NOVPUBWith the arrival of Sovereign Ji Yunzhou, the crowd that had been buzzing with excitement soon fell silent.
"Congratulations on your grand birthday, Senior Wenren," Ji Yunzhou approached Wenren Jingshi with a faint smile and said.
The Empress of the Tianshang Clan immediately followed with a greeting.
The three princes behind them slightly bowed and jointly wished him well.
"How has Brother Changli been in recent years?" Wenren Jingshi nodded with a smile and asked.
The Brother Changli he was referring to was none other than the former Sovereign.
The new Sovereign Ji Yunzhou had been vigorously trained by the Imperial Dynasty since he was very young.
So much so that once he had gradually gained influence, Ji Changli abdicated in his favor and retired behind the scenes, rarely making public appearances anymore.
"My master is in closed-door death-meditation," replied Ji Yunzhou, composed.
Wenren Jingshi was momentarily taken aback; he was naturally aware of Ji Changli’s realm, as they were contemporaries.
Now re-entering seclusion, he was seeking further progress.
This statement, ambiguous of truth and falsehood, was something he could not disregard.
In fact, over the years, the two great families had always been covertly guarding against and investigating the Imperial Dynasty.
"Please, take your seats," said Wenren Jingshi with a smile.
As everyone took their seats, the attendees were all from various parts of the Phoenix Perching Empire.
They were also relatively familiar with one another, each forging and maintaining connections.
Essentially, three small groups had formed among them.
These were represented by the Wan Family, Sovereign Ji Yunzhou, and King Anding Yue Yunfei.
"I am very grateful that you could all attend my birthday banquet," Wenren Jingshi stood up, starting to speak with a laugh.
"As we all reside within the Phoenix Perching Empire, I hope that in the future we can strive for cordial relations with my Wenren Family.
I won’t say much more, let the birthday banquet begin."
Upon hearing Wenren Jingshi’s words, the crowd reciprocated with modest replies, though their true thoughts were anyone’s guess.
Side branches of the Wenren Family began to serve the food, dish after dish.
Beside the dining area, there stood a newly erected platform.
At that moment, a group of performers in strange and exotic attire climbed onto the platform and began their show.
Most of the performances resembled acrobatics, largely consisting of street tricks from martial artists.
Yet, the martial path experts present watched with genuine interest as though enjoying a spectacle, occasionally commenting to one another.
Just then, Sovereign Ji Yunzhou, seated below, suddenly stood up.
He surveyed the people around him, then looked at Wenren Jingshi and said.
"Senior Wenren, I have a suggestion, what do you think?"
Ji Yunzhou smiled and said, "Ordinarily, we seldom have the time and opportunity to gather together.
I have six princes and one princess; the others I will not speak of for now.
The three princes I have brought today have long resided in the deep palace and rarely had the chance to go out.
They’ve not seen the true Talented Disciples of this world.
The Wenren Family is a top-tier force within our Phoenix Perching Empire.
Now that we have the chance, and since the young generation of the Wenren Family is present here today for Senior Wenren’s grand birthday,
I wonder if you would be so kind as to teach these three princes of mine a lesson and let them understand the principle that beyond the mountains there are people."
Upon hearing Ji Yunzhou’s words, the audience was keenly interested in the unfolding scene.
Before Wenren Jingshi could speak, Wenren Yao off to the side, with an awkward expression, said,
"Your Highness Ji Yunzhou, today is my father’s grand celebration, I hope you will show some restraint."
"No matter, no matter," Wenren Jingshi waved his hands with a smile.
With a laugh, he said, "The three princes are unrivaled talents across the entire Phoenix Perching Empire and their fame is widespread.
If they are truly to contest, to talk of someone excelling another is not applicable—it would merely be an exchange of pointers."
"My grandchildren may not even be up to par,"
Watching Wenren Jingshi smile with eyes slightly squinted, Ji Yunzhou sneered internally, "Old fox."
Both men were lavishly slandering each other in disguise.
Ji Yunzhou wanted to use the younger generation to establish the authority of his family in front of everyone.
Wenren Jingshi, of course, was not to be outdone.
...…
"Yongning, go and give it a try," Ji Yunzhou said, gesturing slightly with his hand.
Standing behind him, Crown Prince Ji Yongning stepped forward, chest out and head held high, resembling a straight and tall spear.
He clasped his hands together and said with bright eyes, "May I know which of the Wenren Family’s talented disciples will offer guidance?"
"Let the performers on stage retire for now," Wenren Jingshi gestured with his hand.
The group of strangely dressed people on the nearby stage hastened to leave.
Wenren Jingshi fell silent for a moment before he spoke, "Li’er, you give it a try."
From among the younger crowd, Wenren Li was the first to step out.
They greeted each other with a bow and then floated up to the nearby stage.
"Zimo, do you think my big brother can win?" Wenren Su asked Xu Zimei with a worried expression from within the crowd.
"How would I know," Xu Zimei shook her head and said.
"The fight has not even started, and I don’t know much about either of them."
The onlookers were also watching this contest with great interest.
In a sense, these younger generations represented the future of their respective forces.
Growing up together was one way to understand each other.
...…
"It is said that Crown Prince Ji Yongning was thrown into the barracks by the Sovereign from a young age.
He never received any special treatment; growing up on the battlefield, he truly came from a Sea of Blood, a slaughterer of thousands!"
"Although the Crown Prince is powerful, Wenren Li has also been sent to the Heavenly Dao Academy on the Central Continent since he was young.
We might not know much about it, but I imagine he has some extraordinary attributes."
Ignoring the discussions among the audience, both men on the stage stood opposite each other, and their auras began to climb higher and higher.
Though both were in the Emperor Pulse Realm, there was a considerable difference in their auras.
Wenren Li’s aura leaned more towards the ethereal.
Waves of green Spiritual Energy swirled around him, surging and coalescing.
When Ji Yongning released his aura, one could see ghastly faces made of blood-red Spiritual Energy roaring furiously.
An oppressive killing intent mingled with the blood-red mist.
Wenren Li slowly drew the three-foot Green Peak longsword from his waist.
As he swung his sword, three afterimages appeared, charging directly at Ji Yongning.
Ji Yongning, dressed in black, allowed his robe to float gently following the motion of the sword.
His hands were clenched into fists, with blood-red Spiritual Energy swirling within.
When fist met sword, they were unexpectedly matched for a moment.
Then Ji Yongning transformed his right fist into a palm and grabbed Wenren Li’s longsword,
while his left fist hammered down mightily.
A series of crackling sounds erupted all around.
Seeing this, Wenren Li’s eyes narrowed slightly.
The sword in his hand burst forth with an intense Sword Intent, shaking Ji Yongning’s right palm away as he quickly retreated.
"This exploratory skirmish seems to have given Prince Ji the upper hand," someone whispered from below.
After this exchange, Wenren Li no longer intended to probe.
