Chapter 415: Openly Challenged!
Translator: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit
Another benefit for Miao Yi to stay with Yun Feiyang was that he didn't need to do any manual labor like plowing the ground.
However, Miao Yi still circled the area a few times, trying to see if he could find anyone he knew. Yet, it was to no avail. Zhao Fei, Gu Sanzheng, and the others were nowhere to be found.
Miao Yi couldn't help feeling a tinge of sorrow—it looked like Zhao Fei and the others couldn't survive until the end after all.
On the sixth day, just as Miao Yi returned to the room that Yun Feiyang had prepared for him to continue his cultivation, seven people rushed ashore atop the waves. They were Gu Sanzheng, Tan Lao, Ye Xin, Zhao Fei, Sikong Wuwei, Pi Junzi, and Tao Yongchun. Not a single one of them was missing.
When they finally reached the shore, all seven of them heaved a breath of relief. Sikong Wuwei chuckled and said, "There are still two days until the deadline. We finally made it."
Back when Miao Yi had sacrificed himself to let them escape, Gu Sanzheng, Tan Lao, and Ye Xin immediately gave up their plans of trying to win a high placement and of elevating the reputation of their sects. Instead, they simply focused their efforts on surviving until the end. The three of them no longer tried to pick a fight with anyone and instead hid alongside Zhao Fei and the others.
Pi Junzi's abilities truly made a huge impact during this period. Ever since the seven of them separated from Miao Yi, they simply tried their best to avoid bumping into anyone whenever possible. Thanks to that, they managed to live through the rest of the Subjugation Crusade without fighting anyone at all.
The group climbed up one of the hills to scan the surroundings. What lay before them was a mountain range with six mighty flags, and in the middle was a freshly dug, massive plot of even land. Cultivators from each nation could be seen walking about, and there was no sign of carnage anywhere. It was all peaceful and quiet.
The seven of them were utterly dazed by what they saw. They even suspected that they'd arrived in the wrong place. Other cultivators that just arrived experienced the same thing as well. Obviously, the first thing to do in this scenario was to ask someone what was going on.
Once they confirmed the situation, the seven of them exchanged glances. Pi Junzi and Tao Yongchun looked utterly dismayed.
"The two of us have already offended Bai Ziliang. We will simply be rushing to our deaths if we return to his camp!" Pi Junzi was on the verge of tears. He never thought he would still end up in Bai Ziliang's grasp after successfully hiding for so many years.
The other five exchanged glances. Gu Sanzheng then suggested, "Why don't you two follow us back to the Celestial Nation's camp then? That way, we can look out for one another too. But if so, then even if you are fortunate enough to make it out alive, your coming days in the Sea of Constellations won't be easy."
Tao Yongchun nodded, "Nothing is more important than surviving! We're also aware that there's no longer a place for us in the Sea of Constellations now that we've offended Bai Ziliang. As such, the two of us have already talked it over several years ago. If we can survive the Subjugation Crusade, we won't ask for a Fort Master's position, but use that to try and get our immortal records revoked instead. After that, we'll live out our days in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea."
"Since you've already made up your mind, then come with us!" Gu Sanzheng nodded.
During this time, the cultivators of every nation were busy contacting one another and trying to form parties. After all, it wasn't practical for 20,000 people to fight purely in one-on-one battles. As such, they were allowed to form parties with a maximum of up to ten people. Of course, if you believed yourself to be strong enough, you could choose not to form parties, and challenge the other groups by yourself.
The moon was bright on the final day of the three-month deadline, as a giant ship landed along the shores of the nameless island, drawing the gazes of many participants standing on the mountaintop.
Soon, a powerful voice came from the ship, reverberating across the skies of the nameless island. "The one hundred participants that survive at the end shall board this ship to the Western Constellations Palace. Remember! This ship will only carry one hundred participants. And in the entire cultivation realm, the opportunity to set foot in the Western Constellations Palace is not freely given to just anyone!"
Their words seemed to imply that it was already a great honor just to be able to set foot in the Western Constellations Palace.
After which, ten red streaks of light spread out across the night sky. No one knew where they were headed.
Yun Feiyang, Bai Ziliang, Feng Ruxiu, Kong Zhi, and Hei Wuya were all gathered in the main hall of Yue Yao's wooden house. They were drawing straws to decide the order of battle for the six nations' cultivators.
On the following day, at daybreak, the cultivators of each nation moved in their respective groups. All 20,000 participants gathered around the newly developed plot of flat land in the center of the island, with Yue Yao and the other representatives taking the lead for their respective camps.
It was a truly grand sight. Perhaps throughout the entire cultivation realm, few had the chance to witness such a large gathering of people. Especially when almost all of these people were garbed in Second Grade Armor Artifacts, forming a giant black mass.
Clearly, the belongings of those 160,000 cultivators that perished were now gathered in the hands of these people.
The Celestial Nation and Yao Nation had the least members, numbering less than two thousand each. The former was a result of Yun Feiyang wreaking havoc and thus allowing other parties the opportunity to strike, whereas the latter was a result of Gu Sanzheng being pegged with the name 'Niu Youde', consequently stirring up a major movement among the Yao cultivators, which also happened to give other parties the chance to attack them.
The Buddha Nation had the most members, numbering over eight thousand participants. However, at the moment, it was hard to tell that they were monks as all of them were riding on dragon steeds and had on armor and helmets.
The Devil Nation, Ghost Nation, and Boundless Nation camps were almost equal in size, numbering about four thousand participants each.
Thus, the final battle of the Sea of Constellations Subjugation Crusade had finally begun.
As the person who drew the straw to start the first round the night before, the one to kick things off was none other than the Yao Nation's Bai Ziliang.
As Bai Ziliang swept his gaze across the other nations' cultivators, he suddenly froze, staring in shock at the person beside Yun Feiyang—Miao Yi! Bai Ziliang was in disbelief that Miao Yi was actually still alive. How could this be possible?
He thought he was mistaken at first, but when Miao Yi stared right back at him with a cold, unconcealed killing intent in his eyes, Bai Ziliang was sure that this person was Miao Yi.
Miao Yi was not such a benevolent man. Bai Ziliang had almost caused him to lose his life. It was due to sheer luck that he managed to survive. No one else could imagine the pain that Bai Ziliang had caused him. Miao Yi was not so magnanimous that he would let Bai Ziliang go so easily!
Sadly, he wouldn't get the opportunity to kill Bai Ziliang even when his mortal enemy was right in front of him! Miao Yi clenched his fists so tightly that the sound of his joints cracking could be heard.
Beside him, Yan Beihong heard the noise and cast a curious gaze over. He then followed Miao Yi's gaze and saw the look in Bai Ziliang's eyes—he immediately understood what was going on.
Yun Feiyang also looked towards Miao Yi when he heard the noise, and he too followed Miao Yi's gaze and saw Bai Ziliang's reaction.
They had already announced that the competition had begun., but as the first group to go up, Bai Ziliang was still not responding. Everyone cast their gazes towards Bai Ziliang, then looked towards the direction Miao Yi was in. One after another, all 20,000 heads were turning to face Miao Yi.
"Tsk tsk! Kong Zhi, do you see that? That kid is actually still alive, and he even recovered his lost leg!" In the Buddha Nation's camp, Ba Jie suddenly gasped in surprise.
Beside him, Kong Zhi was equally astonished. What kind of man was Supreme Yao Lord Lie Huan? How did this person manage to survive the perils of a Golden Lotus First Grade cultivator's mighty array?
"I can't believe one of my Celestial Nation cultivators is actually in the Devil Nation's camp!" Standing quietly in her own camp, Yue Yao scoffed.
Behind her in the Celestial Nation's camp, Gu Sanzheng, Zhao Fei, and the others exchanged looks of surprise with one another. Miao Yi was actually still alive!
But why was he in the Devil Nation's camp instead of the Celestial Nation's camp? They had no idea what to make of this situation!
Bai Ziliang also felt displeased that he couldn't even take the life of some nameless peon. With his back facing the crowd, he took a deep breath, and without even turning his head, slowly asked, "Who is willing to be the first to step up to the plate for my Yao Nation?!"
The response from the crowd behind him was utter silence. No one said anything as they all wanted to assess the situation first.
Suddenly, several figures flew over from the direction of the ship. As they hovered in the sky, they dropped over two hundred dead bodies from their storage bangles right onto the center of the battlefield.
After dumping the bodies, the figures immediately flew back to the ship. Everyone was wondering what was going on when a cold, commanding voice suddenly came from the direction of the ship, "This is what happens to those who try to get through the Subjugation Crusade using tricks!"
The crowd immediately realized the situation. So there were still so many participants who wanted to hide their way through the Subjugation Crusade!
At the same time, the crowd was in shock. It had only been one night, and all those participants who wanted to cheat their way through had already been killed?
They roughly understood what the Red Lotus experts had flown off to do the night before. Those people were probably the Subjugation Crusade's enforcers.
After some time, seeing as there was still no one behind him willing to step out, Bai Ziliang slowly turned his Tempest Beast around, a cold expression on his face as he swept his gaze across the Yao Nation cultivators. Randomly pointing in a certain direction, he then commanded, "You lot, get out there!"
The ten people who were called out could only grit their teeth and step forward. They circled around the battlefield on their dragon steeds, scanning the participants from the other nations to try and see if they could find someone relatively weaker to challenge. That way, their chances of victory would be higher at least.
As they continued circling around, their leader's ears suddenly perked up. He turned to look at Bai Ziliang, then shifted his gaze back as he quickly zeroed in on Miao Yi. After a short discussion with his teammates, the party of ten immediately moved towards the Devil Nation's camp.
"Hehe!" Perched atop the Mad Satan Bull, Yun Feiyang had both hands on his waist with his nose slightly raised, as though trying to say— 'You must be tired of living to dare issue a challenge against my Devil Nation cultivators.'
Miao Yi could feel that something was amiss, simply from the brief interaction that group of people had with Bai Ziliang earlier on.
Just as Miao Yi expected, the leader immediately pointed towards him and said, "You! We challenge you!" He was unsure whether or not Miao Yi had formed a party.
The arrogant Yun Feiyang was taken aback by this. However, he quickly chuckled and said, "You guys made the wrong choice. He—"
Before he could finish his sentence, Miao Yi suddenly raised his hand and interrupted him.
Miao Yi faced Bai Ziliang's cold gaze. The only reason he could stay in the Devil Nation's camp was because of Yun Feiyang's protection; it was simply because of the free pass that Yun Feiyang possessed.
Before this, he had always thought that nothing was more important than making it back alive!
However, the moment he was openly challenged under so many gazes, Miao Yi immediately realized he was wrong—there was no way he could continue hiding!
Much like how Bai Ziliang wanted to kill him, he too wanted to show Bai Ziliang who's the boss!
More importantly… Miao Yi's gaze shifted from Bai Ziliang onto Yue Yao, who was also looking over to this side. Feeling something heavy on his chest, he realized he could no longer cower and hide. How could he let his little sister watch her big brother cower away in front of such a large audience, hiding in the enemy camp and shamelessly enjoying his free pass?
If his little sister were to find out about his true identity one day… he wanted to let her know that even though her big brother wasn't especially capable and couldn't amount to much, he was no coward!
"Young Master Yang!" Miao Yi took a deep breath before continuing, "Let me fight!"
Yun Feiyang's eyes widened in shock as he barked, "What kind of joke is this? Did you hit yourself in the head? How am I going to explain myself to Luo Shuangfei if something happens to you?"