After news of Duan Ling Tian mastering the real Sword Dao spread, a commotion broke out in the top five forces in the Eastern Ridge Mansion, the Pure Yang Sect; the Seven Kills Valley; the Wanqi clan; the Alliance of Benevolence and Justice; and the Dragon Martial Divine Sect.

Before the incident at the Seven Kills Valley, no one from the Pure Yang Sect was aware that Duan Ling Tian had comprehended the real Sword Dao.

“Duan Ling Tian mastered the real Sword Dao? I didn’t expect our Pure Yang Sect would have another person who has comprehended the Sword Dao!”

“Junior Uncle Ye from the Hidden Sword faction is widely acknowledged as our sect’s strongest powerhouse due to his Sword Dao and extraordinary comprehension of the law. Now, we have Duan Ling Tian who also mastered the Sword Dao. He even defeated the Wanqi clan’s Wanqi Hong, who was known as one of the strongest among the younger generation in the Eastern Ridge Mansion!”

“This is too shocking. Duan Ling Tian only became an intermediate Lord of Gods two years ago, but he’s already capable of defeating Wanqi Hong who became an advanced Lord of Gods 100 years ago!”

“Duan Ling Tian obtained a prominent divine artifact with an incomplete artifact soul for the Cloud Peak faction’s Nirvanic Elder Zhen? I heard that the prominent divine artifact used to belong to Wanqi Jue. Wanqi Jue must be furious, right?”

“Duan Ling Tian is truly remarkable!”

Previously, Duan Ling Tian was only somewhat famous in the Pure Yang Sect due to the recordings of him killing two intermediate Lords of Gods. Since the incident took place in the Flying Dragon Sect, an emperor-rank sect past its prime, many speculated that the two intermediate Lords of Gods were not that strong to begin with. For this reason, although many people thought Duan Ling Tian was talented, they did not think it was too big of a deal.

Previously, when the Pure Yang Sect decided to allocate resources for Duan Ling Tian to help him break through and become an intermediate Lord of Gods, the Zheng Ming faction and many other factions were rather dissatisfied with the sect’s decision. However, the tide turned after news of Duan Ling Tian defeating Wanqi Hong was sent back to the Pure Yang Sect. There was almost no one who questioned his ability at this time; all of them thought that the rumors about him being a monstrous talent were true. No one knew those two intermediate Lords of Gods he killed in the past, but everyone knew Wanqi Hong and that he was widely acknowledged as one of the strongest people below the age of 10,000 in the Eastern Ridge Mansion. Needless to say, Duan Ling Tian defeating such a person spoke volumes about his strength and talent.

“The sect really has a discerning eye. I’m embarrassed that I doubted Duan Ling Tian in the past. What a joke.”

“There’s no doubt that Duan Ling Tian will shine during the Seven Mansions Feast and bring glory to our Pure Yang Sect!”

“That’s right! He has a high chance of ranking in the top three!”

“He might even rank first! If I’m not mistaken, those who rank first will be given four slots to enter that place…”

After recovering from the shock, those from the Pure Yang Sect were in high spirits after receiving news that Duan Ling Tian defeated Wanqi Hong and that Zhen Ping Fan now owned Wanqi Jue’s prominent divine artifact with an incomplete artifact soul.

…

Conversely, a cloud of gloom seemed to loom over the Wanqi clan’s estate when they received news that the pride of their clan, Wanqi Hong, was defeated by Duan Ling Tian. It would not be a big deal if Wanqi Hong was defeated by someone older than him, but Duan Ling Tian was not even 3,000 years old, not even half of Wanqi Hong’s age. Then, they were dealt another heavy blow when they found out that their Golden Seat Ancestor, Wanqi Jue, had lost his prominent divine artifact with an incomplete artifact soul.

“A prominent divine artifact with an incomplete artifact soul was used a stake when the opponent only used 100 king-grade Limit Divine Pills as a stake? Was Wanqi Hong out of his mind?”

“Shhhh! Lower your voice! Perhaps, Wanqi Hong was certain of his victory so he didn’t care what his opponent used as a stake…”

“Hmph! No matter what the reason was, it’s irrefutable that he lost the prominent divine artifact with an incomplete artifact soul. If he doesn’t rank in the top three during the Seven Mansions Feast, our clan will suffer a great loss!”

“It still shouldn’t be a problem for him to rank in the top three…”

“Not a problem? He’s already defeated by Duan Ling Tian in the Eastern Ridge Mansion. Who knows what kind of prodigies the other six mansions have?”

There were many in the Wanqi clan who blamed Wanqi Hong for the loss of the prominent divine artifact with an incomplete artifact soul. Naturally, there were also those who blamed Wanqi Jue, but they kept their opinions to themselves. After all, without Wanqi Jue’s consent, Wanqi Hong would not have been able to use the prominent divine artifact with an incomplete artifact soul as a stake. It was just that nobody had the courage to speak ill of Wanqi Jue, who was a Golden Seat Elder and an intermediate Emperor of Gods. Moreover, Wanqi Jue suffered the biggest loss this time. Not only was his great-great-grandson, who was his pride and joy, severely injured, but he also lost his prominent divine artifact with an incomplete artifact soul.

There were also a few descendants of the Wanqi clan, who had a bad relationship with Wanqi Jue, gloating over Wanqi Jue’s misfortune.

In a remote area in the Wanqi clan’s estate.

An old man said to a middle-aged man, “Clan Leader, I’ll go to the Seven Kills Valley to see if there’s any hope in getting back Wanqi Jue’s prominent divine artifact with an incomplete artifact soul.”

The middle-aged thought about it for a moment before he said, “Alright. Try your best, but don’t use force. Zhen Yun Feng is no pushover, after all.”

“I understand,” the old man responded. Then, he left the Wanqi clan’s estate and traveled at top speed on an emperor-grade flying ship toward the Seven Kills Valley.

….

As for the remaining three top forces in the Eastern Ridge Mansion, they were still getting over the shock from the news they received.

“The Eastern Ridge Mansion finally has a second person who comprehended one of the Four Daos of Heaven and Earth. Similar to the other person, he also comprehended the Sword Dao and is from Pure Yang Sect!”

Before Duan Ling Tian’s big reveal, the Pure Yang Sect’s Ye Chen Feng was the only known person in the Eastern Ridge Mansion to have comprehended one of the Four Daos of Heaven and Earth. Those who mastered the rudimentary form of the Sword Dao were not considered to have mastered the real Sword Dao after all.

…

Due to this incident, Duan Ling Tian finally made a mark in the Eastern Ridge Mansion. No one would underestimate him anymore because of his low cultivation base or young age.

…

At this moment, Duan Ling Tian was unaware of the commotion he had caused. He was browsing through items at the Trading Conference. Since he had won a prominent divine artifact with an incomplete artifact soul for Zhen Ping Fan, Zhen Ping Fan had offered to pay for whatever he wanted at the conference. He naturally refused, but Zhen Ping Fan was so adamant that it seemed as though Zhen Ping Fan was going to take offense if he continued to refuse. Even then, he did not take advantage of Zhen Ping Fan and only bought what he really needed. He also bought things he deemed useful to his family, but this time, he was adamant about not letting Zhen Ping Fan pay for them.

Duan Ling Tian asked Zhen Ping Fan, “Elder Zhen, is the Wanqi really not going to participate in the Trading Conference? I don’t know if they have anything I need. I might be able to console them by giving them some business…”

Zhen Ping Fan rolled his eyes upon hearing Duan Ling Tian’s words. “Do you have a death wish? You better not say such things in front of Wanqi Jue! His anger hasn’t abated, and it won’t for a long time. Although he won’t have the guts to openly kill you, he can still get away with injuring you.”

Duan Ling Tian sobered up when he heard Zhen Ping Fan’s words. He seemed to have momentarily forgotten that he was able to defeat Wanqi Hong, but he was not yet able to deal with Wanqi Jue. Moreover, Wanqi Jue could kill him easily with just a flick of his hand.

Zhen Ping Fan continued to say, “They’ll show up tomorrow. Most of them are in a terrible mood now. They’ll mood will improve by tomorrow. The Trade Conference is also held because of the Seven Mansions Feast. The Wanqi clan will suffer a loss if they refuse to participate. Even if Wanqi Jue is angry and feels humiliated, he has no choice but to show up. No one in the entourage will be able to stop him if he refuses to attend, but there are still other Golden Seat Elders in the Wanqi clan to contend with if he messes up. Moreover, he would lose many people’s support as well if he affects the Wanqi clan. He can’t afford that since he’s been preparing for a long time now for Wanqi Hong to be the next Clan Leader of the Wanqi clan. For all these reasons, he’ll definitely show up.”

…

Zhen Ping Fan was right. The Wanqi clan did return to participate in the Trading Conference on the second day and most of them seemed to be in a better mood. It was as though they had forgotten about what happened as they traded with the Pure Yang Sect and the other forces. Even when Duan Ling Tian traded with them, they were not hostile.

As such, Duan Ling Tian could not help but feel that something was up.

‘Why do I feel like this is the calm before the storm?’