Chapter 1179: Confident and at Ease
Xiao Chen looked carefully. Although he could not make out this person’s cultivation, he could still feel the aura of rocks and flames.
This person should be a Martial Emperor elder of the Flame Rock castle with rather deep cultivation. He was probably very knowledgeable and recognized this complete Dragon Subduing Platform.
Having come to this conclusion, Xiao Chen did not dwell on it.
“Young man, what’s wrong? You seem off after awakening from your drunken state,” the hemp-robed old man laughed when he noticed that Xiao Chen appeared lost.
Xiao Chen was not willing to say much. He asked, “Does Senior know how long I slept?”
“It’s not really that long, just about half a month. Unfortunately, you missed the Outstanding Talent Summit Meeting. It began today.”
Outstanding Talent Summit Meeting?
No wonder there are not many people in the castle. They must have gone to the Outstanding Talent Summit Meeting to cheer for the Flame Rock castle’s Ba Yan.
“Strange, you don’t seem to be upset over it. Do you not find missing the Outstanding Talent Summit Meeting unfortunate?” the hemp-robed old man asked.
Xiao Chen walked around the Dragon Subduing Platform and found that Yue Bingyun had finished the repairs for him. All he needed to do was set his Spiritual Mark, and he would be able to use it.
Upon hearing the old man’s question, Xiao Chen answered, “Naturally, it is unfortunate. However, I am already late. There is no point feeling unhappy over it, so I will be leaving after putting away this Dragon Subduing Platform.”
“You are rather calm about it. I heard that you are very good at drinking. Are you interested in having a drink or two with me?”
The hemp-robed old man took out a bottle of wine. He did not put on any airs as he extended his invitation.
Xiao Chen did not know where Ao Jiao had gone to or what she was doing. Since she was not back yet, he had no problem with remaining for now and drinking some wine. After he received a wine cup, the two of them—one old and one young—casually sat on the steps and clinked their wine cups.
After drinking a few cups, Xiao Chen slowly got into the mood and started chatting with the old man.
The topics ranged from Martial Techniques to wine, to geomancy, to ancient secrets; there were no limits to their conversation.
The hemp-robed old man’s knowledge startled Xiao Chen somewhat. As they spoke, he casually revealed many things that Xiao Chen had never heard before.
The old man’s understanding of the Martial Dao was very precise, immediately pinpointing all the weaknesses of it.
This old man did not seem like an ordinary Martial Emperor at all. Even a Martial Emperor would not be this knowledgeable. Without having entered the various forbidden lands personally, it would be hard to describe them so clearly.
This old man was even very familiar with the great forbidden lands, like the Mirage Immortal Palace that Xiao Chen was extremely interested in.
“The timing for the Mirage Immortal Palace’s appearance is not fixed. Its location is not clear, either. Among the great forbidden lands, it is one of the more mysterious ones. Until it appears on its own, no one would know where it is.”
The hemp-robed old man drank another mouthful of wine before he continued, “It is not like the heart of the ocean, the Black Sea Immortal Burial Ground, and the Distant Sea Dragon Grave. Those can be entered at any time.
“There are many good things in there, but they are also rife with mortal danger. If a Sovereign Martial Emperor got careless, he could end up getting buried in there. These are not places that just anyone would dare to enter.”
Xiao Chen felt curious. He asked, “What are the secrets behind the eight great forbidden lands? It has been so many years. Has no one figured them out?”
The hemp-robed old man could not help laughing when he heard what Xiao Chen said. “It is not that no one figured them out, it is that no one dares to bet on this understanding. Just like the Mirage Immortal Palace. My guess is that it was the temporary palace of a powerful being during the Ancient Era.
“It is very possible that this powerful being eventually advanced to Martial God and left this abandoned land of ours.”
Xiao Chen’s expression changed. “Are there really Martial Gods?”
“Martial God is only a term. As for whether it actually exists or not, I cannot be sure. However, there are definitely stronger existences than Primes. Every Sovereign Martial Emperor is very clear about that. However, we are all grieved that we are living in this abandoned land. Every powerful being of the Martial Path that left has erased all traces of their existence.”
Speaking of this, the hemp-robed old man clearly showed an expression of grief and sadness.
Xiao Chen once saw such an expression in the Supreme Sky Emperor’s eyes before. They were very similar, and both expressed a helpless rage.
The hemp-robed old man’s expression suddenly turned serious as he asked, “Surely, you do not wish to face the same helplessness and sadness when you reach where I am, right?”
Xiao Chen was somewhat unclear about his meaning. Then, the hemp-robed old man forcefully pulled him up and tossed a medallion to him.
“So, rouse your fighting spirit, and don’t appear so dazed. Don’t give up on the road you are so determined to take. Wine is not something used to numb yourself. It is something used to set your fighting spirit ablaze. You must still participate in the Outstanding Talent Summit Meeting!”
“Pa!”
The wine bottle in the hemp-robed old man’s hand fell to the ground and shattered. Then, he released an irresistible and tyrannical aura, making it hard for anyone to breathe.
The old man picked up Xiao Chen and tossed him into the air where a spatial tear opened. Just as Xiao Chen wanted to resist, the power of space sucked him in. After that, the tear sealed rapidly.
Ao Jiao, who was rushing back from outside, happened to see this scene. Her expression changed drastically as she cried out, “Flame Rock Sovereign, you old codger! Where did you toss my Xiao Chen too?!”
When the hemp-robed old man saw Ao Jiao, the unparalleled tyrannical aura coming from his body immediately disappeared. He smiled and said, “Big Sister Ao, don’t be angry. I only tossed him to the place where he needs to be.”
“Don’t call me big sister, you damned old man!”
The sound of a punch rang out. The raging Ao Jiao launched the hemp-robed old man into the air with one blow.
---
Dark City’s Outstanding Talent Summit Meeting was held once every five years. Every time it took place, it would be incomparably magnificent.
This was especially so for this round. Many people paid attention to this. Huang Yun, the Blood Shark Sovereign’s descendant, had returned in strength. There was the newly risen expert, Sima Lingxuan, who was very famous. There were also three great experts of other sea regions emerging as new forces to be reckoned with.
The intense battles were confusing with climax after climax happening in rapid succession. The final victor would be a mystery until the very end.
This was because the peak experts of this round all possessed strengths that were on par; hence, no one could predict the results.
Originally, everyone thought that with Huang Yun’s return, he would continue to be the overlord of this place, sweeping through the event and obtaining the championship.
Who could have imagined that Sima Lingxuan’s strength, which led to his rise, had surpassed expectations? Since the beginning of the competition, he had never been defeated. His aura flourished, and he became very popular.
The Human-Demon Sea’s Mo Ran, the Ice Sea’s Leng Xin, the Storm Sea’s Ouyang Feng were all eye-openers. They all defeated Liu Yun, Zhao Feng, and the other famous outstanding youths of Dark City one after another.
The only thing that disappointed the crowd was that the recently famous white-robed bladesman, who knocked out the various outstanding talents in a drunken frenzy, had not rushed over to participate.
According to the Outstanding Talent Summit Meeting’s rules, any cultivator who held the Outstanding Talent Token would automatically forfeit if they did not participate in the competition.
Given this, Xiao Chen’s absence disappointed several people, especially the cultivators who saw him fight with the various outstanding talents in the Conflagration Restaurant.
Those people were particularly disappointed. They traveled over specially to watch Xiao Chen take part, wanting to see the white-robed bladesman again.
Who knew, the white-robed bladesman actually forfeited the competition. Otherwise, he would have shone brilliantly at the Outstanding Talent Summit Meeting.
The competition proceeded with match after match. Soon, the strongest four appeared.
Huang Yun put in a lot of effort and defeated Ba Yan, becoming the first to obtain a spot in the top four. Next was Sima Lingxuan. He defeated the famous Liu Yun, who also used the sword.
The third was the Human-Demon Sea’s Mo Ran, who went up against Zhao Feng. This match was a very close match.
Mo Ran completely Demonified but nearly lost because Zhao Feng managed to learn a Medial Grade Profound Martial Technique. If not for Zhao Feng still not having a good grasp of it, Mo Ran would have lost. Hence, it was an extremely close match.
As for the fourth person, it would be the victor of the match between the two young outstanding talents from the Storm Sea and the Ice Sea.
It was likely that the organizers did not want these foreign experts to dominate the top four spots. So they pitted them against each other.
The match between Leng Xian and Ouyang Feng was very spectacular. It was a great eye-opener for the tens of thousands of spectators, allowing them to see the manifestation of the will of ice and will of storm.
Ba Yan, who already lost and could not continue, watched very serious, nodding occasionally.
Ba Yan glanced at Huang Yun, who had his eyes closed, resting. Huang Yun seemed to sense the glance, as he opened his eyes to smile in disdain.
This expression instantly angered Ba Yan. If not for the rules, he would have rushed over and fought him again.
“Damn bastard. If not for that Dragon Scale Armor that you obtained outside, I wouldn’t have lost so easily to you,” Ba Yan said, unresigned to his loss.
Ba Tu, who was beside him, said depressedly, “Too bad Brother Xiao Chen did not come. If he did, he might have been able to take revenge for you.”
“It is really unfortunate that he never came. Given his strength, he would not have any problem getting into the top three. He would definitely be able to obtain a Medial Grade Profound Martial Technique.”
Ba Yan nodded as he spoke. Even until now, he still could not figure out the extent of Xiao Chen’s strength.
After all, that day, Xiao Chen was drunk, and the many outstanding talents were drunk too. Under such extraordinary circumstances, it would be very difficult to gauge a person’s strength.
However, Ba Yan was still confident that Xiao Chen would have no problems making it to the top three. It might even be possible for Xiao Chen to defeat the powerful Huang Yun.
The problem was that Xiao Chen got drunk and slept for half a month. No matter what they tried, they could not wake him up. Thinking about it was both funny and frustrating.
Sima Lingxuan, who was one of the top four, also felt it was unfortunate that Xiao Chen had not come.
Trampling on Xiao Chen in a public event was a long-held dream. Given that such an opportunity passed him, how could he feel satisfied?
“Hu chi!”
A cold light flashed amid the storm, and the sword light forced Ouyang Feng out of the arena. Finally, the fourth of the top four emerged. The Ice Sea’s Leng Xin was slightly more skilled, defeating Ouyang Feng.
Now that the top four were decided, after they all recovered, they would draw lots to determine their opponents before they returned to the arena.
Every time a match finished, the arenas where the Outstanding Talent Summit Meeting was held would merge.
After several matches, only two arenas remained. For the finals, they would merge again, leaving only one.
The Outstanding Talent Summit Meeting slowly approached its climax. After the match between the top four, the highly anticipated championship match would begin.
Sima Lingxuan and the others drew their lots, walked up to the arenas, and greeted each other. Just as they were preparing for their fights, something strange happened.
Suddenly, a crack appeared in the sky. This tear pierced through the many spatial formations protecting the arenas and forced its way in.
This sudden scene had everyone staring at the tear in the sky, not knowing what happened.
Just as the experts of the City Lord’s Residence were about to make a move, they received some news. Their expressions changed with incredulity.