The person defeated the strongest prodigy in the Seven Kills Valley with ten moves when he was still an intermediate Lord of Gods.

After listening to Zhen Ping Fan, Duan Ling Tian asked with a teasing expression on his face, “Elder Zhen, how is this not a big deal? An intermediate Lord of Gods who was so strong 200 years ago and became an advanced Lord of Gods less than 100 years ago… Elder Zhen, do you really think I can defeat him? It seems like you have a lot of confidence in me.”

Duan Ling Tian shook his head and smiled at the end of his words. He knew there were many outstanding prodigies in the Eastern Ridge Mansion, and it seemed like the person Zhen Ping Fan mentioned was unrivaled among his peers in the Eastern Ridge Mansion.

Zhen Ping Fan stared at Duan Ling Tian intently as he took a deep breath before asking, “Are you confident?”

Duan Ling Tian shook his head. “I can’t say for sure. After all, I’ve no idea how stable his cultivation base is now and how profound his comprehension of the law is. Moreover, I don’t even know the strength of the strongest prodigy of the Seven Kills Valley, whom that person defeated 200 years ago, so I can’t draw a comparison.” Then, he paused before he asked, “Elder Zhen, who’s that person you mentioned?”

Zhen Ping Fan’s eyes flashed as he replied, “Wanqi Hong from the Wanqi clan.”

Duan Ling Tian had naturally heard about the Wanqi clan before since it was among the top emperor-rank forces in the Eastern Ridge Mansion that came to the Flying Dragon Sect to recruit him in the past.The Wanqi clan was comparable to the Pure Yang Sect and the Seven Kills Valley; it was a force with many Emperors of Gods. Unlike the two sects, the Wanqi clan was quite mysterious. They rarely recruited outsiders. Even if they did, outsiders could only be outer disciples. For this reason, many talented cultivators were unwilling to join the Wanqi clan, and most of the clan’s powerhouses were all direct descendants of the clan.

Naturally, there were also talented cultivators who chose to join the Wanqi clan. With the right talents, the clan naturally would not refuse them and would also try to recruit them by offering various benefits. One of the methods the clan would use to make sure the outsider stayed loyal to the clan was arranged marriages. In fact, they had used marriages to build alliances with various lord-rank and emperor-rank forces in the Eastern Ridge Mansion. With this, many young talents from their allies would join them eventually. This was also the reason the Wanqi clan could maintain their position and legacy even though they did not recruit often and had fewer resources to offer as benefits. For all these reasons, most clans could not compare to sects in many aspects.

Duan Ling Tian recalled that when the Wanqi clan tried to recruit him, they had promised him many benefits. They also promised to select an outstanding and beautiful female prodigy to be his wife. Naturally, he knew the marriage was the Wanqi clan’s way of tying him to the clan for the rest of his life.

“Wanqi Hong…”

Duan Ling Tian had also heard of Wanqi Hong. He was the Wanqi clan’s strongest prodigy below the age of 10,000. There were rumors that he could defeat the second strongest prodigy in the clan in fewer than ten moves a few hundred years ago. It was said that he was the most outstanding prodigy in the history of the Wanqi clan. Many believed that he would be able to become an Emperor of Gods before reaching the age of 12,000. Even the most outstanding prodigy in the history of the Pure Yang Sect, Ye Chen Feng, the founder of the Hidden Sword faction, only became an Emperor of Gods when he was about 13,000 years old. With that, he was the youngest person ever to become an Emperor of Gods in the history of the Eastern Ridge Mansion. Many people thought Wanqi Hong was likely to break Ye Chen Feng’s record in the Eastern Ridge Mansion.

Duan Ling Tian had learned about this from Zhen Ping Fan.

‘He became an advanced Lord of Gods about 100 years ago…’

Duan Ling Tian remembered that Wanqi Hong was only about 8,000 years old. Initially, he thought that the rumors of Wanqi Hong becoming an Emperor of Gods at or before 12,000 years old were exaggerated, but now, it seemed like that was not the case.

Duan Ling Tian looked at Zhen Ping Fan and smiled. “Elder Zhen, do you want me to challenge Wanqi Hong to test the water? Are you afraid that I’ll lose to him during the Seven Mansions Feast? If this is the case, I think it’s unnecessary. If it’s true that Wanqi Hong has become an advanced Lord of Gods, then he’ll definitely rank in the top ten during the Seven Mansions Feast. In fact, just based on his performance when he was still an intermediate Lord of Gods, he has a high chance of ranking in the top three.” He shook his head as he continued to say, “The Pure Yang Sect only expects me to rank in the top 10 so it doesn’t matter if I can defeat him or not.”

Zhen Ping Fan rolled his eyes at Duan Ling Tian and said, “I’m not concerned about the Seven Mansions Feast. As you said, he won’t affect your ranking in the top ten. There’s no need for me to worry at all. The reason I brought him up is all because you mentioned the prominent divine artifact with an incomplete artifact soul. The Seven Kills Valley won’t bet using a prominent divine artifact with an incomplete artifact soul, but the Wanqi clan might…”

Zhen Ping Fan massaged his temples before he said with a sigh, “However, there’s nothing we can do if you’re not confident you can defeat Wanqi Hong.”

Duan Ling Tian did not expect Zhen Ping Fan to be so obsessed with a prominent divine artifact with an incomplete artifact soul. He said, “Elder Zhen, I don’t think Wanqi Hong or the Wanqi clan would be so stupid. Even if I’m confident, do you really think the clan would be willing to use a prominent divine artifact with an incomplete artifact soul in a bet against me? Just like Elder Yu, since we dare to put a prominent divine artifact with an incomplete artifact soul on the line, the Wanqi clan will naturally be cautious.”

Zhen Ping Fan nodded in agreement as he said, “Indeed. You’re not wrong, but we have a chance…”

Then, Zhen Ping Fan recounted his conversation with Yu Chang Lian to Duan Ling Tian through Voice Transmission when he saw the doubt in Duan Ling Tian’s eyes.

Duan Ling Tian was also shocked when he learned that Yu Chang Lian was still holding onto his grudge after 30,000 years. He said with a sigh, “Elder Yu looks kind and amicable. I didn’t expect him to be so vengeful… I wouldn’t believe it if you didn’t tell me about it.”

“I just found out about it as well,” Zhen Ping Fan said and sighed as well, “I’ve dealt with Old Yu several times in the past and thought he was alright. I didn’t expect him to be so vengeful. Thank goodness there’s no animosity between us. Otherwise, I’d have to constantly watch my back.”

Duan Ling Tian felt chills running up his spine when he heard Zhen Ping Fan’s words. Indeed, a vengeful person was truly terrifying. If there was animosity, it was best to get rid of such a person as soon as possible. Otherwise, such a person would definitely seek revenge sooner or later.

At the same time, Duan Ling Tian also understood Zhen Ping Fan’s thoughts. Wanqi Jue was a stubborn and proud old man with a quick temper. Based on Wanqi Jue’s confidence in Wanqi Hong, it was indeed likely that Wanqi Jue would agree to the bet if he was provoked. As Zhen Ping Fan said, the key factor was if he was confident he could defeat Wanqi Hong.

Duan Ling Tian said solemnly, “Elder Zhen, I can’t give you a 100% guarantee. Moreover, I still have to understand Wanqi Hong’s strength and comprehension and his bloodline power. The more I know, the better I’ll be able to judge. Apart from that, I also need to know how much his strength has increased after becoming an advanced Lord of Gods. With all these things, I’ll be able to roughly judge if I’m able to defeat him. Even then, I think it’s better not to take such a risk.”

Duan Ling Tian naturally did not want to cause trouble for Zhen Ping Fan and the Cloud Peak faction. It was better to play it safe since it involved a prominent divine artifact with an incomplete artifact soul. He would be completely confident about defeating Wanqi Hong if Wanqi Hong was still an intermediate Lord of Gods, but unfortunately, Wanqi Hong was now an advanced Lord of Gods.

Zhen Ping Fan nodded and said, “Let me try to gather information in these coming few days. I’ll update you once I find out anything. If you’re confident, then we’ll take the risk and challenge Wanqi Hong. Otherwise, we’ll forget about it. My old man will kill me if I lose his prominent divine artifact with an incomplete artifact soul, after all.”

Zhen Ping Fan smiled bitterly at the end of his words, causing Duan Ling Tian to laugh.

Not long after that, Duan Ling Tian left Zhen Ping Fan’s courtyard and returned to his own courtyard.

…

Three days later.

Duan Ling Tian received a message from Zhen Ping Fan pertaining to the information Zhen Ping Fan found out about Wanqi Hong.

Zhen Ping Fan managed to find out about Wanqi Hong’s cultivation progress and comprehension of the law in detail so they were now aware of Wanqi Hong’s abilities, except for the ones he chose to hide.

After telling Duan Ling Tian everything he found out, Zhen Ping Fan asked, “Are you confident?”

Duan Ling Tian could hear the nervousness in Zhen Ping Fan’s voice when Zhen Ping Fan asked the question.