The Divine Nine-Dragon Cauldron
chapter-56

Twelve hours remained before the Duke of Xianyu's execution!

According to the schedule, the outcome of the duels would only be released early next morning.

By then, it would be too late!

Su Yu was indebted to the Duke of Xianyu, as the Duke of Xianyu recognized and appreciated him. The Duke of Xianyu had even betrothed his daughter, Xianer, to him.

Without the Duke of Xianyu, Su Yu might still be suppressed by Qin Feng and Fang Qingzhou, which would freeze his progression. Moreover, he might also be forced to remain at the bottom, not to mention participating in the Holy Meet or having Xianer, an adorable and pretty young wife?

If Su Yu did not repay the Duke of Xianyu, he would feel uneasy forever.

Rustle－

Su Yu's eyes were electric. He looked towards the Third Prince abruptly; "Third Prince, can I ask if it is possible for you to rescue my father-in-law?"

The Third Prince shook his head lightly and forced a smile; "Dong Lin has been defeated and I myself am defenseless, where will I get the energy to rescue the Duke of Xianyu? If I had the ability to rescue him, even if you did not implore me to do so, I would have rescued him."

Within his heart, Su Yu gave a sad smile. Even the Third Prince could not do anything?

In such a big world, the only one who could rescue the Duke of Xianyu was Su Yu himself!

The Third Prince's eyes turned complicated and he sighed; "Su Yu, leave with me now. I can bring you along when I escape from the empire."

"No need." Su Yu cupped his fists in gratitude and sighed deeply; "Even if I were to die, I still wish to have this match!"

The Third Prince was moved; "Why are you so insistent on saving the Duke of Xianyu? You have only known one another for a few days."

Su Yu's deep eyes shined with a clear fluorescence and he laughed indifferently; "I am indebted to him. That's all."

Gratitude was enough for you to go through the trouble of traveling a long distance, for you to fight to your death?

The Third Prince was shocked. He had seen many people who valued their relationships. Su Yu, however, was the only one who regarded relationships so highly.

Clang, clang, clang－

The alarm on the clock rang. The final match, the Holy Ranking Competition, had finally begun!

Rustle－

Su Yu did a cupped-hand salute. His purple shirt fluttered in the air, and he became a purple shadow as he leaped into the arena.

Even though he was weak, helpless, and had no support, he was calm and firm.

He would sacrifice anything in order to repay his debt. He would use his life, blood, and spirit in order to fight with imperial power, an unfair fate, heaven, and Earth!

Su Yu's spirit, which would continue to move forward despite millions of people standing in his way, had shaken the Third Prince's heart greatly. He had met many people, but there was no one that managed to shake him spiritually like Su Yu had.

"Master, Su Yu's heart has died. Let's leave." Lin Xiao urged the Third Prince. As he looked at Su Yu's back, he felt deep respect.

Su Yu valued relationships and righteousness. Even though he knew that he was doomed, he still insisted on fighting.

His spirit, heart, and obsession had shaken people's minds!

"No!" The Third Prince's eyes shone. He looked at Su Yu's back, his expression complicated; "Allow me to use my pair of eyes to observe his life until the last moment, out of my great respect for him."

This could be Su Yu's last battle in his life. Would he rise to the top and become a comet, sweeping across the starry sky, thousands of miles away? Would he leave behind a cold sigh in the deep pits of people's hearts, who were stuck on the ground as they stared into that same starry sky?

The referee was silent. Even though Su Yu was an extremely strong demon student, his luck was poor and he was destined to fall before the Holy Meet ended.

He was destined to struggle on his attempt to reach the top!

The referee cleared his mind and he declared the start of the final match; "The Ten Great Ranking Competition will officially begin now!"

The Ten Great Ranking Competition was a competition to compete for the Holy Crown. Who would be the world's king, as well as the unmatched leader of the feudal lords?

The answer would be revealed at sunrise the next day!

The very long match would take up one whole day and night. In normal circumstances, the start of the competition meant that it would end at sunrise the next day—but, some changes had been made in the rules for the Ten Great Ranking Competition.

The referee would choose a person randomly to duel with one of the other nine Holy Talents at the arena. If he won, he would continue to fight with the rest of the Holy Talents. If he lost, the victor would continue to fight the rest of the Holy Talents.

If a person managed to be victorious against the other nine Holy Talents consecutively, he would be worthy of attaining the Holy Crown at the current Holy Meet.

The referee explained the rules clearly and proceeded to take out a number from the black box.

"Number twenty, Zheng Yilin! Up to the arena!" the referee took out a number.

Rustle－

From the martial arts training institute in Xianyu prefecture, a seventeen-year-old young man with a firm, unwavering face—as well as steady footsteps—leaped into the arena.

His eyes were arrogant. He gave off an extremely strong aura that frightened the audience. He also had a powerful build and unmatched confidence.

"The duel will begin now. Zheng Yilin, you have the right to choose any of the remaining nine participants to be your opponent!" the referee stated.

Zheng Yilin crossed his arms and looked at the nine remaining geniuses of the empire at the battle preparation area.

The first person that caught his eyes was Dong Lin, whose injuries had healed.

"Zheng Yilin! Do you want to have a duel with me?" Dong Lin was unsatisfied that he had lost to Du Yuntian and he was eager to have another duel. Once he defeated Zheng Yilin and became the new arena defender, he would be able to duel with Du Yuntian!

Zheng Yilin's eyes swept past him slowly as he shook his head indifferently; "You are too weak. Hence, you are no match for me."

When his eyes landed on Su Yu, his gaze suddenly turned cold. But, his eyes swept passed Su Yu, and landed on another person nearby.

In a split second, Zheng Yilin's eyes burned with a great fighting spirit. He gave a majestic roar; "Demon King, Chong Nanfei! Do you want to have a duel with me?"

A long time ago, Chong Nanfei had a duel with Zheng Yilin. Zheng Yilin was defeated easily, and he could not forget that moment.

Since that day, he had managed to comprehend the Holy Decree. This had caused his confidence to increase, and he wanted to erase the humiliation that he had suffered.

Chong Nanfei laughed loudly; "Even though you have been defeated by me, your words are still full of bravery? Very well, I will accept your challenge!"

Rustle－

Chong Nanfei leaped into the arena naturally and elegantly. Both his fingers became a sword and his eyes were fierce. His whole body was as if it were a sharp sword about to be unsheathed; his very presence was oppressive.

Zheng Yilin slowly lowered his arms, his eyes filled with humiliation.

He never forgot how it had felt to lose to Chong Nanfei.

Whiz－

Both of them made their moves at the same time as they moved towards one another!

"Lotus Sword Finger!"

Chong Nanfei's fingers were covered with a green light that was embellished with white light—a white lotus with green summer. The attack balanced ideology and practicality well.

"Ferocious Tiger Fist!" Zheng Yilin launched a medium level cultivation technique of Stage Three Upper Class!

His fist was as if it were a giant tiger's head, carrying the force of a tiger roaming through the mountainous forest, swallowing the enemy before him! A piercingly cold and powerful wind combined with his explosive physique caused his incredible power to increase.

Thump, bang, clack－

The finger and the fist collided; both of them were equally matched!

Even though Zheng Yilin was strong physically, Chong Nanfei's finger technique was soft and flexible, which restricted Zheng Yilin's movements.

Thumb, bang－

Both of them fought continuously— their silhouettes fluttered to and fro!

Even after fifty moves, they were unable to come to a conclusion.

They had been fighting for one full hour!

Su Yu was worried. Only ten hours remained before the Duke of Xianyu's execution, when would it be his turn to fight?

Crackle, crackle－

The two silhouettes separated from one another. Both of them maintained their strong fighting postures, but they were unable to cause any damage to each other.

Chong Nanfei put up a strong front, though he was astonished. Compared to half a year ago, Zheng Yilin's abilities had improved greatly!

"Heavenly Finger Sword!" Chong Nanfei displayed the finger technique that he was most proud of—the finger technique that was at Stage One Upper Class!

Half a year ago, Zheng Yilin had been defeated by this finger technique!

Both of Chong Nanfei's fingers were like swords pointing straight to the heavens, cutting the vast clouds!

A finger went towards Zheng Yilin; there was no escape!

But, Zheng Yilin had grown since the last time he'd faced this attack!

His eyes turned cold and he entered a marvelous state.

A layer of unique and harmonic rhythm covered his body.

From afar, it was as if Zheng Yilin's body was covered with a layer of meandering light which distorted his image.

The eyes of the Fiery Minister, who was uninterested in the fights, shone brilliantly; "The Holy Decree!!"

The thirteen inspectors, apart from Fang Yun, trembled; "A Holy Decree comprehender actually appeared at this Holy Meet!"

As the twelve inspectors looked at Zheng Yilin, their eyes filled with fear!

They were not amazed that someone had comprehended the Holy Decree prior to entering the Sanctuary. Once a person entered the Sanctuary, however, after already understanding the Holy Decree, it was implied they would become an impressive person—a position even higher than that of an inspector!

Fang Yun's cold eyes were fixated on Su Yu; his heart felt uneasy.

What if Su Yu entered the Sanctuary and still remembered what Fang Yun had done to him? Su Yu was a Holy Decree comprehender!

In the past, Fang Yun felt that Su Yu's abilities were weak, and he would have no chances of getting into the Sanctuary. However, currently, Su Yu had managed to fight into the top ten—there was a high chance Su Yu would get into the Sanctuary.

By being able to comprehend the Holy Decree, Su Yu would become a special person within the Sanctuary. He would have a higher position than Fang Yun; wouldn't that be disastrous to Fang Yun?

Fang Yun's heart was full of remorse. If he had only known that this would happen… why had he stood up for his son by expelling Su Yu?

There was only one thing that could be done—prevent Su Yu from entering the Sanctuary!

The Fiery Minister looked at his own apprentice, Du Yuntian, then at Zheng Yilin. His eyes became cold; "Not bad, this is still acceptable. He managed to comprehend the Holy Decree."

A group of inspectors smiled obsequiously, but they had no choice to do otherwise. It seemed like the Fiery Minister was a bit furious that Zheng Yilin's display of abilities had garnered more attention than his apprentice.

Was this anger so extreme that it caused the magnificent feat of comprehending the Holy Decree to only earn an "acceptable" comment from the Fiery Minister?

After all, the Fiery Minister himself was unable to comprehend the Holy Decree.

Even though the audience knew that the Fiery Minister was biased, they dared not rebut him.

"Five Lights Ten Fists!" Zheng Yilin's eyes shone brilliantly and he gave ten rumbling punches!

Every punch had a harmonic rhythm that covered the center of his palm. Under the harmonic rhythm, every punch by Zheng Yilin bent along the lightwaves, making it difficult for anyone to ascertain the real direction the punch was coming from!

Thump, thump, thump－

Chong Nanfei's expression changed greatly; "The Holy Decree! You have actually managed to comprehend the Holy Decree!"

Chong Nanfei rotated his sword finger to block Zheng Yilin's attack hurriedly.

However, the ten punches were strange. They were extremely distorted—Chong Nenfei was unable to block, as he couldn't tell where the attacks were coming from!

Ah－

After successfully blocking three punches, Chong Nanfei was hit on his chest by one of the distorted punches. The punch caused him to be sent flying, and he fell off the arena—Chong Nanfei was defeated!

Zheng Yilin recalled his Holy Decree. He stood in the arena firmly and energetically—he was in high spirits. His confidence had increased greatly.

Zheng Yilin had finally resolved his previous humiliation—thankfully, his Holy Decree was incredibly strong, or else he would not feel the joy of victory. Zheng Yilin had monopolized one of The Holy Decrees, which could only be comprehended by one-in-a-million geniuses!

Zheng Yilin's eyes fixed upon Xia Jingyu, who was at the battle preparation area. His mind was filled with vast thoughts. He believed that after displaying the power of his Holy Decree, Xia Jingyu would know which man was the obvious choice for her!

Xia Jingyu had an expression that was indifferent to fame or gain; she had a pair of clear eyes that looked like the water during autumn; she was peaceful, as well as entirely unmoved by Zheng Yilin's Holy Decree.

Zheng Yilin was somewhat stunned. Could it be that my Holy Decree was not unique or strong enough?

Oh yes, there is still Su Yu! He is another Holy Decree comprehender!

His eyes were electric as he looked at Su Yu.

"Su Yu! I heard that you have managed to comprehend the Holy Decree as well, why don't you come up to the arena and have a friendly duel with me, so that we can learn from one another? As I was once your Senior, I might be able to give you some advice!" Zheng Yilin suppressed his cold gaze. He smiled casually and used a friendly tone to invite Su Yu to the arena.

With Zheng Yilin's abilities and his unsurpassed and extremely strong Holy Decree, he had the right to offer Su Yu advice.

Su Yu's heart eased; it was finally his turn to fight!

Rustle－

Su Yu floated like the feather of a swan, and he stood firmly on the arena. He was determined to save the Duke of Xianyu.

Ten hours remained before the Duke of Xianyu's execution.

There was only one path for him if he wanted to save the Duke of Xianyu, and that was to win nine consecutive matches!

Starting with Zheng Yilin, he would defeat all nine Holy Talents, including Du Yuntian, in one go without stopping for a single moment!

"I request you display your Holy Decree." Zheng Yilin smiled. He could only thoroughly prove his Holy Decree was superior by defeating Su Yu's Holy Decree in front of Xia Jingyu.

Su Yu stood still and did not move. He brought forth a normal attack and shook his head indifferently; "You are not worthy of a display of my Holy Decree. A pair of fists and legs is more than enough to defeat you!"