Chapter 1233 – The Great Road Before Us

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After the red-clothed martial artist was eliminated, more and more people began to fall.

In fact, many people had already reached their limit. They were putting forth all of their strength and forcefully persisting because none of them wanted to be the first loser.

Now that someone had already fallen and been eliminated, it was much easier to admit defeat.

Thus, just a bit later, these people all began to follow in falling down from the 100,000 foot cliff.

At the moment before they hit the ground, an invisible energy wrapped around them and ejected them from the Divine Seal Altar.

Soon, several hundred martial artists were eliminated. But compared to the several hundred thousand martial artists competing, this was only a very small number.

99.99% of the martial artists were able to make it up the second step of the Divine Seal Altar.

And at this time, Lin Ming had reached the second step.

The air around him distorted and a martial artist in loose yellow robes appeared in front of him. This person had blurry facial features and grasped a long sword. From their true essence fluctuations, one could sense they were at the late Divine Sea realm.

Of course, this spirit body’s strength was far more formidable than an ordinary late Divine Sea martial artist’s.

This was Lin Ming’s second battle!

Lin Ming’s eyes were calm and serene. To him, this wasn’t a challenge at all. He flicked 10 fingers and 10 spear lights shot out, piercing through 10 vital areas of the yellow-clothed martial artist. With a light ringing sound, the yellow-clothed martial artist exploded in a shower of light.

The spear light had been too fast; the spirit body didn’t have any time to respond!

𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

“Another instant kill!”

“Too fierce! Lin Ming hasn’t even brought out his weapon yet. He’s only using his fingers to lash out with spear lights and that’s more than enough to instantly kill these spirit bodies.”

“Lin Ming is too strong. He can sweep away 99% of the Great World King Holy Land geniuses! I wonder just where his limit is.”

More and more people were noticing Lin Ming.

And at the base of the Divine Seal Altar, the twin girls also turned to Lin Ming.

“The third group’s Lin Ming was also able to instantly kill the spirit body of the second step. Although his climbing speed isn’t too quick, his combat strength is in no way weaker than that of the martial artists of the first group. Lin Ming can potentially be a great contender! He is a great dark horse! And, what is most mysterious is that his background is only a peak Holy Land – the Ancient Phoenix Clan. He is far from coming from a Great World King Holy Land!”

The twin girls’ voices echoed through the entire audience. To be specifically introduced out of the hundreds of thousands of geniuses, that was truly a magnificent glory!

This was especially true for the Ancient Phoenix Clan. To be able to be mentioned in association, this sort of great honor was mostly reserved for the Great World King Holy Lands. Yet, their Ancient Phoenix Clan had been able to accomplish the same!

The disciples of the Ancient Phoenix Clan were all boiling with pride!

They cheered with everything they had. They cheered for Lin Ming, they cheered for the Ancient Phoenix Clan!

At this time, the martial artists of the Ancient Dragon Clan, Kirin Clan, and Roc Clan, all felt their hearts twist with envy. They were also God Beast Clans but the disparity was too obvious.

“Haha, today we have truly earned enough face! Yan Fengxian, you have done a wonderful merit in bringing Lin Ming from the lower realms!” Huo Violentstone said to Fairy Feng. Yan Fengxian was Fairy Feng’s original name; Fairy Feng was merely a nickname she adopted in the past. With Huo Violentstone’s status, he was naturally able to refer to her with her full name.

Fairy Feng smiled and said, “When I received Lin Ming and brought him to the Divine Realm, even I didn’t imagine that he would have such results as he does now. I first saw Lin Ming at Timeworn Phoenix City when he was participating in the king level smelting trial. At that time, his talent was far from being comparable to what it is now. No one could have imagined that his future accomplishments would be so marvelous. His growth is truly mind-boggling.”

“Indeed. I never would have expected that my Phoenix Cry Palace would be able to receive such a prodigious talent.”

A red-clothed old man spoke up from beside Huo Violentstone. He was the Palace Master of Phoenix Cry Palace, Lian Zhen. As an older Palace Master, Lian Zhen had been closed up in seclusion for these past years. He was hoping he could make another martial arts breakthrough before his life ended.

Lian Zhen stroked his beard, a happy smile on his face. Although Lin Ming wasn’t related to him in any special way and today was also the first time he saw Lin Ming, no matter what anyone else said, Lin Ming still came from his Phoenix Cry Palace.

“Haha, well, regardless of how it is, Yan Fengxian you have truly made great contributions! That’s right, Lian Zhen, after another 180 years or so you should retire.”

Huo Violentstone suddenly said to Lian Zhen.

Lian Zhen immediately understood Huo Violentstone’s intentions. As for Fairy Feng, she felt her heart tighten. She realized just what Huo Violentstone was implying. This caused her hands to tighten against her legs and her breaths to become shallow.

Had the moment she had been waiting for finally arrived?

“Mm, that sounds right. I still have about 10,000 years of life left. Although the chances aren’t too great, I want to struggle as much as I can to reach the middle Holy Lord realm. Once I retire, I will enter my last life or death closed door seclusion…”

Lian Zhen sighed. He looked towards all the geniuses on the Divine Seal Altar. In the future, nearly all of those juniors climbing up would have greater achievements than he would ever hope to have.

Even those that had already been eliminated were likely to become Holy Lords.

But as for him, his life was already on the decline. This was an inevitable truth that caused a dim feeling in his heart.

Huo Violentstone wasn’t young. As he heard Lian Zhen’s thoughts, he too felt empathy in his heart. He said, “Us martial arts cultivators must struggle with the heavens every day of our lives. Although we have power to control the world, we cannot resist the passing of time. Once our time is over, we too will turn to ashes and all of our life’s cultivation will turn to nothing. No one is willing to accept this, but this is the choice that we made during our youth. We risk our lives, blazing our trail on the road of martial arts, uncovering new mysteries and new worlds – this is what drives us! Life or death closed door seclusion is also a good choice. If you wholeheartedly devote your life to your cultivation then you might be able to make another breakthrough.”

As Huo Violentstone mentioned the predestined death that all martial artists would meet sooner or later, even he felt a bit heavy. This was the burden of the old.

“Even if I make another breakthrough I’ll only be able to live out a sorry existence for several more years.” Lian Zhen ruefully smiled. He was much older than Huo Violentstone.

“Elder Huo, are you mentioning this because you wish to inquire about the next candidate to become Palace Master of Phoenix Cry Palace?” Lian Zhen asked without any hesitation.

“Yes.” Huo Violentstone nodded. With his position as Highest Elder, he indeed had the authority to decide who the successor to become Palace Master would be. However, he also had to respect Lian Zhen’s opinions. Although Lian Zhen’s status was much lower than his, he was still at a very high ranking position. From this alone, he had to at least discuss this with him.

“I wish to choose Yan Fengxian.” Huo Violentstone directly stated.

Even though Fairy Feng had already prepared herself for this, she still found it difficult to maintain her composure upon hearing it. She was a woman with high ambitions. Otherwise, with her origin as a humble commoner, she would never have struggled with Xiao Jiuyang, who was deeply ingrained in the politics of Phoenix Cry Palace, for the position of Palace Master successor.

Once one became Palace Master, they could control all resources of a branch palace. There was no comparison in the treatment between a Palace Master and Vice Palace Master; it would be greatly beneficial to her future cultivation.

However, Fairy Feng knew that her chances of succeeding were extremely slim. This was because not only did Xiao Jiuyang have the support of one of the Ancient Phoenix Clan’s three great families, the Xiao Family, he also had the support of countless figures in Phoenix Cry Palace. Moreover, even his strength was faintly beyond her own!

In this situation, it was extremely difficult for Fairy Feng to win!

But, she never imagined that this day would truly arrive. With Huo Violentstone speaking on her behalf, her success was assured!

It had to be known that she herself was a half-step Holy Lord, just a bit away from stepping into the true Holy Lord realm. The difference was only a single step away. If she was cemented as the successor to become Palace Master, then the Ancient Phoenix Clan would naturally approve more resources for her and she would easily be able to break into the Holy Lord realm. This was because the rules of the Ancient Phoenix Clan stated that all Palace Masters of the 72 branch palaces needed to be at the early Holy Lord realm!

Lian Zhen laughed. “Fengxian is so young and yet she’s already a half-step Holy Lord. She is likely to become a Holy Lord within the next 100 years! As long as she can break through into the Holy Lord realm, then with all reason Fengxian can naturally become my successor. With Elder Huo speaking for her, her position is guaranteed. It’s just that… Elder Huo, Jiuyang is also a good boy. I hope that Elder Huo can find a suitable position for him.”

Xiao Jiuyang was an important figure of the Xiao Family. Lian Zhen was intelligent, he naturally wasn’t willing to offend the Xiao Family.

Huo Violentstone said, “I will also help arrange Xiao Jiuyang in a similar position. That’s right, Yan Fengxian, you can also come to the Ancient Phoenix Clan Headquarters if you wish. If you are willing, headquarters will make sure to give you a position that is in no way inferior to Palace Master of Phoenix Cry Palace.”

“This junior would like to stay at Phoenix Cry Palace.”

Fairy Feng didn’t hesitate for long before she replied. Phoenix Cry Palace was her roots, her very foundation. She also had many disciples and supporters there, so how could she leave so easily?

Moreover, becoming the Palace Master of Phoenix Cry Palace had been a long-cherished wish of hers; she naturally couldn’t give up.

“Good, then this matter has been decided. Yan Fengxian, you must train hard. If the deadline for succession arrives and you still haven’t stepped into the Holy Lord realm then even I won’t be able to do anything. However, headquarters will support your cultivation as much as they can!”

Huo Violentstone’s word was the same as a royal decree. Although Huo Violentstone’s temper and character were well known by all, he was a trustworthy character that was good to his word. If he said something, few would doubt him.

“Thank you Elder Huo.” Fairy Feng said. Originally even without the support of the sect she still wouldn’t have needed a hundred years to become a Holy Lord. But now there definitely wasn’t a problem.

At this time, Fairy Feng’s mood was extremely complex. She never would have thought that all of this would happen one day. When she brought Lin Ming up to the Divine Realm and received him as her disciple, she only thought that she was training a useful supporter. She thought that she would need to train him for a hundred years before he would be of help to her. But now, just after several years, because of Lin Ming alone, she was directly recommended by a Highest Elder to become the Palace Master of Phoenix Cry Palace!

Destiny was truly far too marvelous.

……….

Lin Ming began climbing up to the third level of the Divine Seal Altar. The pace he climbed at was steady and stable, as if nothing could stop him.

And at this time, the two twin girls at the base of the Divine Seal Altar shouted out, “A top 100 ranked master of the Divine Seal Decree, the black-clothed youth that wields a mighty sword, the man named Fang, has now instantly struck down the spirit body of the second level! There are truly far too many masters at these semifinals!

“Fang is the same as Lin Ming. Their climbing speed isn’t too great but their combat strength is extraordinary. The two of them are simply the exact same. Moreover, they both come from the True Martial Great World, what an amazing coincidence. I think that they might even be good friends!”

The two twin girls said. They alternated in speaking between words, making their words seem extremely interesting to listen to.

“Fang’s background is also confusing, even stranger than Lin Ming’s! He is a free martial artist, in other words a wandering martial artist! Heavens! A wandering martial artist! That is simply unbelievable. I guess that he should have a powerful master backing him up that doesn’t wish to be known, otherwise it’s simply impossible for someone to arrive at this level!”

Only the south and east sides of the Divine Seal Altar had martial artists climbing to the top. Dragon Fang was on a different side of the Divine Seal Altar, thus he and Lin Ming naturally didn’t see each other.

As the two of them heard the words of the twin girls, they both faintly smiled. Even though the two competed against each other, they could also clearly understand each other. The two twin girls were indeed correct: this Divine Realm First Martial Meeting was filled with countless masters all around. Even Lin Ming didn’t dare to guess just how far he would be able to go. Just Dragon Fang alone was an unfathomable opponent. Moreover, behind him were several Empyrean descendants.

But, the more intense the competition was, the more heated Lin Ming became!