The Imperial Martial Pill Venerable

"While you are all exceptional, you can’t afford to be complacent. You must understand that this world is teeming with geniuses far more brilliant than you."

"Yes, we understand."

They said as much, but their expressions clearly showed they didn’t take his words to heart. ’Geniuses more exceptional than us? What a joke.’ The Vast Sea Divine Palace was one of the top sects in the Southern Domain, and they were the most outstanding geniuses of the Divine Palace. It was safe to say they stood at the very pinnacle of the Southern Domain’s younger generation.

Seeing this, Shangguan Feiying smiled faintly. He had been a young genius himself, so he naturally understood that all geniuses possessed a certain pride and an indomitable spirit. He was actually pleased to see it. Only with such an attitude could they continue to improve, ensuring the Vast Sea Divine Palace would remain powerful. However, sometimes they needed to be humbled a bit.

With this in mind, he said, "Setting aside all others, I recently discovered a peerless, once-in-a-generation genius. His natural talent and aptitude are even more outstanding than yours."

As he spoke, a hint of emotion flickered in Shangguan Feiying’s eyes. He had never seen such a monstrously talented genius in his entire life. A mere youth, not only was his talent in Martial Arts far beyond his peers, but his mastery of the Alchemy Dao had reached the Eighth Grade or even higher.

Compared to him, the Liujie seemed to pale in comparison.

Seeing that Shangguan Feiying’s expression was not feigned, the Liujie frowned slightly.

Lin Hongyu arched a fine eyebrow, a flash of surprise in her clear eyes as she asked Shangguan Feiying, "And which prodigy might the Palace Master be referring to?"

"That’s right, who is the Palace Master talking about? Tell us, so we can see for ourselves," Feng Langyun said with a laugh, a massive, pitch-black axe slung across his back.

The others remained silent, but their faces also revealed their interest. ’A genius more outstanding than us? Now this is interesting.’

The corner of Shangguan Feiying’s mouth curled slightly. "His name is Qin Ya. Of all the people I have ever met, his talent is by far the most stunning and unparalleled."

"If you don’t believe me, you can ask the Island Masters here."

The Island Masters beside him were the masters of the very islands where the Liujie resided. When the six prodigies turned to look at them, the masters exchanged a glance, all understanding Shangguan Feiying’s intent. One of them, an old man in white robes with white hair, spoke up. "It is indeed true."

"The Palace Master speaks the truth. Master Qin is indeed the most astounding genius I have ever seen. This old man can only stand in awe."

"Indeed..."

Seeing that all the Island Masters were in agreement, the expressions of the Liujie changed slightly. They hadn’t expected Shangguan Feiying and the others to give such a high evaluation. A sense of indignation welled up in their hearts. Lin Hongyu asked, "I wonder which sect this Brother Qin is a prized disciple of, what is his cultivation level, and where is he now?"

"Haha, it seems Hongyu has a desire to compete."

Shangguan Feiying laughed heartily. "He’s from the Yunxiao Empire. Currently, he is an Honored Guest Elder of our Vast Sea Divine Palace and resides on Master Yun’s Luoyun Island."

"The Yunxiao Empire?" Upon hearing this, Lin Hongyu frowned slightly. "I know of all the major empires in the Southern Domain, but I’ve never heard of a Yunxiao Empire."

Just then, Feng Langyun spoke up. "I’ve heard of it. The Hidden Dragon Valley Secret Realm on Guhong Island connects three major powers in the Southern Domain: the Purple Cloud Heavenly Mountain, our Vast Sea Divine Palace’s Guhong Island, and this Yunxiao Empire. It seems to be just a small, unremarkable empire. I heard from the Martial Artists on Guhong Island that every time they enter the Hidden Dragon Valley, none of the young Martial Artists from the Yunxiao Empire have even reached the Celestial Essence Realm. They’re incredibly weak."

"Oh? Are they really that weak?"

"Heh, that’s what the disciples from Guhong Island say."

"Can such a weak power really produce any decent geniuses?"

The Liujie looked at Shangguan Feiying and the others with odd expressions, their eyes filled with suspicion. ’This can’t be a lie the Palace Master and the others cooked up just to humble us, can it?’

Shangguan Feiying smiled faintly. "Heh, that’s right. Master Qin did indeed arrive at our Vast Sea Divine Palace via the Hidden Dragon Valley Secret Realm. As for how strong he is, you’ll find out if you go take a look for yourselves."

"Then we shall take our leave."

After the Liujie had left, one of the Island Masters asked, "Palace Master, those kids aren’t actually going to go looking for trouble with Teacher Qin, are they? You have to remember, while Master Qin’s skill in the Alchemy Dao is Heaven-Defying, his Martial Arts Cultivation is, at best, on par with those kids."

"Oh, they’ll go looking for him, alright. But Master Qin has a Pseudo-Spiritual Artifact on him, so they shouldn’t be able to harm him. Just tell Yun Loxi to keep an eye on things."

"Won’t this displease Master Qin?"

"It’s fine. Master Qin isn’t that petty."

After leaving, the Liujie conferred for a moment before deciding to head to Guhong Island first. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"Heh, let’s find someone and ask if this Qin Ya is really as incredible as the Palace Master claims." Holding his Jade Fan, Bai Yuyu stopped a female disciple from Guhong Island. "Excuse me, Junior Sister. May I ask who the disciple with the highest cultivation on Guhong Island is? Could you perhaps introduce us?"

The young female disciple gazed at Bai Yuyu’s dashingly handsome face, and her heart began to pound uncontrollably. ’It’s Bai Yuyu, the most handsome of the Liujie! It’s really him! He’s actually talking to me! Waaah, I’m so happy!’

"Junior Sister, are you alright?"

Bai Yuyu smiled gently and gave the young woman a light shake.

The disciple snapped back to her senses and looked at Bai Yuyu. "To... To answer Brother Bai... I mean... on our Guhong Island... the strongest..."

By the time the girl finished her stuttering explanation, the Liujie were mentally exhausted. ’We should have known better than to let Bai Yuyu do the talking.’

’What am I doing?! I actually stuttered!’

The female disciple wanted to cry but had no tears to shed. ’It’s all his fault for being so handsome!’

After finally managing to extract the information from the star-struck girl, the Liujie immediately headed for Guhong Island’s Imprisonment Cliff. For some unknown reason, all the Guhong Island disciples who had returned from the Hidden Dragon Valley had been sentenced to three months of confinement by their Island Master.

"Ha! White Fan, why are we going through all this trouble? Shouldn’t we just go straight to Luoyun Island, find that Qin Ya, and have a go at him?" Feng Langyun grumbled at Bai Yuyu as he strode across the water’s surface, his giant axe on his shoulder.

"You big oaf, have you ever heard the phrase ’know thy enemy’?"

"You just overthink things. It’s a waste of time."

"Heh, if it wasn’t for my intelligence gathering, would we have won the Four-Sect Exchange so easily this time? Take your opponent, for example. If I hadn’t told you his weakness, would you have been able to defeat him unscathed?"

Feng Langyun grunted and muttered, "Whatever you say."

The cloaked youth, Leng Rulie, spoke indifferently. "Feng Langyun, Bai Yuyu is right. For the Palace Master and the others to rate that Qin Ya so highly, it can’t just be to humble us. He must have some real ability."

"That’s more like it! The fights at the Four-Sect Exchange weren’t satisfying enough anyway," Feng Langyun said with a wicked grin, stroking his pitch-black axe.

Soon, the group arrived at Guhong Island’s Imprisonment Cliff.

Poor Chu Lingfeng and the others had already been stuck here for two months.

"Sigh... I’m so jealous of Junior Sister Lii. She earned the Island Master’s favor and was released after only a month of confinement," Chu Lingfeng said with a sigh.