Chapter 267

His attire and bearing gave off the flavor of "purple aura arriving from the east."

The four great true disciples—East Lingxiao, West Qielan, South Wan Luo, North Yaoguang—apart from elders of Elder Tian Xing's caliber, even ordinary Grand Elders did not have a higher realm than theirs, nor higher status; they were the true pillars of the Yuhua Sect. Among themselves they addressed each other by name and Dao title, never calling one another junior sister or senior brother.

Yet all four of these people addressed Hua Tiandu as Senior Brother.

Because Hua Tiandu had cultivated the Panwu Great Power Divine Ability, cultivated nine great mind-oceans, and was a terrifying existence who had reversed fate at the 10th Stage of Divine Abilities, far above the four great Golden Core experts—one could truly say his skill overwhelmed all heroes, and none could contend with him.

Among disciples of both the immortal and demonic paths, Hua Tiandu was at the level of a hegemon; even the demonic path's number-one genius, Ying Ying Tianqing, would pale before Hua Tiandu.

"Qielan."

The one of the five true disciples who carried a hint of imperial nobility and the aura of purple qi arriving from the east—Lingxiao—first looked toward Qielan, uttered two words, then shifted his gaze to Fang Yu beside her.

"What? I recall you never got close to men before, Qielan. Why are you with him now? Could there be something extraordinary about him?"

A smile appeared on Lingxiao's face, but the words he spoke seemed quite provocative.

"Lingxiao, we are both among the five true disciples of the Yuhua Sect, of equal status. Whatever I wish to do is none of your business."

Qielan heard these words, and her expression chilled slightly.

"Of course I can't dictate what our Yuhua Sect's Senior Sister does. I'm merely curious, that's all."

Lingxiao laughed twice, then sat down in a chair.

"Curious? Curiosity killed the cat."

Fang Yu said lightly.

"What? What did you say? Are you speaking to me?"

At these words, Lingxiao's face instantly darkened; a dense killing intent emanated from his body, and his gaze turned coldly toward Fang Yu, as though he had not heard clearly what Fang Yu had said.

A true disciple who had only just stepped into the Divine Ability Secret Realm not long ago actually dared to speak to him like this—it was simply outrageous, foolish.

"I said curiosity kills the cat. Didn't you hear?"

Fang Yu spoke again.

He had already sensed this Lingxiao's hostility toward him; with a little guesswork he could piece some things together—it was nothing more than the usual infighting among the five true disciples of the sect. Since that was the case, he saw no need to beat around the bush.

"Good, very good. Your name is Fang Yu? I'll remember you."

Lingxiao's gaze was dark, the aura around him surged and billowed, as though bearing the qi of nine dragons and the might of an emperor, pressing down to suppress.

Fang Yu's expression did not change, but Qielan frowned slightly and also released a powerful aura.

"Lingxiao, what Junior Brother Fang Yu said is also what I want to say. What I do, you need not be curious about."

The two terrifying auras clashed for a moment, then both vanished without a trace.

"Fine, I'll remember this. Fang Yu, don't think that just because Qielan is protecting you, you can do whatever you want. One day you'll regret it."

Lingxiao, seeing this scene, spoke coldly.

Fang Yu's expression remained calm as ever.

This was bound to happen. After all, he was now close to Qielan; in outsiders' eyes that meant he had thrown in his lot with one of the five true disciples, and the other members of the five would naturally want to suppress him.

If they wanted to come, let them come.

He was quite eager to try his hand against an existence of the Golden Core Realm.

"Junior Brother Fang Yu, you were a bit impulsive just now. Lingxiao is not so easy to deal with—but if he wants to deal with you, he'll have to get past me first."

Qielan's spiritual sense reached over.

"Many thanks, Senior Sister Qielan."

Fang Yu smiled.

Things were indeed just as expected.

This little interlude on the true disciples' seating was not noticed by the disciples of the inner and outer sects. For the inner and outer sect disciples, today was an extraordinarily lively day—nearly all of them had come.

The entire Shanhe Courtyard was filled with disciples of the inner and outer sects, ring upon ring, each in their own place, yet not crowded.

The Shanhe Courtyard was extremely vast—it could be called the largest structure in the Yuhua Sect, able to accommodate any number of people.

When the bell of the Shanhe Courtyard ceased, the entire Shanhe Courtyard instantly fell silent, not a sound, a pin-drop could be heard.

Everyone knew this was the sign that the Shanhe Courtyard competition was about to begin, and each of them waited eagerly.

Fang Yu's spiritual sense swept downward and he spotted Fang Han, eyes closed and resting among the crowd. This member of the Fang clan was now cultivating his temperament, his mood as calm as ice and snow; he possessed a bearing of his own—before the great battle arrived, his heart was level.

Possessing such a bearing, it was easy to accomplish great things.

Fang Yu nodded. Fang Han's preparation was extremely thorough; if nothing unexpected happened, he would be first in this Shanhe Ranking competition.

Apart from Fang Han, Fang Yu also noticed a few familiar faces. One was the Fang clan's second young lady, Fang Qingwei; beside her were several imperial clan members, each with a respectful expression, surrounding her like a crowd of stars orbiting the moon.

Among the inner and outer sect disciples, Fang Qingwei could be said to be very popular—after all, she had an elder sister who had cultivated to the Divine Ability Secret Realm, and a clansman—namely him—who was also an existence of the Divine Ability Secret Realm.

However, the look Fang Qingwei gave Fang Han seemed very displeased; she still regarded him as if looking at a servant. That would cost her sooner or later.

At that moment, an Elder stepped forward, his gaze sweeping across the crowd, and his resonant voice spread throughout the Shanhe Courtyard.

"The Shanhe Ranking competition is a rule set by our Yuhua Sect, meant to sift out outstanding disciples for further cultivation. In the contest, you must not put on an act—you must bring out all your abilities. If you perform well and show the tenacious perseverance, extraordinary will, and clever wisdom of a Yuhua Sect disciple, regardless of whether you place in the top ten, you will receive our cultivation! Now, begin."

At this announcement of the start, many half-Elders ascended the competition arenas, took out the name lists, and announced the inner sect disciples who were to take the stage.

The inner sect originally had over five thousand disciples, but last time something went wrong at the Heavenly Demon Battlefield; all the disciples who survived the Heavenly Demon Battlefield were promoted to inner sect disciples, so this time the inner sect disciples had increased considerably.

But no matter how many more there were, the Yuhua Sect's strength could still arrange everything in perfect order, without the slightest chaos.

"Junior Brother Fang Yu, who do you think will take first place in this Shanhe Ranking competition?"

Qielan's gaze rested on the various arenas as she spoke to Fang Yu.

"Since a disciple of my Fang clan is also participating in the examination, the first place this time will, of course, be a member of my Fang clan."

Fang Yu's expression shifted, and he let slip a wild boast.

"Oh."

Qielan seemed a little curious.

"It seems this Junior Brother Fang is quite confident. I would like to make a little wager with Junior Brother Fang."

The moment Fang Yu's words fell, a True Disciple spoke up.