Chapter 590 - First Battle in the Palace
Ye Futian looked at the girl before him. Yun Shuisheng might have gone looking for trouble for some solid reason, but the girl before him was simply sticking her nose in places she should not have.
Brother Qi Jie was right: there were hardly any rules in the palace. He knew one cold hard fact about the palace—might makes right.
He recalled the words of his senior and found that it was all the same no matter where he ended up. Most of the time, one’s fist was more compelling than one’s words. It was a pity that he was a newbie to the place, and everyone else was a part of the Holy Zhi Palace before he was. Most of them advanced from the Thousand Holy Islands. There were also people who were selected from examinations three years and six years ago. It was only natural that most people had more training than he did, especially those who were there years before him. The levels of those people were way above his, one of them being Yun Shuisheng, who was at the top of the Noble Plane. As such, the so-called righteous indignation that they seemed to be going through then was simply a mask for something far simpler—bullying the new guy. It was especially so given that the new guy was the one who ranked first in the entrance examination held earlier, who got ranked on the Law Rank as soon as he got in. It was only natural that one such figure would attract attention.
Ye Futian smiled and said, “I’m new to the palace, and in terms of planes and levels, everyone present would be my senior. Your so-called ‘teaching me how you do things here’ is exactly what I see before me.” He cast his glance onto everyone present as he said. Everyone knew what his seemingly polite words actually meant—he was criticizing them for bullying.
However, there was hardly anyone moved by his words. Someone replied with a smirk, “Well, are you telling me that you have forgotten what you did, ambushing others and all back at the Law Battle Tablet? It’s only natural that we be wary.”
“So, that is to say, that you seniors find it imperative to gang up on the new guy, which would be me, then?” Ye Futian asked with a smile.
“Gang up?” The cross-armed youth looked at Ye Futian and answered, “We know what you are trying to pull here, but you think too highly of yourself. Pick any one of us here and fight. If you manage to win, we’ll let you off. How about that?” Many looked on with interest. While they saw Ye Futian to be some vile creature, they were nonetheless curious of what he was capable of, and this proved to be a good chance to see what he was made of. The fight would also have the added benefit of teaching him a lesson and having him know his place.
“And you would be speaking for?” Ye Futian asked as he looked about.
The youth was dumbfounded. He was indeed incapable of speaking for anyone present, yet the fact remained that many shared his thoughts at the moment. The girl who talked about teaching Ye Futian a lesson opened her mouth as Ye Futian kept his gaze on the students around him. “Your pick.”
“And what is your plane?” Ye Futian nodded and asked the girl.
“Grade Five Noble,” the girl answered coldly.
“I make it a point of not bullying women,” Ye Futian said crisply, rendering everyone around stunned. This guy really has no shame indeed. Not bullying woman? Then what was he doing with Yun Shuisheng?
It was unexpected for many that he was able to find such a grand excuse to mask his cowardice. There were probably no predecessors who entered the palace as a champion and were as shameless as Ye Futian. He was indeed a trailblazer in certain ways. Hua Fan of the Holy Sage Pavilion was a genius like no other, and even Ximen Hanjiang from three years ago was just as dashing. The one before their eyes, however, despite having incredibly good looks, was a despicable one like no other. It was a pity that someone so vile was so handsome.
“And you senior, what is your plane?” Ye Futian looked at the crossed-armed youth before him.
“Grade Six Noble,” the youth smirked as he answered.
“I will fight you then.” Ye Futian added, “As my plane was still low, may I be allowed to use a ritual implement?”
“Beware of traps,” the girl beside the youth reminded. That is one vile creature, and you can’t just fall into his trap. Furthermore, despite being despicable and shameless, his might as the champion to enter the palace was not just for show, and he is definitely powerful to a certain extent. He needs prowess equal to a Grade Seven Noble Plane to be a champion. If he is allowed the use of sage ritual implements, he will be difficult to deal with when he gets serious. They had already given Ye Futian a chance to challenge who he fancied, and they were not about to say yes to such a request.
“Of course, you should be allowed to use a ritual implement yourself,” Ye Futian said plainly after sparing a glance at the girl.
“Alright then.” The youth smiled. No member of the Holy Zhi Palace was someone common who could be found just anywhere. It was a given that the youth packed something tremendous himself, and Ye Futian had no way of getting an edge using such tricks.
“I thank you for your generosity. May I know your name? If I were to lose, I’d at least like to know to whom I lost,” Ye Futian added.
“The name’s Yan Xin,” the youth said. “Aren’t you talking a little too much?”
“I look forward to learn from you, senior,” Ye Futian said as he cupped his hands. He took out the Polearm of Divine Destruction without saying another word, and he became clad in starlight.
“That is a pretentious one.” Many looked at Ye Futian, who behaved politely despite obviously feeling very irritated inside. He had smiled broadly and addressed the other party as ‘senior’. They were rather impressed at the thickness of his hide.
“Make your move,” Yan Xin said plainly. Terrifying thunderous power blazed in a mere instant. Their surroundings trembled instantaneously as Yan Xin seemed to have become another person. A shadow of a tremendously huge thunder god appeared behind him. The shadow carried a Thunder Hammer that seemed to be able to crush the earth beneath them with one swing.
Yan Xin, the proud son of the top force of Zhongzhou City, the Lightning Court. He had only broken through Noble Plane about three years ago and had earned the favor of the elders in the Daozang Palace of the Holy Zhi Palace shortly after. He was offered a place in the palace. Now, three years had passed, and his training progressed to Grade Six Noble Plane. He had acquired impeccable control of the power of lightning will.
While Yan Xin was eager to teach the newbie who was the champion of the Law Battle, he did not allow himself to underestimate his opponent. The guy who was all smiles before him, Ye Futian, knew no restraint when he got serious, and Wang Yu served as a shining example.
The sky was shrouded by lightning, and everyone backed away. The battle between the proud nobles in the Holy Zhi Palace would have easily affected large areas.
The sky was soon turned into a space of lightning. Starlight shimmered around Ye Futian, yet his starry world seemed to be overwhelmed. The god of thunder was about a hundred meters tall and looked like a true god. The eyes of the thunder god flashed. It shot a fearsome bolt of lightning, lashing out at Ye Futian.
Voom. The wings of the Roc flapped behind Ye Futian as he evaded one attack after another. The lightning above his head kept aiming for him. Ye Futian flew about in dazzling arcs as he evaded the incoming attacks. Lights shimmered within his Life Palace. The Spiritual Qi within and about him all turned into power of stars as rustling noises were heard, circling about him and flowing to his Polearm of Divine Destruction. He activated the Divine Light of the Stars, allowing the light of the stars flowing into his weapon to shine increasingly brightly.
At that moment, the god of thunder’s shadow extended a large palm from behind Yan Xin. It was a strike packed with immeasurable might of lightning, with the swirl of lightning in the palm looking like some terrifying vortex out to kill everything it touched. The palm struck at Ye Futian. The sky seemed to be blocked out as streaks of lightning rained down on him, sealing off the space around him.
“Out of everyone he could have picked to fight, he had to pick Yan Xin.” Many looked on with sarcastic looks. The champion of the battle to enter the Holy Zhi Palace was about to learn his first lesson within the palace.
Yan Xin entered the Holy Zhi Palace as someone who had just broken into Noble Plane back in his day. His talents were incredibly extraordinary, despite being nowhere near as eye-catching as Ye Futian’s. The battle between the two was heavily in Yan Xin’s favor, so much so that it was impossible for Ye Futian to come out on top, for no other reason than Yan Xin was on a way higher plane than Ye Futian.
Ye Futian’s spiraling body seemed to be trying to escape, yet the palm continued to smack at him, and Ye Futian seemed to be smacked soon enough. However, Ye Futian flew in an arc, turning around to ride the lightning as he blitzed across the air, heading in Yan Xin’s direction.
The lightning bolts that were raining down hit Ye Futian squarely, yet the glittering screen of starlight protected him. Cracks appeared and the screen gradually shattered, but Ye Futian was about to escape the attack range of the palm and get close to Yan Xin.
“Hmph.” Yan Xin smirked. The tall god of thunder lifted the Thunder Hammer high and brought it down on Ye Futian. The strike seemed to be one out to kill everything in its path.
At that very second, the Polearm of Divine Destruction in Ye Futian’s hand lashed out. The ritual implement turned into a hundred-meter long staff, breathing starlight. The starry world around him turned even brighter, circling around the Polearm of Divine Destruction. A force capable of cleaving heaven and earth seemed to be born. Even spectators who were watching from afar were able to feel the formless pressure bearing on them.
“That is one horrifying ritual implement. He was hiding it all along.” The color of some peoples’ faces changed.
“Be careful,” the girl reminded. Ye Futian hid the true might of the Polearm of Divine Destruction before, making everyone think that it was a usual sage ritual implement. Its true might burst suddenly as stars glittered in the air. The implement brought the full brunt of the starry world upon its surrounding environment. It exuded an extremely unbearable pressure. It was as if the stars had all come down on one’s shoulders.
The weapon clashed with the Thunder Hammer. Rumbling noises were heard and storms whipped up in the air. Stars fell one by one in the starry world, turning into forces of immeasurable magnitude as they crashed down. Many saw the Thunder Hammer being thrown back, while the polearm continued its course downward.
Yan Xin’s expression finally changed. He shouted and the god of thunder took one step forward, blocking his body. When the polearm struck, it landed squarely within the shadow of the god of thunder, cracking its gigantic body.
“Pwwuuh.” Yan Xin spat up blood and the shadow disappeared altogether. Ye Futian turned into a bolt of lightning as he lashed out. Yan Xin felt a staff land on his body before he was able to recover. While the force of the incoming staff was nothing like before, it was nonetheless enough to send him flying, dropping him to the ground spewing blood.
Yan Xin’s face turned incredibly pale. He had intended to teach that so-called champion newbie a lesson in front of everyone, yet he ended up being the one getting beaten and injured. Just what was that thing packing so much power?
“Are you alright, senior?” A figure came beside Yan Xin, and it was none other than Ye Futian. Sincere concern was seen from his clear eyes.
“Was I going too far?” Ye Futian added as Yan Xin continued his silent. “I’m sorry, senior. Had I known it would turn out like this, I wouldn’t have used my full power. I’ll go easier on you next time.”
“Pfftt…” Yan Xin spit up blood again, and his face turned even paler.
Everyone around looked at Ye Futian dumbfounded. Do you really have to add insult to injury? Just how shameless can you be? What will you have Yan Xin do from here on out?
“Get out of my sight,” Yan Xin said coldly.
“Thank you, senior,” Ye Futian said with his hands cupped before walking past him and adding in a low voice, “How were you unable to take even one hit? Were you going easy on me?” He walked in the direction of the Sky Reaching Tower as he finished, leaving everyone standing dumbfounded where they were.
Everyone was speechless.
Yan Xin was so enraged that he shook all over. Many looked at him with eyes full of sympathy. While it was a common occurrence for one to lose a battle, the humiliating loss coupled with Ye Futian’s words made it unbearable for Yan Xin.
You have great strength, so why be so despicable?