Even though Shi Tianhao was younger, his manner was a lot more imposing and overbearing.
Enough with all those meaningless talk.
I only have one question for you – do you dare you fight against me?
Do you, or do you not?
Shi Tianyi’s multiple pupils stared straight at Shi Tianhao. He was originally seated with his legs crossed between the white clouds and the golden light, and at this point he gradually stood up.
This particular action caused the clouds and the golden light to tremble violently, as if a demi-god had stood up.
"If you want to fight, then we shall fight. Whenever and wherever you want."
Shi Tianhao flashed a faint smile and replied, "Here and now. I will wait for you – see if you have the courage to step out of Mount Baiyun."
Right at this time, the Eastern sky above Yu Family ancestral ground suddenly shook vigorously, and between flashes of golden light, rainbow clouds emerged from within and the silhouette of a golden dragon flickered into sight.
Shi Yu, the current emperor of the Great Qin Empire, had arrived personally. However, he was only here with a projection of an avatar.
"Two young prodigies, both not yet twenty and already with extraordinary levels of mastery. The Shi family blood flows inside both of you – if the two of you are to battle, then it shall be one of the Great Qin Empire’s greatest regret while also a most glorious occasion. An event such as this requires a suitable stage."
Shi Yu’s voice resonated between Heaven and Earth. "One month later, I shall open the Heavenly Dragon Ancient Land’s Dragon Battle Arena for the both of you."
"The Dragon Rock Gate lies within the Dragon Battle Arena. Only individuals with the Shi family blood flowing in their veins and below the age of twenty, yet with extraordinary levels of power can open the gate. The gate will only open from the force of the epic clash between such individuals."
"There are great treasures hidden within the Dragon Rock Gate. The victor shall be permitted to enter!"
The eyes of both Shi Tianhao and Shi Tianyi sparkled with excitement.
The Prince Anliang, Shi Zongyue’s expression changed a little. "Your majesty…"
The Celestial Sword Elder, the Thunderclouds Holy Man, the Stellar Holy Man, the Gambling Holy Man and even the Prince Xian of the Right all expressed similar expressions of shock.
The Great Qin Empire was the oldest and royal empire within the Divine Lands. One of the foundations of their rise in the olden days was the Heavenly Dragon Ancient Land. Legend had it that this was the roost of the Immemorial Celestial Dragons during the Primordial Age.
The nature of the spiritual energy within the Ancient Land began to change, and was no longer suitable for the Immemorial Celestial Dragons to roost. Therefore, the great dragon race retreated and searched elsewhere for suitable habitations.
However, what remained was a place that was extremely beneficial for human cultivation. The dragons also left behind many treasures from the ancient days.
The first emperor of the Great Qin Empire relied on the resources from the Heavenly Dragon Ancient Land to form the Great Qin Empire, and subsequently expanded their territories and flourished till now.
There was a Dragon Battle Arena within the Heavenly Dragon Ancient Land. It was the old stage for ultimate showdowns between the great dragons, and was the core of the Heavenly Dragon Ancient Land.
There used to be powerful individuals amongst the ancestors of the Great Qin Empire who tried to encourage the younger generations to work as hard as they could. Therefore, they put forth a sacred seal as a gate to the Ancient Land and dictated that only when two individuals battled against each other could the sacred seal be lifted by the force of their epic clash.
This sacred seal came to be known as the Dragon Rock Gate. Behind the Dragon Rock Gate lay the unusual spaces that dated back to the first ancestors of the Great Qin Empire, and there were many other exotic treasures hidden within as well.
For the gate to be opened, the two parties showing down had to satisfy three criteria.
Firstly, they had to be descendants of the Shi family.
Secondly, they had to be below the age of twenty.
Thirdly, the powers they possessed had to be extraordinary.
How great must their powers be? Nobody knew the exact answer. However, since the beginning of history and over the course of millennia, the Dragon Rock Gate had only been opened twice.
In the more recent millennium, the Dragon Rock Gate had not been opened a single time. A single legendary prodigy was hard to come by – let alone two?
But now, the criteria were satisfied once again.
Shi Tianyi was not yet seventeen and was in the nascent soul beginner stage. He obtained the Natural Supreme Tao Foundation when he was in the foundation establishment stage and possessed the Polycoria. He was like a God that cascaded upon the earth, and ever since he began on his journey in cultivation he was touted as the number one unrivaled champion of the younger generation of cultivators. Everybody knew he was destined to become a figure of legends.
Shi Tianhao was not even thirteen and was already in the aurous core advanced stage. He was reborn after Shi Tianyi deviously stole his Natural Supreme Tao Foundation, and had since then started on a new path of revival and redemption. He defeated and killed a nascent soul intermediate stage grandmaster from the Yu Family, and this sent ripples across the entire Divine Lands.
They were both born from the Shi Family. Even though the Shi Family was one of the side branches of the Great Qin Empire’s royal family and their blood relations were relatively distant, they were ultimately descended from the same blood of the Great Qin Empire’s ancestors.
The Celestial Sword Elder and the Thunderclouds Holy Man exchanged a look as they thought to themselves, "No matter who’s victorious, the Qin Emperor has struck down a good deal. The thing is, this is already such a high-profile event, and now the whole world will be watching."
On the other side, the void split open as the Shi Family leader Shi Wu stepped out slowly. The Virtuous Zen Master was nowhere to be seen, however.
The Yu family lay in ruins, and the Virtuous Zen Master had completed his task as well. He did not have to stick around to hold back Shi Wu any longer and was now on his way back to Mount Yujing.
Shi Wu’s face was as black as he was silent while his gaze rested upon Shi Tianyi and Shi Tianhao.
He had no time to consider the impact of the Qin Emperor’s decision would have on the Shi Family, the Great Qin Empire’s current hostile and antagonizing attitude towards the big families under wing or the fact that they wish to undergo some sort of cleansing.
Ever since he ascended to the immortal soul stage, Shi Wu rarely had instances of lapses in concentration. However, when he perceived Shi Tianhao and Shi Tianyi, he had such a moment.
They were both originally descendants of the Shi Family…
Shi Tianhao and Shi Tianyi stood there staring at each other, and after a long while they both nodded in tandem. "I will wait for you in a month’s time."
The crowd of immortal soul stage powerhouses looked at these two family cousins with complex expressions.
Over the course of their long lives, they had seen far too many prodigal individuals. The numbers were so great that they had been numb to them a long time ago and would no longer turn their heads towards these people.
Before the formation of the aurous core stage, one could not live beyond a hundred years. Before the formation of the nascent soul, one could not live beyond a thousand. Before ascending to the immortal soul stage, and after dozens of lifetimes everything was simultaneously nothing.
This did not even account for the possibility of meeting one’s demise halfway through.
Despite all this, the ‘Big Shi’ and the ‘Little Shi’ in front of them stunned them all.
The older one had a more mature demeanor, and a heroic spirit and ambition that came from deep within was realized with unstoppable momentum.
The younger one was still a little childish, but displayed an even more formidable potential for improvement. Once upon a time, he was only an infant that was on the verge of drawing his last breath, and now he was chasing closely behind his arch-nemesis – he was already biting at the tail.
Shi Zongyue’s gaze, along with everyone else’s, turned towards the fatherly figure beside ‘Little Shi’. This person wore a long purple robe and had this perennial casual and carefree look on his face. There was even a trace of a faint smile.
And then they all turned to look at Xiao Yan, who was standing right beside Shi Tianhao.
This was also an unprecedented prodigy that was in no way inferior to Shi Tianhao!
Xiao Yan was the cardinal disciple under Lin Feng, and his status could not be denied. However, in the eyes of the outside world, he was not as eye-catching and ‘attractive’ as his junior, Shi Tianhao.
On one hand, it was because Zhu Yi and Shi Tianhao’s identities and family backgrounds were slightly more special. On the other hand, it was also because Xiao Yan was previously a shut-in on top of Mount Yujing.
Since the battle outside Shazhou city and the epic battle against the crown prince of the Great Qin Empire, Shi Chongyun, on top of Xingyun Peak, Xiao Yan disappeared from everyone’s vision.
It was like the blooming of a flower and the surge of a shooting star across the sky.
During the Spiritual Conference of Huanghai afterwards, Xiao Yan was absent, and neither did he participate in the battle of Mount Kunlun. Even during the expedition to the Secret Manual of Kun Peng, Xiao Yan was a no-show.
Not only did he not participate in the great many important expeditions of the Celestial Sect of Wonders, Xiao Yan did not even show himself to outsiders a single time.
It came to a point where some people thought Zhu Yi was the cardinal disciple of the Celestial Sect of Wonders.
Even Wang Lin, who had a sudden and quick ascension from the foundation establishment beginner stage to the aurous core beginner stage, caught more people’s attention than Xiao Yan did.
The once-great cardinal disciple of the Celestial Sect of Wonders became dormant and silent just like that.
It was only today that Xiao Yan reappeared in the world. He was like a tyrannical monster awakened from his deep sleep as he took down everybody else in the Yu Family, excluding the immortal soul stage cultivator Yu Xintao, and very nearly flattened the Yu Family by himself!
Such a performance could not be ignored by the troupe of immortal soul stage elders.
As they watched Xiao Yan and Shi Tianhao, they turned back towards Lin Feng and their expressions became a lot more solemn. "He actually nurtured disciples like that, and it’s not just the two of them. There are other disciples under his wing…"
Lin Feng watched the Xuanlin Holy Man quietly before he said plainly, "If that’s the case, then you and I will await this meeting in peace. This is the first time our disciples have formally interacted – we shall meet again in a month."
When he brought Shi Tianyi’s illusion forth, the Xuanlin Holy Man’s expression had already returned to his original composure. He matched Lin Feng’s gaze with a similar casual look and answered, "Everything will be revealed in a month’s time."
And with that, Shi Tianyi’s light illusion vanished. The Xuanlin Holy Man himself also began to retreat back into the void, and the female cultivator beside him heaved a little sigh before vanishing behind him.
The Xuanming Holy Man, Yu Xintao looked like death. He glared at Lin Feng with furious eyes but did not say anything.
The Theorem of Xuanming’s original soul could be considered to be completely destroyed. The Xuanming Bow, which had no rightful owner, was captured by Xiao Yan using the Flaming Dragon Celestial Armor.
Lin Feng glanced at Yu Xintao casually out of the corner of his eye. He extended his hands and grabbed the trembling Xuanming Bow with a grip so tight that the Xuanming Bow lost all livelihood as it was held down by Lin Feng’s mana.
Blood shot into Yu Xintao’s eyes as his face became even darker. The only problem was that there was nothing he could do to retrieve his family magic treasure and could only retreat after the Xuanlin Holy Man and the others.
"Yu Xintao – who gave you the permission to leave?"
At this point, Lin Feng’s voice rang out again into the sky.
Yu Xintao froze. The Xuanlin Holy Man’s brows furrowed into a frown as he watched Lin Feng with an expressionless face.
Lin Feng casually matched his gaze and muttered something under his breath, as if he was talking to himself. "Some people can leave, but some cannot."
This statement did not seem to be just directed at Yu Xintao. The Xuanlin Holy Man’s eyes began to sparkle.
Lin Feng turned away from him and his eyes swept the Yu Family ancestral ground that lay in ruins. There were a few remaining members of the Yu Family.
"I do not like to kill. The nascent soul stage cultivators that pursued Tianhao’s family with the intention to kill have all been eliminated. The other unrelated members of the Yu Family will not be touched." Lin Feng said plainly, "But do remember: Whoever messes with the Celestial Set of Wonders will be eradicated from the face of the earth."
His eyes turned back towards Yu Xintao. "Yu Xintao, I have already let you go once on Mount Kunlun. This time, you can’t escape anymore."
The female cultivator from the Great Void Sect frowned a little as well. "You have already destroyed the Theorem of Xuanlin and flattened the Yu Family ancestral ground. All grudges and vengeances have already been resolved – do not be too overbearing and cross the line."
"It wasn’t easy for the Xuanming Holy Man to reach the immortal soul stage. Any immortal soul stage cultivator is extremely valuable to the human world of cultivation. Why do you wish to eliminate him?"
Lin Feng smiled casually. "It’s imperative that we unite the powerhouses of the human world of cultivation against the demonic races. It’s for the same reason that I have to do what I have to do."
He pointed towards the black-faced Yu Xintao. "When the two worlds clash in the future, I do not wish to see some people backstab allies."
"I’m not afraid, but I hate it," Lin Feng continued. "Therefore, this is a problem and I will remedy it immediately."