Chapter 111: The Beginning

In the eastern section of the Hall of Life and Death, more and more transcendent beings gathered, and demi-gods appeared one after another.

An old bald, gaunt man strolled forward.

“Old Brother Chao,” Master Sikong Yang, the head of the Water Source Temple, immediately rose upon seeing the thin old man in the distance. Although he himself was the master of the Water Source Temple and ranked among the top three supreme experts among humans, when he was still weak, Chao Qing had already been a demi-god capable of destroying heaven and earth! Chao Qing had great expectations of him and even saved his life, so Sikong Yang had always deeply respected Chao Qing.

“Master,” Chao Qing gave a faint smile, nodded slightly, but did not walk over. Instead, he headed in another direction.

Dongbo Xueying and the other nine transcendent beings from Anyang Province were chatting casually when they suddenly saw Vice-Master Chao Qing. All of them immediately stood up.

“Sit,” the old man Chao Qing chuckled, then turned his gaze to Dongbo Xueying. “Kid, don’t disgrace our Water Source Temple. At the very least, you must win the first three matches. Of course, winning eight or nine matches would be even better.”

“Yes, sir,” Dongbo Xueying immediately replied.

Old man Chao Qing did not approach further but continued walking into the distance.

At the farthest corner of the eastern viewing section sat a hunchbacked old woman, surrounded by a thin layer of faint crimson mist. No transcendent being dared to approach within dozens of meters of her! Yet old man Chao Qing walked directly toward her, and the crimson mist automatically parted a path, allowing him to sit beside the hunchbacked old woman.

“Beautiful Lady Ye, you’ve come too,” the old man Chao Qing cheerfully said.

Calling a wrinkled, hunchbacked old woman “beautiful lady” was indeed amusing.

However, if one looked carefully at her face, one could still faintly discern that she had been extremely beautiful in her youth.

She was ranked tenth among demi-gods, the “God of Slaughter” Ye Mei, leader of the Blood Blade Tavern, the greatest assassin in the world, and the only one among the top ten demi-gods who belonged to the two special powers—the Earth Temple and the Blood Blade Tavern.

The rankings among demi-gods did not absolutely reflect one’s true strength.

Take Ye Mei for example—her assassination and killing techniques were terrifyingly formidable. Although she was ranked tenth in direct combat, if it came to assassination, every demi-god in the world would shudder in fear.

Another example was the Master of the Sea God Palace, who, although ranked eighth among demi-gods, was unquestionably the strongest when fighting at sea! Even if the top three demi-gods joined forces, they could not defeat the Sea God Palace Master within the oceanic domain.

This was because each demi-god followed a different path in comprehending the forces of nature and Heaven and Earth.

This was also due to the divine artifacts they wielded.

Each demi-god possessed unique characteristics.

“You old man finally decided to come?” the old woman Ye Mei chuckled.

“This is, after all, our Water Source Temple’s young genius. Of course, I must come,” Chao Qing proudly lifted his head.

“Yeah, the youngest,” Ye Mei sighed. “Seeing these young transcendent beings and feeling their youthful energy, I can’t help but feel nostalgic. We’re all old now. The friends we knew in our youth have either died early or passed away from old age. There are very few left. Fortunately, there’s still you, this old man, who’s even older than me.”

“You and I are about the same age. You’re the second oldest in the world,” Chao Qing replied.

“You old man, are you deliberately trying to provoke me? Just wait until your young genius from the Water Source Temple is defeated early on, and see if you’ll still be so smug then,” Old Lady Ye Mei sneered.

“Defeated? He will at least win six matches!” Chao Qing glared.

“You said it!” Old Lady Ye Mei’s eyes lit up. “Let’s make a bet. I bet this kid won’t win six matches!”

“Fine, let’s bet! Who’s afraid of whom?”

The old man and old woman bickered playfully.

Yet transcendent beings from afar dared not approach, for demi-gods became more terrifying with age—no one knew their true strength. Even Mountain Master He and Master Sikong Yang deeply respected Old Man Chao Qing and Old Lady Ye Mei.

Of course, these two elderly demi-gods were the oldest among humans, not counting the magical beasts or the native transcendents of the transcendent world.

For magical beasts and native transcendents of the transcendent world, their lifespans differed greatly from those of humans due to their physical forms.

…

Beside Master Sikong Yang and Mountain Master He approached another demi-god, a female demi-god of extraordinary beauty. Dressed in white, she floated gracefully as she sat down. Though she was an extremely beautiful woman, her eyebrows were sharp like swords, exuding a martial aura.

“City Master Bu,” Sikong Yang and Mountain Master He greeted politely.

The newcomer was the ruler of the City of Mists, one of the six great transcendent organizations. She was known as the most beautiful demi-god, and even had two demi-gods pursuing her romantically.

“Master Sikong, you seem quite pleased,” City Master Bu casually said after sitting down. “However, a young genius does not necessarily mean true strength. Throughout history, many young prodigies who entered the transcendent realm early eventually became ordinary. Perhaps your Dongbo Xueying is just such a young one, and might not even win three matches this time.”

“City Master Bu is right!” Master Sikong Yang immediately agreed.

Mountain Master He nodded beside him.

Of course, who didn’t know City Master Bu’s temper? She was indeed the most beautiful demi-god and ranked among the top few human demi-gods, but she was also the most fiercely competitive and domineering among all human demi-gods.

“Boring,” City Master Bu casually picked up a jar of wine, leaned back, and started drinking while overlooking the battlefield below, waiting for the transcendent battle of life and death to begin.

…

“Boom~~~” The massive doors of the Hall of Life and Death slowly closed.

Instantly, the entire vast hall became silent. The hundreds of thousands of mortals in the western viewing area fell quiet, all gazing downward at the battlefield below.

“Xueying, it’s about to begin,” Chi Qiubai, Peng Shan, Cheng Lingshu, Hai Ruzhen, and others all looked at Dongbo Xueying.

“This battle will be your debut before all human transcendent beings,” Chi Qiubai said. “Moreover, the Spark Palace will evaluate your potential based on this battle! The Blood Blade Tavern will also assess your potential. If your potential is extremely high, even if someone puts a bounty on you, the price offered by the Blood Blade Tavern will be extremely high! The Spark Palace will also pay attention to you and allocate resources accordingly.”

“Being a young transcendent doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll remain strong in the future.”

“But no transcendent who has shined brilliantly in the Transcendent Battle of Life and Death has ever turned out to be mediocre!” Chi Qiubai encouraged.

Dongbo Xueying grinned. “I’ll do my best.”

Suddenly—

“Boom!”

A thunderous sound echoed throughout the Hall of Life and Death.

Dongbo Xueying already knew the rules of the Transcendent Battle of Life and Death. He understood that this drumbeat signaled his time to enter the arena.

“Everyone, I’ll go in first,” Dongbo Xueying stood up, and with a flick of his body, flames surrounded him as he flew into the battlefield.

Above the battlefield, a formation had originally been deployed, completely isolating it.

However, the formation was controlled by the Spark Palace, so Dongbo Xueying easily passed through and descended onto the battlefield. In an instant, both the transcendent beings in the east and the countless mortals in the west saw the young man in black standing on the battlefield!

At this moment,

Countless eyes within the Hall of Life and Death were fixed on the young man in black within the battlefield. Today, over seventy percent of the human transcendents present were here, and no fewer than eight demi-gods! Strictly speaking, this was the most spectacular Transcendent Battle of Life and Death in the past two thousand years. The spectators had various thoughts—some hoping to witness a miracle, while others wished to see a farce unfold!

If he were to be defeated after winning only two matches, it would indeed be a joke.

They all waited, eagerly anticipating what kind of strength this young transcendent named “Dongbo Xueying” would display.

…

Dongbo Xueying, wearing only a simple black cloth tunic, walked barefoot toward the nearby weapon rack.

In the Transcendent Battle of Life and Death, all self-carried transcendent weapons were forbidden except for storage treasures! Even boots, protective undergarments, and clothing were prohibited. This battle tested one’s true strength, so Dongbo Xueying wore only a simple cloth tunic and went barefoot.

“These weapons,” Dongbo Xueying looked at the vast array of weapons—swords, spears, staffs, clubs, blades, lances, and even some unusual weapons, including throwing weapons. All these weapons were made of high-quality materials but had no special enchantments. Naturally, perfect force transmission was the minimum requirement. In the Transcendent Battle of Life and Death, he could only choose from these weapons.

“Whoosh!” Dongbo Xueying waved his hand, and the entire weapon rack was absorbed into his storage treasure.

He would carry them all first; perhaps he would need them during the battle.

“Boom!”

Another heavy drumbeat sounded.

Dongbo Xueying knew this was the signal for his opponent’s entrance.

“Here it comes? The first match?” Dongbo Xueying extended his Perception, enveloping the entire battlefield within a radius of several miles through his connection to Heaven and Earth!