Having cultivated myself into an immortal, all I want to do is raise female disciples.

He squinted, and tears involuntarily streamed down the perfect arc of his cheeks.

"But... it was indeed quite enjoyable."

"Right?" Yunping chuckled, raised the wine pot high, and sighed, "This wine, although it's really not a good thing, a deadly poison, is sometimes able to fight poison with poison."

"Some things you're afraid of, some things you're terrified of, after drinking, you'll forget them all."

Bathed in moonlight, the young man in white turned his head to look at Jiang Yuetian.

"Including your past."

……

"past……"

Jiang Yuetian murmured, then looked up and sighed deeply.

A cold wind brushed against his face, and the moonlight illuminated his long, smooth purple hair—this was how the night should be.

He lowered his head, his eyes reflecting the breathtakingly beautiful lights and shadows of the capital city, and his voice was low and somber: "Teacher, can a person truly say goodbye to the past?"

"How could that be?"

Yun Ping chuckled softly, his eyes catching the image of that melancholic, graceful white figure. "No one can escape the past in this lifetime. To abandon the past is to abandon one's memories. Those precious things, whether happiness, pain, or bitterness, are all important. A person who bids farewell to the past is not even human."

"However, the past is always the past, and what we can't get rid of is just that pain—and that pain will serve as a warning for the future."

"Keep telling yourself—don't make the same mistakes as before."

After saying that, Yunping got up by himself.

He walked towards the edge of the top floor of the palace, stood on the high ground, and turned his back to Jiang Yuetian.

Under the moonlight, the young man, dressed in white like snow and with black hair like a shadow, turned his head, his expression as serene and elegant as the moonlight.

"Little Jiang, don't repeat the same mistake."

After leaving those words, he leaped down, his figure slowly disappearing into the darkness.

—The top of the palace.

Jiang Yuetian stared at the direction where Yun Ping had stood, remaining silent for a long time. Then he turned his head and looked at the glass of wine that Yun Ping had left for him before leaving.

He picked up the glass and drank it down in one gulp.

This time, he discovered that... the wine wasn't as spicy as he had imagined; instead, it had a slightly sweet taste.

Even the pain he had previously experienced, which had caused him to cough incessantly and even felt his meridians burning, had become a stimulating ingredient, making the wine even more fragrant and unforgettable.

"Good wine."

He spoke softly, then couldn't help but laugh.

Under the night sky, her exquisite face, more alluring and beautiful than any woman's, appeared exceptionally captivating in the moonlight.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

I got back quite late, sorry QAQ

92. The Battle of Ten Thousand Schools – Begins!

A grand celebration of ten years of fierce competition among various schools of thought.

Today is undoubtedly a day of extraordinary significance for the entire Desolate Sky Domain.

Ten years may not seem like a long time to older cultivators, but the Ten Thousand Sects Competition is actually a stage for younger cultivators, allowing promising disciples in their sects to showcase their talents.

A loss on the field means they will need to work hard for another ten years before they have a chance to wash away the shame.

They might even become a laughingstock within their sect for up to a decade. In a world where face is valued highly, such humiliation is not something everyone can bear.

now.

The area in front of the Imperial Palace was already packed with people. As far as the eye could see, there was a sea of ​​people. Hundreds of ambitious cultivators surrounded the endless martial arts arena, their eyes shining with anticipation and excitement.

They had been waiting for this moment for a long time.

Outside the palace, many cultivators still tried every means to enter, hoping to witness the magnificent spectacle of the myriad sects vying for supremacy.

—Because the number of participants in the battle of the myriad sects was limited, most of the cultivators looking around outside the palace were those who had failed to register in advance and grab a wooden plaque.

To put it bluntly, even if you can't join in the fun, you can at least watch the fun, right?

"I feel like there are more people than I expected..."

The girl, who looked particularly small standing in the crowd, craned her neck, stood on tiptoe, and kept looking outside, as if trying to see just how many cultivators had gathered outside the vast martial arts arena.

Yunping glanced at Yuchan and chimed in, "After all, this is a once-in-a-decade competition among all sects; it would be strange if there weren't many people."

Ye Yuchan said "Oh~" and then started looking around again.

"Speaking of which, there are so many major sects participating... I only know the Great Wilderness Sect and the Chaotian Pavilion, among others."

When the topic of major sects came up, Zhang Ruoxue couldn't help but think of one of her junior sisters.

She turned to the side and looked at the cherry-haired girl beside her, whose expression remained unchanged:

"Luo Kui, people from the Northern Ice Palace should be coming too, right?"

Indeed, as the ruler of the Desolate Heaven Domain, which is on par with the Lantian Empire, how could the Northern Ice Palace not join in the fun during such a grand occasion?

Moreover, Fan Luokui was once among those who had reached the top of the rankings, which further indicates that the Northern Ice Palace will also participate in the battle of the myriad factions.

The cherry-haired girl narrowed her pale golden eyes and instantly scanned the surrounding area within a hundred meters with her divine sense.

"Hmm, it seems Liang Jue and the others have also arrived. As always, it's all people from the Palace of Judgment who have come."

She slowly closed her eyes, a faint smile appearing on her cheeks.

As a former captain of the trial team, she was somewhat looking forward to meeting those old acquaintances in the arena.

I wonder how Liang Jue and the others are doing with their cultivation lately.

"That! That!"

Just then, Xiao Yuan'er suddenly widened her eyes excitedly and pointed to the magnificent palace in the distance that seemed to reach the sky. The golden gate, edged with emerald and white jade, was slowly pushed open.

At that moment, the murmurs in the crowd instantly subsided, and tens of thousands of eyes were simultaneously drawn to the figure slowly walking out of that door.

Including Chu Xin and Fang Yan, and even Chu Chenxi, they gradually emerged from the palace hall. What appeared before everyone was a group of people dressed in the unique and luxurious royal attire, with solemn expressions and exuding royal majesty.

The ruler of the capital, the highest point of power in the Lantian Empire.

royal family.

Besides the three people Yunping and the others knew, Li Junpeng was also in the queue. Beside him, a thin and frail young man was hunched over, and every step he took seemed to require great effort.

On the other hand, the person walking at the front had an air of arrogance between his brows, and his cold face was full of murderous intent. He had an imposing presence without being angry, and his short red hair was flying in the air.

The stark contrast between the two naturally sparked discussion among the cultivators below.

"Hey, who's that guy? He looks sickly. Is he also royalty?"

"You don't know? That's the second young master of the empire!"

"Second Young Master? What happened to the Second Young Master? I remember that although he wasn't as imposing as His Highness the Crown Prince before, he wasn't like this at all."

"You wouldn't know this... I heard that the Second Young Master was attacked at the border! The royal family went to great lengths to rescue him!"

"Right now, they probably haven't fully recovered yet..."

Listening to the whispers around him, Yunping finally understood the identities of the two people with such a stark contrast.

The sickly-looking young man was the Second Young Master, whom Chu Xin had mentioned earlier as having been attacked by Yin Sha. The young man walking at the very front, with an air of dominance over the world, was the Crown Prince.

In front of the royal palace.

The royal family, led by the crown prince, stood in the center of everyone's sight, as if to announce to the world. The imposing crown prince took a step forward and opened his lips.

In an instant, a torrent of words filled the entire room.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the capital."

Its sound was like a bell, and its imposing power suddenly swept across the entire venue.

Every word felt like a thousand heavy hammer blows to the heart, making one feel an involuntary sense of submission.

As the representative of the royal family, his image embodied the imperial capital, and at this moment, the domineering aura and majesty he displayed truly captivated everyone present.

His sharp, sword-like eyes flashed with dazzling light, and he raised an exceptionally wicked smile, shouting loudly.

"The battle of the myriad sects is a grand event held once every ten years in our capital, and I know that all of you cultivators have been waiting for it for a long time."

"According to the rules of previous Wanpai Competitions, I should use this opportunity to proclaim the majesty of the capital city in order to prevent any unscrupulous individuals from tampering with such a grand event."

"But I don't like wasting my breath!"

With a wave of his hand, his peak Void Realm cultivation surged outwards like a raging torrent.

Golden flames danced wildly around him, then transformed into a pillar of light that shot straight into the sky.

Amidst this sacred and inviolable golden light, the prince let out a cold laugh, his arrogant words shaking the heavens.

"If anyone dares to use any underhanded tricks within the capital, I, as a member of the royal family and also the Crown Prince of the capital, will absolutely not let them off easily!"

His approach is to use force to intimidate.

In fact, Fan Luokui still remembered that ten years ago, before the official start of the battle of the ten thousand factions, the person who appeared in front of everyone was an old man with white hair. He talked about the regulations of the capital for a full half hour, which made everyone want to go up and slap him and make him get out of there.

Compared to that guy's approach of nagging for half an hour, Fan Luokui was more in favor of the Crown Prince's method of using force to intimidate.

While it must be admitted that his approach was quite flamboyant, it was also more effective.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the youth, bathed in holy golden light, raised his right hand and announced in a stern voice.

"Then, in the name of Chu Aotian, I hereby declare—"

"The battle of the myriad factions has officially begun!"

……

"puff--"

In this extremely serious setting, Yunping almost threw up the wine he had drunk the night before.

Who the hell is Chu Aotian?