The Emperor's Declaration

Not long after, sixteen more people appeared atop the clouds. Most of them were in a sorry state, and quite a few were heavily wounded.

“Everyone’s here now.”

The tall-hatted attendant waved his sleeve, and instantly, radiant, colorful raindrops descended upon the ninety-six of them. The raindrops landed on their bodies and rapidly merged into them, quickly healing even the heavily wounded without a trace. Moreover, those like Ji Ning, who had been fighting for so long that their divine power and yuan power were depleted, found their energy swiftly replenished as well. This caused Ji Ning and the others to all feel a surge of renewed vigor.

“Remember this well,” the tall-hatted attendant said, his gaze sweeping across the ninety-six. “In the main hall of the Heavenly Tribute Hall, there are nearly a thousand Celestial Immortals, as well as His Imperial Majesty and Pure Yang True Immortals who have come from other parts of the Three Realms. You must not be careless. If you offend a True Immortal and they take your life on the spot, don’t say I didn’t warn you.” When his gaze reached the Slovenly Trulord, it paused for a moment, and he even revealed a faint smile at him.

“Follow my orders. Let’s go.” The tall-hatted attendant gave the command.

He led the way.

Ji Ning and the other ninety-six followed behind him, treading atop the clouds. Soon, they crossed the massive hall gates. The main hall of the Heavenly Tribute Hall had no roof; above them was the infinite void.

“So many Celestial Immortals.” Ji Ning could see Celestial Immortals lining both sides, stretching all the way to the deepest part of the main hall. There were indeed nearly a thousand of them.

“In Anchan Commandery, you can’t even see a single Celestial Immortal patriarch. But today, I’ve seen this many. I imagine the total number of Celestial Immortals in the entire Grand Xia Dynasty world must be at least several thousand. No wonder an emperor of a major world can speak as an equal with the Celestial Thearch of the Heavenly Court.” Ji Ning could feel the waves of energy emanating from all around.

Though the auras of the Celestial Immortal patriarchs weren’t intentionally released, they still pressed down on Ji Ning, who was merely a Wanxiang Adept.

“Hmph!” Ancestor Xuanji sat to the side, a cold gleam flashing through his narrow eyes as he watched Ji Ning walk past. He let out a cold snort, making no attempt to hide his hostility towards Ji Ning.

…

“Stop.” The tall-hatted attendant sent a mental message to Ji Ning and the other ninety-six.

Ji Ning and the others all came to a halt.

Not far ahead of them were eight Pure Yang True Immortals and the Grand Xia Emperor. Ji Ning and the others could tell that the eight people near the Grand Xia Emperor were radiating far more terrifying auras. Moreover, their tables, immortal wines, and immortal fruits were completely different from those of the other Celestial Immortals. It was obvious at a glance.

“All Pure Yang True Immortals!” Ji Ning and the other ninety-six all felt a sense of looking up to them.

“Kneel.” The tall-hatted attendant sent the order.

Whoosh.

Ji Ning and the other ninety-six knelt down in unison, announcing loudly at the same time, “Greetings, Your Imperial Majesty.”

The Grand Xia Emperor gazed down at them. The eight True Immortals also let their gazes fall upon the Slovenly Trulord. To the Grand Xia Emperor and the other eight Pure Yang True Immortals, the Slovenly Trulord was the only one worthy of their attention, for he was a disciple of Lord Xuanwu.

As for the others?

The Grand Xia Emperor and the other eight didn’t care much about them. It was only because of the turbulence in the Three Realms that they were taking things a bit more seriously. If this were an ordinary Immortal Fortunes Assembly, they wouldn’t have bothered to attend. The host would record the best battle scenes of the top competitors using a water-vision technique and send them to some powerful figures of the Three Realms. Occasionally, a lucky person might be taken in as a disciple by a True Immortal!

“It would be good if three or four of these ninety-six become Celestial Immortals,” the Northland Immortal Elder and others thought to themselves. “A Pure Yang True Immortal? If any future powerhouse of the Three Realms emerges from this Immortal Fortunes Assembly, it will probably be that disciple of Lord Xuanwu.” Even Lu Dongbin thought the same.

For two of the ninety-six to become Pure Yang True Immortals?

That was simply too inconceivable.

“Rise!” the Grand Xia Emperor spoke.

Only then did Ji Ning and the other ninety-six stand up, all of them nervous and cautious.

The Grand Xia Emperor looked down at them and said calmly, “You have passed the trial within the Brightmoon Landscape World and completed this initial screening. From today, I will arrange for the ninety-six of you to fight one-on-one. The loser is eliminated; the winner advances.”

“After the first round of battles among the ninety-six, forty-eight will remain. Each of these forty-eight will be awarded an Immortal-ranked magic treasure.”

The Grand Xia Emperor’s voice echoed throughout the entire great hall.

Whoosh.

There was a wave of shock below. Even the nearly one thousand Celestial Immortals were stunned. Forty-eight people all receiving Immortal-ranked treasures? In the past Immortal Fortunes Assemblies, only the top three could obtain such treasures. This time, there were more than ten times that number, a full forty-eight!

“After two rounds of battles among the forty-eight, twelve will remain. Each of these twelve will receive ten million catties of Primordial Liquid!” the Grand Xia Emperor said calmly.

Silence.

The nearly one thousand Celestial Immortals were all shaken. Ji Ning and the other ninety-six were all shocked and their eyes burned with envy. Even Ji Ning, who considered himself quite wealthy, was envious. Ten million catties of Primordial Liquid! Even if he sold everything he had obtained from Shaoyan Nong and the Wu Jiang Immortal Estate, he wouldn’t even come close to ten million catties. Ten million catties of Primordial Liquid was enough to make even Celestial Immortals envious. Only the Grand Xia Emperor could be so generous.

“Why is His Majesty being so generous? Ten million catties each for twelve people? That’s so much Primordial Liquid!”

“His Majesty’s rewards to us have never been this generous before.”

The Celestial Immortals were all stunned.

…

The Grand Xia Emperor continued calmly, “After another round of battles among the twelve, six will remain. After these six battle, three will remain. These three… will be allowed to enter the treasury of the Grand Xia Dynasty and freely choose any divine ability or secret art!”

Freely choose?

Ji Ning and the others were all burning with fanaticism. The treasury of a major world, accumulated over endless years, was countless times richer than even the Black-White College. Just the divine abilities in the local branch of the Yinglong Guard had been enough to make Ji Ning drool back then, let alone the Yinglong Guard headquarters! And the treasury of the Grand Xia Dynasty was even more vast than that!

“How can they be allowed to freely choose? Divine abilities and secret arts are the foundation of a clan’s power!” Even Kings like Qi Wang and Yan Wang were shocked. “This is the foundation of our Xiamang clan. How can we let them choose freely? If they freely choose, they’ll pick the strongest ones. The most powerful divine abilities and secret arts cannot be passed on to outsiders!”

But the leader of the Xiamang clan, the Grand Xia Emperor, possessed absolute, unquestionable authority.

“Furthermore, by order of my master!” the Grand Xia Emperor said solemnly.

Bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta, Lu Dongbin, the Northland Immortal Elder, and the other Pure Yang True Immortals all felt their hearts tighten.

“Among these final three… my master shall select one to become his nominal disciple. Once they break through to become a Celestial Immortal, they shall become a true disciple.” The Grand Xia Emperor’s voice rang out clearly throughout the hall. All the Celestial Immortals in the great hall fell silent, and even the Pure Yang True Immortals quieted down.

The eight Pure Yang True Immortals were all stunned. They hadn’t known about this piece of news before.

“What boldness. Daofather Crimsonbright truly has boldness, planning to accept a disciple from this Immortal Fortunes Assembly,” Lu Dongbin thought to himself in amazement. “But it makes sense. Of the dozens of major worlds under Daofather Crimsonbright’s command, the Grand Xia world ranks first in fortune. The current situation in the Three Realms is turbulent, with undercurrents running deep. The Six Paths of Reincarnation collapsed only a few decades ago. The first Immortal Fortunes Assembly after its collapse truly has the greatest chance of producing a future hero of the Three Realms. It’s worth it to accept a disciple.”

“Will one of them become the disciple of Daofather Crimsonbright?”

Bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta and the others all looked at Ji Ning and the group.

“Clearly, that slovenly fatty has already been reserved by Lord Xuanwu and has been taught the Lord Xuanwu’s great divine ability. Daofather Crimsonbright would never stoop to competing for him. So, among the other ninety-five, which one will become Daofather Crimsonbright’s disciple?” Everyone was guessing.

…

“A disciple of Daofather Crimsonbright?”

The nearly one thousand Celestial Immortals below all had red eyes.

They were all Celestial Immortals of the Grand Xia world, so they were naturally under Daofather Crimsonbright’s command. Daofather Crimsonbright was exalted high above, a grandmaster of the Three Realms, commanding dozens of major worlds. The Celestial Immortals under him were as numerous as clouds. Almost all of these Celestial Immortals were merely nominal disciples, and many had never even spoken to Daofather Crimsonbright!

They dreamed of becoming Daofather Crimsonbright’s true disciple, but unfortunately, they had no chance.

At least these nearly one thousand Celestial Immortals present today were not Daofather Crimsonbright’s true disciples!

“We can’t become Daofather Crimsonbright’s true disciple, but one among them actually will!”

“That Slovenly Trulord is Lord Xuanwu’s true disciple… among the other ninety-five, there will be another who becomes Daofather Crimsonbright’s true disciple.”

“This is… this is simply too insane.”

The Celestial Immortals present found it hard to accept.

A Daofather.

They were existences who wielded the Heavenly Dao. If they personally took on a disciple, as long as the disciple had excellent talent, comprehension, and nature, and enough resources were spent, they could generally become a Celestial Immortal! So, being accepted as a disciple by Daofather Crimsonbright or Lord Xuanwu, even if they were only nominal disciples now with weak strength, they were all but guaranteed to become true disciples in the future.

While the eight Pure Yang True Immortals were shocked and the nearly one thousand Celestial Immortals were burning with envy and disbelief, Ji Ning and the others were all stunned. Many of them still didn’t know who the Grand Xia Emperor’s teacher was! But the Grand Xia Emperor was the emperor of a major world, casually tossing out dozens of Immortal-ranked treasures. Just how incredible must his teacher be?

The Grand Xia Emperor could speak as an equal with the Celestial Thearch of the Heavenly Court. Then what about his teacher?

They could all guess, and naturally, they were both shocked and filled with a burning fanaticism.

A pie falling from the sky?

“Your battleground will be out on the clouds beyond the hall.” The Grand Xia Emperor pointed a finger towards the outside of the hall. Whoosh~~~ Far away, atop the clouds beyond the hall, a sealing formation appeared, covering an area of ten li. “You will fight within that sealing formation. The battle ends when one side is killed or when one side voluntarily shouts ‘I concede’.”

“First battle, Cangwu Clan’s Cangwu Jiu against the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect’s Qi Long!” the Grand Xia Emperor announced. “The rest of you may rest to the side.”

…

“Ji Ning, Little Slovenly, come over here.” Ji Ning immediately heard a call. Turning his head, he saw it was Yan Wang. Behind Yan Wang were his cousin Yuchi Xiyue and Yu Wei. Ji Ning immediately headed over. The Slovenly Trulord, seeing this, followed along as they were both from the Black-White College.

Those who had Celestial Immortal patriarchs from their sect or clan present all went over to them.

For those without a Celestial Immortal patriarch present, as long as they could scrape together some connection, they were also called over by some Celestial Immortals.

“Xuan’er!” Ancestor Xuanji’s narrow eyes were filled with madness. He sent a mental message, “An opportunity like this, you wouldn’t find even after ten million reincarnations! You must fight with everything you have and reach the top three! If you can become Daofather Crimsonbright’s disciple, you will be the greatest hero in the history of our Shaoyin clan! All the Celestial Immortal patriarchs of our Shaoyin clan will obey your commands!”

Shaoyin Xuan couldn’t help but send back, “Who is Daofather Crimsonbright?”

“He is His Imperial Majesty’s teacher!” Ancestor Xuanji said. “A true grandmaster of the Three Realms. An existence whose single word can decide the rise or fall of our Shaoyin clan!”