Chapter 3200: Avoiding Zhang Jin Yi
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Zhang Jin Yi only entered the upper realm of the Southern Heaven Ancient Realm so that he could meet Duan Ling Tian and Huan’er to find out if Huan’er was a Thousand Phantoms Ice Fox. Before he entered the upper realm, Zhang Dong Nan had suggested that he used a pseudonym on his Ident.i.ty Jade token. He obviously did not heed Zhang Dong Nan’s advice. After he received Zhang Dong Nan’s message, he decided to leave the upper realm as well.
When Zhang Dong Nan arrived in the estate of the Phantom Fox Clan’s branch in the Southern Heaven Territory, he said to Zhang Dong Nan in a low voice, “Since they left the upper realm, let’s just head to the Profound Nether Mansion to test that woman. Can a mere grade-six force like the Profound Nether Mansion stop me?”
Zhang Dong Nan felt that Zhang Jin Yi’s words made sense. The Profound Nether Mansion would not dare to offend Zhang Jin Yi due to his ident.i.ty.
Soon enough, the duo left for the Profound Nether Mansion.
…
In the Profound Nether Mansion’s estate.
When the Mansion Master of the Profound Nether Mansion learned of Zhang Jin Yi’s ident.i.ty, he gave his full cooperation and even led the duo from the Phantom Fox Clan to the Imperial Tutor Pavilion.
Naturally, at this moment, apart from the Pavilion Master of the Imperial Tutor Pavilion who was fis.h.i.+ng, no one else was in the pavilion.
“Senior, where are Duan Ling Tian and the woman?” Zhang Dong Nan asked respectfully. The Pavilion Master of the Imperial Tutor Pavilion was comparable to some of the leaders of the Ten Major Clans and Top Five Sects so he did not dare to act impudently.
The old man glanced at Zhang Dong Nan before he replied, “They left 10 years ago…”
“They left?” Zhang Dong Nan was dumbfounded. He had a.s.sumed the old man had received news about Zhang Jin Yi and urged Duan Ling Tian and Huan’er to leave the upper realm to avoid the Phantom Fox Clan. He did not expect that Duan Ling Tian and Huan’er had already left the Profound Nether Mansion. For this reason, he sent a message to Zhang Yun Ting’s son to check if Duan Ling Tian and Huan’er returned to the upper realm again.
After a while, Zhang Yun Ting’s son replied and confirmed Duan Ling Tian and Huan’er did not return to the upper realm and that the duo’s rankings on the scoreboard remained the same.
With this, Zhang Dong Nan ruled out the possibility that Duan Ling Tian and Huan’er had entered the upper realm through another safe zone after crus.h.i.+ng their Ident.i.ty Jade Tokens outside.
The upper realm of the Southern Heaven Ancient Realm was different from the middle realm because those who crushed their Acc.u.mulative Points Jade in the middle realm would not be able to enter again until the scoreboard was refreshed. However, those who crushed their Ident.i.ty Jade Tokens could still enter the upper realm again and continue to collect points as long as they obtained a new Ident.i.ty Jade Token.
Zhang Dong Nan’s expression darkened as soon as he listened to the message from Zhang Yun Ting’s son. Since he had ruled out the possibility of Duan Ling Tian and Huan’er entering the upper realm again through a different safe zone, it was likely that Duan Ling Tian and Huan’er had left the Profound Nether Mansion’s estate or were hiding in the old man’s Little World. If this was the case, there was nothing they could do at all.
In the end, Zhang Dong Nan could only smile wryly and say, “Lord Envoy, it seems like they really left the Profound Nether Mansion.”
Zhang Jin Yi looked at the Pavilion Master of the Imperial Tutor Pavilion and the Mansion Master of the Profound Nether Mansion coldly and said, “Inform me immediately if you have news about that woman. Otherwise, if I find out you’re hiding information from me, I definitely won’t let you go!” After he finished speaking, he threw a Soul Pearl to the mansion master.
The old man’s gaze turned cold as he put his fis.h.i.+ng rod down and said, “I’d love to see how a mere Ten Directions Celestial King like you intends to deal with me… I won’t bully you; I’ll suppress my cultivation base to that of a Ten Directions Celestial King…”
As soon as the old man finished speaking, he made a move. He kept his words and suppressed his cultivation base to Zhang Jin Yi’s level. However, the law he comprehended was superior to Zhang Jin Yi.
Although Zhang Jin Yi used techniques that were exclusive to direct descendants of the Phantom Fox Clan, he found he could not gain the advantage over the old man. Shocked by this discovery, he said, “Old man, your strength is not bad. With your strength, you’re comparable to the leaders of grade-five forces. Why are you hiding and fis.h.i.+ng in a grade-six force?”
The old man asked in return, “You’re not from the Southern Heaven Territory, right? It’s impossible for the Southern Heaven Territory to have a Ten Directions Celestial King like you.”
“Of course! I’m from the Heaven Territory in the Seven Upper Province!” Zhang Jin Yi said with a hint of pride.
“Listen to me, inform me immediately if you have news of that woman. Even if I’m not capable of annihilating the Profound Nether Mansion alone, any one of my uncles is more than capable of destroying the Profound Nether Mansion,” Zhang Jin Yi said threateningly before he left, “Remember my name, Zhang Jin Yi. I’m a direct descendant of the Heaven Territory’s Phantom Fox Clan. Even the weakest among my uncles is a t.i.tled Celestial Lord.”
Zhang Dong Nan followed closely behind as Zhang Jin Yi walked away.
After the duo from the Phantom Fox Clan left, the old man said with a sigh, “I didn’t expect the Phantom Foxes’ main clan to have such a talented Ten Directions Celestial King. Even if those two young fellows join forces now, they still won’t be a match for him.” He was clearly shocked by Zhang Jin Yi’s strength.
The mansion master asked curiously, “Grandmaster, where are they now?”
“They’re hiding in my Little World.”
As soon as the old man finished speaking, two figures suddenly appeared. They were none other than Duan Ling Tian and Huan’er. As long as they hid in the old man’s Little World, no one, apart from those with cultivation bases higher than the old man, would be able to detect their presence.
The old man asked Duan Ling Tian and Huan’er, “Did you see what happened earlier?”
Duan Ling Tian nodded with a grave expression on his face. “I didn’t expect the Ten Directions Celestial King from the Heaven Territory’s Phantom Fox Clan to possess such strength. Even Tang Ping Shan, the pride of the 10,000 Battles Heaven Sect and the former undefeated champion in the upper realm, would not survive more than 10 moves from him.”
When the old man suppressed his cultivation base to fight Zhang Jin Yi, Duan Ling Tian could tell the two opponents were evenly matched. Although the old man had cast all the profundities he had comprehended, it did not give the old man advantage over Zhang Jin Yi.
After a moment, Duan Ling Tian looked at Huan’er and said, “His final two techniques are remarkable… They should be the Phantom Fox Clan’s techniques. Did you manage to see them?”
Huan’er nodded. “Brother Ling Tian, that person also used an extraordinary illusory technique in the beginning. It has to be a unique technique that only direct descendants from the main clan can master. In regards to the two techniques you mentioned, they’re useless against me. After all, Thousand Phantoms Ice Foxes are supreme in the Phantom Fox Clan.”
Duan Ling Tian and the others were shocked by Huan’er’s words.
Duan Ling Tian said, “Now I know why they want to get rid of you. Once you grow into your full potential, they won’t be able to stop you at all if you want to contend for power in the clan!”
“Both of you should be able to defeat him once you grow stronger in the future. In fact, you don’t even have to wait until you’re Ten Directions Celestial Kings,” the old man said.
Duan Ling Tian smiled wryly and said, “Regardless, the important thing is even without his two special techniques, we’re not his match right now.”
Even if Zhang Jin Yi did not have his two special techniques, he had comprehended all nine profundities from the law of metal and had even comprehended four of them to the initial stage. Therefore, Duan Ling Tian and Huan’er were no match for him now even if they joined forces. Perhaps, Duan Ling Tian might stand a slight chance if he used his Divine Artifact as well, but it would mean nothing if Zhang Jin Yi possessed an Emperor Grade Celestial Weapon. Currently, Duan Ling Tian’s Divine Artifact was only slightly more powerful than Emperor Grade Celestial Weapons. Even if Zhang Jin Yi did not possess an Emperor Grade Celestial Weapon, Duan Ling Tian and Huan’er could barely restrain him with their current strength even if they used his Divine Artifact.
For all these reasons, Duan Ling Tian knew it was not wise to go against Zhang Jin Yi for now. The best course of action was to avoid him.
“That’s true.” The old man nodded as he looked at Duan Ling Tian with a complex gaze. “Boy, you were right when you said they would come to the mansion to look for you and Huan’er after both of you left the upper realm.”
After leaving the upper realm, Duan Ling Tian had guessed that Zhang Jin Yi and Zhang Dong Nan would come to the Profound Nether Mansion to look for Huan’er.
“If I were him, I would’ve done the same,” Duan Ling Tian said with a shrug.
“Not everyone is as astute or meticulous as you. My confidence in you has grown even more. Perhaps, you’ll really succeed in helping us avenge the former Imperial Tutor.” The old man sighed.
“How little confidence did you have in me previously?” Duan Ling Tian asked teasingly.
…
Duan Ling Tian and Huan’er waited another month after Zhang Jin Yi and Zhang Dong Nan left before they entered the upper realm again. It was also the day the ranking was refreshed.
“Since we ranked between 11th and 30th place, we’ll enter the grade-two secret realm,” Duan Ling Tian said.
The grade-one secret realm was only accessible to those who ranked in the top 10; those who ranked from 11th to 30th place, like Duan Ling Tian and Huan’er, would only be able to enter the grade-two secret realm; those who ranked from 31th to 100th place could only enter the grade-three secret realm.
The treasures in all three secret realms were almost the same. The only differences between the realms were the difficulties of the tests to obtain the treasures. Naturally, the tests in the grade-one secret realm were easy. The tests in the grade-two secret realm were at the intermediate level while the tests in the grade-three secret realm were the most difficult.