Chapter 23
Family Ranking
While Wen Qiong was enjoying the flattery of the crowd, Kong Rui had already taken her seat in the guest seat of the Li family.
The Li family’s seats were on the left of the main viewing platform, adjacent to those of the Nie family and the Hua family.
After Kong Rui sat down safely, she looked around, hoping to sense the little phoenix’s aura.
However, no matter how she tried, she couldn’t sense the little phoenix.
“Did Wen Qiong not bring the little phoenix with her?” Kong Rui frowned, her expression grave.
If that was the case, wouldn’t she have come here for nothing?!
The Hua family contestant sitting on Kong Rui’s right was Hua Shang, the only son of the current head of the Hua family.
It was said that Hua Shang was born weak. The head of the Hua family once thought that he wouldn’t live to adulthood, so he named him this to mourn his fate.
Unexpectedly, although Hua Shang was born weak, he miraculously had the ability to absorb spiritual energy.
At the age of four to five, he had already broken through to the third level spiritual body. He was a genius that had never been seen in the clans!
However, his foundation was still a little weak. Although Hua Shang was talented, he could only cultivate according to the rules to make up for his shortcomings.
Hua Shang covered his face with a white bamboo hat all year round, so no one had seen his true appearance.
As soon as Kong Rui sat down, Hua Shang turned his head slightly to look at this unexpectedly talented illegitimate daughter of the Li family.
Hua Shang had seen Li Ling a few times, but only briefly during the so-called gatherings of the five families.
The only impression Li Ling gave Hua Shang was that the women of the Li family were unruly and vulgar. In the past, she didn’t have the valiance and elegance like she had when she rode the divine beast into the arena today.
Most importantly, the information that his father had received was that the Li family’s participant was Wen Qiong. However, how did this illegitimate daughter get the spot instead?
Hua Shang glanced at Kong Rui, then turned back to stare intently at the center of the field.
Regardless of whether the Li family took part in the competition or fell out with the imperial family, the final winner of this competition could only be the Hua family!
The Lei and Fu families, two of the five major families, were on the right side of the main viewing platform.
The Lei family was ranked second only to the Nie family among the five major families and was on the right side of the main viewing platform.
The Fu family was originally on par with the Li family, but because the Fu family had produced a few geniuses in the previous generation, the position of this family was also slightly above that of the Li family.
The Fu family’s oldest daughter, Fu Jiao, had broken through to the seventh level of the spiritual body realm.
Ever since Kong Rui appeared, Fu Jiao had been gritting her teeth. “Is there a need to put on such a show? They’re all useless!”
“Only the Li family would care about such things. In fact, they should be ashamed to send out such trash!”
Fu Jiao was also one of the legitimate daughters who usually appeared at the gatherings of the five major families. She disdained Li Ling’s identity as an illegitimate daughter.
“Get a good look at yourself! If there’s a chance, I’ll definitely teach you a lesson!” Fu Jiao couldn’t help but snort.
The queen sat in the high chair behind the main viewing platform and looked at Wen Qiong’s back with pride.
The queen had deliberately let Wen Qiong appear at this moment to let the people of the five families know that the princess didn’t represent the Li family, but the empire instead!
In the past, the royal family had always been weak in front of the five great clans. This time, with the little phoenix around, she would see who still dared to look down on the royal family?!
Just as Wen Qiong was about to speak again, a faint fragrance filled the air.
The fragrance assaulted her nostrils, making her momentarily lose her senses.
While everyone was in a daze, Nie Yin was the first to sober up.
He looked up at the sky and saw a palanquin pulled by three flying beasts slowly approaching from afar.
The beast seemed to move very slowly, but it arrived in the middle of the arena in the blink of an eye.
Inside the palanquin, a delicate female voice sounded. “The Deputy Pavilion Master of High Heaven Pavilion, Hong Ling, greets the Queen.”
At this moment, everyone suddenly sobered up and realized that there was a palanquin in the middle of the venue.
The queen quickly got up and took a few steps forward to Wen Qiong’s side. She nodded at the palanquin.
High Heaven Pavilion was within the scope of the five continents. Although it wasn’t as powerful as the five great families and the empire, it was still an organization that couldn’t be underestimated.
It was second only to the Haolan Academy and the Profound Heaven Sect.
The spirit beast competition would send invitations to the three major sects every year, but they never came.
This time, the appearance of the High Heaven Pavilion surprised everyone present.