While Hu Mei was teasing Hong Fei, a husky voice rang from afar. “Junior Sister Wan’er.”
A few moments later, a blue-clad young man appeared near Duan Ling Tian and the others. There was another young man trailing behind the blue-clad young man as well.
The blue-clad young man was handsome. He had an air of arrogance around him as though he was superior to everyone.
Initially, Duan Ling Tian assumed Wen Wan’er, his Fourth Junior Sister, had a good relationship with the blue-clad young man. However, he soon realized he was mistaken when he saw Wen Wan’er responding indifferently to the blue-clad young man’s greeting. It was obvious Wen Wan’er had no intention of engaging in a conversation with the blue-clad young man.
Upon seeing Wen Wan’er’s cold response, the young man standing behind the blue-clad young man said indignantly, “Wen Wan’er, Senior Brother Jin is talking to you. Didn’t you hear him?”
Wen Wan’er did not respond to the young man, but Hu Mei could not endure it. She sneered and said to the young man, “Since when did the second disciple of the Smoke Wave Celestial Emperor become a lackey? What an embarrassment to all prodigious disciples.” The sneer on her face grew deeper and deeper as she spoke.
“Hu Mei, you have a death wish!” The young man’s expression darkened upon hearing Hu Mei’s words. His eyes flashed with killing intent as he glared at her.
“What? Xiao Cong Yi, are you going to fight me?” Hu Mei sneered. “It is an opportunity for me to see if you’ve improved. Don’t forget how you failed the last time you challenged me. How dare a loser like you talk such a big game in front of me?”
The more Hu Mei said, the darker the young man’s expression became.
At this moment, the blue-clad young man interjected, “Hu Mei, you should know when to stop.” He did bother concealing the threat in his words.
Despite the blue-clad young man’s threats, Hu Mei did not seem frightened. Instead, she continued to say, “Han Yun Jin, if I were you, I’d never show myself in front of Wan’er again.”
Duan Ling Tian was watching the scene before him in slight confusion when Hong Fei, his Sixth Senior Brother, sent a Voice Transmission to him.
“Little Junior Brother. The person standing behind the blue-clad young man is Xiao Cong Yi, the second disciple of the Smoke Wave Celestial Emperor.”
Duan Ling Tian had heard of the Smoke Wave Celestial Emperor before this. Among the nine titled Celestial Emperors in the Heavenly Pool Palace, his strength was similar to Gu Chang Jiang, the Martial Dragon Celestial Emperor. Therefore, similar to Gu Chang Jiang, the Smoke Wave Celestial Emperor was also weaker than his teacher, Xu Lang, the Verdant Prairie Celestial Emperor.
Hong Fei continued to say through Voice Transmission, “He’s in the same age group as Third Senior Sister. Both of them are between 800 to 900 years old. Third Senior Sister ranks second while he ranks third in their age group.”
Duan Ling Tian was slightly surprised by Hong Fei’s words. Hu Mei, his Third Senior Sister, was ranked second in her age group? He could not help but look at Hu Mei; he did not expect his bold and carefree Third Senior Sister to be such a powerful prodigious disciple.
“Xiao Cong Yi has challenged Third Senior Sister a few times now but was defeated every single time,” Hong Fei explained through Voice Transmission, “As for the blue-clad young man, he’s one of the five strongest prodigious disciples in the Heavenly Pool Palace like our Second Senior Brother.”
Duan Ling Tian raised an eyebrow upon hearing this. He was surprised that Han Yun Jin whom Hu Mei was scolding was as famous as his Second Senior Brother in the Heavenly Pool Palace.
Only outstanding disciples below the age of 1,000 were qualified to become prodigious disciples in the Heavenly Pool Palace. The top five prodigious disciples in the Heavenly Pool Palace referred to the five strongest people below the age of 1,000 in the Heavenly Pool Palace.
“His name’s Han Yu Jin, and he’s the eldest disciple of the Profound Heaven Celestial Emperor. The Profound Heaven Celestial Emperor is slightly stronger than our teacher.”
Duan Ling Tian nodded slightly in response. He had heard that the Profound Heaven Celestial Emperor was stronger than Xu Lang. The Profound Heaven Celestial Emperor was ranked in the top three among the nine titled Celestial Emperors in the Heavenly Pool Palace, after all. After a moment, he asked Hong Fei curiously through Voice Transmission, “Sixth Senior Brother, why do I get the feeling that Third and Fourth Senior Sister really dislike Han Yun Jin?”
Even as a third party who knew nothing, Duan Ling Tian could clearly sense Hu Mei and Wen Wan’er’s dislike of Han Yun Jin.
“It’s not just them. Second Senior Brother, Fifth Senior Brother, and I hate him as well. In fact, even our teacher doesn’t like him. You don’t hate him now because you’re still unaware of what he had done!” Hong Fei said angrily, “That Han Yun Jin is a b*stard… Back then, when he pursued Fourth Senior Sister, he seemed devoted and loyal. However, behind her, he was always flirting with other female disciples and would stay over at their places. Fortunately, Second Senior Brother found out about this before Third Senior Sister married him. Otherwise, Fourth Senior Sister would’ve lost more than her feelings for him. Fortunately, Fourth Senior Sister had never been physically intimate with him. Nevertheless, she was truly brokenhearted. It took her almost 100 years to heal from her heartbreak. After all, he was the only one she had ever loved, and yet, he cheated on her. Currently, she no longer has any feelings for him except for hatred.”
After listening to Hong Fei’s words, Duan Ling Tian’s gaze turned cold as well. He had a good impression of Wen Wan’er since they had first met. How could Han Yu Jin hurt someone as gentle as Wen Wan’er? No wonder all of the prodigious disciples under Xu Lang hated Han Yu Jin.
Hong Fei continued to say through Voice Transmission, “Second Senior Brother even challenged Han Yun Jin because of that matter. However, Han Yun Jin tried to avoid Second Senior Brother because he knew he was not a match for Second Senior Brother. Nonetheless, Second Senior Brother went to look for him and beat him up! Second Senior Brother even injured him several times. Naturally, Second Senior Brother was punished for his actions every single time as well…”
Duan Ling Tian could not help but feel moved when he heard Hong Fei’s words. Although he was just listening to Hong Fei’s words, he could imagine the anger his Second Senior Brother must have felt at that time. Although his Second Senior Brother knew he was going to be punished for his actions, he did not hesitate to stand up for his Fourth Junior Sister. Based on this, it could be seen that their Second Senior Brother was a really protective person. After learning about this, he felt his respect for his Second Senior Brother, whom he had only met once, grow.
“Fourth Senior Sister had pleaded with Second Senior Brother to stop, but he didn’t listen and went to beat Han Yun Jin up. Second Senior Brother said he should protect us, especially when First Senior Sister isn’t around. In the end, Second Senior Brother only stopped because Fourth Senior Sister threatened him with suicide.” This was Hong Fei’s last Voice Transmission regarding this matter.
Meanwhile, Han Yu Jin stared at Hu Mei and smiled icily as he said, “Hu Mei, do you want to fight me? Do you think you stand a chance against me?”
Hu Mei said mockingly, “Well… I don’t mind if you really want to fight. I’m only worried about you. After all, my Second Senior Brother might beat you up again. Moreover, if you injure me, my Second Senior Brother would have a valid reason to beat you up. It doesn’t matter if he beats you until you become disabled. The Heavenly Pool Palace won’t have a reason to punish him as long as he doesn’t kill you…”
Han Yun Jin stared at Hu Mei and smiled coldly “do you think you can win against me? I don’t mind if you want to fight… I’m just worried about you, you might get beaten up by my second senior brother again after this.”
If the disciples under the titled Celestial Emperors in the Heavenly Pool Palace were injured in an unsanctioned fight, the fellow disciples of the injured prodigious disciple were allowed to avenge him or her.
In the past, Han Yu Jin had hurt Wen Wan’er. Unfortunately, her broken heart was not a physical injury. Therefore, Lu Ji was punished whenever he beat Han Yun Jin up. If Wen Wan’er had sustained physical injuries, he would not have been punished for beating Han Yun Jin up since it would be within the Heavenly Pool Palace rules.
Han Yun Jin’s expression turned unsightly when he heard Hu Mei’s words. He glared at Hu Mei and asked, “You think I’m afraid of Lu Ji?”
Upon hearing these words, Hu Mei’s smile widened as she said, “If you’re not afraid, then you’re welcome to attack me now…”
Han Yun Jin only scoffed. He did not respond to Hu Mei’s words and changed the topic instead. “I’m not interested in bullying a weakling like you. I’m only here today because of my Fourth Junior Brother.”
“Not interested? I think you’re just afraid,” Hu Mei continued to mock Han Yun Jin.
Han Yun Jin ignored Hu Mei’s provocations again. Instead, he swept his gaze across the group of people in front of him. “Who’s Duan Ling Tian? You’re quite courageous for challenging my Fourth Junior Brother.”
When Han Yun Jin’s eyes finally found Duan Ling Tian, he said, “Ah, you must be Duan Ling Tian…”
Duan Ling Tian stepped forward. His gaze was icy as he said, “So Fan Qi is your Fourth Junior Brother?” Then, a grin appeared on his face as he continued to say in a voice that grew colder and colder, “You better ask him to watch out. Sometimes, I can’t control my strength so I can be a little bit heavy-handed when I hit.”
Although Duan Ling Tian did not spend much time with his seniors, they made him feel like he was home, as though he was among family members. Naturally, he would not be courteous to those who had bullied his family members.
“Since when did Fan Qi become your Fourth Junior Brother?” Hu Mei asked with a frown. Clearly, she was not aware that Fan Qi had become the Profound Heaven Celestial Emperor’s disciple.
“This happened about two months ago. It’s not surprising that you didn’t hear about it,” Han Yun Jin said with a faint smile on his face. When he turned back to look at Duan Ling Tian, he said with a sneer, “A battle between prodigious disciples can be just a normal battle or a life-or-death battle. If my Fourth Junior Brother challenges you to a life-or-death battle, do you dare to accept his challenge?”
“A life-or-death battle?” Duan Ling Tian smiled. “I’m only worried he’s afraid of challenging me to a life-or-death battle. If he dares to challenge me to a fight to the death, I, Duan Ling Tian, will definitely accept his challenge.”
“Very good.” Han Yu Jin’s smile widened upon hearing these words. “Let’s hope you don’t get killed. Otherwise, it’d be someone else standing next to this beautiful lady beside you.”
At this moment, Han Yun Jin’s eyes were trained on Huan’er. His desire for her was apparent in his eyes.
Although Huan’er wore a veil to hide her appearance, it was not enough to conceal her peerless beauty.
As soon as Han Yun Jin finished speaking, the killing intent flashing in Duan Ling Tian’s eyes intensified. If it were not for the crowd in the surroundings and his consideration for the bigger picture, he would have killed Han Yun Jin at this moment even if it meant he had to borrow the strength of all the Five Divine Elements and used up all the trump cards in his possession. Regardless, just because he could not kill Han Yun Jin now did not mean he could not kill Han Yun Jin later. In his eyes, Han Yun Jin was already a dead man walking.