Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Blue Sea bowed, his voice full of veneration, "Patriarch, please rest assured. Since I joined the clan, I will treat the clan as my family. I will not disappoint the trust you placed in me today. If I violate this promise, I will be rejected by the abyss!"

Up high, the Ancient King Patriarch had a calm expression. "I naturally trust you, otherwise you would not be chosen as the alternative."

He waved his hand, "Go. The Chosen Platform will soon arrive. The Ancient King's Lineage will support you to obtain the qualifications to enter with all our strength."

"Yes." Blue Sea bowed once again. After taking several steps back, he turned and left.

A voice in the hall sounded out, "Patriarch, why did you choose him?"

Then, another demon said, "Qi Zhen might have died, but our bloodline still has numerous outstanding juniors."

"Blue Sea might be splendid, but he is not from our family!"

Many voices in the hall were filled with anxiousness and confusion.

But before, none of them expressed their opposition. This was the power and authority of the Ancient King Patriarch!

The Ancient King Patriarch lightly said, "I have already contemplated this matter. There's no need to say anything else." He waved a hand, "You may all leave."

"Yes, Patriarch."

"Then I shall excuse myself."

Figures quietly left the hall one after another. Their eyes met and they could sense each other's confusion and helplessness.

Blue Sea… it was actually Blue Sea!

Let alone others, even they who could be considered top figures of the Ancient King's Lineage still felt disbelief over this decision.

Just what was the Patriarch thinking?

The hall emptied out until only the Ancient King Patriarch was left. His faint and quiet eyes rippled with turbulent waves.

Qi Zhen should have become the King but he perished ahead of time. From that moment, the entire chess game had turned chaotic and unpredictable. If so, why not throw in another bomb and see what power was hiding behind Blue Sea?

By making the situation even more volatile, he might be able to take this opportunity to use the power of the ancestral land to destroy the claws hidden in some people's hearts…did they really think that the Nightmare Clan was something they could covet?

"Ancestral land…" The Ancient King Patriarch mumbled beneath his breath. After a moment, he chuckled.

His laugh was bitter and deep, but was even more a mockery of himself. He laughed at himself as well as the others in the clan that were like him.

The Nightmare Clan's ancestral land was known as the foundation of the entire tribe and was the envy and awe of all parties in the abyss…yet they themselves also felt awe and dread and needed to borrow the hands of outsiders to probe it.

This was simply a joke!

…

Three days later, the Chosen Platform arrived. It really was just an incomparably giant stone platform. Every inch of it was covered with traces of the baptism of time. The tiny cracks and markings exuded the breath of the years.

With just one glance, one could see that it had been subjected to an almost endless span of time.

In the skies, space fiercely shook. It didn't dissipate at the Chosen Platform appeared but became increasingly violent.

It was like countless stormy waves surrounded the Chosen Platform, forming a terrifying barrier.

The Chosen Platform came from the Nightmare Ancestral Land and was a part of it. It only opened for the Nightmare Clan.

Outsiders could not enter. If they tried to break through, this terrifying spatial barrier was enough to completely destroy them!

Qin Yu looked up, his eyes falling on the skies. Even separated by a vast distance, he could feel that boundless imposing momentum.

And this imposing momentum was in great part because it was extremely, extremely large – so large that it seemed to cover the entirety of the heavens!

A summoning strength transmitted from the Chosen Platform. It wrapped around Qin Yu and became increasingly strong over time.

He had an intuition that with just a thought, he could use this summoning strength to be dragged directly onto the Chosen Platform.

Cloud Boundless took a deep breath and said, "Qin Yu, I will go together with you to enter the Chosen Platform…compete with all your strength. As long as I don't die, I will do everything in my power to protect you!"

Qin Yu nodded, not saying much.

Cloud Boundless laughed out loud, "Let's go!"

Shua –

Shua –

The two of them suddenly vanished from where they stood. Several ripples appeared where they had been like stones falling into water.

….

Qin Yu never thought that from the moment he entered the struggle on the Chosen Platform, there would not be a moment's delay before he reached the climax of it.

And what happened afterwards proved that he still underestimated the powers that had been gathered for the struggle for the Nightmare Throne.

In the top ten ranks for the nightmare beast hunt, the Ancient King's Lineage, Old King's Lineage, and New Faction took the first three spots. But while the remaining seven parties were weaker, they were still powerful and pivotal figures within the Nightmare Clan.

As people gathered atop the Chosen Platform, an invisible repelling force erupted, forcing Cloud Boundless and the other protectors to the edges of the field.

Then, a priming force was released from the Chosen Platform. It could stimulate the bloodline aura of the ten top ranked people.

It was simple and crude, yet extremely quick and effective!

The various abyssal clans were established on the basis of their bloodline. The Chosen Platform would choose the three with the strongest bloodline today, and they would be allowed to enter the ancestral land.

Of course, this was only a simplified explanation. It was naturally impossible for people to be chosen in such a simple manner.

Without further ado, the bloodline auras broke free from the ten contenders for the throne.

Bang –

Bang –

Bang –

Blood red columns appeared above their heads, rushing into the skies like infinite smoke as their own formidable oppression was recklessly released.

This was the bloodline strength within their bodies. As time passed, the blood red columns would grow higher and higher.

10 feet…30 feet...50 feet…

Cloud Boundless was expressionless, but his fists were clenched beneath his robes. Even now, the fact that Qin Yu had awakened the royal bloodline was a top-level secret.

But soon this secret would be exposed. Without a doubt, the first to turn on him would be the Ancient King's Lineage.

He looked around and saw Seven Wounds Clan Elder. Even today, it was this bastard that came. Although Cloud Boundless was confident that he could wipe the floor with this bastard, it was impossible for him to be given the chance to fight fairly.

He had to be heavy-handed and cripple someone first so he could deter the others. Otherwise, if he was besieged, even if he had three heads and six arms he still wouldn't be able to protect Qin Yu.

And Seven Wounds was undoubtedly the best candidate…thinking of this, Cloud Boundless licked his lips, a cruel light in his eyes.

Seven Wounds Clan Elder paled. He felt nervous and uneasy. Just why was that old bastard staring at him with such an expression?

The Chosen Platform sorted by bloodline and would choose the strongest three to enter the ancestral land…but in truth, after the rankings were obtained, one had to have enough strength to survive until the Chosen Platform returned to the ancestral land.

This period of time...hehe, it could be called drenched in blood!

What wasn't one willing to do for the throne?

Through countless years, as the throne changed hands, brothers turned against each other, husbands and wives split up, and brothers and sisters betrayed one another…what type of plot hadn't occurred?

As for dead people, that was far too common.

The blood red columns rapidly grew as time passed, soon breaking past 100 feet.

By now, someone's light had started to slow down. They roared in unwillingness, but there was nothing they could do to stop it.

"Humph!"

A protector demon had a face full of annoyance. The candidate for the throne that their family had chosen had only managed to create a 110 foot blood red column before it stopped growing. He was ranked first…from the bottom.

A 100 foot high blood column was the threshold for competing for the throne. There had never been a single person who hadn't achieved this.

110 feet was enough, but this result was doomed to never have the qualifications to enter the ancestral land.

Soon, blood columns of other competitors began to stop growing.

Most of them paused between 140 feet and 190 feet. The only ones to break past 200 feet were those of Qin Yu, Blue Sea, and an unfamiliar demon youth.

And these three people each represented the Old King's Lineage, Ancient King's Lineage, and New Faction!

At the edge of the Chosen Platform, a complex look appeared on the faces of the protectors whose chosen successor's blood column had stopped growing.

Disregarding the New Faction, even if Qi Zhen and Cloud Mist had died, the alternatives chosen by the Old King's Lineage and Ancient King's Lineage were still terrifyingly strong.

It had shocked everyone when the Ancient King's Lineage chose Blue Sea. As the Adversity Peak City Lord, Blue Sea's power was well known. So, when the blood column that represented his bloodline strength broke past 200 feet, no one was surprised.

But Qin Yu…

To be honest, this was also an unexpected result. No one thought that he would be the one to replace Cloud Billow.

It had to be known that even now, no one had managed to determine Qin Yu's origin. It wouldn't be going too far to say that he was an unknown factor.

The Old King's Lineage unexpectedly chose him…

And this junior's bloodline strength was astonishingly strong. After his blood column grew past 200 feet, it continued to climb, no weaker than Blue Sea and Xi Mo.

Xi Mo was the competitor that the New Faction had chosen.

The New Faction was different from both the Ancient King's Lineage and Old King's Lineage. To sum it up, they were formed from the countless grassroots that had fought and risen up. They converged together to fight for their combined interests. After a series of transformations, they finally became a massive influence.

The surname Xi was not famous within the Nightmare Clan, but if Xi Mo could defeat numerous other competitors and be chosen by the New Faction in the end, his overall strength was without doubt.

In an instant, the blood columns broke past 300 feet.

Then 400 feet…500 feet…

Only at this point did the blood columns above their heads begin to slow down.

Cloud Boundless furrowed his eyebrows. A 500 foot blood column was startling, but to someone who had awakened the royal bloodline, this wasn't a normal result.

The clan had clear records of the past. Whenever someone awakened the royal bloodline, they would directly break through 1000 feet; there were no exceptions.

Could this be an arrangement that the Patriarch had completed ahead of time? To conceal the fact that Qin Yu had awakened the royal bloodline until after they entered the ancestral land…hehe, of course Blue Sea and Xi Mo had no chance of succeeding!

The Patriarch was truly worthy of being the Patriarch. He even dared to intervene with the Chosen Platform. He was just amazing beyond compare!

Cloud Boundless relaxed. Before he came today he had prepared himself for the worst possible situation. Even if he died, had to protect Qin Yu with all his strength.

But if didn't have to risk his life, it couldn't be any better…living was wonderful. Only the perverted and abnormal wanted to die!

As Cloud Boundless was overjoyed that he wouldn't need to go all out, Qin Yu was actually muttering in his heart.

That Old King Patriarch, after staring at him and pressing him for his status, had vanished like a shadow.

Even now after entering the Chosen Platform, Qin Yu still hadn't seen him.

So when Cloud Boundless imagined that the so-called Patriarch was epic and amazing and well-prepared, the truth was that his shadow was nowhere behind his incident.

At this time, Qin Yu could clearly feel the blood energy surging within him like a stormy sea.

But it seemed to be trapped in a net with one hole open in it, making it so that his bloodline aura was limited.

And this opening was constantly shrinking, causing the bloodline aura he released to lessen.

This was the reason for the current sight, where his blood column slowed down at almost the same time as Blue Sea and Xi Mo.

The Chosen Platform was a part of the Nightmare Ancestral Land. In other words, was the ancestral land helping him conceal his bloodline?

What was the reason for this?

Although he had no idea what sort of existence the Old Turtle in the ancestral land was, from inside it that existence was able to control the entire Nightmare Clan. Even Qi Zhen and Thousandhonor Marquis felt extreme dread towards it. Formidable characters like the Old King Patriarch and Ancient King Patriarch both kept their distance from it.

If it was so formidable, would it really be unaware of everything occurring in the outside world?

The new King candidate that Old Turtle had chosen was undoubtedly Qi Zhen. But, Qi Zhen had died. Qin Yu had now leapt out, becoming the new 'person with the awakened royal bloodline'.

Would Old Turtle not notice Qin Yu? Would it not think that this character that existed outside the rules might represent danger?

It was because of this that Qin Yu was confused. The other party had no reason to help him conceal himself and smoothly enter the ancestral land.

What it should do was find a way to destroy Qin Yu and erase all unknown variables before they had a chance to grow…as for who entered the ancestral land in the end…as long as it wasn't Qin Yu, then the result likely wouldn't be any different.

The Nightmare King would still be the Nightmare King.