It was a cloudy day, with roiling clouds blowing in across the barren plains to the west. They were like an army of billions, passing the Bipo Mountain Range for the eastern oceans.
It was already afternoon. The golden sunlight filtered through the clouds, beaming down as pillars of light that bathed the entire Bipo Mountain Range in a lustrous, yellow glow.
Over the countless mountains and ravines, numerous Immortal Cranes soared, affirming the Immortal Dao scene.
And today, the mountain that hosted the Immortal's Battle Stage was majestic and imposing as could be!
The Immortal's Battle Stage looked like a huge sword that had been embedded, slanted, facing the sky. The sword tip pointed to the east. It had an imposing, heaven-defying will! And on it, there was no real flat stage. All the places that could be stood upon were uneven. For average disciples, forget battling, even standing still on the Immortal's Battle Stage was a mark of one's ability.
And exactly because of this uneven surface, the battle today could not be watched by many of the servant disciples in the Heavenly Sword Sect. Most of those that could stand here were at least at the seventh tier of the Body Refining Realm.
Just because of this alone, the Immortal's Battle Stage was much grander than the Immortal Promotion Plateau by a few levels.
The Immortal's Battle Stage forbid Immortal Cranes, and the disciples had to make their way up on foot. By the time they had arrived at the actual battleground, they were already slightly worn out.
And on the boundless Immortal's Battle Stage, it was human heads everywhere, faces full of anticipation, waiting for the battles between the 12 core disciples. A battle between disciples that had already condensed their qi – to them this was something they could only watch but not aspire to reach.
Of course, amongst them, Wu Yu was not a core disciple, but he had been involved in the contest between the Sect Leader and the Sect Protector. Besides, his grudge with Situ Minglang had been a year hanging, and there was much talk that preceded him. And today's spectators were looking forward to their battle even more!
"The Sect Protector has arrived!"
The chatter and loud discussion evaporated. They turned respectful eyes to the blue-skirted beauty who descended from above.
Although she was not young, the years had not left any scars on her body but instead accentuated her class and mature quality. Elaborate makeup further gilded the lily.
When Lan Huayi descended, her surroundings shimmered with a mirage as though there was an azure blue lake behind her. She emerged like a woman from the water and finally landed above the crowd's heads, on a throne of gold and blue constructed from 10,000 swords.
This was the Esteemed Throne of 10,000 Swords, which was the designated seat for the Sect Protector. If anyone else dared to sit on it, at least within the Heavenly Sword Sect, it would be a capital offense.
Beside Lan Huayi were many elders, those senior in the Immortal Kingdom Supervisor, and influential people within the Heavenly Sword Sect. Wu Yu recognized one of them, which was Elder Mu Ge. Today, the other elders – Lan Huayi included – sat back, while Mu Ge was the host of the Immortal Kingdom Supervisor test.
A bunch of smallfry disciples naturally had no seat and stood around, milling around the middle of the Immortal's Battle Stage. Even important people like Su Yanli were within the crowd, although they were closer to the battlefield. There were no other disciples within 30 feet of them.
The Immortal Kingdom Supervisor test was normally not as elaborate an event. But today Lan Huayi had personally made an appearance, all because Situ Minglang was participating. Her appearance lent the test a dignity and gravity that was previously absent.
Within the crowd, a blue-robed Situ Minglang was laughing and chatting with a crowd of disciples. Those around were all spectators, but they were on good relations with Situ Minglang and were secretly trying to patronize him. This made Situ Minglang feel very content, and his swagger increased. At this moment, he indeed held the attention of the majority of the spectators.
"Wu Yu."
Situ Minglang's eyes had been secretly roaming, but he had not seen Wu Yu.
"If it is as they say, he does not intend to participate; he was merely playing for time, afraid that I would slaughter him." Thinking thus, Situ Minglang laughed coldly to himself.
At this time, Wu Yu was nowhere to be seen, and many were wondering the same thing.
At this moment, Elder Mu Ge stood up from his seat, asking, "The time for the battle exchange is about to start. Are all 12 candidates present?"
The crowd looked about. 10 other candidates stood beside Situ Minglang, and they totalled 11.
"Wu Yu, not here yet."
Very quickly, many chorused this answer. It was an answer that came with disdain and a spurning. Wu Yu's absence affirmed the disciples' suspicions that he was afraid of being slaughtered by Situ Minglang.
"To think that our Heavenly Sword Sect actually raised such a shameless disciple. I hear that a few days ago, he actually picked up a Monkey Head Fruit that Situ Minglang threw to the floor and stomped on."
After this utterance, there were hisses from all around. Such a cowardly act was spurned by the official disciples of the Immortal Dao.
"You all know too little. I heard that Wu Yu crawled and abased himself before Situ Minglang before picking up the Monkey Head Fruit. Just for a Monkey Head Fruit, he gave up all dignity. To think he's a senior..."
That person had not finished speaking when Elder Mu Ge surveyed the crowd, finally locking onto Su Yanli. He spoke clearly, "Mistress Yanli, you are on good terms with Wu Yu. Go and invite him here, to stop holding up the time."
He naturally knew that Wu Yu would not be absent because he feared death.
"I understand." Su Yanli was preparing to do so as well. This was a special day for Wu Yu. It was the final test that the Sect Leader had set for him, and it was impossible for him to be absent.
"No need."
At this moment, a powerful voice rang out from the dense crowd. The crowd looked back, and there was a powerfully built youth striding towards the Immortal's Battle Stage. His body looked slim, but his muscles were well-built. He was like a hunting leopard.
Reaching the back of the crowd, his cold gaze shone with gold light. Only then did the crowd acknowledge him by clearing a path, allowing Wu Yu to quickly reach Su Yanli.
"It's only been a few days. How did you grow so tall?" Su Yanli's beautiful eyes danced in surprise. Her cherry-red lips were slightly parted as well. Wu Yu had never seen her so surprised before.
In comparison, Su Yanli was tall and sylph-like, but when Wu Yu stood beside her, he was half a head taller. And Situ Minglang only reached Wu Yu's chest level.
"I've been training hard these few days." Wu Yu smiled slightly. That confident smile was like the sunlight filtering through the clouds. It gave off charm and invulnerability. His appearance silenced the dissenters. They looked at each other, embarrassed.
"Wu Yu!" The gaze of Situ Minglang bored down on Wu Yu. This was not a good sign. He should have been in the center of the crowd's attention. How dare Wu Yu come and steal his limelight.
Instantly, the lightning in his eyes crackled. There were still five battles ahead of them, but he could not bear to wait. The fire in his heart continued to grow despite his efforts to curb it.
"Minglang, it's just a wretched ant, but you are so worked up. That's not fitting of a disciple of me, Lan Huayi." It was this utterance from Lan Huayi that finally submerged Situ Minglang's heart in ice. He forcefully curbed his killing intent and resumed his chatter.
Seeing this, Mu Ge immediately announced, "Now that all are present, there is no need to delay further. The two in the first battle, you don't need this old man to call your names. Step up and commence."
It was time to shake their hearts. The crowd paid no more attention to Wu Yu but turned with eagerness to see the core disciples fight! In this instant, a fiery start!
Both were young bravos at the Qi Condensation Realm. In a few flying steps, they had reached the center of the battlefield and exchanged a mutual greeting before beginning their fight under watchful eyes.
"Dao techniques, immortal treasures!"
This was Wu Yu's first time seeing two specialists of the Qi Condensation Realm. Both held a sword that looked different from the Demon Banishing Blade. Perhaps the Demon Banishing Blade was sharper, but the immortal treasures were imbued with Immortal Dao power, which would create a huge amplification for the wielder.
Different immortal treasures had different effects. From what was in The Chronicles of the Dong Sheng Divine Continent, immortal treasures could even be customized to have unimaginable effects, like a poison mist or something to that effect.
As for dao techniques, they were even more unpredictable the more one's spiritual power developed. The most straightforward ones could call the wind or lightning, or control fire. There were countless variations, and their power was mighty. One able to use dao techniques – that was a god in the eyes of mortals.
"Junior Brother!" Just as Wu Yu had been engrossed in the fight, someone clapped his shoulder, giving Wu Yu a fright. The way that he could still be completely surprised given his current ability spoke of the other person's ability.
If that person had thrust a sword through his back, he would be dead right now.
He turned to see a scholarly-looking man beside Su Yanli, dressed in jet black. He wore a high hat and held a fan that was illustrated with lewd and scantily clad girls. Upon closer inspection, this man was rather handsome, and he had a little beard. Although he looked scholarly, a spark was constantly dancing in his eye, and he looked as clever as a fox.
At this time, the man was sizing him up with interest, tutting at a curiosity.
Su Yanli rolled her eyes at the guy, saying a little exasperatedly, "Third Senior Brother, stop teasing him. He's about to go up."
He stared back, saying, "Would I? I'm here today to support my Junior Brother." Seeing his sneaky manner conversely made one warm up to him.
Wu Yu understood who he was now. It was Sect Leader Feng Xueya's third disciple, and Su Yanli's senior brother. He was likely stronger than Su Yanli. And what was worth celebrating was that he seemed to favor him. Otherwise, he would not have called him "Junior Brother" already on no basis.
"Junior Brother, let me introduce myself. I'm Old Feng's third disciple. I'm called Mo Shishu, but just calling me Third Senior Brother will do." He was clearly in the garb of a scholar, but his speech sounded like that of a hooligan.
"Uncle Mo? [1] 3rd Senior Brother?" Wu Yu was confused. Was he an uncle? Or a senior brother?
"His name is Shishu, like a book of poems. He always uses his name to confuse others. Back then, Master gave him a name, Mo Shizhi." The normally reserved Su Yanli had started to warm up a little in the presence of this Mo Shishu. It looked like they had a good relationship.
"Hey, hey, Junior Sister, don't be hasty, I give. I fall to my face before your pomegranate skirt and you still won't give? Right, since you're so taken up with Junior Brother here, you wouldn't be an old cow lusting over green grass here, would you?"
Mo Shishu fanned as he spoke slyly.
"You're asking for a beating!" Su Yanli did not hold back against him at all. He did not look like a senior brother at all.
Just at this moment, hearing them bicker, there was already a result on the battlefield. The first Immortal Kingdom Supervisor was born. And Wu Yu's battle with Situ Minglang drew nearer and nearer.
1. T/N: Shishu sounds like Uncle