Lord of Tai'a Divine City's Birthday Banquet
In early winter, the first snow fell in the Tai'a Divine Kingdom. Ten months had passed since Yi Yun left Tai'a Divine City.
The group of trainees who entered Tai'a Divine City with Yi Yun have become second-year soldiers.
The new batch of Tai'a Divine City Trial Participants entered Tai'a Divine City more than three months ago and completed their initial menial tasks.
Now is the time for these newcomers to compete in the rookie rankings.
The rewards for this year's rookie ranking competition have doubled compared to the previous one!
This is mainly because the Lord of Tai'a Divine City is about to celebrate his birthday!
A figure of the caliber of the Lord of Tai'a Divine City would typically hold a birthday banquet once he turned 100. However, on the day of the banquet, he might be in seclusion or exploring ruins, among other reasons, and thus would be unable to hold the banquet.
In fact, the current Lord of Tai'a Divine City is somewhat mysterious. He has rarely appeared in recent centuries, let alone held such a formalistic birthday banquet.
The specific affairs of Tai'a Divine City were overseen by Elders Jian Ge and Cang Yan.
His sudden announcement of a birthday banquet came as a complete surprise, leading some to speculate whether there were any special reasons behind it.
Of course, these are things that only the higher-ups need to consider. For the trial participants of Tai'a Divine City, this is definitely a great joy.
Not to mention that being able to attend the birthday banquet of such a legendary figure and witness such a grand event is already an incredible honor.
Moreover, during the birthday banquet, the prices of various resources in Tai'a Divine City were discounted, while the corresponding rewards were also increased. This is the most practical benefit!
Of course, the top-ranked newcomers in this newcomer ranking competition became the biggest beneficiaries of the city lord's birthday banquet.
To compete for the title of best newcomer, all the newcomers put in their best efforts and showed off their skills.
This match is currently a battle for the rookie championship!
The two competitors were a boy and a girl.
The boy's name was Lu Jie. His family background was not particularly distinguished; he could only be considered an upper-middle-class nobleman. The girl, Wen Yu, came from a prestigious family and was a true Heavenly Proud Daughter.
Both were thirteen years old, and their battle was highly anticipated, attracting many experienced trial participants to watch.
Qiu Niu and Chu Xiaoran were among them.
As soon as they reached the center of the field, someone recognized them.
Qiu Niu and Chu Xiaoran broke into the top 1000 of the Heaven and Earth Ranking within a year!
Especially Chu Xiaoran, by the end of the first year of trials, her ranking on the Earth Ranking had reached 890th, and on the Heaven Ranking it was even more impressive, reaching 860th!
For a newcomer to Tai'a Divine City, achieving even one place in the top 1000 of the Heaven and Earth Ranking within their first year is already remarkable, enough to stir up a storm in the Tai'a Divine Kingdom.
Chu Xiaoran's ranking in the top 900 on both lists is simply Celestial Person!
For the new students who have just arrived in Tai'a Divine City, their Senior Disciple Sister Chu Xiaoran is definitely a legendary figure. She successfully condensed Dharma Aspect Totem before reaching the Origin Foundation Realm, and her comprehension of laws far surpasses that of her peers. With so many accolades bestowed upon Chu Xiaoran, these newcomers have become her loyal fans.
The arrival of Chu Xiaoran and Qiu Niu caused quite a stir, with the newlyweds making way for them.
Even Lu Jie Wen Yu, who were about to take the stage, admired the two greatly. Although they were also geniuses, they knew that they were still somewhat inferior to Qiu Niu and Chu Xiaoran.
They also heard that in the previous rookie ranking competition, the champion was not Chu Xiaoran, but a boy named Yi Yun. However, Yi Yun was young and arrogant and entered the forbidden area of Falling Star Abyss - the Gate of Fallen Stars - for trials alone.
He then disappeared. It is said that Elder Cang Yan of Tai'a Divine City even went to the Gate of Fallen Stars to look for Yi Yun, but found nothing.
Yi Yun has been missing for more than ten months now.
Originally, the identity tokens of the trial participants not only recorded each person's identity information, Dragon Scale Rune, and accumulated points from the wild beasts they killed, but also had a location tracking function.
However, even using this location function, Yi Yun could not be found.
Therefore, it is possible that Yi Yun's identity token was destroyed within the Gate of Fallen Stars.
This identity token, being just an ordinary magical artifact, wasn't particularly sturdy. In the chaotic environment of the Gate of Fallen Stars, it wouldn't be surprising if it were destroyed by the Pure Yang Flame.
Therefore, Yi Yun's situation is not optimistic.
Some believe that Yi Yun may have perished; according to the custom of Tai'a Divine City, a person missing for a year is considered dead.
Historically, there have been some incredibly ruthless individuals who spent nearly a year training in the Divine Wilderness.
Some people who were initially presumed dead have returned safely.
However, such incidents are extremely rare.
Even if they exist, they wouldn't be like Yi Yun.
According to the information brought back by Chu Xiaoran and Qiu Niu, Yi Yun went to the Gate of Fallen Stars for training. Even the most powerful and ruthless person wouldn't dare to train there for so long!
Therefore, most people felt that Yi Yun's chances of survival were slim.
In the Tai'a Divine Kingdom, only the geniuses who have grown up receive attention, while those who have disappeared or perished are quickly forgotten.
Those who were in the same year as Chu Xiaoran and Qiu Niu, the second-year trainees, had a particularly deep memory of Yi Yun's brilliance back then.
As for the new batch of trial participants, they hardly knew the name Yi Yun anymore. Even if they had heard of it, they would only listen to it as a novel story.
At this moment, the competition began.
Wen Yu and Lu Jie each displayed their skills, resulting in a series of exciting matches.
The two had already climbed into the top 4,000 of the Earth Ranking. This duel was their final battle, deciding who would ultimately claim the rookie champion title.
The match quickly reached a fever pitch, but in the stands, Chu Xiaoran seemed lost in thought, her mind clearly not on the game.
"What's wrong, Xiao Ran? Are you thinking about Yi Yun?" Qiu Niu asked, standing beside Chu Xiaoran.
"Hmm..." Chu Xiaoran nodded. She came to watch this rookie ranking competition not because she was interested in Wen Yu and Lu Jie, as neither of them would pose a threat to Chu Xiaoran in the future.
Chu Xiaoran came to the arena to reminisce about her great battle with Yi Yun at this time last year. Although she lost that battle, it was the most memorable battle of her life so far, and it left a deep impression on her.
"Back when we were training in Falling Star Abyss, if it weren't for Yi Yun, we would have died when we were ambushed by the Azure Blood Ape in the canyon and when we were besieged by the Strange Fish in the deep pool. Yi Yun saved us twice."
"Who would have thought that we all returned safely, except for Yi Yun who went missing. Although even Elder Cang Yan thought that something might have happened to Yi Yun, I still felt that Yi Yun couldn't have died so easily. He just didn't come back for some reason..." Chu Xiaoran said quietly.
Qiu Niu nodded and said, "Yi Yun is a man of great fortune; he shouldn't have perished so easily. However... his identity plaque has been lost, which is why it's worrying. We can only pray that the spirits of our ancestors will protect him..."
A hundred miles away from the Tai'a Divine City, in a swamp.
This swamp is not the Blackwater Swamp. As it is located very close to the Tai'a Divine City, the wild beasts in this swamp are very weak. Generally, only newcomers come here to train.
Although it's called a trial, it's really just to broaden their horizons, familiarize themselves with teamwork and fighting wild beasts, and lay the foundation for them to truly travel the Divine Wilderness in the future.
At this moment, in this swamp, a small team of new recruits was hunting swamp beasts.
Because it was their first time leaving the city, even if it was only within a hundred miles of Tai'a Divine City, they were all on high alert, as if facing a formidable enemy.
"Captain, look over there! There's someone there!"
One of the squad members on guard duty suddenly spotted a young man carrying a knife walking towards the end of the swamp.
This boy's attire was quite unusual.
He was tall and slender, but his clothes were clearly a size too small and were so worn that they could be described as tattered.
His hair, which looked like it hadn't been styled in a long time, hung down to his shoulders like a tangled mess.
The knife he was carrying was broken in half, making him look like he had survived a terrible ordeal and then been robbed.
The team members weren't even sure if this guy was a trial participant from Tai'a Divine City; could he be a wild man from the Divine Wilderness?
As the boy approached, the team went on alert.
Who is it?
Seven or eight people, carrying weapons, asked.
The boy grinned, revealing two rows of white teeth.
After so long, I finally saw them!
Loneliness is truly an emotion that cannot be ignored. Even Yi Yun, after cultivating alone for so long, felt extremely lonely.
Seeing someone like me again now fills me with a feeling of warmth and familiarity.
"Hello, I'd like to ask, what year and month is it now?"
Hearing Yi Yun's question, the teenagers were all stunned. Was he really a savage? Asking about dates right off the bat...
"It was the seventh day of the eleventh month of the sixty-eighth year of the Qingfeng."
Qingfeng was the reign title of the current emperor. The Tai'a Divine Kingdom used reign titles to mark the years, and generally only the last two digits were mentioned, while the preceding digits were too long and were simply ignored.
"On the seventh day of the eleventh lunar month, which is the seventh day of the eleventh month, I found myself cultivating at the Pure Yang Sword Palace for quite some time without even realizing it..."
Yi Yun sighed, "Cultivation truly knows no time."
"Hey, you still haven't said who you are?"
The squad leader asked another question.
"Me?" Yi Yun smiled, looking at the group of teenagers who seemed to be younger than him, and said, "I am also a trial participant from Tai'a Divine City."
"Trial participants?" Several trial participants were taken aback, and their gazes towards Yi Yun became strange.
This guy is also a trial participant? That's really pathetic!
As newcomers, they were already in a rather tragic situation. Now, looking at this young man, he's really a sight to behold; he looks almost like a beggar.
"Dude, did you get ganged up on by wild beasts? Your knife's broken, your clothes' torn... Hurry back to town. Next time, be better prepared. Bring more array plates, array talismans, thunder beads, and stuff like that. These disposable magic items might seem wasteful, but they can save your life in a pinch. And don't skimp on these Dragon Scale Rune!"
The captain of the rookie team, appearing very enthusiastic, used his recently acquired experience to instruct Yi Yun.
Yi Yun laughed heartily, not minding at all. He said, "Thanks! I really do need to go back to the city. See you later!"
Yi Yun was in high spirits as he prepared to return to Tai'a Divine City.
He had been in seclusion in the Pure Yang Sword Palace for nearly ten months. On his way back to Tai'a Divine City, he hunted wild beasts along the way to consolidate his Dharma Aspect Totem.
Now, Yi Yun's cultivation has reached the Purple Blood Peak realm.
The next step is to condense the fundamental elements.
...(To be continued~^~)