Immortal of the Nine Realms

Chapter 114: Ascending. Eighth-Tier!

Only cultivators could sense spiritual energy. Even someone like Ji Congyun, who was at the peak of the Earth Profound Stage, couldn't perceive it at all.

When Immortal Master Zuo saw the lightning-filled sky, he fell into a brief stupor.

But he wasn't the only one stunned.

The officials of the Great Xia Empire were stunned.

The commoners were stunned

The envoys from the empires were stunned.

All of them had fallen into a state of disbelief.

Hundreds of Nightmare Knights had been struck down by a rain of lightning in an instant!

Their first thought when they saw that scene was that it might’ve been divine punishment that came down upon them. But the crowd quickly realized that the lightning didn’t descend from the heavens, but was rather shot out from the hands of the Fang Manor guards.

They were the ones who created the lightning!

"Is that... Is that the Purple Lightning Palm?" someone exclaimed.

Fang Chen had once mentioned the Purple Lightning Palm; it was after he had killed the commander of the Wolf Army in the palace.

That incident had spread far and wide, so this extraordinary ability was well-known amongst the masses, but the crowd would’ve never have guessed that every single one of the Nightmare Knights, who were all comparable to peak Qi Manipulation Stage martial artists, would be killed by it without any chance to resist!

Li Guozhu's hands trembled, and a trace of astonishment flickered in his turbid eyes. "What a terrifying technique! When did he... gain such profound strength?"

The scene he had just witnessed was enough to prove that the strength of the Fang Manor had surpassed any military force in Great Xia. How laughable! To think that the Grand Xia Emperor had barred Fang Chen from leading the army. That decree now seemed more like a joke!

The expressions of Xia Yu, Tao Yu, Ye Qinghe became extremely complicated; everything that had happened today had exceeded any of their expectations.

Ji Lengyue’s knees thudded to the ground. "This is impossible..." he muttered in disbelief. He hadn’t joined the Nightmare Knights in their battle, that was why he was able to avoid the fate of being blasted into ashes.

When he looked at the charred remains of his comrades down on the soil, tears welled up in his eyes. The Nightmare Knights, who had followed him for many years, had met their end at the hands of a few Fang Manor guards!

The sky had been filled with purple lightning just moments ago! That was clearly something only cultivators could do! Since when did the guards of the Fang Manor possess such cultivator-like abilities?

Impossible!

I must be dreaming!

Ji Lengyue subconsciously rubbed his eyes, but the charred corpses remained all the same—charred corpses. His face gradually turned pale. He went limp, and his knees gave out as he slumped to the ground. He stared blankly at Fang Chen as he lay sprawled on the soil, covered in blood and dirt.

Fang Chen’s gaze had been fixed at Immortal Master Zuo for a while now, and when he saw that the man didn’t answer him, he asked again, "I ask you; are you here to kill us and seize our treasures?"

His voice pulled Immortal Master Zuo from his shock.

Stiffly twisting his neck, Immortal Master Zuo looked at Fang Chen, his eyes filled with bewilderment.

Purple Lightning Talisman! That was an extremely famous talisman in the cultivation world. In the Qi Refining Realm, the popularity of a Purple Lightning Talisman was no less than that of a treasure! Purple Lightning Talismans were divided into peak, high, mid, and low grades. He wasn't sure about the grade of the Purple Lightning Talismans that was used just now, but he knew that even low-grade Purple Lightning Talismans cost several low-grade spirit stones.

Although he was at the sixth level of the Qi Refining Realm and was supported by the Ji Family, he would only have a dozen or so low-grade spirit stones left after he used the rest on his cultivation!

Considering the terrifying display of power just now, they must’ve used at least a hundred Purple Lightning Talismans! That would mean that it would cost hundreds upon hundreds of spirit stones!

As soon as he came to that realization, deep fear surged through his heart. What was Li Daoye’s origin? How could he be so lavish as to use several hundred low-grade spirit stones to kill a hundred or so martial artists? What kind of profound background allowed for such extravagance!?

If those Purple Lightning Talismans had been aimed at him...

Immortal Master Zuo shivered at that thought. His expression suddenly changed, and his attitude took a complete turn. He smiled warmly at Fang Chen and clasped his hands together in respect before bowing toward Li Daoye. "That was a joke! Please don’t take it to heart.”

"A joke? You were about to kill me and take my treasures. How is that a joke?" mused Li Daoye with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. "You actually think you can easily leave from here by chalking it up to a mere ‘joke’?”

Immortal Master Zuo's face fell. Seeing that the situation had escalated, he muttered to Ji Congyun in a voice only they could hear. "Cover me and let me leave this place. We'll discuss it further when we return to the empire!"

Ji Congyun scooted off a few seats to the side, away from Immortal Master Zuo.

When Immortal Master Zuo saw that, he flared up, face full of anger. “Ji Congyun, you... you’re going too far!” he bellowed as he turned around and made a run for it. His speed and agility were obviously superior to that of martial artists, as he was even able to briefly step on air as he shot out hundreds of feet in an instant.

The unsuspecting citizens were shocked to witness this scene. "Is this the strength of an immortal?"

"The means of cultivators..." muttered the civil and military officials of Grand Xia to themselves.

Compared to Ji Lengyue's previous display of leaping across dozens of feet, Immortal Master Zuo's footwork resembled that of a celestial being even more!

When everyone thought that Immortal Master Zuo would gracefully depart, dozens of thunderous roars erupted almost simultaneously, and countless bolts of purple lightning struck Immortal Master Zuo.

He let out a miserable scream before falling straight down like a charred log, crashing into the dense forest in the distance.

A group went to investigate, then shortly returned later with Immortal Master Zuo’s charred body as well as his belongings, confirming that the man was indeed dead.

Everyone on the high platform had been struck dumb, astonished, by what they had just witnessed. Their gazes were fixed at Fang Chen. It didn’t take a genius to realize that he was behind what had just happened!

Fang Chen smiled and looked at Ji Congyun. "Senior Ji, what do you think of my Fang Manor now? I wonder if it’s possible for me to run circles around your Nightmare Knights?”

"Senior Ji?!" Someone finally guessed who Ji Congyun was. While he naturally couldn’t have guessed that Ji Congyun was the ancestor of the Ji Family, he was able to tell that he was some significant figure in the Ji Family.

Ji Congyun forced a smile and nodded slightly. "It should be possible."

"Do you think Grand Xia has the qualifications to be ranked as an eighth-tier empire?” Fang Chen asked again.

Eighth-tier empire?! Everyone gasped in shock.

They were finally able to understand what Fang Chen was getting at!

Ji Congyun nodded slowly. "If your empire had a single martial artist in the Earth Profound Stage, then naturally you couldn’t join their ranks. However, you’re more than qualified with only that display earlier.”

Boom!

The hearts of the onlookers were shaken.

The civil and military officials looked at each other, and their expressions gradually excited. It seemed that they were about to witness an extraordinary event!

The surrounding citizens took a deep breath as they stared at the high platform.

Fang Chen cracked a smile at that. "Alright. From now on, our Grand Xia Empire will be ranked as an eighth-tier empire,” he announced. “Senior Ji, when you return, inform the emperor of your Frost Water Empire that Grand Xia will no longer be a vassal state of your empire.”

Ji Congyun nodded heavily. "I will."

"In addition... since Grand Xia is now an eighth-tier empire, we should gain some vassal states of our own,” he added, nodding “From now on, Guhe, Longdu, and Yizhou will belong to us.”

Ji Congyun’s expression changed when he heard that, and he hesitantly said, "This... I'm afraid I have to discuss it with the emperor first.”

The envoys of the three countries had long since paled at Fang Chen proclamation. If they were to become vassal states of Grand Xia, they could hardly imagine what their future days would be like!

Fang Chen smiled. "There's no need for further discussion. This matter is settled.”

Ji Congyun fell silent for a moment, then nodded slowly. “So be it."

At that moment, the civil and military officials of Grand Xia all showed excited expressions. They had unexpectedly risen to the eighth-tier and gained three vassal states in the blink of an eye!

"My lord..." The envoys of the three countries looked at Ji Congyun one after another, their faces anxious.

Ji Congyun ignored them. They were nothing to the Frost Water Empire, and their absence wouldn’t cause a significant impact.

"Lord Fang, is there anything else? My grandson is severely injured, and I need to take him back for treatment,” said Congyun.

Fang Chen shook his head, but his next words were quite the curveball. "There's nothing else for now. As for Ji Lengyue... he’ll stay; you could say we’ll keep him hostage here. You can leave now, Senior Ji.”

What?!

Ji Lengyue will stay behind as a hostage?

Those present were shocked as they stared at Fang Chen with strange expressions. Only their Divine General Fang would be able to make such a bold move. They suddenly felt strangely relieved.

"Alright." Ji Congyun didn't say anything else as he turned to leave.

“Interesting... He’s truly decisive. That’s quite commendable.” muttered Fang Chen to himself with a chuckle.

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