With a burst of light, the white light soared upwards into the sky followed by a gush of golden light after it had scattered into the surroundings. The entire Heavenly Snow Mountain seemed to quiver with this one attack.
There was nothing Huang Xingyun could do so he brought his wife to a side in retreat. A look of helplessness could be seen on his face. However, there seemed to be a light that gleamed in the depth of his eyes. No one seemed to have noticed this gleam at all.
The duel between two Saint Lands' powerhouses immediately gripped both sides with intense tension. The 108 Heavenly Kings quickly spread out and stood in their respective positions. Intense Heavenly Energy ripples continued to erupt from their bodies. The force instantly overpowered Xue Ao'tian as they coordinated with Shangguan Tianyang.
Xue Ao'tian was not someone who was just born yesterday. Over twenty Heavenly Kings immediately stepped forward and gathered behind him. The Tiger King Xue Ao'ying, the former Lion King Gu Site, Gu Yingbing and the others gathered behind Xue Ao'tian instantly.
At this moment, a loud howl suddenly resonated from below the mountain. Xue Ao'tian and Shangguan Tianyang who were just about to start their battle immediately came to a halt. They both simultaneously turned their attention towards the mountainside.
Streaks of red lights soared up from the cliff all the way up to the summit. Xue Ao'tian could not help but furrow his brows the moment he saw the light. There was a contemptuous look on his face. This was because the red lights were not flying upwards but they were each leaping very high up to land on the summit of the Heavenly Snow Mountain. Their insolence was so unbearable. It was a lot more arrogant than the Heaven's Expanse Palace.
Huang Xingyun pulled his wife's hand and went back to stand in front of his people. All of the powerhouses from Love Valley that he brought with him were restless. One by one, they stood up to stand behind the two Valley Lords, quietly awaiting further orders.
There was quite a number of the red-clad figures. In a short amount of time, over a hundred people had already gathered on top of the mountain.
The person who stood in front was very tall. He was half a head taller than Xue Ao'tian. His shoulders were wide, and he was dressed in a red robe with a black cloak behind him. He appeared simple-looking yet somber. A cluster of fiery, crimson tattoos was pulsating ever so slightly on his forehead. The moment this man appeared, even the temperature on the Heavenly Snow Mountain had risen along with his presence. His arrogant and lofty manner seemed even more pronounced than Xue Aotian's.
Among all of the crimson-armor clad people who stood behind him, half of them had their entire bodies fully covered in crimson armor. They even wore helmets on their heads, and when they lowered their heads slightly, nobody could clearly see how they looked like.
The people that the Heaven's Expanse Palace brought with them was considered to be quite a significant number. 108 people to be exact. However, the number of these red-garbed people totaled up to around 150. Xue Ao'tian and Shangguan Tianyang's faces darkened slightly at the same time. With their cultivation base, they could clearly sense that these red-garbed people were all at the Heavenly King Tier and above.
If there was an ordinary Heavenly Jewel Master present, he would most likely be aghast at the scene in front his eyes.
One had to know, if a Heavenly King powerhouse appeared anywhere in the Boundless Mainland, he would be lauded by the masses and the oceans would tremble. However, there were actually more than 300 of them gathered on the summit of Heavenly Snow Mountain at this moment.
This was the power of the Saint Land. With so many powerhouses gathered together, they could easily obliterate an entire nation in just a short amount of time.
The elder who was standing in the front of these red-clad people swept his gaze across all of the people present on the summit, "Looks like I arrived at the perfect time, Brother Snow!"
When he was talking, he did not even look at Shangguan Tianyang. Instead, he nodded towards Xue Ao'tian.
Xue Ao'tian was slightly taken aback. It was obvious that he did not expect the man in red to greet him first, "What the hell are you doing, Fen Tian?"
That was right. This red-garbed, simple-looking man was actually the Hell Lord of Blood Red Hell, Fen Tian. He was a Saint Land Lord as well.
Seeing how Fen Tian was ignoring him, Shangguan Tianyang's face immediately darkened a few shades.
Fen Tian waved his hand. The powerhouses from the Blood Red Hell behind him quickly walked to the west side of the Heavenly Snow Mountain's summit. They gathered and formed a neat formation there. Fen Tian, on the other hand, walked over to Xue Ao'tian and smiled, "The only person worthy of my respect here is only you, Brother Snow. Naturally, I should greet you first, shouldn't I?"
Xue Ao'tian snorted, "I thought Blood Red Hell and Heaven's Expanse Palace have always been friendly with each other? Why? Did everything change because of the conflict with Zhongtian Empire?"
Fen Tian replied nonchalantly, "This world will only house those who are virtuous. Even an alliance can break and enemies can reconcile. It's been too long since the Zhongtian Empire occupied the central plains. Doesn't the Wan Shou Empire feel a little infuriated at being forced to stay in the north, in this land of merciless winter, Brother Snow?"
Shangguan Tianyang could not contain himself anymore, "Fen Tian, you must be crazy! Don't think that just because Blood Red Hell has this whatsoever Destruction Attribute you can do whatever you like! You really want to push your luck with the central plain in the name of Dandun Empire alone?"
Huang Xingyun also bellowed, "Fen Tian, don't be too arrogant! We'll see whether you'll be able to leave this Grand Tournament safely or not!"
Fen Tian turned around and snorted, " Oh, a sheep in a wolf's clothing! Looks like the two of you are shivering with fear, aren't you? That's right! I won't be able to usurp the central plain just with Dandun Empire alone. However, what do you think will happen if Dandun Empire conspires with the Wan Shou Empire? What do you think will happen, huh? The annihilation of Geritimo Empire should serve as an example to you! Brother Snow, we can split and share the Zhongtian Empire as long as you agree. At that time, the Wan Shou Empire no longer has to hunt for food for the harsh cold during the long winter any longer. It's a win-win situation. It'll only benefit us if we join our forces."
Shangguan Tianyang's face was extremely grim. In the previous Grand Tournaments, even though the competition between all the Saint Lands was pretty intense, it was more toned down without such a strong and an obvious hint of provocation.
Although Fen Tian was the last to arrive, he had already established himself as the Heavenly Snow Mountain's ally with just a few words. Not only that, what he just said was a fact. The conditions that he promised were greatly tempting for both the Wan Shou Empire and the Heavenly Snow Mountain. Had it not been for the excessively harsh cold during the long winters that caused famine in the area, why would the Wan Shou Empire start a war every winter?
Flashes of emotions swept across Xue Ao'tian's face. It seemed as if he was thinking deeply about something.
Huang Xingyun quickly argued, "Xue Ao'tian, are you really going to disregard universal comdemnation and start a war in the entire mainland? At that time, the people will be plunged into an abyss of misery and suffering. You'll be a sinner in the world. Even if all of us from Love Valley die here, we'll still go all out to stop you from doing this!"
Xue Ao'tian's face instantly darkened. He spat out coldly, "Huang Xingyun, who do you think you are? How dare you talk like that to me in Heavenly Snow Mountain?! So what if I decide to join forces with the Blood Red Hell? A small fry like you from Love Valley dares to threaten me?"
Shangguan Tianyang threw a glance at Huang Xingyun. An anxious look could clearly be seen in his eyes. All of them knew that Xue Ao'tian had always been very hard-headed. He would rather die than bend to anyone. It was obvious that Huang Xingyun's desperate words were pushing the Heavenly Snow Mountain to side with the Blood Red Hell.
However, Huang Xingyun did not seem to notice Shangguan Tianyang's meaningful glance. He roared furiously, "Xue Ao'tian, how dare you insult me, the Valley Lord! Fine, then! I'll show you today whether the Heavenly Snow Mountain-Blood Red Hell duo or Love Valley-Heaven's Expanse Palace duo is better!"
Xue Ao'tian snorted again, "You seem to have forgotten that this is the Grand Tournament of Five Great Saint Lands. The Heavenly Demon Sect has yet to arrive, you know. Which side do you think they'll support?"
Fen Tian who stood beside Xue Ao'tian remained emotionless but a faint smile could be seen playing on the corner of his mouth. It was apparent that he was satisfied with Xue Ao'tian's words. He added halfheartedly, "There's no need for us to wait for the Heavenly Demon Sect anymore. Let's just start the Grand Tournament right away. In fact, the Heavenly Demon Sect had been crushed by me not too long ago."
"W-What?" A look of shock appeared on Huang Xingyun and Xue Ao'tian's face. Shangguan Tianyang's face, on the other hand, darkened another few shades.
Fen Tian continued in the same indifferent manner, "How is the Heavenly Demon Sect worthy of the title Saint Land with that feeble power of theirs? Brother Snow, didn't the Valley Lord just said that he's going to partner up with the Heaven's Expanse Palace and go against us? Let me see who they have behind their back for daring to speak so loudly of themselves!"
Intense killing aura instantly filled the Heavenly Snow Mountain's air. In terms of strength, Love Valley had a total of six Heavenly Emperors while the Heaven's Expanse Palace had 108 Heavenly Kings. However, there were just too many people that the Blood Red Hell brought with them this time. Just the Blood Red Hell alone was already more or less on par with all their Heavenly Kings' strength added up, not counting Xue Ao'tian who was the strongest person in the world. In terms of overall strength, it was apparent that the Heavenly Snow Mountain and Blood Red Hell had a clear advantage.
Just as both sides were all set for a showdown and were about to unsheathe their swords at any moment, a casual voice suddenly resonated in the air, "Oh? So this is the Grand Tournament of Saint Lands? Why does it look just like a normal neighborhood gangster fight to me? Ah, this is kind of disappointing!"
The look on the four Great Saint Land Lords changed at once. However, the reason behind the changes in each person's face was different.
A young man idly strolled all the way up to the Heavenly Snow Mountain. There were no other people but he alone. However, not even a single person present on the Heavenly Snow Mountain sensed his aura before his arrival.
The young man was dressed in a long blue robe. Even though he was not particularly good-looking, his body was tall and sturdy, his shoulder was wide, and his back was thick. He appeared to be only in his twenties, and there was a mocking look on his face. He did not seem to be under any stress faced by so many powerhouses. Instead, he casually walked up the mountain until he came to halt next to Shangguan Tianyang.
"Zhou Weiqing, this is the day of the Grand Tournament! What the hell are you doing here?" Gu Yingbing who was standing next to Xue Ao'tian howled loudly.
That was right. The person who casually strolled here and whose aura was not detected by any of the people present was none other than Zhou Weiqing. A nonchalant smile could be seen playing on his face. It was obviously discordant with the tense atmosphere of the surroundings.
Zhou Weiqing threw a side glance at Gu Yingbing as he continued to smile, "Of course I'm here to take part in the Grand Tournament! Brother Yingbing, if you can be here, why can't I? I'm from a Saint Land as well. Do tell me, what's wrong with me participating in this Grand Tournament?"