Chapter 1146: Comparison of Great Strength

The Jadeite Mountain Manor’s Divine Weapon was called the Heavenly Cloud Jadeite Sword. It was left behind by the Jadeite Sovereign, who no longer managed the Jadeite Mountain Manor.

The Heavenly Cloud Jadeite Sword was not forged by the Jadeite Sovereign, nor was that its original name. Instead, it was previously called the Heavenly Blood Sword.

It had actually been the sword of another legendary Martial Emperor of the Black Sea, the Blood Sword Sovereign. The glory of the Blood Sword Sovereign was even more splendorous than that of the Thunder Fire Sovereign, the ancestor of the waning Xia Clan.

Aside from having the bloodline of humans, the Blood Sword Sovereign also had the bloodline of Blood Demons from the Deep Abyss Demonic World, a mixed blood of humans and Demons.

However, that was a piece of antiquated history. The Blood Sword Sovereign died before the Black Sea Continent broke apart. The legend he left behind could be found only in ancient books.

There was just one bit of knowledge that was widely spread. That was the Blood Sword Sovereign’s forming the Heart of an Emperor before he became a Martial Emperor.

The Blood Sword Sovereign had made history, shaking the entire Kunlun Realm. Until him, there had never been a person in the Martial Epoch who already possessed a complete Heart of an Emperor before advancing to Martial Emperor.

The Heavenly Seal with a soul infused in it was merely the vague form of the Heart of an Emperor. It was far from comparable to an actual Heart of an Emperor. Only after one cleared their Great Tribulation of wind and fire, forged the Golden Emperor Body, and successfully pushed open the Emperor’s Door could one possess the Heart of an Emperor.

However, this Blood Sword Sovereign broke this pattern, becoming the only person to possess a Heart of an Emperor before advancing to Martial Emperor.

Xiao Chen’s hand, which was holding the report, nearly trembled. If he could grasp this Secret Technique and condense the Heart of an Emperor, the problem of merging the soul into the Heavenly Seal in order to advance from Great Perfection quasi-Emperor to Consummation quasi-Emperor would solve itself.

The reasoning was simple. When one merged the soul into the Heavenly Seal, it only formed the vague form of the Heart of an Emperor. If the complete Heart of an Emperor was condensed in advance, why would he need the vague form?

This should be the opportunity Yue Bingyun meant.

Xiao Chen put down the information and calmed himself. If this Secret Technique was so easy to find, there would have already been a second person to condense the Heart of an Emperor in advance in the past tens of thousands of years.

Could it be that the Secret Technique for condensing the Heart of an Emperor in advance was related to the Jadeite Mountain Manor’s Divine Weapon, the Heavenly Cloud Jadeite Sword?

With limited information, this was all that Xiao Chen could conclude. The Secret Technique to condense a complete Heart of an Emperor in advance had to have something to do with the Heavenly Cloud Jadeite Sword.

However, what kind of connection was it? What did it have to do with the Heavenly Cloud Jadeite Sword breaking into the Divine Weapon Ranking?

What role did Yue Bingyun play in all this? It was all unknown.

Xiao Chen put down the report and rubbed his temples. There was no point in thinking so much. He just needed to wait quietly until the fifteenth of the next month, and everything would be answered.

Right now, what he needed to do was focus on cultivation, then go to that quasi-Emperor-level auction that would be held in three days, to take a look. Hopefully, he would gain something. Otherwise, it would be depressing to have so many Black Astral Coins and have nowhere to spend them.

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Three days passed in the blink of an eye. Yue Bingyun knocked on the door at the appointed time and invited Xiao Chen to accompany her.

As the name implied, the quasi-Emperor-level auction permitted only quasi-Emperors and above to enter. A regular city would not be able to host such an auction.

The reason was none other than the inability to gather so many quasi-Emperors. With just four or five people, there would be practically no competition. How could they host an auction?

However, Black Water City was definitely capable of hosting a quasi-Emperor-level auction. Furthermore, the auction would be extremely lively.

The Black Sea lived up to its reputation as the best experiential training ground for quasi-Emperors. Quasi-Emperor experts were rife in Black Water City. One could spot one or two with every few steps.

The auction house was known as the Heavenly Cauldron Pavilion and was backed by the Heavenly Cauldron Sect, a faction no weaker than a Holy Land, having tight-knit relationships with several Sovereign Martial Emperors.

The Heavenly Cauldron Pavilion, which had a terrifying backer, had been organizing quasi-Emperor-level auctions for several hundred years already. No one ever dared to cause trouble there.

Over time, this quasi-Emperor-level auction had become a rather significant event of Black Water City, able to attract at least eighty percent of the quasi-Emperors in the Black Water Sea.

Even quasi-Emperors from the neighboring seas—the Black Wind Sea and the Black Fire Sea—came because of its fame, hoping to buy a treasure that they needed.

When Xiao Chen and Yue Bingyun reached the street where the Heavenly Cauldron Pavilion was, they discovered that many cultivators already crowded the place.

Many people had also gone to nearby restaurants and inns, sitting there and drinking wine. It was like they were watching a spectacle. Occasionally, they whispered to each other or cried out in surprise.

“What’s with this?” Xiao Chen asked out of curiosity.

This was Yue Bingyun’s first time to come here as well, so she did not know what was going on, either. After the two asked the passersby, they understood what was happening.

It turned out that the entry ticket for the quasi-Emperor-level auction could not be purchased with Black Astral Coins. Instead, the Heavenly Cauldron Pavilion required a cultivator to prove their strength.

The stronger one was, the better the ticket they got. Those with ordinary strength could only obtain ordinary tickets, sitting together with others in the hall and unable to enjoy a private room.

This was rather interesting. Auction houses elsewhere all treated quasi-Emperors as honored guests. However, here, one even needed to prove one’s strength to obtain an entry ticket. If one’s strength was insufficient, one would receive only a regular ticket.

It would be very embarrassing to obtain a ticket to sit in the hall with so many people watching.

“Let’s go over and take a look.”

The two released their quasi-Emperor auras and parted the crowd, heading in. When they reached the front, they finally saw what exactly went on.

On a platform made of thousands of metal and stone tiles, there was a hundred-meter-tall stele. This was a testing monument specially used to test the strength of quasi-Emperors.

The top of the stele was inlaid with seven rows made up of ten precious gems, each row separated by a certain height.

Not far away, there was an exquisite and profound metal dummy connected to the stele through a formation.

The two could see quasi-Emperors stepping forward and striking the metal dummy. Then, the gems inlaid in the stele would glow.

When the two stepped forward, there happened to be a Small Perfection quasi-Emperor enthusiastically driving the power of the world with all his might before landing a punch on the metal dummy.

The loud sound that followed was earsplitting. A strong wind blew and clouds surged. Based on the aura and pressure, the punch seemed very strong.

The first row of ten white gems on the stone testing monument instantly lit up, the entire stele radiating a bright white light.

Lighting up the ten gems of the first row meant obtaining the qualification to enter. However, whether one received treatment as an honored guest—seating in a private room—would depend on the remaining rows of gems.

The rate at which the second row of ten blue gems lit up was clearly slower.

By the third row of green gems, the rate at which the gems lit up slowed even more.

The cultivator standing in front of the metal dummy revealed an expression of anxiety and anticipation. However, in the end, only five of the ten gems in the third row lit up.

“The third row is not completely lit up. Sorry, I can only give you the most ordinary entry ticket.” The Heavenly Cauldron Pavilion staff standing guard by the side took out an entry ticket and handed it to that middle-aged man.

As the middle-aged man received the entry ticket, he appeared depressed. “I already reached peak Small Perfection quasi-Emperor, and yet I’m unable to qualify for treatment as an honored guest.”

“What’s wrong? Unable to accept this?” the Heavenly Cauldron Pavilion staff asked expressionlessly.

“Just saying, that’s all. Just saying.” The middle-aged man smiled in embarrassment and quickly walked across the platform and entered the Heavenly Cauldron Pavilion.

How could this cultivator dare to reject the result? The Heavenly Cauldron Pavilion was not a place where he, a quasi-Emperor, could throw his weight about. Even if a Minor Heavenly Martial Emperor came, they would have to think twice about kicking up a fuss.

After watching a few more people, Xiao Chen finally understood the system.

One needed to light up at least three rows of gems to qualify for a private room. After that, for every additional row of gems lit up, one would be able to obtain a higher-level room, enjoying better service and more privileges.

“Bang!”

There was another loud sound. The stele started to change colors quickly—white, blue, green, red, and so on—continuing through six colors before stopping.

The strength of one punch lit up gems on the sixth row. This instantly caused a commotion, attracting many people’s attention.

“It is another Consummation quasi-Emperor.”

“That is Jin Liangqi. He was already a Consummation quasi-Emperor expert ten years ago. However, he had not been seen in recent years. Rumor said he was preparing for his Great Tribulation of wind and fire.”

“Haha! He probably does not have the courage to undergo his Great Tribulation of wind and fire. Otherwise, he would not appear here.”

Jin Liangqi displayed no reaction. Amid envious gazes, he received the ticket for a private room on the sixth floor and walked inside expressionlessly.

Xiao Chen thought to himself, So, it takes the strength of a Consummation quasi-Emperor to light up the sixth row of gems.

After observing for a long time, he concluded that this stone testing monument provided an accurate gauge of strength.

All this time, Xiao Chen remained unsure of how strong he was.

This stone testing monument was an excellent opportunity for him to see how his peak explosive power compared to those Consummation quasi-Emperors’.

Just as Xiao Chen was about to step forward and make his move, a familiar figure walked over. This was Xia Luo, the descendant of the legendary Thunder Fire Sovereign.

An old man with an extremely strong aura accompanied Xia Luo. This person was a Consummation quasi-Emperor expert.

However, Xiao Chen observed that the old man’s aura was still slightly weaker than that of Jin Liangqi; the difference was clear.

As Xiao Chen expected, when Wang Zhen struck the metal dummy and the lights changed, he only managed to make three gems on the sixth row light up, a big difference from Jin Liangqi’s nine gems lit on the sixth row.

After the old man successfully obtained a private room on the sixth floor, Xia Luo cockily followed after him.

There were many hidden talents in Black Water City. This quasi-Emperor auction managed to get all these Consummation quasi-Emperors to show up, an eye-opener for many.

Xiao Chen stepped out of the crowd, filled with anticipation. He was prepared to see how many rows of gems he could light up.

“Whoosh!”

Just as Xiao Chen was about to arrive before the metal dummy, a person with a strong aura flew over without even looking at Xiao Chen.

This person continued to swoop down, bringing along a strong wind that cut like knives. He said coldly, “Scram. Step aside. Let this young master take the test first.”

The strong wind felt like knives, and the aura, like a mountain. This figure arrived in a ferocious manner, flaunting his sharpness without fear and forcing back several cultivators who came to watch the liveliness.

Xiao Chen frowned. Having not much time to think, he turned around and threw a palm strike. This was because the other party was too fast, and if he hesitated, he would end up injured.

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