Realms In The Firmament

The first fight was a competition for the position of One Blade!

Qiu Luo was holding his weapon in his hand, standing straight up, and was waiting for the challenger!

The contest began.

In Qiu Luo’s hand, the Blade of Protection was glittering in cold lights.

His opponent was a strong middle-aged man, who was holding a thick broadsword, which looked vintage and fierce.

Qiu Luo had only made three attacks, and the middle-aged man surrendered.

It didn’t take long, but the man was already covered by Qiu Luo’s attacks. If Qiu Luo didn’t try to be restrained in the attacks, the man would have been killed!

The tough man was powerful enough to be Qiu Luo’s rival, but he underestimated Qiu Luo because he thought Qiu Luo was only at level four of the Divinity Origin Stage. He didn’t believe Qiu Luo could be improved a lot in only one month. However, within thirty days, Qiu Luo had reached the level eight of the Divinity Origin Stage!

Qiu Luo was actually beyond the middle-aged man in cultivation!

There was one thing all cultivators shouldn’t do in a fight, and it was to underestimate their enemy. The middle-aged man underestimated his opponent who was actually stronger than him, so he deserved the failure!

The man was an experienced cultivator, so he knew what was going on when the fight started. He also understood that Qiu Luo was showing respect and kindness to him, so he decided to surrender because the longer he stayed on the stage, the more humiliated he would be. The first fight of the legendary contest was finished!

The legend of the One Blade was started with Qiu Luo’s victory!

Qiu Luo’s Blade of Protection was at an incredible level. People kept challenging him on the stage with one after another fight, but the blade didn’t become any weaker. As it stayed on the stage longer, it became more powerful. The weapon had become invincible.

Ye Xiao was holding both of his arms while he stared at the fights.

Qiu Luo’s power and the result of the contest were in Ye Xiao’s expectation. If things went right, Qiu Luo would be able to keep the position of the One Blade.

Ye Xiao was a weak cultivator. Even though he had been greatly improved, and broken through several levels in one month, he was only a Divinity Origin Stage cultivator. However, he was profound and experienced. When a fight was started, he knew who was going to win immediately. He was always right about it!

In fact, he was shocked by his sharp eyes too. When he was at the Faery Origin Stage, he saw nothing of a Divinity Origin Stage cultivator. He could barely see anything about a cultivator over the Divinity Origin Stage.

However, after he reached the Divinity Origin Stage, he could see through all the Divinity Origin Stage cultivators. Even those who were so close to the Saint Origin Stage couldn’t hide from his sharp eyes.

Ye Xiao was surprised by his own vision. After he checked out Bu Xiangfeng and Meng Youjiang, he knew that as long as he reached a new stage, he could see through all the cultivators in the same stage. However, those in the higher stage were still secret to him!

Meanwhile, he realized something else too. When he was in the Qing-Yun Realm, he mastered the power of the three phases, the Tittle Phase, the Cage Phase, and the Golden Core Phase of the Dao Origin Stage. As he was in the Divinity Origin Stage now, the three phrases were still useful.

He hadn’t used the power of the three phases yet, but he could feel that the skills would help him a lot. Even though he was only at level two of the Divinity Origin Stage, he could defeat all other Divinity Origin Stage cultivators with the skills and power of the three phases. At least, he finally had the power to fight the Divinity Origin Stage cultivators in the Monarch’s Hall. He had the feeling, but he never practiced it yet.

Normally, this was complete fantastic nonsense. Nobody would believe such a stupid theory. However, Ye Xiao had watched Qiu Luo fighting many cultivators, and nobody ever used the power and skills of the three phases. He was sure that none of them were hiding any martial arts. If anybody used the Tittle Phase skills, the result of the contest would be different. These people didn’t know the Tittle Phase at all!

These Divinity Origin Stage cultivators actually didn’t master the Tittle Phase of the Dao Origin Stage. It was absurd, but it was the truth. After watching those fights, Ye Xiao realized it. He even thought that perhaps, Bu Xiangfeng and Meng Youjiang didn’t know about the Tittle Phase either! However, that was just a thought, because he hadn’t seen any of the real power of a Saint Origin Stage cultivator yet!

He was thinking… ‘Is the Human Realm Upon Heavens really that different from the Qing-Yun Realm?’

Because he could see through all the Divinity Origin Stage cultivators so clearly, he was able to notice everything in the fight.

He knew who would fight dirty for victory… and who would make dishonorable moves and sneaky attacks to kill the opponents…

He remembered every single one of these people.

These people still did things in a dishonorable way even when they were members of an organization because they were used to doing things that way. Ye Xiao had marked down every name.

‘These people should work for the Tiger Unit or the Snake Unit. They are good at assassination!’

Ye Xiao thought.

“Who else?” Qiu Luo said, who had won many fights as he stood in the middle of the stage and looked down upon the others.

Nobody responded. Everybody was respectful to him at the moment.

Qiu Luo had won all the fights, and he did not cause any severe injury to anybody. He had shown enough mercy and kindness to the challengers.

The Blade of Protection.

Everybody remembered what he used to say.

“My blade, the Blade of Protection! It protects the Monarch’s Hall. My brothers, my people!”

A man like that, with a weapon like that. And with such incredible power, deserved everybody’s respect!

…

On the other side, the Dark Evil Spirit and Bai Long had to face more difficult situations. They were much weaker than Qiu Luo, and their weapons weren’t sabers…

In the Qing-Yun Realm, the Human Realm Upon Heavens, and the Land of Han-Yang, about sixty percent of the cultivators used swords, thirty percent used sabers, and ten percent used other weapons. That was the truth. There weren’t many people who were using sabers and were powerful enough to challenge Qiu Luo. However, there were a lot of people who could challenge the Dark Evil Spirit and Bai Long. That was why their challenges were more difficult!

If not that some people were going for the Seven Stars, the Dark Evil Spirit and Bai Long could barely make it.

Compared to the Two Warriors and the Seven Stars, the Twelve Divine Stands seemed not to be popular.

The leader of one of the twelve units surely took a special position, but he also needed to be responsible for the entire unit.

There was honor, and there was responsibility.

These people were all cultivators in the martial world. They were good at fighting and killing, but not taking responsibilities.

Those who were qualified to fight for the positions of the Twelve Divine Stands were those who used to be a leader in other places. These people had thought for a long time before deciding to join the competition.

Lei Dongtian—the Great Thunder, was competing for the leadership of the Tiger Unit. He chose the Tiger Unit because he thought he was brave and strong enough, and he had connections to his brothers, and he was always a responsible man. That was why he wanted to lead the Tiger Unit, which mainly focused on attacking.

Yin Changqing—the Chilling Sword, was after the leader of the Snake Unit. He was sneaky and vicious, who liked to move in darkness, so he was perfect to represent the Snake Unit…

Master Guan was watching every fight on the stage and taking detailed notes. He was surprised often. ‘There are a lot of capable men among the unruly cultivators. They always make beautiful moves that impress me a lot!’

The One Blade, Two Warriors, and Seven Stars were more independent than the Twelve Divine Stands, while the twelve leaders would have to be able to lead a group of people. It wasn’t easy to be a leader after all.

Those who were brave enough to stand up on the stage for the Twelve Divine Stands had carefully thought about it. They must make sure they were powerful enough and responsible enough at the same time.

“I want to lead the Tiger Unit. I think that the tiger is the king of all animals. It is just an ordinary beast, but it is good at fighting. It is a marauder, who overwhelms all the other animals when it moves. It only accepts success, not a failure… It has dignity… if the Tiger Unit is under my rule, I will…” The Great Thunder, Lei Dongtian made his speech.

“The great Lord Monarch clearly stated that the twelve symbolic animals represent twelve different characteristics. I am always a cautious man. I think I will be a good leader of the Rat Unit… If I am the leader of the Rat Unit, I will…” That was Peng Youlie, the Meridian Saber.

“I think the dragon of the Dragon Unit was not only gracious and magnificent but also mysterious. I think… If I am the leader of the Dragon Unit… I will…” It was Long Tiansheng, the Dragon in Clouds.

“I am here to earn the position of the leader of the Ox Unit. As we all know, the ox is honest. Other than that, I think it is also strong and tough… I think I am good enough to…”

“I want the position in the Snake Unit. I think the snake is cold, silent, and merciless. It is good at assassination. If I can…” That was Yin Changqing, the Chilling Sword.

…

Master Guan kept praising these people when he was recording their speeches.

What they said seemed to be rough, but still good. With all these people’s efforts, the Monarch’s Hall was going to take shape.

Time flew. It was already midnight of the day.

The Dark Evil Spirit was full of wounds. He was gasping, standing right on the stage, and shouted hoarsely, “Who else? Who wants the position from me?”

Nobody answered.

On the other side, Bai Long slowly walked to the Dark Evil Spirit. They were both exhausted, and they both made a long sigh.

They looked at each other and then smiled.

It was a bit weird for the two tough men looking at each other like a couple, but they truly felt relieved, and that was all.

They finally made it!

‘We…’

‘We finally made it!’

“Three years later, we will be waiting for your challenge here! We are the Two Warriors!”

It was all settled.

The leadership of the Monarch’s Hall was settled, at least for the next three years.

Qiu Luo was the One Blade.

The Dark Evil Spirit and Bai Long were the Two Warriors.

As for the Seven Stars, Qu Wuchen was the Dubhe, Gong Wliang was the Merak, Shangguan Yun was the Phecda, Xiong Baiquan was the Megrez, Qiu Yuran was the Alioth, Ma Chengzhen was the Mizar, while Chen Yucheng was the Alcor.

The seven cultivators, who were at level seven of the Divinity Origin Stage, made the Seven Stars.

Maybe it was a coincidence. The Seven Stars had seven different weapons.

Qu Wuchen used a sword. Gone Wuliang used a saber. Shangguan Yun used a hammer. Xiong Baiquan used a spear. Qiu Yuran used a short halberd. Ma Chengzhen used a pair of hooks. Chen Yucheng used a rod!

When these seven men stood together, it was colorful and frightening at the same time.

Ye Xiao was impressed.

It reminded him of a special array formation that he had prepared earlier.

The formation was perfect for these seven men. It was called the Seven Stars Dragon Formation.

Ye Xiao was worried that the power it had would decrease because they didn’t use the same weapon. After all, everybody knew that people always used swords in the martial world. The formation required the seven men to be in harmony when they fought together.

However, as he saw the seven men’s weapons, he was relieved.

The seven weapons were very different, and the seven men’s moves were various. Why would Ye Xiao be relieved about it? The Seven Stars Dragon Formation was so special. There were two ways to make it work perfectly. First, the seven men used the same weapon and the same move. In this case, they were more like an army, marching ahead with honor and dignity. Second, they should be totally different. Nobody used the same weapon with another. It looked more complicated, and the formation became more flexible, which made it ten times more powerful than the first option. It was much more difficult to find seven totally different men than seven similar ones. It must be Ye Xiao’s good luck that brought him these seven men on this day. The Seven Stars were exactly seven totally different men. That made Ye Xiao feel relieved.

The Twelve Divine Stands were decided too. Meng Youjiang had appointed twelve leaders before, but seven of them were defeated on the stage. Lei Dongtian and some others took the positions and made a new team!

The seven men who got sacked didn’t feel frustrated at all. They knew they weren’t powerful enough, so they accepted the result. After all, everybody had another chance in three years. All they needed was to work harder in the coming three years. Someday, maybe the positions would return to them.

The Monarch’s Hall had become stronger and stronger. It would be fighting in the world forever. Everybody had the opportunity to become a legend one day!

…