“It seems that the contest’s most recent champion i[a]sn’t half bad.”
A cold eyed Ye Ling opened his mouth in an unhurried manner, “If I’m not mistaken, the energy you just released was the ancient deity aura, was it not? There’s also divine power in your body. You have indeed received a lot from your master.”
“It’s not that I’ve received a lot; it’s just that your strength is too little,” said Su Ping calmly.
Even though the guy attributed his strength to his master’s gifts, Su Ping wasn’t denying the fact; he just never bothered to explain to strangers.
All the people present gave stunned looks at Su Ping, wondering how he could be that arrogant. He said that the third place holder of the Divine Lord Rank is weak? If it were so, what about the other Star Lords? Are they toys?
Ye Ling was equally stunned and rendered speechless by Su Ping, but then he realized that he wouldn’t defeat that junior with mere words. He snorted and said, “Let’s practice then, since you’re capable enough. It won’t be unfair. Come on.”
“Not interested,” Su Ping quickly turned him down.
Ye Ling was absolutely unchallenging as a sparring partner; he would rather spend time cultivating.
The arrogant senior said with cold eyes, “Are you scared?”
“If you say so.” Su Ping was too lazy to explain.
Ye Ling could sense a bone-deep disdain from Su Ping’s casual attitude, which made him uncontrollably furious. At first he simply wanted to spar with Su Ping and have a feel for the rising genius capabilities.
Since his level was higher, he would be able to see the direction of Su Ping’s cultivation if they practiced, and from that estimate the young man’s level-up speed.
After all, the routes taken by geniuses were very similar, if not the same.
However, their previous clash had shown that Su Ping wouldn’t bend as easily as expected. It also proved that the young man was truly capable of beating the tenth place holder of the Divine Lord Rank while still being a realm lower.
“In that case…”
Ye Ling snorted and was about to challenge Su Ping to a duel. He would no longer step back since he had already taken action, and he wasn’t scared of Su Ping’s identity, either. He would become a Heavenly Lord that even the Celestial experts would love to have as a subordinate, once he reached the Ascendant State; he would then have the protection of a true powerhouse.
That was the trump card and confidence of a top genius, which helped them keep their cool, even when facing Celestials.
Someone chuckled before Ye Ling could extend the challenge. “Hey, everyone. How have you been cultivating? Are you satisfied?”
Everybody saw an old man descend and land between Su Ping and Ye Ling. He was an Ascendant expert whose hair and beard were purely white.
“Director Yu!”
The descendants of the Loulan family hurriedly paid respects to the old man.
Su Ping glanced at the smiling elder who had appeared at a subtly prompt timing. It was obvious that the old man had stepped in to offer aid in defusing the situation. Su Ping didn’t consider Ye Ling as a threat; on the other hand, he sensed the old man’s friendliness. He nodded and said, “Greetings.”
“Mr. Su is a friend of our family. It is true that geniuses always distinguish themselves when they’re still young. Feel free to seek Lin if you have any questions,” said Director Yu.
He then turned around and said to Ye Ling, also with a smile, “Mr. Ye, I’m sure your long trip over was tiresome. Take some time to rest and recover.”
Ye Ling’s expression had a slight change, then he snorted. He could sense the old man’s bias toward Su Ping. However, he could understand the elder’s decision, as Su Ping had finally accepted the Loulans’ invitation, which he had declined earlier on.
The Loulans had begged him in various ways so they could somehow make him owe them a favor. That was why he had made an appearance at the gala.
“I won’t press on this issue, now that you’re here, Mr. Yu. He’s only a Star State warrior; bullying him wouldn’t be any fun. I hope he’ll reach the Ascendant State by the time we meet again. I look forward to seeing whether he can reach the Ascendant State in a thousand years. Ha!” Ye Ling sneered and then left.
His followers—a man and a woman—gave Su Ping weird looks, then followed the man as he left.
They weren’t unknown lackeys. The Loulans noticed that both had attained top positions in the Divine Lord Rank.
However, they were completely eclipsed when standing next to Ye Ling; nobody had paid them any mind.
“Mr. Su, we can arrange the best seat if you want to cultivate. You’re free to cultivate here, anytime,” said Director Yu and chickled.
The crowd began to whisper after hearing such a statement.
“The best seat? Doesn’t it belong to Jue?”
“Jue is the best genius of our family. Is it really appropriate to give away that seat to an outsider?”
“I was asking myself the same thing…”
The Loulan descendants looked at a young man in the crowd, who was markedly tall and handsome. He was currently in a stupor, obviously surprised after losing his spot. His surrounding friends were already complaining in low voices, unwilling to see him give his seat away to an outsider.
“I’ll make other arrangements for Jue. The family is planning to send him to cultivate in the astral plane. Don’t worry,” said Director Yu as he looked at the group of people. He seemed unhappy but his anger never showed while he heard the complaints.
He hadn’t discussed with the family about the decision, but he believed his approval would be supported when reported later on.
After all, the recent display of power was too shocking, even for someone like him.
The young witnesses didn’t see the situation clearly. Not even Ye Ling saw through Su Ping’s true might. However, the old man’s ample experience as director of that cultivation holy land, he noticed Su Ping’s extraordinary talent, including his small world and the plenty of laws it had.
He was deeply shocked. He had rarely seen such a perfect small world in all the 100,000 years of his life. At the very least, it was more solid and perfect than Ye Ling’s small world.
This meant that Su Ping would surely defeat Ye Ling once he became a Star Lord!
Furthermore, even if Su Ping were to fight Ye Ling right then and there, he would only lose due to lack of energy. However, such a disadvantage wasn’t evident in their previous clash.
The deity aura released by Su Ping was eight times as effective as astral power, and he had accumulated a huge amount of it in his body. Indeed, such external power was exhaustible, but he could use it extravagantly thanks to his status as a disciple of a Celestial State expert. He would not lose if their fight was brief!
If the news were to spread, Director Yu had no doubt this would silence all the old guys who had been against inviting Su Ping.
He condensed a small world in the Fate State and challenged the Divine Lord Rank in the Star State. The only obstacle lying ahead for that kid is the breakthrough to the Ascendant State. He will be absolutely unstoppable in the universe once he becomes an Ascendant. It’s likely that he’ll become one of the best Heavenly Lords, one that even Celestials would have difficulty to kill! The more Director Yu thought, the more excited he became. The Loulan family didn’t have a large stock of such talent!
If they had another outstanding Heavenly Lord, the family would be able to further expand their influence!
“Lin, keep Mr. Su company,” Director Yu said to Loulan Lin rather thoughtfully. He then flashed and disappeared.
Loulan Lin puffed her cheeks while slightly dazed; chatting was the last thing she liked to do. However, she gave Su Ping an intrigued look as she recalled his recent confrontation against Ye Ling. Is it really possible to do that while in the Star State? If so, wouldn’t he be at the top of the Divine Lord Rank once he becomes a Star Lord?
Her eyes glittered at the thought.
Su Ping could only ask Loulan Lin since the old man had left, “Well… Where is the best seat?” .
All troubles had been resolved; he only wanted to cultivate and condense his stars.
While briefly stunned, Loulan Lin pointed with her finger. “It’s right there. The best seat is at the core of[b] the mountain. Cultivating there is ten times as effective as in the outside world.”
Su Ping’s eyes glittered. The exterior was already as effective as his training room in the Celestial Court. What would it feel like if it was ten times more effective?
It was worthy of note that the astral power density in the area was ten times higher than other places to begin with!
It’s true that big families have abundant resources, Su Ping remarked in his heart. He estimated that an astronomical number of astral stones were consumed to support the arrays. Only a big faction like the Loulan family could afford the cost without going bankrupt.
“The Ascendants won’t peep at cultivators during training, right?” asked Su Ping.
Stunned and angry, Loulan Lin replied, “What do you take my family for? Why would they do that? Besides, you are a friend of our family; they would . They’ll give you enough respect.”
Su Ping didn’t say anything as he moved to the best seat; he could tell that all the family descendants were watching him. They saw this as him stealing someone else’s place. However, it was that old man’s decision, so Su Ping didn’t really care; everything was fine as long as he had a place to cultivate.
Su Ping entered the best seat area, which was a complicated astral array; the rocks around him were arranged in the shape of a lotus flower. Astral dust fell from the sky, gathering into a thick layer of snow on the ground.
Hardly had Su Ping stepped in when he felt that astral power was flowing into his body like seawater. His eyes glowed brilliantly. The astral power is indeed dense…
“I’ll be cultivating here then. Goodbye,” said Su Ping to Loulan Lin.
She didn’t expect him to be the first to say goodbye; it gave her a weird feeling. She then snorted and said, “Goodbye!”
[a]”this year’s champion” is a temporal mismatch, as several years have passed, Su Ping training after the contest in his Celestial master’s house.
[b]Guessing here. A “critical location” of the mountain was vague; it can mean lots of things.
