The entire capital was talking about the readjustment of the final ranking battle’s date. There were naturally objections, but the Hall Kings couldn’t say anything, as it was the palace lord’s decision.
Five days passed in the blink of an eye, and the final ranking battle had arrived before many people could react to it. On this day, the Decimo Dao Palace’s largest battlefield was crowded with people, with a million or so people watching. Throughout history, this place had been a holy land in the contest between geniuses. Not only the Decimo Dao Palace ranking battles, but many other battles in the Divine Capital were held there as well.
The battlefield was like a huge wilderness, with mountains and rivers, and it wouldn’t be a problem if millions of people were placed in it. There were tall platforms outside the battlefield, which formed a circle of spectator seating around the battlefield. The seats were stacked one level after another, ensuring that the spectators could see the entire battlefield from almost any position.
The ranking battle would last for fifteen days, and the spectators were also prepared to watch for the entire time. The seats weren’t filled, for the time being; there were only about two hundred thousand people there. But people were still trickling in and filling up the seats. The Decimo Dao Palace didn’t set any limitations for spectators, so with the sheer size of the Divine Capital, many people were naturally interested in the ranking battle.
They’d heard about the changes in the Decimo Dao Palace, and they were here to see how things would unfold. The ranking battle had yet to begin, but the Decimo Dao Battlefield was filled with people looking around. The audience was talking among themselves. They were practically all talking about Tianming’s status as the son of a sinner, and the importance and protection that the Decimo Dao Palace had given him. Either that, or they were talking about the Ancient Theocrats’ face. This involved the factional conflict in the Divine Dao Palace.
“The top hundred of the Earth Ranking are all gathered here.”
“There are still challenges ongoing for those who hope to get into the top hundred.”
“They don’t have much hope; there’s only two weeks left. It’s been nearly a year, and if they could enter the top hundred, they would’ve already made it in.”
“I heard that the six halls were pressuring the disciples without any background, and the dao palace has effectively relieved the pressure by pushing the ranking battle forward.”
“I heard that it was an idea from the Death Hall King, Jiang An. He’s really ruthless and taught the Decimo Palace Lord a lesson.”
“How interesting.…”
The host of this ranking battle was Bai Zifeng, the Future Hall Lord. When he announced the beginning of the ranking battle, he didn’t introduce any of the guests. There were introductions in the past, but not this time. Perhaps it was because there weren’t any big shots around, or that the dao palace simply just didn’t want to introduce them.
When the ranking battle started, many people looked behind the battlefield, where the Evil Suppression Plaza was located. In that direction stood the towering Evil Suppression Pillar. The spectators could even see the golden names listed on the pillar, and many people were mainly looking at the first ranked Jiang Yu of the Earth Hall, and the tenth ranked Li Tianming of the Future Hall.
……
Located at the Decimo Dao Battlefield’s highest position, there was an ash-colored palace, with many important figures seated within. From their position, the entire Decimo Dao Battlefield could be seen in a panoramic view. The palace was above the audience seating, and everyone who could be there were those with paramount status in the Decimo Dao Palace.
There weren’t many people in the palace, but looking around, they were mostly all elders at the age of a hundred. Among them, the Life Hall King, Situ Qinghe, was the oldest. He was close to a hundred and fifty years old, and judging from the three-hundred-year lifespan of the Saint stage, he would pass his prime in about two or three decades.
Beside him sat three Hall Kings, Bai Mo, Weisheng Yumo, and Qin Jiufu. Slightly further from their seats were five others. They were the West Hall King, Wei Ji, Earth Hall King, Jiang Jianying, Death Hall King, Jiang An, East Hall King, Jiang Xiao, and the North Hall King, Zhao Shenhong. Among them, the Death Hall King, Jiang An, was the fifteenth son of the previous Autarch, while the East Hall King, Jiang Xiao, was the eighteenth son. Autarch Yun was their elder brother, and before he ascended the throne, the two of them were the fifteenth and eighteenth princes.
But now, they had to change their surnames. As for the North Hall King, Zhao Shenhong, he was the Divine Capital’s Grand Marshal. He belonged to the Saint Martial Manor and was a representative of the Theocracy of the Ancients’ military. The Past Hall King was also the deputy pavilion lord of the Dazzling Pavilion, but she wasn’t present today.
One side represented the Theocracy of the Ancients, while the other side represented the Decimo Dao Palace. Both sides were quiet and said nothing. By now, everyone already knew the other party’s purpose, and there was nothing left for them to talk about.
“Jiang Xiao, will thirteenth brother send someone over?” asked the Death Hall King, Jiang An, a tall and cold man. He was nearly a hundred years old, but his eyes were as piercing as a falcon’s.
“Who knows. But he’s currently His Majesty right now. You might get beheaded if you keep calling him thirteenth brother,” said the East Hall King, Jiang Xiao. This person wasn’t young, but he had an elegant air about him. He was probably a casanova when he was younger.
The second he finished talking, someone knocked on the door behind them. It was a man dressed in a black and gold robe. He looked to be roughly in his thirties, judging from his appearance, but his face wasn’t looking very good. When he entered the door, he greeted Jiang An and Jiang Xiao before sitting down by himself.
“Dongyang Fen, did your father instruct you to come over?” Jiang An asked.
“Yeah. He gave me this boring and meaningless task. I’m just here to cheer,” said Dongyang Fen. Since he still retained the surname of Dongyang, that meant he was a direct descendant of Autarch Yun! Because aside from Autarch Yun’s descendants, everyone had to change their surname to Jiang.
“Don’t worry about it. We never expected that your father would establish the ninth as the crown prince. After all, you were his eldest son,” Jiang An said.
Clearly, Dongyang Fen was Autarch Yun’s eldest son. But it was a pity that, after Autarch Yun ascended the throne, he had appointed Dongyang Fen’s ninth brother as the crown prince. After the death of Autarch Qian, Jiang An, Jiang Xiao, and Jiang Jianyin’s husband, the seventh prince, were no longer considered royal princes. Although they were still princes, they couldn’t inherit the throne.
“Cut it out. Don’t let others laugh at us. Are you old foxes trying to comfort me, or mock me? Who knows. But that doesn’t mean anything. Who says that only the crown prince can inherit the throne? Didn’t several crown princes pass away during my grandfather’s reign?” Dongyang Fen laughed and shrugged. His sitting posture was a little sloppy; this was the tradition in Autarch Yun’s lineage.
“Dongyang Fen, your father only instructed you to come here and watch? Nothing else?” asked the East Hall King, Jiang Xiao.
“He’s busy now, catching the traitor. Speaking of which, the traitor isn’t hiding among you, right?” Dongyang Fen laughed.
“What nonsense are you talking about?” The three Hall Kings said indifferently.
“The two of you should find the time to explain to my father personally. Make your stance clear. My father was the rightful heir as decreed by the previous Autarch, personally issued by the Autarch beast. The traitor will die, sooner or later, so why are you just sitting around watching?” Dongyang Fen said.
“Don’t talk anymore. Change that temper of yours. You’re still blabbering even at this age. The Theocrats naturally work for the Autarch, so why do we need to make our stance clear? We’re naturally on His Majesty’s side,” said Jiang An.
“Oh.”
Their conversation was heard by the Future Hall King on the other side. It seemed that Autarch Yun’s focus was still on Dongyang Ling, so he wasn’t paying much attention to Jiang An and the others.
“Dongyang Fen, your father really didn’t say anything?” Jiang An asked in a low voice.
“He did. I brought a backup plan so you won’t lose. Since the dao palace wants to take advantage of this situation, we’ll rip their skin off.” Dongyang Fen rolled his eyes, looking at the Future Hall King’s side; his face was full of disdain.
Jiang An, Jiang Xiao, and Jiang Jianying exchanged a look; they roughly knew what Dongyang Fen meant. After getting confirmation from Dongyang Fen, the confidence in their eyes grew stronger.
……
The ranking battle had already started, and the current challenges were basically all for the two-digit rankings. But as everyone wanted to climb higher in the Earth Ranking, their fights were fairly intense. To be in the top hundred, they needed to be in the second level of the Earth Saint stage, but most of them were in the third level. This signified that every one of them was an incredible talent in the Theocracy. If these people were placed in the Grand-Orient Realm, they could even compete with the elders.
However, no one saw Tianming or Ye Lingfeng. According to the rules, they were required to stay on the Decimo Dao Battlefield. But the reason why they weren’t seen was that the battle didn’t affect them. After all, the others in the top ten hadn’t made their appearances either.
Tianming and Ye Lingfeng were in a secret chamber somewhere on the battlefield. There were many saint crystals piled up, and the spiritual energy in the room was almost liquid. The scene only illustrated one thing: rich.
“It’s been roughly a month since I defeated Wei Wushang. Cultivating in the Saint stage is truly more difficult than the Heavenly Will stage. But the ranking battle will last for fifteen days, and I’m not in a rush to go out, since no one’s challenged me.” Tianming stood by the window and indifferently watched the battlefield. He was now making swift progress, charging forth at maximum horsepower. He had unlocked the Grand-Orient Sword’s second gate when he reached the Saint stage, and now he was studying the black and gold heavenly patterns. Thanks to his black arm, that allowed him to decompose and analyze heavenly patterns, Tianming was making rapid progress.
In his Insightful Eye, the gold and black heavenly patterns converged together and gradually entered Tianming’s consciousness before condensing on his Imperial Will. In a daze, he saw an emperor’s figure, from which Tianming was gaining insight into Imperial Will. Although his progress wasn’t as fast as when he was in the Heavenly Will stage, he still had plenty of time, so he wasn’t in a hurry. After all, he would only lose his way if he rushed.
“Let’s continue. They’re all ranked above me, and they can only wait for me to challenge them. When we fight fully depends on me, so let’s wait until the last day.”