Chapter 502: Arrival of the Nine Great Sects
AGM 502 – Arrival of the Nine Great Sects
Naturally, Qin Wentian didn’t know what the old man had just done. After breaking through to the fourth level of Heavenly Dipper, he could clearly feel his physique had also grown in strength. Right now, he wanted nothing more than an intense battle to find out the full extent of his current limits.
Back then, the six chosen who had ganged up on him all had a cultivation base at the fifth level of Heavenly Dipper. Right now, if those fifth-level cultivators were to fight him in another six-to-one battle, Qin Wentian had absolute confidence that he could completely annihilate the whole lot of them.
“I wonder how Purgatory is faring now.” Qin Wentian’s blood surged as a crimson ray of light shot out of his index finger. A moment, later the illusory form of a vermilion bird was formed, its outline growing clearer by the second. This was none other than Purgatory.
During that intense battle, Purgatory had almost sacrificed itself to protect him, fighting with its last breath. Luckily, Qin Wentian’s bloodline awakened a new ability, thereby allowing the vermilion bird to enter his bloodstream for it to recuperate from within.
Right now, although Purgatory could take form once more, it was still extremely weak and evidently had yet to recover.
A few long screeches echoed in the air when it saw Qin Wentian, as excitement flashed in its eyes.
Qin Wentian was still safe and sound. Not only that, he exuded an aura that appeared strengthened.
“Bzz!” Little Rascal instantly appeared on Purgatory’s body, stretching its paw and patting Purgatory on its head, before speaking in a baby voice, “Lit…tle Ras…cal.”
Purgatory’s wings, which had been flapping constantly, suddenly froze as the feathers on its body stiffened. It seemed as though it had been stunned into shock by Little Rascal’s words.
Qin Wentian couldn’t control himself and started laughing uproariously upon hearing Little Rascal’s baby voice. This little puppy was actually mimicking his actions, patting Purgatory’s head and calling it a little rascal.
“Purgatory, just focus on recuperating for now. Ignore Little Rascal.” Qin Wentian laughed. Purgatory cried out twice before nodding its head and transforming back into a crimson ray of light, shooting back into Qin Wentian’s body. Little Rascal floated in the air, flapping a pair of wings that took form on its back. It bared its fangs and scratched wildly at the air with its paws, staring at Qin Wentian with an expression of dislike, “Don’t…call…me…Lit…tle…Ras…cal…”
“Wait until you can pronounce words more clearly before coming to talk to me again.” Qin Wentian grinned before walking forwards, hugging Little Rascal as his silhouette flickered, reappearing after an instant before Qing`er. “Qing`er, I’m going to Xuan King City. It would be better if you stayed in the shadows.”
Qing`er stared motionlessly at Qin Wentian, only to see him replying with a smile, “Don’t worry, I will be careful. Don’t forget that I have the facial transformation art. They only managed to track me last time because there were traces of my aura remaining from my battle. But now, the aura has long since dispersed, so after changing my appearance, who would realize I’m Qin Wentian? And if I really run into danger, I give you my word that I shall flee immediately.”
Qing`er stared into Qin Wentian’s eyes, noting his confidence, before she finally nodded her head.
“Also, can you help me by taking care of Little Rascal first?” Qin Wentian patted Little Rascal on the head. “Quickly transform back to your normal self.”
Little Rascal lifted its head, an expression of being bullied evident on its face, before transforming back. After which, it immediately leapt onto Qing`er’s bosom.
Qing`er’s outstretched hands trembled slightly, but she still held onto Little Rascal. Naturally, Little Rascal wouldn’t miss the chance to snuggle deeper into her bosom, its actions earning it a glare from Qin Wentian.
“What a lecherous fellow, how lucky you are.” Qin Wentian grinned, causing Qing`er to stare at him.
“Err, it’s just a casual comment, just pretend you didn’t hear anything.” Qin Wentian laughed awkwardly, before soaring up the skies and flying away.
The Heavenly Mountains were simply too vast and mysterious. Flying at full speed, Qin Wentian took a total of three days before he could exit the current area, emerging from the depths of the mountains back to the Heavenly Mountain where the Treasure Seizing Assembly had been conducted.
A few months had passed since the Treasure Seizing Assembly, and right now only a few scattered groups of people could be seen on the mountain. Many were risk-takers or adventurers who wanted to see if they were lucky enough to probe the secrets of the Heavenly Mountain.
Qin Wentian was in disguise, sporting a different face and currently clad in black. He projected a cool and handsome aura, giving off a prestigious feeling that inadvertently kept others away. Right now, his demeanour was completely different from before—even if he came face to face with one of the six chosen, he was very confident that none of them would be able to recognise him.
“Mhm?” Right now, Qin Wentian’s gaze flickered as he stared off in a certain direction. On top of a particular mountain peak. there stood a young maiden peering into the distance, as though waiting for something.
What made Qin Wentian astonished was that he was acquainted with this maiden—it was none other than Ji Xue from the Qinghua Mountains Sect. Her character wasn’t bad, she hadn’t betrayed him like Xie Yu did when all the geniuses fought for the Constellation Fruits, choosing to help him instead. Sadly, she hadn’t been strong enough. If she’d really gone up against the other geniuses, she would just be sending herself to death.
Qin Wentian wouldn’t hold it against Xu Feng and Ji Xue for not helping him that day. He wasn’t an unreasonable person—under those circumstances, helping him would have equated to death, and served no other purpose. If he had been in their shoes, he wouldn’t have stupidly stood out to help as well. Although they were acquainted and he had saved their lives from the demonic spirit, the relationship between them had not reached the level of being able to die for each other.
Xu Feng had a cold exterior, but Qin Wentian knew that his character wasn’t bad as well. As for Ji Xue, she was more passionate and had a gentleness in her. Although she couldn’t be compared to Shang Yue’s beauty, Qin Wentian still felt more comfortable when gazing at her compared to Shang Yue.
Qin Wentian stepped out, and soon after, he appeared not far away from Ji Xue. Ji Xue turned her head to regard him as she involuntarily asked, “Sir, did you just emerge from the depths of the mountain range?”
“Mhm.” Qin Wentian nodded his head.
“Hmm, do you know of the matter where the chosen from the six major powers surrounded and ganged up on a young man, engaging in an intense battle?” Seeing Qin Wentian nodding his head, Ji Xue couldn’t help but continue her questions.
“I’ve heard of it,” Qin Wentian replied.
“In that case, since you came from those mountain depths, do you know the final result of that battle? The rumors outside say that the experts from the six major powers were killed, but the young man who slayed them was only at the third level of Heavenly Dipper. Is this true? How did he resist them? Is he still alive?” Ji Xue stared at Qin Wentian, her eyes widening with worry, causing Qin Wentian to feel his heart trembling. So it turns out that Ji Xue has been waiting here for news of him?”
Qin Wentian turned his head, matching gazes with Ji Xue. “I’ve personally witnessed that battle from afar. Naturally, I would know its ending. However, what relationship do you have with that young man? Why are you so concern about the final result of that battle?”
“I’m not really too interested regarding the results, I only wish to know if that young man in white is still alive.” Upon hearing Qin Wentian saying that he knew, Ji Xue’s voice couldn’t help but tremble. “That young man is a good friend of mine, and has even saved my life before. Whether he’s alive or dead, could you please let me know the answer?”
“You waited here all this while just to wait for his return?” A strange glow flashed in Qin Wentian’s eyes. He never thought that Ji Xue would be so concerned about his safety.
Ji Xue shook her head, “I only come here daily for around four to five hours, hoping to see if anyone has news on him so at the very least, I could be at ease in my heart.”
“He’s still alive.” Qin Wentian spoke, his words causing Ji Xue’s eyes to light up. After which, she bowed, “Thank you for the info sir, might I enquire your name?”
“Qin.”
Qin Wentian’s words caused the expression on Ji Xue’s face to falter slightly as she froze slightly. Surnamed Qin? Why was he so alike to the young man in white. However, the aura he exuded was completely different.
Upon noting the changes in Ji Xue’s behaviour, Qin Wentian felt more reassured in his heart. Even when he went as far as saying his surname was Qin, Ji Xue didn’t even guessed that he was who he was. In that case, the other chosens would definitely not be able to recognizse him at all.
“What a pity that he’s not here. The nine great sects have already sent their representatives to the Xuan King City for a disciple recruitment event. With his talent, there shouldn’t be any problems for him to become an official disciple of the Qinghua Mountains. By then, how could he fear the major powers of a mere King City?”
Ji Xue mused in a low voice, yet Qin Wentian’s heart pounded slightly as he asked, “The nine great sects that you are talking about, is the Qinghua Mountains a part of them? One of the nine supreme powers under the command of the Sacred Royal Sect?”
“Yes, they have already arrived. They are now at the centre of Xuan King City.” Ji Xue smiled as she continued, “If Brother Qin is interested, you can go and take the test. In fact, this is the first time that the nine great sects jointly held such an event and just so coincidentally, the location they chose was actually in the Xuan King City.”
“In that case, would the geniuses from the major powers in Xuan King City go there for the test as well?” A sharp glint of light gleamed in Qin Wentian’s eyes.
“Naturally they would. There were rumors saying that this whole event was proposed by the Battle Sword Sect. The Battle Sword Sect has a history of over ten thousand years and has never initiated taking in disciples before. Although the number of experts in their sect was the least compared to the other eight, there’s a saying in the Royal Sacred Region – If one enters the Battle Sword Sect, it meant that their entry to the Royal Sacred Sect was basically secured. I wonder why did they suddenly made such a decision. Furthermore, I heard that the moment the notice was sent out, the experts from the Battle Sword Sect only took a single day and rushed all the way to Grand Shang Empire. Such a speed truly leave one astounded.”
“And the other eight sects were similarly shocked by the Battle Sword Sect’s actions hence they sent their representatives over to Xuan King City and eventually, all of them agreed to jointly hold a disciple recruitment selection event. I wonder why would the Battle Sword Sect change their stance as well, but in any case they might reveal the reason why in the selection event happening in a few days from now.”
Ji Xue spoke in a low voice, like the rest of the world, she naturally couldn’t understand why did the Battle Sword Sect decided to break their tradition.
In her wildest dreams, she would never have imagined that the origin of this matter would precisely be the person right in front of her.
“Many thanks.” Qin Wentian naturally wouldn’t reveal who he was to Ji Xue. The things he wanted to do were too dangerous, he didn’t want to implicate others.
His silhouette flickered as he soared into the skies flying away, entering the Xuan King City.
And after entering the city, news was circulating about. The most notable among them was that the nine great sects would soon arrive at Xuan King City.
One must know that the scope of power of the nine great sects were just beneath the Royal Sacred Sect. One can very well imagine how terrifying they were. Hence when news of their visit spread out, several members of the royal clan also paid a visit to Xuan King City.
And throughout these few days, whether was Qin Wentian in an inn or restaurant or even when walking on the streets, the conversation topics were all revolved around the nine great sects. One could very well imagine the scale of commotion this news brought about. They would conduct a disciple recruitment event right in the center of Xuan King City.
And as for the nine great sects, the name Qin Wentian heard the most was actually the Battle Sword Sect.
The Battle Sword Sect was basically a legend, back then an incomparably powerful sword cultivator had founded the sect. That sword character was rumored to be someone who had already reached the realm after Celestial Phenomenon and back when he was young, he would often roam the world with nothing but a sword in his hands, chivalrous and free-spirited, going wherever his feet took him with the earth as his bed and sky as his blanket.
After he founded the sect, his ideals were passed on, becoming the principle of the Battle Sword Sect. They didn’t simply accept disciples based on their strength and talent, in fact there were many outstanding demon-level geniuses who wanted to join but were rejected. One could even say that out of all the nine great sects, the Battle Sword Sect was the toughest sect to enter. Hence, the number of experts in the Battle Sword Sect was the lowest which made the collective strength of the whole entity slightly weaker compared to the other eight.
But even so, the Battle Sword Sect couldn’t care less. The principles of their sect was basically just do whatever you want to do, be yourself and follow your own heart. Disciples of the Battle Sword Sect enjoyed an extremely large degree of freedom, and even if one wanted to leave the sect, nobody would stop you. However despite their high degree of autonomy, the disciples of the Battle Sword Sect were all extremely united and had very good relations with each other. Although their collective strength couldn’t match the other eight great sects, when it came to individual combat prowess, none could hold a candle to disciples of the Battle Sword Sect.
Entering the Battle Sword Sect virtually guarantees one half a foot into the Royal Sacred Sect. But in fact, even if they were invited, because of their personalities and characters, the vast majority of those in the Battle Sword Sect couldn’t even be bothered to join the Royal Sacred Sect.