True Martial World - Chapter 312: Humiliation

"You are asking about the guy whose body is full of tattoos?"

Yi Yun glanced at Wen Yu who was half a year younger than him. She looked a little weak, and since Yi Yun had little contact with her, he had the impression that she was just a very quiet girl.

Wen Yu nodded as she stared on with her watery, dark eyes. She looked at Yi Yun with hope, "Yes, Senior Yi, his name is Viper. You must have looked up his information before the battle, right?"

The opponent was just too terrifying, so she could now only hope that Yi Yun was stronger, even by just a bit. She was really hoping that Yi Yun had carefully researched their opponents, and that he only took on Viper's challenge because he had confidence in winning against him.

After all, Yi Yun was rumored to be the strongest person amongst the second year cultivators, at least a year ago. With such a halo around him, he should be reliable, right…?

Wen Yu thoughts were like this, but clearly Yi Yun was unaware of them. He shook his head, "Viper? Never heard of him. Is he famous?"

Yi Yun was not being arrogant. He had just been informed of the alliance competition the night before. Although Cang Yan had given Yi Yun some information, Yi Yun had only paid attention to the strongest people from the Yun Long 72 Pagodas.

There were a few people that Yi Yun really needed to pay attention to, or even be alert against!

As for Viper, he was clearly not within the circle that Yi Yun chose to pay close attention to.

Upon hearing Yi Yun's response, Wen Yu became dumbfounded. He accepted the challenge without even knowing anything about the other party?

She really felt speechless. She was together with Yi Yun in this match, and was there to shield Yi Yun from the challenges from others. As he was the leader, Yi Yun had the final say in who were the first and the last to go on stage.

As a leader, Yi Yun was crucial. Yet, he had not done any research on his opponent’s information, and accepted an opponent’s challenge casually, without even knowing how strong he was.

This way of doing things made Wen Yu sad to the point where she couldn’t even shed tears.

She opened her mouth, but the words she wanted to say would not come out. She had an extremely ominous feeling...

She turned over to look at Chu Xiaoran and Qiuniu's groups. These two groups were having their own small meetings, discussing the choice of opponents.

As for Li Hong, this group that had practically already been given up, were choosing their opponents very carefully.

As Li Hong could not come to a consensus with the Yun Long Divine Kingdom in the choice of opponents, it had to be decided by drawing lots eventually.

Only on her side was it decided in a second by Yi Yun.

At that moment, Yi Yun, the leader who was supposed to be facing a mortal enemy, was closing his eyes while sitting at the participant benches. From the looks of it, it was good that he was not sitting at the birthday banquet's feast tables, or he would probably have begun eating.

Encountering this situation, Wen Yu felt as if her heart was being trampled by 10,000 near-horned beasts with mud-stained hoofs.

At that moment, the three juniors beside Wen Yu gathered over and apprehensively asked, "Senior Wen, Senior Yi should be very strong, correct...?"

These three juniors were in the same group as Yi Yun.

They were weaker than Wen Yu and were there just to make the numbers. They knew where they stood, so they were especially nervous with such a looming huge battle.

Wen Yu bitterly smiled. She could not impact the original tiny confidence these few juniors had. She bit the bullet and said, "Senior Yi should not be too bad. After all, he was the last rookie competition's champion. Juniors, do not worry. Let us do our best later."

After Wen Yu said this the three juniors seemed to ease up a little. They were however still lacking confidence needed to face the Yun Long Divine Kingdom opponents.

"Ah! Kid, you sure are confident!"

While Yi Yun was meditating, he heard a wretched voice transmission. Without even looking, he knew that it was Cang Yan, that unscrupulous old man.

"It is Senior Cang Yan who is confident. To give me such troops is to make me be the vanguard. That is also looking up to me."

"Hehe, do not try to take advantage of me. Do you want to use the pretext of forcing you to do something you are unwilling to do to gain some advantages from me? Don't keep thinking about me. If you fight well, the benefits given by the City Lord will be much more than I am able to give! He's so rich that oil flows out from him."

After saying a few words, Cang Yan became serious again, "Kid, do not think too lightly of your opponents. Your opponent is not weak. This snake kid is a tough person. Do not fail miserably at an easy task!"

"Got it." Yi Yun laughed. He was watching the competition's main referee walk up the Divine Wilderness Stage as he announced the beginning of the competition!

The few smaller group's competitions were held concurrently!

Yi Yun's side was just the younger group, so he could not go onto the Divine Wilderness Stage.

They were sent to the eighth stage.

At that moment, Viper seemed as if he was a cat looking at mice. He looked at Yi Yun with great interest. Indeed, he had the rights to being arrogant. These few batches of Yun Long 72 Pagodas disciples were filled with talents, and the quality of them exceeded those of the past!

And him, Viper, was still as outstanding as ever, even amongst all these experts.

If not for the 72 Pagodas recently having extremely strong batches, the Seven Star Pagoda Owner would never have suggested the condition of letting these juniors decide on the Yun Long Divine Kingdom's future.

"Sun Long, go on up. Take care of those small fish, and force Yi Yun's hand. I will then go on up to have a great time."

Viper laughed and completely did not take Yi Yun to heart. He was one year older than Yi Yun and his cultivation level was an entire realm higher than Yi Yun's, how could he lose?

"Haha! My hands have been itching for a long time. I can finally see blood once again. Who knows, maybe I will even get rid of Yi Yun!"

Sun Long put on his black iron claws and jumped up on stage. He was one of the backbones of the Viper clan, and usually followed Viper around, so his style was very similar to Viper's!

"Who's my opponent? Come on up!"

Sun Long grinned. He stretched out his tongue and gently licked the blades of his black iron claws. His expression was that of extreme evil.

For warriors, their stance was important. Sun Long's ominous stance made people feel fear just from standing before him.

"Senior Yi, who are we sending up?"

Seeing Sun Long, Wen Yu's heart thumped. It seemed that even Viper's henchmen were not to be trifled with!

This person was filled with murderous intent. He was more terrifying than any other person they had ever seen by a lot!

The cultivators present were mostly children in their teens. Although they were strong, they had not killed many in real battles.

"Up to you all. Pay attention to safety."

Yi Yun exhorted them. He also felt that Sun Long was not a person to be trifled with, but warriors who practiced martial arts would meet enemies in the future that were far more malicious than Sun Long.

These Tai Ah Divine City young seedlings had to go through slaughters to grow up too.

Ignoring other things, just the possible beast horde that might happen soon would be a baptism of blood. Unknown numbers of people would die in it.

It was best to suffer a bit now rather than losing one’s life in the future.

However, Yi Yun's orders made Wen Yu angry. What did he mean by "Up to you, pay attention to safety"?

Was this something a leader should say?

"Xiao Zhen, go on up!"

Wen Yu ordered angrily. Since the leader did not care, she had to take over.

Xiao Zhen was a youth of short stature. Hearing Wen Yu's words, he grit his teeth and jumped up onto the stage.

Before Xiao Zhen was Sun Long who was laughing sinisterly. "Tsk, sure is fresh. Let me taste… your blood!"

As Sun Long spoke, his body surged with murderous intent. With his Yuan Qi exploding, the claws on his arms turned blood-red in color. It was as if he had suddenly turned into an evil demon.

"I practice the laws of killing! The more I kill, the more my hands are stained with blood, the stronger I become! I have already forgotten how many people or desolate beasts I have killed up to this day. Even in a tournament, I am afraid that I cannot curb my urge to kill."

Sun Long laughed manically while Xiao Zhen's face turned pale.

He was a young master from a family clan. He had lived a pampered life since he was young. When had he ever encountered such a twisted person his own age before?

Yi Yun who was watching below the stage began to secretly shake his head.

To him, Sun Long was not big a deal, but the difference between his stance and Xiao Zhen's was huge. noveltranslationweb.blogspot.com

This was because Sun Long and Xiao Zhen had different growing experiences. Secondly, the recent Tai Ah Divine City's batches were weaker than those of the past. As a result, when the Divine City's warriors faced the Yun Long 72 Pagodas' warriors, they naturally lacked confidence.

In this situation, even if their strengths were similar, it would be a completely one-sided battle.

Furthermore, Xiao Zhen's strength really was weaker than Sun Long's.

"Three moves!" Sun Long extended three fingers. "In three moves, I will open up the right side of your face! Then I will break your right hand and right leg's tendons! I like to attack my opponent's' right side, tearing their right side to shreds while leaving the left side in a good condition. Isn't that very interesting? Ahahahaha!"

Sun Long was extremely arrogant. After hearing this, Xiao Zhen turned angry. Did he think I am a weak and soft lamb to be slaughtered?

"This is going too far!"

Wen Yu clenched her small fist as her face filled with anger.

At that moment, Sun Long moved. He was extremely fast and appeared right before Xiao Zhen in an instant. He swiped at the right side of Xiao Zhen's face with a claw!

Xiao Zhen was greatly alarmed, but he was after all one of the best amongst this batch of rookies. Although his stance was weaker at the beginning of the battle, he was able to reveal his real strength due to his anger.

How could he let this opponent hit him wherever he liked? It was too shameful!

He retreated and at the same time stabbed his sword at Sun Long's palm.

A claw was considered a short-range weapon and was shorter than a sword. The longer it was, the stronger it was. Xiao Zhen believed that by stabbing like this, his opponent would either pull back his hand or his palm would be pierced right through by his sword!

However, as Xiao Zhen was stabbing, a grin flashed across Sun Long's face. His body twisted in an incredulous fashion and three claw beams appeared from nowhere.

"Ah!"

Xiao Zhen let out a blood-curling scream as blood splattered out!

These three claw beams had slashed across the right side of Xiao Zhen's face. His cheek, nose, ears and the corner of his eye had been ripped open by the claw blades. Three deep claw marks appeared on his face!

Xiao Zhen clutched his face. His hand was filled with blood and his eyes were bloodshot!

The flesh on his right face had sank downwards. Sun Long's attack was too ruthless!

True Martial World - Chapter 311: Leader

"What is the matter, Yi Yun?" Seeing Yi Yun stop for a while, Chu Xiaoran asked.

"No matter, it's just that some people are focusing on me." Yi Yun said without much thought to it.

"Focusing on you is understandable. The people from the Yun Long Divine Kingdom probably know about your performance at last year's rookie ranking competition."

The main opponent of the Tai Ah Divine City was the Yun Long Kingdom’s 72 Pagodas. As for the Southern 10 countries, they were mainly facing off against the other smaller factions.

Yi Yun and Chu Xiaoran walked to their seats and sat down. All the relevant Tai Ah Divine City's cultivators were gathered together, filling four large tables.

And Elder Cang Yan was sitting amongst them.

Yi Yun glanced at the people around the tables and he noticed Wen Yu, Qiuniu, Yang Qian and Yao Dao...

There were also Yi Yun's rivals, Li Hong, Yang Dingkun and Yang Haoran.

Yang Haoran may have lost an arm, but his strength was still ranked near the top of the the Tai Ah Divine City’s cultivators, so he was naturally selected.

But Yi Yun did not see Luo Huo'er...

"Oh? Luo Huo'er did not come?" From Yi Yun's point of view, with Luo Huo'er's absolute talent in the Desolate Heaven technique, her strength should not be too bad.

"Luo Huo'er said that she lacks talent in fighting, so she would not embarrass herself for the Tai Ah Divine City." Someone in the know said by the side.

Yi Yun was shocked when he heard this. Were these words that a girl like Luo Huo'er would say?

Yi Yun did not have time to think too carefully about it before Cang Yan started speaking at that moment, "Everyone listen up. I will be mentioning the rules of the big battle ahead."

"All the people fighting in our battle with the Yun Long Divine Kingdom will be split into eight groups. There will be four groups for those below the age of fifteen, and another four groups for those above the age of fifteen. A leader will be chosen for each group, while the remaining group members are forerunners."

"Each group's leader will hold on to two seats. Once the leader is defeated, the seats will be taken! Therefore, the leader's position is of utmost importance. As for the forerunners… their main role is to protect the leader. They are to take on challenges for the leader or used to probe the opponents' strength."

"Everyone can only fail once. Once defeated, they will not be able to fight again."

"Besides defeating the opponent’s leader and obtaining the seats, if you obtain first place in the under-fifteen groups, above-fifteen groups, and the overall group by defeating all opponents, then we will obtain additional seats!" Cang Yan finishing explaining the rules in a few words. Everyone could tell that only the leader could easily make meritorious contributions.

The others, although called "forerunners" euphemistically, they were, in actual fact, cannon fodder or stones used to scout ahead.

"First, I will announce the people who are leaders!" Cang Yan took out a scroll while the young elites present held their breaths.

The matches ahead meant a lot to them. It was far greater importance than challenging the Heaven or Earth rolls of honor.

"For the under-fifteen groups, the leaders are, Chu Xiaoran! Qiuniu! Yi Yun! And Li Hong!"

Cang Yan paused briefly after mentioning each name. When Yi Yun's name was mentioned, Yang Haoran clenched his fist. That kid was made a leader!

Although he hated Yi Yun, he knew that Yi Yun becoming a leader was a reasonable decision.

Amongst the four leaders, Li Hong was the weakest. But they really had no one else to choose from. They could not get Wen Yu or Lu Jie to be leaders.

Li Hong was after all, the best person amongst the Tai Ah Divine City's third year cultivators.

"Next will the above-fifteen groups' leaders, Yao Dao! Hua Yue! Fang Hai! And Yang Haoran!"

When Cang Yan announced the four leaders' names, everyone was shocked. What was going on?

Yang Qian's strength was just slightly inferior to Yao Dao and he was outstanding in the Earth roll of honor. It was surprising that he was not made a leader.

What was the reason behind Hua Yue, Fang Hai and Yang Haoran?

"I'm a leader, haha, I'm also a leader!" Yang Haoran was ecstatic. He felt that if he had not lost his arm, it would have been no problem becoming a leader. But after he lost an arm, it was impossible to become a leader.

Now, Cang Yan had chosen Yang Haoran to be a leader, allowing him, who felt gloom in his life, to finally gain some spirit.

As everyone was still trying to understand the reasoning behind the leader selection, Cang Yan took out another bunch of scrolls, "The leaders have been decided. Now, I will announce each group's forerunners..."

After Yang Haoran took his subordinate name list, he was dumbfounded.

There was no other reason. The people on his list were weaker than any of the other groups’!

They were practically people with average talent and they only managed to enter the top 30-40 of the Earth roll of honor with difficulty due to their age advantage.

These people were in other words, cannon fodder!

He, as a leader, was leading a group of cannon fodder?

Then wasn't he also cannon fodder?

After Yang Haoran looked at the other name lists, he realized that the strongest people amongst the Tai Ah Divine City’s above-fifteen cultivators such as Yang Qian were all in Yao Dao's group.

The other groups were all given cannon fodder. And even though they were considered cannon fodder, the cannon fodder given to him were the worst!

He suddenly realized that he had been given up.

The upper echelons of the Tai Ah Divine City had placed all their bets on Yao Dao's group. Yang Qian and company may not have obtained the position of leaders, but they were able to guarantee Yao Dao's group a victory.

As for the rest, due to the rules, they were only here to make up the numbers...

"Actually treating me like cannon fodder!"

Yang Haoran clenched his fist, as the veins on his forehead went taut. The hate for Yi Yun became stronger after receiving this name list. If it wasn’t for his missing arm, how could he have ended up as cannon fodder!?

He swallowed his anger because with Cang Yan here, he didn’t dare show it. He was only hoping that the two people he found the other day would be able to cripple Yi Yun or even kill him.

While at that moment, Yi Yun had also obtained the name list of his group. The four forerunners were all first year cultivators. Besides Wen Yu being not that bad, the rest were only there to make up the numbers.

Cang Yan had purposely placed the stronger people under the age of fifteen with Qiuniu and Chu Xiaoran, strengthening their group's strength.

As for Li Hong, his group's strength was also not that great, it was on par with Yi Yun's. Clearly, it was another of those groups that had been given up.

As for why the slight stronger ones were placed in Li Hong's group, it was probably due to the Tai Ah Divine City's upper echelons fear of the Yun Long Divine Kingdom using similar tactics. If they were all cannon fodder, then if their own cannon fodder was too weak, losing to the opponent's average weak cannon fodder would be a huge waste.

In general, the upper echelons of the Tai Ah Divine City were confident in the under-fifteen groups, so they hoped that they would win more seats this way.

As for the above-fifteen groups, they only wished for one group to win. As for the other groups, they were completely given up on them without a second thought.

Li Hong felt gloomy seeing the names he had. He looked at Yi Yun's name list and his subordinates were not that great either.

But Li Hong did not gain any satisfaction from that. He had guessed the intentions of the Tai Ah Divine City's upper echelons. They probably trusted Yi Yun, so they sent weaker forerunners to Yi Yun, hoping that Yi Yun could turn the tide just by himself.

Li Hong gritted his teeth. "Those old fools sure look down on people! To treat us as cannon fodder and let Yi Yun be the hero. Heh! It's not so easy to be a hero!"

Li Hong looked at the Yun Long Divine Kingdom's side.

There, the snake youth was discussing something with people and looked to be talking jovially.

Seeing the calm snake youth, Li Hong insidiously laughed twice. "The Tai Ah Divine City's arrangements suit my wishes. Now my plan will be even easier to be carried out. Yi Yun, just you wait..."

After the groups were formed, the birthday banquet began.

The Tai Ah Divine City's City Lord was dressed in a blue shirt and he was seated beside the Seven Star Pagoda Owner in the seats of honor. He looked with a smile at the youths from the various factions.

The Seven Star Pagoda Owner was already informed of the Tai Ah Divine City's grouping methods and laughed, saying,"City Lord Yang sure has a strong nerve. You can still smile so naturally even at that moment."

"Same to you." The Tai Ah Divine City's City Lord responded.

"It seems City Lord Yang has gathered all the experts in one group. This method sure is clever."

The Seven Star Pagoda Owner's words sounded like praise, but it was clearly mocking the City Lord.

This tactic was not considered honorable.

The City Lord faintly smiled as if he never heard the Seven Star Pagoda Owner's mockery, and simply went with the flow by saying, "Thank you for your compliments. Everything is for victory, so there has to be some strategy in the assignment of troops."

"Unfortunately, against absolute power, any strategy is useless." The Seven Star Pagoda Owner's smile turned cold. "You will see my Yun Long 72 Pagodas' disciples sweeping the arena."

"Oh? Then I look forward to that!"

...

The atmosphere in the arena was all set for a showdown. The birthday banquet only had some symbolic dishes. Not many people actually used their chopsticks as all their thoughts were on the alliance competition.

Yi Yun took his group's four people to sit on the participant's benches.

The Yun Long Divine Kingdom's people were sitting next to them.

At that moment, a youth whose body was filled with tattoos and had a snake wrapped around him walked towards Yi Yun.

"Yi Yun, right!? You are the leader, and so am I. This will be fun. I will be taking the 2 seats you have!"

Both sides could freely challenge each other in the match. The decision to accept the match was decided by the leaders from both sides.

If there was no agreement, then the opponents would be decided by drawing lots.

Yi Yun had already expected that the snake youth would challenge him, as for who to fight, he did not care.

Since someone had challenged him, he accepted it.

"Oh? Then let's see if you have the ability to take it over!"

When Yi Yun said this, Wen Yu, who was behind him, jumped up. Her expression looked bitter. You sure accepted the challenge too easily!

"That...Senior Yi, do you know who that is?"

As they were to fight in an alliance battle, people like Wen Yu had long did their preparatory work. They had sought information on their opponents.

This tattooed youth was nicknamed Viper. He was ruthless and very strong.

He had just reached the age of fifteen and his cultivation level had broken through to the Yuan Foundation realm. He was one of the toughest guys under the age of fifteen from the Yun Long Divine Kingdom.

Wen Yu did not want to fight a sinister-like person like him as she felt that in front of him, she was like a mouse in front of a venomous snake. But her leader had agreed immediately to Viper's challenge.

This made Wen Yu sad enough that she couldn’t shed tears.

True Martial World - Chapter 310: Venomous Snake

The white gown that Yi Yun had changed into before entering the sword tomb was now tattered.

The gown was not dirty, but it seemed to have been cut by a sword's blade. Cut after cut made it look like rags.

Yi Yun's long hair was hanging loose while his face seemed to exude a faint smile. His eyes were bright they shone in the dark sword tomb as if they were stars in the sky, which gave a strange feeling.

It seemed the Yi Yun, who entered the sword tomb entered 9 days ago, was now different once again.

This difference was not easily described. It seemed like there was a change in his disposition as if a sword Qi had merged right into his bones, making it as if Yi Yun himself was a sword.

"Kid, you finally came out!" Cang Yan said disgruntledly.

"Uh…I was too immersed and lost track of time. How long have I been in there?"

"It has nearly been nine days. Kid, you really are planning on learning the sword?"

Cang Yan looked inquisitively at Yi Yun and he was wondering how much sword comprehension Yi Yun had gained in the past few days. But to Cang Yan, even if Yi Yun had gained some insight into a few sword moves, it was useless. A saber could do the same amount of damage as a sword could do, so there was no point learning both the sword and saber. It was a really pointless endeavor.

Yi Yun did not want to continue on this topic and he interrupted, "Senior Cang Yan, you previously said that you will let me challenge the Earth roll and as long as I get to the top 300, I can carry on cultivating the way of the sword and the 'Myriad Beast Totem'?"

Yi Yun indeed had plans to challenge the Earth roll. The people at the top of the Earth roll would receive dragon scale runes rewards monthly.

Cang Yan rolled his eyes at Yi Yun and sighed, "You sure have lots to challenge now. Alas, you still may not know that our Tai Ah Divine Kingdom is on the brink of destruction…"

Cang Yan carried on by describing the situation of the Shepherd Boy to Yi Yun.

Yi Yun was stunned when he heard this.

Shepherd Boy?

Cang Yan's description of the Shepherd Boy's appearance made Yi Yun recall the mysterious youth he met at the blackwater swamp back when he went out into the Divine Wilderness for training.

The youth was riding a cow and he was blowing a piccolo. The piccolo's sound seemed to contain a magical power that would affect one's state of mind.

This mysterious youth traversed the Divine Wilderness and the blackwater swamp, yet all the desolate beasts seemed to turn a blind eye. It was a leisure stroll to him in the Divine Wilderness as if he was entering and exiting a flower garden.

This youth, who looked amiable and even seemed to be likable, had actually stirred up a bloody storm in the western regions, killing countless people, and nearly destroyed the extremely powerful Shentu family clan?

Yi Yun was extremely shocked. Hearing Cang Yan's description, the Shentu family clan was stronger than the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom.

A family clan was stronger than the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom…

What sort of family clan was this?

And where were these so-called "western regions"?

Yi Yun sighed silently. Having come to this world, it seemed like he had some form of results, but compared to all those massive behemoths, he was still small.

Of course, this was not something he should think about now. He had to think about the big battle tomorrow.

Yi Yun was indebted to the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom. All his cultivation resources and cultivation techniques were mostly provided by the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom.

Yi Yun was a grateful person, so with the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom facing a major crisis, he naturally would help as much as he could!

"Senior Cang Yan, does the Tai Ah Divine City have an armory? I want to choose a sword and a saber, to handle tomorrow's big battle."

Yi Yun's Thousand Army Saber could no longer be used, and the broken sword he obtained from the Pure Yang Sword Palace was of great importance, so he could not use it unless his life was in danger. It was best to choose a sword and a saber in the Tai Ah Divine City.

The Tai Ah Divine City's armory's swords and sabers would definitely be better in quality than the Jin Long Wei armory's.

Cang Yan looked at Yi Yun's harmless-looking smile and his heart thumped. He snapped, "Rotten kid, you are trying to take advantage of old me once again. You can choose some weapons, but it will only be a loan. If you were to win tomorrow's big battle, the weapons will be yours. If you don't win, hehe, it will be charged accordingly! Don't try grabbing my stuff just because of the big battle ahead."

Yi Yun grinned, "Okay!"

That night, elites from all over were gathered in the Tai Ah Divine City. They were saving their strength and adjusting their conditions, in preparation for the battle tomorrow.

However, while everyone was trying to condition themselves, in a corner of the Divine City, there were a few people who took advantage of the dark and gathered in a small courtyard.

"It's this person?"

Despite the night being dark, some warriors could still easily see in the dark.

At that moment, two men covered in cloaks were holding onto a portrait. On the portrait, there was a youth in linen clothes wielding a saber.

This youth was none other than Yi Yun.

"It's him…" The cloaked man's voice was hoarse, preventing others from recognizing his original voice. "Break his meridians. It would be best if you made him permanently disabled. If you can do that, we will give you great rewards."

As the cloaked man said, he flipped his hands and a black bag appeared in his hands. "This is the down payment."

"Ah!" A youth with a venomous serpent around his body took over a little black bag.

This youth was lanky and his ears were full of skull earrings. His face and body were covered in tattoos, which made him look extremely odd.

The youth's pupils were also amber in color and oval like a snake. Whenever he smiled, sharp teeth would appear in the corners of his mouth, giving a chilly feeling.

Standing beside the youth with the snake, there was a yellow-clad fat person. He noted with interest as he stroked his chin and reached into the black bag.

Shiny objects rolled out. They were like gemstones that glowed in the night.

They were all desolate bone relics!

"Top grade desolate bone relics!"

The yellow-clad fatty licked his lips, "Interesting. I am very curious about your identities. You guys cannot be people from our Yun Long Divine Kingdom. Could it be that you are from the same faction as this Yi Yun? Tsk, he sure is unpopular, to the point that even people from his own faction would buy a rival faction's people to maim him…"

"Don't worry about us." The two cloaked men's voice turned cold, going on high alert.

If this deal they struck was found out by the Tai Ah Divine City's upper echelons, there was a high possibility of them being crippled of their cultivation levels or even the death sentence.

"I warn you, this Yi Yun is not easy to deal with. Take care not to fail miserably at an easy task!" One of the cloaked men said.

"Hehe…do not think that we from the Yun Long Divine Kingdom are at the same level as your Tai Ah Divine Kingdom trash. He is just a kid that did not even enter the top 1000 amongst you people a year ago." The snake youth laughed sinisterly and kept the desolate bone relics.

"You…"

When one of the cloaked men heard the snake youth's arrogant mocking, he clenched his fists, almost to the point of getting to blows. However, he was stopped by the other.

"Then, we will rely on the two of you." That cloaked man said.

"Ha! This anger means that you are indeed people from the Tai Ah Divine City. Don't worry, I, Viper, am best at making vicious blows. I'll take on this business!"

In this competitive battle, death or disability was not uncommon. After all, in a duel with real sabers and swords, many of the moves were made with full strength!

Even in the internal battles of the Tai Ah Divine City, even when people tried their best to avoid a death battle, there would still be deaths in the arena.

In this battle against rival factions, the battles would be even more intense and more brutal.

"It's a deal!" The two cloaked men left silently.

The yellow-clad fatty was chewing on a bamboo stick as he picked his teeth, "These Tai Ah Divine City's cultivators sure are terrible. With a foreign enemy in front of them, they are still having their internal fights!"

"Hehe, jealousy and hatred are terrifying forces. They can cause a person to go mad, making them do things without considering the consequences. But this is for the best.

"Of course, it's up to you." The yellow-clad fatty did not mind.

"But who are these two people? They sure are cunning. They even disguised their voices." The snake man said.

"Hehe! One of them is one-armed. He thought that he had disguised himself well, but that fake limb did not have any Yuan Qi fluctuations, so how could that trick me? The Tai Ah Divine City may have many cultivators, but there are only a few of them with one arm. It would be definitely easy to find him."

As the fatty said, his lips curled into a sinister smile…

…

The next morning, the sky lit up and early winter snow fluttered above the Tai Ah Divine City. People from all over began to gather in the arena to participate in the City Lord's birthday banquet and also, the alliance competition. noveltranslationweb.blogspot.com

The arena had been cleared up and tables for ten were placed all over the arena.

At the seats of honor, there were small tables prepared for the various large faction's legendary figures.

Fine wine and delicacies were placed on the tables. The scale of the birthday banquet was more than ten times better than the one seven days ago.

However, the arena had an additional deathly aura to it that lacked the elegance of the Splendid Room. Even the cutlery was made of black iron. They gave off a chilling feeling as if this was not a birthday banquet.

A special array was set up in the Divine Wilderness Stage in the middle. No matter how violent the battles were on the Divine Wilderness Stage, it would not affect the surrounding birthday banquet one bit.

But at that moment, many of the young elites present were not at ease enough to eat.

Of course, there were exceptions.

On the Yun Long Divine Kingdom side, there was a yellow-clad fatty who was grabbing roasted meat and tucking in, disregarding the fact that the birthday banquet had not officially begun.

Since all ties had nearly been broken, there was no point maintaining etiquette. Besides, how was he going to go on stage to fight if he did not have his fill?

Sitting beside the yellow-clad fatty was a lanky tattooed youth. A venomous snake was wrapped around his body. His eyes were like that of a serpent while he was in search of his prey.

Only when he noticed a youth in linen clothes walk into the arena did he faintly smile, with pick-like sharp teeth appearing at the ends of his mouth.

"Tsk, the prey is here. He sure is fresh and delicious."

As he said this, the fatty beside him raised his head and looked at Yi Yun.

"Eh! Indeed. Poor child, he still doesn't know that his own company has stabbed him in the back, hahaha!" The fatty laughed without control as his mouth was covered in oil.

While walking in the crowd, Yi Yun's eyebrows wrinkled. He felt that people were staring at him.

He did not need to turn his head. Just by opening his energy vision, he could lock on to the yellow-clad fatty and the snake youth in an instant.

"Oh? I don't know these two people. What are they staring at me for?"

Yi Yun subconsciously touched his interspatial ring, and in it were the weapons that Yi Yun had chosen yesterday!

True Martial World - Chapter 309: Yi Yun Coming out of Reclusive Training

The news regarding the alliance of the various large factions against the beast horde and the competition for assembly seats quickly spread. The young disciples of the various large factions were also made aware of this information.

They finally knew why the Tai Ah Divine City's City Lord had organized a birthday banquet and why it was suddenly stopped midway.

The birthday banquet was only an excuse. The real reason was to negotiate an alliance. Initially, this reason was kept confidential, which was why the lie of a birthday banquet was needed.

The matter of competing for seats was of grave importance. Every faction began making their preparations.

"The few of you are the best young people from our Bai Yue mountain family clan. I do not expect you to become the champion of this alliance ranking competition, nor do I even ask you to enter the top 10. As long as anyone of you can win our Bai Yue mountain family clan one seat, then the next Patriarch candidate will be mostly determined!"

Somewhere in the central divine tower, a middle-aged man said to a few young boys and girls in front of him.

The Bai Yue mountain family clan was a reclusive family clan that had its roots in the Bai Yue mountains. It did not belong to any of the three large factions, nor did it have any sages. The head of the house was a peak-Human Lord. If they were to develop according to a prescribed order, it would be very difficult for them to grow.

However, opportunities arise in troubled times!

First, they had to compete for a seat. This was the first step in allowing their family clan to grow.

With this critical one vote, the Bai Yue mountain family clan would be valued by the other factions. During a key moment, people would try to win them over by laying enough chips on the table.

While in another residence in the central divine tower, the fur-cloaked Seven Star Pagoda Owner was looking at the young elites of the Yun Long Divine Kingdom in front of him.

"You are the Yun Long 72 Pagodas's strongest batch in the past 100 years! I suggested the rule of competing in an alliance ranking competition! I dared to suggest it because I have confidence in all of you!"

The Seven Star Pagoda Owner towered from above as he looked at the young boys and girls before him. The shadow behind him seemed to rise infinitely high, giving others great pressure.

"Since the rules were suggested by me, if anyone of you were to perform badly, then I will be the laughing stock of the South's ten countries and the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom. Even the old rivals in our country will mock me!"

"Now, I have nothing much to say to you. I only wish for you to gain at least half the seats in the alliance ranking competition in seven days! That is the bottom line! In fact, only by obtaining 60% of the seats would I be satisfied!"

The Seven Star Pagoda Owner's voice was shocking. The youths of the Yun Long Divine Kingdom half-kneeled with a hand across their chest, "Yes! Pagoda Owner!"

Amongst the crowd, a pale black-clothed youth wrapped a bandage around his hand.

"The alliance ranking competition...I will not be limited by it. Let this beast horde be the first test in my martial life..." The black-clothed youth said this silently in his mind. A cold beam flashed in his eyes.

...

The seven days of preparation was sufficient. There were even some countries who brought the young elites from their country using super long-distance teleportation arrays, so as to join the competition.

As for the Tai Ah Divine City, it also gave out its own rewards.

This large competition was no longer a matter of glory points. The Tai Ah Divine City's City Lord announced personally that whoever were to obtain first place in the alliance ranking competition would be free to use any resources while training in the Tai Ah Divine City. They would also be conferred the title of Count, given a hundred cities as their fiefdom, and enjoy the privileges of the royal household in the future.

For example, even reading the entire set of the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique' was not a problem.

This reward was pretty exaggerated, but the appearance of the Shepherd Boy was a matter of the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom's survival. Giving out rewards like this was understandable.

Of course, to obtain first place in the alliance ranking competition was too difficult for the Tai Ah Divine City's cultivators.

Even the leader figures of the current Tai Ah Divine City, Yao Dao and Yang Qian were experiencing heavy pressure at that moment!

The two of them were old rivals the moment they entered the Tai Ah Divine City. At that moment, they were sitting across each other in a loft.

"You and I have been at odds for four years. Now, we will need to fight hand in hand."

Yang Qian took a deep breath. He was of royalty, so for this matter that involved the country's and his own fate, he had to put in greater effort.

If he could obtain first place in the alliance ranking competition, he could be made a king for sure, even though it was impossible for him to be made Crown Prince.

"I am looking forward to fighting the young elites of the other countries on the same stage." Yao Dao said as he gently wiped his long saber, as his eyes burned with fighting spirit.

At the moment everyone received this piece of information, Luo Huo'er received an invitation to fight.

Luo Huo'er's small face frowned as she faced the invitation.

"Alliance ranking competition..." Luo Huo'er muttered to herself as if she was in a dilemma.

"Miss, why don't you represent the Tai Ah Divine City to fight and beat them all up badly?"

Beside Luo Huo'er was a very excited maidservant, Dong'er, who exclaimed this while waving her small fists, making movements as if she was fighting against an opponent.

Dong'er had often heard Luo Huo'er bragging about how strong she was, such as tearing a king-grade desolate beast with her bare hands, destroying experts from all sorts of places, and so on.

When she mentioned of her 'glorious past', Luo Huo'er would often add one more line at the end, "This is nothing to me, piece of cake!"

To Dong'er, with her mistress' 'tearing a king-grade desolate beast with her bare hands' powers’, she was sure to wipe the floor of all the geniuses from various countries!

As her mistress liked to join in the hubbub and with her show-off nature, it was natural that she would not miss out on this opportunity.

But Dong'er never expected what happened next. After Luo Huo'er seemed to appear to have some intentions, but upon recalling something, she said, "I can't be bothered fighting this bunch of trash! It will only reduce my stature!"

"Uh..." Dong'er choked.

Many times, just before Luo Huo'er fought, she would use various kinds of excuses. "Reducing my stature fighting them" was Luo Huo'er's most common excuse.

"Ai, forget it. I won't bother with the likes of them. Training the Desolate Heaven technique everyday is also boring, but, so be it." Luo Huo'er stretched her back, revealing her great body, "I'm going to sleep. Don't bother me if there's nothing."

"Miss, why?" Dong'er quickly followed as her eyeballs rolled around, as if she had seen something on Luo Huo'er's face.

The Tai Ah Divine City's Heaven and Earth rolls did not have Luo Huo'er's name on them. She only held first place of the Man roll of honors.

It was really weird that her mistress would not show herself off, considering her ability to tear a king-grade desolate beast apart with her bare hands.

Dong'er was anxious but Luo Huo'er appeared to have absolute zero interest. She yawned and ignored Dong'er, as she went back to her room.

Sitting on her bed, Luo Huo'er sat there quietly and lazily. After that, she unbuttoned her clothes gently and took out a talisman charm that hung on her neck, it was a protective charm. She touched the protective charm as she went into a daze.

"Daddy, when will you bring me back? It's too boring here."

"In this sensitive period, if those whatever City Lords or Pagoda Owners discover my identity, they would treat me as a spy and chop me up."

"Ai, what a bother! It's so troubling that I have been suffering from insomnia recently..."

Luo Huo'er grabbed her protective charm, pressing it to her chest as she laid back on the soft bed. Her hair spread out covered the whole bed like a blooming black rose.

Not long after, Luo Huo'er's calm breathing was heard in the room.

...

The days passed one by one. During the seven days preparation time, the South's ten countries transfered people from their country over for the alliance ranking competition.

There were more and more elites gathered in the Tai Ah Divine City.

These proud children of heaven were all extremely arrogant. With the rivalry between the factions they belonged to, how could they live in peace together?

Not long after, all sorts of friction exploded all around the Tai Ah Divine City.

Usually a small matter would escalate, causing the parties involved to make an appointment to fight it out in the arena.

There was always a winning and losing party in a fighting match. If one accidentally attacked too heavily, causing the other to be injured, the hostility would worsen.

Later, there would be people standing up for the injured party, resulting in another battle in the arena.

As such, before the alliance ranking competition even began, there were many fights. Many people were injured and the situation became even more testy!

Soon, the moment the elites from the various large faction met, it would be as if they were as incompatible as fire and water. It was just short of an all-out fight amongst the masses.

The Tai Ah Divine City's people had the most casualties.

The main reason was that the people from the other factions were elites amongst the elites, while the Tai Ah Divine City had many ordinary disciples. The result was obvious for an ordinary disciple clashing with an elite.

The situation was nearly going out of control.

"This kid, why isn't he coming out yet!? He sure makes one worry!"

Tomorrow would be the alliance battle. Cang Yan had been standing outside the sword tomb, tempted to open the door to the sword tomb a few times. However, he was afraid of interrupting Yi Yun's cultivation midway, just as he was about to gain some important insight, by entering.

"In another four hours, I'll go in if the kid still doesn't come out. F**k, this kid has gone in there for so many days. It's nearly burning down outside, while he has it good. I don't even know if he has fallen asleep inside there. What the heck is he doing going in there for 8-9 days!?"

If Yi Yun were to enter the saber tomb or if he were to go into reclusive training to ponder over things such as the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique' or totem mystic technique, it would be fine.

But what most exasperating was that he had entered the sword tomb to learn about swords.

Isn't he crazy for a saber user to learn swords!?

If not for Yi Yun giving Cang Yan miracles a time or two, Cang Yan would have long washed his hands of the matter. noveltranslationweb.blogspot.com

Cang Yan placed an hourglass by the sword tomb's entrance. Once the sand finished flowing, he would call Yi Yun out. As tomorrow was the big battle, he needed Yi Yun to have a good night's rest, so that he would be in an optimal state.

Just as the sand flowed down about halfway, the sword tomb began rumbling as it opened by itself.

"This kid can actually open the tomb's door himself..."

Cang Yan was thinking about this just as he saw Yi Yun appear by the stone door's entrance...

True Martial World - Chapter 308: Competing for Assembly Seats

According to the original schedule, the City Lord's birthday banquet would have lasted for seven days.

The important figures from the various factions would only attend the first two days. To the juniors, these two days were of extreme importance as it was a stage for them to showcase their skills.

The elites from various large factions were all extremely proud. How could they not flaunt their strength with all of them gathered together?

Under normal circumstances, the demonstrations during the birthday banquet were perfunctory, and there wouldn’t be any real fights on stage. It was just for people to show off their specialty skills as a performance to excite the banquet's atmosphere.

Originally, many of the juniors had prepared their performances, such as sparring, swordplay, etc, and they were eager to get into action, hoping to shine during the banquet and win rewards. But they never expected that the mighty figures all entered a negotiation room on the first day. They did not come out even after six hours.

What is the meaning of this?

Many of the juniors were dumbfounded. The food was already cold, yet not a single soul of that negotiation group was seen.

It was only until midnight that the large door to the side chamber opened.

The mighty figures from the various large factions filed out of the side chamber.

Leading the way was the Tai Ah Divine City's City Lord. He still wore his green gown and he gave off a breezy feeling with his faint smile on his face.

But the sharper people knew that something was amiss. There was a feeling of confrontation amongst the important figures. noveltranslationweb.blogspot.com

Each party from the various factions was seated according to their respective statures. The atmosphere seemed to turn cold.

The middle-aged scholar stood up and raised a glass of wine, "It is my honor that everyone is here to participate in my birthday banquet. Due to a sudden turn of events today, I have neglected all of you. Please forgive me for being a bad host. Seeing that the Sun has set, please feel free to eat. The banquet will temporarily cease tomorrow and it will be held seven days later. This Splendid Room is a bit too small, thus the venue will be the arena! It is much roomier there!"

The City Lord gave a simple opening speech, which seemed like pleasantries, but all the young elites from the various factions were shocked.

The birthday banquet would be held seven days later? This birthday banquet could still be pushed back?

And, this Splendid Room is small...This Splendid Room was hundreds of feet in radius and it could accommodate more than 1000 people easily, how could it be small? And the middle-aged scholar's mentioning of switching to the arena made many juniors present feel a surge of sharpness.

The legendary figures from the various factions did not speak a single word but they clearly silently accepted it. This birthday banquet's atmosphere was sullen as the juniors present felt the solemn atmosphere.

An elite youth from a small faction had specially prepared a swordplay show. After everyone was eating silently for 15 minutes, he could not endure it any further and jumped out, announcing that he was going to provide some entertainment for the birthday banquet.

The legendary figures from the various large factions lacked any interest. Seeing their elders sullen faces, none of the juniors had the mood to cheer, what more, jumping out to spar with the youth.

Due to the awkward atmosphere, the youth decided to stop demonstrating his swordplay in the end.

As a result, no other junior came forward to get snubbed.

The first day's birthday banquet ended in such a depressing atmosphere.

After the birthday banquet ended, there was a meeting of the Tai Ah Divine City Elders.

Jian Ge, Cang Yan, Grandmaster Yuehua and other divine city Elders were looking at the City Lord.

"How is the situation?"

The Elders did not enter the side chamber for the negotiations, so they did not know the results of the negotiations. They only noticed that the birthday banquet's atmosphere was heavy, so they guessed that the result was not optimistic.

"We did not manage to come to a consensus. The main problem is the commanding rights..."

The middle-aged scholar shook his head gently. With so many countries in an alliance, there was indeed a need for a commander to unite them. If they were not united and fought their own battles, then the battle situation would be terrible. One had to know that it was the Shepherd Boy leading the beast horde, and it was a horde that did not fear death.

The final result of a group of timid and disunited troops against a monolithic beast horde was obvious.

On the battlefield, there would be inevitable results of narrow escapes or even everyone dying on the battlefield. As such, whoever had the right of command was able to save their own strength to a certain extent.

No one wanted to be cannon fodder.

"The Seven Star Pagoda Owner wants to be the alliance leader, but I refused. The ten countries from the south wanted more benefits, which I naturally did not agree to. The final condition set forth by the Seven Star Pagoda Owner was to set up an Elder League during the war, and in the form of a legislative assembly, fight for the commanding rights. And exactly how many seats every faction would receive would depend on each country's strength."

"Strength?" Jian Ge frowned. In the world of warriors, strength was king. The bigger one's fist was, the greater one's voice was. This was not to be disputed, but how was one to compete in strength?

"Our strength is on par with the Yun Long Divine Kingdom's!" Cang Yan said.

"Yes, in terms of national power, we are almost the same. Besides, there is no way to compare national power. We cannot gather the sages and peak Human Lords from every country to fight a match. Therefore, we will compete with the strength of our juniors. Their Yun Long 72 Pagodas is not much different from our Tai Ah Divine City. It too gathers all the best juniors of the Yun Long Divine Kingdom."

"If the Yun Long 72 Pagodas is compared with the Tai Ah Divine City, we can indeed see whose juniors are stronger. A generation of juniors is the future of a Divine Kingdom. This form of competition isn't unreasonable."

"The Yun Long 72 Pagodas against the Tai Ah Divine City? City Lord, you agreed to it?"

"Yes!" The middle-aged scholar nodded.

"This..." Cang Yan was worried. "The geniuses of the Tai Ah Divine City are different every year. The last batch that just left the Tai Ah Divine City was filled with experts. Anyone chosen from Qin Haotian, Li Xiao and the Qiao brothers could fight one against ten, but now with them gone, the new crop has yet to come in to replace the old. Who do we choose?"

This rule was clearly disadvantageous against the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom. Cang Yan knew that the Yun Long Divine Kingdom had come prepared. It was likely that this batch in the Yun Long 72 Pagodas was much stronger than previous years.

For them to go against the Yun Long 72 Pagodas' strong phase while their Tai Ah Divine City was in the weak phase, the outcome was obvious.

The middle-aged scholar said, "You are right. The Seven Star Pagoda Owner knew this and purposely made this request. He is clearly very confident of this Yun Long Divine Kingdom generation."

"As for the ten countries in the south, they have agreed. They have added on a condition for them to have three additional Elder seats. They seem to be very proud of their countries' younger generation." The middle-aged scholar said as the Elders' minds were shrouded in gloom.

They knew that it was a necessary concession for the middle-aged scholar had to agree on.

As the Shepherd Boy had appeared at the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom's borders, the ten countries in the south and the Yun Long Divine Kingdom were still a distance away. If a beast horde were to happen, the first one to suffer was the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom.

They could watch on the sidelines as the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom fought against the beast horde first.

Although as the saying goes "when the lips are lost, the teeth will be exposed to the cold", the ten countries in the south and the Yun Long Divine Kingdom would only feel "cold", while the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom would be "lost". The difference was great.

"What are the exact rules? We can't be fighting without anything to reap?" An Elder dressed in a purple shirt said worriedly.

"No, if the younger participants do a good job, we will also win seats, just fewer in numbers."

"And for making it fair, if the difference in ages is too great, then the older one will have to suppress their cultivation level. Even so, the older one would still hold an advantage. As suppressing one's cultivation level is extremely limited. It is just for show as the insight into laws and Aspect Totems will not be suppressed."

"The number of seats in the end will be decided according to the overall performance. In the end, just being first will obtain a once-off 10 seats."

The middle-aged scholar simply introduced the rules. Cang Yan was extremely pissed hearing this as these rules were beneficial to the Yun Long Divine Kingdom.

The current Tai Ah Divine City's achilles' heel was that it lacked strong young adult cultivators.

They were not lacking in teenager experts.

But under these rules, it was impossible for a thirteen-fourteen year-old teenager to beat a seventeen-eighteen year-old young adult.

Hence, the final grand prize would have to be given up.

"Jian Ge, you have been the one in charge of the Tai Ah Divine City these days. Make a list of participants." The middle-aged scholar ordered. "You should know who is most suitable to compete."

The participant list not only needed to take into consideration the Earth roll ranking, but also the age. Even the sixth year cultivators, who were ranked in the top 30 of the Earth roll, could not compete as they were too weak.

But as for Wen Yu and Lu Jie, these rookie experts who were only ranked 3000-4000 on the Earth roll could take part in the competition.

Jian Ge said, "Yi Yun, Chu Xiaoran and Qiuniu are all the best experts. With them, the fourteen-year-old bracket is definitely to our advantage. But there is a lack of fifth and sixth year cultivators. There is only a girl named Luo Huo'er. Her origins are a mystery, and she has never participated in the Earth or Heaven roll tussle, so we do not know how strong she is!"

The strength of Luo Huo'er, who was ranked first on the Man ranking, had always been a mystery. Now, Jian Ge could only rest his hopes on Luo Huo'er to give a pleasant surprise.

True Martial World - Chapter 307: Shepherd Boy

Seeing the middle-aged scholar appear, many of the young men and women in the Tai Ah Divine City pavilions held their breaths.

Wen Yu, Chu Xiaoran, Qiuniu, Yang Qian, Yao Dao… Even the most arrogant geniuses became extremely respectful while facing the Tai Ah Divine City's City Lord as they all had a deep sense of reverence for him.

This was the first time they met the Tai Ah Divine City's City Lord. Not only them, not even Qin Haotian or Li Xiao had ever managed to see the City Lord in the past.

As the middle-aged scholar, Seven Star Pagoda Owner and the important figures from various large factions entered, all the young elites in the pavilions stood up.

Seeing these legendary figures made them extremely excited and also made them feel a kind of pressure.

They thought that once the important figures were seated, the birthday banquet would begin, but unexpectedly, these people went straight past the "water canal", going straight into one of the side chambers in the Splendid Room.

In the Splendid Room, there were side chambers used for negotiations. The doors to the side chamber closed the moment they entered.

"Eh?"

Seeing the group of important figures disappear into the side chamber, left the juniors hanging and confused.

Wasn't this supposed to be the City Lord's birthday banquet?

The banquet had been laid out, yet these important figures did not take their seats and immediately went into one of the side chambers for negotiations?

At that instant, many of the juniors looked at each other, unsure of what to do.

"What the heck!?"

The yellow-clothed fatty from the Yun Long Divine Kingdom was planning to dig in, but without the important figures seated, he could not eat.

"What's the matter…"

The other young elites from the Yun Long Divine Kingdom were also filled with questions. At that moment, the girl in a palace gown calmly said, "Maybe… this negotiation is the main purpose for this birthday banquet…"

…

At that moment, in the side chamber of the Splendid Room, many important figures from the various factions were seated.

The seats were clearly split into three regions.

One region was led by the middle-aged scholar. Behind him were the various factions affiliated with the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom.

Another region was led by the Seven Star Pagoda Owner. Behind him were the factions affiliated with the Yun Long Divine Kingdom.

The last region was the twelve countries alliance from the South.

These twelve countries were smaller than the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom and the Yun Long Divine Kingdom. However, with the twelve countries in an alliance, they were powerful enough to form a tripartite with the other two Divine Kingdoms.

And between these three regions, there were various reclusive family clans and some scattered smaller countries.

In some sense, they formed the last powerful faction, but they were not united.

This simple negotiation would go according to the clearly distinguished powers.

The Tai Ah Divine Kingdom and the Yun Long Divine Kingdom had been rivals for many years. There was constant friction between these two countries, but they never fought because of the constant fear of the Divine Wilderness.

At that moment, the Tai Ah Divine City's City Lord was sitting in the host's seat, holding a scroll in his hands.

"I am honored by everyone attending my, Yang's birthday banquet. Gathering all of you here is because there is an important thing we need to discuss. I wonder if everyone present has heard the legend of the Shepherd Boy…"

As the middle-aged scholar spoke, he opened up the scroll which contained a picture.

It was a youth, riding on a green cow in the picture. He held a piccolo in his hand and wore a bamboo hat. He dressed simply and looked like a handsome young farmer boy.

"Shepherd Boy?"

Some people frowned, obviously they had never heard this name.

However, there were a few people whose expressions changed the moment they heard the words Shepherd Boy.

"I see. No wonder the City Lord has invited us over. I have heard the legend of the Shepherd Boy. Ten years ago, he appeared in the western regions and stirred up a bloody storm. I never expected him to suddenly appear here…" An elder said with a deep tone.

"Who is the Shepherd Boy?"

Some people frowned as they asked. Everyone present were important figures, so they did not feel good about not knowing something others knew.

"Let me tell you."

The middle-aged scholar lightly threw the Shepherd Boy picture and it flew up to a wall. He then slowly said, "The Shepherd Boy is a mysterious youth. Of course, he just looks young. As for his actual age, I do not know. Shepherd Boy is just a nickname of his. I am unsure of what his real name is."

"The origins of the Shepherd Boy is a mystery. We do not know who he is, but we do know that he is not human."

"Oh!? What?"

A green-clothed elder was alarmed when he heard this. He carefully looked at the painting on the wall. It was clearly a young man, how could he not be human?

"Indeed. The last time the Shepherd Boy appeared, he caused great misery in the western regions. Because, every time he appears, a massive beast horde will accompany him. At first, it will just be small-scaled. Later on, it will become more and more terrifying. There might even be many primordial strains. Some people even suspect that the Shepherd Boy is able to control desolate beasts."

Control desolate beasts?

People were alarmed hearing this. "Could this Shepherd Boy be a desolate beast in human form?" Someone couldn't help but ask.

However, the middle-aged scholar shook his head. "I am afraid not. To date, in the most authoritative ancient records, there has been no records of a desolate beast taking on human form. Of course, we cannot rule out the possibility of a desolate beast cultivating to such an unimaginable realm that it is able to take on a human form."

"Usually, there are beast hordes in the Divine Wilderness, but the scale of them will not be large. And the desolate beasts' intelligence is not high. The beast horde will charge and destroy aimlessly, like loose sand. It can be easily defeated, but… with the Shepherd Boy, it will be different. The beast horde will become very organized and strategic, making it extremely difficult to handle."

"Ten years ago, when the Shepherd Boy first appeared in the western region, he brought a huge disaster to the western regions. Back then, the Shepherd Boy's goal was the ancient family clan in the western regions, the Shentu family clan!"

"The Shentu family clan had an extremely deep heritage, so they were able to withstand that large scale beast horde. However, they suffered great losses!"

"After the Shepherd Boy failed, he conjured up a few beast hordes in several places. Blood flowed like rivers, but these beast hordes were much weaker compared to the one that went against the Shentu family clan. It felt like it was a form of revenge…"

The middle-aged scholar told the story of the Shepherd Boy in a calm tone.

"Shentu family clan?"

When people heard the name of the family clan, many of the important figures present looked at each other. This family clan's heritage was extremely terrifying.

It was much stronger than the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom and the Yun Long Divine Kingdom.

Why did the Shepherd Boy go against a family clan of that power level?

"Everyone, you do not have to worry too much." Seeing the ugly expressions of the principal figures of the various factions, the middle-aged scholar then continued, "The Shentu family clan might have had some feud with the Shepherd Boy, resulting in that huge battle. As for us, we should not have any crossed paths with him. However, since he has appeared in our Tai Ah Divine Kingdom's northern regions, it is still very worrying. And once there is a beast horde, it will not just be the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom's matter. Being closely related and having common interests, we all share the same fate, so all of you might be implicated too.

The middle-aged scholar slowly said this as the crowd listened to him with worried expressions. This topic was not something they could ease up on.

"Everyone, the reason for gathering everyone here today is to form an alliance, so that we will be able to combat the possible beast horde."

The middle-aged scholar revealed the main purpose of this birthday banquet.

Everyone had different expressions when they heard this.

Although the Tai Ah Divine City's City Lord was right about the fact that the surrounding countries would be implicated if there was a beast horde, the appearance of the Shepherd Boy was in the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom's northern region, not near their countries. So the first one to suffer would be the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom in the event of a beast horde.

After all, the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom had to be destroyed first before it became their turn.

In fact, this beast horde might not be too large in scale and might not even be able to destroy the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom. If so, the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom would be able to withstand the beast horde by suffering losses. If that was the case, it would be none of their business.

Also, there was another point. Although the beast horde would cause huge losses of lives, even to the point of sages dying, it was a great opportunity to train up experts with every beast horde. Warriors had to undergo hardship and killing to mature. Besides, after a beast horde, there would be extremely large amounts of resources. For example, the body of a killed primordial strain was full of treasures!

If one could withstand a beast horde, it was also an opportunity to be reborn from the ashes like a phoenix!

The best outcome would be both the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom and the beast horde suffering great losses. With them joining late in the war, they would reduce the risk of their own sages and geniuses dying, only receiving the benefits…

The Tai Ah Divine City's City Lord was no simple person. How could he not figure out their wishful thinking?

In time, many of the important figures of the various factions were having disparate thoughts.

Facing this possible disaster and the chance of fortuitous opportunities, everyone had their own plans. Everyone wanted to avoid the risks but reap the benefits.

Unless the Shepherd Boy is able to conjure up a beast horde that really is able to destroy more than ten countries, it will be impossible for the various factions to resist the beast horde without any demands.

At that moment, the Yun Long Divine Kingdom's Seven Star Pagoda Owner said, "City Lord Yang, you mentioned an alliance. I wonder, who will be taking on the responsibility of the alliance's leader?"

The crowd's attention was instantly attracted the moment the Seven Star Pagoda Owner said this.

The alliance's leader was not just a problem of dignity, it also involved the commanding powers. After the beast horde was over, there would be unspeakable benefits to the person holding the commanding powers.

This was because each war had to do with deaths and injury, losses and also the victory items!

There might be certain wars where various factions would seek to fight, but there were other wars that no one would want to send their own warriors to their deaths.

The middle-aged scholar smiled upon hearing the Seven Star Pagoda Owner's question. He answered, "There will be no need for a leader for the alliance. All it needs is a council, consisting of all the important figures from the various factions."

"Oh? Council? If the council is in constant debate without a consensus? This is when an alliance leader is necessary!"

The Seven Star Pagoda Owner's tone sounded calm, but it had a hidden sharpness to it!

People knew that the relationship between the Yun Long Divine Kingdom and the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom was not friendly.

Now, with core interests involved, how could a battle be avoided?

True Martial World - Chapter 306: The Birthday Banquet Begins

As people gathered in Tai Ah Divine City, Yi Yun was in the sword tomb trying to gain some understanding of the sword truths without knowing the time of the day.

Originally, Yi Yun thought that having experienced the saber tomb, which came from the same origins as the sword tomb, it would be extremely easy for him to understand the sword truths with his entry into the sword tomb.

However, it was only when Yi Yun entered the sword tomb did he realize that it was completely different from the saber tomb.

In the saber tomb, there were saber scar marks and the Saber Truth's 32 Words. Each word contained a saber truth.

But, the sword tomb did not have those things. In there, there was a fascinating stone wall. Closing one's eyes and meditating in front the stone wall would envelope someone in illusions.

In these illusions, there were rushing rivers, cascading waterfalls, the virtual images of mountains of corpses and a sea of blood, and there were also flying sword beams.

It seemed like the person who left behind the sword tomb had cast all the scenes he had seen in his life into the stone wall. As such, people of the future would sense these scenes while meditating in front of the stone wall.

"These are the things that the sword tomb owner saw when comprehending the way of the sword!"

Yi Yun opened the Purple Crystal's energy vision and a light flashed across his mind.

The sword tomb owner had seen all these images that allowed him to comprehend his Sword Intent, hence, he had left his own Sword Intent within those scenes, allowing people of the future to ponder over them.

Yi Yun had spent 10 months in the Pure Yang Sword Palace and he failed to understand the Pure Yang Sword Palace's owner's Sword Intent. However, it still allowed Yi Yun to have a deep understanding of the sword truths.

After trying out the hardest sword truths that were closest to its origins, and then trying to gain insight on a relatively easier sword truth, this was much easier.

If it was said that the Sword Intent left behind in the Pure Yang Sword Palace was a tall mountain that was very difficult to scale, then the sword truths left behind in the sword tomb were like stone steps used to scale that tall mountain.

Yi Yun went up a step at a time...

Time passed. Yi Yun did not know how long had passed as he meditated in the sword tomb. He had entered a completely ethereal state, being one with nature in a spiritual sense.

The shocking sword scars from the Pure Yang Sword Palace kept resonating in Yi Yun's mind.

It was as if those huge sword scars were carved in Yi Yun's mind, slowly overlapping with the images from within the sword tomb...

It was unknown when a rusty broken sword appeared in Yi Yun's hands. The broken sword emitted a cold frosty feeling, making Yi Yun's mind even clearer...

He gently waved the sword slowly, as if he was slashing at invisible spider webs.

Slash after slash seemed to be completely random, but in the illusionary world, Yi Yun seemed to have slashed apart a waterfall, splitting a river, and the fantasy-like saber beam and sword shadows seemed to interweave with each other.

While Yi Yun was in a trance like state of trying to comprehend the sword, the Tai Ah Divine City was already bustling with activity.

In the central divine tower, there was a place for welcoming guests, named Splendid Room. The Tai Ah Divine City's City Lord's birthday banquet was to be held here.

Although the Splendid Room was in the central divine tower's hall, one would see flowers and bamboo upon entering. These plants were treasures, and between the plants, there was emerald-green water that quietly flowed around, as if it was a jade belt.

If any guest wanted to drink in this green bamboo forest, they could simply put wine glasses into the flowing water and drink from it, and it could be described as "drinking water from a winding canal".

Beyond the bamboo forest, there were exquisite little tables. The tables were about one foot tall and they only allowed people to sit kneeling on the ground. There were all sort of exquisite spiritual foods placed on the tables. They were all treasures amongst treasures and extremely expensive. The foods contained rich amounts of Yuan Qi, allowing one's cultivation level to benefit from eating it.

People who were qualified to sit at those tiny tables for the Tai Ah Divine City's City Lord's birthday banquet were all important figures from various large factions.

And for VIPs like the Tai Ah Divine City's City Lord and the Seven Star Pagoda Owner, they were seated near the flowing water at the center of the entire hall.

Around the table, there were pavilions.

Each pavilion had one large table and all the young elites from each country would sit here.

Except for the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom, who was the host, all the other factions were only allocated one pavilion.

Those who could sit in the pavilions were the strongest youths from each faction.

And for the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom's pavilion, the relatively outstanding Tai Ah Divine City cultivators were selected. For example, the top 30 geniuses from the Heaven, Earth, Man rolls of honor, and the leaders of other age groups.

For example, the third-year cultivators' Li Hong, the second-year cultivators' Chu Xiaoran and Qiuniu and the top three rookies of this year’s batch, Lu Jie, Wen Yu and a short fat youth.

"Oh? Why isn't Yi Yun here?"

The Tai Ah Divine Kingdom's younger generation was split amongst 6 pavilions. Wen Yu, Lu Jie, Qiuniu and Chu Xiaoran were sitting together. Lu Jie scanned the surroundings and noticed that Yi Yun was not around. noveltranslationweb.blogspot.com

This surprised Lu Jie. With Yi Yun's stature, he was definitely qualified to sit here.

"I don't know, maybe he's in reclusive training..." Chu Xiaoran casually said and did not bother about it.

In fact, it was pretty pointless for her to join such a banquet. She was not a person who liked the noise and excitement. She was only here to gain an understanding of the young elites from the various factions.

"Oh? It's the people from the Yun Long Divine Kingdom!"

At that moment, the most important figures from the various factions had not arrived. Only the younger generation of the various factions were in the hall.

Chu Xiaoran saw about a dozen youths walk over. Leading them was a fatty in yellow. His face had a friendly smile, but his eyes contained arrogance.

He scanned over the crowd and skipped over Chu Xiaoran without pausing and looked to the pavilion besides Chu Xiaoran's.

In that pavilion sat two of Tai Ah Divine City's most influential figures, Yao Dao and Yang Qian!

Back when Yi Yun first entered the Tai Ah Divine City, Yao Dao and Yang Qian were fifteen years old. Back then, they were ranked in the top 100 of the Earth roll.

Now, after a year, Yao Dao and Yang Qian had spent 4 years in the Tai Ah Divine City, and they were now fifth year cultivators. Their cultivation level had reached the mid-stages of the Yuan Foundation realm about half a year ago.

With Qin Haotian and his batch completing their training, they had left the Tai Ah Divine City. Hence, Yao Dao and Yang Qian had entered the top 5 of the Earth roll.

Without Qin Haotian, Li Xiao and company, there were not many presentable sixth-year geniuses in the Tai Ah Divine City other than Luo Huo'er.

But Luo Huo'er never challenged the Heaven or Earth rolls. No one knew how strong she was in other aspects other than her Desolate Heaven technique.

Hence, the fifth year's Yao Dao and Yang Qian were now considered the best. People believed that the two of them would replace Qin Haotian and company's position, and they would soon dominate both Heaven and Earth rolls.

As for Yang Haoran, Yang Dingkun and company, although they were outstanding, they were a lot worse than Yao Dao and Yang Qian.

The batches below, the fourth and third year cultivators were even worse.

The third year cultivators only had Li Hong. And he had been defeated by Yi Yun, a person one year younger than him, in the last rookie ranking competition.

This was definitely an embarrassment for the third-year cultivators.

The Yun Long Divine Kingdom's yellow-clothed fatty had a general idea of who were the outstanding ones amongst the Tai Ah Divine City’s cultivators before the birthday banquet began.

Hence, once he entered, he only paid attention to Yao Dao and Yang Qian.

Sensing the yellow-clothed fatty's brazen gaze of sizing them up, Yang Qian's frowned. "This fatty wants to fight!"

Yang Qian was a proud person and he had a bad temper. Feeling the yellow-clothed fatty's animosity, he was enraged.

"This fatty is not simple. He is looking at your strength. His gaze is indeed irritating, as if it is the gaze of a businessman checking out his goods."

Beside Yang Qian, Yao Dao said that calmly. His hand could not help but touch the short saber by the side of his body.

"Yang Qian, there might be some impromptu performances for the City Lord's birthday banquet. It will be the moment for all the young elites from the various factions to compete against each other. Now with Senior Qin gone, those who can handle this scene are probably the two of us. Hence, this fatty is sizing you up!"

Yao Dao quickly guessed the fatty's intentions.

Yang Qian grunted, "I see. That's also good!"

Yang Qian was not afraid of a challenge. Battling against others amongst the younger generation was all he could wish for. He especially looked forward to sparring with young elites from outside of the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom!

At that moment, the Splendid Room's door opened, and with some attendants guiding them, the important figures from the various factions arrived.

Amongst them were the two leaders, one of them was a stout man wearing a heavy fur cloak and bone-laced military boots. He was the Yun Long Divine Kingdom's Seven Star Pagoda Owner.

And the other person was a middle-aged men in a green gown. He looked happy, but his sword-like eyebrows revealed an extremely sharp aura.

This person did not seem to give any sense of oppression. In fact, he looked like a scholar from the mortal world. He seemed to read the books of sages, but was thoroughly weak.

He was Tai Ah Divine City's City Lord!