Novel Full Chapter 99: Eternal Sky Heavenly Tablet
Chapter 99: Eternal Sky Heavenly Tablet
“This person should be Ye Beichen, the one ranked first on the New Disciples Ranking and famed for his ice sword arts.”
Following the direction of the intense sense of danger, Li Yun slowly lifted his head and fixed his gaze on the figure that gave him the strongest feeling of threat.
Not far away, about twenty meters from the Eternal Sky Heavenly Tablet, a massive rock rose from the ground, standing seven or eight meters tall. At its peak stood a single slender figure.
That person appeared to be around twenty years old. He wore a green robe and had a lean build with an unremarkable face, yet the aura surrounding him was anything but ordinary.
He was like a peerless divine sword that had just been drawn from its sheath. A sharp and overwhelming edge radiated from his body, as if it could slice apart the very space around him.
There was no doubt that this man’s comprehension of the Sword Dao had reached an astonishingly high realm.
Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.
Within Li Yun’s body, his own sword intent seed suddenly trembled, as though it had encountered a powerful rival. Waves of vigilance and surging battle intent rippled through him.
“This person has definitely comprehended a top grade mortal rank sword art to the true meaning stage. Only someone who reaches that level can condense a sword intent seed within their body. That also explains why my own sword intent seed is reacting so intensely.”
Li Yun’s pupils shrank slightly. He suppressed the agitation of the sword intent seed within him and calmly analyzed the situation. His own sword intent seed had been born from fully comprehending the top grade mortal rank Sky Cleaving Sword Scripture to the true meaning stage.
“Hm?”
At that moment, Ye Beichen seemed to sense Li Yun’s gaze.
Standing where he was, Ye Beichen naturally attracted countless eyes, yet he paid no attention to any of them. Even so, Li Yun’s gaze alone was enough to draw a response from him.
That was because Ye Beichen’s sword intent, much like Li Yun’s, had begun to tremble without pause.
“Swish!”
Ye Beichen’s indifferent gaze shifted toward Li Yun. Within those deep, unfathomable eyes, an extremely sharp and invisible ray of light suddenly burst forth, like a formless flying sword that tore through the air and struck directly at Li Yun.
Such cultivation was terrifying.
That single glance alone was enough to severely injure an ordinary Xiantian Realm Third Level cultivator.
Li Yun, however, showed no fear at all. He calmly met Ye Beichen’s gaze, and deep within his own eyes, a sharp brilliance surged forth, resembling a peerless divine sword revealing its edge.
Hiss. Hiss.
Their gazes collided in midair as if two divine swords were clashing head on. The air at the point of impact twisted slightly under the pressure, as though invisible sparks were crackling and flashing.
“I did not expect someone in this batch of new disciples to have also condensed a sword intent seed.”
The clash of gazes was nothing more than a brief probe. Neither of them had revealed their true strength, so the outcome was naturally even. Even so, Ye Beichen let out a faint, arrogant snort in his heart.
“It is a pity his cultivation is too low. He is only at the Half Step Xiantian Realm. The gap between us is enormous. I could kill him within thirty moves and defeat him within fifteen.”
With that thought, Ye Beichen lost interest in continuing the exchange. He withdrew his gaze and no longer looked at Li Yun.
“So he is already looking down on me after seeing my cultivation at the Half Step Xiantian Realm.”
Li Yun clearly sensed Ye Beichen’s disdain, yet he remained completely unruffled. With a composed expression, he also withdrew his gaze and turned his attention to the next person.
That figure was a young martial artist who appeared to be around eighteen years old. He was tall and straight, dressed in a tight black outfit, and he radiated a domineering aura.
What drew the most attention, however, was not the oppressive presence of this black clad youth, but the pair of ink black gauntlets covering his hands.
The two gauntlets were clearly a set, yet the patterns engraved on them were entirely different. The gauntlet on his left hand was etched with river shaped runes formed from mysterious symbols, releasing a vast and surging aura. The gauntlet on his right hand bore mountain shaped runes, also formed from ancient symbols, exuding a heavy pressure that felt capable of suppressing the world itself.
“Zhu Ximen, ranked second on the New Disciples Ranking and famous for his fist arts.”
Li Yun instantly identified the black clad youth’s identity.
Zhu Ximen also noticed Li Yun’s gaze, yet his reaction was very different from Ye Beichen’s. He was neither overtly arrogant nor as overbearing as his aura suggested. Instead, he gave Li Yun a slight nod, as if acknowledging him.
Of course, Li Yun quickly realized that this was not a gesture of friendliness. With Zhu Ximen’s domineering presence, it was impossible to call him approachable.
That nod was simply recognition. Zhu Ximen had sensed Li Yun’s strength and was showing respect to a fellow expert. If Li Yun had been an ordinary martial artist, Zhu Ximen would not have spared him even a glance.
Next, Li Yun’s attention shifted to the third figure.
That man had a towering build, and his physical body radiated an overwhelming pressure. Within a radius of ten meters, no one dared to stand near him.
He appeared to be around twenty years old and wore a black dragon robe. With his hands clasped behind his back, he stared into the distance with an expression of detached arrogance, similar to Ye Beichen.
No.
To be more precise, his demeanor was one of absolute supremacy. It was the gaze of someone who looked down upon all others, as though no one in the world was worthy of entering his eyes, as if he alone stood supreme between heaven and earth.
With such a terrifying physical body that even Li Yun felt faintly stirred, his identity was obvious. He was Lu Changsan, known as the Black Demon, ranked third on the New Disciples Ranking.
“What a peerless beauty.”
The final figure was a young woman of exceptional elegance, dressed in a flowing green gown.
At first glance, she appeared gentle and refined, like a delicate noble lady. Yet the aura emanating from her slender frame was anything but fragile. It was immensely powerful, on par with some ordinary Xiantian Realm Fifth Level experts.
This woman was Han Lingxue, ranked fourth on the New Disciples Ranking.
“Hey, what do you all think? After the Eternal Sky Heavenly Tablet opens, who do you think will obtain the six comprehension slots?”
“That is obvious. The first four slots will certainly belong to Ye Beichen, Zhu Ximen, Lu Changsan, and Han Lingxue, the four experts ranked at the top of the New Disciples Ranking. As for the fifth and sixth slots, it is hard to say. The young experts ranked below them are all close in strength, so it is difficult to judge.”
“Sigh. No matter what, those six comprehension slots will surely be claimed by the powerhouses on the New Disciples Ranking. As for the rest of us, we can only stand by and watch.”
—-
While Li Yun was observing Ye Beichen and the other prominent figures, the young talents gathered around the Eternal Sky Heavenly Tablet also began to murmur among themselves.
They were all keenly aware of their own limits. With their current strength, they had no hope of qualifying to comprehend the Eternal Sky Heavenly Tablet, so they had come merely to witness the spectacle.
Buzz, buzz, buzz.
Amid the rising discussions, the Eternal Sky Heavenly Tablet, which had stood in solemn silence, suddenly began to tremble violently.
“What is happening?”
“Is the Eternal Sky Heavenly Tablet about to open?”
The sudden disturbance instantly drew everyone’s attention.
Before their eyes, the sky above the Eternal Sky Heavenly Tablet was torn apart by an immense force, forming a vast, pitch-black spatial rift.
It looked like the gaping maw of an ancient beast, ominous and terrifying.
Whoosh.
In the next instant, a thick and radiant beam of light burst out from the spatial rift and shot straight down onto the Eternal Sky Heavenly Tablet.
The massive stone tablet seemed like a bottomless abyss as it absorbed the entire beam of light without resistance. Immediately afterward, the cloud-like runes carved across its surface were activated. They shimmered as if alive and began to flow across the tablet.
In the end, all the moving runes converged, forming a dazzling sphere of light.
Bang.
The sphere of light exploded, splitting into six radiant beams that shot outward from the Eternal Sky Heavenly Tablet. Those beams quickly condensed into six cloud-like futons that floated silently in midair, each one emitting waves of profound and mysterious aura.
“Those are the Eternal Sky Futons!”
“Whoever can sit on one of those futons will gain the qualification to comprehend the Eternal Sky Heavenly Tablet!”
Exclamations rang out as everyone recognized the six strange cloud-shaped seats, and flames of desire lit up in many eyes.
Yet no one dared to move.
Treasures belonged to the strong. Without sufficient power, daring to seize an Eternal Sky Futon would only invite a miserable end.
Although the appearance of the Eternal Sky Futons stirred intense temptation among the gathered young talents, it was not enough to make them lose their reason and act rashly.
“Hmph!”
Seeing the young talents clearly burning with envy yet none daring to act, Ye Beichen let out a cold snort. He stepped onto the air and walked forward calmly, one step at a time, toward one of the Eternal Sky Futons.
His pace was unhurried, and everyone present could see him clearly, yet not a single person dared to block his path.
Stopping Ye Beichen, the number one on the New Disciples Ranking, would be nothing short of seeking death.
“Heh, since Brother Beichen has already taken the lead, I cannot afford to lag behind. I shall claim the second Eternal Sky Futon.”
As Ye Beichen reached the futon and sat down, Zhu Ximen smiled faintly and followed immediately.
Once again, no one dared to interfere.
“The third Eternal Sky Futon is mine!”
A loud, arrogant laugh echoed through the air as a figure surged forward like a black dragon, seizing the third futon. It was none other than Lu Changsan.
“I ask all the heroes present to grant this humble maiden the fourth Eternal Sky Futon.”
Han Lingxue smiled gently, her movements light and graceful, as she stepped forward and took her seat on the fourth futon.
In the blink of an eye, four of the six Eternal Sky Futons were claimed, leaving only two remaining.
The eyes of the crowd burned as they stared at the final two futons. Their breathing grew heavy, fists clenched beneath their sleeves, and the flow of energy within their bodies intensified. A tense atmosphere spread through the air, as if a great battle could erupt at any moment.
Only two Eternal Sky Futons remained, which meant only two remaining chances to comprehend the Eternal Sky Heavenly Tablet. Missing out now meant losing this opportunity entirely.
Yet even at this critical moment, no one dared to make the first move, because whoever acted first would inevitably become the focus of everyone’s hostility.
“This fifth Eternal Sky Futon belongs to me!”