On the following day, everyone in the Profound Blossom Sect gathered at the front of the hotel, including the Elders that had been in closed cultivation.

"Hahaha… I didn't think that I would be able to reach the Earth Spirit Realm without another 50 years!" Elder Sun laughed loudly after leaving his seclusion.

"You're embarra.s.sing yourself, grandfather…" Sun Jingjing looked at him weirdly.

"Of course, I cannot compare you to, who has reached the Earth Spirit Realm at such a young age! However, this is still a huge achievement for me!" he said.

"By the way, I heard from the Sect Master that your parents had visited us while I was in seclusion. What did they say to you?"

"Don't worry, grandfather. It's not something that you need to know about. But if you really want to know, you should ask them yourself."

"Hoh? Since when did you become so independent?" Elder Sun raised an eyebrow, as he noticed something different about his granddaughter, who had a more mature aura than before.

"A lot has happened since you entered seclusion, but you'll learn about it sooner or later." Sun Jingjing said, but she was not willing to reveal anything to him just yet.

"Hmph. You can keep your secrets. But don't come crying to me when your parents make things difficult for you in the future." Elder Sun said before ignoring her.

A few moments later, Liu Lanzhi appeared before them and spoke, "Are we all here?"

"Yes, Sect Master!"

Everybody shouted with excitement, especially the Junior Disciples.

"Good." Liu Lanzhi nodded.

Sometime later, the Profound Blossom Sect reached the colosseum.

As they reached the gates, the people there would turn to stare at them with gazes filled with admiration.

There were even a few young men and women who approached them with the intent of joining them.

"Excuse me, Sect Master and Seniors, when will the Profound Blossom Sect start recruiting disciples again?"

"Ever since I saw the Profound Blossom Sect's disciple defeat the Burning Lotus Sect, I have been wanting to be a part of it!"

"Me, too! I also want to become a disciple at the Profound Blossom Sect!"

Although she was taken aback by their enthusiasm, Liu Lanzhi spoke with a professional expression, "The next recruitment for the Profound Blossom Sect is planned to be one month after the regional tournament. However, due to some changes to the Profound Blossom Sect, it may be delayed, so wait until after the regional tournament for an official statement."

Although only a few people approached them, there were many there who were interested in the Profound Blossom Sect but were too shy to approach them and were silently noting Liu Lanzhi's words in the background.

Almost two hours later, the regional tournament finally began.

"Welcome to the semifinals for the regional tournament! Although it's only been a few years since the last tournament, it's obvious that there were many changes in the cultivation world throughout these short years."

After spending a few minutes to recall the rules, Zi Dong called out the partic.i.p.ants for the first match.

"Without further ado, allow me to introduce our contestants for the first match, the Profound Blossom Sect, one of the few dark horses of this generation, and their opponents, the regional tournament's indomitable champion for many years, Divine Sword Sect!"

The crowd roared with intense excitement as the Divine Sword Sect finally appeared on the stage, as they have been waiting for their return since the tournament began.

However, not even a minute had pa.s.sed since the Divine Sword Sect stood on the stage and the audience already noticed something different about them.

"What's this…? There's something different about the Divine Sword Sect this year, but I cannot pinpoint the difference…"

"You're right. Although I might be wrong, they seem less radiant compared to their previous appearances, almost like they are not as domineering."

"Now that you mention it, that might be the reason! After all, there's the Profound Blossom Sect and the Azure Cloud Sect this year. Compared to their geniuses that defy logic, the Divine Sword Sect doesn't appear as powerful anymore. Look at them. Their strongest cultivator is only at the 3rd level Earth Spirit Realm, which is nothing when compared to Fang Zhelan, much less Hong Yu'er."

While there were some people that looked down on the Divine Sword Sect, there were more that defended them.

"Although they cannot compare to Fang Zhelan or Hong Yu'er in terms of cultivation base, the Divine Sword Sect has many renowned swordmasters and hundreds of years of experience in combat."

"Indeed. And they have many geniuses that can fight those above their own realm, so you cannot underestimate them."

"Speaking of fighting against those above their own realm, what about that young man from the Profound Blossom Sect? He defeated somebody at the Earth Spirit Realm whilst being only at the Profound Spirit Realm! If you ask me, that's even more shocking than Hong Yu'er's Heavenly Spirit Realm cultivation base!"

"His name was Su Yang, right? It's hard to judge his prowess from what we've seen so far, since he hasn't really displayed anything too shocking, and he's barely made any appearances on the stage. In fact, I still don't understand how he managed to beat Fairy Lin Shao Shang."

"Well, let's hope he fights the Divine Sword Sect, so we can get a better understanding of his power."

Meanwhile, on the stage, Elder Zhong stared at Su Yang, who was standing a few meters away from him with a nonchalant expression on his face.

"You little brat, I didn't think you were actually my junior due to the way you speak! Were you making fun of me this entire time?" Elder Zhong said to him with narrowed eyes.

"I don't know what you are talking about." Su Yang casually shrugged his shoulders.

"Oh? You don't know what I am talking about? Good! Then let's see if you'll remember after wFine defeat you!"

A smile appeared on Su Yang's face as he spoke, "You can go ahead and try."