Chapter 1148: Zhou Tian Shen Di
With the start of the second preliminary battle, the Zhou Tian Realm was finally no longer calm.
All the Eastern Domain experts invited to watch the battles had also left their residences, flying towards the same place.
This was the center of the Zhou Tian Divine Realm—Zhou Tian City, the location of Zhou Tian Shen Di and the "Guardians," a sacred place within the sacred places known throughout the world.
The Zhou Tian Divine Tower, which pierced straight into the sky for thirty thousand li, was located at the very center of Zhou Tian City. Below it was the most sacred object of the entire Eastern Domain—the Zhou Tian Pearl.
Beside the Zhou Tian Tower was a "Feng Shen Platform" with a diameter of three hundred li. Whoever could become the champion upon it absolutely had the qualifications to be "deified."
And this "Feng Shen Platform" was also the final battlefield of every previous Xuan Shen Convention. For this Xuan Shen Convention, after three rounds of preliminaries, the "Thirty-two Divine Sons" would be decided, and then the final "Feng Shen Battle" would be fought on this Feng Shen Platform.
Surrounding the Feng Shen Platform was an enormous spectator area. Though the area was huge, it had always been sparse. Because those fortunate enough to watch from within it were fewer than one in a hundred million across the entire Eastern Domain.
On this day, the Feng Shen Platform, which had been quiet for a long time, welcomed its busiest day in centuries.
A large number of figures flew in from different directions. The cultivations of these people were each more astonishing than the last, but within Zhou Tian City, they all restrained their profound energy, even flying exceptionally slowly.
Arriving at the spectator area of the Feng Shen Platform, these people carefully landed and took their seats. Of course, their seating was by no means random; on the contrary, it was extremely strict. Each section of seats bore a glaring profound light, and within that light was engraved the name of a different star realm. The seats of guests from the same star realm were all gathered together, never mixed.
Moreover, the seats for upper star realms, middle star realms, and lower star realms were completely separated, with clear demarcations.
For the Xuan Shen Convention's invited spectators, upper star realms could bring up to three thousand people, middle star realms up to five hundred people, and lower star realms could only bring up to a hundred.
As for king realms, they could naturally bring as many as they wished.
The north was the seating for upper star realms, the south for middle star realms, and the west for lower star realms.
The east seating was exclusively for the Four Great King Realms.
When the various Xuan adepts arrived, they all carefully avoided the eastern seating, not daring to fly above it or even approach it.
This undoubtedly demonstrated the absolute power and absolute deterrence of the king realms.
More and more people flew in, and the three seating sections were no longer completely empty. The Zhou Tian Realm's invitations had always been exceptionally "stingy." For this invited audience, all upper star realms combined could only bring at most 1.4 million people.
The number of middle star realms was several times that of upper star realms, but their total number of people barely reached a million.
Lower star realms were the most numerous, but their invited numbers were the smallest, only a few hundred thousand.
However, there was no doubt that everyone who could come here was a top figure from their respective star realms—either a realm king, a hegemon, someone of noble status, or someone of high standing.
Nevertheless, these figures who dominated their own star realms all spoke carefully and restrained their aura upon arriving at the Zhou Tian Realm. The Feng Shen Platform was crowded with experts, yet it was completely silent. The king realms had not yet arrived, so no one was making noise.
After a while, all the seats imprinted with profound light were filled. The various star realms arrived on time, and only then did it begin to get a bit lively. They greeted each other, probed each other, praised each other. Those with grudges dared not start trouble here, but they couldn't avoid glaring at each other or making sarcastic remarks.
With the king realms not yet present, the upper star realms naturally held sway. The upper star realms in the northern seats looked down on the southern and western seats with arrogance, while the lower star realms at the bottom were undoubtedly the most cautious. Yet they bore no resentment or dissatisfaction; instead, they took it for granted. This was a world where the strong were honored. When facing upper and middle star realms, those born in lower star realms could only show humility.
"Feixue and the others should be back at the Yin Xue Realm by now." At the Yin Xue Realm's seating, Mu Huanzhi remarked casually. It was clear that he was not in a bad mood. Mu Feixue's final ranking in the preliminaries was still around 500,000, which far exceeded his expectations, so he was naturally delighted.
"I'm afraid Yun Che... might have stayed behind." Mu Bingyun said worriedly.
"Oh? Why?" Mu Huanzhi frowned.
"He has always hoped to see the Zhou Tian Divine Realm. That was his main purpose in joining the Xuan Shen Convention. I didn't expect that after being eliminated, he would be directly expelled. He probably won't accept it easily." Mu Bingyun said. Regretting not having chosen to bring him into the Zhou Tian Realm as an invited spectator was already too late.
"There's nothing to be done about that. Who would dare defy the rules of the Zhou Tian Divine Realm?" Mu Huanzhi said, then showed a puzzled expression. "Is this the reason for your constant anxiety?"
Mu Bingyun shook her head and said nothing.
She was certain that, given Yun Che's temperament, he wouldn't easily give up. She feared he might act impulsively and do something unwise.
She hoped he could accept it for now. There would always be a way. Mu Bingyun sighed inwardly.
Yun Che had killed Wu Guike at the last moment, causing his ranking to soar. But in the previous month, his soul orb had been zero, clearly not even entering the battlefield. So Mu Bingyun and the others naturally wouldn't bother checking his battle results anymore, assuming he had been eliminated.
"The second preliminary battle has been going on for quite a while. For that thousand 'Chosen One' spots, it's bound to be extremely brutal," Mu Huanzhi said. "Unfortunately, there's no Star Monument here, so we can't see the battle situation."
"Heh, anyway, it has nothing to do with us anymore." Mu Tanzhi said with a slightly self-deprecating laugh.
"Sect Master Huo, the Zhou Tian Realm has sent word that there's a major matter concerning the future of the Eastern Domain to discuss. Have you heard any news?" Mu Huanzhi asked Huo Rulie, who was not far away.
The Yin Xue Realm and the Yan Shen Realm's seating were adjacent. But unlike the calm and peaceful atmosphere of the Yin Xue Realm, the Yan Shen Realm—from its two sect masters and elders down to the accompanying disciples—all had ruddy faces and shining eyes. Even Yan Juehai, known for his steady temperament, had a constant beaming smile.
As for Huo Rulie, his mouth was stretched wide open and hadn't closed since the beginning. If a passerby saw him at that moment, they would never believe he was the master of a middle star realm sect—they'd think he was mentally ill.
When Mu Huanzhi asked him a question, he didn't even hear it, still grinning foolishly. When his gaze met that of the upper star realm people opposite him, he not only didn't back down but held his head high—his disciple had ranked in the top 100 of the entire Eastern Domain in the preliminaries! He could beat at least 80% of the upper star realms! Why should he be afraid of them!?
Yan Juehai glanced at Huo Rulie and smiled, answering on his behalf: "We have no news either, but it should be revealed soon."
Mu Huanzhi nodded and cupped his hands toward Yan Juehai. "Congratulations again."
For this unusual Xuan Shen Convention, the various anomalies in the Zhou Tian Realm, along with certain rumors that had been circulating for a long time, had led everyone present to have some guesses about the "major matter" mentioned by the Zhou Tian Divine Realm.
After a long while, three figures suddenly appeared at the horizon, flying towards the Feng Shen Platform. As they approached, several low exclamations rang out.
"It's the Tianji Three Elders!"
These were three elderly men of considerable age, all with white hair and white beards, wearing identical jade-colored robes.
These three elders were the famous Tianji Three Elders of the Eastern Domain, the most authoritative and respected figures in the Tianji Realm.
Mo Yu, Mo Wen, Mo Zhi.
"So the Tianji Realm has finally arrived. And it seems... only three of them?" Mu Tanzhi said.
"Heh, the Tianji Three Elders all coming—isn't that enough?" Mu Huanzhi chuckled.
The Tianji Three Elders arrived above the Feng Shen Platform, nodded slightly to the crowd in greeting, and then, to everyone's astonishment, took their seats in the eastern seating area.
"The eastern seating? Actually the eastern seating? This..." The experts of the various realms looked at each other in shock and confusion.
Although the Tianji Realm held a special status among the upper star realms, especially the Tianji Three Elders, who were greatly respected even by the realm kings of the Four Great King Realms, the eastern seating of the Feng Shen Platform had always been exclusive to the king realms, with no exceptions. This time, the Tianji Realm was actually allowed to sit there.
"It seems that this 'major matter' is definitely related to the Tianji Realm," Yan Juehai said. Thinking of a certain half-real, half-false rumor from years ago, he fell into contemplation.
At that moment, Huo Rulie suddenly said, "I heard by chance some time ago that the Tianji Three Elders, in violating ancestral precepts over the years and excessively prying into the heavenly secrets, have suffered severe damage to their lifespans under heavenly punishment. The remaining lifespan of all three is less than a mere hundred years."
"I thought it was just a false rumor before, but looking at their condition now..." Sensing the clearly abnormal life force of the Tianji Three Elders from afar, Huo Rulie slowly nodded. "It seems to be true."
After arriving, the Tianji Three Elders all sat with their eyes closed in meditation, silent as three withered trees.
Half an hour passed, and the wind at the Feng Shen Platform suddenly stopped.
The clouds in the sky, which had been moving with the wind, also froze completely. Then, like ripples on water, they began to slowly undulate. A gentle, mild aura, like a soft breeze brushing against the body, gradually spread from afar.
In an instant, the entire Feng Shen Platform fell silent. All sounds seemed to be swallowed into the gaps of space. In the next moment, from the four seating areas and the eight directions of the star realms, everyone stood up in unison. Those young Xuan adepts who were still dazed were quickly pulled to their feet by their elders.
"Hehe, this old one has arrived late. Everyone has waited long."
Amid the rolling clouds, the figure of an old man materialized. He wore the simplest gray plain clothes, his face was kind and gentle, his smile as refreshing as the wind. He descended slowly from the air.
But this seemingly ordinary and gentle old man made the overlords of the various realms in the Eastern Domain look up with admiration, bow their waists, and salute in unison.
"We pay homage to Zhou Tian Shen Di!"
The shout was perfectly uniform, without the use of profound energy, yet it shook the very sky. It even made the accompanying young Xuan adepts tremble in shock.
Zhou... Tian... Shen... Di!?
He was one of the four king realm kings, the supreme ruler of the Zhou Tian Divine Realm, the mythical Zhou Tian Shen Di!?
They had been looking forward to this day for a long time, but when this myth truly appeared in their field of vision, they felt an overwhelming sense of unreality... They couldn't believe that they had really seen this legendary figure with their own eyes.
Behind Zhou Tian Shen Di, a thousand people followed. The aura of these thousand people was so powerful that even the realm kings of the upper star realms dared not look directly at them.
Because they were the "Guardians" and "Arbiters" of the Zhou Tian Divine Realm.
The Arbiters were special beings within the Zhou Tian Divine Realm used to sanction those people or star realms who had committed heinous crimes or serious errors.
The Guardians, though far fewer in number than the Arbiters, held a status in the Zhou Tian Realm and the Eastern Domain equivalent to the Star Gods of the Star God Realm and the Moon Gods of the Moon God Realm. Any one of them was a terrifyingly powerful figure that even the realm kings of upper star realms had to bow before. They were, aside from the Zhou Tian Pearl, the most powerful force and most important cornerstone of the Zhou Tian Divine Realm.
"Everyone has traveled a long way and waited for a month. You must be very tired. Please, be seated. There is no need for such formality." Zhou Tian Shen Di lightly landed on the main seat of the eastern seating area, raised his hand with a smile, his demeanor and words devoid of any arrogance. His eyes, which were beginning to show signs of age, were as clear as a pool of pure water, deep and transparent.
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