Chapter 254 Strangers

"What's wrong, Junior Brother Xiao?"

Seeing Xiao Chen stopping in his tracks, Yu Yifeng questioned him before following his line of sight. He saw a red-clothed young woman in the prime of her youth.

It was Su Wan. She was momentarily stupefied when she spotted Xiao Chen but her next reaction was unsheathing her Teal Frost Sword. Back in the Skygale Sect in the Human World, Xiao Chen took her as a hostage and Shangguan Yan later teased her on the ship. To the Eldest Young Lady of the Su family, this was enough for her to see Xiao Chen as her greatest foe.

Her action immediately drew the attention of those around her. Next to her was a white-clothed man with a folding fan in his hand.

The man was tall, slender, and handsome. Many ladies nearby couldn't help stealing glances at him. Seeing Su Wan unsheathe her sword, he frowned and asked, "What are you doing?"

"Brother Zimu, it's him. He was the one who nearly killed me in the Human World," Su Wan said resentfully, glaring at Xiao Chen with the eyes of a viper. She wanted nothing more than to storm up to him and stab him several times to avenge herself.

"Oh?" Su Zimu snapped his folding fan back together and followed her line of sight.

The moment their eyes met, Xiao Chen's heart leaped in surprise at the man's impressive cultivation. The man wasn't in any way inferior to Xiaoyue. Right then, a high-pitched voice came from tens of feet away. "Cousin Su Wan, Brother Zimu, it's been a while."

It was a black-clothed young man: Ling Fei, the strongest youth of the Ling family, who declared that he would have a life-or-death battle with Xiao Chen at the Immortals' League. He sneered at Xiao Chen before turning to look at Su Wan and her brother.

Seeing him walking over to them, Su Wan put away her Teal Frost Sword and smiled. "Cousin Ling Fei."

Su Zimu waved his folding hand. Giving Ling Fei a haughty, uninterested look, he said, "So it's you, Brother Ling Fei. Did you also come for the Immortal's Sword Assembly?"

Ling Fei, as the strongest youth of the Ling family, was in the peak of the Core Forming Realm. Naturally, he came today for the assembly. Su Zimu was obviously looking down on him.

With an awkward laugh, he replied, "I'm not that talented. I'm just here to join the fun. I wouldn't dare to compare with you, Brother Zimu."

"Oh." Su Zimu nodded uninterestedly. Beside him, Su Wan also dared not contribute to the conversation.

Bored, Ling Fei smiled and said, "I have something to attend to. Please excuse me."

When he was gone, Su Wan glanced at Su Zimu. "Brother Zimu, how can you do that?!"

Su Zimu said placidly, "Do what? I advise you to stay away from those from the Ling family. You'll just lower your status."

"Can you stop being so harsh with your words?" Su Wan was a little mad. "No matter what, Ling family is our..."

Before she could finish, Su Zimu glared at her. "Don't even mention our families in the same breath. They're not worthy. Moreover, I'm forbidding you from interacting with Ling Yuxuan. He's just a cripple without learnings or skills, but he dares to find help for his revenge. Life-or-death battle? He needs to know his place."

He was rather loud, so it naturally reached Ling Fei who hadn't walked far yet. The latter clenched his fists but there was nothing he could do about it. Pretending he heard nothing, he walked away.

"Let's go, Brother Yifeng," Xiao Chen said quietly, redirecting his attention from Su Wan's group. He began walking to the registration counter.

"Lil Chen, is there a grudge between you and the Su family? Why did that woman unsheathe her sword the moment she saw you?" Yu Yifeng whispered.

Xiao Chen forced a smile. How could he bear a grudge against the Su family? That was her mother's family, after all. Moreover, someone on the level of an ancestor of the Su family, Su Xiaomei, was living inside the cold jade pendant that he was wearing.

The issue with Su Wan was just a little misunderstanding in the Human World. It couldn't be considered as some sort of great grudge. Moreover, she was now a "cousin" to him.

Right then, Su Xiaomei's voice rang inside his head. "Not bad. That youngster is not bad, indeed. He didn't lose the imposing manner of a Su family member. I've never even heard of the Ling family in my era. Who cares about them?"

Xiao Chen once again forced a smile as he imbued a wisp of Divine Sense into the pendant. "You're up?"

"Yes. I woke up when I sensed someone from my family around. Oh, by the way, you said your mother was from the Su family. Even though our millennium-old rule says that the Su's and Xiao's must not interact, I'm sure they won't make things difficult for you if I put in a word for you," Su Xiaomei said.

"Then, thank you for the favor."

This was what Xiao Chen wanted. He was determined to make time to visit his mother at the Su family residence. Moreover, he must find a way to bring her back to the Xiao family residence. With Su Xiaomei around, his task would be much simpler.

What he must do next was sign up for the Immortal's Sword Assembly. The assembly would only accept ten disciples from each sect, at most. The Jade Qing Sect sent seven people including Yu Yifeng, Mu Shaoai, Li Muxue, and Luo Shangyan. Xiao Chen, Qingluan, and Ziyun'er made up the rest of the numbers.

After the Elder in-charge registered their names, he gave Yu Yifeng a little pouch to collect the Hearts of Illusory Moon and ten cyan-colored badges.

Those representing the East Continent would be wearing cyan-colored badges, while those from the West Continent were given red badges. Those from the South Continent had the color purple, those from the North Continent had the color brown, and those from the Middle Continent had the color white.

Each badge had the name of the participant's sect carved on it. Those without a badge weren't allowed to enter the Forest of Illusory Moon.

It was boisterous in the public square. The loud ones were mostly from the Middle Continent. They were known to the strongest, after all. Moreover, they also had a sense of superiority stemming from the fact that the assembly was held in their homeland.

Whenever they saw someone with a cyan-colored badge, they would shoot him a condescending look. That was because those from the East Continent were known to be the weakest; they had failed to pass the qualifying round for three consecutive assemblies. Many cultivators from the East Continent had their heads lowered, too embarrassed to say anything. Some even took off their badge and put it into their pocket.

To be frank, the East Continent was the oldest cultivation grounds of the five continents. It was the origin of cultivation, going as far back as hundreds of thousands of years ago. It was the Great Divine Land, where the strong stood in great numbers. Seeing as the ruins of the Mystic Cyan Sect were located here, it was obvious that it meant that East Continent was the strongest of them all.

However, the East Continent had been regressing with time since the end of the previous Cultivation Era. Just as the other four continents were close to forgetting its presence, the Jade Qing Sect appeared and regained attention for the continent. In its hundred years up of establishment up until now, Jade Qing Seven came into existence and sent tremors throughout the world, allowing the East Continent to stabilize its position among the five continents again.

The reason for the continent's decline was likely its beliefs. As the origin of the ancient cultivators, many sects ignored fame and profit in their pursuit of Bodhicitta. They focused on exterminating evil and defending traditional values as protectors of the living.

The other continents were different. They were firmly aware that the survival of the fittest was the true rule of the Cultivation World. Otherwise, the previous Cultivation Era wouldn't have been destroyed. The right way to live was to constantly improve one's powers. It was the only way to survive.

Life had proven them right. The innocent pursuit of Bodhicitta was no longer suited for such chaotic times.

Of course, there were exceptions too. Thousand Feathers Sect was one such example. However, they rarely came out to the world and no one knew their true strength.

Coincidentally, Xiao Chen spotted Xiaoyue in the crowd as well. He was surprised that she would be representing the East Continent as well, but had no idea about her true purpose.

He also noticed another person wearing the cyan-colored badge that represented the East Continent. Even though they were so close, he felt as if she was as far away as if she was at the other end of the world. It was Huangfu Xin'er participating under the Heartless Palace.

Their coincidental meeting led Xiao Chen to think that she had turned into someone else entirely. She was like a block of ice. He couldn't sense any emotion from her.

When they passed by each other, she didn't even spare him a glance. It was as if they were strangers. It was just like that line of lyric in the song they once wrote together.

"Today I long to part with the willow trees; my words are accompanied by tears. He meets a stranger by a chance but doesn't get to know her."

Suddenly, he felt a stab of pain in his heart. It was an unspeakable pain. They shared so much history, after all. Back then, she didn't know anything about her family withdrawing their engagement. However, there was no resolving that misunderstanding. The memories of their time at the Skygale Sect in the Human World were still vivid in his mind. In the end, she overheard what he said during their final meeting at the Heartless Palace.

Finally, they had become complete strangers.

Suddenly, an ear-piercing voice resounded in the crowd. "I heard the disciples of the Heartless Palace are all breathtaking. Now I see that the rumors are true."