was why it caused such a huge shock.
The next moment, Shentu Yunkong and Gaunt, who had been subdued, walked out of Sevenstar Imperial Palace one after another. They stood on both sides of the palace gate and wore guard armor.
Zhou Zhen’s status was slightly higher than theirs. However, he could only wear plain clothes and stand outside the palace.
In the hall, Lian Xi and Moyin were like two handmaidens. One was as beautiful as a fairy, while the other was as seductive as a demonic concubine.
“It’s one thing for 18 ghost kings — who pa.s.sed six tribulations — to carry them, but they intimidate others with five Supreme Saints. Some are guards, and some are handmaidens. Aren’t they afraid of being beaten to death by envious cultivators from other forces?” Supreme Saint Yi Xuan was envious at the same time.
Although Zhang Ruochen was sighted sitting in Sevenstar Imperial Palace, his consciousness entered the deity world of WarG.o.d BloodXimius.
WarG.o.d BloodXimius said, “The Immortal Vampire deities have agreed to let you take control of the Supreme Artifact. However, they have two conditions.
“First, you must make Immortal Vampires one of the top five in Celestial-Hunting Festival.
“Second, you must help Lady Wind get the position of Scioness.”
“If you failed to achieve any, then Bloodsky Clan will bear all the responsibility. No matter what the result of the Celestial-Hunting Festival is, they will automatically be ranked last among the major ten clans and get the least resources.”
Zhang Ruochen said, “Their two conditions are too harsh.”
“But I have already agreed,” said WarG.o.d BloodXimius.
Zhang Ruochen’s eyes became piercing. He held his breath for a moment and then said with a firmer determination, “I will definitely complete these two missions. I will never let Bloodsky Clan bear all of this.”
“You don’t need to achieve both. You only need to complete one mission to reach your goal.. Comparatively, the second condition they put forward is easier to complete,” said WarG.o.d BloodXimius.