"Heavens... she managed to reach the top 2 just by showcasing her prowess? I cannot imagine how powerful she mustâve been," Wang Ming commented.
"What about Cultivation Gods and entities like the Great One?" Yuan then asked.
Kelan chuckled and said, "Cultivation Gods? You can count the number of them with one hand. Theyâre too powerful to be in the ranking. The same goes for the Great One. The ranking is mostly for those within the God Ascension realm, after all."
"What about this Heavenly Son guy? How powerful is he?" Shi Lang suddenly asked.
"Well, heâs not ranked first in the younger generation for no reason. If you want to see his prowess, youâll be able to do so soon, since heâs also participating in the Sword Emperor Qualifications."
"Really? Now this is interesting..." Shi Lang remarked as he turned to look at Yuan.
The others knew what Shi Lang was thinking about and smiled, as they all thought the same.
"What are you looking at? Itâs not like weâll fight each other in the Sword Emperor Qualifications," Yuan said.
"No, but youâll be fighting each other indirectly for the ranking. Since more than one person can qualify for the title of Sword Emperor, thereâll be a ranking for your achievements. If you rank first, youâll be rewarded with something at the end."
"What? More than one person can qualify as Sword Emperor?" Wu Zao said.
The others were just as surprised since this was their first time hearing about it.
"Anyone who passes the trials will qualify. Why do you think there are many Sword Emperors running around the Nine Heavens?"
"So being a Sword Emperor isnât anything too special..." Wang Ming shook his head. "What about a Sword God? Surely, there must be only one of them out there."
"Sword God?" Kelan laughed out loud before responding, "Thereâs no such thing."
"What? There isnât? That doesnât make any sense. Why canât the strongest Sword Emperor just become the Sword God or something?" Wang Bingbing asked, clearly confused.
"Well, thatâs because it would get far too bloody," Kelan replied. "There was once a Sword Emperor who declared himself the Sword God, and the moment he did, the other Sword Emperors challenged him. He was killed, and the one who defeated him then tried to claim the title for himself, only to be killed as well. It kept happening, one after another, until several Sword Emperors had fallen. Since then, no oneâs dared to call themselves the Sword God."
"So theyâre scared of being attacked by other Sword Emperors? A true Sword God wouldnât care about being challenged because they know theyâre the strongest."
"You are right, but nobody has ever reached that point..." Kelan paused for a moment before continuing, "Actually, there is one person who mightâve qualified for that title."
"The Faceless Sword Emperor," Li Jinxi said.
Kelan nodded, "Thatâs right. The Faceless Sword Emperor was known to be undefeated in history, so he wouldâve probably been able to claim that title and get away with it, but he disappeared somewhere and hasnât been seen since then."
"Who knows? Maybe someone like the Faceless Sword Emperor will appear again," Li Jinxi said with a mysterious smile.
"If youâre talking about Yuan, while I donât doubt his talents, heâs far from the Faceless Sword Emperorâs level." Kelan shook his head.
Li Jinxi shrugged.
They continued chatting about the rankings and about some of the most powerful individuals in the Nine Heavens.
A few hours later, Kelan stopped talking when he noticed a powerful presence approaching in their direction.
"Speak of the devil..." he muttered.
Moments later, a handsome young man clad in golden robes landed before them, his sharp gaze scanning everyone there until it landed on Yuan.
"You must be the one who broke the crystal," said the handsome young man.
"Yes, and who are you?"
"You donât know who I am? Thatâs impossible," the young man said, his tone dripping with disbelief, as if he were certain the entire world knew his name.
"Thatâs the Heavenly Son, Tian Juexing," Kelan revealed the handsome young manâs identity.
"So youâre ranked first in the younger generation, huh? We were just talking about you," Yuan said. "Whatâs a bigshot like you want from me?"
"So you do know me," said Tian Juexing. "I came here after hearing about the reason for the delay. Even I couldnât crack the crystal, so I had to see for myself the kind of person who did."
"Is that so? Well, what do you think?" Yuan asked as he spread his arms, almost as if telling him to take a good look.
"Honestly? Iâm disappointed. Youâre nothing more than a wannabe Faceless Sword Emperor with that appearance. That crystal probably cracked because I already weakened it."
Yuan smiled behind his mask and said, "I could say the same about you. I had some high expectations after Kelan boasted about you, but youâre just some egotistic brat."
Despite Yuanâs rude remark, Tian Juexing did not seem offended.
"I get that often, but so what? This is the norm for the truly strong. You wouldnât understand it."
"If youâre so strong, you will definitely rank higher than me in the Sword Emperor Qualifications, right?"
"Without a doubt." Tian Juexing answered without even the slightest hesitation.
"Wanna bet on it?"
Tian Juexing narrowed his eyes and pondered for a moment before retrieving a medallion.
"If you somehow rank higher than me, I, Tian Juexing, will accept any one request from you as long as itâs not unreasonable."
"A request?" Yuan raised an eyebrow.
"Are you looking down on my bet? My family is literally only second to the Celestial Emperorâs family in the Nine Heavens. Thereâs almost nothing I cannot do for you," he said.
"In that case, Iâll betâ"
Tian Juexing suddenly raised his hand and interrupted, "You donât need to bet anything since thereâs nothing I want, nor is there anything that you can possibly do for me."