Shocking the Nine Heavens With My Sword
Chapter 269 - 257: Battle for the Heavens Competition (3/3)

Chapter 269: Chapter 257: Battle for the Heavens Competition (3/3)

"I really don’t know what it is!" Black Donkey shook his head.

"You don’t know, yet you join in the hubbub?" Zhou Heng was incredulous. This despicable donkey had messed things up during the process, nearly losing his life, and he didn’t even know why he suffered!

"Tch, you think I wanted this!" Black Donkey gave Zhou Heng a disdainful look, "It’s not because of Heaven... Tch, my affairs are none of your business!"

"Donkey, you have quite a few secrets, huh!"

Ignoring Zhou Heng, Black Donkey was busy tinkering with something with his hooves. After a good while, he burst into laughter and said, "I have slightly affected the formation here. This ancient thief will wake up two hundred years later than originally scheduled!"

"Hmm?"

"This formation was supposed to activate in ten years to awaken him, but with my modification, it will be delayed by two hundred years. Let that old thief twiddle his thumbs then!" Black Donkey was excited, "Donkey Master can hardly wait to see the expression on his face!"

"Despicable donkey, have I ever told you that you are very cunning?"

"Tch, I am merely returning the favor!"

The duo spoke as they started to return the way they had come. Since they had emptied the entire cave dwelling, staying further was pointless.

"No need to leave the cave dwelling, there’s a formation here that can directly transport us outside!" After leaving the water, Black Donkey led Zhou Heng to another stone chamber. After some tinkering, a white light swept over them. In a flash, they had reached the outermost cliff.

"Zhou, I’ll look you up again later to make a fortune together!" Black Donkey ran off at a gallop.

In Gu Heqian’s secret chamber, he had grabbed treasures far exceeding those of Zhou Heng, naturally unwilling to linger, fearing that Zhou Heng would demand an equal share. This donkey was extraordinarily greedy for treasures, practically considering them as vital as his own life!

Zhou Heng shook his head and chuckled, then, in a flash, he entered the Nine Mystic Trial Tower, for his gains too had been tremendous.

Just the Upper Grade Spirit Stones alone totaled nearly ten thousand, not to mention a pile of precious materials. Although they weren’t Magic Artifacts, for Zhou Heng, materials were even better than Magic Artifacts!

Because Magic Artifacts contained formations, which, upon absorbing nature’s spiritual energy, would form an Array Spirit embodying the will of heaven and earth, resisting his devouring — he was absolutely incapable of suppressing it at his current level of the Spirit Sea Realm!

But materials were different, being merely pure metal essence which needed only to be refined.

He wasn’t in a hurry to return, since he had already missed the selection of the Shangtian Martial Pavilion. Firstly, he refined these materials.

Using the ability of the Gold Devouring Clan, he began to feverishly devour the materials in the Nine Mystic Trial Tower. It took him four full days to completely digest these precious materials. Yet to his disappointment, even such a vast amount of materials still did not allow his body’s strength to break through to the Spirit Sea Realm!

"It seems, Body Cultivation isn’t as easy as I imagined!"

Zhou Heng sighed and exited the Nine Mystic Trial Tower, heading back towards Lanling City.

Regardless, the journey had been immensely fruitful: his Spiritual Power had finally leapt into the Mountains and Rivers Realm, allowing him to suppress any martial artist of the same realm with ease, and his physique had greatly improved, although there was still some distance to the Spirit Sea Realm.

Ten thousand Upper Grade Spirit Stones were incredibly precious; such items were rare even in the Heavenly Dragon Empire!

Actually, the Xuanqian Continent didn’t possess pure Upper Grade Spirit Stone mines but only Middle Grade mines that produced generally better-quality spirit stones, occasionally mingled with Upper Grade ones, which were the essence of spirit stones and extremely precious!

Unfortunately, most of the Upper Grade Spirit Stones had been snatched by Black Donkey.

He hastened his pace, moving swiftly.

After entering the Mountains and Rivers Realm, the earth of his Inner World resonated with the outer world’s earth. Every step he took, the earth rebounded with a force that greatly increased his speed. Although it couldn’t compare to the Swift Cloud Radiant Step, it was much faster than when he was in the Open Heaven Realm.

The higher one’s Martial Realm, the higher the degree of fusion with the natural world, and the greater the feedback of power received.

Just three days later, Zhou Heng arrived back at the Zhao Family.

His return delighted his mother, Zhao Kexin, the most, while Xiao Huoshui threw him amorous glances again and again. Naturally, the night brought a beautiful time with endless moments of intimate joy under the candlelight at the western window.

The next day, he was called over by Zhao Duotian.

"Why didn’t you attend the Heaven Martial-Advocating Pavilion assessment?" Zhao Duotian asked. His tone was very calm, seemingly not overly concerned about the missed opportunity.

Zhou Heng smiled slightly, clenched his fist, and mobilized his Spiritual Power fully, the power of the Mountains and Rivers Realm rolling forth immediately.

"Hmm?" Zhao Duotian’s eyes lit up, he turned abruptly, his face wearing a trace of surprise.

He had high expectations of Zhou, but he had not expected that in just over ten days, Zhou would soar from the Second Layer Heaven of the Open Heaven Realm directly to the Mountains and Rivers Realm, crossing a minor and a Great Realm!

Even he himself, with all his remarkable encounters back in the day, had not improved this terrifyingly fast!

Thinking back, he was twenty-six when he broke through to the Mountains and Rivers Realm, and he was already considered one of the ten fastest people in history to achieve that realm, but Zhou Heng had effortlessly smashed his record.

"Very good, very good!" Zhao Duotian nodded, "Every genius has their own path, their own experiences, I don’t want to limit your development, but if you have time, you should still visit the Shangtian Martial Pavilion, where there is a Heaven-reaching Array. Passing it could earn you an opportunity to enter the Martial Pavilion without necessarily having to participate in the assessments!"

"It’s not just about having the chance to learn from Divine Infant Realm experts, that place gathers exceptionally outstanding talents from all humanity. Sparring with them would greatly benefit your progress!"

"Once you break through to the Nascent Soul Realm, you must walk the path alone thereafter. Each Nascent Soul Realm cultivator’s deity is unique, and nobody can guide you in your next steps!"

He earnestly shared his insights from his time in the Mountains and Rivers Realm stage with Zhou Heng, but unfortunately, Zhou Heng was the least in need of understanding realms. He let the advice go in one ear and out the other, instead continuously observing Zhao Duotian’s increasingly distinct deity form.

Leaving Zhao Duotian’s place, Zhou Heng was pestered by Xiao Huoshui to go shopping, and after some thought, he readily agreed, taking Xiao Huoshui, Orchid Concubine, and Nangong Yuerong with him as they left the Zhao Mansion.

The path of a Martial Artist is not solely about arduous cultivation.

Arriving at a restaurant, they booked a private room. Although the food was good, the establishment itself was not very high-class, as noises from neighboring rooms could easily be heard when slightly louder.

The four of them sat at one table, sipping fine wine and enjoying dishes, having been too preoccupied with playful antics in bed the previous night to have time for conversation.

The three women asked Zhou Heng about his gains from the trip. Seeing him take out several Upper Grade Spirit Stones, they were all incredibly excited. It should be noted that Upper Grade Spirit Stones not only enhance spiritual energy accumulation—they also contain the evolutionary processes of nature, greatly aiding in the creation of an Inner World.

After the Nascent Soul Realm, continued enhancement requires reliance on Upper-Grade Spirit Stones, using the innate understanding of nature within them to strengthen one’s deity form, transforming the nascent into an infant, growing into an adult, and evolving into a true deity, directly leaping into the nine heavens!

"How many people passed the Shangtian Martial Pavilion’s assessment this time?" Zhou Heng casually asked.

"A total of seventeen people!" Nangong Yuerong replied. Among the three women, she had the highest Martial Path talent and was the most patient in cultivation, naturally paying close attention to such news.

"Jing Tian... took first place!" she paused and hesitated before speaking, then raised her head to glance at Zhou Heng.

Zhou Heng couldn’t help but smile wryly, wondering if she was afraid he’d be jealous? He did not take the trip to the Shangtian Martial Pavilion seriously at all! Yet, it turned out Jing Tian really did have some skills to stand out as the top genius in the entire Bright Moon Country and win the glory of first place.

"That’s because the master didn’t participate, otherwise the first place would definitely be the master’s!" Orchid Concubine immediately flattered, sensing that Zhou Heng might be displeased.

Zhou Heng instantly shot her a look, feeling that aside from being obedient in bed, this woman seemed utterly annoying!

Orchid Concubine, timid as ever, quickly bowed her head, silently cursing in her heart that this brute took her good intentions for donkey’s liver and lungs.

"The Shangtian Martial Pavilion’s assessment is quite special. It doesn’t solely base on cultivation level as the most important reference, but rather comprehensively tests wisdom and aptitude. Therefore, many rejected candidates are discontented. These past few days, the Ying Family has stepped forward to organize a ’Heavenly Contest,’ open to anyone under the age of a hundred, where they compete in martial prowess for first place!" Nangong Yuerong added.

The minimum standard for selection by the Shangtian Martial Pavilion is indeed under a hundred years old, and this "Heavenly Contest" also carries this stipulation, truly a face-to-face challenge for those not convinced.

"...Old Wu, who do you think will win this time?"

The neighboring voices grew louder, immediately carrying over.

"Definitely Qian Heming, at the peak of the Third Layer Heaven in the Open Heaven Realm... but Yu Xuanying is also very formidable. Although only in the Medium Period of Third Layer Heaven, they are in the same realm, so their battle power wouldn’t differ too much!"

Seeing Zhou Heng’s interested expression, Nangong Yuerong whispered, "Qian Heming and Yu Xuanying are both hot favorites for first place in this Heavenly Contest!"

"It’s a pity, Han Yiyao has disappeared somewhere. If she were here, she would undoubtedly be the rightful first place!"

"If she appeared, she would definitely have been selected as a disciple of the Shangtian Martial Pavilion, how could she possibly stay to participate in the battle!"

"Where do you think she went?"

"How should I know! Haven’t you seen the Ying Family has mobilized so many people looking for her? They haven’t found her, how could I possibly guess!"

"Heh, speaking of which, it’s really interesting, the two great beauties who disappeared one after the other in the Imperial Capital both have connections with the Ying Family, one is Ying Cheng’en’s sister, the other is his fiancée. Do you think there could be any connection?"

"Is Ying Mengfan really that beautiful?"

"Hey, you only arrived in the Imperial Capital seven years ago, you haven’t seen that peerless beauty! I saw her with my own eyes, she was stunningly beautiful! Like a celestial maiden! You know, I just saw her once, and I couldn’t forget her at all. That night at the brothel, I went at it ten times and was still damn hard!"

"Sss, is Ying Mengfan really that beautiful?"

"Not just beautiful, she’s absolutely enchanting!"

"Such a pity, she must have been abducted by some guy, getting to enjoy her every night!"

"Damn it, I’m so jealous of that bastard!"

The conversation that followed was completely indecent. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it at qidian.com by casting recommendation votes and monthly tickets. Your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)