“Indeed, I once read in unofficial histories that some Immortals, having lived far too long, grew utterly weary of such a life, some even chose to seal their souls and reincarnate as ordinary mortals in the human world, others went mad in the endless passage of time,” the Sect Leader said.
Hearing this, Lin Yun couldn’t help but marvel quietly to himself.
Also, the Sect Leader had just mentioned that Senior Li Ba had many enemies, which aligned with what Zhuang Song had said.
At that moment, the dark horse Wang Luo refined his jade pendant on the spot, deciding to join the Immortal Zhuang Song.
After all, he’d only received a letter from Zhuang Song, he didn’t have the luxury of choice, having an Immortal want him was already a great fortune.
Though the Wanhua Tournament had ended, the Wanhua Banquet continued, the event was set to last several days, with more activities planned.
It took another two and a half days for the banquet to finally conclude.
The attending guests began to depart.
Those young geniuses who’d made it into the top hundred of the Wanhua Tournament, even if not chosen as disciples by Immortals or Tribulation Realm experts, would receive invitations from the Xingwu Empire, they could join the empire, be nurtured by it, and eventually serve it.
This was one of the empire’s methods for recruiting fresh talent.
Though the royal family cultivated plenty of geniuses internally, who would ever complain about having too much talent? Especially for a colossal entity like the Xingwu Empire, maintaining its rule naturally required many powerhouses.
Of course, whether to join was up to the young geniuses themselves.
Many without strong backgrounds chose to join the Xingwu Empire, lacking better options, aligning with such a behemoth promised a bright future.
Lin Yun also left the palace, the Xingwu Emperor had told him to meet in three days, since only two and a half days had passed, Lin Yun wasn’t in a hurry, he’d go see him at nine tomorrow morning.
Before leaving the palace, Lin Yun visited his master, the Wanderer, who naturally showered him with praise, beaming with joy, he told Lin Yun to visit him later, he’d prepare a generous gift upon his return.
…
At the palace gates.
“Lin Yun!”
As soon as Lin Yun stepped out of the palace, a crowd surged towards him, eager to befriend him, even just to make an impression.
They all knew Lin Yun’s future potential was boundless.
“Lin Yun, do you remember me? I’m the Governor of Anyang County! We met once before!”
The Anyang County Governor pushed through the crowd, shouting desperately at Lin Yun.
But with so many voices calling out, his was just one among countless, insignificant…
“Sect Leader, could you handle this for me? I’m not great with this sort of thing,” Lin Yun said helplessly.
“Alright, you go ahead, I’ll deal with them,” the Sect Leader agreed.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I have some matters to attend to, so I’ll take my leave,” Lin Yun clasped his fists to the crowd, showing humility, without a trace of arrogance.
Then, with the Sect Leader, Aunt Mei, Elder Zhang, and others holding back the crowd and managing them, Lin Yun and Mo Qing slipped away.
After leaving the palace.
“Senior Sister Mo Qing, I’m heading to Xiaoyao Tower first, if you’ve got time, care to join me?” Lin Yun turned to look at Mo Qing.
“Of course I don’t mind,” Mo Qing replied with a crescent-moon-like, charming smile.
With that, the two returned to the outer city and headed to Xiaoyao Tower.
…
Meanwhile, the Gu family and the other eleven renowned sects left the palace swiftly after the banquet ended.
At that moment, they gathered again in the courtyard of a mansion in the outer city.
The leaders of their so-called Zhutian Alliance were now assembled.
In the courtyard.
The Gu family head and the eleven sect leaders of the renowned sects wore grim expressions, especially the Gu family head and the Soul Refining Sect Leader, whose faces were the darkest, after all, their people had suffered major setbacks at Lin Yun’s hands in the Wanhua Tournament.
“I always knew that bastard Lin Yun was a threat, but before the tournament, I never imagined he’d shine this brightly, we… all underestimated him!” the Gu family head said viciously.
“Indeed, we all underestimated him, his brilliance far exceeded our expectations!” the sect leaders present sighed in unison.
According to their initial predictions, Lin Yun entering the Wanhua Tournament would only reach the top hundred, they knew he was exceptionally gifted, but he was far too young, how could he compare to the top-tier genius prodigies competing?
“And now, this lad’s received a whopping four Immortal invitations, it’s all but certain he’ll become an Immortal’s disciple, the only question left is which one he’ll choose, something we never even dreamed of at the start,” the Soul Refining Sect Leader said.
“If he joins an Immortal, won’t it be nearly impossible for us to touch him?”
“Exactly, if he’s an Immortal’s disciple, how could we dare make a move?”
The sect leaders spoke up one after another, their voices laced with worry.
Though they didn’t know which Immortal Lin Yun would ultimately join, any one of them was absolutely beyond their reach!
“My Shadowless Sect is withdrawing from the Zhutian Alliance, we’re not getting involved in this mess!” the Shadowless Sect Leader stood up.
“My Shifang Sect is also leaving the Zhutian Alliance!”
“Our Juling Sect is out too.”
“And my Qingyuan Sect, we’re withdrawing from the Zhutian Alliance as well!”
…
In an instant, nine of the eleven renowned sect leaders stood, declaring their exit.
They weren’t joking, Lin Yun was about to become an Immortal’s disciple, they couldn’t afford to provoke him! They didn’t dare!
Only the Soul Refining Sect Leader and the Seven Stars Sect Leader remained silent.
Seeing this, the Gu family head and the Soul Refining Sect Leader’s faces darkened to the extreme.
How could they have foreseen things spiralling this far?
*Bang!*
“You want to back out now? Dream on!”
The Gu family head slammed the table, standing up, his raging fury spilling out, filling the entire courtyard.
“Gu family head, what’s that supposed to mean? Are you trying to force our seven sects? Your Gu family may be powerful, but our seven sects aren’t pushovers, if we band together to resist, what can you do?” the Qingyuan Sect Leader said coldly.
“Exactly, we renowned sects aren’t to be trifled with either,” the other sect leaders echoed.
Seeing this, the cunning Gu family head forced a smile, “Gentlemen, you’ve misunderstood, what I mean is, we’re already grasshoppers tied to the same rope, if Lin Yun grows strong and comes after my Gu family or the Soul Refining Sect, I can’t guarantee I won’t spill the beans about the Zhutian Alliance, then none of you will escape the fallout, I’ve got written proof of our alliance right here!”
Though the Gu family head spoke with a smile, his words dripped with menace.
