This Enlightenment Tea did little for He Xian anymore. He had only just undergone two great bouts of enlightenment and could not enter a third.
"A reward!" He Xian bestowed the remaining Enlightenment Tea on the girl who had brewed it for him.
He stood and looked at the beings around him. "In that case, let everyone be rewarded. A reward! This Enlightenment Tea Gathering will begin ahead of schedule."
He Xian's words spread across all of Enlightenment Mountain.
The elders guarding the Enlightenment Tea Tree instantly awoke. They appeared in a flash, each dressed in ancient clothing, as though they had sat beneath this tea tree for an entire epoch.
"This goes against the rules, Crane Son!" one of the elders said to He Xian.
"What rules does it go against?" He Xian's brow shone, the words "Sky-Supporting" glittering brilliantly. "Do you elders intend to let the world know that I, He Xian, do not keep my word?"
His tone was neither warm nor cold.
"Well..." The elders all hesitated.
"It is settled. Furthermore, I will convene This Realm's first gathering of the younger generation in this epoch. Notify the ancestral lands of every Emperor Clan. I hope not a single one will be absent, and that includes the prodigies of every King Clan." He Xian's majestic voice rang out once more.
This time, he was issuing a decree, not discussing the matter.
"Yes!" A unified shout rose from Enlightenment Mountain, including the elders guarding the Enlightenment Tea Tree.
After taking the championship, He Xian's standing in the Foreign Realm was firmly beneath the ancient ancestors and above countless millions. Even an immortal's words carried less weight than his.
"It will commence in exactly one month." He Xian sat cross-legged beneath the Enlightenment Tree, closed his eyes, and delivered his final pronouncement.
Then he allowed those two declarations to sweep across Enlightenment Mountain like a storm.
He simply sat there quietly beneath the Enlightenment Tree.
Two days later, cultivators from Enlightenment Mountain spread He Xian's words, setting the entire Foreign Realm ablaze.
Notifying the ancestral lands of every Emperor Clan and the supreme experts of the King Clans amounted to forcing those Emperor Clan heirs to attend. Among the younger generation, however, only He Xian possessed the standing to do so.
In an instant, winds rose and clouds surged throughout the Foreign Realm, all converging at the foot of Enlightenment Mountain. For those prodigies and members of the younger generation, even if they could not participate in this grand gathering, broadening their horizons would be well worth it.
In the west, at the An Lan Clan's ancestral land.
A tall man stood quietly with a golden spear in hand, gazing toward Enlightenment Mountain. Brilliant golden light spread from his body like ocean waves, even dyeing his thick black hair gold.
He was immensely powerful.
"Revered by the whole world, commanding all the kings? Interesting." Wishing to meet him, he strode out of the An Lan Clan's ancestral land.
He was the reinforcement An Yu had intended to invite, but for various reasons, he had ultimately not participated in the Title Competition.
Sheer cliffs surrounded a Heavenly Abyss. This was where the Wu Shang Lineage cultivated its peerless divine ability.
Although this clan relied on bloodline inheritance, its members still had to work hard and endure countless trials before mastering the peerless divine ability, Ten Thousand Laws Cannot Invade.
Hao Feng's gaze trembled slightly, and divine rings appeared one after another. Silvery-white light shone across the land, his majesty enveloping it like an emperor on an inspection tour. He was truly a mighty expert among the Emperor Clans, one who could be called invincible.
He had been defeated in the Self-Slaying Realm, and he truly could not accept it.
Hao Feng emerged bearing a new Bronze Halberd. Had he not reconstructed his physical body, he might not even have had a weapon that suited his hand.
He intended to reclaim his old weapon.
And so on.
Yu Tuo, Red King, Heavenly Blade, An Lan... Every renowned Emperor Clan active in the world had an heir emerge and head toward Enlightenment Mountain.
More than a dozen Emperor Clan heirs made their way to Enlightenment Mountain in a grand procession, drawing unparalleled attention.
That was to say nothing of the King Clan prodigies beneath them. The foremost member of every King Clan had set out at the earliest opportunity.
Enlightenment City, in the Foreign Realm.
This was the largest city beneath Enlightenment Mountain in the Foreign Realm, named after the Enlightenment Tea Tree.
It lived up to expectations, always packed with seas of beings. These past few days were different, however. Their numbers had grown exponentially, filling the city to bursting.
More and more young people gathered, especially beings from the leading King Clans.
The cost of spending a night in the city kept rising, weeding out those who were weak and lacked influence. Otherwise, the number of people within the city would have grown exponentially again.
"The Enlightenment Tea Gathering is starting so suddenly. That really was quick!"
"Still, you have to admit, it's lively! Our realm hasn't seen one lively event after another like this in ages. First the Title Competition, and now a gathering of the younger generation."
Some beings sighed with feeling. Wherever there were people, there was a world of rivalries, rankings, and disputes.
"Hey, have any of you seen Lord He Sky-Supporting? What exactly does he look like? Someone said he looks like a monster, but I don't believe it. His father, the Crane Clan Ancestor, was once the most beautiful youth in our realm, you know." A prodigy from the Sky Toad Clan grew curious about He Xian's appearance.
He had been cultivating one of his clan's great divine abilities, Sitting In a Well and Viewing the Sky, and had only emerged in recent days.
"Where did you hear that nonsense? Lord Crane Son inherited his father's looks perfectly. He might even surpass him." A passing woman rolled her eyes at the Sky Toad Clan prodigy. "You wretched toad, all you do is spout rubbish."
This clan was notorious for its ugliness, as well as its intense jealousy of the good-looking. Its members often slandered people of exceptional beauty.
Perhaps he had already seen He Xian's portrait and was deliberately asking that question.
After all, portraits of He Xian had long since filled every street in the Foreign Realm.
"Enough, enough! We're discussing serious matters. What are you rambling about?" Someone ended the previous topic and started a new one.
"What do you think is the reason for holding this gathering?" asked a being with a longsword strapped to his back, his face solemn.
This prompted the cultivators present to ponder deeply.
"Obviously, some people still refuse to accept Crane Son. He wants to use this gathering to cement his position completely." The speaker started out loud, but his voice grew softer as he continued.
"All right! Since you've put it that way, I'll throw in my opinion too. I think so as well," someone else said quietly.
"Look, although Crane Son's battle record is illustrious, what sort of people are those Emperor Clan descendants? Every one of them has eyes set high above their abilities. They won't submit without suffering a crushing defeat."
"I think someone from an Emperor Clan will really die at this gathering, never to be revived again." The moment those words were spoken, the listening cultivators scattered like startled birds and beasts, wishing they could grow another pair of legs.
This was no longer a discussion. This was cursing members of the Emperor Clans to die. If word got out, their entire clans might be exterminated, even if they belonged to powerful King Clans guarded by immortals.
"Why are you running? Weren't you the ones who wanted to discuss it?" The young man who had spoken looked helpless. "I'm just making a deduction based on the facts. What is there to be afraid of? Why run?"
Finally, the young man's gaze grew deep. "Crane Son, He Sky-Supporting, I'm coming to meet you!"
"Just don't act rashly when the time comes." Another young figure appeared beside him, his black eyes unfathomably deep.
"Is he really that powerful? Invincible beneath heaven?"