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Chapter 246: Shangguan Xue'er (3)

Translator: Zen Translations Editor: Zen Translations

Shangguan Tianyue gave a warm smile. Towards this daughter he had been parted from for so many years, his heart was filled with love and affection. "Foolish girl, although we father and daughter have only just been reunited, but how can I not see your feelings for him? I am helping you. You must know, an outstanding man is like a sharp blade, only when it is ground will it become sharper. When you have to fight for something, only then will you treasure it more. Of course, there is one line that I was not joking about. To be my Shangguan Tianyue's son in law, it isn't so easy. I am your father, don't I have the right to give the man my daughter loves some tests?"

Listening to and thinking about Shangguan Tianyue's words, Shangguan Bing'er's expression finally warmed slightly. In the next moment, a soothing gentle white light surrounded them once more, and the surroundings turned hazy. The three of them disappeared in a flash once more.

Shangguan Tianyue did tell his daughter one thing. If not for the fact that they had already been intimate, perhaps Shangguan Tianyue might not have even given him that chance.

…

When Shangguan Tianyue and his daughters left, Zhou Weiqing stood there. His breath had calmed down, but he had entered a strange state.

There was no anger. At this moment, he had no anger, no negative emotions in his heart. In his eyes, the only thing that sparked was a cold calmness that had never been there before.

Although Shangguan Tianyue had said all that to him, and brought Shangguan Bing'er away, Zhou Weiqing did not hate him at all. The reason was very simple, at that point when Shangguan Tianyue had grabbed him by the neck, Zhou Weiqing suddenly thought of something. If he was Shangguan Tianyue, if he were in the same shoes, perhaps, he would be even worse than Shangguan Tianyue!

Without exception, any father would not feel good when his daughter was being married off, and would always be extremely careful when picking a son in law. Furthermore, Shangguan Bing'er was so beautiful, and Shangguan Tianyue had also been separated from his daughter for so many years. One could imagine how much love he had for her, yet at that point he was greeted with the sight of an unknown son in law, who looked so unexceptional, how could he possibly be happy. All he must be thinking should be 'I've finally found my daughter after so long, how can she be snatched away by another man!'

After thinking about that, Zhou Weiqing could no longer bring himself to hate Shangguan Tianyue. Of course, not hating him did not mean he did not take the words to heart. Shangguan Tianyue's words had stabbed deeply into his heart.

From the time that Shangguan Xue'er appeared to Shangguan Tianyue taking Bing'er away, the entire process gave Zhou Weiqing a lot of information.

At this point, he was extremely calm, and was analysing everything.

Fat Cat's strange actions aside, it was without question that Shangguan Xue'er and Shangguan Bing'er were sisters. Also, from what Shangguan Xue'er said, there was yet another sister, and with her calling Bing'er third younger sister, that meant they were triplets, not twins! That was to say, there was another sister looking exactly like them, and her name should be Shangguan Fei'er.

Shangguan Xue'er, Fei'er and Bing'er, three sisters. Zhou Weiqing touched his swollen red cheeks and couldn't help but feel rather speechless at the whole happenings. In the future when he met Shangguan Bing'er again, he would have to make sure before doing anything, lest he made the mistake again and got himself beaten up again!

As he thought up to this point, Zhou Weiqing's mouth moved upward in a strange smile, as the pain in his heart was slightly diminished. He was thinking to himself: If I marry Bing'er in the future, will we also have twins or triplets? Perhaps that is hereditary as well!

The next thought that struck Zhou Weiqing was this: Who exactly was Shangguan Tianyue. Earlier, the Consolidating Equipment Pavilion Managers had called him Second Palace Master. Without question, in the ZhongTian Empire, the Consolidating Equipment Pavilion had equal rank to the Skill Storing Palace. As such, if Shangguan Tianyue was just the Second Palace Master of the Skill Storing Palace, he shouldn't be treated so respectfully and a little afraid by those Consolidating Equipment Pavilion Managers.

If he was not from the Skill Storing Palace, then what other palace could have such a powerhouse like Shangguan Tianyue? There could only be one answer, the ZhongTian Empire's protector and backer, the true boss of the Consolidating Equipment Pavilion, one of the Great Saint Lands, the Heaven's Expanse Palace!

If Shangguan Tianyue was the Second Palace Master of the Heaven's Expanse Palace, then everything made sense. From his name, according to the usual sun, moon, star placement 1, he was likely to be the Emperor Shangguan Tianxing's elder brother. That meant that there could possibly a third brother, an older one? Could they also be triplets? Could the eldest brother be called Shangguan Tianri? Such a terrible name! 2

The Second Palace Master of the Heaven's Expanse Palace. Such a title… just thinking about it caused Zhou Weiqing's heart to twitch a little. His Bing'er was not just a princess of the ZhongTian Empire, but also of direct lineage of the leaders of the Heaven's Expanse Palace! How powerful was the Heaven's Expanse Palace? From Shangguan Xue'er, it was easy to tell. After all, she was triplets with Shangguan Bing'er, that meant she was only nineteen as well, yet she had already reached the seven Jewel cultivation level! At that age! Zhou Weiqing knew his talent was outstanding, and with the Immortal Deity Technique which was extremely fast, but he knew that when he reached nineteen years old, he would definitely not be able to reach the seven Jewel cultivation level without any miracles.

With all the analysis and judgements in mind, only then did Zhou Weiqing truly understanding the daunting task that lay before him, and to truly understand how Shangguan Tianyue felt as he spoke. To be his son in law, or to be clearer, to be the Heaven's Expanse Palace son in law, that was definitely not an easy task.

"Bing'er, wait for me. I will definitely let your father see my power. You are my wife, and no one will ever be able to take you away from me, not even your father. Furthermore, I will not marry into the Heaven's Expanse Palace, but have you marry to me.@ 3

After muttering that to himself, Zhou Weiqing shook himself, waving his right arm as the stubbornness deep within his bones was sparked out. His character had always been one a stubborn purpose who grew in adversity, and in this, he was extremely similar to his father Admiral Zhou. Originally, when Admiral Zhou had asked him to learn under the God Eye Scoundrel Mu En, it was because he was afraid that his son could not cultivate, and with the same character and disposition as himself, would get him into trouble that he could not handle.

However, although Zhou Weiqing had learned to be scared of death, to learn all the survival methods, the roguish and scoundrelly ways of Mu En, deep inside, some things in the character could not be changed. After all, in his body flowed Admiral Zhou's blood!

…

When Zhou Weiqing returned to the inn, he directly went to Lin TianAo's room. When he pushed open the door and entered, he discovered that all the Fei Li Battle Team members besides Crow were present.

Seeing Zhou Weiqing return was no big deal, but when the members saw the slap imprint and swollen face of his, they all had interesting expressions on their faces.

Drunken Bao raised a brow, saying: "Weiqing, what evil things did you do? Looking at your swollen face, with such a slim hand imprint, that has to be a female. Heh heh heh."

Little Four was even more direct, laughing out loud as he said: "Weiqing, you already have Bing'er, how can you still go around trying to pick up chicks. That is totally wrong, our team still has Crow, why go around looking for others instead of close by. Hmmm, although maybe that was a good decision of yours, with Crow's large hands, if she slapped you like that… Hahahahahaha!"

Ye Paopao and Lin TianAo did not say anything, just looking at him with an amused look on their faces. Surprisingly, the one who spoke last was the usually quiet Xiao Yan, though he only said simply: "I wonder if that swelling will subside in three days."

After all, if in three days the slap imprint had not subsided, if Zhou Weiqing went on the stage to fight, he would not only be throwing his own face, but also the faces of the entire Fei Li Empire!

Zhou Weiqing said gloomily: "Don't you all have any compassion? After all, I did just bring us our first victory!"

Little Four put his arm around Drunken Bao's shoulder as he continued saying laughingly: "Who has compassion for perverts! Haha… looking at you, although you were slapped, but there is no hate in your eyes. Added to the fact that it is a woman's palm print, there can only be one possibility, you were making a move on a woman and got hit, right? Since that is so, who will have compassion for you?"

Zhou Weiqing said angrily: "You guys! Hmph, I shall not talk about it anymore. Leader, I came here to tell you something. In the future matches, Bing'er will not be able to join us any further. Just now, we met her long lost relatives, and she was brought home."

Lin TianAo said curiously: "Meeting relatives? That shouldn't affect the tournament right?" Although Shangguan Bing'er's personal offense capability was likely the weakest in the entire team, but without a doubt in any team fight or two versus two fight, her amazing archery skills was definitely not to be underestimated. Suppressing the enemy, harassing them, or supporting her teammates, those were things she excelled at. Losing such a talent, especially at their current state, it was definitely not good news for the team.

Zhou Weiqing said gloomily: "If the relatives were anyone else, it wouldn't matter. However, the problem is that her relatives are from the Heaven's Expanse Palace, and as long lost relatives, I do not even know when she will return. We had better make preparations that she might not be able to join us for any further fights."

Hearing the three words of Heaven's Expanse Palace, everyone's expression changed. Lin TianAo thought for a moment, then said: "Weiqing, what about the second fight. What is your plan?"

Zhou Weiqing said: "To be safe, I'd like leader to join us. If the three of us aren't able to handle it, we may need you to take action."

Lin TianAo nodded and said: "That is probably for the best. En… Weiqing… you… should go heal the wound on your face. You can go to the Skill Storing Palace and pay some money to look for a Life Attribute Heavenly Jewel Master, that will heal such a small wound in a short period of time." As he said that, he couldn't help but give a wry smile.

Chapter 247: Three Thousand Skill Tempering (1)

Translator: Zen Translations Editor: Zen Translations

Facing the teasing smiles of his teammates, Zhou Weiqing fled out the door with a quick "I'm going to cultivate." As soon as he left the room, he heard a loud explosion of laughter behind him. In their eyes, he had definitely been trying to flirt with a girl and gotten slapped, and were all extremely amused. Of course, Zhou Weiqing did not try to tell them the truth, that he had been slapped because he had mistaken the identity of his wife…

Having a thick skin had a great benefit, by the time Zhou Weiqing returned to his room, he had already dismissed the teasing jokes.

Power was the best way to prove himself, and only if he could display his true power, would Shangguan Tianyue accept him.

The Second Palace Master of the Heaven's Expanse Palace, what kind of status and power was that? He should be at least a Heavenly King Stage or higher, perhaps even emperor or god stage! No wonder he looked down on such a lowly three-Jeweled Heavenly Jewel Master like himself. In the Heaven's Expanse Palace, at his age and still being three-Jeweled, there should be at least a few hundred or more.

Of course, it was impossible for him to raise his Heavenly Energy in a short period of time, and he had just reached the first stage of Heavenly Shen Energy not long ago. Even though the Immortal Deity Technique was extremely powerful, and now that he had completed the second portion of it, he had thirteen energy whirlpools working all the time, allowing his cultivation, training and even recovery rate to be much faster than any ordinary Heavenly Jewel Masters. Even the Immortal Deity Shield had improved. Despite that, it would still take time and effort to continue improving, especially since he had not raised to the 13th stage on his own effort, but due to Fat Cat's evolving. Up to now, he still had not figured out what exactly had happened yet.

Since his Heavenly Energy could not be increased in such a short period of time, there was only two methods for him to improve his combat prowess and power. One, was to use the Demonic Change, and the other was combat skill, and to improve his Skills.

What was his greatest advantage? Naturally, it was his six attribute Alexandrite Cat's Eye Elemental Jewel. Tang Xian was Shangguan Tianyue's wife, and as a powerhouse herself, she had naturally seen a lot as well. If even she had been surprised to see his own six Attribute Alexandrite Cat's Eye, that meant that such an Elemental Jewel would be extremely rare, even for Heaven's Expanse Palace.

Among his six main attributes, the ones he used the most were the darkness, spatial, wind and lightning attributes. Of the four attributes, there were twelve skills he had stored in total, and amongst those only the Darkness Seal Skill Blood Rites was not able to be used in direct combat. Adding the Absolute Delay of the Time Attribute, he usually had twelve skills which he used often in his combat.

Earlier, when they had all been on the road to ZhongTian City, Zhou Weiqing had sought the advice of Lin TianAo, Xiao Yan and the rest regarding how to make full use of his Stored Skills. At that time, Xiao Yan had told him: When studying a book you read it a hundred times, and you will comprehend it; when training a skill, you practice a thousand times, and you will comprehend it 1

At that time, when Zhou Weiqing had heard it, he had not thought much about it. To practice each skill a thousand times continuously without stopping, wasn't that a huge amount of time? Furthermore, Xiao Yan had said, the thousand times had to be done without any breaks in between in order to gain the benefit, to fully understand and grasp the true meaning and usage of the Skill. Yet, each time one used a skill, it was a drain on Heavenly Energy. For any Heavenly Jewel Master, to even be able to use about a dozen or so Skills continuously without running out of Heavenly Energy, that was already considered very good. With specific Consolidated Equipment to reduce the amount of Heavenly Energy needed, they would still at most be only to use about two dozen Skills continuously. After expending all their Heavenly Energy, they would have to cultivate and meditate to recover; in order to continuously practice a skill for a thousand times, even three days and nights of continuous training would likely be insufficient. Without sleeping or eating for that amount of time, who could take it?

At that time, Lin TianAo had given his opinion that the effects of such a training method were extremely good, but the side effects were also quite huge, taking a large toll on the mind and body of the practitioner. Generally, every person would only go through this once on a skill, and not more than once, as the first time usually had the best effect. Of course, most Heavenly Jewel Masters placed a greater focus on cultivating their Heavenly Energy, and not spending time on such tempering and training of skills. Not only was this method of training boring and tough, the constant lack of sleep and eating would take a huge toll on the body, causing long term damage. At that time, Lin TianAo had suggested that given sufficient time and energy, going through all his skills once over would still be good.

Originally, Zhou Weiqing had thought of trying this method once they returned from the Heavenly Jewel Tournament. However, at this moment, provoked by Shangguan Tianyue, he immediately thought of this training method. Perhaps, this was the only way for him to raise his power in a mere three days. Hmph, wasn't it just a thousand times of using a skill? For Bing'er, I'll risk everything!

As he thought up to this point, Zhou Weiqing charged out of his room, running to the dining hall of the inn to have a large meal. After which, he carried two large bottles of drinking water back to his room, and told everyone else not to disturb his training before he started on his first journey of this rather 'crazy' training method.

Although he couldn't stop during the training, without food and sleep, he still needed to take a quick drink once in awhile. After all, without water, he probably wouldn't last more than a day of such intense training.

After all the preparation, Zhou Weiqing went through all his skills in his mind, finally deciding upon the Spatial Rend as the Skill he would train. The reason why he chose it was because it was the highest rated skill out of all his skills, and furthermore it was a skill that held both offensive and defensive capabilities in one. More importantly, it was also part of the fused skill together with the Wind Attribute Silver Emperor Wing Slash, which was his most powerful offensive skill!

Without question, to temper this skill first would give him the greatest benefit.

In truth, Zhou Weiqing's greatest advantage was his Immortal Deity Technique, which did not require him to sit down and meditate to cultivate his Heavenly Energy. As long as was using and expending Heavenly Energy, the energy whirlpools at his Death Acupuncture Points would constantly draw in energy from the atmosphere, replenishing his Heavenly Energy and constantly building up and improving. Once a sufficient amount had built up, it would be followed by breaking through the next Death Acupuncture Point, thus breaking through to the next level. Although each time he attempted break through was nigh tantamount to dying once, it was without question that it was a much simpler process than any other cultivation method. As such, even when Zhou Weiqing was tempering his skills, it would not affect the speed of his cultivation of Heavenly Energy!

Even Zhou Weiqing did not realise that he had stumbled upon the training and cultivation method that suited him the most!

A bout of silver light appeared around Zhou Weiqing's hands, as the Spatial Rend drew a long three chi rend in space. It lasted for about three seconds before slowly disappearing.

To Temper the Skill, it was not just a matter of continuous using the skill, but while using the skill, one had to feel the profound secrets and mechanics behind the skill, to fully understand it.

As Zhou Weiqing sensed the changes of the Spatial Rend, he slowly realised that when the Spatial Rend appeared, it would have a great suction effect on the other attribute elements in the air, yet it did not have any such effect on actual objects. However, it was like a strange shield, if an actual object attacked it, then the Spatial Rend would actually have a powerful cutting effect, even normal metals would be sliced apart instantly. If this was used on a human body, it wasn't necessary to describe the sheer power and effectiveness of that.

That was also one of the reasons why the Spatial Rend could fuse together with the Silver Emperor Wing Slash to increase the offensive power. After all, a King Stage Skill like the Silver Emperor Wing Slash already had great destructive powers, and was extremely sharp, adding the Spatial Rend's cutting powers and the explosive effect after the Space itself was torn apart, naturally the increase in power was so strong.

Three seconds quickly passed, and Zhou Weiqing released the Spatial Rend again the second time. He constantly put his senses to the max in feeling the skill as he used it over and over again, as Spatial Rend after Spatial Rend appeared in the air in front of him. His Heavenly Energy also started draining at high speeds, and his thirteen energy whirlpools at his Death Acupuncture Points started whirling at full speeds, aiding his recovery.

Without any stopping, he continued releasing the Spatial Rends. Zhou Weiqing also wanted to try out how many he could release continuously without rest.

The cooldown of the Spatial Rend skill was about six seconds. That was to say, after using a Spatial Rend, which lasted three seconds, he would have to wait three more seconds. That was already his maximum output of the skill, and corresponding Heavenly Energy.

Amongst all of Zhou Weiqing's skills, the Spatial Rend was not the one which expended the most Heavenly Energy. This was also one of the reasons why its rating was so high. It wasn't that the higher level the skill, the greater the toll on Heavenly Energy. The greater the power with the lower expenditure, the greater the rating the skill would have.

After using the skill repeatedly, Zhou Weiqing discovered that as he continuously used the skill, every nine times that he used it, the recovery rate of his energy whirlpools would recover enough for him to use the skill one more time. This was of course impossible for normal Heavenly Jewel Masters, but with his Immortal Deity Technique, he managed to do so.

After using it seventeen times, Zhou Weiqing finally depleted his Heavenly Energy. That feat was accomplished without using any Consolidated Equipment to aid him! Furthermore, the skill was currently at the three-Jeweled stage, but Zhou Weiqing's Heavenly Energy was only at the thirteenth level, still relatively far from the sixteenth stage! To be able to use the Spatial Rend seventeen times, that was indeed an impressive number.

More importantly, at this point, Zhou Weiqing did not need to sit down to meditate and recover his Heavenly Energy. He just needed to stand there waiting, and as soon as he had sufficient energy, he would release another Spatial Rend instantly. This also caused his Heavenly Energy to be in a constant state of depletion, with his thirteen energy whirlpools to be at the maximum draw.

Just depending on the energy whirlpools to recover Heavenly Energy, Zhou Weiqing could use the skill once every minute!

Chapter 248: Three Thousand Skill Tempering (2)

Translator: Zen Translations Editor: Zen Translations

That was already a startlingly impressive state of training. Every hour, he could release sixty Spatial Rends! During every minute of waiting, he made use of the time to think and ponder about the Spatial Rend, what happened when he used it, its unique reactions etc. Furthermore, he constantly changed angles, directions, in releasing the Skill, trying out every possibility he could think off as he continued 'dissecting' the skill, as if making it part of his own life force.

As he continued using the skill, thinking pondering, experimenting, changing, improving, he fell into a trancelike state, becoming almost infatuated with it. This method of training, which he originally thought was a rather clumsy and awkward one, gave him a feeling he had never experienced before, as if the Spatial Rend was a tightly sealed door which was slowly opening, revealing its secrets to him.

This went for an entire day, as he went through the training without eating or sleeping. It was only then that he realised how tough it was for any ordinary Heavenly Jewel Master to complete this thousand-tempering training, perhaps three days and three nights would not even be enough, requiring more than five days. What kind of toll would that take on their body, without food and sleep for so long, and even the time to drink water had to be snatched quickly when pondering the skill.

It was no wonder that even someone so resolute like Lin TianAo would not easily go through this training method.

Zhou Weiqing was fully immersed in this wonderful feeling, almost unwilling to break out of it. Tempering the skill, understanding it, there seemed to be no end in sight; as soon as you felt you understood it better, a new mysterious understood struck you, and every minute change gave a strange feeling.

As the day passed, Zhou Weiqing had already completed one thousand seven hundred Spatial Rends! As immersed as he was, he had not even realised when Fat Cat had leapt out of his embrace.

This time, Fat Cat did not sleep. When she discovered that Zhou Weiqing had actually managed to unleash more than a hundred Spatial Rend in two hours, her deep purple eyes were filled with shock. Although in her eyes, Zhou Weiqing's cultivation level was extremely low, that unbelievable recovery rate was unparalleled, not even a Zong Stage Master could compare! It was rumoured that only upon reaching the Heavenly Dao Energy stage, linking with heaven and earth, only then could one's body reverberate together with the energy of the world, allowing their own personal Heavenly Energy to recover quickly.

Fat Cat's cultivation level was much higher than Zhou Weiqing's, but she knew that just in terms of recovery of Heavenly Energy, she was no match for him.

The recovery rate of Heavenly Energy was directly linked to sustainability of combat power, and could also allow one to train and temper their skills at a much faster rate. Furthermore, she sensed that Zhou Weiqing's training method was definitely unique, and had many more secrets locked behind it. If Zhou Weiqing continued on with it, perhaps his cultivation speed would rival or surpass the training methods of those Great Saint Lands!

Zhou Weiqing stayed in this training state all the way until the evening of the second day, and that was only because when he subconsciously grabbed the water container to drink, nothing entered his throat, and he was taken aback for a moment. At that point, a purple light shot forth from Fat Cat's eyes, entering Zhou Weiqing's forehead, rousing him from the state.

As he fully awoke, Zhou Weiqing started. The next instant, his body folded down and he sat down on the ground abruptly as a strong sense of weakness overcame him, flooding every inch of his body. He felt as if his brain was a mess, blurriness threatening to overcome him. His entire body was a miasma of pain, down to his very meridians, as if it were piercing right into his soul.

It took an hour of rest before Zhou Weiqing's consciousness fully recovered from the pain, and by then his clothes were fully soaked in sweat. For him, whose body was extremely powerful and had been transformed by the black pearl, such a circumstance was definitely very rare. As such, the first thing that came to Zhou Weiqing's mind was that… for any ordinary Heavenly Jewel Master to use this tempering method, to use five days to complete a thousand times, what would he feel? Probably much worse!

Indeed, his guess was right. When they had been advising him, Xiao Yan had seen that Zhou Weiqing had not taken this training method to heart, and naturally did not continue telling him about the side effects. Any normal Heavenly Jewel Master who underwent this training would be bedridden for at least half a month before recovering fully. Such overwhelming pain was one of the reasons why they would not want to continue using such a method, especially not often.

Once again, Zhou Weiqing settled down to rest, taking out some dry rations from his Spatial Necklace and gnawing upon it. After about an hour of rest, the sky had fully darkened, and he had recovered some energy. He quickly ran to the dining area to get a large bowl of porridge and some minced meat to eat, but even then the feeling of feebleness did not leave him.

Returning to his room, Zhou Weiqing collapsed onto his bed, and almost instantly fell into a deep sleep, as if he had fainted.

When he awoke from his sleep, it was already noon of the next day. He did not dare eat anything solid, having another large bowl of porridge with some more minced meat and diced vegetables. Only then did Zhou Weiqing feel alive again, though he was still feeling feeble and weak.

His stomach satiated, Zhou Weiqing returned to his room. That feeling yesterday night after the training was just too terrifying; not just the weakness in his body, but also the mind. He had been unable to think, as if he was on the verge of death.

However, now that his mind had recovered, Zhou Weiqing could fully feel the benefits of this training tempering method.

In the two days, he had used the Spatial Rend three thousand times! That gave him a rather unique feeling, as if in the past the Skill was just like a tool to him, although using it was not difficult, it was clear it was just a direct use of the Skill only.

However, after these two days of tempering training, he found that his Spatial Rend now felt different from all his other Skills. The rest were still like tools, but the Spatial Rend felt connected to him, as if part of his own life, part of his soul.

The myriad different profound meanings behind the Spatial Rend were slowly melding with him. It was still the same Skill, but it felt totally different now.

In truth, even Zhou Weiqing did not realise that a normal thousand-tempering training did not have such a powerful effect. That was because no one else could duplicate what he just did, to temper three thousand times! Three thousand times, it wasn't as simple as three times of a thousand-tempering! A Continuous three-thousand tempering, the understanding that Zhou Weiqing got from it allowed him to truly understand the Skill, the understanding behind the attribute, the various profound mysteries. Without a teacher, being able to do this was almost impossible.

Fat Cat was sleeping now, but Zhou Weiqing was extremely excited. He couldn't wait til tomorrow when he could put his new understanding of the skill to use in the fight tomorrow.

Chapter 249: Self created Fusion Skill (1)

Translator: Zen Translations Editor: Zen Translations

The ZhongTian Plaza was still filled with people. In order to get a good place to watch from, many had already rushed here since last night to snatch their spots.

This was the second actual day of the Heavenly Jewel Tournament. After the first round of the fight, the citizens and audience were really psyched up and excited.

The ZhongTian Officiating side did not try to collect any viewing fees, but they strictly restricted anyone from placing side bets, instead having a specialised official betting ground set up by the country. How many people were there in the ZhongTian City? At least ten million, and this betting ground definitely had a huge draw; not just to the ordinary citizens, but also to nobles and the rich. This was definitely the biggest betting spree in the ZhongTian Empire, happening every three years.

Furthermore, the ZhongTian Empire was pretty kind in that aspect. There was no betting allowed for the first round of the tournament. That was to allow the citizens to have a basic understanding of the teams in order to better place their bets. The first bet was from this second round onwards. As such, there were even more people here to watch as compared to the first round, the entire Plaza crowded, and even all the way to the heart of the city. In order to maintain safety, the officials had stationed several hundreds of soldiers all around to maintain order. There were almost three thousand betting stations spread around the entire ZhongTian City, allowing ease of access to place bets.

In fact, there were betting stations all around the ZhongTian Empire, not just in the ZhongTian City!

Zhou Weiqing, Lin TianAo, Crow and Ye Paopao left the inn very early. As soon as they knew that the betting stations were open, everyone unhesitatingly took out all their savings and placed a bet on themselves.

Today, the Fei Li Battle Team's opponent was the Tiecheng Battle Team, and the odds on the Fei Li Battle Team was 1 to 1.3, and the odds on the Tiecheng Battle Team was 1 to 3. That was to say, if you bet ten gold coins on the Fei Li Battle Team and won, you would get back thirteen gold coins, with a profit of three; if you bet on the Tiecheng Battle Team and won, the return would be thirty gold coins, with a profit of twenty!

From a certain perspective, the difference in odds was also the perceived difference in the teams' strengths.

Zhou Weiqing had sold all of his remaining Mid Level Consolidating Equipment Scrolls in order to scrounge out as much money as possible, managing to get four hundred thousand gold coins. That was the advantage of being a Consolidating Equipment Master; after a certain level he would never be lacking gold coins.

As compared to Zhou Weiqing, the rest were not so rich. Besides Ye Paopao, the rest of them added together had barely reached two hundred thousand gold coins. Of course, Ye Paopao, as the Premier's son, had casually taken out five hundred thouand gold coins!

The competitors had their own betting station, right beside the tournament area, and they did not need to queue up like the rest of the citizens. The team members placed their bets and headed over to their resting house.

Ye Paopao said rather gloomily: "If I had known about the bet, I should have brought more money. I only brought five hundred thousand."

Lin TianAo glanced at him speechlessly before finally saying: "You're complaining that five hundred thousand is too little? I only brought twenty thousand gold coins, and that's my life savings, most of which was all the prizes and awards that I had worked hard for from the academy. You nobles… the well fed truly do not know how the starving suffer."

Zhou Weiqing did not place much thought on the bet. Although money was important, the tournament and the fight itself was now much more important to him. With a rare look of serious concentration, he said: "Today, I'll be the first one to fight." With his physique and recuperation rate, he had mostly recovered from his training, and in that time the swell on his face had also subsided.

Lin TianAo nodded and said: "Alright, you fight first, Crow second. Let's look at the results of the first two fights first before we decide who to fight in the third round of 2v2. I'll only be taking action if absolutely necessary."

Zhou Weiqing asked: "Leader, how much have you recovered?"

Lin TianAo said: "I've recovered about eighty percent of my power. Although that day I was severely injured, I was still in better shape than Drunken Bao. Little Four was just exhausted, and he should also be recovering soon. Drunken Bao is probably at seventy percent, but Xiao Yan isn't doing too well. After all, he had drained his life force quite severely, and he's currently only at barely sixty percent. The next round, we'll be facing the Bai Da Empire, and if possible we should try not to let him and Drunken Bao fight."

Zhou Weiqing nodded in agreement before closing his eyes. Facing the fight in front of him, he was extremely calm, sitting there as if without a care in the world, not interested in the other fights starting out in front of him as he continued to immerse himself in the understanding of the Spatial Rend that he had been rewarded with after the two days of intense training. He was preparing himself for the fight ahead in his own way, bringing his status to maximum. No matter who his opponent was today, even if it was another five-Jeweled Heavenly Jewel Master again, he would no longer retreat. He believed that Shangguan Tianyue would definitely send someone to monitor him and his progress, and he wanted to prove himself to his future father in law, that he had the power to marry Bing'er.

As a loud cheer arose from the audience, the second day of the Heavenly Jewel Tournament finally started.

Just like the first day, the first fights were all the seeded teams. Similarly, all their opponents chose to surrender without a fight once more.

During the preliminary heats, the official betting system had a unique method of dealing with the seeded teams. First of all, during this period, the team facing the seeded team had to decide if they wanted to surrender or not. Outsiders could only bet whether or not they would surrender or not, with a 1 to 2 odds. Of course, the attending team could not bet on this themselves; if they tried to profit from this, not only would they be disqualified from the tournament, they would also be blacklisted and no longer allowed in future tournaments. No Empire would risk such a result for a mere profit from a single betting round, let alone risk offending the ZhongTian Empire and possible worse repercussions.

Of course, if the team actually chose not to surrender, and to fight, the bet would change. The odds on the seeded team would be a mere 1 to 0.001, while the opposing team would be a 1 to 100 bet! That was to say, even if one bet on the seeded team and won, a thousand gold coins would only earn him a single gold coins. With such a rate, hardly anyone would choose to bet on them. In fact, many would even place a small amount on the non seeded team in such a case. After all, with a 1 to 100 odds, just a small bet could net them a tidy profit!

Of course, such a strange method of betting was only for the preliminary heats. Once the tournament entered the top eight, the odds would be rearranged accordingly.

The tournament continued steadily and fight after fight went on. The various teams and members were all the elite of their empires, and they all fought to their best efforts. From the first round up til now, not a single dark horse had appeared as the fights went on. BY the time it was time for the third group, and the Fei Li Battle Team to fight, it was already almost noon. It was also the last fight of the morning, and there would be a period of rest before the remaining fights resumed in the afternoon.

"Weiqing, it's our turn." Lin TianAo patted Zhou Weiqing on the shoulder.

Zhou Weiqing opened his eyes, standing up from his seat and stretching himself before heading to the stage.

Looking at his back, Lin TianAo suddenly felt a strange sensation. That day after Shangguan Bing'er had been taken away by her family, Zhou Weiqing seemed to have changed totally, especially in terms of his disposition. In the past, he had always been cheeky, mischievous even, treating things very light heartedly. Yet now, he seemed extremely solemn and steady. Amongst the entire team, Lin TianAo was perhaps the only one who truly knew how powerful Zhou Weiqing was. After all, he had seen Zhou Weiqing's Alexandrite Cat's Eye! Not only that, he had a God Tier Consolidated Equipment. Let alone three-Jeweled Heavenly Jewel Masters, even four-Jeweled Heavenly Jewel Masters would be hard pressed to defeat him. As long as he did not face a five-Jeweled Heavenly Jewel Master, Zhou Weiqing had a high chance of winning. Of course, even against five-Jeweled Heavenly Jewel Masters, the type Zhou Weiqing was afraid of the most was the defensive type ones like Lin TianAo; as the difference in Heavenly Energy was too great.

Zhou Weiqing walked slowly up the stage, and by the time he ascended, his opponent was already standing there.

"Fei Li Battle Team, Zhou Weiqing."

"Tiecheng Battle Team, Lichuan."

With the proclamation from the judge, the fight started.

Four Waxy Jade Physical Jewels appeared around wrist of the youth called Licheng. He was of medium build, looking about twenty or so of age. As soon as the judge's shout to begin came out, he charged forward, as if sliding across the ground right towards Zhou Weiqing.

In the first day, Zhou Weiqing did not watch any other fights, but that did not mean that others did not watch his, or take notice of him. Although they had lost in the 2v2 fight, in the Tiecheng Battle Team, his contributions were not to be ignored though he was only of the three-Jeweled cultivation level. His archery had played an extremely important role as well. As such, as soon as Lichuan saw that his opponent was Zhou Weiqing, he did not hesitate and immediately decided to go for close combat. He was after all with the Flexibility Attribute, and he was best in close combat. Naturally, he would choose his strongest point, which he also thought was Zhou Weiqing's weak point.

As he charged forward, Lichuan's left hand also lifted up in Zhou Weiqing's direction at the same time, and seven Wind Blades flew out towards him. In mid air, the Wind Blades actually split apart, like a flower splitting apart into separate petals, flying in seven different arcs as they sped towards Zhou Weiqing in tricky angles.

This was superb control over his Elemental Jewel Stored Skills, and to have such control, it showed that Lichuan had definitely spent much time and effort on this low level Skill.

Zhou Weiqing and Shangguan Bing'er were relatively weaker in terms of their Stored Skills and their control and usage of them. That was because in their time in the Heavenly Bow Unit, they had been focused on training with their archery. In the two years, they had learnt many amazing archery skills and assassination techniques. After all, none of the Heavenly Bow Unit members were Heavenly Jewel Masters, and in terms of Heavenly Jewel Master techniques, they were unable to give much teaching or advice.

If it were the Zhou Weiqing of three days ago, facing such an attack, he would probably have to use the Blink to dodge the Wind Blades, following with an attack, making use of his superior number and quality of skills to suppress the enemy, perhaps winning with his Control Skills.

However, the current Zhou Weiqing was no longer that Zhou Weiqing. The three days of learning and understanding had not just given him a much better understanding of the Spatial Rend Skill, but also in terms of control over skills.

In the next instant, his left hand drew a small circle in the air, and a dim flash of silver lit up, as a black circle enveloped in silver light appeared in his palm.

Chapter 250: Self created Fusion Skill (2)

Translator: Zen Translations Editor: Zen Translations

Indeed, this was the Spatial Rend. However, the current Spatial Rend was formed in a small circular shape, not its original straight line. As the circle formed, the rend in space formed a ring, collapsing the space within among itself, forming that small one chi diametre black hole.

The suction power of it was more than three times stronger than the old straight-line Spatial Rend, and Zhou Weiqing stood still as the seven Wind Blades were drawn in and swallowed up by the terrifying suction of the black hole.

In the midst of charging, Lichuan's heart gripped as he saw that. Just as he was about to make his next move, a strange sight occurred, as the black hole and the silver light around it disappeared abruptly.

It had to be known that although the Spatial Rend Skill was incredibly powerful, it had a fixed position once used.

In the next moment, a loud bang occurred, and without a chance to react, the Spatial Rend gravity hole appeared in front of Lichuan, who smashed right into it.

No one would have thought that the Spatial Rend would suddenly move five yards to the front, right into Lichuan's path as he was charging! Luckily, Lichuan had been in the midst of trying to make another move, and his speed had slowed down. Even still, accompanying the earsplitting cutting sound was the utter shattering of Lichuan's white Heavenly Energy surrounding him, and also the front of his clothes.

Making use of the shockwaves of the impact, Lichuan stumbled backwards to save himself, though the front of his chest was now a bloody mess. Most of his Elemental Jewel Stored Skills were offensive ones, as he had much confidence in the Flexibility of his body. However, when Flexibility met with a head-on Spatial Rend, it was like a scholar meeting a gangster, no amount of reason can save you. As such, a quick meet up, and he was severely injured.

Not only did that black hole have its suction force strengthened, its cutting capabilities were also strengthened. In order to stop this ten-star rated skill from shredding his body apart just in that moment, Lichuan had expended almost a third of his entire Heavenly Energy.

From the moment the Spatial Rend appeared til it dissipated, it was only three mere seconds. A very short time. Yet it felt so long, long enough to do so many things.

Zhou Weiqing stood there, not taking any more action, instead saying passively: "Surrender. You should know that I had already shown you mercy."

Lichuan gritted his teeth, suppressing the pain in his chest as his face turned red and white. Finally, he sighed and said: "I surrender." After saying that, he quickly jumped down the stage to receive healing treatment.

Up on the VIP Stage, the ZhongTian Emperor, Shangguan Tianxin looked on with a surprised expression. "That little fellow has actually started to understand the profound secrets of the Spatial Attribute! Good… very good. This will allow him to fully utilise the power of this ten-star rated Skill. Not bad at all, he has already quite a good understanding of the skill."

The Emperor was not the only one who revealed a look of surprise, as many of the other powerhouses also took notice of Zhou Weiqing. More importantly, the four seeded teams had also started paying some attention to him.

In the Fei Li Battle Team Rest House, Ye Paopao looked curiously at Zhou Weiqing who was walking down slowly from the stage, and asked Lin TianAo: "Leader, did he just win like that? What's going on? That Lichuan still has fight left him in right?"

Lin TianAo shook his head and said: "Weiqing has definitely given me a big surprise. Indeed, that Lichuan still has a lot of fight left in him, but he knows that no matter what he will not be able to defeat Weiqing. Let me explain it simply, as long as Lichuan has no skill or equipment that can block the power of the Spatial Rend, since Weiqing can make it appear right in front of him at will, he could easily move it in front of his neck. Furthermore, even if he did have a powerful equipment to block the Spatial Rend, since Weiqing is able to move it at will, he can still place it at a position that isn't protected. A ten-star rated Skill, how can the offensive power not be strong?"

"More importantly, it showed that Weiqing has already started understanding the profound mysteries of the Spatial Attribute. He actually managed to fuse the Spatial Rend and the Blink skill together, allowing the Spatial Rend which originally is unable to be moved to be teleported around by the Blink Skill. This, is the true power of a fusion skill."

Ye Paopao's jaw dropped, and he said in shock: "Doesn't that mean that he is invincible amongst all low defense Heavenly Jewel Masters?"

Lin TianAo smiled and said: "It looks like your Fei Li Military Academy does not give you all enough guidance on fighting as Heavenly Jewel Masters. Of course he isn't invincible. After all, both the Blink and the Spatial Rend have their own individual restrictions. For example, Blink can only move things through the air 1. I'm not sure how exactly Weiqing was able to use it on the Spatial Rend, but I can be sure that he will not be able to break that restriction. As such, as long as he uses the Spatial Rend, if you stand still and do not move, no matter how he moves his Spatial Rend, it will not be able to harm you. Another flaw of the Blink skill is its distance, even with some leeway given, as long as you stand more than ten yards from him, he will not be able to use this Fusion skill on you."

As comprehension dawned upon Ye Paopao, he said sincerely: "Leader, thank you for your guidance. It looks like there is a long road for me to become a powerful Heavenly Jewel Master."

By this time, Zhou Weiqing had returned. He had heard Lin TianAo's words, and said with a sad face: "Leader, I was barely able to think of a useful skill, and you revealed all its weaknesses!"

Lin TianAo laughed heartily and said: "Since you can think of one, can't you think of a second one? Furthermore, the skill is not the important thing, but how you use it in actual combat, and you can definitely use it in many different ways. It is easy to theorize, but another thing to actually counter it in a real fight. If you can actually make that Spatial Rend actually move, that would be really terrifying."

Zhou Weiqing spread his hands in an 'oh well' position 2, saying: "It isn't that easy. To allow the Spatial Rend to move, that is actually changing the very laws of the Spatial Attribute, and I do not have such a power. At least, not anytime soon. Perhaps, if I reach the ten-Jeweled cultivation level, I can try again."

As they were chatting, the second fight was already about to start.

Once again, Crow showed the audience her brutal violent strength. Legendary Axes. Charge. As simple as that.

The Tiecheng Battle Team had indeed an accurate estimation and planning. They had guessed that Crow would be the second fighter for the Fei Li Battle Team, and they had sent a Water Attribute Heavenly Jewel Master – Water Attribute Elemental Jewels with Defense Physical Jewels. The plan was to make use of the Water Attribute forming ice to bolster the defense, and its Control Skills, in order to deal with Crow, especially since he was a four-Jeweled Heavenly Jewel Master.

Alas, in order to suppress Crow's strength and power, it wasn't as simple as the difference of a single set of jewels. Furthermore, Control Skills were usually Stored from Zong Stage Heavenly Beasts and above, it wasn't as easy as just wanting to have them. The Tiecheng Empire was a rather small Empire, and did not have the background and resources of the Five Great Saint Lands, nor did any of them have Zhou Weiqing's almost cheat-like Skill Storing ability. Naturally, the result of this fight was the opponent's attack being smashed away by Crow's Legendary Axes, followed by a charge, and it all ended.

When it came to the third round of 2 versus 2, the Tiecheng Battle Team surrendered. The reason was simple – Lichuan was their mainstay, and seeing Zhou Weiqing and Crow ascend the stage together, they immediately decided to give up on this fight. As such, the Fei Li Battle Team won their second match with a 3-0 score, and more impressively, only Zhou Weiqing and Crow had actually fought.

In the Dan Dun Battle Team's Resting House, the seeded team of Group Three, a youth said solemnly: "It looks like these two Upper level Shi Heavenly Jewel Masters from the Fei Li Battle Team are not as simple as we thought."

The young girl seated at the main seat said passively: "Who can say what happens in three years? Go and find out their ages. Perhaps, once they reach the five-Jeweled cultivation level, they might be of some threat to us, but now they are still lacking."

The morning fights ended with theirs, and the various teams left respectively to have their meals and some rest. The Fei Li Battle Team members did not plan to come back, as Lin TianAo agreed with Zhou Weiqing to not watch the Bai Da Battle Team. They would fight in three days time, and it was the most critical match of the preliminaries for them. At that point, both sides would take on their enemies with full force. That's right, enemies, not opponents. For the Fei Li Empire and the Bai Da Empire, both sides were mortal enemies.

As they left from the competitors tunnel, Zhou Weiqing suddenly saw an absolutely familiar figure, one that he had dreamed about so much for the past three days.

"Bing'er!" Zhou Weiqing rushed forward anxiously.

"If you do not want to die, stop right there." A voice as cold as the winter's breeze froze Zhou Weiqing in mid step.

Looking at that familiar face, but with eyes that did not radiate warmth, Zhou Weiqing couldn't help but shudder.

Naturally, that familiar figure was not his Bing'er, but the one that he had accidentally kissed three days ago, Shangguan Xue'er.

Seeing Shangguan Xue'er, the rest of the Fei Li Battle Team were shocked. They had originally thought it was Shangguan Bing'er, but quickly they realised that something was wrong. Even from the limited time they had spent together, they knew that Shangguan Bing'er would never speak to Zhou Weiqing like that. Furthermore, the aura emanating from this young girl, who looked exactly like Shangguan Bing'er, was so cold and deadly that even Lin TianAo couldn't help but shiver, feeling the threat of death!

Zhou Weiqing took a deep breath, but he was unable to calm himself down. Urgently, he asked: "Where is Bing'er?"

Shangguan Xue'er said passively: "Since Bing'er is finally home, she is naturally staying at home. I am here to help her with two things. This is for you." As she said that, she tossed a ring at him, which fell right into Zhou Weiqing's hand. That ring was the Spatial Ring that had been on Shangguan Bing'er's hands, containing the two Icy Soul Heavenly Bears.

"Bing'er asked me to give to you. Also, she asked me to tell you, no matter what, you should not overdo things, she will wait for you."

Chapter 251: Self created Fusion Skill (3)

Translator: Zen Translations Editor: Zen Translations

"That's it?" Zhou Weiqing asked agitatedly. As the saying goes, one only truly treasures something when they lose it. Previously, being together with Shangguan Bing'er everyday, although he loved her deeply, it was only until she left that Zhou Weiqing felt that love and thought of her that seared his bones everyday, to know how truly important she was to him. One of the reasons why he chose to go through the tempering training technique was not just to improve himself, but also to make use of the suffering to escape the pain of missing Bing'er.

Shangguan Xue'er said passively: "That's it. That was the first thing. The second thing is from my father. He said that you are of the younger generation, so it isn't convenient for him to bully you. We are of the same generation, so if you want to marry my little sister, you'll have to wait until you are able to beat me."

"Defeat you?" An intense spark shot forth from Zhou Weiqing's eyes. Even with Shangguan Xue'er's cultivation level, she was surprised by the heat in his eyes.

Shangguan Xue'er swept him with a cold gaze, turning to leave. However, she paused suddenly, saying passively: "Originally, father wanted you to be able to beat him before he allowed you to be together, but Bing'er threatened to kill herself if he did that. As such, Father changed his mind. Do not disappoint Bing'er. In ten years time, if you are unable to defeat me, I will find you, and I will kill you, preventing Bing'er from wasting her life away waiting for you. However, if you are able to pass this Heavenly Jewel Tournament and enter the Heavenly Jewel Island, perhaps I can help you meet her once."

After saying that, Shangguan Xue'er turned around and left, disappearing swiftly into the crowd.

As they watched her leave, Ye Paopao couldn't help but say: "That's Shangguan Bing'er's twin sister right? The one who slapped you last time? Is her cultivation level more powerful than Bing'er? Weiqing, why didn't you give it a try?"

Crow said solemnly: "That woman is very dangerous, several times more dangerous than Bing'er."

Lin TianAo said passively: "I felt the threat of death from her as well."

Zhou Weiqing took a deep breath and expelled it, slowly wearing the ring onto his left middle finger with much care before saying solemnly: "I will definitely beat her in the shortest possible time, but not now…"

Ye Paopao said curiously: "Why?"

Zhou Weiqing glanced at him, then said bitterly: "Because, with my current strength, I am no match for her at all, not even close."

With the second round fight of theirs finished, this time Zhou Weiqing did not go out to explore the city. After having a huge meal, he once again shut himself in his room, preparing the same amount of water as before.

The Tempering Skill training did not just expend one's physical strength and stamina, but also their spirit and energy, perhaps even one's life force. If he overdid the training, it could cause irreparable harm to his body. It was a huge credit to Zhou Weiqing's vastly improved physique that he could maintain it for so long and with so few repercussions; one could only imagine how difficult and dangerous it was for any ordinary Heavenly Jewel Master to go through this training.

That actual fight earlier had proven the importance of understanding the profound mysteries behind the skills, and attributes. This time, Zhou Weiqing chose a skill that he did not use often, though it was an extremely powerful skill. It was the skill that could fuse with his Spatial Rend, also Stored from the Silver Emperor, his other ten-Star rated Wind Attribute Skill: Silver Emperor Wing Slash.

Given sufficient time, Zhou Weiqing might not have chosen to temper these two skills first, as they had such a huge drain on his Heavenly Energy and spirit. Furthermore, their profound mysteries were much more complicated and difficult to understand as compared to the lower star rated skills, and that would exhaust him more compared to doing those earlier. However, given the limit on time, he did not have a choice. If it could be said that his previous wish to win was because of curiosity about the Heavenly Jewel Island, it was now for Bing'er. He needed to improve his fighting capabilities the best he could in the shortest amount of time, no matter how dangerous or tough it was. In order to see Bing'er, even if he had to use the Demonic Change, he would take that risk.

Just as Zhou Weiqing was preparing to start on his training, a sudden gentle voice travelled from the corridor.

"Is Zhou Weiqing here?" Zhou Weiqing had almost entered training and was interrupted by the sudden voice, and he stood up to walk out. He had a very good memory, but could not remember such a voice before.

The rooms of the Fei Li Battle Team members were all next to each other, and they also came out as Zhou Weiqing opened his door. However, the expressions on their faces were vastly different, serious and conflicted. That was because the owner of that voice was almost their nightmare.

Little Witch stood there dressed in a black dress, smiling gently as her long hair fell gently at both sides, looking extremely good with her large clear eyes. Her soft creamy white skin was accentuated by the black dress, and anyone who saw her for the first time would see her as a harmless beautiful girl next door.

However, as soon as Lin TianAo and the rest saw her, their faces fell. In their eyes, this beautiful little girl was like a ferocious monster.

Originally, when Little Witch had appeared, she had almost wiped out their entire team. Even though it was also because their entire team was exhausted, it did not change the fact that this six-Jeweled girl with the Darkness and Evil Attributes held a power that none of them could counter individually.

Without hesitation, Lin TianAo stepped beside Zhou Weiqing. Although he did not release his Assembly Set Shield yet, his Heavenly Jewels instantly appeared as he prepared himself for any possible fight. Little Witch's attack patterns were extremely strange, and he did not know what to expect. Not only was he the leader of the Fei Li Battle Team, he was also Zhou Weiqing's Follower, and he would definitely protect him with all his might.

Little Witch did not seem to notice the nervous tension in the air, ignoring the battle stances of the Fei Li Battle Team as she focused on Zhou Weiqing, smiling and she asked: "Hey, are you Zhou Weiqing?"

Zhou Weiqing nodded and said: "Yes, I am." As a man, he definitely had some interest in this girl, or perhaps it could be said that any beauty would catch his attention. Of course, he did not have any good feelings towards her; not only did her Demonic Attribute mean she came from the Heavenly Demon Sect, just the fact that he had injured his team members previously meant that he would treat her like an enemy.

Little Witch smiled happily and said: "Can we speak alone?" As she said that, her face revealed a pleading look. If they had not known about her terrifying power, they might have been tricked by her pitiful look.

However, the smile on her face soon froze in the next instant with Zhou Weiqing's words.

Zhou Weiqing twisted his mouth and said: "Speak alone? What for? Borrow my seed1?"

*Pffft* Little Four burst out laughing, pointing a big thumbs up to Zhou Weiqing as he thought to himself: Weiqing, this little rascal, he sure dares to talk. Although the rest of them did not give any signals, their expressions definitely turned weird.

"What did you say?!" A cold aura erupted in the air as Little Witch's eyes blazed with anger. Right at that point, almost coincidentally, Fat Cat's lazy little head popped out from Zhou Weiqing's arms.

Looking at Fat Cat's dark purple eyes, Little Witch reined in the cold a little, saying softly: "Please do not insult me okay? Since young, no one has spoken to me like that. I just want to talk to you. You are someone that Tian'er has spoken for, I wouldn't do anything to you."

Hearing her mention Tian'er, Zhou Weiqing's eyes twitched as he swept his gaze on her. As he did so, he thought to himself: This little girl might look like a loli, but her ass sure is pert. In terms of looks alone, she beats Ming Hua already, perhaps almost a match for Bing'er. From her words though, she probably has high status in the Heavenly Demon Sect.

"Alright, so be it, come in then to speak." Zhou Weiqing gave a reassuring look to Lin TianAo, motioning that he would be alright. However, Lin TianAo frowned with a furrowed brow, and did not budge.

Zhou Weiqing patted his shoulder and said: "Trust me, I am a person afraid of death, and I will not joke around with my life."

Only then did Lin TianAo nod, waving his hands and motioning for the rest of the team to return to their rooms. He also returned to his own room, which was right beside Zhou Weiqing's. He knew how powerful Zhou Weiqing was, and although Little Witch was also extremely strong, he was confident that she would not be able to kill Zhou Weiqing in a single strike. He remained on guard; with just a wall between them, he was confident that he would be able to charge forward to protect Zhou Weiqing if anything cropped up. With the condition of the Fei Li Battle Team members now, even if Little Witch took action, she wouldn't find them as easy to take down as the previous time.

Little Witch followed suit into Zhou Weiqing's room, as if walking into her own home, with a skip she went directly into the couch in the room.

Zhou Weiqing shut the door, seating himself on the bed. Although he believed that Little Witch would not attack him, he did not try to sit next to her on the couch. After all, as the saying goes, a gentleman won't stand beside a collapsing wall2. Of course, only he would actually describe himself as a gentleman.

"Alright, speak then, why are you looking for me." Zhou Weiqing said passively, eyeing Little Witch's body impudently as he spoke.

Little Witch smiled and said: "Actually, you were right, I am actually here to borrow your seed. If you agree, you can pick any girls from our Heavenly Demon Sect, with the exception of myself. As long as you can impregnate any of them, even if you do not join our Heavenly Demon Sect, you will still be considered our honoured guest. Our Heavenly Demon Sect is filled with beauties, this should be a good deal for you right."

Zhou Weiqing grinned, a perverted light in his eyes. "What if… I'm only interested in you? I am happy to lend you my seed… how about we start now? Come on, let's create a little person now heh heh."

As he said that, he pounced towards Little Witch, but she disappeared in a puff of smoke, naturally causing him to fall onto the couch as she appeared at the door.

Chapter 252: are you asking to die? (1)

Translator: Zen Translations Editor: Zen Translations

Zhou Weiqing had pounced at Little Witch with a perverted look, but she dodged it swiftly by turning into mist.

This time, Little Witch could no longer hold her mask, as her eyes blazed in a cold fury. "Zhou Weiqing, are you asking to die?"

Zhou Weiqing did not chase her, instead lounging on the couch, his eyes cold and no longer 'perverted' as he said passively: "In the past, Ming Hua and Ming Wu both tried to kill me. I have never thought your Heavenly Demon Sect had any good feelings towards me, nor is the feeling mutual. If I am not wrong, the Kalise Empire is able to send a team because of the support of the Bai Da Empire… or should I say more accurately, your Heavenly Demon Sect is supporting the Bai Da Empire, which in turn is supporting the Kalise Empire? You should know my origin… once I saw you with the Kalise Empire, and the fact that you attacked my companions… there is no longer a need for us to speak."

Little Witch stood there, the smile which had been on her face disappeared as her expression also turned cold. Looking at Zhou Weiqing, she shook her head slowly, saying: "No, your guess is not totally right. Indeed, you are correct that we are supporting the Kalise Empire, but that has nothing to do with the Bai Da Empire. Even if we want to support the Bai Da Empire, they would not dare accept our support. As for supporting the Kalise Empire, it is solely for this Heavenly Jewel Tournament, and only that. We need to enter the Heavenly Jewel Island, but amongst the five Great Saint Lands, our Heavenly Demon Sect is heavily persecuted and suppressed, and our power is definitely the lowest amongst the five. Without sufficient Consolidating Equipment Scrolls, we face the risk of having our future Demonic Heavenly Jewel Masters wiped out totally."

"If you are willing to cooperate with us, I can promise you that after the Heavenly Jewel Tournament, we will not have anything else to do with the Kalise Empire."

Hearing Little Witch's words, Zhou Weiqing couldn't help but be surprised, as he heard the sincerity in her words, and saw it in her eyes as well.

Little Witch glanced at Fat Cat, who had squirmed her way out of Zhou Weiqing's bosom, and continued saying: "This time, the reason I am here has nothing to do with the Heavenly Jewel Tournament, and I am here specially for you. As for that time when I attacked your friends, that was a misunderstanding. At that time, I only sensed that the presence of a Heavenly Beast from the Heavenly Snow Mountain breaking through, and I was just attempting to interrupt it. If I had known it was you and your team, I would not have taken action."

"I'm not afraid to tell you that our Heavenly Demon Sect truly needs a first generation Awakened Demonic Bloodline. It has been over a hundred years since we had a fresh infusion of bloodlines, and without a powerful Demonic Jewel Master, especially a first generation one, we will not be able to hold our own against the other Great Saints Lands."

"For the sake of our Sect, if you really want me, that isn't a big problem. However, I am the Holy Girl of our Heavenly Demon Sect, and I must keep my chastity, as my husband will be the next Sect Leader of our Heavenly Demon Sect. If you are willing to join us, with your first generation bloodline, you have a huge chance of becoming our future leader. Alas, the Heavenly Snow Mountain have taken a liking to you, and we know that we do not have the power to rival them, so we know that it will be impossible to ask you to join us. I only hope that we do not become enemies. This time, I have come personally to look for you, to make use of our Sect Secret Manuals to get your friendship, and hopefully leave a seed of hope for us."

Looking at Little Witch's sincere look, Zhou Weiqing furrowed his brow slightly before saying: "That's not possible. Even if I 'lend' you all my seed, the child is mine. I will not leave my child without a father. I may like beauties, but I do not want to just become a stud horse."

Little Witch giggled and said: "What's wrong with being a stud? Isn't that what all you men dream of?"

Zhou Weiqing suddenly asked: "You were all constantly saying that a first generation Demonic Jewel Master's Demonic Attribute is able to match the three great saint attributes. Does that mean, as a first generation Demonic Jewel Master, even if I use the Demonic Attribute, the other four Great Saint Lands will not cause trouble with me?"

Little Witch thought for a while before saying: "There's no harm in me telling you, but that means you owe me a favour. In order to have the four Great Saint Lands accept any Heavenly Demonic jewel Master, it is not necessary to be a first generation; as long as you can control your Demonic Change. The purer the bloodline, the easier it is to control the Demonic Change, especially through our Sect's secret manual."

Zhou Weiqing asked curiously: "How many people in the Heavenly Demon Sect can control the Demonic Change then?"

Little Witch glared at him exasperatedly before saying: "That's a secret of our sect, how could I possibly tell you like that? Unless you join our sect."

"Zhou Weiqing, no matter what, you cannot change the fact that you are a Demonic Jewel Master, and we Demonic Jewel Masters can only survive in this current day and age. Otherwise, you will just be considered a heathen, a person they hunt. If you are willing to join our Sect, I can make the decision that you do not have to go through any Sealing, and as long as you can successfully practice our Secret Manual and control your Demonic Change, I … I will marry you and you will become the heir to Sect Leader."

As she spoke up to that point, her beautiful face flushed deeply. "You should know, although our Heavenly Demon Sect is the weakest amongst the five Great Saint Lands, we are still a powerful Saint Land with thousands of years of heritage and resources. Becoming the Sect Leader, you will be leading one of the top powers in the entire world."

Seeing the flush on her face, Zhou Weiqing said in a serious tone: "Your suggestion is very tempting, and I would definitely love to have the power of a great Saint Land behind me. Alas, if it were any other Great Saint Land, I would have agreed, but I am afraid I cannot do so far the Heavenly Demon Sect. That is because, no matter what, you all cannot walk out and show yourselves under the sun."

"You…" Little Witch said angrily. "What do you want before you agree?!"

Zhou Weiqing said helplessly: "I truly am not able to help. I already have a fiancee, and I will not let her down."

Little Witch said scoffingly: "Don't give me that… Ming Hua already told me what a pervert you are. What's the point of acting like a gentleman now?"

Zhou Weiqing smiled and said: "You are right, I am perverted, but I definitely will not want to become a mere stud horse. I can feel your sincerity, and I believe that no matter what condition I give, you will try your best to fulfil it. However, I truly am unable to agree to that. The only guarantee I can give you is that as long as you all do not help the Kalise Empire, we will not be enemies. As for being friends, we will have to see how things develop in the future."

Little Witch said angrily with a twist of her mouth: "As a Demonic Jewel Master, aren't you even the slightest bit interested in our secret arts? After all, this is a Great Saint Attribute comparable to the other three Great Saint Attributes! If used well, our Demonic Attribute can even be more powerful in terms of offensive capabilities, when compared to the other three."

Zhou Weiqing grinned and said: "Of course I am interested, I would be a fool not to be. However, I know that there is a cost to everything, and there is no such thing as a free lunch. After considering everything, I have decided that it is better for me not to have the secret arts for now. If you have nothing else, please leave now, I have to prepare for my next match. Oh yes, I have to remind you, since you have sent people to represent the Kalise Empire, if we meet in the Heavenly Jewel Tournament, I will not hold back at all."

Little Witch gave a humph and said: "Hold back? Don't think too highly of yourself. You are just at the three-Jeweled cultivation level. One day, you will definitely come and look for me."

Zhou Weiqing smiled and said: "I truly cannot wait for such a day to come."

Little Witch gave another angry humph before turning to leave.

After Little Witch left, Zhou Weiqing sat there, deep in thought. Although her appearance today seemed like a simple recruitment visit, or perhaps just a peace offering of sorts to clear the air, in truth it had told Zhou Weiqing many things. The most important thing he had learnt was that the Heavenly Demon Sect was in dire straits.

Just like what Little Witch had said, he was just a mere three-Jeweled Heavenly Jewel Master. For the Heavenly Demon Sect to send their Holy Girl of their Sect to look for him, and to actually give so any promises, it showed how terrible of a position they were in, and how desperate they were. Although he knew his talent was extremely outstanding, it wasn't so much for any of the other Great Saint Lands to lower themselves to look for him, let alone with so many benefits.

As for the Demonic Attribute Secret Arts that Little Witch mentioned, although Zhou Weiqing truly wanted to learn that, but what Little Witch did not know was that his Demonic Attribute was unlike any other Demonic Jewel Master. He had not Awakened the attribute by himself, but it had been inherited from the black pearl! Zhou Weiqing was not entirely sure what the black pearl had given him, but at least he knew that his Demonic Attribute already had the Devour Skill, which had appeared on its own and not Stored by him. Furthermore, that day when Fat Cat had leveled up, his Demonic Attribute had evolved in some way. As such, his thirst for the Demonic Attribute Secret Arts was not that strong.

After some simple thought, Zhou Weiqing calmed himself down, glancing at Fat Cat who was once more sprawled on the bed, eyes closed. He knew that with his current power levels, it was pointless to think too much about the intricacies about the five Great Saint Lands. It was much more important for him to improve himself now.

Once again, Zhou Weiqing started on his skill tempering training, and a sharp green light started flashing in his room.

During the previous skill tempering training of the Spatial Rend, Zhou Weiqing discovered that not only did it help him in understanding the profound mysteries of the skill and attribute, it also actually improved his cultivation speed by almost several fold!

After all, he had reached the first stage of Heavenly Shen Energy not long ago, yet he could sense that he was already on the verge of breaking through. Such a cultivation speed was definitely nigh unthinkable, and yet another benefit of the Immortal Deity Technique was shown.

Bing'er had left, and the pressure that Shangguan Tianyue had given him had caused him to ignore that fear he had about the pain when breaking through Death Acupuncture Points. As long as he reached the limits of his Heavenly Energy, he would break through without hesitation and start on the third section of the Immortal Deity Technique.

Chapter 253: are you asking to die? (2)

Translator: Zen Translations Editor: Zen Translations

Another three days passed, and once again it was time for the next match of the tournament.

The Plaza was once again crowded with masses of audience, and they were all chatting about the main attraction of the day, the highlight fight. Naturally, that was the fight between the two large empires, Zhou Weiqing and their team's Fei Li Empire, as well as the Bai Da Empire. This was likely the most important fight in the entire preliminaries. After all, in the preliminary heats, the seeded teams usually did not even have to fight. Furthermore, with the added history and enmity between these two large empires, one could imagine how tough and deadly the fighting would be.

In the first two rounds of the tournament, the Fei Li Empire had only sent out four members. However, today, they all attended, of course, besides Shangguan Bing'er who had been taken away by Shangguan Tianyue. Under Lin TianAo's leadership, Zhou Weiqing, Drunken Bao, Crow, Little Four, Xiao Yan and Ye Paopao arrived at the tournament grounds.

The first thing they did was to retrieve their winnings from their bet on the last round. Naturally, the one who won the most was Ye Paopao, his five hundred thousand gold coins turning into six hundred and fifty thousand gold coins. Similarly, Zhou Weiqing's four hundred thousand turned into five hundred and twenty thousand gold coins. The others also had a correspondingly satisfying return.

Once more, the seven of them did not hesitate to bet all their winnings on themselves once more.

This was not only confidence in themselves, but also a push on themselves, to put pressure for them to win.

The first two fights for the Bai Da Battle Team were good for them as well. They had surrendered to the seeded Dan Dun Battle Team, and for the other one, they had only sent out two members to gain the win in a crushing manner. As such, both teams had almost equal odds today.

The odds on the Fei Li Battle Team was 1 to 1.8, and 1 to 1.9 for the Bai Da Battle Team. The reason why it was slightly favouring the Fei Li Battle Team was because they were the top 5 team three years ago; as well as the fact that some of their team members had not even been seen before today.

Just as the Fei Li Battle Team members had finished placing their bets, another team arrived as well, dressed in yellow uniforms.

On their yellow uniforms was a silver thread lining, and silver embroidery on their chest of their empire's symbol.

When the opposing teams spotted each other, the entire air was filled with fiery tension. That was naturally because the yellow uniform-ed team was the Bai Da Battle Team.

The eight of them walked ahead to the Fei Li Team members. They were also here to place their bets, and their leader's gaze landed on Lin TianAo and he smiled, saying: "Bro TianAo, it's been a long time. Looks like this time you are actually the leader of the Fei Li Battle Team."

This leader was extremely huge, even taller than Lin TianAo, though perhaps not as well built. Bushy eyebrows and large eyes with thin lips, he gave an impression of being a harsh character. His hands were broad, matching his broad frame, giving forth a sharp edgey feel, a contrast from Lin TianAo's stable, a little introverted character.

Lin TianAo said solemnly: "That's right, I am the leader. Lang Xie, it's been a long time indeed."

Both of them shook hands, and as their large hands clasped together, the members of both teams could clearly sense the air almost explode in that instance, the sheer force of the two palms causing the light in the air to almost seem twisted.

The 'handshake' lasted almost three seconds before they let go at the same time. From the surface, it seemed like no one had lost out, both of them without any change to their expressions.

Lang Xie continued smiling, saying: "Bro TianAo, let's meet on the stage then." After saying that, he swept his gaze across the members of the Fei Li Battle Team, before turning to the betting booth and saying: "I place a million gold coins on the Bai Da Battle Team."

Drunken Bao sidled closer to Lin TianAo, saying softly: "Boss, he is trying to show off."

Lin TianAo said passively: "He is right, let's meet on stage to let our fighting do the talking. Let's go."

Although their fight had not started, the 'smell of gunpowder' between the two was already extremely thick, the tension and enmity clear between both sides as they walked past each other.

Amongst the seven remaining members of the Fei Li Battle Team, only Zhou Weiqing was not actually a Fei Li Empire citizen, yet even he had been influenced by his companions. He could clearly sense how different the state of his companions were. It wasn't just excitement, it was also that sheer need to win, so much so that their eyes were all red. Even Lin TianAo, who was normally very stable and not emotional, was clearly agitated, as he walked energetically towards their rest house.

As they sat down, Little Four quickly spoke out: "Boss, what's the plan. Let's finish them all." Without needing any pep talk, all of the Fei Li Team members were raring to go.

Lin TianAo said solemnly: "I just want to remind everyone that in every Heavenly Jewel Tournament, as long as our Fei Li Empire has met the Bai Da Empire, there has always been bloodshed. Both sides will definitely not hold back, or show any mercy, and many a life has been lost on either side in the history of this tournament. For the glory of our Empire, even if we have to sacrifice ourselves today, we must not lose!"

"For the glory of the empire!" Besides Zhou Weiqing, all the team members shouted out immediately, at such a volume that all the surrounding teams preparing themselves could hear them. Of course, the Bai Da Battle Team which were on their way to their own Rest House could also hear them.

Lang Xie gave a cold humh, shouting out loud: "Bai Da Victory!" And his own team members also shouted out loud in unison.

The rest of the battle teams couldn't help but reveal a smile. The fight had not yet started, but the two teams whose fight everyone was looking forward to were already clashing. Without question, this would be a clash of two titans, one of the deadliest fights thus far.

Lin TianAo's eyes narrowed. No one knew when his hands had gripped into tight fists.

"Boss, let me be the first one!" Drunken Bao said excitedly. My wounds are already healed; even if I do, I will definitely be able to kill one of those Bai Da cretins!"

Lin TianAo lowered his head, looking at his tightly gripped fists. He seemed lost in thought for a few moments, before he finally said solemnly: "Today's fight… I will leave the direction to Weiqing. He has proven himself, and I am unable to keep a clear head today. Weiqing, you arrange our team's fight today."

"Me?" Zhou Weiqing started. He had not expected Lin TianAo to say something like this, and all the members turned to him, as if they were hungry wild beasts, causing Zhou Weiqing to feel a chill down his spine.

Giving a bitter smile, he said: "Leader, this isn't an easy task you have assigned me. First of all, I must get all your assurance that you will listen to all my instructions. No matter who I send out, or what instructions I give, you must follow it to the letter for this to work."

Lin TianAo nodded and said: "No problem, I will guarantee this. You are now the team leader. No matter who you send out, we will listen to your arrangement."

Zhou Weiqing said: "All the way to the individual tactics?"

By now, Drunken Bao was too anxious, exclaiming: "Weiqing, stop talking rubbish! Hurry up and assign us!"

Zhou Weiqing nodded, turning to Lin TianAo and saying: "Leader, if it were you, with your current state of mind, who would you send out first?"

Lin TianAo thought for a while before saying: "If everyone was at full strength and not injured, I would definitely let Xiao Yan fight first. He is probably the second most powerful in the entire team. This first round is extremely critical, especially for the morale of the team… in fact, it's true for both sides. After all, who wouldn't want an auspicious start."

Zhou Weiqing smiled and nodded before saying: "Very good. In that case, for the first fight, Ye Paopao, you'll fight."

"What?!" Almost everyone exclaimed at the same time, staring at Zhou Weiqing with wide eyes. Without question, amongst the entire team, Ye Paopao was likely the weakest. Even though he was at the four-Jeweled cultivation level, in terms of combat strength he was no match for the three-Jeweled Zhou Weiqing and Crow, let alone the other members. Although Ye Paopao was thirsting to fight, he had definitely not expected that he would be assigned to this all important first fight.

After a moment of shock, Ye Paopao quickly recovered, rushing to Zhou Weiqing in joy and saying: "Weiqing, in the future, you are my bro! Do not worry, even if I have to sacrifice my life, I will ensure the glory of our Empire is shown on the stage. No matter what, I will ensure victory!!"

Ye Paopao was excited, but Drunken Bao was anxious. According to Lin TianAo's plan earlier, Xiao Yan would have been assigned. However, since Xiao Yan had not fully recovered yet, while his own injuries were almost fully healed, as the next highest cultivation, he should have been given the first fight. Alas, Zhou Weiqing had assigned Ye Paopao to fight instead, how could he not be anxious. With a quick step forward, he grabbed hold of Zhou Weiqing, exclaiming: "Weiqing, I did not offend you before right, why don't you let me fight first!"

Zhou Weiqing glared at him exasperatedly: "Are you the leader or am I the leader? Since you all already agreed to let me direct this fight, then you should listen to my arrangement."

Lin TianAo said solemnly: "Weiqing, this is an important fight, are you sure?"

Zhou Weiqing pulled Drunken Bao aside. In terms of pure physical strength, Drunken Bao was naturally no match for him. He walked in front of Ye Paopao, saying seriously: "Senior, this time you will have to go through ignominy. For the victory of the team, are you able to sacrifice your personal honour?"

Ye Paopao started. "What do you mean?"