Chapter 785 – Let Me See Your Armor
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The Nine Furnace Divine Mountain reached 100,000 feet high. The summit was covered in pure white snow all year round. Within the endless expanse of snow and the deep blue glaciers, countless towers of jade soared high up into the skies. Every tower was supported by array formations. Ancient snow fell outside, but within the tower, under the effect of these formations, rare flowers from all seasons blossomed in all their splendor, full of life and vitality. It was truly a sight to behold.
While one side was covered in endless snow and ice, the other side was filled with lush green spiritual plants. Such a sharp and clear contrast was like a heavenly paradise on earth.
At the summit of the Nine Furnace Divine Mountain there was a beautiful lake that displayed all four seasons. This lake was named the Nine Flower Lake. This entire lake was covered in a dense fog, and at its center was a pavilion carved from jade.
Within this pavilion was a young man that was lightly playing a zither. The zither’s melody that thrummed in the air was pleasant to the ears. In the Nine Flower Lake, snow lotuses bloomed all around. As this jade-like handsome young man played his zither, he appeared even purer and loftier than a woman, as if he were an immortal that had descended down from the heavens.
As the young man saw Lin Ming and Xiaoxiao arrive, he faintly smiled, “Brother Lin, welcome to the Nine Furnace Divine Kingdom as my honored guest.”
The young man’s voice had a strangely pleasant lilt to it; it made one feel very comfortable listening to him.
“Is he the Nine Furnace Crown Prince?”
The Divine Kingdom Crown Prince in front of him was completely different from what he had imagined.
“Lin Lanjian greets his Highness the Crown Prince.”
Lin Ming simply cupped his hands across his chest. As someone who wasn’t from the Divine Kingdom, there was no need for him to be overly courteous.
“Brother Lin is too polite.” Yang Yun similarly cupped his hands across his chest. This was a ritual exchange from those of the same generation; there was no hint of the status of the Nine Furnace Crown Prince behind it. “Fleeting Dragon, guide Brother Lin to the reception hall. I shall head there soon after.”
“Yes,” Fleeting Dragon respectfully said. Lin Ming could feel from this respect that the Nine Furnace Crown Prince was an extraordinary character. Otherwise it would be impossible to sincerely convince a master like Fleeting Dragon.
The Nine Furnace Crown Prince’s dantian was also covered in a thick fog; it was impossible to see his cultivation.
“I heard that Yang Yun crossed into Life Destruction at just 30 years of age. Ten years have passed now. I wonder what stage of Life Destruction he has reached now…”
Lin Ming didn’t doubt that Yang Yun could even jump ranks to fight. If so, then his strength was terrifying.
After arriving at the reception hall, Yang Yun arrived in just half an incense stick of time. At this time, he had changed his clothes and was now wearing a purple gold robe as well as a purple gold crown. The robe he wore was embroidered with the image of a five-clawed golden dragon. Whether consciously or unconsciously, he emitted a noble air around him that made others want to fall to their knees and worship him.
This sort of aura that made one wish to bow before him was called the legendary Breath of the King. This so-called Breath of the King was similar to a force field, the only difference being that it was far weaker in intensity. To a martial artist on the level of Lin Ming, this sort of aura had absolutely no use. But Xiaoxiao was different. She felt a great pressure just from standing in front of Yang Yun.
That previously jade-like handsome, ethereal Yang Yun had now overlapped with the current Yang Yun that released the Breath of the King. It was impossible to distinguish just which one was the real Yang Yun.
Yang Yun realized that Xiaoxiao’s complexion had paled. He gently smiled at her and then purposefully restrained his energy. Xiaoxiao immediately felt the pressure on her lighten and her face flushed red again.
“I apologize Miss Heavencraft. Cuicui, please brew a pot of jade tea for Miss Heavencraft.”
The last few words were spoken to a palace maid. Xiaoxiao gratefully smiled, flattered that someone like Yang Yun would care about such an unimportant person as her. As for the jade tea, as the Young Mistress of the Heavencraft Trading Company, Xiaoxiao was well aware of just what that was. That was an extremely precious Yin-attribute tea. It was said that if a mortal woman drank a cup of it she would become one year younger, and if she drank an entire pot she would become ten years younger.
This was no exaggeration. Only after stepping on the path of cultivation would one’s life potential develop. Hence, as a mortal, it was relatively easier to extend their life..
But for a martial artist, especially Life Destruction martial artists, because they had trained themselves to the limit, they had to completely unearth all of their life’s potential. Thus, wanting to extend their life was far too difficult.
The maid named Cuicui respectfully served tea to everyone. Her appearance was exquisite and with her young age she still had a Xiantian realm cultivation. For such a heavenly gifted girl to be a palace maid, this was obviously proof of the Nine Furnace Divine Kingdom’s legacy.
She poured the jade tea in Xiaoxiao tea cup and also served ice lotus tea to Lin Ming and the Nine Furnace Crown Prince. This sort of tea was even more precious than jade tea. It was produced from the dried petals of the ice lotuses that grew around the Nine Flower Lake. As for the ice lotuses of the Nine Flower Lake, they could be called heavenly treasures.
The Nine Furnace Crown Prince smiled and said, “Brother Lin is truly an astounding person. You are just over 20 years of age and yet you’ve managed to step into the pages of the Destiny Decree with just a late Revolving Core cultivation. When I was Brother Lin’s age, the difference was simply far too great!”
The Nine Furnace Crown Prince ruefully smiled. Lin Ming didn’t respond, only waiting for the Nine Furnace Crown Prince to state his intention for inviting him over here.
However, the Nine Furnace Crown Prince had no intention of doing so. Instead, he and Lin Ming talked about the customs and policies of the four Divine Kingdoms, as well as relating to him the various large sects and influences, and all sorts of other strange information.
Yang Yun was an eloquent individual and extremely well spoken. His manner of speaking was charming and light, make him very comfortable and disarming to talk too. Even Xiaoxiao couldn’t help but have a favorable impression of him.
Finally, after an hour of conversation had passed, Lin Ming asked, “May I ask why Your Highness has requested my presence here?”
“Haha, Brother Lin need not worry, I merely like to befriend the heroes of this world. Also, Brother Lin, there’s no need to be so polite. Please, call me Yang Yun.”
Yang Yun’s words were well said and Lin Ming didn’t speak further. The truth was that he knew that the so-called ‘befriending heroes of this world’ and winning over the will of people all meant that he was recruiting others for his own purposes. Yang Yun’s cleverness lay in the fact that he didn’t directly mention this matter. Instead, he first wanted to be friends with Lin Ming. Friends first, leader after. Otherwise, it would be too easy to be turned at the start.
Even though Lin Ming had guessed Yang Yun’s true intentions, he still didn’t refuse him.
“Brother Yang’s skill in fine arts and military expertise is renowned throughout the world. In the future, you’ll likely become an unrivalled Divine Emperor. For Brother Yang to value me so highly is truly flattering.”
“Haha, Brother Lin is too modest. I wonder which force Brother Lin originated from? With Brother Lin’s talent I fear you’ll become the top powerhouse of the Sky Spill Continent in the future. When that time comes, I might need to rely on Brother Lin.”
The two young men complimented each other. Lin Ming smiled, not responding to Yang Yun’s inquiry of his background. In response, Yang Yun tactfully didn’t ask again. “Brother Lin, I happened to have invited some astounding young elites from the Sky Spill Continent here today for a banquet at the Nine Flower Lake. Would Brother Lin like to join me to the lake and share in some wine whilst meeting the heroes of this world?”
To be considered an astounding young elite by Yang Yun, they must have the most extraordinary prides of heaven within the entire Sky Spill Continent. Not only would their strength and talent be extraordinary, but they should also be greatly influential. For instance, the successor of a great sect or perhaps an extremely powerful Divine Kingdom Prince.
Lin Ming hadn’t replied yet when a maid came in to report on some news. “Your Highness, the White Clan Princess has arrived.”
“Oh? Then I shall immediately go to receive her. Brother Lin, how about going with me?”
“Mm, alright.” Lin Ming nodded.
Yang Yun had indeed invited heroic young elites that stood at the very peak of the Sky Spill Continent. These people all ranged from their twenties to their fifties.
For the Xiantian realm, someone 50 years old would be considered middle-aged. But if one could step into the Life Destruction realm in their thirties, then they would appear in their twenties even if they were 50 years of age. In addition, Life Destruction powerhouses lived for thousands of years. Thus, a 50 year old Life Destruction powerhouse could also be considered someone of the younger generation.
The White Clan Princess, the Great Smelting Kingdom Prince, and the Seven Star High Prince Successor, each of them were eminent characters.
For instance, that White Clan Princess. The so-called White Clan was a family clan that lived at the borders of the Nine Furnace Divine Kingdom in a hidden world. This Family Clan had a very special bloodline; they had a bloodline seal. A bloodline seal was a special ability inherited through the bloodline of that family clan. This sort of ability could only be inherited by direct descendants.
Two thousand years ago, a Divine Sea Supreme Elder was born in the White Clan, thus they became worthy of being a true Holy Land level power. And now, their current Family Head also had a high chance of breaking through to the Divine Sea. At that time, their White Clan would have two Supreme Elders backing them. Although that was far from being able to match with the four Divine Kingdoms, it was still a focal super power. The White Clan Princess was the future successor to the Family Head. Thus, her prominent status could be imagined.
There was not much to say of the Great Smelting Kingdom Prince. He had already earned a similar reputation to the Nine Furnace Crown Prince a long time ago. Within the Sublime Smelting Divine Kingdom, the title of Crown Prince was an empty position. Currently, there were several powerful competitors vying for this seat, and this Great Smelting Prince was one of them. He was currently 45 years old and also ranked on the Destiny Decree. Although the combined power of his subordinates was weaker than Yang Yun, he was still extremely terrifying.
As for the Seven Prince High Prince Successor, his status was a bit poorer. However, his grandfather was ranked in the top two Divine Sea powerhouses of the entire Seven Star Divine Kingdom. That grandfather’s status was absolutely terrifying. If other Divine Sea Supreme Elders ran into him, even they had to greet him as if they were a junior.
This group of people consisted of some of the most illustrious characters of the Sky Spill Continent, princes amongst princes.
Because Xiaoxiao accompanied Lin Ming, she also followed him to this banquet. As she faced this crowd of young people that stood at the very peak of the Sky Spill Continent, even she, who she felt was worldly and had seen the ‘great world’, felt breathless.
Compared to these people in front of her, everyone she had ever come into contact with was nothing at all.
As the host, Yang Yun introduced everyone one at a time.
As every person was introduced, Xiaoxiao would be increasingly shocked every time. But as for Lin Ming, he remembered their appearance and background as well as silently estimating their strength. In the four Divine Kingdoms, it was inevitable that he would encounter these individuals in the future.
As Lin Ming was introduced, Yang Yun only used a few simple words to describe him, “The only Revolving Core talent to enter the Destiny Decree in a thousand years – Lin Lanjian.”
“Mm? He is Lin Lanjian!?” The Great Smelting Prince looked at Lin Ming, a bit astonished. He had also been wondering who Lin Ming was and why he was standing here. Now that the Great Smelting Prince knew that he was Lin Lanjian, even with his high and prominent status, he still held a deep respect in his heart when facing this sort of top talent that couldn’t be judged by common sense.
“You are Lin Lanjian?” In the pavilion, a black-clothed youth stood up. He was an Asura Divine Kingdom Prince.
“I am.” Lin Ming cupped his hands across his chest. He was a bit puzzled as he felt this black-clothed youth’s blazing eyes locked onto him. Just what problem did this fellow have with him? Was it related to Corpsemancer?
Or was this fellow one of those battle crazies that challenged every powerhouse they saw and now wanted to fight him?
However, Lin Ming never imagined that this black-clothed youth would suddenly step forward and point at Lin Ming’s clothes. “Lin Lanjian, I want to take a look at the armor you’re wearing. How about it?”
“Mm?” Lin Ming frowned. Randomly asking to view another’s treasure was extremely rude.
He didn’t expect the following explanation either. “Lin Lanjian, I suspect that your armor is the sacred relic of my clan, the Demon Emperor’s armor!”