Chapter 59: Chapter 59: Scions of the Noble Clans

Amidst the melodious music, the dancers’ skirts fluttered. Their long, slender legs tiptoed and sprang, the graceful lines of their limbs full of supple energy.

Wang Pan smiled, and with a flick of his finger, a stream of water shot out and landed on the floor, transforming into a layer of ripples.

The dancers’ clothes were soaked by the splash, clinging tightly to their exquisite figures. Their pale, jade-like legs reflected the shimmering light, appearing even fairer than the reflection of their white gauze dresses in the water.

When their delicate feet occasionally broke the surface, they were adorned with tiny, crystalline droplets, like freshly cut, succulent pears.

As the dance concluded, the beauties in their half-soaked, thin gauze bowed gracefully. The hems of their slowly falling skirts spread out on the water’s surface, forming a perfect white circle.

Their milky-white skin was visible through the soaked gauze, their lovely curves tantalizingly indistinct—so dazzling one could hardly look directly at them.

When the dance was over, the dancers slowly withdrew.

The attendees then began to toast one another from afar, drinking and making merry as the hall grew lively.

Of the twenty Outer Disciples from this batch, sixteen had come today. Aside from Fang Cheng, all of them were orthodox disciples from Cultivation Families.

Having lived two lives, Fang Cheng was not lacking in social experience and quickly grew familiar with everyone.

The strength and potential he had displayed at the Ye Family’s Sword Fighting Conference and the Yinluo Sect’s outer sect trial made it so that no disciple from the great families present dared to underestimate him in the slightest.

All who could become Outer Disciples were individuals of considerable strength and intelligence. Their ability to maintain appearances was near-perfect, and they flattered one another with no trace of artificiality.

Among these sixteen Outer Disciples, only two were at the Seventh Layer of Sensing. One of them was Feng Mo.

The other was a stocky, honest-looking man dressed in fine robes.

This man was from the Liu Family, and his name was Liu Jufeng.

During the trial, he had missed the second Trial Stele. If not for Fang Cheng’s reminder, he likely wouldn’t have made it into the Inner Sect.

Besides those two, the other Outer Disciples were all at the Mid-Sensing Stage. Those ranked in the top five had all reached the Sixth Layer of Sensing.

Among them, only a handful had left an impression on Fang Cheng.

The most notable of these was the beautiful woman from the Dong Family who had placed second in the outer sect trial.

With her hair in an elegant coiffure and dressed in palace attire, she was stunningly beautiful. She sat there with poise and grace, like a statue of a Jade Beauty. Her temperament was icy, and she disliked conversation, seeming out of place and exceptionally aloof.

It was hard for Fang Cheng not to notice her...

As everyone chatted, the conversation gradually focused on two major incidents from the recent outer sect trial.

The first was the Wang Family’s rising star, Wang Xingzhi!

This man clearly had the strength to pass the outer sect trial, yet his family had arranged for him to intercept other Cultivators instead.

Most of the Outer Disciples in the hall had been intercepted by Wang Xingzhi, and all had been defeated.

It was said that Wang Xingzhi’s condition for letting people pass was one thousand Lower-Grade Spirit Stones!

This made many people grit their teeth in hatred for Wang Xingzhi.

Although Wang Xingzhi hadn’t demanded Spirit Stones from Feng Mo, he had still been delayed for quite some time, ultimately ceding the first-place title in the trial to a member of the Wang Family.

The second matter was related to Fang Cheng.

During this trial, the Zhou Family’s entire group had been wiped out, and to this day, no one knew who was responsible.

Some guessed it was the work of Demon Beasts, while others suspected a Cultivator who had participated in the trial.

The matter had now become an unsolved mystery.

However, due to the Yinluo Sect’s rule that "killing is not forbidden" during the outer sect trial, the Zhou Family couldn’t launch a high-profile investigation for the culprit.

But as people chatted, it was mentioned that several people present were suspects in the Zhou Family’s eyes.

Masters like Feng Mo, Wang Pan, Dong Qing, Fang Cheng, and Liu Jufeng, whose strength far surpassed their peers, were among them.

...

Outside Shuiyun Pavilion.

A man and a woman of extraordinary bearing stood under a tree, silently watching the crowd drinking and laughing inside the pavilion.

Not a single one of the maids and servants coming and going from Shuiyun Pavilion noticed the pair.

The man was handsome and imposing, with sharp eyes and a cold demeanor. Just by standing there, he exuded an indescribable sense of pressure.

Beside him was a tall, elegant, classical beauty.

The woman wore a moon-white dress that accentuated her graceful figure and long, shapely legs. Beneath her beautiful face, sorrow was hidden.

Both had Ninth-Layer Sensing Cultivation and had used Magic to conceal their presence. Not only could the maids and servants not see them, but even the many Outer Disciples inside Shuiyun Pavilion were completely unaware of their arrival.

"Xueyu, have you sensed anything?"

the man asked faintly.

The beautiful woman’s delicate brows furrowed. She shook her head, a flicker of disappointment crossing her face.

She possessed a Demon Secret Technique that allowed her to sense the aura of the enemy who had killed her close relative within a certain range.

However, this Secret Technique relied solely on a vague sense of blood vengeance and was not precise.

It would only work if her relative’s emotions were intense at the moment of death, leaving behind an "imprint" that the killer became "tainted" with.

When she learned that this year’s Outer Disciples were gathering, she had the man beside her bring her outside Shuiyun Hall, hoping to find her younger brother’s murderer.

Unfortunately... she found nothing.

"In that case, let’s go,"

the man said coolly. His calm tone held a quality that brooked no refusal.

The woman nodded, her beautiful eyes glancing one last time into the hall as if she was still unwilling to give up.

"As for the other four Outer Disciples," the man added, "I’ll summon them to one place another day, and you can inspect them one by one."

The two departed silently.

...

Inside Shuiyun Hall.

Fang Cheng suddenly felt a slight stirring in his qi and blood, giving rise to a peculiar sensation.

The next moment, the Celestial Fire Body Forging Technique activated on its own. A surge of potent fire energy silently swept through him, melting away the strange feeling in his body.

Fang Cheng frowned slightly and scanned his surroundings, but he didn’t discover anything.

Listening to the idle chatter, he was just now learning about Zhou Huaijin’s true background.

The man’s older sister was named Zhou Xueyu. She was the most outstanding disciple of the Zhou Family’s younger generation, and her talent in Sword Technique had earned great praise from the Yinluo Sect’s Inner Sect Elders.

Zhou Xueyu had become an Inner Sect Disciple of the Yinluo Sect several years ago. Her cultivation had reached the Ninth Layer of Sensing, and she was one of the Zhou Family’s reserve "Life Talisman Seeds."

Then, for some unknown reason, the Zhou Family used Zhou Xueyu as a tool for a political marriage, wedding her into the Chixia Wang Family.

Zhou Xueyu married into the Wang Family, becoming the Daoist companion of one of their prodigies!

Anyone called a prodigy was sure to be a heaven-gifted talent who far surpassed their peers in every aspect.

Among the many Cultivation Families of the Abyssal Marsh, only two people had earned this title in the last decade.

One was from the Flame Demon Feng Family, who cultivated the White Bone Relic, one of the Yinluo Sect’s nine great ultimate techniques. Their name was Feng Ling!

The other was from the Chixia Wang Family, who cultivated the Netherworld Banner, another of the Yinluo Sect’s nine great ultimate techniques. His name was Wang Yuntian!

Wang Yuntian’s grandfather was one of the Yinluo Sect’s nine Peak Masters, an expert at the Peak of the Life Talisman Realm. He was renowned throughout the entire Yun Country, his prestige immense.

Wang Yuntian had displayed astonishing talent since childhood and was deeply favored by his grandfather. He had even trained under his grandfather for a time in his youth and was expected to one day lead the Wang Family, becoming another key figure ensuring its continued prosperity.

The Zhou Family’s marriage alliance with the Wang Family was also because they had taken a fancy to Wang Yuntian’s formidable potential!

As a result, the status of the Zhou siblings within their own family had also risen with the tide.

If not for this, how could Zhou Huaijin have been so arrogant and domineering as to pick a fight with Fang Cheng?