âDonât overthink it. My constellation just isnât very useful. Thatâs why I never really brought it out,â Tianming said.
âWhew, you scared me for a moment there.â
âHowâs the Soulfiend?â Tianming asked Lingfeng.
âIt needs a while to recover,â Lingfeng replied. The Soulfiend had a parasitic relationship with him.
Tianming had seen the amazingness of the Grand-Orient Sword, so he said, âTreat it well. Itâs treated you so well, and risked its life for you.â How could the Soulfiend that had served the Primordial Demonlord be weak?
âBy the way, the slots for the final fight have been decidedâ¦â Yu Ziqian weakly joined in.
âThey have?â Tianming had been out of it for a while during his breakthrough. So, which of the three was going to encounter Weisheng Moran?
Yu Ziqian pointed at the imperial star rankings.
Tianming lifted his head and saw that the first four names were no longer gold. The names were now particularly eye-catching. Tianming and Weisheng Moranâs names had turned white, while Yu Ziqian and Lingfengâs names had turned black.
âIâm up against Weisheng Moran?â Tianming asked.
âYes.â The others chorused.
âItâs fine. That means we have the chance to snag two slots,â Tianming said. After his breakthrough, he had a better chance than Yu Ziqian or Lingfeng, though he did have the hardest match now. Even as a constellier, he didnât dare say he was confident.
âBig brother, Iâve made my choice.â The first match was the internal battle for the Azuresoul Palace and Yu Ziqian and Lingfeng were about to step up. Lingfeng had spoken up before it started.
âYou want to let him win?â Tianming asked softly.
âYes.â Lingfeng nodded.
âWhy? Itâll be pretty good if you can get the candidacy. Gan Gangan isnât too steady a person. He may not pass the final test even if he gets the candidacy.â
âHe has the Divine Worldeater Cauldron. We donât know how it is outside. Itâs possible his master alone canât keep the cauldron. If he leaves like this, he may lose it, but I donât have anything on me.â Lingfeng knew that although Tianming had given away the cauldron, he didnât want to lose it. He was surely thinking of Yu Ziqian using it in the future to help improve his status on the sun.
Although it was rather ambitious, it was still a hope.
If Tianming and Yu Ziqian could both take the Sky Palaceâs test, four scenarios were possible. They went in together, only Tianming went in, or only Yu Ziqian went in. If neither of them joined, they would most likely lose all their treasures.
But as long as just one of them joined the Sky Palace, they could keep the Divine Worldeater Cauldron, and not even the Myriad Solar Sects would be able to easily seize it.
Tianming could understand Lingfengâs thoughts. It was a gamble! They would either win everything, or lose everything. The Sky Palace was their only path forward.
âFeng, youâll be much safer when we take away Qingyu if youâre a member of the Sky Palace,â Tianming said in a low voice.
âNot necessarily. Our enemy may be that person. He can kill us even if weâre a member of the Sky Palace.â Lingfeng was referring to the sun emperor.
âWho are you talking about that dares to kill someone from Sky Palace?â Yu Ziqian was confused.
In the end, Lingfeng was making a sacrifice. He wasnât doing it for Yu Ziqian, but for Tianming so he could keep the cauldron.
âListen to me this time. I believe in Ziqian. Just one of us needs to join for the protection to cover all of us.â
âHey⦠can I say something?â Yu Ziqian said awkwardly.
âYeah, talk.â Tianming nodded.
âIâm naturally grateful for this chance. But the pressure is too great. Iâm worried I canât handle it. How about no?â
âNo, Feng means that if youâre kicked out now, weâll lose the cauldron. However, youâll be able to join the Sky Palace for a while until they announce the results, then Iâll be able to protect it after I'm a member. As for whether you can join, Iâm not holding out hope.â They werenât relying on Yu Ziqian, just preventing him from being kicked out.
The cauldron had once incited a war among the Myriad Solar Sects and was no joke.
They couldnât have Yu Ziqian give Lingfeng the cauldron either. They had tried it before. As a grade-eight divine artifact, it wasnât stable being controlled by a young junior. It expanded into a massive form as soon as it left Yu Ziqian, and Lingfeng couldnât move it at all. Tianming also couldnât handle it, since he had to fight Weisheng Moran. Thus, they could only hope Tianming could join the Sky Palace and become the cauldron's protector.
âWow. Give me back my gratitude.â Yu Ziqian continued, âBut what if you lose to Weisheng Moran, or neither of us get in? They both have a pretty big chance!â
âYes, but what other choice do we have? The potential wins from this gamble are just too high. And most of all, there is no way weâll throw out this cauldron before the final conclusion,â Lingfeng said.
Tianming was deep in thought. If he had known this would happen, he would have absorbed the exalted blood himself. He wanted to let Lingfeng challenge the Sky Palaceâs tests, but how could he have known these rules ahead of time? Furthermore, Yu Ziqianâs myriad dao pill was very useful, and Tianming wasnât an alchemy guru.
âLast chance, are you sure?â Tianming asked.
âYes.â Lingfeng nodded.
âYou have an appetite for risk.â Tianming shook his head.
Lingfeng simply chuckled. Perhaps because of his rescue from the xenomemory space, or the spirit of sacrifice deep in his bones, Lingfeng was constantly trying to make things better for Tianming. But for himself, he was less caring.
âFine, then itâll be up to me,â Tianming said. Lingfengâs gamble was betting on Tianming winning.
âIâll look for Xiaoxiao outside and wait for your good news.â
âYeah, hold on and wait for me.â
Lingfeng quitting was a form of pressure for Tianming.
âYou allâ¦â Yu Ziqian sighed. âWhatever the case, youâve all given me too much, not just glory. Iâm really thankful to you. I said before when I got the cauldron that my life is yours. Iâm still young, so if I donât give it a shot with you all this time, Iâll regret it for life.â
Yu Ziqian looked at Tianming with a scorching gaze. âThanks for thinking highly of me. We met by chance, yet youâve done so much. I swear to you Iâll do my best to protect it! If thereâs a chance, Iâll personally refine pills for you all day, every day!â
Actually, this was cause and effect. Tianming wouldnât have gotten the cauldron without Yu Ziqianâs myriad dao pill. Still, people could only mutually help each other when they met someone suitable.
âDonât be so disgusting, Iâm about to puke,â Tianming said derisively.
âHaha.â¦â
The three young men had made their choices. No matter what the outcome was, their trust in each other was unshakable.
âWait for me,â Tianming said to Lingfeng one last time.
âYes!â Lingfeng nodded, before being sucked into the battlefield.
âGan Gangan, I have a new name for you. Easy Win King!â
Yu Ziqian had an embarrassed look before he entered the battlefield. After entering the Voidsky Realm, easy wins had piled up again and again. He had only shown some skill during the fight for the Lifesteal Silverdragon. Truly, his path to the Sky Palace had been one of easy wins.
â¦â¦
The first deciding match for the Sky Palaceâs candidacies was between the third place Yu Ziqian and fourth place Feng, an internal battle of the Azuresoul Palace.
The Myriad Solar Sects were already in chaos before the match started. It was like a dream, how two second-rate sectâs disciples were here.
Lingfeng still gave a show, though it wasnât one that would fool an expert. The battle started, they fought and Lingfengâs imperial star formation was broken. The process was very smooth, finishing in under fifteen minutes.
The cultivators were all speechless when Lingfeng was kicked out. They were utterly confused about this kid who had shown some boldness before willingly leaving. And now the candidacy for the Sky Palace had effortlessly gone to some fake genius, a true joke.
Most importantly, the Sky Palace hadnât considered this against the rules. Yu Ziqianâs name immediately began brightly shining.
Now, only one match was left.
Li Tianming of the Azuresoul Palace versus Weisheng Moran of the Dreamless Celestial Nation.