Chapter 634: Provocation

‘Free access to the Divine Palace?’

That was a nice perk. After all, there were still many places in the Divine Palace that Qin Ya found interesting. After accepting the Golden Order, he was led by a Divine Servant to Shenxiu Palace and settled in for the time being.

Shenxiu Palace was located in a rather remote part of the Divine Palace. Its environment was tranquil, and aside from a few dozen servants, few people came or went. Qin Ya summoned a steward, gave him some instructions, then set up a Divine Awakening Array and began his closed-door cultivation.

He had, after all, just achieved a breakthrough with his True Meaning of Speed and needed to consolidate his understanding.

And while Qin Ya was in seclusion, the outside world had already exploded into chaos.

“What? The Wu Family was secretly manufacturing Bone Creation and Reshaping Powder and was suppressed by the Divine Lord?”

“The youngest Celestial Duke in the history of the Divine Country? Qin Ya? Who is that?”

“Holy shit, a King Realm expert slaughtered more than ten Half-Venerables? Are you kidding me?”

“H-how is that possible? The youngest of the Seventy-Two Celestial Dukes is two hundred and fourteen, but this Qin Ya… he’s not even twenty!”

“Heh, a bunch of fools, believing something so absurd. A Celestial Duke? Slaying Half-Venerables? As if a King could accomplish such things.”

The Divine Capital was abuzz with discussion over the suppression of the Wu Family, and Qin Ya’s name began to spread, igniting a storm of debate. After all, for a King to possess such a battle record and status was simply inconceivable.

Instantly, skeptics, admirers, and detractors all emerged.

Furthermore, Qin Ya’s name had even replaced Bai Lintian’s on the Celestial List. This pushed his fame to its peak, with many Martial Artists vowing to challenge and replace him. The very idea of a King appearing on the Celestial List caused countless people to question the list’s credibility.

However, Spirit Heaven Pavilion, the compilers of the Celestial List, issued a guarantee. They listed Qin Ya’s various achievements and the components of his combat strength, including his comprehension of Mysterious Power and his records of defeating Bai Lintian, slaughtering Half-Venerables, and fiercely battling Wu Xue.

Upon receiving this confirmation, the public was in an uproar.

‘Could a King truly achieve such feats?’

While everyone was caught up in heated debate, Qin Ya had already been in closed-door cultivation for more than half a month.

On this day, the sky was clear and bright, the wind gentle, and the sun beautiful.

Qin Ya slowly emerged from his state of cultivation, dismantled the Grand Array, and walked out of the pavilion. Seeing him, the servants bustling about immediately bowed and greeted him with reverence.

“We greet you, Lord Celestial Duke.”

“We greet you, Lord Celestial Duke.”

At the same time, many servants secretly sized up the youth. They were astounded by this young man, who was impossibly younger than them yet held a status that was worlds higher.

‘I heard the Lord Celestial Duke was young, but I never imagined he wasn’t even twenty. Tsk, tsk. A prodigy like him is truly unprecedented, the likes of which has never been seen before.’

Qin Ya nodded and walked directly out of Shenxiu Pavilion.

After his period of seclusion, his comprehension of the True Meaning of Speed was fully consolidated, and he had made slight progress in the other three Mysteries as well. The rewards had been great.

Leaving Shenxiu Pavilion, he began to wander through the Divine Palace.

The Divine Palace was vast, filled with countless palaces and a forest of other structures.

These palaces weren’t just residences; they all had their own unique functions.

For example, Qingling Hall was where the Divine Lord’s descendants usually practiced their cultivation. The Martial Arts Platform was a place for the Divine Palace guards to spar. Ten Thousand Dao Hall was the Divine Palace’s library, which recorded thousands of years of the Divine Country’s history, as well as its Martial Skills and Mysterious Techniques.

“HAH!”

Just then, a loud shout suddenly echoed.

On a towering platform, two people were sparring.

Both men were clad in silver armor, a faint Divine Light flowing around them. Every move and stance was saturated with a killing intent that sent a shiver down one’s spine.

And around the platform, countless soldiers were cheering them on.

“Great hit! Nice one!”

“Get him! Beat that kid senseless!”

“Ha, use your ultimate move already!”

Qin Ya, who was passing by, couldn’t help but stop and watch.

He grabbed a nearby guard and asked, “What are those two on the platform doing?”

“Tch, are you blind? They’re sparring, obviously.”

The guard was clearly an irritable person, and Qin Ya had interrupted him at a crucial moment in the fight. He snapped back without even turning his head. This just made Qin Ya rub his nose, feeling a bit helpless, before he turned to watch the fight with great interest.

The fighters on the platform were both at the Era-Defining Level, ranking them among the experts of the Divine Guard Army. For a time, they were evenly matched. Finally, a youth with spiky hair won by a narrow margin. “Ha, thank you for the match.”

The spiky-haired youth cupped his fists toward the crowd with a smile.

“Are there any other comrades who would like to come up and offer some guidance?”

His eyes, sharp as daggers, swept across the crowd.

Many guards in the crowd were itching for a fight.

“Heh, does this kid really think he’s invincible?”

“He’s just a rookie who recently joined the Divine Guard Army, yet he’s already this arrogant. It seems we need to teach him a lesson.”

“Exactly. Otherwise, he’ll start thinking our Divine Guard Army is full of pushovers.”

Just as the crowd was buzzing, with several people ready to go up and fight, the youth on the platform felt his pupils shrink. His gaze locked onto a specific spot in the crowd.

His expression turned serious. He immediately leaped off the platform, ran up to a certain youth, and said respectfully, “I was unaware of your arrival, My Lord. We have failed to give you a proper welcome.”

‘My Lord?’

The crowd was confused. ‘What lord?’

They looked at the youth, their eyes glinting with confusion. But when some members of the Divine Guard Army saw him, their expressions changed, and their gazes filled with respect.

“It’s him! Qin Ya, the Celestial Duke!”

“The Celestial Duke Qin? You mean the one known as the youngest Celestial Duke in the history of the Divine Country? The one who played an indispensable role in the suppression of the Wu Family?”

“That’s the one. He slaughters Half-Venerables like they’re dogs.”

“He’s not even twenty, and his cultivation is only at the King Realm.”

As the crowd murmured, those who hadn’t known of Qin Ya before now looked shocked as others filled them in. Instantly, countless gazes converged upon him.

“Hehe, Celestial Duke Qin, interested in a little match?”

At that moment, a rather arrogant voice rang out. A hulking, bear-like man walked up to Qin Ya, his tone laced with provocation.

Seeing this hulk of a man, the crowd’s expressions showed they were ready for a good show.

“Heh, Ba Xiong. That guy’s as arrogant as ever.”

“He even dares to provoke a Celestial Duke. He’s got guts.”

“We are the Divine Guard Army. No one can judge us except the Divine Lord himself. As long as no one’s life is at stake, what’s wrong with a friendly sparring match?”

“True enough.”

Seeing this, the spiky-haired youth’s expression changed. “Ba Xiong,” he said, “think about the Celestial Duke’s status! How could he possibly spar with you? Stand down!”

This youth had participated in the battle to suppress the Wu Family, so he had witnessed Qin Ya’s combat prowess firsthand. ‘Forget one Ba Xiong,’ he thought, ‘even ten of them would be no match for him!’