Chapter 609: Invitation from Nine Great Sects
Jiang Chi, who had just rushed over to the entrance of the courtyard, coincidentally saw this scene and was startled. He thought to himself, This Xiao Chen is becoming even more unfathomable.
Xiao Chen had already sensed Jiang Chi’s presence long ago. He wiped the sweat off his forehead and walked over. “First Elder, do you have some matters to discuss with me?”
Jiang Chi recovered his wits and smiled. He answered, “Yes, let me tell you more about the matter of going to the Kunlun Realm first. This time, the top twenty of the True Dragon Ranking qualified for entry into the upper realm. After cultivating for half a year, they can follow the envoy into the Kunlun Realm.”
With a thoughtful expression in his eyes, Xiao Chen murmured in his heart, There is only half a year. I wonder if I can break through to Martial Monarch?
Now, although Xiao Chen was just a step away from Consummation half-step Martial Monarch, he believed that he was still far from it. He had yet to feel his Essence hitting a bottleneck.
Then, Jiang Chi took out some things and said, “This is the True Dragon Ranking List. You can peruse it. The remaining are invitations from the ten great sects of the Great Jin Nation. The Evil Moon Pavilion aside, the other nine great sects keep requesting to meet you.”
An endless stream of people came to meet Xiao Chen during the past three days. Jiang Chi immediately rejected all the invitations except for the ones from the ten great sects. If Xiao Chen met everyone who came, he would not have any peace.
As for the Evil Moon Pavilion, they had too big a grudge against Xiao Chen. Even though Xiao Chen was a King Grade True Dragon genius, they would not stoop to meet him.
However, Xiao Chen did not care about the Evil Moon Pavilion. First, he took the True Dragon Ranking List before glancing at the invitations from the few great sects. He was in no rush to take them. After thinking for a while, he accepted the one from the Supreme Sky Sect. As for the other sects, he had no desire to look at them.
Seeing that Xiao Chen already made his choice, Jiang Chi did not linger. After taking his leave, he turned around and returned.
The True Dragon Ranking List was red with golden material embossed along its borders. It had the words “True Dragon Ranking” written on the front.
Xiao Chen opened it to take a look. There were not many words on the first page, only an illustration.
The illustration depicted a dark night sky. Under the night sky stood a figure dressed in white. That was Xiao Chen and above him was a thirty-meter golden dragon.
The artist responsible had great skills. He managed to draw the aura of a king that Xiao Chen had at that time, and reproduce the atmosphere perfectly. It was clear that the artist painted this with utmost care and effort.
He flipped over to the second page, where the True Dragon Ranking List introduced Xiao Chen’s background and history. Some of the public information was quite detailed.
“Xiao Chen, the champion of the current Five Nation Youth Competition, a disciple of the Heavenly Saber Pavilion’s Qingyun Peak. He gained fame at the Heavenly Saber Pavilion where he defeated Holy Land disciples and the disciples of the various Great Qin Nation’s Noble Clans by himself in consecutive battles.
“Since then, he has not been defeated by anyone of the same generation. His Saber Techniques are exquisite, and his talent is outstanding.
“From the elimination round at the start of the Five Nation Youth Competition, he maintained a winning streak, never once tasting defeat. Sect geniuses and Noble Clan heirs all fell before him. He bears the nickname the White Robed Bladesman.”
Xiao Chen smiled faintly and continued reading. Naturally, the second rank was Chu Chaoyun. So, he skipped that section to see who was the third rank.
The information in the third rank was rather odd. It listed both Xuanyuan Zhantian and Sima Lingxuan. The two of them had lost only three matches. As their points were the same, they were both given the third rank.
However, this was not surprising. There had been precedents in past Five Nation Youth Competitions. Aside from the champion, the other ranks could all have multiple holders.
As for the first runner-up of the previous Five Nation Youth Competition, he only ranked fifth. Following closely behind was the Supreme Sky Sect’s Yue Chenxi. The seventh rank was Wang Quan and Li Tianhua.
Gong Yangyu and Liu Xiaoyun’s ranks were quite interesting. These were exactly the same as their previous ranks, ninth and tenth, respectively.
Looking carefully at the top ten ranks, Xiao Chen noted that the eight Noble Clans’ monopoly over the top eight had been thoroughly broken.
Xiao Chen and Chu Chaoyun were the greatest dark horses of this Five Nation Youth Competition. They were both from sects in the Great Qin Nation, but they managed to grab the top two ranks in this competition.
After Xiao Chen flipped past the top ten ranks, he saw that the True Dragon Ranking List introduced the rest. Unlike the treatment the top ten received, where they had a complete page to themselves, the remainder shared one page between four people. The information provided was not as detailed, either.
However, even so, once the cultivators from various places in this world disseminated the True Dragon Ranking List, the cultivators listed on it would all gain some degree of fame.
In the future, most of these people would end up becoming elders of a sect or clan, or local heroes. This small list of names practically recorded the names of the people who might be able to produce clouds with one turn of the hand and rain with the other in the future.
For example, Murong Chong. He was ranked eighty-seventh. If he wanted it, Jiang Chi’s position in the Heavenly Saber Pavilion would no doubt be his in the future.
After taking note of Xiao Bai’s, Jin Dabao’s, and the rest of his friends’ rankings, Xiao Chen put away the True Dragon Ranking List. Then, he focused his gaze on the Supreme Sky Sect’s invitation.
Xiao Chen could guess why the ten great sects of the Great Jin Nation would come looking for him. The ten great sects of the Great Jin Nation were also known as super sects.
There was an important reason for this. These super sects had their headquarters in the Kunlun Realm. The sect in the Tianwu Continent was only a branch, used to scour for geniuses to expand the might of the main sect.
Back then, on a small island in the Western Shallow Sea, the Supreme Elder of the Supreme Sky Sect already sent Xiao Chen an invitation, giving him a Clear Sky Medallion.
However, at that time, Xiao Chen had been in no rush to choose sides. Thus, he did not agree on the spot.
Now that Xiao Chen had proven his strength, becoming a King Grade True Dragon genius, if the Supreme Sky Sect could send him to their main sect in the Kunlun Realm, it would undoubtedly strengthen them.
Even the branch sect of the Supreme Sky Sect in the Tianwu Continent would receive many benefits. Likewise, the sect leaders and elders would receive great rewards.
“Xiao Chen, if you are going, you should agree to them. Back then, if Sang Mu had a strong backer, he would not have fallen,” said Ao Jiao in the Lunar Shadow Saber. Her tone was full of helplessness.
When Xiao Chen heard this, he was slightly stunned. He asked, “Who exactly did the Thunder Emperor offend?”
Ao Jiao shook her head and said, “You don’t have to care about this. You are not strong enough; knowing will not benefit you. In the Kunlun Realm, no matter how strong you are, or how much Luck you have, it is best that you don’t act independently.
“I do not understand much about the other sects, but three thousand years ago, the Supreme Sky Sect was already a Grade 9 sect, second only to the Three Holy Lands. It is definitely not a small sect.”
Xiao Chen thought about Ao Jiao’s words carefully. Finally, he came to a decision and clutched the invitation tightly in his hand. He said, “Let’s go take a look, then.”
Dragon Sealing City would close its doors on the second day after the publication of the True Dragon Ranking List. The next time it opened would be when the next Five Nation Youth Competition started.
Dragon Sealing City’s final night open would be livelier than before. People would crowd all the streets and even the alleys. Groups of three to five would wander around the city, looking at the myriad of historical sites.
Xiao Chen donned a black cloak and hood and slowly moved through the crowd. Occasionally, he heard conversations about the True Dragon Ranking List.
When Xiao Chen heard his name, the speaker had a respectful tone. Every time he heard it, there would be all sorts of praise for him.
He kept his face hidden under the hood and his aura withdrawn. No one knew that he had just heard their conversation about him.
After walking to Ignorant About Tea Teahouse, Xiao Chen stopped. The brightly lit teahouse had many people going in and out.
There were not many rules for the first floor. The people there were not true tea connoisseurs; they gulped down their tea and never stopped chatting.
“Two participants from the weakest nation obtaining both the first and second ranks, this is probably unprecedented in the history of the Five Nation Youth Competition.”
“This is indeed the first time. Sure enough, that is the nation that produced an expert like the Thunder Emperor. Five thousand years after that, another King Grade True Dragon came out of the Great Qin Nation.”
“Ha ha! The elders of the Heavenly Saber Pavilion are probably all grinning their faces off. We can now anticipate the rise of the Heavenly Saber Pavilion.”
“That’s right. Just with Xiao Chen’s fame, they will already be able to attract many bladesmen to the sect. Probably, even the bladesmen of other nations would fight for a chance to enter the Heavenly Saber Pavilion, to see if they can ride on the coattails of Xiao Chen’s Luck.”
Most of the conversations on the first floor echoed the ones in the streets; the topic was still the True Dragon Ranking List. Furthermore, it was even more bustling here.
“Dear guest, are you here for tea? Unfortunately, we are currently at full capacity. Would you be willing to wait there first?”
The moment Xiao Chen went to the entrance, a friendly waiter walked over with a smile on his face.
Xiao Chen handed over the Supreme Sky Sect’s invitation and said calmly, “I have an appointment. Please lead the way.”
When the waiter received the invitation and saw the inscription and its contents, he immediately knew who Xiao Chen was. He revealed an extremely shocked expression, unable to recover his wits for a long time.
Xiao Chen frowned and said, “The invitation says tonight at Ignorant About Tea, right? Did the Supreme Sky Sect’s people leave already?”
The waiter finally managed to suppress his excitement and said quickly, “They have not, they have not. Sir, please come with me.”
Following the waiter’s lead, Xiao Chen went to a booth located on the top floor. Then, he gently pushed the door open.
A fragrance wafted through the elegant booth. Yue Chenxi and an old man at least seventy years old sat peacefully at the table, enjoying tea.
That old man wore plain and simple cotton clothes with his long hair draped over his shoulder, and his eyebrows were white. There was a bright gleam in his eyes; he does not look old at all.
Xiao Chen used his Spiritual Sense to check that old man’s cultivation and could not help his shock. Based on what he had picked up, that old man was an ordinary person with no cultivation.
Returning to the natural state! This was a peak Martial Sage expert, not someone an ordinary Martial Sage could deal with.
“Come, have a seat!” The old man had already sensed Xiao Chen’s presence long ago. However, he took a leisurely sip of tea before turning around to greet Xiao Chen.
Xiao Chen removed his cloak and sat on the other side of the table without saying anything. Yue Chenxi, who was to the side, whispered, “Xiao Chen, this is the sect leader of our Supreme Sky Sect. In order to meet you, he ended his closed-door training early.”
A strange gleam flashed in Xiao Chen’s eyes. A sect leader of a dominant sect, a peak Martial Sage was willing to give up on his closed-door training to meet him personally. The Supreme Sky Sect was really sincere.
“Many thanks to Senior for taking time out of your busy schedule.”
The other party was very powerful, someone who could easily crush Xiao Chen with his finger. Such a person frequently spent his time comprehending the Dao. As a result of a limited lifespan, he would have to spend all his time bitterly cultivating, pursuing the peak of cultivation. To such people, time was extremely precious. This person was absolutely worthy of Xiao Chen’s respectful words.
A wise gleam appeared in the depths of the old man’s eyes. He smiled gently and said, “Little Friend is overthinking this. Since you have rejected the invitations of all the sects but ours, naturally, our Supreme Sky Sect has to give you the best treatment we have to offer.”