Chapter 1999 - Flattery

At the top of the Turtle Peak was a villa shrouded in an ethereal deity aura. There were quite a number of structures built here. It was the residential area of Emperor Xi and his proteges.

The area was huge, and when Ye Futian and his friends entered, they saw that it was already filled with many people who were chatting about casually.

“Millet Emperor.” Ye Futian’s sight settled on a particular individual. The Millet Emperor had already arrived along with a few other extraordinary characters. They were likely practitioners of the same level as the Millet Emperor. Everyone understood that these were the titans of the Donghua Domain.

They arrived inconspicuously. No one noticed their presence from the outside; furthermore, no one dared to use their divine consciousness to peek into the cultivation grounds of Emperor Xi. This showed extreme disrespect to their seniors, so no one had the guts to do it.

Ye Futian looked at where they were standing and located the person standing in the group’s center. That person was dressed in very simple robes and looked to be in his fifties. Despite his age, he seemed to be alive with energy, and he certainly had an extraordinary air about him. He chatted with a smile on his face, and the feeling he gave off made people feel very comfortable. It was as though they were bathed in a spring breeze.

Interestingly, one could not feel any aura from him; it was like he was just an ordinary human. However, if he was standing here, there was no way he was just any ordinary human.

Emperor Xi! Ye Futian thought to himself. He was someone who had a perfect Great Path and was about to experience the Tribulations of Gods.

According to what Li Changsheng said earlier, there was no one in the Donghua Domain who had overcome the three tribulations. No one had even overcome the first tribulation. This was uncertain only for one person, and that was the manor chief of the Donghua Domain Chief’s Manor. Li Changsheng mentioned that no one knew what level the manor chief was at, and no one knew if he had overcome the Great Path Tribulations of Gods. However, none of the other virtuosos had ever overcome it before.

Setting aside the matter of overcoming it, basically, no one was eligible to even experience the tribulations. After all, one would only have the chance if their Great Path was perfect, and in the Donghua Domain, a vast majority of virtuosos were “fake” Emperors.

Thus, once Emperor Xi managed to overcome the tribulations successfully, he would most likely become the number one person in the Donghua Domain. If the Domain Chief Manor’s chief concealed his power, then he would at least be the number one practitioner apart from the manor chief.

With such a level of cultivation, he would be considered a top-tier character even in the entire Divine Prefecture.

When everyone arrived, they all looked in the direction of Emperor Xi. In return, Emperor Xi also looked at the crowd before him. With just a glance, everyone mistakenly felt that he was looking at each of them.

Emperor Xi had a kind smile on his face as he spoke to the crowd, “I haven’t been to the outside world in such a long time, so I have not yet met the junior practitioners of the Donghua Domain. Ever since the Age of Chaos back then, Donghuang the Great unified the entire Divine Prefecture, creating the age of peace that lasted for numerous years. Now, with every passing year, more outstanding juniors have emerged, and it has only been a little over three hundred years since the unification of the Divine Prefecture. I believe that with time, there will be a greater number of especially powerful figures who, like me, will experience the tribulations.”

In the Age of Chaos, there were too many prodigies and top-tier factions that were destroyed. It was only in the recent three hundred or so years that the world had become far more peaceful. When all the powerful and famous figures managed to survive till now, there would be more virtuosos in the world.

“These juniors are still a long way from senior Emperor Xi. In this generation, there are only a few people who have managed to forge a Perfect Grade Divine Wheel when ascending to the high-level Renhuang,” an elderly man smiled.

“It is the same for every generation; when the next generation attempts to break through to the high Renhuang level, more influential people will emerge,” Emperor Xi smiled.

“Indeed, in the next generation, there are many with great potential distributed across various factions; they are all very exceptional. Didn’t Zong Chan from the Wangshen Watchtower succeed not too long ago?” Someone smiled, causing many people to look toward the Millet Emperor.

“Mmm, Zong Chan is indeed not bad.” The Millet Emperor smiled. Looking at Zong Chan, he said, “Zong Chan, come over and meet Emperor Xi and your seniors.”

“Yes, teacher.” Zong Chan nodded lightly and walked towards them. Stopping in front of them, he bowed and said, “Junior Zong Chan pays his respects to Emperor Xi and seniors.”

“Mmm,” Emperor Xi nodded. “You’re still so young. Certainly, in the future, you will become more powerful. Who are the other powerful juniors in our Donghua Domain now?”

“There are Jiang Yueli from the Divine Palace of Fluttering Snow, Desolation from the Badlands Continent, as well as the son of the Manor Chief. The three of them achieved a Perfect Grade Divine Wheel as high-level Renhuangs before Zong Chan,” said the leader of the Nanhua Clan of the Nanhua Continent with a smile. He had an otherworldly air about him. He looked at the Divine Palace of Fluttering Snow and the Badlands Divine Palace. Both Jiang Yueli and Desolation were there.

“Jiang Yueli pays her respects to senior Emperor Xi,” Jiang Yueli bowed lightly.

On the other hand, Desolation bowed to Emperor Xi across the air without saying anything. The practitioners of the Badlands Continent were all loners and arrogant. They were very used to being alone. Towards Emperor Xi, however, Desolation still maintained a level of respect. It was his respect towards a virtuoso. This was someone who was going to overcome the Tribulations of Gods; it was a goal that he was going to pursue in the future.

Emperor Xi nodded at the two of them.l He asked Jiang Yueli, “Did your master not come?”

“Teacher says she will come,” Jiang Yueli responded.

As they were talking, a powerful aura permeated the region from afar. In the next instance, a beam of sword radiance descended in front of Jiang Yueli. A sharp-looking woman appeared. She had a rather cold air about her. Standing there, she was like a sword; it was like she was one with the Heavenly Path.

She was the lord of the Divine Palace of Fluttering Snow and the Sword Goddess of the Donghua Domain.

This Sword Goddess was honorably known as the top swordsman in the entire Donghua Domain.

“Since Emperor Xi was going to experience the tribulations, I must attend this event,” the Sword Goddess said.

“I thought the same, too. After all, you will also have such a day in the future.” Emperor Xi smiled. The Sword Goddess was also a top Renhuang with a perfect Great Path and one of the most powerful people in the Donghua Domain.

Previously, this Sword Goddess was among the top three in the ranked list of the most powerful figures in the Donghua Domain.

The Sword Goddess did not respond to this comment. Emperor Xi looked at the people behind her and said, “It seems like powerful characters will emerge from the next generation of the Divine Palace of Fluttering Snow.”

“In the Divine Palace of Fluttering Snow, apart from Jiang Yueli who had ascended to the high Renhuang level with a perfect Great Path, the other direct disciples of the palace lord, Chu Hanxi and Qin Qing, are both middle-level Renhuangs with a Perfect Grade Divine Wheel. They will surely have a chance, too, in the future. The next generation of the Divine Palace of Fluttering Snow is indeed exceptional,” someone said with a smile. The person who spoke was the Lingxiao Palace Lord. He was dressed very lavishly and had an extraordinary air about him.

“There are many exceptional people in the next generation of the Donghua Domain, and even disregarding the Domain Chief’s Manor, various factions have influential characters of their own. Furthermore, the Divine Prefecture is so vast and boundless, we might not even know of many prodigies who exist,” said Jiang Yueli, who was standing behind the Sword Goddess. She seemed to want the Divine Palace of Fluttering Snow to avoid catching everyone’s attention.

“I’ve also heard that Ling He had met a rather powerful person on the Divine Ocean Continent. He is the descendent of the Supreme Deity Donglai, right?” the Lingxiao Palace Lord said as he looked at the Millet Emperor.

The Millet Emperor and the Donglai Goddess furrowed their brows slightly. The Supreme Deity Donglai used to be one of the few standing at the pinnacle of the cultivation world before he was murdered. His death was a very sensitive issue.

After hearing his words, the eyes of the overlord of the Great Yan Ancient Royal Family turned sharp, and he glanced at where Ye Futian was standing.

“I was only lucky to be able to enter Eastern Deity Island and obtain the favor of the Donglai Goddess who took care of me,” Ye Futian smiled, noticing that everyone was looking at him. He glanced at the overlord of the Lingxiao Palace and saw that he was smiling back at him. However, the smile made him feel very uncomfortable.

He did not want to be in the limelight. Today’s main character was Emperor Xi. With his low cultivation level and lack of any strong backing, what was he supposed to do standing in the limelight in the presence of all the top-tier factions in the Donghua Domain?

“You are too humble,” the Lingxiao Palace overlord smiled. “Considering your current cultivation level as a middle-level Renhuang, with what you have achieved previously, you can rank at least among the top three in the Donghua Domain.”

As he finished speaking, the way that many people looked at Ye Futian instantly changed.

Ye Futian furrowed his brow. Is he flattering me? he thought to himself.

Furthermore, the other party was of an extraordinary status. He was the Lingxiao Palace overlord and one of the most influential practitioners in the world. Being given such high praise from this man, not only should Ye Futian not refute it, but he should thank him for it.

This made Ye Futian extremely uncomfortable.

With all the top-tier factions in the entire Donghua Domain present, what was his motive in praising him so highly?

Ye Futian bowed lightly and said, “Senior, you flatter me. My cultivation is still rather superficial. I certainly do not deserve such high praise. The last time when I met the prince of the Lingxiao Palace while comprehending the Way at the Divine Ocean, I noticed that my own demeanor is far behind his.”

“What are you talking about, Brother Ye?” Ling He said. “It was you, Brother Ye, who managed to comprehend the secrets of the cliff at the Divine Ocean.”

“I was only lucky. Before, we had some disagreements when comprehending the Way. When Brother Ling bluntly said that we were wrong, we felt shamed by that extraordinary aura and strong confidence that you exuded. We recognized that we were inferior, and Brother Ling’s aura certainly overpowered ours. Even our Mindfulness of the Path was a little damaged. It was only after giving our all in our struggle that we managed to decipher the secrets of the cliff by accident. I still have to thank Brother Ling for sparking our potential,” Ye Futian replied with a slight smile. He treated Ling He with the same exaggerated praise.

It was as though the person who lost then was him and not Ling He.

Indeed, hearing Ye Futian’s reply, Ling He’s looks in his eyes became a little strange. His eyes narrowed slightly as he stared at Ye Futian.

Was he mocking him?

At that time, Ye Futian did not in the least bit behave in a cowardly way. In fact, he was very overbearing in his response.

“You two, there is no need to argue over this.” At that moment, a silhouette walked out from behind Emperor Xi. He looked at Ye Futian and asked, “Was it you who managed to decipher the relics left behind on the cliff?”

Ye Futian looked at him. The person was rather large, and his long hair was untied and flowed behind him, giving off a rather wild feeling. To Ye Futian, he gave off similar vibes as Emperor Xi; he was another prominent character.

Furthermore, this person was standing behind Emperor Xi. So, Ye Futian could almost guess his identity.

“I was just lucky,” Ye Futian replied.

“Mmm, not bad,” the man nodded. “Back when I was comprehending the Way at the cliff, I carved those markings casually. I did not expect that anyone could really decipher and comprehend it. You have unlimited potential.”

With this sentence, he had hinted at his identity, the Thunder Punishing Skylord.

Ye Futian bowed lightly, “I gained quite a bit at the cliff. Thank you, senior Thunder Punishing Skylord.”

“This was your opportunity, so there is no need to thank me,” the Thunder Punishing Skylord replied casually. He seemed to be rather impressed by Ye Futian!