Chapter 990: Chapter 989: Unbelievable_1
"Xia Youying, you are blind to treasure; I fear you will soon regret it,"
As Xia Qianshan spoke to Shi Xiaole, from the Ancestral Temple’s side, a beautiful woman also surreptitiously sent a voice transmission to Xia Youying, her tone not lacking schadenfreude.
"As the queen, it’s not your place to point fingers at my decisions. What’s the matter, Min Tianliang didn’t fancy you, so you come to scoff at me? You might as well throw yourself into my embrace, I assure you unparalleled pleasure."
Xia Youying licked her lips.
"You..."
Han Qianqian’s face turned red and then pale.
The Ancestral Temple was complex in its makeup, but the strongest four factions were the Min, Han, Ji, and Lei families. Han Qianqian was the daughter of the Han family, blessed with exceptional talent from childhood and had become a Void Origin Realm Martial Emperor at the age of one hundred and twenty. Now, at one hundred fifty, she was already a top-tier Human Realm Martial Emperor.
Just as men adore beauties, beauties also love the strong. In Han Qianqian’s eyes, Min Tianliang was among the most elite young powerhouses of the Flying Horse Dynasty.
Unfortunately, even with all her tricks, Min Tianliang had not spared her a second glance, and this resentment slowly morphed into jealousy towards others.
She envied Xia Youying, who possessed the Yin Demon Bone, and felt a secret joy when she heard that the other had rejected Min Tianliang, but she also couldn’t help feeling angry.
The man I have my eyes on, how could you reject him?
Her gaze fell on Shi Xiaole, and Han Qianqian laughed disdainfully.
It wasn’t that she disdained his talent; rather, she disdained his overestimation of himself. In terms of the Wizard Scroll, Shi Xiaole was far behind Min Tianliang, so far that it was impossible to catch up, yet he still dared to venture into this circle, not knowing how he would die when the time came.
From the Ancestral Temple’s side, aside from Han Qianqian, many were sizing up the legendary Kirin with scrutiny, coldness, and a touch of murderous intent, like wolves watching a lamb that had walked into a trap.
In the strange atmosphere,
a line of nine figures emerged from behind the tenth-tier Female Statue, arranged in a row, wearing identical black robes with hands crossed in a particular posture, exuding a sense of religious ceremony.
Shi Xiaole recognized that these nine individuals were part of the Witch Heavenly Guards he had seen chanting in the temple of the Witch Queen three days before.
"We have seen the Heavenly Guard!"
Both the royal and Ancestral Temple factions bowed to the nine figures as they appeared, showing the exalted status of the Heavenly Guard within Daxia.
"Mm, no need for such formalities,"
the browless elder in the center nodded his head, his eyes sweeping around before pausing slightly on Shi Xiaole, then he said, "The Blood Ritual Ceremony’s original purpose is to worship the Witch Queen, to not forget her great kindness and virtue, and it is also an opportunity for the temple to recruit talent. Are you all prepared?"
Ascending to power in the temple of the Witch Queen was of supreme importance, not only for what it represented but also for the strength it conferred.
Both the royal family and the Ancestral Temple practiced martial arts left by the Witch Queen, which meant that in order to progress further, one must enter her temple to gain access to more advanced martial arts. So, it was a long-standing tradition for the most outstanding elite to become members of the Witch Heavenly Guard.
Some tried to break the mold by cultivating other martial arts, but history has shown that this path leads nowhere.
Both royal and Ancestral Temple leaders had obtained the Witch Queen’s blood in days gone by. Generation after generation, no one could escape this mark. Anyone who abandoned the Witch Queen’s martial arts found they couldn’t fully utilize their talents.
Similarly, outsiders who attempted to practice the Witch Queen’s martial arts achieved only with great difficulty.
It’s worth noting that the Heavenly Guards weren’t composed solely of elites from the royal family and the Ancestral Temple; many were descendants of the first generation of Guards. The blood of the Witch Queen ran particularly strong in their veins, hence they cultivated at an astonishing speed and formed the true upper echelons of the Guard.
"Please enlighten us, Heavenly Guard!"
One of the sixteen most vigorous old men from the royal Void Origin Realm Martial Emperors stepped forward, while from the Ancestral Temple’s side, a middle-aged man who bore some resemblance to Min Tianliang came forward.
"Good, enough talk, let’s start now,"
said the browless old man, waving his hand. Along with the other eight Heavenly Guards, they sat in a circle around the Female Statue, chanting in unison, and soon after, the ten tiers of the staircase shone brightly, radiating an aura of profound mystery.
"These ten tiers correspond to the ten realms of the Wizard Scroll. Those who reach the seventh tier can become a Heavenly Guard. Of course, it is my pleasure to first congratulate Brother Shi; as of yesterday, you have been exceptionally chosen as a Heavenly Guard,"
Xia Qianshan remarked to Shi Xiaole, admiring the latter’s talent while also sighing in secret.
This exception was not the same as becoming a Heavenly Guard through true testing; for the Kirin, it was akin to a prison.
Swish swish swish.
While they spoke, several figures had already landed on the first stone steps and began to ascend.
Ascending the staircase not only tested martial prowess but also aided in the understanding of the Wizard Scroll. Otherwise, there would be no need to bother with such complicity; a mere exposure to the aura of the Scroll would suffice.
It was clear that each of the talents making their appearance was extraordinary. The fastest among them had reached the third tier, and even the slowest had reached the second, showing their solid foundation.
However, upon reaching the fourth tier, the pace of the lead figure slowed considerably. Each step took several times longer than the last, and the intervals grew increasingly longer. The rest lagged far behind.
"I’m going to kick Xia Qianshan down,"
a bald young man from the Ancestral Temple joked with a smile, stepping forward. He moved faster than any before him, and it wasn’t long before he caught up with the youth at the front.
"Xia Qianshan, you better step down,"
the bald young man pulled out the axe from his waist and swung it, creating a series of heavy axe shadows.
"Thousand Paths Palm!"
The youth named Xia Qianxing hurriedly struck out with his palm to meet the attack.
In the process of ascending the steps, fighting was not prohibited. Only those with a decent mastery of the "Wizard Scroll" had the opportunity to exchange blows, and this often revealed their respective strengths and weaknesses, which the Witch Heavenly Guard was pleased to see.
Bang bang bang.
Both the bald youth and Xia Qianxing were half-step Void Origin Realm experts, but the bald youth’s moves were fiercer, as if he were fighting for his life. After hundreds of exchanges, he sent Xia Qianxing flying back to the third step with an axe blow.
"This is too much!"
As the bald youth moved, experts from the royal side acted as well, and at this moment, they charged to the fourth step to engage in fierce battle. This set the stage for the struggle, with geniuses from both sides rushing into the fray, starting their entanglement on the first level. Some were determined to distinguish superior from inferior, while others fought as they ascended.
Soon, the first four steps turned into a battlefield. Wild bursts of Vigorous Air exploded continuously, and from time to time, someone was thrown out, tumbling awkwardly down the stone steps.
As the genius leader on the royal side, Xia Qianshan also took action, and his opponent was none other than Han Qianqian, who had previously mocked Xia Youying.
Their strengths were clearly a notch above the others. On the fifth step, the flash of blades and the shadow of spears sprinted back and forth, releasing endless ripples of Vigorous Air.
From the look of things, the Ancestral Temple side clearly had the upper hand. They had more climbing geniuses to begin with, and as the battle progressed, royal geniuses were kicked down the steps one after another.
This situation made the expressions of the royal experts quite ugly.
"The Xia family, really more and more inept."
A Min family expert shook his head and sighed.
"How majestic the Xia Emperor once was. If he knew his descendants were like this, I wonder if he would rise from the grave in anger."
This was an expert of the Han family, looking frustrated and ready to fight. As soon as the words were finished, laughter erupted from behind him. Some shifted the topic to Shi Xiaole.
"Thinking that acquiring the Kirin would turn things around, huh? Hehe, let him try to climb the first step first, so that we can all witness the demeanor of the number one genius."
Recently, in an effort to boost morale, the royal side had spread tales of how the Kirin was exceptionally talented, which naturally reached the ears of the Ancestral Temple. Now, seizing the opportunity, they mocked mercilessly.
But in fact, Kirin, as an outsider without the Witch Queen bloodline, couldn’t possibly master the first layer of the "Wizard Scroll" in just three short months.
That was the reason why, considering he had become a member of the Witch Heavenly Guard, no one on the royal side asked about his cultivation progress, for fear of embarrassing him.
That horse-faced elder who had crossed hands with Shi Xiaole looked at the other side and said coldly, "Don’t celebrate too soon!" This provoked even more disdainful mockery from the Ancestral Temple, turning his old face red with anger and leaving him without recourse.
What made it even more distressing for the royal side was that, so far, Min Tianliang had not made a move; perhaps he felt there was no one worthy, or perhaps he wanted to further shame his opponents in such manner—it was anyone’s guess.
But everyone had to admit, the royal side was completely defeated today.
Xia Xiaonine clenched her fists, her expression awkward, as she watched the royal geniuses, aside from Xia Qianshan, all being beaten down. Xia Qianshan himself was in grave danger, and in a moment, she saw a figure in blue walking forward and, in a daze, called out subconsciously, "Master!"
Shi Xiaole didn’t answer.
Given his personality, he should have taken action by now, but his relationship with the Daxia royal family was not close, and Xia Xiaonine’s actions made it even harder for him to let go, inevitably leading to a cold attitude.
But Xia Qianshan, who from time to time kindly reminded him, Shi Xiaole didn’t mind lending a hand.
"This guy, is he actually planning to climb the steps?"
"What a joke, how many days has he been practicing?"
Below the steps, there were geniuses from both the royal side and the Ancestral Temple, all showing puzzled looks. However, their mouths soon fell open in amazement.
In a sea of astonished gazes, Shi Xiaole effortlessly climbed the first layer of steps and proceeded. His speed was neither fast nor slow, each step seemingly photocopying the last, carrying the graceful fluidity of drifting clouds and flowing water.
"No, it’s impossible!"
A genius from the Ancestral Temple suddenly shouted.
Because at that moment, Shi Xiaole had already reached the second step.
"The second layer, he made it to the second layer!"
"Without the Witch Queen bloodline, mastering the second layer of the ’Wizard Scroll’ in just three months—could this indeed be the number one genius of the Flying Horse Dynasty?"
Everyone found it unbelievable. Even the experts from the royal family and the Ancestral Temple struggled to maintain their composure.
"Even Min Tianliang didn’t progress this fast. He, he truly is the most talented in martial arts I have ever seen or heard of," said Xia Xiaonine, her body tense as if electrified, her gaze fixated on that long, elegant figure ahead, her emotions exceedingly complex.
"Goodness, what is he planning to do?"
Even the horse-faced elder exclaimed.
In his view, even after reaching the second layer, Shi Xiaole remained calm and composed, as if strolling leisurely, his feet lifting, almost reaching the third layer of stone steps.
