Chapter 26: Sea God’s Inheritance
Cha Ming couldn’t help but gape when he saw Zhou Li. He looked to Gong Shuren, who wore an extremely concerned expression. The three artifacts were already pulsing with power, and a tide of blue light had worked its way up from their bottoms, washing away all but a bit of gold on each one. Just a small push, and the blue light would completely cover the artifacts, attuning them to their respective inheritors.
The runes on each of the three Haijing royals glowed with the same light as the artifacts. The third prince, Gong Xuandi, hadn’t noticed their presence. He was seated in front of the crown, while two of his brothers were seated in front of the shell and scales.
“They’ve almost completed their attunement,” Gong Shuren said with a quavering voice. “Their bloodlines are poor, but they’ve been here for a long time. We can’t win.” Her fists were shaking, and her teeth were clenched. She wanted to fight but didn’t know how.
Zhou Li clapped as they walked toward the daises. “What a stunning performance. You’ve gotten here so fast, despite your handicap. I confess myself impressed.”
“You knew?” Cha Ming asked coldly. No wonder Zhou Li had been so confident at the outset.
Zhou Li grinned. “Of course I knew. These trials are meant for fair competition amongst juniors. They won’t tolerate the presence of an anomaly like you.” He pointed to his eyes with two fingers. “Besides, I’m a seer. Even though I can’t see through you directly, I can always guess at hypothetical outcomes. I had originally thought your participation was set in stone, but you just had to hole yourself up in research. I had to… encourage your participation through various means. Thank you for guaranteeing our victory, Cha Ming.”
How long do you need to attune the crown? Cha Ming sent.
I’m not sure, Gong Shuren sent back. Based on what my father told me, it should only take me one hour. They’ve probably been at it for days.
Cha Ming was surprised by this revelation. He hadn’t thought there would be so much difference in bloodline power between siblings. Licking his lips, he summoned the Space-Time Camera once more. Then he infused all the top-grade spirit stones he had left into it. The jade artifact glowed with a faint gray halo and floated up.
I don’t know if I can buy you an hour, but I’ll get you what I can. Huxian? Cha Ming asked.
Big brother? Huxian said. Three of his four friends had already appeared beside him.
“Clear a path,” Cha Ming instructed. He began walking forward, and the Space-Time Camera floated up in the air. The area around the third prince distorted as everyone heard a snap, and a picture appeared on the camera. It was a picture of the third prince, and the moment it appeared, the third prince’s progress halted. There was no distortion, no humming, and no pulsing. The area directly around him appeared to have been cleaved away from this reality and frozen inside a perfect picture. The picture on the camera solidified, and the moment it did, Cha Ming retrieved it and placed it in his Clear Sky World.
The third prince cannot progress in attuning the artifact for now, Cha Ming sent to Gong Shuren. Can you only attune one artifact?
One royal can only attune a single artifact, Gong Shuren said. The most important one is the crown, as the bearer of the crown is the new emperor. It is strongest because it can bolster or strip strength from body cultivators.
Then go claim it, Cha Ming said. We’ll clear a path for you.
Huxian and the others had already rushed past them and started clashing with the eleven body cultivators. Five cultivators surrounded the black-and-white fox, whose three tails lashed out around him and superimposed five suppressing domains. His teeth, claws, and tails were so powerful that it took all five of them combined to hold him off. Their tridents were glowing with a similar light, and judging by the runic light between them, they were using a collaborative formation.
Unfortunately for them, Huxian and the rest were as well. The squad of demons was connected by runic light that couldn’t be seen by most people. But Huxian could see. His violet goggles saw not only these tethers connecting them but the flow of battle as well. They had the advantage.
Off to the side, Silverwing was up in the air. He fought two older protectors and a younger Haijing royal with blades of wind. His wings alternated between attack and defense, and whenever they managed to launch a combined attack, he turtled behind his large feathered limbs. Despite them wielding half-step transcendent treasures, his metallic wings were like impenetrable armor. Cha Ming even wondered which would be first to break—his wings or their weapons?
While Silverwing and Huxian were holding off their own individual groups, Lei Jiang and Gua were attacking three cultivators in tandem. Gua used his fan to restrain their movements and buffet them with turbulent eddies while Lei Jiang simply bounced between them like a rogue bolt of lightning. These cultivators had strong bodies, so his individual strikes didn’t accomplish much. They did, however, make easy conduits for lightning. The lightning the Calamity-Swallowing Mouse released from his body funneled through each strike of his gauntleted claws. Despite him being only a single demon, they had no choice but to go all out on defense, leaving Gua to hamper them even further.
Cha Ming summoned the Clear Sky Pillar as he walked up to Zhou Li. He also summoned a sea of 1,080 combat sigils that formed three separate combat formations. This was the most efficient use of his qi and soul force. While three combat formations didn’t grant him the power of a top-grade one, they gave him unparalleled flexibility in battle. Two of the formations were freezing and entangling the black-robed man while a shield of fiery energy
