“Moreover, those from the Hidden Sword faction who went to look for Duan Ling Tian aren’t just ordinary members…”

Lan Zheng Ming was rather puzzled. Duan Ling Tian was just a young man who joined the Pure Yang Sect recently. Even if the sect was very optimistic about Duan Ling Tian, it was not a reason for the Hidden Sword faction to curry favor with Duan Ling Tian.

Lan Zheng Ming muttered to himself, “Is it possible that Uncle Ye thinks that he has a high possibility of obtaining the chance to become an advanced Emperor of Gods if Duan Ling Tian ranks in the top ten during the Seven Mansions Feast? Is that why he’s sending things to Duan Ling Tian? It makes sense if this is the case. It seems like everyone’s optimistic about Duan Ling Tian…”

Lan Zheng Ming felt relieved when he thought about this. After a moment, he sent a message to Liu Hui, an elder in the Zheng Ming faction. He asked, “Has that kid stirred up trouble recently?”

Lan Zheng Ming was rather worried that Lan Xi Lin, his great-grandson, would look for trouble with Duan Ling Tian. He was also worried Lan Xi Lin would trouble those two from the Glorious Heaven Sect.

“Xi Lin hasn’t gone out recently,” Liu Hui responded quickly.

“Alright.”

Lan Zheng Ming sighed in relief upon hearing these words. Then, he sent another message. “Don’t let him go out unaccompanied. You must stop him if he tries to cause trouble for Duan Ling Tian and those two from the Glorious Heaven Sect. Inform me immediately if he refuses to listen to you. I’ll deal with him personally.”

Lan Zheng Ming’s tone turned more and more solemn as he spoke.

Before Liu Hui replied, Lan Zheng Ming sent another message. “Not only is the sect optimistic about Duan Ling Tian, but the Hidden Sword faction sees him as its hope as well. I’m quite sure that Uncle Ye has been ordering his men to send resources to Duan Ling Tian. You should know what this means. Apart from the sect and the Cloud Peak faction, Duan Ling Tian also has the protection of the Hidden Sword faction now. At the very least, before the Seven Feasts Mansion, they won’t allow anyone to cause trouble for Duan Ling Tian. If Xi Lin does something, there’s a small chance the sect might let him go for my sake. However, you know the Hidden Sword faction won’t be like that. That person from the Sword Faction has always done things his way since he’s strong enough to do so. After all, in the Pure Yang Sect, he has the highest chance of becoming an advanced Emperor of Gods and even a Supreme God.”

Initially, Liu Hui had been confused as to why Lan Zheng Ming would be so worried about Duan Ling Tian. However, his expression turned solemn as well when he heard the Hidden Sword faction’s involvement. He said seriously, “Don’t worry, master. I promise I won’t let Xi Lin cause any trouble!”

“I can rest assured with you looking after him,” Lan Zheng Ming replied before ending the conversation.

…

The Ping Sheng faction was also one of the factions in the Pure Yang Sect with an Ascension Elder. However, apart from that Ascension Elder, they did not have another Emperor of Gods in their faction. It was also the only faction out of the seven factions with Ascension Elders that only had one Emperor of Gods.

Although the faction did not have a Nirvanic Elder, a rudimentary Emperor of Gods, they had a Transcendence Elder who was an advanced Lord of Gods very close to breaking through and becoming a rudimentary Lord of Gods. This Transcendence Elder was also widely acknowledged in the sect as the most promising person to become the next rudimentary Emperor of Gods. His name was Yuan Han Jin, and he was also the adopted son of Yuan Ping Sheng, the Ascension Elder in the Ping Sheng faction.

Although Yuan Han Jin was an adopted son, Yuan Ping Sheng, who never married or had children, treated Yuan Han Jin like his biological son and taught Yuan Han Jin everything without reservations.

Due to Yuan Han Jin’s strength and status, he held the second highest position in the Ping Sheng faction.

In a courtyard in a quiet valley, a tall and handsome young man stood upright in front of a pavilion as he respectfully greeted the aloof middle-aged man sitting in the pavilion. “Greetings, master. I heard you were looking for me?”

The middle-aged man had a medium build. His appearance was ordinary, but he looked valiant. He also possessed a pair of piercing eyes. He was none other than Yuan Han Jin, the strongest Transcendence Elder in the Pure Yang Sect and the adopted son of Yuan Ping Sheng, the leader of the Ping Sheng faction.

Yuan Han Jin looked at the young man and asked calmly, “You must have heard that Duan Ling Tian, the disciple from the Flying Dragon Sect, has joined the sect, right?”

Upon hearing his master’s question, the young man was slightly startled. Then, he nodded and said, “Yes, I’ve heard about it.”

Yuan Han Jin said again, “I heard that Duan Ling Tian had some conflicts with the 10,000 Devils Sect. Many of your elders died because of him, and I heard two juniors whom you regarded as brothers, Du Po Jun and Du Qian Jun, died as well.” After saying this, he looked at the young man and asked, “Are you thinking about avenging them?”

The young man’s expression changed upon hearing this. Then, his body trembled as he quickly bowed and lowered his head before he said, “No! I didn’t have such thoughts.”

“Well, even if you had such thoughts, you’re no match for him,” Yuan Han Jin said indifferently.

The young man was none other than Yang Qian Ye, the son of the Sect Leader of the 10,000 Devils Sect. When he heard his master’s words, he smiled bitterly.

Indeed. Even if Yang Qian Ye wanted to seek revenge for his elders and his good friends, whom he regarded as his brothers, he knew even if he was present with the opportunity to do so, he did not have the strength to seize it. He was no match for Duan Ling Tian.

Yuan Han Jin asked, “How’s your cultivation recently? How far away are you from becoming an intermediate Lord of Gods?”

Yang Qian Ye replied, “I’m incompetent. I’m only less than one-fifth of my way there.”

“You’re progressing too slowly,” Yuan Han Jin said as he shook his head.

Yang Qian Ye only remained silentupon hearing these words.

Yuan Huan Jin continued to say slowly, “Originally, I didn’t expect you to rank in the Seven Mansions Feast. After all, you’re not strong enough. Among the prodigies who’ll be participating in the Seven Mansions Feast, you’re one of the weakest. After all, the strongest ones are all intermediate Lords of Gods.”

Yang Qian Ye lowered his head again and said, “I’ve embarrassed you, master. I apologize for being so useless.”

Yuan Han Jin shook his head and said, “The fact that I accepted you as my disciple means that you’re talented. The only reason your talent hasn’t shown itself fully is due to your limited cultivation resources in the past. Didn’t your strength grow by leaps and bounds as soon as you joined the Pure Yang Sect? As for Duan Ling Tian, there’s no need to compare yourself to him. Based on what I heard about him, I’m certain he must have been very lucky and had many fortuitous encounters. Otherwise, it’d be impossible for him to achieve so much in such a short time.”

Then, Yuan Han Jin’s gaze turned piercing as he continued to say, “Although I can help you become an intermediate Lord of Gods and improve your comprehension of the law before the Seven Mansions Feast, I’m not sure you’ll be able to survive a test of that level. Do you know how your senior brothers and senior sisters perished?”

When Yang Qian Ye heard Yuan Han Jin’s initial words, he raised his head, and his eyes shone slightly. As Yuan Han Jin continued to speak, a slight frown appeared on his face. When he finally heard the final part of Yuan Han Jin’s words, his expression changed immediately. He asked, “My senior brothers and senior sisters… Did they perish during the test you mentioned, master?”

Yang Qian Ye had always thought he was very lucky for being able to join the Pure Yang Sect and being accepted as a disciple by Yuan Han Jin, a Transcendence Elder. Although Yuan Han Jin was not a Nirvanic Elder and Emperor of Gods, Yuan Han Jin was very close to becoming a rudimentary Emperor of Gods. After he became Yuan Han Jin’s disciple, he learned that he actually had a few senior brothers and senior sisters, but they were all dead. Strangely, all of them died when they were rudimentary Lords of Gods. As for the reasons for their deaths, there were varied opinions in the faction, and no one had a definite answer.

Yuan Han Jin nodded and said with a disappointed expression on his face, “I discovered that place in the early years. It was open to those at and below the stage of an intermediate Lord of Gods. Later, the energy in that place depleted and could no longer accommodate intermediate Lords of Gods. Since then, only those at or below the stage of a rudimentary Lord of Gods can enter that place. In that place, the weaker you are, the more dangerous it would be. All of your seniors died in that place. One of them almost succeeded, but he died when he was only a step away from success.”

Regret and pain could be seen in Yuan Han Jin’s eyes when he spoke. After all, they were his disciples.

“Was it worth it?” Yang Qian Ye asked in a low voice.

‘Is it worth it to risk your life to go to such a dangerous place even if there’s a fortuitous encounter?’

“Was it worth it?” Yuan Han Jin looked at Yang Qian Ye with a deep gaze as he said, “Whether it’s worth it or not depends on the individual. All of your senior brothers and sisters entered that place voluntarily. Although I want my disciples to succeed, I don’t want them to die. If it were in the past, I wouldn’t have mentioned this to you. That’s because after studying it with great difficulty, I discovered that it’s almost impossible to survive unless one has a strong will and is ready to face death. However, I decided to tell you about this after I learned about your matter with Duan Ling Tian. If there’s no enmity between you and Duan Ling Tian, I advise you not to enter that place. It’s too dangerous. However, if the seed of hatred has been planted in your heart, perhaps, it might strengthen your will enough that you stand a chance to survive that place and succeed.”

Yang Qian Ye flashed with various emotions upon hearing Yuan Han Jin’s words. Then, he asked in a low voice, “Master, that place can only help me raise my cultivation base and improve my comprehension of the law?”

In Yang Qian Ye’s opinion, it was just a matter of time before his cultivation base rose and his comprehension of the law improved. He did not care much whether he became an intermediate Lord of Gods earlier or later. Even if he became an intermediate Lord of Gods, he still might not be stronger than Duan Ling Tian. Moreover, Duan Ling Tian’s talent and comprehension skills were also higher than his. He knew it would be difficult for him to catch up with Duan Ling Tian.

“If it’s just those things, I wouldn’t have allowed so many of my disciples to enter that place,” Yuan Han Jin shook his head and said, “Although your senior brothers and senior sisters died there, they managed to send me messages before they died. Among the six of them, four of them discovered that their potential and talent seemed to have risen. Their cultivation speed and comprehension speed rose as well. Alas, all of them perished in there…”

After saying these words, Yuan Han Jin let out a long sigh.