After hearing Ye Futian’s words, everyone from the Qin Clan had a darkened expression on their face. They were utterly humiliated.
The spectators in the air looked at the handsome young man in shock. Ye Futian only had to play one piece to wipe out seven powerful cultivators from the Qin Clan. It was already humiliating enough that the highest-level cultivator was in the Nine-Starred Glory Plane. ‘The Qin Clan’s musical sorcery and disciples are just as the rumors say’. How were the Qin Clan members supposed to feel after Ye Futian said that?
The worst thing was the way he said it. Ye Futian’s tone was calm and peaceful. A smile was spread across his face. He made it look like he really meant what he said. A silent killer.
Crawling up from the ground, Su Mu just wanted to dig a hole and bury himself in it. He knew everyone was staring at him. From this point on, whenever anybody would look at him, they would probably think of this battle. It was not hard to tell how Su Mu felt at this moment.
“Although you have won, there is no need to insult others. I admit that I still have a lot to learn but you’re not going to make it past this round either,” said Su Mu, not forgetting to jinx Ye Futian.
“That’s alright. To have been able to get a taste of the Qin Clan’s musical sorcery, I haven’t wasted the trip here,” smiled Ye Futian. Su Mu wanted to find a hole and hide. His expression darkened. This was a direct quote of what he had said to Ye Futian before the battle.
“A final jab…” No one in the audience had anything to say, neither did Su Mu and the others. Actually, they were too humiliated to say anything else. In a gray mood, they all clumsily scattered off the Fenghua Platform.
To be honest, Su Mu had it coming. When they had first set foot on the platform, he first provoked Ye Futian. Ye Futian had not yet opened his mouth before Su Mu ran his. Su Mu was so sure that he would win. No one expected the battle to end this way.
It was all because Su Mu was overly confident. As an occupation class, Musical Sorcery was different from the rest. It was much harder to make up for a difference in the level of cultivation. Plus, the Qin Clan’s musical sorcery was the most orthodox in the Cangye Kingdom. Su Mu was very confident that his musical sorcery was stronger than that of Ye Futian. Unfortunately, it was all a delusion.
From in the air, Bai Qiu kept his eyes on Ye Futian. Ye Futian had defeated seven of the Qin Clan’s best in this battle, hurting the clan’s pride.
Everyone else was thinking back at yesterday’s conversation between Bai Qiu and Ye Futian. So, this was the reason why Ye Futian rejected the offer to enter the Qin Clan. If he was already able to defeat the members of the Qin Clan, what was there to learn from them? At the thought of this, many people turned to look at Bai Qiu.
If Ye Futian got the chance to battle against him, Bai Qiu would definitely try violently to get revenge on Ye Futian to reclaim the pride lost in this battle.
Not far from Ye Futian, the battle between Hua Zhixin and the Demon Clan had also come to an end. The delicate figure remained quietly standing while the three cultivators from the Demon Clan, Yun Di included, had been defeated.
Hua Zhixin and Yun Di were both named as strong contenders for the Fenghua Rank. Both of them were extremely gifted. However, Hua Zhixin was of a higher cultivation level than Yun Di. Thus, the audience was not too surprised at this result, but it did give them a strange feeling that Yun Di had lost in both battles.
In the first round of battles, he met the freak, Yu Sheng, and now, Hua Zhixin. All they could say was that this young prodigy from the Demon Clan was simply too unlucky.
“Ye Futian. Hua Zhixin. Pass,” the elder announced the results. Prodigy, Yun Di, had been eliminated quicker than anticipated. To this, spectators could only let out a sigh. Yun Di had not even gotten the chance to be considered by the emperor.
Ye Futian and Hua Zhixin met eyes and shared a smile. Then, they left the Fenghua Platform separately. The battle between those in the Glory Plane had concluded. Only five people had passed and received candidacy to be considered by the emperor for the Fenghua Rank. These five were: Yu Sheng, Lin Yueyao, Hua Jieyu, Hua Zhixin, and Ye Futian.
Unexpectedly, there were three beauties among them!
People had also noticed that Yu Sheng, Ye Futian, and Hua Jieyu were a group. Ye Futian and Hua Jieyu seemed to be a couple, while Yu Sheng and Ye Futian seemed to be extremely close as well. They were just like brothers. Yu Sheng had previously yelled at Bai Qiu in anger for Ye Futian, telling him to shut up.
Now, all three of them have become a candidate for the Fenghua Rank. It was pretty difficult not to take notice of them. It did not seem like they were from the Cangye Kingdom’s imperial city because otherwise, they would have received lots of attention early on. So, which prefecture of the Cangye Kingdom were they from?
Quickly, the people threw their questions aside. The battles between the Dharma Plane participants had begun. Only five people in the Glory Plane had passed but there should be more to do so in the Dharma Plane. After all, they were in a higher plane, so they should higher cultivation.
The battle between the Dharma Plane cultivators was extra thrilling. They more heated the battle got, the more certain people began to stand out.
For example, Young Lord Ye Wuchen. With an arrogant, cold demeanor, no one could get past the sword in his hand. What’s more, he had not yet released his Life Spirit. Otherwise, he would have been even more frightening. Not even the prodigy level Dharma Plane cultivators could withstand his sword.
Besides Ye Wuchen, there was also Zuo Qianfan and Yu Jiang from Cangye College, as well has Bai Qiu from the Qin Clan. All of them were strong contenders for the Fenghua Rank. Naturally, their performance would not be too shabby. They were all very outstanding and all passed, receiving candidacy for the Fenghua Rank.
In addition to these participants, others that had passed included: one person from the Demon Clan, two nobles, and three people who have come a long way outside of Cangye City. All of them had put on a show-stealing performance.
Five from the Glory Plane and ten from the Dharma Plane. The candidates for the Fenghua Rank consists of a total of 15 cultivators. Among this group, ten of them would enter the actual rank. The chances were high for everyone now but it was also more difficult now.
In this group of 15, Ye Futian, Hua Jieyu, and Yu Sheng had the lowest level of cultivation. They were all Seven-Starred Glory Plane cultivators. People were amazed at this. If they weren’t incredibly gifted, this would not have been possible.
Out of the three, Yu Sheng was the strongest contender for the Fenghua Rank. The emperor picked people not solely based on abilities but also gifts. From the group of fifteen people, Yu Sheng’s gifts in martial arts stood out the most because it was different from the rest. People with special gifts like him were usually favored.
On the other hand, people did not have high hopes for Hua Jieyu and Ye Futian. Hua Jieyu’s opponent might end up being Lin Yueyao. As the Cangye Kingdom’s number one beauty, Lin Yueyao was the best, regardless of looks or gifts and talents. With her shining so brightly, it was going to be difficult for Hua Jieyu to outdo her.
The reason why Ye Futian wasn’t favored was simple. Although he had outstanding gifts, he was a Musical Sorcerer. Amongst the cultivators in the same occupation class, there was Dharma Plane Musical Sorcerer, Bai Qiu, present. Ye Futian may very well be suppressed by him. There was no way the emperor would pick two Musical Sorcerers for the Fenghua Rank. Because of this, the possibility that Ye Futian would be eliminated instead of Bai Qiu was very high.
Besides, Ye Futian had previously insulted members of the Qin Clan. Bai Qiu was going to pick on him for sure.
After six battles, not too much time had passed. Emperor Ye looked up at the sky and then at the crowd. With a smile, he said, “After all that bustling, why don’t we all take a rest. You guys can take this time to think about what request you want to make. Some of you need to be prepared when the time comes later today.”
Many people began to laugh. The top three on the Fenghua Rank would get to make a request to the emperor. There was no way anyone would let go of an opportunity like this. They must try their best to fight for it! However, the chances of getting into top three would be much harder than getting into the top ten out of the 15. Although these 15 were all the best of the best, not too many of them had absolute confidence they would make it to the top.
After Emperor Ye finished speaking, he left in his carriage. The crowd remained outside of the imperial palace. It was not too long before noon, they were willing to wait where they were.
Who would be picked by the emperor? Who would make it into the top three, the place above all? Everyone started discussing. The skies about the platform became extra loud.
Ye Futian and his friends arrived to join Hua Fengliu and Nandou Wenyin.
“Master, you will be healed very soon!” Ye Futian smiled at Hua Fengliu. It seemed like he was sure that had top three in the bag.
To heal Hua Fengliu had been Ye Futian’s biggest wish. After the death of Elder Qin, his will to accomplish this wish became stronger. So, when he heard that the Cangye Kingdom was holding the Fenghua Banquet, Ye Futian did not hesitate in his decision to participate.
“With a chance to request something from the emperor, it would be a waste to ask for my injuries to be healed,” Hua Fengliu looked at his disciple. He obviously had no doubts about Ye Futian’s abilities. If he really wanted to get into the top three, he was for sure going to get in. The question was, how much of his gifts was going to be exposed?
Simply revealing his gifts as a Musical Sorcerer was enough to get him candidacy for the Fenghua Rank. If Ye Futian revealed any more gifts, he would be a shoo-in for the rank. Top three would depend on the circumstances when the time comes.
“Yeah, it would be a waste but it’s because you’re lucky enough to have a good disciple like me,” said Ye Futian.
“Where are your limits?” Hua Fengliu asked with a darkened expression. He was just having a touching moment but hearing Ye Futian’s words rendered him speechless.
“I only speak the truth,” Ye Futian said nonchalantly.
“Futian is right. You should be happy to have such a disciple,” Nandou Wenyin said with a smile.
“Masteress, you’re the best!” Ye Futian gave her a big, charming smile.
“….” Hua Fengliu looked at his wife, then at Hua Jieyu who was standing beside Hua Jieyu. A wave of sadness washed over him.
Just then, a large crowd headed in their direction. Ye Futian turned to look at them and heard what one of them said. “Ye Futian, have you thought about joining a clan for cultivation?”
Ye Futian looked at the people who had approached. They were separate groups and have seemingly come to recruit new members.
“No need. I haven’t thought about it,” Ye Futian shook his head and smiled. He continued, “Thank you for asking.”
Ye Futian thought it was strange. Why did they only invite him and not Yu Sheng?
“Alright.” Everyone smiled and nodded. Then, they looked to Yu Sheng. A person in the crowd said with a smile, “Yu Sheng, I would like to say congratulations in advance. If you get picked by the emperor please don’t let the opportunity go to waste.”
Yu Sheng looked at him calmly and made no attempts to reply, so the people said their goodbyes and left.
Ye Futian finally understood. They reason why they did not invite Yu Sheng was that they knew they weren’t worthy. So, did that mean that Ye Futian was looked down on?
He suddenly felt very depressed. They had just come to extend an invitation to him but who would have thought it was because in their opinion, Ye Futian would not make it into the Fenghua Rank?
Everyone chit-chatted away. Many of them discussed the candidates of the Fenghua Rank. Yu Sheng was a popular choice. However, Ye Futian’s name was rarely mentioned.
Ye Futian glared at Yu Sheng. Yu Sheng looked back at him feeling wronged. It’s not my fault!