"This is the Flooding Sea?"Zhang Xuan was a little taken aback.
He had thought that the core of the Flood of Spiritual Energy, which was powerful enough to force the Nine G.o.d Monarchs into action, would be filled with concentrated spiritual energy, perhaps even to the extent where the spiritual energy would condense into water droplets. Yet, it turned out to be even more barren than the Firmament.
"Given the extent that the other G.o.d Monarchs went to preparing for the Flood of Spiritual Energy, there must be some treasures in here. Let"s just take a look around the area."
After a moment of shock, Zhang Xuan decided not to think about this anymore. Together with Luo Qiqi, he quickly flew toward the depths of the Flooding Sea.
…
Ten minutes earlier…
Floating above the Flooding Sea were the G.o.d Monarchs.
"It seems like it"s going to start very soon," the Cloud Dragon Monarch remarked with a glint in his eyes.
"Indeed."
The other G.o.d Monarchs nodded in agreement.
Recalling the battle a few days ago, G.o.d Monarch Fumeng of the Sky of Adamant Gold shook his head. "All this time, I thought that the ability to become a G.o.d Monarch was dependent on one"s bloodline and that it was impossible to advance any further after reaching this level. However, after witnessing the fight between G.o.d Monarch Lingxi and the Heaven Subjugation Monarch, I realized that G.o.d Monarchs can grow stronger as well, and there is huge room for them to do that!"
All this while, they had thought that they had reached their limit and could not advance any further, so they had begun to slacken.
Yet, when they saw how much stronger the Heaven Subjugation Monarch was than them despite only having joined their ranks forty years ago, they realized that they had been sorely mistaken.
There was still something above them, and they needed to reach out in order to get there.
G.o.d Monarch Zhuoyang of the Sky of Blazing Sun laughed heartily. "In the last few Flood of Spiritual Energy, the disciples of the Heaven Subjugation Monarch have been able to claim the bulk of the treasures through their superior strength. However, without the Heaven Subjugation Monarch"s help, they won"t be able to enter the Flooding Sea anymore. With this, our chances of obtaining the treasures have greatly increased!"
There was a bizarre power surrounding the Flooding Sea that prevented G.o.d Monarchs and Conferred G.o.d Kings from entering, but through the sheer power of the G.o.d Monarchs, it was still possible for them to teleport their Conferred G.o.d Kings in.
However, with the death of the Heaven Subjugation Monarch, the Conferred G.o.d Kings under his command would not be able to enter the area anymore.
All this while, G.o.d Monarch Zhuoyang"s subordinates had been suppressed by the disciples of the Heaven Subjugation Monarch, and that had left him frustrated and exasperated.
But now that the Heaven Subjugation Monarch had finally met his end, it was time to usher in a new era.
The Acheron G.o.d Monarch harrumphed. "Don"t forget that young fellow beside the Deathless Monarch that day… If he joins, it"ll be hard to say who the real victor of the Flood of Spiritual Energy will be!"
The Conferred G.o.d King of the Nine Skies" soul cultivation far surpa.s.sed that of other Conferred G.o.d Kings, making him an extremely tough foe to deal with.
"As formidable as he is, the only thing he has is his soul cultivation. His physical body and zhenqi cultivation are still at G.o.d King realm primary stage. As long as we bestow artifacts to protect their soul upon our descendants, there will be nothing he can do at all," G.o.d Monarch Zhuoyang said.
How could they remain unprepared after knowing that there was such a formidable expert coming from the Sky of Spirit Origin?
If that young man had another half a year or so, there was indeed a chance that he would grow to a level far beyond the imagination of anyone else, but within a short one or two days, the most he could do was stabilize the energy that he had received from the World Conferment!
Under the circ.u.mstances that his physical body and zhenqi cultivation remained weak, as long as their descendants were able to protect their souls, they should be able to beat the young man easily!
In the end, someone who was a Conferred G.o.d King just in terms of soul cultivation could not possibly hope to fight against a full-fledged Conferred G.o.d King!
"Zhuoyang is right. The Conferred G.o.d King of the Nine Skies might be formidable, but he hasn"t reached the peak of his growth yet. The G.o.d King that I conferred not too long ago, Zhao Ya, should be able to subdue him easily!" G.o.d Monarch Fumeng laughed heartily.
The talent of the young lady whom he had devoted a lot of resources into grooming was a terrifyingly talented prodigy. Her fighting prowess was so great that she could even beat several veteran Conferred G.o.d Kings with ease.
Once she exerted her full strength, even the Conferred G.o.d King of the Nine Skies would have no choice but to submit to her!
It was impossible to borrow the power of the heavens in the Flooding Sea, so it did not matter whether the young man was acknowledged by the world or not. There was no way he stood a chance at all.
"I have heard of Conferred G.o.d King Zhao Ya of the Sky of Adamant Gold, but our Conferred G.o.d King Zheng Yang won"t pale in comparison to her at all! If the two of them get into a serious fight, I reckon that your Zhao Ya won"t be a match for my Zheng Yang!" G.o.d Monarch Zhuoyang harrumphed derisively.
"Hey hey, it"s not as if the two of you are the only ones who managed to pick up gems," Demon Monarch Qiankun said with a grin. "Lu Chong of my Sky of Drifting Specter might not be exceptional in fights, but if he escapes after gathering all the treasures, none of your Conferred G.o.d Kings will be able to catch him!"
As one who specialized in soul arts, his fighting prowess was not too strong among the Nine G.o.d Monarchs. However, when it came to searching for treasures and evading enemies, there was definitely no one who could compete with him!
The Acheron G.o.d Monarch chirped in as well. "You lot only have a single prodigy with you, but my Sky of Acheron has Yuan Tao, Dan Xiaotian, and Bai Xiaoqing. No matter how you look at it, my chances are much better than yours!"
"My Sky of Cloud Dragon also has Kong s.h.i.+yao, Liu Yang, and Zhang Jiuxiao," the Cloud Dragon Monarch added.
As G.o.d Monarchs, it was inevitable that they would be incredibly proud and egotistical individuals. It had not been easy for them to find successors that they were satisfied with, so it went without saying that they had to brag a bit about it.
Seeing how these G.o.d Monarchs had been kept in the dark, Fairy Linglong could not help but snicker quietly in the depths of her heart. "If your successors are so outstanding, why don"t you bring them out and have them compete against one another?"
"Sure, let"s have them fight against one another to see who"s the best!" The Cloud Dragon Monarch nodded vehemently in agreement. "Kong s.h.i.+yao, Liu Yang, and Zhang Jiuxiao, come over!"
Hu! Hu! Hu!
Two men and a lady flew over and took their places beside the Cloud Dragon Monarch. They each emanated a sharp aura that felt as if it would rip s.p.a.ce apart.
"Zhao Ya, you come over as well!" G.o.d Monarch Fumeng beckoned with a wave of his hand.
A young lady flew over.
Seeing how the two G.o.d Monarchs had summoned their Conferred G.o.d Kings over, the others also quickly called theirs over.
Soon, eleven young men and women joined the G.o.d Monarchs at the Flooding Sea.
"They sure are exceptional youths…"
Seeing the young men and ladies before them, even though the G.o.d Monarchs did not want to admit it, the Conferred G.o.d Kings nurtured by the other G.o.d Monarchs did not pale in comparison to theirs.
Sighing deeply inside, just as they were about to remind their Conferred G.o.d Kings to continue working hard so as to not lose to others, they saw the eleven youths clasping their fists toward one another.
"Senior!"
"Junior!"
…
There were excited smiles on their faces, reminiscent of close friends who had finally reunited after a long time.
"Wait a moment… Senior? Junior?"
Other than Fairy Linglong, the other five G.o.d Monarchs stared at one another with widened eyes. Even with the wisdom they had accrued over countless years, they were having some difficulties trying to grasp what in the world was going on before them.
I groomed you so that you can enter the Flooding Sea, defeat the other rivals, and bring the treasures within over to our Sky, yet… what does senior and junior mean?
Does this mean that… all of you actually know each other?
All of a sudden, they felt a bad premonition inside, as if they had overlooked something really important.
Unable to take it any longer, the Acheron G.o.d Monarch asked anxiously, "Yuan Tao, what is going on here?"
The other G.o.d Monarchs also immediately p.r.i.c.ked up their ears to hear about it.
They wanted to hear what the young man had to say.
"Your Sovereignty, allow me to introduce everyone to you. Zhao Ya over here is my First Senior, w.a.n.g Ying is my Second Senior, Liu Yang is my Third Senior, Zheng Yang is my Fourth Senior, I am ranked fifth, Lu Chong is my Sixth Junior, Wei Ruyan is my Seventh Junior, Zhang Jiuxiao is my Eighth Junior…" Yuan Tao began introducing the other youths gathered above the Flooding Sea to the Acheron G.o.d Monarch.
"…"
The Acheron G.o.d Monarch, the Cloud Dragon Monarch, Demon Monarch Qiankun, G.o.d Monarch Zhuoyang, and G.o.d Monarch Fumeng.
The geniuses we have spent such a heavy price to nurture… are actually all from the same lineage?
Dear heavens, is there anyone who can tell me what is going on!