True Martial World - Chapter 215: The Opening of the Ranking Competition

The Divine Wilderness was located to the north of the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom, so the weather there tended to be cold. Today, the polar winds blew, causing a large snow storm throughout the night. A layer of snow built up overnight and it transformed the Tai Ah Divine City into a world of snow.

Just before dawn, while the sky was still dark, Yi Yun walked out of his stone house. Seeing the thick layer of snow reflecting the light from the blue sky, it suffused a layer of light blue gloss.

The blue snow matched with the surrounding unsophisticated stone houses and the cold, metallic city walls gave people a feeling of living in a magical legendary world.

"Dang!"

"Dang!"

"Dang!"

At that moment, sounds came from the arena, which spread throughout the Tai Ah Divine City. It was slow and melodiously long.

It was the bell that indicated the start of the rookie ranking competition. The Tai Ah Divine City's cultivators, especially the rookies, were waiting for the bell to ring.

Many of them had meditated through the night to push their mental state to its optimal state, waiting for their battles!

The cultivators were about to fight their first battles in the Tai Ah Divine City. These battles would determine their futures!

The rookies came out from their various residences and they all formed a flow of people that headed towards the arena.

There were some second and third year veterans who followed the rookies into the arena. They came specifically to watch the rookies' competition.

At every rookie competition, there were always some excellent rookies who stood out. They could enter the top 6000 or even 4000. These people had the ability to pose a threat to the senior cultivators who had been in the Tai Ah Divine City for 3-4 years.

Hence, many of them wanted to see who the formidable ones from this batch of rookies were, the ones that were worthy of their attention.

"I heard that for this rookie ranking competition, the divine city has increased the rewards. Whoever is able to enter the top 8000 will receive dragon scale runes as a reward. If they can enter the top 6000, the reward will be doubled. Furthermore, the top ranker amongst the rookies will obtain a glory point and they will also be awarded with cultivation opportunities in the Sword Scar Palace and Sage Temple!"

Amongst the people, some of the rookies who were more informed about the rewards, mentioned what they had heard. The Tai Ah Divine City had not officially announced these rewards, but the officials had already decided on them.

"Sword Scar Palace? Sage Temple? And a glory point? Tsk!"

When many rookies heard this, their mouth watered. But they knew that they basically had no chance at these rewards.

This year's rewards were exceptionally good, as the upper echelons of the Tai Ah Divine City felt that this batch of rookies was not bad; so they increased the reward ratio.

For example, Chu Xiaoran and Qiuniu were hopeful candidates to enter the top 1000 within a year. To have two such figures in a year was absolutely amazing.

Many people were looking forward to Chu Xiaoran and Qiuniu's battle.

Yi Yun was mixed into the crowd as he listened to people talk.

He did not say anything, but no matter where he went, he was like a firefly in the dark night. He was extremely eye-catching and everyone he met on the street looked at him.

"See that guy? He's a fierce figure amongst the rookies. He alone got into trouble with the entire Hongdao Association!"

Everyone looked over. Seeing Yi Yun in linen clothes with an extremely long blade behind him. His hands were in his pockets as he slowly strolled towards the arena. From this, it looked like Yi Yun was just heading to the cook house for breakfast and he was in no way nervous or worried.

At that moment, people were secretly horrified.

Ridiculous!

To be declared war on by so many people, yet he didn't care about it.

Not only that, the kid's attitude had already reached a point of invincibility and he was invulnerable to anything.

"He's a true fighter!" Some people sighed. Many were impressed by Yi Yun.

In this batch of first year recruits, Yi Yun's name was widely known. All the major events such as capturing a primordial herb, breaking a record, embarrassing the Hongdao Association were all related to Yi Yun!

If this sort of person wasn't a fighter, what was he?

About fifteen minutes later, people from all around the Tai Ah Divine City slowly gathered in the arena.

The Tai Ah Divine City's arena was a huge circular building which was tens of storeys high.

There were twelve main entrances to the arena. In the middle were 9 stages. Eight smaller stages surrounded a central big stage.

Around the stages were rows of weapon racks.

These racks had a variety of sabers, swords, spears, halberds, polearms, bow, whips...

All of the eighteen types of weapons were present!

Although the quality of these weapons were not the best, they were uncommon. They were all crafted in the Tai Ah Divine City's forging workshops and they were crafted by many of the cultivators.

Of course, the cultivators who could place their products on the arena were amongst the best.

However, warriors in the arena would typically not choose the weapons on the racks as they would prefer to use their own weapons.

About 20 meters away from the weapon racks, there was a viewing stand.

This stand had multiple layers and it could easily hold 20,000 people. Each viewing stand was vast and the seats were also very comfortable.

The arena was always the spot in the Tai Ah Divine City that had the most number of people. Many of the experts in the Tai Ah Divine City would gather here to fight. The more participants there were, the bigger the audience.

Many cultivators also came to watch others fight. From the duels of experts, they could gain some experience. To the warriors, this could be very beneficial.

With 2000 rookies and over a thousand senior cultivators, along with the staff, there were not more than 4000 people. Even after they entered the arena, the entire arena was still relatively empty. It was very easy for the arena to hold 4000 people.

"Are you all here!?" When Yi Yun came to his spot, he heard a voice. It was Baldy Qin!

As Yi Yun's, Zhou Kui's and company's instructor, Baldy Qin certainly couldn't be absent for these recruits' first battles.

"Make sure you focus on your battles. Whether you are a mule or a horse, we will know once it begins. Internally, our training can be anything, but in public, none of you are to throw my face! Understand!?" Baldy Qin's opening speech was extremely simple.

Zhou Kui and company shouted loudly, "Understood!"

"Good!" Baldy Qin nodded.

He looked at Yi Yun with a meaningful glance, "Kid, you sure are good!"

Yi Yun replied with a salute and replied simply, "Reporting to the Instructor, I am doing well."

"Ha! Great morale! Even if they were to do a tag-team battle, you must make it big for our Jing state recruit camp. Kill them all!" Baldy Qin hit Yi Yun on the shoulder with force. With a loud thud, the ground under Yi Yun trembled.

The youths around were secretly horrified. This slap could easily kill an elephant. But Yi Yun could withstand it without flinching.

"Yes, Instructor!" Yi Yun gave a resounding response.

Baldy Qin was satisfied. "Heard that? Don't think they are that strong just because they are ranked further ahead of you. Raise your spirits. Even if you were to be beaten down in the arena, you must also pull them down with you!"

Baldy Qin cheered on the recruits. At that moment, a law-enforcer from the central divine tower appeared in the central stage and gave his opening speech.

His opening speech was simple. He announced the rules of the competition and the ranking system. After announcing the final rewards, he declared the beginning of the ranking competition!

"Dang!"

The gong represented the beginning of the competition. After another strike of the gong, many of the recruits held their breaths.

Their first battle in the Tai Ah Divine City would be done in the presence of so many people. It included all the elites from all over the kingdom, their instructors and the law-enforcers!

It also included their family clans, who used various channels to watch their competition.

Under such circumstances, it was impossible for them to not be tense.

"The ranking numbers I announce will go on stage to compete!"

"Qian stage, 11,810, Zhong Han! 12,007, Bai Mingyuan!"

"Kun stage, 11,642, Liu Heyu! 12050, Jiang Deyuan!"

"Zhen stage..."

...

A referee in charge of the competition began reading out the name list.

Everyone had their own corresponding ranking number.

Those who ranked towards the back would compete in the eight small stages. The eight smaller stages were placed according to the Bagua's eight trigrams, they were called, "Qian, Kun, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Li, Gen and Dui".

Those who ranked farther ahead would be in the central stage!

This stage's name was the Divine Wilderness Stage!

The Divine Wilderness Stage was not a place ordinary people had the opportunity to enter.

"Divine Wilderness Stage, 10,003, Yi Yun! 10,750, Feng Hai!"

The boisterous voice of the referee resounded through the arena.

“Oh? It's already my turn?” Yi Yun was surprised. He thought he would have to wait a little longer before it would be his turn. He did not expect that his name would be called the moment he entered the arena.

It was understandable though, since so many people wanted to challenge him. He had to fight twelve matches a day. The referees must have taken this into consideration to let him begin early, so that his battles could be spread out. By extending the time between his battles, he could regain some stamina.

"Haha! It's already my turn!" A tall youth excitedly jumped up from the Hongdao Association's side. He was one of the Four Bully Lords and his name was Feng Hai.

He too did not expect that he would be the first to go on-stage. Furthermore, it was on the central Divine Wilderness Stage!

It was cool!

Yi Yun and Feng Hai's match no doubt attracted the attention of the entire audience!

True Martial World - Chapter 214: Betting all one’s wealth

The rookie Earth ranking competition was the first battle for this batch of rookies in the Tai Ah Divine City.

People treated this, as it was their first public display in the Tai Ah Divine City, very seriously. All of them wanted to stand out!

All these proud children of Heaven came from all over the Kingdom. Many of them were arrogant; although many faced setbacks when they first entered the Tai Ah Divine City, they quickly regained their confidence.

Especially in the past few months of training, these rookies had all improved, and they wanted to showcase their abilities!

At that moment, the rookie registration had begun . This batch of rookies were declaring who they wanted to compete with in their first battle. After they succeeded, they would receive a corresponding nameplate token.

When Yi Yun's nameplate appeared, many people were trying to grab it.

But at that moment, the advantage of a society could be seen. As the biggest society amongst the rookies, the Hongdao Association easily received Yi Yun's nameplate.

"Who's sick of living? To dare snatch it away from me!"

The Four Bully Lords' tall guy stepped on a stool with one foot and, with a shiny dagger in hand, faced the crowd.

"Pa!"

A nameplate fell into the tall guy's hand. This was Yi Yun's challenge nameplate.

It was not easy for others to compete for it when in front of a society.

"You bunch of people, don't gather here to waste your opportunity. Do you know how much that kid Yi Yun is worth? How many of you can take out 500 dragon scale runes? You dare to bet with that amount?" A Chief of the Hongdao Association said loudly. To the rookies, 500 dragon scale runes was a huge sum.

Indeed, many of them could not afford it.

But for Yi Yun, with his wealth amounting to tens of thousands dragon scale runes, a few hundred dragon scale runes was nothing to him.

As people were in a heated verbal exchange, someone suddenly said, "Hey, isn't that kid Yi Yun…?"

These words immediately attracted the attention of many. Everyone looked over and saw that at the entrance to the hall, a youth in linen clothes was leaning on a wooden railing, looking at the ongoings with interest.

This youth had bright eyes and distinct facial features. His face had a tinge of childishness. Who else was it but Yi Yun!

"It's really that kid!"

The people from the Hongdao Association naturally recognized Yi Yun.

"The rookie competition is beginning soon and we are all waiting for this kid! Looking at him, he doesn't seem worried at all."

Many began discussing. Yi Yun stood upright and greeted the Hongdao Association's people with a smile.

Seeing this scene, many turned speechless. Did Yi Yun not know the vendetta the Hongdao Association had with him? Seeing how he even greeted them, they wondered if this kid knew what the Hongdao Association was going to do? It was as if all that was happening in front of him had nothing to do with him.

"Everyone, have you amassed your betting amounts?"

Yi Yun looked towards the Hongdao Association's Four Bully Lords and the Chiefs, and asked, “Betting amounts? Hehe!" Someone laughed saying, "Of course we have prepared the betting amounts. For you, we have amassed a large amount of dragon scale runes to gamble with in the fights with you. It's at least 800 dragon scale runes a round. This amount might stun others, making us feel bad announcing it."

When the person from the Hongdao Association said this, many people gasped. 800 dragon scale runes a match! Many rookies had to work hard to earn 800 dragon scale runes for more than a month. But now, that amount would be over in one match!

They realized that many amongst them did not have the right to fight with Yi Yun as they could not afford it.

Besides, Yi Yun was not a pushover. Many of them had gathered here, but in reality, they did not have much confidence in facing Yi Yun. Betting 800 was too much.

When faced with the number 800, Yi Yun clearly lacked interest. He shook his head saying, "800 dragon scale runes a match? To think you have the nerve to say that. You guys are so poor. I even saw quite a number of you going to the bank to pawn items, but why do you only have these small amounts of dragon scale runes?"

Yi Yun said sarcastically. Zhou Kui and Song Zijun who were behind him became dumbfounded upon hearing this. They only accompanied Yi Yun to watch. They thought Yi Yun was simply here to check out the competition, so that he wouldn't lose too badly when he really fought in the arena.

But they never expected that Yi Yun would immediately slap the Hongdao Association in the face. Not only did he ridicule them as being poor, he even mentioned that these young masters had gone to the bank to pawn items!

To these "respected" young masters from family clans, pawning items was definitely not something to be proud of. The shamefulness was just slightly better than borrowing from an usury.

Did Yi Yun feel like he wasn’t hated enough? He was practically asking to be hit.

As expected, the members of the Hongdao Association became enraged. If it was not for this being in public, they would have immediately attacked.

"Kid, don't boast so much. Did you not go to the bank to borrow from the usury!?"

Yi Yun said nonchalantly, "That's right. I just borrowed a tiny bit. It was just a small amount of 5000. I thought I would not have enough dragon scale runes, but now I realized that I was over worried. I have about 40,000 dragon scale runes, but you guys are betting 800 a match. When can you exhaust it all?"

"At my level, it's pretty easy to earn dragon scale runes. It's just a number after all." Yi Yun said it lightly. Over the past few days, he had accumulated more than 40,000 dragon scale runes from picking herbs. But by saying it this way, even Song Zijun and Zhou Kui, let alone the Hongdao Association members felt that Yi Yun was asking to be beaten.

He was practically trying to stir their hate for him. He was just short of saying, "Come beat me up."

Many of the Hongdao Association members were hot-blooded youths. It was easy for them to get upset, but now, with Yi Yun's instigation, many wished that they could fight it out with Yi Yun right there and then!

The eldest among the Four Bully Lords reached out and took out his interspatial ring. He placed it on the table and bit his teeth, "I'll bet a thousand dragon scale runes and this ring!"

"Interspatial ring!"

Someone blurted out but quickly corrected himself, "It's the Gongsun family's manufactured Earth-ranked interspatial ring. It's not easy to purchase it!"

Many watched this with horror. An interspatial equipment was originally expensive, but it being produced the Gongsun family made its price even higher.

An interspatial ring was a luxurious item. But to many warriors, especially those who went out to hunt desolate beasts, this was a very valuable piece of equipment. It could store various battle necessities like weapons, arrows, supplements, protective charms, etc.

Expensive desolate beast material could also be stored within the interspatial ring.

In the Tai Ah Divine City's Ten Thousand Pagoda, there were interspatial rings for sale. But even the interspatial ring with the smallest space was worth more than 2000 dragon scale runes. A better one would cost tens of thousands of dragon scale runes. There were those that cost more than 100,000 dragon scale runes.

But typical Tai Ah Divine City cultivators would seldom buy an interspatial ring from the Ten Thousand Pagoda as there were many uses for dragon scale runes. It was too wasteful to use it to buy a ring. Most of their interspatial rings were brought from their own families.

Those families who could equip their young with interspatial rings were powerful families. A large number of cultivators who came to the Tai Ah Divine City did not have interspatial rings. What's more, the one taken out by the Four Bully Lords was a high quality interspatial ring.

Yi Yun scanned the ring and was satisfied.

These Four Bully Lords sure were nice. He was just lacking an interspatial ring, and they sent one over to him.

When Yi Yun previously said that dragon scale runes was just a number to him, he was deliberately exaggerating to anger the Hongdao Association. There was no worry over having too many dragon scale runes, no matter how many one had.

The Tai Ah Divine City had plenty of resources that needed a massive amount of dragon scale runes to purchase.

Just Yi Yun's saber skills were crude and needed to be improved urgently.

If Yi Yun planned to train in the Desolate Heaven technique, those dragon scale runes would be spent just like flowing water.

Yi Yun's 40,000 dragon scale runes were really nothing if he wanted to spend them.

"Any other larger bets?" Yi Yun was secretly satisfied with the Earth ranked interspatial ring, but he faked an expression as if the ring barely made his minimum requirements. This undoubtedly offended many again.

The Four Bully Lords always stood together. They quickly took off their interspatial rings and placed the rings on the table one by one.

This bet included 4 rings!

4 rings could be all worn together. As a result, the space would be greater. If not, Yi Yun could always exchange all of them for a better interspatial ring. This bet was pretty tempting!

Under Yi Yun's provocation, the Hongdao Association members began to increase the stakes. As a result, this round of rookie competitions became more heated! This competition was destined to make great waves amongst the rookie circles!

...

Time passed, and the rookie ranking competition had finally begun!

To the rookies, this was a critical battle. This battle could largely decide a rookie's future success in the Tai Ah Divine City!

Those who rose up high on the Earth rankings would often stay high. In the coming years, whether it was the Heaven or Earth ranking, they would often rank at the top, becoming a prominent person. Hence, every time there was a rookie ranking competition, large factions would pay attention to it. There was no exception this time.

The Tai Ah Divine City seldom allowed unauthorized people to enter. But some of the administrators in the divine city had ties with the various large factions. In fact, some of them came from those large factions, so much of the news happening within the Tai Ah Divine City would be known first hand by the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom's factions.

The various factions’ main focus was naturally Chu Xiaoran and Qiuniu.

These two people were the daughter of a Defending Duke and the top son of a reclusive family clan. It was even possible for them to enter the top 1000 of the Heaven or Earth rolls within one year!

This was an impressive achievement. Besides the two, Yi Yun was also paid attention by a number of factions out of convenience. The main reason was because Yi Yun had earned a large sum of dragon scale runes from picking herbs, that resulted in him being challenged by a large group of people.

This was an interesting matter in the holding of the rookie ranking competition. Of course, it was just an interesting matter. A youth with special talent at picking herbs was a talent, but it did not mean he was worth the effort to be recruited and nurtured by these large factions.

True Martial World - Chapter 213: Rookie Rankings

Ever since Yi Yun broke the record, he led a quiet life. He still went to the herb mountain #60 to pick herbs, and to practice the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique'.

Yi Yun passed his thirteenth birthday during this period. Although his face still looked a bit childish, but after practicing martial arts for some time now, his body had begun to slowly grow. He was now a handsome young man.

It was still ten days away from the rookie rankings competition!

Yi Yun had complete control over his Radiant Sun Qi. He had also completed his foundation in the first level of the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique'.

"Yi Yun, the rookie competition's rankings are out!"

When Yi Yun was eating dinner, Song Zijun and Zhou Kui came to find him.

Song Zijun and Zhou Kui could be considered to be under the same tutelage as Yi Yun. All of them came from the Jing state and the nearby states, together with Baldy Qin, to the Tai Ah Divine City. Although Zhou Kui and Yi Yun had some falling out and competition earlier, it was now a thing of the past. After the Hongdao Association singled out Yi Yun, Zhou Kui felt conscience-stricken. Besides, during the rookie ranking competition, they would be part of the same team; hence, their relations had to be closer, and they had to help one another.

"Oh? What rankings are you talking about?" Yi Yun raised his head without understanding much.

"The rookies' rankings. Before the rookie competition, all of us rookies will be given an approximate ranking. Later, we will be fighting according to our ranks. The people ranked towards the back can challenge the people ranked in the front, and the people ranked in front cannot refuse the challenge. Of course, both sides have to place a bet."

"In contrast, the people in front can also challenge the people at the back, but the opposite party can refuse. And there's not much benefit to it; hence, that seldom happens.” Zhou Kui explained. He had been looking at the rookie rankings for a long time. He had always wanted to know what his ranking would be. Although this ranking was decided by the Tai Ah Divine City's administration and was not a complete reflection of a person's strength, it also decided on a person's potential. It was also a matter of face.

Anyone would wish for their rank to be high, despite the fact that being ranked higher meant they had to fight more.

"Oh, so it's that ranking. What's my ranking?"

Yi Yun carried on eating his meat, clearly uninterested in the rankings.

When Song Zijun and Zhou Kui saw Yi Yun's behavior, they were speechless. This Yi Yun was too magnanimous. Did he not know how many people were eyeing him!

"Your ranking is 10,003." Zhou Kui looked at Yi Yun with sympathy.

"10,003? What does it mean?" Yi Yun did not understand immediately.

"Actually it means third place. According to rules, the rookie rankings competition will begin from 10,000 onwards. The first place will be 10,001, second 10,002, so you are in third place!"

The elites in the Divine Kingdom would train in the Tai Ah Divine City for six consecutive years. Each batch was approximately 2000 people. Counting the sum of the first five batches, it typically exceeded 10,000. With the rookies' first place starting from 10,000 onwards, some veterans will end up being interspersed among the rankings past 10,000.

For the veterans to be ranked among the recruits, it was a very shameful thing to them.

"Third place...This ranking is pretty good." Yi Yun was very pleased, but he knew that his earned dragon scale runes accounted largely to the rankings. His dragon scale runes earnings were definitely first in the Tai Ah Divine City amongst the rookies. As a result, being third place was reasonable.

Hearing Yi Yun's words, Song Zijun and Zhou Kui were speechless. Being third place was just "pretty good"?

Also, did Yi Yun not know what he was facing? Fire was burning at his doorstep, yet he was eating his meat delightfully!

Zhou Kui said, "Yi Yun, do you know what my ranking is?"

"Oh? What is it?" Yi Yun asked.

"11,523! This is the overall ranking. If it's just among the 2000 rookies, I'm approximately ranked around 1100. The additional 400 people are the veterans who did not enter the top 10,000."

"In the past three months of rookie training, I had given my all, and only barely entered the middle ranks. Brother Zijun and some of my Xuanwu Army brothers are ranked even further back."

"Many of those who entered the first 1000 are from the Zhong state, the imperial city or reclusive family clans. Many reputable and ridiculous people are all ranked behind you!"

Zhou Kui explained to Yi Yun what it meant to be ranked third.

Ignoring the reclusive family clans that could probably match the royal family, just the family clans in the imperial city were far from what the Jing state family clans could match.

As the saying goes, "You don't know how small your title is until you go to the capital". Nobles in the Divine Kingdom's imperial city may be in charge of some tiny offices and their fiefs may not be big, but when compared to other local places, they could be in charge of a middle-sized city!

Of course, the local family clans had no way of competing with the imperial city for resources and bloodlines.

Those with strong bloodlines and a strong family clan foundation would often move closer to the imperial city. Ignoring the imperial city's resources, just from the fact that their younger generations could marry the members from the imperial city's large family clans made their own family clan's bloodline better.

"Brother Yi, you sure became a bigwig. I know a brother whose father is a marquis. He's considered pretty good within his family clan, but he's only ranked around 200 amongst the rookies. Also, there are two grandsons of the Xuanwu Army's Marshal who is in the same batch as us. Their rankings are around 300. Now do you know what it means to be ranked third..."

"I see..." Yi Yun wiped the oil off his mouth. It sounded really exaggerated.

There were too many family clans in the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom. Every family clan had a huge number of sons and grandsons. Not only was it difficult to charge up the Tai Ah Divine City's overall rankings, even to rank high among the 2000 over rookies was not an easy task.

"That's why! Many people are eyeing you! And the two people ahead of you, one of them is Qiuniu, and the other is Chu Xiaoran! One of them was born with supernatural strength, and the other has extraordinary perceptivity! You may not know that when many of us were doing odd jobs, Qiuniu and Chu Xiaoran already went into the Divine Wilderness to hunt desolate beasts. They even have a ranking on the Heaven roll of honor now! That is why they are ranked first and second!"

"Qiuniu and Chu Xiaoran are taking this opportunity to charge up the Earth rankings. I have no idea how far they will go. They might even reach the 3000-4000 ranking!"

After the rookie rankings were decided, Qiuniu and Chu Xiaoran who were at the top could be challenged by others behind them, but at the same time, they had the right to challenge more senior cultivators in the rankings ahead of them.

Challenging someone also meant betting. To see how far they could go, it depended on their own skills.

Baldy Qin had previously said that whichever rookie could enter the top 1000 of the Heaven or Earth roll within a year would receive the attention of various large factions in the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom.

Yi Yun and his batch of rookies had entered the Tai Ah Divine City three months ago. If he wanted to enter the top 1000 within a year, then entering the top 3000-4000 now would not be considered too great an exaggeration!

"Qiuniu, Chu Xiaoran..." Yi Yun pondered slightly. These two people had the capability to enter the Divine Wilderness to hunt desolate beasts while others were doing odd jobs. Indeed, they had the ability, or they would not be ranked first and second.

Yi Yun did not know how far he could rise up the Earth ranking at that moment.

"Brother Yi, nobody dares to touch Qiuniu and Chu Xiaoran. So now, everybody is eyeing you. You have become extremely famous among the rookies in the Tai Ah Divine City! Everyone knows that you are overflowing with wealth. And according to the rules, you were ranked third largely not due to your strength. It was all due to you earning too many dragon scale runes. You picking the primordial herb and breaking the herb-picking record have made many people jealous!"

"Many people are disgruntled by the fact that you are ranked so far ahead. With your wealth, many people are eyeing it and want to take a bite off your flesh, and that doesn't only include the Hongdao Association!"

"But the Hongdao Association has already made it clear that no one is to challenge you without their permission. If anyone does so, they would be snatching business from the Hongdao Association, and the Hongdao Association will make sure to get even with them, so this has discouraged many. It could be said to be a blessing in disguise..."

Song Zijun said with a wry smile. Clearly, the words "blessing in disguise" was satirical.

When Yi Yun heard this, he rubbed his chin, "Snatching business? Using this term means they are treating me as fish meat put onto a cutting board."

Zhou Kui said, "Brother Yi, the first round of registrations for the battles are beginning soon. Each day is limited to 12 battles. Your nameplate has been eyed by many, so they would all begin snatching for it at the beginning. You will likely have to fight 12 matches a day for three consecutive days!"

"You might not know, but the Hongdao Association have even begun taking bets on how many matches you can last. I think the first few opponents will be the Hongdao Association's Four Bully Lords. They are ranked in the top few hundred amongst the rookies. While I was forging, I met one of them. Their reputation in the capital is much greater than mine."

"Four Bully Lords?"

Yi Yun thought about the rare tall, short, fat, thin combination he saw in the pawnshop. These guys were at least nice, to pawn all their assets to gamble with him.

"Brother Yi, I bought the bet that you can complete more than ten rounds."

Song Zijun patted Yi Yun on the shoulder as he said that to show his support.

Actually, Song Zijun, Zhou Kui and the youths that came with them from the Jing state knew Yi Yun was strong. Even without dragon scale runes, Yi Yun could get a high ranking just from his strength.

The crux of the problem was he might not be able to last through a tag-team battle.

And Yi Yun's third place was too ridiculous. Those rookies among the top 50 were all formidable people!

Some of them could even charge into the top 4000 in the Earth rankings.

"Thank you!" Yi Yun cupped his hands. "Where's the registration going on? I want to see it when the registration officially begins."

He had a limited number of fights a day. He could not just fight with any Tom, Dick or Harry. They had to have some quality, uh… actually, they had to have a sufficient amount of dragon scale runes.

If not, wouldn’t it be a waste of a battle?

True Martial World - Chapter 212: Maid Servant Dong’er

The little loli who ran in had not grown up yet. She looked even smaller than Yi Yun. She wore a loose dress and because it was inconvenient to run in it, she used her two tiny hands to clutch her skirt while running. The bangs on her forehead bounced as she ran.

Luo Huo'er immediately wrinkled her cute pair of small eyebrows, "What's the panic? Seriously, shouting over some matter. Lady-like! Do you know what it means to be lady-like?"

Luo Huo'er pointed at the young girl's head without any reservations. With her lecture, the young girl's forehead turned red.

The young girl said in a very wronged manner, "Miss, Dong’er knows."

This young girl was Luo Huo'er's servant girl. Amazingly, Luo Huo'er actually brought a servant girl when she entered the Tai Ah Divine City. Others, even people from the royal family like Yang Qian did not bring an imperial maid or a eunuch with them.

"Tell me, what's the big deal? Is the Mimi you are rearing not eating again?"

Mimi was Dong'er and Luo Huo'er's cat. Not only did Luo Huo'er bring a servant girl with her into the Tai Ah Divine City, she also brought a cat.

"Uh… no." Dong'er shook her head like a rattle. She had a cute mushroom hairstyle, and with this shake of her head, her silky hair flew up. "Missus, some… someone has broken a record."

"Broken a record…" Luo Huo'er was stunned for a while, "You said broken a record!? Who broke it?"

Luo Huo'er widened her already excessively large eyes.

Was something wrong? No record had been broken in the Tai Ah Divine City in a few thousand years! She was just about to break one, but someone had beaten her to it. How could there be such a coincidence!?

"Yes… Yes, that person is called Yi Yun. He broke the herb-picking record. I think he's 12-13 years old."

"Yi Yun? The brat who got lucky and picked a primordial herb?" Luo Huo'er had previously heard of Yi Yun picking the Heaven Purple Yang Ginseng that failed to survive a calamity.

She was very jealous of Yi Yun's luck. Why didn't she pick it? With the Heaven Purple Yang Ginseng, she could use it to practice. It was a primordial herb and she had never refined a primordial herb into a drug before.

It was unexpected that just a few days later, Yi Yun had broken the herb-picking record.

Luo Huo'er was extremely pissed. If she broke a record after Yi Yun, it wouldn't be as impressive.

"He was cheating. He earned a lot of dragon scale runes from picking the primordial herb. This herb was probably more than half of the record!"

Luo Huo'er ground her teeth as she felt disgruntled.

She was supposed to be the first, but now Yi Yun broke the record purely due to good luck. Besides, how could a herb-picking record compare to a Desolate Heaven technique record?

The Desolate Heaven technique record was a big record, and its rewards were excellent! Not only would it be regarded highly by the upper echelon of the Tai Ah Divine City, once it was broken, one could leave one's name on Sage Avenue and even stir up the entire Tai Ah Divine Kingdom.

As for picking herbs… That was practically the worst record in the Tai Ah Divine City. The person who designed that record probably did it out of a whim. The rewards were also pathetic.

How could the herb-picking record compare with the Desolate Heaven technique record? They were far from being on the same level! But, both of them had the same term of "breaking a record".

This was unfair! What right did one have to say "breaking a record" by picking herbs?

"Forget it, I won't stoop down so low as to compare mine with such a low-level record." Luo Huo'er consoled herself and slowly calmed herself.

"Right, Missus. Yi Yun offended the Hongdao Association. In the upcoming rookie competition, the Hongdao Association will be specifically 'taking care' of Yi Yun. It seems all of them want to fight Yi Yun…"

Dong'er told her another piece of information.

However, Luo Huo’er was uninterested in this piece of information. "Hongdao Association? An organization formed by a bunch of brats only. Brats fighting against brats is something compatible."

Luo Huo'er was completely uninterested in the arena level Yi Yun was involved in. What standard could they have?

In fact, Luo Huo'er was not ranked high on the Heaven and Earth rankings, only in the Man rankings was she ranked first.

A person had limited energy and time. Luo Huo'er spent most of her time practicing the Desolate Heaven technique and alchemy. As a result, she seldom went out to hunt desolate beasts, so her ranking on the Heaven roll of honor was very low.

As for the arena battles, Luo Huo'er never participated in it after the rookie rankings. Her reason was, "It is irritating to always be challenged."

…

After the news of Yi Yun breaking the herb-picking record spread, the Hongdao Association naturally learned of it.

Regarding this, the Hongdao Association was very happy. Picking herbs did not depend on strength. There was no use breaking the herb picking record. The biggest benefit was that Yi Yun was rich again, allowing them the opportunity to win even more dragon scale runes.

They had already heard that Yi Yun received a one-time award of 25,000 dragon scale runes and 2 glory points from breaking the herb-picking record.

Added with the amount Yi Yun earned from picking herbs, and the amount he borrowed from the usury, a conservative estimate of Yi Yun's wealth was above 35,000 dragon scale runes!

This large sum of wealth made everyone envious!

As a result, many of the new members of the Hongdao Association, especially those rich young masters from the capital, rushed to the bank to pawn all of their belongings in exchange for dragon scale runes. They were waiting for the rookie ranking competition to bet with Yi Yun.

The Hongdao Association even opened a special leadership meeting to decide on the order in battling Yi Yun. As for the Capital's Four Bully Lords, being seniors among the capital's circle, and with their relations with Li Hong, they easily became the first four.

They were the first to fight with Yi Yun.

Hence, the Four Bully Lords were overjoyed.

"Hahaha, thank you to everyone. Thank you for offering this opportunity to us. In the future, if you ever need any of our help, we will never refuse!"

The Four Bully Lords smiled and cupped their hands as if they were celebrating their victory parade.

Someone shouted, "Brothers, don't go too far. If you cripple Yi Yun, the judge might decide that Yi Yun is not fit for battle, then we won't have a chance to fight later on."

"Haha! Don't worry. We will control our beatings, making sure that he gets beaten up badly without affecting his later battles."

The Four Bully Lords felt some regret for not being able to heartily beat up Yi Yun.

At that moment, Li Hong, who was sitting in the seat of honor, said, "You guys be careful too. Don't fail miserably in this very easy task. This kid has some skill. He has gone to the Wilderness Divine Hall many times recently, and has spent quite a considerable amount of dragon scale runes in doing so."

Ever since Li Hong became enemies with Yi Yun, he had paid close attention to Yi Yun. He had spies in places like the Wilderness Divine Hall, so Li Hong knew much of Yi Yun’s recent actions.

"Wilderness Divine Hall? Many times? That kid!" The Four Bully Lords were stunned when they heard this. They were suddenly infuriated. It was as if a beautiful goddess that was within sight but beyond reach was now being pressed onto a bed for Yi Yun's whims.

Fatty among the Four Bully Lords said in a grudging way, "A place like the Wilderness Divine Hall is just to use the primordial strain's pressure to compress a person’s Qi and blood. It's a waste going there often! This kid has lots of dragon scale runes, yet he spends it wastefully. I hate him. We had to work very hard for many days just to earn a bit of dragon scale runes!"

"Right, we haven't even entered the Wilderness Divine Hall a second time yet! We haven't gone to the Sword Scar Palace either. We can't buy most of the items in the Ten Thousand Pagoda as well. Yet with a bit of luck, this kid is wastefully spending resources. It's such a huge waste of treasures! These resources should belong to us!"

Seeing the Four Bully Lords rage, someone in the Hongdao Association said, "The Tai Ah Divine City is a place where strength matters. Relying on luck without strength is not the way to success. You are right. These resources are rightfully ours. We just need to grab them from him!"

"Right, grab them from him!" The Four Bully Lords echoed, agreeing to it.

But Li Hong said, "Besides going to the Wilderness Divine Hall many times, I have news that Yi Yun used the Heaven Purple Yang Ginseng reward back then to exchange for the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique'."

"The Tai Ah Sacred Technique!?"

Li Hong's words set off another huge storm at the venue. The Four Bully Lords felt a surge of blood to their heads. They were enraged.

All of the good stuff had gone to the pigs!

Yi Yun a bumpkin from the Cloud Wilderness, and he actually exchanged for the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique'! What gave him the right to learn this cultivation technique?

"The 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique'… What a joke. Only one in five geniuses can learn this cultivation technique and obtain Radiant Sun Qi. Those are geniuses! Even geniuses have such a low probability learning it! It really boils my blood. How can the Tai Ah Divine City's Elder give the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique' to such a person? It's really an insult to the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique'!"

The Four Bully Lords were extremely pissed. They too wanted to learn the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique'!

Although the probability of learning it was low, they too had some hope that they were lucky. If they were to learn it, their life would become completely different!

It could make their family members see them in a different light. They could walk proudly amongst the young master circles in the capital.

Those famous beauties in the capital would stick to them, actively trying to get close to them.

When that happened, wouldn't they be able to pick and choose?

"F**k, if I learn the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique', Zhang Xinlian, that b***h, would not dare reject me. She would even obediently climb into my bed!"

The Four Bully Lords' Lofty was unhappy and said the thoughts buried deep within his heart. Back then, he had been rejected by Zhang Xinlian and bore a grudge as a result. He couldn't wait to tear off the arrogant Zhang Xinlian's clothes and devastate her body.

All of them wanted to try learning the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique', but the cost of trying it was too high. They had no way of affording it!

They did not even have the chance to try, yet Yi Yun had wasted it. It was obvious how they felt.

"Yi Yun, this bumpkin, wants to learn the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique'. He sure is a toad lusting after swan meat!"

"Right… Right!"

The eldest among the Capital's Four Bully Lords, Fatty suddenly slapped his thigh. He thought of something which made him extremely excited. He even said words with a tremble, "You guys, say… Is it possible… to get Yi Yun to bet the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique'!?"

When Fatty said it, everyone immediately quietened down.

Using the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique' as a bet!? This proposal made everyone shocked. But one by one, they became excited. Maybe… there was a possibility?

True Martial World - Chapter 211: The power of the Radiant Sun

The sun was blazing high up in the sky.

In a clearing in the woods, Yi Yun stood upright in his linen clothes. His left hand was hanging down, while his right hand held the Thousand Army Saber in a stretched out manner. The blade was parallel to the ground. The saber, that was seven feet two inches long, did not tremble at all. If a bowl full of water was placed on the blade tip, no water would spill out.

Yi Yun maintained this posture for 15 minutes. Standing motionless, he was like a statue.

While Yi Yun stayed motionless, Yi Yun's body was circulating a tremendous amount of energy, the Radiant Sun Qi was surging like a tsunami.

It was noon and this was the time when the Radiant Sun Qi was most intense.

At that moment, the sun in the sky moved in a tiny angle, this made the shadows move slightly. The blade of the Thousand Army Saber exited from the shade and it reflected the glare of the sun, sending off a blinding white flash.

In that split moment, Yi Yun moved!

"Boom!"

The Radiant Sun Qi erupted from Yi Yun's body, like lava erupting from a volcano. Yi Yun's body drew out a series of shadows and he charged at a towering cliff in front of him!

Yi Yun's entire body seemed to be imbued within the blazing sun and the Thousand Army Saber was sent out with a slash, like a burning flame.

"Swish!"

A bright white flash fell from the sky. It was like a snow white stream of water gushing through the sky!

A thundering sound accompanied the blinding flash. A huge half-moon blade beam was sent out at an incredible speed and it hit the cliff heavily.

"Boom!"

With an intense explosion, the blade beam had totally cut through the cliff! It was a deafening sound!

Ten seconds later, the flash faded away. The cliff in front of Yi Yun was over ten meters tall, but there was now a huge crack, that went from the bottom to the top!

This crack was a foot-wide, and the two sides of the crack had been melted by the high temperature. It had melted into some magma-like substance.

The seven feet two inch long Thousand Army Saber had sliced through a cliff, which was over ten meters tall, with a six feet blade!

This was all due to the Radiant Sun Qi!

With Radiant Sun Qi powering the Thousand Army Saber, its power was incomparable to before.

If this saber were to slice a person, the result was obvious. Those not strong enough would not only be split into two, they might even be reduced to ashes.

Yi Yun suddenly thought of a phrase commonly seen in the legendary novels from his past life, "My saber is not easily drawn, but once it unsheathes, it sees blood."

This phrase was usually used by main characters to sound cool, but it was perfectly describing Yi Yun now.

As the saber's power was too great, it was impossible to simply stop at touching. Hence, the moment it was unsheathed, it would see blood. There might not even be blood since the blood would be burned dry by the Radiant Sun Qi!

"I wonder what level my strength has reached now…"

Having arrived in the Tai Ah Divine City over a month ago, Yi Yun's strength had increased enormously because of him absorbing the primordial strain and primordial herb's energies and also recently, by learning the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique'!

His cultivation level was getting close to the late stages of Purple Blood. This cultivation level speed was going at a tremendous pace.

Yi Yun wanted to test himself against all the top elites from all over the Divine Kingdom.

"I'm really looking forward to the rookie rankings…" Yi Yun said to himself as his fighting spirit burned.

…

At dusk, Yi Yun returned to the Tai Ah Divine City.

In the office, Yi Yun handed over his day's harvest. They had a total worth of 509 dragon scale runes.

This amount greatly surprised Wang.

"How… did you pick so much?" Yi Yun's original speed of herb-picking was about 200 dragon scale runes a day. He had not come for the past ten or so days, yet his speed had doubled!

Yi Yun shrugged and said, "I managed to form Heaven's eyeball in the past few days, so my perception has become sharper…"

It was really shocking to pick 500 dragon scale runes worth of herbs in a day, but Yi Yun had the perfect explanation now.

But this explanation made Wang even more surprised.

Formed Heaven’s eyeball?

How old was he!?

Thinking back, when Wang formed Heaven's eyeball, she was in the mid-stages of the Yuan Foundation realm. It was even further along her cultivation before she was able to completely open Heaven's Eye.

Wang's natural talent was not bad, but compared to Yi Yun, the gap was huge.

He was a freak!

Yi Yun could only be described as being a freak. He was not a genius because he was not outstanding; in fact, he was mediocre in some aspects.

But in certain aspects, he had amazing talent!

If this carried on, Wang did not know how far Yi Yun could go. She was looking forward to it. She even felt that she had underestimated Yi Yun in her assessment.

And in the next few days, the number of herbs that Yi Yun turned in did not decrease, but it actually increased.

It went from just over 500 dragon scale runes to 600 and then more than 600!

In just 8-9 days time, Yi Yun's accumulated 19,300 dragon scale runes from herb-picking, breaking Zhong Yi's record!

Did he break the record?

Wang found it amazing. She had never expected that she would see a young man break the previous herb-picking record in her lifetime or even while she manned the Tai Ah Divine City's job office.

The Tai Ah Divine City did not pay much attention to the records for the miscellaneous jobs, so they were not eligible to engrave their name on Sage Avenue. The rewards given were also much lesser than those given for hard records.

But a record was still a record. It was still extraordinary!

To the Tai Ah Divine City, it had been a long time since someone broke a record.

As such, the news spread rapidly!

When Yi Yun was in a dispute with the Hongdao Association before, it only spread amongst the first and second-year recruits' circle. The senior cultivators had no interest in a new association's gambling battle with a kid.

But they would pay attention to the breaking of a record. Even the herb-picking record was something to be concerned about!

Even Qin Haotian and Li Xiao were no exception!

…

In the central divine tower of the Tai Ah Divine City, a girl in a red dress stood in an Earth Fire Desolate Heaven chamber. She had just completed a cauldron of desolate bone relics. She took out a lightly-scented handkerchief to wipe the tiny droplets of sweat on her forehead.

This girl was Luo Huo’er, the number one person on the Man roll of honor. She was a mysterious person that seldom appeared in public.

She had extremely great talent in alchemy as well as in the Desolate Heaven technique, this made many people incredulous.

When Luo Huo’er showcased her talent, many large factions tried to recruit her, but all the carrots dangled out in front of her were rejected.

As such, these factions began to suspect that Luo Huo’er already belonged to a particular faction. It was obviously impossible to recruit her if she came from a prominent family.

But when they investigated Luo Huo’er's background, they could not find anything. It was as if she had appeared out of thin air. Her background was a complete mystery.

This was such an anomaly that many even speculated that Luo Huo’er might come from an incredibly large family clan. This family clan might even be bigger than the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom, they thought this was the reason why they couldn't find out anything.

But all of these speculations were illogical. The simple reason was that, if Luo Huo’er came from a super family clan, she had no reason to come to the Tai Ah Divine City for training.

Although the Tai Ah Divine City was impressive, it was nothing compared to the factions that were stronger than the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom. It was likely that they had better training grounds than the Tai Ah Divine City, so if Luo Huo’er came from an impressive background, then why did she not stay in her own faction for training?

Hence, Luo Huo’er's identity became even more puzzling.

At that moment, Luo Huo’er was carefully opening the cauldron. A square array disk flew out. On the array disk were 7 green desolate bone relics. They were jumping around in a mischievous manner as if they were jumping pixies.

An aromatic smell that fascinated people emanated out.

Although she was tired, Luo Huo’er had an excited expression on her tiny, flushed face.

Storing away the desolate bone relics, Luo Huo’er took out a mirror. She tidied up her hair that had gone messy after finishing her refinement process. She said to herself while facing the mirror, "As expected of Luo Huo’er. You can even refine relics of such a level!"

While saying that, a gorgeous smile appeared. With this smile, two cute dimples appeared at the edges of her lips.

"Hehe, I can take these to the Ten Thousand Pagoda. Then I'll only be 8000 dragon scale runes short of breaking the refining record. It sure wasn't easy. I heard that no one has broken any records in the Tai Ah Divine City for 2000-3000 years. They will need me to break one!"

"Come to think of it, there was some crazy dude called Su Jie who appeared in the Tai Ah Divine City 30,000 years ago. That guy pushed the Desolate Heaven technique record too high. If not, I would have broken the Desolate Heaven technique record in my first year. I don't know how the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom got so lucky as to produce such a powerful Desolate Heaven Master who can barely keep up to 70-80% of my standard…" As the girl in red spoke, her expressions were vivid. The way she looked at the mirror and spoke to herself was a rare sight.

"But then again, this is good. After I break the record, no one will ever be able to break the Desolate Heaven technique record again! Hehe, my name Luo Huo’er will stay here forever!"

"But… to break the record, I haven't been practicing my alchemy. Although I know that among the Desolate Heaven technique and alchemy, it's better to practice one, but my alchemy skills are good too. I can't bear to give up on it. Hah.. having so much talent sure is a headache."

Luo Huo’er's words sounded extremely arrogant, but accompanied by her good looks and charming smile, it appeared extremely cute.

But at that moment, a small loli ran into the Desolate Heaven chamber in a panic. She shouted as she ran, "Miss, Miss, something bad has happened!"

Limitless - Chapter 124: Uncle

This figure was like a phantom. It moved around soundlessly and did not radiate any sort of aura.

It just appeared all of a sudden, almost as if it came out of thin air!

Chu Yu stared at that person, mouth agape.

That person did not even look at him, staring instead at the dog leg.

"How fragrant!"

"What kind of meat is this?"

"Why does it look like dog meat? Uhoh, it really is dog meat?!"

"You you you... you’re barbecuing dog meat?"

"Puppies are so cute, yet you’re eating a puppy?"

"That’s too much!"

"You’re such a jerk!"

"You must pay for your sins!"

She was a young lady. If one did not look at her face, she would be deemed a gorgeous woman.

Her waist was extremely slim, and she had a busty chest. Long, silky hair rested on her shoulders. Her skin was white and glowed in the sun.

She wore a pink princess dress which showed off her pencil thin long legs. She also wore a pair of crystal heels...

To be exact, she was quite a cute girl.

However, she had a rather unattractive face.

Chu Yu was quite disappointed. Just based on her figure, skin, soft and gentle voice, and an ordinary face, she was quite a catch.

However, if she had exquisite features...

Chu Yu was certain that she would be an absolute beauty no matter where she went!

She would be explosive!

What a pity...

Chu Yu exclaimed to himself.

The ordinary looking girl looked sternly at Chu Yu and said righteously, "As such, let me help you eat this dog leg!"

Her voice was sweet, her makeup cute, but when she spoke, she was not refined at all.

Chu Yu stared widely at her, "Little girl, which hospital did you come out from?"

"What hospital?"

"Mental hospital!" Chu Yu rolled his eyes, but he became more and more wary of this lady.

This girl had appeared too suddenly.

"You are the one who came out of a mental hospital!"

The lady blinked and stared at Chu Yu before looking at the headless body of the Black Dog Small Lord.

She exclaimed, "Isn’t this Black Dog Small Lord? God, you actually killed it, and want to eat it? You’re extremely outrageous!"

Chu Yu couldn’t help but roll his eyes, but he was actually shocked.

Where did this girl come from?

How did she recognize the naked body of Black Dog Small Lord?

"I had wanted to eat it for a long time, but I haven’t got to it, haha, uncle, well done."

The young lady smiled at Chu Yu, revealing her bright white teeth. She cocked her head to one side and said, "Ok, since I see that you’re quite appealing, I shall reward you, you can eat the dog leg from the Black Dog Small Lord with me!"

Chu Yu was exasperated, "Who are you? Where did you come from? Why do I have to share the dog meat with you?"

"The Black Dog Small Lord is my pet’s pet, who do you think I am?" Even though the lady looked rather ordinary, her eyes were bright and active.

As the lady spoke, she rolled her eyes, "I still haven’t settled the score with you for killing my pet’s pet!"

"Your pet’s pet?" Chu Yu’s heart fluttered as he suddenly realized what she was saying.

In the moment he lost concentration, the fire burnt a little too bright and charred a slice of the dog meat.

"Aiya! Be more careful, it won't be nice if it's overcooked! Damn it, can't you concentrate a bit more? Don't you know the spirit of the worker? Uncle!" The girl frowned and said.

"..." Chu Yu was speechless, he really wanted to smack the girl.

F*ck your spirit of the worker, I am a little flustered okay?

The girl stood there, not saying anything other then gesturing and rushing Chu Yu to be more focused in grilling the meat.

"Put a little more salt, I have a heavy palette!"

"Flavorless things are the worst to eat!"

"Where are the chili flakes? What other seasoning do you have! Put them quickly!"

"Aiya forget it, the original taste of things is still better, just add a little more salt..."

As she spoke, she snatched the seasoning box from Chu Yu and scattered a handful of salt on the meat.

"Are you trying to marinate the meat?"

Chu Yu’s mouth twitched as he looked at this outgoing girl, speechless. With so much salt, wouldn’t one die?

"What do you know?"

The girl said solemnly, "Uncle, you are getting on in age, don’t take something so bland, you need something a little saltier so that it’ll be nice!"

Chu Yu pursed his lips, wanting to roll his eyes.

He really wanted to use his vertical eye and observe this young lady.

However, he did not act rashly because he had a sneaky feeling, this girl... was not simple!

The boss of the Black Dog Small Lord was naturally the Green Lion Lord.

That crazy, delusional... king of the Northern Territories!

Chu Yu had always suspected who was backing the Green Lion Lord. Even if it was a True Lord Realm aged demon, in this era, it would also find it difficult to become the King of the Northern Territories!

When one was not at that level, one was not privy to that level of information.

As Chu Yu progressed, he managed to gain access to more information.

They were a lot of things he had no chance to find out about before, things that even if he found out he may not believe. However, now, he found them all extremely ordinary.

For example, information that the ancient sects already had Supreme Realm and better cultivators 30-40 years ago when the world was still sealed.

This was something that Chu Yu would not have believed in the past.

How could there be such powerful beings present? Those were mere legends...

But now, he knew that these were factual!

As such, if the Green Lion Lord wanted to become the King of the Northern Territories, there would only be one of two possibilities.

First: It was crazily arrogant, not knowing where it stood!

However, this possibility was slim, Chu Yu did not believe that a thousand year old aged demon would be so immature.

Second: It had a super special or powerful backer!

The special could be disregarded right now.

According to Villa Owner Dong, a thousand years ago, the Green Lion Lord was just a strong spiritual beast.

As such, there could only be one reason - it had an immensely powerful backer!

As of this girl, she had just told him that the Black Dog Small Lord was her pet’s pet.

Wasn’t that just saying that she was the Green Lion Lord’s backer?

Then, who is she?

Chu Yu kept flipping the dog leg whilst thinking how he was gonna dig up more information on this lady.

"You... should just focus on grilling the meat, don’t think about those random things, okay?" The girl blinked her eyes and glanced at Chu Yu.

Chu Yu smiled and raised his head, "What is your surname?"

"Xu." The girl waved him away rather impatiently, "I already told you, stop side tracking, uncle you’re so old already, stop trying to flirt! Just grill the meat!"

Chu Yu’s mouth twitched, he really wanted to spank her.

You’re the uncle!

Your entire family are uncles!

Then he thought better of it, better not bully a kid...

He controlled the magma fire and grilled the dog leg.

The magma fire was also very obedient. It did not jump, and it looked like an ordinary fire.

After he finished grilling, the eager girl immediately took out a huge wooden dining table from her storage ring.

That table was exquisitely carved and ancient. It had a strong aura of spiritual wood, and made one feel relaxed and happy.

Chu Yu looked on speechlessly as the young lady kept retrieving table cloth, exquisite cutlery - knives, forks, chopsticks...

She even had various types of alcohol and drinks...

She began placing them on the table.

Every one of them radiated with a strong energy flux.

One didn’t need to observe these too much to know that they were all magical equipment!

And they were of high quality!

For example, the chopsticks that she took out were clearly made of superior metal, and they radiated with strong energy. noveltranslationweb.blogspot.com

They were probably no lower than the Supreme Realm!

Chu Yu was conflicted, where did this girl get all these superior equipment?

She was able to take out such superior magical items in the forms of cutlery and a dining table... was she one of the saints in an ancient sect?

"We are just eating a dog’s leg, do you need to do this?

Chu Yu saw the girl take out more items, for example, a candle holder, candles and other items. He almost fainted.

"Uncle, dining is a sacred act!" The girl said solemnly but slightly mockingly. She looked at Chu Yu, "What is more important than food?"

"..." Chu Yu was speechless.

Finally, the girl had finished her set up and retrieved two unbelievably exquisite chairs.

Pink in color...

And they were carved with Hello Kitty...

Chu Yu was completely speechless.

"Come on, let’s begin eating!" The girl said excitedly.

Chu Yu suddenly opened his vertical eye and observed the chair. He found that there was a huge magical formation in the chair.

It wasn’t placed to attack, it was a strong defensive formation.

Wow, this chair comes with air conditioning?

"Sit down uncle! I will not harm you, what are you scared of?" The girl rolled her eyes at Chu Yu. Then she sat down, poured herself a drink, picked up a knife and cut off a piece of meat. She put it in her mouth, visibly satisfied.

"Mm... even though the quality of the meat is not too great, but the flame was done controlled well, yummy!"

The lady began to wolf down the food.

Even though she was so excruciatingly detailed in her setup, taking out all sorts of exquisite cutlery, she was not in the least bit elegant when she ate. She was like a tornado!

In the blink of an eye, she had finished almost one third of the leg!

Looking at her slender body and small tummy, Chu Yu wondered where all the food she ate went.

After some thought, Chu Yu sat down.

He had to admit the chair was very comfortable!

He did not know what material it was made of, but after sitting down, he didn’t feel like standing back up.

At this time, the dog leg was almost half gone.

F*ck me!

Chu Yu was gobsmacked, Isn’t this a little too fast?

He didn’t think about anything else as he began to wolf down the dog’s leg with the girl.

The meat of a Xiantian life form was extremely yummy and contained a large amount of energy.

Each mouthful was extremely beneficial.

Finally, Chu Yu was able to eat about a quarter of the dog’s leg, the rest were all eaten by the lady.

There was nothng left but clean bone on the plate.

At this point, the young lady sighed and said satisfactorily, "That was quite addictive!"

After she finished, she stood up and looked at Chu Yu, a cunning look flashing in her eyes.

"Uncle, now that we have finished eating the dog’s leg, shall we settle the bill?"

Limitless - Chapter 123: Beheading the dog

It immediately let out a whine.

Chu Yu’s attack was too vicious. It was pure energy morphed into an invisible spear which penetrated the Black Dog Small Lord’s body.

It entered through its neck and out its *ss, going through its entire body!

This wave of energy had completely snuffed out much of the blood, bones and cartilage of the Black Dog Small Lord, causing its cultivation realm to plummet from Xiantian!

In that instant, the Black Dog Small Lord felt a thick cloud of death envelope it.

At this critical juncture, the hair on its body raised and it barked loudly, "Woof woof woof woof!"

Then, it shook its body... almost like how it would shake off water after running through the rain.

All the fur on its body fell to the floor.

They were little mines filled with steel nails, and they exploded immediately!

They covered the entire area and fired towards the banquet hall.

Every strand of hair was faster than the speed of sound!

Even though most of it was directed at Chu Yu, a portion of it was directed at the crowd.

Villa Owner Dong’s expression was solemn as he took out a painting from thin air to block virtually all of the fur.

Ding ding ding...

The storm of fur hit the painting, the sound of the impact resonating throughout the room, but none of them managed to pass through.

Only then did Villa Owner Dong reveal his aura.

That oppressive aura was that of a King’s Realm cultivator!

A true cultivator doesn’t reveal himself!

Even Chu Yu did not imagine that this Villa Owner, who looked like a government official, was a true expert.

The Sacred Art from Villa Owner Dong had also helped Chu Yu block the fur.

Having shot out all of its fur, the black dog had become completely naked. Without a moment's hesitation, it turned and ran!

"Woof! The Dong... and the Chu b*stard, you will all die! Woof woof woof!"

Blood still dripped from its wounds. Coupled with it firing off all of its fur had made it very weak.

However, it needed to escape and report this to the Green Lion Lord.

But the Green Lion Lord was still at Jingpo Lake, and was not back yet. Else, you scums will be dead... as long as the lord so wishes!

"Leave your blood here, tonight, I will feast on your meat!"

What cause the Black Dog Small Lord to jump in fear was that the Chu Clan person gave chase.

He was bellowing behind him. His words caused it extreme fury and it wanted to turn its head to bite him.

But it didn’t dare, this man from the Chu Clan was too powerful!

He was a real expert!

Chu Yu’s speed was terrifyingly fast. Within a few steps, he had already caught up to the Black Dog Small Lord.

A dazzling ancient sword appeared in his hands.

Almost as if it felt something, the Black Dog Small Lord looked back in aghast, unable to hold back its terrified scream.

"Ow..."

Chu Yu’s blade fell!

With a single chop, he had beheaded the Black Dog Small Lord.

A large amount of blood sputtered out, but it was all collected by Chu Yu using a small storage bottle.

This storage bottle was given to him by Shishi, not only could it contain dead animals, it could trap live ones as well.

However, its space was limited and could only contain one at any one time.

The beheaded Black Dog Small Lord did not die immediately. It’s eyes glowed with hatred as it stared Chu Yu down, "If you dare to kill me, the Green Lion Lord will never let you off! I am its loyal subordinate, it will definitely avenge me!"

Chu Yu was too lazy to argue. He walked over and sliced the dog’s head into half.

The Black Dog Small Lord died instantly.

Chu Yu turned back to look in the direction of the Black Dragon Lake Mountain Villa. Then he took the body of the headless puppy and disappeared from here in a few bounds.

He never returned to the Flying Dragon Lake Villa.

Even if the villa owner wasn’t trying to harm him, Chu Yu did not want anything to do with him for right now.

For a King’s Realm cultivator to hide so well, this person was well versed... in more than just cultivation.

Furthermore, he had deep links to the government!

Regardless of good or evil, Chu Yu did not like dealing with people with links to the government.

Furthermore, Chu Yu now understood that the Villa Owner Dong’s motive for linking up with the Chu Clan was likely so that they could join forces to fight the Green Lion Lord.

From Chu Yu’s point of view, he was more likely to be making use of the Chu Clan.

Villa Owner Dong did not give chase. He stood at the entrance to the banquet hall and stared into the distance.

Then, his fingers began counting. He frowned, sighed, and shook his head.

Then, he turned his gaze back.

He scanned the faces of all the people in the Flying Dragon Lake Villa.

He snickered coldly, "Amongst you... there is actually someone who linked up with the other side, and tried to put the blame on me? You have spoilt my plans to link up with the Chu Clan, good, very good!"

The crowd was completely silent, no one daring to look him in the eye.

Virtually no one on the outside knew how scary this owner of the Flying Dragon Lake Villa was.

In the past 20 years, he had come across a great opportunity in an ancient monument right here at the Flying Dragon Lake.

He was adept in more than just the Divination Technique.

These years, under his management, the Flying Dragon Lake Villa has been relatively low profile, but it has been growing stronger steadily.

For example, a youthful Invigorated Meridian Realm expert like Zhao Rui was one of the core disciples trained by Villa Owner Dong!

One must understand that cultivating Invigorated Meridian martial artist was a tall task, even for an underworld clan like the Chu Clan.

This was testament to the power of Villa Owner Dong!

If not for the sudden appearance of the Green Lion Lord, no one would have known that a small city like Dan Jiang would be hiding such an expert.

Even right now, not many people knew that Villa Owner Dong was this powerful!

Now, he was extremely furious, someone definitely leaked the news.

No, no, it wasn’t a leak, someone... betrayed him!

Villa Owner Dong said icily, "You all may only remember that it is difficult to predict the actions of those around me. But you all don’t know this, difficult does not mean impossible!"

In the square in front of the banquet hall, there were about 40-50 people.

All of them were people that Villa Owner Dong had spent time and effort to cultivate.

"I can know everything about any one of you here. How comprehensive you ask? Probably more comprehensive than your parents!"

Villa Owner Dong’s gaze was icy, but his tone was filled with pain.

"I am saying this not to threaten you all, but I do feel... heartache!"

"I would never have thought that there would be a traitor in the Flying Dragon Lake Villa!"

"On the surface, you are servers, chefs, security, cleaners... but in actual fact, you are al my disciples! And I treat all of you like my children!"

Villa Owner Dong’s voice was raised, his eyes filled with disappointment.

"Villa owner..."

From the crowd, a youth donned in chef’s clothing dropped to the ground crying, "I am sorry, I deserve to die... please execute me, I, I was afraid they would attack us and kill you, so... so I begged them and told them that your interaction with the Chu Clan was simply a moment of folly... hu hu, sorry, I was wrong! I was wrong!"

"Liu Zhuang, leave, just leave. Go wherever you want, don’t come back." Villa Owner Dong sighed and waved his hand.

In fact, someone as skilled in divination as him could easily determine who the traitor was. In fact, he didn’t even need to use divination, all he had to do was observe them.

He knew this group of people too well.

On the surface, Villa Owner Dong looked very solemn and shrewd, but in actual fact, he was a very compassionate man.

In this rapidly rising cultivation world, he had never thought of claiming the world for himself. All he wanted to do was to run his own Flying Dragon Lake Villa in peace.

He had treated this place like an escape from the real world.

He treated everyone around him very well. He gave them targeted coaching based on their personal strengths and weaknesses.

He gained much satisfaction from such mentoring.

As such, even in the face of betrayal, he could not bring himself to punish the man. He knew that this was not right, but he could not bring himself to do it.

Liu Zhuang was stunned, tears streaming down his face. He could even feel the disappointed gazes of his friends who he had grown up with.

"I was wrong, Villa Owner, I made a terrible mistake!"

Liu Zhuang suddenly took out a knife and pointed it at his chest.

Many of the people gasped in shock.

"Ah!"

"Don’t..."

"No!"

But it was too late, Liu Zhuang was a martial artist in the advanced stages of the Acupoint Charging Realm. If he wanted to commit suicide, no ordinary man could stop him.

The sharp knife had already penetrated his heart!

His face paled and he fell to his knees. With his final breath, he looked at Villa Owner Dong.

"Father, I’m sorry!"

After he finished, he fell to the ground and died.

At the moment when Liu Zhuang had brandished the knife to commit suicide, Villa Owner Dong had the ability to prevent the suicide from happening.

However, he hesitated, and did not expect that Liu Zhuang would be so decisive.

As he watched Liu Zhuang die, his eyes became watery as he fought to hold his tears.

He took a deep breath and said solemnly, "He is dead, it’s all over. Give him a proper burial..."

As he spoke, he turned to leave. His back was hunched and it felt like he had aged a lot in an instant.

Everyone left felt extremely uncomfortable.

...…

Chu Yu did not go far, he had just entered a volcanic area near the Jingpo Lake.

This place was once a nation. Now, it still retained the infrastructure from the ancient times, but most of them were dilapidated.

Today, this place was covered with ancient, skyscraping trees. The entire place was filled with spiritual energy.

What a difference from before.

Chu Yu cut off one of the dog legs and barbequed it.

The fire was the magma fire!

Under Chu Yu’s firebending techniques, turning the fire up and down, the dog leg sizzled and released all of its fats.

A Xiantian Realm lifeform was a good boost to Chu Yu.

By eating this black dog, he was also deepening the feud between him and the Green Lion Lord.

Chu Yu did not care. From the moment that the Green Lion Lord had killed eight of the Chu Clan disciples, this had become a fight to the death.

Chu Yu even suspected if all of these were planned by that Villa Owner Dong?

By aggravating the situation, he could make the conflict between the Chu Clan and the Green Lion Lord worse and save the Flying Dragon Lake Villa in the process?

This was quite possible.

"Anyways, this old man has many hidden motives. He is also skilled in Divination, I need to keep my distance." Chu Yu murmured.

At this point, a figure appeared in Chu Yu’s line of sight, giving him a fright.