1453 Fighting All Nine Alone

Wang Yanbing was actually repelled with just a single hit.

While it was true that Wang Yanbing lost to Gu Dongliu a while ago, that was because of the lineage that Gu Dongliu inherited, so it was completely normal for Wang Yanbing to lose despite using a sacrificial move. It was a showstopper before due to the crowd wanting to see just how capable Gu Dongliu would have been.

As such, Wang Yanbing was the true number one genius studying in the Celestial Gate of Vast Heaven.

No one had anticipated him being unable to take that hit.

Everyone wondered just how powerful that hit had been.

Everyone in the crowd sensed the might of the great path in that instant earlier. That attack had truly been extremely formidable. It was as if it was out to break the limits of sainthood altogether.

Countless at the Celestial Gate of Vast Heaven looked severe. Yet another formidable figure of frightening aura came down—the clan leader of the Jiang Clan. He looked at the nine below him with a severe expression.

While he was not actually present, he saw that battle taking place nonetheless.

His serious expression was not a result of seeing Wang Yanbing being defeated, but the kind of power that the nine from before exhibited.

"The Divine Sound," the clan leader said as he looked down at the scene before him.

The nine looked up at him, and the general from the Heavenly Mandate Dynasty did the same, saying, "I'm impressed. You're actually able to tell that this is the Divine Sound."

"What kind of power is the Divine Sound?" many below began asking those around them, looking puzzled.

They wondered if that was some kind of insane powers from the Heavenly Mandate Dynasty.

But then again, none of them had heard of such a spell before.

If the dynasty actually possessed such an ungodly skill, it should have been all over the place instead of being something no one knew.

Most people had not even heard of it, and only a handful of very powerful beings of the older generations knew of the Divine Sound.

"The Divine Sound is not something from the Heavenly Mandate Realm, but from some other extraordinary places from foreign realms." A very capable figure of the Divine Elephants elaborated to Ye Futian, "The spell enables one to communicate with the great path using sounds, and if the tune's connect, it will then resonate with the great path. If another power of the same type were to be used for attacks, the power of said attack would be boosted tremendously with the emphasis on 'tremendously.' It is said that the boosted power of Divine Sound is measured by the number of people resonating using the spell, with nine being the very limit. With nine resonating with each other, it means that attacks will have a chance of being boosted nine times over."

Ye Futian felt somewhat shocked hearing that. It was just as speculated by Qin He—the spell was from some foreign realm.

The crown prince and a group of top-notch people from the Heavenly Mandate Dynasty had been training in the other Supreme Realms, and furthermore, they picked up top-notch skills along the way.

In the world of cultivators, an advantage in numbers was usually more limited than imagined. In usual circumstances, attacks from nine people working together would have had limited effects nonetheless. If there were to not be one among them capable of breaking through Wang Yanbing's defense, then Wang Yanbing would have been able to remain undefeated. If there were to be none of them being capable of withstanding his attacks, the outcome would have been the same as well.

However, due to their attacks being amplified by Divine Sound, their attacks grew several times more powerful. Furthermore, with the limit of such amplification being nine times over, it was nothing less of harrowing.

Mystical ways would have had a hard time boosting attacks nine times over. If there were one of those studying the mystical ways teaming up with others and using Divine Sound for amplification, boosting attacks by nine times over, one could have only wondered just how powerful such attacks would have been.

It would have been unimaginable.

As such, it was hardly surprising why Wang Yanbing ended up losing, despite the fact that the amplification might have been less than nine times over.

The arts trained in by the nine would be extremely difficult after all, so the requirements for them to pull off something like that would have been anything but easy.

All from top-notch forces went about with elaborations, and the crowd quickly knew why the clan leader of the Jiang Clan chose to emerge personally.

None of them had expected top-notch skills from other Supreme Realms, after all.

It seemed that the Heavenly Mandate Dynasty had been sending out the Crown Prince to train in other Supreme Realms a long time ago, just to set things up for the future.

With that, the Celestial Gate of Vast Heaven became having to deal with enormous pressure from then on out.

If all nine of them were to become Renhangs in the future, then things would have taken a turn for the worse. Furthermore, if those people knew the Divine Sound, there was no reason to believe that the Crown Prince would have been otherwise.

Those people might have joined the ranks of the same top-notch force, or they would not have been so many of them using the same skills. Personal ethics notwithstanding, imparting top-notch skills and spells to others without consent was a grave taboo throughout the world of cultivators, as it would have gravely offended a top-notch force, making an enemy out of them.

The greatest possibility of having what was happening before them was that all nine of them joined the same top-notch force. With that, it became apparent that the talent of those nine was terrifying.

The crowd wondered if the Heavenly Mandate Dynasty had been going to such lengths just to get to Gu Dongliu.

"The power of one would always be limited. The Celestial Gate of Vast Heaven intends to pin all hope on a single person, and I'm afraid that would be a hopeless move that would have doomed you. Don't you understand that, clan leader?" The general then added, "Hand Gu Dongliu over, and both the Heavenly Mandate Dynasty and the Violet Heavenly Palace shall never touch on the matter again. Everything shall be returned to how it used to be, and all grudges shall be wiped clean."

The clan leader stood on top of the steps, looking at the general, and said, "You are a Renhuang unlike any other from the dynasty yourself. Don't you understand the weight inherent in a pledge?"

The words rang heavily on the minds of all within earshot. Everyone was able to sense the solemnity and resolve behind what was said.

The Celestial Gate of Vast Heaven had chosen to make their stance clear, and they were not about to back down.

Furthermore, that upcoming storm was more than just a war between saints.

"In that case, we'd like to see how the hope of the Celestial Gate—Gu Dongliu—fare in the fight. Let the world know if he is capable of shouldering such a responsibility," the general of Heavenly Mandate Dynasty said. No one expected that the one to challenge Gu Dongliu was someone else other than the Crown Prince.

The crown prince remained standing among the mighty ones from the dynasty, just right beside the general, watching everything transpire in silence.

It might have been such that he would not have needed to do anything himself.

Gu Dongliu then looked at the nine. Someone had elaborated to him telepathically regarding the origins and powers of the Divine Sound. With the Divine Sound being so ridiculously formidable, he wondered just how powerful the Juexian Diagram would have made his powers.

No one made such deductions before, and nothing would have come out of it as well.

The answer could have only be found in combat, as the battlefield would have been the best place to test it all out.

"So the Crown Prince has no intention of fighting then?" many murmured amongst themselves. Everyone had anticipated that day to be the day where the showdown between the crown prince and Gu Dongliu, the two topmost legendary figures among their generation, were to be held before.

"You said the might of one would always have its limits, so you'd have nine challenging a single combatant then?" someone said. Everyone turned their eyes and saw a person emerging. It was none other than Ye Futian.

The Crown Prince shot a glance at Ye Futian. The Crown Prince had reminded him before, and he found it to be quite a pity that Ye Futian insisted on getting himself into the mess.

"So this is how the Heavenly Mandate Dynasty issue its challenges?" Ye Futian continued, "How about letting nine from the Celestial Gate of Vast Heaven challenge one from the Heavenly Mandate Dynasty?"

"Gu Dongliu would naturally be allowed to choose another eight to aid him," the general of the dynasty said as he glanced at Ye Futian, who was below. The general's eyes appeared rather cold.

"I take it that you're clear that with nine unknown combatants from Heavenly Mandate Dynasty emerging, there is no way he could have asked eight others to help him fight," Ye Futian replied plainly. Gu Dongliu was a superstar known throughout the realm at present, with countless pairs of eyes locked onto him. It would have been absurd for him to get another eight to help him just because there were nine who emerged from the Heavenly Mandate Dynasty.

Doing so would have soiled his own name and status.

"Since the Heavenly Mandate Dynasty came all the way here to lean on the Celestial Gate of Vast Heaven, I do not see the need for such calculations. Wouldn't it be a lot simpler to just have the Crown Prince issue the challenge instead?" Ye Futian continued sarcastically, "Or is it to say that the Crown Prince is not confident of his odds in the battle?"

"Who are you to stick your nose into the matter? Since when do the likes of you be qualified enough to meddle in the affairs of the top-notch forces of the realm?" The Heavenly Penalty Palace Lord lowered his head and shot a look at Ye Futian with his purple eyes. The might of lightning was brought down as well.

The ones from the Violet Heavenly Palace have had a hard time tolerating and behaving nicely towards him, who had dragged the face of the Violet Heavenly Palace through the dirt, in a grand event held by the palace itself.

Ye Futian had emerged to slap them in the face previously, and they did not expect him to be doing the same thing again.

"I definitely am less than qualified to meddle with the affairs of top-notch forces of the Heavenly Mandate Realm, but having nine from the dynasty taking on my third brother is something I find personally difficult to stomach." Ye Futian continued, "My third brother is of a status unlike any other at present, and he is not someone that anyone can simply challenge, as it'd reflect badly on him."

Ye Futian went on further, saying, "If the ones from the Heavenly Mandate Dynasty insist on seeing what my third brother is capable of, the Crown Prince could issue a challenge on the spot, and only by doing so would it not soil my third brother's name. As for the strength of the Divine Sound, I'd be willing to entertain that just to see if you people are worthy of fighting my third brother."

Countless pairs of eyes were on Ye Futian. That man, who shot to fame throughout Haotian City for having beaten Zhan Yuan, stated his intention to fight in his brother's stead.

In truth, Ye Futian did not actually want to do so, but seeing how the nine collaborated, he found that those from the Celestial Gate of Vast Heaven who were not his third brother would have a hard time dealing with this. Having possessed measures like the Divine Sound, and the fact that the group consisted of geniuses among geniuses, it would have been a difficult situation for the Celestial Gate to resolve unless they were trained in abilities similar to the Divine Sound.

As for Gu Dongliu, regardless if he were to win or lose in such a battle, he would gain something from it.

As such, Ye Futian chose to emerge to clear some obstacles for his third brother. The Crown Prince intended to have Ye Futian's third brother fight while he kept his hands to himself, and Ye Futian insisted on making it hard for him.

Ye Futian might not have bothered in the affairs of others, but that was his Third Brother being the center of things, and he deemed it compulsory to stand at the forefront.

The Crown Prince spoke before the general could, "How do you want to do this?"

Ye Futian looked at the Crown Prince and said, "My plane naturally means that I'd be fighting Unblemished Saints. You have denied the power of one outside the palace before, Crown Prince, so I shall see for myself just how powerful the geniuses of the Heavenly Mandate Dynasty are. I don't mind fighting nine people all alone."