While the Patriarch Bodhi's disciples were inevitably disappointed by the result, but many had actually already seen this coming.
They had watched many Immortal Emperor Trials, and each time many high-ranking descendants had flocked to the competition. They too knew that privilege bestowed power. But they still held out hope.
Mortal-borns winning was not unheard of, although they were few and far between.
"Undulating Tides Immortal King was close. If it wasn't You Dongxuan but someone else, he might have made it through. You Dongxuan is skilled indeed."
"Oh yes. Their cultivation journey is smooth sailing, with ancestors who can control all. They have no want for cultivation resources either."
Complete Zen Immortal Emperor and Memory Space Immortal Emperor agreed.
Before long, Wu Yu could feel eyes on him again. He knew that the Patriarch Bodhi's disciples held high hopes for him.
That Wu Yu could kill Mo Liyin proved that he was a second tier eternal immortal emperor in strength, at least.
Mo Liyin had also been a disciple of the Patriarch Bodhi, but he had been puffed up with his status as the Dhrtarastra's brother, and did not mingle with the other disciples usually. He preferred to look down on them instead, and had invited ill feeling against him.
There was no one on good terms with Mo Liyin in the Patriarch Bodhi's sect. Therefore, his death did not lead to ostracism against Wu Yu.
Instead, they only thought better of Wu Yu, hoping that he could defeat even more immortal emperor descendants, and win some glory for the mortal-born immortals. He was their hope at showing that a privileged background was not everything.
The Wheel of Taichi continued to glow, pairing up the competitors.
The Immortal Emperor Trials was conducted with complete impartiality.
In the mini world of Giant Astral Prison, the glittering stars and appreciative spectators built the atmosphere well.
The hot favorites took to the field as well, defeating their opponents soundly.
Li Tianji's conduct, however, left the Patriarch Bodhi's disciples fuming with indignation.
His opponent was one Spirit Sword Immortal King, a mortal-born 9-heavens immortal king.
Li Tianji had insisted he surrender from the start, but Spirit Sword Immortal King had wanted to test his skills. It was a good thing for him to actually experience how wide the skill disparity was.
But as they started fighting, Li Tianji refrained from defeating Spirit Sword Immortal King, instead choosing to humiliate him.
First, he stripped Spirit Sword Immortal King of his clothes, and sent blast after blast of heavenly rule power at his bottom, turning it into a mass of pulped flesh. He even sealed him up and started lashing at him.
This was a battle that could have been ended in one move, but Li Tianji had decided to make a cruel spectacle of it, humiliating Spirit Sword Immortal King badly.
Spirit Sword Immortal King was crawling with shame. Completely dominated by Li Tianji, he was unable to even surrender now if he wished. He could not even open his mouth!
Some of the audience whooped and cheered for more - including Peach Cloud Fairy, Happy Fleece Fairy, as well as the son of Father of Thunder and Mother of Lightning, Lei Tianyuan.
To them, these immortal kings were peasants. Even if they made it to immortal emperor, they would have no influence or power.
Therefore, Spirit Sword Immortal King's refusal to surrender immediately had irritated them. Was he looking down on Li Tianji?
Served him right then! His humiliation was well deserved!
But the immortal emperors of Mettle Sky, the Patriarch Bodhi's disciples, saw this in bad taste. They were even angrier at Li Tianji now. After all, they too empathized with his humble background. They had come this far on the basis of their own efforts, grinding out every step of cultivation.
It was a painful and tedious process, and a thousand- ten thousand times harder than what these immortal emperor descendants went through! And yet they were being mocked and slighted. This was a complete dismissal of their hard work!
How could they possibly feel kindly towards Li Tianji.
If not for Nezha shouting a few reprimands from the stands, Li Tianji would probably not end the shaming. Even so, Li Tianji delivered a torturous final blow to Spirit Sword Immortal King.
Spirit Sword Immortal King collapsed to the floor, fainted. The Patriarch Bodhi sent people to save him. It was the first time that such a humiliation had occurred.
Even the Patriarch Bodhi was not looking happy.
This was the reason why Lotus Prince Nezha decided to offer a scolding to Li Tianji. Otherwise, there would be no end to the shaming.
"As if big sister Luo Pin would ever take a liking to such a mean brat! Even if all the men of the sky palaces died, big sister Luo Pin wouldn't accept him. Hmph!" Ye Xixi huffed, her little fists balled up in frustration.
"Ah, let him have his moment. The more full of himself he is, the more stuffing there is to beat out of him when Old Wu rolls around. Not even his own father will recognize him after it's done!" Full Moon of Nanshan was a little less caring about it. He knew that the world was ruled by the strong.
If Spirit Sword Immortal King had been a bit stronger, Li Tianji would not have been inspired to such brutality.
If it had been Wu Yu instead, Li Tianji would have suffered horribly with the same attitude. Full Moon of Nanshan knew that Wu Yu was also exceptional in their generation. He had already defeated an immortal emperor many years before.
Back at Eternal Emperor Tomb, Wu Yu had already defeated the Violet-Eyed Emperor's corpse puppet, in collaboration with other 9-heavens demon kings. That had been his first encounter against an immortal emperor.
Since then, all of Wu Yu's opponents had basically been immortal emperors.
"That's right. Big brother Yu has never lost to someone at the same cultivation realm before. Once big brother Yu goes up, that Li Tianji is finished." Ye Xixi sulked, still unhappy about how Spirit Sword Immortal King had been beaten.
Even more infuriating were the spectators who had cheered the bullying, including Happy Fleece Fairy, Peach Cloud Fairy, and Lei Tianyuan. They had watched on with cruel satisfaction, even clapping to express their appreciation.
Wu Yu had been left towards the end by the Wheel of Taichi. There were not many options left for his opponent.
The light continued to dance around, and finally stopped on one of the still-sniggering immortal emperor descendants. He stood beside the Father of Thunder and Mother of Lightning. Lei Tianyuan!
A hush fell over the crowd as the light stopped on Lei Tianyuan.
Wu Yu's debut would be against Lei Tianyuan!
There was a loud explosion of cheers. There had been no spectacular fight so far, but Wu Yu against Lei Tianyuan promised spectacle in spades. It should be quite an intense fight.
After all, Wu Yu had defeated second tier immortal emperor Mo Liyin. He had proven his ability.
Lei Tianyuan, that went without saying.
Father of Thunder was on good terms with True Lord Erlang, and their children had grown up as best buddies. Even now, they were friends and friendly rivals.
Lei Tianyuan had always been about as strong as Yang Qiang.
The immortal emperor descendants interacted on a usual basis, and they knew what Lei Tianyuan was capable of.
"Lei Tianyuan is about as strong as our daughter. This Wu Yu should be no problem." Dong Hua Great Emperor Lord noted with a smug smile.
From beside him, Mysterious Spiritual Dipper Empress nodded. "Indeed. Lei Tianyuan only lost by a little to my daughter the last time, and I heard he had a breakthrough recently. He must have grown stronger. He won't be defeated by Wu Yu."
If not for Wu Yu's recent adventures, the immortal emperors would not even have paid attention to him.
In truth, these immortal emperors knew little of what Wu Yu was capable of, nor did they care to. How could a mere mortal-born hope to compete with the wealth of advantage they had given their descendants?
They had an abundance of cultivation resources to bury their descendants in. They could ensure perfect conditions free of any worries or troubles. They could even teach them themselves, and their path of cultivation would never go astray from the right path. In terms of Mystiques, heavenly rules, and epochal immortal treasures, they were way ahead of the mortal-born.
After learning his opponent, Wu Yu was not at all afraid.
He walked up to the arena, glancing at Lei Tianyuan. His face was indigo, his hair a cinnabar red. His eyes were crazed, and his teeth protruded out from his lips. He stood a full 2 zhang tall, and had a pair of magnificent eagle wings on his back that controlled the power of thunder and lightning. His eyes shone with electrical power.
Lei Tianyuan had been laughing and joking with his friends, and was surprised at his match-up.
"Hahaha, look guys, the kid's turn is finally here. I, Lei Tianyuan, am going to show him just what we immortal emperor descendants are capable of. Yang Qiang, gonna take your opponent away. No need to thank me."
Saying so, his grotesque lip curled in a maniacal way. He had always been a fiesty one, and now flew over, ready to take Wu Yu in a storm of fury.
Yang Qiang maintained his expression of cruel bloodthirst, betraying no other emotion.
He wanted to kill Wu Yu, but if someone was going to do the deed for him, he didn't particularly mind. Dead was dead, no matter who did the killing.
However, it was Li Tianji who laughed loudly. "Wu Yu, dont die to Lei Tianyuan. Your life is mine, and your mystical dragon Luo Pin is also my woman!"