“Brother Duan,” Xue Hai Chuan called out. He was brimming with smiles now that he met Duan Ling Tian again after 10 years. “We’ve not met in over 10 years, but you seem to be in a better condition now!”
When Xue Hai Chuan met Duan Ling Tian previously, Duan Ling Tian was just a rudimentary King of Gods. Now that Duan Ling Tian had become an intermediate King of Gods, Duan Ling Tian’s aura had naturally changed as well. Although the change was slight, he had a keen perception so it was not difficult for him to notice the difference.
“Junior Brother Hai Chuan, I’ll take my leave first. I need to supervise the inner disciples’ entrance examinations,” Dongfang Yan Nian said to Xue Hai Chuan with a smile.
Since Dongfang Yan Nian had sent a message to Xue Hai Chuan before they arrived, Xue Hao Chuan was already standing outside to receive them.
“Thank you, Senior Brother Dongfang,” Xue Hai Chuan said.
“Thank you, Elder Dongfang,” Duan Ling Tian echoed.
“I’ll join the both of you later,” Dongfang Yan Nian said with a nod before he left.
Following that, Xue Hai Chuan led Duan Ling Tian to a pavilion in his courtyard and gestured for Duan Ling Tian to take a seat in front of a wooden table.
After Xue Hai Chun was seated, Duan Ling Tian asked, “Brother Hai Chuan, where’s Brother Hai Shan?”
Previously, Duan Ling Tian had met Xue Hai Chuan and Xue Hai Shan in Linghu City. The trio had drinks in a restaurant, and Xue Hai Shan even got drunk.
“My brother has been in closed-cultivation for more than 10 years now,” Xue Hai Chuan said as he shook his head.
“It seems like Brother Hai Shan is highly motivated to improve his strength after seeing how much you’ve improved,” Duan Ling Tian said. He could understand Xue Hai Shan’s thoughts. If he were in Xue Hai Shan’s shoes, he would also be motivated to work harder if his younger brother, who used to be on par with him, had now surpassed him and became an intermediate Lord of Gods and a White Dragon Elder of the Flying Dragon Sect.
Xue Hai Chuan sighed. “My brother wasted 10,000 years in the Heavenly Stairs. Now that he’s out, he’ll definitely catch up to me in 10,000 years. If I had joined the Flying Dragon Sect earlier, my brother might not have to suffer in the Heavenly Stairs.”
Xue Hai Chuan shook his head after he finished speaking. Clearly, the past still greatly affected him.
Upon seeing this, Duan Ling Tian asked, “I heard that Brother Hai Shan was imprisoned in the Heavenly Stairs for killing the former Sect Leader of the Hidden Fog Sect’s only son to avenge you?”
“Yes.” Xue Hai Chuan nodded. His expression turned solemn as he said, “The former sect leader wanted to kill my brother. My brother’s killing was justified since the former leader’s son was at fault. Moreover, our masters had a good relationship with our senior uncles and junior uncles so most of them voted for my brother to be imprisoned in the Heavenly Stairs for 10,000 years instead.”
“I heard that the former sect leader joined the 10,000 Devils Sect for that reason, and he’s now in the Flying Dragon Sect?” Duan Ling Tian asked as his eyes flashed.
“That’s right.” Xue Hai Chuan nodded. He said confidently as he narrowed his eyes, “He’s also a White Dragon Elder in the Flying Dragon Sect. However, there’s nothing he can do to me now.”
“The former sect leader must have tried to avenge his son’s death after Brother Hai Shan came to the Flying Dragon Sect, right?” Duan Ling Tian asked.
Xue Hai Chuan nodded. “Of course. Since I brought my brother here, he has been waiting for a chance to exact his revenge. However, as long as my brother doesn’t leave my cultivation ground, he’ll be safe.”
“However, it’s better to be more cautious,” Duan Ling Tian said solemnly, “People will resort to drastic measures when they’re desperate. Since he’s so obsessed about his son’s death, he’ll likely look for a way around the Flying Dragon Sect’s rules.”
Regardless of the reason, Xue Hai Shan had killed the son of the former Sect Leader of the Hidden Fog Sect, after all. A father could do anything to avenge the death of his son.
“I know.” Xue Hai Chuan nodded. His eyes glinted coldly as he said, “I won’t let my brother leave my sight. As long as I keep an eye on my brother, that person won’t be able to do anything to my brother!”
In the past, it had not been easy for Xue Hai Chuan in the Flying Dragon Sect since the former Sect Leader of the Hidden Fog Sect kept targeting him. Perhaps, if he was the one who killed the former sect leader’s son, he would not have survived.
After a moment, Xue Hai Chuan inhaled deeply before he said with a smile, “Alright, let’s not talk about this anymore. Let’s see which participants are strong. They’ll be your opponents during the Latent Dragon Grand Contest, after all.”
With that, a mirror image was projected in the air with just a wave of Xue Hai Chuan’s hand.
Soon, Duan Ling Tian saw Hou Qing Ning and the others facing three tests respectively according to their age groups in different independent realms. The tests for the age groups were the same; only the level of difficulty was different.
For example, the test for the 10,000 Devil Sect’s Du Po Jun, who was in the 8,000-10,000-year-old age group, was the most difficult.
As for Du Qian Jun and the Eastern Oriental Sect’s Hu Tian Du, who were in the 5,000-8,000-year-old age group, their level of difficulty was intermediate.
Meanwhile, the test for Hou Qing Ning and Murong Yin Yue, who was in the youngest age group, had the lowest level of difficulty. However, based on the duo’s strength, it would be challenging for them to survive until the end.
When Xue Hai Chuan saw Duan Ling Tian was mostly staring at Hou Qing Ning and Murong Yi Yue, he could not help but ask, “Brother Duan, are that young man and young woman your friends?”
Duan Ling Tian nodded. “Yes. His name is Hou Qing Ning. That young woman is Murong Yin Yue, the daughter of the Clan Leader of the Murong clan.”
Upon hearing these words, Xue Hai Chuan smiled and said, “If that’s the case, I’ll tell Senior Brother Dongfang to pay attention to them. As long as they’re not too weak, they should be able to pass the entrance examination.”
Duan Ling Tian’s eyes brightened upon hearing Xue Hai Chuan’s words. After all, since Dongfang Yan Nian and Xue Hai Chuan were good friends, if Xue Hai Chuan put in a word for Hou Qing Ning and Murong Yin Yue, perhaps, Dongfang Yan Nian would be more lenient toward the duo.
In just a moment, Duan Ling Tian noticed that the challenges Hou Qing Ning and Murong Yin Yue faced had changed slightly; it was now slightly easier. One would not have noticed if one did not pay attention.
“Senior Brother Dongfang oversees the entrance examinations for the inner disciples, and there’s another person who oversees the entrance examinations for the outer disciples. Above them is a Black Dragon Elder who oversees everything,” Xue Hai Chuan explained.
Although Dongfang Yan Nian was in charge of overseeing the inner disciples’ entrance examination, he still had to report to the Black Dragon Elder. As long as the Black Dragon Elder did not raise a question, there would be no problem with Dongfang Yan Nian giving Hou Qing Ning and Murong Yin Yue a little help.
As for Duan Ling Tian completely bypassing the entrance examinations to become an inner disciple, no one would question this decision. After all, his strength was clear. In fact, the Black Dragon Elder might even praise Dongfang Yan Nian for being flexible.
“Thank you, Brother Hai Chuan.” Duan Ling Tian hurriedly expressed his gratitude.
Xue Hai Chuan waved his hand and said, “After what you’ve done for my brother, this is just a relatively small matter.” Then, as though he recalled something, his expression turned slightly grim as he said, “Brother Duan, you have to be wary of the inner elder, Kuang Tian Zheng, and the 10,000 Devils faction. His status now is different from the time he went to look for you at the Linghu clan. After all, his second disciple is now married to the daughter of Vice Sect Leader Xue. Over the past 20 years, the 10,000 Devils faction has grown stronger than the Hidden Fog faction in the Flying Dragon Sect. Nonetheless, despite his good relationship with Sect Leader Xue, he won’t be able to do anything to you in the sect. At most, he can only make your life difficult. If he wants to openly kill you, he’ll have to challenge you to a life-or-death duel. Naturally, you can choose to accept or refuse the challenge. As long as you don’t leave the sect, you should be relatively safe. If you really need to leave the sect, let me know. I’ll have someone accompany you. I’d accompany you, but I can leave this place since I need to look after my brother.”
“Brother Hai Chuan, thank you for the reminder. I’ll remember your words,” Duan Ling Tian said with a nod.
Xue Hai Chuan smiled and said, “I forgot that you’re not a member of the Hidden Fog Sect anymore. Based on your status in the Linghu clan, the Linghu faction will definitely protect you since they look upon you so highly. I’m sure they’re more than willing to protect you.”
Duan Ling Tian sighed inwardly upon hearing Xue Hai Chuan’s words. He was reminded of Linghu Ren Jie, who had lost his position as the Clan Leader of the Linghu clan because of him. If possible, he did not want to owe the Linghu clan anymore. He was indebted to them as it was. To redeem Linghu Ren Jie, he had to fulfill his promise to the Linghu clan so that Linghu Ren Jie would be reinstated as the Clan Leader of the Linghu clan.