Chapter 2551: Invitation
Once Wen Donglai came to his senses, he looked at Ye Futian with a keen look in his eyes.
Each of those men had been defeated by just one blow!
No matter which one it was, whether Pei Yao of the Ancient God Clan or Nie Jiu, who may have come from the Dark World, each submitted after just one strike. What spear techniques could do that?
Or rather, Ye Futian’s spear techniques were no longer just purely as spear techniques, but an absolute suppression based on the comprehension of the Great Path. The result would be the same, whether he replaced the weapon with a sword, a blade, or a halberd.
“Of course,” Wen Donglai responded. Ye Futian vanquished each enemy with a single strike, achieving final victory in the shortest amount of time. The divine arms would belong to him this time.
“Thank you.” Ye Futian took hold of the long spear and proceeded to leave. Many bystanders were very surprised by his behavior. They thought that he was cold and standoffish. They had no idea who he was or where he came from, but his strength was indisputable.
“One moment, if you please.” A voice called out to Ye Futian, and he stopped as he turned around to look. Those eyes under the silver mask were haughty and frosty. The man who called out to him was Wang Teng of the Wang Clan from the City Lord’s Office.
Ye Futian stood there quietly, waiting for the other man to speak.
“Silver Spear Changkong.” Wang Teng said with a smile, “I am Wang Teng of the City Lord’s Office. I have never heard of your name before, but you shouldn’t be such an unknown character, judging from your cultivation. May I ask where you are from?”
“Wang Teng of the City Lord’s Office, a cultivator in the Tribulation Plane.” Ye Futian maintained a look of calm on the outside, but his mind was beginning to turn. The significance of the once-a-century Tianyan City Armorer Competition had long surpassed the competition itself. In the name of this event, the City Lord’s Office was able to call on all the enchanting figures from everywhere, whether it was those who participated in the top Armorer Competition or other competitions. They were all powerful cultivators beyond description.
Furthermore, the City Lord’s Office in Tianyan City had been able to absorb powerful individuals based on their reputation as the number one power in the armory. Of course, it was far from enough for an Ancient God Clan to simply rely solely on their name in armor-making. Strength was the only and true foundation. Because of this, the principalities within Tianyan City had been striving for growth for many years. In addition to their direct line of descendants, there were many other visiting elders and guests. Among all the Ancient God Clans in Divine Prefecture, the Wangs of Tianyan City was definitely one of the topmost powers.
Ye Futian was quite clear about all of this while he was making inquiries in Tianyan City.
Wang Teng belonged to the main line of the Wang family, who ruled the City Lord’s Office. He absolutely had the authority to recruit anyone he saw fit to join the City Lord’s Office. In Tianyan City, as in the Ancient God Clan of the West Imperial Palace, the various factions within the City Lord’s Office had a competitive relationship.
“A casual cultivator, that’s all. The whole world is my home,” Ye Futian replied. His voice sounded low and hoarse.
“A casual cultivator? “Wang Teng was stunned. “To defeat the cultivator from the Ancient God Clan with one strike is definitely not something that can be accomplished by anyone who cultivates on his own.”
Ye Futian’s eyes were cold, and he frowned beneath the mask. He said, “If elder has nothing else, I’ll bid my goodbye.”
With that, he turned to leave. Wang Teng knew that everyone has his own secrets, which he would not be so nosey as to probe, especially with such a powerful character as the one in front of him. He continued, “Your combat effectiveness is extraordinary, and this silver spear was made by master Wen himself. Its strength needs no further description. It is now suitable only for you. However, as your cultivation becomes stronger, you may need a stronger divine arm in the future after you survive the Divine Tribulation of the Great Path.”
Ye Futian stopped his forward footsteps. “What exactly do elder want to say?”
“Nothing, just want to invite you to be a guest at the City Lord’s Office to watch the Armorer Competition there.” Wang Teng did not state his purpose out in the open, but it was pretty obvious, and Ye Futian would have guessed it right away.
The people around him understood everything very well. It seemed that Wang Teng wanted to recruit Ye Futian into the City Lord’s Office.
A man with such extraordinary combat effectiveness was indeed someone worth recruiting. The invitation to participate in the ceremony as a guest was a tried and true pretext.
“Don’t worry. Rest assured, if you ever want to leave, you can leave any time. The rules of the City Lord’s Office are known to everyone in Tianyan City,” Wang Teng continued. After all, Ye Futian was not the only person to be invited. If the City Lord’s Office in Tianyan City had ever detained the others without their consent, their reputation would have been tarnished a long time ago.
Furthermore, during an important occasion, such as the Armorer Competition, that took place only once every hundred years.
Ye Futian pondered for a moment. He believed what Wang Teng said and that the City Lord’s Office would not force such things on others.
The problem was that there was a certain risk linked to him going to the City Lord’s Office. If his true identity were to be found out, it would be very dangerous for him.
The advantage was that if he could get into the City Lord’s Office, it might be possible for him to gather more information from the inside, such as which forces wanted to ally with Tianyan City against Ziwei Segmentum. This way, he could form a more specific strategy for the future.
Therefore, he was a little hesitant.
However, from Wang Teng’s perspective, it seemed like Ye Futian was hesitating about whether to be part of the City Lord’s Office or not. He had no idea what Ye Futian was really thinking of was entirely something else.
“Fine.”
Ye Futian nodded. After hesitating, he agreed. He believed that the chances were extremely slim for him to be exposed. Right now, countless many genius talents had come to Tianyan City for this major event, and he was but one of many. He did not deliberately befriend the City Lord’s Office, so no one could link him with Ye Futian.
Then, the only thing that could expose him was if there was a flaw in his disguise. As long as he was careful, there shouldn’t be anything that could give him away.
Furthermore, if Wang Teng wanted to recruit him, he would have to trust him. Wang Teng couldn’t do anything to him before the recruitment was successful. He was pretty certain they would treat him very well instead.
Therefore, Ye Futian decided to go to the City Lord’s Office.
“The City Lord’s Office indeed cherishes talents and recruits talents from all over the world.” Some cultivators from Yuanshi Palace next to him spoke, and their tone was not so friendly. After all, among the cultivators who were beaten by Ye Futian just now, there was that one extraordinary figure from Yuanshi Palace—Pei Yao.
Then, Ye Futian was recruited by Wang Teng in return. Of course, Yuanshi Palace was not too happy about that.
“At this grand event, Tianyan City Lord’s Office invites people from all over the world to the office complex to observe the competition. Silver Spear Changkong has outstanding spear techniques, with incredible strength, and he definitely qualifies to be there at the competition.” Wang Teng smiled and said, “Don’t be a stranger. Let’s go together to the City Lord’s Office and sit down for some drinks?”
“No need. We haven’t had a chance to look around in Tianyan City, so we will not be bothering you for the time being. We will wait until it is the time of the event,” the cultivators from Yuanshi Palace replied.
“Might as well.” Wang Teng nodded. “There are still three more days, and Tianyan City is quite vibrant at the moment. It’s worth taking a look around.”
“So long,” the other man replied, and many people gave Ye Futian a look before leaving. In this case, even though they were defeated by Ye Futian with a single strike, it was not appropriate for Yuanshi Palace to take it out on Ye Futian. As the Ancient God Clan, Yuanshi Palace could not afford to shame themselves with any unbefitting behaviors.
Watching them leave, Wang Teng said to Wen Donglai, “Brother Wen, I will be leaving now.”
“Very well.” Wen Donglai nodded.
“Please.” Wang Teng gestured to Ye Futian, and Ye Futian levitated into the air and said, “Elder, you first, please.”
Seeing the change in Ye Futian’s attitude, Wang Teng smiled now and said, “Let’s go together.”
After that, the group of them left together. Wen Donglai, watching them depart, thought that Wang Teng had successfully recruited someone marvelous.
…
Tianyan City, City Lord’s Office, was like a city of gold, extremely magnificence.
There were so many golden halls erected that the entire complex appeared to be golden at first glance. Ye Futian didn’t invade anywhere inside with his divine consciousness, so as not to offend some people. But even just observing with his eyes, he could see many places of armor-making. In the inner hall of the armory, there was an open courtyard. When they first entered the City Lord’s Office via air, they saw many people busy making armor and weaponry, and they could hear the sound of metal clashing intermittently.
“In the City Lord’s Office, normally the disciples in the complex do not have their own independent armoring palace. They can either make their armors in a public armoring palace, or they can do so out in the open. More important disciples have better places to making armors. Those who are at the core have their own palace that is equipped with an armoring palace,” Wang Teng explained when he saw that Ye Futian was very interested in everything inside the City Lord’s Office.
Ye Futian nodded. This was to be expected. Every principality had its hierarchy.
“The elder said that the City Lord’s Office has even stronger divine arms. The silver spear I obtained is already a divine arm of the first tribulation. How many people in the City Lord’s Office can make divine arms of the second tribulation?” Ye Futian asked in a straightforward manner without beating around the bush, quite in line with the personality he demonstrated.
“It’s not so easy to make divine arms of the second Tribulation? There is only a handful of those in the entire City Lord’s Office who could make divine arms in the second tribulation.” Wang Teng smiled and did not respond to Ye Futian’s question directly. He continued, “But, the City Lord’s Office has been collecting divine arms made by generations of top cultivators. In the City Lord’s Office, there is no shortage of divine arms of the second tribulation. The Wang family of Tianyan City has been here for countless generations. It’s not difficult for the City Lord’s Office to take out a divine arm of the second Tribulation.”
When he was saying that, he looked at Ye Futian as if he was suggesting something.
“Understood.” Ye Futian nodded. “This time, many top principalities in the Divine Prefecture will probably come to the Armorer Competition.”
“Naturally,” Wang Teng said with a proud voice, “this is a fest for our Tianyan City that happens only once in every century. It is one of the biggest events in the Divine Prefecture, and few other feasts can surpass it unless it was something hosted by Donghuang Imperial Palace. Otherwise, all over the land of the Divine Prefecture, not many forces influence Tianyan City.”
Although his tone was proud, he was also speaking the truth. The status of Tianyan City in Divine Prefecture was without a doubt. It was, after all, the first holy land for the armory in the Divine Prefecture.
“Mmm,” Ye Futian nodded and did not continue to pursue an answer. He was now inside the City Lord’s Office. In time, he would know what principalities came to the City Lord’s Office in the next few days.
“This time, Princess Donghuang will come in person as well,” Wang Teng said.
“Will the Princess come here in person?” Ye Futian asked. “I heard some rumors from the outside before, but it was only that Donghuang the Great’s personal disciple—Spear Emperor Du You—will be here.”
“Uh-huh.” Wang Teng nodded, “The Princess is confirmed to come to Tianyan City in person. The City Lord’s Office wants to gift divine arms to the Princess, and the Imperial Palace accepted it.”
“So, that’s it.” Ye Futian finally understood. Tianyan City wanted to invite the Princess to attend this great event but had no way of asking her directly, so they made a present of invaluable divine arms as the price for the Princess to attend.
They made a gift of divine arms to the Princess, but it was as if the Princess had done Tianyan City a favor by coming, which spoke volumes of their respect for her!