Xiao Chen was happy to be able to relax. He did not have to wear a conical bamboo hat to hide his ident.i.ty; that would have been rather problematic.
Upon hearing that the various Holy Scions had managed to break through to quasi-Emperor, Xiao Chen was not surprised, having already expected this.
He arrived at the city gates and revealed a little of his aura. With that, he smoothly entered the city.
Xiao Chen had antic.i.p.ated that Bright Moon City would be very bustling when the Four Seas Hero Gathering approached. However, he was still startled when he walked into the city.
The scene that greeted him reminded him of the Five Nation Youth Compet.i.tion in the Sky Dome Realm many years ago. Back then, the situation in Dragon Sealing City had been similar to this.
Dragon Sealing City had been extraordinarily lively as well. However, in terms of scale and atmosphere, there was no comparison.
Xiao Chen revealed an expression of reminiscence. Back then, during the Five Nation Youth Compet.i.tion, he had been reserved and alone, not fearing any experts.
However, he had not had been confident of victory. He had faced every match along the way seriously. After putting in a lot of effort, he had managed to succeed and climb to the peak.
Even to this day, Xiao Chen remembered the Little Dragon King Xuanyuan Zhantian, Yue Chenxi’s Morning Sun Fist, Gong Yangyu’s Everlasting Heaven and Earth, and the conflicts with Bai Qi and Sima Lingxuan.
What was even more unforgettable was the final fight with Chu Chaoyun.
Since then, Xiao Chen could finally proudly say “those who defeated me will be defeated by me; no one can stop me from defeating those whom I want to defeat.”
Right now, what Xiao Chen radiated was not reservation and loneliness but calm and self-confidence.
All along, he had felt that his mental state and strength were much higher than those of the outstanding talents of the Heavenly Starry Ocean’s younger generation.
Even though these outstanding talents had advanced to quasi-Emperor and relied on the resources of their sects to progress to Small Perfection quasi-Emperor, they were still not strong enough before him.
The reason was none other than Xiao Chen’s mental state, cultivation, and personal acc.u.mulation, all of which far surpa.s.sed these people’s.
Ao Jiao, what is the format of the Four Seas Hero Gathering? What are the rules?
As Xiao Chen moved around in the crowd, he looked interestedly at the duels in the arenas while asking Ao Jiao about the details of the Four Seas Hero Gathering.
Right now, Ao Jiao and Little Yellow Feather were currently focused on caring for the various Spirit Trees in the Immortal Spirit Ring, so she quickly answered, I don’t seem to recall there being any rules. It is simply whoever appears more elegant and suppresses everyone else would be able to claim the prize.
Xiao Chen stopped moving and said in shock, That casual?
That’s right. Aside from the first few times when they needed to deal with the Immortal Cultivators of the Penglai Sea, the latter Four Seas Hero Gatherings were always done in such a casual manner. There were no fixed rules and no need to undergo complicated qualifiers or compet.i.tions.
Ao Jiao spoke frankly with a.s.surance as she continued, There are no compet.i.tors, either. All the spectators are heroes. As long as one is confident, one can just jump in and challenge any of the Holy Scions.
If you win, your fame will spread everywhere. If you lose, you will not be able to avoid pain and may even suffer severe injuries that result in hidden damage lasting for life.
Xiao Chen said doubtfully, At that time, there will be more than a million people here. If everyone fights once, wouldn’t the gathering end up lasting for more than half a month, completely messing it up?
Ao Jiao smiled and replied, That will not happen. The Lunar Palace has experts overseeing the event. Everyone who wants to make a move will have to clear a test before they can enter. That will be the threshold for entry.
The threshold each time is different. I believe that the threshold for this year will be especially high.
Xiao Chen mused to himself, To think that it is not an elimination-style match in arenas! The so-called gathering is actually such a casual scene.
What this gathering compares is one’s elegance. This is truly unexpected.
Ao Jiao giggled and said, What are you worried about? Although it is a compet.i.tion of elegance, without sufficient strength, one would just get beaten up until one resembles a pig’s head. How would one be elegant then?
In the end, it is a compet.i.tion of whose fist is harder. As long as you are always the one punching others and not the one being punched, you will naturally appear elegant.
Xiao Chen came to a sudden understanding. That was right. Although it was called elegance, in the end, at its roots, it was still strength.
Suddenly, he frowned. His right hand moved towards his shoulder and grabbed a wrist tight.
Xiao Chen looked behind expressionlessly. When he saw the owner of that hand, his pupils contracted, and surprise appeared in his eyes.
“Brother Qi, it has been a long time.”
This person was the Qi Wuxue whom Xiao Chen had not seen since they parted at the Sea Monarch Palace.
Qi Wuxue smiled embarra.s.sedly and said, “Let go first. No personal battles are allowed in the city. If you don’t let go soon, the guards of the Lunar Palace will rush over.”
When Xiao Chen heard this, he sent out his Spiritual Sense. Indeed, he saw several sharp gazes looking over. If he displayed any murderous intent, these people would immediately take action.
He quickly let go and asked, “Why do I not see Long Fei? Isn’t he with you?”
When Qi Wuxue heard these questions, he smiled with envy. “Competing with others is really frustrating. That fellow found his opportunity and broke through to quasi-Emperor. He is preparing to show off his strength during the Four Seas Hero Gathering. Brother, I am only barely a great grandmaster-level Martial Sage.
“He is now challenging the Twenty-Four Bridges. Hehe! That is a very interesting arena. Brother Xiao, let’s go. I’ll bring you to take a look.”
Qi Wuxue being all mysterious piqued Xiao Chen’s curiosity somewhat. During this period, there were many interesting arenas in Bright Moon City.
In the couplet of “Under the bright-moon-lit night, there are twenty-four bridges,” the accompanying line was “where is a beautiful person teaching the flute.” What was so wondrous about this particular arena?
“Hehe! This Bright Moon City is rather fun. That fellow Long Fei is really reckless. I so look forward to seeing how he is going to fail,” Qi Wuxue said heartlessly with a smile as he quickly led Xiao Chen to a very popular area.
“Make way! Make way!”
Qi Wuxue pushed his way forward, not minding the looks that others gave him. Then, they arrived at a quiet and remote viewing spot.
Xiao Chen looked in front and saw a small river of clear, flowing water with an arched bridge carved from white jade spanning it.
The antiquated jade bridge looked exquisite. However, the beauties on the jade bridge were even more beautiful. There were many pretty white-clad ladies with excellent figures.
A total of twenty-four stood at the end of the jade bridge. One of the ladies wore a veil and stood on the railing while blowing a flute. The resulting melody was pleasing to the ears, spreading out a mournful tune.
The other twenty-three ladies held swords flas.h.i.+ng with cold light. They moved around elegantly on the jade bridge. However, they displayed a strong bloodthirst as well.
Together with the ghostly flute sounds, they portrayed a dance of murder.
Xiao Chen raised his hand and looked into the distance. Although it was clearly daytime, there was a full moon hanging high in the sky. The moonlight was bright like the light from a fire. The cold light competed with the sun, completely overwhelming the latter’s radiance.
Those familiar with Bright Moon City would know that was the mysterious and ethereal Lunar Palace. It remained high in the sky all year round, and its light always outshone the sun.
Bright moon, jade bridge, flute music, flowing water, and sword dance—the scene was lovely and pleasing to the eye, making one stop what they were doing and watch.
Back on the jade bridge, the one bitterly enduring the sword dance of the twenty-three ladies was naturally the Corpse Race’s Long Fei, the descendant of the White Bone Sovereign.
Qi Wuxue was really an inattentive friend. He stood at the side and exchanged opinions with Xiao Chen with nods, discussing the appearance of the various ladies on the bridge.
“There is truly one of every flavor. It is hard to make a choice. Brother Xiao, help me pick one. Since I came to Bright Moon City this time, I must bring a Lunar Palace disciple back.”
Aside from the Lunar Palace’s Holy Daughter, all the other female disciples could marry.
Furthermore, it was an honor for the outstanding talents of the Heavenly Starry Ocean and the disciples of the n.o.ble Clans to be able to marry a Lunar Palace disciple. Many of the wives of the Holy Land Sect Masters or n.o.ble Clan’s Clan Heads were once Lunar Palace disciples.
From a certain perspective, this could be a big part of why the Lunar Palace had attained such a special position today.
However, for Qi Wuxue, wanting to marry a Lunar Palace disciple might be rather difficult, as it would be hard for him to cover his evil aura. A little checking would expose his background. Even if the girl agreed, the Lunar Palace might not.
Xiao Chen had never heard of a Lunar Palace female disciple marrying into the Primal Chaos Domain.
Without Xiao Chen needing to make a reb.u.t.tal, a person at the side interrupted, no longer able to endure Qi Wuxue’s prattle. That person rolled his eyes and said, “Aside from the Holy Daughter, there is also the t.i.tle of Jade Lady. In each generation, there are twenty-four of them. These twenty-four in front are the twenty-four Jade Ladies of the Lunar Palace.
“These are the ones that many Immortal Holy Lands and n.o.ble Clans have already decided on for their daughters-in-law. A hoodlum like you wants to marry a Lunar Palace Jade Lady? Dream on.”
When Qi Wuxue heard that, he smiled faintly without losing his temper. Then, he sized up this person with a glance. This person wore white clothes and a white hat, looking very scholarly, and held a white folding fan. He was handsome and elegant. With one glance, it was clear he was a disciple of a Confucian sect.
Qi Wuxue pushed his way over and said with a smile, “You carry yourself with extraordinary grace. Based on your Righteous Qi, you must be of a Confucian sect, right? Might I ask for your great name?”
Pride flashed on the scholarly face. Then, he replied in a rather calm voice. “I’m not that capable. I am Lu Hao, an inner academy disciple of the Heavenly Province Academy.”
Qi Wuxue immediately showed an expression of shock and exclaimed in an exaggerated manner, “Heavenly Province Academy! You are actually a disciple of an Immortal Holy Land. I could not tell earlier. I’m sorry, pardon me for earlier.”
Lu Hao clearly felt very satisfied at the shock on Qi Wuxue’s face, heavy shock at that.
He put on some airs, waving his hand as he said, “It is just an Immortal Holy Land; just treat us as normal. As for these Lunar Palace’s Jade Ladies, just don’t show any intent to profane them. One can admire and praise them from afar but should not have any dirty thoughts about them. That is the way of the gentleman.”
Qi Wuxue nodded and said, “Brother Lu makes sense. This little brother did have some dirty thoughts earlier. Fortunately, Brother Lu reminded me in time.”
Xiao Chen, who was standing at the side, found this exchange funny. With one glance, he could tell that Qi Wuxue intended to cheat this person.
However, Xiao Chen did not feel like saying anything to Lu Hao. He did not have a good impression of this gentlemanly nerd who spouted things like righteousness and ethics.
It would be fine as long as Qi Wuxue did not go overboard and cause trouble.
Qi Wuxue acted the yes-man, continuously flattering Lu Hao. That Heavenly Province Academy disciple already got carried away, and the two started a conversation as they walked.
“Speaking of which, Brother Lu, which of the Lunar Palace’s Jade Ladies do you admire the most?”
Lu Hao showed a righteous expression on his face as a fervent light flashed in his eyes. He looked at the lady blowing the flute and said, “Naturally, it is the leader of the twenty-four Jade Ladies. It would the Miss Fang Qingxuan, who excels at both the sword and the flute.”
Qi Wuxue nodded meaningfully and said, “Miss Fang Qingxuan is indeed like a fairy coming to the mortal world. She possesses an exceptional temperament. I just wonder, what does she look like under her veil?”