“So, have you made up your mind?”

“Yeah. I and my family should try our luck there. I believe my family can benefit a lot if they get to train in Azure Dragon’s Planet.”

Currently, Jia Shan and Ma Ping were in front of Siren City’s east gate. The other elders were there as well to send Ma Moxi off.

As promised, Uriel would send Ma Moxi, his family, and friends to Venti’s Planet as they got the invitation. This was their golden opportunity to obtain the Azure Dragon’s guidance, which was equal to having a deity as their mentor.

“Alright. Good luck. I really envy you,” Jia Shan stroked his beard and bid farewell to Ma Ping.

“When I come back again, I’ll probably be an immortal. Don’t give up too early, Jia Shan. Your potential is stronger than others. You must not give up cultivation.”

“As if I’m going to give up pursuing immortality. I ate a divine pill, and I haven’t digested all its energy yet! Also, Miaomiao said he would give me soul stones when he returns. With the cultivation resources from his backers, I will eventually ascend for sure!”

“Hahaha! Good. How about this? Let’s spar when we meet again. The loser has to treat the winner a divine pill.”

“Aren’t you greedy? A divine pill?”

“What? You scare?”

“Jokes on you, you old coot! I’ll beat your ass next time!”

“Hahahaha!”

Ma Ping and Jia Shan finished their chat. The former gathered with his family members, including Ma Moxi, Ma Shoucheng, Tang Fan, Ku’er, and Dong Bai.

Most disciples from Spear Division under Ma Ping and half of the men that Ma Moxi had trained were there as well. They would follow their masters to the higher realm to train.

A few men from Ma Clan and the two division’s disciples remained behind.

Pang Lingming and his disciples chose to stay. Even Pao Luo, the weird fluffy man, declined the invitation.

Pang Lingming had a legitimate reason to remain behind as he wanted to continue nurturing Spear Division’s disciples as well as watching over the Ma Clan Manor when everyone was away.

As for Pao Luo, he had another reason. He married a beautiful dryad, and his wife had a child.

No one knew how Pao Luo managed to make his wife pregnant, but he did it. Many men praised him for his courage and dedication.

Uriel reopened a 50-meter tall long-distance portal, leading directly to Venti’s planet. Then, everyone from Siren City waved their hands, bidding farewell.

Ma Moxi gazed at the top of Miaomiao’s Pylon Tower one last time. He was a bit sad that his boss wasn’t here to send him off.

Still, Ma Moxi never forgot his determination and his resolve. Even though the nightmare of Ma Chao’s Karma sometimes haunted him, he swore with his Dao Oath that he would become someone useful for Miaomiao in the future.

‘Goodbye, Miaomiao. I’ll definitely surpass you and become useful to you.’

The Ma Clan entered the portal without looking back.

…

After the Ma Clan left Siren City, the crowd dispersed and continued with their lives while Siren City’s representatives rushed back to the Yin Slave Mansion to have another meeting with Uriel and Azazel.

Pang Lingming stood alone on the platform. He bitterly smiled and sighed as he decided to leave the Holy Land Tournament’s matter to the next generation.

“Uncle Pang. Are you sad that you have to be here alone?”

A fat short man with pimples on his face waved his hands and greeted his uncle. He nonchalantly laughed as if it was none of his business.

“Pang Tong? I thought you were still in the prison.”

“Hey. The sentence was only a month. I didn’t commit a crime!”

“Masturbating in public is already a crime. Anyway, why are you here? Why don’t you cultivate like the others?”

“I just want to chat with you, uncle. Do you know where Lord Mao Miaomiao currently is?”

“How should I know?”

“But we saw his live broadcast a few days ago. I thought you knew since the Ma Clan is close with Mao Miaomiao.”

“You’re asking the wrong person. Only his mistresses and the deities know the answer.”

“… I see. Anyway, do you know what happens to the warfront? I heard the rumor that Lady Liu Guang has conquered the entire continent when everyone was away.”

“I don’t have a clue.”

“Are you really serving the Mao Clan?”

“If you want intel, try harder. I’m busy.”

Pang Lingming ignored Pang Tong and returned to Ma Clan Manor.

Pang Tong grumbled and scratched his head. He wanted to offer his service to Miaomiao’s office, but his people were too efficient, completing menial tasks without a room for him to join.

“Ah, fuck. Am I too late?”

“Obviously, you are too late. You should have offered yourself to Mao Miaomiao when they were at the weakest. Now, they’re the strongest force on this continent, and no enemy can stop them. Of course, you won’t get any job here since all important posts are occupied.”

Pang Tong frowned. He turned around to see the speaker. Then, he found his junior disciple, who studied at the same school when they were young.

“Ah, Kongming. So, you’re here, too. I thought you returned home.”

The speaker was a 6-year-old boy. However, his cultivation base already reached the 4th-stage. He also wore the badge and the white uniform of Ten Path of Nirvana Sect, the Alchemy Division.

“Holy Land Continent is boring. I’d rather spend my days training here. The cultivation method and the environment here are superior to the Seven Great Clans. Why should I return home and struggle against my siblings when I can laze around here and be called a genius?”

“That’s vain pride, you brat. Competition is the best motivation to get stronger. If you lack motivation, you’ll become lazy, and you’ll stagnate.”

“Like you.”

“Yeah, like me… HEY!!”

“Hahaha! Don’t worry, Senior Pang. I won’t become a lazy ass like you.”

“YOU DAMN BRAT!!”

Zhuge Kongming laughed and ran away while Pang Tong furiously chased after his junior. Their voices and the local people’s buzzing noises mixed in, and nobody could tell what the kids were talking about.

The days of Siren City were as peaceful as ever.

…

Seven months had passed since Uriel initiated the Qualifier Round.

At the southeast sea checkpoint of Holy Land Continents, many flying ships, giant beasts, massive hawks, and cultivators on flying treasures gathered over the floating fortress.

The leaders of each group visited the fortress to report their names and their origins so that they could obtain a permit to enter the Holy Land Continent.

After all, the tournament would start soon. The registration deadline of all major representatives from various continents was next week, and the Holy Land Tournament’s First Round would begin the day after that!

This was also the last day of registration for non-continental representatives. Like the people from various continents, they had to participate in a Qualifier Round to earn their participation right.

Among the crowd, Liu Xuande, Guan Yunchang, Zhang Yide, Yan Liang, Wen Chou, Jian Meng, Jian Yong, and Huang Hansheng looked haggard. These eight men crossed the Blood Sea together, and they had run into so many strong sea monsters.

It took them half a year to reach here, and they were almost out of Qi.

After the gang got their permission to enter the Holy Land Continent, they collapsed on the beach.

Liu Xuande smacked his fist on the sand and lamented.

“If it wasn’t for that stupid CAT, we wouldn’t have wasted so much time!”

Huang Hansheng sat next to Liu Xuande. He also sighed, “Who would have thought that we would have run into a hidden immortal monster. We should be glad that the CAT wasn’t in the mood to fight. Otherwise, our corpses would have sunk into the bottom of the Blood Sea.”

“…”

Everybody heaved a sigh of relief as they thought of the giant cat-like monster with heinous octopus tentacles. They almost died when Liu Xuande provoked it, trying to tame it as his pet.

The fight was disastrous – Their followers turned into cat food and fish food. Only their group managed to escape in one piece.

“What now, brother?” Zhang Yide glanced at Liu Xuande, wondering what they should do next.

“We go home.”

“…”

Everybody’s faces turned dark as they thought about the consequences of returning to their clan at their current state. Their elders and clan leaders would surely bombard them with questions of why they couldn’t become Aves Continent’s representatives in this upcoming tournament.

As everybody’s mood was gloom, a handsome man in celestial robes walked toward them.

He looked down on Liu Xuande and smirked, “How pathetic. I thought the Liu Clan’s prestigious young master would be a bit more refined, but you look like a piece of wet trash.”

“WHO THE FUCK?!”

Liu Xuande looked up, planning to beat the man to a pulp.

But when he saw the handsome man’s face, Liu Xuande’s face sank.

“Long time no see, trash.”

The man stomped on Liu Xuande’s chest and pressed him to the ground. He exuded the aura of a 9th-stage cultivator.

Huang Hansheng recognized this man. He knelt and cupped his fist.

“Greeting, Your Highness Liu.”

The others also either kowtowed or knelt to pay respect to the man.

“Greetings, Your Highness Liu Hanzhen!”

The Crown Prince, Liu Hanzhen, was a young man in his early 20s. His talent was well-known among the royalties and the Holy Court as the next candidate to become the Holy Land Tournament Champion.

He reached the 4th-stage at the age of three. He took five years to awaken his first Dao Pillar, four years to awaken his nascent soul, and five years to reach the pinnacle of the mortal realm.

He became the youngest 9th-stage cultivator at the age of 17!

It had been four years since he got stuck at the 9th-stage bottleneck. Because of his frustration, he always lashed it on his peers, especially the wastrels of various Great Clans.

And Liu Xuande happened to be Liu Hanzhen’s bully target.

Liu Xuande panicked, “I-Indeed. It has been a while.”

The prince squatted down and slapped Liu Xuande’s face. Despite the light touch, the slap broke several of Liu Xuande’s teeth.

“I haven’t allowed you to talk. Shut your mouth.”

“…”

PA

Liu Hanzhen slapped Liu Xuande again, “Why didn’t you answer when I ordered you?”

“Y-Yes, Your Highness!”

PA

Liu Hanzhen slapped Liu Xuande for the third time, “Didn’t I order you to shut up?”

“…”

PA

“I just ordered you. Why didn’t you reply to my order? Are you trying to rebel?”

“N-No way. I will never rebel against you-“

PA

“Shut up. Who asked you to talk?”

“…”

PA

The prince kept bullying Liu Xuande by slapping him until the guy lost all his teeth.

Moreover, each slap emitted a trace of Dao, which weakened Liu Xuande’s nascent soul and his dantian. The latter felt like his cultivation base was degraded by a small realm because of Liu Hanzhen’s Dao Power.

After slapping Liu Xuande a hundred times, Liu Xuande’s cultivation base was degraded to the early 6th-stage. His nascent soul was damaged, and he would need several years to repair it.

The prince turned to other cultivators, who had fled from Aves Continent.

Liu Hanzhen glanced at Huang Hansheng as he was the eldest among the group.

“Elder Huang. Care to tell me what happened to Aves Continent? Why are all of you here? Even the people from the Jian Clan are here as well.”

Huang Hansheng’s eyes gleamed as he looked up, “It will be a long but interesting story.”

“I have time. Come on, tell me your stories.”

“Yes, Your Highness. It all started because of a certain individual…”

Huang Hansheng didn’t hide anything. He began narrating the story and the encounters between him and Mao Miaomiao.

The prince looked at Huang Hansheng in disdain for a moment. But when the archer described Miaomiao’s beautiful and talented wives, Liu Hanzhen’s eyes shone in greed and lust.

He licked his lips and interrupted Huang Hansheng, “Tell me more about Mao Miaomiao’s wives.”