The Legend of Futian

Ye Futian was cultivating in the Starry Cultivation Court when Old Ma came to him.

"Uncle Ma, what's up?" Ye Futian asked.

"Cultivators from the Dark Court and the Empty Divine Realm have come to the Ziwei Imperial Palace, asking to see you," Old Ma replied to Ye Futian.

In the land of the Original Realm, the cultivators of all the major worlds had always been there, not just those forces from the Divine Prefecture. For a while before this, when Ye Futian was fighting with the powers in the Divine Prefecture, the Dark Court and the Empty Divine Realm were watching quietly on the side.

But now, they were here as well.

By now, the Ziwei Segmentum had been opened up, so it was not surprising that the others could come here.

Moreover, the Dark World and Empty Divine Realm dared to send emissaries here, which was a bold move. After all, the grievances between them were deep and well-publicized. In the Ziwei Segmentum, it was not difficult if Ye Futian wanted to do away with them.

"Little junior brother." At this time, someone else was here; it was Zhuge Mingyue.

Zhuge Mingyue's cultivation was not high, but now she was the deputy Lord of Tianyu Palace, managing many things. Even in Ziwei Imperial Palace, there were things that she was busy handling.

"I know that you had deep conflicts with the Dark Court in the past, and you are determined to destroy those who were involved back then. But we are in an extremely precarious situation now, and I think it would be good for you to receive them." Zhuge Mingyue said to Ye Futian, "Even if they are our enemies, you can use them. Now, we are facing pressures from the Divine Prefecture, it might be uncomfortable to entreat with the Dark Court and the Empty Divine Realm, but it Donghuang Imperial Palace will take notice."

Old Ma nodded and said, "That's right. The great forces of Divine Prefecture, Dark Court, and Empty Divine Realm are destined to stand opposite each other. Ziwei Segmentum is unique because we do not belong to any one of these forces in the Original Realm. Under this circumstance, if we make too many enemies or angered any force, we might be wiped out."

Ziwei Segmentum may be powerful, but those god-level forces could destroy them without a second thought; it was just a question of whether or not they wanted to go through the trouble.

"Back then, you had dealt with two god-level forces on behalf of the Divine Prefecture and created even more frictions between you and the Dark World. Despite that, they still wanted to win you over only because the enemy of my enemy is my friend. You are the heir of Emperor Ye Qing, the sworn enemy of Donghuang the Great, and that's why they are willing to let go of their previous grievances." Zhuge Mingyue continued to persuade Ye Futian. "Under this condition, you are already a public enemy of all of Divine Prefecture. If you further alienate the Dark World and the Empty Divine Realm, never mind all these other principalities in the Divine Prefecture, just these two powers alone could annihilate Ziwei Segmentum if they were antagonized."

"On the other hand, if you care to deal with the Dark Court and the Empty Divine Realms diplomatically, we don't form an alliance, but neither do we refuse them. It might be enough to keep Donghuang Imperial Palace at bay. If the Imperial Palace wants to make a move on us, it must consider first whether it would propel us to join either the Dark Court or the Empty Divine Realm."

Zhuge Mingyue was someone who knew Ye Futian best. He despised evil and dishonesty more than anything in the world, and there was no room for any wrongdoings or injustice in his eyes. However, her careful analysis of their current situation facing the Ziwei Segmentum was convincing. Though Ziwei Segmentum seemed to be booming, in reality, dangers were lurking all around, and they stood to lose everything with the slightest indiscretion and carelessness.

After all, Ziwei Imperial Palace did not belong to any forces among the many god-level forces, so it was really trying to survive between the cracks.

That was why she had been reasoning with Ye Futian, worried that he would act impulsively.

Ye Futian understood what Zhuge Mingyue was saying. It seemed that his second senior sister had been thinking a lot about the current situation as it stood. Now that they were on the right track and became stronger with each step, one wrong step could send them to the abyss that awaited them.

Ye Futian understood as well that if those imperial-level forces really wanted to move against Ziwei Segmentum, there was no existence that they could not destroy.

"Little junior brother, you need time, Ziwei Segmentum needs time, and Yu Sheng also needs time." Zhuge Mingyue said, "If it puts you in an uncomfortable position, I can ask the Supreme Elder and other lords to meet with them."

For them, time was the most precious currency.

Their potential was not inconsiderable. In the distant Devil World, Yu Sheng was also working hard on becoming greater and stronger.

"I'll go," Ye Futian said. Ziwei Segmentum was not his alone. As the king of Ziwei Segmentum, he needed to be responsible to everyone within it.

"Prepare a banquet to entertain the emissaries from the Dark Court and the Empty Divine Realm," Ye Futian said. He tried to suppress the disgust he felt. If it were before, he would only want to kill these people from the Dark Court. However, now he was willing to compromise and deal with them.

"Very good, I will arrange it now," Zhuge Mingyue said with a small smile, then turned to leave.

Ye Futian took a deep breath and looked at the many cultivators in the starry sky. All these familiar faces meant serious responsibilities and a long way to go, and he still needed to work harder for their sake.

…

Those who came to the Dark Court and the Empty Divine Realm this time were all very distinguished individuals. At the Ziwei Imperial Palace banquet, Ye Futian hosted a feast to welcome the cultivators from these two major principalities.

"We heard that Renhuang Ye had returned from the Western World and slayed the cultivators of the Tribulation Plane in the Western Sea Domain Chief's Manor, as well as the breakthrough in realm by the Supreme Elder of Ziwei Imperial Palace. Many congratulations to Palace Lord Ye," the cultivator from the Dark Court said with a smile.

"You are too polite," Ye Futian replied. "I don't know what we can do for you all for you to take this trip here?"

"We want to work with Renhuang Ye," a cultivator from Dark Court said without beating around the bush.

"Work together, how?" Ye Futian asked.

"Renhuang Ye is a descendant of Emperor Ye Qing, whose longstanding grievances with Divine Prefecture needs no more description. And now, all the forces in Divine Prefecture regard Renhuang Ye as a thorn in their sides, and some have even declared Renhuang Ye as a public enemy of Divine Prefecture. As we speak, conspiracy abound in Divine Prefecture, aiming to bring down Ziwei and kill Renhuang Ye. I'm sure Renhuang Ye knew all of this already," the man continued bluntly.

More important, he said that Ye Futian was a descendant of Emperor Ye Qing, not his heir.

"Mmm," Ye Futian nodded.

"With such a background, the forces in Divine Prefecture would definitely not let up on Renhuang Ye. And then there is Donghuang the Great. Although he agreed not to take action against you personally, it does not mean that the other cultivators in the Imperial Palace won't either. Ziwei Imperial Palace is in a place of isolation; its eradication is just a matter of time." The man now employed a more threatening tone without the slightest pretense.

"So?" Ye Futian asked with a smile.

"So, will Renhuang Ye consider joining forces with us to form an alliance and expel these powers of the Divine Prefecture from the Original Realm, slaughter them all, and carve up the Original Realm," the cultivator from the Empty Divine Realm said in a low voice, with a palpable sense of serious aggression and ambition. They intended to start a war of extermination in the Original Realm, expel Divine Prefecture, and become the new rulers of the Original Realm.

"Ziwei Imperial Palace is not as powerful as the Dark Court and the Empty Divine Realms in size or influence. The slightest carelessness will cause a disaster of extinction for us. This is a major decision that should not be made lightly." Ye Futian spoke nonchalantly, but inside, he laughed coldly at the suggestion.

If the Divine Prefecture was expelled and destroyed, then Ziwei Segmentum was probably the next on the list. At that time, if they were to ask Ziwei Segmentum to submit, was he to agree or not?

If he were to refuse, they would be destroyed outright.

"Right now, Divine Prefecture is already in discussion about the destruction of Ziwei Segmentum. Is Renhuang Ye aware of it?" the man pressed.

"I heard of something like that, but the Ziwei Segmentum is still able to contend with some forces in the Divine Prefecture. If they really want to destroy Ziwei Segmentum, we will make them pay for it." Ye Futian's voice was cold, and he did that deliberately. He figured these two principalities would at least be willing to sit on the sideline and watch such a fight taking place.

"Very well, since Renhuang Ye is so confident, we won't say much more. In the future, if Renhuang Ye needs any help, just let us know, and we will be here as reinforcements." The other man said with a smile, "As for some of our previous grievances…"

"No need to mention it," Ye Futian interrupted.

"That's the best," the other man nodded with a smile.

It seemed as if both parties had forgotten their previous grievances. As to what they were really thinking of inside, it was anyone's guess.

Perhaps, each couldn't wait to swallow the other.

In this banquet, the two parties interacted with pretense and diplomacy, but each was secretly hatching its own plan. Ye Futian personally sent them off when they parted ways, waving goodbyes to the cultivators from the two major forces as if they had been allies for ages. Only they knew exactly what they were thinking inside their hearts.

Outside the Ziwei Segmentum, the cultivators of the Dark Court and the Empty Divine Realm wore an icy look on their faces as they traveled in the air, saying, "I didn't expect that Ye Futian would be able to let go of the grievances of the past. It seems that these years had changed him greatly."

"Everyone has to grow up, and Ye Futian is no different. This time he was cooperating with our visit, and it was a show for all of Divine Prefecture and Donghuang Imperial Palace. This way, Donghuang Imperial Palace shouldn't be interfering anymore and will probably just let him fight it out with the other forces in the Divine Prefecture to see who's the last man standing. We will show our hands when a winner eventually emerges," the cultivator from the Dark Court said coldly.

If Ye Futian were really willing to surrender, perhaps they would let Ye Futian live. But they knew very well that Ye Futian was born with an arrogant nature, and even when he tried to pretend, it was not convincing, so how could he really be willing to surrender?

Sooner or later, he would be theirs.

When Ye Futian and the others returned to Ziwei Imperial Palace, Zhuge Mingyue asked, "How was it?"

"They were all tricksters," Ye Futian said indifferently. "Not a word out of them was true."

"It's all an act, using each other." Zhuge Mingyue said, "Too bad we are trying to survive in the cracks, and you had to endure all this."

"Senior Sister, what are you talking about? It is what I should have done, and there was no suffering to speak of." Ye Futian continued, "They all wanted to destroy Ziwei, but they don't think now is the right time. I feel the same way, and it's just that my strength is not up to par yet."

"Thank you," Zhuge Mingyue said with a smile while looking at that handsome face. There was a softness in her beautiful eyes. She had always treated this little junior brother as one of her own. When Ye Futian first entered the Cottage, he was only 18 years old, just like her little brother.

However, there was too much on his shoulders at the moment.

…

In the 10,100th years of the Divine Prefecture Calendar, Tianyan City held the DivPrefecture'sre's Armorer Competition and invited all the forces in Divine Prefecture to observe the ceremony. This Armorer Competition was held once a century and was a grand event in Tianyan City. It was an extremely important occasion every time it was held.

Tianyan City had convened the cultivators from all sides to attend. For a time, responders from Divine Prefecture gathered here. Many giant-level principalities responded to Tianyan City and directly dispatched cultivators to set off for Tianyan City to watch the Armorer Competition.

Among them, there were several major Domain Chief's Manors.

In the past, these Domain Chief's Manors had never participated, but this time, they had embarked on the journey to attend.

The meaning behind this phenomenon was intriguing. Was it really the Armorer Competition they wished to participate or was it a pretext for them to all meet in Tianyan City together?