The Attack of the Wastrel

From Mei Ying’s words, both Rong Yuan and Gu Lingzhi learnt that when the Spirit Tribe closed off the Sacred Lands, not only did they set up a Restrictive Shield, but as a last line of defense, they even put in place a Godly Spiritual Being to guard the place.

Though it had taken many people to come up with many methods to take down the Restrictive Shield, when they had finally accomplished it, they were not yet rewarded with treasures. Instead, what waited for them was a Godly Spiritual Being.

According to the Being, anyone could enter through the main palace and attain the treasures. Yet, the conditions that the Spiritual Being had listed out were almost impossible for these people, who were above the rank of Martial Sages, to achieve.

The condition was that one had to defeat three Martial Artists that were one level higher than him. For low-ranking Martial Artists, it was possible because there was not much of a difference in cultivation between the levels. However, for high-ranking Martial Artists at the level of a Martial Sage or a Demigod, the difference in a level was very large. It was impossible to defeat someone of a higher level than you.

It was already extremely tough for a Martial Lord to beat three Martial Sages. What more Martial Sages trying to defeat three Demigods?

Upon hearing this condition, silence fell over Rong Yuan and Gu Lingzhi as they tried to determine what their odds were of entering the main palace. At this moment, the crowd of people outside the main palace, who were blocked by the guards from the North Qiu Kingdom, were struggling to get through.

“What are you both doing? The Shield has been broken; if you don’t want to go in, then let us! Why are you blocking the entrance?”

Immediately, the faces of the people that had been waiting outside the gates darkened.

Everyone wanted to see the fruits of their labor. However, now that they were not allowed to enter the main palace, they did not know whether they should try to fulfill the conditions set by the Spiritual Being, or leave.

“Pan Wuyang, what now? I’ve spent a legendary grade Earth-Level Weapon to help you break this Restrictive Shield. You have to be accountable for this.” Zhong Xiru’s words had garnered the attention of many. They did not think that he would waste a legendary grade Earth-Level Weapon trying to get into the main palace. The other two most powerful Spiritual Weapons that existed were also legendary grade Earth-Level weapons - one of them belonged to Lord Fashen, and the other was the Yin and Yang Clock belonging to the North Qiu Kingdom’s Royal Family that was passed down from one generation to another.

However, all three legendary grade Heaven-Level weapons had been used here.

Hearing the discussion that was going on around him, Zhong Xiru regarded Pan Wuyang with a sharp gaze. Now that it was near impossible to enter the main palace, Zhong Xiru’s heart ached at all the weapons that he had lost to help him break the Restrictive Shield. Even though he was an Earth-Level Weapon Forger, it was difficult for him to forge high-grade Earth-Level Spiritual Weapons. The materials that were needed to forge such a weapon had cost him a fortune, and this did not even include the materials that he had wasted on his failed attempts.

Because of the Spiritual Being guarding the main palace, he would not have a chance of being the first one to enter the main palace to choose the treasures. He had no choice but to hold Pan Wuyang responsible for his losses.

“Your weapon was obviously a high grade Earth-Level one, why did it suddenly become a legendary grade Earth-Level weapon?” Pan Wuyang retorted.

He had to be held accountable? According to Zhong Xiru’s reasoning, won’t he have to compensate by offering the Yin and Yang Clock that belonged to the North Qiu Kingdom?

“What? Are you telling me that the Royal Family of the North Qiu Kingdom has no ability to fork out this meagre amount?” Zhong Xiru fired back. “Our Luosheng Sect may not be as powerful as the North Qiu Kingdom, but we’re not one to be bullied. If you do not give me an answer today, then don’t even think of buying Spiritual Weapons from us in the future!”

It’s your privilege to work with the North Qiu Kingdom, you should be cherishing this opportunity, Pan Wuyang scolded in his heart. However, he knew full well that Zhong Xiru truly had the capabilities to stop supplying weapons to the North Qiu Kingdom. If that happened, Pan Wuyang would become the public enemy of the high-ranking Martial Artists in the North Qiu Kingdom.

After deliberating for a while, he suppressed the anger in his heart and replied, “You and I clearly know the grade of your weapons. I’ll compensate for your losses and also give you two more sets of materials that you can use to forge high grade Earth-Level Spiritual Weapons. What do you think?”

Zhong Xiru pursed his lips and pretended to think for a moment, before demanding shamelessly, “You’ll have to include the Starry Cloud Stone and the Scarlet Moon Plum that you obtained yesterday as well.”

“You’re pushing it!” Pan Wuyang raised his voice in anger, “You can have the Starry Cloud Stone, but the Scarlet Moon Plum is used in Alchemy, what do you even need it for?”

“I don’t need it, but I can find someone to cultivate pills for me,” Zhong Xiru replied in a bland tone, which angered Pan Wuyang even more. If Pan Wuyang had known beforehand that he was going to work with such a greedy person, he would never have asked Zhong Xiru for his help in breaking the Restrictive Shield. Given the current situation, he could only resign to the fact that he had been unlucky this time.

Gu Lingzhi, who was watching this scene unfold from a corner, could not help but laugh. Zhong Xiru was indeed an amazing negotiator, to think that he did not even bother to patronize the North Qiu Kingdom.

“Stop laughing so hard, you’ll get a stomachache,” Rong Yuan laughed lightly when he looked over at Gu Lingzhi. Seeing the crowd in a frenzy, he lowered his voice and suggested to Mei Ying, “Brother Mei, since it’s impossible for all of us to enter the main palace, why don’t you hire a few people to help you enter and secure the treasures for you?”

Mei Ying’s eyes lit up, and he slapped Rong Yuan on the back, “That’s a good idea, how did I not think of that?”

Delighted, Mei Ying turned and relayed Rong Yuan’s suggestion to the others. A few of the high-ranking Martial Artists agreed immediately. Rong Yuan and Gu Lingzhi were successfully chosen by Mei Ying and Su Ruo to be the ones to enter the main palace.

After all of the Martial Sages and Demigods hadi chosen their representatives, an hour had passed.

Under the scrutiny of the audience, a string of more than ten Martial Artists of different cultivations entered the entrance of the main palace. When they had reached the gates, they suddenly felt like their bodies were being hindered by an invisible force. The once pitch-black hall suddenly lit up, and then a frail and white silhouette could be seen. Even though all the objects in the main palace had seemed quirky and strange, everyone only had their eyes on the silhouette within the center of the hall.

White. That was everyone’s first impression of the silhouette.

It was the silhouette of a man, who had hair as white as snow. He was wearing a white long robe. His skin tone was almost as white as his hair, which gave off the aura of a True God. His fleeting presence also made him seem ghostly. When one looked at him, it was hard to peel their eyes away.

The dumbfounded expressions on everyone’s faces made Liu Yiyan laugh. From his lips that were slightly pinkish which gave a bit of color to his face, a gentle voice rang out, “Welcome to the Spirit Tribe Leader’s sleeping quarters, I am the guard of this palace. I believe that all of you already know the condition to enter the main palace. There are seven levels to this main palace, to deal with all seven ranks of Martial Artists. Each of these levels have precious treasures that would be valuable to the respective ranks of Martial Artists. As long as you manage to defeat three souls with a cultivation level that’s one level higher than yours, you can enter the main palace and pick whatever treasure you wish for.”

One person who had recovered from Liu Yiyan’s godly charm asked, “So, as long as I pass the test, I can take any treasure from the main palace?”

His words echoed the thoughts of some other Martial Artists. For some of them with a low cultivation level, it was a relatively simple task.

“Yes, and no,” Liu Yiyan replied. “If you complete the task that I’ve mentioned earlier, you can only enter the first level, which only has treasures suitable for Martial Students. Only if you defeat twenty souls with a cultivation level that’s one level higher than yours, or if you defeat three souls with a cultivation level that’s seven levels higher than yours, then you may enter the seventh level, which is where the godly treasures can be found. Additionally, you may only pick one treasure from each level. Everyone only has one chance to enter in their entire lifetime, so what will it be? How many souls do you wish to fight?”

This was a fraud! Everyone’s thoughts seemed to echo.

Though the main palace looked like it was abundant with treasures, it had a rigorous criterion for one to enter. Even after defeating three souls with a cultivation level that was one level higher, one would only have access to a treasure suitable for Martial Students. Even if such a treasure did not exist anymore, at the end of the day, it was still a treasure with low value due to its limited usefulness. Furthermore, these Martial Artists were picked by the higher-ranking Martial Artists, so they had to give up more than half of the treasures that they had obtained. If they ended up with such a low-value treasure, they would not be gaining any profit for themselves at all. It would be easier and more profitable if they found treasures within the vicinity of these Sacred Lands.

In a moment, almost half of the representatives decided to give up. One of them was Pan En, who had been sent by Pan Wuyang. Gu Lingzhi and Rong Yuan looked at each other, and were thinking about leaving for a moment to discuss a new strategy before a voice rang in her head.

“The rules were made for outsiders, my mistress. You just have to walk past this boundary and you will immediately be brought to the seventh level. You’ll even get the key that has control over the whole of the Sacred Lands.”

Well…

Gu Lingzhi turned her head abruptly to look at Liu Yiyan, who blinked at her. This gave him a more humanly aura.

“My intuition was right; it was you who tried to enter the main palace five days ago. Fortunately, the Leader of the Spirit Tribe is wise and predicted that the Restrictive Shield would have been tampered with, so he stationed me here to wait for your arrival. Mistress… I’m waiting for you to bring me home,” Liu Yiyan’s voice shook slightly as it trailed off.

It had been a countless number of years that he had been waiting here for someone that belonged to the Spirit Tribe to arrive. Yet, time and again, he had been disappointed. Just when he was about to give up all hope, he sensed the energy of Gu Lingzhi’s Inheritance Space, that would only belong to people with the blood of the Spirit Tribe.

Therefore, he cast off half of the restrictive powers so that it was easier for the Shield to be broken. Then, he made up those unreasonable rules to prevent people from going into the main palace. This was so that the owner of the Inheritance Space could easily sneak into the main palace. He did not think that in this first wave of Martial Artists that was trying to enter the main palace, Gu Lingzhi would be part of it.