The Grand Tournament in Progress

Ten days later.

The family grand competition officially began.

The venue for the matches was located atop a massive mountain peak that stood directly opposite Cloud Sea City.

This mountain peak soared a million zhang into the sky, making it the highest point on Cloud Sea Planet, rising even above the cloud layer.

The sea of clouds lay below, while the peak stood above.

The summit had been leveled by the immense power of the Cloud Sea Family, where they had constructed an arena and spectator stands similar to the Giant Axe Arena, complete with private boxes.

By the time Li Yilin arrived at the summit, it was already packed with people. More than half were members of the Cloud Sea Family, while others were wealthy magnates or battle-hungry warriors who had paid a high price to witness the spectacle. A separate area was reserved specifically for the contestants to rest and watch the matches.

As a participant, Si Yao naturally had a seat.

As for the Fifteen Families and the Four Great Organizations that the Cloud Sea Family deemed important, they were provided with private boxes to ensure both privacy and a better view.

When Si Yao and Li Yilin appeared, the lively atmosphere of the venue paused for a moment. Everyone's gaze lingered on Si Yao for an instant before quickly shifting to Li Yilin.

With his long black hair draped loosely and tied with a red ribbon, he possessed a handsome face with sharp, star-like brows and clear eyes. He wore a noble purple robe, the hem and waist embroidered with intricate purple Lightning patterns and strange purple flowers. He looked every bit the part of a wealthy, noble scion out for a bit of fun.

A commotion broke out at the scene, and people began to whisper among themselves.

"Is that Si Yao's teacher? A powerhouse at the Domain Lord level?"

"A Domain Lord, that's Elder-level status."

"He has no presence at all, and his manner is frivolous and lazy. How could he possibly compare to our ancestor?"

"Exactly. He looks even worse than our own Elders. That girl really doesn't know what's good for her." The Elders of the Cloud Sea Family were divided into three categories based on strength and status. Those at the Domain Lord level were ordinary Elders, enjoying resources and treatment similar to the family head. Those at the World Lord level or above were Supreme Elders; the Cloud Sea Family had two, one of whom was World Lord Xunzhen.

However, because World Lord Xunzhen was the founder of the Cloud Sea Family and most of the family members were his descendants, they generally addressed him as the ancestor rather than Supreme Elder.

The final category was the Guest Elder. As the name implied, Guest Elders were not members of the Cloud Sea Family. They were powerhouses without their own factions or families whom the Cloud Sea Family had encountered and recruited across the universe.

They were at least at the Domain Lord level, as those at the Universe Level or below were not worth recruiting, let alone granting the status of Elder.

Although Li Yilin had been on Cloud Sea Planet for quite some time, he had never appeared in public, so the general impression of him remained that of a mere Domain Lord-level powerhouse.

Seeing him today, beyond being surprised by his beauty, the crowd felt only disappointment.

He didn't have even a fraction of the presence their ancestor possessed.

Once Si Yao and Li Yilin parted ways and she arrived at her designated seat, a young man sitting behind her couldn't help but speak up.

"Hey, girl."

Si Yao turned her head to see the familiar pair of antennae; it was clearly a member of the Cloud Sea Family.

"What do you want?" she asked irritably.

It wasn't her fault for having a bad attitude; these days, whenever a member of the Cloud Sea Family opened their mouth to her, she knew exactly what they were going to say without even thinking.

It was nothing more than accusing her of failing to recognize a true master, being ungrateful, or having short-sighted vision—all because of one reason: resentment.

Resentment that she had rejected World Lord Xunzhen's offer to take her as his disciple!

But so what?

Why should she care about what others thought?

Thinking of this, she said directly, "I only want my teacher, no one else. Don't ask, and if you do, the answer is no!"

The young man, choked by her blunt words: ----

The others who were eavesdropping in the shadows: ----

Si Yao swept her eyes across the area, and the heated discussions around her died down significantly. As people cast glances at her, whether intentional or not, she sneered, flicked her hair, and spread the wings on her back, shaking them gently to scatter a shower of floral light.

"The troubles of a genius, you wouldn't understand."

The crowd: ----

How shameless!

On the other side, in the main spectator stand, after Li Yilin parted from Si Yao, he followed a servant's guidance and sat down in a spectator area directly facing the arena. This was where some of the Cloud Sea Family's Elders were seated, all of whom were at least at the Domain Lord level.

As he walked over, someone was already sitting in the seat to his left. With spiky red hair, three arms, and a physique as sturdy as a mountain, the man looked over as soon as Li Yilin sat down. "Brother, my name is Ba Ku, a Guest Elder of the Cloud Sea Family. What is your name?" His voice was deep and powerful, and as he spoke, it felt as if the surrounding air vibrated along with him.

Li Yilin raised an eyebrow and smiled lightly. "Li Yilin. I'm just a guest on Cloud Sea Planet, here to join in the fun."

"Li Yilin?" Ba Ku was somewhat surprised. "You are Li Yilin?"

Although he was single-mindedly focused on cultivation, he wasn't completely cut off from the world and had naturally heard of the Li Yilin who had caused such a stir on Cloud Sea Planet. He hadn't expected such a coincidence that they would end up sitting together.

"Where is your student?"

He wanted to see just how outstanding this student was, enough to make World Lord Xunzhen want to take her as his disciple.

"She is also a participant, waiting in the contestant area," Li Yilin said with a light smile.

"Brother, I observe that you—"

As both were Domain Lords, they naturally had plenty to talk about. They chatted idly, and the grand competition soon began.

Not everyone was qualified to step onto the arena; after all, being able to have a group of powerhouses watch you in person was an honor in itself.

If they performed too poorly, it would be a disgrace to their own families.

Therefore, those who could compete today had actually already undergone a rigorous preliminary selection in the Virtual Universe beforehand. This was only for the Star Level participants; as for the Planetary Level, the selection process was basically concluded within the Virtual Universe, and they would not be coming to the mountaintop to compete.

The Yunhai Family ultimately selected a total of one hundred Star Level participants. These one hundred individuals were essentially the most talented among the younger generation of the Yunhai Family, and regardless of the final outcome, the resources of the Yunhai Family would be tilted in their favor.

The Fifteen Families each brought fifty people to compete, and there were another fifty who were geniuses from smaller factions or those without any background. If they performed well, they might be scouted and recruited by these major factions watching from the stands.

This was also one of the ways many factions recruited new talent and cultivated fresh blood.

A total of nine hundred people would all take to the arena today to display their strength.

Among them, the number of Planetary Level Fighters, including Si Yao, was less than five.

Li Yilin sat in the spectator stands, watching the intense battles on the three arenas below, his brows slightly furrowed.

With the fighting so fierce, A-Yao is only at the Planetary Level; can she handle it?

Will she get hurt?

It seems I need to prepare some treasures for her in advance so she can use them as soon as she steps off the arena; I can't let her suffer any lasting damage from minor injuries.

In the competition area.

Si Yao's unpretentious and even candid pride strangely attracted the attention of some people, and they gathered around her, discussing enthusiastically.

"Si Yao, are you really only twenty years old?" A cute girl who looked like a transparent blue crystal touched the snow-white wings behind Si Yao, her face full of surprise.

"You're too amazing. I heard you've even comprehended a Domain. How did you do it?"

"My grandfather said that with my talent, I might never comprehend a Domain in my entire life. You're just too incredible!"

"Yeah, yeah, you will definitely become a super powerhouse in the future."

"Your teacher really dotes on you. You're only at the Planetary Level, yet they equipped you with a Tier 2 Force Weapon and battle armor. If your strength isn't enough, you wouldn't even be able to break through the armor's defense."

"Your sword is so beautiful; it doesn't look like a standard-issue weapon."

"This is a Tier 2 Force Weapon, of course it's beautiful. A Tier 2 Force Weapon that can be used by a Planetary Level means the usage requirements are extremely low, which makes it much more expensive than ordinary Tier 2 Force Weapons." The easier a weapon is to control, the more expensive it is; this is a principle many people understand.

As soon as these words were spoken, they immediately drew another round of exclamations, and everyone looked at Si Yao with unconcealable envy.

Under their gazes of envy and even jealousy, Si Yao straightened her back and lifted her delicate chin, like a proud little cat.

She was just that great, and her teacher loved her the most!