C.4474
Translator: Silavin & Tia
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
Zuo Quan Hui’s Legacy Disciple had been killed, he had completely fallen out with Xu Ling Gong just now, and he was unable to kill his enemy who was right in front of him. It was no surprise that he was in no mood to stay.
Xu Ling Gong did not stop Zuo Quan Hui and simply watched until his figure disappeared out of sight before he coldly snorted, “Continue!”
With a leap of his figure, he returned to his seat. Likewise, the Elders of Lin Feng and the others also returned to their seats upon seeing that the situation had calmed down.
On the other hand, many participating cultivators in the palace square were looking at Yang Kai in horror. They might not have known what happened before, but how could they remain ignorant now? It turned out that Zhao Xing of Thousand Cranes Paradise had been killed.
Void Land’s Yang Kai… How could he be so bold?
Even the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters sitting on the stage were looking at Yang Kai with displeasure. Zhao Xing might be a member of Thousand Cranes Paradise, but throughout history, the Cave Heavens and Paradises had always been staunch allies. If Yang Kai dared to kill Zhao Xing, then it meant that he dared to kill anyone. It was only natural that they found a person like that displeasing.
Ignoring all the strange looks from the crowd, Yang Kai continued to stand there motionlessly.
Lin Feng and the other two approached him once more while Ning Dao Ran sent him a Divine Sense Message, “Brother Yang, you must be careful in the future. Zuo Quan Hui is Zhao Xing’s Honoured Master and he will never let this matter go.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly, “I know.”
It was precisely because of this that he wanted to silence the witnesses to his crime back then, but judging from the current situation, he might not have been able to kill every single one of them even if he attacked them at the time. These Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters all had their respective methods to protect themselves, so they were not that easy to kill and news would have leaked out eventually. Acting rashly would only have caused feuds with even more of the Cave Heavens and Paradises.
Following the return of those 100 or so people, the rainbow bridge became quiet once more.
Nobody else returned after that.
As a result, Elder Zhuo Bu Qun of Myriad Demons Heaven, Elder Yu Huan of Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven, and Elder Lu Zhen Yang of Azure Nether Paradise looked very solemn.
This couldn’t be helped as more than a dozen Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters from the Cave Heavens and Paradises had participated in the Dao Theory Assembly. Excluding Zhao Xing who was killed, all the others had basically returned except for the disciples of these three Sects.
The situation with Myriad Demons Heaven was not too bad as the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm disciple known as Mo Sheng had returned from the Prison Star and was currently standing quietly among the crowd.
Zhuo Bu Qun secretly sent a transmission and questioned Mo Sheng about the situation. Then, his expression became even more gloomy. He learned from Mo Sheng that Pei Wen Xuan and Yin Xin Zhao had been ambushed by many Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters from the Prison League and their fate was uncertain. Meanwhile, Mo Sheng was lucky enough to escape alive.
After waiting for another half an hour, Zhuo Bu Qun and the others could no longer sit still when they saw that nobody else was returning. The three of them pressured Xu Ling Gong to allow them to enter the Prison Star in person so that they could search for traces of Pei Wen Xuan, Yin Xin Zhao, and the others.
Xu Ling Gong reassured them repeatedly, all while murmuring to himself in his heart, [Those bastards on the Prison Star better not have been ignorant enough to dare to kill the Core Disciples of the Cave Heavens and Paradises!]
An unexpected incident had already occurred earlier, but only Zhao Xing had died in that incident. If Pei Wen Xuan and the others had died on the Prison Star as well, then the Dao Theory Assembly would turn into a huge disaster.
Xu Ling Gong could withstand the pressure from Thousand Cranes Paradise if it was alone, but if three more Sects were added things would become untenable. He would probably be punished by Yin-Yang Cave Heaven as a result.
He secretly regretted his actions as it seemed he had overplayed his hand in this Dao Theory Assembly!
In order to appease Zhuo Bu Qun and the other Elders, he quickly sent Su Ying Xue and Qing Kui to the Prison Star to inquire about the situation. Those two rushed into the rainbow bridge and returned together not long afterward.
Su Ying Xue whispered something in Xu Ling Gong’s ear which caused him to nod lightly. With his expression relaxed considerably, Xu Ling Gong turned around and said something to Zhuo Bu Qun and the others. Only then did Zhuo Bu Qun and the others calm down.
“Good. The Dao Theory Assembly ends here. You’ve all worked hard for the past year, so it is now time to examine the results. Let’s see who obtained the top spot in the Dao Theory Assembly!” Xu Ling Gong sat upright in his chair and after his speech, he gave a slight wave of his hand.
Yin-Yang Cave Heaven disciples who had been prepared in advance flew down immediately and landed in the square. They each cast Secret Techniques to remove the golden wristbands around the participants’ wrists and record the achievements.
Compared with their original number, the surviving participants had been reduced by more than half, with those missing almost certainly having died on the Prison Star.
The Elders who brought their Juniors to participate in the Dao Theory Assembly couldn’t help looking sad and gloomy. Most of the Second-Class great forces had originally hoped to ride on the coattails of Yin-Yang Cave Heaven and soar straight to success. That was why they had brought the most elite cultivators from their respective Sects to participate in the Dao Theory Assembly.
With the number of people who died on the Prison Star though, it could be said that their losses were heavy. But, who could have known that Xu Ling Gong would play such tricks during the Dao Theory Assembly that was only held to choose a Husband for Qu Hua Shang? It was too late for regrets now.
An incense stick later, all the scores had been counted with the golden wristbands having been retrieved and placed on a table in front of many High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters.
The dozen or so High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters swept a glance over the golden wristbands and quickly noticed the one with the most stars. The main reason was that the number of stars on this golden wristband was so high that the others couldn’t even compare. There was no need to search carefully at all.
“It looks like the top spot belongs to this person!” Xu Ling Gong chuckled, turning to look around him, “I wonder which Sect this Junior belongs to!”
Many of the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters smiled reservedly as one of them said, “We’ll know once we check.”
In their opinion, it was impossible for their disciples to marry into Yin-Yang Cave Heaven even if they took the top spot. They were forced to send their Core Disciples to participate in the Dao Theory Assembly, but it was simply to preserve everybody’s face.
Core Disciples who advanced directly into the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm were potential Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Who would willingly let go of such talents? As for how things would end if one of their Core Disciples obtained the top spot, it was bound to be an argument with Yin-Yang Cave Heaven. In any case, they all had a long lives, so bickering for several hundred or even thousand years was not a problem. They could even use this kind of argument to relieve their boredom.
Xu Ling Gong smiled faintly. How could he not know what these people were thinking? Be that as it may, these Core Disciples had participated in the Dao Theory Assembly and would be named a Yin-Yang Cave Heaven Son-In-Law if they won the top spot. How could he allow any objections or resistance? Even if he had to use force, he would make sure that the person remained here.
As such, he grabbed the golden wristband and looked inside it. Two large characters printed on the golden wristband entered his vision and the smile on his face abruptly stiffened.
[How… how can it be him?] Xu Ling Gong was absolutely stunned.
When the golden wristbands were being recovered, the Yin-Yang Cave Heaven disciples in charge of recovering them were tasked with engraving the names of the participants onto them. Each golden wristband corresponded to only one person, so there could be no mistakes. In other words, the name and score recorded on this golden wristband was completely accurate.
“Brother Xu seems to have been met with quite a pleasant surprise.” The High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master who spoke up earlier couldn’t help making a joke when he saw the strange expression on Xu Ling Gong’s face. At the same time, he glanced at the golden wristband in Xu Ling Gong’s hand and immediately looked stunned at a result. The two large characters on the golden wristband shone so brightly with a golden light that he nearly couldn’t open his eyes.
“Who is it? Who took the top spot?” Somebody else looked over curiously.
Everybody who saw the results couldn’t help falling silent and wrinkling their brow.
The reason why they sent their Core Disciples to participate in the Dao Theory Assembly was to prevent this exact situation, but contrary to their expectations, their efforts proved fruitless even though more than a dozen Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had participated.
Su Ying Xue and Qing Kui, who had been standing behind Xu Ling Gong all this time, saw the two large characters on the golden wristband from the beginning.
[Yang Kai!?] They couldn’t help feeling absolutely shocked!
Moreover, the number of stars on this golden wristband was almost twice that of the second place, so there was no comparison. This result was simply overwhelming!
[He took the top spot?] They exchanged a glance with each other, feeling a little incredulous.
Yang Kai might also be in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, but his background was nothing special. He did not have any Elders teaching him or providing him with resources, artifacts, or powerful techniques. Therefore, there should be a huge gap between him and the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters from the Cave Heavens and Paradises.
Now however, it seemed it was the disciples of the Cave Heavens and Paradises who were very far behind him…
When they allowed Yang Kai to enter the Dao Theory Assembly, neither Xu Ling Gong, Su Ying Xue, nor Qing Kui held much expectations for him. Xu Ling Gong’s original intention was only to muddy the waters of the Dao Theory Assembly with the help of a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like Yang Kai. They never imagined that they would stumble upon such fortune!
Su Ying Xue came back to her senses and immediately sent a message to Qu Hua Shang, who was waiting for news. When she told Qu Hua Shang about the results, she could only imagine how happy her Junior Sister would be.
It was just that the current atmosphere was a little strange.
Many participants standing below, including the Elders of the great forces who led their teams here were eagerly waiting for Xu Ling Gong to announce the results. However, Xu Ling Gong and the dozen or so High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters fell into an eerie silence.
Nevertheless, Xu Ling Gong quickly came back to his senses. It might be unexpected, but the result that came out was not something he could not accept.
Holding up the golden wristband in his hand and revealing the two large characters to the crowd, he raised his voice and announced, “The winner of the Dao Theory Assembly is Void Land’s Yang Kai!”
As soon as that statement came out, everybody turned to look at Yang Kai, again.
Lin Feng cupped his fist, “Congratulations.”
Likewise, Ning Dao Ran and Gu Pan also congratulated Yang Kai.
On the other hand, Yang Kai was not sure how to respond. Although he knew that he would obtain the top spot with no issues, winning first place in the Dao Theory Assembly meant that he would become a Yin-Yang Cave Heaven Son-In-Law. In other words, he would have to marry into Yin-Yang Cave Heaven.
[But, I don’t want to marry into Yin-Yang Cave Heaven! Besides, how am I supposed to explain this to Su Yang and the others?] For a time, Yang Kai suffered a headache and gastric pains.
“Many thanks for coming from afar to participate in Yin-Yang Cave Heaven’s Dao Theory Assembly. This event has ended on a successful note. In three days, this Monarch will hold a banquet. Please be sure to show up!” Xu Ling Gong announced.
The Open Heaven Realm Masters of the Second-Class great forces quickly responded to his invitation while one of the Elders from the Cave Heavens and Paradises stood up, “Brother Xu, there is something I need to attend to back in the Sect. I’m afraid I won’t be able to participate in the banquet. Let’s meet again in the future.”
After saying that, he summoned his disciples and soared into the sky.
Xu Ling Gong did not stop them.
Similarly, the other High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters slowly got up one after another to leave with their respective disciples. It did not take long before only the Elders of Myriad Demons Heaven, Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven, Azure Nether Paradise remained. They wanted to leave, but their disciples were still on the Prison Star, so they couldn’t depart even if they wanted to.
They glanced at each other with helpless expressions on their faces. The result of the Dao Theory Assembly could be said to have embarrassed all the Cave Heavens and Paradises. Outsiders would not think too much once the results of this event got out. All they would know was that Void Land’s Yang Kai had suppressed more than a dozen Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters from the Cave Heavens and Paradises to come out on top and win the Dao Theory Assembly.
