Chapter 3457: The Vice Temple Master of the Main t.i.tle Temple
In the Devata Realms, there were only a few who had been confirmed to be G.o.ds.
There are only a handful of G.o.ds who are known by the others in the Devata Realm. Prior to today, the only known G.o.d in the Devata Realms’ Heavenly Emperors ranking was Ji You, the Heavenly Emperor of the Heavenly Gift Heaven. After today, there was also Feng Qing Yang, the Heavenly Emperor of the Solitary Destructive Heaven.
Apart from Ru Lai, the Temple Master of the t.i.tle Temple in the Pavilion Shaft Heaven, who had been confirmed to be a G.o.d, many people were certain there were other G.o.ds in the t.i.tle Temples as well even though there was no confirmation. Otherwise, how could they maintain order over so many Devata Realms for such a long time?
Since Feng Qing Yang had confirmed he was a G.o.d, it was not surprising that Ru Lai, the Great Sun Celestial Emperor and the Temple Master of the t.i.tle Temple in the Pavilion Shaft Heaven, challenged Feng Qing Yang to a duel. After all, according to the t.i.tle Temple’s rules, Heavenly Emperors who had become G.o.ds were not allowed to hold onto their positions as Heavenly Emperors.
G.o.ds belonged in Realms of G.o.ds, which were superior to Devata Realms. Accordingly, those who had attained G.o.dhood should go to a Realm of G.o.ds instead of staying in a Devata Realm. If a G.o.d wanted to stay in a Devata Realm, they had to maintain a low profile. The t.i.tle Temple was in charge of overseeing this matter.
had been
“Looks like the t.i.tle Temple isn’t wasting any time in trying to dethrone Heavenly Emperor Feng Qing Yang as the Heavenly Emperor of the Solitary Destructive Heaven now that it has been confirmed that he’s a G.o.d. Well, this is to be expected since it’s said that this was the main reason for the t.i.tle Temple’s existence…”
There were only a few young geniuses who were privy to the t.i.tle Temple’s rules; most of them were clueless.
“If that’s the case, why didn’t the t.i.tle Temple take action when Heavenly Ji You of the Heavenly Gift Heaven has been confirmed to be a G.o.d for a long time now? He has held onto his position as the Heavenly Emperor of the Heavenly Gift Heaven for such a long time and is even continuously ranked first on the Heavenly Emperors ranking without any consequences…”
“That’s right! Heavenly Emperor Ji You has long attained G.o.dhood; why is he still the Heavenly Emperor of the Heavenly Gift Heaven? On the other hand, the t.i.tle Temple is attempting to remove Heavenly Emperor Feng Qing Yang from his position as soon as it’s revealed that he has attained G.o.dhood! Why is it so unfair?”
“It’s not that the t.i.tle Temple is deliberately being unfair. I heard from my elders that the t.i.tle Temple sent a few G.o.ds to challenge Heavenly Emperor Ji You, but none of them could defeat him. Therefore, there’s nothing they can do to remove him from his position…”
“Is that so? Shouldn’t that be a great secret then? How do you know about it?” someone asked skeptically.
“My master is the Heavenly Emperor of the Rain Embodiment Heaven.”
“Oh, I apologize. I didn’t know you’re a disciple of a Heavenly Emperor!”
There were also those among the crowd who had heard of a completely different rumor regarding Ji You, the Heavenly Emperor of the Heavenly Gift Heaven.
“I heard the Heavenly Emperor of the Heavenly Gift Heaven only manages to sit on his throne until now because he has the support of his ancestor who’s a supreme powerhouse…”
“Really?”
“Well, if that’s true, then it’s no surprise he’s still the Heavenly Emperor of the Heavenly Gift Heaven even after he attained G.o.dhood.”
“Doesn’t this mean if the Heavenly Emperor of Ten Thousand Beasts Heaven attains G.o.dhood, the t.i.tle Temple will be helpless against him as well? After all, it’s a well-known fact that the Qilin clan has a supreme powerhouse supporting them.”
There were many theories going around about Ji You, but only one thing remained certain: despite attaining G.o.dhood a long time ago, the t.i.tle Temple could not remove Ji You from the throne.
“I wonder if the Heavenly Emperor of the Solitary Destructive Heaven will be able to hold onto his t.i.tle and position?”
“It’s a pity we won’t be able to witness the fight between him and Temple Master Ru Lai.”
“I’m willing to give up 100 years of my cultivation just to watch them fight! I can cultivate again if I lose 100 years of my cultivation, but I won’t be able to watch such a fight again in my lifetime!”
“That’s right! Although I’m a little more than 800 years old, I’m willing to give up 200 or 300 years of my cultivation just to watch the fight!”
Many people wished they could witness the battle between Feng Qing Yang and Ru Lai. Even if they could catch a G.o.d’s movements, they still wished they could witness a battle between G.o.ds. After all, they wanted to see who would emerge victorious or if any of the opponents would perish. Being able to witness a battle between G.o.ds was something they could boast about for a lifetime.
‘Master…’ Duan Ling Tian frowned deeply. Although he was confident about his master’s strength, he still could not help but worry. After all, for Ru Lai to challenge his master, Ru Lai must be confident and have some tricks up his sleeve.
‘Gautama Buddha is almost invincible in the legends from earth… Moreover, when he challenged master earlier, he was completely calm. This shows his confidence to a certain extent…’ Many thoughts flitted through Duan Ling Tian’s mind at this moment.
This time’s Devata Realms’ Battle of the Geniuses was destined to be talked about for a long time to come with so many incidents. There was Heavenly Emperor Feng Qing Yang who confirmed his status as a G.o.d by displaying his strength when he defeated Heavenly Emperor Zhou Bing Wu who was ranked fifth on the Devata Realms’ Heavenly Emperors ranking. Not only that, but Feng Qing Yang also destroyed Heavenly Emperor Situ Zhuqing’s Wishful Celestial Wood’s clone. Following that, Ru Lai, the Temple Master of the t.i.tle Temple in the Pavilion Shaft Heaven, even challenged Feng Qing Yang to a duel to remove Feng Qing Yang from his position as the Heavenly Emperor of the Solitary Destructive Heaven. With that, Ru Lai also inadvertently confirmed that he had also attained G.o.dhood. Feng Qing Yang and Ru Lai had stolen the limelight from the young geniuses before the commencement of the Devata Realms’ Battle of the Geniuses.
At this time, a thunderous voice resounded in the venue.
“To all the partic.i.p.ants, please pay attention. The Devata Realms’ Battle of the Geniuses will begin in an hour!”
Following these words, the person who had spoken hovered in the air, overseeing everything, as he introduced himself. “I’m Xu Kong Hai, the Vice Temple Master of the main t.i.tle Temple.”
Xu Kong Hai was a young man with a head full of white hair; even his sword-like eyebrows were white. He was tall and well built; he had an extraordinarily handsome face.
The location of the main t.i.tle Temple remained a mystery to everyone. Some thought it was located in one of the Devata Realms or mundane realms while some were of the opinion that it was located in an independent realm created by a supreme powerhouse. Although the t.i.tle Temple branches in the various Devata Realms had a lot of contact with the main t.i.tle Temple, none of the members were privy to the location of the main t.i.tle Temple. After all, whenever the Temple Masters went to the main t.i.tle Temple, they were directly transported there by a special Transportation Formation.
Xu Kong Hai’s introduction surprised some of the young geniuses.
“The Vice Temple Master of the main t.i.tle Temple?”
“So the rumors are true about the main t.i.tle Temple sending someone over to preside over every Devata Realms’ Battle of the Geniuses…”
“I heard that there are many G.o.ds in the main t.i.tle Temple… Apparently, even an ordinary elder is on par with a Temple Master of a t.i.tle Temple branch. I can only imagine how powerful the Vice Temple Master of the main t.i.tle Temple is…”
“It’s highly likely the Vice Temple Master of the main t.i.tle Temple is a G.o.d as well…”
The young geniuses stared at Xu Kong Hai curiously.
Among the people present, perhaps, only a few Temple Masters of the t.i.tle Temple branches had met the mysterious Xu Kong Hai before. Most, if not all, of the Heavenly Emperors had never met Xu Kong Hai before as well. Perhaps, only one or two Heavenly Emperors who had lived for a long time had met him before.
With one hour left to go before the commencement of the Devata Realms’ Battle of the Geniuses, the young geniuses calmed down and began to close their eyes to meditate and prepare for the battles ahead of them. After all, their opponents were all the cream of the crop; even the slightest distraction might spell their defeat.
Naturally, there were some young geniuses who remained at ease, chatting with those around them.
At this time, Su Li, who had clearly done his research, said, “Duan Ling Tian, according to the previous Battles of the Geniuses, about 1,000 partic.i.p.ants will be disqualified during the first round. Following that, the remaining partic.i.p.ants will proceed to the second round. The battles during the second round will continue until only 300 partic.i.p.ants are left. The partic.i.p.ants who’re disqualified during the second round will be given three chances to challenge any of the 300 partic.i.p.ants who make it to the third round. This is where the fiercest battles lie in the early rounds. After all, not all of those who’re disqualified are weak, and there are bound to be partic.i.p.ants who only make it to the third round by relying on others. Therefore, these challenges exist to weed out the weak and to give a chance to the worthy.”
“I’ve heard about this as well.” Duan Ling Tian nodded. His master, Feng Qing Yang, had mentioned this to him. He knew the fights would get progressively harder once he entered the third round. The battles would continue to intensify during the fourth round. The fourth round was where the partic.i.p.ants’ ranking would be determined. Needless to say, the reward for each rank was different; the higher one ranked, the better the reward would be. Those who were eliminated earlier, naturally, would not receive any reward.
…
An hour pa.s.sed in just a blink of an eye.
As soon as the time was up, Xu Kong Hai, the Vice Temple Master of the main t.i.tle Temple, announced, “I now declare the Devata Realms’ Battle of the Geniuses starts now…”
Although Xu Kong Hai did not speak very loudly, his voice sounded thunderously loud in the partic.i.p.ants’ ears.