Wu Yu instantly perked up.
The Imperial General might not make it to the top five in the entire divine continent, but he would definitely be among the top ten.
Regardless, he was more feared and respected by the people than the Ursae Sword Immortal, who ranked third in Shushan.
Now that he was calling out Wu Yu"s name, it only showed that he had taken notice of him.
Before the eyes of millions of cultivators, what would he do?
"Greetings, Imperial General."
The real name of the Imperial General was Di Yi. He was the highest ranked marshal of the Yan Huang Immortal Army. Wu Yu was just a centurion, while Di Yi was his highest ranked commander. He had spent a huge chunk of his time in the army and thus had great respect for this type of commander-in-chief.
He had also been a commander-in-chief once.
Once again, he was the center of attention.
"How is the Imperial General going to deal with Wu Yu?"
"I don"t know. Whether Wu Yu can really stabilize his footing in Yan Huang Imperial City would be dependent on this interaction with the Imperial General. After all, he came from the outside world and wasn"t really raised in Yan Huang Imperial City. Moreover, the Shushan Immortal Sect sees him as a traitor. Yan Huang Imperial City would likely show Shushan some face and not embarra.s.s them!"
"Indeed! The stronger Wu Yu appears to be now, the more embarra.s.sed the Shushan Immortal Sect will be."
At this point, the Imperial General coughed in his coa.r.s.e voice. With his natural charisma, everyone stopped their fervent discussions and had their attention focused on them. Some even held their breath while waiting.
Wu Yu was also really curious as to what the Imperial General thought of him.
At this moment, he met his pair of bright and black eyes. From his eyes, one could feel a solemn and ancient tyrannical aura. His voice was deep and he p.r.o.nounced each word loudly. "I heard that you made a promise with the disciple of the Seven Immortals of Shushan to return to the Clear Sky of Shushan for a mortal battle."
Wu Yu had not expected Imperial General to talk about this matter.
Without hesitation, Wu Yu answered openly, "It isn"t a mortal battle, but more of one to sever all previous ties."
This was the most important thing to him. He had been expelled from Shushan and therefore there were many things that had not been settled clearly. As a discarded disciple of Shushan, he was looked down upon by many. Therefore, he didn"t care if Beishan Mo truly was taunting him. All he knew was that he definitely had to return to reap what he had sowed someday.
Also, the memory of that slap from the Mizar Sword Immortal was still vivid in his mind!
After Wu Yu completed his response, the Imperial General nodded his head, smiled faintly, and said, "Great! In that case, I shall promise you one thing. If you gain the qualifications to enter the City Lord Residence, I"ll accompany you when you return to Shushan and even back you up!"
It was like a bomb had dropped on the battlefield.
The moment he said the sentence, it was as though the entire Battlefield of Old had erupted with raucous discussion. Everyone was astonished and some couldn"t believe their own ears.
I"ll accompany you and back you up!
The Imperial General"s words were simple, direct, and clear. However, there was a condition. Wu Yu had to be ranked in the top three. Otherwise, it would have meant nothing.
If Wu Yu were to return alone, he would be returning to that place as a discarded disciple of Shushan to face those he was once familiar with. At the very core, he would be starting off on the losing end.
If he were to return together with the Imperial General, his ident.i.ty would be of one of the geniuses of Yan Huang Imperial City! This would represent that he had fully integrated into Yan Huang Imperial City. He could represent Yan Huang Imperial City and might even be a.s.signed with great responsibilities by the Imperial General.
Clearly, this would prove that his position in Yan Huang Imperial City had transited from being a discarded disciple to obtaining the recognition of the Imperial General. A rise to glory!
The Imperial General was one of the two strongest cultivators in Yan Huang Imperial City and possessed huge clout. If he wanted to protect Wu Yu, it would be a piece of cake!
All of a sudden, everyone"s gazes on Wu Yu changed.
It was especially so for the guests from Shushan. It was still alright for Shen Xingyao, who simply shook his head and smiled helplessly. He was happy for Wu Yu. However, the truth was that he felt a little regret. From the bottom of his heart, he still had hope that Wu Yu would one day return to Shushan and become one of them. The Ursae Sword Immortal and him would"ve still welcomed him. However, with the Imperial General saying these words, he was basically announcing that Wu Yu would never return to be part of Shushan in the future.
As for the Crimson Shadow Sword Sage and the others, their faces were turning green from anger. They had witnessed Wu Yu"s rise in Yan Huang Imperial City without being able to stop him at all! It was especially so for the promise from the Imperial General. It was simply terrifying. With Imperial General backing him, Wu Yu"s status would be on a completely different scale when he returned to Shushan. It wouldn"t be that easy for Beishan Mo from Shushan to finish Wu Yu off once and for all.
From being alone to having the support from the entire Yan Huang Imperial City!
"Great!" The Yan Huang Immortal Soldiers were pretty fond of Wu Yu. Therefore, when the Imperial General had given his promise, everyone got excited and was happy for Wu Yu.
"Thank you, Imperial General. I"ll definitely not let you down!" There was no way Wu Yu wasn"t aware of the changes!
At this moment, all he felt was grat.i.tude! Perhaps the Imperial General wouldn"t be of any help at that time. However, Wu Yu wouldn"t just be a discarded disciple if he went along. Wu Yu would have a new ident.i.ty.
Following from here, all he had to do was reach the top three.
Although there were just four people, getting into the top three was still exceptionally hard! Luo Pin had basically secured a slot. He would have to fight Qin Fuyao and Murong Xu for a slot.
"Let us wait in antic.i.p.ation for that day. From here onwards, I don"t wish to hear anyone calling you a discarded disciple. Wu Yu, you are one of us, you are one of Yan Huang Imperial City"s geniuses! Is this clear, everyone?"
The final words were meant for the millions of people around.
All of them noticed that Wu Yu was no longer someone they could critique casually. This was Yan Huang Imperial City. When the Imperial General held such high regard for Wu Yu and didn"t want others to talk about him being a discarded disciple of Shushan, no one in the millions-strong crowd would dare to do so.
For Wu Yu, this was a tremendous change.
"Alright then. That"s all for today. Murong! When the final three have been decided, come and inform me," the Imperial General said casually and eventually instructed General Murong. After which, he disappeared from sight as he turned into a black shadow and flew towards the inner city.
It was said that Imperial General was hosting the Trial of Huang in the inner city.
The Trial of Huang would naturally be more intense.
He couldn"t leave the place for too long.
Although the Imperial General had left, everyone"s gazes on Wu Yu were completely different from this point onwards.
The Crimson Shadow Sword Sage stood up immediately and informed General Murong and the rest, "I"m sorry. Something has cropped up. We will be leaving first."
Several young men followed behind him with fuming faces. For them, the Imperial General had showed Shushan no respect at all.
In Yan Huang Imperial City, several generals gathered together. General Qin said, "Don"t leave now! Aren"t you interested to see who will be the top three amongst the four of them?"
Chen Fuyou gritted his teeth, went beside the Crimson Shadow Sword Sage, and said, "Dad, we can"t leave now. If we did, it would be akin to us saying we are afraid! That Luo Pin is terrifyingly strong. Qin Fuyao and Murong Xu are incredible too. Based on the current situation, Wu Yu is the weakest. I don"t believe he will make it to the top three! And I find it harder to believe the Imperial General would accompany him to Shushan and risk offending us!"
"I"m not leaving. I don"t believe he will make it," Xiao Huanshan and the rest reminded the Crimson Shadow Sword Sage.
As such, the Crimson Shadow Sword Sage said, "Alright, that matter isn"t that important after all."
After which, he returned to his seat.
Shen Xingyao had no intention to leave from the beginning. He was starting to feel a little embarra.s.sed to be in the same group as them.
Now that Wu Yu had become the new favorite of Yan Huang Imperial City out of nowhere, and together with what the Imperial General had said, Wu Yu"s status wouldn"t be any inferior to that of Li Kuhai and the rest. In fact, he might even be better and be taken in as a disciple by the Imperial General. There was a possibility for many outcomes.
As such, no one dared to criticize him further.
Four remaining contestants and three matches to decide the final three. Eliminating just one of them was a fair outcome.
General Murong and the other generals summoned Wu Yu and the rest to them.
To both sides of Wu Yu, Luo Pin was on his left, while Qin Fuyao was on his right. One was a mysterious mystical dragon, while the other was a flirtatious absolute beauty. One was cold, while the other was hot.
Qin Fuyao gave Wu Yu a flirtatious wink, moved her red lips slightly, and said, "Wu Yu, I have to congratulate you. The Imperial General isn"t always that pa.s.sionate to people. You have to do your best to make it to the top three!"
Qin Fuyao didn"t seem to be too happy. After all, she was determined to get the right to enter the City Lord Residence. She was probably feeling the pressure now. After all, her next opponent was the most terrifying dark horse of the compet.i.tion, Luo Pin. When Luo Pin defeated Jiang Zhixun, she completely shocked the entire crowd, including Qin Fuyao.
Indeed! When Qin Fuyao looked at Luo Pin, perhaps the rivalry of great beauties wouldn"t allow these two to be in the same place. Her smile was cold as she said, "Commander Luo has really hidden her abilities well. Before the Trial of Yan, no one knew what you are capable of. I just wonder if you have some special objectives for hiding you abilities till today."
Her voice was coquettish, with weird intonations as she became confrontational towards Luo Pin. However, Luo Pin replied calmly and said, "I"ve made a major breakthrough recently. Please don"t misunderstand."
"I don"t believe you. Over this period, I have tried investigating Commander Luo"s ident.i.ty. I always felt that something wasn"t quite right. Jiang Xuechuan couldn"t explain clearly either. Where are you really from?" Qin Fuyao asked again.
Wu Yu felt awkward being stuck between the two girls.
However, Luo Pin wouldn"t engage Qin Fuyao in a war of words at all. No matter what Qin Fuyao said afterward, Luo Pin would pretend to have heard nothing and simply wouldn"t respond. While the two girls were confrontational, Wu Yu couldn"t help but grow more interested in Luo Pin. She was too peaceful, with a calm state of mind. Looking at Qin Fuyao, she was still a little too young and was still a little obstinate and rude at her core. On typical days, she liked to play tricks on others and attracted too much attention. Naturally, he couldn"t deny that she had the capital to do so, and she had been rather nice to himself. A beautiful girl like her didn"t really draw the ire of others.
"The four of you, prepare yourself over the next four days. It wasn"t easy making it here. Once you lose two matches consecutively, you will be eliminated. Show us your full capabilities. Let the world witness the level the strongest centurions of Yan Huang Imperial City are at!" General Murong said with a smile.
"Yes!" the group of four answered in unison and nodded their heads.
After which, General Murong looked to Luo Pin and Qin Fuyao.
"Both of you will go first. Please fight carefully. At this stage, I believe neither of you are willing to be eliminated...."
One could imagine how exciting things would be at the very last moment!