Time went by bit by bit. It was getting close to noon. There were countless people in the vast space surrounding the Fenghua Platform. They were all discussing the Fenghua Rank. Soon, the Fenghua Banquet would enter the most critical moment—when the emperor decided the candidates of the Fenghua Rank. Everyone was waiting for this to happen.
Young Lord Ye Wuchen was the cream of the crop with amazing swordsmanship. Zuo Qianfan of the Cangye College was incontestably talented. They were both in the Second Dharma Plane. How amazing would their fight be?
Wang Yu, the pride of the Wang family, had always been pursuing Lin Yueyao, the number one beauty of Cangye Kingdom. Would he be able to display his brilliance today and win the lady’s heart?
Yu Sheng seemed undefeatable in the Glory Plane. Would he or Lin Yueyao be stronger?
How would the three beauties of the Glory Plane—Lin Yueyao, Hua Zhixin, and Hua Jieyu—fare against each other?
Ye Futian had defeated seven strong opponents of the Qin Clan. Next, there was a high possibility that he would face Bai Qiu’s revenge. With Ye Futian’s skills in the Seven-star Glory Plane, would he be a threat to Bai Qiu or would he be humiliated?
Would the talents from outside the Imperial City be able to shake the brilliant geniuses of the city?
All of this would be revealed shortly after.
As time passed, the 15 people came to the Fenghua Platform. Ye Futian gazed at the crowd, eyes sweeping past Bai Qiu and Yu Jiang, the genius of Cangye College. He hadn’t forgotten about what happened at the banquet last night. The nobles and lords returned to their seats beside the emperor’s seat. They looked to the 15 figures, also anticipating what was to come.
“Lord, Wuchen’s talent is unparalleled. He will definitely be part of the top three of the Fenghua Rank,” a clan member said to Lord Ye.
“Your Wang Yu is highly talented as well. He may have a chance.” Lord Ye chuckled.
The Wang clan elder smiled. Glancing at a youth beside the Fenghua Platform, he said, “That boy’s cultivation is unorganized. I don’t know what he’s thinking every day and he’s chatting even now.”
At the moment, Wang Yu was standing next to the beautiful Lin Yueyao while saying something. They seemed to be chatting and attracted many jealous gazes. Perhaps only someone like Wang Yu was qualified to approach Lin Yueyao.
“Clan Leader Wang, you must be lying. If he gets the Lin family girl, you’ll probably dislocate your jaw from laughing,” someone else said. The Wang elder laughed as well. If Wang Yu really could win Lin Yueyao, it would definitely be a great thing.
While they were conversing, the royals arrived and sat in their seats. Looking at the sun, the emperor announced, “Let us begin.”
The Cangye College elder walked onto the Fenghua Platform. There were no bookmarks this time. Instead, the elder gazed at the 15 stars in the air and said, “Listen carefully.”
The people nodded. 15 gazes fell upon the elder.
“There are no rules in the final round,” the elder said. “Anyone who wishes to perform can step onto the Fenghua Platform. You can display your talents however you wish. Everything will end when no one else wishes to continue. In the end, the emperor will personally name who will enter the Fenghua Rank, depending on your performance.”
After the elder finished, he stepped off the platform. Everything hereafter was for the 15. They could do whatever they wanted without any restrictions. Many looked to the five in the Glory Plane. Of them, Ye Futian’s trio wouldn’t fight against each other. This way, there was no more leeway. Would they challenge those of the Dharma Plane?
Those who remained until now were all abnormally talented. Even Lin Yueyao probably had no confidence against the Dharma Plane.
Lin Yueyao’s gaze fell upon Hua Zhixin and Ye Futian’s group. She was the highest of the Glory Plane but challenging those below her was not as impressive.
The atmosphere was strange and no one stepped onto the Fenghua Platform.
“I’ll fight the first battle,” Hua Jieyu whispered to Ye Futian.
“Okay.” Ye Futian smiled gently. He and Hua Jieyu were both unpopular but he believed in Hua Jieyu. As a full elemental spiritual sorcerer, her talent was much better than what other’s imagined. Otherwise, the Nandou clan wouldn’t have put all their hope on her. Minister Zuo hadn’t predicted her fate yet at that time; they had chosen her purely for her talent.
Hua Jieyu’s body flashed. She descended onto the Fenghua Platform like a fairy. She looked up into the air and everyone’s gazes sharpened. She was looking at the number one beauty of Cangye, Lin Yueyao.
Everyone thought that the emperor didn’t name Hua Jieyu because she was overshadowed by Lin Yueyao. However, the one she wanted to challenge first happened to be Lin Yueyao.
Hua Jieyu didn’t speak but Lin Yueyao seemed to understand. Her clothes fluttering, she flew down and landed on the platform. The two beauties wanted to complete the battle they didn’t have the chance to before.
“Your plane is a disadvantage,” Lin Yueyao murmured. She was at the Nine-star Glory Plane while Hua Jieyu was two planes lower.
“Let’s start,” Hua Jieyu said softly. After that, light flashed behind her. She had released her life spirit.
This was Hua Jieyu’s first time releasing her life spirit. She had inherited her mother’s but it was even more beautiful. It was a crown, elegant and holy. It radiated with dazzling light. When the crown rested on Hua Jieyu’s head, there seemed to be invisible spiritual ripples all around her. Even Lin Yueyao, standing far away from her, could feel her own spiritual strength tremble.
The Spiritual Qi around Hua Jieyu seemed to erupt. Wind wrapped around her and the wood elemental Spiritual Qi transformed into the Lock of a Thousand Vines. It covered the sky and extended forward. She instantly glowed with holy light like a fairy.
When they saw this, everyone realized that they’d underestimated Hua Jieyu’s talent. She was stronger than what they’d thought.
Lin Yueyao felt threatened too. A similarly beautiful glow appeared behind her. She released her life spirit. It was a beautiful demon—the Purple Gold Roc.
Lin Yueyao’s mount was a Purple Gold Roc as well. The elders of her clan had captured an Arcana level Purple Gold Roc for her so she could understand her life spirit better. That was how powerful a big clan was.
Beautiful golden feathers appeared on Lin Yueyao’s body. A similar wind wrapped around her body. She also knew wind sorcery.
Two beautiful figures shot into the air. They hovered above the Fenghua Platform, captivating everyone.
The Lock of a Thousand Vines curled toward Lin Yueyao. Her golden wings flashed sharply like daggers. They flapped, continuously slicing the vines curling at her.
Boom. The wings shook and Lin Yueyao flew toward Hua Jieyu at an extreme speed. She also cultivated martial arts; her life spirit gave her amazing power and speed. Hua Jiayu mainly cultivated spiritual sorcery and didn’t study martial arts. Fighting Hua Jieyu from the distance was not a smart choice.
Seeing Lin Yueyao approach, Hua Jieyu remained calm. Water elemental Spiritual Qi gathered around her.
Poof, poof… Golden blades continuously popped out of Lin Yueyao’s wings. With the wind spell’s help, she charged at Hua Jieyu.
A dazzling light flashed past Hua Jieyu’s eyes. An invisible spiritual strength burst forth. The golden daggers slowed down and exploded into Spiritual Qi before Hua Jieyu.
At the same time, Lin Yueyao used the attack’s protection to approach Hua Jieyu. Her wings really transformed into blades now. Once she got close, Hua Jieyu would be in trouble.
Hua Jieyu reached forward. A terrifying spiritual wave rippled out like a storm sweeping forward. Lin Yueyao’s terrible speed reduced too and even paused temporarily in the sky.
Her life spirit seemed to shake violently. Golden lightning tore through everything. The Purple Gold Roc’s shadow appeared on her body. She broke free from the restraint and continued forward.
There was rumbling, and a water spell suddenly erupted before Lin Yueyao. It instantly swept toward her body. This spell wasn’t offensive but it seemed to stick to her, making it impossible for her to advance. Powerful attacks were useless against water spells. Her wings and lightning beat upon the watery prison and just passed right through.
“Ice Seal.” Hua Jieyu’s powerful spiritual strength erupted again and the watery prison turned into ice. Lin Yueyao was instantly frozen inside.
There were rustles again. The Lock of a Thousand Vines swept toward Lin Yueyao’s ice-sealed body and buried her within. But things didn’t stop here. Countless golden swords appeared in the air. Supported by the wind spell, they hovered quietly in the air, aimed at Lin Yueyao.
With a loud boom, the Ice Seal and Lock of a Thousand Vines all exploded. Lin Yueyao burst free with a beautiful flash. But at the same time, a gust of strong spiritual strength fell onto her, making her stop again. The golden blades transformed into real lightning. They descended in an instant, landing before Lin Yueyao’s beautiful figure. But then they stopped without stabbing down.
Lin Yueyao’s eyes went blank. The countless hovering daggers right before her eyes felt unreal. Then she looked up at Hua Jieyu.
“You lost,” Hua Jieyu said softly. Her voice was still calm and indifferent but all the strong talents around the Fenghua Platform were frozen on her. She had used the spiritual power to guide all the elements. As a spiritual sorcerer, Hua Jieyu had made everyone overlook her terrifying talent of the other elements. Now, she displayed her talent in wind, metal, water, and wood.
The first battle of the Fenghua Banquet’s last round had shaken everyone.
Lin Yueyao, number one beauty of the Cangye Kingdom, was defeated!