Chapter 43: The Grand Gesture of the Eastern Heavenly King's Mansion (Please follow, bookmark, and invest)

“In the last Eight Prefectures Grand Competition, although our Huaqing Prefecture's ranking was not optimistic, this Prefect believes that this time will certainly be better than ever before. We not only have powerful experts like Clan Leader Cui, Clan Leader Shangguan, and Clan Leader Bai, but we also have Miss Bai of the Bai family, a future prodigy of the Dragon-Phoenix List. This time, we certainly won't fall short!”

Xia Yi spoke a load of nonsense; at least in Lin Xuan's eyes, it was no different from farting.

Bai Yurán could indeed be considered exceptionally gifted within Huaqing Prefecture, but compared to the prodigies of other prefectures, she didn't necessarily hold such a significant advantage.

Moreover, the younger generation only accounted for fifty percent. As for the other fifty percent—the older generation—Huaqing Prefecture was essentially just looking for a beating!

Lin Xuan curled his lip slightly, not paying much attention to these things.

In Lin Xuan's view, this Eight Prefectures Grand Competition was nothing special; how much resources could it actually distribute?

Besides, many things still had to be fought for personally.

Xia Yi had spoken a long, flowery speech just for the sake of appearances, and during this time, Ba Li's gaze had flickered toward Lin Xuan several times, but Lin Xuan feigned ignorance.

Ba Li was likely at the late stage or peak of the Form-Passing Realm. Judging by Lin Xuan's current cultivation and combat power, if they were to truly fight, it would be extremely difficult for Ba Li to gain any advantage over him.

“Alright, today, our clan gathering officially begins. Now, let us invite Clan Leader Cui, the organizer of this gathering, to speak.”

After Xia Yi finished, she turned her gaze toward Cui Yongzhou.

Lin Xuan sighed helplessly. Why did it feel like every world was like this—endless, useless nonsense.

Cui Yongzhou took over from Xia Yi, delivering a sweeping speech of several thousand words. After encouraging everyone with a few remarks, he began to announce the rules for today's clan gathering.

“Our clan gathering this time is somewhat different from previous ones.”

“We will divide this into three rounds of competition. The first round is for prodigies under the age of eighteen; the second round is for prodigies between the ages of eighteen and twenty-two; and the third round will be a competition among the clan leaders of each family!”

As Cui Yongzhou finished speaking, everyone's eyes lit up. This actually roughly aligned with the rules of the Eight Prefectures Grand Competition.

The Eight Prefectures Grand Competition was divided into four rounds: under eighteen, between eighteen and twenty-two, then twenty-two to forty, and finally those over forty.

There was actually a reason for such a division.

In the path of martial cultivation, the ages of twelve to eighteen were considered a golden age, known as the Youth Golden Period.

The period from eighteen to twenty-two was another stage, known as the Youth Burst Period.

From twenty-two to forty, the cultivation speed might slow down slightly, but it was still considered a decent period of sustained cultivation. Once one reached over forty, it would decline more rapidly with age.

Of course, this only applied to those at the Form-Passing Realm and below.

If one reached the Spirit-Communicating Realm, they would not only enjoy a lifespan of three hundred years, but their period of sustained cultivation would also be greatly extended.

Upon reaching the Profound-Connecting Realm, or even the True Martial God Realm, that extension would be even greater.

For those in the True Martial God Realm, two hundred years was nothing.

“Hehe, this old man has brought a few youths from our Lingwu Sect today, hoping to witness the elegance of Huaqing Prefecture. I wonder if we might allow them to have a try as well?”

Suddenly, Ba Li spoke with a smile that crinkled his entire face.

“This...”

The people of Huaqing Prefecture were somewhat conflicted. Compared to the prodigies of the Lingwu Sect, the prodigies of Huaqing Prefecture were like fireflies compared to the bright moon!

Cui Yongzhou and Xia Yi also appeared troubled. The gap between Huaqing Prefecture and the Lingwu Sect was a chasm; even if the Lingwu Sect only sent out mid-tier talents, they would most likely be beyond the reach of Huaqing Prefecture's prodigies.

“How about this? I have four disciples here—two under eighteen and two between eighteen and twenty-two. For these two rounds of competition, I am willing to award ten thousand essence stones to the first place of each!”

Ba Li smiled and held up two fingers, appearing extremely relaxed.

*Hiss...*

A collective sound of inhaled breath echoed throughout the Cui Estate.

Was this the foundation of a Silver-Robed Elder of the Lingwu Sect?

That was forty thousand essence stones!

One had to realize that many Great Yuan Pill Realm families could only produce that much liquid essence stone even if they turned their entire estate upside down.

Yet, Ba Li appeared incredibly casual.

Watching the shocked expressions of the crowd, Ba Li smiled with satisfaction. He then turned his gaze toward Lin Xuan and Hou Mingyu.

Lin Xuan cast a subtle glance at his son. Seeing his son's eyes gleaming with greed, Lin Xuan smiled faintly, “Thanks to my old pal for gifting my son twenty thousand essence stones!”

“Hehe, since Elder Ba Li is so generous, this young master naturally cannot let the East Heaven King Mansion lose face.”

“Let's do this: for the Clan Leader competition, the winner will be awarded fifty thousand essence stones by this young master, plus one opportunity to enter the East Heaven King Mansion's secret realm. Oh, and by the way, it's two slots!”

Hou Mingyu sat upright in his rattan chair, a slight curve forming at the corner of his mouth. He held up two fingers with an overwhelming aura that left Ba Li momentarily speechless.

*Boom!*

As soon as these words were spoken, the scene erupted in an uproar!

“As expected of the Little Prince of the East Heaven King Mansion, truly incredibly wealthy!”

“Incredible, incredible! A single casual gesture is several years' worth of income for our Shen family!”

“What is the East Heaven King Mansion's secret realm?”

“You don't even know that?! You really are a bumpkin!”

“Hehe, you're just ill-informed. I heard about it when I was traveling through East Province—the East Heaven King Mansion's secret realm is extremely powerful...”

The members of the Lin family were also filled with curiosity. Aside from Lin Xuan, even the elders Lin Wen and Lin Wu did not know.

Mainly because East Province was too far from Cloud Mist City; many things were things the people of Cloud Mist City would never encounter in their entire lives.

Lin Wen and Lin Wu were among them.

Naturally, the second and third generations of the Lin family, having grown up in this environment, were much the same.

Lin Xuan took the opportunity to explain to the Lin family: “The East Heaven King Mansion was established in our East Province over one hundred and sixty years ago. It was built upon a secret realm called the Tianyuan Secret Realm. Within that realm, there are immense opportunities; from the Opening Origin stage up to the Three-Tongues God Realm, there are fortunes to be found. Countless cultivators flock to it!”

“Many powerful rogue cultivators joined the East Heaven King Mansion with a high probability of aiming for that secret realm.”

Lin Xuan's words brought a moment of realization to the Lin family, broadening their horizons.

A secret realm was something very ethereal and vague—at least for people like them who had lived in a small town like Cloud Mist City since childhood.

“Hehe, that's not an easy place to enter. It seems the East Heaven King Mansion is already wrestling with the Lingwu Sect. I imagine that Divine Sect must be itching to move as well,” Lin Xuan thought, letting out a soft sigh.

His master stood on the side of the Imperial Family; this was shaping up to be a direct confrontation.