Chapter 1154: What if I Refuse?
Boom!
The terrifying golden fist turned into a golden light wheel a foot large. It flashed across the sky and let out a banging sound, as it headed towards Divine General Naran. A’Xiu imbued the attack with anger, humiliation and suffering from the past decade, including the grief caused by the death of her friends. It was extremely powerful. It almost turned into fire in the end, covering the world; it could even smash Ancestral Patriarch Gu and the others into meat sauce.
Unfortunately…
Divine General Naran wasn’t an ordinary Nascent Soul Cultivator.
He was the most powerful Divine General that stood above the Nascent Soul Cultivators in the Star Ocean.
“Boom!”
Divine General Naran only responded with a casual punch, and A’Xiu was knocked a few thousand feet away, clas.h.i.+ng against a magnificent palace. Boom! A giant hole was created in the structure; many of her ribs were fractured and she spurted out blood.
“You’ve overrated your ability, ant.”
Divine General Naran shook his head slightly.
He had thrown a punch that knocked A’Xiu away, as effortlessly as wiping dust off his clothes. It wasn’t even worth mentioning.
Divine General Naran turned around and said with golden fire burning fiercely in his eyes, “Chen Beixuan, do you want to be like this disciple, kicking a steel plate and fighting stubbornly with your back against the wall, dragging the entire North Qiong Sect down to be killed by me like before? Don’t worry. The Divine Princes will do it personally this time. I guarantee you, our hundred thousand soldiers will not let any of the members of the North Qiong Sect escape, nor the billions of people on this planet.”
Chen Fan remained still like a mud bodhisattva.
Qi Xiu’er, Lu Yanxue and Shenxi were all enraged and frightened at the same time. If it wasn’t for the fact that their powers were more or less the same as A’Xiu’s, and that they were definitely no match for Divine General Naran, they would have rushed forward to fight with him.
The entire main hall was dark like the night and the atmosphere became extremely heavy. A lot of Nascent Soul Cultivators from other planets didn’t even dare to say a word.
“Chen Beixuan, kowtow and apologize to the Divine General immediately, then you might find a way to survive. If not, everyone in the entire main hall and the North Qiong Sect will be burned to ashes by the anger of the Divine Princes,” the high-spirited Ancestral Patriarch Gu said again.
The white haired, white bearded cultivator flicked his sleeve; he acted as if he were concerned about Chen Fan. He almost sounded heartbroken in the end, as if Chen Fan would become the sinner who would condemn the entire North Qiong Sect, planet Earth and the Abandoned Planet Region, if he didn’t kneel and surrender to Divine General Naran.
Many cultivators in the main hall were also shaken; their mindset started to change at this moment.
They couldn’t be blamed for that.
If the large sects were still merely causing small troubles like Yi Qian, sending over a single battles.h.i.+p with forty Nascent Soul Cultivators, the Ancestral Patriarchs would have continued to stand behind Chen Fan and fight with the large sects of the Star Ocean till the end. How would a new Divine Lord be afraid of a Divine Prince from a large sect of the Star Ocean? Even those large sects would have to respect Divine Lord Jiang and Divine Lord Tatian when they were still alive.
However…
The seven Divine Sects had joined forces just then. There were tons of battles.h.i.+ps and countless Golden Core Cultivators, like clouds blotting the sun and the sky. The seven Divine Princes were even riding chariots pulled by Divine Beasts’ descendants. None of the cultivators in the main hall had solid confidence to defeat them, at all.
Not even Mount Emperor—which had been declining for a hundred thousand years—had ever felt such a terrifying sensation, not to mention those imperishable sects that had been dominating the other regions for thousands of years; they would have countless generations of cultivators. Those were truly the most powerful sects that truly stood at the top of the Star Ocean like a mountain. Even though their Grand Cultivators weren’t present, those Divine Princes might have lots of Divine Arrays, Divine Talismans and forbidden Dharma Artifacts.
Heavenly Lord Anpo even guessed that the Divine Princes might have brought along their, “Divine Treasures.”
A “Divine Treasure” was a Dharma Treasure; it was the most powerful ancient artifact of a sect; it would very much determine their fate. When a Divine Treasure was activated to the maximum level, it could even cut the moon off from the sky. Even though the Divine Princes didn’t seem to be able to activate the Divine Treasures, people were still afraid of them.
“Chen Beixuan, heed your orders.”
After knocking A’Xiu down, Divine General Naran spread the golden paper roll in his hands. “This edict means great news for you and the Chen family. The Divine Princes decided to show you mercy; Chen Beixuan, you must thank them for their kindness.”
Then, he was about to read the order—
Chen Fan suddenly opened his eyes and said gently, “Was it you who destroyed the North Qiong Sect eight years ago?”
Divine General Naran waved and said indifferently, “There’s no need to worry about those little things that happened in the past. You’ll find out if you ask someone.
“The first Divine Prince has already issued an edict to grant you the Divine General t.i.tle of Apollo Palace. From now on, the entire North Qiong Sect and the Earth will belong to Apollo Palace. His Majesty will allow you to rule over the Earth and he listed this planet as your ‘territory,’ so that the reign of the Chen family can last forever. He even allowed the Chen family to follow him to the Star Ocean and practice the real cultivation arts to reach the Nascent Soul Level, so you won’t have to cultivate incomplete arts and Dharma Laws in this stinky ditch. Once you enter the Apollo Palace, you and I will both be officials in the same sect. Do you still want to make a fuss about the destruction of a small sect? I can make it up to you by giving you a hundred mountains, a thousand Golden Core Cultivators as servants and a Nascent Soul Cultivator as your attendant.”
Divine General Naran was very generous.
“Of course, you can work under the other Divine Princes as well. The seven Divine Sects have already established a covenant, to manage Planet East together. This land will be the territory of the Chen family forever. You can choose whoever you want,” Divine General Naran added in the end.
“What?”
“Apollo Palace wants Chen Fan to become one of their Divine Generals?”
Everyone was simultaneously shocked, but it did make sense after pondering for a bit. Chen Fan was too powerful, and most importantly, he was very young. He had killed Nascent Soul Cultivators at the Golden Core Level, so the Divine Sects were certainly interested in him.
If they could rope in such a talent, even the Soul Formation Grand Cultivator would be interested and willing to teach him in person.
Of course, the current crisis would be naturally solved once Chen Fan bowed and took the edict; the cultivators from other planets and the disciples of the North Qiong Sect would survive. However, their master would be changed from Chen Fan to the large sects of the Star Ocean.
Many Nascent Soul Cultivators widened their eyes and looked at Chen Fan. A lot of people on Earth sitting in front of their screens hoped that Chen Fan would accept the edict deep in their hearts.
“Chen Beixuan, accept the edict. Take the order and we’ll be safe.”
In Yan Jin.
Qin Dongmu was wearing a black cultivation outfit and a pair of black cloth shoes. He sat on the sofa with two jade b.a.l.l.s in his hands, watching Chen Fan nervously and hoping he would take the order.
Qin Yaner—who had cascading black hair, skin as white as snow, paired with a white, s.h.i.+mmering gown—turned her head away. She didn’t want to see her father’s ugly, evil face.
Dozens of years had pa.s.sed, but the beauty from Yan Jin still looked as stunning as before.
She widened her gorgeous eyes and looked at Chen Fan on the television.
“Chen Beixuan, will you accept it?”
At this moment, not only people who knew Chen Fan, even the billions of people on Earth felt their hearts were in their throats. Jiang Hua asked anxiously, “Heavenly Lord Anpo, Master Ling Yun, do you think Divine Lord Chen will accept the edict?”
Heavenly Lord Anpo hesitated, not knowing how to answer the question.
Master Ling Yun was extremely torn. If Chen Fan accepted the edict from the first Divine Prince of Apollo Palace, Earth and the large sects in the Star Ocean would bury the hatchet; he would be able to get rid of Chen Fan completely and return to the Star Ocean.
And yet, Master Ling Yun had been attracted to the lively atmosphere in the North Qiong Sect and the mysteries surrounding Chen Fan after staying at the North Qiong Sect for more than a year. He watched as A’Xiu—who used to be a normal cultivator who had formed a Golden Core and lost all her powers—returned to normal and returned to the peak-stage Golden Core Level in six months with Chen Fan’s “Butian Pills.” She had even fought with Nascent Soul Cultivators using a powerful Fist Art.
Master Ling Yun still remembered clearly about the beams of bright light that had shot up to the sky outside the Origin Divine Palace and the sacred-grade arrays.
He didn’t want Chen Fan to yield.
However…
Was there still a chance at this point? There were a hundred thousand soldiers in s.p.a.ce eyeing them closely. He had no idea how many trump cards the Divine Princes had in their possession, either.
In the meantime—
The entire world focused their attention on Chen Fan.
If he accepted the edict, Earth and the entire Abandoned Planet Region would still be his. He would become a Divine General; a duke of sorts, just like in the ancient times. He could choose to obey or disobey orders and live freely like he did right then, and could even have the support from the Apollo Sect, a powerful sect of the Little South Heavenly Realm. However, if he refused, the army of the seven Divine Sects would descend to crush the entire North Qiong Sect and the whole planet to pieces.
There was only one thought between Heaven and h.e.l.l. It was all in Chen Fan’s hands.
“Master…”
Even A’Xiu, as she struggled to get up, couldn’t help but glance at Chen Fan.
At that moment, hundreds of millions of people were focusing on Chen Fan, waiting for his decision.