"Wonderful. This shows your hard work over the past few days has not been in vain. You may rest today; cultivation, too, requires a proper balance of exertion and relaxation." Su Qinghe looked at the three of them, whose cultivation had vastly improved, and nodded with satisfaction.
"Thank you, Brother Su, for your arduous guidance! We will work even harder!" the three said in unison.
Though they were of a similar age, spending time together over this period had made all three feel that Su Qinghe was far more mature than them. More importantly, his insights into cultivation were something even the elders of their respective families could only look up to with despair. The three could only attribute this to sheer natural talent, finding no other explanation.
They knew how crucial this past month had been for them. Su Qinghe had opened up entirely different paths of cultivation for them, imparting techniques, answering their questions, and much more. By now, the three of them were completely and wholeheartedly convinced of his brilliance!
A day later,
at the Yun family martial arts arena.
Today, the arena was exceptionally lively, with hundreds of members from all over the Yun family gathered within.
Yun Tian, Yun Canghai, Yun Jinghong, Yun Feng, and Su Qinghe—the five strongest figures of the Yun family—stood with solemn expressions today, gazing toward the towering stage in the center of the arena.
Three youths stood in the middle of the platform:
Yun Nantian, Yun Yi, and Yun Che.
At this moment, everyone's gaze was fixed upon them, filled with awe, envy, and adoration.
"Young Master Yun Nantian's aura is growing stronger by the day."
"Look, Young Master Yun Yi! So cool, so cold and aloof!"
"I think Young Master Yun Nantian is more handsome. No, wait, there's also Young Master Su. Young Master Su is the most formidable one, though it seems he isn't participating in the competition."
"I wonder which two of our three young masters from the Yun family will make it into Bright Moon Academy this time."
"..."
"Quiet!"
Yun Tian raised a hand to signal for silence, and in an instant, the entire arena fell still.
"I trust everyone already knows that tomorrow is the day of the Yangzhou City Grand Tournament. The participants representing our Yun family will be Yun Nantian, Yun Yi, and Yun Che." As Yun Tian spoke slowly, the atmosphere gradually grew solemn.
"This Grand Tournament is no ordinary event. I hope the three of you will give it your all and strive for the chance to cultivate within Bright Moon Academy," Yun Tian said solemnly, looking at the three of them.
Yun Nantian and the other two bowed slightly. "Rest assured, Patriarch. We will not bring shame upon the Yun family."
"Good, I believe in you."
"Don't worry, Foster Father, I believe in them too," Su Qinghe said to Yun Tian with absolute certainty.
"Splendid. I hereby announce that Yun Nantian, Yun Yi, and Yun Che of the Yun family are our official contestants. At the same time, all members of the younger generation of the Yun family are permitted to attend as spectators," Yun Tian declared with a wave of his hand.
Similar scenes were playing out at the same time in the Lin, Liu, and Xie family estates. Everyone was fully prepared to welcome tomorrow's Grand Tournament.
Yiye passed quietly.
Early in the morning, just as the sky was turning pale and the very first ray of dawn light shone across the continent, the entire city of Yangzhou was exceptionally lively today, brimming with vitality.
At the Yun family estate,
the procession led by Yun Tian had already set out for the City Lord's Mansion, which was also the venue for this Grand Tournament.
Throughout Yangzhou City, from the City Lord and various major clans down to minor factions and countless commoners, everyone was craning their necks in anticipation of this clan grand tournament.
Inside the City Lord's Mansion, the towering grand hall in the distance was none other than the Yangzhou Hall, named after Yangzhou City itself.
Upon the arrival of the Yun family's contingent, they headed straight for the martial arts training grounds of the City Lord's Mansion, which served as the competition arena. At the center of the grounds stood a massive arena that seemed embedded directly into the earth—the designated battle stage for this tournament.
The tiered spectator stands surrounding the arena were already packed to capacity, with the crowd simply waiting for the grand event to commence.
A massive wave of pressure surged forth as a group of people slowly emerged within the City Lord's Mansion and walked toward the center of the spectator stands. There were not many of them—only about ten in total—yet judging solely by their auras, every single one was an absolute expert among experts.
At the head of these ten powerhouses was the robust, middle-aged City Lord of Yangzhou City: Zhou Xing.
"We pay our respects to the City Lord." The four great clans among the crowd and everyone in the stands rose to their feet as one.
"Third-layer mid-stage of the Spirit Movement Realm. This must be the strongest person in Yangzhou City," Su Qinghe murmured to himself as he gazed at the robustly built middle-aged man in the distance.
To others, it might be impossible to directly pierce through and discern the realm of a Spirit Movement Realm expert, but Su Qinghe's soul power was equivalent to the Peak of Spirit Movement Realm, so naturally, he could see it at a glance.
"Everyone, please rise. I trust you all already have a clear idea of the situation regarding this Grand Tournament. Unlike in the past, today Yangzhou City will give birth to true favored sons of heaven. Here, I wish all the participating young geniuses great success!" Zhou Xing swept his gaze across the surroundings and said with a smile.
"Rumble!"
A thunderous sound echoed through the entire City Lord's Mansion.
An airship came screaming through the air, and standing atop it was a young powerhouse. Behind this person stood four youths—two boys and two girls—looking like deities descending from the heavens, a pair of golden youths and jade maidens.
"This is... Could it be...?"
"Have the experts of Bright Moon Academy arrived? Those four youths look so young, yet they are all already at the High-Stage Life Palace Realm. How terrifying!"
"And that young powerhouse, I wonder what realm he is in."
Feeling the oppressive aura, the crowd could not help exclaiming in shock.
"Zhou Xing respectfully welcomes Tutor Beigong!"
"We respectfully welcome Tutor Beigong!"
As it turned out, this young powerhouse was none other than Beigong Han, an outer courtyard tutor of Bright Moon Academy. It was rumored that at merely twenty years of age, he had already reached the Ninth Layer of the Spirit Movement Realm, which was why he had been granted an exceptional promotion to become the youngest tutor in Bright Moon Academy.
"City Lord Zhou is too polite. There's no need for so many cumbersome formalities. I am merely here to watch the battle; I will take the winning genius back to report on my mission. You may begin directly and pay me no mind," Beigong Han said casually.
"Very well, Tutor Beigong, please take your seat." Hearing Beigong Han's words, everyone was dumbfounded. City Lord Zhou also paused for a moment before snapping back to reality.
Word had it that Beigong Han was unrestrained and unconventional in nature, and seeing him today, it was indeed as the rumors said.
"Could these few be from your esteemed academy...?" Zhou Xing looked at the four youths standing behind Beigong Han, unable to suppress his shock. They were uniformly at the High-Stage Life Palace Realm, with the lowest cultivation being the Seventh Layer of Life Palace Realm. True to its reputation as Bright Moon Academy.
"City Lord, pay them no mind. I just brought these kids out for a stroll," Beigong Han said lazily, leaning back against his rattan chair.
"Come, please take your seats, everyone!" Beigong Han might not care for formalities, but Zhou Xing had to ensure his etiquette was flawless. After all, to Yangzhou City, Bright Moon Academy was a behemoth that could not be taken lightly.
"Thank you, City Lord Zhou. As Tutor Beigong said, let's get straight to the main event." The speaker was a youth clad in brocade, who was also the strongest among the four—Xiao Se, merely seventeen years of age, standing at the Peak of the Ninth Layer of Life Palace Realm.
"Brother Su, the geniuses of Bright Moon Academy are so amazing! Look at those four—they're only a few years older than me, yet they've already reached the High-Stage Life Palace Realm. They're peerless geniuses," Yun Che said to Su Qinghe. Seeing these four youths, a trace of defeat welled up in the hearts of Yangzhou City's young talents.
"Seventeen years old, Peak of the Ninth Layer of Life Palace Realm, and they're peerless geniuses? They're still a bit lacking. Little Che, when you reach seventeen, you will definitely surpass them," Su Qinghe said with a slight upward curve of his lips.
It was a joke—in his past life, Su Qinghe had already reached the Tianxuan Realm by eighteen, and in the God Realm, seventeen-year-old Spirit Movement Realm youth geniuses were a dime a dozen. Even those monstrous figures near the top of the God Rankings boasted peerless youths at the Sea Crossing Realm by seventeen.
A mere seventeen-year-old at the Peak of the Ninth Layer of Life Palace Realm truly failed to catch Su Qinghe's eye.
"Huh? Brat, what did you say?!" Just as Su Qinghe's voice fell, another richly dressed youth looked coldly in Su Qinghe's direction.