"Greetings, Divine Son!"
Outside Immortal Lake Island, hundreds upon thousands of Li Lineage disciples spoke in unison. Their voices could pierce metal and shatter stone, making for a magnificent spectacle.
The moment Li Xunyuan stepped out of the Immortal Pavilion and saw the scene, he froze for a moment.
The many Li Lineage disciples cupped their hands and bowed in perfect unison, their manners impeccable!
"Why is every single Li Lineage disciple so polite?"
Li Xunyuan raised an eyebrow. This wasn't how things usually went.
By all rights, after the Ninth Ancestor personally appointed him Divine Son, plenty of people in the Lineage should have been dissatisfied and come knocking to provoke him like mad.
Then, red in the face, his opponent would pick a fight with him, giving him the perfect chance to show off and shock everyone in the Li Lineage.
That was how the story should have gone!
Why were these people all acting so courteous? Something was wrong with the script!
"When the Divine Son was born, he was accompanied by the nine great Sacred Body phenomena, including Chaos Grows a Green Lotus and Immortal King Descends Upon the Nine Heavens. It's just that the Ancient Sacred Body is no longer suited to cultivation in this age..."
"How dare you! Are you questioning the Ninth Ancestor's decision? Do you think the Ninth Ancestor couldn't have thought of what you did?"
"If he could stir the Ninth Ancestor to personally break his seal and emerge, how could the Divine Son merely have an Ancient Sacred Body shackled by restrictions? There must be something extraordinary about him!"
"Hmph, a bunch of ignorant, short-sighted fools! Can't you look a little further ahead?"
"Hehe, Brother Xun has a point. No wonder you can date eight girls at once. You really do have foresight!"
"Of course, of course..."
At that moment, the Li Lineage disciples chattered nonstop, all sizing up the unfamiliar face of the Divine Son.
They were curious what made him so outstanding that the Ninth Ancestor had personally emerged to appoint him!
"This presence... could he really be..."
Unlike the other disciples, Li Cangtian narrowed his purple eyes slightly, a look of profound shock in them.
Ever since Li Xunyuan stepped out of the Immortal Pavilion, Li Cangtian had been watching him, as though trying to see through him from head to toe.
But gradually, Li Cangtian's expression grew grave.
The other boy was clearly two years younger than him, yet he gave him an indescribable sense of pressure, like an ancient young emperor whose presence was unfathomably deep.
My younger brother once prophesied that a supreme figure would be born in the Li Lineage and lead it to endless glory. We must befriend him and never make an enemy of him!
Li Cangtian pondered. He couldn't yet be certain whether this Divine Son in red was the person from his younger brother's prophecy.
Only by testing his strength personally could he find out.
But that presence was so much like the figure in the karmic imprint!
If I suppress my cultivation to the same realm and challenge the Divine Son, a defeat would naturally mean he doesn't fit the prophecy!
If he wins a complete victory over me, what of it if I follow this Divine Son?
Li Cangtian's eyes grew thoughtful. Countless ideas flashed through his mind, and he slowly sorted them out.
The Heavenly Hegemon Body ranked among the best of the many physiques and rarely suffered defeat against opponents of the same realm.
If the Divine Son could easily suppress a Heavenly Hegemon Body with ten Life Palaces opened in a fight at the same realm, then following him would be nothing to be ashamed of!
Since ancient times, the rule of this world had been that the strong were supreme.
Getting a connection to the Divine Son was the same as establishing a connection to the ancient ancestor. He could also take the chance to find a way to treat his younger brother.
Once Li Cangtian had sorted out his thoughts, he no longer hesitated or felt lost. His path became clear, like the sun emerging from parted clouds.
He took a deep breath, rose from the bluestone, and walked toward Li Xunyuan.
Boom!
Li Cangtian strode forward, each footfall booming like a war drum and making the world around them tremble.
"That's... the Ninth Holy Son, Li Cangtian. A day ago, he issued a challenge here to the Divine Son and the other eight Holy Sons. Is he already so eager to start?"
"A Heavenly Hegemon Body with nine great Life Palaces opened against an unfamiliar physique suspected to be the Ancient Sacred Body. This battle will be spectacular!"
"Holy Son Cangtian is so handsome too! Looks really are justice. Whether it's the Divine Son or Holy Son Cangtian who gets hurt, my maiden heart will ache!"
As Li Cangtian strode closer, the eyes of the Li Lineage disciples flashed with brilliance, and their excitement was hard to hide.
A battle of this caliber was a rare sight. Their trip to the Immortal Pavilion had certainly not been in vain!
The young women in the crowd, seeing two handsome young men competing here, were all swooning over them.
Li Cangtian stopped a short distance from Li Xunyuan. His black robe fluttered as he cupped his fists and bowed. "Li Cangtian greets the Divine Son!"
Hearing the disciples' chatter around him, Li Xunyuan's lips curled upward. He looked at the purple-haired youth before him and asked with interest, "You want to challenge me?"
Sure enough, he couldn't escape the true-fragrance law. The familiar script, the familiar routine-what was bound to come had finally come!
"Yes and no!"
Li Cangtian's purple hair flew about him, and supreme fighting intent burned in his eyes.
He took a deep breath and said in a deep voice before everyone present, "I want to follow Lord Divine Son!"
"Mm... huh? What? You want to follow me?"
Li Xunyuan had just been lost in his own imagination, devising a plan to stylishly suppress Li Cangtian and show off to perfection!
But he had never expected this sudden move from the other boy, and it left him at a loss!
This is twelve out of ten wrong!
Li Xunyuan frowned deeply, seriously suspecting that someone had written the script wrong.
Where were the deceitful struggles and scheming against one another?
Where had they all gone?
Li Xunyuan wasn't the only one stunned. When Li Cangtian's words fell, the entire Immortal Lake Island fell deathly silent.
All the Li Lineage disciples who had come to watch were petrified.
Li Cangtian was the Ninth Holy Son of the Li Lineage, a legendary figure beneath one person and above ten thousand, a peerless genius qualified to compete for the position of Lineage Head in the future!
Yet the Holy Son they all looked up to had offered of his own accord to become someone else's follower. How could they not be shocked?
At Li Cangtian's actions, a trace of appreciation also flashed through Elder Qingxiao's profound eyes.
Whether in temperament or combat strength, this youth ranked among the best in the Li Lineage. Barring any accidents, his future achievements would be limitless!
"The person I, Li Cangtian, follow must be invincible in the same realm, someone who can easily suppress the younger generation!"
Li Cangtian's pride soared to the heavens as he stared at Li Xunyuan. "I'll suppress my cultivation to the Life Palace Realm and fight you. If you win, I'll follow you. If you lose, agree to one request of mine. How about it?"
"That request won't be for the position of Divine Son, but for something else within your power to do!"
Li Xunyuan listened quietly to it all. He hadn't expected the fellow opposite him to be so loyal and principled.
He wanted to challenge Li Xunyuan without asking for the position of Divine Son, choosing a request instead. That piqued his interest.
Interesting!
He had learned of Li Cangtian while in the ancient realm: the Li Lineage's Ninth Holy Son had awakened the Heavenly Hegemon Body, opened nine great Life Palaces, fused with nine great immortal beasts' divine abilities, and advanced to the Creation Realm at the age of ten.
Any one of those details was enough to leave ordinary geniuses in the dust, unable to catch up.
It was very common for someone to become another person's follower.
After all, geniuses didn't need to handle everything personally.
They needed a lackey to lend a hand and take care of some insignificant little matters.
A Heavenly Hegemon Body with ten great Life Palaces opened was qualified to be his, Li Xunyuan's, follower.
"Fine. I agree to fight you. The stakes will be just as you said."
Li Xunyuan readily agreed. His calm voice gradually spread across the vast Immortal Lake Island, like a stone stirring up a thousand waves!