Ninth In the World

Although paying 100,000 high-grade Spirit Stones for a night was also very expensive, Di Jiu didn’t think that it was too expensive if he compared it to the Immortal Ascension Inn.

This wasn’t because there was abundant Spirit Qi in the cave abode he was in. Actually, he hadn’t placed a lot of emphasis on Spirit Qi during cultivation ever since he had gotten 200 supreme-grade spirit meridians. What he cared about more was whether the Law of Heaven and Earth was clear in the place where he was cultivating.

The cave abode he was in had abundant Spirit Qi, and its Law of Cultivation was also much clearer than it was in the Small Central World. Di Jiu didn’t know how big the True Dominion was. However, it had to be at a higher level than the Small Central World, as the Laws there were much clearer.

Di Jiu wasn’t interested in the True Dominion. He was there only to take part in the True Dominion Genius Tournament and take Jing Moshuang away. According to their agreement, Han Qingyi should be bringing Jing Moshuang to the Immortal Ascension City this time. Therefore, he wouldn’t leave the Immortal Ascension Inn before he received any news from them. He would just stay in the inn and cultivate.

...

The main powers of the True Dominion didn’t come from sects. Instead, they came from the Five Major Protectorates and the big families. The sects didn’t have any place in the True Dominion.

The Zhuo Family was considered one of the top three provinces in the True Dominion. The family head, Zhuo Changgeng, was a fourth-stage Domain Realm Cultivator that could rank among the top 10 in the True Dominion.

More than 10 Elders from the Zhuo Family were currently sitting in the Zhuo Family hall. A beautiful young lady who was sitting on the first seat on the right side looked exceptionally prominent and captivating. Di Jiu would have recognized this lady, who was Zhuo Wenshu, if he had been there. There was no way to hide her charm, despite the fact that she was wearing a veil.

“The True Dominion Genius Tournament is about to begin. I will be going with Wenshu and Elder Shu. Elder Shu will handle Di Jiu if he comes. Make sure you don’t leave a trace.” Zhuo Changgeng spoke calmly with unmistakable killing intent.

Upon hearing this, Zhuo Wenshu, who had been sitting quietly, stood up immediately, bowed and said, “Please let Di Jiu off, Family Head. He had nothing to do with the death of my brother, Wencheng. I have gone over the recording many times. It was my brother who wanted to take away Di Jiu’s ring but ended up dying on the Planted Cultivators’ Mountain. He didn’t come in contact with my brother at all.”

The elder on the first seat on the left frowned and said angrily, “Wenshu, your brother was obviously killed by Di Jiu. If the Zhuo Family chooses to ignore this when Di Jiu comes to the True Dominion, we will become the joke of the town.”

“But the death of my elder brother really had nothing to do with Di Jiu,” said Zhuo Wenshu, who was at a loss.

The elder snorted again. “Nothing to do with him? Would Wencheng have gone to the Planted Cultivators’ Mountain if it had not been for Di Jiu? Besides, Di Jiu was the only one who survived on the Planted Cultivators’ Mountain. He could have saved Wencheng, but he did not. Instead, he chose to save a worthless woman. If the Zhuo Family doesn’t take revenge, we will not be fit to remain a True Dominion Family. Han Qingyi is just wasting her breath by asking the Ji Family to help her save that worthless woman.”

Zhuo Wenshu’s expression turned ugly. She stood up and bowed before Zhuo Changgeng before she said, “Family Head, I owe my life to Di Jiu. I would have died in the Desert River Forbidden Zone if it had not been for him. I don’t know how he escaped, but I cannot convince myself to kill him instead of thanking him for saving my life. If he had truly killed my brother, I would have definitely killed him and then committed suicide to repay my debt. However, I cannot accept harming him when my brother was obviously not killed by him.”

Zhuo Changgeng’s face turned gloomy as he listened to Zhuo Wenshu. Di Jiu had to be killed. However, he couldn’t ignore what Zhuo Wenshu had said either.

Zhuo Wenshu was at the fourth-stage True Form Realm. Although there would be a few dozens of participants from the Zhuo Family in the upcoming True Dominion Genius Tournament, Zhuo Wenshu was the only one who qualified to make the top three.

When they saw that Zhuo Changgeng remained silent, another elder stood up and said, “If Young Master Yellow Shirt hadn’t been killed, he would have been on par with Wenshu. The Zhuo Family had two geniuses, yet one of them was killed. How can we let the murderer get away scot-free in the True Dominion?”

Zhuo Wenshu wasn’t as highly regarded as her elder brother Zhuo Wencheng in the Zhuo Family. Someone needed to take the rap for his death. Besides, they did not want to kill Di Jiu solely because they wanted him to take the blame...

Hadn’t Zhuo Wencheng gotten killed on the Planted Cultivators’ Mountain because Di Jiu had a few hundred supreme-grade spirit meridians? Even the Zhuo Family didn’t possess such wealth.

“Family Head, I’m afraid that killing Di Jiu is not up to us. Di Jiu’s friend killed a bastard son of the Interstellar Protectorate Lord, Bai Hong. Bai Hong will not let him off. If we take action as well, we will have a conflict with Protectorate Lord Bai. However, we have to forgo the things he possesses.”

Everyone in the Zhuo Family meeting hall grew silent when an elder from the Zhuo Family said this.

Killing Di Jiu was easy. However, it would complicate matters if the Interstellar Protectorate Lord was involved.

...

Di Jiu tried to absorb the Spirit Qi of the Spirit Stone in his surroundings like crazy. Plus, there was a clear Law in this place, which made Di Jiu feel that he could possibly break through to the sixth-stage True Form Realm soon.

However, a voice was suddenly heard. “The True Dominion Genius Tournament will be held at the Immortal Ascension Square tomorrow. All the geniuses who qualify to take part in the tournament are to enter the competition premises with their qualification card.”

Di Jiu, who had been interrupted while attempting to break through to the sixth-stage True Form Realm, had to stop.

When he saw Xian Ze a day later, he discovered that Xian Ze’s aura had improved. It seemed that cultivating here had helped Xian Ze a lot.

Although Xian Ze was only at the fifth-stage True Form Realm, this wasn’t because his potential was any poorer than the geniuses’ from the Small Central World or the True Dominion. Quite the contrary, he had better potential than those geniuses. However, he was on the Polar Night Continent, which couldn’t even produce a Pioneer Sea Realm cultivator due to a lack of Spirit Qi. Thus, it was evident how good Xian Ze’s potential was. It was so good that he had been able to attain the True Form Realm.

It was precisely because he had exceptional potential that he could still advance from the third-stage to the fifth-stage True Form Realm, even though he had been busy handling other affairs ever since he had gotten to the Small Central World.

“You don’t have to worry about anything else, Di Jiu. Concentrate on the tournament. You don’t have to worry even if you fail.” Xian Ze had a thought after cultivating there for half a month. If he could keep cultivating in the True Dominion, it would be possible for him to perfect the Domain Realm. Once he did that, then maybe he could use another method to go to the Immortal World.

Di Jiu smiled and said, “You don’t have to worry about me, Senior Xi. I am confident about making the top three.” Di Jiu didn’t take the competition seriously.

“Di Jiu, you are stronger than me. We only take into consideration one’s strength in the Cultivation World. Since we don’t come from the same sect, let’s address each other as ‘Brother’ instead. It will make us feel closer,” Xian Ze said as he patted Di Jiu on the back.

Di Jiu, who respected Xian Ze, didn’t mind when he heard his suggestion. “Okay. I will call you Older Brother then,” he said.

Di Jiu believed that Xian Ze was right. The relationship that they shared was different from the one he had with Huan Mingzi. Huan Mingzi had played an important role in guiding him in his cultivation after all. Therefore, he readily agreed when Xian Ze suggested that they become friends.

...

The Immortal Ascension Square was crowded. There was a platform that protruded about three feet above the ground. When Di Jiu scanned it with his Spiritual Force, he estimated that the platform could hold at least 4,000 to 5,000 people. Between the platform and the square was an isolation zone. The isolation zone was protected by a Defense Array and a dedicated pathway led straight to the platform.

Di Jiu’s Spiritual Force detected many familiar faces, including Di Feixue, Ji Hongchuan, and Han Qingyi. He even saw Zhuo Wenshu.

“Please wait a minute, Big Brother Xi. I have to leave for a while.” Di Jiu walked over to Han Qingyi without hesitation. He had waited until now because he had known that Han Qingyi would come. Otherwise, he would have gone to the Falling Ice Mountain long ago.

“Stop!” Di Jiu was blocked when he got within 10 feet of Han Qingyi.

“Is Moshuang doing fine, Fairy Qingyi?” asked Di Jiu.

His heart sank when he saw that Han Qingyi was avoiding his eyes. Before he could speak, a frightening aura swept in and Di Jiu felt his whole body freeze.

The Heavenly Aqua Saber was vibrating. Di Jiu could hardly control his killing intent. He would strike if Han Qingyi did not give him a good answer.

The freezing aura that had swept in came from an elegant man standing behind Han Qingyi. Di Jiu estimated that his cultivation level was around the fifth-stage Domain Realm. He couldn’t even compare to the Skygold Protectorate Lord, yet he had dared attack Di Jiu.

Han Qingyi also sensed Di Jiu’s killing intent. She actually saw the red embellishments on Di Jiu’s saber flutter, even though there was no wind. The saber exuded a fierce aura. She believed that Di Jiu would strike here considering that he had dared forgo saving Zhuo Wenshu.

She immediately said, “You don’t have to worry, Daoist Di. Junior Sister Moshuang is fine. The tournament is about to begin. Why don’t we speak again after it is over?”

She was right. A middle-aged man appeared on the platform in the middle of the square and said in a loud, clear voice, “All the cultivators who possess the qualification card to the True Dominion Genius Tournament are kindly requested to enter the competition grounds now.”