Chapter 1287: Unbounded King

One man was guarded by nine dragons and giving off a domineering aura. It was as if the one true sovereign be it above the heavens or below the earth.

Another man was shining with a profound, thick and infinite light, harmonious and natural.

Fast like the wind, slow like the forest, invasive like fire, immovable like a mountain, imperceptible like the darkness, or earthshaking like thunder. That was how the duo moved across the arena. Every time their limbs crunched against one another, the earth shook, and the mountain trembled. Every time their forces mingled, the heaven sundered, and the ground split apart. And every time their wills clashed, the wind howled, and the thunder rumbled.

“Heaven and earth are boundless, the dragon soared the nine heavens...”

It was at this moment one man launched both of his palms forward and caused the nine dragons guarding him to soar at once into the nine heavens or the mountains and rivers. Those in the nine heavens were empowered by the light of the sun and the moon, whereas those in the ground were supported by countless spirits. Heaven and earth were boundless, and the arts infinite.

Despite facing down a palm strike of boundless heaven and earth, the man shining with profound light did not attempt to dodge out of the way. Instead, while the sun and moon were rising or falling inside his eyes, he barked out a laugh and said, “Well met!”

He threw a punch as soon as he finished.

Even before the fist intent appeared, the mountains and rivers were already shattering, and the sun and moon were sinking to the bottom.

When his fist intent did appear, it blew away every leaf and killed heaven and earth dead like the bitter wind of nine autumns.

Enveloped by the fist intent, the nine unbounded golden dragons grew dim like plants that had lost their roots; duckweeds with no ground to land on. They had no choice but to return to chaos and nothingness.

When the golden dragons returned to nothing, and the murderous fist intent slowly subsided, two men emerged from the cyclone of energies.

One man was looking pale and breathing erratically, though it did not impact his regal appearance in the slightest.

Another man was panting heavily and looking tattered and disheveled. His aura was also unstable and fluctuating rapidly from one point to another.

The regal-looking man spoke up first, “Your reputation is well-deserved, Mad Lord. It is my loss.”

“He lost! He lost? Yan Wuxie...

lost?!

”

“The Unbounded King was defeated? How... how is this possible?”

“This is impossible! This cannot be real!”

As soon as the regal-looking man admitted his defeat, an uproar immediately broke out below the platform.

If the regal-looking man was anyone else, the crowd would not have reacted so vehemently. After all, Ye Qing had arrived at noon and fought practically non-stop until now, defeating between thirty to fifty Great Truemen, Great Grandmasters or Half-Sages. He had taken out Earth Champions Ranking elites, geniuses of famous clans, and titans of the Dark Ways. He had even defeated the seventeenth-placed Heavenly Feather Coat Visitor, the fifteenth Dragon Elephant Monk, and even the thirteenth Undying Marquis.

The regal-looking man was different though. It was because he was the eighth warrior on the Earth Champions Ranking, the ‘Unbounded King’ Yan Wuxie.

The Earth Champions Ranking was split into three smaller rankings known as upper, middle, and bottom. The upper ranking was where the greatest champions resided, and the bottom ranking the weakest. However, the upper ranking could be further broken down into two categories. The eleventh to thirtieth champions belonged in one category, and the first to tenth champions belonged in another.

Everyone in the top thirty of the Earth Champions Ranking was undoubtedly a godlike Half-Sage and a genius, but differences and gaps existed even among geniuses.

To make an example, if the top thirty of the Earth Champions Ranking were tigers who prowled the mountains, then the top ten were dragons who reigned over the nine heavens. They were “living celestials” who possessed unparalleled talent and enjoyed immense opportunities. Every single one of them was expected to become a Sage barring exceptional circumstances.

Without exaggeration, everyone in the top ten possessed the strength to utterly wipe the floor with those below them.

Twenty years ago, the seventh champion of the Earth Champions Ranking, the ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ Gu Hongyan lost a dear friend to the fourteenth champion, Yu Chou the Heart Stealer. Enraged, she slaughtered his entire family in retaliation. Yu Chou just barely managed to survive and escape.

Later, Yu Chou recruited the sixteenth, seventeenth, and twenty-first champions on the Earth Champions Ranking—the “Head Bowing Divine Dragon” Duan Feijing, the “Tiger Demon True Lord” Xu Rusheng, and the “Nine Heavens Goshawk” Xuan Liuguang—to his side and set up an ambush for Gu Hongyan. Several hundred Great Truemen and Great Grandmasters had participated in the ambush as well.

It looked like Gu Hongyan was going to be slaughtered by her enemies, but it was the opposite. Not only did Gu Hongyan manage to kill them all, it only cost her all of her true qi. She was back to full health after just several days of rest.

Keep in mind that Gu Hongyan was just the seventh strongest champion on the Earth Champions Ranking. That was why the

jianghu

firmly believed that the top ten warriors on the Earth Champions Ranking were absolutely invincible below the Sage stage.

No matter how powerful Ye Qing was, the strongest opponent he could conceivably defeat at his current level was a “tiger”. There was just no way he could defeat a dragon; a phoenix; a “living celestial”.

Yan Wuji, the Unbounded King, was one of those dragons. The third prince of Yan, he was the most martially talented out of all of the Heavenly Martial Emperor’s children. He was also born with the Unbounded True Body, a physique that gave him phenomenal strength and made his muscles and bones as tough as steel. He was exactly thirty years old right now, but he was already a Half-Sage and the eighth strongest warrior on the Earth Champions Ranking.

Even better, Yan Wuxie wasn’t just a martial genius. He was adept in civil and military strategy as well. A master of all, he had enforced governmental orders, disciplined the military, conquered Rouran[1] in the south, and dominated Beirong[2] in the north. His merits were as numerous as they were outstanding, and the Heavenly Martial Emperor adored him. That was why he was conferred the feudal title, “Unbounded King”.

The Unbounded King was a body-tempering warrior. His hard work combined with the Yan imperial family’s “Nine Dragons Unbounded Scripture”, he had never suffered a defeat since embarking on his martial journey. Such was his power that they called him the divine dragon who descended from the nine heavens, finding no match or limit even in the mortal coil.

But now, the Unbounded King’s unbroken record was broken. Not only that, he had lost not to a fellow dragon or phoenix of the Earth Champions Ranking, but to Ye Qing, a Great Grandmaster. This was such an unbelievable feat that someone would have cried foul if not for the fact that neither the Unbounded King nor Ye Qing were the kind of people to cheat.

Ye Qing sucked in a deep breath before saluting Yan Wuxie. “You flatter me, Unbounded King. If you haven’t sealed your cultivation to my level, there is absolutely no way I could have defeated you!”

He was telling the truth. Yan Wuxie had, in fact, sealed his cultivation level so that he could fight Ye Qing as a Great Grandmaster. Had Yan Wuxie fought him at his full strength, the only way he could have won was to use the Earthly Sovereign Bell.

However, Yan Wuxie was a prince of Yan. There was no way he wouldn’t have a trump card or ten that rivaled the Earthly Sovereign Bell’s power. Therefore, he still might have lost even if he used the Earthly Sovereign Bell.

This was the first time Ye Qing truly recognized the chasm that existed between the top ten and everyone else below them. To give an example, it was like the difference between heaven and earth.

“I see! The Unbounded King lowered his own cultivation to the Great Grandmaster stage. No wonder he lost.”

“That makes a lot more sense.”

The crowd slumped in relief as they gossiped among themselves. Now this felt a lot more like reality.

On the stage, Yan Wuxie replied smilingly, “It does not change the fact that I’ve lost. I am no match for you when I was a Great Grandmaster.”

Although Yan Wuxie was regal, proud, and lofty, he behaved politely and amiably. Even when he admitted defeat, he carried himself in such a dignified manner that it added to his charm instead of diminishing it.

“I look forward to a real fight with you when you become a Half-Sage.”

“Hahaha! I look forward to it as well!” Ye Qing replied with a salute.

“Oh right, are you willing to join my Unbounded King Palace, Brother Ye?”

Yan Wuxie said seriously, “If you join me, I promise to keep you safe against any and all enemies. If you wish to join the governance, you may become any official below the third rank as well!”

“I thank you for your kind offer, Unbounded King, but I am just an ugly member of the

jianghu

, and I have long since gotten used to living freely and leisurely. I have no choice but to turn you down,” Ye Qing replied without hesitation.

“A shame. Well, everyone has their own ambitions. I won’t force you.”

Yan Wuxie did not get angry despite the rejection. He returned the salute and said, “In that case, I shall be taking my leave.”

“I will be staying in Wei for the next couple days in preparation for the upcoming birthday of the Wei Emperor. Do not hesitate to pay me a visit if you have changed your mind.”

“Got it. Thank you again, Unbounded King,” Ye Qing thanked him politely.

“See you later.”

“See you later.”

Yan Wuxie did not try to change Ye Qing’s mind. He left with his men as soon as he bade Ye Qing goodbye.

After Yan Wuxie left, the crowd could not help but look at Ye Qing with puzzlement and regret.

It was clear that one of the main reasons Yan Wuxie came to the East Radiance Mountain besides fighting Ye Qing was to recruit him. The conditions he offered were extremely tempting as well.

Had Ye Qing accepted Yan Wuxie’s olive branch, he would immediately free himself from his current predicament and join the empire of Yan as a high official immediately. This was an opportunity countless people had dreamed in their sleep. And yet, Ye Qing had turned him down immediately and without any hesitation whatsoever. Naturally, they found it difficult to understand why.

1. The Rouran Khaganate, also known as Ruanruan or Juan-juan, was a tribal confederation and later state founded by a people of Proto-Mongolic Donghu origin. ☜

2. Also a tribe, but it doesn’t have a wiki page so I can’t go any deeper than this. :P ☜