Chapter 428: Change in Schedule
The time for the ranking battle to begin had arrived, but the seats of the Huangji Sacred Domain were still empty. Feng Hengkong did not announce the start of the ranking battle; instead, he gazed upward... If the other three Sacred Grounds were late, he could choose not to wait, but for the Huangji Sacred Domain, he had to wait.
He did not have to wait long. An aged and gentle voice came from high above.
"Alas... I, Gu, am late due to some matters, keeping you all waiting. I am deeply ashamed, deeply ashamed."
The voice was ethereal and long, as if coming from the horizon. At the same time, a gentle and vast aura descended from the sky, enveloping the entire arena. This aura, extremely profound, instantly reminded people of the ocean, the starry sky, the abyss... boundless and immeasurable.
"Emperor Lord!" Yun Che heard Mo Li's slightly surprised voice in his mind.
Yun Che's spirit jolted.
Emperor Lord!? The person coming is an Emperor Lord!?
It was already very unusual for a Sacred Ground to send a Young Palace Master... Why would they send an Emperor Lord!
On the Tian Xuan Continent, the Divine Xuan Realm was a myth, a dream realm that humans were said to be utterly incapable of reaching. The Lord Xuan Realm was the absolute peak of this world, and an Emperor Lord was the undisputed highest monarch of the entire Tian Xuan Continent! Moreover, Emperor Lords existed only in the Sacred Grounds and the Fenghuang God Sect, and even there, they were extremely rare.
At this Seven Nations Ranking Battle, Yun Che felt he had truly broadened his horizons. Although they belonged to the same continent, the Shenhuang Empire and the Cang Feng Kingdom were like two completely different worlds. In the Cang Feng Kingdom, the King Xuan Realm was an insurmountable limit, but here, King Xuan were everywhere, Overlord Emperors ran rampant, and now an Emperor Lord had even appeared!
At that moment, a figure slowly descended from the air. It was an old man in a light yellow robe, holding a horsetail whisk. He had white hair and a white beard, an immortal air, and a gentle countenance, like an ascetic immortal about to rise to the heavens.
When the people from the other three Sacred Grounds arrived, Feng Hengkong only stood up to greet them. But this time, he left his seat directly and strode forward quickly, followed by a group of elders including Feng Feiyan, who also left their seats and followed behind.
Feng Hengkong quickly arrived before the old man, bowed respectfully, and said, "This junior, Feng Hengkong of the Fenghuang God Sect, pays respects to True Person Gu Cang."
Among the Four Sacred Grounds, the Huangji Sacred Domain was supreme. The old man before him was a figure at the level of Supreme Elder in the Huangji Sacred Domain, and even the Holy Emperor would yield to him with courtesy. Moreover, the Fenghuang God Sect had always maintained the closest communication and interaction with the Huangji Sacred Domain. Although it was not obvious, the Fenghuang God Sect had indeed always shown an inclination to align with the Huangji Sacred Domain.
True Person Gu Cang showed no sign of the authority or airs of a Sacred Ground's Supreme Elder. He flicked his horsetail whisk, returned the bow, and said with a chuckle, "Gu's lateness due to some matters is truly a sin. I hope the Phoenix Sect Master will forgive me."
Feng Hengkong said, "True Person Gu Cang, you are too kind. Your personal presence is already the greatest honor for my Fenghuang God Sect... Oh? This junior recalls that True Person Gu Cang was supposed to bring a disciple along. Why..."
"Hehe." True Person Gu Cang smiled faintly. "Gu did indeed bring a disciple, intending for him to gain experience by witnessing the ranking battle and exploring the Primordial Mystic Ark. Unexpectedly, he happened to meet an old acquaintance in Phoenix City, so he left this old fellow to come alone, hahahaha."
"I see. To be accepted as a closed-door disciple by True Person Gu Cang, your disciple must surely be of extraordinary talent. Please, True Person Gu Cang." Feng Hengkong extended his hand, indicating the seats of the Huangji Sacred Domain.
As True Person Gu Cang took his seat, Ling Kun, Ye Xinghan, and even Ji Qianrou all stood up, their expressions serious, and respectfully performed a junior's salute. This action stirred something in Yun Che's heart. It was clear just how high True Person Gu Cang's status was within the Huangji Sacred Domain.
The people from the Four Sacred Grounds were now all assembled. The venue fell into silence. This Seven Nations Ranking Battle was finally about to begin.
With a glance from Feng Hengkong, the great elder of the Fenghuang God Sect, Feng Feiyan, leaped up and flew to the center of the arena. A majestic and clear phoenix cry rang out from his body, and then a soaring flame erupted, shooting up dozens of zhang high, drawing everyone's eyes firmly to him.
Feng Feiyan looked around and announced in a clear voice, "I am Feng Feiyan, the lead elder of the Fenghuang God Sect. It is my honor to greet the heroes and young talents of the world. On behalf of the Fenghuang God Sect, I thank all the friends who have traveled from afar to grace Phoenix City. This is the thirty-ninth Seven Nations Ranking Battle of our Tian Xuan Continent, and I, Feng Feiyan, will preside over it in its entirety, with the distinguished guests of the Four Sacred Grounds as witnesses! The Seven Nations Ranking Battle, held once every twenty-five years, is a contest of profound strength among the young talents of our seven nations, a battle to make one's name resound across Tian Xuan and to promote national prestige..."
"Wow! The great elder himself is presiding! Huh? Why is the great elder presiding?" Feng Zhanyun said in surprise. Clearly, he had not known in advance that the great elder would personally preside over this ranking battle. Even if someone had told him earlier, he probably wouldn't have believed it, because in the past, the Seven Nations Ranking Battle was at most presided over by a low-ranking elder.
"Could there be some special reason for this ranking battle?" Feng Zhanyun muttered softly.
Apart from the Supreme Elders and the Snow Princess, Feng Feiyan's status in the Fenghuang God Sect was second only to Feng Hengkong. Even the Crown Prince, Feng Ximing, had to treat him with utmost respect. The fact that he was personally presiding over this Seven Nations Ranking Battle surprised even a few of the Sacred Ground representatives. The audience in the seats held their breath, gazing up at Feng Feiyan with reverence and respect, every word he spoke resounding like thunder.
A great elder presiding personally versus an ordinary elder or hall master presiding—these were entirely different concepts. People could vaguely sense something unusual in the air. Indeed, after reading the opening remarks, Feng Feiyan suddenly raised his eyes and pointed upward: "Everyone, look up. That sky-covering giant shadow above is the Primordial Mystic Ark, which appears once every three hundred years and hides unknown mysteries!"
"The Primordial Mystic Ark has always appeared in the sky above our Phoenix City, and historically, only our Shenhuang Empire has had the privilege of exploring it. But this time, our Sect Master, with a broad and generous heart, wishes to share the opportunity to board the Primordial Mystic Ark with friends from the other six nations and explore its secrets together. In this ranking battle, the top three contestants will each be able to select three people to join the exploration of the Primordial Mystic Ark."
Although it was said to be the top three, everyone knew that the first place would undoubtedly go to the Fenghuang God Sect. Therefore, the number of people from the six nations fortunate enough to board the Primordial Mystic Ark would be at most two nations and six people.
"However," Feng Feiyan suddenly changed his tone, "just a few days ago, our sect suddenly discovered that the profound mark at the main gate of the Primordial Mystic Ark had loosened ahead of schedule, meaning that the main gate will open four days earlier than originally calculated!"
"Oh?" Several people from the Sacred Grounds all raised their brows.
"Four days earlier? That means the Primordial Mystic Ark will open tomorrow?" Ye Xinghan said in a low voice.
"That should be the case... No wonder this Feng Feiyan is personally presiding over this ranking battle. There has indeed been a change." Ling Kun also said in a low voice. "If I'm not mistaken, this ranking battle is going to be concluded early."
Feng Feiyan continued, "Our sect originally decided that the exploration of the Primordial Mystic Ark would begin the day after the ranking battle ended, but now the Primordial Mystic Ark will open ahead of schedule—tomorrow! Each time, the Primordial Mystic Ark opens for only twelve hours. These twelve hours come only once every three hundred years, so not a single moment can be wasted! However, the Fenghuang God Sect has spoken, and our word is as good as gold—we will not go back on our promise. Therefore, in order to jointly explore the Primordial Mystic Ark tomorrow, the schedule of this ranking battle will inevitably be greatly compressed... The top three must be decided within today!"
Whoosh!!!!
As soon as Feng Feiyan's words fell, the entire arena erupted in uproar. Everyone understood clearly: the Primordial Mystic Ark would open early... and at the same time, this ranking battle would be compressed into a single day—that is, today!
In previous ranking battles, the schedule had always lasted at least five days, without exception. It was a competition among seventy top young powerhouses from seven nations, each round involving round-robin battles. Even with a five-day schedule, it was often packed, and extensions were common. A single day was simply impossible.
The participants, as well as the emperors and overlords of the various nations, all changed expression drastically... The Seven Nations Ranking Battle was a matter of national importance. Its outcome determined a nation's status and glory for the next twenty-five years. For this battle, every nation had prepared with all its might for several years in advance, sparing no expense in using up accumulated treasures over more than twenty years... For those young participants, this ranking battle was the highest stage to showcase themselves and the best opportunity to make their names known throughout the world! If the original five-day schedule was truly compressed into one day... their time to shine would undoubtedly be compressed by a full eighty percent!
Such a drastic reduction—how could they be willing to accept it?
As for the over three million spectators who had gone to great lengths to gain admission, they had been expecting to enjoy a full five days of peak battles, only to have it reduced to a single day. Naturally, they were extremely displeased.
"So that's why the great elder had to preside personally," Yun Che muttered to himself. "It was to use the great elder's authority to suppress any potential chaos. Compressing the schedule to one day..." As he muttered, his brows twitched slightly, and a sense of foreboding arose in his heart.
The sudden explosion of noise in the arena was within the Fenghuang God Sect's expectations. Feng Feiyan's expression remained unchanged, and his voice suddenly rose several octaves: "Although the schedule has been forced to shorten, please rest assured. This Seven Nations Battle will still be absolutely fair and just! In fact... it will be even fairer and more just than the dozens of previous editions! It will determine the true strength ranking of our seven nations without any deviation!"
Feng Feiyan's words left everyone stunned... Compressing a five-day schedule into one day would actually make it fairer?
Feng Feiyan continued, "In previous Seven Nations Ranking Battles, the seventy young talents battled in turns, round after round, with the final ranking determined by the highest rank achieved by each nation's participants. However, this method emphasizes the strength of a nation's top powerhouses. But in reality, what truly demonstrates a nation's strength should be the overall capability of all its participants. Therefore, in this year's ranking battle, we will cancel the individual battles and switch to team battles! In each match, all participants from both sides must take the field together!"
Another wave of heated discussion and uproar swept through the arena. Yun Che's eyes widened as he stared at Feng Feiyan with a hardened expression, and he cursed fiercely under his breath:
"Damn it!!"