“Master, his name is Yingshan Xueying, a descendant of the Yingshan Clan from the Southern Cloud Nation,” the man kneeling outside quickly reminded. “The Yingshan Matriarch holds some grudges against our Qianyi Clan.”
“Hmph, our Qianyi Clan never took that Yingshan Matriarch seriously. It’s just her clinging to old grievances,” the purple-robed woman inside the bamboo hut scoffed lightly. “No need to bother with that old hag. Go ahead and deliver my invitation to Yingshan Xueying. Whether he comes or not is his business.”
“Yes,” the man replied respectfully.
…
At the Southern Cloud Sacred Sect, Dongbo Xueying sat cross-legged at the edge of a cliff before his cave abode, breathing in the crisp air of the heavens and earth while intently deducing his cultivation techniques.
There was no other choice.
Within the Southern Cloud Sacred Sect, he dared not practice any overly profound techniques. After all, he had already mastered the first ten forms of the Southern Cloud Sacred Twelve Styles, leaving only the final two. If he attempted to practice them, Dongbo Xueying was ninety-nine percent certain that the array spirits of the formations laid down by the Southern Cloud Monarch would detect him!
Whether it was the Southern Cloud Capital or the Southern Cloud Sacred Sect, both were of utmost importance to the monarch—his stronghold, cultivated over countless eons.
The defenses here were undoubtedly stringent, leaving no room for weakness.
Even the meditation chambers of disciples were monitored by the array spirits. Any “loophole” left behind could be exploited by enemies in the future, becoming a breach to infiltrate the entire Southern Cloud Capital. A supreme overlord like the Southern Cloud Monarch would never allow such vulnerabilities. After all, even the Voidsky Palace conducted thorough inspections everywhere.
Under normal circumstances, the Southern Cloud Monarch paid no attention to disciples cultivating in their chambers.
Unless something unusual occurred!
A mere five-million-year-old junior practicing techniques of the ninth level of the Divine Soul Palace? That was far too bizarre! The array spirits would undoubtedly report it to the monarch.
“Given the Southern Cloud Monarch’s status, he must know about powerful beings from other source worlds reincarnating here, right?” Dongbo Xueying mused silently. “I wonder what his stance is.”
Is it benevolent?
Or malicious?
Does the ‘Sacred Master,’ the strongest in the Chaos Void, have any connection to the Heart Realm Continent?
Dongbo Xueying’s current standing was not high enough to know such secrets. Thus, he dared not gamble—he refused to leave his fate in another’s hands. The best approach was to disguise himself as a normal, albeit peerless, genius. His rate of improvement would align with the standards of the most exceptional talents across the Heart Realm Continent.
He didn’t need to be among the most monstrous prodigies of the Six Great Ancient Nations—just being recognized as the most outstanding in the Southern Cloud Nation was enough!
“Now that I’ve acquired the many precious scriptures and techniques from the Southern Cloud Sacred Sect, I could technically leave and return to Flaming Fire City,” Dongbo Xueying thought to himself. The smaller city would be far safer, with defenses nowhere near as strict as the Southern Cloud Capital! Moreover, given his current level of attainment, the Flaming Fire Marquis would never uncover his secrets.
Flaming Fire City was the ideal place for him to cultivate freely and practice his most powerful techniques.
“Hmm.”
A figure approached from afar.
“He’s here,” Dongbo Xueying thought, a faint flicker of joy in his heart.
The reason he hadn’t left immediately after obtaining the scriptures was precisely to wait for this day!
“Junior Brother Xueying,” a black-robed man outside called with a smile. “I am Tian Chunxue, having entered the Southern Cloud Sacred Sect slightly earlier than you.”
“Senior Brother Tian,” Dongbo Xueying acknowledged.
“I come on behalf of my master to invite you to a banquet,” the black-robed man said, flicking his wrist to send a pale purple invitation flying over.
Dongbo Xueying caught it. The moment he saw the words “Qianyi” on the invitation, his brow furrowed slightly, and his expression cooled. He skimmed the contents before tossing it back with a wave. “Take it back.”
The black-robed man frowned. “What? You refuse to show my master face?”
“Have you forgotten how your Qianyi Clan ambushed my ancestor back then?” Dongbo Xueying sneered.
“Fine.”
The black-robed man snorted coldly, turned, and swiftly departed.
Dongbo Xueying watched silently.
His prolonged stay at the Southern Cloud Sacred Sect was indeed to wait for someone—but not from the Qianyi Clan.
Within the Southern Cloud Capital, three major factions were known for actively befriending experts from all corners. The first was His Highness the Eldest Prince. The eldest prince was born when the Southern Cloud Monarch was still weak. Though his talent was mediocre, the monarch doted on him, which only fueled the prince’s arrogance. He was obsessed with prestige and loved associating with powerful figures.
However, the eldest prince had exceedingly high standards. Those he invited were generally at least at the Chaos Realm—and among the strongest at that level, or those with immense backgrounds. Lesser figures didn’t even catch his eye.
As a member of the Yingshan Clan and merely at the Unity Realm, Dongbo Xueying likely wouldn’t meet the standards of that arrogant “eldest prince.”
The other two factions that actively befriended experts hailed from the Six Great Ancient Nations.
One was the Qianyi Clan of the Moonflower Ancient Nation. Among the Six Great Ancient Nations, Moonflower was nearly at the bottom in terms of strength, comparable only to the Sky Devil Ancient Nation. Unlike the Sky Devil’s low-profile and reclusive nature, Moonflower was exceptionally diplomatic, with its experts visible across the entire Heart Realm Continent. They infiltrated everywhere, scouring ancient ruins of powerful figures in search of treasures, secret manuals, and techniques.
The Qianyi Clan was a massive family with a staggering eight Cosmic Deities!
‘Qianyi Xiao’ was the Qianyi Clan’s representative in the Southern Cloud Nation—a supreme expert at the ninth level of the Chaos Realm. By forging friendships far and wide, he subtly expanded Moonflower’s influence within the Southern Cloud Nation.
Unfortunately…
During an expedition to an ancient ruin, the Qianyi Clan had schemed against the Yingshan Matriarch for treasure. The matriarch, known for her fiery temper, engaged them in a brutal battle. However, the Moonflower Ancient Nation was, after all, one of the Six Great Ancient Nations—far surpassing the Southern Cloud Nation in strength. With the Qianyi Clan alone boasting eight Cosmic Deities, the Southern Cloud Monarch eventually intervened, forcing the Yingshan Matriarch to swallow her fury.
“He’s here.”
Dongbo Xueying spotted a female figure approaching from afar.
She wore light blue robes and smiled as she landed. “Junior Brother Xueying, I’m Fan Feiqi, your senior sister. On behalf of my elder brother, I invite you to a banquet.” With that, she sent a black-and-gold invitation flying toward him.
Dongbo Xueying caught it.
The invitation bore a single character: “Fan.”
The Fan Clan…
This was the person he had been most eager to meet!
Within the Southern Cloud Capital, only three factions actively sought to befriend experts: His Highness the Eldest Prince, the Qianyi Clan’s Qianyi Xiao from the Moonflower Ancient Nation, and Fan Tianchong of the Fan Clan from the Summerflame Ancient Nation.
The eldest prince was arrogant, acting primarily for prestige and often recklessly.
Qianyi Xiao and Fan Tianchong, however, genuinely sought to befriend all promising talents. Dongbo Xueying, having cleared the sixth level of the Divine Soul Palace in just five million years, had undoubtedly caught their attention as a future influential figure in the Southern Cloud Nation.
“Fan Tianchong,” Dongbo Xueying mused silently.
As the Fan Clan’s representative in the Southern Cloud Nation, Fan Tianchong was the key. Once he befriended him, he could request a simple favor—to examine that spearhead fragment. Merely looking at it once would suffice, and Dongbo Xueying was confident Fan Tianchong wouldn’t refuse.
“My prolonged stay at the Southern Cloud Sacred Sect was solely to get a closer look at that spearhead and decipher its mysteries,” Dongbo Xueying thought. Even a single examination would allow him to glean much. Based on the insights from the ‘Crimson Cloud Sovereign’s’ complete spear, he could deduce even more. Though he had only partially comprehended it, Dongbo Xueying was certain that the spear’s hidden techniques were no less profound than the complete Southern Cloud Sacred Twelve Styles.
Of course, the Southern Cloud Sacred Twelve Styles were easier to learn, given their complete form.
The spear’s mysteries, however, were ten or even a hundred times harder to grasp, requiring personal deduction. Still, with his foundation, Dongbo Xueying was confident in unraveling them. More importantly, wielding the spear as a treasure would amplify its power even further!
“Very well. I shall attend tonight’s banquet,” Dongbo Xueying said with a faint smile.
“Junior Brother Xueying, I’ll come fetch you tonight,” Fan Feiqi in light blue robes replied cheerfully, quite fond of the young man before her.
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