500: Exchange and discussion

"This princess is leaving. I look forward to your performance in the Ranking Battle!"

Zhou Ruobing gave Yang Lingchen a charming smile, then turned and walked towards the area occupied by the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty.

"scoundrel, time to snap out of it."

Su Yuyan once again pinched Yang Lingchen's waist and gave it a firm twist.

"Ahem... ahem...! Sister Yuyan, try this." Yang Lingchen quickly changed the subject.

"Bastard! If you want to eat it, eat it yourself!"

Su Yuyan's pretty Face flushed bright red as she shot Yang Lingchen a glare.

She never expected Yang Lingchen to push a plate of Mystic Tiger Tendon her way. What kind of food was that for a woman?

"Sorry, wrong dish." Yang Lingchen looked embarrassed.

"Do you know any Buddhists?" Su Yuyan asked curiously.

"No, I don't!" Yang Lingchen replied.

"Then why did you say you'd send Gongsun Zang to meet the Buddha?" Su Yuyan blinked.

"Oh, you mean that!" Yang Lingchen smiled helplessly. "Only the dead 'meet the Buddha.' It's a saying from my hometown. When someone dies, they go to meet the Buddha."

"How can you be so mean? Saying right to his Face that you'd send him to his death." Su Yuyan said with a huff.

"I said what I said. That fool wouldn't understand it anyway." Yang Lingchen gave an awkward smile.

"What's your relationship with Zhou Ruobing?" Su Yuyan asked, pursing her lips.

"Currently, we're friends. But she's pursuing me, and I haven't agreed yet." Yang Lingchen said with a straight Face.

"I'm asking seriously. Can't you be a little less flippant?" Su Yuyan said, exasperated.

"I am being serious! She really does want to pursue me. She even said if I win the championship, she'd reward me with herself." Yang Lingchen said with a grin.

"Then you're not allowed to win the championship." Su Yuyan said angrily.

"But the champion's rewards are really generous!" Yang Lingchen said with a pained expression.

"So you really don't want to win the championship for her sake?" Su Yuyan asked.

"Of course not."

Yang Lingchen said firmly, "The main reason I want to win the championship is for the reward of six divine origin crystals."

"Between her and me, who do you think is prettier?" Su Yuyan asked coyly.

"Is that even a question? Of course, Sister Yuyan, you are more beautiful. That's beyond doubt." Yang Lingchen said with utmost seriousness.

"And between her and me, who's the older sister?" Su Yuyan asked again.

"Is that even a question? Of course, you're the older sister." Yang Lingchen answered without a second thought.

After all, Zhou Ruobing wasn't here, but Su Yuyan was right in front of him. He knew perfectly well which answer carried more weight in this situation.

"You know what's good for you." Su Yuyan gave a sweet smile.

She knew Yang Lingchen was outstanding and would never lack women around him in the future, so she never thought of monopolizing him. However, there was one thing she cared deeply about: the status and position of the women in his life.

"Welcome, everyone, to this Prodigy Banquet. All of you present are top-tier Geniuses of the Eastern Region. It's a rare gathering today, a perfect opportunity for everyone to exchange and discuss."

At that moment, Dong Chenyang walked to the highest point of the grand hall.

"Young Master Dong is too kind."

At this time, Ye Juehen, holding a wine cup, slowly stood up and said with a smile, "Today, it's rare for the Geniuses from various factions to gather. If we merely drink and reminisce, it might seem a bit monotonous."

"Young Master Ye, if you have a good idea, please share it." Dong Chenyang said with a hearty laugh.

As one of the Four Great Saints of the Eastern Emperor Pavilion, manipulating power and recruiting talent were his specialties. This banquet today was precisely initiated by him.

Ye Juehen said with a calm and indifferent demeanor:

"All of you present are famous and influential Prodigies of the Eastern Region. Since we are gathered here so rarely today, why don't we use martial arts to befriend each other, exchange a few pointers, and add some excitement to this banquet? Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

"Brother Ye is right. This Young Master was thinking the same thing."

A faint, sinister smile played on Gongsun Zang's lips.

"Since everyone is in such a mood, why don't we take a vote by a show of hands? That would seem fair."

After speaking, Dong Chenyang scanned the banquet hall and said, "Those in favor of using martial arts to befriend each other, please raise your hands."

"The Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty has no objections."

"Heartless Valley has no objections."

"Tiandu Hall also has no objections."

Following the vote of the Four Great Super Factions, soon, the six top-tier factions—Wuji Dao Sect, Yin Ghost Sect, Tianchan Temple, Longevity Cult, and Yunhai Sect—also announced their approval.

"Young Master Yang, does your Wentian Palace have any objections?" Dong Chenyang asked with a smile, looking at Yang Lingchen.

At this moment, he had already made up his mind. Later, he would definitely make Yang Lingchen lose all Face in front of Su Yuyan, leaving him unable to hold his head up for the rest of his life.

"Our Wentian Palace has always been the weakest in strength. We won't embarrass ourselves by participating in exchange discussions." Yang Lingchen said calmly.

He had no interest whatsoever in pointless exchanges.

If it weren't for the rewards of the Ten Great Factions Ranking Battle, Yang Lingchen wouldn't even want to participate in the Ranking Battle.

Sure enough, as soon as Yang Lingchen's words fell, Dong Chenyang's Face instantly darkened.

He truly hadn't expected the other party to completely defy convention.

Normally, if everyone else had no objections, Wentian Palace shouldn't have any either. Otherwise, where would their Face go?

But this Yang Lingchen was different. He didn't care about his own dignity in the slightest, directly admitting his Sect was the weakest.

This move left Dong Chenyang at a loss. After all, he couldn't force someone to participate in an exchange, could he?

At this moment, even Ye Juehen, who had proposed the exchange, was cursing Yang Lingchen in his heart.

He had even thought of how to provoke Gongsun Zang and Yang Lingchen later, but he never expected Yang Lingchen to be such a coward.

Meanwhile, Gongsun Zang beside him was so angry his Face turned green. He had already planned to teach Yang Lingchen a good lesson later, but who knew the other party would give him no opportunity at all.

"To think Wentian Palace is a bunch of cowards. Being in the same league as you as one of the Ten Great Factions is truly a disgrace to our Wuji Dao Sect."

A young man dressed in luxurious blue robes looked at the Wentian Palace members with utter disdain.

"Zhao Si, you're looking for death!" Liu Neng roared.

"Looking for death? Liu Neng, if you have the guts, come out and fight!" Zhao Si sneered.

"Fight it is! You think I'm afraid of you?"

Liu Neng had a hot temper to begin with. How could he tolerate such provocation? He immediately stepped forward.

Yang Lingchen frowned slightly, but he didn't stop him because he could see that Liu Neng and his opponent's strength were roughly on par.

Originally, Yang Lingchen had no interest in this exchange. But if the other side pushed too far and actively provoked him, he wouldn't show any mercy either.

Under Dong Chenyang's direction, the banquet was quickly moved to the backyard of the Rose Garden.

The backyard of the Rose Garden was vast, covering an extremely large area. In the center of the backyard stood a massive Arena.

"Lingchen, what should we do? I feel like they're targeting us," Su Yuyan whispered.

"What's there to fear? Whoever dares to provoke us, I'll just crush them."

An aura of boundless dominance emanated from Yang Lingchen's Face.

He didn't go looking for trouble, but that didn't mean he was afraid of it.

"Why do I feel like you're getting more and more arrogant?" Su Yuyan said with a light smile. "You didn't seem like this before."

"Don't you like it?" Yang Lingchen raised an eyebrow.

"Hmph!" Su Yuyan pouted and said, "Can Liu Neng win?"

"It's a bit difficult. His opponent's strength is slightly stronger than his. Of course, in this fight, whoever is more ruthless has a higher chance of winning."

Yang Lingchen said calmly.

"If it's about who's more ruthless, then I'm not worried." Su Yuyan smiled.

"What do you mean?" Yang Lingchen asked, puzzled.

"Senior Brother Liu Neng might be kind to fellow Sect members, but when it comes to outsiders, he's notoriously cunning and ruthless," Su Yuyan explained.

"Really? He looks pretty honest to me!" Yang Lingchen said.

"You can't judge a book by its cover, haven't you heard that?" Su Yuyan said with a light smile. "Don't be fooled by Senior Brother Liu Neng's simple appearance. He's very cunning when he fights outsiders."

"Then I'll have to see this for myself."

With keen interest, Yang Lingchen shifted his gaze to the Arena.

...To be continued!