Azure King Valley was hosting the Cloud Pill Assembly. Plenty of cultivators had come especially for the gathering, and with travelers from north and south stopping here as well, Benevolence Ward was crowded with cultivators.
Where there were people, there was gossip.
In an inn, a group of cultivators sipped fragrant tea and watched the Void Step cultivators soaring and clashing high overhead.
"Is Yang Sui trying to seize the ward master's Nitai Ice Mirror?"
A cultivator shouted the question.
"Devil Sect methods win through trickery. They're usually weaker when it comes to raw power."
A bearded cultivator explained, "Chief Yang clearly has another move in reserve. Have you forgotten how badly he wounded Daoist Zhu last night?"
He was the strongest cultivator in the inn. Hailing from the Eastern Sea, he had seen plenty of masters fight, so he had spent the past few days serving as everyone's expert commentator.
The Azure King Valley disciples keeping order here did not interrupt him. They wanted to know what was happening in the sky, too.
"Ah, I heard Fairy Xue learned a secret art from a sword immortal of the previous generation. I hope she can help our ward master."
"Deng Hui of the South Sea Sect looks impressive but can't do a thing. They call him the finest of the sect's younger generation, yet that slash of his was worth jack shit."
"No need to worry. They're all testing him."
The bearded cultivator explained.
"You never commit everything to a sword strike. Masters probe each other first. Rest easy, everyone. Master Deng is waiting for an opening."
The inn buzzed with discussion. Most people were on Azure King Valley's side.
For one thing, Azure King Valley had spent years treating the sick and dispensing medicine, earning itself a good name.