Although it was still noon when the bout ended, no one, including those from the Pure Yang Sect, wandered around and returned to their respective accommodations, which were arranged by the Profound Jade Mansion.
During their journey back, many of the young disciples from the Pure Yang Sect were still discussing Han Di and Luo Yuan. Some found Han Di’s action acceptable while some thought he was too vicious and despicable.
“Han Di is really vicious and despicable! He had come to an understanding with Luo Yuan, but he went back on his words at the critical moment and ambushed Luo Yuan!”
“This is the Seven Mansions Feast. Everyone’s competing to rank higher. I can only say that Luo Yuan is too naive and careless. I can’t believe he let down his guard. If he had been alert, even if Han Di’s ambush was successful, he wouldn’t have been so injured.”
“Luo Yuan can only blame himself for being careless.”
“If I were Han Di, I would have seized the opportunity and ambushed him as well.”
“That’s right! Han Di must have noticed that Luo Yuan was on par with him in the beginning. Then, he seized the chance when Luo Yuan let his guard down and ambushed him.”
“Han Di intentionally showed his weakness to make Luo Yuan let down his guard. It’s a pity that Luo Yuan was fooled!”
Duan Ling Tian was not surprised that most of the young disciples from the Pure Yang Sect were on Han Di’s side. Although Han Di’s method was despicable, he was ultimately the winner. The winner was the king in this world.
It was also understandable why Han Di stooped so low to maintain his rank. Ranking in the top three meant that one would have more slots than ranking in the top ten. If he maintained his rank in the top three, there was no doubt that he would be greatly rewarded by the United Heaven Sect. With that, his cultivation path in the future would become much smoother.
“Fortunately, Duan Ling Tian is stronger than Han Di. Otherwise, he might have done the same thing as well.”
Soon enough, their conversation strayed over to Duan Ling Tian. Many of them felt their heart racing in their chests when they imagined the danger Duan Ling Tian could have been in.
Duan Ling Tian only smiled when he heard their conversation. Even if Han Di ambushed him, Han Di would not have succeeded. After all, he remained vigilant from the beginning to the end. He had mobilized his Divine Energy and was prepared to release it at a moment’s notice. Hence, he was confident that he would be unscathed even if Han Di ambushed him.
Meanwhile, Zhen Ping Fan, Ye Chen Feng, and Liu Feng Gu did not say anything. They knew that with Duan Ling Tian’s experience from his time in the mundane realm until now, Duan Ling Tian would not make such a careless mistake like Luo Yuan did.
At this time, someone said, “In my opinion, although the participants are very outstanding, Senior Brother Duan has a chance of ranking first in the Seven Mansions Feast.”
Everyone, including Ye Chen Feng and Liu Feng Gu, from the Pure Yang Sect instinctively turned to look at Duan Ling Tian.
The two elders also thought that Duan Ling Tian had a high chance of ranking first. Initially, they thought he would only rank second or third. However, based on the participants’ conditions today and Luo Yuan’s injury, they thought that Duan Ling Tian could rank first.
Zhen Ping Fan asked, “Duan Ling Tian, are you confident about ranking first?”
Duan Ling Tian smiled and replied, “I will try my best.”
Zhen Ping Fan said seriously, “Try your best to rank first. Not only will the sect reward you greatly, but you’ll also gain the attention of outside forces. I don’t know if you remember this. Previously, I told you that if you want to become stronger, the best step to take next is to join a supreme-rank force. Naturally, it’s best that it’s a supreme-rank force with Supreme Gods. Supreme-rank forces are the strongest in the Profound Energy Land. Even Junior Uncle Ye wants to join a supreme-rank force. Once he breaks through and becomes an advanced Emperor of Gods, he’ll definitely be recruited to join a supreme-rank force. In fact, even now, many of those from supreme-rank forces think Junior Uncle Ye has a high potential of becoming a Supreme God. In fact, in the past, there were supreme-rank forces that invited him to join them. However, he refused the invitations at that time because he felt like he was not strong enough. Moreover, those supreme-rank forces no longer had Supreme Gods and were a pale shadow of their past. Due to various reasons, he knew that the resources he would be given there would not be better than what he would get from the Pure Yang Sect. After all, in our sect, he was the most outstanding one. If he had gone to a supreme-rank force at that time, they would not treat him as such. However, with his current ability or when he breaks through, he’ll be given a high rank as well when he joins one of the supreme-rank forces. Hence, he’ll also enjoy the best cultivation resources. It’s the same for me as well…”
Then, Zhen Ping Fan looked at Duan Ling Tian as he continued to say, “However, you’re different. You’re young, but you’ve already shown great potential. Your innate talent and comprehension skills are very high as well. Moreover, you’ve also comprehended the Sword Dao. If you rank first in the Seven Mansions Feast, you’ll definitely receive invitations from strong supreme-rank forces that are only second to the top supreme-rank forces in the Profound Energy Land.”
Duan Ling Tian knew about the top supreme-rank forces that Zhen Ping Fan mentioned. They were the strongest forces in the Profound Energy Land. They had many Supreme Gods, and among them were advanced Supreme Gods. These few top supreme-rank forces were known as prime supreme-rank forces in the Profound Energy Land.
The Xia clan, which Ke’er was from in her past life, was also a prime supreme-rank force in the Divine Offering Land. Similarly, the Yun clan in the Divine Offering Land was also a prime supreme-rank force.
In fact, most of the prime supreme-rank forces were clans. In comparison, there were fewer prime supreme-rank sects. This was because these prime supreme-rank clans had the support of supreme powerhouses, whom they were descendants of. As for prime supreme-rank sects, supreme powerhouses would only support them if they had no descendants or if they had a deep affection for the sects.
Whether it was an ordinary cultivator or a supreme powerhouse, everyone naturally would support their family.
Apart from that, the prime supreme-rank force seldom recruited outsiders as disciples. This was especially true for the clans. Moreover, there was no shortage of extraordinary prodigies in these forces. Hence, unless one was extraordinarily talented, one would not be recruited by a prime supreme-rank force.
For this reason, Zhen Ping Fan said that if Duan Ling Tian ranked first, he would be invited by strong supreme-rank forces that were second to prime supreme-rank forces. Even if he ranked first, he was not considered extraordinary in the eyes of those from prime supreme-rank forces. Perhaps, they would only pay attention to him once became an advanced Emperor of Gods.
Apart from that, not all prime supreme-rank forces had the support of supreme powerhouses. Some of the supreme powerhouses behind those prime supreme-rank forces had perished, but the forces were still able to stand strong due to the Formations and other treasures that the supreme powerhouses left behind. Such a Formation was impossible for the inhabitants of the Realms of Gods to break. Even supreme powerhouses might get injured from forcibly breaking such a Formation. It was not a trivial matter for a supreme powerhouse to be injured since another supreme powerhouse might target him or her in his or her weakened state; it could lead to death.
However, supreme powerhouses generally would not attack prime supreme-rank forces for no good reason. After all, there were more cons and pros in doing so. For this reason, prime supreme-rank forces stood tall in the Realms of Gods.
“There are a few prime supreme-rank forces in the Profound Energy Land. On the other hand, there are more than a dozen supreme-rank forces that are only second to them. These forces are the ones likely to recruit you. They have advanced Supreme Gods in their ranks as well. Some of them aren’t weaker than the strongest advanced Supreme Gods in prime supreme-rank forces. After all, prime supreme-rank forces are only stronger because they have the support of supreme powerhouses,” Zhen Ping Fan said, “Unlike prime supreme-rank forces, there are many strong supreme-rank sects.”
After a pause, Zhen Ping Fan continued to say, “That’s why I said do your best to rank first in the Seven Mansions Feast. You’ll definitely attract the attention of these strong supreme-rank forces if you do that. After all, you’re not even 3,000 years old, but you’ve comprehended the Sword Dao. There’s no need to talk about your innate talent and comprehension skills. Ranking first will prove that you have the strength of a top advanced Lord of Gods despite only being an intermediate Lord of Gods. This will speak volumes about your talent. At that time, how can they not be interested?”
If Duan Ling Tian ranked first in the Seven Mansions Feast, he would be officially recognized to be as strong as a top advanced Lord of Gods. One must know that top advanced Lords of Gods had strength comparable to ordinary rudimentary Emperors of Gods. Imagine having such strength when he was just an intermediate Lord of Gods.
‘Supreme-rank forces…’ Duan Ling Tian’s eyes flashed with anticipation and longing. This was also his goal before Zhen Ping Fan brought it up. He really did not have much time left to become stronger.