HSSB333: Yan Zhaoge’s preparations
Hearing Yan Zhaoge’s words, Elder Mo’s expression flickered slightly, “You mean…”
“Now confirming a few things, in order to prepare for the future,” Yan Zhaoge said, “In my eyes, there is actually no fifth, sixth or seventh Extreme Yin Bout. What I see is a complete competition: before it begins, the first half, the second half and the final result.”
Hearing his words, Elder Mo nodded lightly, no longer speaking.
Currently, within the moonlight world, Feng Yunsheng had just engaged in a great battle with Fan Qiu, both sides nearly spent from their exertions.
Having obtained a tragic victory, Feng Yunsheng had depleted too much of her energy and no longer had the strength to continue competing with Meng Wan, who was virtually winning without having to fight.
However, Feng Yunsheng still forcibly stabilised herself for a battle with Meng Wan.
Finally, the weakened heavenly dragon descended into slumber once more. In comparison, following her defeat in the fourth Extreme Yin Bout, Meng Wan performed a monarch’s glorious return once more, phoenix dancing throughout the nine heavens.
After having nearly smashed their head in beneath Broad Creed Mountain, suffering tragic losses, the Sacred Sun Clan finally managed to get back gains on another battlefield.
Having lost the Great Sun Heaven Measuring Ruler, having reclaimed the Extreme Yin Crown, because the East Rising Martial Saint Huang Guanglie was unable to wield the Extreme Yin Crown, the overall strength of the Sacred Sun Clan was still slightly inferior to before Huang Guanglie had attacked Broad Creed Mountain.
However, with a Sacred Artifact in hand, the Sacred Sun Clan could finally stand up straighter, putting a halt to its earlier decline, possessing the qualifications to consider how to reclaim their lost lands.
Seeing that pure white crown slowly descending towards Meng Wan’s head like the bright moon descending from the sky, Yan Zhaoge could not help but momentarily narrow his eyes slightly.
Feng Yunsheng walked back towards Broad Creed Mountain’s camp once more, her face still pale, but her expression calm, just that embers seemed to be leaping within her gaze.
Gazing back, the light of fire within Feng Yunsheng’s pupils were directed not at Meng Wan, but at that slowly descending Extreme Yin Crown.
Just as the others were admiring Meng Wan’s domineering strength, the gazes with which they looked at Feng Yunsheng were also greatly emotional.
Feng Yunsheng could also be considered as having performed stunningly in this debut appearance. Attending the Extreme Yin Bout for the first time, there stood only one above her, everyone else beneath, with her having defeated all the other Maidens of Extreme Yin aside from Meng Wan.
Whether it the veteran expert Chen Suting who had won the second Extreme Yin Bout, Fan Qiu who had had a dazzling debut last year in which she obtained the eventual victory, or the strong newcomer Yun Xiuqing whom the ambitious Sacred Sun Clan had revealed this time, against Feng Yunsheng, they had all had to admit their inferiority.
Especially Fan Qiu, who had held the Extreme Yin Crown for the past year, her improvements rapid with its help, a strong primary contender for this time’s fifth Extreme Yin Bout. Despite all that, she had still been defeated by Feng Yunsheng in the end.
In the first round of the Bout and the second round of actual combat after, everyone with clear eyes could see that in terms of pure foundation, Fan Qiu was still superior to Feng Yunsheng.
But in actual combat, it had been Feng Yunsheng who had just barely obtained victory.
While everyone had limited knowledge regarding Feng Yunsheng’s enmity with the Sacred Sun Clan, thanks to Lin Zhou and the Heavenly Thunder Hall, a considerable portion of them knew that a problem had once cropped up with her Extreme Yin Physique, only beginning to recover following the third Extreme Yin Bout through the Yin Yan Cloud Spring of the Mountain Domain’s Cloud Portent Mountain.
Only two years had passed at most since she restarted her footsteps. Based on that, such results were truly unheard of.
Everyone could not help but wonder: if Feng Yunsheng had been given a little more time, if she had begun on the same starting line as Meng Wan, Chen Suting and the others, what heights would she then have attained now?
Meng Wan’s virtually invincible power in the Extreme Yin Bouts-could it still be like it was now?
At this moment, while Meng Wan had obtained the eventual victory, even those of the Sacred Sun Clan appeared slightly solemn.
As Feng Yunsheng returned, Yan Zhaoge asked her, “How much?”
Just listening to this question, it was like it was totally random, but Feng Yunsheng clearly understood Yan Zhaoge’s meaning as she answered softly, “As I was weakened and only able to hold on for a short period of time, I could only get a general approximate. Currently, Little Wan is at around seventy seven percent to eighty two percent.”
Yan Zhaoge raised his head slightly, considering, “Then it can basically be considered as eighty percent, or from the lowest base of seventy seven percent for safety reasons.”
He lowered his head, looking at Feng Yunsheng, “Just watching from the side, it would be useless. You had to experience it personally from clashing with her. Now that you’ve already done so, with the guidance of the Extreme Yin Scripture, do you have confidence of breaking Meng Wan’s supreme Extreme Yin Arts?”
Feng Yunsheng pondered earnestly for a moment before saying, “In the current situation, I have less than fifty percent confidence. A year later, having raised my strength once more and perfected my supreme Extreme Yin Arts, I would have confidence.”
Yan Zhaoge smiled slightly, “A year later, Meng Wan will also have improved, and at the same time maybe even comprehended even stronger supreme Extreme Yin Arts. However, even if she has new moves, with them originating from the same source as her old ones, some similarities present, your chances would still be great.”
“Do you still remember what I said to you earlier? This is only the first half, perhaps even the preparatory warmup phase before things can be considered to have officially started.”
Feng Yunsheng nodded, “You can rest easy; I understand.”
She turned and glanced at the Extreme Yin Crown on Meng Wan’s head once more before sighing softly.
Yan Zhaoge similarly looked at the Extreme Yin Crown on Meng Wan’s head, his gaze sweeping over the group of the Sacred Sun Clan as he thought, “After everything is in order, I should be embarking on my trip to the Extreme Northern Lands. Hopefully, the situation will be as I projected. That way, I would be able to first send you a gift. Consider it as our return gift for you attacking my Broad Creed Mountain, at the same time also a congratulatory one for today.”
The curtains closed on the sixth Extreme Yin Bout.
On this day every year, it was inevitable that there would be those who were happy and those who were troubled. This year, it was naturally no exception.
Amidst its joy, the Sacred Sun Clan could finally let out a sigh of relief. Its sharpness which had faced a setback at Broad Creed Mountain’s hands could finally flourish once more.
With the Sacred Sun Clan’s strength rising, Broad Creed Mountain, Jade Sea City and Infinite Boundless Mountain inevitably had to adjust its overall strategies targeted against them.
Turbid Wave Pavilion was comparatively calm, but still inevitably somewhat desolate.
The ones with the most complicated feelings were those of the Heavenly Thunder Hall.
Against the pressure of the tripartite alliance, with the strength of its ally rising, it meant that they were also left with more breathing space.
However, with their originally already strong ally growing even stronger, they themselves yet not rising in strength much, everyone of the Heavenly Thunder Hall could not help but feel worried.
More worrying was the fact that while their own Maiden of Extreme Yin had grown stronger, her opponents were even more fearsome.
Those who had dominated in the past were still dominating, and even gaining in dominance.
Meanwhile, the newcomers who had appeared this year were even more dazzling.
As they themselves were improving, their opponents too were improving, but at a rate of improvement even higher than theirs. From a relative standpoint, that was equivalent to them having regressed.
The hope before their eyes grew more and more illusory, to the extent of the entire Heavenly Thunder Hall vaguely feeling that the situation of the Extreme Yin Bout was an unsalvageable one.
However defeated and conflicted the Heavenly Thunder Hall felt was not of Yan Zhaoge’s concerns. What he was concerned about was whether the local snakehead on his way north, the Heavenly Thunder Hall, would interfere with him.
With this year’s Extreme Yin Bout having ended, everything that needed to be done already done, now was the time for him to rush to the East Sea.
When the things that he required had all been gathered and properly prepared, it would be the day he headed north.
The method for restoring Shi Jun and his mother, the legacy of the Glacial Dragon Martial Saint, the ‘gift’ he was preparing to give the Sacred Sun Clan-all of them lay there.