novelJust Here to Serve as a Foil
| ← Ch.2064 | Ch.2066 → |
The Peach Blossom Sovereign Emperor's move surprised everyone, catching them off guard.
Each wine cup instantly knocked four to five people, who bore the brunt of the force, off the platform in sorry states.
Even Sovereign Personages could not bear the force from the wine cups. This showed how shockingly strong the force in the wine cups was.
However, the many brewers standing on the tall platform did not get injured.
The Peach Blossom Sovereign Emperor probably made a move to protect them. His targets were very clear, and the innocent would not suffer harm.
Xiao Chen had less than three seconds to think.
It would be hard to decide within three seconds. One could dodge, but the wine cup would shoot past. There would not be anything to catch even if one wanted to try.
All the outstanding talents present had to adapt to the situation in the time it took for a spark to fly. This required an extremely high level of adaptability.
Xiao Chen thought for only one second before making his move at lightning speed.
He immediately drove his Vital Qi, locking onto a wine cup flying towards him. Then, he reached out and grabbed it.
"Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!"
The wine swished around rapidly in the wine cup, exerting a huge force that numbed his arm slightly.
Xiao Chen wobbled. However, he kept his composure in the impending danger. His right hand swayed slightly as he dissipated the force from the cup.
Then, he firmly set the wine cup on the table.
"Bang!"
In the time Xiao Chen caught the wine cup, a few of the Rank 7 true inheritors caught the wine cups like he did as well. However, the bones in their arms shattered, and the wine cup sent them flying.
Second cup.
After Xiao Chen firmly caught one cup, he found doing so much easier the second time around. Soon, he placed the second wine cup on the table.
"Interesting. I like interesting things, and more would be better!" Pei Shaoxuan guffawed after catching three cups of wine and drinking them.
Pei Shaoxuan made a ferocious move, sending out a wave of energy.
"Ding! Ding! Dang! Dang!" Immediately, more than one hundred wine cups shattered. The splattering wine flew in all directions like rain, carrying a huge force.
The rain of wine splattered several people, tearing their skin and flesh and causing them to scream miserably.
"Here's a cup for you!"
Xiahou Wu suddenly laughed sinisterly and tossed a wine cup in his hand at Xiao Chen."Crash!" This wine cup broke the wine cup that Xiao Chen was about to catch, creating sharp shards.
Xiao Chen's expression did not change. He gently waved his right hand, and a saber wind swept out. It turned the many shards into a storm of sabers flying at Xiahou Wu.
Xiahou Wu, who was waiting to see Xiao Chen's humiliation, was startled. He had not expected Xiao Chen to so casually resolve the danger and even materialize such a terrifying saber wind. It caught him off guard, and he quickly dodged in a sorry fashion.
After one attempt, Xiahou Wu no longer dared to seek trouble for Xiao Chen and focused on getting his third wine cup.
When all the wine cups in the air had flown past, only nine people had managed to catch three wine cups properly. The Peach Blossom Sovereign Emperor's move directly eliminated most of the competitors in the Wine King Contest.
"Not bad, there are still nine people remaining. I know most of you are here for the Ethereal Immortal Palace's key. However, if you are not strong enough, you will just be sending yourself to death. So, don't blame me for chasing you off."
The Peach Blossom Sovereign Emperor showed a smile that did not seem like a smile. The Wine King Contest was just a game to him.
The disqualified cultivators and the people outside watching the excitement now understood.
So, this was the reason. No wonder there were no such rules in the past Wine King Contests.
The Peach Blossom Sovereign Emperor said after a pause, "After drinking my wine, it is time for me to drink your wines. Come on. Bring your wines up. Let me see what fine wines Old Cui picked out for me."
Wang Yun, the Heavenly Slaughter Sect's Young Sect Master, clapped his hands, and the brewer behind him quickly took out a bottle of wine.
After receiving the bottle of wine, Wang Yun stepped forward first.
"I specially prepared this Unfettered Sky for Senior Peach Blossom. This is a forbidden wine of the Xuewu Dynasty. All you need is one cup, and you can dream of anything you want, fulfilling your wishes. Appraisers, do think carefully before drinking it."
Wang Yun felt very confident in his Unfettered Sky, showing a trace of a smile on his face.
"Unfettered Sky!"
"I heard that ordinary people cannot drink this wine. With just one sip, they would die of happiness. Even cultivators cannot casually drink it unless they have an extraordinary mental state."
"The materials for this forbidden wine are extremely rare. To think that Wang Yun managed to find them."
"I thought that Xiahou Wu would win this time. It looks like that is not certain anymore."
Hearing these discussions, Wang Yun felt very cocky.
Beside the Peach Blossom Sovereign Emperor, Drunkard Cui waved his hand and said, "You may withdraw first. The people behind are still waiting."
Wang Yun could not help feeling slightly embarrassed. He thought that by submitting this forbidden wine, the Peach Blossom Sovereign Emperor would view him in a different light and speak a few words to him. Unexpectedly, Senior Cui chased him away so directly.
"In that case, this junior will withdraw first."
Wang Yun withdrew, and Pei Shaoxuan stepped forward. With two hands, he offered up a round, clay-encrusted bottle of wine. This bottle looked ancient.
Pei Shaoxuan smiled and said, "I don't know what wine this is, but I dug it up from the ground and have not opened it before. I believe that it should be at least three thousand years old. Perhaps the City Lord will like it."
The moment Pei Shaoxuan said this, he set the place abuzz.
This Pei Shaoxuan was really messing around. How dare he bring wine dug up from a grave to participate in the Wine King Contest?
What flabbergasted everyone was that even Pei Shaoxuan did not know what wine it was.
The Peach Blossom Sovereign Emperor raised an eyebrow and looked at Pei Shaoxuan. Then, he asked, "Don't you feel that it is heavy?"
Pei Shaoxuan smiled and said, "It is quite heavy."
"Pa!"
The Peach Blossom Sovereign Emperor clapped his hands, and the clay around the bottle cracked. Soon after, the bottle also shattered.
White, crystalline bones appeared, flickering with a cold light. They looked extraordinarily sinister and gave off an oppressive cold Qi.
This was a bottle of bone wine. Furthermore, the owner of the bones was at least a Sovereign Emperor.
The sudden appearance of sinister bones startled everyone. Even Pei Shaoxuan could not help retreating a few steps as he paled.
Unexpectedly, he had been carrying a bottle of bones.
There was some liquid amid the bones, flickering with a crystalline light under the sunlight.
"You may withdraw, " the Peach Blossom Sovereign Emperor said indifferently before Pei Shaoxuan left with some lingering fear.
The people who were initially laughing at Pei Shaoxuan were now silent, utterly stunned.
First, there was Wang Yun's forbidden wine, Unfettered Sky. Then, there was Pei Shaoxuan's mysterious bone wine. The wines of these two Demonic Dao cultivators were unorthodox, making this Wine King Contest unpredictable.
Closely following that, the others stepped forward and offered up the wines they brought.
Without exception, all of the wines were excellent brews of the mortal realm, an eye-opener for everyone and shocking them.
When Xiahou Wu stepped forward and brought out Great Master Yuanfei's Nine-Colored Divine Phoenix, it shocked everyone.
"My goodness! It actually is the Nine-Colored Divine Phoenix. Great Master Yuanfei truly lives up to his reputation."
"After Great Master Neng Xinyun passed away five hundred years ago, no one has managed to brew the Nine-Colored Divine Phoenix. Unexpectedly, we get to see this wine resurface today!"
"I thought that the title of Wine King would be taken away by the Demonic Dao's people. Great Master Yuanfei is truly incredible. To think that he managed to take out the Nine-Colored Divine Phoenix."
The Peach Blossom Sovereign Emperor could not help showing slight excitement. He said softly, "I drank the last bottle of Nine-Colored Divine Phoenix one hundred years ago. Unexpectedly, I get to see it again today. Great Master, many thanks."
Great Master Yuanfei held his hands together on the tall platform and bowed."City Lord is too polite. The best wine is born only because of people who genuinely understand wine. Without the Peach Blossom Wine Festival, there would not be a Nine-Colored Divine Phoenix."
These words pleased the Peach Blossom Sovereign Emperor. He said to Xiahou Wu, "You may stay. Sit beside me."
Xiahou Wu rejoiced. After a bow, he walked over quickly.
These actions caused a commotion below. Since the Peach Blossom Sovereign Emperor behaved like that, it looked like the title of Wine King would go to Great Master Yuanfei.
Evidently, the victor of this Wine King Contest would still be Xiahou Wu.
Everyone else already submitted their wine. Only Xiao Chen remained.
Xiao Chen had two choices. The first was to follow the old plan and use Waning Moon to compete. The other was to take out Heart Burn.
However, in honesty, Xiao Chen felt that even if he took out Heart Burn in this situation, he still might not win. He had not expected Xiahou Wu to bring the Nine-Colored Divine Phoenix.
The grade of such wine was no lower than that of Heart Burn. Since Great Master Neng Xinyun passed away, no one had been able to brew it for several hundred years, making it even more precious.
Most importantly, the Peach Blossom Sovereign Emperor showed a special fondness for it, cherishing its memory.
When Xiahou Wu saw that Xiao Chen did not move, he smiled and said, "Xiao Chen, why don't you step forward? If you are too embarrassed at being unable to bring out any good wine, you can give up. There is no need to feel ashamed."
Indeed, any of the eight wines presented so far could be considered superior fine wine.
The people who were eliminated even secretly rejoiced. This was good. Had they remained and taken out wines of low grades, the embarrassment would be worse than what they suffered.
The others shared Xiahou Wu's thought, believing that Xiao Chen could not bring out an equivalent wine and felt embarrassed.
When the Peach Blossom Sovereign Emperor saw the situation, he consoled softly, "Little Friend, just come up and present your wine; there is no need to worry. Being able to stand to the end is already an accomplishment. No matter what wine you bring, even if it is just water, it is better than those who failed to qualify to stand here."
When Xiao Chen heard that, he could not help feeling somewhat disappointed.
Xiao Chen was a smart person. The Peach Blossom Sovereign Emperor's words were just consolation.
The Peach Blossom Sovereign Emperor's meaning was obvious. He had already picked the best wine. No matter what wine Xiao Chen brought, it was pointless since the Peach Blossom Sovereign Emperor already felt satisfied.
Xiao Chen smiled bitterly. He did not say anything, merely went forward to place Heart Burn with the other wines. Then, he returned to his seat without saying anything.
Xiao Chen no longer held hope. The Peach Blossom Sovereign Emperor liked only the Nine-Colored Divine Phoenix. The other fine wines were destined just to serve as its foil.
| ← Ch. 2064 | Ch. 2066 → |