Chapter 304: Chapter 304 - The Heavenly Emperor Sage Zhang And The Third Prefect, The Finals Begin, The Thousand Terrain Secret Realm

“We admit defeat for this battle!”

Upon seeing Chang Tian nailed to the wall, looking as if his life would be in danger if his injuries were not treated in time, the Overlord Sage Tribe Leader could no longer sit still.

They could lose the competition, but Chang Tian must not die.

He was the only one who possessed Overlord Sage Tribe’s Supreme Daoist Physique after all.

In a whoosh, the Overlord Sage Tribe Leader leaped into the arena, pulled the divine spear out from Chang Tian’s body, and glared menacingly at Lan Yu.

However, Lan Yu did not cower.

With her current strength, as long as they were not a Boundary Sage or a Sage, even an old Honorable Supreme like Overlord Sage Tribe could not defeat her.

“The winner is Lan Yu of the Black Heaven Sect!”

The Thirteenth Prefect announced.

The Black Heaven Sect was advancing into the finals!

Besides, the Black Heaven Sect had not suffered any defeats thus far at all, and their stunning performance had shocked everyone present.

Next up was the semifinals match between the Sky Emperor Palace and the Tempest Mountain.

Chu Kuangren and the others continued to watch on for a while.

In the end, the Sky Emperor Palace emerged as the victor in their semifinals bout.

“It’s confirmed that our final opponent will be the Sky Emperor Palace.”

Chu Kuangren chuckled as he looked towards the Sky Emperor Palace’s camp and saw the coldness in their eyes.

“Black Heaven Sect, I shall be looking forward to the finals tomorrow!”

“I think you’ll be very disappointed in the results.”

“You guys seem like you’re confident in winning.”

“Frankly speaking, I don’t think the sky-prides from the Sky Emperor Palace can beat us.” As Chu Kuangren swept his gaze across all the sky-prides in the opponent’s camp, he noticed that their overall strength was quite similar to the Overlord Sage Tribe’s.

The Black Heaven Sect’s chances of winning were high.

“We shall see then.”

The Sky Emperor Palace Lord grunted and left.

…

During that night.

At a lake in one of the First City’s floating islands.

There was a small pavilion in the center of the lake, and sitting inside was a middle-aged man who was dressed in black and had an indifferent expression. In front of him were drinks and snacks as if he was waiting for someone.

After a while.

Ripples appeared in the void.

Under the moonlight, another man was slowly approaching the pavilion. That man had a tough-looking face, while his every movement was filled with a sense of nobility and poise.

“Heavenly Emperor Zhang of the Sky Emperor Palace, what’s your intention for wanting to meet me?” The black-robed man inside the pavilion asked.

The title of Heavenly Emperor was an honorable title given to the Sages of the Sky Emperor Palace.

It meant that Heavenly Emperor Zhang was one of the Sages of the Sky Emperor Palace.

Normally, people would address him as Heavenly Emperor Sage Zhang.

“Third Prefect, I suppose you’re familiar with what’s happening in the championship now.”

“That’s being handled by the Eleventh Prefect and others. It has nothing to do with me.” The black-robed man who was the Third Prefect chuckled.

“You’re First City’s Sage and ranked third among the Thirteen Prefects. For someone as reputable as you, in the situation that the First Prefect in closed-door meditation and the Second Prefect is not around, it means that you’re now in charge of calling the shots in First City. So meeting up with you is more beneficial compared to seeking out the Thirteenth Prefect and others,” Heavenly Emperor Zhang said.

“Please take a seat.” The Third Prefect gestured politely.

The Heavenly Emperor Zhang sat down before him and uttered, “There’s only one reason I’m meeting you today and that is I want my Sky Emperor Palace to win.”

“Oh, Sky Emperor Palace’s opponent is the Black Heaven Sect, isn’t it? Those guys are quite extraordinary, so it’ll be quite a challenge for the Sky Emperor Palace to win. Then again, isn’t it normal for competitions to have winners and losers?”

“I said, the Sky Emperor Palace has to win!”

Heavenly Emperor Zhang uttered determinedly.

“So you want me to rig the competition for you, is that it? I’m afraid that’ll be detrimental to my First City’s image and reputation,” the Third Prefect replied.

“From what I’ve heard about you, you’re not someone who values reputation and image as long as… it benefits you!”

This was also Heavenly Emperor Zhang’s reason for seeking the Third Prefect. If the First or Second Prefect were to be the ones in charge of First City, he would not have looked for them.

However, it was a shame that the First Prefect was now in closed-door meditation and the Second Prefect was away from the city, so the First City’s control now fell to the Third Prefect instead.

“What kind of benefits are we talking about here?”

“I learned that you’ve been searching for the Ethereal Rapture for quite a few years now.”

“You know something about the Ethereal Rapture?”

The Third Prefect’s eyes lit up upon hearing that.

“Of course.”

“Since the Ethereal Rapture is one of the unknown lands, very few in the world know its location. How does the Sky Emperor Palace know about this?”

“Although the unknown lands are hidden from the world, it doesn’t mean they don’t make contact with the world outside. Every once in a while, the unknown lands will send their young disciples to roam among us.”

“These people are hence known as the… empyrean walkers!”

“According to the ancient archives, one of my Sky Emperor Palace’s Forefathers was fortunate enough to befriend one of these empyrean walkers and they told the Sky Emperor Palace about the Ethereal Rapture’s exact location too.”

Heavenly Emperor Zhang explained slowly.

The Third Prefect could not help but ponder about what the other party said.

In the end, he was persuaded.

He had been searching for the Ethereal Rapture all these years for some reason. However, because it was an unknown land, it was difficult for even a Sage like him to find it. It had been so long yet he had not found anything.

With the information of the Ethereal Rapture’s location offered on a plate before him, it was impossible for him to be inexorable.

“I’ll try to think of something that’ll ensure the Sky Emperor Palace’s victory for tomorrow’s competition. I hope you’ll honor your promise by telling me how to go to the Ethereal Rapture by then.”

“Of course, but I’m a little curious, Third Prefect. Why are you so fixated on finding the Ethereal Rapture?” Heavenly Emperor Zhang asked.

“It’s a private matter, so I’m not going to tell you. But I didn’t expect that the Black Heaven Sect could put so much pressure on the Sky Emperor Palace, so much that the Heavenly Emperor Zhang had to seek me out personally,” the Third Prefect said.

“Chu Kuangren has won one and a half billion top-tier soulstones and two Sage weapons from the bet against my Sky Emperor Palace. And on top of that, every cultivation technique from Sky Emperor Palace has to be made known to him as well. Do you think I can just put this matter aside?”

Heavenly Emperor Zhang’s tone was ice-cold, and as if it could sense his emotions, ripples started to form on the surface of the lake. As the fishes in the lake could not bear the Sage’s aura, they died and floated to the surface of the lake.

“Chu Kuangren is… indeed frightening. It’s difficult to find another sky-pride over the past hundred and fifty thousand years who can compare to Chu Kuangren.” At the mention of Chu Kuangren, even a Sage like the Third Prefect could not help but marvel at him.

In fact, if the Sky Emperor Palace did not offer the clues about the Ethereal Rapture’s location as an exchange, offending Chu Kuangren was never his intention.

…

The second day.

The final match of the Sky-pride Championship.

Countless people were looking forward to the face-off between the Black Heaven Sect and the Sky Emperor Palace.

“Oh, the crowd is a lot bigger now compared to the past few days.” Chu Kuangren could not help but exclaim when he entered the arena with the others.

The arena was filled to the brim with spectators from all corners. Even the air was filled with people. The number of spectators was a lot higher compared to the previous days.

There was no doubt that everyone was interested in the final match.

Even those who did not join in during the previous rounds were here to watch.

“Everyone, without further ado, we shall now start the final match of the Sky-pride Championship. The rules are still the same — the sect who gets the best out of three will be the winner!”

“However, there’s a slight twist to the competition venue, which has now changed to the… Thousand Terrain Secret Realm!”

The Thirteenth Prefect waved his hand and suddenly, a circle of light and dozens of display screens appeared above the arena.

Various terrains could be seen on the screens such as deserts, grottoes, and even stench-filled swamps…

“This Thousand Terrain Secret Realm is divided into dozens of different terrains. The contestants will be sent to one of these terrains to commence their battle and it’ll only end if one side admits defeat or confirms that they can no longer fight!”

“And the one who ends up victorious will be crowned the championship’s winner!”

“They will win the prize items that were sponsored by the sage orthodoxies as well. Now, may the final match begin!”