Chapter 199 – Debating Heroes at the Gathering, Hidden in the Calm…

Drunken Cloud Sea Outer Reaches, Floating Island Cluster.

Though merely an island cluster, the Floating Island Cluster’s total area was comparable to a small continent.

It was a special place suspended above the sea of clouds.

While Gu Yue True Immortal’s True Immortal Trial only opened once every century,

this didn’t mean the Drunken Cloud Sea’s only valuable location was the Ancient Moon Grotto.

Due to the Ancient Moon Grotto’s presence, the Drunken Cloud Sea hosted many rare heavenly materials and earthly treasures rarely found even in Central Province.

Some even claimed that besides the True Immortal Inheritance left in the Ancient Moon Grotto, other parts of the Drunken Cloud Sea contained numerous Immortal Legacies.

After all, Gu Yue True Immortal had wide social connections, and his mortal world “wine cellar” had attracted many Immortal friends in his time.

Though few Immortals descended to the mortal realm nowadays,

during ancient times, the boundary between mortal realm and Immortal Realm wasn’t so distinct.

Many Immortals would occasionally travel through the mortal world.

Discarded items or spontaneous traces left by these Immortals could bring transformative opportunities to ordinary mortal Cultivators.

Thus, the Drunken Cloud Sea attracted countless Cultivators seeking experience.

As the first stop outside the Drunken Cloud Sea and a valuable transit point for Cultivators,

the Floating Island Cluster naturally gradually prospered.

Establishing order in such a mixed environment was no easy task.

Among those seeking to enter the Drunken Cloud Sea were many disciples from major Central Province Sects.

These disciples were generally arrogant, rarely showing respect to those outside Central Province.

Though geographically part of Central Province,

beyond the Drunken Cloud Sea lay the Southern Divine Continent.

Thus, some Central Province Cultivators viewed the Drunken Cloud Sea as little better than barbaric lands,

looking down upon the islanders living there.

Early Cultivators arriving at the Floating Island Cluster indeed treated the native islanders with contempt, freely commanding them.

But gradually, with the emergence of the Ancient Moon Grotto and increased contact with the outside world,

many Central Province Schools began coveting this former wilderness.

Among the current major powers in the Floating Island Cluster, all bore the influence of various Central Province Schools.

This phenomenon wasn’t unique to the Floating Island Cluster—similar situations existed around many special Blessed Lands in Central Province.

Though Central Province was vast, few resources could catch the attention of top-tier forces.

Naturally, they raced to stake claims and secure positions in favorable locations early.

The Azure Cloud Sect naturally maintained a supported force in the Floating Island Cluster—the Floating Island Li Clan,

one of the Four Great Clans in the Floating Island Cluster.

Of course, these four clans didn’t comprise the entire Floating Island Cluster.

They simply occupied the four largest islands at the cluster’s center.

Dozens of smaller islands surrounded these four main islands,

hosting various Cultivation Families or Cultivation forces.

Whenever the True Immortal Trial approached, the entire Floating Island Cluster reached its peak of activity.Because on this day, cultivators from all corners of the Immortal Cultivation World would gather on the floating island.

As long as these cultivators were well accommodated, the floating island could reap significant benefits.

Thus, the entire floating island attached great importance to the year when the True Immortal Trial commenced.

At the Empty Martial Gate, a faction on the floating island supported by the Martial God Mountain.

At this moment, the Empty Martial Gate was bustling with activity, as the Martial God Mountain’s ‘Eight Extremes Immortal Ship’ hovered beside the Sect’s premises.

Some cultivators who had recently joined the Empty Martial Gate gasped in awe at the sight.

After all, they were cultivators who had only joined the Sect in the past few decades.

Although they had often seen Celestial Arks coming and going to the floating island before,

they had rarely encountered such a ‘large Celestial Ark’ resembling a war fortress.

In fact, it could be said this was their first time seeing one.

However, compared to the Immortal Ship, what the Empty Martial Gate cultivators were more concerned about at the moment was the banquet being held on it, known as the Gathering of Heroes.

On the Martial God Mountain’s Immortal Ship, the vessel was temporarily serving as a venue for cultivators to gather, and anyone who met the criteria could enter.

However, this requirement was practically non-existent for major Sects.

Generally, as long as they saw the other party wearing their Sect’s Daoist robes, they would be allowed entry without any hindrance.

But for some Rogue Cultivators and small Schools, gaining access to this banquet was not so easy.

Even for subordinate forces of the Martial God Mountain like the Empty Martial Gate, this was the case.

First, the Gathering of Heroes was intended for cultivators preparing to participate in the True Immortal Trial this time.

Therefore, the criteria for entering the banquet were similar to those for the True Immortal Trial.

One had to be under fifty years of age, and the other requirement was to have a cultivation level below the Golden Core Stage.

Generally, being able to reach the Foundation Establishment Stage before the age of fifty was considered quite talented.

Of course, having the cultivation level and age alone was not enough.

The biggest restriction for this banquet actually lay in the quality of Foundation Establishment.

Only those cultivators who had achieved at least a sixth-grade Earth Dao Foundation Establishment were qualified to enter.

For most Rogue Cultivators, this was exceedingly harsh.

After all, the vast majority of Rogue Cultivators had to exert all their efforts just to cultivate, and with no expert guidance or suitable Cultivation Manuals,

their Foundation Establishment quality was often not very high.

As for those Rogue Cultivators who could achieve Earth Dao quality or higher, many of them did not meet the age requirement.

Thus, although the Gathering of Heroes was said to be open to Rogue Cultivators every year, the largest group attending was not Rogue Cultivators but rather prodigies from small Schools seeking to establish connections with major Sects.

Inside the Immortal Ship, the Martial God Mountain’s leader for this trip was Wei Qifeng, the Senior Brother of their current generation of Direct Lineage Disciples.

Wei Qifeng looked at the prodigies from various Sects gathered on the Immortal Ship.

For a fleeting moment, he felt as if he had become the top young prodigy of his generation.

However, this feeling came and went quickly.

After only a brief daze, he snapped back to reality.

After all, although the Gathering of Heroes appeared to be organized by them, they were essentially just providing a venue.

Those willing to attend this Gathering of Heroes were not ranked in any particular order among themselves.

But this lack of hierarchy only applied to the top ten Sects of the Central Province.

Disciples outside the top ten Sects held a relatively lower status.

Next came small Schools not from the Central Province, and finally, the Rogue Cultivators.

Thus, the entire venue was almost divided into four distinct areas.Among those present, the group with the fewest attendees but occupying the largest area was the disciples of the Ten Great Sects.

In the central area of the Celestial Ark Deck, the seating for Martial God Mountain was arranged at the head of the table.

The remaining ten sects were then arranged in order.

These were Azure Cloud Sect, Jade Void Mountain, Little Thunderclap Temple, Azure Fire Valley, Bright Moon Pavilion, Fragrant Grass Abode, East Sea Gate, Hundred Refinements Sect, and Spirit Sound Valley.

As the leader of the Righteous Path, Azure Cloud Sect had sent the fewest people this time—only three in total.

One of them wasn’t even human but a Spirit Beast.

This wasn’t because Azure Cloud Sect disliked socializing, but because the previous few gatherings of heroes had been filled with hostility toward them.

It seemed that some felt Azure Cloud Sect had held the position of the top sect in Central Province for too long.

Or perhaps they saw Azure Cloud Sect cultivators as major obstacles in the True Immortal Trial.

Thus, every time the gathering of heroes was held, many would come to challenge Azure Cloud Sect disciples.

Some of these challengers were disciples from other Ten Great Sects.

Others were from smaller sects and schools.

And some were simply Rogue Cultivators hoping to make a name for themselves in one fell swoop.

After all, for a Rogue Cultivator, there was no better way to gain fame than by defeating an Azure Cloud Sect disciple.

If other sects faced such a situation, they would either outright refuse or strike ruthlessly to deter these challengers and keep them from bothering them.

However, due to the teachings of their sect, Azure Cloud Sect generally exercised restraint in matters not involving conflicts between good and evil.

Thus, even if they found it troublesome, they usually wouldn’t resort to heavy-handed tactics, often stopping at a mere demonstration of skill.

But this only emboldened those who wanted to climb to fame by stepping on Azure Cloud Sect.

After all, such a low-risk, high-reward opportunity.

Anyone would be tempted to give it a try.

And the other Ten Great Sects also wanted to use this chance to gauge the strength of this generation’s Azure Cloud Sect disciples.

So they were more than happy to see this situation unfold.

Thus, they had no intention of stopping it at all.

As a result, after several tedious experiences.

Azure Cloud Sect generally discouraged its later disciples from attending such gatherings of heroes.

This led to Azure Cloud Sect having no representatives at the gathering for two consecutive times.

But this time was different. After persuasion from Jade Void Mountain, Azure Cloud Sect actually sent a few cultivators.

Though few in number, it was still a good sign.

“Junior Brother Lu, what’s the point of coming to such a boring place? Look at these people around us. Don’t be fooled by their refined appearances now—once we enter the True Immortal Trial, they’ll be more eager than ever to eliminate us first.”

“Compared to them, those folks from Jade Void Mountain are much more tolerable. At least they adhere to ‘preserving one’s nature and maintaining authenticity, not burdening the form with external things.’ They never play games—if they don’t like you, they’ll just fight you.”

“Honestly, there’s nothing to discuss with these people. When the True Immortal Trial begins, we’ll settle things with our skills.”

Meow King, sitting next to Lu Chen, spoke bluntly and without reservation.

His voice carried clearly, reaching the ears of the nearby cultivators.

In response, some disciples from other sects frowned, some remained expressionless, and others glared fiercely at Meow King.

It seemed they thought this guy was too arrogant, as if Azure Cloud Sect truly believed it was the best in the world.Regarding this, neither Lu Chen beside Meow King nor Yi Hanqing nearby said anything more.

They seemed to tacitly acknowledge Meow King’s words.

After all, they had sensed something off about the atmosphere of this Heroes Gathering from the moment they entered.

By convention, all positions at the Heroes Gathering should be arranged equally.

Yet for some reason, Martial God Mountain had subtly placed themselves in the foremost position.

This was undoubtedly a troubling signal.

None present were fools—Martial God Mountain might as well have openly declared their intention to challenge for the top Sect position in Central Province.

Thus, upon arriving at the banquet, disciples from the other Sects all adopted the demeanor of spectators enjoying a show.

This was precisely what irritated Meow King.

No wonder Martial God Mountain had insisted Azure Cloud Sect send representatives—these fellows had clearly planned this in advance.

They were just waiting to make their mark at this Heroes Gathering.

But where did they get the confidence to securely claim the foremost position?

Could it be that some extraordinary prodigy had emerged among their Direct Lineage Disciples this generation?

That didn’t make sense—if such a person existed, they should have heard at least some rumors.

It was precisely this doubt that led Meow King to take the initiative in provoking conflict.

Drink?

They hadn’t come to the Heroes Gathering to drink!

Since those around clearly wanted to stir trouble, there was no need to indulge them.

In response to Meow King’s provocation, Wei Qifeng, the head Senior Brother of Martial God Mountain seated at the forefront, said with a smile, “Fellow Daoist Wu Miao of Azure Cloud Sect seems to have some misunderstanding about us.”

“Misunderstanding?”

Meow King stood up, crossing his arms and tilting his chin upward. “What damn misunderstanding? What do you mean by deliberately placing our seats below yours? Think your Martial God Mountain brutes can step over our Azure Cloud Sect?”

“Come on, explain to your Grandpa Meow what you mean by ‘misunderstanding’.”

“Always playing these petty tricks—can’t you focus your minds on cultivation instead?”

Seeing Meow King show so little regard for face, Wei Qifeng’s mouth twitched slightly.

After all, Azure Cloud Sect was the leader of the Righteous Path in Central Province. Regardless of their personalities, its disciples would usually maintain the dignity of an Immortal Sect in public, not resorting to vulgar language like Meow King, whose every other word was “sweet talk.”

Perhaps provoked by Meow King’s tirade, a Martial God Mountain disciple stood up and said coldly, “Is this how Azure Cloud Sect teaches its disciples to casually insult Cultivators from other Sects?”

Meow King picked up a toothpick from the table and stuck it in his mouth.

His arrogant, swaggering demeanor made even Lu Chen and Yi Hanqing beside him feel he was practically begging for a beating, having drawn all the hostility onto himself.

Oblivious to this, Meow King continued his verbal assault.

“Teaching? Grandpa Meow isn’t a Human Race Cultivator—why should I follow your tedious rules and etiquette?”

“But your Martial God Mountain clearly failed to teach you self-awareness. What, don’t think Grandpa Meow is right?”

“Come on, yes, you—don’t look at anyone else—you, kid, get down here and spar with Grandpa Meow for a couple of rounds.”

“Grandpa Meow wants to see what skills you have that let you stand up there talking down to me!”Seeing that the Meow King had actually singled him out, the Martial God Mountain disciple showed no anger, but instead a glimmer of delight flashed in his eyes.

It was as if he had been waiting all along for the Meow King to say those words.

“Good, then let me experience the prowess of your Azure Cloud Sect.”

With that, the Martial God Mountain disciple stepped into the arena.

In response, the disciples from other sects around them all wore expressions of anticipation for a good show.

And the Meow King showed no fear in the face of this.

Because after returning to Great Cool Mountain, he was no longer the same as before!

Lu Chen looked at the Martial God Mountain disciple who had accepted the challenge, his eyes turning lotus-shaped as if he could see through the disciple’s appearance and perceive his true nature.

However, Lu Chen only gave him a brief glance before shifting his attention away.

Instead, he looked toward the other Martial God Mountain disciples in the leading positions.

These Martial God Mountain disciples… something wasn’t right about them.

Beside Lu Chen’s foot, a small white dog that resembled a Chow Chow was also watching the numerous Martial God Mountain disciples with a serious expression.

“Brother Lu, the Nine Qi in those guys isn’t right—it seems like they’ve been influenced by something.”

“This influence is very subtle, impossible to detect in the short term, so they probably haven’t noticed it themselves.”

“Besides them, there are also cultivators from two other sects that seem a bit off. You should be careful later.”

Hearing Diting’s telepathic message in his ear, Lu Chen calmly nodded.

Aside from Martial God Mountain, the other two suspicious sects were Azure Fire Valley and Hundred Refinements Sect.

The former was a fire cultivation school, while the latter specialized in Artifact Refining.

Their rankings within the Ten Sects were at the lower end.

Although he had expected to make significant discoveries at this Gathering of Heroes, actually finding evidence still left Lu Chen somewhat shocked.

Even the top ten sects in Central Province showed faint signs of being infiltrated by Immortal Fiends.

He didn’t dare to think too deeply about the situation in those smaller sects.

Thinking this, Lu Chen immediately decided to have Diting leave the main banquet later to investigate further outside.

While the younger generation of disciples couldn’t represent their entire sects, one mustn’t forget that those qualified to participate in this True Immortal Trial were mostly Direct Lineage Disciples—the key cultivation targets of their respective schools.

Even if not all of them were controlled by Immortal Fiends, just one or two appearing among them…

Once these individuals grew up and entered the core areas of their respective sects,

They would undoubtedly have a terrifying impact on these organizations.

After all, with these hidden rats providing assistance,

Other Immortal Fiends could undoubtedly integrate into these sects more quickly.

Eventually completely usurping them from within.

No wonder, no wonder the Corpse Mage Pang Xiao from the Bearing Cauldron Peak instance had said that many cultivators fighting against Immortal Fiends didn’t die at the hands of the fiends themselves,

But rather perished by their most trusted “companions.”

These creatures really were everywhere.

Just as Lu Chen was pondering how many people at this Gathering of Heroes had already become involved with Immortal Fiends, either openly or secretly,

The Meow King and the Martial God Mountain disciple who had challenged him arrived at the specially prepared arena on the Celestial Ark deck outside and assumed their stances.

Looking at his opponent, the Meow King said arrogantly: “Kid, I hope your skills are at least half as tough as your mouth.”

“Don’t collapse before your Meow Lord even gets serious—that would be too boring.”Hearing this, the Martial God Mountain cultivator said with a confident expression: “They all say Azure Cloud Sect disciples possess outstanding Heart-Nature and naturally perfected Dao techniques, with every disciple being a Dragon or Phoenix among men.”

“But I never expected to find a little kitten in such a place. I truly don’t know how you managed to persuade the Azure Cloud Sect to keep a pet like you within their gates.”

As these words fell, the Meow King’s gaze toward him instantly turned dangerous.

Because this brat had uttered the word Meow King hated most.

Little kitten?

This Meow Lord is the king of all beasts, the great striped tiger with fierce eyes and white forehead!

(End of Chapter)