The young man did not take offense upon seeing Duan Ling Tian’s indifferent response. He only sighed and said, “Who would have thought that a powerful person like Mansion Master Mo would die? Based on what I know, only two sectless advanced Emperors of Gods in the Divine Spirit Mansion are a match for him…”
The young man paused for a moment before he continued to say, “From what I heard, one of the two powerhouses comparable to Mansion Master Mo, Zhong Bai Nan, is dead as well. It seems like if the other powerhouse decides to compete for the position of interim Mansion Master, he’ll definitely be the winner…”
Initially, Duan Ling Tian did not pay attention to the young man’s words. However, his interest was piqued by the young man’s words at the end. He asked, “How strong is the other powerhouse? Is he stronger than Zhong Bai Nan?”
The young man shook his head. “I don’t think so. In the past, he was not weaker than Mansion Master Mo. However, many people said he was weaker than Mansion Master. Even if it were true, he wouldn’t have been much weaker.”
Duan Ling Tian was slightly worried. After all, he had great expectations regarding this competition. He naturally did not wish for someone to pluck the fruit that was within his reach. However, if the other party was on par with or weaker than Mo Wen Dao, he would not have to worry at all. With his current strength, he was confident about defeating the other party. Moreover, the other party might not even participate in the competition.
Since the young man provided rather useful information to him, Duan Ling Tian did not ignore the young man. He would occasionally nod or reply to the young man as the young man spoke.
After a while, Duan Ling Tian asked, “Did you come to watch the show? Don’t you have any intention of participating in the competition?”
The young man was stunned by Duan Ling Tian’s words. After a moment, he smiled bitterly and said, “Are you joking with me? This competition is one of life or death. If I participate, I’m afraid I won’t even be able to surrender before I die. I’m just a rudimentary Emperor of Gods, after all. If you ask me, I think there’ll only be a small number of intermediate Emperors of Gods participating in the competition. In my opinion, this competition is for the advanced Emperors of Gods… However, there aren’t many advanced Emperors of Gods in the Divine Spirit Mansion…”
…
The young man continued to chatter until they arrived at the venue of the competition. It was in a valley about 10,000 miles east of the Divine Spirit Mansion’s city.
At this time, quite a number of people had already gathered at the venue, and at the same time, more and more people were still arriving, both in groups and alone.
Not long after Duan Ling Tian and the young man arrived, someone exclaimed, “The messenger is here!”
Everyone, including Duan Ling Tian, looked over and saw a middle-aged man, who was flanked by two old men, in the distance.
The middle-aged man was dressed in a light silver long robe. His expression was stern, and his eyes were piercing. He was the messenger of the Righteous Divine Kingdom. It was due to his announcement two months ago that Duan Ling Tian did not leave the Divine Spirit Mansion’s city.
The middle-aged man did not waste time and said straightforwardly as soon as he arrived, “The competition to elect the interim Mansion Master will begin at noon and conclude tomorrow. Those who wish to participate can enter the arena when the competition starts.”
After that, he raised his hand, and a vast and square piece of land shot up into the sky above the valley. Then, he said again, “This will be the arena for the competition. If you step foot out of the arena during the fight, it’ll be counted as your defeat. Needless to say, surrendering and dying are also counted as defeat.”
“While two participants are fighting, the third person will have to wait for the fight to conclude before fighting the winner. The final person standing in the arena tomorrow will be the interim Mansion Master of the Divine Spirit Mansion.”
After listening to the middle-aged man’s words, many people shuddered.
“These rules… The first person who steps into the arena will be at a disadvantage, right?”
“Even then, so what? Those who are determined to participate will have to abide by the rules no matter what…”
“Ha! There’s no need to think so much. If someone’s strong enough and acts ruthlessly, no one would dare to challenge him or her after that!”
At the same time, Duan Ling Tian, who was standing with the spectators, looked at the arena silently.
At this moment, the talkative young man, who took the initiative to tell Duan Ling Tian that his name was Wang Chun, said, “Brother, it’s the first time I’ve witnessed anything so lively! What about you?”
Wang Chun looked around in awe as he spoke.
Duan Ling Tian only responded with a smile.
Upon seeing Duan Ling Tian’s indifference, Wang Chun glanced at Duan Ling Tian a few more times before he concluded that Duan Ling Tian’s background was likely not simple. He thought that Duan Ling Tian might be a descendant of a powerhouse outside of the Divine Spirit Mansion who came to watch the show. It was also possible that Duan Ling Tian was from a big clan in the capital of the Righteous Divine Kingdom.
At this moment, Wang Chun saw a figure in the distance, and he exclaimed, “Hu Dong Lan!”
Quite a few people did the same thing when they saw the newcomer in the distance.
Duan Ling Tian looked over at the newcomer, Hu Dong Lan.
Hu DongLan was a young man dressed in a blue long robe. He was handsome, and he seemed to wear a perpetual faint smile on his face. When he arrived, he faced the messenger before he cupped his fists together and bowed slightly as he said, “Greetings.”
The messenger glanced at Hu Dong Lan before he said tonelessly, “You’re Hu Dong Lan? I’ve heard about you. You’re one of the few advanced Emperor of Gods in the Divine Spirit Mansion. Good luck. Perhaps, the position of the interim Mansion Master will be yours…”
Hu Dong Lan replied with a faint smile, “Thank you. I’ll do my best.”
The messenger nodded faintly in response. Although they were both advanced Emperors of Gods, he was stronger than Hu Dong Lan. Moreover, as the messenger of the Righteous Divine Kingdom, he had higher status and had the support of the Lord of the Righteous Divine Kingdom. As such, he felt much superior to Hu Dong Lan.
As for Hu Dong Lan, he did not seem to be dissatisfied with the messenger’s indifference at all. In fact, he had expected it.
Soon after, a group of people gathered around Hu Dong Lan. Some of them were sectless cultivators and some of them were prominent figures in the Divine Spirit Mansion.
“Lord Hu!”
“Lord Hu, it’s rumored that Old Zhong has met with misfortune! This time, you’ll likely win the competition!”
“Lord Hu, please take care of us when you become the Mansion Master. I heard that you have a son. Coincidentally, I have a daughter about the same age. She’s rather good-looking…”
The group of people did not hold back as they flattered Hu Dong Lan and treated him as though he was already the Mansion Master of the Divine Spirit Mansion.
At the same time, Wang Chun, who saw this, shook his head and said, “It’s too early for them to flatter him like that. Hu Dong Lan won’t be the only advanced Emperor of Gods participating in the competition, after all. Moreover, among the known advanced Emperors of Gods, his strength is only average. If he wants to win, he can only hope that the other advanced Emperors of Gods don’t show up. Otherwise, he doesn’t stand a chance at all.”
While Wang Chun spoke, the sounds of exclamations rang in the air again, signifying the arrival of another advanced Emperor of Gods.
In the Divine Spirit Mansion, most people recognized all the advanced Emperors of Gods except for those who intentionally hid themselves.
Someone said, “In the Divine Spirit Mansion, there are three advanced Emperors of Gods who are acknowledged to be the strongest. Apart from the late Mansion Master, there are Zhong Bai Nan and Yu Jin Shan, who are sectless cultivators. However, there’s news that Zhong Bai Nan is dead so he won’t be participating in the competition. I wonder if Elder Yu Jin Shan will show up…”
When the name ‘Yun Jin Shan’ was mentioned, many people, including Hu Dong Lan and the advanced Emperor who just arrived, fell silent.
The advanced Emperor of Gods, who was a sectless cultivator, said to Hu Dong Lan through Voice Transmission, “If Old Yu shows up, you and I have no chance of winning at all…”
Hu Dong Lan replied, “Old Yu likely won’t show up. A few hundred years ago, I heard that he left the Divine Spirit Mansion due to some matter. I’ve yet to receive news of his return… Of course, I can’t confirm the veracity of the news, but there’s no smoke without fire.”
“I hope you’re right. In any case, whether he shows up or not, don’t expect me to hold back when we fight.”
“That’s exactly what I want to say.”
The competition had yet to start, but the tension was already rising between the two advanced Emperors of Gods. They did not bother to hide it at all.
…
Time continued to pass.
More and more people arrived, but no other advanced Emperor of Gods arrived.
When it was noon, the messenger’s voice reverberated in the air.
“The competition starts now. The final person standing in the arena tomorrow at noon will be the interim Mansion Master of the Divine Spirit Mansion!”
However, following the messenger’s announcement, no one stepped into the arena.
As such, many people began to look at Hu Dong Lan and the other advanced Emperor of Gods.
“Only two advanced Emperors of Gods showed up. As such, their fight is the only fight that matters…”
“Aren’t they going to enter the arena?”
“Don’t tell me they only plan to enter the arena tomorrow?”
After a while, seeing that the two advanced Emperors of Gods had no intention of moving, a few intermediate Emperors of Gods grew restless.
One of them said, “Since the advanced Emperors of Gods have no intention of entering the arena yet, why don’t I get the ball rolling? Although I don’t stand a chance of becoming the interim Mansion Master, I can’t let go of the chance to perform in front of the messenger of our Divine Kingdom! If he takes a liking to my talent, he might even bring me back with him to the capital!”
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