Chapter 217 - A Gathering of Stars
“What made you so giggly?” Qing Yao looked at Xue Er, slowly placing her brush down on the table. Her movements were gentle and coherent, somehow pleasant to watch.
“So, all the newbies have arrived, and as you know, they are gathered to be taught a lesson about modesty!” Xue Er chuckled, pausing to look at Qing Yau’s graceful posture.
“It is quite interesting when you are not an initiate isn’t it?” Qing Yao shook her head reluctantly, unable to understand the childish enthusiasm. “But we do it every year, haven’t you watched it before?”
“It’s different this year, one of the newbies was fun to watch!” Xue Er spoke quickly, eager to win Qing Yao’s attention. “This newbie was quiet to start with, and he didn’t even fight for the best newcomer spot. He didn’t step in before Feng Shan, the one-star returned prime Warrior made them all kneel down and read the palace’s rules out loud!”
“And guess what? He beat Feng Shan with one punch!” Xue Er had no control of her excitement, barely able to hold still while recounting the event. “So before Feng Shan got to scaring the newbies, he was pummeled into the ground! Hahaha, it looked so funny!”
“One punch?” Qing Yao finally showed interest, as it’s been over a decade since there had been a newcomer at two-star returned prime level. “you said this Feng Shan has one-star cultivation?”
“No questions yet! I am not done telling the story, something even funnier happened!” Xue Er leaned against Qing Yao’s shoulder affectionately.
“So after the newbie won the first fight, Luo Han stepped into the ring. You might not have heard of that name, but Luo Han was a ten-star condensed prime Warrior a year ago when he started here, and he is now already a two-star returned prime Warrior! And! He is also the owner of a piece of Frozen Moon crystal!”
“Keep going.” Qing Yao nodded, but being the third strongest cultivator on the black dragon list, she had no interest in Luo Han.
She was usually only interested in the top ten cultivators on the list, but an initiate managing to defeat a veteran was one of the few exceptions.
“Luo Han was putting on a great show, but the newbie won rather easily! And! After that, Zhou Kuang fought and lost almost immediately. He was also knocked into the ground, hahahaha!” Xue Er chuckled, “I think the newbie was only sixteen years old – isn’t that interesting?”
‘Interesting, if he managed to beat Zhou Kuang, it means he will be fighting one of us next…’ Qing Yao widened her eyes as the thought dawned on her and couldn’t quite believe an initiate would be challenging a lister.
It was not just a matter of power and strength; the tradition that had lasted a century was on the verge of breaking down.
“Let’s go. I am not in the mood to paint anymore since you came.” Qing Yao’s bright eyes were looking at the door.
***
“His name is Ye Wei, right? The newbie who beat Zhou Kuang?”
“That’s interesting, I always wondered if someone new would be strong enough to put an end to this old-fashioned bullying act.”
“Qing Mu the Spiritualist is responsible for it this year, and he is well-connected. I think we will be watching a good fight with whomever he decides to send next.”
“Let’s go!”
The valley was usually quiet, but today its peace was tainted by the exciting gossip. The random gossip quickly turned into widespread news in the palace. Even the only officials, the two god’s prime Warriors stationed at the facilities by the Helian family, were noticing the changes in the atmosphere.
The golden sun loomed at its zenith. Above the square, between the layers of clouds, a large crowd of veterans gathered, many of which were powerful cultivators that earned their place on the black dragon list.
“San Chan? I thought you were spending some time in the Burning Sun realm for special training?”
“I just came back to take a small break. It was getting too quiet there.” A pale-looking face replied. “Have you been here long? Fill me in.”
“Not much longer than you! It has been awhile since this place was this busy right?”
“Oh look Zui Yue is here too!”
“So is Xia Ming! Hahaha what an occasion.”
As the friends and rivals reunited, more and more of the famous personages were appearing out the blue. Most of the average cultivators were finally seeing the figures they had only ever heard stories of throughout all the years they’ve been in the palace.
“That’s Qing Mu the Spiritualist!”
“I heard he is responsible for scaring the newbies this year. Who do you think he is going to send to fight the newbie?” A figure wearing a faded cyan robe, with his hair done up in a bun, caught the most attention.
Out of all the cultivators on the black dragon list, Qing Mu the Spiritualist was one of the most famous. But his fame was mostly for his narrow-mindedness and his lack of empathy. However, compensated by his strength and craftiness, his relationship with the other listers remained peaceful on the surface.
“San Chan, Zui Yue, Xia Ming!” Qing Mu quickly scanned the crowd, spotting the trio he found interesting.
“Hey, it’s been a while. I honestly don’t remember the last time this square was filled with people!” San Chan laughed and said. “Now that the kid has beaten Zhou Kuang, who are you going to send next?”
The trio were curious, excited for the first time in a long while.
“Jin Kui.” Qing Mu smiled and turned to his side, patting a boy with golden har on his back.
The trio nodded in unison, but again, only San Chan spoke out. “Yea, Jin Kui is an appropriate choice. If you’ve picked anyone stronger than three-star returned prime level, the newbies will not humble themselves even if he lost.”
Although San Chan said it was appropriate, he thought the complete opposite. ‘Jin Kui is the strongest cultivator at three-star returned prime level within the palace, or maybe even within the
Dynasty!”
The trio dropped the thought of tradition being changed as soon as they heard Jin Kui’s name; they almost knew for a fact that the fight was over before it even started.
Jin Kui did not rank high on the black dragon list, but nobody in the palace had not heard of his name; it represented the very limit of the three-star returned prime cultivation level.
“Qing Yao is here!”
“I didn’t think she would come.”
“It is her!” Qing Mu, San Chan and Zui Yue looked towards the sky.
Qing Yao was undisputedly considered the goddess of Million Star Palace, but some of the veterans had been in the palace for years without witnessing her face even once. They were all excited at first but then shocked to see that the legendary beauty was not exaggerated in any
sense.
Her skin was glowing like snow through her white robe, and her ink-black hair fell undone behind her back. Both of her wrists were decorated by a bracelet, and she was wearing a plain silver ring on her left pinky. Simplistic but divine.
“Qing Yao!” With a trace of admiration on his face, Qing Mu headed towards his goddess. Ever since they’ve met, Qing Mu had volunteered to become her cultivation partner, but she had turned it down each and every time.
“Spiritualist.” Qing Yao nodded, her crystal clear eyes inhabiting a dismissive coldness.
Qing Mu felt a sudden embarrassment, reminded by her eyes of the distance between them. He was not satisfied by their relationship, but he was too proud to show his weakness.
“Where is Ye Wei? Is he still here?” Xue Er winked playfully, glancing down onto the the square as she hopped around Qing Yao.
“Oh! There he is! Qing Yao, look! That’s him!” Xue Er pointed at where she had her eyes set, screaming excitedly.
“I see.” Qing Yao followed the finger and looked down, neither excited nor disappointed.
“This is interesting, right? A newbie who came this far.” Qing Mu casually twiddled his ring, smiling awkwardly as he tried to make a conversation.
“Just curious. You know, tradition and all.” Qing Yao replied coldly, not making the slightest effort to sugar-coat her indifference.
“We will see. He is strong but way too raw. Jin Kui, go on and play with him for a bit.” Qing Mu crossed his arms behind his back and took a deep breath, pretending to be calm.
Jin Kui could read Qing Mu’s discomfort but couldn’t guess the Spiritualist was romantically disappointed. ‘He does not look pleased… What have I done now?’
The three-star returned prime Warrior nodded to Qing Mu, thinking the arm-crossing was a signal telling him to give Ye Wei a hard time.