Chapter 1064: Bedraggled Xuanyuan
Not only had the Yang Clan arrived, but the Qiu Clan, the Lin Clan, the Meng Clan, and many other forces from the Northern Wasteland had also come. Among them were many disciples who had participated in this Martial Emperor's Disciple assessment, unsure if they would pass or what rank they could obtain.
The radiant Heavenly Stairway descended, no longer closing from this point onward. The crowd realized that from now on, the Heavenly Terrace would begin to interact with the outside world, no longer isolated. In the Eight Wastelands Realm, another remarkable force had been born.
Stone Emperor and Yu Emperor—two Martial Emperors. No one knew how long they had been emperors, but the crowd had only heard of the Stone and Yu Emperors' names for less than a hundred years. Everyone speculated that Stone Emperor and Yu Emperor were new emperors; the time since their promotion to Martial Emperor could not be too long. Otherwise, they would not have waited until just recently to formally recruit their first batch of Martial Emperor's Disciples.
Moreover, Stone Emperor and Yu Emperor were quite mysterious, with very few people having seen their true forms. The crowd only knew that within this Heavenly Realm City, there was a Void Heavenly Terrace with two Martial Emperors, known as Stone Emperor and Yu Emperor.
Today, on the day of the Martial Emperor's Disciple enfeoffment, no one knew whether Stone Emperor and Yu Emperor would appear at the Heavenly Terrace.
"I've heard that although Stone Emperor and Yu Emperor are new emperors, their strength is terrifying. They don't even put the already-famous Heavenly Dragon Emperor in their eyes. They even fought a great battle, and neither could do anything to the other. I truly want to witness these two terrifying emperors." Someone felt a sense of longing, looking up at the Heavenly Terrace and murmuring to themselves.
At that moment, a line of figures suddenly appeared on the Heavenly Stairway, making the crowd's hearts tighten. They're here. Finally, they're here.
"Is this the first batch of Martial Emperor's Disciples?" The crowd murmured to themselves. Everyone's gaze instantly fell upon them. Now, the Heavenly Stairway seemed to have lost its previous terrifying oppressive force. The people at the higher levels continuously descended from the stairway, their heads lowered, looking somewhat dejected, as if in regret. This made the crowd's brows furrow slightly.
No. These people... they shouldn't be.
"They must be the ones who failed the assessment," someone guessed. They watched as the line of people continued downward, quickly reaching the lower air and directly disappearing into the crowd. Others were about to be enfeoffed as Martial Emperor's Disciples, but they had come down first, eliminated. It felt shameful, so they could only lower their heads and slink away.
Seeing this, the crowd understood. They were indeed the failures.
"Look, more people are appearing. This time, there should be no problem." The crowd looked toward the upper air, where another line of figures had appeared. This time, there were several hundred people. Some held their heads high with an air of distinction, as if feeling especially honored. However, others lowered their heads in silence, their eyes showing regret.
"They're too high up. I can't see clearly." The crowd was quite excited, but because the Heavenly Stairway was so high, they could only see blurry figures. Those with insufficient cultivation couldn't see clearly, which frustrated them greatly.
However, they soon discovered that a auspicious cloud had appeared in the void. Those people stepped onto the auspicious cloud, which then slid down along the Heavenly Stairway, quickly coming into the crowd's line of sight.
"Hmm? Why isn't Lin Ruotian here?" The Lin Clan members didn't find Lin Ruotian among the crowd, feeling somewhat puzzled.
"That's not right. There are Heavenly Martial Realm people and Venerable Realm people here. They shouldn't be mixed together!" Many people sensed something was wrong and spoke in confusion.
At that moment, the ascetic monk's body drifted down, landing above the crowd. He smiled at the people on the auspicious cloud and said, "From today onward, you three hundred and sixty individuals will enter the tutelage of Stone Emperor and Yu Emperor, becoming Martial Emperor's Disciples. Congratulations to you all!"
With that, the ascetic monk waved his hand, and three hundred and sixty Martial Emperor's Disciple tokens appeared in the air above the crowd. "Engrave your names upon them and receive your enfeoffment!"
"They're all the same disciple tokens. Three hundred and sixty Martial Emperor's Disciples... something seems off," someone said in confusion.
"Yes. Where are those genius disciples? Where is Xuanyuan Potian? And I clearly remember that the ugly, strange-looking person only stepped onto the First Heaven."
The crowd was puzzled, but they saw the three hundred and sixty people step forward, a rather spectacular sight. They then engraved their names on the tokens. Instantly, a brilliant radiance enveloped their bodies, and a layer of rosy light draped over them. From now on, they would be Martial Emperor's Disciples.
After receiving their tokens, the three hundred and sixty people split into two columns and naturally retreated to the left and right sides, as if clearing the way. Then, two more lines of figures appeared in the void. These two lines were separate, each with eighty-one people, all standing on auspicious clouds.
"Lin Ruotian!"
"That's Meng Ba, the Meng Clan's Meng Ba. He once stepped onto the Fifth Heaven, matching Xuanyuan Potian!"
"Look, Lin Feng and Qiu Yuexin are together." The crowd saw Lin Feng and Qiu Yuexin again. Previously, the four great families of the Northern Wasteland had ascended the Nine Heavens together, drawing everyone's attention, so these people were very familiar to the crowd.
"Eighty-one people. Why aren't Yang Zilan and Yang Ziye of the Yang Clan here?"
"Right. And where is Xuanyuan Potian? Where is Xuanyuan Potian?"
The crowd recognized many people but also noticed that some seemed to be missing. However, there was no doubt that these people had more presence than the previous three hundred and sixty.
"I understand. These one hundred and sixty-two people are the true first batch of Martial Emperor's Disciples—Heavenly Martial Realm disciples and Venerable Realm disciples. The three hundred and sixty on the left and right are another batch of Martial Emperor's Disciples, definitely selected from those who stepped onto the First Heaven!"
At this moment, many people understood. It must be so. These people were the successful ones. They were the geniuses who had won the seats of the first batch of Martial Emperor's Disciples!
But where were Yang Zilan of the Yang Clan and Xuanyuan Potian? Why weren't they among the eighty-one? This puzzled many.
The two auspicious clouds drifted, arriving at the middle area above the one hundred and sixty people, allowing the crowd to see them more clearly. Their faces showed brilliant smiles, full of pride. They had become the first batch of Martial Emperor's Disciples.
"Yuexin is indeed there." At that moment, among the Yue Clan crowd, a middle-aged man showed a hint of a smile. Beside him was none other than Qiu Yuexin's uncle, Qiu Hao.
"She is indeed there. But she's still with that nameless person. For his sake, she even attacked her own siblings. What a disgrace to the Qiu Clan." Qiu Hao said coldly. Qiu Yuexin becoming one of the first batch of Martial Emperor's Disciples made him very unhappy. Ever since that day he learned that Lin Feng was still alive and had ascended the Nine Heavens, he had been very displeased.
"This young man doesn't seem as worthless as you say. Otherwise, how could he stand with Yuexin and become one of the first batch of Martial Emperor's Disciples?" The middle-aged man said lightly, seeming somewhat dissatisfied with Qiu Hao's words.
"Hmph, becoming a Martial Emperor's Disciple doesn't mean he'll amount to anything!" Qiu Hao responded coldly.
"Both of you, shut up. Yuexin successfully entering the ranks of Martial Emperor's Disciples is a joyous occasion. What are you arguing about?" The elder in front of them shouted in displeasure.
"Congratulations, junior brothers and junior sisters, on becoming the master's first batch of disciples. Prepare to receive your enfeoffment!" The ascetic monk smiled at the crowd, then waved his hand. A golden scroll expanded, fluttering in the void. On it were engraved eighty-one names, those of the eighty-one Heavenly Martial Realm individuals.
"Lin Ruotian, Qiu Yuexin, Meng Ba, and Lin Feng. They're all there indeed. Yang Zilan must have been eliminated. But Xuanyuan Potian... was he eliminated too? This is..." The crowd was stunned, showing strange expressions. They were certain that Xuanyuan Potian's name was not on the scroll.
The Yang Clan members' gazes all froze, staring fixedly at the golden scroll. How could it not be there? Yang Zilan and his sister had already quietly descended from the Heavenly Terrace, even covering their faces with their robes, not daring to let anyone know they had failed. They had been waiting for Xuanyuan Potian to restore their pride. But how could Xuanyuan Potian's name not be on the scroll!
"Lin Feng!"
From afar, a rolling voice seemed to come, extremely jarring.
"Lin Feng, I want you dead!"
The voice carried a hint of icy coldness. Then, the crowd saw a figure flash down from above. This person's aura was powerful, but he was bedraggled. The moment they saw him, the crowd's gazes froze.
"Is this... Xuanyuan Potian?"
Xuanyuan Potian—how had he become so bedraggled? What had happened?
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