However, even someone as powerful as him had been defeated in an instant. This further highlighted just how terrifying this empress was. Her might was so formidable that she had crushed him with a single strike.
“It’s your choice. You can either eat stones by yourself, or I can force you to eat stones,” the empress said calmly. They had actually dared to question Ling Han’s ability! In her eyes, this was an abhorrent crime.
The king tiers who had lost their gamble against her couldn’t help but grimace. How humiliating! They actually had to eat stones before everyone else! Moreover, this was the Purple Wind Mountain! Each stone, each tree, and each blade of gra.s.s was affected by the aura of a Saint. Eating the stones on this mountain would definitely affect their digestion.
However… did they dare to oppose her?
Even Zhu Yue had been defeated in a single exchange! Moreover, those at the pinnacle level of the Heavenly Body Tier were just as powerful as elites at the low extreme of the Eternal River Tier. How could they challenge such an elite?
The other king tiers were all chuckling in amus.e.m.e.nt as they watched on. They were naturally delighted to see these people being humiliated. In fact, it would be even better if they left with their tails between their legs. That way, the compet.i.tion to enter the Star Sand Martial Arts Academy in 20 years’ time would become slightly less intense.
After all, they were all king tiers, so who dared to say that they were absolutely confident?
Of course, this was disregarding rank two king tiers. There were far too few of these king tiers, and the Star Sand Martial Arts Academy was furthermore recruiting 900 disciples this time. If there were more rank two king tiers than this, it would be far too unbelievable.
“I’m not going to eat it!” someone shouted defiantly. “My master’s master is the Venerable Tiger Cloud, and he’s an elite at the consummate level of the Eternal River Tier!”
Since he couldn’t defeat Empress Luan Xing, he could only use his background to threaten her.
“I’m not eating stones, either! My master’s lineage is that of the Complete Origin Saint!” This person possessed an even more impressive background.
Empress Luan Xing humphed coldly before suddenly las.h.i.+ng out.
Pa, pa, pa!
The limbs of the defiant king tiers were instantly shattered. These king tiers collapsed to the ground, groaning in agony. Empress Luan Xing remained silent as she turned her gaze toward the remaining king tiers.
This was a silent threat. If they refused to eat stones, this would be their fate. What Eternal River Tier elite? What Genesis Tier Saint? She couldn’t care less about these king tiers’ backgrounds.
The king tiers grimaced again. This woman was not only powerful, but she was also extremely audacious. She didn’t give a sh*t regardless of whether their masters were at the Eternal River Tier or Genesis Tier. She was intent on forcing them to eat stones.
Several people stepped forward, each picking up a stone and obediently starting to eat it. The crunch of their chewing was loud and embarra.s.sing.
“W-what am I seeing?” The Heavenly Body Tier elites and winged-humans in the sky all rubbed their eyes in shock. They could barely believe what they were witnessing.
“Heavens!”
The people at the foot of the Purple Wind Mountain were extremely curious, asking, “Senior Chen, what’s going on?”
“Uncle Liu, what have you seen?”
“Great-grandpa, hurry up and tell us!”
However, it was as if the cultivators in the sky had all become stupid. After a long moment, an older-generation Heavenly Body Tier elite finally composed himself, saying, “A few of the king tiers lost a bet, and they’re now eating stones…” His voice was shaking, and it was clear that he still hadn’t fully recovered from his shock.
Pu!
Many of them instantly spluttered in astonishment. Eating stones? Those were king tiers! Their face and reputation were even more important than their lives! How could they carry through with such a humiliating act?
However, reality proved that between their face and their life, it was still their life that was far more important.
“What were they betting on? Whom did they bet against?” The cultivators at the foot of the mountain were all captivated by what was going on. After learning that Ling Han had defeated Liu Juntian and that Empress Luan Xing had defeated a rank two king tier at the consummate level of the Heavenly Body Tier with a single strike, all of them were dumbfounded with shock and fright.
Initially, none of them had been confident in Ling Han’s and his companions’ abilities. However, who would have thought that they were actually this domineering and powerful? Not only were they all king tiers, but there were even rank two and rank three king tiers among them!
“Heavens! I’m about to go crazy!”
“I’ve heard that they all came from the Eastern Light Galaxy, which is only a small galaxy.”
“This is a small galaxy that doesn’t even have an Eternal River Tier elite! Who can tell me, how did such a galaxy produce a rank three king tier?”
The cultivators all clasped their heads as they exclaimed in shock. This was far too incredible. No matter how they thought about it, it was still as if they were dreaming.
Atop the mountain peak, Zhu Yue slowly crawled to his feet, planning to scurry away and flee while no one was looking. He couldn’t bring himself to eat dirt and whatnot.
“Hmm?” With a flash, Empress Luan Xing had already arrived before him, blocking his path of escape. Her flawless figure was radiating with a powerful aura that was capable of suppressing even the heavens.
Zhu Yue’s expression instantly changed, and he said, “Celestial maiden, you should always choose to forgive when possible. I’m a rank two king tier, and even if I don’t become a rank three king tier, my battle prowess will be no weaker than yours when I advance to the Eternal River Tier. It’s best that you don’t force—”
Pa!
Empress Luan Xing made a slapping motion, and Zhu Yue was instantly sent flying. A row of his teeth was forcefully knocked out. The empress turned around, saying, “Heavenly Phoenix, bring me a rod and string.”
“Yes, Sister!” The Heavenly Phoenix Divine Maiden hurriedly did as the empress asked. The two women then trussed Zhu Yue up tightly, sealing his cultivation while they were at it. How could Zhu Yue break free and escape from them? He was hung high up on a rod, swaying helplessly whenever the mountain wind breezed over.
Great… His reputation and face had truly been ruined now.
The king tiers who were eating stones glanced over, cold sweat instantly pouring down their foreheads. They started to eat their stones with even more energy and vigor. It was as if these weren’t stones that had been tempered by a Saint, but rather an immensely appetizing meal.
Crack, crack, crack…
The sound of their chewing was as crunchy as could be.
The Rain Emperor laughed heartily as he stepped forward, asking, “Who wants to spar with me?” He summoned his four heavenly bodies, revealing his cultivation to everyone present. This was also to prevent those at the high extreme or even medium extreme from challenging him. After all, sparing against them would be far too boring and pointless.
“I’ll spar against you!” a young man in purple said as he walked over. There was a layer of scales on his skin, and it was as if they had been forged from fine iron. They exuded an extremely chilly aura.
Ling Han and his companions were far too domineering. They had first defeated Liu Juntian, then defeated Zhu Yue. This caused a feeling of hostility to rise in the minds of the remaining king tiers. There was a ball of fire in their chests, and they wanted to achieve victory against one of Ling Han’s companions even if they couldn’t defeat Ling Han or Empress Luan Xing.
This challenger was at the consummate level of the Heavenly Body Tier, and the four heavenly bodies that he released were all of the same size. It was clear that he had already reached the peak stage of the consummate level.
“Come!” the Rain Emperor roared as he charged over and immediately threw a punch.
His path was one of dominance, and he would courageously attack regardless of who his opponent was. In fact, he would dare to attack even if his opponent were a Saint.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The young man wasn’t a pushover. Although he was only a rank one king tier, the Rain Emperor hadn’t reached the pinnacle level of the Heavenly Body Tier, either. Thus, the gap between them was only very minimal. Moreover, the scales on the young man possessed incredible defensive abilities, being able to dissipate much of the power behind the Rain Emperor’s attacks.
Thus, even though his power was one to two times weaker than the Rain Emperor’s, he could rely on his powerful defense to mitigate this disadvantage.
This was the advantage of his bloodline.
However, this was also the limit of what his bloodline could achieve. Apart from the bloodlines of ancient supreme prodigies, how powerful and mighty could these other bloodlines be?
The Rain Emperor ruthlessly defeated the young man after throwing just 37 punches. The ground was littered with the young man’s scales.
Moreover, the young man didn’t have any excuse for his loss. He had lost comprehensively.
“It can’t be, right? Is this another rank two king tier?”
“Good heavens! This many high-ranking king tiers were produced by a super-small galaxy? This doesn’t make any sense!”
“Don’t tell me that their other companions are also rank two king tiers?!”
“Why do I feel like they all are?!”
“This…!”
The remaining king tiers were unable and unwilling to accept this reality. Since when had rank two king tiers become so commonplace? During the past recruitment cycles of the Star Sand Martial Arts Academy, there would only be 20 or so king tiers at this level. Now, however? There were several such king tiers on this mountain peak alone! Moreover, there was even a rank three king tier among them!