Gongsun Yan, who had been about to follow Bai Ze, stepped forward. Then, he looked at Xiao Chen and asked in a deep voice, “Might I ask for your great name? And did you go to Purple Cloud Island half a month ago?”
Xiao Chen smiled and replied, “I am Mo Yun. I suppose Young Master Gongsun wants to ask if I was the one who took the Holy Daughter’s pulse half a month ago.”
“It is indeed you. You are really reckless, profaning the Holy Daughter and still daring to appear in our Southern Sea!”
“Boom!”
Thunderflame flickered in the sky. Gongsun Yan did not bother saying anything more, directly attacking Xiao Chen instead.
He took one step forward. Electricity flickered on his body, and a flame burned. Electricity and fire layered on each other as he suddenly threw a palm strike.
That clump of thunderflame in the air surged forward together with Gongsun Yan’s palm strike, illuminating half the sky and looking like the sky, appearing boundlessly powerful.
From the time Gongsun Yan spoke to acc.u.mulating momentum and attacking took only one breath. With such strength, it was no wonder he showed no care for a regular grandmaster-level Martial Sage at all.
Even against a regular great grandmaster-level Martial Sage, the result would still be an instant kill. Gongsun Yan truly deserved his reputation as an outstanding talent.
Shock appeared in everyone’s eyes. Seeing the boundless thunderflame, they could already foresee the white-robed Xiao Chen burning to ashes.
Xiao Chen smiled coldly. He did not bother storing up any momentum or moving back. In the time it took for a spark to fly, he stepped forward as well.
He closed the folding fan in his hand and thrust it forward, striking the center of Gongsun Yan’s palm that was driving towards him with ferocious momentum.
“Bang!”
The instant the folding fan and thunderflame palm came in contact, Xiao Chen did not budge at all. Instead, Gongsun Yan, who charged forward with boundless momentum, went flying back.
The rebound was for no other reason than Gongsun Yan overestimating himself, fighting with his bare hands and not using a weapon. He thought that with his speed and aura, he could instantly suppress Xiao Chen, cornering him.
However, Gongsun Yan did not know that this tiny bit of aura was nothing to Xiao Chen. Not only did Xiao Chen not panic, but he also caught hold of the opening in this move in an instant.
Xiao Chen did not give Gongsun Yan any opportunities. He pushed off the ground and immediately rushed forward, taking advantage of the few seconds before Gongsun Yan landed, to attack continuously.
Xiao Chen’s folding fan, shoulders, hands, feet, and hair, they all could be sharp weapons. In close combat, Gongsun Yan was like a kid in the hands of Xiao Chen, who comprehended the Flawless saber Dao and had an enormous amount of experience in close combat.
Within these few seconds, Xiao Chen beat Gongsun Yan into a sorry state. Many strikes fell on Gongsun Yan and inflicted incredible pain. When he finally landed, his knees buckled, and he staggered back a further ten steps.
On the other hand, to the eyes of the others, Xiao Chen appeared dazzling with many afterimages. After performing those incredibly graceful movements, he withdrew his folding fan and landed firmly on the ground, appearing unruffled.
From the start to the end, Xiao Chen displayed only the strength of an ordinary grandmaster-level Martial Sage. However, in the short exchange, he beat Gongsun Yan up as if he was beating a child.
Gongsun Yan looked clumsy and in a sorry state like he could not withstand a single blow. There were no signs of the aura or appearance of an outstanding talent.
“Who dares to be so unbridled in front of the Treasure Master’s residence?!”
Just as Gongsun Yan was about to bring out his Thunderflame War Body in his rage and unleash his full power, a stern and mighty voice came from the Treasure Master’s residence.
“Whoos.h.!.+”
Four guards of the Treasure Master’s residence descended from the sky. The old man leading them swept his gaze through the place, putting intense pressure on everyone’s hearts.
This was a quasi-Emperor expert. The one who spoke earlier was him. The moment he appeared, the enraged Gongsun Yan forced himself to calm down.
Xiao Chen opened up the folding fan and said with a faint smile, “Brother Gongsun and I were just feeling itchy and exchanged pointers. Senior, please do not misunderstand.”
The old man snorted coldly and said, “I do not care where you come from or what faction is backing you. Absolutely no one is allowed to attack anyone in this Ten Thousand Treasure City.”
After saying that, the old man waved, and the guards all turned and left with him. Before he went, he gave Xiao Chen a somewhat suspicious glance.
Xiao Chen did not mind that at all. Since the old man was just a Small Perfection quasi-Emperor, it was impossible for him to make out anything.
Gongsun Yan scattered his aura and glared coldly at Xiao Chen. “Don’t be too pleased. Just you wait.”
Xiao Chen found the words funny. He truly did not feel pleased about this. This victory came so easily that he derived no sense of accomplishment from it.
“Young Master Mo, were you really the person who profaned the Holy Daughter?” Zi Ying asked with some disbelief.
Xiao Chen smiled and said, “It’s fine, just some misunderstanding. I will make things clear in this feast and not bring the Nine Cauldron Pavilion any problems.”
Zi Ying laughed and said, “Young Master Mo is overthinking. Our Nine Cauldron Pavilion is considered a peak merchant a.s.sociation in the Heavenly Starry Ocean. How could we be afraid of such small problems? However, I really did not imagine that someone could be so reckless in this world to dare to profane the Holy Daughter.”
Profane. Why does everyone keep using this word? I did not even touch her hand.
Xiao Chen smiled helplessly and did not try to explain further. Then, he followed Zi Ying into the Treasure Master’s residence.
Thus, this brief interlude came to an end. However, the impact of this was far from over.
Xiao Chen had defeated the outstanding talent Gongsun Yan in a few seconds, beating Gongsun Yan up into a sorry state as if he were a defenseless child. In the exchange, Gongsun Yan had not displayed the air of an expert at all; instead, he had been more like a buffoon.
The cultivators with good judgment naturally would not think that Gongsun Yan was really clumsy and weak. Instead, that appearance was because Xiao Chen completely suppressed him.
A decisive counter, quick judgment, and rich combat experience, Xiao Chen showed all these in this close-combat fight.
Although Gongsun Yan lost the initiative due to underestimating Xiao Chen, based on the result, even if he had not underestimated Xiao Chen, he would not have had the advantage, either.
The even more unexpected thing was that the white-clad person before everyone was actually the person who profaned the Holy Daughter, the topic of much discussion.
“There will be a good show to watch at the feast. The Cyclic Astral Palace’s Holy Scions, the Divine Dragon Palace’s Hai Tian, the Xia n.o.ble Clan’s Xia Hanfeng, and the Shangguan n.o.ble Clan’s Shangguan Yun were all invited.”
“I really wonder where he got all his confidence. After slapping the faces of all the outstanding young talents of our Southern Sea, he still dares to come and attend the feast.”
“The Nine Cauldron Pavilion will probably be implicated.”
“Haha! It will be great if there is some commotion. This year’s Ten Thousand Treasure Festival does seem rather dull.”
The many cultivators carried out excited discussions as they handed over their invitations, entering the Treasure Master’s residence in groups of twos and threes.
Under the night’s full moon, they walked past the quiet garden to arrive at the brightly lit main hall, where the feast had already started.
Famed singers and dancers of the Ten Thousand Treasure City had all been invited. Wondrous zither music echoed through the place.
The Young Treasure Master Yi Ling’s long table stood in the center. He sat on a gold-and-jade throne behind the table, appearing very domineering.
Yue Bingyun sat at the first table to the center table’s right. Beside her was the mysterious expert Aunt Bai, who never left her side.
When Xiao Chen entered together with Zi Ying, he felt Yue Bingyun’s gaze s.h.i.+ft to him.
Unconcerned about this, he smiled faintly and looked back.
Previously, the two were separated by a screen with a white fog clouding his Spiritual Sense. Hence, Xiao Chen did not get to see this girl’s appearance then.
Now, when he looked seriously, Yue Bingyun’s face still seemed clouded by a fog, remaining indistinct.
Even after infusing his Spiritual Sense into his eyes, Xiao Chen could not see her face well. However, there was no feeling of discomfort at all.
It seemed like Yue Bingyun’s appearance still easily appeared in one’s mind. However, when one tried to consider the specifics, one was left clueless. This was really strange.
Aside from the Holy Daughter Yue Bingyun’s gaze, Xiao Chen also felt several gazes after he took his seat.
Clearly, word of the commotion outside already reached this place. Among the owners of these gazes, three caught Xiao Chen’s attention.
Zi Ying whispered an introduction to Xiao Chen, so he now had a rough idea of backgrounds of these three. They were the Southern Sea Divine Dragon Palace’s Young Master, Hai Tian, Shangguan Yun, who was of an ancient n.o.ble Clan, and the Xia n.o.ble Clan’s Xia Hanfeng, all peak outstanding young talents of the Southern Sea.
These people all had something extraordinary about them, either cultivating two wills, a special physique, or practicing a strange cultivation.
If it had been before the King conferral ceremony, the Xiao Chen of that time might have had some reservations about these people. Now, he did not need to mind them.
Xiao Chen was now a quasi-Emperor. He had already returned to nature, becoming one with the world. He could bring out and withdraw his air of a grandmaster as he pleased, controlling it freely.
Aside from the Lunar Palace’s Holy Daughter, the only one he found unfathomable was the Young Treasure Master, Yi Ling, sitting in the center without covering up his domineering air at all.
The feast had not formally started. If it had, the dancers and singers would have withdrawn.
Are they still waiting for someone?
Just as Xiao Chen thought that, he saw the Young Treasure Master stand up from his throne. Then, Yi Ling smiled and said, “Brother Chu Yang, congratulations on your smooth cultivation. After coming out of closed-door cultivation, your name will definitely resound throughout the Heavenly Starry Ocean, bringing respect and honor to our Southern Sea.”
The Sun Palace’s Chu Yang and the Moon Palace’s Fu Hongyao entered together. Instantly, everyone’s gazes focused on the two at the doors.
There were numerous guests in this place. When the other outstanding talents arrived, the Young Treasure Master had only smiled faintly and raised his cup in acknowledgment.
Now, Yi Ling stood up for the sake of the Cyclic Astral Palace’s Holy Son, Chu Yang, which showed how much he valued him.
Xiao Chen squinted and observed carefully, infusing his Spiritual Sense into his eyes. He discovered that Chu Yang gave off rings of invisible, hot light.
It was like the blazing sun spreading its radiance, ready and waiting. If Chu Yang wanted, he could light up the night as bright as day in an instant.
Chu Yang’s cultivation had already broken through the bottleneck of grandmaster-level Martial Sage, having entered great grandmaster-level Martial Sage. He was only one step away from quasi-Emperor.
Xiao Chen thought to himself, Counting the time, that group of outstanding talents from the Kunlun Continent generally should have reached Chu Yang’s level already.
Furthermore, the Astral Battlefield was the strongest battlefield. Improvements there would be even more obvious.
However, Xiao Chen a.n.a.lyzed to himself, among that group, only the descendants of the Prime Martial Emperors would be able to suppress this person before him; the others would have difficulty defeating him.
“Haha! Brother Yi Ling is too kind.” Chu Yang smiled faintly as he stepped forward with Fu Hongyao to the table to the left of the center one, which had been left for them.
Yi Ling sat down once again and waved his hands, dismissing the dancers. Then, he raised his cup and said, “This time, the Lunar Palace’s Holy Daughter is here at my Ten Thousand Treasure City, honoring our Ten Thousand Treasure Festival. The first toast definitely must go to Miss Bingyun.”
The others all raised their cups in toast as well.
Yue Bingyun smiled faintly and did not do anything but pick up her cup and drain it in one go.
“This second toast naturally goes to the brightest outstanding young talent of our Southern Sea, the top true inheritor of the Sun Palace, Brother Chu Yang. Congratulations on a successful closed-door cultivation.”
Chu Yang smiled faintly and showed his respects to the Young Treasure Master. Then, he raised his cup and drained it in one go as well.