Chapter 59 - 059 Opposition Everywhere
Yang Zhen didn’t really care about the tri-nation trials; he was here solely to relax.
Joining the Changyue Tower, participating in the trials, or even figuring out a way into the Nine Realms Exquisite Tower, all these decisions were made for one reason—to have fun!
As for other matters, Yang Zhen never cared nor would he ever care. If he couldn’t freely do as he pleased in this world, what was the difference between him and a salted fish?
The first trial was held atop a large peak in the north woodland of Flame City.
It was said that this location could accommodate tens of thousands of people and had ten enormous magic circles marked out— this was a training ground for the practitioners from Flame City.
The only difference was, under normal circumstances, these magic circles wouldn’t be activated; they remained in a shut-off state.
The selection of Flame City as the trial venue for the tri-nation trials hinged on these ten giant magic circles.
Yang Zhen, while following Lan Fangyue, was looking all around, oblivious to the glances being thrown at him.
These glances were filled with curiosity, gloating, and even some admiration, which surprisingly flattered Yang Zhen.
Yang Zhen couldn’t handle these stares and decided to automatically block out those admiring glances. Alright, mainly because they were simply too dazzling to bear!
“You’re quite popular.” Lan Fangyue glared at Yang Zhen.
“Absolutely!” Yang Zhen responded, without an ounce of modesty during his display of pride.
Lan Fangyue, amused and puzzled at Yang Zhen’s odd behavior of boasting verbally but showing a modest appearance, couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
Yang Zhen, gazing at the colossal peak before him with an enormous stone pillar erected in the middle, was so stunned that he made a face: “What’s that ghostly thing?”
The stone pillar was apparently engraved with countless inscriptions that meandered at numerous points, resembling a myriad of coiled snakes.
Hua Youyue hesitated then looked at Yang Zhen with a strange expression and said, “This is the Skyreach Pillar on the Brightness Peak, haven’t you seen it before?”
Yang Zhen was taken aback and shook his head, he never heard of anything like a Skyreach Pillar. Having been stuck in that goddamned place, the Shangyuan Sect, where the birds wouldn’t even shit, how could he have seen such a grand…wait a minute…
“What did you say the name of this place was?”
“Brightness Peak!”
Yang Zhen jumped in surprise, was Zhang Wuji and the gang from the Sunrising Peak also present?
Yang Zhen chuckled in an eerie manner. Thinking about it now, his situation wasn’t much different from that of Zhang Wuji. The world seemed to be filled with enemies as if he were under siege on all sides.
Was it destiny that brought him here to stir up trouble at the Brightness Peak? Oh dear, you guys are in for a treat!
Practitioners all around were observing Yang Zhen in secret, his eerie chuckling making their respective expressions smudge with eerie feelings. The exceptionally talented individuals among the practitioners glanced back at Yang Zhen, their expressions varied.
Three folks dressed as monks were undoubtedly disciples from the Lachan Temple of Dajiang Country. Beside them, three young men with dreadlocks were likely the top talents of the No-heart Sect from the same country, each of them commanding an imposing aura.
Now, among these six, which of them were Yun Jie and Zeng Bishu? Yang Zhen figured it out in a glance. All six exhibited an arrogant demeanor but only two seemed to be glancing down upon others judgmentally. When these two turned back, Yang Zhen couldn’t see their eyes, only two sets of hollow nostrils.
Are you guys trying to flaunt your arrogance before the match has even begun?
Alright, seems like these two were simply standing on higher ground and hence appeared to look down upon others.
They slowed their pace and ended up beside Yang Zhen when he exchanged glances with them.
When Yun Jie turned to look at Yang Zhen, his large earlobes began flapping wildly, striking Yang Zhen as similar to the Pigsy character from the Journey to the West, he was curious to know just what kind of ‘Jie’ Yun Jie actually was. “You seem quite confident?” Yun Jie smiled and directed his question at Yang Zhen.
Yang Zhen nodded, sincerely replying, “Being confident is one of my defining traits, unlike you.”
“Unlike me how?” Yun Jie was taken aback.
Yang Zhen evaluated Yun Jie, and said, “Unlike you, who resorts to dirty tricks behind the scenes.”
Hearing his words, the surrounding crowd was startled and their gazes fell on Yun Jie.
Yun Jie merely chuckled, seemingly unperturbed, “Do you not dare to compete with me?”
“Competing for what?” Yang Zhen gave Yun Jie a glance. “Who’s more shameless?”
“What?” Yun Jie was taken aback, then immediately reacted, his face turning pale.
Yang Zhen sneered, he was supposed to be cool and composed right? How about now?
“What a disgrace!” Zeng Bishu snorted coldly, contemptuously glancing at Yang Zhen.
With his words, both Lan Fangyue and other women around reacted, their faces all becoming somewhat strange.
Just then, a sarcastic laugh came from the side: “Brother Yun, Brother Zeng, why bother with such a coarse fellow? Some foolish clowns just got lucky, thinking they are unmatched in the world. Whether they have real talent or not, we will see soon enough.”
At such an event, who else would be ridiculing others except for Ding Keqi?
Sure enough, Ding Keqi was approaching, accompanied by three women.
The three women had strange expressions, clearly having overheard the conversation between Yang Zhen and the others. They curiously looked at Yang Zhen.
Lan Fangyue’s face changed, looking unpleasant. All the geniuses from the tri-countries trial had gathered and were clearly targeting Yang Zhen. Yet, Yang Zhen was acting so carefree, it made her anxious.
“Who is the foolish clown you’re talking about?” Yang Zhen cast a glance at Ding Keqi.
“You!” Ding Keqi stared back without backing down.
People were taken aback, looking strangely at Ding Keqi.
Snort!
One of the three female disciples from the Valley of a Thousand Flowers laughed, quickly covering her mouth as if startled. Her almond eyes scanned Yang Zhen curiously. When her gaze fell on Yang Zhen’s face, she was taken aback and quickly turned her head away.
“You…” Ding Keqi, realizing he had been mocked by Yang Zhen again, let out a cold snort, his face turned extremely pale.
The laughing disciple from the Valley of a Thousand Flowers, who looked to be around fourteen or fifteen, blushed shyly and lowered her gaze, her round, cute face making her stand out. However, when she raised her head to find Yang Zhen still looking at her, she quickly lowered it again in embarrassment. Was she this shy?
“What’s the name of this little miss?” Yang Zhen winked at the round-faced girl.
The round-faced girl looked pleadingly at the lead woman, a beautiful, stern-looking woman. When it became clear she would be no help, the girl nervously stammered, “I… I am called Shifei Xue.”
Shifei Xue’s voice was so quiet it seemed she was the only one who could hear it. She was incredibly shy.
Just as Yang Zhen was going to tease the shy girl, a cough came from the side.
A sister from the Valley of a Thousand Flowers stepped forward to shield Shifei Xue, giving Yang Zhen a cold warning look.
Yang Zhen smacked his lips. This frosty woman, acting as if she were on her period, must be Liang Qiushui. Supposedly, she had an extraordinary talent and was a martial arts prodigy.
Ding!
A deep bell resounded, shaking all the practitioners at the summit.
Suddenly remembering something, Yang Zhen turned to ask Lan Fangyue, “Oh right, what are we competing over again?”
Everyone froze at Yang Zhen’s question, staring blankly at him, including Lan Fangyue.
“What’s the matter?” Yang Zhen looked at everyone in confusion.
Lan Fangyue opened and closed her mouth, finally asking in disbelief, “You
still don’t know what we’re competing over?”
“Yep!” Yang Zhen responded clearly and succinctly.
Everyone else was once again bewildered.
Ding Keqi couldn’t contain his laughter, pointing at Yang Zhen while clutching his belly, “Were you sent here to be a comedian? If you don’t know what we’re competing for, why did you bother to come?”
Yang Zhen rolled his eyes, “None of your damn business!”