Long Ying’s shout instantly turned the atmosphere in the arena into something bizarre.
Huangfu Wenqing, Ji Ya, and Yun Xiu, who were all present, were the first to turn toward her. In doing so, they spotted Yi Xian’er and Cai Lian, and each woman’s reaction was markedly different.
Huangfu Wenqing wondered, Why are they here? They shouldn’t be showing up at this time. Could they also be reincarnators? Wait… those two female Mystic Ancestors who clashed above the royal capital earlier—were they them?
Ji Ya thought, Little Sister Xian’er is actually sitting with She Ji Sister? Have they buried the hatchet? This is bad! Without She Ji Sister to keep Little Sister Xian’er in check, I’m the one who’s going to suffer!
Yun Xiu mused, She Ji really did come. Is that Thousand Fiends beside her? Why would she… Is she a reincarnator too?
Yun Xiu’s gaze did not linger long on the two women. Instead, she followed the direction of Long Ying’s waving hand and finally caught sight of the figure she had been daydreaming about day and night for the past year.
The young man’s build and features had not changed much, but his demeanor had grown far more steady and composed compared to before. Now, with Long Ying hollering his name in front of everyone, his handsome young face took on an utterly speechless expression. The sight made Yun Xiu want to laugh; the corners of her mouth curved upward ever so slightly.
Yan Zhen ignored Long Ying and turned to look at Yun Xiu instead. From afar, their eyes met.
In the script, Yun Xiu had not appeared at all—only old auntie Yun Ye, the Eighth Palace Lord, had come to watch her disciple Yun Bai’s match.
Clearly, they were here now to escort him and Huangfu Wenqing back to Cloud Heaven Palace.
It had been a year since they last met, and Yan Zhen had actually missed Yun Xiu terribly.
Compared to the other women, Yun Xiu always held a special place in his heart.
It was not a matter of status or who was more important—it was that faint, youthful affection that stirred a strange impulse in him: the desire to possess her, to tie her down, to make sure she could never leave him.
Noticing Yan Zhen’s gaze upon her, Yun Xiu hurriedly turned her head away. She showed no intention of acknowledging him right then and there.
Just then, Huangfu Wenqing called out, “Master, Aunt Yun Ye, come sit over here.”
Yun Xiu smiled and nodded in agreement. She politely declined the Garo Kingdom Lord’s kind offer and went with her senior sister to join the Huangfu Family’s seating area.
Huangfu Xiong immediately cupped his hands in salute. “Greetings, National Advisor.”
The four Huangfu brothers all bowed as well, showing the proper respect.
Ever since Huangfu Wenqing had become Yun Xiu’s disciple and the Young Sect Master of Cloud Heaven Palace, the Huangfu Family had effectively bound itself to the sect. Their status was akin to that of sect elders, so they naturally had to show deference to the sect master upon meeting her.
Yun Xiu inclined her head slightly. “No need for such formalities, Old General Huangfu. On the contrary, my senior sister and I are the ones imposing on you.”
Huangfu Xiong chuckled and gestured invitingly. “National Advisor, Eighth Palace Lord, please have a seat.”
“You’re too kind, Old General.”
The two women took their places in the front row. Suddenly, Yun Xiu noticed a somewhat familiar figure sitting next to Huangfu Xiong, and she froze.
Yan Zhen actually brought his grandfather to the royal capital?
Remembering how, in her previous life, people from Cloud Heaven Palace had killed Yan Zhen’s grandfather—sparking an irreconcilable blood feud—Yun Xiu felt a twinge of inexplicable panic. She had a bad feeling that something was about to go wrong.
“Who is this esteemed elder?” she asked knowingly, hoping to extend a simple gesture of goodwill toward Yan Lie.
Huangfu Xiong smiled as he replied, “This old codger is none other than Yan Zhen’s grandfather.”
Yan Lie promptly cupped his hands. “I am Yan Lie. Greetings, National Advisor.”
Yun Xiu gave a faint smile. “So you’re family. I’ve been rude.”
“Heh, we’re honored by your high regard, National Advisor. You actually think well of my grandson. The boy has a bit of a stubborn streak, though—that’s why he issued that challenge. I hope you’ll forgive him.”
“It’s good for young people to have ambition. Besides, Wenqing has no objections, so we might as well let them settle it themselves.”
“Master…”
Huangfu Wenqing was certain that her master had recognized Yan Zhen. At that moment, Yun Xiu must have been thrown into turmoil, unsure what to do as she wavered between her personal feelings and her bond with her disciple. The inner torment was plain to see!
“I will definitely win,” Huangfu Wenqing declared. “Yan Zhen will have no choice but to marry into Cloud Heaven Palace and become one of Master’s greatest assets!”
Yun Xiu nodded with a smile, though inwardly she sighed.
With She Ji and Thousand Fiends already here, things were far from simple. Win or lose, they would never allow Yan Zhen to marry into the sect.
Who could stand against two Mystic Ancestors joining forces? Especially with Long Ying—who could rival a Mystic Ancestor herself—in the mix.
Yun Xiu turned her attention to the Golden Jade Chamber of Commerce’s side and glanced at Ji Ya, wondering if she was a reincarnator too.
Yun Xiu suspected she was, but without proof, she could not be sure.
She shook her head to clear her thoughts, then scanned the crowd, searching for that Demon Domain evil cultivator from her previous life.
She found him quickly.
“Wolf Poison…”
The Demon Domain was split into two major factions: one led by the Evil Consort, and the other by the Demon Domain Lord. The two sides were anything but friendly.
The Evil Consort trusted only herself, so she had few close confidants beyond her three secondary bodies and the Evil God Clan.
The Demon Lord was different. He commanded a vast array of subordinates—from Saints to Mystic Ancestors, over a hundred strong—not to mention thousands of Mystic Lord Realm “Demon Envoys.”
Wolf Poison was one such Demon Envoy. Their role was to recruit underlings—in other words, they were cannon fodder.
Though his cultivation was merely at the Mystic Lord Realm and he ranked nowhere in the Demon Domain, he was still a Fifth-Rank Pill Refiner, a disciple of one of the domain’s Seventh-Tier Pill Refiners.
In her previous life, Cloud Heaven Palace had done business with Wolf Poison’s master, gradually becoming the Demon Domain’s lapdog. In the end, Yan Zhen—then the Jialan Holy Son—had purged them entirely, leading to the sect’s utter destruction!
Yun Xiu had never blamed Yan Zhen for it. No matter how rotten Cloud Heaven Palace had become, it was still the place that had raised and nurtured her. Yet she could only watch helplessly as her “home” was annihilated, powerless to stop it.
The one Yun Xiu could never forgive was her own powerless self.
This time, she absolutely could not let the tragedy repeat itself!
With all the big shots assembled and the time just right, President Qingmu took the stage. After a brief opening speech, he announced that the Xth Grand Dan Fighting Competition was officially underway.
The topic for the first round was Healing Pills, with a time limit of one hour.
In such a short window, the best most could hope for was a Tier 2 Healing Pill. A Tier 3 was a stretch.
As the team leader, Feng Xiao stroked his beard and said, “We have to win the first round to boost morale. Who wants to go up?”
Qing Shan volunteered eagerly and strode onto the stage with heroic flair.
Yan Zhen could not bear to watch. Wolf Poison had already taken the stage, and if the script held true, he would win three rounds in a row before stepping down for a break.
Sure enough, Wolf Poison opened with a bang: a Third-Tier Superior-Grade Healing Pill at five stars’ quality. It crushed the other Third-Tier Medium-Grade and Low-Grade entries—not to mention the Tier 2 ones.
The prodigies from the Three Major Kingdoms, Qing Shan included, were dumbfounded. There had been dark horses from small nations before, but none had dominated everyone right out of the gate.
Once the first round ended, the other nine Pill Refiner prodigies returned to their rest areas in dejection. Only the mysterious black-robed figure remained on stage.
After a fifteen-minute break, the second round began. The topic was Cultivation Pills—any pill that aided cultivation would do—and the time limit stretched to two hours.
Yun Bai stepped up boldly, refining Cloud Heaven Palace’s signature Cultivation Pill: the fourth-tier Azure Cloud Pill.
He succeeded just before the incense burned out, producing a Medium-Grade pill at three stars—his full strength on display.
The others mostly managed fourth-tier Medium-Grade or Third-Tier Superior-Grade.
Just as Yun Bai thought victory was his, Wolf Poison revealed his pill.
A fourth-tier Superior-Grade at six stars.
He won the second round too.
In the third round, Shangguan Jinghong took the stage—and still lost. Wolf Poison claimed three straight victories, and the Three Star Nation’s momentum soared!
The other nations, especially the Three Major Kingdoms, looked utterly miserable—whether competitors or spectators, it was as if they had all eaten shit.
Only Yan Zhen remained utterly unflappable.
