“Young Master Hua, you’re here early.” Duan Ling Tian smiled and nodded at Hua Tian Du.
Hua Tian Du chuckled as he looked at Duan Ling Tian and said, “Duan Ling Tian, if we meet during the Latent Dragon Grand Contest, please have mercy on me.”
“Young Master Hua, you’re too humble,” Duan Ling Tian said as he shook his head, “I might need you to have mercy on me instead.”
Hua Tian Du laughed. “In that case, let’s just do this. Whoever falls into a disadvantage first should surrender.”
Duan Ling Tian nodded. “Alright.”
Hua Tian Du looked to the side from the corners of his eyes at this moment before he said, “Duan Ling Tian, please excuse me. I just saw a friend of mine.”
Duan Ling Tian nodded. He instinctively turned to look in the direction Hua Tian Du was looking and saw a finely dressed young man. Compared to Hua Tian Du, the young man looked quite reserved. Upon sensing his gaze, the young man nodded with a faint smile at him by way of greeting. After he nodded in response, he received a Voice Transmission from Hou Qing Ning.
“That’s Ji Wu Chang. It’s said that his strength is on par with Hua Tian Du. However, during the qualifying test, he did not show his strength so he did not really stand out among the 5,000-to-8,000-years-old age group. He was clearly holding back his strength.”
Duan Ling Tian smiled. “Isn’t that normal? Although there are many who displayed their strength unreservedly, there are also many who kept their strength hidden during the qualifying test. If they were able to pass it, there’s no need for them to use their full strength, after all.”
Duan Ling Tian knew his opponents were not just famous prodigies like Du Po Jun and Hua Tian Du who openly displayed their strength as advanced Kings of Gods. There were many who had yet to reveal their strength. Moreover, it was highly likely that Du Po Jun and Hua Tian Du still did not reveal their full strength. Apart from that, one had to consider external means such as divine artifacts and other methods as well.
“Revered Elder Duan.”
A woman’s voice rang out as a faint fragrance lingered in the air. Soon enough, a beautiful woman appeared in front of Duan Ling Tian and Hou Qing Ning. It was none other than Murong Yin Yue.
Murong Yin Yue was thrilled that she had passed the inner disciples’ entrance examinations, but she was even more thrilled that Hou Qing Ning had passed the examination as well. After all, she had been worried he would fail. If that happened, it would be difficult for them to meet in the future even if he became an outer disciple. Previously, she had also been worried that if both of them failed the test, he would join the Flying Dragon Sect as an outer disciple. After all, if she failed to become an inner disciple, it was not an option for her to become an outer disciple; she would have to return to the sect. It might not be easy for him to become an inner disciple of the Flying Dragon Sect, but it would definitely be easy for him to become an outer disciple of the Flying Dragon Sect.
“Third Miss Murong.” Duan Ling Tian smiled at Murong Yin Yue. Then, he said to Hou Qing Ning meaningfully, “Since Third Miss Murong is here, I’ll excuse myself.”
With that, Duan Ling Tian teleported and appeared next to Linghu Heng and Linghu Huan.
As soon as Linghu Huan saw Duan Ling Tian, he said in a slightly grave tone, “Ling Tian, Initially, I thought that even if you fail to rank first, you’ll still be able to rank in the top three. However, now, I’m not sure you’ll even be able to rank in the top three.”
Duan Ling Tian looked at Linghu Huan in confusion upon hearing these words.
Linghu Huan explained with a solemn expression, “I spoke to a friend of mine yesterday. He told me that he suspected Hua Tian Du and Ji Wu Chang had discovered a Divine Sanctuary left behind by a Supreme God. After that, Hua Tian Du’s strength had increased greatly. It’s said that no one below Lords of Gods was a match for him in the Eastern Oriental Sect.”
Linghu Huan continued to say, “The Eastern Oriental Sect prevented news of that from spreading. However, my friend found out about it because his good friend is a core elder in the Eastern Oriental Sect. He accidentally came across Hua Tian Du when Hua Tian Du was displaying his strength. From what he saw, he said Hua Tian Du was definitely among the top advanced Kings of Gods in the Eastern Ridge Mansion. He’s not inferior to the advanced Kings of Gods in the top emperor-rank forces.”
“As for Ji Wu Chang, he’s from the First Winter Sect. His strength was on par with Hua Tian Du’s previously. However, since they both entered the Divine Sanctuary left behind by a Supreme God, it goes without saying that his strength has also risen tremendously,” Linghu Huan said as his tone grew heavier and heavier.
Duan Ling Tian was rather surprised by Linghu Huan’s words. He instinctively turned to look at Hua Tian Du and Ji Wu Chang who were chatting happily. When the duo sensed his gaze, they smiled and nodded at him.
Duan Ling Tian smiled. ‘Both of them are really lucky.’
Duan Ling Tian had entered a Divine Sanctuary left behind by an Emperor of Gods. Although he obtained many things, most of them could only be used once he became a Lord of Gods. Due to his experience, he knew that Divine Sanctuary left behind by a Lord of Gods would be more useful to Kings of Gods.
At this moment, Duan Ling Tian received a Voice Transmission.
“Duan Ling Tian, are you at the Flaming Dragon Arena?”
Duan Ling Tian was shocked when he heard the Voice Transmission.
“Ding Yan?”
Ding Yan was one of his friends in the Hidden Fog Academy. Ding Yan had left the academy without saying anything, and he had only found out about it from Hou Qing Ning. Moreover, he and Hou Qing Ning had tried to contact Ding Yan multiple times, but they did not receive any reply. They would have thought Ding Yan had died if it was not for his intact Soul Pearl.
Duan Ling Tian asked in confusion, “How do you know I’m at the Flaming Dragon Arena? Are you in the Flying Dragon Sect?”
Ding Yan did not reply to Duan Ling Tian’s question. Instead, he said, “I’ll come and meet you.”
At this time…
“Ling Tian, are you listening to what I said?” Linghu Hun asked with a hint of impatience, frowning, when he saw Duan Ling Tian was distracted.
Duan Ling Tian said sheepishly, “Supreme Elder Huan, something urgent came up. I need to leave for a moment. I’ll speak to you when I return.”
Without waiting for Linghu Huan’s response, Duan Ling Tian flashed away and reappeared behind Hou Qing Ning who was chatting with Murong Yin Yue.
Hou Qing Ning and Murong Yin Yue were both startled by Duan Ling Tian’s sudden appearance. Murong Yin Yue instinctively grabbed Hou Qing Ning’s arm, and when she regained her senses, she hurriedly withdrew her hands, feeling embarrassed.
“Duan Ling Tian, you nearly scared me to death!” Hou Qing Ning said before he asked, “What’s the matter? Why did you teleport when we’re so close to each other? You could’ve just flown over.”
Despite his words, Hou Qing Ning rather enjoyed it when Murong Yin Yue grabbed his arm earlier. In fact, he had wished Duan Ling Tian would scare them a few more times.
Duan Ling Tian said without beating around the bush, “I just received a message from Ding Yan.”
“What?!” Hou Qing Ning was shocked. “He sent you a message? What did he say? That brat reached out to you first instead of me? He’s going to get an earful from me!”
After saying that, Hou Qing Ning sent a message to Ding Yan as well, complaining that Ding Yan did not send him a message.
“I sent Duan Ling Tian a message because he’s in the Flying Dragon Sect. I’m on my way to meet him now,” Ding Yan replied.
“Are you in the Flying Dragon Sect now? Did you participate in the Flying Dragon Sect’s entrance examinations? How come I didn’t see you? Even then, you should’ve seen us during the qualifying test, right?” Hou Qing Ning unleashed a barrage of questions at Ding Yan.
A few moments later, Ding Yan replied, sounding surprised, “Hou Qing Ning, you participated in the Flying Dragon Sect’s entrance examination as well? So you’re an outer disciple now?”
“Hey, I’ll have you know that I’m now an inner disciple of the Flying Dragon Sect!” Hou Qing Ning said with a hint of pride.