King of Ten Thousand Years

Chapter 36: Chapter 36: Young Marquis

"Luo... Tian!"

At this moment, it wasn’t just Qi Hong. All the disciples of the noble families from Lingyun County were shocked into silence.

Why was Luo Tian still alive?

Qi Hong’s heart trembled, unable to accept reality. The Qi Family had sent a Martial Artist at the Eighth Layer of Meridian Opening after him!

"He... didn’t even die from that?"

Mu Yuyan’s mouth hung open wide enough to fit an apple.

Not only was he not dead.

There wasn’t a single scratch on Luo Tian’s body. In fact, he seemed to have an air of vigor and confidence.

’Who knew Kun Ga’s Fang had such terrifying power.’

Luo Tian felt a little excited as he recalled what had happened.

Unfortunately, Kun Ga’s Fang was a consumable item. After using one, he had two left.

"Brother Luo, you’re finally here!"

Chen Haofei’s face was full of pleasant surprise as he stepped forward to greet him.

The white-robed elder from the Sun Chasing Holy Mansion gave Luo Tian a second glance.

"Congratulations on your successful cultivation breakthrough, Brother Chen."

Luo Tian said with a smile. Just as he had expected, Chen Haofei’s cultivation had advanced to the Fifth Layer of Meridian Opening.

Just then.

WHOOSH!

A fierce wind howled through the sky, kicking up sand and stones. A sharp cry echoed as a massive shadow enveloped Luo Tian and the others.

"That’s..."

The youths looked up and were horrified.

It was a colossal Golden Eagle with a wingspan of over ten meters. Swirling dust surrounded it as it radiated a terrifying pressure.

A Two-star Battle Beast!

Luo Tian was secretly astounded. This was a flying bird comparable to the Spirit Sea Realm. Among all the Demon Beasts he had seen, it was second only to the Sleeping Beast Kun Ga.

"This is the Golden-Winged Eagle, a Flying Bird Mount raised by the Sun Chasing Holy Mansion."

Lin Haofei said.

Luo Tian sighed internally. ’As expected of the Holy Mansion.’

This Golden-Winged Eagle alone was much stronger than the Vice Manor Master of Lingyun Martial Mansion.

The strength of the white-robed elder in charge of receiving them was even more unfathomable.

SWISH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

At the white-robed elder’s signal, the geniuses of Lingyun County City boarded the Golden-Winged Eagle’s back one by one.

WHOOSH!

A fierce wind stirred as the Golden-Winged Eagle carried everyone into the sky, tearing through the air as it departed.

"So fast!"

Luo Tian watched as Lingyun County City below him gradually shrank into a black dot, surrounded by swirling clouds and mist.

The journey was dull.

Luo Tian closed his eyes, his consciousness entering the Celestial Book.

At this moment.

The first page of the Creation Celestial Book was filled with a gray-green light, and the second page was more than seventy percent full.

After having the Celestial Book for so long, Luo Tian had figured out a pattern.

Every ten days, the Celestial Book would accumulate "one page" of power. In other words, it accumulated one-tenth of a page of power each day.

This accumulation speed was unrelated to his Cultivation Realm.

However, one page of power at a high cultivation level was clearly more durable and could be used to greater effect than one page at a low Realm.

As for the Celestial Book’s consumption.

The higher the level of the question, the greater the consumption for an Inference.

Furthermore, Inferences that required creating something "from thin air," with few clues to go on, also had an extremely high cost.

For example.

If he asked the Celestial Book to deduce a Spirit Level Martial Skill from scratch, or to infer the whereabouts of his father and Xueyao, the cost would be terrifying.

Previously, Luo Tian’s Star Condensing Sword Point was originally close to Spirit Level. Even though it was only a fragment, the book was able to perfect and upgrade it to Spirit Level.

Divination-type questions often had a degree of this "from thin air" quality, which was why they cost more.

Just as Luo Tian was about to leave.

"Hold it, kid!"

A commanding voice called out.

WHOOSH!

A crow, wreathed in black smoke, appeared from within a cloud of black mist.

"Hello, Ugly Bird."

Luo Tian couldn’t help but chuckle. There was something inexplicably comical about the sight of this thing wreathed in smoke.

"Gah! You dare call me, a god, Ugly Bird? How outrageous!"

The crow trembled with anger, its black feathers standing on end.

"My handsome looks and beautiful song are unrivaled in the Primordial Era! Countless goddesses vied for my affection! I must have a new title, like... the Number One Most Dashing and Divine Bird of the Primordial Era..."

The crow vehemently protested the "Ugly Bird" moniker.

"Goodbye, Ugly Bird."

Luo Tian chuckled and waved.

"Ah! Wait, young man! When are you going to let me out for some fresh air? I helped you deal with that Mire Beast last time, you can’t just burn the bridge after you’ve crossed it!"

The crow flapped and gestured wildly, squawking up a storm.

...

「One hour later.」

WHOOSH! THWAP!

The Golden-winged Bird carrying Luo Tian and the others landed in a valley.

"We’re here?"

Luo Tian and Chen Haofei scanned their surroundings.

The valley was about two to three li in area. Two to three hundred youths had already gathered, the lowest among them having a cultivation at the Fourth Layer of Meridian Opening.

More Flying Birds continued to descend, delivering students from the various county cities.

The youths present were clearly divided into distinct groups.

Each group represented the young geniuses from a single county city, numbering anywhere from ten or twenty to thirty or forty people.

The ten or twenty people from Lingyun County gathered in an open space.

Compared to the other county cities, Lingyun County’s group was small, and their overall strength was on the lower end.

"Tsk, tsk. Lingyun County gets worse every year. Fewer than twenty people are even participating in the Holy Mansion’s test."

A strange, sarcastic voice drifted over from a neighboring county city’s group.

The owner of that odd voice was a tall, thin youth with a cultivation at the Fifth Layer of Meridian Opening, who was making his comments without any restraint.

"Huh? Qi Hong, how did you lose an arm? The One-Armed Swordsman? HAHA..."

The tall, thin youth threw his head back and laughed.

Qi Hong’s brow furrowed. Anger surged within him, but he forced himself to hold it back.

"Who’s that?"

Luo Tian asked in surprise.

’With Qi Hong’s arrogance, how could he tolerate being mocked by someone with a lower cultivation than him?’

"That person’s name is Wu Chuan. He’s from one of the top three great clans in Hongyang County, and his family background is slightly superior to Qi Hong’s."

Chen Haofei explained.

Hongyang County was one of the top five major county cities in the Azure Cloud Kingdom. It governed over a dozen cities and was far larger in scale than Lingyun County.

"Even so, Qi Hong shouldn’t be afraid of him," Luo Tian said, puzzled.

"Of course Qi Hong isn’t afraid of Wu Chuan. He’s wary of the person backing him, the Young Marquis, Tang Wei."

This time, it was Mu Yuyan who spoke.

Luo Tian gave Mu Yuyan a curious glance. ’Isn’t this woman Liu Ziyan’s friend? Why is she chiming into our conversation?’

Following Mu Yuyan’s gaze,

Luo Tian soon spotted a youth in purple robes at the heart of the Hongyang County group, clearly its central figure.

"Tang Wei, at the Peak of the Sixth Layer of Meridian Opening Realm, son of Duke Dingyuan. That Wu Chuan is on very good terms with the Young Marquis, Tang Wei,"

Mu Yuyan said, lowering her voice.

The son of a Duke! Peak of the Sixth Layer!

Luo Tian sighed to himself. This Tang Wei not only had a high status, but his cultivation was also terrifyingly high.

Qi Hong wasn’t afraid of Wu Chuan, but he was wary of the Young Marquis Tang Wei backing him.

Luo Tian sensed a Martial Arts aura from Tang Wei similar to that of the Star Condensing Sword Point. Clearly, the other party had also cultivated a Spirit Level Martial Skill.

In terms of strength,

this Young Marquis was countless times more powerful than the Black Market assassin at the Sixth Layer of Meridian Opening that Luo Tian had killed.

After all, the Martial Skills cultivated by Scattered Stream Martial Artists were not high-level; most were Mortal Level Low-Middle Grade.

"Qi Hong? You’re supposed to be this year’s number one genius from Lingyun County. How did you fall to such a state?"

The Young Marquis, Tang Wei, looked down on Qi Hong, scrutinizing him.

Qi Hong was stunned. He had once accompanied his father to pay a visit to the Dingyuan Marquis’s Mansion. There were many people there at the time, so he hadn’t expected Tang Wei to remember him.

"Qi Hong, hurry up and answer the Young Marquis,"

Wu Chuan chided from the side.

"In reply to the Young Master. This year’s number one genius from Lingyun County is not me. It is someone else."

An idea suddenly struck Qi Hong, and a vicious glint flashed in his eyes.

"Stop trying to fool us. If not you, then who? Could it be Mu Yuyan?"

Wu Chuan snorted coldly.

"Everyone here can testify. Luo Tian is the one who took first place in our Wu Mansion’s strength assessment this year."

Qi Hong raised his hand and pointed at Luo Tian behind him.

The other candidates from Lingyun County all nodded. Most of them had suffered a loss at Luo Tian’s hands.

Now,

they couldn’t wait to prop Luo Tian up and have him draw the fire from the other county cities.

"This kid?"

The Young Marquis Tang Wei, Wu Chuan, and the others were somewhat surprised.

Luo Tian’s clothes and bearing didn’t resemble those of a disciple from a noble family. Could he be a commoner Martial Artist?

In fact,

most of the youths qualified to be here were disciples of noble families. Commoners were pitifully few.

Let alone a commoner Martial Artist taking first place in a county city.

"Luo Tian! Before we came, you said you were going to crush all the geniuses from the neighboring counties under your foot and bring glory to our Lingyun County!"

A cold, sinister smile tugged at Qi Hong’s lips as he raised his voice.

What!

Crush all the geniuses from the neighboring counties under his foot?

Those words were too arrogant and easily offended people, instantly drawing the attention of the geniuses from the several nearby counties.

One must know,

Hongyang County, where the Young Marquis was from, was also considered a neighbor of Lingyun County.

If Qi Hong’s words were taken as truth, then Luo Tian would have offended even the Young Marquis.