Ye Chen and Murong Qingcheng entered the teahouse but didn"t try to join in blindly. They chose a corner seat and ordered two cups of tea.The teahouse had a total of four floors, and the center of the teahouse was an open ground. One could see the fourth floor from the first floor, and vice versa. Ye Chen and Murong Qingheng were on the east of the second floor.
The teahouse was crowded, but there was no noise. Most were like Ye Chen and Murong Qingcheng, quietly sitting and drinking tea. There were some who had reached an agreement with others, so they proceeded to the private pavilions to sort out the affairs.
"Your tea, Sir, Madam!" The waiter"s footsteps were light as he walked up to Ye Chen and then softly spoke. Ye Chen faintly nodded, allowing him to place the tea on table.
Blowing the steam coming from the frothy tea, Ye Chen slowly sipped while observing the people in the restaurant. There was nothing worth seeing on the first floor. All the martial artists were at Sea of Soul realm, and not a single half-step King could be seen.
On the second floor was only one person who caught his eye—a yellow-robed woman sitting in the west corner. She was a cute woman in her thirties. Her bridge of nose was high and her eyes contained a wisp of deep yellow amidst the black. Her gaze was disinterested, not focused anywhere. What attracted Ye Chen was not her appearance, but an indistinct yet queer aura from her body. It was an extremely soft and feminine aura like a silkworm.
"I wonder what demonic beast she is." Ye Chen inwardly said.
As Ye Chen was scrutinizing the yellow-robed woman, she turned around and looked back. She revealed a smile that seemed very gentle, yet making one feel a chill from the bottom of their heart.
"She can"t be provoked." This was Ye Chen"s label for her.
Compared to the second floor, the third floor had many martial artists worth paying attention to. Two brothers sitting by the railing—one was a towering man and the other with a young appearance. Both were wearing one copper earring in different ears, one in right and the other in left. Then there was a middle-aged man carrying a sword with his eyes closed; an old lady with a haggard face and a sinister aura; a bald fatty with a tattoo on his head; a strange old man in a raincoat...and so on.
"This restaurant has dozens of peak half-step Kings. I can"t see through seven to eight of them. I"m afraid they are around "strongest" half-step King realm." Murong Qingcheng was also observing the martial artists in the teahouse.
Ye Chen said, "The second floor"s yellow-robed woman and third floor"s old man in the raincoat ought to be "strongest" half-step Kings. Others are also not weak, and have many rare experts."
Amongst all the martial artists, the yellow-robed woman and the old man in the raincoat made Ye Chen feel the most threatened. Even if they were not "strongest" half-step King, they were just a step away from it.
"My eyes are a bit lacking compared to yours. I couldn"t see anything amiss in them." Murong Qingcheng again scrutinized the yellow-robed woman and the old man in raincoat, then softly shook her head. She didn"t feel the frightening response like Ye Chen did.
The latter smiled, "You can easily miss in the first try, or perhaps they are hiding really deep."
The restaurant was quiet, and people would occasionally leave the private pavilions and leave the restaurant. The people in the restaurant slowly decreased, further deepening the silence.
"Look, that yellow-robed woman has been invited." Murong Qingcheng said.
Ye Chen looked over. The yellow-robed woman was invited by an attendant, leading her to the private pavilion of the third floor. Soon after the door closed, the attendant walked out. Next, the two brothers were also invited to that private pavilion.
A few moments later, the waiter approached them and stood before Murong Qingcheng, "Madam, the head of the private pavilion has invited you for a chat."
"Oh!"
Murong Qingcheng was not surprised. After all, everybody"s purpose in coming to this restaurant was the same—to form teams and explore ruins.
"I"ll go with him."
Murong Qingcheng knew that Ye Chen"s cultivation base would make others look down on him. There were hardly a few like him that could stand against those of higher realms. Seeing him for the first time, one would at most consider him being able to contend against an ordinary half-step King. As for whether he would be able to win or not, that would be another story.
The waiter immediately understood the cue and said, "Then please both of you come!"
Following the waiter, the two arrived outside the private pavilion. With a creak, the door opened, and the two entered cautiously.
"Seems like a soul stone array is embedded in the wall."
Entering the pavilion, Ye Chen didn"t discover anything mysterious. One could spread their sense outside, but the outsiders wouldn"t be able to see inside.
Sitting inside were nine people. Apart from the yellow-robed woman and the two brothers, there were two young men, a middle-aged man, a huge middle-aged man, an old man. And sitting at the head seat was a middle-aged man with a tanned complexion. His skin was revealing veined lines that seemed metallic. His two eyes were s.h.i.+ning brightly, looking like two s.h.i.+ning black gems. His eyes had more black than white in them.
"What"s happening? A peak Sea of Soul realm martial artist can join our team. Won"t he hold us back?" The mean-faced middle-aged man muttered.
"Hehe…Kid did you enter the wrong door?" One of the two brothers sneered.
The two young men both had different expressions. One had a sneer on his face while the other was expressionless with dropped eyelids, as if anything happening had nothing to do with him. Furthermore, the big yellow-faced middle aged man unleashed the soul power without any hesitation, sweeping toward Ye Chen as if trying to make a fool out of him.
The tanned man and the yellow-robed woman, however, sat calmly, quietly watching the situation.
Hmph!
Ye Chen lightly snorted and struck back with his soul power.
The middle-aged man directly trembled and his body went out of control. What made him appalled was that Ye Chen"s soul power carried a sharpness that seemed to be cutting his soul. That feeling of being a fish on the meat board made him feel nauseated.
When the others saw that the one suffering the loss was the yellow-faced middle-aged man, their gazes on Ye Chen involuntarily changed. In any case, the former was a half-step King, so his soul power couldn"t be too weak. There weren"t many in the room who could make him suffer a loss, since their souls had developed membranes. With that, the value of Ye Chen increased quite a bit, and they retracted their arrogance. At the very least, they did not show it on the surface.
"Please have a seat!" The tanned man retracted his strange expression and gestured indifferently.
Murong Qingcheng faintly nodded and sat down in an aloof manner. Ye Chen glanced at Lin Yuxuan beside the tanned man and wordlessly sat down without a trace of politeness.
"I"ve already discussed with everybody regarding a ruin exploration. We"re all willing. We invited you two because you two seem to stand out. It"s the same princ.i.p.al…one more person is one extra hand.
The tanned man hadn"t cared much about Ye Chen in the beginning, and only intended to invite Murong Qingcheng. At this point, he would naturally not speak in such a tone. Moreover, Ye Chen didn"t seem as weak as he seemed. The yellow-faced middle-aged man, despite being a half-step King, suffered a substantial loss in an exchange of soul power. This was clearly a problem.
Ye Chen said, "Go on…"
The tanned man and rest were somewhat astonished. Ye Chen seemed to be in the lead amongst the two. They wondered if he really had the skill or was merely the leader in name.
Clearing his throat, the tanned man somberly continued, "If you two agree, I"ll continue. If not, please leave. Not many know about this ruin I discovered at the moment. I can"t tell you otherwise."
Ye Chen and Murong Qingcheng exchanged a glance, then Ye Chen softly said, "We agree."
"Fine then." The tanned middle-aged man revealed a faint smile, "This ruin is extremely huge. The place I discovered is merely a part of this ruin. However, this ruin in itself is no small matter. The ruin"s name is True Water Palace."
"True Water Palace?" Ye Chen and Murong Qingcheng were at a loss, having never heard the name before.
Lin Yuxuan interrupted, "True Water Palace was once this region"s most powerful fourth grade sect. In the current age, no fourth grade sect could compare with it. In its most powerful generation, it produced thirteen Life and Death Kings. The palace master then was further one of the most powerful t.i.tled monarchs of that time, the True Water Emperor."
"Thirteen Kings…True Water Emperor..." Ye Chen was inwardly astonished. This True Water Palace"s strength in its golden era was frightening. Which sect today had thirteen Life and Death Kings? True Water Emperor didn"t even need to be mentioned. The Emperors of ancient eras were genuine t.i.tled monarchs capable of leaving their mark on the Emperor Scar Stelle.
However, regardless of how prosperous it was in its golden age, it currently sat at the bottom of the ocean, reduced to ruins.
"There is one thing you should know. This ruin is covered by a restriction, and for some reason, there are numerous strange life forms appearing inside for some reason. You"re all invited to support each other and have each other"s back so that we can easily take the treasures inside." The tanned man said amiably.Find authorized novels in Webnovel,faster updates, better experience,Please click for visiting.
"Good! When do we set off?" Such a ruin should have treasures. Thus, Ye Chen agreed without much hesitation.
"Every second of delay is a chance for an accident. Moreover, I"m also afraid that someone might leak the information. The moment we leave this pavilion, we"ll set off. I a.s.sume none of you have any objections." The tanned man swept his gaze around and asked.
"What objections can there be? We can set off at any moment." The twins grinned.
"No objection from me either." The cold young man faintly nodded.
The others naturally had no objections either. The reason all of them had gathered at Richlight Oceanspan was precisely to try their luck and gain some treasures.
"Good! There is no need for hurry. Let"s relax a little first. We"ll leave after some tea." The tanned man didn"t intend to invite any other members. Nodding his head with satisfaction, he lightly pulled the copper bell inside the private pavilion, ordering for some tea and pastries.
After finis.h.i.+ng their tea and eating some pastries, the tanned man stood up and said, "Let"s go!"