Chapter 982: Chapter 979: Encountering a Beauty in a Foreign Land
The second floor of the tavern is much more spacious than the first, with tables separated by landscape screens, giving it a very elegant appearance.
The waiter led Luo Feng to a table by the window, pouring tea while enthusiastically saying:
"Dear guest, please wait a moment, the wine and dishes will be served soon. This is top-grade Cloud Clear Tea, picked leaf by leaf by girls under fourteen from the Out Cloud Country. Please have a taste."
Luo Feng took a sip of the tea and, noticing the waiter’s lively personality, couldn’t help but ask: "Waiter, I have something to ask you."
"What would the guest like to ask?"
Luo Feng said: "What would be a good gift to give a girl on her birthday?"
The waiter was taken aback, then awkwardly laughed:
"You’ve put me on the spot, dear guest. I’ve grown up never having even touched a girl’s hand. But on Cloud and Smoke Street to the south, they sell all kinds of miscellaneous items from all over. You might find what you’re looking for there."
Luo Feng chuckled dryly and nodded, "Alright. You can go now."
"Yes, if you need anything, please feel free to call me." The waiter retreated.
After a short while, the wine and dishes were served. Luo Feng, thinking about taking a look at Cloud and Smoke Street later, began to enjoy his meal.
Suddenly, there was a commotion downstairs in the tavern, with voices crashing like waves and bursts of exclamations, making it very lively.
"Dear guests, our Water Cloud Building is the largest tavern in Cloud Mountain City. Many skilled warriors from the martial world have dined here, you won’t be disappointed."
"Haha, I hope so. Having our Senior Brother Yue dine here makes your tavern truly splendid."
"Yes, indeed. Please have a seat, dear guests, the wine and dishes will be served shortly. I’ve had someone bring out the hundred-year-old vintage from storage. You must try it."
Footsteps sounded as the shopkeeper warmly led a group upstairs, making the previously quiet second floor immediately lively.
"Waiter."
Luo Feng, seeing the waiter pass by, called him over.
"Do you have any instructions, dear guest?"
Luo Feng asked: "What’s going on outside? Why is it so lively?"
The waiter refilled Luo Feng’s tea, looking somewhat excited:
"It seems you’re not from Cloud Mountain City. You may not know. Recently, a Demon Python appeared in the nearby Cloud Water River, causing many deaths. The City Lord personally led a team to hunt it down but ended up severely injured by the creature. No one has dared to travel the waterways since, causing much anxiety. Just now, word came that the Demon Python was killed by several disciples from the Sky Sword Pavilion, who skinned and gutted it. The people who just came up are the disciples who killed the Demon Python. I heard one of them is a top twenty master from the last New Dragon ranking!"
Luo Feng nodded, already sensing a few Spiritual Rotation Realm martial artists to his left.
As expected, those four Sky Sword Pavilion disciples won the battle.
"I truly envy those Golden Palace talents. They can fly and disappear at will, capable of anything, just like immortals. If I had even a tenth of their skills, I wouldn’t need to do odd jobs here."
The waiter shook his head, full of envy.
Luo Feng smiled faintly. To ordinary people, the disciples of the Golden Palace indeed held an extremely prestigious status, even surpassing ordinary kings and marquises.
"Dear guest, I have other matters to attend to, so I’ll take my leave. To celebrate, the shopkeeper has made all food and drink free today. If you need anything, please call me anytime."
The waiter dared not linger and turned to leave.
Once the waiter left, Luo Feng glanced towards the private room on the left-front side and saw several disciples from the Sky Sword Pavilion.
From his vantage point, he could only see two male disciples, but the other two were obscured by a screen. From their shadows, they appeared to be a male and a female.
The blue-clad disciple who had initially caught Luo Feng’s attention sat furthest out, around seventeen or eighteen years old, with a treasured sword at his waist. Judging from the faint Yuan Qi fluctuations emanating from him, he was likely a peak stage seven Spiritual Rotation Realm martial artist, no wonder he could defeat the Seven-colored Water-splitting Python.
The blue-clad youth seemed to sense something and glanced towards Luo Feng, noting it was just an ordinary youth and smirked dismissively, showing no further concern.
"Senior Brother Yue Cheng is truly formidable. The Seven-colored Water-splitting Python is immensely powerful, able to threaten even stage eight Spiritual Rotation Realm fighters in the water, yet it was slain by you with just a few sword strikes." The small-eyed youth sitting beside the blue-clad one spoke with admiration.
The blue-clad youth named Yue Cheng replied indifferently: "The Seven-colored Water-splitting Python is nothing. Once I train the Azure Flame Seven Repair Sword to great accomplishment, it could be slain with a single strike."
The small-eyed youth nodded, filled Yue Cheng’s tea to the brim, and laughed:
"I believe in this year’s New Dragon ranking conference, Senior Brother is sure to make it to the top fifteen, no, the top ten, becoming one of the top ten new dragons. I’ve already thought of a title for you. You’re now being called the Cloud Middle Sword Yue Cheng, but later you should be known as the Lightning Dragon in the Clouds."
Yue Cheng was momentarily taken aback. He cultivated the Fast Sword, and what could be faster than lightning? The name Lightning Dragon in the Clouds was indeed fitting.
Glancing at the female disciple opposite him, Yue Cheng pretended to remain calm and said:
"The top ten new dragons are no ordinary people. Such a title isn’t easily earned. However, I will strive for it, and with three months left, there’s still a chance."
The small-eyed martial artist immediately raised his cup and said: "Then here’s to wishing Senior Brother success, and that you may soon rank among the top ten new dragons!"
Yue Cheng smiled faintly and drank the tea in the cup at one gulp.
On the other side, Luo Feng smirked inwardly. With strong soul power, he heard the conversation clearly. This Yue Cheng was disingenuous, obviously coveting the position of the Ten New Dragons, yet pretending to be humble, later revealing his arrogant nature, truly hypocritical to the extreme.
However, in Luo Feng’s view, the opponent has little hope of competing for the position of the Ten New Dragons.
Among the people he knew, Red-dusted Vajra Lin Hongyi, and Out Cloud Princess Su Rui from Yuangang Hall, even Yi Wuxue, all had greater potential than this Yue Cheng.
Opposite him, the shopkeeper brought up the wine and dishes. Yue Cheng poured a cup of spirit wine and raised it to the female disciple opposite:
"Junior Sister, this is the famous Spirit Mist Hundred Dreams Wine from Cloud Mountain City, give it a try."
"No need, I don’t drink wine."
Luo Feng withdrew his gaze, intending to pay and visit Cloud and Smoke Street, when a crisp voice suddenly reached him, making his body slightly tense.
This voice is...
His gaze focused on a familiar figure on the screen, Luo Feng’s mind stirred, memories of the Purple Sun School flickered through his mind, a moment of mixed emotions.
Opposite Yue Cheng, sat a young girl.
The girl was seventeen or eighteen years old, with a face balancing both heroism and wildness, quite beautiful, dressed in the somewhat stiff inner sect disciple uniform of Sky Sword Pavilion, which couldn’t conceal her fiery figure, her Phoenix eyes bright as stars, appearing heroic and capable.
Being refused, Yue Cheng’s face turned a bit ugly, the wine cup raised mid-air, caught in a dilemma.
The small-eyed martial artist, observing the situation, immediately smiled at the girl and said, "Junior Sister Ji, we’ve already completed the task, and it’s rare to come to Cloud Mountain City, so we should leave some memories. Why don’t you accompany Senior Brother Yue with a drink."
The girl glanced at Yue Cheng and reached for the tea cup beside her, saying, "Then I shall use tea instead of wine..."
"Stop!"
Yue Cheng reached out to block the tea cup, his face turning a shade darker, looking at the girl called Junior Sister Ji opposite, "What, Junior Sister, can’t you even give this much face to your senior brother?"
The small-eyed martial artist, seeing Yue Cheng getting angry, hurriedly stood up to mediate, "Junior Sister Ji, it’s just a cup of wine. If it weren’t for Senior Brother Yue, how could we have completed the task?"
The girl slightly furrowed her brows, put down the tea cup, and spoke firmly, "I do not drink wine."
After speaking, the girl stood up, saying, "Since the task of slaying the Seven-colored Water-splitting Python is completed, I’ll head back to the Golden Palace first. Apologies, senior brothers."
"Humph!"
The small-eyed martial artist, keen to please Yue Cheng, seeing the girl leaving, flashed his figure and blocked her path, speaking indifferently:
"Junior Sister has quite a temper, unwilling even to partake in a celebratory drink with Senior Brother Yue. It seems indeed like master, like disciple!"
The heroic girl’s face sunk slightly, her eyes fixed on the small-eyed martial artist, coldly saying, "What do you mean?"
The small-eyed martial artist flipped his eyes and sneered:
"I have long heard that during your time at Purple Sun School, you were once a teacher to that kid Luo Feng of Linglong Hall. That kid, Luo Feng, so arrogant, dared to contradict Senior Brother Lu Xiao Yun. Now it seems they’re your well-taught disciples. Is it because Luo Feng ranked fourth in the personal achievement list at the Hunting Conference, hence your arrogance, disdain for Senior Brother Yue?"
Upon hearing this, Yue Cheng’s face beside him turned slightly cold.
Luo Feng obtained the Demon Sect base map and ranked fourth in the Hunting Conference personal achievement list, now a prominent figure in the Canglang Dynasty, and the relationship between Luo Feng and Ji Wuyue he naturally heard of.
Originally, he hadn’t paid much mind to this matter, after all, those were things of the past, but thinking of Ji Wuyue’s earlier cold attitude, he couldn’t help but associate it with Luo Feng, feeling a burst of jealousy and anger.
In this Hunting Conference, he ranked thirty-seventh in the personal achievement list, though a decent result, it paled compared to Luo Feng.
At this moment, another Sky Sword Pavilion disciple spoke, "Junior Sister Ji, Senior Brother Yue is sincere towards you, why the need to keep others at a distance?"
Ji Wuyue’s face remained unchanged, spoke to the small-eyed martial artist, "Please move aside."
The small-eyed martial artist ignored, taunting:
"That Luo Feng, used some means, audaciously ranked fourth on the personal achievement list. In terms of strength, ten of him wouldn’t stand up to the senior brother."
Ji Wuyue’s gaze turned cold, "Do you know, speaking behind others’ backs is quite disrespectful."
The small-eyed martial artist snorted disdainfully, "I’m just stating facts, in the Twelve Golden Palaces, perhaps only you take Luo Feng’s achievements seriously. Heard that during the Twelve Golden Palaces assessment, though he was the first Martial Champion, repeatedly rejected, ultimately it was Linglong Hall’s second Hall Master Shui Linglong taking pity on him..."
Bam!
Without warning, Ji Wuyue’s entire body surged with energy, a punch struck towards the small-eyed martial artist, her delicate fist, seemingly packed with infinite power, compressing the air ahead into constant explosions.
"You!"
The small-eyed martial artist’s expression changed, his arms firmly guarding in front.
Crash!
The turbulent energy flipped over several nearby screens, the small-eyed martial artist retreated several steps before stabilizing his form.
