Zhen Ping Fan only smiled in response to the words of the Seven Kills Valley’s Elder Yu and did not comment on them. He was aware that Hong Yun Xiao possessed a prominent divine artifact with an incomplete artifact soul while Deng Kui did not possess such a weapon. Hence, he did not think Hong Yun Xiao’s progress was better than that of Deng Kui.

The Nirvanic Elder from the Hidden Sword faction looked at Zhen Ping Fan with a helpless expression before he said with a smile, “That’s a matter of course. After all, Elder Hong Yun Xiao is much younger than Deng Kui. It won’t take long for him to catch up to and surpass Deng Kui…”

The Hidden Sword faction’s Nirvanic Elder was very familiar with Zhen Ping Fan, who was his junior brother. Seeing the slightly embarrassed Elder Yu from the Seven Kills Valley, he stepped forward and deftly dispelled the awkward atmosphere.

A smile appeared on Elder Yu’s face immediately. Then, as though he just remembered something, he looked at Zhen Ping Fan and asked curiously, “Elder Zhen, is the prodigy from the Flying Dragon Sect, Duan Ling Tian, here as well?”

Zhen Ping Fan, who was growing bored of the pleasantries, seemed to perk up again upon hearing those words. His eyes shone with excitement as he said, “He’s here. Elder Yu, is it possible that you’re interested in arranging a sparring session for Duan Ling Tian and the most outstanding prodigy of the Seven Kills Valley?”

The Seven Kills Valley’s Elder Yu looked at Zhen Ping Fan and said, “I don’t see why not. Since you personally escorted him back from the Flying Dragon Sect, he has to be extraordinary. I wonder which one is Duan Ling Tian?”

At the end of his words, Elder Yu swept his gaze across the group from the Pure Yang Sect. His eyes rested a little longer on Duan Ling Tian and Lan Xi Lin since the duo’s auras were clearly stronger than their peers.

Zhen Ping Fan smiled and said, “Duan Ling Tian, come and greet Elder Yu.”

Duan Ling Tian stepped forward and said with a smile, “Greetings, Elder Yu.”

Elder Yu sized Duan Ling Tian up for a moment.

Initially, when the Seven Kills Valley heard about Duan Ling Tian killing two intermediate Lords of Gods in the Flying Dragon Sect despite just being a rudimentary Lord of Gods, the high-ranking officials had gathered for a meeting. In the end, they sent their strongest advanced Lord of Gods to lead a team to the Flying Dragon Sect to recruit Duan Ling Tian. At that time, they felt that they had shown enough sincerity to move Duan Ling Tian. Similarly, the other top three forces in the Eastern Ridge Mansion thought the same. Alas, none of them expected the Pure Yang Sect to send Zhen Ping Fan, a Nirvanic Elder and an Emperor of Gods, to recruit Duan Ling Tian, a young rudimentary Lord of Gods. How could their men compare with Zhen Ping Fan? In the end, they were forced to return with little hope of successfully recruiting Duan Ling Tian. Moreover, there were also the thinly-veiled threats from Zhen Ping Fan that forced them to retreat.

Elder Yu said amiably, “Duan Ling Tian, I would’ve gone to the Flying Dragon Sect personally to invite you to our Seven Kills Valley if it weren’t for the fact that I was occupied at that time.”

“Thank you, Elder Yu. However, in the very beginning, I’ve already told the Pure Yang Sect’s Elder Qin Wu Yang that I’d consider the Pure Yang Sect first when I leave the Flying Dragon Sect,” Duan Ling Tian replied with a smile.

In other words, even if Elder Yu visited the Flying Dragon Sect, Duan Ling Tian was unlikely to join the Seven Kills Valley.

“Qin Wu Yang?” Elder Yu seemed surprised. Then, he looked at Zhen Ping Fan. Although Qin Wu Yang was just a Spirit Void Elder, he had many connections. Hence, he had heard of Qin Wu Yang before. Clearly, Qin Wu Yang had expended a lot of effort to recruit Duan Ling Tian. Thinking of this, he could not help but sigh inwardly. He thought it would be great to have a talent scout like Qin Wu Yang in the Seven Kills Valley.

After Duan Ling Tian spoke, someone scoffed. It was one of the two young men standing behind Elder Yu. He was dressed in a long fiery-red robe, and his expression was arrogant as he said coldly, “Duan Ling Tian, you should feel honored that my master was willing to visit the Flying Dragon Sect to invite you to our Seven Kills Valley. How dare you act so arrogant?”

Elder Yu immediately rebuked the red-clad young man, “Shut up.” Then, he smiled at Duan Ling Tian and said, “I hope you’ll forgive my disciple’s offense.”

“Don’t worry. It’s nothing,” Duan Ling Tian said with a faint smile. He did not even spare a glance at the red-clad young man.

At this time, Lan Xi Lin suddenly said with a smile on his face, “Dao Wei, you’re widely acknowledged in the Seven Kills Valley as one of the three strongest among those under the age of 10,000, right? Why don’t you challenge our Pure Yang Sect’s top prodigy to a duel to show us your strength? Duan Ling Tian is also younger than 10,000 years old.”

Just like Lan Xi Lin said, Dao Wei, Elder Yu’s disciple, was one of the three strongest prodigies below the age of 10,000 in the Seven Kills Valley. Previously, Dao Wei had a small conflict with him, and he suffered a lot because he was no match for Dao Wei. For this reason, he had always resented Dao Wei. That aside, he also hated Duan Ling Tian. As such, how could he let go of the chance to pit two of his enemies against each other? Although he knew the duel would not result in deaths or serious injuries since it would be regulated by the elders, it would still give a sense of satisfaction to watch his two enemies beat each other up.

Upon hearing Lan Xi Lin’s words, the younger generation from the various factions in the Pure Yang Sect lit up with anticipation. All of them were eager to watch a duel between Duan Ling Tian and Dao Wei as well, especially since they found out Duan Ling Tian had become an intermediate Lord of Gods. They also did not dare to refute Lan Xi Lin when Lan Xi Lin said Duan Ling Tian was the Pure Yang Sect’s top prodigy. Whether they agreed or not, it was impossible for them to say anything since they did not have the qualifications to do so; after all, their strength was only average among True Martial Disciples.

At the same time, Zhen Ping Fan, who stood in the lead because he was the leader of the entourage this time, and the other elders standing next to him from the Hidden Sword faction; Zheng Ming faction; and the other two factions, seemed interested in the idea as well.

Zhen Ping Fan could barely conceal the excitement in his eyes as he asked, “Elder Yu, so this talented young man is your disciple, Dao Wei. I’ve heard about him even in the Pure Yang Sect. If you’re not opposed to it, why don’t we let them have a duel?”

“I’m not opposed to it, but we’ll have to ask for the opinions of the two parties involved,” Elder Yu, whose name was Yu Chang Lian, said with a smile as he stroked his beard.

Dao Wei took the initiative to step forward. His eyes burned with battle intent as he said, “Master, I’d like to see how strong the top prodigy of the Pure Yang Sect is.”

Dao Wei knew if he was able to defeat Duan Ling Tian, the top prodigy under the age of 10,000 in the Pure Yang Sect, he would gain widespread fame. He had heard that the Pure Yang Sect had given Duan Ling Tian many resources to help him become an intermediate Lord of Gods. He really did not think Duan Ling Tian was worthy of such treatment. In any case, he did not care about anything else now but to defeat Duan Ling Tian and prove his capability to the world.

“I have no objection as well,” Duan Ling Tian said with a shrug. Then, he added in a casual manner, “I heard there are usually bets for duels and sparring sessions, right? I’m not interested in a duel if there are no stakes involved. I’m too lazy to do it if it doesn’t benefit me.”

Yu Chang Lian smiled. “Of course. I wonder what the Pure Yang Sect is willing to use as a stake? Of course, we’ll also put up something for this bet.”

Yu Chang Lian was very confident about his disciple’s ability. In his opinion, Duan Ling Tian would not be a match for his disciple who was an intermediate Lord of Gods. Assuming Duan Ling Tian had become an intermediate Lord of Gods, he still did not think Duan Ling Tian could best his disciple since there was no way Duan Ling Tian’s cultivation base had stabilized. Even in the worst-case scenario, he thought the duel would end in a tie.

At this moment, Duan Ling Tian said with a smile, “Why don’t we each bet with a prominent divine artifact with an incomplete artifact soul?”

Not only were Yu Chang Lian and Dao Wei shocked, but even Zhen Ping Fan and the others from the Pure Yang Sect were shocked by Duan Ling Tian’s suggestion. Those from the Pure Yang Sect could not help but wonder who in the Pure Yang Sect gave or lent Duan Ling Tian a prominent divine artifact with an incomplete artifact soul. In the end, they thought it was likely that Zhen Yun Feng, the founder of the Cloud Peak faction, had lent Duan Ling Tian a prominent divine artifact with an incomplete artifact soul.

Even Zhen Ping Fan thought that perhaps, his father was so confident about Duan Ling Tian that his father lent Duan Ling Tian a prominent divine artifact with an incomplete artifact to use as stakes in a bet. He quickly sent a message to his father to confirm his speculation only to discover his father had nothing to do with this. This left Zhen Ping Fan even more confused.