Chapter 2021 - The Premature Emergence of the Azure Bridge

It took a lot of arguing before the little yellow chick managed to convince Zhang Xuan to go with ‘Little Chick’ instead, and words couldn’t begin to describe how happy it was with it,

Given how tragic its master’s naming sense was, it was already a huge blessing that it was let off with just ‘Little Chick’. Otherwise, if it had to go with what Supercock or Little Chirpchirp or that sort, it would never be able to live with it!

How would it be able to face its fellow legendary beasts in the future with such a disastrous name?

“I am the legendary beast who rules over the Nine Heavens and Ten Continents, Primordial Ancient Dragon, Ao Tian[l]!”

“I am the legendary beast who has scorched the Great Barren Wilderness and vaporized innumerable oceans, the Nine-headed Fiery Phoenix, Huo Qianyu[2]!”n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Then, when it finally came to its turn to introduce itself...

“I am the legendary beast *****, Supercock!”

Its body would really wither just by how naughty it sounded!

What the heck was this...

How did it land itself such an unreliable master?

At this point, Little Chick couldn’t help but lower its head to take a closer look at itself...

Heck, I really do look like a chick... the kind which had just crawled out of its egg at that!

Furthermore, I don’t have any memories of what I am either... Just what kind of legendary beast am I?

Little Chick fell into deep contemplation.

Paying no heed to the little yellow chick which was pondering over its reason of existence, Zhang Xuan took out the corpses of the three Heavenly High Immortals whom he had just killed.

Similar to those he had defeated previously, these three didn’t have anything valuable in their storage rings either. The only things of value were their very bodies.

To be honest, he was feeling very worried about his current plight. Till now, he still didn’t know what it was that gave him away, and that left him deeply insecure. He had never craved power this much ever since he started cultivating!

In any case, if he could turn these Heavenly High Immortals into Soulless Metal Humanoids too, he would be in a much safer position. If he had an army of them previously, he could have lined them up before him to form a line of defense when that youth tried to explode his cultivation earlier.

...

In the Hall of Gods...

A towering silhouette flickered into existence once more at the center of the room.

“Yet another failure?” the silhouette remarked coldly as a pair of cold eyes pierced through the black-robed man

kneeling before him.

“Yes...”

The black-robed man trembled.

“I have underestimated him. A person chosen by the heavens is indeed blessed with great luck...” the silhouette remarked coldly. “You’ll be making a move personally then. If you were to fail, don’t bother coming back to look for me. End your own life there and then! Also, I want you to investigate what trump cards he has that allowed him to take down even three of our Heavenly High Immortals!”

“Yes, master!” the black-robed man nodded before subserviently retreating out of the room.

“Hold on for a moment!” the silhouette suddenly raised his hand. “Announce the decree of the Hall of Gods. The Azure Bridge shall descend half a month from now!”

“Half a month? The Azure Bridge going to descend prematurely?” the black-robed man asked.

Usually, it would still take quite a while longer before the Azure Bridge descended. For it to appear half a month from now... Wasn’t that a little too fast?

“Since the Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion has confirmed him as their sect leader, their intention is likely to have him join as a challenger. If we were to leave it as it is, it’ll still take some time before the Azure Bridge finally descends. He might achieve a breakthrough to High Immortal during this period of time, and if so, none of you will be able to match him anymore,” the silhouette said.

With a cold gleam in his eyes, he said, “He mustn’t be allowed to succeed by any means, or else all of you will be killed!” ‘Yes, I understand,” the black-robed figure replied grimly before leaving the room.

...

A slender boat floated in the air just above the Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion. Standing atop of it was a lady, and standing behind her was an adolescent youth.

“Palace Chief Du, what are you doing here?”

A figure suddenly appeared in front of the boat—Han Jianqiu.

“I have come for your newly-appointed sect leader,” the lady replied with her hands behind her back.

She was no other than the chief of the Starchaser Palace, Du Qingyuan!

“Our newly-appointed sect leader?” Han Jianqiu frowned.

“Indeed. Can you invite him out to meet me?” Du Qingyuan replied with a nod.

“This...” Han Jianqiu paused for a brief moment before replying, “Palace Chief Du, my apologies but our sect leader is currently practicing the Ascendant Cloud Sword God Formula. He’s in a crucial moment in his cultivation, so it’s not convenient for him to meet any guests at the moment.”

He knew that it was of utmost importance for him to keep the news that Zhang Xuan had left the sect a secret. Otherwise, if the Hall of Gods were to somehow hear of the matter, they would surely make a move.

Zhang Xuan was their greatest hope at achieving a breakthrough at the Azure Bridge, so he would do anything to protect the young man.

“He’s in seclusion?” Du Qingyuan frowned.

She knew that the sect leaders of the Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion would practice the Ascendant Cloud Sword God Formula. There was nothing wrong with Han Jianqiu’s words, soo she didn’t harbor any doubts regarding his words either.

Thinking back, Han Jianqiu had gone through that phase as well, and he was gone into seclusion for fifteen whole years.

No matter how talented Zhang Xuan was, it was unlikely that he would be able to master the Ascendant Cloud Sword God Formula too quickly either. It was really bad timing. As the chief of the Starchaser Palace, she couldn’t possibly spend years waiting here for him to come out of seclusion.

“Do you have his portrait by any chance? I would like to take a look,” Du Qingyuan asked.

With a doubtful look on his face, Han Jianqiu asked, “Pardon me, Palace Chief Du, but I must ask for your purpose for seeking our sect leader.”

As the palace chief of the Starchaser Palace, one of the Six Sects, Du Qingyuan was a lofty figure that stood at the peak of the Forsaken Continent. Before Zhang Xuan became the sect leader, he was nothing more than an insignificant figure living in a small town. Given so, it was unthinkable for the two of them to be associated with one another.

“I just found his name extremely familiar. He seems to be an acquaintance of mine, so I would like to verify if it’s really him,” Du Qingyuan replied.

If Zhang Xuan was here, he would recognize Du Qingyuan to be the ‘deity’ whom Sovereign Chen Yong had summoned back then through the ritual of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe.

Back then, in order to save Sovereign Chen Yong, Zhang Xuan requested Du Qingyuan to take Sovereign Chen Yong’s soul away with her. Using some sort of secret art, Du Qingyuan managed to reconstruct a new body for Sovereign Chen Yong, and the latter was currently the very adolescent youth standing right behind her.

“Our sect leader is an acquaintance of yours?” Han Jianqiu frowned.

As unlikely that it sounded, he couldn’t help but recall how adamant Zhang Xuan was regarding his decision to head to the Sea of Exiled Stars. Not too long after, Du Qingyuan made the long journey here to look for Zhang Xuan too... Could the two of them really be acquainted with one another?

Han Jianqiu hesitated for a moment before flicking his wrist.

A jade token appeared in his grasp. He tapped on the jade token lightly, and Zhang Xuan’s portrait floated into the air. “This is our sect leader, Zhang Xuan.”

The Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion and the Starchaser Palace couldn’t be said to be on friendly terms. Nevertheless, while Du Qingyuan could be rather difficult at times, she wasn’t an unreasonable person. Considering the implications, it was unlikely that she would try to harm their sect leader.

Not to mention, he didn’t tell her where Zhang Xuan was heading either. Thus, it shouldn’t matter whether she knew of his appearance or not.

“Indeed!” Upon seeing the portrait, Du Qingyuan’s eyes lit up.

Behind her, the adolescent youth, Wu Chen, trembled in agitation.

“Is our sect leader the acquaintance Palace Chief Du is looking to?” Han Jianqiu asked.

“Indeed. We have met each other once before...” Du Qingyuan nodded. After which, she turned to the adolescent youth behind her and said, “Wu Chen, if you wish to stay here, I can talk to Elder Han on your behalf.”

“Thank you, Palace Chief Du!” Wu Chen clasped his fist in gratitude.

“Un!” Du Qingyuan nodded.

Just as she was about to continue speaking, her eyebrows suddenly shot up. At the same time, Han Jianqiu’s eyes widened slightly as well. A moment later, their faces paled at the same time.

“The Azure Bridge is going to descend half a month from now?”

“That’s way too fast!” Han Jianqiu’s body stiffened.

The Azure Bridge was the only path into the Hall of Gods, and it only descended once every century. Once they missed the occasion, they would have to wait another hundred years.

If the Azure Bridge were to descend on its usual timing, Zhang Xuan would definitely have more than enough time to cultivate to Heavenly High Immortal realm. That would significantly boost his chances of clinching the rights to challenge the Hall of Gods.

With his superior swordsmanship, Zhang Xuan would have been in a good position to snatch the other half of the ‘神 (God)’ character for the Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion.

But if the Azure Bridge were to descend in half a month from now, the other party wouldn’t be able to make it in time at all!

Not to mention, the other party had already embarked on his journey to the Sea of Exiled Stars. They didn’t know where the young man was at the moment, and they had no way of getting in touch with him at the moment either...

The situation wasn’t looking good at all.

“Let’s enter the Ethereal Hall!”

Without any hesitation, Han Jianqiu took out an Ethereal Token and immersed his consciousness into it. Du Qingyuan quickly did the same as well.

This was the Ethereal Token which only the top experts of the Forsaken Continent were bestowed with. The purpose of it was to provide a convenient platform for them to gather and discuss major issues.

Of course, there was no guarantee that the Ethereal Hall would be a secure place to communicate as it wasn’t something under the control of their sect. This was also why they would preferentially meet in person when it came to discussing major issues.

However, since this was just a simple meeting to discuss the rough plan regarding a known issue, it shouldn’t pose too much problem.

Within a sealed room in the Ethereal Hall, figures appeared one after another. The other sect leaders had clearly received the same news as well, so they swiftly made their way into the Ethereal Hall as well.

Once the leaders of all Six Sects were present, Han Jianqiu shot a sweeping glance across the crowd before asking, “What are your current plans regarding the Azure Bridge?”

“The descent of the Azure Bridge is an important affair, so we have to deal with it carefully. Elder Han, hasn’t the new leader of your Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion comprehended the Gods’ Sword Intent? Why isn’t he here?” an elder glanced over and asked.

Due to Han Jianqiu’s announcement a few days ago, it had already become a known fact throughout the Forsaken Continent that the new sect leader of the Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion, Zhang Xuan, had grasped the Gods’ Sword Intent. That should be more than enough to qualify him to participate in this meeting.

“He’s in seclusion at the moment, so I couldn’t disturb him,” Han Jianqiu replied.

“What about your newly-appointed Hall Master Zheng Yang?” the elder turned his gaze to Elder Qin Yuan.

“He... is also in seclusion as well!” Elder Qin replied grimly.

“They are both in seclusion?” the elder frowned in displeasure. “It’s only once in every century that the Azure Bridge would descend, granting us an opportunity to challenge the Hall of Gods. Yet, the two of the most hopeful sect leaders are in seclusion at the moment... What should we do then?”

There was a great deal of excitement when they heard the news about the inauguration of two new sect leaders, but how could the two of them be in seclusion during such a crucial moment?

“We’ll try and see if we can get in touch with our sect leader and inform him of this matter. Meanwhile, the rest of you should quickly pick out the strongest and most talented members in your sects as well. Ten days from now, we’ll meet at the Heaven Anchoring Boulder in the Sea of Exiled Stars. Before the Azure Bridge appears, we should verify the strength of each sect before deciding on the leader of the expedition,” Han Jianqiu said.

“Sounds fine. It’s settled then.”

The crowd nodded.

This was indeed the best they could do at the moment.

The Hall of Gods was located above the Sea of Exiled Stars, so the Azure Bridge appeared here as well. Thus, it was decided to be their gathering area as well.

“It’d be easier for us to devise a strategy if we gather together in advance too...”

At this moment, a voice suddenly echoed from the entrance of the room. Following that, a tall figure appeared within the room.

Upon seeing this figure, the crowd quickly rose to their feet and clasped their fists, “Hall Master Kong!”

The person who had just arrived was no other than the master of the Ethereal Hall!

“Un, there’s no need to stand on ceremony. I have just heard the news as well. Please dispatch the top experts of your sects to the Heaven Anchoring Boulder as soon as possible. Once the leader of the expedition has been chosen, I’ll have a personal chat with him to fill him in on the details concerning the Azure Bridge and the Hall of Gods,” Hall Master Kong said.

After which, he turned to Han Jianqiu and smiled, “I’m looking forward to meeting your new sect leader, Zhang Xuan. Please do introduce me to him when he arrives at the Heaven Anchoring Boulder. I am expecting great things out of him.”

“Definitely, Hall Master Kong. I’ll bring him over to express our gratitude to you for your help all along,” Han Jianqiu replied with a nod.

[1] Ao Tian means looking upon the heavens haughtily.

[2] Huo Qianyu means Thousand Flaming Feathers, kind of.