Chapter 174 Three Examinations Choosing Son-in-Law (2)

However, despite his reservations, Long Shiya still brought his disciple here. Although he had never married, he could still understand Zhou Weiqing’s thinking. As a man, if he could not even protect his own woman, then it would undoubtedly leave an unforgettable shadow in his heart and mind. If that really happened, perhaps it would cause trouble in the future if he met any cultivation bottlenecks, possibly preventing him from breaking through in future. This was not something that Long Shiya wanted to see. Furthermore, in terms of feelings, he did not want to see Zhou Weiqing suffer as well.

Regarding Zhou Weiqing’s Empire’s destruction and lost family, Long Shiya could stand aside and not give full assistance… that was mainly to put him through the hard school of adversity, to allow him to grow through the experience. However, in this current matter, if Long Shiya did not come forward, it would be impossible for Zhou Weiqing to actually come up the Heavenly Snow Mountain, let alone solve anything. As such, Long Shiya had come forward without hesitation.

Of course, there was one other reason.

Long Shiya’s lifelong greatest goal had always been to become the strongest in the world; and to do that he had to defeat Xue AoTian. However, he knew that in this life it was unlikely he would have such a chance any longer, as he was unable to breakthrough to the Heavenly God Stage after so many years. As such, he had placed all his hopes on his precious new disciple. Of course, now there was a chance of ‘defeating’ Xue AoTian within his lifetime… if Zhouo Weiqing could actually marry Xue AoTian’s daughter, and bring her back with him, it could be said that it would be a victory of sorts over Xue AoTian. Although this was not exactly a victory of might, but Long Shiya would still feel extremely happy. As such, no matter from which angle, he would do as he promised and bring Zhou Weiqing up the Heavenly Snow Mountain, even if the chance of success was barely ten to twenty percent.

After they arrived, the series of actions that both Long Shiya and Zhou Weiqing had gone through were fully designed towards constructing an atmosphere that was of great advantage to them. From the current situation, Long Shiya knew that Little Fatty’s chance of success had definitely risen far beyond their own expectations. At least, it was clear that Xue AoTian’s inner feelings were no longer against Zhou Weiqing, perhaps even partial towards him!

Of course, this was just Long Shiya’s own estimation, and he still did not know what was about to happen in the near future. Would he still be worried about the competition rules of this first test that Xue AoTian had proposed? If one would ask Long Shiya that question, his reply would only be a cold laugh.

Putting on a vexed and annoyed look, Long Shiya suddenly grit his teeth and said angrily towards Xue AoTian: “Fine. Old Monster Xue, you are indeed ruthless. I accept those conditions. However, you better keep your word. If my disciple wins all three of those tests, none of you are allowed to prevent him from bringing your daughter away.”

Xue AoTian gave Long Shiya a dismissive glance and a cold humph before turning to the Lion King Gu Site. “Bro Gu, what do you think?”

Gu Site laughed heartily and said grandly: “I will follow your lead, Mountain Lord.” In his eyes, his son could not possibly lose with such favourable terms. Just in terms of bloodline, their Heavenly Divine Earth Spirit Lion bloodline might lose out to the Divine Heavenly Spirit Tiger bloodline by a narrow hair, but it was already at the top tier in the entire continent. How could he possibly lose to a mere human disciple of Long Shiya? Furthermore, he also had the advantage of cultivation level. With his own Heavenly Emperor cultivation level, he could easily tell that Zhou Weiqing was only at the six-Jeweled stage. Although a youth of lesser than twenty years reaching the six-Jeweled stage was an astonishing feat, it would not change the fact that he still had not grown to his full potential yet, and was still much lower than his son.

Xue AoTian nodded and said: “In that case, this old man will be the judge of this competition, along with Xue Aoying. We will ensure absolute fairness in the actual competition. Alright, both you young men can start preparing yourselves. I will personally select the Heavenly Beasts for this first competition.”

“Old Monster Xue, wait a moment.” Long Shiya said.

Xue AoTian turned to him questioningly.

Long Shiya continued: “Old Monster Xue, you said there are three competitions. What are the other two?”

Xue AoTian gave a cold laugh and said: “Wait until your disciple actually wins the first round before we talk. If he loses the first round, what is the point of talking about the second or third round now?” After saying that, he turned and walked off, not even giving Long Shiya the chance to retort. At least from an outward appearance, Xue AoTian was totally on the side of Gu Site and Gu Yingbing. That was also a reasonable assumption, as the WanShou Empire should technically be fighting on the same side.

However, at this point, the Tiger King’s eyes flashed with a hint of surprise. The Tiger King Xue Aoying had grown up from a young age together with this big brother of his. Xue AoTian was ten years older than him, and had always taken care of him all the way. To Xue Aoying, Xue AoTian was not just a big brother, almost even like a father figure. Having grown up together, Xue Aoying was knew his big brother extremely well.

Under any normal circumstance, especially in front of outsiders, Xue AoTian would usually not act so domineering. The terms of this competition just seemed way too unfair, and so unlike his big brother’s character! Xue Aoying’s heart was puzzled, but just a little. After all, to him, no matter who won this competition, it did not really affect him at all. He was just a relatively indifferent bystander who would just watch the show on the sidelines.

Leading Zhou Weiqing along, Long Shiya went to the side to sit down. With a simple thought, powerful Heavenly Dao Energy sprang forth to surround both of them in a protective barrier, preventing them from being heard.

“Little Fatty, how sure are you of winning this first round?” Long Shiya asked solemnly.

Zhou Weiqing smiled faintly and said: “Master, I can say with confidence that this round is a guaranteed victory for myself.”

“Ohh?” Long Shiya looked at his precious disciple with an amused look, his lip curling in the shadow of a smile. “Pride comes before a fall, and it is a dangerous vice for a Heavenly Jewel Master to have.”

Zhou Weiqing laughed heartily and said: “Master, you should know how important this competition is to me, I would not want to lose due to overconfidence as well. All that is in my mind now is how I can win. Master, I am sure that you can tell as well… the Heavenly Snow Mountain Lord does not seem to actually hold much enmity towards me. Furthermore… this first test he has brought up is extremely strange!”

It was Long Shiya’s turn to be surprised. The reason why he could judge that about Xue AoTian was because of the meaningful glance that he had given him. Yet, Long Shiya was extremely sure that he was the only one who could have seen that, with how Xue AoTian did it, even the Lion King and Tiger King, powerhouses that they were, had not detected anything amiss. As such, Zhou Weiqing could not possibly have seen it as well. Yet, he was still able to make such a judgement call. From that alone, one could tell how powerful his disciple’s observation skills and analysis was.

“Master, in this matter, I am certain that my bloodline has a vast advantage. If I have not guessed wrongly, the Heavenly Snow Mountain Lord Xue must have changed his mind after speaking to Tian’er, and his heart has softened. Although he might not have actually fully approved of me yet, in bringing up such a test, he is definitely giving me a chance. This is a true test for me in his eyes.” Zhou Weiqing said confidently.

Long Shiya said passively: “In doing anything, there is always a chance. The only difference is how great the chance is. Since you have already chosen to come here, then you must put your all, go to all lengths to win. At the same time, you must not look down on the bloodline of their Heavenly Divine Earth Spirit Lion tribe. After all, the power of bloodlines will be influenced by cultivation level, and the cultivation level gap between you and Gu Yingbing is not inconsiderable. I never expected that little brat to have broken through to the nine-Jeweled stage. So, you better be careful. Don’t think of anything else, just focus on gaining this first victory, and it will also give us an edge for momentum and presence, increasing our overall chances of victory. Furthermore, it looks like the Tiger King is not on good terms with the Lion King, see if you can make use of that point in any way.”

Zhou Weiqing nodded. He was not one to be careless, especially when this concerned both his own and Tian’er’s future! This was his only chance!

At once, Zhou Weiqing sat down at the side in a meditation position, closing his eyes as he began cultivating, trying to ensure that his Heavenly Energy was at his peak before the competition. Although technically his Heavenly Energy would normally be at the peak even if he didn’t do that, due to his Immortal Deity Technique, he would not waste any chance to improve his spiritual energy, even just a little.

Looking at Zhou Weiqing’s appearance, in Gu Yingbing’s eyes that translated to severe lack of confidence. He would not follow suit. In his eyes, this so-called competition or test was merely a formality, something his Master had came up with to shut Long Shiya’s mouth. After this first round, this Six Ultimate Heavenly Emperor and his lowly disciple would have to slink off dejectedly.

At the same time, the Lion King Gu Site was also not worried for his son. Gu Yingbing could be said to be Gu Site’s greatest pride. He was extremely clear that despite the sheer strength and power of the WanShou Empire, which was far superior to any individual human Empire, but with the existence of the other Great Saint Lands, they would not be able to annex all the human Empires. No matter how strong the Heavenly Snow Mountain was, they would not be able to take on the other four Great Saint Lands, or even three, ignoring the Heavenly Demon Sect.

If not for the shared counter restraints of the five Great Saint Lands, perhaps the war between the WanShou Empire and the human Empires could have already destroyed the entire mainland.

Yet, the Lion King Gu Site still had his own ambitions. On all outward appearances, he seemed to be a coarse or negligent person, but he was actually a very careful and detailed person. In his lifetime, he might not be able to accomplish all his goals, but that did not mean his son would not be able to do so in the future. As long as Gu Yingbing was able to gain the position of the Heavenly Snow Mountain Lord, then anything might be possible! At least, the first step was for the Heavenly Divine Earth Spirit Lion Tribe to gain control of the entire Heavenly Snow Mountain, and thus true control of the WanShou Empire.

All these years, although the Divine Heavenly Spirit Tigers ruled the Heavenly Snow Mountain, but in the WanShou Empire, the Heavenly Divine Earth Spirit Lions had also controlled the Royal Family for so many years. If Gu Yingbing inherited the Heavenly Snow Mountain Lord position, although the Royal Family would change to the Divine Heavenly Spirit Tigers, but who would truly control the power? More importantly, if one day Xue AoTian was no longer with them, then… would there be a need for the Divine Heavenly Spirit Tigers any more?

Of course, these were all just possibilities in the future. The most important thing now was to solidify his son’s position in the Heavenly Snow Mountain. This Six Ultimate Heavenly Emperor might cause the Lion King Gu Site to be wary, but it was just keeping on his guard. After all, Long Shiya was just alone. This was a huge advantage of his, but also a great disadvantage. On the larger scale of matters, or the big picture, just his lone existence would not be able to influence things too much, no matter his power. Furthermore, in this matter, it seemed clear that Xue AoTian was fully on their side. This Six Ultimate Heavenly Emperor was just a joke in his eyes.

…

Meanwhile, Xue AoTian had left the Grand Hall for quite some time, much longer than the group had anticipated.