Chapter 260: Arrival of the Monarch

"He is Li Fei?"

"So young, only 18 years old."

"Wu'an University actually sent him this time."

"..."

Everyone's gaze was fixed on Li Fei, discussing him in whispers.

An 18-year-old at the Dao Foundation stage, with the fastest breakthrough speed in history, was indeed quite legendary, and even Martial Arts Grandmasters couldn't help but take a few extra looks.

If such a person didn't die young, their future achievements should at least be at the Grandmaster level!

"You are the team leader for the Wu'an University delegation this time?"

Chi Xu looked at Li Fei with some surprise.

"Yes, thanks to the favor of Principal Shi, the junior was allowed to serve as the team leader this time."

Li Fei said neither humbly nor arrogantly.

"Huo!"

Hearing this answer, the people around showed expressions of astonishment.

Except for Nalan Zhi and others who had inquired about this matter in advance, the rest didn't expect that the representative of Wu'an University this time would actually be a student?!

"Truly, the younger generation is to be feared."

Chi Xu fell silent for a moment and sighed with emotion.

He had some friendship with Professor Xiang Dongliang of Wu'an University, and after chatting briefly with Xiang Dongliang, he left.

After Chi Xu left, the gazes of the people around still fell on Li Fei from time to time, and nine out of ten topics of conversation among the crowd were related to Li Fei.

Ten minutes later, several buses drove into this flat ground, and the Daluo Sect arranged for buses to pick up everyone present and leave.

After everyone boarded the bus, several buses drove out of Daluo Town, drove for about thirty minutes, and the bus arrived at the foot of Daluo Peak.

Next, everyone needed to walk up the mountain.

At the foot of Daluo Peak, there was a white jade gate arch, on which were written the three large characters "Daluo Sect."

Passing through the gate arch, beside the mountain-climbing steps, there was also a giant rock, on which were carved four vigorous and powerful characters:

Daoist Ancestral Grounds!

This rock was not made by the Daluo Sect itself, but was a gift from the founding Emperor of the Great Lan Dynasty!

Before the Great Lan Dynasty unified the entire Eastern Continent, Buddhism had always had more prestige and strength than Daoism, with believers all over the world, and in some countries, it was even designated as the state religion.

It wasn't until the Great Lan Dynasty was established that the status of Daoism was gradually raised.

By now, it had completely surpassed Buddhism.

"This poor Daoist Qingxia welcomes everyone on behalf of the Daluo Sect."

Beside this giant rock inscribed with "Daoist Ancestral Grounds," a female Daoist priest wearing green Daoist robes, a Daoist crown on her head, and holding a horsetail whisk, with an elegant and refined temperament, stood there smiling to welcome everyone.

This person was the Peak Master of Luoxia Peak, Qingxia True Person.

Luoxia Peak had always been responsible for the Daluo Sect's external affairs, so this Qingxia True Person was also the True Person who dealt with the outside world the most for the Daluo Sect, and many Martial Arts Grandmasters present were acquainted with her, so they greeted her one after another at this time:

"Greetings, Qingxia True Person."

"True Person's demeanor remains the same."

"..."

Qingxia True Person also chatted very naturally with the various Martial Arts Grandmasters, then turned sideways to make a gesture of leading the way:

"Everyone, please."

And so, the group began to climb the mountain.

The people who came from the thirteen universities were all martial artists, so climbing the mountain was completely effortless.

Although Qingxia True Person, who came to welcome everyone, was not a martial artist, the Daluo Sect valued health-preserving techniques, and as a True Person, she had used her True Power to nourish her physical body for years, so her physique was not bad, and she could easily keep up with everyone's speed.

After climbing to the mountainside, everyone entered a patch of clouds and mist.

Qingxia True Person, who was walking at the front, waved her hand, and the clouds and mist in front automatically retreated to both sides, making the road clear.

It took only forty minutes for everyone to reach the summit, and then they were arranged to rest in different courtyards.

At the same time, everyone also received an invitation to the evening banquet:

Tonight, the Daluo Sect would be holding a Qionghua Banquet on this Daluo Peak to entertain the representatives of the thirteen universities.

At that time, the Daluo Sect's Sect Master, True Lord Qingxu, would attend in person!

A banquet presided over by a contemporary True Lord in person could be said to have reached the top specification!

The "Monarch" in the secular sense is the Son of Heaven, located at the pinnacle of the secular world.

And the "Monarch" character in True Lord is to embody its nobility, and it has the same status as the "Saint" character of a Martial Saint.

One "Monarch," one "Saint," both represent the pinnacle of the cultivation world!

This time, among the thirteen universities, except for Wu'an University, the team leaders of the other universities were all Vice Principals, who were Martial Arts Grandmasters.

Normally, the Daluo Sect sending a few True Person or a Great Grandmaster to preside over the banquet and be responsible for receiving everyone would already be considered attaching importance to them.

No one would feel that it was inappropriate.

No one expected that True Lord Qingxu would actually show up in person!

"I just heard a piece of news."

In the room, Ke Yan called Li Fei and the two professors together and stated the content he had inquired about:

"The Daluo Sect refines a batch of elixirs for His Majesty in the palace every year to prolong life. The time for the elixir to be completed is August every year, and it has never gone wrong. But a week ago, the batch of elixirs refined by the Daluo Sect for His Majesty was lost."

"Lost? Where was it lost?"

Professor Xiang Dongliang asked in surprise.

"The strange thing is here; this elixir was actually lost within the Daluo Sect!"

Ke Yan's expression was strange.

The elixir refined by the Daluo Sect for His Majesty the Emperor was lost within the Daluo Sect...

This matter was truly somewhat unjustifiable.

This was the Daluo Sect!

Possessing a True Lord, a Martial Saint, and several True Person and Great Grandmasters.

In such a place, could it really be invaded by external thieves?

And if it was an internal thief, then the nature of the matter was worth pondering.

To put it mildly, it was dereliction of duty; to put it seriously, it was deceiving the Emperor!

"What is the reaction in the palace?"

Li Fei asked.

He had a hunch that this matter might have an impact on this martial arts exchange competition.

"Currently, no news has come out of the palace, or rather, we haven't been able to inquire about it for the time being."

Ke Yan said straightforwardly.

Involving matters at this level, even Bian Jingru might not be able to inquire about too many secrets.

"So the reason why True Lord Qingxu will preside over this Qionghua Banquet in person tonight is related to this matter, to show his attitude to the Imperial Court?"

Professor Xiang Dongliang opened his mouth and said.

"Possibly."

Ke Yan nodded; after all, it involved a True Lord, so he didn't dare to say anything randomly:

"I'm just worried that this martial arts exchange competition will have variables because of this."

"Even if there really are variables, it's not something we can control; let's just take things as they come."

Li Fei said calmly.

"Little Fei's words make sense."

Professor Xiang Dongliang smiled, "Let's just do our duty with peace of mind; if something really happens, there is the Principal above to hold it up for us."

"Alright."

Ke Yan nodded, "I will go and inquire some more."

Although he knew it might not be useful, he still had to do his best to do the work he could do.

Next, Li Fei returned to his room to continue cultivating, quietly waiting for night to fall.

At 7:30 PM, the university representatives living in various courtyards walked out of the courtyards one after another and were guided by the Daluo Sect disciples to a great hall.

Tonight, the Daluo Sect would be holding a Qionghua Banquet in this great hall.

Luoxia Peak Peak Master Qingxia True Person stood at the entrance of the great hall to welcome everyone in person, smiling as she welcomed each representative into the great hall.

Tonight's banquet was to entertain university representatives, so only Li Fei, the two professors, and Ke Yan went, while the two teams of Wu'an Guards remained in the courtyard.

After entering the great hall, Li Fei looked around and saw that a row of tables and chairs was placed vertically on both sides of the great hall, while a row of tables and chairs was placed horizontally at the main seat directly in front.

He casually found a seat near the entrance and sat down, while Ke Yan and the others sat at the same table as him.

Exquisite pastries, fruit platters, and wine were placed on the table.

Li Fei sat silently in his seat, closing his eyes to rest, manipulating the Blood Sha Qi and two types of Innate Qi in his body, constantly optimizing the several types of internal energy he had created.

About twenty minutes later, the representatives of all thirteen universities had all arrived and were seated on both sides of the great hall.

"Respectfully welcome, Sect Master Senior Brother!"

Suddenly, Qingxia True Person's crisp voice sounded in the great hall.

This voice immediately made everyone stop chatting and moving their hands, and they stood up one after another!

Li Fei also ended his cultivation, opened his eyes, stood up from his seat, and turned to look toward the entrance.

Qingxia True Person bowed respectfully toward the outside of the entrance.

A moment later, a group of people walked into the great hall.

The person in the lead wore the same style of Daoist robes as Qingxia True Person, a purple-gold Daoist crown on his head, his large sleeves fluttering, looking about forty years old, his face elegant and refined, with an indescribable ease and transcendence, as if a banished immortal had descended to the world.

There was no need for introduction at all; the moment everyone present saw this person, they knew that he must be the Daluo Sect's Sect Master, the number one person in the Daoist lineage, the contemporary True Lord—Qingxu!

"Greetings, Sect Master Senior Brother."

Qingxia True Person said respectfully.

"Greetings, True Lord Qingxu!"

Everyone present, whether they were powerhouses at the Dao Foundation stage or Martial Arts Grandmasters, all clasped their fists and bowed toward the other party.

A True Lord was like a monarch in the cultivation world, a person who truly stood at the pinnacle of the mountain and looked down upon the human world!

This was also Li Fei's first time seeing one of the pinnacle figures among the "One Supreme, Three Evils, Five True Lords, Seven Martial Saints."

"Junior Sister, no need for formalities; everyone, no need for formalities either."

True Lord Qingxu first smiled and helped Qingxia True Person up, then said to everyone present.

Then he led Qingxia True Person and the people who walked into the great hall with him toward the main seat directly in front, and sat down in order behind that row of long tables:

"Everyone, please sit."

After everyone was seated, Li Fei noticed that a thin, small old man was sitting to the left of True Lord Qingxu.

To his right sat a burly middle-aged man who looked at a glance like a martial artist.

Qingxia True Person sat in the second seat on the left.

The second seat on the right should also be a martial artist, with a very heavy aura of slaughter that was not concealed.

"The person in the first seat to the left of True Lord Qingxu is the Peak Master of Feiyun Peak, True Lord Qingyun, who is in charge of the Daluo Sect's precepts, and his status in the Daluo Sect can be ranked third."

Ke Yan sat beside Li Fei and introduced to Li Fei in a low voice:

"The first seat to the right has the Daoist title Qingfan, and is a Great Grandmaster!"

"The second seat to the left is Qingxia True Person, whom you already know, and the second seat to the right has the Daoist title Qinglin, and is a Martial Arts Grandmaster."

So tonight at this Qionghua Banquet, the Daluo Sect had sent one True Lord, one Great Grandmaster, two True Person, and one Martial Arts Grandmaster!

Li Fei looked at this seating arrangement, lost in thought.

Qingfan, who was a Great Grandmaster, sat in the first seat on the right, and his status was a notch lower than that of the Peak Master of Feiyun Peak, True Lord Qingyun.

Martial arts cultivation, above the Dao Foundation stage is Martial Arts Grandmaster, then Martial Arts Grandmaster, and finally Martial Saint.

And magic cultivation, above the Possession stage is the True Spirit Realm True Person, and finally the True One Realm True Lord.

One major realm less than martial arts.

So a True Person at this level corresponds to two martial arts realms simultaneously; whether a contemporary True Person can be compared to a Martial Arts Grandmaster or a Martial Arts Grandmaster depends mainly on how the life-bound magic treasure they refined is, and how many life-bound magic treasures they have?

The combat power of the Peak Master of Feiyun Peak, True Lord Qingyun, can naturally be compared to a Great Grandmaster, but this is not the reason why his ranking is higher than that of Grandmaster Qingfan.

The Dao of magic cultivation originated from Buddhism and Daoism from the beginning.

It can be said that the Daoism and Buddhism of this world both started with magic cultivation.

The reason why those evil sects that appeared later all mainly practiced magic cultivation is because magic cultivation is easy to bewitch people's hearts.

Of course, for Buddhism and Daoism, which have already established their climate, it cannot be called bewitching people's hearts; that is called faith!

In view of this, whether it is the three great Daoist sects or Pudu Temple, although they value both magic and martial arts, those who truly hold the right to speak are the powerhouses who practice the Dao of magic cultivation.

This is the reason why True Lord Qingyun's status is higher than that of Great Grandmaster Qingfan.

"Thank you all for taking the time to attend and come to my Daluo Sect for the banquet; I represent the Daluo Sect in expressing my gratitude to everyone."

True Lord Qingxu picked up the wine glass on the table, "I toast everyone a cup."

Everyone raised their glasses one after another.

After drinking a cup, tonight's banquet was officially started.

The Daluo Sect didn't prepare any exciting song and dance performances for everyone to watch, so the atmosphere was slightly dull.

Seeing this, Qingxia True Person took the initiative to toast a few cups, and then began to toast the representatives of the thirteen universities one by one.

Soon it was Wu'an University's turn.

"I heard that the team leader for Wu'an University this time is a student named Li Fei."

Qingxia True Person asked.

Upon hearing this, Li Fei took the initiative to stand up and bow:

"Junior Li Fei, greets True Person."

"Please sit down, no need for formalities."

Qingxia said with a smile, "I have heard of your great name far away on Daluo Mountain; your breakthrough speed to the Dao Foundation stage is the fastest in history, truly the younger generation is to be feared. This cup of wine, I want to congratulate Wu'an University on recruiting such a peerless genius!"

Hearing this, Ke Yan and the other two Wu'an University professors also stood up and raised their wine glasses together:

"Thank you, Qingxia True Person."

Qingxia True Person had only toasted one cup to the other universities before, but at this moment, she had no intention of ending it, but continued to say with a smile:

"The record of the martial arts world that has been sealed for many years has been broken, which shows that the development of martial arts is becoming more and more prosperous and upward; this is a fortunate event for all martial artists in the world! So I propose that everyone drink a cup together to congratulate the birth of this genius!"

When these words came out, Li Fei was stunned for a moment.

This face was given enough!

He turned to look at Ke Yan, wanting to know if the other party had done "homework" in private.

Ke Yan whispered: "It has nothing to do with me; it's all thanks to you."

The scene was somewhat quiet; True Lord Qingxu was the first to raise his glass, and the rest of the people saw this and raised their glasses one after another.

Thus, one True Lord, one Great Grandmaster, two True Person, over a dozen Martial Arts Grandmasters, and dozens of Dao Foundation stage powerhouses drank a cup together again—

Celebrating one person!

After drinking this cup, Li Fei immediately bowed to everyone:

"Thank you all for your favor, junior is terrified."

"No need to be terrified; since you have left the record of the fastest in history, you are worthy of this celebration."

True Lord Qingxu smiled.

Hearing this, Ke Yan and the two Wu'an University professors were all honored, and many people present also showed expressions of envy.

After this Qionghua Banquet, Li Fei would definitely be famous all over the world!

"Thank you, True Lord!"

Li Fei bowed again.

At this moment, a voice suddenly sounded:

"True Lord Qingxu, and everyone, I have a suggestion."

Everyone turned their heads to look one after another.

Only then did Nalan Zhi stand up.

Requesting monthly votes.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 261 =====