14: Chapter 14 This person is worthy of becoming my disciple.

With the arrival of Zhou Tianchen, the heir of Prince Zhao, everyone at the banquet held their breath.

All eyes gathered on this temporary host, waiting for him to speak.

However, Zhou Tianchen merely raised his cup and spoke a few polite pleasantries without engaging in deep conversation with the guests.

Instead, he walked straight toward the seats of the Medicine King Valley Disciples, enthusiastically discussing the mysteries of the Dao of Alchemy with them.

According to the practice of previous years, before every Great Family Ranking Battle, the host Imperial Dynasty would hold a grand banquet in advance.

It was both a matter of etiquette and an occasion for various powers to test one another and exchange information.

But this year, the Zhouwu Dynasty seemed unusual in every respect.

Not only had the Crown Prince and several other princes failed to appear, but even the usually active nobles were nowhere to be found.

The entire imperial palace was shrouded in an eerie silence.

This state of affairs had lasted for over two months, and attentive people had long ago noticed clues, leading to much private discussion.

They speculated whether a major upheaval had occurred within the Imperial Dynasty.

Therefore, tonight's banquet had to be hosted by Zhou Tianchen, the heir of Prince Zhao, on their behalf.

Just then, Su Fuguang arrived late with several younger members of the Su Family.

As soon as he stepped into the banquet hall, his gaze swept through the crowd and landed directly on Qin Muchuan and Lu Jinghan.

“Brother Lu, Muchuan, I am truly sorry for being late.”

Su Fuguang cupped his hands in apology, a trace of hard-to-detect weariness lingering between his brows.

“Xiao Guang, come quickly!” Qin Muchuan waved with a smile.

“I specifically saved some Zuixian Brew for you; I waited until you arrived to open it.”

As he spoke, he filled a cup for Su Fuguang, but couldn't help teasing him.

“Though this isn't like you. Everyone knows the Zuixian Brew from Zuixian Tower is your favorite. In the past, you'd be the first to arrive at such occasions.”

Su Fuguang took the wine cup and shook his head with a bitter smile. “A sudden change occurred at home, which delayed me for a while.”

Hearing the word 'change,' Lu Jinghan and Qin Muchuan immediately wiped the smiles from their faces.

“What happened?” the two asked almost simultaneously.

Su Fuguang drained the wine in his cup in one gulp, remained silent for a moment, and then spoke in a low voice.

“Three of my Su Family's Spirit Mines in the North Mountain were seized overnight.”

“My father and several Elders went to investigate personally, but they couldn't find even the slightest clue.”

He set down the wine cup, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the rim.

“Fortunately, those in the North Mountain aren't the main veins, so the loss is manageable. If something happened to the other veins, I'm afraid...”

Listening to Su Fuguang's narration, Lu Jinghan's heart stirred slightly.

Memories of his past life flickered through his mind like fleeting shadows.

Back then, Su Fuguang had also mentioned the seizure of the Spirit Mines, and it wasn't just the Su Family; several other Great Families subsequently encountered similar misfortunes.

It wasn't until after the Great Family Ranking Battle ended that the truth gradually surfaced.

All of this was done secretly by a group of rising families, and the person behind them never showed their face.

In the end, several Great Families joined forces to counterattack, completely exterminating those families that had suddenly risen to power.

Lu Jinghan looked up at the crowd clinking glasses in the banquet hall, the light and shadows cast by the glazed lamps flickering on everyone's faces.

Beneath the current prosperity and clamor, an undercurrent seemed to be surging silently.

He pulled back his thoughts and patted Su Fuguang's shoulder. “Since you're here, set aside your worries for now.”

“Regarding the Spirit Mines, perhaps there will be a turning point soon.”

Qin Muchuan also refilled the wine and raised his cup. “Exactly.”

“It's rare for us to gather tonight. Let's drink this cup first. Even if the world has its waves, they will eventually settle.”

Su Fuguang's arrival also caused Gu Feng and the others to turn their gazes toward this direction once more.

The Qin and Su Families, and the Gu, Zhu, and Jin Families, had already been fighting for thousands of years.

To this day, no true winner had emerged, and they had always remained among the seven Great Families of the Zhouwu Dynasty.

The grudges and entanglements between them were countless.

At this moment, in an inconspicuous corner of the banquet, two figures appeared.

One person's gaze was like the wind, silently sweeping over every young Disciple of the Great Families and Sects present.

The other ignored his surroundings entirely, focusing solely on tasting the various delicacies of Zuixian Tower, eating with great relish.

Unlike the other guests at the banquet, these two had not received any invitations.

But who was Jiang Changge?

Wanting to enter such a banquet silently was far too simple for him.

He circulated the concealment secret technique from the Creation Sutra—Void Breath Concealment.

He led Lin Yanzhou into the hall with grand strides, his aura restrained so perfectly that not a drop leaked out.

Forget the younger generation present; even the Body Integration Stage Dao Protector Elder behind Zhou Tianchen didn't notice the slightest abnormality.

“Revered Master, is that man Eldest Senior Brother Lu Jinghan?”

Lin Yanzhou looked in the direction Jiang Changge had just indicated, his eyes filled with curiosity.

“Why don't we call him over to join us?”

“No rush.” Jiang Changge smiled slightly, his gaze profound. “The time has not yet come.”

As for Lu Jinghan, since he had already undergone Rebirth, he had his own path to walk.

Jiang Changge did not wish to interfere too much, only wanting to provide guidance at the appropriate time.

“Oh.”

Lin Yanzhou nodded as if he understood, then went back to burying his head in the delicious food before him.

Currently, he was still just an ordinary person.

Even though he had been Cultivating that seemingly simple introductory technique day and night for the past two months, he had still failed to enter the first layer of Qi Refining.

But Revered Master had said this was normal; he was only ten years old, and the future was long.

Moreover, what he Cultivated was one of the strongest techniques in the world, which was never something that could be achieved overnight.

Under Jiang Changge's teaching, Lin Yanzhou Cultivated even harder.

At this moment, through the System, Jiang Changge took in the information of everyone in the field.

“The Great Family Ranking Battle can be considered to have gathered most of the young Prodigies of the Southern Wilderness here.” He sighed inwardly.

“Though most have mediocre Aptitude, there are a few decent sprouts hidden among them.”

After a brief observation, he shook his head gently. “Pity, not a single one is destined for me.”

“Those few with excellent talent all come from several top-tier powers; their roots are already deep, making it difficult to bring them under my wing.”

However, Jiang Changge's gaze finally landed on Zhou Tianchen.

This boy's talent and Luck were indeed the most outstanding among everyone present tonight.

“This person, however, may enter my Sect.”

His eyes were calm and deep, like a deep pool reflecting the moon, and he already had a plan in mind.

Although taking Zhou Tianchen as a Disciple wouldn't grant him the System's Disciple-taking rewards,

It could still be considered adding a touch of Life Qi to the Kunlun Sect.

Otherwise, including Elder Ling Xu, there were only four people in the current Kunlun Sect, which was too lonely.

As for when to let Kunlun emerge and widely recruit Disciples, he would have to find a suitable opportunity.

Just as Jiang Changge was thinking about how to take in Zhou Tianchen, his Divine Soul sensed a slight disturbance.

During his two months in the capital of the Zhouwu Dynasty, Jiang Changge had sensed disturbances in the imperial palace more than once.

It was coming from deep beneath the palace grounds.

This disturbance was more obvious and clearer than the previous ones.

Although Jiang Changge's current cultivation was only at the Mahayana Middle Stage,

Having Cultivated the Creation Sutra, his Divine Soul strength was not at all weaker than the Tribulation Transcending Middle Stage.

He could perceive movements that only those at the Tribulation Transcendence Stage could capture.