Hence, Elder Hao manipulated the Flying Boat to descend to the ground, emerging from the vessel with Ye Yunfei and the other four disciples.
Ahead, a vast and magnificent ancient city appeared.
This ancient city was incredibly majestic. Its city walls stood at a hundred zhang high, poured with molten iron and entirely black, as if forged from iron itself.
Inscriptions were engraved upon them, faintly glowing with spiritual light even in broad daylight.
"Let's go, we're entering the city. Keep a low profile, everyone. Don't provoke any trouble," Elder Hao instructed after putting away the Flying Boat. "Offending disciples from the great sects and clans would have severe consequences."
Then, Elder Hao took the lead, walking into the city.
Tianxiu City was unbelievably prosperous. The streets were a hundred meters wide, allowing ten carriages to travel side by side.
Most of the people coming and going exuded sharp auras and extraordinary bearing.
As far as the eye could see, young people with Profound Realm strength were everywhere.
There were also many imposing young masters and ladies driving various high-grade flying treasures or riding all kinds of advanced flying demon beasts and spirit creatures, openly speeding back and forth in the air above the city's streets, with no one daring to interfere.
"Look, those must be outstanding disciples from the great sects and clans. When you enter the Tianying Small World later, if you encounter them, try to avoid them," Elder Hao advised again. "Those geniuses are not people you can contend with! Before we came, Elder Ren instructed me: for this expedition into the Tianying Small World, do not seek great merit, only strive to avoid fault. A safe return is the best result. Do you understand?"
"We understand, Elder Hao," disciples He Houfeng and the others hurriedly nodded and replied.
In fact, He Houfeng, Wu Yan, and Xiao Lin had already gone a little pale upon seeing so many Profound Realm youths on the streets.
These three were merely at the middle stage of Heaven Realm. Naturally, they were considered outstanding within Tianyuan Sect. But here, they discovered they were truly far, far too weak.
Long Yingying clenched her small fists tight, an expression of unwillingness appearing on her face, a hint of fighting spirit hidden in her gaze.
Ye Yunfei, however, remained expressionless, as if he saw nothing special.
In his previous life, Ye Yunfei had once traversed the three thousand great and small worlds—what kind of talents or monsters hadn't he seen? He had even witnessed legendary young prodigies who possessed Half-Immortal Bodies.
Furthermore, Ye Yunfei himself possessed one of the world's top-tier martial veins—the Chaos God Vein!
Therefore, these youths from the various sects and clans of the Eastern Region were negligible in Ye Yunfei's eyes.
Boom!
Suddenly, a streak of lightning crossed the sky; a thunderclap echoed above Tianxiu City on a clear day.
Within the lightning, one could faintly make out a figure like a silver-winged celestial god. His entire body seemed forged from silver, his hair and beard were white, and wings spread behind his back as lightning coiled around him like immortal divine metal.
"That's Lei Lingzi from the Lei Clan! Legend says he awakened a Thunder Spirit Body and mastered the divine ability to control thunder and lightning at thirteen or fourteen years old," someone exclaimed, looking up. "Though he's only at the early Saint Realm, killing ordinary Saint Realm experts is as easy as slaughtering chickens for him. He can even defeat some veteran late-stage Saint Realm opponents!"
"Hiss! The Lei Clan is a major clan in the Eastern Region, a step above the Nine Great Sects. They say the clan has developed rapidly these past years, with the potential to directly rival the Three Sacred Lands," another person nearby said in a trembling voice. "Lei Lingzi is considered a monstrous figure among the younger generation of the Eastern Region. There are few who can match him when he travels across the region."
"Luo Qingwu, come out and fight!" Suddenly, Lei Lingzi's form stopped high in the sky. Holding a silver spear wreathed in blazing lightning, his eyes flashed like lightning as he looked towards the distant heights.
"Lei Lingzi, two years ago you were defeated by me. Dare you come looking for another beating?" A clear, cold voice rang out.
Immediately after—
Rustle...
Sounds of surging waves suddenly echoed high in the sky. Then, rolling blue waves swept across the heavens like tidal waves, and a woman emerged from within those waters.
This woman's form was unclear, obscured as if by moonlight, misty like an immortal blossom unfurling its stamen. The entire figure was hazy and indistinct, yet she gave a feeling of flawless perfection.
"The Luo Clan's eldest miss, Luo Qingwu! She's here too!"
"It's said she has already caught the eye of the Tianhuang Sacred Land and will be recruited for focused cultivation!"
"So, Lei Lingzi was defeated by Luo Qingwu two years ago? That's big news!"
...
Within Tianxiu City, people gazed up at the two contemporary geniuses in the sky, unable to help clicking their tongues in astonishment, their expressions showing shock.
Lei Lingzi's body bloomed with dazzling lightning, seemingly possessing power that could shake heaven and earth, pressure that left people gasping for breath.
Luo Qingwu stood facing him, evenly matched, even... slightly superior.
"Is this the strength of the Eastern Region's top talents?" He Houfeng, Wu Yan, and Xiao Lin were all despondent. "Compared to them, we so-called 'outstanding disciples' of Tianyuan Sect are like ants."
Even Long Yingying wore a bitter smile and shook her head slightly.
Ye Yunfei glanced at Lei Lingzi and Luo Qingwu high in the sky, his expression unchanged.
"Luo Qingwu, dare you fight?! Today, I will definitely defeat you!" high in the sky, Lei Lingzi took a step forward, his aura terrifying.
"Hmph! Why wouldn't I dare! Two years ago I could beat you, and today I can beat you again!" Luo Qingwu laughed coldly.
Lei Lingzi was incensed, the blinding lightning around his body swelling as if he was about to strike.
At that moment, a sonorous voice called out.
"Haha… Brother Lei, Miss Luo! Both of you are counted among the rare monstrous geniuses of our Eastern Region, possessing immense power," a handsome man in gold robes, holding a golden folding fan, strode through the air, arriving from the distant horizon. "Once a battle starts, you'd probably need a day and night to decide the winner. Now that the Tianying Small World is about to open, why waste your strength pointlessly?"
"It's the eldest young master of the Huang Clan, Huang Yitian, he's here!" Immediately, someone exclaimed in a low voice.
Ultimately, the fight never happened. With the Tianying Small World opening soon, neither Lei Lingzi nor Luo Qingwu wished to waste their strength.
Following this, more and more young talents famed throughout the Eastern Region, these peerless geniuses, made their appearances and entered Tianxiu City.
There were the holy sons of the Nine Great Sects, the young masters and misses of the Five Great Clans, and monstrous talents from the Three Sacred Lands.
"Look! That's Ximen Yijian from the Famous Sword Villa! He awakened a Sword Spirit Body at age ten, and at twelve comprehended Sword Intent—a true sword dao genius!"
"And that is the young master of the Chen Clan, Chen Fan! It's said he possesses the inherited bloodline of his clan, containing the blood of the ancient divine beast, the Heaven-Swallowing Python! In cultivation, he faces no barriers whatsoever—breaking through cultivation realms is like eating and drinking to him. He's only sixteen this year, yet he's already at the early Saint Realm!"
...
Genius after genius appeared, eliciting gasps of admiration.
It could be said that such liveliness visited Tianxiu City only once every decade.
Afterwards, Elder Hao took Ye Yunfei and the others around Tianxiu City for most of the day before finally finding a small, remote, and out-of-the-way inn to settle in.
"You stay here first. I'm going out to inquire about the exact opening time of the Tianying Small World," Elder Hao said before hurrying out of the inn.
The Tianying Small World was set to open within a couple of days, but its precise time was not yet known.
"Have you heard? Tianxiu City's Luohai Trading House is holding an auction today," a conversation drifted in from next door as Ye Yunfei sat cross-legged cultivating. "They say several rare treasures and a few powerful martial techniques will be put up."
"Of course I know. I also found out that a superior-grade True Artifact longsword called the Yimu Sword will be auctioned. I practice swords; if I could get that Yimu Sword, my combat power would definitely rise sharply."
"A superior-grade True Artifact is a priceless magic treasure. With your wealth, don't even think about it."
...
Inside his room at the inn, Ye Yunfei's heart stirred when he overheard this dialogue.
"Yimu Sword... by its name, it should be wood-attributed. Among the Five Elements Spirit Swords I forged, the wood sword was made using three low-grade spirit swords as sword blanks—its grade is a bit low," he mused. "If I can obtain this superior-grade True Artifact Yimu Sword and use it as a sword blank for reforging, its power will definitely be greater. Alright, I'll go take a look."
His interest piqued, Ye Yunfei left a sound-transmission jade slip in his room and quietly departed the inn.
Soon, he found the Luohai Trading House, a tall and very imposing building.
Ye Yunfei strode inside, entering a great hall first. The auction venue lay behind this hall.