Heavenly Star

“Heh, it’s up to you. Hopefully you’ll be able to learn something from all of this. We were all born for our Master, and our training is the tool we use to serve him. That is what you lack. Thinking back to it, my grandfather’s generation was quite far-sighted. They warned us that even if we were trapped in that barrier beneath the abyss, we should never abandon our training, and instead treat it as our top priority. Right now, everything has come together to justify all the wisdom they left us. Girl, since you claim you’re Master’s woman, then you should be putting yourself forward even more than the rest of us. To stand by his side means to protect him with your own two hands instead of waiting for him to protect you. If you do that, you’ll only be a burden to him. So in the future don’t slack on your training. Do you understand?” Yan Tianwei said in a meaningful tone.

In front of Chu Jingtian and Leng Ya, he didn’t hold back what he was saying. If he didn’t trust the people that Ye Wuchen did, it meant that he didn’t trust Ye Wuchen himself. That being said, Chu Jingtian and Leng Ya seemed completely confused by what he was saying.

Once again Yan Gongruo had been disciplined calmly by her grandfather. When it came to lessons about Master, however, she never argued back, instead responding obediently. “I understand, Grandpa…then Grandpa, how is this meeting supposed to start? What are the rules? Is it just like our own annual competition where we draw straws?”

“Of course not, because this isn’t a competition where a single round decides victory or the goal is to win. For the Meeting of Magic Force in Tianchen, the most important thing is really display of power.” Yan Tianwei responded.

“Display?” The young folks present issued the same question.

“Exactly. This competition is intended to show the people throughout this world who the ultimate champions are. Any no-names can make themselves famous by being able to put on a show during this competition. For example, us.” Yan Qinghong responded seriously.

“During the last competition there was no first place, but the world learned of four champions with godly strength. This is also a free competition without rigid rules or elimination. Even if you’re defeated by someone, you can still challenge someone else. If we’re going to talk about rules, I suppose we could lay out some of the most basic ground rules: only one-on-one matches allowed, unless the other person allows for multiple people against one. No matter if your opponent is good or evil or a sworn enemy, even if they’re completely wicked, even if they killed your family and took your wife, on the day of the tournament itself group attacks and revenge-seeking behaviors are not allowed, or you will be listed as a retaliation target by the Southern and Northern Emperor’s offspring. Finally, the fact that weapons have no mercy: whether you live or die in battle is your own fate.”

“Someone is coming.” Yan Qinghong had barely finished when Yan Tianwei’s brow furrowed, his low voice ringing out.

Everyone nodded. Yan Duancang spoke in a low voice, “Fourth, the rest of us are fine out in the open, but you need to cover your face up for now.”

“Understood.” Yan Gongruo responded, covering her face with a white cloth she had already prepared. The only thing visible were her bright, lively eyes.

A pale, fat monk walked over slowly, appearing in their field of vision. He looked to be forty or fifty years old, with a wide chin and abnormally small eyes. In his hand he held a damaged palm fan, and he wore a threadbare monk’s robes. Even though it was fall and the weather was slightly chilly, he wore the robes open, showing his chest. Seeing that there was a crowd of people already there before him, his mouth split open wide in an eerie smile, his gaze sweeping over them one by one, finally landing on Yan Gongruo. His narrowed eyes glowed with an increasingly creepy air.

The more he looked at Yan Gongruo the more she felt goosebumps rising all over her body, then anger surging through her. She was about to stand out and shout at him before Yan Gongluo stopped him. “This man is a frightening perverted monk who appeared in the past decade in Kui Shui Country, named Flowerless Monk. While he’s a monk, he enjoys taking his pleasure from the wives and daughters of others. Although his evil deeds have spread through Kui Shui, no one can do anything about him. Not surprising that he showed up.”

“…Is he strong?” Yan Gongruo suppressed the urge to gouge the monk’s eyes out, moving behind Yan Qiusha to avoid his gaze. Only then did she feel a bit more comfortable.

“Very strong. If he weren’t strong, he wouldn’t be here. There are fewer than three people who can win against him in a fight in Kui Shui Country.” Yan Gongluo said, his gaze dead serious.

“I can’t believe he’s checking me out…I’m going to take his eyes out!” Yan Gongruo’s brows shot up and she all but growled her words.

.

Although it was a long distance away, that distance was nothing to someone really powerful. Her voice rang in the Flowerless Monk’s ears, and his smile became even more creepy.

Every one of these champions among champions had their own points of pride. The strong were always used to appearing last, so none of them were willing to show up too early. All of that was also within Yan Tianwei and his crew’s speculation.

After the Flowerless Monk arrived, everyone else started showing up too. Before long there were thirty or forty people present. Unsurprisingly, most of them observed others with a cold attitude other than those who already knew each other beforehand. Many eyes lingered on Yan Tianwei and his crew. All who arrived here, other than those who wanted to see champions duke it out without fear of their own lives, must be famed characters. But none of them were known to the others. Even more astonishing was, four of them looked to be in their twenties.

Among the rest of the crowd, no one else was younger than thirty.

A man with a white beard appeared next to Chu Jingtian like a phantom. After glancing them over expressionlessly, he spoke with a chuckle.

“Young man, this isn’t a place for you. Of course, every year many overconfident young challengers arrive here, only to be wounded or killed. It’s been a long time since one of you have showed up. It’s best if you waited twenty five or fifty years before coming back.”

“Age doesn’t mean anything,” Yan Duancang responded casually.

“At the very least it represents the accumulation of strength and energy. I don’t want to be nosy, but all of these young men have astonishing auras. They have massive potential, and I don’t wish to see them destroyed here. Perhaps they will be able to protect themselves while watching others fight. But if they choose to battle a champion…there are some good and some evil among this crowd. Some might choose to specifically hunt down promising new talent. Please use your best judgement.” Leaving them with this line, the man walked away.

“Hey! Are you looking down at us? Let me tell you…”

“Girl, don’t bother. His intentions are good. While this isn’t an official gathering of the strongest on the continent, it’s not far off. His advice is worth listening to, and all of you should be careful.” Yan Qinghong interrupted Yan Gongruo, shooting a meaningful glance at Chu Jingtian and Leng Ya. Other than accomplishing their mission today, he was excited to see the performance of these two–on that slip, Ye Wuchen’s final words were to say that no matter what happened at the meeting, the two of them should not be helped, even if their lives were threatened.

All kinds of people appeared, one after the other. Some were men, some were women. Some stood there silently, others squatted lazily on the ground, while still others positioned themselves on the walls of the cliff with cold expressions. Gradually, the amount of people present rose into the hundreds. Everyone had their own distinct but similarly frightening aura. It wasn’t difficult to imagine if all these people united together under one cause, they would be able to unleash an incredibly potent power onto the rest of the world.

The top of the Fallen Star Cliff was dozens of meters across. Right now the contestants were scattered about, and the sound of conversation became louder. Yan Qinghong, Yan Tianwei and the rest of the crew stayed intentionally silent, observing each new appearance with a cool gaze. After a period of quiet waiting, Yan Tianwei suddenly glanced up, his eyes sharp with energy.

Exactly at that moment, four elders of over sixty years old approached. With their arrival and the intentional release of their energy, an unusual heat surrounded the whole Fallen Star Cliff. Everyone’s eyes gathered on the four elders, realizing that this was the aura of the Northern Emperor’s fire spirit. That meant that these four came on behalf of the Northern Emperor and were here to uphold order at the tournament. No matter how strong someone was, even if they had the sword spirit or the spirit of battle, they wouldn’t want to interfere with those from the Southern and Northern Emperors. The respective auras of those two Emperors’ sects were famous enough that anyone training in the Heavenly Star Continent couldn’t even misidentify it if they were trying.

Twenty some odd years ago, the chaotic battle between the Northern and Southern Emperor ended in the Northern Emperor’s defeat thanks to inference from the Tianlong Empire. Because of that, the Northern Emperor sect disappeared for twenty whole years. But anyone with a clear view of the situation would be able to see that the Northern Emperor sect was by no means afraid of the Southern sect, instead sensing something unusual in the situation. Today with the appearance of the Northern sect no one was really surprised, instead studying them with trained eyes.

Behind the four elders followed a smiling young man. He looked like he was twenty five or so, dressed in casual clothes that did nothing to disguise his overflowing air of natural nobility. A simple glance at him was enough for anyone to see that this man was anything but ordinary. Everyone committed his appearance to mind. When they looked at him, they didn’t notice Leng Ya and Chu Jingtian’s odd gaze. Only because he was a member of the Northern Emperor Sect.

“Hmph, seems like Master was right…so that’s their master, Yan Ximing. Third Brother, are you confident?” The corners of Yan Tianwei’s lips moved, and his voice issued into Yan Gongluo’s ears.

Yan Gongluo’s hands curled into fists, his expression calm. Although he didn’t open his mouth, he told him all he needed with his expression: I am the true young master of the Northern Emperor! How could I lose to him?

.

“With Master’s help, no one will realize that the Fire Spirit magic we’re using is the same type. So you needn’t worry about unleashing your full strength. He…will be your first experiment. You, the one with the true blood of the Northern Emperor, who has trained hard until today–if you can’t even defeat this bastard, then how can you still call yourself a disciple of Master!” Yan Tianwei said in a stern voice.

Yan Gongluo nodded intensely, his gaze sweeping over Yan Ximing for a moment. Yan Ximing seemed to sense it, his gaze turning, but ultimately didn’t find anything.