Chapter 151: And Add Me to the Mix
The two hardworking miners finally returned to the mortal world.
Instead of heading straight back to the capital, they chose to go to Song Yue’s home in Hangzhou.
After a thorough wash and refresh, the two of them felt invigorated and once again looked their absolute best.
Following that, Song Yue personally stepped into the kitchen and prepared a lavish seafood and wild game feast for Qian Qianxue.
He also brought out a fine vintage wine he had fetched from his master’s place, and the two of them shared a gentle sip together.
Both of them deeply cherished this kind of life.
There was no overwhelming pressure, nor were there endless disputes.
They could quietly study ancient texts and deeply comprehend various cultivation techniques.
This was how cultivation was truly meant to be.
Of course, the prerequisite was having sufficient resources.
Hearing that the two had returned, Wen Rou rushed over the very next day, reviving their happy life of a three-person household.
Wen Rou had also grown somewhat weary of the endless days spent frantically refining pills.
There were simply too many people coming to their doorstep to beg for medicine!
While it was true that she enjoyed alchemy and didn't mind being immersed in the alchemy room all day, the requests brought by those visitors were far too chaotic and all-over-the-place. The vast majority of them held little to no significance for Wen Rou at her current stage.
Both the Wen family and many other pharmacists were fully capable of refining those pills, but her reputation had simply grown too large, causing medicine seekers to flock to her like ducks to water.
Almost everyone who showed up had friendly ties with the Wen family, making it difficult to simply turn them away.
Ultimately, Wen Rou decided to refine a massive batch of the most heavily requested pills during this period—enough to supply the family’s needs for dealing with those seekers for at least half a year.
Then, she couldn't wait to run off to Hangzhou.
She, too, felt that life here was the most comfortable.
With her best friend and the most pleasant environment, her heart felt completely at ease every day.
Qian Qianxue warmly welcomed her arrival.
She didn't have many friends, and Wen Rou was one of them. The two women shared plenty of common topics.
Another reason was that living alone with Song Yue always made her feel a bit shy and slightly worried about gossip from others.
Now that Wen Rou was here, that concern was completely gone.
In the days that followed, Song Yue returned to his previous routine.
Every day, he read books, comprehended the Eight Desolations Dao Scripture, continuously consolidated his realm, and digested some of the details he had overlooked due to his rapid advancement.
Occasionally, he would visit the Management Department to check on Old Wolf, or keep in touch with Su Yuxian, Lin Huan, and others who were cultivating peacefully in outer space.
Alternatively, he would run around the newly opened martial arts schools with Xiao Meng.
Given his current reputation, his appearance in any city—whether in the East or the West—would cause a sensation.
In fact, upon arriving in any city, a multitude of local celebrities, stars, and political figures would proactively seek to meet him. Particularly those moderately famous stars with grand ambitions, who would go to any length to establish even the slightest connection with Song Yue.
Everyone knew that on Earth today, Song Yue was the true top traffic.
Regarding such matters, Song Yue basically handed everything over to Xiao Meng to handle.
Xiao Meng possessed great tact and discretion, knowing his limits well without excessively exploiting Song Yue.
In the blink of an eye, June arrived.
The cultivation realms of Qian Qianxue and Wen Rou both experienced another massive leap forward.
Cultivation worked this way: for true geniuses, once the resources were present, the enlightenment was attained, and the opportunities aligned, slowing down was no easy feat, even if one wished to.
Qian Qianxue’s realm was already approaching the peak of Pill Gathering. After breaking free from the endless cycle of low-level alchemy, Wen Rou caught up furiously, advancing her realm to the late stage of Pill Gathering, infinitely close to Qian Qianxue’s peak.
As for Song Yue, he perfectly suppressed the upward momentum of his realm. For several months, his realm had remained virtually stagnant.
However, his combat prowess had skyrocketed dramatically.
His original realm had been solidified to the point where practically no flaws could be found.
His comprehension of cultivation techniques such as the Eight Desolations Dao Scripture, the Taiyi Body-Refining Scripture, the Star-Cleaving Hand, the Thunder Fist, and the Phantom Tracking Step had also reached a brand-new realm.
As for the Dark Codex and the Beast King Scripture, he dared not practice them at present.
He was genuinely terrified of losing control and evolving toward the direction of a demon.
Even so, he could still perceive that the demonic aura within his body was growing stronger with each passing day.
Though his realm had been restrained from rising during this period, his spiritual power had exploded significantly. His comprehension and understanding of the Heavenly Venerate Spiritual Method had once again elevated to an entirely new height.
His physical body cultivation had also advanced considerably.
Both the Transformation Technique and the body-combat techniques that drastically increased combat prowess had seen massive improvements.
Because they needed to stay in the mortal world to await Song Yue’s father and elder brother, his mother Xiao Mei and elder sister Song Yu temporarily set aside their cultivation and plunged back into the business world.
Everyone had their own life values and goals. Even in this era where everyone cultivated, it didn't mean that cultivation was the only correct path. As long as one could live out the splendor they desired, that was enough.
On June 9th, the White-Eyed Old Ape’s martial arts school in the capital finally ushered in its grand opening day.
Song Yue, accompanied by Qian Qianxue and Wen Rou—who had not shown their faces in public for a long time—arrived as promised.
On this day, the Yuan Family Martial Arts School in the capital was packed with guests.
True experts and fake experts of all kinds flocked to the scene, offering their most sincere congratulations and blessings.
Of course, the true motives hidden deep in their hearts varied wildly.
The identity of the Old Ape had not been overly concealed. By now, anyone with a bit of status and standing knew that this was a genuine great demon of the mortal world.
With various demon kings ascending one after another, calling the Old Ape the new-generation Demon King of the mortal world was no exaggeration.
Not only that, a little bit of inquiry would reveal the relationship between the Yuan Family Martial Arts School and the Elite Martial Arts School. Anyone with an information channel knew just how popular and deep-rooted the Elite Martial Arts School currently was.
Most importantly, many had heard that this mortal great demon had been personally invited by Song Yue himself!
Song Yue!
Far too many people wanted to forge a connection with this young man.
However, Song Yue rarely showed up in public occasions. On the rare occasions he appeared alongside Meng Xudong at the branch openings of the Elite Martial Arts School, it was always a fleeting glimpse.
With the opening of the Yuan Family Martial Arts School, people believed Song Yue would surely come to show his support. If one could seize the opportunity to befriend Song Yue, that would be wonderful; even just becoming a familiar face would suffice!
Those coming to offer congratulations were not just humans, but also many powerful demon clans!
Watching the White-Eyed Old Ape choose to enter the mortal world, live a prosperous life there, and lead its entire family to prominence, many great demons who had previously disdained entering the human realm began to feel restless.
In the past, they looked down upon all living beings in the mortal world and sneered at those so-called high-tech gadgets.
Now, while they still looked down upon mortal beings to some extent, as long as they used those high-tech products... they essentially ended up saying only one phrase: "How true."
Seeing the happy life of the Old Ape's family, a vast number of demonic creatures had their hearts stirred.
They, too, developed a desire to enter the mortal world.
Taking advantage of the Old Ape's martial arts school opening, some ambitious great demons finally found an opportunity and rushed over in droves to conduct a serious inspection.
Before Song Yue arrived, the high-realm great demons were relatively restrained, but the family members they brought along were somewhat presumptuous.
While they showed great respect to the Old Ape and its kin, these family members turned their noses up at the other guests who had come to offer congratulations.
Especially the young and proud demon prodigies, who released their demonic aura and chatted loudly amongst themselves.
They thought this made them look very cool.
The people who had come to offer congratulations couldn't help but frown upon seeing this.
Present here were not only masters from the martial circle, but also many women and children. Watching numerous half-human, half-beast demonic creatures reeking of demonic aura and wearing ferocious expressions, many timid children were frightened to tears.
Those demonic creatures, meanwhile, looked immensely proud, and quite a few of them were already drunk.
Because the White-Eyed Old Ape was too busy entertaining important guests, it could not attend to every detail and was unaware of the situation here.
In response, someone sought out Meng Xudong and reported the situation to Young Master Meng.
Taking a moment away, Meng Xudong walked over to the area specifically designated for the demon clan in the banquet hall and took a look. He found that it was indeed a chaotic dance of demons, but since they were guests, it wasn't appropriate for him to tell the Old Ape to rein them in.
Doing so would cause the Old Ape to lose face.
Moreover, although these demons were a bit arrogant and self-centered, they hadn't actually gone out of their way to deliberately harass human guests.
After thinking it over, he sent a message to Song Yue, hoping he could arrive a bit earlier.
On Earth today, probably only Song Yue possessed the ability to awe this group of demons into submission.
At this moment, inside the banquet hall, a group of drunk young demonic creatures became increasingly wild and unrestrained. Despite the warnings and instructions given by their respective elders before coming to keep a low profile and avoid trouble,
and the specific warning that the "Demon-Slaying Fiend" and "Perverted Little Song" would also be present today,
Song Yue's name still held considerable deterrent power among Earth's demon clan.
If this group of young demons held any shred of apprehension toward the mortal world, well over half of it stemmed from Song Yue.
Tricking a massive group of demon kings, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the White-Eyed Old Ape, and fighting a massive battle in the snow mountains that slaughtered numerous mortal great demons—these glorious and formidable battle records genuinely terrified quite a few conceited demon powerhouses.
However, Song Yue had not appeared today.
At first, these young demons kept this matter in mind, but as copious amounts of alcohol went down their throats, they quickly forgot all about it.
Among the demon clans, it was always customary to drink from large bowls and eat large chunks of meat. Many demons even retained the habit of eating humans. With alcohol clouding their minds, where could they possibly care about such things? Their behavior grew increasingly uninhibited.
Although they hadn't directly targeted human guests just yet, their presence in this area had seriously disrupted the human side.
Finally, someone could no longer hold back. Slamming a table and standing up, he shouted toward the demon side, "Can you all please pay a little attention to your impact?"
The banquet hall instantly fell silent as everyone's gazes converged on the person who had spoken.
It was a young man, looking barely twenty-or-so, with a very handsome face and a faint trace of arrogance between his brows.
He was a young martial arts grandmaster, having just turned twenty-three this year!
Having diligently practiced martial arts for many years and finally stepped into the realm of a grandmaster, he had once believed himself to be the most outstanding young martial arts practitioner on all of Earth.
Until Song Yue burst onto the scene.
That young man, several years younger than him, rose like a freak of nature at a monstrous speed.
In less than a year, he carved out a formidable and resounding reputation.
This made him extremely uncomfortable.
He felt that the fame, status, cheers, and applause that originally belonged to him had all been stolen by Song Yue.
His arrival today wasn't purely to offer congratulations.
Rather, hearing that Song Yue would also come, he wanted to personally gauge Song Yue's true weight!
There were simply too many people in this world who became famous through mere packaging and tricks!
For instance, among the masters present today, how many of them were just packaged products?
Who could guarantee that Song Yue wasn't one of them?
Suppressing the West, sweeping through outer space, shaking the demon clan, overthrowing the Li family... how much of these matters were true, and how much were false?
Today, the Elite Martial Arts School was at the height of its power and influence, which had a huge connection to Song Yue. He seriously suspected that this was a heaven-shaking scheme laid out by the people behind the Elite Martial Arts School, a colossal lie cast upon the world!
Therefore, he had come with the mindset of picking a fight.
Upon arriving, he watched coldly from the sidelines as almost everyone around him talked about Song Yue.
Their words carried deep envy and admiration.
Some even talked about Song Yue's two young girlfriends, who had become young Pill-Gathering mighty figures solely because of Song Yue, and were bound to ascend to the immortal realm before long!
Hearing such words, this young martial arts grandmaster felt even deeper disdain in his heart.
Putting aside whether those two alluring maidens from the Qian and Wen families had actually reached the Pill Gathering realm, even if they truly had, what could that possibly have to do with a mere young martial artist?
A martial artist... enabling cultivators to reach the Pill Gathering realm?
Might as well say he got them pregnant!
Human herd mentality was truly speechless.
Imbued with a sense of being out of place—the classic "everyone is drunk while I alone am sober"—he looked down upon the crowd with arrogance.
He had already endured enough of the buzzing distractions of "Song Yue," "Master Yue," and "Brother Yue" ringing in his ears.
And now, that group of monsters and freaks over there was acting even more outrageous. Not a single one of them looked remotely human, yet they sat brazenly at their seats, getting nearly drunk before the dishes were even served.
And Song Yue was nowhere to be seen... what a grand diva!
An Wenxi endured and endured, until he finally snapped.
He stood up, slammed the table, and coldly rebuked the group of demons.
At that moment, he finally felt a little comfortable inside.
Becoming the focal point of the entire audience—this was the treatment he truly deserved.
On the demon side, a young tiger demon with a tiger's head, human body, and ferocious tusks cast a cold glance at An Wenxi and said, "We're drinking our wine, what business is it of yours?"
An Wenxi said coldly, "This is the mortal world!"
The tiger demon sneered, "And what if it is the mortal world? Is it your mortal world?"
At this point, people from both sides stepped forward to smooth things over.
Someone who recognized An Wenxi whispered a word of advice: "Young Master An, forget it. Don't lower yourself to their level. Today is the joyous opening day of Demon Venerable Mr. Yuan's martial arts school..."
On the other side, relatively sober demons were also advising the tiger demon: "Don't lower yourself to the level of such a human. Look, he's not even a cultivator; he's just full of blood energy, clearly a mere martial artist. Why bother bickering with such a weak human?"
Well, the advice from the demon side might as well not have been given. An Wenxi wasn't deaf, and in the quieted banquet hall, he heard the other party's words loud and clear.
He immediately cast a cold gaze at the completely un-transformed weasel that had spoken: "Yellow-furred beast, you look down on martial artists?"
That weasel was also a young demon prodigy. Despite its young age, its realm had already stepped into the mid-stage of Bone Shattering, equivalent to a cultivator's Meridian Opening stage. Hearing such an obviously derogatory term, it immediately refused to back down, shooting a chilling light from its eyes: "So what if I look down on you?"
Some of the drunk young prodigies on the demon side also began clamoring: "That's right, so what if we look down on you?"
"Is there even a place for you to speak here?" 觉得自己很行是吧？ (Showing off, are you?)
"You think you're Song Yue?"
That final sentence hit right where it hurt.
Like a heavy hammer, it slammed fiercely against An Wenxi's heart.
He hadn't expected that even a group of drunk demons would hold that brat in such high regard. He truly couldn't take it anymore.
Just as he was about to erupt, a wave of cheerful laughter suddenly echoed from outside the entrance.
"Little Song Master, please come in!"
"You are the senior, please go ahead first."
"Hahaha, those who achieve mastery first are the seniors! The things you've done make us old fellows feel deeply full of admiration! Each generation of talent replaces the old; if our China could have more people like Little Song Master, that would be wonderful!"
An Wenxi froze. Grandfather?
That hearty laughter was far too familiar to him; it belonged to none other than his grandfather who had brought him to the banquet—An Tianxiang, the Vice Chairman of the China Martial Arts Association!
And the "Little Song Master" he was referring to... who could that be?
At this moment, more exchanging of pleasantries drifted in from afar.
"Little Song Master is not only young and promising, but also low-key and modest. Truly a model for the younger generation!"
"Indeed, indeed! The little whelps in my family have all been nagging me to bring back Little Song Master's autograph."
"Hahaha, this is truly our China's treasure!"
Following the voices, a group of people surrounded a tall, extremely handsome young man as they walked in from outside.
An Wenxi's pupils constricted slightly.
Song Yue!
How could he possibly be qualified to walk ahead of his grandfather?
Looking at the blooming smile on his grandfather's face—like an old tree flowering in spring—An Wenxi felt his heart turn ice-cold.
By what right... on what grounds?!
Immediately afterward, An Wenxi abruptly noticed that the group of demons who had been clamoring so arrogantly just a moment ago... had all sat down!
Every single one of them lowered their gazes and restrained their presence. The belligerent tiger demon turned into an obedient little kitten, the unruly weasel's fur became sleek and docile, and they were all holding water cups with an expression of utmost civility, drinking water... to calm their nerves.
Throughout the entire banquet hall, he was the only one left standing there foolishly.
At this point, An Tianxiang noticed his grandson standing there with a stiff expression, yet he maintained his smile and said cheerfully, "Wenxi, look at how excited you are. Did you stand up just because you couldn't help seeing your idol? Hurry up and sit down!"
An Wenxi: "..."
When on earth did I ever treat him as my idol?!!!
Grandfather, you are destroying my lifelong reputation with this!
He was furious.
Yet under the gaze of everyone present, he couldn't possibly contradict his grandfather face-to-face.
With an indignant expression, he sat down, followed by a wave of dejection.
Surrounded by a crowd, Song Yue followed the old men to the main table in the banquet hall and took a seat.
Among those accompanying him were several great demons!
Some of them had even been present in the Western snow mountains that very day!
Yet now, every single one of them was smiling cheerfully with benevolent expressions, as if the events of the past had never happened at all.
Although Qian Qianxue and Wen Rou had also come, they had been dragged away by Duan Yeyu, who had arrived earlier to show support with her elders.
She claimed she wanted to introduce them to some young socialites.
In truth, the young princesses of the capital's grand clans had been fangirling over Qian Qianxue and Wen Rou for a long time, but lacking the chance to meet them in person, they could only beg the "resourceful" Duan Yeyu for help.
Fortunately, Duan Yeyu was indeed quite resourceful. Despite her young age, she had long since been afflicted with chronic social butterfly syndrome, successfully dragging Qian Qianxue and Wen Rou away from Song Yue's side.
The White-Eyed Old Ape finally walked in, accompanied by the chairman of the Elite Martial Arts School—Xiao Meng's father—along with two major figures from the Chinese government, heading toward the main table. Song Yue and the others stood up one after another.
After the government bigwigs exchanged pleasantries with everyone around the table with a smile, they approached Song Yue and offered words of warm encouragement in a very gentle tone.
Although they didn't say too much, the sense of closeness in their attitude was glaringly obvious.
Several individuals who were clearly bodyguards quickly dispersed to the surroundings. In truth, this was already the result of the bigwigs repeatedly requesting a relaxed security detail.
Given the crowd present today—human grand masters, martial arts grand masters, and demon grand masters—logically, the security level should have been raised to the maximum.
However, those two bigwigs had explicitly stated that with Song Yue here, there was no need to be too nervous.
A self-important young man like An Wenxi, who immersed himself solely in cultivation on ordinary days, might harbor doubts. But as major figures of the Chinese government, they were intimately familiar with every single one of Song Yue's glorious battle records!
Putting everything else aside, the incidents where Song Yue suppressed high-level cultivators on multiple occasions were more than enough to make government officials view him in a completely new light and harbor absolute confidence in him.
Not to mention that a few months ago, Song Yue single-handedly succeeded in sending that group of mortal demon kings packing—a feat that had everyone applauding in sheer admiration!
With a young man like this around, there was truly no need to fret over safety issues.
Transformed into human form, the Old Ape beamed with radiant health today. The amount of face it had gained was simply off the charts!
Though it could be considered a mortal great demon, relying solely on its own influence, it could never have commanded a turnout of this magnitude today.
It knew very well that it didn't possess that kind of clout!
Throughout China, the cultivation world, the martial circle, the demon clan, the political sphere, and the business world... practically all the high-profile heavyweights had come!
Gathered under one roof!
A mere celebration for the opening of a martial arts school had practically turned into a grand festival for the entirety of China!
Who else could boast of such a feat?
Fortunately, the Old Ape was an educated demon. Though thrilled, it maintained a clear and sober mind.
Chatting and laughing fluidly with the bigwigs present, its demonic aura was tightly concealed, making it hard for anyone to believe it was actually a great demon.
Once all the important guests had arrived, the banquet commenced swiftly.
Without excessive pleasantries, the White-Eyed Old Ape stepped onto the stage to sincerely thank all the guests. Raising their glasses together, the banquet officially began.
The young prodigies at An Wenxi's table grew even more enthusiastic in their discussion of Song Yue. Their voices were low, and all of them seemed to carry a polite and well-mannered demeanor.
An Wenxi, on the other hand, appeared somewhat listless and absent-minded.
He finally felt the crushing weight of that massive gap!
The person he had questioned was sitting with his grandfather, laughing and talking, standing as the undisputed core focus of the entire banquet hall.
His mere arrival had turned a group of arrogant and lawless young demon tigers into meek kittens, lowering their brows and casting their eyes down with a surprising degree of docility!
It even made one wonder if those really were the drunk, rebellious demons they were rumored to be.
Damn it, they changed faces faster than humans!
In contrast, he looked like a clown, questioning the authenticity of someone else's reputation, status, and strength simply because he was unwilling to accept being surpassed.
Could it be that he was wiser than his grandfather?
Wiser than those major figures?
An Wenxi was not a reckless brawler possessed only by brute strength; someone lacking intelligence could never have stepped into the grandmaster realm at barely twenty years old.
Yet the more he realized this, the more a bone-deep, agonizing ache gnawed at him.
Why?
Everyone was a young prodigy in the martial path; by what right were you so much stronger than me?
Meanwhile.
On the other side.
A group of young, pretty girls surrounded Qian Qianxue and Wen Rou, firing off a myriad of diverse questions.
"Sister Qian, are you and Song Yue boyfriend and girlfriend?"
"Wen Rou, can you refine pills that keep people forever youthful?"
"Qianxue, how do you keep your skin looking so good? Did you eat the pills Wen Rou refined for you?"
"Hey, hey, hey! I'm super curious about one question: you, Wen Rou... and Song Yue... the three of you?"
Duan Yeyu aggressively pushed aside the group of gossiping girls: "Alright, alright, mind your manners! Look at the kind of questions you're asking? Keep this up and I'm taking the two of them away. The three of us are going off to drink alone!"
"Don't do that!"
"We won't ask random questions anymore, okay?"
"Aah, we just admire Sister Xue and Wen Rou!"
The group of young girls harbored no malicious intent and were unpretentious. They spoke straight from the heart, chattering away, and neither Qian Qianxue nor Wen Rou disliked them.
They exchanged casual banter with this group.
They answered the questions they felt like answering and ignored the ones they didn't—such as the childish inquiry about the exact nature of their three-way relationship.
What kind of relationship could it be? It's none of your business anyway!
This banquet, resembling a grand national festival for China, was successfully hosted.
The main banquet hall was filled with joyous hosts and delighted guests.
The government bigwigs left after staying for just a little while, but this alone gave more than enough face to the Elite Martial Arts School and Old White Ape. At the same time, it signaled an attitude to the outside world: the Chinese government maintained a welcoming stance toward capable and extraordinary individuals.
For the great demons wishing to enter the mortal world, this was undoubtedly fantastic news.
To live in the mortal world, one had to abide by mortal rules.
These great demons understood very well that the government organizations, which seemed to hold little presence, were actually the true rulers of this territory.
Behind them stood the powerful backing of several ancient sects from the cultivation world.
Therefore, wanting to enter the mortal world meant first establishing a good relationship with the government, followed by the cultivation world, the martial circle, the business world, and other organizations.
The Old Ape's martial arts school could be considered a successful and promising start.
However, these great demons also knew that if they truly wanted to establish a foothold in the mortal world, there was an even more important matter they needed to address!
That was to rein in the troublemakers within their respective races—especially those young, hot-blooded demons who needed strict management, as they were the biggest obstacles to their integration into human society!
Those great demons might have seemed oblivious to what had just happened in the main banquet hall, but how could they really not know?
What realm were they in?
Let alone being separated by a door, as long as they wished, these Pill-Gathering level great demons could hear sounds from miles away.
They hadn't flared up simply because the occasion wasn't appropriate.
However, each of them secretly resolved to teach these young demons a harsh lesson upon returning home.
Preferably... by sending them to enroll in the various branches of the Elite Martial Arts School to study properly for a period of time!
Until they graduated, they wouldn't be allowed to set foot in the mortal world!
The other guests were equally delighted.
They had finally laid eyes on Song Yue and successfully exchanged business cards with Young Master Meng of the Elite Martial Arts School.
Everyone knew that following the current trajectory, within a few years, the Elite Martial Arts School would become the ultimate gold-plated signboard of the entire Eastern camp!
Martial artists had no status?
That depended on who was leading them!
Didn't you see that even those high-level figures from the cultivation world, along with the elites from the Duan and Qian families, were exceptionally courteous in front of Song Yue?
Therefore, the notion that martial artists were useless and inferior in combat compared to cultivators was sheer nonsense!
As long as one found the right path, powerful martial arts practitioners were not the least bit inferior to cultivators!
Word had it that Little Song Master had frequently put cultivators in their place ever since he was a child.
And he kept putting them in their place all the way until today.
Heroes truly emerge from youth; the ancients never deceived us!
An Wenxi remained in a daze from beginning to end.
Throughout the entire main banquet hall, the only person who was unhappy was probably him.
Even the young demons who had just clashed with him earlier now looked entirely normal, civilized, eating, drinking, and chatting politely.
Only he sat there, melancholy and depressed.
Even some of the young prodigies around him noticed his odd state, but no one asked.
Everyone present was a master of social finesse. Even if they hadn't figured it out at first, they had all caught onto An Wenxi's underlying thoughts by now.
Regarding this, no one showed anything on the surface, but deep down, they felt a sense of... pity.
An Wenxi was already outstanding!
At such a young age, stepping into the realm of a martial arts grandmaster meant he undoubtedly counted as a genuine expert.
Yet compared to Song Yue, it was like comparing the light of a firefly... to the brilliance of the bright moon.
The gap was simply too vast!
As the banquet drew to a close, a sudden and unexpected piece of news abruptly plunged the previously cheerful and bustling banquet hall into silence.
Several powerful cultivators bearing long swords had broken into the Duan family estate, slaying five guards who tried to block them on the spot, before demanding an explanation from the Duan family.
"The other party claims that their fellow sect members perished in the mortal world, and it has to do with the Duan family!"
This news spread through the banquet hall like wildfire.
Upon hearing this, several senior members of the Duan family who were drinking with cultivation bigwigs immediately put down their wine glasses and left with calm expressions.
Yet their hearts were filled with frustration and boiling anger.
The message their Duan family ancestor had risked his life to send back earlier had already left them feeling grief-stricken and powerless.
Now, someone had actually come knocking on their door, demanding an explanation from the Duan family?
For the Duan family, if it were some casual cultivation sect coming to pick a fight, they wouldn't be afraid at all.
After all, they had their ancestor in the Myriad Swords Ancient Sect.
However, the troublemakers hailed from the Myriad Swords Ancient Sect itself, which gave them an absolute headache.
This was unquestionably a monstrous crisis. If it couldn't be resolved, the Duan family being wiped off the map of the Chinese cultivation world overnight was a distinct possibility.
Duan Yeyu and the others on the other side had also heard the news.
Duan Yeyu was extremely surprised. She hadn't mentioned this matter to a single soul; how could the Myriad Swords Ancient Sect have tracked it back to them?
Furthermore, the deaths of those two... what did it have to do with the Duan family?
They were clearly bitten to death by bugs!
She certainly wasn't going to blurt out that Song Yue had wiped them out.
Yet she was also anxious, intending to rush back immediately to see what had happened.
Qian Qianxue glanced at Wen Rou and said, "You two go back home respectively and stay indoors unless necessary."
Wen Rou asked, "And what about you?"
Qian Qianxue replied, "I'll accompany her back to the Duan family."
Duan Yeyu paused for a moment, feeling a surge of warmth as she said, "No need, neither of you has to come. I'll just go back and check..."
Qian Qianxue shook her head. "He will definitely go too!"
Duan Yeyu understood in an instant. Looking earnestly at Qian Qianxue, she said, "It has nothing to do with him!"
Qian Qianxue smiled. "Let's go, let's go take a look first."
The rest of the guests departed in batches, lingering fears gripping their hearts.
Many simply dared not witness such chaos!
Anyone bold enough to break into the Duan family estate and slaughter guards without restraint was, without a doubt, a presence one couldn't afford to provoke.
Nine times out of ten, they came from a major faction in the cultivation world.
Many guests and great demons present felt a surge of righteous indignation.
What did people take the mortal world for?
There were always those who, relying on their origins in major cultivation factions, acted high and mighty, doing whatever they pleased in the mortal world.
The White-Eyed Old Ape pondered for a moment and decided to go check it out!
Though this matter had nothing to do with it, fundamentally, the humans and demons of the mortal world were truly of one body!
In the eyes of those high-and-mighty cultivators from the cultivation world, all living beings in the mortal world were merely ants.
Any person or great demon with even a sliver of insight understood this logic. Since they happened to encounter it today, they decided to go together and see what was happening.
Song Yue said nothing more. He simply began quietly elevating his realm.
This wasn't a case of cramming at the last minute.
Rather, it was the energy he had suppressed for a very long time... now being consciously released by him.
It seemed that simply teaching the Yuding Sect a painful lesson was still not quite enough.
That ancient pact of the past—forbidding cultivation factions from harassing the mortal world—likely no longer held any binding force in the eyes of many people in the cultivation world today.
A single decree of the Heavenly Dao alone was clearly insufficient to thoroughly suppress the arrogance of that group.
Then, he would add himself to the equation.