Chapter Fifty-Four: Master!

The Divine Spear, towering and immense, seemed on the verge of shattering the entire arena space. Every inscription engraved upon its shaft radiated divine brilliance, and a faint, indistinct shadow appeared—so ethereal its features could not be discerned. This spectral figure gripped the sacred spear, the mark left by its true master, now awakened.

Tian Ling’s delicate form was locked by a terrifying aura, immobilized, insignificant as an ant beneath the colossal spear. This was the strike of a Saint, while she herself was but a cultivator at the Earth Repository Realm, utterly powerless to resist.

Her body screamed warnings, the sacred sword in her hand trembling violently, bolts of lightning scattering in all directions, trying to awaken her body. Yet her cultivation was far too low; without energy to support it, even the sacred sword was helpless.

The Saint King weapon gifted to her by Zhou Yu was also quivering, but without energy to sustain it, it was nothing more than an ornament.

Azure runes surged across her body as Tian Ling exerted every ounce of strength, barely managing to turn her neck slightly toward the direction of Zhou Tian’s VIP suite.

She did not know what she was thinking in that final moment—her mind held no extraneous thoughts, neither fear nor despair. She simply wished to turn and look one last time, but it seemed even this modest wish might not be fulfilled…

The sacred spear moved. The shadow gripping it thrust forward gently; overwhelming flames soared to the heavens, phoenixes soared and dragons danced. The arena space was sliced open like a rag, and its aim was Tian Ling, already locked in its sights.

Everyone in the VIP suites watched this scene, their expressions varied. Zhou Tian’s fists were clenched, veins bulging, his face grim. The others also watched, but their eyes held not a hint of concern.

Tian Ling felt the blaze reach her body. Just at that last instant—

Boom! Boom!

An ancient, majestic aura descended. A gargantuan hand broke through the space, shimmering with violet light. Each finger stretched ten thousand feet, with lifelike palm lines, chaotic energy swirling, endless rune chains coiling around it. It forcibly tore open the arena space.

The hand, upon entering, immediately sealed the space. Every rune and divine chain on the giant palm shot toward the sacred spear, pulling it toward the massive hand. The violet giant palm grasped the sacred spear, runes projected onto Tian Ling, transforming into shields to protect her, then squeezed firmly.

Crack!

A crisp sound rang out. Cracks snaked across the spear’s shaft and it shattered completely—the giant hand had crushed the sacred spear!

The hand faded away, and in its place appeared an elderly man with silver hair. With a casual wave, runes surged forth, instantly restoring the arena to its original state, as if nothing had happened.

Seeing the old man appear, the audience erupted in astonishment and chatter. It had been a long time since anyone had interfered with the course of a match.

The entire Futian Province was abuzz, for the tournament was broadcast live to all corners of the province through a mysterious array.

“What are you about to do?”

Backstage at the arena, the venue manager blocked someone who was about to stand, asking in a low voice.

“He’s interfering with the tournament! Of course I’m going to stop him!”

The man replied righteously, his eyes aflame.

“Are you an idiot? That’s the steward of the Prince of Qin’s mansion—don’t you recognize him? And have you ever seen someone risk their life to win a youth tournament?”

The manager growled in a low voice. He had thought well of the young man, full of drive, but now it seemed his mind was not quite right.

“There’s nothing more we can do now. Just watch, and prepare the recording of this match—it might come in handy!”

The man pursed his lips, glanced at the manager’s grim face, and sat back down.

None of the VIP suite guests showed any surprise, as if they had expected it all along.

“An Imperial Realm expert…”

General Gu Feng of Xijiang sighed, longing in his eyes.

“After all this waiting, the real excitement finally begins!”

General Wei Yan of Nanjing licked his own tusks.

Zhou Tian breathed a sigh of relief; though Uncle Zhou had been arranged in advance, the scene just now still made him break out in a cold sweat, fearing something might go wrong. But he was overthinking—after all, Uncle Zhou was a great emperor, saving someone from a sacred artifact would not pose any danger.

Standing from his seat, Zhou Tian addressed everyone in the room:

“Gentlemen, it’s my turn to take the stage!”

“Our mastermind is finally about to show himself…”

Zhou Zui quipped, and the others nodded.

“Liu Yan, he likes you—and every night he fantasizes about you through your projection!”

Zhou Tian ignored Zhou Zui, addressing Liu Yan directly. With that, his figure blurred and vanished from the room.

“I…he…you…”

Zhou Zui’s eyes widened, his hands waved awkwardly, stammering with nothing coherent to say. Yet he noticed that none of the others reacted to Zhou Tian’s words.

“Zhou Tian…?”

In Liu Yan’s eyes, golden flames ignited, swirling like a sun, staring at the spot where Zhou Tian had just disappeared.

Zhang Yi reopened the heavenly eye in his forehead, golden light flooding forth, his brows furrowed as he scanned every inch of space.

“No formation, nor did the steward intervene…”

In Zhou Xunchuan’s eyes, golden dragons coiled, divine light shone three inches, and he suddenly recalled the anomaly in the imperial palace some time ago—the day Zhou Tian entered the palace!

The others’ eyes also shone gold; each used extraordinary ocular techniques to observe.

Sun Zhuo picked up a copper coin, green with age, peering through its tiny aperture at the spot Zhou Tian had vanished. Threads of time radiated out, the coin glowing with divine light, retracing the scene of Zhou Tian’s instantaneous movement.

“No treasure was used!”

The group exchanged glances. Zhou Xunchuan laughed:

“It seems our Prince of Qin’s heir has a few secrets up his sleeve!”

Zhou Zui, seeing no one cared about Zhou Tian’s previous words, breathed a sigh of relief—unaware of the faint blush on Liu Yan’s ear…

He also noticed all eyes were on him, for he alone had not shown any surprise, as if he had long expected it.

Zhou Zui forced a bitter smile, unsure how to explain…

Meanwhile, Zhou Tian found himself in an awkward spot. The VIP suite was situated at a considerable elevation, far from the arena. Though after three deaths, his teleportation distance had reached about three hundred meters, it was still insufficient.

Thus, he could only teleport three hundred meters at a time, inching toward the arena, but to enhance his aura, he adjusted his posture slightly.

This resulted in the astonished spectators—who had just witnessed someone interfere in the tournament—suddenly spotting a figure appear in midair, his gaze cold and stern, his silhouette flashing through the void, each step treading upon the air, exuding the bearing of a master.