"Your Majesty, Divine Sword Master Zhong Chao Huang is waiting in the lobby. He also seemed a bit anxious." A servant notified Lord Xie of Elder Zhong's arrival.

"Senior Zhong? Did he leave something behind? He was here just some time ago." Lord Xie raised an eyebrow.

"Allow him to see me," he said to the guard.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

A few minutes later, Elder Zhong entered the room with a look of desperation and bewilderment.

"Y-Your Majesty! There has to be some kind of mistake! Why is 'he' one of the partic.i.p.ants?!" Elder Zhong asked him.

"Slow down…" Lord Xie was slightly overwhelmed by Elder Zhong's behavior and said, "What are you talking about?"

"T-That man, Su Yang! Why is he one of the partic.i.p.ants?!" Elder Zhong asked again, clearly this time. "There's no way that someone at the Heavenly Spirit Realm could possibly qualify to be a partic.i.p.ant!"

"Ah… so you have heard of the news." Lord Xie finally understood why he was acting so strangely.

"I know this might be a pill that's nearly impossible to swallow, but Su Yang… he's actually only 17 years old as of this moment." Lord Xie revealed the truth to him, whose eyes and mouth widened with shock.

"S-S-S-Seventeen…?" Elder Zhong stuttered nonstop.

"T-That's impossible! What kind of talent must one have in order to reach the Heavenly Spirit Realm at that age when the rest of us are all over 100 years old?"

Lord Xie shook his head and said, "Although he denies it, I believe that he has a Master from the mythical Holy Central Continent. Otherwise, I cannot even imagine how he would have achieved such a feat."

"A master from the Holy Central Continent…"

Perhaps the reason why they can't comprehend Su Yang's talent is because he has someone from a place they also cannot comprehend supporting him.

"If you are still feeling doubtful, go look into the Su Family's second son."

"Wait… 'That' Su Family?" Elder Zhong looked at him with disbelief.

Lord Xie nodded and said, "Due to unknown circ.u.mstances, Su Yang had been missing for about a year. However, after some deeper investigations, it appears that he'd actually been kicked out of the house and sent to the Profound Blossom Sect as a disciple."

Elder Zhong was speechless. He didn't expect Su Yang would have such a complicated background.

"Although it does not explain how he achieved the Heavenly Spirit Realm, it will remove most of your doubts regarding his ident.i.ty."

Elder Zhong chuckled in a defeated manner a moment later and said, "First the Earth Advancement Pills, now there are juniors reaching the Heavenly Spirit Realm. It appears that a new cultivation era is approaching, and my cultivation was for naught. If only I was born a little bit later."

"If Su Yang is truly only seventeen years old, then it's safe to believe that this Hong Yu'er from the Azure Cloud Sect is also at the Heavenly Spirit Realm, right?"

"Hong Yu'er…" Lord Xie sighed after hearing her name and said, "Perhaps she also has an expert from the Holy Central Continent supporting her. It's too much of a coincidence that she's also Su Yang's fiancee."

"Wait a moment…"

Elder Zhong rubbed his temples with pressure and continued, "This Hong Yu'er is Su Yang's fiancee?"

"According to the investigation, yes. I had even sent a few irresistible young men with powerful backgrounds to approach her, but they were all instantly shot down by her, who insisted that she already has a fiance. I even investigated the Hong Family, and while they tried to hide the fact, Hong Yu'er was indeed engaged to Su Yang from a young age."

"Well, no matter their relations.h.i.+p, it'll be fun to see what they'll do once they are on the same stage." Lord Xie smiled.

Elder Zhong looked at him with a dissatisfied face.

When Lord Xie noticed it, he said, "I know what you're thinking, but regardless of who I paired your Sect against, the results will be the same. Unless you also have a Heavenly Spirit Realm expert amongst the junior ranks."

"If I had someone like that, the entire world would've known by now." Elder Zhong shook his head.

"It's unfortunate, but I'll have my disciples fight a battle that has already been decided before it even started."

"Do you not intend on telling them about Su Yang?" Lord Xie asked him.

"What's the point? Knowing about his strength won't change anything. In fact, it'll only make them even more depressed than they already are with Fang Zhelan."

"Haaaaa… To think the Divine Sword Sect's unshakable reign would finally come to an end… and in such a sudden fas.h.i.+on. Did I offend a G.o.d in my previous life to deserve this?" Elder Zhong sighed deeply.

"Nothing will last forever. In fact, in a few dozen years, I'm sure that Su Yang will eventually surpa.s.s my father, who has reached the legendary Sovereign Spirit Realm. Once that happens, he might even become the next Emperor of the Eastern Continent," said Lord Xie.

"However, a cultivator with a limitless future is always unpredictable. Who knows what he'll do in the future when he's all grown. He could remain in the Eastern Continent as a ruler, or he could travel to the other continents. Seeing how his master is from the Holy Central Continent, he might even go over there."

"Whatever it is that he might do, I'm sure that it'll shake the entire world."

Sometime later, Elder Zhong returned to his disciples.

"Is everything fine, Sect Master?"

They asked him with a worried face.

"Don't worry, it's nothing serious. By the way, regardless of what happens tomorrow, just focus on doing your best and try not to make a fool out of yourselves." Elder Zhong said to them.

"Anyways, I have a huge headache right now, so I will be retiring for the day."

After he disappeared into his room, the Sect Elders looked at each other with dumbfounded looks.

"To make a Heavenly Spirit Realm master experience headaches, it must have been fairly serious."

"But alas, there's nothing we can do. Let's just hope that it's nothing too bad and focus on getting through tomorrow without losing too much face."