Outside the Ancient Desolate Holy Land.
A vast square had already been cleared.
At the front of the square stood a martial platform ninety-nine meters high.
The platform was golden, its entire surface gleaming brilliantly, with nine gilded pillars beneath it.
Dragons and phoenixes were carved into the pillars, lending them tremendous grandeur.
The whole martial platform seemed to be held aloft by those nine enormous gilded pillars.
On either side beneath the martial platform, numerous raised seating platforms had also been prepared.
Those platforms were slightly lower than the martial platform, with many tables and chairs set upon them, clearly intended to receive the titans of the major powers.
Farther below were the Tianjiao and monstrous talents of those major powers.
The Tianjiao and monstrous talents belonged to the younger generation. No matter how outstanding their talent, they were not qualified to take a seat.
Even so, not just anyone could enter.
Even more people were gathered outside, unable to enter the square at all.
At this moment, the square was already a sea of people, packed beyond capacity.
Even on the raised platforms to either side, many titans had already arrived.
Below, a cacophony of voices filled the air.
"What grandeur! After this, that Holy Son will probably truly make a name for himself."
"The Chaos Sacred Body, with unrivaled talent. He's destined to draw every eye."
"I can hardly wait. I really want to behold that Holy Son's splendor."
As the time for the investiture approached, many people below began discussing it, their hearts filled with anticipation.
"Look, the fairies of the Jade Lake Holy Land are here."
"Is the one leading them Fairy Shen Yao, the Holy Maiden of the Jade Lake Holy Land? What a graceful figure and extraordinary bearing. What a pity she's covered her face with a veil."
"Are you courting death, daring to appraise Fairy Shen Yao like that?"
Just then, a commotion rippled through the crowd. Turning to look, they saw a bevy of peerlessly beautiful fairies entering, their bearing untouched by worldly dust.
The woman at their head had a noble bearing and a graceful figure. The only pity was the gauzy veil covering her face.
Still, her bearing and figure alone were enough to suggest that beneath that veil must be a face of breathtaking beauty.
As Shen Yao led her party inside, the crowd parted of its own accord. Before long, they reached a spot near the front with an excellent view.
"Look, the Tianjiao and monstrous talents of the Carefree Holy Land are here too!"
"Ah, those are Xiao Tian, Zhang Chen, and Hong Fei! Good heavens, have all these monstrous talents who are normally so rarely seen actually shown up?"
"This is so exciting! The Holy Son's investiture hasn't even begun, so why does it feel like we've already reached the climax?"
Another commotion rose, and everyone turned once more to see the party from the Carefree Holy Land.
Every one of them had cold eyes and an arrogant expression, looking as though they held everyone else in contempt.
As they walked, they looked neither left nor right.
Xiao Tian, who had mocked Ye Xuan in the restaurant three days earlier, was among them.
Then exclamations rang out one after another.
Many renowned Tianjiao who were rarely seen in ordinary times had appeared.
So many Tianjiao had actually gathered together. Perhaps only an occasion as momentous as the investiture of a Holy Son could accomplish this.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
While everyone discussed this in astonishment, several powerful presences suddenly emerged from within the Ancient Desolate Holy Land.
The next moment, an old man strode through the air and soon appeared on the martial platform.
This old man was actually one of the Ancient Desolate Holy Land's ancient figures, the Ninth Ancestor!
"Who... who is that? What a terrifying presence!"
"The Ninth Ancestor of the Ancient Desolate Holy Land? He's presiding in person?"
"Good heavens, they really are taking this seriously."
Looking at the Ninth Ancestor, the younger generation below all wore blank expressions.
They only felt that the old man's presence was unfathomable, vast as the sea and terrifyingly powerful.
But the titans on the raised platforms could not help starting in shock, stormy waves surging in their hearts.
The Ancient Desolate Holy Land's twelve ancestors remained in seclusion year-round, never appearing in the world.
Their only appearance in the past several thousand years had been three months earlier, when the Chaos Sacred Body awakened.
Those titans had never expected a figure like the Ninth Ancestor to personally preside over this Holy Son investiture ceremony.
This showed just how much importance the Ancient Desolate Holy Land placed on that legendary Holy Son.
The Ninth Ancestor landed on the platform. Today, he had abandoned his usual slovenly appearance, wearing white robes, his beard and hair snowy white, every strand of hair meticulously combed.
He resembled an immortal, his bearing transcendent, with the grace and dignity of a Daoist sage.
He raised a hand and merely pressed it down slightly. The clamorous gathering instantly fell silent.
The Ninth Ancestor first swept his gaze over the titans on the raised platforms, then looked at the people below and said, "Today, our Ancient Desolate Holy Land invests its Holy Son. Thank you all for coming to witness the ceremony."
Without a single unnecessary word, he went straight to the point. "Now, welcome the Holy Son!"
"Welcome the Holy Son!"
"Welcome the Holy Son!"
"Welcome the Holy Son!"
The mighty voices echoed throughout the surrounding space, spreading endlessly into the distance, waves of sound surging like a tide that lingered long afterward.
Whoosh!
With his words, powerful presences suddenly rose one after another within the Ancient Desolate Holy Land. The next moment, those presences soared into the air, and everyone witnessed an utterly astonishing sight.
An enormous golden sedan chair engraved with divine dragons suddenly rose into the air, slowly approaching.
Around that enormous golden sedan chair stood eight old men with powerful presences.
"Are those... elders of the Ancient Desolate Holy Land?"
"Elders acting as guards, escorting him in person? This, this..."
"This Holy Son really is going to soar into the heavens!"
At this sight, shock gripped everyone's hearts and would not subside for a long time.
This was simply too grand. They were placing far too much importance on him.
It seemed that the Ancient Desolate Holy Land's Holy Son had already been hoisted into the heavens before he had even been invested.
The titans likewise could not help rising to their feet, their faces filled with shock.
Among those eight old men were the unfathomable master of the Martial Skills Tower and the immensely powerful elder of the Divine Weapons Pavilion,
As well as several powerful figures unknown to outsiders, whose status and strength were second only to the twelve ancestors.
Figures like these were actually willing to protect that Holy Son on his path, willing to set aside their dignity to play such minor roles as guards.
This was simply heaven-defying!
While everyone watched in shock, the eight powerful figures soon escorted the enormous golden sedan chair to a point above the martial platform.
Below, the Ninth Ancestor's expression suddenly turned solemn, and he shouted once more, "Welcome the Holy Son!"
Inside the enormous golden sedan chair, Ye Xuan could not help yawning. Then he lifted the curtain and floated lightly down.
His white robes fluttered, his face as flawless as polished jade, his beauty without equal.
In that instant, countless men felt envy rise in their hearts, while countless women wore lovestruck expressions.
"Wow, the Holy Son is so handsome!"
"He truly lives up to being the Holy Son. Such peerless talent and extraordinary bearing."
"I... I think I've met the Prince Charming of my dreams."
"Pah! Stop swooning, you little hussy. Would he ever fancy you?"
Like an immortal banished to the mortal world, Ye Xuan landed gracefully on the martial platform, his robes fluttering.
He even smiled at everyone below and gave a slight nod, appearing refined, courteous, and harmless to man and beast.
For a moment, the screams rose into an unbroken chorus.
At this sight, the Ninth Ancestor presiding over the ceremony could not help twitching the corner of his mouth, inwardly cursing this utterly shameless bastard.
Today was the Holy Son's investiture, and Ye Xuan would shortly be donning the sacred crown and sacred robes.
Yet this fellow had actually dressed himself in flashy white robes and was behaving so... punchably... What a cultured scoundrel...
But he quickly concealed every trace of his expressions, looked at Ye Xuan, and said impassively, "Don the sacred robes. Put on the sacred crown."