Chapter 7 – Preparing
The ten Transcendents sat together, chatting and drinking while slowly becoming familiar with each other.
Peng Shan set down his glass of wine and merrily said, “Xue Ying, as the oldest one, I will say a few more words. When you arrive at the Xia Capital… the most important event is the Transcendent Battle of Life and Death! Ha ha… in these last thousand years, you’re the youngest one who has become a Transcendent. There will be many people who will want to watch your Battle of Life and Death, perhaps even some Demigods would be interested.”
With such a long lifespan, Demigods rarely bothered themselves with the matters of ordinary Transcendents.
“Right, you have to let people watch a good battle. At least until the sixth battle! Otherwise it will be disgraceful.” Zong Tu continued, “But don’t think it’s easy to last until the sixth battle! Before, big bro Eternal Wind also had to stop at the sixth match.”
“Very difficult.” agreed Chi Qiu Bai, “Mountain Lord He also stopped at the third battle. The most important factor is that the higher you go, the more bizarre the Transcendent World’s natives the Infernal Palace sent will become! A little carelessness can cost you your victory! Moreover, your opponent’s strength also will become increasingly powerful. Although I had a commendable battle ability at the time, I was still stopped at the sixth match.”
Xue Ying nodded.
Chi Qiu Bai was known for his battle ability, always striving for self improvement. With just the ordinary Profound Mystery of Wind, he could exhibit an impressive amount of strength. Afterward, he comprehended the True Meaning of Void Cleavage, allowing him to truly shock the world.
“Little Brother Xue Ying, don’t be pressured. Just do your best. Although Demigods are allowed to intervene to save the Transcendent participant, the combat speed is extremely quick. One could lose their life in an instant!” advised Cheng Ling Shu.
Xue Ying started to sweat slightly.
Call himself little brother Xue Ying?
But he was also unable to refute it. The youngest of them was Cheng Ling Shu, who was more than one hundred years old. That was already older than his grandparents!
“Just have an enjoyable battle. Xue Ying has already awakened his primordial bloodline, so his recovery ability is extremely good. He wouldn’t die that easily.” Peng Shan continued, “Additionally, this is a rare and valuable opportunity to get Transcendent contribution points, so be sure to use it well.”
Xue Ying smiled.
He really wanted to fight fiercely at this Transcendent Battle of Life and Death, to expose his brilliance! The first reason was because the more dazzling his performance, the more attention he would get from the Demigods. At that point, anyone who wanted to put a bounty on him would have to follow Bloodshed Tavern’s example and set an astonishingly high price if they wanted results. The second reason, was to improve himself. Where else could he find this kind of low risk battle with Transcendents? Finally, he could get Transcendent contribution points.
One contribution point was equivalent to half a kilogram of Origin Stone!
Winning the first match would award him with ten contribution points, the second match would award him twenty contribution points, the third would award forty contribution points… every match award continually doubled the previous one!
History’s most accomplished participant, with an eleven match record, received more than twenty thousand Transcendent contribution points! That was more than ten thousand kilograms of Origin Stones! Even the Origin Stones that Elder Lei Zhen left behind only amounted to around one thousand and five hundred kilograms.
Of course, that was incomparable to Xia Clan’s most accomplished expert. Ten thousand years ago, Dan Qing Yan, fighting until the ninth match, received more than five thousand contribution points.
“This is the easiest way to accumulate contribution points. After the Transcendent Battle of Life and Death, you have to accept life and death tasks one by one for just ten contribution points.” Peng Shan sighed, “so if you miss this opportunity, there’s no other one like it.”
Xue Ying slightly nodded.
“Xue Ying, after the Battle of Life and Death, you will likely head out to temper yourself in the dangerous regions of the Infernal Realm. At that time, remember to be vigilant towards the natives as well as the human Transcendents you meet,” warned Peng Shan.
“Be careful around them?” Xue Ying frowned, “Could it be that they are able to employ some underhanded schemes?”
“Transcendents have different temperaments and characters,” Chi Qiu Bai said gently, “There are many kinds of people; those who are sinister and selfish and those who are lunatics… Although the death of a Transcendent can be investigated by the Infernal Palace, and once the truth surfaces, the guilty party can suffer punishment or even death! But keep in mind, what if the Infernal Palace can’t uncover the truth? What can you do?”
Cheng Ling Shu also added, “It’s true. While there may be a few people who might openly state their desire to kill you, it is far more common to have people who betray you. If it happens, you have only yourself to blame about your failure to understand them.”
“Most of the Transcendents are restricted by the Infernal Palace, but there’s an exception. The Bloodshed Tavern.” Chi Qiu Bai spoke again, “If someone puts a bounty on your life through them, the Bloodshed Tavern can dispatch people to kill you. Even if you ask for help and we hurry over, if he has already killed you by the time we arrive, he has no crime since he accepted the mission!”
“Just let Bloodshed Tavern have their way?” Xue Ying frowned, he had always thought that Bloodshed Tavern was too tyrannical.
Chi Qiu Bai helplessly shook his head, “To tell you the truth, there are some extraordinary Deity World characters who stand behind Temple of the Earth God and Bloodshed Tavern! With our Xia Clans’ ancestors participating and the assistance from other Transcendent organisations, we can handle Temple of the Earth God. But that is far from the case if the Bloodshed Tavern steps in.”
“Ah!” Xue Ying was startled.
Bloodshed Tavern’s backing was so powerful!
“Bloodshed Tavern purely assigns assassinations. They also have their own rules, refraining from stirring up trouble that could lead to public outcry,” explained Chi Qiu Bai. “To put a bounty on you, the more talented you are, the more astonishing the reward they have to offer. So it’s rarely seen for someone to put a bounty on a Transcendent.”
Xue Ying nodded.
Bloodshed Tavern’s service was a shady one. Their asking price for a life was exceedingly high!
“Oh, right, Xue Ying, do you have any interest in becoming a teacher at my Eternal Wind Academy?” Chi Qiu Bai suddenly asked, “Rest assured, a Transcendent teacher only needs to put their name in and occasionally give some pointers. You can even meet some good seedlings and accept several disciples. Our Eternal Wind Academy already has four Transcendents, the best in Tranquil Sun Province.”
“Eternal Wind” Peng Shan was unsatisfied, “You’re really fast in scouting him, I’ve still not started.”
Xue Ying smiled.
Chi Qiu Bai was the founder of Eternal Wind Academy; on the other hand, Peng Shan was one of the founders of the Phantom Blade Academy.
“Let’s wait a bit, I just recently become a Transcendent and training is still my first priority. Perhaps, in the future, I can become a teacher,” replied Xue Ying. “Oh right, my little brother, Dong Bo Qing Shi was interested in going to Eternal Wind Academy.”
“Your brother? No problem. Promising young talents are welcomed at our Eternal Wind Academy.” Chi Qiu Bai smiled, “Last time I went to your place, I met with your brother. He has a nice talent for magic. There’s three Transcendent mages in the entirety of Tranquil Sun Province. Two of them are at our Eternal Wind Academy – Zi Che and Old Hai.”
“Rest assured, I will observe your little brother. If he has enough talent or diligence, accepting him as a personal disciple is not a problem.” Said the white haired old man Hai Ru Zhen.
“Why you? Maybe he’ll be more interested in becoming my personal disciple,” said Zi Che Gu Feng.
It was easy enough to to understand that if both of them felt his brother had no talent or diligence, they could give Xue Ying some face and accept Qing Shu as a common disciple.
After all, everyone at the table were Transcendents from the Tranquil Sun Province. It was normal to give each other some face. This was even more the case when it came to a genius like Xue Ying. There was a good chance that he would break into Saint Realm.
……
The ten Transcendents continued to drink and chat until the sun went down before parting their separate ways.
Xue Ying also returned to his own residence.
“Master.” the female housekeeper Xu Qin was already waiting at the gate. “Master, we have a guest from the Infernal Palace that has already been waiting for more than two hours.”
“Oh” Xue Ying was surprised.
He immediately went to the great hall.
There was a youngster silently waiting inside the hall. When he saw Xue Ying enter the great hall, this youngster stood up and politely greeted Xue Ying, “Greetings sire. I was ordered to come and ask when you plan to carry out your Transcendent Battle of Life and Death?”
The Transcendent Battle of Life and Death had to be done within one year of becoming a Transcendent! Delaying it for more than a year was considered to be giving up this event.
“En.” Xue Ying pondered for a moment then said, “Half a year. After half a year, I will participate in Transcendent Battle of Life and Death.”
“Very well, I shall report it as so. I will not disturb you any longer then. I’ll be taking my leave then.”
Xue Ying nodded.
This Infernal Palace messenger immediately departed.
The one year period for Xue Ying to participate in Transcendent Battle of Life and Death had started from the moment he left Black-Wind Abyss. As of then, one month had already passed. Since his breakthrough, Xue Ying had not started practicing any of the secret skills or cultivation Qi methods he had obtained, but he was still confident. Half a year was enough time to prepare!
“I need to prepare carefully for the Transcendent Battle of Life and Death.” Xue Ying decided. His training started from that very night.