When the envoys of the various factions heard this, their expressions grew grave, and they withdrew their gazes from Ji Yan.
They knew it was time for them to fight for their sects!
As long as they could defeat Ji Zining, leaving a psychological scar and tarnishing her Dao heart, any losses would be worth it!
Otherwise, once Ji Zining broke through to the Great Emperor realm, the entire True Martial Dao Domain would have to bow before her!
The Ziwei Holy Land, to which she belonged, would undoubtedly become the strongest faction in the True Martial Dao Domain.
When that happened, the factions behind them would have no choice but to bow in submission to the Ziwei Holy Land.
They were accustomed to freedom, and had no desire to become someone else's subordinates!
Though that made Ji Zining sound like a villain, that was how they saw her.
The Ziwei Holy Land's Divine Son was young and had a shallow cultivation, yet she already threatened them!
Seeing that no one accepted her challenge, Ji Zining gave a mocking smile.
"What? Do you want to come at me together too? As long as you're shameless enough, I don't particularly mind."
"If you want to fight, come on. If not, take your people and get lost, every last one of you!"
"Is the Ziwei Holy Land a place you can afford to offend? Am I, Ji Zining, someone you can use as a stepping stone?!"
The envoys' expressions turned somewhat awkward when they heard this.
They had indeed come for the very reason Ji Zining had said: to make her a stepping stone for their geniuses.
But to their surprise, this stepping stone was so jagged that it had nearly crushed them to death instead!
As for attacking together, it had not yet come to that. Once they truly could not defeat her,
they would try it even if they had to throw away all face!
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
Although Ji Zining ignored him, Ji Yan continued to kowtow, producing a series of thuds.
Hearing the sound, the envoys of the various factions felt inexplicably irritated.
At last, a dignified middle-aged man stepped out of the crowd and cupped his hands slightly toward Ji Zining.
"Your Highness, Divine Son, I am an envoy from the Innate Dao Sect of the Southern Domain. You may call me Qianchenzi!"
Ji Zining turned her gaze to him and spoke coolly.
"Are you the first? I can see you're very confident."
The dignified middle-aged man, Qianchenzi, smiled faintly.
"I do have some confidence. After all, I am an expert at the Fifth Level of the Saint King Realm."
"Your Highness, your talent is unparalleled, and your combat strength is even more astonishing, but from here on, Your Highness, you must be careful!"
"When I was young, I too was hailed as a genius by the world!"
The Fifth Level of the Saint King Realm?
Not a bad cultivation.
Ji Zining looked at Hua Qianyan beside her and smiled faintly.
"Holy Lord, sorry for the trouble, but please seal his cultivation and bring it down to the Peak Nascent Soul Realm, the same as mine."
Hua Qianyan nodded.
"Why not?"
With that, he stepped forward and walked toward Qianchenzi.
Qianchenzi's smile faltered slightly at the sight.
If Hua Qianyan personally sealed his cultivation at the Peak Nascent Soul Realm, there was absolutely no way he could break the seal.
His plan had come to an end before it could even begin!
Damn it!
He had thought that although Ji Zining had impressive methods, she was young and bound to overlook some details.
He had wanted to seal his own cultivation and unleash his full strength at a crucial moment, killing Ji Zining outright!
Then, even if he died, he would have no regrets if he could take a monstrous talent like Ji Zining down with him.
But now, that plan had ended before it even began.
Hua Qianyan was an expert at the Peak Saint King Realm. How could he, a mere cultivator at the Fifth Level of the Saint King Realm, break a seal set by him?
Ji Zining noticed the change in Qianchenzi's expression, and the disdain at the corner of her mouth grew more pronounced.
Does he really take me for a three-year-old?
He's so confident. There has to be something fishy going on.
He wants to unleash his full strength midway through the fight and kill me? What wishful thinking.
Ji Zining had no doubt about whether they would reveal a higher cultivation if they sealed it themselves and found themselves losing.
The answer was obvious: they would certainly unleash a cultivation higher than the Peak Nascent Soul Realm!
Then they would surely decide that, having started, they might as well see it through, and kill her, a mere youngster at the Peak Nascent Soul Realm, outright!
Ultimately, her cultivation was still too low. If she were at the Great Saint Realm, how could these fellows possibly be making such a fuss?
There would be no need to suppress their cultivation; she could simply kill them outright!
It seemed she had been too lenient with their geniuses just now. From here on, merely seriously injuring them probably would not be enough.
The blood of that tall young man could not be the only blood spilled in the square today.
As she thought this, killing intent flashed through Ji Zining's eyes.
Hua Qianyan came to stand before Qianchenzi and raised a hand slightly. A stream of spiritual power flew out and entered Qianchenzi's body.
The next instant, the presence of Qianchenzi's cultivation began to fall steadily.
The First Level of the Saint King Realm... the Peak Great Saint Realm... the Fifth Level of the Great Saint Realm...
At last, Qianchenzi's cultivation settled at the Peak Nascent Soul Realm, exactly the same as Ji Zining's.
Feeling the pitiful power surging within him, Qianchenzi found it somewhat difficult to adjust.
Ever since breaking through to the Saint King Realm, he had not experienced this feeling in a long time.
This feeling of weakness.
It took quite a while before Qianchenzi adjusted to his current power.
Hua Qianyan withdrew his hand and nodded slightly to Ji Zining.
"Divine Son, it's done."
With that, he returned to his original place without so much as a glance at Qianchenzi.
Hua Qianyan could ignore Qianchenzi, but Qianchenzi did not dare show Hua Qianyan anything but reverence.
The Peak Saint King Realm was the greatest combat strength below the Quasi-Emperor realm. He still had a long way to go.
Seeing this, the envoys of the various factions all drew a deep breath.
Now, all that remained was to see how the battle went.
If Qianchenzi lost, they would probably fare no better.
Although Qianchenzi did not come from one of the four great factions, he came from the Innate Dao Sect, the strongest faction beneath them.
His own cultivation was among the highest of them all. If he could not win, the others certainly could not either.
If that happened, only one final plan would remain.
They would all attack together!
Ji Zining stroked the blade of the Void-Soaring Sword and smiled faintly.
"You're older, and one should respect the elderly and cherish the young, so you may strike first. I'll make my move after you."
"Otherwise, to put it bluntly, I'm afraid you won't even get a chance to strike!"
Qianchenzi's expression remained perfectly calm, unaffected by Ji Zining's words in the slightest.
"In that case, Divine Son Hall, please be careful!"
Since he could not resort to underhanded tricks, he would fight with all his strength!