As a major power, White Lotus Prefecture was naturally invited, and Yu Shiqian was one of its representatives. Most of the factions present had sent their Mansion Masters. Essentially, no Mansion Master dared to refuse a personal appearance—this was an invitation from the Netherworld Empire, after all.

The Netherworld Empire could afford not to send a Great Emperor, but the invited factions had to send their Mansion Masters. The only exception was if a faction had no Mansion Master, which was a different matter. So, as Yi Tianyun scanned his surroundings, he saw that the place was packed with powerhouses. There was a staggering number of them, all at the Spirit Pill Stage.

There were even more at the Core Formation Stage. If they could all be gathered into a single sect, it would undoubtedly become an invincible force on the Celestial Realm Continent!

However, a force of that caliber already existed: an Empire. Empires possessed a considerable number of Spirit Pill Stage experts—dozens, at the very least. The number of Core Formation Stage cultivators they had was even more astonishing. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have the right to call themselves an Empire.

An Empire’s strength was enough to control or even sweep across the entire Celestial Realm Continent.

"Yi Keqing, you’re here?" A familiar voice came from the side.

Yi Tianyun turned his head and saw Elder Yun walking over, looking somewhat surprised to see him. He had just been thinking that it was a shame Yi Tianyun hadn’t come. With so many powerhouses gathered here, it would have been a great benefit for Yi Tianyun to get acquainted with a few of them.

He hadn’t expected Yi Tianyun to be here already, and with another faction at that.

"Elder Yun, you’ve arrived as well," Yi Tianyun said with a small smile. He still felt a bit sheepish around Star Pavilion. ’After all, I drained their Celestial Spirit Jade Pool dry without paying a single cent.’

"Yes, we just arrived a short while ago. Pavilion Master Li was just saying what a pity it was that you didn’t come," Elder Yun said, then gave the Great Elder and his group a meaningful look. "I didn’t expect you to arrive with the Celestial Extreme Mansion. Yi Keqing, does this mean you’ve joined them?"

"Yes, I have joined the Celestial Extreme Mansion. I hope Elder Yun will continue to look out for me," Yi Tianyun confirmed without hiding anything. Since he had chosen to stand with the Celestial Extreme Mansion now, he was naturally part of them.

"Then congratulations, Yi Keqing." Elder Yun offered his congratulations, but a flicker of disappointment crossed his eyes. ’Someone of Yi Tianyun’s caliber joining the Celestial Extreme Mansion is such a waste.’

The Celestial Extreme Mansion was in decline and probably couldn’t even provide many resources. How could Elder Yun not be disappointed? However, he didn’t try to persuade him otherwise, as he wasn’t that familiar with Yi Tianyun.

Just then, a familiar figure appeared, surprising Yi Tianyun. The newcomer wasn’t anyone important; it was Zhang Bin, the very same person he had beaten into a hasty retreat before! He was a minor character, completely insignificant, yet he had actually shown up here. It was quite unexpected.

"Greetings, Great Elder..." Zhang Bin walked over, but his greeting to the Great Elder was utterly devoid of courtesy. His attitude was pure arrogance. When he glanced at Yi Tianyun, his eyes filled with even more disdain. "Huh, I didn’t expect you to come join the fun too. It seems the Celestial Extreme Mansion thinks pretty highly of you."

Zhang Bin, of course, had no idea that Yi Tianyun was now the Mansion Master. The matter hadn’t been announced publicly, so very few people knew he was the true leader. Only the trusted stewards within the mansion knew Yi Tianyun was the Mansion Master.

At first, these stewards found it incredible, but after learning the full situation, they were all quite shaken. His prestige might be lacking, but at least his cultivation was more than sufficient.

"Hm? I remember you. You’re Zhang Bin from the Celestial Pattern Pavilion. What are you doing here?" The Great Elder frowned. He was familiar with the disciples of the Celestial Pattern Pavilion and could recall their names, especially since Zhang Bin’s ranking was quite high.

"Why can’t I be here...?" Zhang Bin said, his face full of pride. "But this is the last time I’ll be calling you ’Great Elder.’ From now on, I am a member of the Divine Rune Mansion. My apologies, but quite a few of us have already joined the Divine Rune Mansion. We won’t be staying with the Celestial Extreme Mansion any longer."

"What?" The Great Elder’s expression turned grim. "Do you have any idea what the punishment for betraying the sect is?!"

"Of course I know. Betraying the sect means having your cultivation crippled, and all that..." Zhang Bin sneered. "But what does the Celestial Extreme Mansion have that’s even worth crippling? Just a bunch of trash Divine Runes and garbage Martial Arts. Cultivating them is completely underwhelming. The Divine Rune Mansion is the one with real capital... You people are just too pathetic."

"You!" The Great Elder’s eyes widened in fury, and he raised his hand to strike.

But Zhang Bin was completely unafraid. "The Divine Rune Mansion is right behind me. I’m one of them now. If you hit me, you’re slapping the Divine Rune Mansion in the face. You’d better think carefully about the consequences, if you cause a rift between our two factions..."

SLAP!

A hand had already lashed out, viciously striking Zhang Bin across the face and sending him flying. The crisp sound attracted the attention of many people nearby, who all turned to look. Who would dare to start a fight at this banquet?

The one who struck was none other than Yi Tianyun!

"No matter how trashy it is, it’s still better than a scumbag who’s worse than trash," Yi Tianyun said, shaking his hand, his gaze icy.

Sent flying by the slap, Zhang Bin had lost several teeth. His mouth was full of blood, a wretched sight to behold.

"You... you actually dared to hit me!" Zhang Bin managed to climb back to his feet. Yi Tianyun had held back, so of course he could still get up.

"What’s going on?" Just then, a young man walked over. The name "Divine Rune Mansion" embroidered on his clothes clearly identified him as one of their own.

"S-Steward Xiang... He... he hit me! Someone from the Celestial Extreme Mansion hit me!" Seeing Steward Xiang approach, Zhang Bin acted as if he’d seen his savior, pointing a finger at Yi Tianyun’s group as he spoke coldly.

Steward Xiang glanced over. When he saw it was the Celestial Extreme Mansion, his expression immediately darkened. He strode toward them and said in a heavy voice, "Celestial Extreme Mansion, I didn’t think you’d dare to lay a hand on our people!"

Yi Tianyun was taken aback. ’They don’t know I killed someone from the Divine Rune Mansion yet?’ Apparently, they had arrived in separate groups. Steward Xiang’s group had obviously come first, bringing along people like Zhang Bin to broaden their horizons. They hadn’t rendezvoused with Lin Feng’s group and were still unaware of what had happened.

"I was disciplining a traitor from my Celestial Extreme Mansion. Is there a problem?" Yi Tianyun said calmly.

"He’s one of our Divine Rune Mansion’s people now, understand? The Divine Rune Mansion!" Steward Xiang heavily emphasized the name, his face full of contempt. "Their talent is quite good; it would be a shame for them to remain in the Celestial Extreme Mansion... From this day forward, they are our people. If you have the guts, try touching him again. Touch him, and you touch our Divine Rune Mansion!"

Zhang Bin stood beside him, looking incredibly smug and sneering. Having a backer gave him a surge of confidence.

"That’s right! I’m part of the Divine Rune Mansion now, and I have nothing to do with you from the Celestial Extreme Mansion! You’re going to apologize for what you did, and at the very least, let me slap you back twice. Otherwise, this matter isn’t over...!"

THUD!

This time, a kick lashed out. Before anyone could react, Zhang Bin was sent flying again, kicked right in front of Steward Xiang.

"A sect has its rules. You want to take this piece of trash? Fine! You can take him now." Yi Tianyun made a ’go ahead’ gesture.

"My... my Dantian... my cultivation..." When Zhang Bin struggled to his feet, his face was ashen. He realized his cultivation had been completely crippled. He was now a cripple!