The Martial Gathering of the Branches

Futuo Continent was one of the supercontinents of the Great Thousand World.

As a supercontinent, it should have teemed with powerful factions. Yet across the entire Futuo Continent, there was only one faction: the Futu Ancient Clan.

The continent itself bore the Futu name, a testament to the clan's might. But as one of the superpowers with the most ancient foundations in the Great Thousand World, they indeed possessed both the standing and the strength to claim an entire continent as their own.

At the center of Futuo Continent stood a towering, majestic ancient city. Named Futu City, it was the heart of the entire continent.

As Futuo Continent's central city, it naturally never lacked visitors. Recently, however, its crowds had reached a peak unmatched in ten years.

Superpowers from all corners had arrived during this period, invited to witness the Futu Ancient Clan's once-a-decade grand event, the Martial Gathering of the Branches.

A magnificent mountain rose in the middle of Futu City, with an immense plaza atop it. Streaks of light descended from the sky onto the plaza without pause, and almost every arriving group contained a mighty presence whose fluctuations shook heaven and earth.

Without exception, those who possessed such fluctuations were Heavenly Sovereigns.

These overlords, powerful enough to dominate entire regions elsewhere in the Great Thousand World, seemed almost commonplace in Futu City.

Above the mountain, an enormous spatial gateway shimmered. Beyond it lay the Futuo Realm, home to the Futu Ancient Clan's ancestral seat and its true core.

All members of the Futu Ancient Clan outside it could only be considered members of subsidiary branches. Only those who truly entered the Futuo Realm could be counted among the clan's main branches.

Outside the spatial gateway, enormous spirit vessels could be seen traveling constantly between the two realms. From time to time, they landed in the plaza to collect guests and carry them into the Futuo Realm.

The spirit vessels first carried the superpowers that had been invited. Those who had come of their own accord without an invitation were left until last, a practice that displeased those uninvited superpowers.

Just then, a vast stream of light swept across the distant sky. Several luminous figures descended, landing in the plaza under countless watching eyes.

As the light faded, a bewitching silhouette was the first to emerge, immediately drawing many admiring gazes.

She wore a long, bright-red dress that showed her exquisite curves to perfection, making her as dazzling as fire. Her lovely, alluring face was especially striking; each shifting glance seemed to radiate countless charms that set hearts swaying.

Yet despite her seductive beauty, her phoenix eyes held a hint of coldness. That blend of icy elegance and allure gave her a distinctive charm.

Even some of the Heavenly Sovereigns present, who had weathered great winds and waves, could not help stealing a few more looks at her.

But once they recognized the flame patterns on her dress, their expressions tightened, and they discreetly withdrew their gazes.

Those flame patterns represented one of the Great Thousand World's foremost superpowers: the Endless Fire Domain.

The woman was named Xiao Xiao. As the daughter of the Endless Fire Domain's Flame Emperor, her status was exceedingly noble.

Standing in the plaza, Xiao Xiao naturally noticed the Futu Ancient Clan's arrogant conduct as well. She gave a cold snort. "This Futu Ancient Clan really is arrogant."

Beside her stood an old man in white robes, his broad sleeves fluttering. His aged face looked exceptionally kindly, yet the nearby Heavenly Sovereigns did not dare stare at him. This benevolent-looking elder was not only the Flame Emperor's teacher, but also a genuine Immortal Grade Heavenly Sovereign.

"An ancient and powerful superpower naturally has its own pride." Medicine Elder smiled and shook his head.

While they were speaking, a streak of light raced over from afar and landed in the plaza.

There was only one person within that streak of light: a young man wearing a golden crown atop his head and black battle armor. He also carried an aura of blood so intense that it was impossible to ignore.

Clearly, this young man had only recently emerged from a great battle.

The surrounding Heavenly Sovereigns sized him up, then withdrew their gazes, their interest fading.

He was merely at complete Earthly Sovereign, not even a Heavenly Sovereign, yet he dared come to the Futu Ancient Clan alone.

Medicine Elder, standing beside Xiao Xiao, watched the young man who had arrived alone, his eyes filled with keen interest.

In this young man, he saw a shadow of the younger days of the disciple he was so proud of. In fact, this youth was even more remarkable than Xiao Yan had been back then.

Moreover, after arriving in the plaza, the young man had only glanced at Xiao Xiao beside him before promptly looking away.

His granddisciple's appearance and bearing were both peerless. Even many Heavenly Sovereigns struggled to resist her charm, yet this young man had withdrawn his gaze after only a flicker of admiration crossed his eyes.

That composure alone surpassed that of many Heavenly Sovereigns.

The young man was none other than Futu Yijing, who had hurried back from Saint Abyss Continent. He had wanted to conceal his intense aura of blood, but he had spent most of his two hundred years on Saint Abyss Continent fighting. That bloody aura had lingered on him all along, and now he could not hide it even if he wished to.

Futu Yijing also noticed a gaze lingering on him.

He followed it and found an old man in white robes who made no attempt to conceal his scrutiny.

He could not discern the old man's cultivation, but he could identify the group's affiliation. They came from the Endless Fire Domain, the faction established by his fellow Earth native.

For the Futu Ancient Clan's grand event, all the foremost superpowers would send people of rank and standing to attend. Presumably, this white-robed elder was Medicine Elder.

The woman beside him should be Xiao Xiao.

He could easily see through Xiao Xiao's cultivation: Eighth Grade Sovereign.

In the original story, she had been a Ninth Grade Sovereign on her second appearance, during the events at the Ancient Heavenly Palace. Since she was now an Eighth Grade Sovereign, the Ancient Heavenly Palace had yet to open.

At this point in time, Mu Chen was presumably still in the Great Luo Heavenly Domain.

Futu Yijing had no particular thoughts about Mu Chen.

The matter between Qing Yanjing and Mu Feng had happened during the two hundred years he had been away. Even far off on Saint Abyss Continent, he had received word of it.

At the time, however, a Demon Emperor had been hunting him down, and he had not even had the breathing room to look after himself.

Besides, if Mu Chen never appeared, this world would lose some of its amusement.

Still, the thought of a wealthy young lady from his own provincial capital running off with some swaggering punk from a frontier village made his fists clench harder the more he dwelled on it.

Futu Yijing gave Medicine Elder a slight nod, then walked straight aboard a spirit vessel that had just landed in the plaza.

The Futu Ancient Clan member responsible for receiving guests looked astonished upon seeing Futu Yijing, then hurriedly called out in a respectful voice, "Young master!"

Futu Yijing nodded and instructed him, "Bring the guests inside as quickly as possible. Don't neglect them."

"Yes!"

The author has a fragile heart, so please go easy on the criticism.