732 The Gathering Of Talents“That’s Wu Tengshan from the Heavenly Thunder Sect. He’s the heir of the Grand Elder from the Heavenly Thunder Sect and is only next to Tian Mingzi in terms of power. But I’ve also heard that he’s a savage brute.” Information along those lines was shared amongst the crowd.

As a major sect in Kunxu, the Heavenly Thunder Sect never lacked for outstanding young cultivators. Tian Mingzi would compete; he was closely followed by many of his peers.

Wu Tengshan wore an ugly grin on his face as he sauntered toward Chen Fan. Aggressive lightning energy zapped out from his eyes; it was apparent that he had reached the Divine Sea level. If he were on Earth, he would have ranked among the top five on the Divine Roll.

Chen Fan narrowed his eyes and asked, “I beat them up, do you also want to give it a try?”

Everyone was floored by the development. Wu Tengshan was a powerful young cultivator with a bloodthirsty reputation. It was unwise for Chen Fan to publicly provoke him.

“Who is this young man?”

“I’ve never seen him before. Could he be some Curmudgeon in disguise?”

The onlookers murmured to each other.

“How dare you!”

Anger flashed in Wu Tengshan’s eyes as he took a step forward. Even as Wu Tengshan was about to strike, Qi Xiu’er looked to Qi Qingwei for help. Qi Xiu’er was from Kunxu, and she knew how deadly Wu Tengshan was.

Qi Qingwei furrowed her brow and broke her silence, “Wu Tengshan, he is a guest of the Mixed-Essence Sect. If you two need to settle things, I suggest you wait until we leave.”

Wu Tengshan paused and examined Chen Fan with a scornful look.

“Very well. I will let it slide for now. We will talk after the competition is over. Somebody is in for a lot of suffering.”

After saying that, Wu Tengshan snickered loudly and walked away.

Qi Qingwei gave Chen Fan a cold glare. “This is the last time I help you for Xiu’er’s sake. Know your place. Any of these warriors can squash you like a little worm.”

Qi Qingwei pulled a taut face and left; the two disciples of the Mixed-Essence Sect trailed behind her. Both were openly gloating.

Chen Fan and Qi Xiu’er were left alone.

By then, almost everyone knew that Chen Fan had a run in with Wu Tengshan, so no one dared to approach them.

Qi Xiu’er was evidently troubled.

“Immortal Master Chen, I’ve heard that Wu Tengshan has done many terrible things. He tortured a Heavenly Thunder Sect Disciple for three days before he eventually killed him. He is so bloodthirsty that he lost the leader’s position in his own sect to Tian Mingzi.”

“Maybe we should ask my sister to warn him to stay away. My sister is the Senior Apprentice-Sister in the Mixed-Essence Sect, he might listen to her.”

Chen Fan padded Qi Xiu’er’s head and said, “Don’t worry, I’ve already defeated Sword Immortal Changhe; Wu Tengshan is the least of my worries. If he really pisses me off, I will wipe out the entire Heavenly Thunder Sect.”

Qi Xiu’er giggled and said, “You are shameless. Even I know you’re lying. You can’t even defeat my sister.”

“I don’t like to fight against girls.”

Chen Fan lied.

Although the run-in ended without any bloodshed, many people noticed that someone from the Mixed-Essence Sect had dared to provoke Wu Tengshan. Chen Fan had stayed at the Mixed-Essence Sect’s camp and it was hard for him to ignore the gloating or curious glares from its members.

All the while Qi Xiu’er had been trying to find a solution to ease the tension.

However, Chen Fan didn’t seem to mind the threat at all.

He knew that once he made a full recovery, he would be able to kill Wu Tengshan with ease. There was nothing to be worried about.

“Swish.”

As the opening day of the gathering of Lantai drew near, more and more talented young cultivators arrived from all over Kunxu. Some of them were friendly, some were cold and distant and some were extremely attractive.

“She is the Princess of the Southern Kingdom, one of the ten beauties of Kunxu. Her father is the Lord of thirty six settlements in the South and wields more power than an elder of the major sects.”

“Is that bald monk in a white outfit Li Wenchan from the Leiyin Mountain? He looks almost feminine. I can’t believe he reached phenomenal success in the Diamond Body.”

“Zi Tianyu from the Fentian Valley is also here. He is Zi Xingkong’s brother, the oldest heir of the Zi family.”

The Princess of the Southern Kingdom was breathtakingly beautiful. She decorated her long hair with elegant jade hair pieces and covered her body with a revealing dress.

She wrapped a white airy fabric around her chest, barely covering her belly. She had legs for days, and each thin ankle was decorated with two jade bands that clinked against each other as she ambled across the field. She was flanked by a dozen royal guards with imposing stature.

Meanwhile, Li Wenchan was wearing a plain white monk’s robe, but his simple outfit couldn’t hide his sublime appearance. Many girls ogled at him as they drooled.

Zi Tianyu stood at the bow of a fire ship that flew across the sky. His hair was on fire and so were his eyes. His solemn expression revealed very little of his thoughts.

“The Princess of the Southern Kingdom is well known for her beauty. Her father is an overlord at the mid-stage of the Earth Level Deity realm. She is as powerful as Wu Tengshan.

“The Zi family of the Fentian Valley is the most influential family in Kunxu. As the leader of the family, Zi Tianyu commands as much prestige as a leader of a major sect. As for Li Wenchan, he is one tough nut to crack, literally. I don’t think I can penetrate his defense.”

Qi Qingwei offered remarks about all the newly arrived cultivators.

“Sister, you are the best, I am sure you can beat their a**es and become the winner.” Qi Xiu’er pumped her fist in the air.

“Winner?”

Qi Qingwei shook her head. “No one else can win if he competes.”

Everyone knew whom Qi Qingwei was talking about.

The son of the Cloud Heaven Thearch.

All the warriors of his generation looked up to him as an example. Rumor had it that no one could force him to use more than eighty percent of his strength. The Young Master of the Azure Mystic Sect had crossed swords with him three times, but he had confessed to everyone that the Thearch’s Son always had an upper hand during the three fights.

“Come on, Sister. You are the Senior Apprentice-Sister of the Mixed-Essence Sect. You are no less powerful than him,” Qi Xiu’er urged.

“Xiu’er, you have never seen Thearch’s Son in action, so you can’t imagine how dangerous he is.” Qi Qingwei looked into the distance wistfully. “Three years ago, the Thearch’s Son was already at the Mortal Deity level, only a half-step away from the Earth Level Deity realm. Three years have passed, only God knows how powerful he is now.”

A mix of respect and admiration shined in Qi Qingwei’s eyes.

The revelation also shocked everyone around her, including Qi Xiu’er. Qi Xiu’er found it hard to believe that her competitive sister would accept publicly that she was weaker than someone.

Meanwhile, Chen Fan lolled in a chair and was lost in his own thoughts.

“Idiot.”

Qi Qingwei glared at Chen Fan. She compared Chen Fan with the Thearch’s Son in her mind and the result only deepened her dislike for Chen Fan. Compared to the ambitious Thearch’s Son, Chen Fan was a couch potato.

“I can’t let him have Xiu’er,” Qi Qingwei reminded herself.

After Li Wenchan, the Princess of the Southern Kingdom and Zi Tianyu’s arrivals, more outstanding young cultivators showed up.

Daoist Chang Song, the most powerful sword master from the Azure Mystic Sect; Yun Feng, the second heir to the Yuntian Palace; Zhang Yulong, the head disciple of the Dashi Sect.

The crowd boiled over when the members of the Snow God Palace showed up.

“Swish!”

A giant white crane appeared in the northern sky. Riding on its back were a group of girls all in white outfits. They all carried an icy charm about them, making them look like goddesses descending from heaven.

“Humph! Bai Suxian.” The Princess of the Southern Kingdom snorted in jealousy.

She was the focus of everyone’s attention until Bai Suxian showed up. Many powerful heirs and cultivators had shadowed her around, eager to win her favor. But then they all flocked away to see Bai Suxian.

“Legend has it that the art from the Snow God Palace can give women an otherworldly beauty. It appears that the legend is true. They say that Qian Yexue is the most attractive in the Snow God Palace, but after seeing Bai Suxian with my own eyes, I can’t imagine anyone who could be even more attractive. It’s a shame that I will never find out since Qian Yexue fell in the Mortal’s world,” Zi Tianyu exclaimed.

“Hehe, I heard a secret just yesterday. Qian Yexue’s Spirit Tablet is still intact,” the Princess of the Southern Kingdom said with a smirk.

“What?”

Everyone was stunned by the revelation.

All the cultivators who went to the Mortal world had died, except for Qian Yexue. How was Qian Yexue still alive while even the five Earth Level Deities, including Sect master Lei, had fallen?

Did she desert during the battle?

Did she betray her own kind?

Or was she captured?

So many possibilities but none of them would do any good to Qian Yexue’s image. Some perverts had already started to fantasize the torture mortals would inflict on such a pretty thing.

“What a shame,” Zi Tianyu lamented.

Unknown to Chen Fan, many people around him were convinced that Qian Yexue had succumbed to a pervert. He sat calmly inside the camp as a powerful energy rose and fell, each wave more intense than the one before. His body was suffused with a glow that turned more brilliant by the second. He was on the verge of leveling up.

After a while, the roiling energy finally subsided.

Chen Fan opened his eyes, flashing lightning through his eyelids.

He was only a half-step away from his former Connate Spirit state.

“I’ll be fully recovered in less than six days. By then, I will kill the white water dragon and create the Grand Pills. The Realm of Kunxu will then have a taste of my might,” Chen Fan said coldly.

Suddenly, a loud commotion came up outside the camp. People were screaming as if they had seen a super star.

The Thearch’s Son had arrived.