The Favored Son of Heaven

“Brother…”

Qin Fen raised his head and looked at the man who had a sturdy build and long black hair, who stood together with the other four masters in the sky. He was no other than Qin Zhan! The Qin Zhan that he had not met for many years, the one who was at the top of the martial world now!

Although they hadn’t really met each other for many years, Qin Fen would never forget his brother who once cared for him. The kind brother who would do anything just to find him a nice and warm roasted sweet potato during the winter.

He’s not the Azure Dragon? Qin Fen was slightly shocked by this fact. All divine beast martial artists had their own unique clothing. Song Wendong was wearing a green robe with a vivid Qilin embroidered on it, as Qilin was his title as a divine beast martial artist.

Shang Guan Sheng Yu had long red hair and was wearing a high-cut red cheongsam embroidered with golden thread and a large Vermillion Bird.

Mercury’s Black Tortoise, looking sleepy, had his long mint hair draped over his shoulders. He looked extremely handsome. He was wearing a dark green robe embroidered with a Black Tortoise that represented his identity.

The Azure Dragon! The most mysterious Azure Dragon that Qin Fen had always thought of as Qin Zhan… Looks like I’ve got it totally wrong! Azure Dragon did look really young, somewhere in his early thirties. He was wearing a sky blue robe with a vivid Dragon embroidered on it.

At almost the same time, be it the martial dao masters present in the ring or the general public who was watching the live broadcast through the internet, they all let out a low-pitched exclamation.

The divine beast martial artists! They were even rarer existences than Mr. President, who was the Federation’s supreme leader that could be seen on the TV almost daily.

However, it was extremely rare to be able to meet a divine beast martial artist. If it wasn’t for their unique clothing, many people might not believe that they were seeing the genuine divine beast martial artists.

Usually, it wasn’t easy for a martial dao master to meet with just one divine beast martial artist. However, the four major divine beast martial artists showed themselves together on this day; it was simply astonishing!

In particular, Jupiter’s Azure Dragon, who had never appeared in front of anyone before, the Azure Dragon whom everybody had heard to be quite young in age, showed himself too!

So he’s the Azure Dragon? For a moment, people were amazed but were doubtful at the same time.

Qin Fen was quick to notice a hint of confusion in the eyes of Qilin, Black Tortoise, and Vermillion Bird. Although the confusion disappeared in the next instant, it was the same doubt everybody else had. Other divine beasts were surprised by the Azure Dragon’s identity too.

Rumors had it that one had to be acknowledged by other divine beast martial artists before they could become a divine beast martial artist. They didn’t necessarily need to meet each other in person, but they must have a unique way of authentication.

Song Wendong floated in the sky, scrutinizing Qin Zhan calmly instead of looking at Jupiter’s Azure Dragon. He raised a question slowly, “Did you… pass the title to him?”

Qin Zhan was wearing a common military camouflage uniform that couldn’t seal away his prideful aura even a little. He turned to face Qilin Song Wendong, the most senior divine beast martial artist who created the whole system of divine beast martial artists by himself. Qin Zhan nodded and answered him with a calm and firm tone, “He’s definitely qualified to accept this title from me. If Qilin thinks that my disciple is unworthy, you may test him.”

Disciple? Every martial dao master on the ground had extraordinary auditory ability. Every one of them was in great shock and looked at Qin Zhan, who was obviously younger than Azure Dragon. They were skeptical, feeling as if they had a hearing problem. The divine beast of Jupiter, Azure Dragon, turns out to be the disciple of this young man?

A master to a divine beast martial artist? The martial dao masters were shocked initially, but they then became skeptical of the news. It’s simply unbelievable!

“I don’t need to.” Song Wendong smiled indifferently, “You’re really a big surprise to me. I was planning to pass on my divine beast title, Qilin, to the champion of the Great Ensemble. I didn’t expect you to be a step faster than me.”

Qin Zhan cupped his hand in obeisance and smiled at him, “Congratulations, senior, for your new breakthrough.”

“Unfortunately…” Song Wendong bitterly smiled at him, “I’m one step behind you. I’m guessing you’re the one who killed White Tiger that day? One thing I couldn’t be sure of is whether you were still the Azure Dragon at that time. When you killed White Tiger, you were enlightened by the injuries, thus leading to a breakthrough?”

“I did kill White Tiger.” Qin Zhan tilted his chin slightly, “I was not the Azure Dragon by that time.”

“I’ve guessed it correctly then…”

A strong murderous aura that had almost condensed into some solid matter rose from the ground. It interrupted Song Wendong’s speech and had attracted everyone’s attention. The murderous aura was coming from Young Hades, and it was the most straightforward and crude emotion.

For a moment, the entire Federation was shaken by the news. People looked at Qin Zhan in the sky dumbfoundedly. It turns out that this young man is the master to the Azure Dragon divine beast? He himself was the previous Azure Dragon? He is daring enough to pass on the divine beast title without anyone’s permission? Moreover, his acts were acknowledged by Qilin Song Wendong in the end? Who on earth is this young man?

“Hey! My Idol!”

Xue Tian’s unscrupulous voice once again echoed in the space. Qin Zhan looked down to see Xue Tian, who was standing on the ground waving at him, and gave him a light smile. Without saying anything to the other divine beast martial artists, he landed in front of Xue Tian in an instant and said to him smilingly, “You’re looking not bad. Seems like I’ve gifted you the right gift?”

“It’s pretty good.”

Xue Tian beat his chest heavily. Qin Zhan had given him a small liquid metal ball on the same day he saved him. This had always been his biggest secret, not even his parents knew about it.

Initially, this metal ball seemed to be nothing special. Things were unchanged until the day there was a virtual martial dao expert who walked out from the metal ball in his dream. This virtual expert had become his martial dao instructor in his dream.

Apart from his genius talent in martial arts, Xue Tian was able to become who he was now because Qin Zhan had predicted his future and gave him the liquid metal ball that hadn’t been used by Qin Zhan before.

Qin Zhan smiled and looked up at Qin Fen. The younger brother who grew up protected by him had now grown to about the same height as himself. He exuded a martial dao aura that was strong and reassuring.

“Are the few old seniors living good lives?”

Qin Fen was stunned and looked at Qin Zhan, who was asking him questions. Then he heard another question from his long-lost brother, “Is Zong Juelu still lonely?”

Zong Juelu! The biggest secret in Qin Fen’s body! Qin Fen could have such strength because of his hard work, talent, and countless battles between life and death. Apart from those, the most important factor was the eight masters inside him. He thought that only Xue Tian knew about this secret, but it was easily revealed by another person.

“Kid, there are many things in the world and they may look unrelated to each other. However, if you manipulate them correctly, you can make puppets move however ways you want, and make them deliver your goods on time and accurately.” Qin Zhan patted Qin Fen’s shoulder and whispered in his ear, “I was lucky enough to get the Limit Codex back then. I completed the Reborn of Blood Transfusion Real Inborn in three days, and the Nirvana Marrow Transformation Great Inborn in a month. I was called the rarest talent by the eight seniors in the metal ball…”

Reborn of Blood Transfusion in three days? Nirvana Marrow Transformation in just a month? Qin Fen was dumbfounded by his speech. Xue Tian was already extraordinarily talented, but when he compared Xue Tian to his brother, Qin Zhan’s martial arts talent was so high that it was almost indescribable by words.

“My progression on the martial dao journey was extremely fast, and Zong Juelu was full of hope for me.” Qin Zhan shook his head and sneered, “However, they failed to see a problem in me, which I’ve discovered pretty soon later on. I’m talented but I don’t have a strong foundation. I knew by that time that I may be able to become someone who is extremely strong, but the furthest I can reach would be the same realm as Zong Juelu. I’ll never be able to meet Zong Juelu’s ultimate expectation… at that moment, I thought of you… so I left…

Qin Fen was stunned listening to Qin Zhan’s whisper beside his ear. So I’m not the first one to use the liquid metal ball! So that’s the reason why my brother has left me for so many years, leaving me to survive on my own, as he was actually forcing me to build a steady foundation. He wanted me to experience all kinds of martial arts and to practice hard for all the basic martial techniques. He wanted to train me into a person who is ultimately resilient!

“Do you want to know how strong I am?” Qin Zhan smiled. “I used to be at the heaven-breaker level. Now I’m at the peak of the black hole level, one step away from the heaven-breaker level. The reason behind it? It’s very simple. I took out this liquid metal ball and that caused my strength to fall drastically back to the black hole level.”

“Kid, I told you these not because I want you to be all touchy.” Qin Zhan straightened his spine, “I just wanted to tell you that you better not waste my effort. After the Great Ensemble, if you are still alive, then we’ll have to go into Pandora together.”

A secret that had been bothering him for so many years…. everything was revealed at this moment. Qin Fen was stunned again by Qin Zhan, who turned around and left.

He took out the liquid metal ball? He fell from the heaven-breaker level of martial dao all the way back to the black hole level? These are the things that my brother has done for me in these years! But I didn’t know anything about it! He must have suffered a lot from it. He might have even suffered more than Du Zhanpeng for the things he did for Du Peng!

Qin Zhan came in with a carefree attitude and he left with the same attitude. He wouldn’t hold back at all as he was cultivating the martial dao of a hero. He would reveal everything when the time came, and he would never hide anything.

This time, no one could hear the conversation between Qin Zhan and Qin Fen. If a pro at the peak of the black hole level didn’t wish for others to hear his words, then no one in the whole world would be able to hear it.

“Martial artists from all over the Federation! The Great Ensemble is the martial dao conference of the highest glory for us, the martial artists!” Qilin Song Wendong slowly walked out and said with a dignified tone as a divine beast martial artist, “We have no fancy opening ceremony here, and we don’t need any nonsense opening speech! As you are all here today, then let us, the divine beast martial artists, see who’s the one qualified to stand side by side with us and to overlook the world in pride!”

Song Wendong raised his arm suddenly. All the huge cosmo battleships in the sky switched on their projecting light, and a huge projection descended from the sky. It was printing three big and powerful characters in the sky that had a slight flicker – The Great Ensemble!

“Those who are participating, step forward!”

Vermillion Bird made her command. Most of the martial dao masters took a step back at the same time. At such a critical time, they didn’t wish to be mistaken as the participants by standing in the same spot. They were not afraid to die in battle.

To be killed by a martial artist stronger than themselves was a completely normal thing for any martial dao master. However, they didn’t wish to die before they could watch the fierce battles between these pros during the Great Ensemble. That would be a death with everlasting regret.

No one was afraid of death, but they were afraid that they couldn’t see the battles that may lead to a breakthrough in themselves, so they chose to back off! All the martial dao masters had hearts and minds made of steel!

“The rules are very simple. The computer will automatically draw five pairs for the first round. Abstaining, death, and admitting defeat are all considered defeats. The defeated participants will lose their place in the competition. The winners are free to choose whether to continue to the next battle today or to come back tomorrow.”

The Great Ensemble had different battling structures each time. The first Great Ensemble divided the participants into four half-zones, namely east, south, west, and north. Every half-zone had its own hopefuls, and the winners would know who their next opponents would be clearly.

The second Great Ensemble had adopted the group battle structure. After the participants were divided into four half-zones, they fought each other in group battles in every half-zone. The last person standing would enter the semi-final, then there was a final match.

In the words of the divine beast martial artists: True experts will definitely be the last ones standing to enter the final match. They would never be eliminated in the earlier rounds just because of the different battling structures. If you are eliminated, it means that you’re not the strongest! Don’t blame the battling structures, the blame is on you!

The introduction by Vermillion Bird did not receive any objections from the participants. Those who dared to stand in the ring wouldn’t care whether the battling structure was a fair one or not. Strength speaks for itself!

The computer projection from the battleships in the sky flashed across many sets of names. Soon, five pairs of names appeared in front of the entire Federation.

Tagatha vs Young Hades; Shang Guan Chuan Qi vs Qin Guangwang; Yang Jian vs Lu Dongbin; Sun Jiulong vs Xue Tian; ​​Qin Fen vs Golden Dragon Kang!

As soon as the name list was out, the entire Federation became excited. The name list for the first round of battles consisted of the four most talented young martial artists? This was almost the first and real battles between the older and the younger generations!

Golden Dragon Kang? Qin Fen raised his eyebrows slightly. The Golden Dragon Kang in the Sahara Desert back then has no difference at all from the Golden Dragon Kang today. What’s the point of him participating? 

“Golden Dragon Kang, you don’t have to fight.” Golden Ox Niu stepped forward with his body that was taller than most of the ordinary people. He shouted with a rough voice, “I’ll play this round for you.”

“You?” Golden Dragon Kang turned his old face and looked at Golden Ox Niu quietly. He shook his head, “This is my battlefield, not yours.”

“Old Dragon…”

“Don’t waste your words.” Golden Dragon Kang raised his hand and interrupted Golden Dog Lou’s speech, “I’m grateful to you guys for the time we spent together as the constellation warriors back in those years. However, I have to fight this battle! If I were to meet any other person, I can give up. However, since I’m meeting with Qin Fen, my Young Lord’s enemy, I have to fight! Even if…”

“I’ll die.”

Golden Dragon Kang said those two words so casually with his old voice. However, it sounded like an ear-shattering thunder in the sky that it had shaken the souls of all the spectators of the entire Federation.

There’s really such a loyal man in today’s era! He shifted all his loyalty for White Tiger to Hades.

All the people moved back slowly to clear up an open space to be used as the ring. They were not sure whether the space was enough for them.

As for these martial experts, perhaps a piece of land as big as a lying cow would be enough for their battle, but sometimes, even a space with the size of a whole province wouldn’t be enough for them.

According to the competition orders, the first battle would be the one between Shang Guan Chuan Qi and the second strongest martial artist of the Inferno, Qin Guangwang. This was a battle between the older and the younger generations; it was also a battle to fight for the internal ranking between Inferno’s martial artists.

Shang Guan Chuan Qi is the Emperor of Inferno! Today, what he had to do was to challenge Qin Guangwang, who had always been known as the second strongest martial artist since the establishment of Inferno.

Qin Guangwang was wearing a black super nano battle suit. His skin looked firm and lustrous; he looked fresh and energetic with his eyes with a deepened look. He walked up to the center of the ring slowly.

Ten meters? Twenty meters? Thirty meters? Such distances meant nothing to the two experts. Both of them stopped when they were about thirty meters away from each other. They stared at each other and nodded slightly. The entire Federation was watching the two of them.

At this moment, even the strongest divine beast martial artists couldn’t seal away the dazzling aura exuding from their bodies.

“When I first saw you, you had just entered the martial dao masters’ realm, right?” Qin Guangwang wasn’t in any hurry. He put his hands behind his back, looked affectionately at his opponent as if he was looking at his favored son, and he started chatting with him, “I’m surprised that after many years have passed, you have already reached such a height.”

Shang Guan Chuan Qi nodded lightly. He, too, seemed to be taking a stroll down memory lane back to when he first met Qin Guangwang.

After a short silence, Shang Guan Chuan Qi collected himself. He looked at Qin Guangwang, who was the second strongest man in the Inferno, quietly with his clear eyes. He asked softly, “Senior, do we still need to do this?”

Qin Guangwang looked up at the vast galaxy above him with a mysterious smile on his face. He hid his hands behind his back, and his long hair was caressed by the gentle breeze, “Do we still need to do this? You have won, I am very happy. This has at least proved that I’m not too old to judge someone with my own eyes.”

Hua la…

Qin Guangwang waved his long sleeve, then quit the battle with a carefree smile as he was watched by countless people of the entire Federation. He laughed proudly, “The new is indeed constantly replacing the old!”

The huge internet world became dead silent. Nobody expected that a battle of the Great Ensemble would end in such a way where one side would choose to give up. What’s more, the one who had just given up acted so carefreely; he was calm and even proud! He acted like he was the winner when he walked out of the ring.

After a few seconds of mental buffer time, the internet burst out with heated discussion for the first time. This was a battle where they didn’t fight but it gave the spectators a taste of what the conversations between the martial dao pros were like!

“Shang Guan Chuan Qi is so powerful that even Qin Guangwang has given up by himself?”

“Maybe Qin Guangwang is afraid of the Vermillion Bird Shang Guan Sheng Yu? He is worried that if he kills Shang Guan Chuan Qi, Vermillion Bird might seek revenge on him?”

“What a joke! This is the Great Ensemble! The Great Ensemble! You think this is some random street life-or-death fights? Those who participated in the Great Ensemble have no regrets even if they’re killed! Shang Guan Sheng Yu is Vermillion Bird, but even she has no right to interfere!”

“That being said, is Shang Guan Chuan Qi really this powerful? No wonder he proclaimed himself to be the strongest among the younger generation! He made Qin Guangwang admit his defeat without fighting, this has at least shows that he is currently the most qualified person to challenge Heaven Emperor and Ground Treasury.”