Yin Zhenluo was no stranger to s.h.i.+guan. When she was in danger in the Northern Lands the other day, it was s.h.i.+guan who had appeared to help her. While she may have not died, if it were not for s.h.i.+guan’s help, she would have most certainly been injured severely. Thinking about it, she also owed the pig, since it was him who sent s.h.i.+guan to the Northern Lands.
s.h.i.+guan’s kind-hearted and friendly nature left a deep impression on Yin Zhenluo. As a woman, she could see that s.h.i.+guan loved Xuanyuan from the bottom of her heart. What other explanation could there be for the reason why she readily ran to the Northern Dynasty after hearing a single sentence from Cheng Yin.
If it were her, she would never run blind into a potential trap. She would have thoroughly investigated, and then taken the necessary precautions before leaving, unlike the reckless manner in which s.h.i.+guan disappeared.
However, it could be seen that s.h.i.+guan had devoted a lot to Xuanyuan, and thus it was reasonable that Xuanyuan would do the same for her.
s.h.i.+guan had also made a strong impression on the Northern Dynasty over the years. Everyone felt that Cheng Yin had gone too far. Hurting s.h.i.+ Ba or s.h.i.+ Da, who both were vehemently anti-humans, would be reasonable. However, s.h.i.+guan held no such bias. She used to create medicines to cure plagues during epidemics, and distributed them throughout the Northern Dynasty.
While the common folk may not know the truth of how the plagues disappeared, the higher-ups were very well aware. After all, plagues don’t just disappear overnight.
If Tianji could figure out Xuanyuan’s true ident.i.ty, they could surely figure out who was responsible for curing the plague and saving countless lives. Everyone had a natural sense of justice.
Upon Xuanyuan’s true ident.i.ty being revealed, the entire scene grew chaotic. Yin Zhenluo readed herself, prepared to attack at any time to ensure Xuanyuan’s safe exit.
However, Xuanyuan was not nervous in the least. On the contrary, he looked calm and steady. Yin Zhenluo saw that and did not rush to make a move. She knew that Xuanyuan never did anything that he didn’t have a 100% confidence in.
“Hmph. This right here is a signed order from the Emperor of Mount Tai. Which one of you are going to dare to make a move.”
Xuanyuan took out the order, which had a mountain engraved on it. The Order of the Emperor of Mount Tai gave off an aura of endless dignity and majesty, and a strong fighting Qi exuded from it.
Sensing the unique aura of the order, the dignitaries of the Northern Dynasty exclaimed, “How can it be possible! That’s really the Order of the Emperor of Mount Tai. But ordinary people can’t get their hands on it.” These dignitaries were the most familiar with the aura of the order, and they were shocked at the authenticity of the order that Xuanyuan brandished.
The Emperor was an extremely important figure in the Northern Dynasty. His orders were second only to the emperor of the Northern Dynasty. The consequences for those who went against his orders were extremely dire.
“Boy, you dare threaten us with the order of the Emperor of Mount Tai!” One of the xian realm fighters exclaimed.
“Hmph, if you dare to, feel free to make a move. Unless you’re willing to bear the consequences, don’t bother me.” Xuanyuan’s eyes flashed with unbridled ferocity.
Hearing this, everyone was once again reminded that the Nightmare Ghost accompanied Xuanyuan at all times.
If it were just Xuanyuan’s words, no one would have believed it. However, Tianji themselves had confirmed it. The royals who supported Cheng Yin trembled in fear.
“As I said before, I’ll bankrupt Cheng Men using my stone refinement skills. What that meant is that I would follow the rules of gambling. However, if you want me to destroy you like I did the Hai family, I shall not refuse.” Xuanyuan’s words had everyone trembling. No one knew that he was simply exaggerating. HIs expression, his tone, his words, nothing gave away the fact that he was lying. One had to admit that he was a talented actor.
Xuanyuan simply channeled the same feeling of confidence he had on that day, in front of the Hai family. He had the feeling that nothing in the world could beat him. His acting was so convincing that everyone had no doubt.
Looking at the saint of the Xuanwu sect, Xuanyuan sneered. “If I do make a move, I’ll make sure to kill you first.”
The saint’s face turned blue, but he didn’t say a word. He was convinced that Xuanyuan was crazy enough to follow through on his words. If the Nightmare Ghost was hunting him, unless he hid deep within the Xuanwu sect, there was no way he would survive. The strength of the Nightmare Ghost had already been showcased in the Eastern Dynasty.
“Well, let’s see how much you can win at Cheng Men.” One of the royals sneered.
“Very well.”
Xuanyuan sighed a breath of relief internally when he saw that everyone had believed his bluff.
Thinking to himself, Xuanyuan plotted, “If I have a chance in the future, I’ll make sure to take every opportunity to make that Xuanwu kid’s life a living h.e.l.l. I didn’t offend him in any manner, however he seemed to want to harm me. Hmph, he doesn’t know what he’s in for.”
“Haha. Boy, they are terrified of the Nightmare Ghost. I guess the Nightmare Talisman which has a strong aura of the Nightmare Ghost on it fooled Tianji into thinking that the Nightmare Ghost is actually around you. The rumours spread by Fang Yuyou in addition to the confirmation from Tianji would ensure that no one would senselessly pick a fight with you. I’m impressed, a kid like you has managed to pull the wool over the eyes of all these so-called experts.”
Xuanyuan ignored Greed and drew the Devouring Sword. He began to carve the stone down.
In reality, Xuanyuan’s true ident.i.ty did not have any negative impact in the eyes of the majority of those present. On the contrary, they were impressed. Before, they thought he was just a lawless cultivator. Now, they knew that he was someone worthy.
As Xuanyuan’s sword continued to rise and fall, his swordsmans.h.i.+p made everyone exclaim in awe. His form was elegant, and his speed dauntingly fast.
“That’s impressive swordsmans.h.i.+p. In addition to his exemplary stone refinement skills, his sword seems to be in complete harmony with the heavens and the earth.”
“You’re right, his stone techniques also seem to be extremely profound.”
Those who hadn’t seen him carve stones down before praised him endlessly. In less than a few seconds, the entire humble stone was almost completely cut down.
He drew one last cut with his sword, and the surface of the stone slowly split open. A heavy beam of brilliant light rose to the heavens. Rather than giving off a sharp feeling, it gave off an extremely dull aura.
“That’s a heterogenous energy source, the humble energy source. I think it weighs ten thousand pounds!”
“If you use such an energy source to cultivate, it will fool other’s perceptions. It’ll make you give off a sense of foolishness, while concealing your wisdom. In certain cases, this is an extremely important skill.”
“That humble energy source would be worth five hundred thousand pounds of pure energy source at the very least.”
“It’s definitely worth way more than that. The humble energy source is one of the hardest energy sources to find.”
“Look, Xuanyuan is going to pick again. Cheg Men stands to lose a lot once more.”
Xuanyuan had chosen stones rapidly. A short while back, he had selected 18 different source stones, each worth 2 billion king coins at the least. The most expensive one was 8 billion king coins.
Xuanyuan didn’t go to show off this time around. With stones of such a ma.s.sive size, he couldn’t cut all of them simultaneously, instead he had to cut it down individually.
“Hmph, it’s not that easy to beat Cheng Men.”
“That’s right. The kid is far too arrogant. How can he bring down Cheng Men with just stone refinement techniques?”
The third stone he cut had a colorful aura, and contained pure energy source weighing 8000 pounds, which was good for the value of the stone.
The fourth stone he cut released a brilliant light to the heavens.
“Gold Energy Source!”
The fifth stone released a fresh breeze of wind as he cut it.
“The Heavenly Wind Source!”
The sixth one was empty, and the crowd exhaled slightly.
The seventh one gave off an electrifying feel as Xuanyuan began cutting it down. As he finally cut it down, a thunderous energy rolled through the atmosphere.
“The Rolling Thunder Energy Source! Cheng Men has definitely made a ma.s.sive loss this time.”
Xuanyuan had spent around 200 billion king coins in total over the last few days. The value of just the Rolling Thunder Energy Source, which weighed 400 pounds, was 200 billion king coins.
While everyone was excited by what they just saw, Xuanyuan’s expression remained indifferent. He didn’t care too much about the profits he made; what he was seeking was that feeling he had sensed during his duel with the Sage King. He felt that it was of great importance, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.
Xuanyuan continued to cut stones one after the other, ama.s.sing his profits. Finally, he was left with one stone. As he cut the 18th stone down, a terrible red light burst to the heavens. The sky was stained a b.l.o.o.d.y crimson.
“This, this is the Blood Devil Energy Source. Three thousand pounds of Blood Devil Energy Source…”
The expressions on the faces of the audience ranged from shock, to numbness, to excitement. Xuanyuan’s skill had made everyone acknowledge his talent.
Xuanyuan’s skill was far beyond anyone else’s at this point. The only ones who could compete with him were those of the stone refinement family.
From just the 18 stones, he had gained 4 million pounds of pure energy source. Combined with what he had earned before, he had won 10 million pounds at Cheng Men.
The royals felt as if their life was being squeezed out of them. Their eyes bloodshot and filled with hate, they glared at Xuanyuan. Their expressions looked as if someone had force-fed them cow dung.
Xuanyuan’s stone refinement techniques were far too terrifying and abominable. Out of the 18 source stones, he only had 5 duds. Out of the remaining 13, only 2 were pure energy sources. All the others were heterogeneous energy sources.
“Xuanyuan, that’s enough. You’ve already made several million pounds of pure energy source. That should be more than enough to compensate for the pain s.h.i.+guan went through.” Another royal slowly said, his heart breaking.
“You’re right, it’s enough. After all, I’m going to battle the Sage King right here once the three days are up. Isn’t that right?” Xuanyuan glanced over the royals and set his eyes on the Sage king.
“Of course, it’s a great honour.” The Sage King gently replied, his smile peaceful.
“The Sage King seems suspicious, and those he supports are also hard to handle. I should keep an eye on him.”
During the three days, Xuanyuan had wanted to get his hands on the feeling that he had sensed during his duel with the Sage King. However, what he was seeking seemed to know that Xuanyuan was hunting it, and it hid itself well. Xuanyuan had no choice but to give up for the time being.
The dignitaries exclaimed, “The real show is finally starting.” None of them had seen an exquisite gambling match before, and they were looking forward to it.
“The Sage King is one of the 5 earth masters in the imperial capital. His stone techniques are exquisite, and it’s said that he has awakened his eyes.”
“Xuanyuan can’t be overlooked either. I personally think he is superior to the Sage King.”
“But the Sage King has already won one round, he just needs one more win.”
“Let’s see. Sometimes simply believing someone to be superior is not going to work.”
“You’re right, you can only know the result once the game is over.”
Hearing that Xuanyuan was going to finally gamble against the Sage King, the officials of Cheng Men were relieved. After all, this meant that Xuanyuan would not be cutting more stones.
Since Xuanyuan had already gone through most of the stone hills in Cheng Men, the only ones left were the ones right around the pool. The stones here were outrageously priced, and of the highest quality. Losing these would mean that Cheng Men would face an unbelievable loss.
While the Sage King appeared calm outwardly, he was panicking on the inside. Xuanyuan’s strength had been far more than he expected, and his rate of success had definitely affected his composure.
“Master Xuanyuan, would you like to pick first?”
“It’s fine, I insist that you pick first.” Xuanyuan waved his hand and indicated to the Sage King.
The Sage King had no reason to say no, after all it was better to pick first. This time around, the Sage King went all out. He immediately activated his eyes. A bright light shot from his eyes and a.n.a.lysed all the stones one after the other.
Seeing the changes in the Sage King’s eyes, the spectators exclaimed.
“The Sage King has activated his eyes! Xuanyuan is in trouble now.”