Evolution Begins With A Big Tree

Chapter 1159, The Ten Divine Beasts

Translator:  Ashish

Translation Checker: Silvain

When it came to trump cards, Yu Zi Yu never believed one could have too many.

However, in his current realm, techniques truly worthy of being called trump cards were exceedingly rare.

Even the Minor Divine Ability he once painstakingly refined, the Elemental Tide, now seemed no more than a passing trick in his eyes.

To put it simply, techniques like Elemental Tide had already been reduced to mere conventional means for someone of his level.

Thus, reinforcing his hidden cards was of particular importance to Yu Zi Yu now.

“During the Tribulation, the Sixteen Holy Wings went unexposed. That can serve as a trump card… As for my Nine Realms of Heaven and the incomplete One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones, they, too, count… Even the mysterious Tenth Realm, despite being seen by outsiders, its profundity remains veiled in mist. It can also be counted as a trump card,” murmuring to himself, Yu Zi Yu had a clear grasp of his own cards.

At his level, if a trump card could not threaten even a Hegemon, then it was utterly meaningless.

Abilities like the Mist Beasts, the two Tier-6 Overlords, the Light and Dark Twin Kings—while formidable in the past had lost much of their relevance now.

Their might now might not even match a single whip of his branch.

It was really unfortunate.

However, such was the price of progressing too swiftly. His own cultivation outpaced the evolution of his companions.

Fortunately, they could all still be refined further.

All he needed was time. A brief period for consolidation. Once he broke through to the Tier-7, becoming a Hegemon, each of these abilities could once again be pushed to terrifying new heights through the use of Evolution Points.

As for now, there was nothing he could do to hasten their advancement.

After all, although his physical body had reached Seventh Order, and his combat strength rivaled Hegemons, his actual cultivation remained at merely Half-Step Tier-7.

“Alas, how regrettable…” Sighing twice in succession, Yu Zi Yu’s gaze drifted once more to the not-so-distant Nine Tails.

“Stabilize your cultivation. Once your foundation is firm… come see me again.” Saying so, Yu Zi Yu flicked his sleeve.

In the next instant, three gourds, shimmering like crystalline jade, arced through the air, flying toward Nine Tails.

It was a gift to commemorate her breakthrough.

These were no ordinary gourds. Each of them was a Tier-5 Treasure, born from a Seven-Colored Bottle Gourd, a High-Grade Spirit Plant in the Demon Court.

As for the treasures they held, their value defied imagination.

Even most Hegemons would find it difficult to get their hands on them

Within the three gourds were the Primordial Yin and Yang Energies, the Nine-Colored Spirit Essence drawn from the Well of Elements, and the Holy Essence drawn from the Angel Clan’s Well of Light.

Each one was the most precious treasure in the world.

If not for the fact that the recipient was Nine Tails herself, Yu Zi Yu would not have offered them so easily.

Of course, the quantity he gifted was not that much.

Take the Holy Essence, for example, there were only three drops.

However, that alone would be more than sufficient.

The Primordial Yin and Yang Energies could be refined to enrich her foundation, or even used to temper Artifacts.

The Nine-Colored Spirit Essence would support her cultivation for decades without waning.

And the Holy Essence could cleanse her body, mind, and even the Soul itself.

This, in fact, was the Demon Court’s greatest heritage, something not privy to its non-core members; something even his own Disciples, Shalira or Bosun, knew nothing about.

Despite bearing the title of ‘Disciple,’ they had not inherited anything from Yu Zi Yu.

In fact, they held lower status than Nine Tails, Ling Er and the others.

The current Yu Zi Yu had yet to consider taking on a true Disciple.

He was still too young. So young, in fact, that thoughts of legacy and passing down his lineage had not yet taken root.

Perhaps, in another thousand years, he would give it some thought.

Meanwhile, as her gaze fell upon the three floating gourds, a flicker of understanding crossed Nine Tails’ face. She bowed deeply and thanked, her voice quivering with emotion, “Thank you, Master…for your boundless grace.”

“You and I… must we still speak of such courtesy like this?”

A soft chuckle rang out, and Nine Tails stiffened.

When she lifted her gaze once more, the white-robed figure had long vanished—vanished without a trace.

All that remained… were a few jade-green leaves dancing through the air.

Such was her Master.

Appearing and disappearing like the wind. He was impossible to seek, impossible to fathom.

The only reason she could meet him was simply because she was Nine Tails.

Had it been any other person, they might not even catch a glimpse of him.

To the world, the Divine Tree had already become nothing more than legend.

There were few, very few, who had even glimpsed his silhouette.

…

With Nine Tails’ breakthrough, it was only natural to expect that Little Tenth would soon follow.

After all, both had inherited the Tier-6 Legacy of the Elemental Clan. Their ascension was not a matter of possibility, but of time.

Now that Nine Tails had taken the lead, Little Tenth’s breakthrough was surely close at hand.

However, just then, as if struck by a sudden thought, Yu Zi Yu’s eyes narrowed slightly, a subtle glint surfacing in their depths.

[Nine Tails and Golden Ant, two of the ten Divine Beasts, have already ascended to Tier-6. It’s merely a matter of time before Little Tenth joins them. And once all ten Divine Beasts under my command stand at that level… the entire Demon Court will shake the very stars.]

[For millennia to come, Tier-6s will remain unmatched. Tier-7… that is not a height reached through simple toil or luck. Even the most powerful races across history can count their Hegemons on a single hand. It is Tier-6s who will hold dominion over the universe. For any great power, the Tier-7s will be the hidden foundations, while Tier-6s would be their peak strength, who will spread their name and power. But should all ten of my beasts reach such heights, then ‘Ten Suns’ would blaze across the vast starry expanse, their power shaking galaxies.]

A faint smile tugged at Yu Zi Yu’s lips, and in the depths of his gaze bloomed a hint of expectation.

His dream to see all ten reach Tier-6 was, in fact, not a delusion on his part.

Old First, Nine Tails, had already taken that step.

Old Second, Bull Demon, now stood at the Peak of Tier-5.

Old Third, White Tiger was a Half-Step Overlord.

Old Fourth, Sacrcosuchus, who was leading the charge against the Elemental Clan, was another famed Half-Step Overlord.

As for Old Fifth, Golden Ant, he was already a full-fledge Tier-6.

Old Sixth, Thorns, hidden from the world within the blood seas of the Tree World, was also a Half-Step Overlord.

Then there were Old Seventh and Old Eighth, Titan and Tundra. Titan had been granted the Elemental Heart of Steel by Yu Zi Yu, making him a part of rare Elemental Clan Lineage, the Steel Elemental Lineage.

Now that the Demon Court had gotten their hands on most of the inheritance of the Elemental Clan, it was only a matter of time before Titan emerged as the fearsome ‘Steel Dragon King.’

Old Eighth, Tundra, harbored within him Yu Zi Yu’s Tree Heart, a vessel of endless Vitality that constantly nourished his form.

Once Yu Zi Yu had the time to refine the Tree Heart once more, raising it to the level of a Tier-7 Treasure, Tundra would undergo another qualitative transformation, one that would reshape his fate and grant him a huge fortune.

The Tree Heart was no ordinary treasure. It was a piece of Yu Zi Yu himself. It was a hidden card, unknown to the world. It was his second life.

Should calamity ever befall him, Yu Zi Yu could resurrect himself through the Tree Heart.

And such a card, placed in the hands of the most low-key Tundra, in fact, was also a small strategy of Yu Zi Yu.

And the last two, Old Ninth, Brewmaster, and Little Tenth.

Brewmaster was an esteemed smith with boundless talent. If he focused on cultivation, even he had a fair chance of reaching Tier-6.

And Little Tenth’s breakthrough was already within sight.

In other words… Yu Zi Yu’s Ten Divine Beasts, each one handpicked by him, all had a chance to step into Tier-6.