Alchemy Emperor of the Divine Dao
chapter-1302

1302 Nine King Tiers

Right now, the cultivation level of everyone was suppressed to the Mountain River Tier, regardless of whether their original cultivation level was at the Sun Moon Tier or Heavenly Body Tier. The same applied to Saint Tools, and those who possessed them could only unleash might that was within the limits of the Mountain River Tier. However, whether this might reached the consummate level of the Mountain River Tier or the pinnacle level of the Mountain River Tier would be dependent on the level of the Saint Tool and its wielder.

Meanwhile, the prodigies were in no hurry to enter the Mountain River Forest. They were all waiting at the exit of the canyon.

For some people, this was the first time they had entered the Mountain River Forest. However, this wasn’t the first time that the Mountain River Forest had opened. Thus, even though they had never come here before, they had heard all kinds of legends about the Mountain River Forest.

‘The first step is to select nine kings.’

The Mountain River Forest was clearly formed by the collisions of Regulations, yet it was as if it possessed a spirit, one which separated the competition between prodigies into two stages.

Ling Han looked ahead, where nine platforms of different sizes rested in front of a vast forest. The first stage of the competition involved battling on these platforms. After three days, those who remained standing on these platforms would receive the blessing of heaven and earth. After another three days, these nine individuals would be brought into the forest to complete stage two of the competition, where the victor would be crowned as the king among kings.

Only a single person could emerge victorious on each of these platforms, and if there was more than one person on a platform when the time was up, everyone on the platform would be eliminated.

The nine individuals who remained standing at the end would receive the blessing of heaven and earth and have their body tempered. This process would strengthen their physique considerably, and it would even provide them with an opportunity to intertwine with heaven and earth and comprehend their mystical profoundness. Such an experience would elevate their comprehension ability and benefit them for countless years to come.

It was also because of these benefits that generation after generation of prodigies gathered here from all corners of the galaxy, regardless of how far away they were. Just the rewards from the higher-ups of the two realms weren’t enough, and just the fame and glory that they received from the battle wasn’t enough, either.

However, not every Two Realm Battlefield had locations like the Mountain River Forest and Sun Moon Valley. Thus, it was also understandable why supreme king tiers such as the North Emperor and Stone Emperor had appeared here. They were probably here to receive the blessing of heaven and earth.

Moreover, the final victor among the nine kings could receive the blessing of heaven and earth a second time.

However, each person could only receive the blessing of heaven and earth a maximum of two times. Moreover, this was a cumulative amount. One could receive it once when becoming one of the nine kings, and a second time if they became the king among kings. If the same person became one of the nine kings twice, they wouldn’t receive the blessing of heaven and earth the second time around. Their only option would be to fight for the title of king among kings.

Thus, prodigies who became the king among kings generally wouldn’t come here a second time. After all, doing so would be a waste of time and opportunities.

Right now, the nine platforms were still yet to open, so everyone could only stand around and wait.

At this moment, even young king tiers like Yang Lin and the Cloud Maiden didn’t dare to act wantonly. If two king tiers happened to choose the same platform, it would be best if one of them was willing to back down. However, if they chose to engage, it entirely was possible that both of them would be eliminated.

The Sun Moon Valley was similar to the Mountain River Forest, and the blessings in the two locations couldn’t be stacked, either. Thus, everyone had two chances to receive blessings every 77,777 years. However, who didn’t want to receive the blessings of heaven and earth as soon as possible?

As such, the king tiers would try their best to steer clear of each other to avoid engaging in battle too early. Only after advancing to the battle for the title of king among kings would they unleash their full power against each other.

Ling Han swept his gaze over the prodigies and started to count on his fingers.

On the side of the Immortal Realm, those who had definitely reached the pinnacle level of the Mountain River Tier included Yang Lin, the Cloud Maiden, Yue Ying, Faceless, the North Emperor, and the Stone Emperor. Counting himself, this would be seven people. On the side of the Netherworld, only two people had definitely reached the pinnacle level of the Mountain River Tier—Chi Huangji and Ao Ziyun.

This being the case, he would have to defeat one of the other eight people if he wanted to help the Heavenly Phoenix Divine Maiden win a spot among the nine kings.

Ling Han turned his gaze to Ao Ziyun.

When the platforms activated, the battle among the prodigies would continue for three straight days. During this time, anyone could ascend the platforms to challenge the current owner of the platform. However, if they lost, they would lose the right to challenge the platform owners for around 15 minutes. If they lost three times, they would lose the right to issue any more challenges.

This was a rule that could be exploited.

He could guard a platform first, all the way until they neared the end of the three day period. At that time, he could let the Heavenly Phoenix Divine Maiden challenge him and purposefully let her win. After waiting for the mandatory 15 minutes, he would challenge Ao Ziyun and kick him off his platform.

If he got the timing right, Ao Ziyun wouldn’t have enough time to challenge the Heavenly Phoenix Divine Maiden.

However, did the Netherworld genuinely only have two king tiers who had reached the pinnacle level of the Mountain River Tier?

Ling Han shook his head. If he discounted the Stone Emperor, the North Emperor, and himself, the Immortal Realm would only have four king tiers at this gathering. The Netherworld was no weaker than the Immortal Realm, so the number of king tiers on their side most likely wouldn’t be fewer, either.

He looked around in search of these king tiers. Perhaps they still hadn’t arrived yet.

“Don’t worry about me,” the Heavenly Phoenix Divine Maiden said. She understood Ling Han extremely well, and she could already guess his thoughts.

Ling Han smiled, and said, “If you can receive the blessing this time, perhaps you can advance to the pinnacle level.”

The Heavenly Phoenix Divine Maiden shook her head, and said, “I wish it were that simple!”

She understood her own abilities, and since she hadn’t reached the pinnacle level of the Mountain River Tier, she knew that she had no right to battle against genuine king tiers. If she drew on the power of her bloodline, perhaps she could battle against those at the early stage of the pinnacle level. However, whether or not she could win would be down to luck.

“Wife, don’t worry. In any case, we have three days to observe the others,” Ling Han said in comfort.

However, his brows quickly knit into a frown.

This was because another two Netherworld king tiers had arrived. One was a person who had a golden lion head, while the other was a being who was composed of some mist-like substance. The latter being didn’t have a set form, and it continued to twist and transform. As such, it naturally didn’t possess an “appearance” to speak of.

The king tier with the golden lion head was called Tuoba Dong, and the mist-like king tier was called Dan Ge. Once they appeared, many Netherworld prodigies started to shake their heads. This was naturally because they realized that the difficulty of becoming one of the nine kings had risen exponentially following the arrival of these two beings.

Ling Han decided to stick with his original plan. All he needed to do was guard a platform for three days. This would be especially easy as long as he didn’t have to battle against the North Emperor, Stone Emperor, or Chi Huangji.

The Heavenly Phoenix Divine Maiden couldn’t convince him to change his mind, so she could only nod her head and agree to his plan. However, there was an overwhelming sense of pride in her mind. The domineering might of her lover melted her heart.

Prodigies continued to arrive, yet none of the new arrivals were king tiers. Everyone sat cross-legged on the ground and brought themselves to their peak condition. It wouldn’t be long before they were fighting for a spot in the nine kings.

Another day passed, and the entrance to the Mountain River Forest suddenly started to dim. After a short while, it surprisingly disappeared from their sight. It was as if the canyon had never existed.

Those who were here for the first time were all extremely astonished, while those who had come here before were all extremely calm. This was merely the Mountain River Forest locking itself off. At this moment, no one else would be able to enter.

At the same time, the mist that enveloped the nine platforms also started to dissipate. This signified the beginning of the battle for the nine kings.

“Hehe!”

The Stone Emperor was the first person to leap over and claim a platform. Moreover, he had returned to his miniature form of three inches tall once again. By the looks of it, this was probably his true form. He had used his Origin Power to maintain his “normal” size just then, which was exactly the same as what Ling Han was currently doing at this moment.

The North Emperor was the second person to leap over and claim and platform. He didn’t challenge the Stone Emperor, instead choosing an unoccupied platform. He sat down and placed a saber on his lap. He then proceeded to gaze at the saber with his full attention as if this saber were the great dao of heaven and earth.

A tremendous fighting spirit flashed across Chi Huangji’s eyes. Meanwhile, the red sun above his head glowed with a brilliant divine light that was so radiant that it was almost blinding. After staring at the Stone Emperor and North Emperor for a while, he chose to claim a third unoccupied platform.

Right now wasn’t the time to battle against these two formidable opponents.