Chapter 135: Indifferent

Ye Futian returned to the venue. The people from the Yunchu Nation and the Yan Kingdom were all looking at him. They had wanted to test out the abilities of the Fenghua Rank’s first place. However, Ye Futian did not want to. It was Yu Sheng who stepped out and threw a punch. This made it clear to them: Ye Futian was not hiding from battle—he thought he was too good for a battle.

Yu Sheng and Ye Futian were on the same plane, but in first place was Ye Futian, not Yu Sheng. If Yan Zhan was defeated by Yu Sheng, what level was Ye Futian on? It was safe to say that it would be difficult for anyone in the Seven-Starred Glory Plane to win against him.

“At today’s event, the emperor of the Yan Kingdom said boring events like the Fenghua Banquet could not help pick out truly brilliant people. But that doesn’t seem to be true. What just happened is a perfect example. Do the others from the Yan Kingdom want to give it a try?” the extravagantly dressed young man from the Yunchu Nation opened his mouth again.

“Well, of course. Not only that, we also want to know how strong Chu Kuangren of the Yunchu Nation is,” said a young man from the Yan Kingdom, looking at the person who had just spoken. The young man was Yan Qi, and the extravagantly dressed young man he was speaking to was Chu Kuangren.

“Even back in the Yunchu Nation, I have heard of Yan Qi’s knives. In the second level Dharma Plane, Yan Qi’s knives were able to execute a person in the fourth level Dharma Plane. He even became the godson of Emperor Yan, and was given the family name, ‘Yan’,” said Chu Kuangren with a smile. The two young men were attacking each other with their words.

Chu Kuangren and Yan Qi were both the leaders of the young cultivators from their respective countries. One was an actual prince and one was bestowed the title of prince. Just as Emperor Yan had said, the Yan Kingdom was in need of talent, so anyone with extraordinary gifts had a chance at high status positions. It was even possible to become a prince.

Chu Kuangren and Yan Qi met eyes. Both of their gazes were sharp like knives. An invisible force spread throughout the venue. Just then, Chu Kuangren laughed and the force disappeared immediately.

“The Tingfeng Banquet has only just begun. Brother Yan, there is no need to rush. The time will come,” said Chu Kuangren. “It is such a shame that the cultivation of the Fenghua Rank’s first place is so low. That’s no fun at all. If he were in the Dharma Plane, then things would be so much more interesting.” Even though they had all heard that Ye Futian defeated Dharma Plane cultivators during the Fenghua Banquet, they would not accept this as proof of Ye Futian’s powers. Realization of Dharma that could be defeated by a mere Seven-Starred Glory Plane cultivator was definitely looked down upon. Chu Kuangren and Yan Qi’s gifts were able to overpower every one of the younger generation cultivators in their respective countries, so there was no need to question just how strong and powerful their gifts were.

“But it’s a relief that Ye Wuchen is also on the Fenghua Rank,” said Chu Kuangren. A moment later, he looked at the figure seated quietly across from him and said, “Ye Wuchen, you were the most powerful participant of the Fenghua Banquet and is second place on the Fenghua Rank. If Ye Futian did not defeat people levels above him, you would have been in first place.”

“You know quite a lot,” said Ye Wuchen. He put down his wine glass and finally looked up a Chu Kuangren, breaking his silence.

“It’s not hard to find out about these things. After all, the Cangye Kingdom’s Fenghua Banquet isn’t exactly a small event,” answered Chu Kuangren. News circulated in the imperial palace and as a prince, it was not difficult for him to find out about every battle that went on during the banquet. Even though Chu Kuangren was not present at the event, two people made an impression on him purely based of the reports he received. One was Ye Futian who battled across planes, and the other was the invincible Ye Wuchen. Between these two people, Ye Futian’s level of cultivation was much too low to peak his interest. Chu Kuangren was very obviously more interested in Ye Wuchen.

“But I don’t know anything about you,” Ye Wuchen said nonchalantly. An awkward smile was frozen on Chu Kuangren’s face.

Ye Futian chuckled. Ye Wuchen was indeed an interesting person.

“Chu Kuangren, it seems you’re not as popular as you had thought,” laughed Yan Qi.

“You’re just the same,” Ye Wuchen opened his mouth once again. Yan Qi gave him a strange look. Yan Qi knew that Chu Kuangren was extremely insolent, but he would never have imagined that he would meet someone even more arrogant today.

Ye Wuchen was not being arrogant. In his opinion, cultivation was not an easy task. Swordsmanship required a lot of time for exploration and refinement. Where would he find the time to inquire about cultivators of the Yunchu Nation and the Yan Kingdom? To Ye Wuchen, if he wanted to find out about someone’s abilities, one duel was all it took. Why complicate something that could be taken care of so easily?

“That’s okay. You’ll get to know us eventually.” Chu Kuangren smiled at Ye Wuchen. Then, to the people seated beside him, he said, “Didn’t you guys want to see what kind of realization of Dharma the Dharma Plane cultivators defeated by a Glory Plane cultivator possessed? This is your time.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a person from the Yunchu Nation walked out, looking toward the group from the Cangye Kingdom. He said, “Would you guys mind enlightening me with your skills through a battle?”

Bai Qiu and Yu Jiang’s expression darkened. They knew when they lost to Ye Futian that the news would spread all over the Cangye Kingdom and become history that could never be erased, but they never thought the news would travel so far that even neighboring countries would know about their defeat. Now, they were even being taunted about it.

Bai Qiu walked out. Although he was defeated by Ye Futian, he was still the number one student of the Qin Clan. His abilities were definitely not weak, or else he would not have made it on the Fenghua Rank at all. After his defeat by Ye Futian, Bai Qiu defeated many other opponents and was picked by the emperor to enter the rank.

The two cultivators walked to the side. The area in the center of the venue was obviously not spacious enough. Very quickly, a guqin sounded. As a Musical Sorcerer prodigy of the Qin Clan, Bai Qiu’s musical sorcery was very powerful. The Qin Clan was the guqin orthodoxy of the Cangye Kingdom. They were definitely deserving of this reputation.

However, in the end, Bai Qiu was defeated.

Everyone present from the Yunchu Nation was also the best of the younger generation cultivators. The Yan Kingdom was humiliated a while ago when they were immediately defeated in battle with Yu Sheng. There was no way the Yunchu Nation would make the same mistake. So, the person who fought Bai Qiu was actually extremely powerful. Amongst the younger generation cultivators from their country, he was one of the most gifted. But Bai Qiu had no prior knowledge of this. All he knew was that he was insulted and then was defeated once again. The high-spirited prodigy of the Qin Clan had lost his élan.

Afterwards, the people of the Yan Kingdom joined in on the “fun” and challenged Yu Jiang. Just the same, Yu Jiang was also defeated. The Yan Kingdom’s victory made up for the humiliation they received after the previous battle. The defeat of Bai Qiu and Yu Jiang answered the Yunchu Nation’s question: What kind of realization of Dharma could be defeated by a Glory Plane cultivator?

“By the looks of it, it’s not as difficult as we thought to rank first on the Fenghua Rank,” Chu Kuangren laughed and looked at Ye Futian.

Prince Ye Danchen, Princess Ye Lingxi, and others looked to Ye Futian. They couldn’t just sit and swallow the insults. The Cangye Kingdom had already lost twice. Even Bai Qiu and Yu Jiang had turned their eyes to Ye Futian. If he made a move, then maybe they could prove themselves to the Yunchu Nation and the Yan Kingdom.

Ye Futian acted as if he did not hear anything Chu Kuangren had said. “Yu Sheng,” he called.

“…” No one said a thing. Was he going to make Yu Sheng fight again?

“Here,” answered Yu Sheng.

Ye Futian looked towards him and stood. Smiling, he said, “I’m full. Let’s go.”

“…”

Yu Sheng blinked and replied, “Okay.” Just like that, the two of them disregarded everyone at the venue and walked out.

The people of the Yunchu Nation and the Yan Kingdom watched them, dumbfounded. How can they be so arrogant and disrespectful?

Chu Kuangren was very arrogant, as was Yan Qi. Ye Wuchen did not lose to them in this department either, but there was no one like Ye Futian. He did not say anything insulting nor was he presumptuous or sarcastic—he simply ignored your existence.

Wine glass in hand, Luo Junlin stared at Ye Futian’s back. It was impossible to hide the intent to kill in his eyes.

Twin Spirits and gifts in all elements—Ye Futian was freakishly talented, but these talents still needed time to mature. Luo Junlin was not going to give him the chance to do so.

“I’m also full,” said Ye Wuchen and rose from his seat.

“If so, then we will take our leave now,” Ye Danchen said to Luo Junlin. The group from the Cangye Kingdom stood one by one and exited the venue. Everyone from the Yunchu Nation and the Yan Kingdom watched coldly as they departed.

“Powerful cultivators from our three countries have gathered for the Tingfeng Banquet. By the end of this event, we will know who’s the strongest,” Chu Kuangren said with a cold demeanor. Following that, he continued to drink. He had no intentions of leaving.

Luo Junlin heard what he had said and smiled meaningfully. He had other thoughts in mind.

As Ye Futian and the others walked further away from the venue, Lin Yueyao chased after him and arrived by his side.

“Do you really not care?” she asked as she stared at Ye Futian. She was getting more and more curious about this guy.

Ye Futian looked over at Lin Yueyao. She was indeed the Cangye Kingdom’s number one beauty. Even though she could not compare to Hua Jieyu, Lin Yueyao was still captivatingly beautiful up close.

“Why don’t you take a guess?” Ye Futian chuckled.

“I’m very curious as to what goes on in that head of yours.” Lin Yueyao gave him a beautiful smile. She continued, “Why don’t you just tell me?”

Seeing her enchanting smile, Ye Futian smiled. “Your beauty has no affect me. After all, your looks cannot compare to my Fox.”

“…” Lin Yueyao slowed down and looked dumbfounded as Ye Futian walked past her. She glared at him. Passing by, Bai Qiu and others saw the anger in her eyes. They felt a twinge of jealousy in their hearts.

Was this the same cold and indifferent girl? Between her and Ye Futian, who was more indifferent?

The group headed back to the palace and split up. Upon arriving at the palace, Ye Futian saw a familiar silhouette waiting outside. When she saw Ye Futian, she headed for him with sparkling eyes. “You’re back!” she said loudly. Ye Futian walked toward the smiling girl. The people behind Ye Futian gave strange looks when they saw the beautiful girl. They remembered when they had arrived at the palace yesterday, a beautiful had come by. What’s more, she was the princess of the Nandou Nation. Tonight was their second night, and yet another beautiful girl had come for Ye Futian. Had he really escaped to the Cangye Kingdom from the Nandou Nation as a fugitive?

Lin Yueyao looked at the two figures and was speechless. Isn’t his luck with women too ridiculously good?

Ye Danchen, on the other hand, looked at Ye Futian with worship in his eyes. “Impressive,” he muttered. Everyone returned to within the palace. Only Yu Sheng remained, waiting for Ye Futian on the side.

“Lin Xiyue, didn’t you come with the people from Donghai Academy? What are you doing here?” Ye Futian asked. In the day, he saw her amongst the Donghai Academy crowd. His guess was that Lin Xiyue was cultivating at Donghai Academy.

Chapter 136: Much Better-behaved

Lin Xiyue’s pretty eyes focused on Ye Futian. From the close distance, she could see that he’d matured a lot since their first meeting on the ship in the East Sea. He’d become even more handsome and was no longer the youth from before.

“Yes, I’m cultivating at Donghai Academy. You aren’t mad, are you?” Lin Xiyue asked with a smile.

“Why would I be mad?” Ye Futian shook his head. He wasn’t that close-minded. He would remember the people from the School of the Emperor Star but the conflict had nothing to do with Donghai Academy, let alone a regular disciple from that academy.

“You still didn’t tell me why you’re here. Is there something wrong?” Ye Futian asked.

“Can’t I come to see a friend?” Lin Xiyue smiled gently.

Seeing her like that, Ye Futian smiled and nodded. “Of course.”

“There’s nothing much,” Lin Xiyue said. “I just saw you at the Tingfeng Banquet and wanted to come see you. I was worried for you after what happened at Donghai City. I can’t believe you found your place in the Cangye Kingdom so quickly and are even appreciated by the emperor. I worried for nothing.” She was natural and poised.

“Thanks,” Ye Futian said, chuckling. “Did you hear about Yi Xiang, headmaster of the School of the Finance Star, in Donghai City?”

Lin Xiyue smiled. “Don’t worry, Senior Yi should be fine. I asked my father about him. He was hurt after helping you delay the strong cultivators that day but retreated safely. He wasn’t Minister Hua’s main target and there wasn’t any news afterward so I’m sure he’s fine.”

Ye Futian was reassured. He knew the old fox wouldn’t run into trouble so easily.

“Alright, I said hi to you and now I’m leaving.” Lin Xiyue gave a small smile.

Ye Futian nodded. “Go back safely.”

“Okay.” Lin Xiyue nodded lightly and turned to leave. Ye Futian watched her receding backside and then walked toward the pavilion.

Yu Sheng walked beside him and muttered, “How many girls are you gonna ruin?”

“It’s not my fault I’m attractive.” Ye Futian laughed and glanced at his friend with a smug expression as if saying, Do you see the difference between us?

Yu Sheng rolled his eyes and strode off. He didn’t want to give Ye Futian the chance to be cocky.

Ye Futian blinked and stared at Yu Sheng’s back. This wasn’t right. Shouldn’t he be the one to walk away proudly?

“You’ve turned bad,” Ye Futian muttered. When he returned to the courtyard, he practiced the guqin to raise his spiritual power rather than rest. Ever since he began cultivating, his experiences and changes in his mind made him desire more and more to advance in planes. Back in Qingzhou City, his godfather’s expectations for him to become emperor had seemed like a fantasy. Now, he was truly working toward it.

Time passed bit by bit. Late at night, Ye Futian was still playing. Many emotions seemed to be hidden in the song. Returning to the Nandou Nation, his home country, this time, his identity had changed. He had come with Emperor Ye to attend the banquet. Everything was like a dream.

As the music streamed into the silent air, there was a violent surge of Spiritual Qi in the air. They rushed into Ye Futian’s body but he didn’t seem to feel anything. He continued playing and the melody gradually rose from the low tone. There was a feeling of throwing the past behind. The Spiritual Qi grew more furious, dancing with the song. This persisted for a long while. When the last note sounded, there was sudden silence and the Spiritual Qi was sucked into his body.

His eyes flew open, sparkling. Then Ye Futian smiled. He’d had a breakthrough and entered the Eight-star Glory Plane. After the breakthrough, he still didn’t rest and continued to cultivate his martial arts. The strengthening of his Spiritual Energy could raise his tenacity and was also helpful in cultivating martial arts.

Wind came from his punches. Ye Futian activated the Imperial Tactics and the blood inside him seemed to rumble. He seemed to have the emperor’s intent; after the Spiritual Energy breakthrough, his martial arts cultivation was smoother too. His body was constantly changing.

When the first sliver of light appeared at the horizon, shining onto Ye Futian, he raised his head and roared. He punched forward and there was an explosion. The air seemed to tremble. An incomparable power burst from his body. Shadows of dragons and rocs were released from his fist. A terrifying apparition of the Ape seemed to appear on him. He was covered entirely with the will of the martial arts. His strength was to the extreme.

“Martial arts breakthrough.” Ye Futian smiled. He had broken through in both sorcery and martial arts in one night.

Ye Futian gathered his aura and stopped cultivating. Afterward, he went to wash up and the sky lightened gradually. Today would be the second day of the Tingfeng Banquet. Countless people gathered toward the South Gate of the palace in the Imperial City.

Ye Futian traveled with Emperor Ye’s group today. On the way there, Emperor Ye called Ye Futian over.

“Yesterday in the palace, Emperor Luo asked me for you again,” Emperor Ye said. Hearing this, Ye Futian was very calm. If Emperor Ye wanted to hand him over, he would’ve done so long ago. Even if Emperor Ye didn’t think highly of him, the two nations were rivals. If Emperor Luo asked him for Ye Futian, he definitely wouldn’t agree. How would the world see him then?

“He knew it was impossible but he still mentioned it. In addition, I could feel his confidence in his voice. It’s as if something will happen at the Tingfeng Banquet,” Emperor Ye continued.

Ye Futian furrowed his brows. Even without him, it was a bit odd that Emperor Luo would invite the emperors of the three nations to watch.

“Are there possibilities that Emperor Luo forged alliances with Yunchu Nation and the Yan Kingdom?” Ye Futian asked softly.

“Impossible.” Emperor Ye shook his head. “The four nations have a profound relationship. There’s no reason for them to ally with him.” Though they had constant conflicts, the countries still had their bottom lines. The emperors wouldn’t take action against each other for no reason unless something truly big caused a war. A war between the emperors was not a trivial matter. Once it went full-out, no one could withstand it.

“Guessing is probably useless. Let’s wait and see just how emboldened Emperor Luo is.” Emperor Ye smiled and shook his head.

The group gradually arrived at the location of the Tingfeng Banquet. At the moment, it had already been drowned by the endless crowd. However, when they saw Emperor Ye’s group, the people in the sky all opened up a path.

Many studied Emperor Ye from the close distance. They didn’t know how strong the ruler of the Cangye Kingdom was. If the four emperors fought, it would definitely be spectacular but they knew this was quite impossible.

“Those girls are so pretty.” Someone saw Lin Yueyao and the others behind the emperor. They looked like fairies and many people gasped involuntarily.

“That’s Ye Futian. He’s from the East Prefecture of our country but he betrayed us and went to the Cangye Kingdom. I heard he’s extremely talented,” someone whispered, pointing at Ye Futian. Yesterday, the three emperors had come to watch and many people asked about the people they brought. They’d also heard some news.

The people from the Yunchu Nation and Yan Kingdom had already arrived. When Emperor Ye’s group came, Chu Kuangren, Yan Qi, and many others gazed at Ye Futian. Yesterday, the number one talent of Cangye’s Fenghua Rank had stayed away from battle but was still memorable.

Emperor Luo had come too. The four emperors were all present and the Tingfeng Banquet began again.

“Yesterday, Junlin invited everyone. Did the prides of all the nations interact with each other?” Emperor Luo asked with a smile. The other emperors looked a bit curious. They didn’t specifically ask about what happened yesterday.

“We battled with some from the Fenghua Rank,” Chu Kuangren said. “Just as we’d predicted, those in the Dharma Rank who can be defeated by the Glory Plane really aren’t much. After all, the Cangye Kingdom’s Fenghua Banquet is once every three years. It’s already impressive like this.” Anyone could tell the arrogance in his calm voice.

Bai Qiu and Yu Jiang’s faces darkened again. They cursed him mentally for bringing this up.

“The Yan Kingdom seemed to have lost too,” Bai Qiu said coldly.

“All I can say is that the top three of the Fenghua Rank have some skills,” Yan Qi said coolly. Yan Zhan had lost to Yu Sheng, who was number three of the Fenghua Rank.

“Ye Wuchen is the strongest of the Cangye Kingdom’s Fenghua Rank but we don’t have to rush the duel with him. Let’s watch and see what kind of talent can be born from this year’s Tingfeng Banquet,” Chu Kuangren said.

“What about the first place of the Fenghua Rank?” Emperor Luo asked with a smile. He seemed to not know Ye Futian. Of course, he really didn’t know Ye Futian. Their first meeting was at this Tingfeng Banquet.

“The first place of the Fenghua Rank?” Chu Kuangren chuckled dryly. “I don’t know if he’s really arrogant or is just using it as an excuse to avoid fighting and hide something.”

Chu Kuangren hinted that Ye Futian was pretending to be arrogant in order to avoid fighting. If he didn’t fight, no one would know what his abilities really were like. He had proved himself at the Fenghua Banquet but only the Cangye Kingdom had witnessed that. There were top talents from every nation here. Who would think that they weren’t as good as the others?

Many gazes fell upon Ye Futian, including Lin Yueyao and Bai Qiu. Chu Kuangren seemed to have been provoking him since last night. Would he still be unmoving?

Ye Futian continued to sit there, gazing at the battles on the nine battle platforms. He ignored Chu Kuangren’s provocation.

Everyone was speechless. This guy…

“Don’t you have anything to say?” Chu Kuangren asked, looking at Ye Futian.

Seeing how insistent he was, Ye Futian finally spared him a glance—just one glance. Then he continued watching the battles, unbothered.

Everyone blanched. Were the battles really that interesting?

Many followed his gaze and saw that Zhou Mu from Donghai Academy was fighting on the Seven-star Glory Plane platform.

“His name is Zhou Mu. He used to be really arrogant,” Ye Futian suddenly said as he watched him. Hearing this, everyone looked back. Ye Futian smiled and continued, “He became much better-behaved after getting wiped out by a staff.”