12: Chapter 12 Drunken Immortal Pavilion Banquet

The top powers of the Central Plains are divided into three parts: the Five Great Sacred Lands, the Three Great Sects, and the Three Great Families.

These Three Great Families are not something that the Great Families of the Southern Wilderness can compare to.

Within the Xiao, Mu, and Lin families, there are Tribulation Transcending experts presiding over them.

Furthermore, these three families are intermarried and move forward or retreat together, standing on equal footing with the Five Great Sacred Lands and the Three Great Sects.

However, the three families have always wanted to place themselves above the Holy Lands and Sects.

But the landscape of the Central Plains has already formed a fixed state, causing the three families to turn their gaze beyond the Central Plains.

Compared to the other four regions, the Southern Wilderness is weak in strength, so the three families reached their hands over.

However, not long after the three families intervened in the Southern Wilderness...

...the Holy Lands suddenly launched an attack, causing the three families to shift their focus back.

Thus, even though many Great Families rose up suddenly, they still failed to truly break the original power structure of the Southern Wilderness.

"It is now less than two months until the Great Family Ranking Battle."

"I wonder how many Great Families will rise this time, and how many will decline because of it."

Qin Muchuan sighed.

In the Great Family Ranking Battle, those sent out are all the most outstanding younger generation of the clan.

As long as they win, they can not only make a name for themselves but also obtain many resources.

But if they lose, few can walk off the stage alive.

There were once Great Families that stood for thousands of years, whose young prodigies all fell.

This caused them to head toward extinction within a few hundred years.

"Why think so much? We can't control what happens to other Great Families."

"As long as our Su and Qin families can fight to the end, that will be the best outcome."

"This year, I will definitely make Gu Feng, Zhu Gui, and Jin Liuli lose to me in the Ranking Battle!"

Su Fuguang raised his cup and spoke loudly.

The three people he mentioned were of the same generation as him and Qin Muchuan.

And the Gu, Zhu, and Jin families were the other three top Great Families in the capital of the Zhouwu Dynasty.

They were on extremely bad terms with the Su and Qin families, having fought openly and secretly for thousands of years.

"That Gu Feng is mine, don't you dare fight me for him!"

Qin Muchuan laughed, then began to introduce them to Lu Jinghan.

"Brother Lu, let me tell you, those three Fuguang just mentioned are..."

Lu Jinghan quietly listened to Xiao Chuan and Xiao Guang describe the other powers in the capital, feeling quite comfortable.

He was all too familiar with Gu Feng and the other two.

In his past life, he had fought them no less than ten times, though not at the Ranking Battle.

Back then, after the Ranking Battle ended, the Purple Bamboo Forest opened a month later.

Those Three Great Families had been targeting the Qin and Su families inside it.

Xiao Chuan and Xiao Guang were almost ambushed by them; if he and the others hadn't arrived in time, the two would have nearly fallen.

Since he had been reborn in this life, he would definitely deal with them!

As time passed, there were only three days left until the start of the Great Family Ranking Battle.

During this time, Lu Jinghan had been in the Qin Family, cultivating together with Qin Muchuan.

Now, with a Soul Transformation Stage expert from the Qin Family as a sparring partner, his mastery of the first move of the Time Mark Sword Art, Late Twilight, grew more and more proficient.

Lu Jinghan's performance had already alerted the higher-ups of the Qin Family.

On this day, Lu Jinghan was still sparring with Qin Muchuan, while in a tall building of the Qin Family not far away...

...two figures stood upon it, their gazes fixed on the two of them.

"This boy is similar in age to Xiao Chuan, yet his Realm has already reached Golden Core Perfection. Such talent is truly excellent!"

"Moreover, seeing his match with Xiao Chuan, his combat skills are not at all what they should be for his age; it's like a combat instinct forged through countless life-and-death trials."

The middle-aged man standing at the front said calmly.

After a pause, he continued his evaluation.

"Not only that, the sword technique this boy uses is extremely profound."

"If an ordinary Golden Core Peak were to fight him, they might not last ten moves. Its rank seems to be no lower than an Earth Rank Advanced Cultivation Technique."

"With such talent and background, there must be a massive power behind this boy. Why would he join my Qin Family? What exactly are his intentions?"

Beside the middle-aged man, a person who looked seventy percent like him spoke up.

"Big Brother, perhaps he is a Disciple from some great power out for experience, and he just happened to join our Qin Family to participate in the Great Family Ranking Battle."

"Look, Xiao Chuan has grown rapidly during his spars with this boy over this period. It's not necessarily a bad thing."

Of the two speaking, one was the Qin Clan Head Qin Wentian, and the other was his third younger brother, Qin Shoucheng.

Both were Void Refinement Stage Peak experts.

"Perhaps it's not that simple. Lately, the rise of many sudden Great Families seems to be orchestrated."

"It is better to be cautious in everything."

Qin Wentian's expression was extremely grave. There were many variables in this Great Family Ranking Battle; if they took one wrong step, the Qin Family would be beyond redemption.

"Big Brother, have you received some news?" Qin Shoucheng asked.

Qin Wentian shook his head. "No, I hope my guess is wrong."

Then, the two of them left the tall building to prepare for the upcoming Ranking Battle.

At this moment, Lu Jinghan did not know that he had already become a focus of the Qin Family's attention.

In his past life, he was only at the Early Golden Core at this time and had not performed as prominently as he did now.

In the courtyard, Lu Jinghan and Qin Muchuan finished their final move and both withdrew their stances, bringing the spar to an end.

"In the end, I still cannot defeat Brother Lu."

Qin Muchuan stood with his sword sheathed. Although he had been suppressed throughout, there was no hint of dejection in his eyes; instead, he laughed brightly.

"Your sword style is too mysterious. Every time we fight, I benefit greatly."

Then he changed the subject: "By the way, tonight the Prince of Zhao, Zhou Tianchen, is hosting a banquet at Zuixian Tower, inviting all the prodigies. We should go together later."

"Zhou Tianchen," Lu Jinghan softly repeated the name.

He naturally remembered that Prince of Zhao.

This person possessed extremely high cultivation talent but was obsessed with the Dao of Alchemy.

As a result, his Realm had stagnated at the Golden Core Stage for many years, becoming a long-standing topic of discussion in the Zhouwu Dynasty.

In his past life, shortly after the Purple Bamboo Forest closed, Zhou Tianchen quietly left the Southern Wilderness to travel the Five Regions.

Lu Jinghan had only met him a few times and shared a few words, but they were not close.

When he heard news of him again, it was many years later.

Zhou Tianchen had already broken through to the Tribulation Transcendence Stage and returned to the Southern Wilderness to settle the turmoil of the imperial succession in the Zhouwu Dynasty.

At that time, Lu Jinghan had only just entered the Early Mahayana Stage.

In his memory, the Zhou Tianchen of his past life had also hosted a banquet to invite the prodigies of the various Great Families.

It was just that back then, he was focused solely on cultivation and did not go.

Soon, night fell.

The heart of the capital was lit up like day, with faint sounds of music and singing, a scene of prosperity.

At this time, Zuixian Tower was already crowded with people.

This banquet was less about drinking and chatting and more about a silent initial probing between prodigies.

Many people were taking this opportunity to secretly observe the young talents of other Great Families.

"Brother Lu, you've been in the capital for nearly two months now, cultivating all day. You should have a good drink tonight."

"That kid Fuguang said he's waiting for his Su Family members. He should be here soon. Let's go up first."

Qin Muchuan led Lu Jinghan toward the banquet hall, chatting and laughing.