The Great Ruler

For the remaining days, Mu Chen, Ling Xi, and Long Xiang stayed in the courtyard and did not go out. However, Lin Jing and Xiao Xiao visited them often and livened up the place, thus they did not feel bored.

Although Mu Chen and his companions were seldom out, they could feel that the Budur Territory had become more bustling with people. There would be spiritual vessels whizzing past in the sky every day, and the supreme powers that came out of the spiritual vessels had a stronger base than the Mu Estate. Mu Chen sighed when he saw it. The five big ancient clans were indeed extraordinary. The special treatment they had received made them stand out from the ordinary top forces.

As more and more top forces gathered in the Budur Territory, the Budur Ancient Clan announced that the Contest of the Lineages would take place in another three days.

Three days quickly passed by.

…

Three days later, chiming sounds resounded continuously in the entire Budur Territory.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

When the chiming sounds resounded, air-rending sounds filled up the area. Many shadows shot up into the sky and darted toward the mountain. The area was filled with excitement, as this was the day the opening ceremony of the Budur Ancient Clan’s Contest of the Lineages was held.

Mu Chen stood in the courtyard and looked calm as he watched the bustling scene. Ling Xi and Long Xiang looked grave, as they knew that Mu Chen planned to strike on this particular day.

A lady hurriedly came into the courtyard, and she was none other than Qing Shuang. When she saw Mu Chen, she took out an object from her sleeve. It was a green token amulet with the word “Head” engraved on it.

When Qing Shuang looked at the green token amulet, she looked perplexed, contrary to her usual cold look. She said softly, “This is the Lineage Head Token Amulet of our Qing lineage. The person who holds this token amulet is the head of our lineage.

“Although we have no idea what you intend to do, you will have to keep the Lineage Head Token Amulet with you at the Contest of the Lineages. This token amulet means that you are the head of our Qing lineage. Even if the elders pronounce you to be a perpetrator, they will not be able to object your participation in the contest. They can only deal with you after they have called for a meeting at the Elder Academy.”

When Mu Chen heard it, he was shocked. Apparently, he had not expected the Qing lineage to pass their Lineage Head Token Amulet to him. If things got out of hand, the Qing lineage would be implicated by him.

“Aunt Xuan has said that if we fail this time around, our Qing lineage will be downgraded as one of the lineages. This blow will be too great for us. Instead of allowing the Xuan lineage and the Mo lineage suppress us, we might as well work hand in hand with you,” Qing Shuang said with a sigh when she saw Mu Chen’s astonished look.

After Mu Chen had calmed down, he pondered for a while before stretching out his hand to take the Lineage Head Token Amulet from Qing Shuang. With this token amulet, he could carry out his plan more smoothly. The Budur Ancient Clan would not be able to stop him now.

“One more thing. Aunt Xuan has instructed me to inform you that she has completed the task that you have asked her to do,” Qing Shuang said.

Mu Chen heaved a sigh of relief. Since this had been settled, he would have enough bargaining power to take the Budur Ancient Clan on.

“Mu Chen… can you really help our Qing lineage secure our seats?” Qing Shuang asked after she hesitated for a while.

This was very important to their Qing lineage. Qing Shuang did not know why Aunt Xuan had put her complete trust in Mu Chen, as he had just stepped into Spiritual Grade Heavenly Sovereign. His strength was only at the initial stage of Spiritual Grade Heavenly Sovereign, and with this level of strength in the Budur Ancient Clan, he would not rightfully be able to help them out of their crisis.

Mu Chen smiled and said, “Since you have entrusted this task to me, I will do my best to accomplish it.” He smiled faintly, and the glow in his eyes was full of confidence. Anyone who saw it would have trusted him.

Qing Shuang was influenced by the look in his eyes, and a smile broke out on her face. She nodded and bowed respectfully to Mu Chen and said, “In that case, I thank you on behalf of our Qing lineage.”

“I am just doing it for my own benefit…” Mu Chen waved his hand. He then looked at the sky and said, “It is about time. Let’s make a move.”

“Let me lead the way,” Qing Shuang said with a smile. She turned into a streamer and shot up into the sky, with Mu Chen and his companions following closely behind her. The group darted across the sky and passed through the mountains. Many other groups were seen darting from the other directions, and strong fluctuations emanated from each group. Those top forces who ruled over part of the region in the Great Thousand World seemed ordinary when they were in the Budur Ancient Clan. From the look of it, the Budur Ancient Clan was indeed mighty.

After Qing Shuang led the way for more than ten minutes, they started to slow down. A towering mountain that was before them stood out from the rest of the mountains as it shot up into the clouds, looking majestic.

The towering mountain was divided into four parts, each with different levels. White jade stages were set up all over the mountain peak, and it indistinctly emitted a sharp aura. The towering mountain was surrounded by several other mountains, and they were filled with seats. Many shadows appeared in the sky from time to time and landed on the seats. In just a few minutes, the mountains were bustling with people.

Qing Shuang led Mu Chen and his companions to one of the mountain peaks that was inconspicuous but could capture the views of the white jade stages clearly. After they had landed on the mountain peak, Mu Chen lifted up his head to look around. The larger mountains that were nearest to the towering mountain had colorful stone pavilions and courtyards on them. Apparently, the people who were on those mountains received better treatment than everyone else.

Mu Chen knew that those mountains were meant for the supreme powers in the Great Thousand World, as he saw Xiao Xiao and Lin Jing appearing on one of the larger mountains. To the Budur Ancient Clan, only the supreme powers deserved to be treated as their honored guests.

Dong! Dong!

As Mu Chen was looking around, chiming sounds suddenly resounded continuously on all the mountains and filled the area. When the top powers heard the chiming sounds, something caught their attention, and they lifted up their heads. Myriad rays of spiritual light burst from the peak of the towering mountain. Several shadows appeared in the spiritual light, and each shadow emanated a horrifying spiritual energy oppression, shocking all the top forces.

After the spiritual light dissipated, 20 people appeared on the towering mountain’s peak. Nineteen of them were distinct from one another, and they stood respectfully behind the person who was standing at the forefront. That person was an elderly man with a head of white hair. He looked aged, and compared to the 19 of them who exuded majestic spiritual energy, he looked like an ordinary, inconspicuous old man. There was no spiritual energy found on him. However, when the top powers saw him, their gazes froze, and they looked at him with great respect.

Divine Heavenly Sovereign!

Mu Chen fixed his gaze on the elderly man with a head of white hair the moment he appeared. As he looked at the elderly man, he felt a prickly pain on his body, and deep within, he felt endangered. This ordinary-looking elderly man who seemed as though he had one foot in the grave was in actual fact, a Divine Heavenly Sovereign!

“Welcome, First Elder!” All the clan members of the Budur Ancient Clan greeted the elderly man respectfully when he appeared. Even the elders showed fear and respect.

The one with the greatest authority in the Budur Ancient Clan was the clan leader. However, this position had not been filled all these years, as they could not find someone suitable to assume the role. The First Elder had been the one who had been protecting the Budur Ancient Clan to prevent it from losing its status. He was the most qualified person to lead the clan, and everyone in the Budur Ancient Clan submitted willingly to him.

“This is the First Elder of our Budur Ancient Clan, Budur Xuan.” Qing Shuang looked at the elderly figure, and she was full of respect and fear. She then sighed and said, “The Xuan lineage and the Mo lineage have been having internal struggles all these years. If not for the First Elder suppressing them, I cannot imagine how chaotic our clan would have become.”

Mu Chen looked calm. Budur Xuan was indeed capable. However, it had nothing to do with Mu Chen, regardless of his contributions to the Budur Ancient Clan. Mu Chen only knew that Budur Xuan was a stubborn old man who had caused him and his mother to be separated for many years.

As all eyes were on Budur Xuan, he stood on the peak of the towering mountain, and a smile broke out on his stern-looking face. He looked around, and his aged voice resounded in the mountains, saying, “Today, we will be holding the grand event of our Budur Ancient Clan. I would like to thank everyone for coming to support this event.”

When the masters of the top powers heard what Budur Xuan had said, all of them responded to him politely. Given Budur Xuan’s strength, he would be ranked at the top in the Great Thousand World and be considered as the most powerful person in it.

After going through the formalities, Budur Xuan turned to sit on the upper stage of the towering mountain. He then looked down at the 19 people and said sternly, “The Contest of the Lineages commences now. If you want to secure your seats, show us your abilities. Otherwise, you will have to give up your seats to those who deserve them.”

“Yes, sir!”

The 19 people, who emitted extraordinary auras, responded to the First Elder when they heard what he had said. In the next instant, they turned into streamers, shot out, and landed on the jade stages that were on the towering mountain. While they were doing that, 19 rays of vast spiritual energy raged out in the area.

“The Contest of the Lineages starts now!”