I Am Supreme

Although three days were more than enough to decide the final winner from among five hundred sects, it should not be so fast. But with the presence of Residence of Nine Supremes, a super formidable sect who was so strong that it did not meet any worthy matches and was finishing its opponents as quickly as a snap of a finger, the progress of the qualification battle was significantly accelerated.

And it was exactly because of such an atmosphere that the people from all the other sects except the Residence of Nine Supremes were wounded, and everyone was so tired that they could fall asleep even while walking.

Originally, the various sects thought of taking a good rest for the night to recover themselves and prepare for the next day. But on that very night, at Yun Yang’s order, the Residence of Nine Supremes took the initiative and struck out for the first time.

Over sixty sects were wiped out overnight; the attack route began from one end of the square and swept all the way through, and the shrieks let out by dying warriors rang for the whole night.

In the early morning of the next day, seven sects withdrew themselves from the battle, their faces all as pale as sheets.

At this point, there were less than thirty sects left in this qualification battle. The remaining sects, which were less than ten percent of them all, appeared to be extremely lonely on the huge square.

As for the sects who were either wiped out or withdrew themselves from the battle, their tents vanished as soon as they were defeated or gave up. It was even more magical than the disappearing of the corpses and blood.

From beginning to end, Yun Yang had never stopped observing with his divine sense and perceiving with his manifestation powers, and yet did not find any trace of power controlling this place or presiding over the battle. It was as if everything was performed by this mountain alone, and had nothing to do with anybody.

It seemed to be…too advanced, at least beyond Yun Yang’s current knowledge!

…

The next afternoon, the thirty sects were further reduced to eleven, and by evening time, only six were left.

On the morning of the third day…

Of all the sects participating in the battle of the Celestial Luck Banner in this realm, only two were left —the Residence of Nine Supremes and the Wild Saber Sect!

Without any surprise, the two sects confronted each other.

The Wild Saber Sect had brought thirty-five men to this qualification battle, but after all the fighting, there were only seventeen of them still alive, and the rest were all dead. The death toll was more than half. Moreover, the survivors were all wounded and so tired to continue that they could hardly lift their hands.

Yun Yang came out with all the disciples, staring at their last opponent silently.

In sharp contrast to Wild Saber Sect’s bad shape, their clothes were clean and dustless as if they had just taken bath and changed into new clothes.

When the sect leader of the Wild Saber Sect saw them coming in such excellent shape, and when he sensed their formidable aura and an explosive fighting will, he gave a bitter laugh with tears trickling down his cheeks.

“The Residence of Nine Supremes is indeed mighty!”

The sect leader was a burly man. Glancing wistfully at the disciples, junior brothers and sisters around him, he said sadly, “For today’s battle, the Wild Saber Sect had endured all kinds of hardships and prepared for twenty-seven years…

“We were having the upper hand during several occasions when we met Cangwu Union in the past, and I thought we could certainly seize the Celestial Luck Banner this time. But, I never thought…however strong you are, there’s always someone stronger.”

Looking at Yun Yang, he said blatantly, “If we force ourselves, it is no different from seeking death. We admit defeat! Sect Leader Yun, you wouldn’t be so ruthless as to kill us all, would you?”

Yun Yang, Shi Wuchen, and others did not hide their aura; it was the first time that they unleashed their mighty aura at the same time. As their opponent was also a cultivator with a profound cultivation base, he naturally could sense them.

Even if none of the people from the Wild Saber Sect died and their strength remained at the perfect level, they still could not overcome such a massive gap in strength. It was a gap that could not be overcome by risking one’s life!

So, if they risked everything to fight, they were not only seeking death, but were being extremely stupid!

“I bid you farewell,” Yun Yang said warmly. “Brother, our purpose here is nothing but to get the Celestial Luck Banner. Now, with you withdrawing yourself, the winner has been decided, and we will not force you further. When we meet again in the martial world, we will still be friends.”

The sect leader smiled sadly. As he glanced wistfully at the huge square, he muttered, “This is celestial luck, so this is celestial luck…”

All of a sudden, he coughed out a mouthful of blood, then waved and said, “We admit defeat! Let’s go!”

Before his voice had died away, his burly body fell to the ground. His spirit, energy, and soul seemed to have completely vanished at this very moment.

“From today onward, the Wild Saber Sect will be in seclusion for a hundred years! I hope there will be some excellent talents among the future-generation disciples after a hundred years, and only then will we come to fight for the Celestial Luck Banner again.”

With tears in their eyes, the people of the Wild Saber Sect left behind a sad and bleak remark before they were directly sent away by the magical power of the Mount Penta-Tier.

At this point, the Residence of Nine Supremes was the only sect left on the huge square.

Standing straight with his hands clasped behind his back, Yun Yang had a thoughtful look on his face. After a long time, he finally murmured, “Celestial luck, celestial luck!”

But then, from behind him came a loud cry of cheers!

“We’ve won!”

With the Wild Saber Sect’s withdrawal, the qualification battle had come to an end. The white fog at the edges of the square changed once again, rippling and tossing quickly and condensing into a road that led upward.

A white cloud drifted in front of Yun Yang and others, as if guiding the way, and then slowly drifted forward.

Knowing that it was because of their victory that they were guided by a cloud, the people of the Residence of Nine Supremes beamed as they strode happily toward the road.

Only Yun Yang had a sudden sense of melancholy, but he followed others all the same, walking away one step at a time. Even then, the bleak and despairing voice let out by the sect leader of the Wild Saber Sect before he left was echoing in his mind.

“Celestial luck, celestial luck!”

Accompanied by that were the hopeless, listless, and despairing eyes of all those from the Wild Saber Sect, and…

…the heaps of corpses that fell under the sabers and swords of the Residence of Nine Supremes.

“Wuchen, what do you think is the celestial luck?”

Shi Wuchen, Luo Dajiang, and the others were walking along with Yun Yang in a happy mood when they heard the question, and it stunned them momentarily. How were they going to answer the question? It simply did not have a standard answer.

With a faint smile on his face, Yun Yang walked leisurely as he asked again, “Do you think that the process of fighting for the celestial luck is…overly cruel?”

At the question, all the masters and disciples of the Residence of Nine Supremes lapsed into silence and none made an answer. A few moments later, Luo Dajiang sighed softly and said in a low voice, “Boss, do you think too many people died in this battle?”

“Yes, I do have this feeling. Previously, I was concentrating on defeating the enemies, so I did not think too much, and I was merciless for fear of leaving some hidden troubles. But when I look back now, even though our conscience is clear, we were too cruel and ruthless.”

Luo Dajiang’s voice grew lower, “My take on this is different from yours, Boss. I do not find cruelty, ruthlessness, or even the slightest unfairness in this battle. On the contrary, I find it very fair!”

Shi Wuchen nodded in agreement. “I thought the same. Although the battle is bloody and ruthless, it is fair in essence; it’s nothing but the survival of the fittest. Those sects with senses had long withdrawn themselves, and those who continued were counting on their luck. They can’t blame anyone else for their own demise. It’s their own choice.”

Yun Yang nodded silently.

“I thought it was fair as well!” Tie Qingcang chimed in. “In essence, this battle is a fight among warriors. Cruel or not, at least it gave a chance to compete, and at the same time, also provided the chance to give up. It is absolutely fair!”

“In my understanding, everything in this world is the epitome of the celestial luck. In the mortal world, people fight for the throne, shedding blood and killing countless men to rise to the top. Behind every man who ascended the throne, thousands and even millions died. Cultivators fight for the future of their cultivation, men fight for thrones, businesses fight for profit. Everyone is fighting, and in my opinion, this is the fight for the celestial luck!”

“It’s a pity that the fatty Qian Duoduo is not here, otherwise, he would have told you that the fight between businessmen is as cruel. Although it may not be accompanied by heaps of corpses and puddles of blood, the schemes, trickeries and plots are as intense, if not more serious. They would resort to every conceivable means just to get rid of their competitors. Betrayal, deception, extortion, and even force…There are all kinds of means, many of which are beyond your imagination.”

“If we think deeper, even the most common mortals have to exhaust their abilities to survive in this world. However, many would not be able to achieve their goals in their lives, no matter how hard they try. If you want to talk about unfairness, don’t you think life is more unfair to those people? Many people have reached the pinnacle of their lives the moment they were born, such as the sons of the emperors, the heirs of the lords and the riches…and commoners cannot even reach their soles after working hard all their lives.”

“Therefore, although the world of commoners seems quiet and peaceful with no apparent risks, without risk itself is where the unfairness lies! Because…fairness is something that one must fight with a price!”

“The battle of the Celestial Luck Banners is bloody and ruthless; winning doesn’t mean one has reached the end, and the price of losing is always one’s life. However, it is a platform for all of us to fight, so that we will not resign ourselves to fate before we even have a chance to fight!”

At this moment, Luo Dajiang also said with deep feelings, “Even though they know that the hope is slim, everyone still doesn’t give up this hope. When you win, you will have everything! But when you lose, you will have nothing, and it is because you are incompetent and you don’t have the luck, not because of unfairness!”

“Perhaps people will think the martial world practitioners are too stupid when they look at us from a secular perspective. To them, only when one lives can one have hope and future, so why are we risking our lives? It is better to live than to die, and it is too foolish that tens of thousands of people died for the Celestial Luck Banner, which cannot be eaten or drank.”

“But, are we really stupid?”

“It’s nothing but each pursuing different things. As for foolish or not, different people have different views.”

“Others fight with money, power, affection, wit, but warriors fight with their lives. As the prices vary, the rewards are naturally different.”

“For those who fight with money, power, and wit… what they get in the end are nothing but money, power, status…”

“But what we, the warriors, fight with our lives are the future, the celestial luck. When we live, we will have a future, but when we die, that’s our destiny. It is never cruel or unfair.”

“When one looks at warriors from the perspective of commoners, we are ruthless and incomprehensible. But when one looks at us from the perspective of warriors, one will think that we are…reasonable. We are all the same, fighting for what we want with our lives, nothing more.”

Shi Wuchen added coldly, “The journey of cultivation is always tough. If we don’t fight with our lives, what else should we do? How are we going to surpass others when everyone is fighting with their lives?”

At his words, everyone burst into laughter, but Yun Yang remained in silence. A brief moment later, he said, “Is that what warriors in the Bound of Universe think?”

“Of course…In Bound of Universe, only the fittest can survives, and everything is based on strength. Boss, isn’t that what you think?”

Yun Yang smiled and said no more.

If truth be told, it was not what Yun Yang thought. As someone from Tianxuan Continent, he always felt that everything here in Bound of Universe was very different from that on Tianxuan, and many things were out of place with him.

In fact, he was pondering about a question many times: so many martial world practitioners who did not know each other were killed just for a qualification, and many warriors who did not know each other had died just because of minor arguments…

Was that too extreme? Was that really necessary?

Yun Yang had gained more than others in this battle. He had received a large amount of karmic energy, which proved that those who were killed were not as innocent as he thought they might be, and they were deserved to be damned. However, how could any man who roamed the martial world be free from committing deeds that would get his hands stained with karma?

Was it necessary that any martial world practitioner with a slight reputation should have killed hundreds of thousands of men?

Many feuds were not just because of the dispute between good and evil. Even Yun Yang was not innocent. Along his journey, he had killed many soldiers from other countries, even though he always kept his original intention of serving his country and his family.

That was the reason why he kept murmuring ‘celestial luck’.

It was not because of the desire for the celestial luck, but confusion.

But now, after witnessing those sects fight each other for the Celestial Luck Banner with their lives, and then hearing Shi Wuchen and others, Yun Yang vaguely felt that he seemed to have understood something.

He was not weak and irresolute, but…all the warriors and people in this entire Bound of Universe were like that, and the atmosphere as a whole was like that!

Hordes of troops were crossing a wooden bridge; every three years, only a few people could have the opportunity to reach another stage, and the rest were either killed on the bridge or pushed down from it. Those who gave up could keep their lives, but at the same time, their journey of martial arts in this life would have come to an end as well, and they could never advance again!

Everyone had to be so cruel, only then could there be room for further advancement. Everyone had long accepted this reality, and this was the fate of warriors.

Since one had chosen to possess stronger power than ordinary people, these struggles were the price one had to pay!

…

Yun Yang breathed out a long sigh of relief and mumbled with a smile, “So that is what it is. I understand now.”

At that moment, he truly felt relieved and relaxed!