Chapter 69 - A Flying Ark

Chapter 69: A Flying Ark

On a dark and windy night, the atmosphere within the Celestial River County was extremely grim.

The sound of pounding horse hooves could be heard as a group of riders exited the county.

Zhang Wuleng rode atop a particularly tall and gallant horse, and he led the way with no expression on his face. Behind him, there were wagons filled with all types of things. There were rocks, wood, and a diverse range of miscellaneous items and resources, as well as many manual laborers at the lower end of the Strength Martial Stages.

The Celestial River County Youth Battle Tournament was going to be held on the day after the next.

The mayor’s troops had been given the task of setting up all of the required facilities for the tournament. During the process, they would receive assistance from the county army, and everything had to be done in a day and two nights.

As the most promising young general of the Celestial River County, Zhang Wuleng was the number one choice for the job to be delegated to.

Aside from establishing facilities, he was also responsible for welcoming the important figures from the capital city, and reporting their arrival to the county as soon as possible.

It didn’t take long for the group of horses and wagons to arrive outside the county.

All of the rocks, wood, and miscellaneous materials were offloaded from the wagons.

Over a thousand Strength Martial Stage laborers began to get to work, according to the blueprints given.

The army troops that were stationed outside the county also participated in the process.

Night gradually transitioned to dawn.

As the one with the highest cultivation base in the group, Zhang Wuleng suddenly heard a burst of rumbling in the distance.

Whoosh!

The sound was like relentless claps of thunder.

He scaled a small hill and looked into the distance, to find that an indistinct shadow was slowly approaching them.

Zhang Wuleng’s expression suddenly changed.

A loud roar that was imbued with powerful True Energy erupted from the small hill.

“Messenger! Return to the county as quickly as possible. Inform the mayor to make preparations to welcome the ambassadors from the capital!”

“Yes!”

Clip clop clip clop!

A white horse carrying the messenger galloped into the distance like an arrow.

…

The same rumbling Zhang Wuleng had heard earlier eventually reached the Celestial River County. Many people looked up to discover something that they hadn’t seen in many years.

Peering into the sky from below, it appeared that there was a long and thin silver object flying through the air. It was like a massive bird flying at an extremely high altitude, but the stability at which it traveled ruled out any possibility that the flying object was biological in nature. It flew straight ahead, plowing through the clouds, and leaving a shiny silver tail in its wake which could still be seen from a long distance away.

It was a flying ark!

Countless people ran out onto the streets for a chance to catch a glimpse of the ark.

All of them stared with wide eyes, pointing up to the sky as their mouths gaped open.

“Is that a flying ark?”

“It sure is! It can fly high in the sky, and its countless times faster than the best horses!”

“Tsk tsk… I wonder who’s sitting on the ark…”

“That’s obvious; they must be the important people from the capital!”

“Who are they?”

“I’ve heard that they’re all from the capital’s Qin, Yan, and Qi families!”

“Woah! Aren’t those three of the seven major families? Why would they come here…”

“Hehe, they’re traveling to all of the counties to host the tournaments. Our Celestial River County is just one stop on their journey.”

“The Celestial River County Youth Battle Tournament is taking place tomorrow. We have to go and watch it! I really want to see what those important people from the capital are like!”

…

The mayor was the first to receive the news, followed by the four major families of the Celestial River County.

All of them began to busy themselves, making preparations to welcome those ambassadors.

Anyone would want to take that opportunity to establish good relations with people from the capital.

In the Duan family conference hall.

Duan Xilai, Duan Hongxue, and the other core members of the family had all been gathered.

At the head of the table, Duan Xilai began to deliver a speech. “The ten-member roster of our family who will be entering the tournament has been decided. Aside from that one spot given to Liu Meng, the other nine have all been awarded to the elites of our Duan family! Aside from that, six of the Celestial River Academy’s thirty spots were given to our family members as well, and an additional four are good friends of Gucheng’s.

“On top of that, we have also taken more than ten of the fifty spots allocated to the county army! There is no other power with more participants in the tournament than our Duan family. We have to establish our dominance throughout the course of the tournament!”

Duan Hongxue chimed in in a serious voice, “This time, we will be joining forces with the Wang and Sun families to eliminate Qi Ying! Before you kill him, do not engage in conflict with any members of other powers.”

The atmosphere was very tense and serious.

None of the Duan family members had gone to witness the colosseum battle in person, but they had sent out scouts to spectate in their stead.

The aptitude and power Qi Ying displayed further cemented their determination to get rid of him!

They were sworn enemies, and if they were to allow Qi Ying to develop, their Duan family was probably going to be wiped out within ten years!

After everyone left, Duan Xilai and Duan Hongxue went to another room.

Duan Xilai poured a cup of tea for himself and mused with narrowed eyes, “Uncle, the arrival of the ambassadors from the major families presents an opportunity to us! Qi Ying is very powerful and has brains to match. Even though we have an overwhelming advantage in numbers, there is no guarantee that we can kill him. How about we consider…”

Duan Hongxue immediately shook his head and cut him off, “No. According to the information from the Tong Tian County, the Qi family sent their ninth young master, Qi Shun, and familial general Qi Kaiyang. I met Qi Kaiyang once fifteen years ago, and he is an extremely righteous man. At the time, a powerful family leader from another city tried to bribe him, and he chopped off that family leader’s hand in a public display! The people sent from the other two families are also similar in nature. If we try to bribe them for our own benefit, it would only bring trouble to our Duan family.”

“Then…”

Duan Hongxue picked up his teacup and paused momentarily before continuing, “Speak to Mayor Gu Tailai about this. That guy has had his eyes set on the Colosseum for a long time. Our Duan family can give him some benefits in exchange for his assistance. The mayor will definitely be holding a banquet tonight, to welcome the ambassadors from the capital. Gu Tailai will most certainly be in attendance as well, and we can take the opportunity to negotiate a deal with him.”

“That sounds good.”

Duan Xilai and Duan Hongxue looked at one another before nodding in unison.

Killing intent surfaced on both of their faces.

…

Whoosh!

In the Lu mansion’s courtyard, Qi Ying suddenly stopped swinging his Dragon Tiger Demon-Slaying Staff before looking up into the sky.

The flying ark just so happened to be whistling past overhead.

“Are they here already?”

Qi Ying suddenly became extremely excited, like a little kid who had caught sight of a candy shop.

He then stowed his Dragon Tiger Demon-Slaying Staff away into a new spatial ring with a capacity of about ten feet. That ring had been awarded to him by Master Thirteen after he had defeated the Dark Golden Ape, and he was wearing it on his right index finger.

Whoosh!

Qi Ying transformed into a black shadow and rushed into the Lu mansion’s hall.

There, Lu Feifei and Xuan Yu were having a pleasant conversation.

“Well well well, if it isn’t the staff-wielding boy; what are you doing here?”

Lu Feifei’s asked in her soft and seductive voice.

Qi Ying took a deep breath before replying, “Madam Lu, I need to discuss something with you!”