HSSB325: The Extreme Yin Bout, officially begins
The ‘Yao Yao’ that Fan Qiu spoke of was naturally the direct disciple of Turbid Wave Pavilion whom Yan Zhaoge had met in the Heavenly Connection Meet back at Clear Concealed Lake, Zhang Yao.
During the incident of Clear Concealed Lake, Zhang Yao and Li Jingwan had similarly been captured by Liu Shengfeng and his cronies, thankfully having been rescued by Yan Zhaoge.
Fan Qiu and Zhang Yao seemed to be close in age, their usual relationship also rather close.
Yan Zhaoge smiled slightly, nodding to Fan Qiu as he similarly sent over via sound transmission, “Junior Sister Fan is polite.”
Looking over, seeing that Feng Yunsheng and Meng Wan were still staring at each other, Yan Zhaoge could not help but smile as he gaze landed on Meng Wan once more.
Meng Wan finally moved her gaze off Feng Yunsheng, calmly looking at Yan Zhaoge as she smiled courteously, not showing disrespect, whilst also not seeming close.
Broad Creed Mountain and the Sacred Sun Clan had already completely fallen out. Such a reaction of hers towards Yan Zhaoge was also considered normal.
However, he could not see from her any anger or resentment from what had happened in the icy pond back then.
Beside Meng Wan was the longtime Elder of the Sacred Sun Clan in charge of leading their group, one of the Seven Reigning Suns, the Sunset Lord.
The Sunset Lord currently appeared calm, no fluctuations in his emotions whatsoever, but he was gazing deeply at Yan Zhaoge.
In front of Yan Zhaoge, Elder Meng also stared at the Sunset Lord without holding back in the least. As their two gazes met, flames seem to ignite and blaze within the air.
In the pavilion, Broad Creed Mountain, Infinite Boundless Mountain and Jade Sea City sat on one side, the Sacred Sun Clan and the Heavenly Thunder Hall on the other, the two sides clearly divided, vaguely at a standstill, neither giving way to the other.
The martial practitioners of Turbid Wave Pavilion standing amongst them sighed silently as they saw this.
Now, a figure suddenly appeared before all of them. It was without any prior signs whatsoever, yet seemed wholly natural, as though she had always existed there.
It was a relatively tall middle-aged woman, her appearance ordinary, yet deep as the abyss and the sea, giving off a feeling of great unfathomability.
Descriptions of this person’s appearance had long since spread throughout the entire Eight Extremities World, as no one here did not recognise her.
Turbid Wave Pavilion’s current Pavilion Lord, the Roiling Cloud Martial Saint ‘Turbid Wave Roiling Cloud’ An Qinglin.
At the same time, she was also the only female Martial Saint of the current Eight Extremities World, the true number one female expert.
From Essence Talisman Martial Grandmasters like Elder Meng and the Sunset Lord to the younger generation disciples like Yan Zhaoge, everyone stepped forward and bowed, “Pavilion Lord An.”
Despite her middle-aged appearance, An Qinglin was actually not young at all, having already managed Turbid Wave Pavilion for many years.
She was of the same generation as Yuan Zhengfeng, Huang Guanglie and Shen Li, though being slightly younger, having achieved her fame long ago, her name shaking the Eight Extremities World.
An Qinglin nodded slightly in return before speaking, “The Flame Devils that invade from the East Sea are the public enemies of our entire Eight Extremities World. The Extreme Yin Bout and the Extreme Yun Crown hold extreme significance in standing against the Flame Devils. May the various Maidens of Extreme Yin here exert your strengths to your greatest, deciding the final expert who will wield the Extreme Yin Crown.”
“As the host, we will maintain the procedural integrity of the Extreme Yin Bout, and hope that whoever it is that obtains it, they will keep the danger of the Flame Devils firmly in mind.”
An Qinglin’s meaning was very clear, as Elder Meng, the Sunset Lord and the others all nodded, “That is only right. Pavilion Lord An’s words make full sense.”
Yan Zhaoge looked at An Qinglin. The doings of Turbid Wave Pavilion were still extremely proper.
In the fourth Extreme Yin Bout, Fan Qiu had won the Extreme Yin Crown for Turbid Wave Pavilion, with Turbid Wave Pavilion having held on to it this past year.
In the times this year that the Flame Devils had caused great chaos on the East Sea, Turbid Wave Pavilion and the Extreme Yin Crown had always stood on the frontlines, greatly worthy of recognition.
Before this fifth Extreme Yin Bout, the global situation within the Eight Extremities World had changed greatly once more.
Broad Creed Mountain and the Sacred Sun Clan as well as the Heavenly Thunder Hall had completely fallen out, an irreconcilable enmity rising up between them, both sides engaged in a heated dispute.
Because they were temporarily close in power, neither could do anything to the other, therefore descending into a stalemate, but the atmosphere was much more tense than before the battle of Broad Creed Mountain.
Under such circumstances, whichever side obtained the Extreme Yin Crown, it would also be bad news for the other side.
On the contrary, if Turbid Wave Pavilion who had always been neutral kept the Extreme Yin Crown, it would be a situation that both sides would be able to accept.
If either side attempted to do harm to Turbid Wave Pavilion, it would undoubtedly be forcing Turbid Wave Pavilion to join the other side’s camp.
And if they attempted to harm Turbid Wave Pavilion who was unwilling to be involved in the internal disputes of the human race, instead focusing diligently on combatting the Flame Devils, it might even lead to the dissatisfaction of Old Man Mo. This old man had never participated in the internal wars of humans, but had always been very concerned about matters like the invasion of the Flame Devils.
Of course, if they could obtain it, who would be willing to give up on a supreme treasure like the Extreme Yin Crown?
Under such circumstances, Turbid Wave Pavilion was still able to abide by the rules, handing over the Extreme Yin Crown, allowing the Extreme Yin Bout to proceed as usual. Their conduct could really be considered a little too mulish.
Especially as Yan Zhaoge knew that while Turbid Wave Pavilion kept conservatively neutral, it was not that they had no desires.
Wanting to remain neutral and maintain their autonomy, they inevitably required great strength to back it up. All along, Turbid Wave Pavilion had also been striving to raise their strength, forging a Sacred Artifact of their own.
It was just that they only concentrated on the stable development of the Lake Domain, not expanding their territory, also not interfering in the conflicts between the other Sacred Grounds.
“On one hand, firm in their conduct; on the other hand, they are also very confident of Fan Qiu ah…” Yan Zhaoge glanced at that rabbit-teethed beauty.
Looking at Elder Meng, the Sunset Lord and the others, An Qinglin continued, “Since that is so, this time’s Extreme Yin Bout will be held three days later as scheduled. Your disciples can all rest and make your preparations. If you need anything, you can ask for it from the disciples of my pavilion.”
“In the past Extreme Yin Bouts, the first round of elimination would see only two people remaining, before the final victory was decided between them,” An Qinglin’s gaze swept past Meng Wan, Feng Yunsheng, Yun Xiuqing and the others, “With the number of participants having increased to seven this time, I propose that four people remain after the first round, before splitting them up into two groups of two to decide the victory. What does everyone think?”
The foreign Elders replied, “Pavilion Lord An’s words make sense; we have no objections.”
Yan Zhaoge and Feng Yunsheng exchanged glances, not saying anything.
In the past, the Extreme Yin Bout had been split up into two rounds.
In the first round, everyone would be enveloped by the radiance of the Extreme Yin Crown together, all performing what they were best in, communicating with it and stimulating its radiance.
The judge of this round was the Extreme Yin Crown itself.
Because it had to do with actual battle, there would be the second round of competition afterwards.
The first round of elimination would leave behind the two most remarkable people, not just competing in terms of pure martial arts but still clashing with the power of Extreme Yin, deciding the final victor who would be the owner of the Extreme Yin Crown for the next year.
In the first three Extreme Yin Bouts, Broad Creed Mountain and Turbid Wave Pavilion had both not participated, with the Sacred Sun Clan also only sending out Meng Wan alone. Therefore, the number of participating Maidens of Extreme Yin had always been four.
In the fourth Extreme Yin Bout, Fan Qiu had participated, turning it into five.
And this time, with the addition of Broad Creed Mountain’s Feng Yunsheng and the Sacred Sun Clan’s Yun Xiuqing, the total number of participants had become seven.
The competition grew more and more intense, no one willing to be a mere accompaniment.