One was the undisputed First True Disciple of the Qinglan Sword Sect, incredibly powerful and the most popular candidate to win the championship in this session of the Qingyun Grand Tournament.
The other possessed peerless talent and carried the entire sect's expectations. Though still young, she was regarded as the hope to charge for the top spot in the next Qingyun Grand Tournament.
Without making everyone wait long, Lin Wanqing took a step forward and walked toward Ye Ling.
“Hello, Junior Sister Ye Ling. I am Lin Wanqing.”
“Hello, Senior Sister Lin. I am Ye Ling,” Ye Ling replied, cupping her hands in return.
Ye Ling originally thought that, just like the others, she would merely exchange a few simple pleasantries before letting it go.
However, Lin Wanqing's next words sent a shockwave through the hearts of all the disciples on the flying boat.
“Junior Sister Ye, I am very much looking forward to fighting you in this Qingyun Grand Tournament.”
With that, she said no more. Giving a slight nod, she turned and walked back to the ranks of the True Disciples.
A silent uproar instantly swept through the surroundings.
Unable to suppress the shock in her heart, Xin Miaomiao gasped in a low voice, “What? Senior Sister Lin actually said she is looking forward to fighting True Disciple Ye Ling?”
“Is Senior Sister Lin... acknowledging True Disciple Ye Ling's strength?”
The rest of the inner sect disciples began whispering among themselves, their eyes filled with disbelief.
Among the True Disciples, many also felt their hearts stir.
The eyes of the Third True Disciple, Feng Yao, darkened slightly as she pondered in her heart.
Since even Lin Wanqing explicitly stated she looked forward to fighting Ye Ling, it seemed Ye Ling's true strength was far more unfathomable than what appeared on the surface.
On the side, the calm confidence on Leng Feng's face completely vanished, replaced by an utterly solemn expression.
As fellow members of the Five Geniuses of Qingyun and disciples of the same sect, no one knew better than him just how powerful Lin Wanqing was.
He had actively challenged Lin Wanqing more than once, but in every fight, he could not even last dozens of moves.
Furthermore, he knew very well that Lin Wanqing had not even used her full strength.
Even though both of them were part of the Five Geniuses of Qingyun, there was an insurmountable chasm between them.
Yet just now, a powerhouse as great as Lin Wanqing had actually expressed her anticipation to fight Ye Ling—whom he had just advised to merely observe and gather experience.
Leng Feng's brow furrowed tightly. His previous assessment of Ye Ling began to shake violently at this moment.
Coiled around Ye Ling's wrist, Cang Si's snake eyes sparkled as she immediately sent a soul transmission.
“Sister! Did you hear that?”
“That really powerful sister wants to fight you.”
“Sister, you must absolutely win when the time comes!”
...
Meanwhile, in Qingyun City, the capital of the Qingyun Kingdom.
There were still four days left before the official start of the Qingyun Grand Tournament, but participating cultivators from all walks of life were already arriving in the city in an endless stream.
The streets and alleys were filled with martial artists who had rushed from all over the country to watch the tournament. Carriages and horses bustled, voices bubbled, and the entire city was extraordinarily lively.
Suddenly, several streaks of light streaked across the distant sky, hurtling over.
A sharp-eyed martial artist in the crowd recognized them at a glance and immediately shouted, “Look! It's the Three Paragons of Rogue Cultivators!”
The shout instantly drew everyone's gaze toward the sky.
Countless eyes stared into the high altitude, only to see several figures treading the air, speeding forward so fast they left only afterimages.
The leading man at the very front wore a gray martial arts attire, his aura thick and condensed.
A middle-aged man and a middle-aged woman closely followed on his sides. The three of them soared side-by-side in the air, their presence imposing.
And right behind the three of them were three tall, straight figures of young people.
Among the onlookers, many children of small families lacked worldly experience. With bewildered faces, they lowered their voices to ask those around them about the origins of the Rogue Cultivator Alliance and the Three Paragons of Rogue Cultivators.
Seeing this, a lean and well-traveled martial artist nearby quickly took the initiative to clear up their confusion.
“You don't even know about the Three Paragons of Rogue Cultivators?”
“These three are the absolute ceiling of the entire rogue cultivator circle in our Qingyun Kingdom!”
He pointed toward the three gray-robed figures in the sky and explained slowly, his tone carrying a hint of awe.
“The Rogue Cultivator Alliance was founded single-handedly by the top rogue cultivator expert of the Qingyun Kingdom, the Night Moon Saber, Yan Xingfeng.”
“Yan Xingfeng is the only peak Tongxuan Realm expert in the Qingyun Kingdom who does not belong to any sect or noble family.”
“The gray-robed man leading them is the Night Moon Saber, Yan Xingfeng himself. He is the leader of the Three Paragons of Rogue Cultivators. His saber techniques are extremely fierce and domineering, and his close-combat slaughtering power is unrivaled in the region.”
“The middle-aged man on the left is the Master of Arrays and Swords, Lu Qinghe. He has a cultivation at the Tongxuan Realm Great Perfection and is an extremely rare dual cultivator of arrays and swords. His sword arrays excel in both offense and defense, and he can deploy illusion and killing arrays with ease, making him incredibly difficult to deal with.”
“The middle-aged woman on the right is known as the Thousand-Faced Gu Maiden, Su Lv. She is also at the Tongxuan Realm Great Perfection. She is a very rare Gu cultivator whose Gu arts are mysterious and invisible, killing without a trace and making it impossible to guard against.”
Seeing that everyone was shaken by his words, the lean martial artist continued.
“The three of them have been famous for many years. Today, they should be escorting their disciples to participate in the Qingyun Grand Tournament.”
A nearby martial artist wearing martial arts attire frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, and slowly spoke.
“I heard rumors earlier that many years ago, the Three Paragons of Rogue Cultivators each adopted a child, raising them by their side from a young age and passing down all of their martial arts.”
“Just so many years have passed, and there is almost no news of these disciples in the Jianghu, as if they never existed.”
Just as his voice fell, another martial artist beside him immediately took half a step forward. With an uncontrollable trace of excitement in his tone, he quickly spoke up, “I know! I know!”
He pointed at the three young figures behind the Three Paragons of Rogue Cultivators and said at a rapid pace, “These three are their personal disciples!”
Everyone was instantly captivated by his words and crowded forward, asking in a hurry, “Please go on, brother.”
He also did not keep them in suspense, and continued, “The one standing right in the middle is the disciple adopted by Yan Xingfeng, named Yan Qingwu.”
“She has been bitterly practicing saber techniques with him since childhood, but she has always kept a low profile and remained unknown, barely showing any trace in the Jianghu.”
“However, news has spread recently that this young woman's cultivation has already reached the peak Xiantian Realm. Her strength is not in the least inferior to the Five Geniuses of Qingyun, and she is a trump card secretly nurtured by the Rogue Cultivator Alliance.”
“As for the other two, they are named Mo Qiushang and Chi Miao, who are the personal disciples of Lu Qinghe and Su Lv respectively.”
“Both of them have fully inherited their masters' true teachings. Their cultivations are both at the Xiantian Realm Great Perfection, and their combat power is not at all inferior to the top-ranked True Disciples of the various major sects.”
With those words, a loud commotion broke out across the crowd.
The surrounding martial artists gasped one after another, and noisy discussions rose and fell.
“I never would have expected that Yan Qingwu, whom Yan Xingfeng raised himself, has actually reached the peak Xiantian Realm.”
“No wonder we've never heard of Yan Qingwu's name before. It turns out the Rogue Cultivator Alliance deliberately hid her.”
“There's going to be a good show to watch now. Even the Rogue Cultivator Alliance has brought out their hidden trump cards. This session of the Qingyun Grand Tournament is probably going to be a fierce, earth-shaking struggle.”
In a corner unnoticed by anyone, the few people who had been explaining loudly just now quietly slipped away.
Identical scenes were currently playing out all over Qingyun City.
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