There was an unusual quiet in the hall. People were whispering privately.

This place of absolute beauty where heaven’s pride shared a banquet.

Huang Sheli sat down foolishly, not wanting to speak with Jiang Wang for a while.

Stinky man, truly stinky. How dare you make a beauty sad.

Even if he’s as good-looking and as good at fighting as Jiang Qingyang, points still need to be deducted!

Jiang Wang just sat in his seat at the front, quietly waiting for the Dragon Palace banquet to begin.

All things considered, among all the forces in the world, the truly influential ones were only the heaven’s pride from Jing Country and Mu Country who had not yet arrived. That is to say, almost everyone was here, and the good show was about to begin.

Who would represent these two overlord countries at the Dragon Palace banquet?

Ye Qingyu, who was sitting beside him, suddenly said, “I saw her in Wu’an City.”

“Wu’an City?” Jiang Wang was slightly stunned. “When?”

When else could it have been?

He knew he had asked a useless question… but what else could he ask?

Up until now, he had only stayed in the demon realm that one time, encountering a situation of almost certain death.

So she… also went to the demon realm? Should have known earlier…

On the walls of Wu’an City, the line of words left by Xu Xianggan had traces of smoke and incense.

On the battlefield opened in Wu’an City, there were figures of Wash Moon Nunnery disciples fighting.

In the small nunnery in Wu’an City, someone recited scriptures night after night.

Jiang Wang sat motionless.

“When I went to Wu’an City with my father, she was already there,” Ye Qingyu said. “I saw her on the city tower. With her was also the Moon Heaven Slave Master.”

“Oh, I see,” Jiang Wang finally said.

Ye Qingyu said no more, silently tasting the honey cloud melon.

It was so sweet. She originally wanted to sigh in that way. But she unexpectedly ate without savoring it.

Maybe if she tried another piece, she could taste the flavor… she thought.

But she put down the jade chopsticks. She didn’t want to eat anymore.

Jiang Wang suddenly picked up the wine pot and laughed, “Gao Meng! It’s truly carefree to gather with you today. Old friends are hard to come by, come have a drink!”

Xu Xianggan, who was whispering with Zhao Wuyan, turned his head and waved his hand without giving any face. “Damaging friend! Don’t try to harm me! You know I quit alcohol long ago!”

Yes. The always pleasure-seeking and drunken Xu Gao Meng, who loved to go to brothels for inspiration, had given up the habit of going to brothels early on because Zhao Wuyan disliked it, and also quit the world’s fine wine.

At first, he thought it was just a casual remark, but later he truly never saw him drink again.

You won’t be happy. You won’t be happy, Xu Gao Meng. You can even quit wine and lust, are you still a person? How heartless you are!

Jiang Wang turned his head back and smiled at Jing Li. “Little senior brother, one pot?”

Jing Li shook his head. “I don’t drink alcohol.”

Yes. The Glazed Buddha Son adheres strictly to precepts, completely unlike that yellow-faced old monk. Are you really a disciple of Ku Shi?

Jiang Wang put the wine pot back on the food case. Forget it, the desire to drink was gone.

Today… he shouldn’t drink alcohol either.

“I’ll tell you,” Jiang Wang suddenly said without preamble. “Wait until a suitable time, okay?”

Ye Qingyu clasped her hands in front of her body, sat straight, and gently said, “When you are willing to tell, I will naturally listen.”

At this moment, the stone statue standing before all the seats suddenly lost its stone color.

Fu Yunqin, the Great Steward of the Yellow River, changed from a static state to a dynamic one.

He still held his sword with one hand, and with the other, he lifted it, smoothing the ripples within the hall, and opened his mouth to say, “All esteemed guests please be seated, everyone is here, the banquet is about to begin.”

“How does Steward Fu say everyone is already here?” Yan Shaofei, who had not spoken much since entering the hall, asked.

“Aren’t the people from Jing Country and Mu Country still not here?”

He had returned to Wei Country some time ago. He was originally supposed to encounter Zhang Shulian and kill him under the arrangement of the Wei Emperor to build his reputation for virtue. But someone in the court was discontent and preemptively hired an assassin to remove the harm… which was exactly what he didn’t like.

A child of the Yan family should build their reputation at the Yellow River Meeting, at the Dragon Palace Banquet, at the time when heaven’s pride compete, this is the grand and proper way. How can raising an enemy to gain a name be called “righteousness”? Although this enemy wasn’t raised by him, he was still ashamed to receive it.

“Jing Country and Mu Country… they won’t be coming,” Fu Yunqin said. “I just received news that Tai Yu Zhenren Li Yi has descended the mountain alone, horizontally blocking the way, and has already driven the Present World God Envoy Cang Ming back to the grasslands.”

Just when the world’s heaven’s pride were flocking in to participate in the grand Dragon Palace banquet, thousands of miles away, such a battle had already taken place!

People looked at each other.

Chen Si Wu Zheng of Song Country sat upright, his expression somewhat numb. “I heard Cang Ming has already achieved Dongzhen, right?”

Sheng Xuehuai, not far away, gently shook his head and said somewhat bitterly, “The news is correct.”

Huang Budong, who had been struggling between sleep and wakefulness, barely keeping a fishing posture, now simply let his head droop and was thoroughly asleep.

Ye Laner showed a perfect smile. “What a pity, we cannot see their Dongzhen battle at this Dragon Palace Banquet.”

These few heaven’s pride who once participated in the Yellow River Meeting’s under-thirty unrestricted field felt most strongly about this news.

After all, they were also contemporary heaven’s pride who reached Shenlin under thirty years old, and were full of confidence as they rushed to Guanhe Tai, wanting to use the victories along the way to prove their determination to eternally climb to the peak, casting the most brilliant crown for the contemporary youth.

The result was that Li Yi, without even drawing his sword, suppressed them all.

A Dongzhen cultivator under thirty years old, even already achieved Dongzhen at twenty-six years old!

They were fundamentally not on the same level, and there was actually an essential gap—they, who were the most excellent from small to big, and were the most talented no matter where they went, were pressed down a whole level on the most brilliant stage of the present world.

That kind of powerful sense of oppression, in the final days of the Yellow River Meeting, struck them every time, making them diligently and painstakingly dare not slacken.

It should be said that compared to before, they all had great progress.

But Li Yi could already horizontally block Cang Ming and make his Dongzhen not attend the banquet. The gap not only didn’t narrow, but instead widened!

“The Present World God Envoy cannot attend the banquet because he was driven back, which means he has been defeated,” Fan Wushu of Li Country spoke at this time, his tone containing some inexplicable hope. “Tai Yu Zhenren cannot come, is it because he was injured in the process of fighting the Present World God Envoy?”

If Li Yi was injured in the fight with Cang Ming, then he wasn’t that unbeatable. Future generations could more or less see a bit of hope.

Fu Yunqin shook his head, no expression on his face. “I am not clear about the process of Tai Yu Zhenren’s fight with the Present World God Envoy, so I cannot answer whether he was injured. But Tai Yu Zhenren’s non-participation in the Dragon Palace Banquet, I believe, is unrelated to his physical condition—Dragon Palace received his reply letter.”

Wang Yiwu, who was sitting under the platform with a posture like cast iron, his beard, eyebrows, and eyes all cold and hard without a hint of sloppiness, spoke at this moment, asking, “What did the letter say?”

He lost the duel to Jiang Wang, and all his reputation became a stepping stone. He was punished and unable to participate in the Grand Master Ritual, never participated in the Yellow River Meeting, and did not shine among the stars.

But he never indulged himself, never thought he wasn’t enough. He forever kept his feet on the ground, and his arrow intent climbed. He forever looked forward, looking to high places. The most brilliant figure on the past Guanhe Tai was also the target his iron fist was aimed at, the target his bitter intent pursued.

He wanted to know, just how far had Li Yi gone?

Fu Yunqin said blandly, “Tai Yu Zhenren said in his letter that looking around the world, the so-called heaven’s pride are nothing more. Four years have passed since the Yellow River Meeting, and he has waited in vain for four years! Only Cang Ming is worthy of him drawing his sword, so he can grant his sword to Cang Ming, and there is no need to come to the Dragon Palace Banquet and waste time.”

Oh. In order not to waste time, he horizontally blocked Cang Ming mid-way.

Looking at the route to Dragon Palace, to block the people of Mu Country, the people of Jing Country indeed didn’t need to walk too far, they could just wait by the roadside.

This logic was a bit… embarrassingly reasonable.

The hall was silent for a time.

It must be objectively said, even those who attended today were all human race heaven’s pride. Either direct descendants of great sects or pillars of countries. But among the absolute majority, they could only gaze at Li Yi’s back in this lifetime, or not even see his back.

Those who could truly challenge Li Yi in the future were only those few.

But no matter which of these few it was, they were all not interested in saying harsh words to a name when Li Yi didn’t even appear.

The vast Dragon Palace was quiet at this time.

Fu Yunqin’s gaze calmly circled around. For some reason, he deliberately singled out Jiang Wang’s name. “Sword Immortal Master, who is the same as Tai Yu Zhenren as the chief of the Yellow River, upon hearing this letter, I wonder if you have anything to say?”

Jiang Wang just smiled. “Let’s start the banquet. My stomach is empty!”

Although he didn’t have full knowledge, he didn’t say empty words either! What kind of heroic words were useless.

Li Yi once said he wanted to see his sword, and he would let Li Yi see it. But not now, and there was no need to shout everywhere and make a big fuss.

Fu Yunqin waved his hand, and the Dragon Palace attendants standing in the middle of the hall quietly withdrew the fruits and pastries. Some other attendants, whose appearance was even better, then filed out, serving all kinds of rare delicacies.

Fu Yunqin himself then stepped aside a bit, bowing slightly.

On the large chair located before all the seats, points of golden light slowly condensed.

They condensed into a figure whose face could not be seen clearly, wearing a golden long robe.

Merely a virtual shadow, merely sitting there, it possessed a kind of momentum as if the world were thus and the six directions submitted.

He could naturally only be the Long River Dragon Lord Ao Shuyi! At this instant, all the heaven’s pride in the field stood up, regardless of which country or sect they belonged to, all bowed their heads in salute, and said in ritual, “Greetings, Dragon Lord!”

No matter the status of the water race now, no matter the influence of the Dragon Palace.

The ancient alliance was still there.

In former years, Human Emperor Lie Shan Shi swore by the Long River, that the human race and water race would be neighbors for generations.

No matter whether these human race heaven’s pride believed it now or not. At least for a very long time, the human race and water race were considered to have the same origin, intimate without gap, all mainstream propaganda.

At the time of the Human Emperor, he also called Ao Shuyi a Dao friend, a mister, not giving commands!

The Long River Dragon Lord’s virtual shadow lightly lifted his hand. “Dispensed, be seated.”

He only said four words, and his voice was like thunder traveling through rain and shocking, seemingly drumming the wind in all directions.

The crowd all sat down.

He said again, “Begin.”

Fu Yunqin took a step forward and spoke loudly, “All wise talents gather at Dragon Palace today to share the grand banquet. It is a meeting of world treasures at the Dragon Mansion, making the Long River like a star river! I, Fu Yunqin, the Great Steward of the Yellow River, am commanded by the Dragon Lord to announce to all on the second day of the second month of the three thousand nine hundred and twenty-third year of the Dao Calendar—the Dragon Palace Banquet has officially begun!”

The entire Long River, ten thousand miles of flat waves.

If a fisherman entered the water today, they wouldn’t even see ripples.

But in the bottom of the Long River, in a place where the abyss was difficult to measure… Boom! Boom! Boom!

As if a divine person was beating the earth as a drum, the sound of the drum echoed, and the clouds in all directions moved!

Boom! Boom! Boom! The heavenly drum did not stop.

Thunderclouds hung down and pressed, like dark mountains inverted.

In this unknowable place, the victory realm where Tai Xu Patriarch once achieved Deduction of Dao.

People had never felt so cramped, uneasy, and panicked.

Those inverted mountains in the high sky had already all fallen. The “monitors” who were once stationed on the mountains were now all silent. Or perhaps, it was precisely them who raised the butcher knife.

The white cranes that soared through the clouds in the past, or those strange and colorful immortal birds, were either left with only broken feathers or huddled under their wings, not daring to move.

The cultivators of Tai Xu Sect who once transcended the world, each with a grey face and defeat, scattered in twos and threes among the broken walls and ruins.

People couldn’t lift their heads, not even stand up straight. The thunderclouds pressed the sky low!

Heaven hanging broken broke people’s spines!

And under those rolling thunderclouds, stood one by one terrifyingly powerful figures.

All were silent, and there were no further actions. But merely the collision of four scattered breaths seemed to crush this victory realm! Crushed until the beautiful clouds were like torn cotton, and there was no sound in heaven and earth.

If one were to declare their identities, that would be an even more terrifying thing.

Jiang Mengxiong, the Town Country Great Marshal of Qi Country!

That is to say, it is precisely him, Ying Jianghong, the South Heaven Master of Jing Country!

Xu Wang of Qin Country!

Some strange Song Bodhi of Chu Country! Or Gong Xiyan of Jing Country! And Tu Hu of Mu Country!

The Stop Evil Zen Master of Xuankong Si among the wall ruins!

The Illuminate Enlightenment Zen Master of Mount Sumeru, who couldn’t even stand up straight! Chen Pu, the Dean of Wan Lei Ge!

Si Yu’an of Jian Ge!

And under those rolling thunderclouds, stood Han Shentu of the San Xing Gong!

Any single person among them possessed the ability to destroy heaven and extinguish earth, and picking stars and taking the moon was just leisure.

Any single name among them had the influence to destroy mountains and fill seas. One title was enough to break a country and capture thieves. Every single person had dazzling war records. Like Ying Jianghong who killed Bei Gong Nantuo and erected a monument on the grasslands to record his merits. Like Xu Wang who killed Xiang Longxiang and sank land and river valleys.

Those among them who were not too prominent in fame were only a few, but they had only been low-key in recent years.

For example, that Stop Evil Zen Master of Xuankong Si who was in seclusion all year round and was thought to be dead from illness. His generation was five generations higher than Ku Shi and them. In the era he was active, he was barbaric and fierce, advocating the use of killing to stop evil. Under his Sun and Moon Spade, it is unknown how many heads of giant bandits fell. One kasaya buried how many bodies. He claimed to “spade away all human uneven matters” and was given the name “Fierce Bodhisattva”!

Again, for example, that Song Bodhi of Chu Country. This old lady was perhaps extraordinary.

She was Dou Zhao’s great-grandmother, the birth mother of the contemporary Wei Guo Gong. Dou Zhao’s Bian An Golden Bridge was her absolute art. Although she had lived in seclusion in recent years, when she was on the battlefield, she also killed gods when she met them. She was an absolute character who pulled back the already fallen tide and supported the Wei Guo Gong Manor. Her husband died, and she even surpassed her husband.

After the Hui Guo Gong failed to impact transcendence, his power sharply declined. She was evidently the strongest True Lord among the four great thousand-year families of Chu Country.

Perhaps only Gong Xiyan of Jing Country was always consistently low-key. This was determined by his position. His military position was the Deputy Commander of the Hongwu Army. The Hongwu Army was the Upper Guard Army among the Six Guards and Seven Protectors, the personal army of the Jing Country Emperor, direct lineage among direct lineage. He was the trusted substitute holder for the Emperor. To put it plainly, he was an existence like the shadow of the Jing Emperor, leading the army to attack outside and suppress inside almost as if the Jing Country Emperor was personally campaigning.

These powerful individuals gathered together. If they went out through the Heavenly Gate, their combined energy could initiate an extinction-level war in the majority of places in the various heavens and myriad worlds!

Today, they gathered at Tai Xu Sect. How could people not be terrified?!!

Facing such a lineup, Tai Xu Sect had not the slightest ability to resist.

No matter how many strong individuals they had given birth to in these years, no matter how much power they had accumulated. No matter how prosperous the development Tai Xu Illusion had brought to Tai Xu Sect. Even upon…

…No matter how terrifying an existence Tai Xu Patriarch Xu Yuan Zhi was!