For the Cirrus-Cloud Eagle, one day's travel was fifty thousand kilometers [1]. Compared to an airplane, it was many times faster.
As Gu Zuo stood next to Gongyi Tianheng, he borrowed Tianheng's discharging true qi to obstruct the strong winds that buffeted them from all sides.
On the eagle's head, the Prince Beside the Emperor Cang He stood with his hands clasped behind his back. His whole body seemed like an imposing statue. He carried an extremely calm att.i.tude and had an austere presence.
Following close behind were Cang Yu and Princess Yaomin. The former manifested his true qi to protect his third younger sister.
Everyone stood by quietly.
Under Tianheng's protection, Gu Zuo went to watch the scenery below rather curiously.
At this moment, he only felt the grandeur of the world. The majestic mountains and rivers could really open up one's mental horizons. This kind of feeling was different from when riding on an airplane. At that time, because of the ever-present separation of that metal enclosure, one was unable to personally experience the magnificence between heaven and earth.
In the sky, after a continuous three-day flight, the Cirrus-Cloud Eagle was finally exhausted. Thus, they found a nearby mountaintop to land on and rest a bit. After one night, the Cirrus-Cloud Eagle had hunted its fill and once again started flying.
As such, it rested once every three days. After resting four times, they finally reached their destination.
Up ahead, there was what seemed like a transparent membrane that enshrouded something. The Prince Beside the Emperor grasped a tablet in his hand and threw it out in front of them. That membrane-like thing seemed as if it were gla.s.s as it was shattered by that tablet. An immense hole appeared before them.
The head of the Cirrus-Cloud Eagle was like an arrow as it plunged through and entered. The landscape before their eyes underwent a change again.
It was a very imposing city. The magnitude of its size practically made it a country unto itself. The population within was enormous, and here they lived their lives diligently and attentively. There was a huge palace which stood tall and upright in the city's center. The palace was used to receive the various countries' martial artists who would come every fifty years.
The commoners in the city were just like those of the Tianwu Continent. They knew there were martial artists, that martial artists had realms, and that they practiced martial arts. But they also knew that there would be a great number of envoys who'd come here every fifty years. If they wanted to leave this city, they could only do their best to gain the favor of these envoys. However, once they left, they wouldn't be able to return and see their families unless another fifty years pa.s.sed.
The Cirrus-Cloud Eagle split the air as it arrived. Its wings extended as it flew towards that huge palace.
There was an extremely wide plaza in front of the palace. At this time, besides the Cirrus-Cloud Eagle, there were several other giant wild beasts, which were similarly settling down upon the area.
The figures of martial artists were like lightning as their bodies flashed down.
The qi and blood of each martial artist was extremely strong. It appeared as if their bloodthirst was rising up like smoke from their heads and rising into the skies! It seemed to cause the sky to burn.
Gu Zuo looked all around and could sense that practically every single one of those martial artists were unlike the below average Helian Xingcheng and the others. He even felt that some were especially scary. Their martial strength was certainly very high.
He didn't know if his big brother could defeat them.
Originally, he had absolute faith in Tianheng, but it seemed those people couldn't be underestimated.
On the contrary, Gongyi Tianheng didn't have any particular reaction. His gaze swept across, and his qi energy retracted. He looked like a very ordinary martial artist. If they didn't spar with him, just from his moon-like beauty and slender body, it was basically impossible to know his might.
The Prince Beside the Emperor let the Cirrus-Cloud Eagle loose and had it go outside the city to hunt in a mountain range for this duration. As for himself, Cang He brought this group of martial artists and entered the palace.
Concerning those outside, even if they were martial artists from the same Tianwu Continent, they were martial artists from the other two empires. They were all totally the enemy!
Once they entered the palace, Gu Zuo had his eyes focused on his nose, and his nose pointed toward his chest. He didn't dare raise his head and sneak a few peeks.
This was because he perceived a rampaging suppressive force within the palace that was even stronger than the power outside. He could only follow the crowd and tightly walk next to his dear big brother. Then, they all took their seats in the corner of the great hall, which was for third cla.s.s countries.
From here, one could see that third cla.s.s countries were really weak and puny. In this hall, their statuses were indeed very low. Were it not for the Cangyun Empire being cla.s.sified as relatively powerful among the third cla.s.s countries, then maybe they'd be like the several countries before and would have to sit all the way in the back. At that time, they would've been embarra.s.sed from head to toe just like those people over there right now.
Currently, alcohol was being arranged and brought up one after another. But even though the Prince Beside the Emperor had a majestic presence in the Cangyun Empire, here in this great hall, he still didn't dare act rashly.
Gu Zuo didn't sense any disturbances in the hall. He only knew that many people were arriving in droves. They all took their own seats and nothing improper occurred.
Perhaps it was because the Hundred Countries Tournament was too prestigious. No matter which continent, no matter which country, they all journeyed and arrived on time today. Up to this point, not a single one was late.
And at the highest point above, three people appeared midair.
Their appearance was instantaneous. A powerful and terrible qi energy engulfed the entire great hall in the blink of an eye. It caused the people to sense a feeling of fear welling up from the bottom of their hearts.
The included Xiantian stage nine Prince Beside the Emperor was also similarly unable to move a single step under this suppressive power.
Afterwards, everyone's minds all had the same line of thoughts…
Immortal realm!
These three people were sure to be Immortal realm martial artists!
Gu Zuo had never encountered an Immortal realm martial artist. He only heard about their legends. He knew that they were the entire Tianwu Continent's highest ranked powers, but he only dreamed of knowing specifically how terrible they were.
However, he seemed to understand a little bit now.
When it came to an Immortal realm's power, even if they remained motionless, the release of the tiniest bit of qi energy was capable of preventing a perfect Xiantian martial artist from moving a single finger.
This kind of dread was exactly the same as freezing everything around them!
This sensation made Gu Zuo experience a feeling of deep crisis.
If an Immortal was this difficult to deal with, if this sort of person wanted to hara.s.s him, then was there no way for him to control his own destiny?
He started to subconsciously operate his cultivation method.
Of course, under the pressure of an Immortal realm's power, everyone was terrified. While under that power's suppression, all throughout their bodies, the condensed bone pearls that stockpiled their true qi were basically unable to transport this qi. This caused the enfeeblement in the martial artists.
Gu Zuo should've also been like this.
However, he didn't know why this happened, but when he used his cultivation method, the psychic power in his mind suddenly moved.
Gu Zuo's heart was truly too happy.
He hastily began practicing his psychic power, and the true qi in his body moved in tandem. Very quickly, the qi and blood in his meridians began to circulate again, and his rigid limbs promptly recovered.
Yet he still didn't dare move. He definitely didn't want to give any clues to those Immortal realm martial artists — He also didn't know what their origins were, but there was no need for doubt. Besides his big brother Gongyi Tianheng, there wasn't anyone whom he trusted!
As a result, he certainly couldn't expose his own peculiarities…
Gu Zuo didn't move a muscle, displaying one hundred twenty percent of his acting skills.
What happened was worth rejoicing over. The unreserved auras of those three Immortal realms were merely for the sake of intimidation. It was to force all those people who'd come to partic.i.p.ate in the Hundred Countries Tournament to obey their instructions. On the contrary, there wasn't any invasiveness in their intent, and they didn't mean to deliberately suppress anyone. Thus, not even one minute had pa.s.sed before they withdrew their crushing power.
Once Gu Zuo sensed his body loosening, he felt his spirit returning and breathed deeply.
At this time, his back was drenched in a cold sweat!
Gu Zuo's first reaction was to look at Tianheng.
He thought in his mind, and didn't know how his big brother was feeling.
After which, something strange occurred.
Gu Zuo felt himself apparently hearing Tianheng's reply…
Gongyi Tianheng: Don't worry, Ah Zuo. The crushing power just now didn't make me fall down.
Gu Zuo's eyes abruptly widened.
What, what was going on? He remembered very clearly that Tianheng absolutely didn't speak! Moreover, there were Immortal realms present. He definitely wouldn't dare speak!
Tianheng's voice echoed again: “Don't move, Ah Zuo. Perhaps, it has something to do with your psychic power.
Gu Zuo held his breath, and slowly exhaled.
He remembered that he was too nervous before. He apparently had very intense thoughts, and wanted to ask his dear big brother about his situation…
Tianheng: Ah Zuo, focus your thoughts. Try to speak to me again.
Without the slightest hesitation, Gu Zuo faintly lowered his head to avoid the gazes of other people. Then, he thought in his mind: Big brother, can you hear my words?
Tianheng: I can. Ah Zuo, try severing the connection. Empty your mind.
Gu Zuo did as he was requested. Sure enough, he didn't hear anything afterwards.
At this moment, Gu Zuo was exceedingly shocked. He found it difficult to hold back his joy.
He seemed to understand it a little. His psychic power could apparently transmit thoughts through the air. When his thoughts were especially focused, he could relay them in the direction of his target! At the same time, the words in the mind of the other person could be relayed back to him using his psychic power as a medium. Only when he took the initiative to sever it would the connection end. As a matter of fact, was this a means of close-range, undercover communication? In the future, if he had something secret to tell Tianheng, wouldn't it stay top-secret?
This was truly too convenient!
Although he was “bullied” by those Immortal realm people just now, he unexpectedly discovered such a bonus. Gu Zuo was still very happy. Those insignificant feelings before of being unhappy and stressed had now completely vanished.
Following that, Gu Zuo started pa.s.sing thoughts back and forth with Tianheng. While simultaneously training his proficiency with this skill, he delightfully enjoyed the thrill of “clandestine communications” [2] as in a wuxia novel.
On the side, Gongyi Tianheng let Gu Zuo do as he pleased. So long as Gu Zuo kept his head down, other people wouldn't deliberately take notice of a n.o.body. As for Tianheng himself, his ability to control his facial expressions was extraordinary.
Just like this, under the attention of the three Immortal realm martial artists, Gu Zuo and Gongyi Tianheng pulled the wool over their eyes [3]. They secretly chatted for a while.
It wasn't until after those Immortal realm martial artists were done speaking that Gu Zuo reacted. Just then, Gu Zuo was too excited and completely ignored their speech… But based on his his experience in the previous world, it should've been about the rules about issuing the battles ahead and general mobilization matters.
Tianheng's voice was promptly transmitted: Wait for me to come back, Ah Zuo.
Gu Zuo thought with certainty: Big brother sure can mult.i.task. Truly, too awesome!
During normal times, reading was okay; training was okay; dealing with work was also okay… But at what time was doing it all at once feasible?
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[1] One 里 is about 500 meters. 十万里 is 50,000,000 meters.
[2] 传音入密 - Chuan yin ru mi, a technique common in wuxia novels where one can selectively impart words or sounds that only a few people in an area can hear, which bystanders cannot hear.
[3] 暗度陈仓 - An du chen cang, secretly crossing the Wei River at Chencang. To feign one thing while doing another.
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T/N: 气息 will be retroactively changed from “qi” to “qi energy.”
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