I think he'll come.
The speaker was a young man in black robes sitting by the window. He had short black hair and a plain face, but his tone was very confident. "I've seen him in action in the Immortal Ancient Ruins. He's not the kind of person who can be intimidated."
"You've seen it?"
"Yeah, I've seen him... When he was roasting dragon meat, he sat there with a grin on his face, a grin that sent chills down your spine."
After the young man finished speaking, he picked up his glass, took a swig, and didn't drink any more.
The people nearby exchanged glances, conveying a meaningless exchange.
The night before the Daoist Conference in Immortal Burial City.
The busiest restaurant in the west of the city, with its three-story eaves covered with lanterns made of fine jade, layers of warm light seeping out from the window cracks, spreading a warm halo in the night.
Seven or eight people were sitting at a large table by the window on the third floor.
Some wore golden armor, some wore silver robes, and some wore black cloaks.
There were also those who wore only ordinary clothes, but whose aura was more profound than anyone else's...
Some of them were drinking, some were peeling sunflower seeds, and some were resting with their eyes closed, but their gazes kept drifting towards the entrance of the restaurant.
"That imperial prince... will he really come?"
A young man in a silver robe put down his wine cup, his tone hesitant. "I heard he just broke through to Quasi-Emperor. Logically, he should be consolidating his cultivation at the Lin Clan. He shouldn't be running around again, right?"
"You might be able to say that in the Three Thousand Provinces."
A young man in gray standing by the window chuckled, twirling his wine glass in his hand. "Mentioning that in Immortal Burial City would make you a laughingstock for three years."
"What's the meaning?"
"It means..." The gray-robed youth tilted his head back, finished his drink, and smacked his lips. "This imperial prince is no coward. He just entered the Immortal Ancient Ruins and was already roasting dragon meat in the street. He just formed his core and was undergoing tribulation in front of thousands of people. You want him to stabilize his realm? He probably thinks stabilizing his realm is just about changing where he fights."
The silver-robed youth opened his mouth, but no words came out.
No one else objected.
Half of the people at this table had witnessed Lin Fan's actions in the Immortal Ancient Ruins, while the other half had heard many rumors about Lin Fan.
After a moment of silence, one of them spoke, his voice lower. "However... the Jin Clan's attitude is quite interesting."
" The Jin Clan?"
"Jin Xuan of the Jin Clan, Mid-Stage Quasi-Emperor and a rising star among the younger generation of Emperor Pass. It is said that he once condensed a strand of Immortal Qi during his seclusion. And this Lin Clan is said to have condensed three strands."
"Three strands of Immortal Qi..." someone repeated softly, their tone tinged with complexity, "Even the immortal Lineage of the Emperor Pass don't necessarily have anyone who has taken this step..."
"So how do you think the Jin Clan will treat him?"
"They are testing the waters."
The young man in gray poured himself another glass of wine, his gaze falling on the outline of the discussion arena in the night outside the window. His tone was calm. "The matter of the Longevity Ruins involves far too many interests."
Even if the Lin Clan son truly condensed three strands of Immortal Qi, the Jin Clan would still find a way to verify it personally. They wouldn't easily believe that someone from the Three Thousand Provinces possessed such a foundation.
"How should we verify it?"
"The true test will be in the ring."
There was a private room on the second floor, towards the back, with the curtain half-drawn.
There were two people sitting inside, one on each side, separated by a low table. On the table were a pot of wine and two dishes, but neither of them had touched their chopsticks.
The man on the left wore a blue robe, had a thin face, and looked to be in his early thirties. His aura was as calm as a still pond, but if you looked closely, you could sense an undercurrent surging beneath that calm surface.
The person on the right was wearing a gray-white long robe, had a young face, but a few strands of white hair at his temples, as if he had experienced something extremely long.
" The Jin Clan intends to test the mettle of that Lin Clan's imperial son at the Daoist debate."
The young man in the green robe spoke, his voice calm.
The young man in the greyish-white robe raised his eyelids slightly, "Want to test my life?"
" The Jin Clan's prodigy won't personally intervene. The Jin Clan has a capable direct descendant at the Mid-Stage Quasi-Emperor named Jin Han, who is Jin Xuan's cousin. Sending him to test the waters is a reasonable approach."
"Can Jin Han find out?"
"It's hard to say." The young man in the green robe picked up his wine cup and took a sip. "But at least we can tell whether he has truly condensed Immortal Qi. As soon as he makes a move, and that Immortal Qi is revealed, we can determine whether it's real or not."
The people of Emperor Pass have been studying the concept of Immortal Qi for countless years!
Those who can condense Immortal Qi are one in a billion!
Some powerful clans and lineages have long since developed alternative methods for condensing Immortal Qi!
They suspect that Lin Fan is...
The young man in the grey-white robe was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "If those three streams of Immortal Qi are real, then Jin Han would be nothing more than a lamb to the slaughter. If the Immortal Qi is real and he controls it properly, then Jin Han might not even qualify as a lamb."
"Then let the Jin Clan family decide for themselves."
The young man in the green robe put down his wine cup and looked out at the night sky. "We'll just watch."
The city gate of Immortal Burial City.
That morning, just as dawn was breaking.
The city gate was already crowded with cultivators who had come after hearing the news. Disciples of various sects, Rogue Cultivator, and registered disciples—everyone who could come had come. Some were standing on distant high buildings on their swords, looking down, while others were crowding at the city gate, peeking and looking around.
I heard he's arriving today!
"Who?"
"Who else? The Lin Clan son! The one who just passed the Eighteen Heavenly Pass Tribulation! I heard he's coming to Immortal Burial City today!"
"Are you serious? Didn't he just break through to Quasi-Emperor? Shouldn't he be in seclusion to consolidate his realm?"
"Stable? You seem to have a slightly misunderstanding of this imperial prince..."
In the center of the crowd, a luxurious carriage bearing the Jin Clan flag was parked in the middle of the road.
Jin Han stood beside the carriage, dressed in a golden robe, his face arrogant. He unabashedly released the aura of Early-Stage Quasi-Emperor, forcing the surrounding cultivators to retreat to both sides.
" The Lin Clan son? I'm afraid he won't dare to come."
Jin Han's voice was neither loud nor soft, but it carried an undisguised contempt. "A Early-Stage Quasi-Emperor from Three Thousand Provinces, making such a fuss about his tribulation, but when it really comes down to showing his true strength, he's the first to back down."
The Jin Clan guards behind him also laughed.
He muttered a few words in a low voice, his tone not exactly impolite, but full of disdain.
A cultivator nearby frowned, but dared not speak.
Just then, a dragon's roar echoed from the horizon.
The sound was initially very distant, as if it came from deep within the clouds, muffled, like thunder rolling across the ground.
But just a moment later, it suddenly rose higher, like a golden waterfall cascading down from a crack in the sky, carrying the majesty of the supreme bloodline of the Dragon Clan, suppressing the clamor of the entire Immortal Burial City.
"Roar!"
"Dragon's Roar?"
"Nine? No... that's a nine-dragon palanquin!"
Someone in the crowd suddenly looked up.
Above the sky, nine enormous creatures covered in dark golden dragon scales emerged from the clouds, their eyes like the sun and their scales like armor, pulling an ancient chariot forged entirely from Chaos Immortal Gold, slowly descending in the morning light.
The aura emanating from the ancient chariot caused the city wall of Immortal Burial City, which was covered with ancient array patterns, to tremble slightly.
Nine dragons landed directly above the city gate, their claws pressing into the void, raising a ring of golden energy.
Jin Han's brows furrowed sharply.
He subconsciously looked up at the golden dragon chariot, and his Quasi-Emperor aura involuntarily gathered around him.
The carriage curtain moved slightly, and a slender, fair hand reached out from behind it, gently lifting a corner.
A figure in white stepped down from the carriage.
He was dressed in white, had black hair, and a handsome face with a nonchalant smile on his lips.