Chapter 732: Seven New Martial Aspects

Within his study, Yu Fuli began, "I know about the black coffins and the conspiracy they represent. It's nothing good, and I don't need a black coffin of my own."

"Ah..." Xiao Nanfeng stiffened.

Had he failed in trying to persuade Yu Fuli, then? If he weren't able to exchange his black coffin for a rare treasure, then this was all but a wasted trip.

"As for the saint you'll be facing, I can grant you my heart sword as a contingency." Yu Fuli tossed over the violet sword he had been wiping down.

Xiao Nanfeng claimed the sword in surprise.

"Two attacks from my heart sword are sealed in this blade. Whenever you execute an attack, I'll be alerted."

"I understand. Thank you, Your Majesty!" Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed.

Xiao Nanfeng was rather shaken. Yu Fuli had been wiping down the purple sword since they entered the study. Could he have been prepared to lend him the sword from the beginning? Was he already aware of his circumstances?

"As for this black coffin, take it with you. Use it to fish out the saint who's been lurking about. Can you accomplish that?" Yu Fuli asked.

"Of course. I'll do my best, Your Majesty," Xiao Nanfeng replied.

At any rate, the Heavenly Emperor's sword would confer him protection and serve as insurance. Yu Fuli surely had access to more resources than he did.

"Someone has claimed that you're treating positions in the Hall of Martial Aspects as your own possession, that you're trying to install as many of your subordinates as Martial Aspects as you can," Yu Fuli suddenly said.

Xiao Nanfeng frowned. "Your Majesty, I—"

Yu Fuli waved a hand to cut off Xiao Nanfeng. "I don't mind your subordinates taking those positions, but if they do so, I expect them to avenge the deceased Martial Aspects as quickly as possible. Don't let others find an excuse to lodge a complaint about you."

Xiao Nanfeng knew that Yu Fuli intended to protect him. He bowed. "Absolutely, Your Majesty."

"Dismissed." Yu Fuli nodded as the two cultivators bowed and retreated from the study.

As they left, Yang Chuan gave Xiao Nanfeng an odd look. "I've never seen anyone try to scam His Majesty. Martial Aspect Xiao, you really are quite something."

"Hardly, Southern Aspect Yang. His Majesty is more than happy to support us if we're acting on his behalf for the good of the Imperial Court," Xiao Nanfeng replied with a smile.

Southern Aspect Yang rolled his eyes. Xiao Nanfeng really was thick-skinned if he could spout such rubbish.

"There's plenty of time before the new Martial Aspects' selection comes to an end. Why don't we find somewhere to have tea as we discuss how to deal with the Immortal Emperor of Hongyue?" Xiao Nanfeng suggested.

"Very well." Yang Chuan accepted readily.

The two cultivators left together.

A week passed by in the blink of an eye.

The seven golden cultivators were beaten to an inch of their lives, but they refused to give up the banners in their possession. They focused entirely on defense, allowing the gathered Golden Immortals to launch whatever attacks they could. The spectators watched on in shock.

"Are these cultivators still human? Their physical bodies are as strong as relics!"

"They've been beaten black and blue, but they're still clinging on to those banners for dear life..."

"Are they trying to exhaust their opponents to death?"

This was the strangest Martial Aspects' selection that the spectators had ever seen.

Eighteen Golden Immortals were ganging up on seven golden cultivators, with roughly 2.5 Golden Immortals per cultivator. All eighteen were injured to some extent, but the seven golden cultivators were clearly the worst off.

"Time's up!" an official of the Imperial Court shouted.

"No! I can still fight. I'm going to beat them to death!"

"Can't we fight just a little longer? Just another day and these golden cultivators will be done for!"

"They won't be able to hold out much longer. Another day—no, half a day would be good enough!"

The eighteen Golden Immortals cried out in dismay, but to no avail. Yang Chuan had already stepped through the barrier.

"Time's up! The new Martial Aspects have been selected. If you continue attacking one another, the punishment is death!" Yang Chuan declared.

The eighteen Golden Immortals gritted their teeth and clenched their fists, but didn't dare strike the seven golden cultivators any longer.

"Eastern Aspect Ao, why don't you announce the results of the selection?" Yang Chuan turned to Ao Canghai.

Ao Canghai's face was distorted in fury. He had guessed that the other candidates would gang up on Xiao Nanfeng's subordinates, but not that they would be able to withstand all the attacks directed their way. How could they survive a barrage of attacks from eighteen Golden Immortals for a whole week and emerge unscathed?

None of his own candidates had managed to acquire a banner, a devastating opportunity lost.

"Where are the Martial Aspect banners?" Ao Canghai called out.

The seven golden cultivators stumbled up. They really had been beaten to within an inch of their lives, and even the simplest of movements was starting to prove prohibitively difficult. Even so, they pulled out the wrinkled banners they had protected with their bodies.

"Here!" the golden cultivators exclaimed.

Ao Canghai's face was dour. "Then you seven candidates shall now become Martial Aspects. Head to the Hall of Martial Aspects in three days' time to receive your new titles."

"Understood!" the seven golden cultivators chorused.

Ao Canghai made a sharp turn and was just about to stalk off when someone called him back. "Eastern Aspect Ao!"

Ao Canghai turned to see Xiao Nanfeng walking toward him.

"Xiao Nanfeng, you really are lucky, aren't you?" Ao Canghai's eyes flashed with barely concealed fury.

"Of course. Otherwise, I wouldn't have managed to avoid Snowborne's assassination attempt." Xiao Nanfeng smiled thinly.

Ao Canghai narrowed his eyes, but his expression didn't otherwise change. "It looks like you've made quite a few enemies. You ought to be careful."

"Eastern Aspect Ao, do you know who issued a bounty on me?" Xiao Nanfeng demanded.

"I would hardly know, Martial Aspect Xiao," Ao Canghai replied.

"Naturally. You would hardly be acquainted with whoever was petty enough to do so, Eastern Aspect Ao. If you did know, you would already have taken revenge on my behalf."

"Are you trying to accuse me?" Ao Canghai demanded coldly.

"Hardly. I simply wanted to ask for your advice, Eastern Aspect."

"With that attitude of yours? Xiao Nanfeng, you're a Martial Aspect of the eastern quadrant, and you answer to me. If you treat me with such disrespect, expect reprisal in kind."

"Try it and see," Xiao Nanfeng spat out.

Ao Canghai glared at Xiao Nanfeng, who met his gaze and refused to flinch. In the end, Ao Canghai whirled around and strode off.

Xiao Nanfeng grimly watched Ao Canghai leave.

"Martial Aspect Ao, why bother provoking Ao Canghai? He's a Cardinal Aspect. Doing so in public is particularly disadvantageous for you," Yang Chuan said.

"I was hoping to verify something, and I have." Xiao Nanfeng frowned.

He had only been about 80% confident that Ao Canghai was the one who had placed a bounty on his head via Snowborne before the conversation. Now, he was sure of it.

If not for Ao Canghai's guilty conscience, he would surely have reported Xiao Nanfeng's provocation to the Heavenly Emperor as an opportunity to take him down a peg or two. There could only be one explanation as to why Ao Canghai didn't do so: because Xiao Nanfeng's accusation was right on the mark. If the Heavenly Emperor were to investigate, he would be found to be the guilty party.

"Oh?" Yang Chuan was taken aback.

"Let's go. I've gotten what I came for, and there's no need to remain here any longer. There are still three days remaining before my subordinates can formally become Martial Aspects. Who knows what'll happen in the meantime? We can't allow their hard work to go to waste."

He glanced at Martial Aspect Tu Feng, who was in the vicinity.

Yang Chuan glanced where Xiao Nanfeng was looking. Martial Aspect Tu Feng immediately spun around and walked off.

"Did you sense killing intent from Martial Aspect Tu Feng?" Yang Chuan whispered.

"No," Xiao Nanfeng replied, smiling. "He hides his emotions well, but his surname is Tu, as is the Hongyue empress'. Not only that, he backed the Southeastern Aquatic Palace in the past and is clearly against you. Those factors, considered together, make him particularly suspicious."

"Oh? You know quite a bit about the Martial Aspects of the southern quadrant..."

"If my subordinates are to assist you, I naturally have to learn about your situation. There's more than meets the eye to Martial Aspect Tu Feng, I'm afraid."

Yang Chuan nodded. "Let's go. I'll guard your seven subordinates personally. No one will dare attempt anything funny with me around."

Xiao Nanfeng nodded.

Ye Dafu and the others supported the golden cultivators as they left alongside Xiao Nanfeng and Yang Chuan.

In the distance, in a pavilion high up in the mountains clouded with fog, Martial Aspect Tu Feng watched Xiao Nanfeng's party leave with an annoyed expression on his face. Behind him stood two Golden Immortals who had been candidates in the recent Martial Aspects' selection.

𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"Martial Aspect Tu Feng, we really did our best. Those golden cultivators were impossible to defeat. They were forced to give up the banners several days ago, but after recuperating, they worked together to claim them all and have defended them since. The eighteen of us had to be on guard against each other, so we couldn't use our full strength against them," one of the Golden Immortals said.

Martial Aspect Tu Feng sighed. "Forget it. I'll report this matter to the Immortal Emperor. It's not your fault."

"Are we still going to make a move, then?" the other Golden Immortal asked.

"Xiao Nanfeng's on high alert. No one will be able to strike at his subordinates now," Martial Aspect Tu Feng said.

"But—"

"We're in the Sieve of Heaven. You're welcome to try regardless if you want to die."

"Understood!" the two Golden Immortals replied, despite their apparent frustration. "We wouldn't dare."

Three days later, in the Hall of Martial Aspects, the seven golden cultivators stood beaming in excitement. They had recovered from the bulk of their injuries, and their cultivation had even advanced as a result of the beating they had suffered.

An official of the Imperial Court announced, "By the will of the heavens, the Heavenly Emperor declares..."

As the official read out the edict, fortune gushed down from the sea of fortune atop Mt. Kunlun and shot into the seven golden cultivators' bodies, then transformed into seven dragons that surged back toward the sea.

The seven golden cultivators were now officially Martial Aspects who would be filling in the seven vacancies in the eastern and southern quadrant, two in the east and five in the south.

Xiao Nanfeng watched over them as they finished the paperwork.

In another hall, the seven golden cultivators claimed their respective manor keys from Ao Canghai and Yang Chuan.

Ao Canghai glared at his two golden cultivators throughout the process, while Yang Chuan shot his five a sunny smile. The contrast enraged Ao Canghai to no small extent.

Just then, Ye Dafu said, "Eastern Aspect, our half-year grace period is almost up. We'd like to accept our own Martial Aspect tasks."

"It's not time yet, is it?" Ao Canghai frowned.

He hadn't come up with dangerous and life-threatening tasks for them just yet.

Yang Chuan jumped in from the side. "Martial Aspects are more than welcome to accept tasks before their grace period is up. Coincidentally, there are a few in the Hall of Martial Aspects right now. Accept them at your leisure."

"I'll pick the fourth!"

"And I the sixth!"

Ye Dafu's five-person group immediately began picking out their own tasks.

"Oh? It looks like I was the one who issued all the tasks you picked. That makes things much simpler, then. You won't need Eastern Aspect Ao's help with those. I can assign them to you myself." Yang Chuan smiled.

Ao Canghai frowned. He knew that this was a ploy that Yang Chuan and Ye Dafu had set up, but there was nothing he could do about it.

"Southern Aspect Yang, don't you think you're overreaching?" Ao Canghai demanded.

"Hardly, Eastern Aspect Ao. I'm simply acting according to our rules." Yang Chuan smiled.

Ao Canghai snorted in disgust as he flew off.