Heavenly Star

After the Flowerless Monk arrived, everyone else started showing up too. Before long there were thirty or forty people present. Unsurprisingly, most of them observed others with a cold attitude other than those who already knew each other beforehand. Many eyes lingered on Yan Tianwei and his crew. All who arrived here, other than those who wanted to see champions duke it out without fear of their own lives, must be famed characters. But none of them were known to the others. Even more astonishing was, four of them looked to be in their twenties.

Among the rest of the crowd, no one else was younger than thirty.

A man with a white beard appeared next to Chu Jingtian like a phantom. After glancing them over expressionlessly, he spoke with a chuckle.

“Young man, this isn’t a place for you. Of course, every year many overconfident young challengers arrive here, only to be wounded or killed. It’s been a long time since one of you have showed up. It’s best if you waited twenty five or fifty years before coming back.”

“Age doesn’t mean anything,” Yan Duancang responded casually.

“At the very least it represents the accumulation of strength and energy. I don’t want to be nosy, but all of these young men have astonishing auras. They have massive potential, and I don’t wish to see them destroyed here. Perhaps they will be able to protect themselves while watching others fight. But if they choose to battle a champion…there are some good and some evil among this crowd. Some might choose to specifically hunt down promising new talent. Please use your best judgement.” Leaving them with this line, the man walked away.

“Hey! Are you looking down at us? Let me tell you…”

“Girl, don’t bother. His intentions are good. While this isn’t an official gathering of the strongest on the continent, it’s not far off. His advice is worth listening to, and all of you should be careful.” Yan Qinghong interrupted Yan Gongruo, shooting a meaningful glance at Chu Jingtian and Leng Ya. Other than accomplishing their mission today, he was excited to see the performance of these two–on that slip, Ye Wuchen’s final words were to say that no matter what happened at the meeting, the two of them should not be helped, even if their lives were threatened.

All kinds of people appeared, one after the other. Some were men, some were women. Some stood there silently, others squatted lazily on the ground, while still others positioned themselves on the walls of the cliff with cold expressions. Gradually, the amount of people present rose into the hundreds. Everyone had their own distinct but similarly frightening aura. It wasn’t difficult to imagine if all these people united together under one cause, they would be able to unleash an incredibly potent power onto the rest of the world.

The top of the Fallen Star Cliff was dozens of meters across. Right now the contestants were scattered about, and the sound of conversation became louder. Yan Qinghong, Yan Tianwei and the rest of the crew stayed intentionally silent, observing each new appearance with a cool gaze. After a period of quiet waiting, Yan Tianwei suddenly glanced up, his eyes sharp with energy.

Exactly at that moment, four elders of over sixty years old approached. With their arrival and the intentional release of their energy, an unusual heat surrounded the whole Fallen Star Cliff. Everyone’s eyes gathered on the four elders, realizing that this was the aura of the Northern Emperor’s fire spirit. That meant that these four came on behalf of the Northern Emperor and were here to uphold order at the tournament. No matter how strong someone was, even if they had the sword spirit or the spirit of battle, they wouldn’t want to interfere with those from the Southern and Northern Emperors. The respective auras of those two Emperors’ sects were famous enough that anyone training in the Heavenly Star Continent couldn’t even misidentify it if they were trying.

Twenty some odd years ago, the chaotic battle between the Northern and Southern Emperor ended in the Northern Emperor’s defeat thanks to inference from the Tianlong Empire. Because of that, the Northern Emperor sect disappeared for twenty whole years. But anyone with a clear view of the situation would be able to see that the Northern Emperor sect was by no means afraid of the Southern sect, instead sensing something unusual in the situation. Today with the appearance of the Northern sect no one was really surprised, instead studying them with trained eyes.

Behind the four elders followed a smiling young man. He looked like he was twenty five or so, dressed in casual clothes that did nothing to disguise his overflowing air of natural nobility. A simple glance at him was enough for anyone to see that this man was anything but ordinary. Everyone committed his appearance to mind. When they looked at him, they didn’t notice Leng Ya and Chu Jingtian’s odd gaze. Only because he was a member of the Northern Emperor Sect.

“Hmph, seems like Master was right…so that’s their master, Yan Ximing. Third Brother, are you confident?” The corners of Yan Tianwei’s lips moved, and his voice issued into Yan Gongluo’s ears.

Yan Gongluo’s hands curled into fists, his expression calm. Although he didn’t open his mouth, he told him all he needed with his expression: I am the true young master of the Northern Emperor! How could I lose to him?

.

“With Master’s help, no one will realize that the Fire Spirit magic we’re using is the same type. So you needn’t worry about unleashing your full strength. He…will be your first experiment. You, the one with the true blood of the Northern Emperor, who has trained hard until today–if you can’t even defeat this bastard, then how can you still call yourself a disciple of Master!” Yan Tianwei said in a stern voice.

Yan Gongluo nodded intensely, his gaze sweeping over Yan Ximing for a moment. Yan Ximing seemed to sense it, his gaze turning, but ultimately didn’t find anything.