Chapter 1305: The Final Ten

Xiao Qing raised her head and looked up at the few who already stood at the top of their own flight of stairs. None of them was someone who should be trifled with, were they?

Lu Yin shot an intense stare at Xiao Qing from the top of the stairs. He could not comprehend just how she had been able to control that many martial prints. Furthermore, Lu Yin knew that Bu Kong’s slowed movements at the end of their battle had to have had something to do with Xiao Qing. Had that been her innate gift? Or had that been a battle technique?

Regardless, the majority of the audience had not yet registered the fact that Bu Kong had been defeated.

The effects of the last battle rippled down and affected the various large bookmakers, and many of them just simply disappeared with their money.

The crowd of cultivators from the Sixth Mainland were too shocked to even speak. One of the Daosource Three Skies had been defeated, and it was like someone had taken away their shelter from a storm.

Wu Taibai smiled at Xiao Qing and said, “Congratulations.”

Xiao Qing thanked him and looked up at Lu Yin. “Do me a favor, will you? Let me stay on the stairs a bit longer.”

Lu Yin let out a small laugh and shifted his focus over to Zhi Yi.

That one of Daosource Three Skies glared at Xiao Qing with true hostility. As the Daosource Three Skies, she, Bu Kong, and Wu Taibai were not only fighting for the opportunity that would be received by winning ZENITH, but were also paving the way for the Sixth Mainland to overpower the Fifth Mainland in the future. Bu Kong’s strength was without question, but the fact that he had been defeated by Xiao Qing through her ambush tactics had destroyed their initial plans.

This woman had managed to defeat Bu Kong by sneak attacks, but her strength would prove inadequate if she tried to match up to the others.

Trouble was brewing.

Far away, under another flight of stairs, Jin He and Unseen Light were fighting.

Both of them were part of the Ten Arbiters, so seeing them together was something that was both familiar and new. Their battle had garnered a great deal of attention from people.

However, many were even more curious about the match between Bai Mai and Liquor Hero, where things were truly rather creepy.

Liquor Hero had used a drop of wine to successfully trap Bai Mai.

As a bug that had fed off of the corpses of Progenitor level powerhouses, Bai Mai was able to eat anything, and nothing could stop it. Even Yao Xuan was wary of Bai Mai due to the carrion bug’s ability to eat even spiritual force.

Yao Xuan was fully confident that anyone matched up against Bai Mai would have a hard time.

Not only did Bai Mai possess a mouth with teeth that could eat through everything, it also had unparalleled defense. From how Yao Xuan saw things, Bai Mai’s physical defenses were certainly comparable to Wen Sansi’s barrier.

The crown prince had once traded blows with Bai Mai before heading to ZENITH, and Bai Mai had been difficult to beat; extremely difficult. Yao Xuan’s greatest struggle had been injuring Bai Mai, and that beetle the size of a fingernail had been a troublesome opponent even for him.

However, Bai Mai had just been trapped by a single drop of wine.

Liquor Hero was blurry-eyed as she snickered while Bai Mai frantically scurried about within the drop of wine like it had gone crazy. Drops of wine would appear in whichever direction it tried to flee, and slowly, the drop of wine that encased it formed something like a maze suspended in the air. No matter how Bai Mai tried to find its way out, its efforts were futile. All its scurrying did not help it find an exit.

Others stared in awe, but the ones who were able to truly comprehend what they were seeing felt chills instead.

That was Creation-level manipulation of star energy. Though Bai Mai appeared to be trapped inside a droplet of wine, it was experiencing something that was more like being in another world altogether. It was an utterly terrifying scene that seemed to disturb even Shang Qing.

It was not that Liquor Hero’s abilities surpassed Shang Qing’s, but that her control of star energy was absolutely freakish. She was doing something that should not be possible for any youth, and Liquor Hero was guaranteed to far outstrip any other contestant’s control of star energy, and that included Shang Qing.

If Bai Mai were given more time, its ability to consume everything would surely allow it to break out of the drop of wine, but naturally, Liquor Hero did not give the carrion bug the time it needed. Through Liquor Hero’s deliberate guidance, Bai Mai gradually descended Zenith Mountain, and eventually arrived at the foot of the mountain. By the time the drop of wine was fully consumed, the insect had already been defeated.

Liquor Hero had not used force to defeat Bai Mai, but instead had simply led it onto the path of defeat. Bai Mai had become a puppet that Liquor Hero had controlled.

Yao Xuan’s expression turned cold. To think that such a method existed that countered Bai Mai. The bug had just been too unlucky, for if its opponent had not been Liquor Hero, but someone else, then it likely would not have suffered such an embarrassing loss. Even if had faced Shang Qing, Bai Mai would have had more opportunities to display its power.

Alas, bugs were bugs, and bugs were brainless.

Liquor Hero was still in a drunken haze as she staggered towards the stairs.

At this moment, the only pair still fighting to determine a victor was Unseen Light and Jin He.

Unseen Light’s attacks from his forcefield were weakened by Jin He’s Truesight, and earlier in their fight, and Unseen Light’s Black Coffin Secret Technique had also not managed to cause even the slightest bit of harm to Jin He.

Jin He had unleashed his strongest attack that he had used to defeat Fan Shun while using Truesight to diminish the power of the Black Coffin until it reached the point it could simply be ignored.

Secret techniques were created by Progenitors, and the Black Coffin had come from the Sixth Mainland’s Ancestor Black. It was an incredibly strong and deadly secret technique, and yet this formidable secret technique had been reduced to nothing by Truesight.

There were ranks among Progenitors as well, and Ancestor Black had barely been considered a Progenitor level powerhouse from the Sixth Mainland, and he might not even have been as powerful as the current three Progenitors. Truesight, however, was something that had come from the Rune Progenitor, who had been a truly terrifying powerhouse whom history had not dared record. His remnant spiritual force had been what had counter-attacked the Sixth Mainland during their invasion, and had forced the Sixth Mainland to recognize the terror that such a peerless legend had risen from the Fifth Mainland.

According to what many knew, the Rune Progenitor and Progenitor Chen had been allies, and Ancestor Black had died at the hands of Progenitor Chen.

Once Truesight reached the Perception stage, it was able to completely disregard the Black Coffin Secret Technique, and also rendered all of Unseen Light’s methods futile. On the other side, Jin He was still able to produce more weapons and power vessels to use to attack.

Still, it was still extremely hard for Jin He to seize victory because Unseen Light’s predictive abilities left Jin He unsure of where to focus his attacks. This was the reason why the two were still at a stalemate despite fighting for so long.

One was up against the nigh-unbeatable Truesight, while the other did not know where to attack since the opponent could predict attacks.

Jin He tried to close the distance between him and Unseen Light, but failed despite he greatest efforts.

When fighting against Fan Shun, Jin He had exposed some of his strength, and even if the audience was not able to understand what he had done, Unseen Light knew better than to allow Jin He to get close no matter what.

“You’re so cautious,” Jin He complained while keeping his eyes on Unseen Light. Jin He’s long hair fell across his shoulders and flowed with the wind.

Unseen Light had opened his eyes and his domain had enveloped all of Zenith Mountain. Above their heads, an enormous forcefield had taken the form of Unseen Light himself and was attacking Jin He with a move of Unseen Light’s hand.

Jin He frowned. “That’s pointless.”

As he spoke, ripples appeared before him, and the attack from the forcefield was immediately weakened the moment it came in contact with the ripples.

Unseen Light’s domain was useless against Jin He, but still Unseen Light did not give up. He continued launching one attack after another with the intention of wearing Jin He out. Jin He had been injured during his earlier match with Fan Shun, and so a battle of endurance would not be to his advantage.

Lu Yin and the rest stopped watching the ongoing battle, as they all already knew just how strong the two Arbiters were.

Zhi Yi was the first person to reach the mountain peak. A large statue stood tall in the distance. She looked up at it and wondered whose face would appear on this statue in the end.

At that moment, Shang Qing appeared from another direction. He stood quietly in place also stared at the statue. Despite his typical calm disposition, he was also eager to see the statue take his image.

Before long, Yao Xuan, Lu Yin, and a few others slowly gathered at the peak. They all silently stood at the top of their stairs. At this moment, nine people had reached the top of Zenith Mountain.

There was only one spot remaining. The moment the fight between Unseen Light and Jin He was decided would be the moment that the top ten of ZENITH would be finalized.

There was no place to hide at the top of the mountain, and the nine people at the peak could fight anyone they wished, unlike before. This also meant that the battle within the top ten could end up as either one-on-one fights, or an open battle.

There was a whoosh as a large barrel of wine was thrown at Lu Yin.

Lu Yin caught it and Liquor Hero shot him a grin. “Drink up.”

Lu Yin laughed. “You’re still drinking at a time like this? You’re already in ZENITH’s top ten!”

Without giving any indication of caring, Liquor Hero simply tilted her head back and chugged down her wine.

Yao Xuan gave a light laugh. “Getting drunk isn’t too bad; at least you won’t be able to feel pain anymore.”

Liquor Hero lowered her wine barrel and looked at Yao Xuan as she chuckled. “Little bro, you know your stuff. What’s up? Do you also have a past you can’t let go of?”

Yao Xuan furrowed his brows; this woman had completely misunderstood him. He had been referring to the pain that was felt after being punched by someone. Why did he always end up being misunderstood?

Wu Taibai looked at Lu Yin and asked, “Brother Lu, what did the Thirteenth Sword feel like?”

Lu Yin shrugged. “I can’t remember.”

“It’s a shame that that person wasn’t able to borrow the power of the Thirteenth Sword,” Wu Taibai said regretfully.

Lu Yin smiled lightly. “You still might be able to experience it yourself.”

Wu Taibai was caught by surprise. “Is that so?”

“Deaf-mute Bro, are you looking to take the champion’s seat? I can help you,” Xiao Qing offered as she flashed Lu Yin a radiant smile.

Multiple people turned their heads when they heard what she had just said. Zhi Yi frowned and she coldly stared at Xiao Qing. “No one will think you’re a mute even if you keep your mouth shut.”

Xiao Qing antagonized the other woman, “Why? Is that something you’re unhappy about? Looks like the Daosource Three Skies aren’t that much after all.”

Zhi Yi grew furious.

Xiao Qing turned over towards Wu Taibai and said, “Mr. Bai, I was not referring to you. I could never beat you.”

Wu Taibai smiled. “Don’t worry. We Daosource Three Skies also fought our way up, and if we lose, we get pulled out.”

Lu Yin approached Xia Jiuyou. “How many clones have you merged?”

Everyone who heard Lu Yin’s question paid attention.

Xia Jiuyou indifferently replied, “That’s none of your business.”

Lu Yin pressed, “Can’t be that Xia Luo’s the only one left, right?”

Xia Jiuyou looked Lu Yin dead in the eye and said, “You only shared a brief friendship when classmates with Xia Luo. The true reason you’re stopping me from merging with him is because you’re afraid of the full power of the merged nine clones.”

Shang Qing’s voice was heard from the distance, “I would love for all nine clones to be merged as one so I could witness the invincible technique of ancient Progenitor Chen. But sadly, you fall far from Progenitor Chen’s standards.”

Xia Jiuyou’s eyes grew cold. “I’m still enough to deal with the likes of you.”

“Such confidence. It seems like the Nine Clones are really amazingly formidable. Why don’t we just take this guy down first?” Xiao Qing smiled brilliantly.

Xia Jiuyou glared at her, barely resisting the urge to stab her. She was blatantly sowing discord.

Lu Yin was of the same mind. “I agree. The Nine Clones Technique is a formidable battle technique created by Progenitor Chen. Who knows what type of special power nine clones generate after they’re all merged into one. Don’t let that guy steal the championship from use without us even realizing it.”

“Leave him to me,” Shang Qing said calmly.

Xiao Qing pouted. “Hey, you’re the one we should target first!”

Yao Xuan had been keeping his eyes on Lu Yin this entire time, as he had not forgotten Skymender’s mission.

Lu Yin had also been wary of Yao Xuan from the very beginning. The fellow had a troublesome character and would surely target Lu Yin.

As the group chatted with each other, Unseen Light and Jin He’s match finally ended.

In the end, Jin He lost. The damage he had suffered from fighting Fan Shun had been considerable, so he was not able to defeat Unseen Light after their fight became an endurance competition.

Step by step, Unseen Light made his way up the stairs and arrived at the peak of the mountain. At this moment, the top ten of ZENITH had been decided, and they were: Unseen Light, Wang Yi, Zhi Yi, Liquor Hero, Shang Qing, Lu Yin, Yao Xuan, Xia Jiuyou, Wu Taibai, and Xiao Qing. Four of the individuals who had most famously been predicted to end up among the final ten had been defeated before reaching the final stage. They were Bu Kong, Yuhua Mavis, Bai Mai, and Qiu Shi.

The predicted rankings were quite impressive since they had managed to accurately predict six of the ten finalists.

At this time, the Innerverse was particularly excited, because of the final ten in ZENITH, three were members of the Ten Arbiters. Two people from the Innerverse had managed to make it to the top ten, and also two of the Sixth Mainland’s legendary Daosource Three Skies had reached the final stage, while only one contestant from the Astral Beast Domain and one from the Technocracy had lasted to the end.

When looking at the numbers, just as many people from the Innerverse had reached ZENITH’s finals as from the Sixth Mainland; how could the Innerverse not be thrilled?

The Ten Arbiters essentially represented the Innerverse.

If it were not for the earlier round of the competition when four of the Ten Arbiters had been matched up against each other, there surely would have been more of the Ten Arbiters among the top ten.