More than an hour later, Yu Nianzhen and the rest of the Sea Cloud sect entered the inner region of the Ice Palace sect.
Jiang Yue walked with his master while Yu Nianzhen walked with his.
They hadnât had a chance to talk and Yu Nianzhen couldnât help but worry when he thought of what he learned from his master.
He looked at Jiang Yue and the other nodded.
However, Yu Nianzhen could feel that the otherâs mood was a little low.
[Whatâs wrong?] Yu Nianzhen transmitted.
Jiang Yue looked at Yu Nianzhen and sighed. He was about to transmit something when his master called him and he had to look away.
[I will tell you later. Donât worry, I am fine.] He managed and then turned to speak to Chen Qing.
When he heard Jiang Yueâs words, Yu Nianzhen was not relieved.
He wanted to talk right away but there was no way.
"He is fine for now." Yang Xu said and patted his disciple on the shoulder.
Yu Nianzhen nodded and didnât say anything. He just wanted the birthday banquet to be over so that he could steal a chance to speak to his husband.
Soon after, the group arrived in front of a humongous palace.
The palace was built on the tallest mountain peak and was visually the most appealing.
At its door, a group of white-clothed disciples stood to welcome the guest.
As soon as they arrived, a young woman approached them and spoke to elder Chen who led the group from the Sea Cloud sect.
The conversation lasted a few breaths before the palace gate opened and the interior was exposed.
"Elder Chen, please follow me." The young woman said and waited for Chen Qing to nod before leading into the hall.
The hall was large and seats were arranged in front of an ice throne.
Thousands of people were already in their seats but the protagonist was yet to arrive so the throne was empty.
"The seats of the Sea Cloud sect are over here." The female guide said and stopped in front of an empty area.
The area was the most prominent in the hall and when Yu Nianzhen looked around, he saw there were seventeen other divisions in the area.
âThis should be the sitting area of the sixteen regional rulers, BlueStar Treasure pavilion, and the border guards.â He observed.
After bringing them to their area, the guide left and the members of the Sea Cloud sect took their seats.
On the front row were the sect elders, behind them were the core and direct disciples, and the rest of the people sat in the following rows.
Unfortunately, Jiang Yueâs and Yu Nianzhenâs sitting positions were separated by eight seats and they couldnât talk easily.
"You are the disciple of elder Yang." The person seated beside Yu Nianzhen suddenly stated.
Yu Nianzhen looked at the person and saw the arrogant look on the otherâs face.
It was easy to tell that the person not only looked down on Yu Nianzhen but also on Yang Xu.
"Who are you?" He asked in a similar arrogant voice.
Since the person didnât mean well, Yu Nianzhen didnât plan to show any courtesy.
"I am Gu Changqing." The person said proudly and looked at Yu Nianzhen expectantly.
However, Yu Nianzhen wasnât interested in sect affairs.
As a result, he didnât know the famous cultivators in the Sea Cloud sect including the man beside him.
"Mmmm." He nodded and looked away.
"What is your reaction?" Gu Changqing asked angrily.
"This fellow Daoist, we donât seem to know each other. What reaction should I have?"
Gu Changqing gritted his teeth and glared at Yu Nianzhen.
He was a core disciple of the Sea Cloud sect and his cultivation was at the peak of the origin tempering realm.
His Gu family was a sect clan and no one had ever dared to be rude to him.
"Do you know who I am?"
Yu Nianzhen looked at the person and wondered if he was sick.
He had just introduced himself and was now asking him if he knew who he was.
In the interest of avoiding a conflict, Yu Nianzhen sighed and answered him.
"Your name is Gu Changqing."
When he heard that, Gu Changqing almost vomited blood.
He could tell that Yu Nianzhen was treating him like a fool and he couldnât hold the breath.
"Do you dare to be so rude? Your master needs me to compete in the martial contest. If you donât get on your knees and apologise, I wonât go on the arena."
Yu Nianzhen looked at the person and his eyes were firm.
He already knew that the sect had chosen several origin tempering realm cultivators to participate in the martial contest.
Unexpectedly, Gu Changqing was one of the chosen representatives.
However, Yu Nianzhen didnât mean to apologise.
He planned to win the game for his master and didnât matter whether the others participated or not.
With a sneer, he turned away from the person and looked around the sitting area.
"You dare to ignore me?" Gu Changqing barked and wanted to attack Yu Nianzhen.
Fortunately, the person on his right was rational and immediately stopped him.
"Whatâs the use of attacking him here? Donât lose the face of our Sea Cloud sect." The person admonished and looked at Yu Nianzhen.
Yu Nianzhen felt the gaze but didnât turn to look.
In the end, these people had nothing to do with him.
If they genuinely wanted to fight for his master, he would give them a little face.
However, they all had their agendas and didnât plan to win the game.
âI will never let them make a joke of my master.â He thought and no longer bothered about them.
[Azhen, I have seen brother Ke.] Jiang Yue suddenly transmitted.
Yu Nianzhen looked at Jiang Yue and followed his line of sight to where the monks from the Thunder God Temple sat.
On the right of the Sea Cloud sect was the group from the Divine Fist sect, and on the left were those from the puppet region.
Two places to the right were the Thunder God Temple and Xuan Ke was also sitting on the second row.
[His cultivation is at the peak of the qi transformation realm.] Yu Nianzhen observed.
Jiang Yue nodded and was a little happy.
Since the Nine Treasures secret realm was about to open, he naturally wanted his brothers to have the qualifications to enter.
Fortunately, Xuan Ke was only half a step away from the origin tempering realm.
With his aptitude, it was possible to break through to the origin tempering realm before the secret realm opened.
While they were discussing Xuan Keâs cultivation, the monk noticed the eyes on him and turned around.
When he saw the two were looking at him, he smiled happily and waved.
Yu Nianzhen nodded and Jiang Yue waved back with a smile on his lips.
"Li Futian." The monk mouthed and the two understood.
They looked at the group from the Celestial Sky sect and saw nothing to indicate that something bad had happened in the sect.
The two frowned and then turned back to Xuan Ke.
[We will talk later.] Jiang Yue transmitted his voice.
Xuan Ke nodded and the three stopped communicating for fear that someone would intercept.
After that, Yu Nianzhen closed his eyes to meditate while Jiang Yue looked around the room.
Aside from Xuan Ke, he saw many familiar faces.
Among them were Zhu Bing, Shen Ru, Lin Huang, Wei Ge, Bei Chengling, Meng Zihua, Di Shan, and Zhu Jianfeng.
Besides Yu Nianzhen, Jiang Yue, and Xuan Ke, the only other of their generation who had broken through to the origin tempering realm was Shen Ru.
Her cultivation was a little more stable than Jiang Yue and Yu Nianzhen which showed she had broken through earlier.
âShe must have also gotten a good opportunity.â Jiang Yue thought but didnât dwell on it.
He looked at the others and saw their cultivation was around the sixth, seventh, and eighth levels of the qi transformation realm.
There was still more than a year before the opening of the Nine Treasures secret realm.
With some hard work, those geniuses would also have the chance to enter the secret realm.
âOne hundred years later, the Cangxing world will see the rise of many strong men.â Jiang Yue thought and sighed.
As long as all the geniuses of his generation entered the Nine Treasures secret realm, they were guaranteed to become incredibly strong.
However, Jiang Yue was neither discouraged nor intimidated by this.
In fact, he was a little excited.
After all, the growth of others could only motivate him to become even more powerful so that he and Yu Nianzhen were not bullied.
When he just finished taking a look at the geniuses of his generation, the hall went quiet and Yu Nianzhen opened his eyes
"This year is the four thousandth, nine hundred and ninety-ninth year of our ancestor. After seven days, our ancestor will close indefinitely." An elder of the Ice Palace stood at the front and said.