"What?!"
"Qinghe, why...?"
As the words left Su Qinghe's mouth, Yun Tian and the three elders all rose abruptly to their feet.
"Qinghe, you say you don't plan to participate in the Grand Tournament. Why is that?" Yun Tian asked sternly.
"Indeed, Qinghe, you are currently the strongest of the Yun family's younger generation. If you don't participate, are you expecting your younger brother Yun Che to go instead?" the Third Elder asked hastily.
"Third Uncle, you guessed right. That is precisely my intention."
"What?!"
"Qinghe, this simply won't do! Che'er's cultivation is still too shallow. As far as I know, all the participants from the other three families are at the Life Palace Realm or above. How can Che'er possibly compete with a mere Sixth Layer of Pill Opening Realm cultivation?" Third Elder Yun Feng said with great anxiety.
"Quite right. Qinghe, this concerns the admission quota for Bright Moon Academy. You cannot just give this up!" Second Elder Yun Jinghong stepped forward.
"Don't be so anxious, three uncles. I have everything under control."
Su Qinghe smiled mysteriously.
"Adoptive father, three uncles, I know you are worried."
"My not participating isn't giving up; rather, I have my own way to enter Bright Moon Academy." Su Qinghe's eyes were filled with confidence.
"Qinghe, are you saying...?" A faint guess stirred in Yun Tian's heart as he questioned Su Qinghe.
"That's right, adoptive father, three uncles. As far as I know, Bright Moon Academy has a rule: anyone who can conquer Wudao Mountain is granted direct admission."
Su Qinghe's words plunged the entire council hall into silence.
"Brother Su, are... are you going to conquer Wudao Mountain?" Yun Yi and Yun Nantian stared in shock.
"Qinghe, no. It is said that Wudao Mountain has a total of thirty-six mountain gates, and each gate is guarded by the phantom of a past powerhouse from Bright Moon Academy. Over the years, only a handful of people have ever made it through." Yun Tian spoke up to dissuade him.
"Indeed. Qinghe, we know your talent is monstrous and defies common sense, but this... this is simply too risky." Yun Jinghong chimed in.
"Wait a moment, Qinghe. Be honest, did you encounter some sort of fortuitous encounter?" The Great Elder's eyes were filled with certainty.
As the Great Elder's voice trailed off, the others in the room all looked at Su Qinghe.
In truth, several of them had already guessed as much, keeping their suspicions to themselves.
Su Qinghe had not only recovered his dantian, but his talent had surpassed its former peak. Coupled with the martial arts technique he used during his duel with Yun Nantian—such a powerful technique definitely did not exist within the Yun family.
"I won't hide it from you all. After I was injured, I met an expert who taught me a method of recovery and passed down a supreme secret art to me, though we are not master and disciple. He made me swear to keep everything about him a secret." Su Qinghe could only spin a casual yarn. After all, the matter of rebirth was too momentous.
"That settles it! Qinghe, martial cultivation has its own predestined encounters; these are things we won't pry into." The Great Elder nodded, looking as though he understood completely.
"No wonder the palm technique you used the other day was so powerful it was almost capable of threatening mid-stage Life Palace Realm experts," Yun Nantian said with a hint of grievance.
"Even so, Qinghe, you must still consider this carefully. The dangers within Wudao Mountain are immeasurable." Yun Tian frowned deeply.
"Rest assured, adoptive father, my mind is made up! If I dare not even conquer Wudao Mountain, how can I ever speak of looking down upon all living beings?" Su Qinghe gazed into the distance, speaking involuntarily.
"So be it. We can only put our faith in Qinghe."
"But Che'er's cultivation is still too shallow. Entering the tournament is likely..."
"Third Uncle, don't worry. I am confident I can help Younger Brother Che break through two realms within a month."
"What?! Break through two realms in a month?"
Not only did Yun Feng wear a look of sheer disbelief, but none of the others in the hall could maintain their composure.
"Nantian, have your injuries fully healed?" Su Qinghe ignored their reactions and turned to look at Yun Nantian.
"Brother Su, I've fully recovered. And you?" Not just Yun Nantian, but the others were somewhat baffled, failing to understand why Su Qinghe would ask such a question.
"Nantian, circulate your Blazing Sun Art for me to see."
Though puzzled, Yun Nantian did as he was asked.
Instantly, a scorching heat filled the entire hall. As the talent second only to Su Qinghe in the Yun family, Yun Nantian naturally possessed extraordinary strength.
"Nantian, gather your aura. Compress it when your spiritual energy reaches the pure yang phase."
Yun Nantian's face gradually flushed red as his entire body trembled.
"Draw your essence back to the One, continue compressing!"
Su Qinghe commanded sternly.
"Ah!" With an angry roar, Yun Nantian kept his eyes tightly closed as he continued to suppress the spiritual energy within his body.
"Nantian?" The Great Elder spoke with a hint of concern, but checked his steps to continue observing.
"Now! Nantian, release your aura and impact your dantian!"
Surging waves of immense heat soared into the sky, and in an instant, the aura around Yun Nantian transformed completely.
"Early-Stage Third Layer of Life Palace Realm!"
"Nantian just broke through right before our eyes?"
"Since when has breaking through become so easy?"
Yun Tian and the others stood frozen in place, utterly speechless.
"Damn it! Brother Su, hurry up and give me some pointers!" Yun Yi's eyes widened in sheer disbelief.
"I... broke through?" Yun Nantian slowly opened his eyes, feeling the aura of the Third Layer of Life Palace Realm.
"Thank you, Brother Su!" Yun Nantian looked solemnly at Su Qinghe.
Yun Nantian knew full well what had just happened. Under Su Qinghe's guidance, he had infinitely compressed his own spiritual energy within a few short breaths, driving his cultivation technique to its absolute peak before opening that barrier during the dantian impact.
"Incredible! It turns out our Yun family's Blazing Sun Art can be stacked in multiples like this."
After a long while, Yun Tian and the others finally recovered, each seemingly struck by a sudden realization.
"Qinghe, you truly are the number one genius of our Yun family. Was this also taught to you by that expert?"
The Great Elder inquired.
Su Qinghe smiled without a word.
"Adoptive father, three uncles, you can finally rest easy now."
"Qinghe, we will do as you say. The participants for this Grand Tournament shall be Yun Nantian, Yun Yi, and Yun Che." Yun Tian said slowly, a complex look in his eyes.
The Lin family.
In a hall, a middle-aged man in black with a deep expression sat quietly—none other than Lin family head Lin Dongtian.
Standing before him were two youths: one in white, the other in cyan robes. The one in white was Lin Dongtian's son, Lin Hai, and the one in cyan was Lin Dongtian's nephew, Lin Feng.
"Xiaohai, Xiaofeng, your biggest opponents in this Grand Tournament will be Yun Nantian of the Yun family and Liu Ruyan of the Liu family, along with the participants from the City Lord's Mansion. You must not lower your guard! The good news is that we hear Su Qinghe's realm plummeted after his heavy injuries, so he is no longer a threat."
Looking at the two handsome youths before him, Lin Dongtian spoke.
"Father (Uncle), rest assured, we will give it our all!" the two youths replied in unison.
"Good, but do not be careless. Remember, even a lion uses its full strength to catch a rabbit."
At the same time, the Xie family and the Liu family were likewise giving instructions and admonitions to their respective participants.
With this, the roster of participants for the Yangzhou City family grand tournament one month later was finalized:
City Lord's Mansion: Zhou Qing, Zhou Wenjing.
Yun family: Yun Nantian, Yun Yi, Yun Che.
Lin family: Lin Hai, Lin Feng, Lin Huan.
Xie family: Xie Yanting, Xie Yangji, Xie Yangqing.
Liu family: Liu Ruyan, Liu Xu, Liu Zhou.
A mere fourteen people, representing the peak combat strength of the younger generation in Yangzhou City!