Chapter 2799 — The Rejected Yang Qiqi
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
All night long, under Mo Ba's protection, he pressed on with the circulation of his heart method and oral formulas, and by the first light of the next morning, Zhang Naipao had finally broken through and set foot upon the Heaven Rank.
Above the Xuandan Sect inn, a vast surge of heaven-and-earth spiritual energy came flooding in. The cultivators lodging within the inn all knew this was the sign of someone about to break through—but who could be so fortunate as to break through at a time like this?
Others might not know, but Wei Zhao was somewhat surprised, for in the dining hall, the only ones he could recall as absent were Zhang Naipao and his subordinates. Could it be that Zhang Naipao had broken through?
"Have you heard? At the last trial in the Ice Palace, someone broke through—they say it was Zhang Naipao of the Tomorrow Upon Tomorrow Sect. And now someone's broken through again. What a coincidence," said a disciple from Fire Flame Mountain at a nearby table.
"I know Zhang Naipao. He's already arrived—I saw his name at the sign-in desk by the entrance. But he's not in the dining hall right now. Could the one breaking through this time be him again?" said a disciple from the Dark Night Palace beside the Fire Flame Mountain disciple, greatly astonished.
"Then it must be him. I'm afraid the one breaking through this time is Zhang Naipao again." The Fire Flame Mountain disciple from before nodded. "The Tomorrow Upon Tomorrow Sect—their foundations are plain for all to see. We can't envy that. And I hear Zhang Naipao is a core disciple, while the rest of us are just disciples who came to earn merit and gain benefits from the trial. It's not the same..."
"That's true enough, but I heard that at the last Ice Palace trial, besides Zhang Naipao, another person also advanced a rank. They say that person is quite formidable too—Zhang Naipao was wounded by him. I wonder if he's come?" This speaker was a disciple from the Endless Western Sea.
"We'd best discuss these things as little as possible. Though we all come from the ancient plane, it would be trouble if the Ice Palace disciples overheard us." The Fire Flame Mountain disciple from before gave a warning, telling him not to bring up the strife at the Ice Palace last time.
"What's there to fear? The Ice Palace and our Endless Western Sea are both water-element cultivators, of the same lineage. They'll give us some face, at least," the Endless Western Sea disciple said indifferently.
Wei Zhao heard their conversation clearly from where he sat. In truth, the tables here were all quite close together, and among the cultivators present, few were of the Mystic Rank—most were Earth Rank or above, even Heaven Rank. To make out what was being said at another table was simplicity itself.
The Xuandan Sect had changed the rank standards for trial participants, so naturally the cultivators sent by the various sects were no longer limited to the Mystic Rank. To improve their odds of winning, most sects sent disciples of comparatively high strength, the better to secure their chances.
It seemed, however, that news of him had not spread. The ancient plane knew only that such a thing had happened, but his identity remained unclear to them.
Before long, Yang Qiqi walked into the dining hall—except that by now there were no empty tables left. At every table sat cultivators in twos and threes, all acquaintances. After buying her breakfast, Yang Qiqi meant to find any empty seat and sit down, but when she came to a table and was about to sit, the two cultivators already seated there immediately glared at her in fury. Yang Qiqi wanted to flare up but dared not, and could only look for another place.
After all, the cultivators here were basically all stronger than Yang Qiqi—how could she possibly be their match?
Yang Qiqi tried two more tables, and the cultivators there were equally unfriendly, shouting at her to leave.