Central Region, Immortal Zhou Family.
Within the grand hall, Zhou Kuang sat in the seat of honor. Though his aura was restrained, everyone could still sense that terrifying presence, vast as an abyss and deep as the sea.
Below Zhou Kuang sat Zhou Qiongtian, Zhou Xinchi, and Zhou Zimo. Beyond them were the other elders of the Zhou Clan.
"Crimson Flame Divine Sect has arrived, presenting one hundred Great Sun Divine Crystals!"
Zhou Kuang laughed heartily. "Quickly, take your seats!"
Zhou Qiongtian nodded. The Crimson Flame Divine Sect was a superpower, and Great Sun Divine Crystals were extremely precious Flame Dao resources.
Although the Crimson Flame Divine Sect was also a sect of the Central Region, it was quite far from the Zhou Clan. He had not expected it to be the first superpower to arrive!
"Azure Profound Divine Palace has arrived, presenting ten Azure Profound Divine Fruits!"
Surprise appeared in Zhou Qiongtian's eyes. The Azure Profound Divine Fruits were a specialty of the Azure Profound Divine Palace. The Azure Profound Divine Palace possessed an Azure Profound Divine Tree that bore fruit only once every hundred years, and only a few fruits each time.
Ten fruits represented centuries of accumulation by the Azure Profound Divine Palace. Accounting for the consumption of their disciples, accumulating ten Azure Profound Divine Fruits would require at least a thousand years, perhaps even several thousand!
To present ten at once—this time, the Azure Profound Divine Palace had truly spent a fortune.
Azure Profound Divine Fruits were exceedingly precious and impossible to buy even at a price. They could improve a cultivator's potential, talent, comprehension, and offered countless other benefits.
"Hahaha, quickly take your seats!"
The Azure Profound Divine Palace Master's seat was clearly closer to Zhou Kuang than the Crimson Flame Divine Sect Master's.
One after another, representatives from many superpowers arrived. They were either sect masters or grand elders, showing just how seriously they regarded Zhou Kuang's banquet.
"Mystic Heaven Hegemony Sect has arrived, presenting one hundred drops of Golden Spirit Bone Fluid!"
Inside the hall, representatives from many factions revealed strange expressions.
The Mystic Heaven Hegemony Sect had finally produced an unparalleled prodigy with a Supreme Bone, only for Zhou Kuang to take a liking to it and dig it out. The Mystic Heaven Hegemony Sect's young sect master, Batian, could be said to have been crippled.
Though he could recover, his talent would certainly not compare to what it had been before.
That alone would have been bad enough. Now, the Mystic Heaven Hegemony Sect Master had even brought Golden Spirit Bone Fluid to congratulate Zhou Qiongtian on successfully replacing his bones. Thinking of this, they all felt stifled on behalf of the Mystic Heaven Hegemony Sect Master.
Golden Spirit Bone Fluid was a supreme bone-path resource, specially collected by the Mystic Heaven Hegemony Sect for Batian. It offered countless benefits to a Supreme Bone. They had given away the Supreme Bone, and now they had to give away the Golden Spirit Bone Fluid too. They were truly the biggest suckers imaginable.
Zhou Qiongtian suddenly recalled that the Mystic Heaven Sword Zhou Xinchi had given him seemed to have some connection to the Mystic Heaven Hegemony Sect. He could not help revealing a strange expression. He and the Mystic Heaven Hegemony Sect truly were fated!
If the Mystic Heaven Hegemony Sect knew what Zhou Qiongtian was thinking, they would surely shout, "I don't want to be fated with you!"
Zhou Kuang looked at the Mystic Heaven Hegemony Sect Master and revealed a meaningful smile. "The Mystic Heaven Hegemony Sect would not mind over a mere Supreme Bone, would it?"
The Mystic Heaven Hegemony Sect Master nearly crushed his teeth. Inwardly, he roared, "My sect finally produced an unparalleled prodigy! As long as he did not fall, he was guaranteed to become a Supreme! With one more Supreme, the Mystic Heaven Hegemony Sect's strength would soar!"
"One sect with two Supremes! Those superpowers with only one Supreme would have to follow behind the Mystic Heaven Hegemony Sect and eat our dust!"
"Batian might even have been able to make a bid for the Great Emperor Realm. If he succeeded, it would have been a golden age for the Mystic Heaven Hegemony Sect!"
"Now it's all ruined! A mere Supreme Bone? Don't mind? I ******"
Though the Mystic Heaven Hegemony Sect Master inwardly wished he could grind Zhou Kuang into the ground, he did not show the slightest anger. Instead, he revealed a smile.
"What is the Great Emperor saying? The Great Emperor's cultivation reaches the heavens, and his divine abilities overshadow the world. For that boy Batian's Supreme Bone to be of use to the Great Emperor is simply the honor of our Mystic Heaven Hegemony Sect!"
The Mystic Heaven Hegemony Sect Master even lightly flattered Zhou Kuang, lowering his stance to the extreme.
The representatives of the other sects all had the corners of their mouths twitch slightly.
"Good! Good! Good!" Zhou Kuang said good three times. "Quickly, take your seats!"
However, the Violet Heaven Holy Land had not received an invitation, simply because it was not qualified. It was merely a holy land, after all.
The banquet Zhou Kuang had arranged invited only superpowers. Top factions such as the Violet Heaven Holy Land were still not worthy enough.
Yet the Mystic Heaven Hegemony Sect Master felt that it was fortunate the Violet Heaven Holy Land had not come. Feeling the strange, teasing, and mocking gazes of the others, he was so embarrassed he could practically carve out a three-bedroom apartment with his toes.
And he still had to go against his heart and offer all kinds of congratulations and blessings. It was pure torment!
Music played and wine flowed; the grand hall was filled with joy and harmony. These representatives of the superpowers were either Saint King Great Perfection experts or Supremes, yet all wore fawning, ingratiating expressions.
If the disciples of their factions saw them like this, their eyes would surely fall out. Their usually stern sect masters and grand elders actually had such faces.
Quite a few factions even subtly suggested marriage alliances. They would accept even becoming concubines.
The corner of Zhou Qiongtian's mouth twitched slightly.
Zhou Qiongtian suddenly felt a chill rise behind him. He turned around, but there was nothing there. Frowning, he activated the Fortune Sensing Divine Ability.
Beneath the Fortune Pillar that shot into the heavens, black flames burned. To the north of the Fortune Pillar hung a mass of Dark Cloud, while behind the Fortune Pillar, a streak of bloody light was close at hand!
Zhou Qiongtian's pupils suddenly contracted, and he immediately sensed that something was terribly wrong.
At that moment, in a corner, a shadow gradually condensed. The shadow transformed into a man in black, his aura completely restrained. Yet none of the Saint Kings or Supremes in the hall noticed him in the slightest.
The man in black looked at Zhou Kuang, Zhou Zimo, and Zhou Qiongtian. Those three were Zhou Kuang's children.
Then he bent slightly forward. The next instant, he shot out, a pitch-black dagger in his hand. Purple-black liquid coated the dagger's blade; it was clearly a deadly poison.
This poison was terrifying. Even Supreme Realm experts would be severely injured if they were careless, while cultivators below the Supreme Realm would die upon contact!
In a single instant, the man in black arrived behind Zhou Qiongtian. The dagger was less than a finger's breadth from Zhou Qiongtian's neck!
Only then did the other Saint Kings and Supremes react. Seeing the man in black, their eyes widened, filled with disbelief.
Who the hell was this, daring to assassinate Zhou Kuang's son before Zhou Kuang at an occasion like this!
Just as the dagger was a hair's breadth from Zhou Qiongtian, the man in black suddenly could not move.
It was as though the dagger had struck something invisible and could no longer advance even the slightest bit!
Though the man in black was a Supreme expert, even using all his strength, he could not move forward by a single inch.
He had clearly been only a tiny bit away.
The man in black instantly understood that his assassination had failed. He transformed into a mass of shadow and swiftly fled.
Cold sweat broke out across the backs of the Saint Kings and Supremes. They had been so close to Zhou Qiongtian, yet had noticed nothing. Only when the man in black appeared before them did they realize he was there.
And they had seen him only with their naked eyes. Their divine senses could not detect that someone had been standing behind Zhou Qiongtian at all.
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