King of Creation-Chapter 628 - 621: Divine Skill

"I’ll go first!" frёewebηovel.cѳm

As soon as Ma Yue, the leading disciple of the Beast Taming Sect, had spoken, Duan Yingnian once again managed to answer first.

"Mister Ma, how will this second round of the selection process be conducted?" asked Duan Yingnian.

Hearing this, Ma Yue slightly smiled, "Since our Beast Taming Sect fundamentally relies on Demon Beasts, the selection will still be based on the strength of the Demon Beasts. However, this strength does not refer to the Cultivation of the Demon Beast, but its ability!

Please command your demon servant to demonstrate what you believe to be its most powerful ability! If it catches my master’s Dharma Eye, my master will surely give a directive." Saying so, Ma Yue glanced upward, and Ye Zhen guessed that the Beast Taming Sect elder, Yangh Yiguan, must be on the top floor of the Moon-viewing Tower.

"Good!"

With a loud agreement, Duan Yingnian immediately stepped out of the hall with large strides. As his Divine Sense moved, a Blazing Sun Fierce Ape of Heavenly Level Middle Grade outside the hall suddenly let out a thunderous roar, and from its gaping maw a fire as thick as a water bucket abruptly shot out.

The fire seemed ordinary at first, but in the next instant, everyone’s complexion changed.

This flame was actually capable of burning the air, causing the sky to crackle and pop as the temperature began to rapidly increase; some nearby Demon Beasts grew unsettled.

"This is the innate talent ability of the Blazing Sun Fierce Ape, the True Spirit Incineration Flame. It can adhere to any material substance and burn it continuously until it turns to ash," said Duan Yingnian, introducing the ability while stealing a glance at Ye Zhen.

Ye Zhen’s pupils suddenly constricted, the True Spirit Flame was among the elites of Spiritual Fires. Not many alchemists or Artifact Refiners possessed it; only a few with Divine Power Martial Skills could barely cultivate it. It was incredibly valuable, and once contracted, it was extremely hard to get rid of.

Just witnessing the talent ability of Duan Yingnian’s demon servant today was already worth it!

Not for any other reason, but because Ye Zhen felt that sooner or later, there would inevitably be a fierce battle between him and Duan Yingnian to resolve their grudges. Knowing one of his opponent’s Killing Moves in advance could reduce the danger by a fraction when Ye Zhen faced Duan Yingnian in the future.

The other Martial Artists also revealed shocked expressions; after all, it was a Heavenly Level Middle Grade Demon Beast, hard not to be astonishing.

However, what puzzled Ye Zhen was that he faintly saw a trace of disdain at the corner of Hu Qingtong’s mouth beside him, though it was hard to make out clearly because of the green veil covering her face.

"Not bad. Such a talent ability is definitely a major Combat Power!" In admiration, the Big Brother of the Beast Taming Sect couldn’t help but look upwards.

Almost simultaneously, a streak of light descended from the sky and entered Ma Yue’s hands. Without even looking, Ma Yue saluted Duan Yingnian and said, "Congratulations, Commander Duan, you are the first to pass the selection!"

Hearing this, Duan Yingnian slightly chuckled with some pride, occasionally glancing at Ye Zhen and Hu Qingtong. Clearly, he was still brooding over Hu Qingtong having ignored him just now.

Seeing this, everyone initially felt envious, but then they immediately came to realize.

There were only six spots available for the dinner session, but there were sixteen Martial Artists present. Subtracting Duan Yingnian left five spots for fifteen people, resulting in roughly a three-to-one ratio.

Most importantly, everyone realized that being the first to act could seize the initiative. No matter how extraordinary your Demon Beast might be, if there were no spots left by the time it was your turn, it would all be in vain.

For a moment, those who realized this scrambled to demonstrate their Demon Beasts’ abilities first to seize the advantage.

"Ladies and gentlemen, don’t rush; everyone will have a chance! To ensure fairness, the remaining fifteen people will be divided into five groups, with three people in each group. My master will consider selecting the ones he likes to dine together. Of course, all the decisions are in my master’s hands, and the groups will be formed according to the order of passing the initial selection!" said Ma Yue, the leading disciple of the Beast Taming Sect.

Soon enough, the groups were divided.

Perhaps it was bad luck, or perhaps it was fate; among the three Martial Artists who had voluntarily left before, two were those between Ye Zhen and Thunderbolt Sword Qin Hu. Now, with their departure, it happened that Ye Zhen, Thunderbolt Sword Qin Hu, and Hu Qingtong made up a group.

But fatefully, this group was seen by others as practically a death group—of course, only in reference to Ye Zhen.

That’s because the demon servants that Ye Zhen’s two competitors carried were all Heavenly Level Middle Grade. A higher Innate Bloodline indicated stronger talent abilities, a near-iron rule among Demon Beasts where bloodline inheritance was paramount.

So, in everyone’s view, from the moment the groups were formed, Ye Zhen was doomed to fail and be eliminated. The selected from Ye Zhen’s group could only be from Hu Qingtong and Thunderbolt Sword Qin Hu.

It was not just consensus; very soon, Ye Zhen also realized this fact.

This Beast Taming Sect elder, Yangh Yiguan, who had yet to reveal himself, made quick selections. In just half an hour, the first four groups had been chosen, and including the opportune Duan Yingnian, five people had been selected.

In the selection of these five individuals, four carried demon servants that were Heavenly Level Middle Grade Demon Beasts. Only one person’s demon servant was a Heavenly Level Lower Grade.

In the group containing the only Martial Artist selected with a Heavenly Level Lower Grade Demon Beast, all the participants’ Demon Beasts were at the Heavenly Level Lower Grade.

In other words, the Demon Beast’s Grade held an absolute advantage. In the competition for the final group, Group Five, to which Ye Zhen belonged, the main contention laid between Hu Qingtong and Thunderbolt Sword Qin Hu.

As for Ye Zhen, to everyone’s eyes, he was just there to make up the numbers. Even if Ye Zhen’s Cloud Winged Tiger King Kitten performed exceptionally well, if a group of Heavenly Level Lower Grade Demon Beasts and even a Heavenly Level Middle Grade Demon Beast had been eliminated, what else could an Upper-grade Earth Level Demon Beast do but be irrelevant?

"Group Five, begin!"

"Brother Ye, Miss Hu, do you mind if I go first to demonstrate?" said Thunderbolt Sword Qin Hu as he suddenly stepped forward.

Ye Zhen made a gesture of invitation, to which Hu Qingtong nodded noncommittally.

Almost simultaneously, an ominous cloud in the sky suddenly let out a sharp hiss, its form stretching out to instantly become a giant python over two hundred meters long, with ribs for wings and two black fleshy bumps on its head.

Amidst the hissing sound, the dark python’s massive wings abruptly flapped, and striking Thunder Light burst forth from beneath the dark python’s wings.

Boom!

Torrents of Thunder Light thundered down from the sky, charring the ground black. Under the control of Thunderbolt Sword Qin Hu, the dark python’s wings beat continuously, and without more than a few moments, the nearby ground was bombarded into scorched earth.

"The Black Winged Thunder Jiao! This is a Black Winged Thunder Jiao with an ancient bloodline!"

"No, it should be a Black Winged Thunder Python, not yet evolved into a Jiao. If it evolved, it would grow horns, and that Thunder Light would probably be even more terrifying!" Exclamations of shock suddenly rang out, followed by sighs of relief.

"Ahh, lucky I wasn’t grouped with Thunderbolt Sword Qin Hu. That Black Winged Thunder Python is too strong. If it were me, I’d probably be eliminated too," said one of the chosen ones, relieved.

"You can say that again! It’s just a pity for that girl; she got caught in it too. Tch, such vigor, I was hoping to get close to her at the dinner party..."

In the course of conversation, they outright ignored Ye Zhen. In their eyes, Ye Zhen’s Upper-grade Earth Level demon beast stood no chance at all.

"Please!"

As the Black Winged Thunder Python transformed back into a mass of dark clouds in the sky, Thunderbolt Sword Qin Hu’s mouth curled into a smirk, his gaze turning to Ye Zhen with an air of mockery.

Ye Zhen’s eyebrows furrowed slightly. He wasn’t foolish and could see that today’s event really presented a significant challenge. The innate ability of the Cloud Winged Tiger King Kitten to gather Cloud Qi, although practical, was somewhat inferior compared to the talents of many Heavenly Level Demon Beasts.

"I’ll go first!" Just as Ye Zhen was hesitating, Hu Qingtong suddenly looked toward him.

"Very well!"

Without any apparent action from Hu Qingtong, the Silver-horned Profound Ice Tiger, which had been close to the Cloud Winged Tiger King Kitten, abruptly soared into the air. A flash of light radiated from its silver horn, and consecutive pillars of ice gleaming with cold light burst forth.

As soon as the ice pillars appeared, a layer of frost covered everyone there. The bone-chilling coldness forced all present to involuntarily stir their Spiritual Power to resist the cold.

The mere chill of these ice pillars was extraordinary.

Whiz, whiz, whiz!

The hundreds of ice pillars shot from the Silver-horned Profound Ice Tiger’s horn suddenly accelerated at the same time, making the air shriek with a piercing sound.

Before the piercing sound could fade, the silver horn of the Silver-horned Profound Ice Tiger flashed, and the swarm of ice pillars that had burst forth instantly changed formation, lining up into a precise spearhead array and rocketing into the void.

This spectacle made everyone’s gazes freeze in awe, even Ye Zhen was momentarily stunned. Such control, was it not too impressive?

But the more remarkable feat was yet to come.

As the silver light flickered, the spearhead-shaped ice pillars that had been launched into the sky abruptly turned back around. In an instant, they fanned out and with a bang, concentratedly hammered down onto a specific point on the ground.

Just as they struck the ground, the ice pillars turned back again, and then, a dazzling performance began.

Encirclement from all sides, pincers from two, triple-pronged attacks, unity from a hundred, evasive maneuvers... All sorts of formations that only a Martial Artist could execute were realized one after another under the glimmering light of the Silver-horned Profound Ice Tiger’s horn.

The warriors in the re-selection were dumbstruck; even the Beast Taming Sect’s top disciple Ma Yue was flabbergasted. It was his first time feeling that a Demon Beast could be played like this.

If even the Beast Taming Sect’s top disciple Ma Yue was shocked, one could imagine how impressive the trick displayed by Hu Qingtong’s demon servant was, overshadowing the earlier performance of Thunderbolt Sword Qin Hu’s Black Winged Thunder Python.

"Qin Hu is at a big disadvantage now! But this Miss Hu is fierce too. If anyone were in her group, they’d probably be out of luck, Duan Yingnian included."

"Yeah, lucky indeed! But whatever, let’s just prepare for the dinner party once this is over! Better think about what questions to ask early on," said two of the selected Martial Artists.

"The last one in the fifth group, Young Hero Ye, please!" the voice of the Beast Taming Sect’s top disciple Ma Yue called out.

Although it was clear that Ye Zhen had no chance, as the host, Ma Yue persisted in having Ye Zhen demonstrate, after all, their branch of the Beast Taming Sect had no Sect backing them, and they had always relied on being amiable and wealthy, aiming to offend the fewest people possible.

Ma Yue thought thoroughly, but not everyone else agreed, especially Duan Yingnian, who was unwilling to pass up any opportunity to humiliate Ye Zhen.

"Isn’t this obvious? Why bother with a demonstration? Isn’t that just a waste of time?" Duan Yingnian complained discontentedly.

"Ah..."

Thunderbolt Sword Qin Hu also heaved a long sigh and, turning slightly towards Hu Qingtong, made a slight bow, "Miss Hu’s demon beast’s Divine Skill is extraordinary, I am certainly bested!" He then looked at Ye Zhen, "Brother Ye, should we leave together?" (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it on Qidian (qidian.com), your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)