“I don’t know about Saint Kings, but it’s rumored that the Star Sand Saint is about to reach the end of his lifespan. When a Great Saint returns to dao, this will definitely affect the circulation of heaven and earth. Perhaps this can even give the younger generations a glimpse into the secrets of becoming a Saint.” The North Emperor was slightly more conservative in his vision of the future.
“After acc.u.mulating in preparation for so long, a Saint King will definitely be produced in this new age!” the Stone Emperor said with confidence.
The two of them started to argue, their faces quickly becoming beet-red with fervor. In the end, they almost came to punches. Fortunately, the Rain Emperor arrived at just the right moment, not speaking a word as he directly launched an attack. They then ascended into the sky as they engaged in battle, the Rain Emperor displaying his domineering demeanor as he challenged two king tiers alone.
However, the Rain Emperor was truly powerful, not being pushed onto his back foot even though he was battling against two fellow king tiers. Meanwhile, the North Emperor and Stone Emperor couldn’t bring themselves to summon their G.o.d Tools. After all, they were already enjoying a significant advantage. In the end, after half a day, the battle concluded as a draw.
“How enjoyable!” The Rain Emperor laughed heartily as he descended from the sky.
“Brother Ling, who is this? He’s also a fearsome prodigy!” the Stone Emperor asked with a smile. However, this battle hadn’t hurt his confidence.
The Rain Emperor was most skilled with his fists, so it made little difference whether he used a weapon or not. However, it was a different story for the Stone Emperor and North Emperor, both of who could only unleash their full power when using their weapons. Thus, with their battle prowess suppressed, it wasn’t embarra.s.sing that they had only managed a draw against the Rain Emperor, even though they had fought against him two on one.
“This is my Second Brother,” Ling Han said, introducing the Rain Emperor to the Stone Emperor and the North Emperor. The Stone Emperor and the North Emperor clicked their tongue in wonderment.
“You guys are insanely impressive! Both of you have come from a small world, yet both of you have managed to become rank two king tiers!”
It was almost accepted as a fact that a galaxy could only produce two rank two king tiers at any one time. Moreover, this would have to be a super-large galaxy. However, Ling Han and his second brother had shattered this “fact”, both of them having come from the same small world.
Ling Han smiled faintly. There was also Ding Ping—he had also come from the Lower Realm, and he was also a rank two king tier!
“I can finally confirm it now. We’re definitely entering the most brilliant golden age of cultivation!” the North Emperor said with a clap of his hands.
“However, I wonder if it’s a fortune or a curse to be born during this age,” the Stone Emperor said, sighing in emotion. “From what I know, there are at least five rank three king tiers!”
“Five?!” Ling Han’s expression suddenly became serious.
Being a rank three king tier at the Heavenly Body Tier… What did this signify? It signified that they had definitely reached the pinnacle level of the Heavenly Body Tier!
“There’s Gu Daoyi and also Empress Luan Xing here,” the North Emperor said as he counted on his fingers. “In addition to them, there’s also Zi Chenfeng, Long Xiangyue, and Second in the World…”
“Second in the World?” Ling Han couldn’t help but interrupt the North Emperor. How did someone possess a name such as this?
“You might not know, but there’s legitimately a clan called ‘The World’. According to the legends, a great elite had once appeared in this clan, this elite so powerful that he could do anything as he pleased. It was also at that time that he changed their surname to ‘The World’. Second in the World wasn’t named Second before, but because of his astonis.h.i.+ng cultivation talent that was showing signs of equalling his great ancestor, his name was changed to Second. The significance of this is that his ancestor is ‘First’, while he follows directly after as ‘Second’,” the Stone Emperor explained.
‘This… How arrogant! How confident!’
Ling Han couldn’t help but feel excited. This would definitely be a lot of fun. At the very least, he wouldn’t need to worry about not having opponents.
“Brother Ling, if we don’t reach the pinnacle level of the Heavenly Body Tier, we won’t even possess the right to challenge these people. We’ll only be able to advance to the Eternal River Tier and wait for them to be dragged back to the same starting line as us.”
“However, since they’ve reached an extra pinnacle level, they’ll still possess a noticeable advantage even if we all advance to the same cultivation level!”
The Stone Emperor and the North Emperor both shook their heads as they said this. They had both reached two pinnacle levels, but just how difficult was it to reach the third pinnacle level? After all, most of the current Saints were only rank two king tiers as well. This was already incredibly impressive.
However, who told them to live the golden age of cultivation? During this age, rank two king tiers would be nothing to be impressed about. After all, five rank three king tiers had already emerged. Moreover, these were only the ones that the Stone Emperor knew about—in other words, there were at least five rank three king tiers. Even though they were the son and disciple of Saints, it was still impossible for them to gather all of the information on the king tiers of the hundreds of nearby galaxies.
“Oh, that’s right. Brother Ling, do you know why we arrived slightly earlier?” the North Emperor suddenly asked.
“Isn’t it to prepare?” Ling Han asked in reply.
“No!” the Stone Emperor answered with a shake of his head. He paused for a moment before continuing, “Before the Star Sand Martial Arts Academy starts recruiting, there’s another great opportunity that lies before it.”
“In other words, the Star Sand Martial Arts Academy only starts recruiting after the battle for this great opportunity is over,” the North Emperor added.
Ling Han’s interest was immediately piqued, and he asked, “What’s this great opportunity all about?”
“There’s a place called the Sunken Abyss Valley on this Wood Figure Planet,” the Stone Emperor explained. “During normal times, this valley is as ordinary as can be. It produces neither G.o.dly medicines nor any G.o.dly metals. However, every once in a while, this valley will undergo some mystical transformation.”
The North Emperor took over, saying, “At that time, the rocks inside the valley will all fly upward when trodden upon by a living being. Through battling and s.n.a.t.c.hing the rocks of others, one can continue to rise higher and higher. Only when one person reaches the peak of the valley does the compet.i.tion finally come to an end.”
“At that time, heaven and earth will rain a sweet dew. Those who are higher up will naturally be bathed in more of this dew, thus gaining the ability to temper their body and advance their cultivation. However, the requirement is that one has ascended to a suitable height,” the Stone Emperor said.
‘If anyone tells me that you two aren’t wearing the same pants… I’ll call bulls*t!’
Ling Han gazed at the two of them with a strange expression. This caused the Stone Emperor and the North Emperor to both feel uncomfortable. ‘What’s with your strange gaze?’
After a moment, Ling Han asked, “Isn’t this unfair? If one possesses a higher cultivation level, won’t it be easier for them to reach a greater height?”
The North Emperor smiled, and replied, “Firstly, this compet.i.tion has its limits. Those who are at the Eternal River Tier are forbidden from partic.i.p.ating. In any case, the floating rocks can’t carry their weight. This is also why only those at the Heavenly Body Tier come to apply for the Star Sand Martial Arts Academy. Even if one is capable of advancing to the Eternal River Tier, they’ll forcefully suppress their cultivation from reaching this level. This is for no other reason than the great opportunity at the Sunken Abyss Valley.”
“Secondly, as long as you step onto a floating rock, your cultivation level will be suppressed to the early stage of the low extreme of the Heavenly Body Tier,” the Stone Emperor continued, his cooperation with the North Emperor incredibly smooth. “In other words, this is genuinely a battle between cultivators at the same cultivation level.
“Thirdly, even if you possess a freakish physique as you do, this will be largely useless in the valley. This is because your opponents can target the floating rocks beneath your feet. Once your floating rock is destroyed, your only choice is to fall to the ground and start over again.”
The Rain Emperor laughed heartily, and said, “Brilliant, this sounds like an amazing idea! When does it begin?”
“Soon. It should begin within these few months,” the North Emperor replied.
“However, even though everyone’s cultivation level is suppressed to the low extreme of the Heavenly Body Tier, those who have reached a pinnacle level will still possess some advantage,” the Stone Emperor said with a solemn expression. “Rank three king tiers will possess the largest advantage, with at least one star of extra power compared to everyone else.”
“Gu Daoyi, Empress Luan Xing, Zi Chenfeng, Long Xiangyue, and Second in the World will definitely be the most powerful compet.i.tors this time,” the North Emperor said. “So, my proposal is that we can team up to defeat these individuals first.”
“Is that allowed?” Ling Han asked in surprise.
“Why not?” the Stone Emperor asked in reply.
‘This… You were just saying how fair this compet.i.tion was, yet in the blink of an eye, you’re proposing that we team up? How is that fair?’
“Can five or six people reach the peak in unison?” Ling Han asked.