Fang Ling had been heading north ever since he left Nanyang.
Now, he was within the borders of the Jade Kingdom, very close to the Great Zhou Dynasty.
Suddenly, he looked towards the front left, a hint of excitement flashing in his eyes.
Ahead, demonic energy surged to the skies, and he sensed an incredibly strong blood vitality—there must be a powerful demon beast there!
Since heading north, he had spent almost all his time on the road to avoid unnecessary trouble.
It had been a while since he last cultivated, and now that a prime prey had appeared, he flew towards it.
…
In the distance, Fang Ling saw Hongye City.
A massive pink flesh mountain rampaged through the city unimpeded. This flesh mountain was an extremely rare demon—Suiling.
Its body had no fixed shape, entirely composed of lumps of flesh stacked together.
Its skin was full of wrinkles but appeared pink.
Tentacles shot out from its body, and once they wrapped around a person, they could instantly devour the life essence of a living human.
The cultivators in Hongye City were either fleeing or dead, leaving only the slow-moving commoners struggling to survive.
Suiling had very low intelligence and only knew how to eat, but it grew very quickly.
Its enormous body was extremely conspicuous, and Fang Ling saw it from a great distance.
The aura Suiling emitted was only at the late Alioth Realm.
But the life essence contained within this flesh body excited him.
“Go!” Fang Ling summoned his Life-Bound Blood Sword and attacked Suiling.
After refining billions of people in the Miao Territory, the Blood Sword had become terrifyingly powerful.
Any living being that approached it would involuntarily fall into an illusion of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, eventually dying of fright.
If they were stronger, they might not succumb so easily, but it would still be hard to resist the terrifying killing intent contained within the Blood Sword.
The Blood Sword transformed into a long rainbow and appeared above Hongye City in an instant.
Although Suiling was clumsy, it had the instincts of a living creature.
Sensing danger, it immediately extended thousands of tentacles, trying to pin down Fang Ling’s Life-Bound Blood Sword.
But with the Blood Sword’s power, how could it be shaken?
The Blood Sword pierced into Suiling’s body with unstoppable force.
A terrifying flesh mountain, twenty meters tall, was drained dry in an instant, leaving only a disgusting wrinkled skin.
Fang Ling made a gesture, and the Blood Sword returned to him immediately.
The life essence devoured by the Blood Sword also nourished his body, giving him a small replenishment.
In Hongye City, the surviving commoners wept and kowtowed in the direction where Fang Ling had disappeared.
Seeing this, Fang Ling couldn’t help but laugh.
He thought to himself that if these commoners knew who he really was, they would probably run away in terror.
Soon, Fang Ling frowned and looked back.
He sensed a not-so-weak aura chasing after him.
“Could it be pursuers from the Chuan Clan or the Heavenly Dao Sect?”
“No, this aura is too weak. If they wanted to hunt me down, they would at least send a few experts in the Tribulation Crossing stage, right?”
“Just an Alioth Realm cultivator? They must be underestimating me.”
He thought this person might just be passing by and not necessarily looking for him.
But after a while, the person was still following him, which meant it was no coincidence!
He stopped and decided to wait for this person to see what their intentions were.
Moments later, a young man in a brocade blue robe, exceptionally handsome, appeared in his sight.
For some reason, Fang Ling felt this person looked familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere before.
“Your Excellency has impressive speed, flying so fast.” The person smiled warmly.
“Luckily, Your Excellency stopped to wait for me, or I would have been left far behind…”
“Who are you? What do you want?” Fang Ling asked coldly.
“I am Shangguan Beifeng, a member of the Shangguan Family.” The young man in blue replied.
“I arrived late, but fortunately, Your Excellency killed Suiling first, saving hundreds or even thousands of lives in Hongye City!”
“Shangguan Beifeng…” Fang Ling finally remembered why this person looked familiar.
This was the Jade Kingdom, and the Shangguan Family ruled this kingdom.
This Shangguan Beifeng, so young yet already at the mid-Alioth Realm, must be a core member of the younger generation of the Shangguan Family.
Though he was a man, he had delicate features, resembling Shangguan Haiyue whom Fang Ling had met before!
They were likely related by blood.
“May I know Your Excellency’s name?” Shangguan Beifeng asked.
“Lin Fang.” Fang Ling didn’t use his real name but reversed it instead.
“And where is Brother Lin Fang from?” Shangguan Beifeng asked again.
Fang Ling: “Just a casual cultivator, no background to speak of.”
Shangguan Beifeng laughed and said, “If Brother Lin Fang prefers not to disclose, I won’t press further.”
“This place is close to the Great Zhou, and Brother Lin Fang is heading north.”
“It seems Brother Lin Fang is also going to the Dragon Arena Dao Conference?”
Fang Ling: “What’s this Dragon Arena Dao Conference about?”
Shangguan Beifeng was a bit surprised. Although Fang Ling hadn’t revealed his identity, Shangguan Beifeng assumed he must be a descendant of a top force in the Southern Dipper Region.
Otherwise, how could he possess the ability to kill Suiling at such a young age?
But now Fang Ling was asking him what the Dragon Arena Dao Conference was, which was quite odd.
He patiently explained, “In the royal city of the Great Zhou, there’s a vast place called the Dragon Arena.”
“In the Dragon Arena, there’s a Heavenly Dao Divine Stele.”
“Every fifty years, the Great Zhou royal family sends invitations to all the young talents in the region.”
“They invite us to the Great Zhou to comprehend this Heavenly Dao Divine Stele.”
“This Heavenly Dao Divine Stele is extraordinary, containing the ultimate truths of the Dao.”
“Throughout history, many top figures have comprehended the Dao in front of the Heavenly Dao Divine Stele and created supreme divine powers!” Shangguan Beifeng said excitedly.
“Of course, comprehending the Dao is elusive and mostly legendary.”
“But many have improved their divine powers by studying this Heavenly Dao Divine Stele.”
“After receiving the invitation, I set off north, but along the way, I received a message from home about Suiling causing trouble nearby, so I detoured here.”
“I’ve seen many geniuses who are arrogant and disregard the lives of commoners, treating them like grass.”
“But Brother Lin Fang, you were just passing by and still acted righteously.”
“This shows that you must be a very upright person, and I, Shangguan Beifeng, love to befriend heroes like you!”
Fang Ling murmured, “This Heavenly Dao Divine Stele sounds interesting…”
“But without an invitation from the Great Zhou royal family, can I still participate in the Dragon Arena Dao Conference?”
Shangguan Beifeng: “It’s not impossible, but without an invitation, you’ll have to pay a large sum of spirit stones.”
“How about this, I’ll cover the cost for Brother Lin Fang as a thank you for killing Suiling.”
“The Jade Kingdom is the territory of my Shangguan Family, and you saved our citizens, so I should show my gratitude.”
Fang Ling: “If this Heavenly Dao Divine Stele is so extraordinary, why does the Great Zhou royal family allow outsiders to study it?”
Shangguan Beifeng laughed, “They wouldn’t do a losing business. Anyone who comprehends any divine power from it must give a share to the Great Zhou.”
“Additionally, thousands of people pay for a spot each time, which is a considerable income.”
“And the Heavenly Dao Divine Stele isn’t easy to comprehend. Most people, even if they study it for a thousand years, won’t gain anything.”
“The Great Zhou has this stele but rarely benefits from it.”
“So they might as well use it to host the Dragon Arena Dao Conference, make money, and maybe even gain some great divine powers!”
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