The Legend of Futian

te, Ye Futian was probably the only one throughout all nine states who came to watch the event as a Palace Lord of a sacred ground, and it was expected for him to be assigned to the worst possible corner.

Sage Wanxiang, Zhuge Qingfeng, and the others were all, without a doubt, upset, but like Ye Futian, they knew deep down how things actually were, and they had no right to actually voice their dissatisfaction.
If Ye Futian had not been here, there would have had nothing to say even if the Barren State was assigned to be at the bottom.
They knew well that the Barren State was the weakest, after all.

However, things were different with Ye Futian around.
He was the Palace Lord of a sacred ground in the Barren State, which meant that he should have been seen at the same level as saints of other sacred grounds, and had the right to be assigned to the noblest seat at the east.
But they knew that ’same level ’ was meaningless, as there was simply no way for a sage to be of the same level as a saint.
Still, Ye Futian was still a Palace Lord of a sacred ground, and with the rest of them around, they should have at least been assigned to the same seats as that of the other states.
The eventual outcome, however, had them assigned the worst corner, which spoke volumes of how insignificant they were in the eyes of other states.

They naturally understood these differences deep down, but it was still impossible for them to not actually harbor any dissatisfaction about how things.
It was still irksome to be disrespected, after all.

Ye Futian did not think much about it.
He came to understand how things worked back when the Chess Saint chose Liu Zong in the Chess Saint Villa.
In the eyes of saints of the Eastern State, he, the Palace Lord of the Holy Zhi Palace, could not even have been compared to heirs of sacred grounds, let alone at the same level as lords of other sacred grounds.
As such, there was simply nothing surprising as to how things were arranged that day.
It was all the same with the three saints of Xihua Sacred Mountain.

They needed to get used to all that.

Most importantly, it was now the Nine State Forum.

Ye Futian gazed forward.
There was a wide area at the edge of the very vast forum stage, which too was being divided into nine areas and carved with the names of all nine state, which went in the order of Summer, Qi, Cloud… Barren.
The order which the nine areas were arranged corresponded to the statuses of sacred grounds throughout all states.

At that very moment, the mighty ones from the Eastern State were being escorted forth, arriving at that area assigned to the Eastern State at the edge of the forum stage.

Mighty ones who were participating in the Nine State Forum then arrived one after another.
The order they entered was the same as how the ones from sacred grounds entered before.
The participants of the forum also entered in order, and they entered from the corner the spectators of their states were assigned to.

The ones from the Eastern and Summer States emerged from the east.
The ones from Barren State entered last and from the west.
Due to the small number appearing below Ye Futian and how they took one entire corner for themselves, they looked lonesome and dismal.

Countless people were escorted to the grandstands behind Ye Futian, filling that place up.
While Ye Futian was somewhat in front of where those people were, he felt as if he was being surrounded by the spectators behind him, becoming part of the crowd.
It was a far cry from the other eight states, which actually took one noble area and sat on high platforms, looking regal and imposing.

Things were getting very rowdy behind them.
While the spectators all observed the rules closely, with such a massive number of people being admitted to such a wide area, even a tiny bit of sound made by one person would have been able to drown the place in an uproar due to the massive number of people.
However, due to the forum stage being so enormous, those from other corners would have hardly been affected, with only Ye Futian and his peoples ’ ears ringing from the noise.
Sage Wanxiang and the others looked even more irked as a result.
They came to think more and more that they were in an awkward situation.

Yu Sheng, Hua Jieyu, and the others stood below.
They were all able to see what was happening just by lifting their heads.
They looked at the people of the other states.
All of those from sacred grounds looked regal, with the exception of those from the Barren State.
The Barren State was the only state that looked incredibly peculiar and awkward.

”They seem to be looking down on us, ” Xu Que said lazily.
He squinted his eyes into a line and looked rather displeased.
He was able to tolerate the time when they entered the mountain, but the scene before him made him struggle to hide his displeasure.

Coldness was seen in Hua Jieyu ’s eyes as she lifted her head to look at Ye Futian, yet Ye Futian simply smiled beamingly at her, as if he had no regard about all that.
She pouted a bit at Ye Futian, showing her displeasure.

Yu Sheng had always been rather short-fused.
Probably due to the fact that he was practicing demonic arts, he always had a quick temper.
Ye Futian was still a leader of the Barren State.
It was bad enough that they were being assigned last.
The scene unfolding before them made him even more irked than him.
He began walking forward, leaving the area assigned to the Barren State, heading for the center of the forum stage.
The spot faced Xihua Sacred Mountain of the Eastern State at the east corner.

”Back off. ” At the east corner, there were several elders who were standing at the edge, managing the event.
The saint lord of Xihua Sacred Mountain had yet to announce the beginning of the Nine State Forum and Yu Sheng had already walked out.
Does he know anything about manners?

”Yu Sheng, get back here. ” Ye Futian frowned, looking at Yu Sheng ’s antics.
What is this guy up to now? This is the Nine State Forum and people of sacred grounds of all the nine states are here.
There is simply no meaning to offending Xihua Sacred Mountain over something so trivial.

Ye Futian knew very well that respect had to be earned through showing capability and that the Barren State, as they were, lacked such capabilities.

Yu Sheng turned around and glanced at Ye Futian.
He did not return as told.
He would have been fine if he was the one getting insulted.
The Nine State Forum would have been the first time Ye Futian would have appeared on the stage of the nine states as a leader of the Barren State.
Yu Sheng was compelled to retrieve all the face Ye Futian deserved but lost.

”Yu Sheng, student of the Holy Zhi Palace of the Barren State, greets all elders and seniors from sacred grounds, ” Yu Sheng said with a powerful voice.
Ye Futian took one look at Yu Sheng and stopped worrying somewhat.
It seemed that Yu Sheng had changed a bit after spending so much time with him.
He would no longer do something without any regard for consequences, and he knew what he stood for!