/
That day, Cloudsky Divine Palace’s treasure ship left Yin Mountain City and began its journey back to the Southern Skies Province’s Spiritbend City. This time, it carried Su Yi and his companions too.
As the ship flew through the clouds, its hundred-plus-foot body expanded to a full thousand feet long. It now looked more like a tower ship.
In one of its pavilions.
“Everyone, this way, please,” Huo Yunsheng said with a smile. There was a banquet waiting for Su Yi and his companions.
Once everyone was in their seats, the only woman in Huo Yunsheng’s group suddenly said, “Senior Apprentice Brother, I’m going back to my room.”
She looked about seventeen or eighteen, and she was pretty, with her hair worn up. She was dressed in an inky-black dress, with a disposition as cold as an iceberg.
Her name was Ren Youyou, and she was an inner sect legacy disciple of Cloudsky Divine Palace. Her cultivation was in the late-stage Grain Avoidance Realm.
Huo Yunsheng was stunned. “Junior Apprentice Sister Ren, what’s wrong?”
Ren Youyou shook her head. “It’s nothing.”
With that, she turned and left.
It was only after Ren Youyou left that a silver-robed man’s lips curved into a playful grin. “Senior Apprentice Brother Huo, don’t tell me you’ve forgotten? Junior Apprentice Sister Ren detests nothing more than yao and their ilk. How could she possibly remain here and dine at the same table as two yao cultivators?”
The man’s name was Qian Tianlong. He, too, was an inner sect disciple of Cloudsky Divine Palace, and his cultivation was in the mid-stage Grain Avoidance Realm.
As he spoke, he swept his gaze across Yuan Heng and Bai Wenqing.
Their expressions shifted, and they felt shame and indignation rise within their hearts. How could they possibly miss what Qian Tianlong was getting at?
“Don’t overthink it, you two; that’s just how Junior Apprentice Sister Ren is. Perhaps I spoke overly directly, but I absolutely didn’t have any ill intentions,” said the silver-robed Qian Tianlong with a laugh.
Yuan Heng and Bai Wenqing were silent.
It was obvious that these disciples of Cloudsky Divine Palace didn’t like yao cultivators like them at all!
Ling Yunhe furrowed his brow, while Qing Ya looked faintly displeased.
When he saw that the atmosphere was a bit off, Huo Yunsheng smiled and tried to play peacemaker. “Come, come, let’s drink!”
Qian Tianlong smiled and said no more.
However, as Su Yi sat there, pouring his own wine and drinking, he watched this entire scene unfold.
There was no way he’d miss that these Cloudsky Divine Palace disciples didn’t respect them at all. That was true of Ren Youyou, the one who’d left, as well as Qian Tianlong. Courteous as he seemed, it was true of Huo Yunsheng, too.
It was only when he addressed Ling Yunhe and Qing Ya that he seemed politer and more welcoming.
However, this was ultimately a trivial matter, and Su Yi couldn’t be bothered to concern himself with it.
The disciples of major sects all had varying degrees of arrogance. This didn’t make them evil, but it was a terrible habit.
The banquet began.
Huo Yunsheng and the other two Cloudsky Divine Palace disciples seemed to overlook Su Yi, Yuan Heng, and Bai Wenqing. They just chatted and drank with Ling Yunhe and Qing Ya.
Ling Yunhe noticed this too, and he found it hard to take. Inwardly, he sighed.
Cloudsky Divine Palace was one of the Great Xia’s four peak-level orthodoxies. As its disciples, they indeed had reason to be proud.
Here in the Southern Skies Province, even cultivators of the older generation would have to treat them with the utmost courtesy.
They were ignoring Su Yi, yes, but how could they possibly know how terrifying of an existence he was?
“Fellow Daoist Su, allow me to toast you.” Ling Yunhe smiled and raised his glass.
Su Yi nodded, raised his cup, and drank it.
“Big Brother Su Yi, let me toast you too!” Qing Ya raised her cup as well.
Su Yi naturally didn’t refuse.
Ling Yunhe and Qing Ya then proceeded to toast Yuan Heng and Bai Wenqing, too.
Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Qian Tianlong asked, “Fellow Daoist Su, might I be so bold as to inquire where you’re from, and which sect you’re affiliated with?”
“I have no sect,” said Su Yi flatly. “I’m unaffiliated.”
Qian Tianlong was stunned. He fiddled with his cup, his expression a bit strange.
Ling Yunhe smiled and said, “Everyone, don’t let his age fool you: Fellow Daoist Su’s cultivation is deep and inscrutable, far beyond ordinary people
.”
Qian Tianlong laughed and cut him off. “That’s only natural. Our Fellow Daoist Su is a rogue cultivator, yet he reached the Origin Dao at such a tender age. He perhaps cannot compare with the disciples of the Great Xia’s top factions, but that’s already rather decent.”
He had the tone of a superior passing judgment from on high.
Ling Yunhe’s brow furrowed, but just as he was about to say something, Huo Yunsheng raised his cup and smiled. “Fellow Daoist Ling, allow me to toast you.”
“Please” Ling Yunhe raised his glass and forced his bellyful of unspoken words back down.
He realized that even if he listed Su Yi’s accomplishments one by one, these disciples of one of the world’s top factions probably wouldn’t believe him.
Qing Ya thought to herself, Aren’t these guys a bit too proud? How could they compare Big Brother Su Yi to an ordinary rogue cultivator? They’re really blind!
Support us at bit.ly/3iBfjkV.
She might be naive and unaffected, but her intuition was incomparably keen. She’d long since picked up on their hosts’ poor attitude toward Su Yi, Yuan Heng, and Bai Wenqing.
“Miss Qing Ya, when we left the sect, Senior Apprentice Sister Wen said she’d recommend you to join Cloudsky Divine Palace,” said the last of three male disciples, a dignified-looking young man in ornate robes. “That is to say, going forward, we’ll be sectmates.”
Sun Feng was a Cloudsky Divine Palace inner sect disciple, just like Huo Yunsheng, Ren Youyou, and Qian Tianlong. He was in the late-stage Grain Avoidance Realm.
“Oh,” said Qing Ya, but she thought nothing of it. “I’ll have to think it over carefully.”
After seeing how these Cloudsky Divine Palace disciples conducted themselves, Qing Ya was actually rather hesitant. She wasn’t sure if she even wanted to go along with her little martial aunt’s arrangement and join Cloudsky Divine Palace.
“Haha, you don’t have to trouble yourself over this. Given Senior Apprentice Sister Wen’s transcendent status in the sect, making arrangements for you to join us will be no problem. All she has to do is say the word,” laughed Sun Feng. He obviously misunderstood; he assumed she was worried about entering the sect smoothly.
Qing Ya was stunned. “Is Little Martial Aunt’s status really that high?”
Ling Yunhe looked curious too.
Awe appeared on Sun Feng’s face, and he said, “Senior Apprentice Sister Wen swept everyone of her generation in the inner sect competition half a year ago, seizing the championship. Apparently, the sect leader was already planning to make her an inner sect elder, but Senior Apprentice Sister Wen refused on the basis that she needed to immerse herself in her swordsmanship.”
Huo Yunsheng sighed. “That’s not all; even the sect’s Spirit Dao patriarchs are constantly singing her praises. They see her as the most dazzling genius of the Dao of the Sword our sect as seen in the past eight hundred years. The name of the Little Sword Demon, Wen Xinzhao, has already spread throughout the Great Xia!”
Ling Yunhe couldn’t help but gasp.
Cloudsky Divine Palace was one of the Great Xia’s peak-level orthodoxies. Its geniuses and elites were too numerous to count, yet Wen Xinzhao managed to dominate the inner sect competition and take first place? This was unquestionable proof that Wen Xinzhao was far stronger now than she was three years ago!
“Little Martial Aunt is already that amazing?” Qing Ya’s eyes sparkled.
“How could the word ‘amazing’ be enough to describe her?” said Sun Feng leisurely. “Throughout the Great Xia, only the Fulcrum of Heaven Sect’s younger generation sword chief Yu Wenshu, the monstrous genius of the Qingyi Dao Sect, Li Handeng, and Maha Temple’s Buddhist Son Chen Lu
. Only monstrous figures like them are comparable to Senior Apprentice Sister Wen.”
Just hearing this filled Ling Yunhe’s heart with excitement, and his face practically glowed.
Wen Xinzhao hailed from the Great Qi’s One Sky Sword Sect. When this news returned to the sect, it was sure to provoke an enormous uproar!
“Are there really so many amazing people in the Great Xia?” exclaimed Qing Ya.
“That’s only natural. The Great Xia is the hegemon of the Azure Continent. Its territories are vast, and its orthodoxies flourish. Setting aside Yu Wenshu, Li Handeng, Chen Lu, and other long-famous cultivators, there are numerous shocking talents and miraculous geniuses spread all across the nation.”
Huo Yunsheng said calmly, “According to the sect leader, before the Radiant Epoch arrives, countless cultivation geniuses will surge forth, like stars illuminating the light sky. They’ll all attempt to outshine each other, and each shall compete for glory.”
When they heard this, waves coursed through Yuan Heng and Bai Wenqing’s hearts.
The cultivation world of the Great Xia was far greater than they’d imagined!
Only Su Yi remained as calm as ever.
He’d lost track of how many “shocking geniuses” and “proud sons of heaven” he’d seen in his past life.
Some were natural-born holy sons, while others were geniuses blessed with one-in-a-million talent. There were goddesses whose magnificence outshone the heavens, and descendants of True Spirit divine beasts

After seeing so many, he’d naturally grown accustomed to them.
Besides, the Great Xia was ultimately part of a mundane realm. How could its geniuses and chosen sons of heaven possibly compare to those of the Nine Provinces?
“Big Brother Su Yi, the way I see it, you’re in no way inferior to my little martial aunt,” giggled Qing Ya.
Huo Yunsheng and company were stunned, but then, they couldn’t help but laugh. They thought nothing of it, and saw her words as little more than a child’s joke. They couldn’t even be bothered to correct her.
The way they saw it, there really were people comparable to Wen Xinzhao, but only a handful of them. None of them were surnamed Su!
Su Yi was just a rogue cultivator, a wanderer without a sect or any background to speak of. How could Qing Ya possibly mention him in the same sentence as Wen Xinzhao? She was like an immortal beauty from the heavens!
“Miss Qing Ya, you’d best not say anything like that in front of anyone else. Otherwise, I’m afraid they’ll laugh at you,” said Sun Feng. It seemed this was a well-intentioned warning.
“A joke?” Qing Ya was stunned.
Before she could respond, Huo Yunsheng said out of nowhere, “Now that you mention it, I just remembered something. An incredible figure recently appeared in the Great Xia. Her name is Yue Shichan.
“She first appeared half a month ago at a gathering of cultivators. Then, alone and armed with only her sword, she defeated thirteen cultivators, all from different factions. She even defeated one of the Qingyi Dao Sect’s legacy disciples, Luo Hanchuan!
“After that duel, Yue Shichan shook everyone in attendance. They say that she caught the eye of a Spirit Dao patriarch of the Fulcrum of Heaven Sword Sect and that he wanted to take her back to the sect to continue her cultivation there. He even said that, if possible, he’d break the rules and admit her directly as an inner sect legacy disciple.
“Who would have thought that, in the end, Yue Shichan refused him? That incident has since become a legend. They say Yue Shichan is like an immortal beauty and that her attainments in the Dao of the Sword are far beyond the masses. She’s incredible; even I can’t help but long to admire her magnificent bearing for myself.”
The Featherflow King, Yue Shichan? Yuan Heng was stunned, and he glanced at Su Yi.
This reaction drew the others’ attention, too.