252: The Four-sided Pavilion Conference begins

On this day, countless figures stepped into the Wind and Thunder Mountain Range, making their way up the mountain along the path.

This path led directly to Thunder Mountain, a majestic and perilous peak, and also the venue for this year's Four Pavilions Grand Assembly.

As an annual event, the Four Pavilions had always welcomed onlookers; in fact, they hoped to let more people witness the strength of the younger generation.

At the foot of the mountain, two paths diverged, leading up the mountain from different directions.

“All who come, listen carefully! To participate in the Grand Assembly, three conditions must be met.

First, one must possess the strength of a three-star Dou Huang or above.

Second, one’s age must be under thirty.

Third, one must endure five rounds against this old man.”

At the front of the crowd, a red-robed old man’s voice boomed like a bell, immediately quelling the noise.

Some recognized the identities of the man and woman as the highly esteemed Elders Huo and Mu of the Wind and Thunder Pavilion.

“This year’s Grand Assembly is probably not going to be very interesting; there are hardly any people daring to ascend from this side.”

One of the Elders, an old woman, noticed no one stepping forward and secretly pouted.

“It makes no difference whether there are or not; the final victory will still be decided among the other three Pavilions.”

The old man said indifferently.

“If nothing unexpected happens this year, we will continue to hold the championship.”

The old woman smiled.

“With Feng Qing'er here, besides having to be wary of Mu Qingluan from the Starfall Pavilion, there really are no other opponents.”

The old man nodded, full of confidence that the Wind and Thunder Pavilion would take first place this year. Outsiders might not know Feng Qing'er’s true strength, but they understood her very well.

In recent days, the strength Feng Qing'er had displayed to the public was still in the Seal stage.

He paused, then frowned, “Last time in the Tianmu Mountain Range, it seems another young man emerged from the Starfall Pavilion; his strength should not be underestimated.”

“Hmph, a poor boy from the Northwest Region! I don’t know what got into Venerable Feng, to be so good to him. I heard he even made him the Young Pavilion Master of the Starfall Pavilion.”

Mentioning this matter, the old woman’s expression was displeased. In the Tianmu Mountain Range incident, her own Feng Qing'er had suffered a loss due to concealing her strength and facing both Mu Qingluan and Xiao Yan.

“However, this time on Thunder Mountain, those two won’t be so lucky.”

The old woman let out a cold laugh.

The old man beside her remained silent, not responding, but his expression still showed agreement with her view.

The crowd converged into a torrent, moving up the mountain.

Upon arrival, they reached a massive platform, surrounded by many gigantic silver trees devoid of branches and leaves. These trees occasionally erupted with lightning, gathering towards the dark clouds in the sky.

More and more people poured in, and the space seemed insufficient; some even stood directly on the treetops.

At this moment, a dazzling light shone in the sky, followed by a thunderous roar.

A majestic bolt of lightning descended from the sky, falling directly beside a row of seats.

When the lightning faded, four figures emerged from within.

“The four Pavilion Masters of the Wind and Thunder Pavilion!”

“The one in the middle with the silver beard must be Venerable Lei, right?”

Exclamations rose one after another from all around, as gazes turned towards the seemingly unremarkable middle-aged man, their eyes filled with envy.

Whoosh!

Just then, a sound of rushing wind came.

A colossal sword, ten zhang in size, tore through the sky, flashing as it shot towards the mountain peak.

“Haha, Venerable Jian, this time you are the fastest to arrive.”

Venerable Lei, clad in silver robes, rose from his seat, his hearty laughter spreading across the mountain peak.

The giant sword neared the seats, transforming into countless collapsing light particles. Two figures emerged from within, an old man and a young man.

The young man was Tang Ying, the most outstanding member of the younger generation in the Myriad Sword Pavilion.

Beside him was an unassuming old man in coarse linen clothes, somewhat short in stature, the kind who would disappear in a crowd.

Venerable Jian paid no attention to Venerable Lei. Just as he was about to take his seat, a dark light emerged from the foot of the mountain, appearing beside the seats as if by teleportation.

“Heh heh, old man Jian still has that foul temper. It seems he still holds a grudge about that competition back then.”

A black-robed old man sat on an empty chair. His face was pale, looking sickly, and his eyes were one black and one white, appearing extremely eerie.

“Back then, this old man only lost to him by a stroke of bad luck. Compared to someone who only lasted a hundred rounds against Venerable Feng, I did much better, wouldn’t you agree, Venerable Huang Quan?”

Venerable Jian did not humor the other party in the slightest, retorting with an unconcerned tone.

Just as the two were about to engage in a verbal skirmish, a green tornado in the sky drew everyone’s attention.

The green whirlwind was enormous, descending towards the mountaintop, obscuring the sky and sun.

As it neared the peak, the whirlwind trembled, transforming into flashing light particles, and three figures emerged from within.

Standing on the ground, Xiao Yan looked around and exclaimed, “So many people.”

“Young Pavilion Master, the Four Pavilions Grand Assembly is a relatively lively event in the Central Plains. It’s normal to have so many onlookers.”

A woman in a green dress spoke softly, reminding him.

Xiao Yan nodded slightly, “This time, we must do our best to reclaim the first place.”

Although he became the Young Pavilion Master of the Starfall Pavilion upon entering, thanks to his master, many people still secretly disapproved of him.

This Four Pavilions Grand Assembly was a very good opportunity for him to prove himself.

“Young Pavilion Master, your idea is indeed good, but I must remind you, that Feng Qing'er is not to be trifled with.”

Mu Qingluan glanced at him.

Having encountered her in the Tianmu Mountain Range, Xiao Yan had a deep impression of her. He constantly felt a sense of danger from her, a feeling he hadn’t experienced among his peers for a long time, except for Senior Brother Lin Xiu.

After the four Venerables arrived, they exchanged simple greetings, and Venerable Lei announced the rules.

A total of forty-nine people passed the tests for this Grand Assembly, plus the four chosen participants, making a total of fifty-four people.

They needed to secure one of the top eight spots here.

“Go fight with confidence. With me here, there’s no need to be afraid.”

Venerable Feng patted Xiao Yan’s shoulder, his eyes full of approval.

Among the four Venerables present, he had been a Dou Zun for the longest, naturally having the confidence to say such words.

At the same time, he greatly trusted his old friend’s judgment in taking on a Disciple.

The only regret now was that his old friend could not yet be resurrected, unable to enjoy drinks together as they once did.

He did know the method for his old friend’s resurrection, but now all hope rested on Xiao Yan, yet Xiao Yan’s Realm was not yet sufficient.

After returning from the Tianmu Mountain Range, Xiao Yan had indeed advanced to Dou Zong, but devouring the third exotic flame at this time would still be somewhat risky.

As everyone entered the square, the chaotic battle began.

The Early Stage was not the most exciting moment, so the four Venerables did not pay too much attention.

The black-robed Venerable Huang Quan shifted his position, leaning forward slightly, and looked at Venerable Lei, “A while ago, I heard that one of your inner Pavilion Disciples, along with his entire Family, was wiped out, and the other party even boasted that they would come to Thunder Mountain during the Four Pavilions Grand Assembly. Is this true?”

As soon as he finished speaking, Venerable Lei’s face twitched slightly. For so many years, the Wind and Thunder Pavilion had not encountered such a thing for a very long time.

Such an incident was truly somewhat embarrassing.

“It was just empty talk. That fellow was merely a Dou Zong. It was only because I received the news a step too late; otherwise, I would have already killed him.”

The person who answered stood behind Venerable Lei, his face filled with indignation and anger.

He was Fei Tian, also the Pavilion Master of the North Pavilion of the Wind and Thunder Pavilion.

At that time, the Tianbei City area was within his jurisdiction, and he had been reprimanded several times because of this matter.