Chapter 40: Oh My, Did I See A Deity?
Noon the next day.
The Tiansang Spirit Palace ushered in its yearly hot event. The champion of the Windcloud Competition was going to be determined today.
Not only were the disciples and elders of the Outer Yard here to watch the match, but even a few Inner Yard disciples who had the time also came to have a look at the battles.
The crowdâs emotions were so high they were about to explode.
The people whoâd come early to reserve seats saw the influential figures of the spirit palace in front of them.
To the left were the elders of the Spiritual Affairs Division, Spiritual Medical Division, and Spiritual Military DivisionâŠ
There were also a few unknown people who rarely showed themselves. They were elders who looked like elders but werenât really eldersâŠ
To the right were the people ranked in the top hundred, top ten, and top five of the Windcloud ScoreboardâŠ
These were all people who had lorded over the arena with unparalleled authority since the very start. They were all now sitting in the spectator seats, obediently waiting for the competition to start.
A female disciple had come to reserve a seat last night. Currently, Zhao Qingteng was sitting to her left and Zhou Tianshen to her right.
She cupped her face and looked around her, then fainted from bliss.
The people around her were so envious that their eyes almost fell out of their sockets.
âWow, she fainted. Send her for treatment quickly. Iâll take care of her seat for her.â
âMy God, who are these people. Senior Du, Senior Ling⊠Theyâre all ranked within the top ten of the Windcloud Scoreboard!â
âQuick, look! Thatâs the Inner Yardâs⊠Su Qianqian?â
âWhere? Where?â
The exclamation immediately attracted everyoneâs attention. The Inner Yardâs Su Qianqian was a legendary figure in the Tiansang Spirit Palace.
She was the most powerful genius of the Su family in the Tiansang Prefecture of this era. She broke through to the Innate Stage when she was thirteen, and when she was fourteen she acquired the Innate-stage Sword Will. She wielded one of the twenty-one most famous swords in the continent: the Epitaph of City Snow. She was the personal disciple of the Spiritual Law Divisionâs Xiao QixiuâŠ
Any one of these titles would cause an average person to tremble, but someone with all of them was sitting right before their eyes!
Su Qianqian was dressed in white exercise gear, and her snow-colored giant sword was lying horizontally across her thighs. She was swinging her feet from side to side, unfazed by the crowd.
She looked around but ultimately pouted in disappointment, as she didnât find Brother Little Beast, who she wanted to see.
âHow unfortunate we canât see the senior from the Inner Yard. I heard that she adores Su Qianqian and is always by her side.â
âThatâs right, thatâs right. Senior Rao is my goddess. Not only does she have an otherworldly appearance and impressive figure, but her abilities are also the cream of the crop. Itâs a pity that we cannot witness her splendor. Sigh!â
âOh, I think Iâve seen the person youâre talking about. She came during the group stagesâŠâ
âYou must be dreaming. How would Senior Rao have time to come walk around in the Outer Yard? You must have dreamt it!â
âI really saw her!â
âTsk~â
The crowd huddled together to look at the scene before them, constantly pointing out famous people from the Inner Yard that they recognized and whispering to each other.
To them, this was a rare scene not regularly seen, even during the past year.
It was only because the Outer Yard had a lot of break-out talents this year, with four Innate-stage fighters and Xu Xiaoshou, that many of the people from the Inner Yard had come to watch the match.
âOh God, itâs Zhang Xinxiong! Heâs one of the Inner Yard Thirty-Three, a living boss!â
âInner Yard Thirty-Three? Oh my, where, where?!â
The crowd hurriedly looked around. They looked in the speakerâs direction and saw a man with an overbearing aura not far away.
Zhang Xinxiong looked 27 to 28 years old and had a full beard. He looked extremely masculine.
He was very tall. He was a head taller than the rest of the crowd, even though he was sitting.
He was dressed simply in a light-colored shirt with a jacket draped over his shoulders.
Even so, under the sunlight, everyone could still see the alarming outline of his muscles hiding underneath his shirt.
âMy God, heâs too handsome. Heâs a true man!â
âIâm in love, Iâm in love!â
This famous person from the Inner Yard didnât sit in the front row. Instead, he sat near the middle of the spectator seats. Beside him was Liu Zhen, who had been severely injured by Xu Xiaoshou in the past.
Liu Zhen was also a burly man, but he looked like a tiny bird sitting beside Zhang Xinxiong.
âThe person who killed Ah Chong, Xu Xiaoshou. Which one is him?â Zhang Xinxiong asked.
âLet me find himâŠâ Liu Zhen respectfully replied. His gaze swept past several of the waiting areas before he finally shook his head. âI donât think heâs come.â
âHah, he sure is calm. Is he going to arrive lastâŠâ
Zhang Xinxiong laughed lightly. There was no emotion in his voice, but the people around him felt that there was something strange here.
Ah ChongâŠ
That wasnât a name someone in an ordinary relationship with Wen Chong would call him.
âI heard that Boss Wen knew someone from the Inner Yard. Could that person be Zhang Xinxiong?â
âI think so. If thatâs true, isnât Xu Xiaoshou in trouble? He killed Wen Chong!â
âMy God, I seem to have seen Xu Xiaoshouâs doomsdayâŠâ
A ripple spread through the crowd after just one sentence. Everyone lowered their voices and discussed the situation.
âYou canât say it like that. Zhang Xinxiong is one of the Inner Yard Thirty-Three. Why would he attack a Spiritual Cultivation Level Eight fighter? Wouldnât that sully his status?â
âHowever, being marked isnât a good feeling!â
âYou think too much. Even if Xu Xiaoshou managed to become the champion, he might not be able to enter the Inner Yard because of his cultivation level.â
âFurthermore, he still has to fight Mu Zixi and Senior Mo. Just getting into the top three would be decent.â
âBut he has an Innate-stage physical body!â
âSo what if he has an Innate-stage physical body? Is there a future in that? Youâve seen an Innate-stage physical body, but have you seen a Master-stage physical body?â
The crowd fell silent.
The level above the Innate Stage was the Master Stage. There was a sliver of hope for a Spiritual Cultivator to reach the level where they could open up sects and schools. As for the physical bodyâŠ
It was too difficult!
Some might not have even heard of it, much less seen it!
In the panel of judges.
Xiao Qixiu gulped the contents of his cup down and flew into the arena, instantly attracting the crowdâs attention.
âThe time has arrived. The semi-finals will start now!â
He activated the array token with his spiritual source, and the screen flickered, then froze. Two names in stark red were printed across the middle of the screen.
âXu Xiaoshou!â
âMu Zixi!â
The crowd instantly erupted into exclamations.
The first match of the semi-finals was already a battle between fighters with Innate-stage abilities, which was something everyone was looking forward to.
One of them had broken through to the Innate Stage despite only being in the spirit palace for a year. Her potential was almost as high as Su Qianqianâs.
The other had an Innate-stage physical body and had defeated Zhao Qingteng yesterday, which proved that he had the ability to stand up against Innate-stage fighters!
The doors of the waiting room were opened. Mu Zixi was dressed in pale green. She skipped toward the stage, as if she wasnât at all worried about the battle that was to come.
Every step she took oozed youthful vitality, and the crowd couldnât help but like her.
âShe sure lives up to her reputation as Junior Mu. An Innate-stage fighter⊠is always so dependable!â
The crowd looked at the other side. That was Xu Xiaoshouâs waiting area.
Thud!
The doors opened.
Two attendants steeled their nerves and walked out. They spread their arms open to signal that Xu Xiaoshou wasnât there.
The crowd was dumbfounded.
âWhy is it those two people? Whereâs Xu Xiaoshou?â
âOh, my God! Why did that guy disappear again!â
âWhy is he always this tardy during important events. Itâs already the semi-finals. Can he not make us worryâŠâ
âHey you, where did Xu Xiaoshou go?â
The two attendants were dazed. âDonât ask us,â they thought.
Theyâd arrived at the waiting area early to wait, but the candidate didnât show.
They sent people to look for him in his yard but only saw many sword marks on the ground and didnât manage to find him.
Just where did Xu Xiaoshou go?
Xiao Qixiuâs expression darkened. He wanted to scream again.
Suddenly, the sword behind his back trembled. He abruptly turned around and looked at the horizon.
The crowd also noticed this, and all of them raised their heads.
They saw a sword glow coming from far away. It was as if a sword deity had descended upon this world. On the sword was a figure whose robes were swaying in the wind.
That clean, pure demeanor. That otherworldly formâŠ
âOh God, did I just see a deity?â they thought.
NoâŠ
Everyone looked more closely, and their eyes almost fell out of their skulls.
Oh my!
Xu Xiaoshou???