Martial Conquest of the Nine Desolates
Chapter 420 - 416 Talent Cemetery

Chapter 420: Chapter 416 Talent Cemetery

"I wonder if Yaya has arrived," Xiao Ye’s mood was stirring.

He entered the True Spirit Continent, toiled in hard training for so long, just to one day enter Central State and bring Bing Ya back.

Now that he was finally very close to this goal, how could he not be excited?

"Hm? Didn’t they say that people from the Four Great Emperor Domains also came? Why haven’t I seen them?" Xiao Ye suppressed the excitement in his heart, scanning his gaze and realizing that none of these ten palaces had anything to do with the Four Great Emperor Domains.

Without saying much, within Central State, the Four Great Emperor Domains are definitely the most transcendent forces. He vividly remembered the overwhelming presence of people from the Iron Blood Emperor Domain when he visited Central State in spirit using Ocean Love.

Back then, at the celebration banquet in the Ice and Snow Palace, forces from all sides were polite and honored the Iron Blood Emperor Domain as distinguished guests.

"If I can get into one of the Four Great Emperor Domains that would be the best, but if not, I won’t force it. With the Time Tower and Four Emperor Skills, I will sooner or later reach the peak of martial arts in the True Spirit Continent," Xiao Ye said with a confident expression, then he stopped pondering further.

"Are these the powerful forces of Central State?" On the four huge Seven-Colored Rainbow Bridges, a thousand Young Talents’ eyes were shining, staring at the ten palaces without stopping.

Though there were only ten palaces, the impact they brought was much more intense than seeing the Imperial Palace of the Four Great Dynasties, making them feel insignificant.

True powerhouses do not need excessive decoration to showcase their status; even seated amidst ruins, they can still evoke extraordinary feelings in people.

And here, sitting were the bigwigs of Central State who could defeat the martial artists from the east, south, west, and north without much effort.

"To talk about True Spirit Continent’s true Supreme Geniuses, only Central State has the most and the strongest. That is the heart of the True Spirit Continent, possessing immense opportunities and precious Martial Arts Secret Manuals."

"To be able to enter Central State in this lifetime makes it worth having lived in this world."

"I, Zhao Tan, will definitely enter Central State and make a name for myself!"

...

At the moment, every one of the youths had blazing eyes as they loudly proclaimed their boundless War Intent to the sky, after all, passing the first barrier meant they were halfway into Central State.

"Silence all of you, if you offend the Lords of Central State, no one can save you," the Four Great Imperial Martial Artists thundered at the same time, a glint of cold light flashing in their eyes.

Instantly, a thousand youths silent as cicadas in winter, shrank their necks, not daring to speak further.

The four huge Seven-Colored Rainbow Bridges spanned the void, shuttling through the ethereal mist, heading straight for the ten grand palaces with a majestic momentum.

"I am East Emperor, leading three hundred and thirty Young Talents from East State, greeting the envoys from Central State!"

"I am South Emperor, leading two hundred and fifty Young Talents from Southern State, greeting the envoys from Central State!"

"I am West Emperor, leading two hundred and thirty-two Young Talents from West State, greeting the envoys from Central State!"

"I am North Emperor, leading one hundred and eighty-eight Young Talents from Northern State, greeting the envoys from Central State!"

The Emperor Realm Experts from the Four Great States stopped a thousand steps away from the ten palaces, bowed their bodies, and spoke with voices that burst through Heaven, looking incredibly stunning.

The thousand talents trembled in their hearts and minds, hastily following the gesture of respect.

"How many autumns pass in the ancient times, another glorious era descends. Who can contend with the heroes vying in the current age, to be the only one to reach the Other Shore?"

"You four have worked hard to cultivate talents for Central State," a hoary voice came out from the central Taiyi Palace, stirring Heavenly Thunder, and the void trembled.

"The Envoy is too kind," the Four Great Imperial Martial Artists said in unison with admiration in their eyes.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

At this moment, the ten palaces all trembled simultaneously, ten powerful Emperor Martial Auras not the slightest bit restrained, directly breaking out, making the thousand Young Talents feel incredibly oppressed.

Xiao Ye resisted the pressure, barely lifting his head to look up, only to see towering figures bathed in endless Divine Radiance above the ten palaces, collapsing the void, an old man with a celestial and Taoist bearing, a man with boundless Blood Qi, a woman alluring to all Cang Sheng...

Each one of them was like a Divine being, seated in the Emperor Realm, their deep and piercing glances tearing through the void, landing on the thousand youths.

Xiao Ye felt a tightness in his heart, as ten powerful wills swept across to probe the secrets within his body, but the energy that had been lying dormant within him blocked it back.

"It’s the energy left by the Empress, I didn’t expect it to even isolate the Emperor Realm Experts of Central State, truly remarkable," Xiao Ye relaxed a bit inside.

"Hehe... I didn’t expect that among the youths sent by the Four Great States, there are a few interesting little fellows," the celestial and Taoist old man from the Holy Palace laughed out loud, his gaze intentionally or unintentionally looking towards Xiao Ye.

Xiao Ye was slightly startled, from the old man’s words, there were others besides him who were extraordinary?

Thinking this, Xiao Ye’s heart moved, he looked at Nangong Xingyu who was calm beside him, his intuition telling him that the old man’s words also referred to Nangong Xingyu.

Among the ten envoys from Central State, the elder from Taiyi Palace clearly held the highest status. He spoke, "I see no need for pointless talk, let us directly commence the second trial of the Dynasty Battle."

"Strive to perform excellently in the second trial; this will greatly increase the likelihood of being chosen." The elder, resembling a divine being out of the Taoist legends, waved his wide sleeve, causing the sky to darken suddenly. His sleeve covered the heavens and contained the universe, possessing the power to move stars and shift constellations.

When light returned to the spectators’ eyes, they found themselves on a desolate and boundless plain permeated with the breath of antiquity.

One thousand Heavenly Prides, their faces filled with shock, surveyed their surroundings.

"Is this the capability of an Emperor Realm Expert? It’s truly astonishing," Xiao Ye inwardly marveled.

At this moment, one of the young talents suddenly cried out in alarm, "What... what is that?"

Xiao Ye, following their line of sight, felt a chill run down his spine—it was a tombstone ten men tall, displaying the marks of innumerable years, yet still standing erect and unyielding.

"Gu Ze, a peer of the Iron Blood Emperor, a fallen genius who, before his death, could easily defeat Virtual Martial Level 4 martial artists despite the gap in realms."

This line of large characters was etched on the tombstone, exuding a cold and eerie essence as it chronicled the information of the warrior buried beneath.

This was actually the eternal resting place of an ancient genius!

"There is another tombstone over there!" another youth exclaimed.

The assembly of Heavenly Prides hurried over and saw another tombstone several hundred meters away, identical to the first.

"Cang, a master swordsman and a contemporary genius of the Iron Blood Emperor, wielded a three-foot Green Blade and laughed in the face of the world, even daring to challenge the young Iron Blood Emperor, demonstrating formidable strength."

The giant stele bore this line of text, commemorating the past glories of the one who now lay in eternal slumber.

"There is another tombstone over that way!"

"I’ve also found a tombstone!"

...

More and more voices called out loudly, filled with panic.

"What place is this actually?" Xiao Ye’s heart pounded as he leapt into the air and looked into the distance. His eyes widened in disbelief.

Stretching as far as his eyes could see were countless massive tombstones, spreading out like mountain peaks across the land. In the dim sky, they exuded a cold aura.

Wild winds howled past, as if mourning the ones at rest and playing a requiem of death, sending shivers down Xiao Ye’s spine.

This place resembled a vast cemetery, where many young talents of the same era as the Iron Blood Emperor were buried. Indifferent were the years, for even in their brilliance, they now lay here, their slumber shared with the earth.

Xiao Ye’s thoughts whirled, piecing together information he had gotten from Tian Yi. He was now certain that this must indeed be the battlefield for the second phase of the Dynasty Battle.

"Could it be that these ancient geniuses will rise from their graves to spar with us?" he wondered.

"Ah!"

Simultaneously, one after another of the talents also took to the skies, realizing the special nature of this place, and let out cries of alarm.

They, unlike Xiao Ye who had previously engaged both the heroic spirits and the walking dead of the ancient geniuses, were completely unprepared and turned pale.

Boom, boom, boom!

At that moment, ten magnificent great halls descended from the sky, floating mid-air. They radiated dazzling light, illuminating Nine Heavens and Ten Earths. The overwhelming pressure washed over the area like surging waves, instantly quieting the scene.

"More than eight thousand years ago, during the era of the Iron Blood Emperor, a tremendously powerful force known as Ultimate Palace emerged, boasting countless experts. They swept through the Nine Desolates and unified all under heaven, enticing the young talents of True Spirit Continent to join them."

"But the Ultimate Palace was ruthless, placing arduous assessments laden with endless lethal threats. Those young talents who attempted it met with a ninety-nine percent fatality rate. Even the young Iron Blood Emperor suffered grave injuries and narrowly escaped with his life."

"That era was dark, a period where geniuses fell. It was the End of Dharma Era for Martial Arts. Apart from Ultimate Palace, it was difficult for any other to produce an Emperor Realm Expert."

"It was not until the Iron Blood Emperor claimed his title, forcefully eliminating Ultimate Palace, and creating abundant Martial Arts secret manuals that the Martial Arts of True Spirit Continent gradually flourished, surpassing what had come before," an ancient voice from Taiyi Palace narrated, revealing historical truths buried by time.

Xiao Ye’s eyes flickered with thought. This information was more detailed than anything he had obtained before. So it was the Iron Blood Emperor who had destroyed the mighty Ultimate Palace.

But why did Ultimate Palace set up such harsh trials and slaughter the geniuses of that time? To Xiao Ye, this seemed illogical. After all, which powerful Sect wouldn’t want to recruit more geniuses to strengthen itself? Such extreme actions provided no benefits whatsoever.

Xiao Ye’s mind teemed with questions, and he increasingly felt that there was more to True Spirit Continent than met the eye. Could the impending disaster spoken of by the Empress be related to Ultimate Palace?

"Among you, some may have guessed that the Ancient Battlefield is the trial ground of Ultimate Palace. This Talent Cemetery, where peers of the Iron Blood Emperor are buried, will also serve as the battleground for the second phase of the Dynasty Battle. They will be your opponents," continued the elder from Taiyi Palace.