A Gathering of Geniuses

"Everyone, sit down and chat," Shangguan Ye said.

They found a few empty tables and sat down. Seeing Shangguan Ye and Xiao Ning'er acting so lovingly together, Gu Bei could not help but feel regretful.

"Big Sis, it's not that I don't want to help you..."

"By the way, Ning'er, didn't Zi Yun come?" Nie Li asked.

"She was chosen to cultivate in a secret realm, and we haven't been able to contact her."

"Alright." Nie Li was somewhat disappointed.

"Brother Shangguan, may I sit here?" Li Xingyun walked over and asked.

"Of course. Please sit, Brother Xingyun."

"Haha, then I won't stand on ceremony." Li Xingyun sat down beside Gu Bei.

"Brother Xingyun," Gu Bei greeted him.

"Brother Gu Bei." Li Xingyun nodded in response.

"May we sit here?" Ye Xuan and Murong Yu walked over, pointing at the empty seats beside Xiao Ning'er.

"These are our seats." Seeing this, Xiao Xue immediately pulled Lu Piao over and sat down.

"Alright, then we'll sit over here." The two moved to the side. Just as Nie Li sat down, a beautiful figure took the seat beside him. Everyone looked closely and discovered that it was Long Yuyin.

Thus, ten people were seated around a single small table.

As soon as everyone sat down, Ye Xuan poured himself a cup of wine and stood up.

"Today's banquet is an opportunity arranged by the higher-ups of the three major sects for us to get to know one another. When we head to the Greater World in the future, we can look out for each other. Now that we've met today, we are all friends. Cheers!"

Ye Xuan spoke with great passion, but no one paid him any attention. Shangguan Ye and Xiao Ning'er flirted with each other, Lu Piao and Xiao Xue laughed and joked around, Long Yuyin exchanged cultivation insights with Nie Li, while Gu Bei and Li Xingyun chatted.

"Uh..." Ye Xuan stood there holding up his cup, at a loss.

"Junior Brother Shangguan, aren't you being a little too disrespectful toward Senior Brother Ye Xuan? Although you've already reached the Heavenly Star Realm, you shouldn't be so arrogant, should you?" Murong Yu said coldly.

"Murong Yu, have I given you too much face? Do you want to die again?" The killing intent in Shangguan Ye's eyes was undisguised. Murong Yu was frightened, but then he remembered that this was the Feather God Sect and regained his nerve.

"Hmph, killing each other is forbidden within the sect. What can you possibly do to me?"

"Yes, mutual killing is forbidden, but no one said suicide wasn't allowed." Shangguan Ye smiled.

"Hm?" Hearing this, Murong Yu could not help looking at Shangguan Ye. Then a flash of purple passed through his eyes, and Murong Yu lost control of himself. He stood up and walked to the center of the hall.

"Everyone, look over here! I have an announcement!"

Murong Yu's booming voice drew everyone's attention. Once he had everyone looking, he suddenly drew the sword from his back and slit his own throat in a single stroke. Blood sprayed everywhere.

"Murong Yu committed suicide!!"

The hall instantly descended into chaos, quickly drawing the arrival of the law enforcement officers. However, since Murong Yu had committed suicide, they did not know what to do. After cleaning up the scene, they left.

Meanwhile, cold sweat streamed down Ye Xuan's back.

"In that instant, I sensed fluctuations of his Heavenly Dao Power. I don't know what method he used to make Murong Yu commit suicide, but this Shangguan Ye is practically a demon."

"Look! It's Long Tianming!"

A tall man in a long robe slowly walked in.

"Long Tianming is incredible. He's already at the ninth level of the Heavenly Star Realm!"

"Yeah, it's not easy to see him even once under normal circumstances."

Long Tianming walked to Shangguan Ye's table and greeted Ye Xuan.

"Brother Ye Xuan, it's been a long time. Your cultivation has improved."

"Not at all, not at all. I can't compare to Senior Brother Long. You'll soon reach the Heaven Rotation Realm."

After exchanging pleasantries, Long Tianming looked at Shangguan Ye.

"Junior Brother Shangguan has already reached the seventh level of the Heavenly Star Realm at such a young age. Truly an outstanding young talent." Long Tianming smiled, but Shangguan Ye ignored him.

Long Tianming was somewhat angered by this, but he endured it and turned to leave.

First Murong Yu's suicide, then Long Tianming's interruption—everyone felt a little awkward.

"I heard there'll be an auction later?" Shangguan Ye spoke up to ease the atmosphere.

"That's right. Every time, the three major sects bring out some rare items, lest the geniuses of each sect lose interest in attending," Li Xingyun explained.

"Ooh, ooh, ooh!"

A sudden commotion arose from the crowd.

A Pink-haired Girl dressed in plain clothes walked in gracefully.

"Shangguan, that is our sect's Saintess, Mingyue Wushuang," Xiao Ning'er introduced.

"And look, the red-haired one is Yan Yang from the Fire God Sect."

"Their cultivation is quite decent." Shangguan Ye gave a brief assessment.

"All the prodigies of the three major sects are here: Long Tianming of the Feather God Sect, Mingyue Wushuang of the Tianyin Divine Sect, and Yan Yang of the Fire God Sect."

"Long Tianming? I think Shangguan Ye is better. He hasn't been here long, yet he's already an expert at the seventh level of the Heavenly Star Realm. Long Tianming is already in his twenties."

"Senior Brother Long Tianming is number one!"

"Shangguan Ye!"

"Long Tianming!"

Some people in the crowd actually began arguing in support of their idols. Xiao Ning'er covered her mouth and giggled.

"Shangguan, you even have little fans."

"Sigh, I don't want to be this outstanding either." Shangguan Ye put on a deeply troubled expression, making everyone laugh.

As everyone chatted and laughed, a female disciple from the Tianyin Divine Sect stepped onto the stage.

"It is an honor to visit the Feather God Sect today. I am Qin Yue. As usual, our auction is about to begin, so I hope everyone will show their support."

Hearing this, everyone turned their attention to the stage.

"The first item up for auction is a Demon Spirit with excellent growth potential: the Blood Fury Earth Dragon." Qin Yue took out a Demon Spirit Stone, and the image of the Blood Fury Earth Dragon slowly appeared.

Seeing this, Ye Xuan began making plans.

"Junior Sister Ning'er, do you need this Demon Spirit? I can bid for it on your behalf."

"I don't need it. My current Demon Spirit is already the best. There's no need to trouble Senior Brother Ye."

"Alright."

"Ten thousand spirit stones!"

"Eleven thousand!"

"Fifteen thousand!"

Everyone began bidding. In the end, six were sold, each for roughly twenty-five thousand spirit stones.

"The next item is a bottle of Demon Soul Essence. It can strengthen Demon Spirits and is Heavenly Star grade."

"Eleven thousand spirit stones!" Ye Xuan bid.

"Gu Bei, help me win that Demon Soul Essence," Nie Li transmitted.

"Got it."

"Eleven thousand one hundred!"

"Hahaha, why are those people at the same table competing against each other?"

"They must have some conflict. Let's watch the show first."

"Thirty thousand." Shangguan Ye suddenly spoke, and the auction hall instantly fell silent.

No one raised the price for a long while.

"Congratulations to this young master for winning the bid."

"Shangguan, although this Demon Soul Essence is good, it isn't worth this much," Xiao Ning'er reminded him.

"It's fine. I'll tell you a secret: there are countless Divine Pools in the Mountain River Space. If we run short on spirit stones, we can just go in and take some ourselves." Shangguan Ye leaned close to Xiao Ning'er's ear and whispered.

"Mhm, mhm."

"The next item is an exclusive product of our Tianyin Divine Sect: Tianyin Dew. There are one hundred bottles in total, with bidding starting at ten bottles per lot."

"Shangguan, I still have plenty of this. If you want some, I can give it to you, so there's no need to bid," Xiao Ning'er said softly.

"Alright. Since Ning'er says so, we'll let them have it."