CHAPTER 559: CHAPTER 202: SO CHEAP!

As soon as Jiang Yuning entered the grand hall, she immediately glanced around and then her gaze turned toward Jia Yongheng and the others, her beautiful eyes instantly brightened.

She lingered her gaze on Zhou Yan for a moment, her expression filled with greeting, concern, apology, as well as a sense of helplessness and powerlessness.

These emotions flashed momentarily, and then she calmly followed behind the Four Great Ancient Saints, arriving at the very center of the hall.

Previously there were no designated places at the center of the hall, but now, as the Yaochi Saint appeared, it became like the royal palace of a king, with a large row of seats appearing at the most prestigious position at the top.

The Yaochi Saint sat in the middle, while the Four Great Ancient Saints stood outside these seats, not taking any.

At this time, the Holy Daughter also stood beside the Yaochi Saint, without sitting down.

While everyone was still surprised, a crisp voice once again spread to all corners of the grand hall.

"Outer Domain Star River lineage, Body Separation Artifact Dao Sect, Heavenly Book Saint has arrived."

The Heavenly Book Saint, the first to arrive.

Then, that clear voice appeared again.

"Outer Domain Sage of Spectral Spirits Sacred Land Sage of Spectral Spirits has arrived..."

"Outer Domain Fallen Moon Ancient Clan, Fallen Moon Saint has arrived..."

"Outer Domain Heavenly Que Ancient Clan, Yin Que Saint has arrived..."

"Sword Burial Ancestor Star Netherworld Island Saint, Devil Flame Saint has arrived..."

"Sword Burial Ancestor Star Soul-controlling Island Saint, Kui Luo Saint has arrived..."

"Sword Burial Ancestor Star Tianji Island Saint, Wuque Saint has arrived..."

"Sword Burial Ancestor Star Carefree East Prefecture Saint, Taiyuan Saint has arrived..."

"Sword Burial Ancestor Star Guanghan South Mansion Saints Qian Yao Saint, Gui Die Saint has arrived..."

"Sword Burial Ancestor Star Haoran West Prefecture Heaven-leaning Saint has arrived..."

"Sword Burial Ancestor Star Asking Dao Northern Prefecture Boundless Saint has arrived..."

"Outer Domain Yang Family Ancestor Saint Fei Xiao Saint has arrived..."

"Outer Domain War God Family Huangfu Battle Saint, Diancang Saint has arrived..."

"Tianji Mountain Heavenly Mechanism Saint, Wuwei Saint has arrived..."

"Destiny Temple Heavenly Destiny Saint has arrived..."

...

With the arrival of the Destiny Temple’s Heavenly Destiny Saint, this series of Saints had finally all arrived.

Yaochi Saint had considerable prestige, with a total of fifteen Saints attending.

Behind each Saint were their disciples, each one of them utterly remarkable, many of whom didn’t even need to participate in the grand competition and could direcly enter the Nine Origin Heavenly City.

Each Summoned Saint took seats similar to that of Yaochi Saint, sitting high above, overseeing the talented disciples below.

And as the Heavenly Destiny Saint from the Destiny Temple took his seat, many cultivators below began to quietly discuss.

"Never expected that the Holy Daughter’s betrothal would attract even the Saints from outside the domain."

"Even more unexpected that the Saints from the Four Great Mansions and Three Great Islands of the Sword Burial Ancestor Star also came."

"Really looking forward to it. This betrothal, not only our side’s participants but also the disciples of these Saints have come to cut in line. Just wonder how Zhou Yanxuan can compete with them in resources and bridal gifts."

"I’ve heard that Zhou Yan established some kind of Sacred Land, but it’s unknown if any Saints are stationed there. Weren’t there a few Saints who appeared before? Unfortunately, they were all half dead without much combat power. Hard to fight even when several of them gang up."

"It’s true. Besides that, those backing the other participants really belong to the Ancient Saint level with endless treasures."

"Heavenly Mechanism Mountain’s Saint, Wuwei Saint, is recognized as the foremost among the Saints. With his involvement, it’s almost certain that the Holy Daughter will become Zhuge Chunqiu’s bride."

"Strange that the Double Saints backing Ji Wu didn’t come."

...

Many discussions ensued, but Zhou Yan felt slightly uneasy in his heart.

If Tianji Mountain truly intervened, he knew he was powerless to stop them.

Just then, another voice announced.

"Outer Domain Ancient Saints Kong Ji, Wuxu Saint have arrived..."

"Outer Domain Ancient Saint Family Nantian Family, Sealed Saint has arrived..."

After the voices ceased, three more Saints arrived.

Among these three, two were Kong Ji and Wuxu, the Double Saints, followed by the expressionless and seemingly lifeless Ji Wu.

And beside the Nantian Family’s Ancient Saint Nantian Fengcun was a cultivator familiar to Zhou Yan, none other than Nan Tianxiao whom Zhou Yan had met and interacted with before.

Zhou Yan thoughtfully watched as Nan Tianxiao squinted at him and then looked toward another direction.

Following his gaze, Zhou Yan looked over and was instantly invigorated.

There stood the War God Family’s Saint from the Huangfu Family, Huangfu Diancang, with siblings Huangfu Zhan, Huangfu Jing, and a gentle and personable purple-clothed young girl, whose vitality and strength were incredibly formidable.

As Zhou Yan looked over, Huangfu Jing blinked her adorable eyes and warmly gestured to Zhou Yan.

Meanwhile, Huangfu Zhan’s eyes were filled with a desire to fight, seemingly eager to battle Zhou Yan once again.

However, Zhou Yan noted his strength—it had reached Combat Power Breaking Nine, attaining the prowess of Sword Void Eight Transformation!

"Indeed, with the cultivation from the Saint Families, their training every day is like an adventure. If it weren’t for my ability to break limits, I would be no match for these people!"

Zhou Yan was tremendously shaken, to say the least.

However, he soon came to terms with it.

These ancient families could have their genius disciples endure harsh cultivation in secret realms, undergo thorough cleansing and transformation of their physical bodies, and continuously consume Holy Soul Pills; even a pig could become a formidable individual, let alone others like Huangfu Zhan who possessed unparalleled talents. It was only natural for them to progress this way.

Zhou Yan saw Huangfu Zhan and then looked toward the Yang Family. Indeed, there he saw Yang Liufeng, the once extremely arrogant genius. His strength was almost comparable to Huangfu Zhan’s, only slightly lower in combat power.

The growth of these individuals was not inferior to that of Zhou Gucheng. Now, under Zhou Yan’s tutelage, Zhou Gucheng had changed his bloodline and bones, suffered in the secret realms, grasped the laws within the Holy Artifacts, and swiftly advanced to the Void Realm Third Transformation. Yet, the gap between him and the others was narrowing.

This highlighted just how incredibly important cultivation resources were.

"They all came, all here to see me marry the Holy Daughter... They have kept their promises from before."

Zhou Yan felt both emotional and relieved inside.

He looked back and among the elder Ancestor-level cultivators walking outside, he saw past friends such as Gongcheng Diewu and Gongcheng Qingyang.

Although they stood only in a corner, on the day of the Holy Daughter’s martial contest, they had all come.

Zhou Yan looked over, and those people, sensing his gaze, reciprocated with encouraging and celebratory expressions, genuinely moving Zhou Yan.

Regardless, whether friends or foes, they had all come.

...

"Ladies and gentlemen,"

The Yaochi Saint stood up, wearing a gentle smile.

Zhou Yan knew that the real decision-making time had come.

"Today is the martial contest for our Holy Daughter of the Yaochi Sacred Land, the most distinguished and holy Jiang Yuning, who possesses the highest talent ever seen here.

Before this, through the selection of geniuses, and the trials within the Guanghan South Mansion for entry into the Nine Origin Heavenly City, a number of exceptional talents were identified, but those were merely for reference.

Aside from strength and capability, the backing power also needs consideration, something I believe everyone here understands."

The Yaochi Saint said loudly.

"Indeed, if there is no supporting force behind them, or if they have offended some supreme Holy Lands or Saints, such candidates can be prioritarily excluded. Heh, like me, the Evil King, uninvited but known to all.

A bold statement from me—the Evil King—if anyone causes offense and Zhou Yan marries the Holy Daughter, I will send that person to death."

At this moment, another Saint appeared, his dark silhouette backed by twelve scythe-like shadows.

The Evil King had arrived, and several seated Saints immediately stood up, their bodies flickering with endless murderous intent.

The faces of the Four Great Ancient Saints around the Yaochi Saint immediately turned grave.

However, the Yaochi Saint, unfazed, simply gestured to a high-ranking seat nearby, saying, "Please, take a seat."

"Heh. The Yaochi Saint understands the bigger picture."

The Evil King proudly declared.

As he spoke, he carelessly took his seat among the ranks of the Saints, upsetting the Four Great Ancient Saints sitting next to the Yaochi Saint, causing their beards to bristle.

Zhou Yan frowned but remained silent.

"Many are talented, but few have both backing and strength. Roughly counting, there are nearly twenty such individuals. However, among these twenty, nineteen will need to be eliminated.

Under equal conditions, only those who can provide a wonderful life and vast cultivation resources for the Holy Daughter after marriage are truly suitable."

The Yaochi Saint added.

The Destiny Temple’s Saint, the Heavenly Destiny Saint, then smiled and said, "Indeed, what the Yaochi Saint said is sensible. However, this elimination process must be fair! Eh, in my opinion, Zhou Yan is quite impressive and should be one of the twenty, right?"

The Hall Master of the Destiny Temple suddenly spoke.

Then, he stared intently at the Yaochi Saint.

The Yaochi Saint’s expression froze.

"Indeed, Young Friend Zhou Yan and I have past affiliations, and the matter of backing forces should suffice. As for the matter with the Evil King? I would advise the Evil King to think thrice before acting, otherwise, if the Heavenly Mechanism Creation of the Evil King suddenly ends, don’t blame me—Zhuge Wuwei—for not warning you."

Zhuge Wuwei stroked his beard, suddenly saying with a smile.

The smile on the Evil King’s face stiffened, his expression becoming somewhat frozen.

But soon, he chuckled and said, "Naturally, a mere ant from the Void Realm doesn’t need my concern."

"I think Zhou Yan is quite impressive too."

At this moment, the Ancestor Saint of the Outer Domain War God Family, Diancang Saint, suddenly spoke.

The Yaochi Saint, feeling as if he’d swallowed a fly, was inwardly repulsed but dared not offend so many Saints on the spot, forcibly smiling and saying, "Indeed, among these twenty, Zhou Yan indeed has a place, having shone brightly in the trials and almost reaching a combat power of ten, truly remarkable."

The Yaochi Saint said, very uncomfortably.

Strictly speaking, he had initially decided that Zhou Yan was not even qualified to be in the top twenty, but unfortunately, the current situation favored the other side.

"The Yaochi Saint truly understands the greater good."

The Ancestor Saint of the Outer Domain Yang Family, Nonchalant Saint, nodded in response.

The Yaochi Saint inwardly cursed at that moment, thinking these Saints’ heads must have been kicked by a donkey. Why would they all speak in favor of Zhou Yan? Are they all sick?!

This situation did not look good!

Thinking this, he glanced at the Evil King again, who was looking straight ahead, paying no heed to the Yaochi Saint.

The Yaochi Saint cursed internally, "This scoundrel, seeing the situation turning sour, immediately withdrew, such a coward!"