The Prodigies War

The man wore azure robes with a jade sash and had his hair tied up in a bun. His facial features were very handsome, and he carried an azure ancient sword on his back while his expression seemed to exude a touch of loneliness.

It was the Little Sword Lord, Xie Yutang!

When Lin Xun was a weak young teenager, he first encountered Xie Yutang in the ancient forest outside Feiyun Village.

Back then, Lin Xun only possessed True Martial stage cultivation, while Xie Yutang had already reached the Spirit Sea stage and could travel freely on his sword like an immortal.

Later on, at Haze City which was located in the empire's southwestern province, Lin Xun met Xie Yutang once again during his first meeting with Liu Qingyan.

On that second meeting, however, Xie Yutang domineeringly threatened Lin Xun to let go of a defeated noble clan disciple while pointing a sword at his throat.

Lin Xun still remembered what Xie Yutang had said back then.

"If a tiny ant bites off more than he can chew, he will only bring disaster to himself!"

It was the first time Lin Xun had been threatened in such a manner; with a sword pressed against his throat while being viewed as an ant. It was a memory he would never forget.

Subsequently, Little Sword Lord Xie Yutang left for the Ancient Wasteland Domain soon after Lin Xun’s arrival at the Forbidden City. Since then, he had not heard any news about Xie Yutang.

Never did Lin Xun imagine that he would see Xie Yutang again at Snow Maple City, which was located at the border area of the Yunyao Province of the West Infinity World.

"Looks like he joined the Feather Sword Sect after arriving at the Ancient Wasteland Domain. Moreover, he seems to be quite highly regarded by the sect."

Lin Xun quickly figured things out. As someone who was accompanying one of the five inner true disciples of the Feather Sword Sect, Zhuo Kuanglan, Xie Yutang probably had quite a high status in the sect.

Lin Xun currently felt neither good will nor ill will toward Xie Yutang. Although he had been threatened at swordpoint by the other party before, it was also true that Xie Yutang had saved him once by chance.

Therefore, as far as Lin Xun was concerned the ledger between him and Xie Yutang was clean, and neither side owed the other anything.

Of course, Lin Xun also had his own sense of pride and dignity. Although he wasn’t going to retaliate against Xie Yutang, Lin Xun wasn’t going to go over and say hi either.

Although it wouldn’t be wrong to call them ‘old friends’ from the same hometown in the Ancient Wasteland Domain, even old friends might not always be able to let go of the past.

"Lin Xun?"

However, when Lin Xun was about to turn around and leave, Xie Yutang also noticed him and was immediately surprised. "You’ve also come to the Ancient Wasteland Domain?"

Lin Xun blandly made a noise of acknowledgment.

Xie Yutang frowned. Although it had only been a few years since they last met, he found that Lin Xun had already reached the perfect Heaven Ascension stage, which made him even more surprised.

Xie Yutang asked, "Are you currently part of any sect?"

He had honestly not thought much about Lin Xun all these years.

In fact, it was only back when he was still in the Forbidden City that he learned that Lin Xun had made quite a name for himself.

However, he never expected that the youngster from a small village at the edge of the Ziyao Empire would already have the ability to enter the Ancient Wasteland Domain after only a few years!

It was a discovery that surprised him and filled him with curiosity.

It must be known that not just anyone in the Ziyao Empire could enter the Ancient Wasteland Domain! In fact, only the top powerhouse factions could afford to send their disciples to this vast and grand cultivation holy land!

"Nope."

Lin Xun shook his head.

Xie Yutang acknowledged with a soft grunt, feeling relieved.

Indeed, it was already a huge blessing for a youngster with no background to enter the Ancient Wasteland Domain to cultivate. How could he possibly have joined an ancient sect as well?

"Junior Brother Xie, is that one of your friends from the lower plane?"

Zhuo Kuanglan suddenly interjected. He majestically stood there in his wide sleeves and sash, his figure straight as a sword while an aura of superiority seemed to beat around him. Merely speaking immediately made him the focal point of the entire place.

Xie Yutang casually replied, "We aren’t really friends but acquaintances."

Zhuo Kuanglan acknowledged and withdrew his gaze. He made no move to exchange pleasantries with Lin Xun, displaying an air of aloofness and arrogance.

The lower plane!

The nearby Feather Sword Sect successors were taken aback before soon displaying disapproving looks containing some measure of contempt and disdain.

They had originally felt curious seeing Xie Yutang talk with Lin Xun, wondering which ancient sect he was a disciple of.

However, they immediately lost interest upon learning that he came from a barren lower plane and was not part of any sect.

Zhuo Kuanglan nonchalantly said, "Junior Brother Xie, we have important matters to attend to and cannot tarry any further."

Xie Yutang clearly didn’t have any intention of introducing Lin Xun to others. He immediately nodded and said, "Everything shall go as Senior Brother Zhou instructs."

"Then let us depart."

The group immediately headed toward the city gates. From start to the end, none of them gave a second glance to Lin Xun.

To them, a youngster from a lower plane like Lin Xun was no different from a passerby and wasn’t worth their attention.

Only Xie Yutang cast a side-eye glance at Lin Xun and calmly transmitted, "You can come to find me if you encounter any trouble. However, I’ll only help if I can, so don't be too hopeful either."

After which, he hurried away as well.

Lin Xun's black eyes narrowed before he displayed a bright smile.

Xie Yutang had spoken with a sense of superiority as if he was giving charity to the poor and was obviously not being sincere.

Admittedly, being despised and ignored by disciples from the Feather Sword Sect before entering Snow Maple City wasn’t in the cards when Lin Xun first thought about heading to the city.

Moreover, even Xie Yutang had shown an attitude of superiority which Lin Xun found rather amusing and comical.

He shook his head and put this little episode behind him as he began walking towards the city gates.

……

Not long after Lin Xun left, a magnificent carriage appeared from the distance, surrounded by a group of guards.

Inside the carriage were the two siblings, Yu Xuejiao and Yu Xuetian.

Ye Xuetian excitedly said, "Elder Sis, let's head to the 'News Tree' at the city center first. I wonder if any huge events have occurred in the West Infinity World while we were away for the past month."

Yu Xuejiao slightly hesitated. In the end, she couldn’t bear to disappoint her younger brother and nodded. "Alright, we’ll go and have a look."

The News Tree was a bizarre ancient tree planted by the very well-informed Windspeaker Clan.

Whenever something sensational happened, Windspeaker Clan experts would ‘hang’ the news they gathered on the tree which would then be condensed into leaves for people to view and read.

The News Tree leaves possessed the peculiar ability to transform into words and images, allowing them to vividly recreate the actual scenes of the information.

There were also some secret messages that could be viewed from the News Tree although they required aeth essence to be fed to the leaves to see their contents.

Due to this, the News Tree was also known as the "money tree" of the Windspeaker Clan.

……

The central district of Snow Maple City.

An ancient towering News Tree had taken root here. Its branches extended into the sky like gnarled dragons, covered in numerous leaves.

The glittering white leaves looked as if they had been carved from ice and were as large as a palm-leaf. These were the special leaves that contained all kinds of information discovered by the Windspeaker Clan experts.

When Yu Xuejiao siblings arrived, they were surprised to find that the place was exceptionally busy. The crowd around the tree was so tightly packed that not even water could squeeze through.

Yu Xuetian exclaimed in excitement, "There’s such a huge crowd here. Something big must have happened!" He hurriedly hopped off the carriage and squeezed his way into the crowd.

"Brother is still too impatient..." Yu Xuejiao shook her head before she also got up and walked off the carriage.

She clearly remembered that the only time when so many cultivators would be gathered around the News Tree was when a major event had occurred.

"Did something big really happen while we were away?" Yu Xuejiao could not help but feel curious.

It was at this moment that Yu Xuetian, who had managed to squeeze all the way to the front of the crowd, suddenly cried out in shock, "Big Sis, come quickly!"

Shocked, Yu Xuejiao was soon escorted by the guards to the News Tree where she reunited with Yu Xuetian.

Her body immediately stiffened the moment she looked at the trunk and her expression changed slightly.

It's him!?