Chapter 571: Battle of the Top Ten

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Everyone looked troubled hearing Bai Ze’s words. There were obviously deep meanings behind his words after all. Even Zhuge Xing looked at Bai Ze funny. So even someone like Bai Ze has thoughts about Hua Jieyu, huh…

Only Holy Sage Pavilion had two pavilion lords, and one of the lords was the lord of the Holy Zhi Palace itself, who had stopped getting involved with affairs of the place, leaving the other lord to practically run the place. The Holy Sage Pavilion, sitting high atop the Holy Zhi Palace, reigned supreme over all in the Holy Zhi Palace.

Two of the top three in the Barren Sky Ranking, specifically the one ranked first and third, were of the Holy Sage Pavilion, which in turn referred to the two pavilion lords. The two who reigned supreme over all cultivators in the Barren State were none other than the two lords themselves. It was because of them that the Holy Zhi Palace enjoyed extremely high status in all of the Barren State, being called the ‘sacred ground’ of the Barren State. The influence of sacred grounds in Barren State usually extended only to its surrounding region. Even one as formidable as the Ice Temple at the southern regions of Barren State. The Holy Zhi Palace’s influence, however, encompassed all of Barren State instead.

Bai Luli was a student of the Holy Sage Pavilion and he enjoyed supreme status in the Holy Zhi Palace. Bai Ze supposedly would have studied under the second pavilion lord as well. As such, Bai Ze’s intentions in having Bai Luli recommend Hua Jieyu to study under the second pavilion lord were all too obvious. If Hua Jieyu was to take one such favor, Bai Ze would have stood a good chance at getting her to be his…

Ye Futian knew of such maneuvers all too well, and he stared at Bai Ze with cold eyes.

“Having made it this far on her own, there is no need for recommendations from others in Hua Jieyu’s case. She would be able to make her own decisions. Your good will, while appreciated, is unnecessary.” Zhuge Mingyue glared at Bai Ze, with eyes as cold as Ye Futian’s. Everyone knew that Ye Futian and Hua Jieyu were lovers, and Hua Jieyu stated clearly that she would follow wherever Ye Futian went. Yet, Bai Ze stated in front of everyone that he intended to recommend a teacher to her, an action saying that he was completely ignoring Ye Futian’s presence.

Many thought the actions of the second son of White Cloud City to be unbearably arrogant. Despite being a peerless figure and had a measure of arrogance to him, Bai Luli knew prudence to a certain extent, nonetheless, and behaved amicably. Bai Ze, however, was clearly a polar opposite.

“How about we ask what Ms. Hua herself to think about it?” Bai Ze paid no heed to Zhuge Mingyue’s coldness at the matter. There were simply too many who revered or feared the Zhuge family, and many naturally showed the same measure of respect or fear towards Zhuge Mingyue. However, White Cloud City needed to show no such sentiments to anyone other than a select few in the Holy Zhi Palace. His father, the city lord of White Cloud City, ranked fourth on the Barren Sky Ranking, and his brother, Bai Luli, ranked tenth.

Bai Ze turned to look at Hua Jieyu as soon as he finished. “Ms. Hua, my Life Spirit, the Eye of Devastation, works in ways similar to your practice as a Divine Spiritual Sorcerer. If we were to train together, we would able to encourage each other to improve, which would, in turn, benefit our respective practices. Furthermore, the second pavilion lord is a mighty one ranked third in the Barren Sky Ranking. It is an opportunity like no other for you to be able to study under him.”

Many turned their eyes at Hua Jieyu. ‘Train together’, ‘encourage each other to improve’, words that sounded polite and appealing, but Hua Jieyu knew what those words truly meant. The appeal was even greater due to the fact that it would be the third strongest figure in the ranking who would be tutoring them.

If Hua Jieyu was still single, she would have said yes without a doubt, for few were able to resist such a compelling offer. However, due to Ye Futian’s presence, Bai Ze’s words sounded overwhelmingly condescending, an attempt to take another guy’s girlfriend right in front of him. Yet, the obscenely arrogant second son of White Cloud City did not seem to care for such matters, ignoring Ye Futian who stood right beside her. He cared not for Ye Futian’s incredible talents, for Bai Ze deemed Ye Futian to be just another face in the crowd.

Crunch. A crisp noise was heard as Yu Sheng took a step forward, seemingly fully ready to talk with his fists.

“Yu Sheng,” Ye Futian called and Yu Sheng halted his steps, yet his eyes remained on Bai Ze.

Bai Ze spared a glance at Yu Sheng and smirked, returning his gaze to Hua Jieyu. Hua Jieyu took hold of Ye Futian’s hand and looked at Bai Ze, smiling slightly and said, “It is indeed a rare opportunity to be able to study under the second pavilion lord. But, just how am I able to study with someone as ugly as you around?” She turned around and left with Ye Futian in tow.

Ye Futian turned and smirked at Bai Ze. “See you tomorrow.”

Bai Ze was dumbfounded. Ugly?

Bai Ze looked funny seeing both of them leaving the scene.

The world of cultivators called couples among their ranks to be path companions. The term referred to individuals who complemented each other in terms of abilities and thus, were suitable partners for each other in training. Love was trivial in comparison. He was of the opinion that Hua Jieyu was a suitable path companion for him. However, women were creatures driven by emotions, and he believed she failed to comprehend the true meaning of the term.

Yet, he was hardly bothered. He simply reached out in an attempt to claim what he deemed to be a suitable path companion without hesitation. With Hua Jieyu not having such comprehension and readiness to do so, he saw it fit to not pursue the matter further. Women were aplenty, beauties who should have only existed in the heavens or even goddesses, one could get their hands on whoever they fancy if they proved powerful enough.

So Ye Futian, see you tomorrow indeed. Maybe he just thinks too highly of himself after beating Yan Jiu. And Yan Jiu is hardly worth mentioning compared to someone like me.

In the last battle fighting for a spot in top ten, Ximen Yan was unable to even withstand one look from Bai Ze.

“The second son of White Cloud City indeed,” Zhuge Mingyue quipped with a smile before leaving the scene as well. Bai Luli yelled at his brother, “Bai Ze, you are going too far.”

Bai Ze turned around and walked towards his brother, lowering his head for a bit. While he behaved in an exceedingly arrogant manner in front of others, Bai Ze tried to behave himself in front of his brother. Bai Ze’s eyes, however, were unflinching, as if to say that he could do no wrong.

My brother is a peerless genius in all of Barren State. Even someone like Zhuge Mingyue should have bowed before him. That was what drove him to behave as he did today, and it was like a thorn at his side.

Many from the outside world were oblivious to it, but great figures knew well that his brother, Bai Luli, was more than just the young city lord of White Cloud City and a genius ranked tenth on the Barren Sky Ranking. He was also one that earned unanimous praise from all the great figures in the Holy Zhi Palace. Bai Ze knew well what lied in his brother’s future—number one in all of the Barren State.

…

Zhuge Mingyue walked as Ye Futian’s party left.

“Second sister,” Ye Futian called.

“You know little of what is going on in the Holy Zhi Palace. The palace lord, the figure who reigned supreme in all of Barren State, had disappeared for years, not getting himself involved in mundane affairs. Now things are managed by the second pavilion lord who is ranked third in the Barren Sky Ranking, while the second pavilion lord himself is Bai Luli’s teacher. I never expected you to be able to come this far when you first embarked on your trip to the Holy Roads. That was quite a shock to your second sister, me.”

Zhuge Mingyue smiled and continued. “As such, expectations towards you are no longer what they used to be. I intended for you to study under one of the sages here, but things are no longer what it was before. If things don’t turn out in your favor, I’d advise you to not enter the Holy Zhi Palace.”

“Not enter?” Ye Futian asked while looking puzzled.

“You have clashed with Bai Ze, and enrolling into the palace wouldn’t necessarily be a good thing for you anymore. You may not be clear of Bai Luli’s status in the palace, but my old man told me that Bai Luli has had the higher-ups in the palace reach some kind of consensus, and that is making him the heir to the place,” Zhuge Mingyue elaborated.

The shock was clear in Ye Futian’s eyes. So that mighty one who ranked tenth on Barren Sky Ranking has earned approval from the rest of the Holy Zhi Palace then?

“Well, given the talents of this little brother of mine, it’s fine even if you didn’t study here in the palace. You’ll still take good care of me, right?” Zhuge Mingyue smiled in a rather sly manner.

“Yeah.” Ye Futian nodded. He thought not all would have been lost even if he did not end up studying in the Holy Zhi Palace. Their journey on the Holy Roads had let all of them grow considerably in many ways.

“We’ll see what happens tomorrow. You might still stand a chance,” Zhuge Mingyue added.

“I’ll let you make the decisions,” Ye Futian said with a smile. His second sister would not have wanted anything other than the best for him, and Ye Futian did not feel like dwelling on the matter. It was easier to simply have his second sister make the arrangements for him.

Many turned to look at Zhuge Mingyue’s party, and the news soon spread throughout the place that Ye Futian had a minor clash with Bai Ze in the Holy Zhi Palace and that Bai Ze had thoughts about Hua Jieyu as well.

Things turned out interestingly given the young city lord of White Cloud City showed interests in Hua Jieyu. The battle the next day had just gotten more interesting for everyone.

Ye Futian had beaten Yan Jiu before and earned himself a place at the top ten, yet the second son of White Cloud City was probably the most powerful among all who still remained in the battlefield. Yan Jiu paled in comparison, and Ye Futian the dark horse, might have met his biggest challenge yet.

Many discussed the strengths of the candidates in the top ten. Some claimed Bai Ze to be the strongest while some others claimed Huang Jiuge to be the strongest instead. However, it was clear to everyone that Bai Ze, Huang Jiuge, and Xu Que were the three strongest among the ten. It was difficult to gauge the strengths of the other seven, as while Zhuge Xing might have been just as strong, Yu Sheng, Xiao Junyi and Ye Futian were nowhere near weak as well.

The outcome was to be known on the battlefield the next day.

A day’s time flew by like an arrow, and the mighty ones were seen gathering early in the morning the next day. The top ten candidates made their way onto the battlefield one after another. Many mighty ones gathered in the Holy Zhi Palace’s direction, even some great figures who did not turn up the day before showed up. Battles of the top ten candidates were something many would not have missed for anything.

“So even you, King Kong Sage, are showing up today, I see.” Sage Daozang turned to look at a figure who seemed to be bathing in golden light, a figure well known and respected in the Holy Zhi Palace. The figure was a mighty one ranked on the Barren Sky Ranking, and he was also the second most formidable figure in the Battle Sage Palace.

The Battle Sage Palace was known to be the place where the best warriors were made in the Holy Zhi Palace, and every single person within was known to pack extraordinary combat prowess.

The status of the Battle Sage Palace was merely below that of the Holy Sage Pavilion, and the lord within was known to have the most formidable physical attributes among all in Barren State, being ranked seventh in the Barren Sky Ranking. His combat capacity, however, was known to be peerless, so much so that even those of higher rankings hesitated to butt heads with such a being.

“If you, Lord Daozang, are interested enough to show up yourself, is it peculiar that I’m interested?” King Kong Sage asked. Sage Daozang was the lord of Daozang Palace.

Sage Daozang smiled and turned his attention to the battlefield.

The elder on the sky stairwell spoke, “The battle today will be different from the ones fought prior. It is no longer done in a one-on-one manner. Whoever you think should be eliminated, you are free to challenge them. The loser will be eliminated. If you are of such prowess that no one dares challenge you, you are free to enter battle during the final round.”

The eyes of many sparkled. The rules had become more straightforward, and nothing was left to chance anymore.

The battle of the top ten commenced!