Lin Ran, the sixth princess of the imperial dynasty, one of the three great beauties of the imperial capital, and the top immortal seed of Broken Cloud Peak, thus had great fame in the cultivation world and secular world of the Xihui Dynasty. Therefore, the news of her joining the Longchang Sect quickly spread.
For this reason, Qin Quan convened a meeting of the sect’s high-level figures.
“What is this sixth princess thinking? With her status and background, she shouldn’t be lacking in medicinal herbs, right? Why would she travel a great distance to Yongning Prefecture to suffer?” Elder Ruan asked doubtfully.
“Who knows? Perhaps she’s here for trials? After all, one cannot become an immortal by just cultivating in a greenhouse!” Xu Mei speculated.
“She might have deliberations in this aspect.” Qi Huang suddenly spoke, then changed the subject: “But I think her ultimate goal is me and the main body.”
“It’s you two?” Everyone’s gazes shifted over in unison.
“Yes, last time, because I was selected as an Imperial Concubine, some rumors spread among the people, saying that the Emperor did not trust her strength, so he wanted to borrow excellent bloodlines to strengthen the royal family. Anyone in her position would likely want to prove themselves, and the Evergreen Convention is undoubtedly the best stage for that,” Qi Huang explained.
“I think so too. If it were purely for trials, why would she have to come to Yongning Prefecture? Moreover, she joined the Longchang Sect next door, which is clearly a declaration of war,” Cheng Hong Ling held the same idea.
“Indeed, the Longchang Sect is not much larger than us in scale, and its top combat power is inferior to ours. She wants to prove to the world that even without any external help, she can defeat me and the main body. Her intentions are obvious,” Qi Huang continued to agree.
All the high-level figures nodded thoughtfully upon hearing this, their expressions becoming more serious.
“What is the strength of this sixth princess?” Xu Mei asked worriedly.
“It is said that she has already reached the Huashen Realm Layer 2,” Qin Quan introduced.
“Huashen Realm Layer 2? Isn’t that the same as Hong Ling?” Xu Mei was astonished.
“If it’s just Huashen Realm Layer 2, I have full confidence in defeating her,” Cheng Hong Ling said with a blank expression. It should be known that she had fought against masters of the middle stage of the Huashen Realm when she was in the Yuxiao Sect. With the enhancement of Shui Linglong and the Wave Butterfly body technique, the Sky Thunder Sword was indeed impregnable.
“Hmm, I believe in my disciple’s strength,” Xu Mei unhesitatingly agreed.
“It’s not that simple. Don’t you find it strange? Although the Xihui Dynasty is not exactly a land of exceptional people, the geniuses who reached the Huashen Realm before the age of thirty have already exceeded single digits. Among these people, apart from the top immortal seed of the Donglai Sect who is in a league of their own, most of the others are at the Huashen Realm Layer 1 to Layer 3. In that case, how did this sixth princess manage to achieve a top two ranking in the Evergreen Convention multiple times? And how did she become the top immortal seed of Broken Cloud Peak?” Qin Quan reminded them.
“Why?” Everyone looked at each other.
“The reason is very simple: she cultivates both immortal and martial arts,” Qin Quan said word by word.
“What? Cultivating both immortal and martial arts?” Elder Ruan exclaimed, then said, “How is that possible? Ordinary people are already struggling to cultivate one, let alone cultivating both immortal and martial arts? Doing so would only be picking up sesame seeds and losing watermelons.”
“So you said they are ordinary people,” Qin Quan corrected, then said, “For ordinary people, cultivating both immortal and martial arts would indeed be too much to chew. But she is the sixth princess of the imperial dynasty. As you know, practicing martial arts is not like cultivating immortality; it only requires body refining and does not require any talent.”
Qin Quan continued to explain, “And there are two methods for body refining: the poor rely on willpower, and the rich rely on financial resources. As long as you can afford good body refining medicinal materials, your body’s strength will increase rapidly even if you stay at home and soak in medicinal baths all day, without having to spend much time on training. And she clearly belongs to this category. You all know how many resources are in the imperial palace, so I don’t need to say more.”
Upon hearing this, everyone reacted, and then their gazes turned to Cheng Hong Ling again.
Cheng Hong Ling was finally moved. If this were the case, then the opponent was very likely a strong contender.
“What are you all worried about? No matter how strong she is, she’s just the second immortal seed of the Xihui Dynasty, right? Her upper limit won’t surpass that kid from the Donglai Sect.” Qi Huang said speechlessly, then asked, “What is the strength level of that top immortal seed from the Donglai Sect?”
“Huashen Realm Fifth Layer,” Qin Quan replied.
“Only Huashen Realm Fifth Layer? This means the sixth princess’s strength limit is also like that. With me here, let alone Huashen Realm Fifth Layer, even if someone from the Shentong Realm Fifth Layer came, I’d make them depressed.” Qi Huang spoke “arrogantly” again.
The crowd did not question her, because they trusted Qi Huang 100%. However, this did not stop Cheng Hong Ling’s stubbornness from insisting on fighting herself. What if her foundation was damaged or her dao heart was destroyed?
Qi Huang did not think that much about it. If the main body wanted to fight, let her fight. As long as she was happy, her strength was definitely enough to lend a helping hand in time.
“This time, no matter who comes, no one will be able to defeat the main body in front of me.” Qi Huang made up her mind again.
In the following days, countless geniuses rushed to Yongning Prefecture, from the Xihui Dynasty and other countries. However, most of them chose to join the local major sects. After all, their goal was the reward, not just to fight for pride like Lin Ran.
Some of these geniuses concealed their identities, while others revealed them. However, even those who revealed their identities were enough to make the high-level figures of the HongHua Sect uneasy. Therefore, they sent people out to gather information every day and delivered real-time intelligence to Cheng Hong Ling.
Cheng Hong Ling’s expression also became more serious. She also wanted to prove her strength, but the current situation was becoming increasingly complicated, so she began to feel uncertain in her heart. After all, it took a long time for her to increase her cultivation by even a little, and it was clearly impossible to break through again within a year.
In contrast, Qi Huang’s life was still relaxed and happy. She planted vegetables and slept every day, and her strength was steadily improving.
Qi Huang’s close senior sisters also saw their strength improve rapidly. These girls were like little pigs that had been underfed for nine meals out of ten, suddenly obtaining enough “feed.” Their growth speed was astonishing, and even Miao Xiang, who had the worst cultivation, had entered the Body Refining Realm. As for Ruan Lingyu, who had the best talent, she had even reached Body Refining Realm Layer 4.
During this period, Xu Mei also broke through to the Body Refining Realm and reached Huashen Realm Layer 1, becoming the third strongest expert of the HongHua Sect in name.
And so, the world where only Cheng Hong Ling was injured was achieved! But there was no other way; who told her to have the highest cultivation? The Path of Cultivation was like this. The further one went, the wider the Qi Sea became, and the slower the improvement speed.
Another month passed, and the HongHua Sect began to select immortal seeds to participate in the next Evergreen Convention. Since this time, the rule was a team battle of ten people, so ten disciples under thirty years old needed to be selected to participate.
Qi Huang and Cheng Hong Ling were individuals, so they only counted as one spot. Besides them, nine more needed to be selected.
“Do we really need ten people? Can’t just the main body and I participate?” Qi Huang immediately jumped out to question.
“In principle, yes. The Immortal Alliance stipulates a maximum of ten people, with no limit on the specific number,” Qin Quan explained.
“That’s good! I alone am enough to handle those competitors. Why bother the other fellow disciples?” Qi Huang said confidently, her actual goal being to enjoy the rewards alone.
Cheng Hong Ling did not object, because she knew that the competition for this Evergreen Convention would definitely be very fierce. The other fellow disciples would not only be unable to help if they went but would also become a burden. If she really wanted to find someone to help, Qi Huang, this clone, would be sufficient.
Qin Quan naturally had no reason to object, so it was preliminarily decided that Cheng Hong Ling and her clone Qi Huang would represent the HongHua Sect in the next Evergreen Convention. Those who did not know the inside story would surely think he was crazy to send only one disciple to participate. Was this giving up or looking down on people!
