Jiang Huai, now at the Void Refinement third layer, didn’t need to worry about the spiritual qi consumption from sword riding. The Jade Kui Secret Realm was located on a plain on the border between the Eastern Region and the Central Province, on the edge of Aolai Continent. Jiang Huai set off at dawn and arrived at dusk. At this moment, the Ziyun Tower of the Ziyun Pavilion stood tall on the plain. Outside the secret realm, many tables were set up, and elders waiting there were drinking tea and chatting casually.
Jiang Huai also saw many familiar faces. Mu Yao’s parents, the Chess Saint senior and Mu Lingwan, were present, as were Xu Qing’s parents, Pei Ning and Xu Ting. Pei Ning was currently playing chess with Mu Lingwan, while the Chess Saint and Xu Ting were discussing something. Besides them, Jiang Huai noticed a group of cultivators in white robes. The patterns on their robes did not belong to any sect in the Eastern Region, and Jiang Huai had a vague impression that these were the robes of the Central Province royalty.
The most noble group among the cultivators of the Central Province were the so-called Central Province royalty, who bore the surname Ji. Their bloodline had been passed down through generations, and it was widely known that the Central Province royalty possessed great divine abilities that only they could learn.
Oh, and Jiang Huai’s old enemies, Mu Lanyan and Mu Chenyun.
Since he was familiar with most of the elders present, Jiang Huai was considering whether to greet them. To his surprise, the Chess Saint, sitting beside him, had already noticed him. Their eyes met, and the Chess Saint gestured for him to come over. Jiang Huai walked over and heard him ask, “Another game?”
“Sure.”
Having nothing else to do, Jiang Huai pulled up a chair and sat down. Xu Ting, who had been idly chatting with the Chess Saint, had also eaten with Jiang Huai before. Clearly, Xu Ting had heard something from his daughter, Xu Qing, during this period, and now looked at Jiang Huai with a hint of complexity.
Jiang Huai respectfully engaged his full computational power and played a game with the Chess Saint, winning again.
Despite his defeat, the Chess Saint was not angry. His desire for chess was ignited, and he played several more rounds with Jiang Huai. Although he lost every time, he became happier with each game. Just as they were playing, Xu Ting suddenly spoke up, “Shall we play a game too?”
“This…” Jiang Huai hesitated slightly.
“Let’s have a wager match. I’ll bet a Golden Scale Luo Water Pill,” Xu Ting suddenly announced.
Jiang Huai was stunned for a moment. He certainly remembered this Golden Scale Luo Water Pill. It was the one that Xu Qing’s birth mother, Pei Ning, had taken the opportunity to meet Chu Xianning and offered to her when Jiang Huai was not around, but Chu Xianning had refused.
It was unlikely that Xu Ting’s chess skills were superior to the Chess Saint’s. By suggesting a wager, it seemed more like a legitimate excuse to give the pill to Jiang Huai. Jiang Huai naturally wanted a pill that could heal Chu Xianning’s injuries, but this favor was not insignificant.
“Uncle Xu…” Jiang Huai scratched his head, looking at Xu Ting. Perhaps due to the natural pressure from a future father-in-law, his tone was slightly weaker. “Could you sell me that Golden Scale Luo Water Pill? I’m willing to offer twenty-eight million spirit stones.”
Xu Ting looked at Jiang Huai’s hesitant demeanor and laughed, “I’m willing to have a wager match with you, why do you still want to buy it from me?”
“The favor is a bit too great, and I feel somewhat apprehensive.”
“If I sell you this pill, then my Qingqing might have to be wronged,” Xu Ting said with a faint smile. “You don’t want to owe me a favor, but I hope you will owe me one. If you ever wrong my Qingqing in the future, I’ll have a legitimate reason to discipline you.”
Xu Ting’s words made Jiang Huai break out in a cold sweat. Pei Ning, standing beside him, tugged at Xu Ting’s arm and then chuckled, “Oh, you. Why are you scaring the younger generation? Qingqing has excellent judgment and isn’t a fool. If she likes him, she naturally has her reasons.”
As she spoke, Pei Ning took out a jade box. Inside was the Golden Scale Luo Water Pill. She placed it in Jiang Huai’s hand and said softly, “Our Xu family already owes you a favor. Regardless of your relationship with Qingqing, you saved Qingqing’s life in the Daoji Ancestral Land Secret Realm last time. Even if you had come to ask for medicine, this pill should have been given to you anyway. Take it, don’t worry.”
With Pei Ning and Xu Ting working together, Jiang Huai knew they meant no harm. He couldn’t help but feel a mix of amusement and exasperation, but he still accepted the pill and said softly, “Thank you, Senior Pei. I will remember this kindness in my heart. One day…”
But Pei Ning smiled playfully, “You call Xu Ting ‘Uncle Xu’ but me ‘Senior Pei’?”
“Aunt Pei…” Jiang Huai hastily corrected himself.
Pei Ning then chuckled and chatted with Jiang Huai about everyday matters. As they were talking, Jiang Huai suddenly heard a resentful cry, “How is my daughter inferior to Xu Qing?”
This voice naturally came from Mu Lingwan. Last time, when she went to the Tian Xuan Sect to propose marriage for Mu Yao to Chu Xianning, she was rejected by both Chu Xianning and Jiang Huai. Jiang Huai, who had been enthusiastically conversing with Pei Ning and Xu Ting, suddenly broke out in a cold sweat.
“This, this…”
His relationship with Mu Yao was still somewhat unclear. He had rejected her clearly, and he had already refined the Blueroot Vine. Although he had asked Mu Lingwan and the Chess Saint to find it for him, with Mu Yao’s mischievous personality, she could have used the Blueroot Vine to threaten and toy with him for a long time. But she had become so obedient, which stirred a complex emotion in Jiang Huai’s heart.
Jiang Huai couldn’t answer Mu Lingwan for a moment, trying to formulate tactful words in his mind. He was never good at dealing with elders, and now he was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. Mu Lingwan, however, was relentless, “My daughter is also deeply in love with you. Tell me, how is she inferior to the daughter of the Xu family…”
Before her words had completely fallen, the spiritual qi on the plain stirred. A vortex appeared on the plain – the time in the Jade Kui Secret Realm had ended. Jiang Huai hurriedly shifted his gaze to the vortex, beginning to change the subject, “The secret realm is closing.”
He stood up and walked to the vortex. Instantly, many figures appeared on the plain. Jiang Huai immediately spotted Wen Wanwan, Luo Qingyu, Xu Qing, and Mu Yao in the crowd. Seeing that they were all safe, he let out a sigh of relief. Just as he was about to speak, he noticed that they were all holding swords in their hands, and their eyes were unusually cold.
Not only them, but also Mu Jiaoyang, Mu Linxing not far from them, and Feng Chulan, Gu Ci, and Ying Wuwo, whom Jiang Huai had seen at the Eastern Region Grand Competition, were all holding weapons. Soon, the crowd split into two groups: one side was the cultivators of the Eastern Region, while the other side was the cultivators in white robes from the Central Province, a group of seven or eight people whom Jiang Huai had never seen before.
The elders on the side also quickly sensed something was wrong and stood up, facing each other. Each side shielded their juniors behind them.
Jiang Huai walked into the Eastern Region crowd and looked at Luo Qingyu, asking softly, “What happened?”
Upon seeing Jiang Huai, Luo Qingyu immediately smiled. The coldness in her eyes instantly dissipated. She hugged Jiang Huai’s arm and said softly, “In the Jade Kui Secret Realm, a masterless Desolate Ancient Sacred Heart Lotus bloomed. All the cultivators from the Eastern Region worked together to kill the demonic beast guarding it. When their spiritual qi was mostly depleted, the Second Prince and Third Prince of the Central Province Imperial City appeared and snatched the lotus.”
At the mention of the Desolate Ancient Sacred Heart Lotus, Jiang Huai trembled slightly. He had read about it in ancient scrolls. It was a spiritual medicine of the Saint tier, extremely rare in this era, and could only be found in such high-level secret realms.
At this moment, Mu Jiaoyang was clearly furious. He raised his spirit sword and looked at the Central Province Second Prince leading the group, his voice cold and full of killing intent, “Hand it over!”
The Central Province Second Prince held a jade-colored long sword and sneered, “What I obtained with my own hands has nothing to do with you?”
Before Mu Jiaoyang could speak, Jiang Huai heard Mu Yao gritting her teeth and cursing from behind, “Shameless son of a bitch!”
Jiang Huai looked at Mu Yao and realized that her expression was slightly pale. A moment later, he heard Luo Qingyu say, “Mu Yao nearly exhausted her soul trying to delay the demonic beast guarding the lotus. We initially agreed to give her an extra petal.”
Even when Mu Yao cursed him, the Central Province Second Prince remained indifferent. He saw the two enshriners standing beside him. If the events in the secret realm were matters between the juniors, then after leaving the secret realm, they were no longer of much concern to the juniors alone.
Both enshriners were at the Eighth Realm. Even with the great cultivators of the Eastern Region present, they could do nothing to them. The Central Province had always been strong. With two Ninth Realm experts guarding the entire Central Province, they didn’t need to show deference to anyone.
Soon, the elders from various factions began to inquire about the reason for the confrontation. Their accounts were the same as Luo Qingyu’s, and the various factions found themselves in a difficult situation.
In the competition for cultivation resources, the human race did not talk about reason; it was always about who had the stronger fist. Jiang Huai listened as the elders deliberated. The lotus had sixteen petals in total. The Central Province was willing to offer at most six petals to the juniors of the Eastern Region for them to distribute amongst themselves.
Naturally, the cultivators of the Eastern Region were unwilling to accept this outcome. However, the Eighth Realm experts could not easily make a move against each other. After much debate, the matter was again brought to the juniors. Since it was a matter for the juniors to resolve, and rare treasures in the world go to the capable, it was proposed that the juniors present from the Eastern Region and the Central Province should compete. For each victory, they would gain an additional petal, and then the two sides would distribute them amongst themselves.
This was the distribution method proposed by the Central Province Imperial City. The elders from the Eastern Region were initially hesitant to agree. They could see at a glance that among the juniors from the Central Province, the Second Prince and Third Prince were already at the Void Refinement fifth layer or above. The Eastern Region juniors’ faces darkened, and arguments ensued. After a long while, a head suddenly popped out from the crowd.
“I am also a young generation from the Eastern Region. Since there’s going to be a competition among the juniors, count me in?”
It was rare for Jiang Huai to poke his head out, but his system had beeped.
*As the Saint Son of the Tian Xuan Sect, the first place winner of the Eastern Region Grand Competition, the heir of the thoroughly wicked system, a peerless sword technique genius, a master of the Super Overlord Art, and a king who challenges those above his level, how could you stand by when someone dares to snatch the fruits hard-earned by your Dao Companion and her companions?!*
*Mission Objective: Accept the challenge proposed by the Central Province cultivators and defeat all the young cultivators from the Central Province who entered the Jade Kui Secret Realm.*
*Mission Reward: Experience Scroll * 4.*
Jiang Huai cherished this hard-won opportunity to show off in front of others. As soon as he spoke, a young man among the entourage from the Central Province Imperial City, protected by two enshriners, had his gaze fall upon him.
He walked out of the crowd, his figure slender, his eyebrows like swords and his eyes like stars. He carried a jade-colored long sword on his back. He had not come out of the Jade Kui Secret Realm but had come to welcome them along with the elders from the Central Province.
“You are the champion of the Eastern Region Grand Competition, Jiang Huai?”
The man’s gaze was not gloomy; it held a hint of scrutiny, but more evident was the arrogance in his eyes. Jiang Huai’s eyebrows rose slightly, and he glanced at him, trying to probe his cultivation level, but failed. This indicated that the cultivation gap between them was at least five minor realms.
“May I ask who you are?”
“The First Prince of the Central Province, Ji Qinghai.”
With that, he no longer concealed his aura, releasing it fully.
Seventh Realm, Body Integration second layer.
