Chen Gongwang looked at Xu Changfeng and asked, "May I ask how Sect Leader Xu managed to achieve such a breakthrough in such a short period of time?"
Gongsun Yue also stared at Xu Changfeng, eager to know the answer. The two old men had both achieved breakthroughs themselves not long ago, which was exactly why they had been so anxious to hold the Three Sects Tournament. They had intended to use the opportunity to suppress the Profound Sword Sect and bully Xu Changfeng while his cultivation was still lagging behind.
To their surprise, not only had Xu Changfeng caught up, but his actual strength was now even superior to theirs. This left both old men feeling incredibly stifled. Naturally, they were dying to know how he had done it.
Xu Changfeng smiled faintly. "A sect secret. I'm afraid I cannot disclose it."
*Want to know how I broke through? Not a chance!*
Gongsun Yue and Chen Gongwang exchanged a glance, then could only respond with a wry smile. The Three Sects Tournament thus came to an end. The Profound Sword Sect had suppressed the other two major sects and become the number one sect in the Tianwu Dynasty. Of course, this ranking was only temporary; perhaps by the next tournament, the standings would change. But for now, the Profound Sword Sect stood at the top.
As soon as the tournament concluded, Xu Changfeng summoned Li Chenyuan and the others. "Quickly, take me to Fuyun Mountain. I must pay a personal visit to that master."
Xu Changfeng was filled with excitement. In his view, his ability to steal the show and defeat those two old men was entirely due to the grace of that master living in seclusion. If not for the heavenly treasures gifted by him, there was no way he could have broken through in such a short time. Common decency and logic dictated that he pay a visit in person. If he could build a good relationship with this master, the future benefits for the Profound Sword Sect would be infinite.
Li Chenyuan and his two companions dared not delay. They immediately set off with Xu Changfeng, heading straight for Fuyun Mountain.
...
At the foot of Fuyun Mountain, over a hundred armored guards escorted three women toward the peak. Two of them were Princess Tianyao, Chu Yanyu, and her maid, Xiao Qing. The third woman wore white robes and a white dress; her features were delicate and gentle, her eyes captivating, and she carried the pure, untainted air of an orchid. This woman’s name was Bai Suyi. She was a disciple of the Nine Spirits Sect and one of Chu Yanyu’s closest friends. Having heard from Chu Yanyu about the master on Fuyun Mountain, she had been filled with curiosity. Since Chu Yanyu was planning another visit, Bai Suyi had decided to tag along.
"Susu, I'm telling you, that master has a very eccentric personality. Don't go saying anything out of turn, or I won't be able to save you," Chu Yanyu warned her friend quite seriously halfway up the mountain.
Bai Suyi smiled faintly. "If he truly is a master, I shall naturally show him due respect. But if he is merely living up to an empty reputation, I won't be so polite."
Chu Yanyu sighed helplessly. Her friend was perfect in every way except for her arrogance; she always felt that everyone else was beneath her.
As the group climbed, a sound of air being torn apart suddenly echoed from above.
"Eh?"
Several figures descended. It was Xu Changfeng and the three from the Profound Sword Sect. Chu Yanyu and Bai Suyi were taken aback upon seeing them. Bai Suyi recovered quickly, hurriedly dismounting to offer a salute.
"Junior Bai Suyi greets Sect Leader Xu!" As a disciple of the Nine Spirits Sect, it was only proper for her to pay her respects to the head of the Profound Sword Sect.
"What are you all doing here?" Xu Changfeng asked, puzzled.
Bai Suyi looked toward Chu Yanyu. "I am accompanying Princess Tianyao to visit a master living in seclusion."
Xu Changfeng was stunned. "You are also here to visit that master?"
Chu Yanyu and Bai Suyi were equally shocked by this. "Sect Leader Xu is here for that as well?" Chu Yanyu asked, dazed.
Xu Changfeng nodded, and both women revealed looks of astonishment. If even a man like Xu Changfeng had come personally to pay his respects, could it be that the person on this mountain was truly the reclusive expert Chu Yanyu had described?
Just then, a dragon-drawn carriage descended from the sky. Its imposing aura was enough to make even experts like Xu Changfeng change their expressions.
"His Majesty the Martial Emperor has arrived!" A loud cry rang out. The carriage landed before Xu Changfeng and the others.
"Your Majesty the Martial Emperor!" The group was dumbfounded. *What is happening today? Why has even the Martial Emperor come here?*
Dongfang Su stepped out of the carriage, followed by Guyue. Seeing so many people gathered there, Dongfang Su was actually a bit bewildered himself.
"Sect Leader Xu?" Dongfang Su looked at Xu Changfeng first. As the leader of one of the three major sects, Xu Changfeng naturally knew him.
"Greetings, Your Majesty!" Xu Changfeng bowed.
Dongfang Su then looked at Chu Yanyu. "Are you... are you the girl from the Prince of Pingxi’s household?"
Chu Yanyu immediately bowed. "Chu Yanyu pays respects to the Martial Emperor."
Dongfang Su smiled. "It really is Chu Tianchuan’s daughter. You were only five or six the last time I saw you; look how you've grown." He then turned to Bai Suyi. "And this is?"
"She is my friend, Bai Suyi, a disciple of the Nine Spirits Sect."
Bai Suyi bowed respectfully to Dongfang Su. "Greetings, Your Majesty."
Dongfang Su nodded; she was just a disciple of the Nine Spirits Sect, so he paid her little mind. He turned back to Xu Changfeng, looking perplexed. "Sect Leader Xu, what brings you here?"
Xu Changfeng did not hide it. "I am here to visit a master living on this mountain."
Dongfang Su was startled. "You are here to visit the master too?"
Xu Changfeng nodded, then looked at Dongfang Su with surprise. "Your Majesty is as well?"
Dongfang Su gave a nod. Chu Yanyu was also confused. "Then the master we are all here to visit... must be the same person, right?"
Xu Changfeng and Dongfang Su wore strange expressions. If there wasn't a second master on the mountain, then they were all here for the same individual. It was just too coincidental that they had all collided here today.
"Let's go. Since we've run into each other, let us pay our respects to this master together," Dongfang Su said with a laugh.
"That sounds excellent."
"It is an honor for me to accompany Your Majesty."
Xu Changfeng and Chu Yanyu had no objections. The three groups merged and headed further up the mountain. Before they even reached the summit, they caught a distinct fragrance.
"So fragrant!" Xu Jinger sniffed the air, looking surprised.
"Achoo!" Bai Suyi sneezed.
Chu Yanyu frowned slightly. "There is a hint of spiciness in this fragrance. How strange."
"We'll know once we see it for ourselves," Dongfang Su said, picking up his pace.
Soon, the group arrived outside Ye Qingyun's courtyard. Ye Qingyun was sitting by a large pot, with firewood burning underneath and the contents bubbling away. The spicy aroma was wafting directly from that pot. Ye Qingyun was staring intently at the pot, his face filled with excitement and anticipation. A bald rabbit and a lazy, golden-furred dog were lying by his feet, seemingly waiting for the feast.
*Woof!* Seeing people approach, the golden dog let out a lazy bark, just to alert its slow-witted master.
Ye Qingyun finally looked up and saw the crowd outside the gate. "Good grief, why are there so many people all of a sudden?" He was so startled that he nearly dropped his bowl and chopsticks.
Fortunately, he recognized some of them, and he quickly calmed down. However, Dongfang Su, Xu Changfeng, and Bai Suyi were far from composed. They stared at Ye Qingyun, scrutinizing him from top to bottom. He didn't look like a master at all; there was no trace of cultivation aura on him. He was purely an ordinary person. Looking at the surroundings, it looked exactly like the home of a mountain farmer. How could he possibly be the unfathomable master they had been talking about?
"Young Master, this is my friend, Bai Suyi. She is a disciple of the Nine Spirits Sect," Chu Yanyu quickly introduced.
Bai Suyi bowed slightly. "Greetings, Young Master."
Ye Qingyun examined Bai Suyi. *Not bad, another little beauty.*
"Brother Ye, this is our Master, the Profound Sword Sect Leader, Xu Changfeng!" Li Chenyuan added.
Ye Qingyun’s eyes lit up. *A Sect Leader? A big shot!* He needed to butter this man up. If he ever ran into trouble in the Tianwu Dynasty, dropping the name of the Profound Sword Sect Leader might prove very useful.
"So it is Sect Leader Xu! A pleasure, a true pleasure!" Ye Qingyun cupped his hands in a salute.
Xu Changfeng returned the gesture. "You are too kind, sir."
Guyue could not help herself. "Brother Ye, this is His Majesty the Martial Emperor!"
Dongfang Su straightened his posture. Being an Emperor, he couldn't afford to be less impressive than a mere sect leader.
*The Martial Emperor, Dongfang Su?* Ye Qingyun’s expression became even more stunned. *Why has even the Emperor come to my place? What is going on?* Still, since the Emperor had arrived, he had to be treated well. If he could stick close to the Emperor, wouldn't he reach the pinnacle of life in no time?
"So it is the Martial Emperor! I have been quite rude!" Ye Qingyun bowed.
"No matter. I came here specifically to pay a visit to you, sir," Dongfang Su said with a smile.
Ye Qingyun scratched his head, feeling a bit embarrassed. *Am I that famous now? Even big shots like a Sect Leader and the Emperor have to come personally to pay their respects to me? Heh heh! That’s actually something to be proud of.*
"Father, the rabbit demon is right there!" Xu Jinger whispered, pointing at the bald rabbit in the yard.
Xu Changfeng looked over, his face darkening. "It really is that vile beast!" A hint of killing intent flickered in his eyes. The rabbit demon had harmed disciples of the Profound Sword Sect, which was why Li Chenyuan and the others had chased it all the way to Fuyun Mountain. However, Xu Changfeng did not act yet; he decided to observe the situation first.
"You are all guests. I happen to be cooking hot pot here, and it's time for a meal. Why don't you all join me for a bite?" Ye Qingyun invited them warmly.
Chu Yanyu grew excited. She remembered eating grapes here last time and experiencing a massive surge in her cultivation; she had been thinking about it ever since. But what was a "hot pot"?
"Err, what is hot pot?" Dongfang Su asked, curious.
Ye Qingyun was stunned. "Your Majesty has never eaten hot pot?"
Dongfang Su shook his head. Let alone eating it, this was the first time he had ever heard the term. Ye Qingyun looked at him with a touch of pity. *So even the Emperor of this world doesn't have it that great. Can't even get a hot pot? How tragic.*
Dongfang Su felt a bit awkward under Ye Qingyun’s gaze, as if he were some unworldly bumpkin.
"Everyone, come in. Hot pot is only lively when there are many people eating it," Ye Qingyun said, ushering them into the courtyard.
The group gathered around the large pot, looking at the bubbling liquid with confusion.
"This thing looks quite strange."
"What is being cooked in there? It's all a jumble."
"It does smell quite fragrant, though."
They chatted among themselves. Just then, Bai Suyi’s expression changed. As she caught the aroma, she felt a warmth spreading through her body. A heat flow began to surge within her. In particular, an old hidden injury from her childhood seemed to show signs of healing.
*Could this... could this "hot pot" actually heal my hidden injury?* Bai Suyi was terrified and amazed.
Back in her youth, she had been injured in an accident, and the wound had never fully healed, lurking within her body ever since. Every year, the injury would flare up, leaving her in agony. Even after joining the Nine Spirits Sect and becoming a cultivator, it had barely improved. Yet, just from smelling the aroma of this hot pot, the injury was already showing signs of healing.
*Could these chaotic-looking ingredients in the pot actually be heavenly treasures?* she wondered.
The others were also experiencing changes.
"Eh? Why does smelling this aroma make my blood flow feel so smooth, and my entire spirit feel refreshed?" Xu Changfeng was amazed.
"My cultivation, which has been stagnant for years, seems to have stirred," Dongfang Su added.
Every person present who smelled the hot pot felt a clear change in their body. Those with hidden injuries found relief; those with sluggish blood flow felt eased; those stuck in their cultivation felt hints of a breakthrough. Not to mention the younger ones like Li Chenyuan, who were all glowing with vitality.
"Don't just stand there, grab your chopsticks!" Ye Qingyun urged, picking up a piece of meat and eating it with gusto.
Hot pot was Ye Qingyun's favorite dish. Since coming to this world, he had made it a few times, but always alone—or at most with Damao. Eating alone lacked the right feeling, so he had never truly enjoyed it. This time was different. Eating with so many people around a big pot—this was how it was meant to be. This was the right flavor.
"Sect Leader Xu, Your Majesty, I won't stand on ceremony then!" Chu Yanyu giggled, being the first to snatch a glistening, tender piece of food from the pot. She didn't know what it was, but it looked delicious. She popped it into her mouth, and her face instantly turned red.
"So spicy!" She panted, fanning her mouth.
Seeing her reaction, the others were a bit afraid to reach in.
"Is it very spicy?" Xu Changfeng asked, frowning. He had always eaten bland food and disliked strong flavors, let alone something this spicy. He was naturally averse to it.
Chu Yanyu was too spicy to even speak.
"Father, let me try!" Xu Jinger, who had been unable to wait any longer, grabbed a piece of beef and stuffed it into her mouth. "Delicious! But so spicy!" she shouted in surprise. Her face, like Chu Yanyu's, quickly flushed bright red.
Li Chenyuan and Zhao Wangchun followed suit. They handled it a bit better than Xu Jinger; although they found it spicy, they found the taste even more incredible.
"This is too delicious!" the little fatty Zhao Wangchun exclaimed repeatedly. He was the biggest foodie among them, but this was a delicacy he had never tasted. The texture and the flavor were unimaginably novel to him. He couldn't stop eating!
"Is it really that good?" Xu Changfeng asked skeptically, though he felt a bit tempted.
"Sect Leader, try it, it really is delicious!" Li Chenyuan said.
"Very well, I shall try it. But if it is too spicy, I shall stop immediately." With that mindset, the solemn Xu Changfeng picked up a cabbage leaf. He didn't want to eat the meat, thinking the leaf would be milder. Ye Qingyun wanted to warn him, but it was too late.
As soon as the leaf hit his tongue, Xu Changfeng’s expression changed. *Holy hell! This is way too spicy! No! I must hold it in! I am a generation of masters, a sect leader—I absolutely cannot lose face in front of the Emperor and the juniors.* Xu Changfeng bore it stoically, chewing slowly and nodding. "Mm, not bad."
Everyone stared at him.
"Sect Leader, your face..." Li Chenyuan said, his mouth hanging open.
"What's wrong with my face?" Xu Changfeng asked.
"Father, your face is redder than mine, and you're sweating," Xu Jinger noted.
Xu Changfeng: "..."
Ye Qingyun laughed. "Sect Leader Xu, the vegetables in the hot pot are actually the spiciest, as they absorb all the flavor and the oil. Most of the heat is concentrated in them."
Xu Changfeng’s mouth twitched. He nearly cursed out loud. *You old goat, why didn't you say that earlier? Now look at me, I can't even get down from this stage.*
"Haha, interesting, interesting. I shall try some as well," Dongfang Su said, unable to resist any longer.
"Your Majesty, let your servant taste it first," Guyue urged.
"No matter. Since Sect Leader Xu and the others have eaten it, can I not?" Dongfang Su waved him off, then picked up a piece and put it in his mouth. He chewed twice, and his eyes lit up. "Truly delicious!"
As an Emperor, he had eaten countless delicacies until he was sick of them. But this hot pot gave him a taste he had never experienced before. It was an indescribable sensation—spicy, yet wonderfully comfortable.