The selection grounds did not immediately return to normal after the disturbance caused by the talent measuring platform. Although the dark clouds that had gathered above Emerald City had gradually dispersed and the violent lightning had disappeared from the heavens, the strange atmosphere left behind by the incident continued to linger over the vast open grounds.
The participants stood in different groups while their gazes repeatedly shifted toward the center, where the talent measuring platform had completely lost its previous radiance. The ancient patterns that had once shone across its surface were now dim, while the surrounding stones remained silent and lifeless despite the repeated attempts of the cultivators responsible for the selection to inspect them.
Feng Li stood quietly beside Feng Xue, his expression remaining calm as he watched several elders and representatives move around the platform. Spiritual sense was repeatedly released toward it, yet the increasingly serious expressions appearing on their faces made it obvious that they had not discovered the cause of the problem. Around them, the discussions among the participants continued growing louder.
Feng Li could hear fragments of their conversations as people attempted to make sense of what had happened. Some believed the platform had already been damaged before his examination, while others insisted that it had been functioning perfectly until the moment he stepped onto it. There were even those who continued insisting that the platform's failure proved Feng Li possessed no real talent, although such words were far less convincing after the lightning that had descended from the heavens.
Feng Xue remained unusually quiet beside him. From time to time, she looked toward the platform before glancing at Feng Li, the concern in her eyes becoming increasingly difficult to conceal. After watching the elders continue their examination for some time, she finally moved slightly closer to him and asked in a low voice whether they would force him to leave because the talent examination had failed to produce a result.
Feng Li looked toward her before his gaze returned to the platform. "Why would they?" he asked calmly. "The platform did not say that I failed."
Feng Xue thought about his words and slowly nodded. That was indeed true. Feng Li had not received a result, but neither had the platform determined that he lacked sufficient talent. The problem was that no one knew what the people responsible for the selection would decide when faced with such an abnormal situation.
Before long, the cultivators surrounding the platform finally stopped their examination. The blue-robed man who had overseen the previous tests slowly turned toward the participants, causing the discussions throughout the selection grounds to gradually quiet down. His expression was serious as he looked over the crowd before explaining that the talent measuring platform had suffered an abnormal disturbance and could not continue functioning until its condition had been properly determined. His words immediately caused another wave of unrest among those who had not yet completed their examinations, but the blue-robed man raised his hand, gradually restoring silence before his gaze eventually settled upon Feng Li.
"As for Feng Li's examination, the platform failed to produce a valid result. Therefore, he cannot currently be considered to have completed the talent examination."
The words caused Feng Xue's expression to change slightly, though Feng Li himself remained calm. What the man had said was not unreasonable. The examination had failed to produce a result, and there was no point pretending otherwise. However, before anyone could continue discussing the matter, a voice suddenly came from the direction of the Black Jade Sect.
"Since he has not completed the examination, shouldn't the matter already be clear?"
The Black Jade Sect elder slowly rose from his seat, and the attention of those present immediately shifted toward him. His expression was calm, and the way he spoke made it seem as though he were addressing the rules rather than Feng Li himself. He stated that every participant had to complete the established selection examinations before being allowed to proceed.
Feng Li's talent had not been successfully measured, and whether the platform had failed because of him or for another reason did not change the fact that no valid result had been produced. According to the elder, allowing Feng Li to continue despite that would mean making an exception that could undermine the fairness of the entire selection.
Several people quietly agreed with his reasoning, while the Black Jade Sect disciples became noticeably more confident. The young disciple who had repeatedly confronted Feng Li earlier even revealed a faint smile, as though he had already decided that Feng Li's journey through the selection had reached its end.
However, another representative soon frowned and pointed out that the platform had not determined Feng Li to have failed.
The Black Jade Sect elder turned toward him before calmly replying that it had not determined Feng Li to have passed either.
The other representative was unable to immediately refute those words. Feng Li's situation had become trapped between two conclusions. Declaring that he had passed would be unreasonable without a result, yet declaring that he had failed would be equally difficult to justify when the platform itself had suffered an abnormal reaction during his examination.
The blue-robed man eventually stated that the matter would need to be discussed among the representatives, but the Black Jade Sect elder immediately added that until a decision had been reached, Feng Li should not be permitted to participate in the remaining examination. Feng Xue looked toward Feng Li, her concern growing stronger, while the other participants resumed their discussions.
Feng Li, however, remained silent. He understood that the rules surrounding the selection could not simply be ignored, and if the people responsible for the event genuinely needed time to determine what should happen, he had no objection to waiting. The problem was that the discussion gradually stopped being about the platform and began becoming about him.
Several representatives spoke about whether someone whose talent could not be determined should be permitted to continue, while others discussed the possibility of waiting until another measuring treasure could be brought to Emerald City. The Black Jade Sect elder repeatedly emphasized that allowing Feng Li to continue would create an unfair exception, eventually stating that the most reasonable decision would be for him to withdraw from the remaining examination until the matter could be resolved.
Feng Xue immediately frowned. She stepped forward slightly and asked why Feng Li should withdraw when no one had proven that he had failed.
The Black Jade Sect elder glanced toward her with clear impatience. He told her that this was not a matter for children to interfere with.
A cold light immediately appeared in Feng Xue's eyes, but before she could respond, Feng Li placed a hand gently on her shoulder. He had remained silent long enough, and while he had no intention of interfering with a reasonable discussion, he was not someone who would stand quietly while others decided his fate as though he were incapable of speaking for himself.
"You have spent quite some time discussing my future," Feng Li said as he looked toward the Black Jade Sect elder. "Shouldn't the person whose future you are deciding be allowed to speak?"
The selection grounds gradually became quiet again. Several people turned toward Feng Li with surprised expressions, while the Black Jade Sect elder narrowed his eyes. Feng Li's voice was calm, but there was no hesitation within it. The elder responded that this was a matter involving the rules established by the major powers and that Feng Li was still young, with many things he did not yet understand.
Feng Li revealed a faint smile before replying that in that case, perhaps the elder could explain them to him.
The Black Jade Sect disciples frowned, while several representatives exchanged strange looks. Feng Li was not shouting, nor was he behaving recklessly, yet his calm attitude made it increasingly difficult for the elder to dismiss him as an ignorant child. Feng Li then pointed out that the measuring platform had failed during his examination and that no one had proven he was responsible for its failure. The platform had not determined that he lacked talent, yet before anyone had discovered what had happened, the Black Jade Sect elder was already insisting that he should leave the selection.
The elder's expression gradually became colder as he replied that he had merely stated the rules.
"Then state them fairly," Feng Li answered. "If the rules say that a person must receive a valid result, then explain what should happen when the treasure responsible for producing that result fails."
The words caused several of the representatives to become silent. Feng Li was not demanding special treatment or insisting that he should automatically be declared qualified. He was simply asking a question that none of them had yet answered.
The Black Jade Sect elder stared at him before telling him that he was becoming rather bold.
Feng Li remained calm. "I am only asking about something that concerns me."
The elder asked whether Feng Li believed that possessing some talent gave him the right to question his elders. Feng Li's expression did not change as he replied that when someone was attempting to decide whether he should be removed from something he had entered according to the rules, he believed he had the right to understand why.
The atmosphere gradually became tense.
The Black Jade Sect elder was a Mortal Transcending Realm expert and was accustomed to being treated with respect wherever he went. Yet Feng Li, an eleven-year-old child, continued standing before him without fear. More importantly, he was not speaking nonsense. Each of his words exposed the weakness in the elder's attempts to use the rules against him.
"You truly do not understand your place," the elder finally said.
Feng Li looked toward him quietly before replying, "Perhaps that is the problem. The elder believes my place should be decided by the Black Jade Sect."
The elder's eyes immediately became sharp. Feng Li had not directly insulted the Black Jade Sect, yet everyone present understood what he meant. The elder had repeatedly attempted to decide Feng Li's fate despite not being the sole person responsible for conducting the selection.
The elder's expression darkened as he told Feng Li that he should understand when to stop.
"And the Elder should understand that strength does not make every decision correct," Feng Li replied.
The moment those words were spoken, the atmosphere completely changed. A terrifying pressure erupted from the Black Jade Sect elder and descended toward Feng Li, causing the surrounding participants to instinctively retreat. Feng Xue's face became pale under the pressure, while the robes around Feng Li moved slightly as the elder's spiritual energy pressed toward him.
Several representatives immediately frowned, and the blue-robed man stepped forward, reminding the elder that this was a selection ground. The Black Jade Sect elder gradually withdrew part of his pressure, but the coldness in his eyes remained. Feng Li continued looking at him without moving, refusing to allow the difference in their cultivation to force him into submission.
For several moments, neither side spoke. Eventually, the representatives began discussing the matter again, and Feng Li turned away, believing that the confrontation had reached its end. Feng Xue moved closer to him, still watching the Black Jade Sect elder cautiously.
Then, without warning, a terrifying surge of spiritual energy erupted behind them.
The attack came so suddenly that even several of the elders were caught off guard. A powerful force tore through the air toward Feng Li, carrying the terrifying might of a Mortal Transcending Realm expert. Feng Xue immediately cried out, while Feng Li turned around and narrowed his eyes. The attack was already approaching, and although several powerful cultivators reacted immediately, none of them were close enough to stop it before it reached him.
However, before the attack could touch Feng Li, it disappeared.
There was no violent collision and no explosion powerful enough to shake the selection grounds. The terrifying spiritual energy simply vanished as though it had never existed.
A young man was now standing before Feng Li.
No one had seen him arrive.
He stood with his back toward Feng Li, dressed in simple robes that carried no obvious symbols of a sect or major power. His appearance was calm and refined, while his long black hair moved gently behind him. He did not release an overwhelming aura or deliberately display his cultivation, yet the moment he appeared, the entire atmosphere seemed to change around him.
There was a natural majesty surrounding him that did not come from arrogance. He did not appear to be someone who needed to prove his strength to those around him, nor did he carry himself with the deliberate pride often displayed by powerful young cultivators. Instead, his bearing gave the impression of someone who had long been accustomed to standing among people and places far beyond the reach of those gathered within the selection grounds.
The Black Jade Sect elder stared at him with a drastically changed expression.
The young man slowly turned around and looked toward him. His voice remained calm as he asked, "A Mortal Transcending Realm elder attacks an eleven-year-old child during a selection ceremony. Is this truly the conduct the Black Jade Sect considers appropriate?"
The Black Jade Sect elder's face immediately stiffened. There was no anger in the young man's voice, and no open threat, yet that made his words considerably more difficult to endure. Everyone present had witnessed the attack. The elder could not easily deny what had happened.
For several moments, he did not answer.
Then one of the representatives seated on the elevated platform suddenly stood, staring carefully at the young man. His expression gradually changed as though he had remembered something.
"That appearance..."
Another elder immediately turned toward him.
A strange silence spread through the selection grounds before someone quietly spoke a name.
"Yun Li."
The moment the name was spoken, several of the representatives immediately reacted. The Black Jade Sect elder's expression changed once again, while another elder stared toward the young man with disbelief.
The discussions that followed were no longer whispers of ordinary curiosity. Several people immediately recognized the significance of his identity. Yun Li was the disciple of the Myriad Dao Sect Master, and the Myriad Dao Sect itself stood as the most powerful sect in the Guan Region.
The ordinary participants began looking at one another in confusion, though the reactions of the elders and representatives quickly made them understand that the unfamiliar young man standing before Feng Li possessed an identity far beyond what they had expected.
Feng Li silently listened to the murmurs around him.
Yun Li.
The disciple of the Myriad Dao Sect Master.
Feng Li had never seen him before and had no understanding of why someone with such an extraordinary background had suddenly appeared and protected him from the Black Jade Sect elder's attack.
The Black Jade Sect elder eventually recovered enough to speak. His attitude was completely different from before as he addressed Yun Li as Fellow Daoist and claimed that the attack had merely been a misunderstanding.
Yun Li calmly looked at him. "A misunderstanding?"
The elder's face stiffened.
Yun Li's gaze briefly moved toward the place where Feng Li had been standing when the attack was launched before returning to the elder. He calmly stated that the attack had seemed rather clear to him.
The Black Jade Sect elder remained silent.
Yun Li did not continue pressing him. After looking at him for another moment, he slowly turned around, and his gaze finally settled upon Feng Li.
For the first time, the two directly faced one another.
Feng Li remained calm, although his thoughts had become considerably more cautious. Yun Li's identity alone made it clear that his sudden appearance could not possibly be accidental.
Yun Li looked at him for a moment before a faint smile appeared on his face.
"Feng Li."
Feng Li's eyes narrowed slightly. Knowing his name was not particularly surprising, especially after everything that had happened during the selection, but Yun Li continued speaking in a relaxed manner.
He spoke of Feng Li's birth within the Feng Clan of Emerald City and of how the clan could never have expected that a child born among them would one day attract the attention of the wider cultivation world. He mentioned the talent ceremony held by the Feng Clan and how their measuring methods had described Feng Li's talent as God Level, before speaking of the extraordinary speed at which his cultivation had grown and the reputation he had gradually gained within Emerald City.
Feng Li's expression remained calm, but his caution continued to increase.
Everything Yun Li mentioned was information that could be investigated. The Feng Clan's talent ceremony was not a secret within Emerald City, and Feng Li's cultivation had already become known to many people after the events of the selection. However, the manner in which Yun Li spoke made one thing clear.
He had not come without knowing who Feng Li was.
Yun Li continued speaking, mentioning that Feng Li had left the protection of the Feng Clan to come to the selection and that his name had become increasingly difficult to ignore. His gaze briefly moved toward Feng Xue before he added that Feng Li had not come alone.
Feng Xue blinked in surprise, while Feng Li continued watching Yun Li.
"I know enough about your life in this world to understand that the stories surrounding you are far more interesting than they initially appear," Yun Li said.
Feng Li's eyes narrowed slightly.
The words were strange, but Yun Li did not sound threatening. His tone was relaxed, almost as though he were simply speaking to someone he had been interested in meeting for some time.
The people surrounding them remained completely silent.
Even the Black Jade Sect elder no longer spoke.
Everyone wanted to understand why the disciple of the Myriad Dao Sect Master had suddenly appeared in Emerald City and why he seemed to know so much about Feng Li.
After looking at Feng Li for another moment, Yun Li's expression became slightly more serious.
"The reason I came here is simple."
The selection grounds became completely silent.
Feng Li waited.
"My master sent me specifically to find you."
The eyes of countless people immediately widened.
Feng Xue stared at Yun Li, while the representatives from the major powers revealed shocked expressions. Even the Black Jade Sect elder's face changed again.
Feng Li remained silent.
The Sect Master of the Myriad Dao Sect had sent Yun Li specifically for him?
Why?
Yun Li did not immediately explain. Instead, he calmly looked at Feng Li before continuing that his master had instructed him to extend an invitation.
"Feng Li, the Myriad Dao Sect wishes to invite you to enter our sect."
For several moments, no one spoke.
The Myriad Dao Sect was the most powerful in the cultivation world, and its Sect Master's personal disciple had appeared in Emerald City for the sole purpose of delivering an invitation to Feng Li.
Only moments earlier, Feng Li had been facing the possibility of being removed from the selection because the talent measuring platform had failed to produce a valid result. Now, before the eyes of countless people, he was being personally invited to enter the number one sect.
The Black Jade Sect disciples stared at Feng Li with completely changed expressions. The young disciple who had repeatedly mocked him earlier could barely conceal the disbelief on his face, while Feng Xue slowly turned toward Feng Li with shock filling her eyes.
Feng Li himself remained silent.
His gaze rested upon Yun Li.
He had no reason to immediately accept simply because Yun Li came from the Myriad Dao Sect. An invitation from the number one sect was extraordinary, but it did not answer the questions that had suddenly appeared within his mind. Why had the Sect Master taken an interest in him? What did the Myriad Dao Sect want? And why had Yun Li been sent personally to find him?
Yun Li seemed to understand that Feng Li would not immediately answer.
He did not urge him.
He simply stood calmly before him with a relaxed expression, appearing completely unbothered by the countless people waiting to hear Feng Li's response.
The selection grounds had become silent.
The representatives watched.
The Black Jade Sect elder watched.
Feng Xue watched.
Yun Li waited.
Feng Li's eyes remained fixed upon the unfamiliar disciple of the Myriad Dao Sect Master.
Then, instead of immediately giving him an answer, Feng Li remained silent.
And Yun Li simply continued waiting.