Soul Emperor Martial God

The Divine Martial King chuckled wryly.

Xiao Yi, standing by, was also taken aback.

Of course, he understood the woman's intention.

On one hand, she urged the Divine Martial King not to give too meager a gift.

On the other, she mentioned that he already had plenty of treasures, suggesting that a token gesture from the Divine Martial King would suffice.

Wasn't this blatant extortion?

But the Divine Martial King, seemingly unfazed, wore an expression of someone well accustomed to such occurrences.

The Divine Martial King looked at the woman, smiled lightly, and said, "You, oh you, after more than two hundred years, you still refuse to suffer any loss. That hasn't changed."

With that, the Divine Martial King produced a Qiankun Bag from within his garments and placed it on the desk.

The woman took it, opened it, and her eyes immediately lit up.

From the Qiankun Bag, an astonishing surge of cold air emerged, instantly filling the entire conference hall.

"Black Sea Essence?" Xiao Yi inhaled sharply.

Indeed, inside the Qiankun Bag were Ice Crystal Jade Bottles filled with Black Sea Essence.

Within, densely packed, were no less than a hundred drops.

For ordinary martial artists, consuming Black Sea Essence could tremendously boost their battle prowess in a short time, serving as a life-saving treasure.

But for martial artists with ice attributes, this was an extremely precious cultivation item, which could greatly enhance their cultivation when consumed.

The value of a whole hundred drops of Black Sea Essence was equivalent to the reward for first place in the third round, and even several times more could not compare.

The woman smiled contentedly, "Senior Divine Martial King is still quite generous."

"Xiao Yi, why not quickly accept these gifts?"

Xiao Yi made no move. He certainly coveted the hundred drops of Black Sea Essence, but for the moment, he dared not take them.

He was still hesitant about what the Divine Martial King had said earlier: "My successor, how can you leave so casually?"

"What's the matter?" the Divine Martial King asked softly.

Xiao Yi bowed and said, "May I ask Senior Divine Martial King, if this junior becomes your successor, does that mean I can't leave the East Sea Fortress?"

"Oh?" The Divine Martial King blinked, then quickly understood.

"So this is what you're worried about."

"Tsk tsk, those heavenly talents outside are all vying to stay within the fortress, eagerly jockeying for important positions."

"Yet you, instead, wish to avoid it at all costs."

Xiao Yi smiled faintly, "This junior has always been someone who can't stay idle, fond of wandering and adventuring."

"Heh," the Divine Martial King smiled knowingly and said, "The heart of youth, I understand."

"However, you needn't worry; although you are my successor, I won't have you assume the role so soon."

"Besides, even if I had you take over now, you wouldn't be able to hold the position steadily."

"At the very least, wait until you have the same strength as mine before you can take over."

"Also, once you've reached that level of strength, you would still need to wait until a hundred years later when the next East Sea Festival begins to hold a succession ceremony."

"My old bones can still hold on for a hundred years; just make sure you don't take hundreds of years to grow."

"A hundred years?" Xiao Yi's eyes shone brightly.

"Mmhm," the Divine Martial King nodded, "During that period, you may come and go from the East Sea Fortress as you please."

"If you don't understand something in your cultivation, you may come to ask me at any time; if you want to venture outside, I won't stop you."

"A hundred years is ample time for you to travel the continent and temper your youthful impetuosity."

"Now, do you have any more concerns?"

"None," Xiao Yi nodded without hesitation, accepting the hundred drops of Black Sea Essence on the table.

His reluctance to stay in the East Sea Fortress was certainly not due to youthful caprice.

He had many other things to do.

A hundred years would be enough.

"Heh," the Divine Martial King watched Xiao Yi's actions and smiled with satisfaction.

"Alright then, if there's nothing else, you two may leave."

"As for Xiao Yi, you may now enter the Demon Hunting Hall Main Hall for secluded cultivation."

"Secluded cultivation in the Demon Hunting Hall Main Hall?" Xiao Yi looked puzzled.

"Mmhm," the Divine Martial King nodded, "That's part of your reward for being the champion of the East Sea Festival."

"Originally, by the rules, you could only cultivate inside for half a month."

"I've extended that to one month with my authority as a little compensation for you."

"Hmm?" Xiao Yi paused in confusion.

"What 'hmm'?" the woman suddenly said excitedly, "Brat, shouldn't you hurry up and thank Senior Divine Martial King?"

Although he didn't understand why Senior Swordswoman was suddenly so agitated.

Xiao Yi still bowed to the Divine Martial King and said, "Thank you, Senior Divine Martial King."

…

After leaving the Commander's residence.

The woman and Xiao Yi headed back to the Sword Sect team's quarters.

On the way, the woman explained, "Above the Demon Hunting Hall Main Hall, there is an Ancient Spirit Gathering Array."

"Usually, the Demon Hunting Hall Main Hall is not open, and no one can enter."

"It's only after the East Sea Festival, which happens every hundred years, that it's briefly opened to allow the strongest Heavenly Talents to enter for cultivation."

"You can imagine, under the Ancient Spirit Gathering Array, how dense the spiritual energy, accumulated over a hundred years, would be."

"One could cultivate inside for half a month and it could be equivalent to the efforts of ten years of hard cultivation."

"What?" Xiao Yi's face showed shock.

No wonder the Divine Martial King had said, when increasing the time to one month, the Senior Swordswoman was so excited.

The woman smiled and said, "Such treatment, over the course of hundreds of years, has only been enjoyed by you alone."

"Additionally, the Divine Martial King will likely have to compensate the Demon Hunting Hall a great deal afterwards."

"You should cultivate well inside, and not let down his old man's kindness."

"Also, your battle has not ended, after this, there is one more fight waiting for you."

"Oh?" Xiao Yi looked puzzled.

Just at that moment, in the distance, behind the fortress, at the breach in the East Sea barrier, dozens of figures suddenly leapt through.

"It's the people from the Demon Hunting Hall." Xiao Yi frowned.

"Such a terrifying aura."

In his perception, each of the 15 leading people had an overwhelming presence.

Such an aura, he had only felt it from the Eight Emperors.

"15 Supreme Strong?" Xiao Yi's pupils shrank.

The woman glanced at the distance and said softly, "The 15 Main Hall Masters from the Demon Hunting Hall have arrived. The competition among the Demon Hunting Hall's Heavenly Talents should start now."

"15 Main Hall Masters?" Xiao Yi furrowed his brows.

He remembered, the Flame Martial Palace Master had arrived early.

And he recalled the scenes when, outside the barrier, the Sect Masters of various Martial Arts Holy Lands and the Kings of various Kingdoms had respectfully saluted.

He voiced his doubts.

The woman chuckled lightly and said, "The Flame Martial Palace Master naturally had to come first."

"Although there is no Master of the Main Hall in the Demon Hunting Hall, he is considered half of one."

"Although he's only a Main Hall Master, he is the only one who can mobilize the forces of all 16 Main Halls and 5000 branch Demon Hunters."

"What?" Xiao Yi was startled again, "Could it be..."

"That's right." The woman said with a light laugh, "East Sea Fortress has two Supreme Commanders."

"The Supreme Commander for the top fighters from various Martial Arts Holy Lands and Kingdoms is the Divine Martial King."

"The Supreme Commander for the Martial Artist forces of the Demon Hunting Hall is the Flame Martial Palace Master."

"These two are the only predecessors on the Flame Dragon Continent with the highest seniority and oldest age."

"Me, including the Eight Emperors, are only juniors in front of these two."

Speaking of this, the woman added, "Oh, right, the East Sea Festival also separates the Heavenly Talents from these two sides for the competition."

"In a few days, it will be the competition among the Demon Hunting Hall's Heavenly Talents."

"When the strongest Heavenly Talent of the Demon Hunting Hall is chosen, that is when the fight between the strongest Heavenly Talents of the two sides will take place, that is your ultimate fight."

"Competitions between the two sides' Heavenly Talents?" Xiao Yi's eyebrows knitted slightly.

"That's right," the woman nodded, "The ultimate fight will determine, after a hundred years when both sides' strongest Heavenly Talents have succeeded, which side will have greater say in the East Sea Fortress."

"Did the Divine Martial King and the Hall Master also compete in the past?" Xiao Yi asked curiously.

"Of course," the woman replied, "However, during their fight, there were no witnesses, and it was said to have ended in a draw."

"Of course, the two of them were good friends, and there was nothing much to quibble over."

"It's just you," the woman said solemnly.

"It's not that I underestimate the Heavenly Talents from the other 15 Main Halls."

"Rather, the Flame Martial Palace Master has very high standards, the successor he chooses will be no ordinary individual."

"I've also met Purple Flame Yi Xiao once, indeed extraordinary."

"If nothing unexpected happens, the last one standing in the competition of the Demon Hunting Hall's Heavenly Talents will surely be him."

"That is to say, the ultimate fight belongs to you and him."

"Sigh." As she spoke, the woman sighed deeply.

"I still remember, when I was young, the Hall Master was already searching for a successor for a long time."

"This search lasted for hundreds of years."

"It wasn't easy to find a Purple Flame Yi Xiao."

"Remember," the woman looked at Xiao Yi, "for my sake, don't win too easily in your final fight against Yi Xiao."

"Try to leave him some honor."

"Uh." Xiao Yi touched his nose awkwardly and nodded slightly.

...

Second update.