In the blink of an eye, another half year passed.
During this half year, the Underworld Mountains of the City of Ancient Emperors became a place where many of the geniuses frequented. However, any discoveries to be found were few and far between. The inheritances had long been seized by those who’d gone in early, and there was no longer anything of good fortune lying around. Occasionally, there would be people who didn’t believe that, and they even went so far as to infuriate the eight immortal emperors lying the coffins, leading to extremely miserable consequences.
Zi Daoyang, Zhan Peng and Little Rascal were still in the cavern, slowly comprehending their portion of the inheritance.
And as for the infamous Mo Xie, he seemed to have vanished completely, and no one knew where he was. There were people who guessed that he was trying to establish his immortal foundation, and there were others who said that he was stabilizing the foundations of the inheritance he obtained, wanting to continue to rise in terms of strength and mastery. Back then, Mo Xie was defeated by the three companions joining forces, an outcome he must surely be rejecting in his heart. There was a high possibility that he was consolidating the foundations of the inheritance, preparing to rise up again someday.
As for Qin Wentian, he was undoubtedly the most discussed person within the City of Ancient Emperors.
He was one of the new legends in the city; a character that symbolized this generation. He, Zi Daoyang, and Mo Xie, were known as the chosen three of the City of Ancient Emperors.
Even for Nanfeng Yunxi, she hadn’t made it into this ‘chosen’ listing. It wasn’t that she was weak, but rather Nanfeng Yunxi would surely be at a disadvantage when fighting against Zi Daoyang and Mo Xie. However, Qin Wentian was different. At the eighth-level of Celestial Phenomenon, he could already fight against Mo Xie to such an extent. Once he stepped into the ninth-level, he would instantly have the power to threaten both Zi Daoyang and Mo Xie. Hence, this was the reason why the three of them were known as the chosen ones in the City of Ancient Emperors.
Naturally, the Qin Sect was an extreme power within the City of Ancient Emperors. Their members included Qin Wentian, Qing`er, and Nanfang Yunxi—those ranked third, fourth and fifth in the Immortal Ascension Rankings.
Three months ago, the Qin Sect announced that they were recruiting members. The entire city was in a frenzy as several geniuses pushed forward, wanting to join the Qin Sect. This Qin Sect not only had the legendary character Qin Wentian, it also had two supreme beauties as members. In addition, Qin Wentian had comprehended the God’s Hand, and even seized Mo Xie’s inheritance. This led to many people wanting to join the Qin Sect.
However, the recruitment process for prospective members was extremely strict. Those who wished to infiltrate the Qin Sect for their own hidden objectives were all eliminated from the prospective list of applicants. Only the true elites or those ordinary geniuses with resolute wills and hearts were given an opportunity to join. Hence, despite a period of three months, the Qin Sect roughly had around fifty members only, which was many times inferior compared to the numbers in the Twin Stars Alliance.
In fact, several of the members recruited only had a cultivation base between the seventh and eighth level. The criteria of recruitment didn’t seem to emphasize on one’s cultivation base. An example would be the main people in charge of this recruitment—Hua Taixu, Jun Mengchen, and Zi Qingxuan—who were now only at the eighth-level of Celestial Phenomenon.
Right now, the Qin Sect’s fame and prestige within the City of Ancient Emperors had already caused most geniuses to feel that the sect’s level of power was dangerously close to the current true number one power in the City of Ancient Emperors, the Violet Sect.
The Violet Sect was established by Zi Daoyang, and it had always been known as the number one power in the city. In the past, when the Twin Stars Alliance and the Xiao Sect had allied together, there were people who stated that the newly formed Twin Stars Alliance could threaten the position of the Violet Sect. However, from the looks of it now, the Qin Sect was the only one truly capable of threatening the Violet Sect’s position. The three leading figures of the Qin Sect were able to defeat Mo Xie. Similarly, they had a possibility of also defeating Zi Daoyang.
Zhao Xin`er was none other than a new member of the Qin Sect. Her talent couldn’t be considered outstanding, and neither was her cultivation base very high. She was only a seventh-level ascendant, and by right, she shouldn’t have been able to make the cut-off list to join the Qin Sect. She’d only been accepted because of her extremely honest and straightforward personality; she’d told Jun Mengchen during the interview that her purpose of joining this sect was because she was in love with Qin Wentian. Naturally, joining the sect would provide her with more opportunities to see him…and when he heard that, Jun Mengchen was instantly taken aback, before he laughed uproariously. He accepted her right on the spot, and welcomed her into their Qin Sect.
This matter actually became an anecdote that was passed on with admiration in the Qin Sect. The other members of the Qin Sect were also quite fond of this junior apprentice sister who’d just joined, and would often take care of her.
When pressed to explain further, it was revealed that Zhao Xin`er had personally witnessed the battle between Qin Wentian and the two brothers, Xuan Xing and Xuan Yang. At that time, she and Qin Wentian were both at the seventh-level of Celestial Phenomenon. However, Qin Wentian’s spirit and imposing attitude, as well as the strength he exhibited, they had all left a deep impression in her heart, instantly elevating Qin Wentian to the position of idol in her mind. And somehow or another, things had worked out just fine, and she managed to join the Qin Sect not knowing the reason why or how she passed the recruitment interview.
One day, Zhao Xin`er and another female member of the Qin Sect, Leng Pingchao, were currently enjoying lunch at an inn, when a group of people suddenly entered. These people all had extraordinary auras, and it was especially so for those leading the group. Their eyes gleamed with sharpness, and with a single glance it was clear that they were not ordinary characters.
After finding a place to sit, the group started chatting. One among them spoke, "Senior Brother Que, we’re finally in the City of Ancient Emperors. What’s our next step?"
"We’ve just entered the City of Ancient Emperors, and already there are people trying to target us. Seems like this is a place where the strong ones feed off the weak. We have to prepare to establish our own power and quickly gain a foothold here," the young man said cautiously. After which, he glanced at a person beside him and said, "Junior Brother Tianqi, do you have any thoughts on this?"
"Although we just arrived, according to our understanding of the City of Ancient Emperors, we can find an established power and join them. After that…" Gusu Tianqi replied, his words causing the young man in the lead to start in surprise, before he smiled and said, "Tianqi, your suggestion is excellent!"
"Hey, are you guys newbies?" Suddenly, a melodious voice rang out. The one who spoke was none other than Zhao Xin`er.
"Yes. Do you have any advice for us?" Gusu Tianqi asked.
"I heard that you’re all planning to join an established power here. Right now in the City of Ancient Emperors, my Qin Sect is extremely famous. You guys can try for the recruitment interview and see if you’re eligible to become members." Zhao Xin`er smiled at them, taking the initiative to recommend the Qin Sect.
"Qin Sect?" Gusu Tianqi’s gaze flickered, his mind recalling someone in particular. Back then on the battle platform, that silhouette…had he come to the City of Ancient Emperors as well?
If he was here, how was he now?
"Maiden, are the other women of the Qin Sect as beautiful as the two of you?" Beside Gusu Tianqi, an ugly-looking young man with an ape-like appearance smiled hideously as he asked.
"Naturally, my fellow female members are many times more beautiful. Their beauty is famed throughout the City of Ancient Emperors, and two out of the three supreme beauties are currently in our Qin Sect." Zhao Xin`er smiled.
"Oh?" The ugly young man touched his chin before he snickered. "Mhm, is this a beauty trap? In any case, the people in our group aren’t just any ordinary existences. If we join the Qin Sect, can the beauties be gifted to us for our enjoyment?"
As the sound of his voice faded, the group of people around him started to laugh, grinning with evil intent. They didn’t mind his words at all.
However, the others in the inn were all stunned by their audacity. Apparently, this group of people were truly newbies in the City of Ancient Emperors. They even dared to take verbal liberties with the two beauties from the Qin Sect?
How truly audacious.
"Hey you, we just arrived here. Don’t talk nonsense." Que Tianyi laughed, as he ‘berated’ the ugly young man in an offhanded manner. Although his words sounded like an admonishment, his tone was extremely light-hearted. It was clear he didn’t really care about this at all.
However, when she heard those words, Zhao Xin`er’s expression turned incredibly unsightly to behold. She spoke coldly, "You’d best apologize for what you just said."
The ugly young man looked at Zhao Xin`er as he snickered again. "Pretty thing, you want me to apologize? Why don’t you come sit on my lap?"
"How dare you!" Zhao Xin`er radiated a cold intent. Beside her, Leng Pingchao also stared icily at the ugly young man in anger. "Sir, your words have gone over the line."
The ugly young man’s cold eyes swept lasciviously over them. He smiled and said, "Since you intend to use a beauty trap to attract people to join your sect, why don’t you let me have a taste of you first?"
Their group contained the chosen of the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect. But the moment they stepped into the City of Ancient Emperors, their belongings were all robbed by others. Although they eventually managed to make those robbers flee, their moods were still extremely terrible.
"Enough," Que Tianyi announced, staring at the person who spoke. He then turned towards Zhao Xin`er. "Maiden, this fellow loves to joke around. Please pay no attention to him."
"Joke?" Zhao Xin`er’s expression turned cold. "You think this is a joke? I told you guys to apologize."
Que Tianyi frowned. With just a glance, he could tell that both Zhao Xin`er and Leng Pingchao were seventh-level ascendants, and in this place where the strong feasted on the weak, they should belong to some small and inconsequential sect in the City of Ancient Emperors. Yet how dare they show their tempers to them?
"Apologize? You’re thinking too much." The ugly young man smiled coldly. Que Tianyi’s earlier words were only a pretense of cordiality, and should have ended this entire conversation completely. "Maiden. This matter shall come to an end here."
"What do you mean by that?" Zhao Xin`er stared at Que Tianyi. Her countenance was like ice. "After speaking shameful words to humiliate us, now you wish for this matter to end without even offering an apology?"
Que Tianyi furrowed his brows. He was already in a foul mood after just recently being robbed. This time, his purpose here was to establish his immortal foundation. After all these years of cultivating under his master, the Eastern Sage Immortal Emperor, he wanted to come to this place to seek out some good fortune for himself. However, who would have expected that their belongings would be swiped the moment they stepped into this place? How could he still be in a good mood after that? He glanced coldly at Zhao Xin`er, "Scram back to your lousy sect. You want us to apologize? Get your sect leader to talk to me first!"
Translator Note:
Que Tianyi was the one who took Qin Wentian’s place and became the disciple of the Eastern Sage Immortal Emperor after Qin Wentian rejected the offer. The time he first appeared was during the recruitment test held at the particle world, the Royal Sacred Region.