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As time passed, the number of attendees at the Vermilion Bird Platform’s event kept increasing, with not just the capital’s Aristocratic Clans and Noble Clan dignitaries in attendance but also many from the Nine Great Sects of Ancient Martial Arts. Moreover, there were guests from various nations.
Among the world’s nations, the ones that truly concerned Ye Feng and warranted his caution were first and foremost the Northern Snow Wolf Country; in addition, there were the Vampire Kingdom of the west and the Mitiao Kingdom, which claimed to be the descendants of the Atlantis Divine Clan.
The Vampire Kingdom and Mitiao Kingdom to the west did not border the Xuanyuan Nation, so despite some conflicts and confrontations on regular days, these were not as intense and direct as those with the Northern Snow Wolf Country.
Besides these three major powers, Xuanyuan Nation also faced other forces, such as Fusang Island Nation to the northeast, and to the south, Tianluo Kingdom, Great Brahma Kingdom, and Ancient Yue Kingdom, but these nations were relatively weaker and had no direct conflicts with the Northern Border controlled by Ye Feng.
There was no shortage of international visitors, and of course, some smaller countries were friendly with Xuanyuan Nation. These western nations had in the past suffered invasions from the Northern Snow Wolf Country. It was only with the help of the Old Northern King and now Ye Feng that they managed to repel the Snow Wolf Country’s aggression.
Thus, the delegation from these smaller nations, upon entering the event hall, didn’t make their way to pay respects to the two elders of the Utility Pavilion but went straight to ascertain the location of Northern King Ye Feng and headed directly to him.
Quite the sight, a delegation of over a hundred guests from nearly a dozen countries waded through much of the venue to reach Ye Feng, naturally drawing the attention of most present. Even more astonishing was that upon reaching Northern King Ye Feng, they removed their hats and bowed deeply with their fists clenched in salute, paying their highest respects from their respective nations.
"We pay our respects to Northern King Ye Feng!" Some tall figures with dark skin even dropped to one knee before Ye Feng, who, of course, didn’t put on airs and hurriedly helped everyone back to their feet.
In fact, when he and the Old Northern King had developed a strategy to aid these smaller western nations against the Northern Snow Wolf Country, there was indeed a notion of denouncing injustice and advocating for peace, but more importantly, it was for the benefit of his own nation.
After all, once the Northern Snow Wolf Country took over these small western nations and grew stronger, Xuanyuan Nation would undoubtedly face great threats from both the north and the west. The results, in fact, proved that this strategy was absolutely correct.
Seeing this, the people from the Great General’s Mansion scoffed at the display, deeming it unworthy, with many even snorting disdainfully, "This Northern King truly puts on too big a show. All these western delegations come here not to pay respects to our Great General’s Mansion, let alone the Utility Pavilion, and instead head straight for him. This really is too much, isn’t it?
Anyone who didn’t know better might think that the Xuanyuan Nation is his, Northern King Ye Feng’s!"
"Indeed, this Northern King Ye Feng has grown increasingly presumptuous. Not long ago, he outright annihilated the Northeast Tiger, and just a few days ago, he even massacred the Zhang Family of the Aristocratic Clan in the capital, with methods that are truly chilling!"
"That’s not all; it’s said that just two days ago, he also killed three elders of the Flora Sect. Everyone in the capital knows that the Flora Sect has always been on good terms with the Utility Pavilion. Now, by killing their elders, isn’t he pushing the Flora Sect entirely towards the Sects of Ancient Martial Arts?"
The many officers in the Great General’s Mansion were all abuzz with discussion—after all, they didn’t consider their achievements to be any less than the Northern King’s, and yet all the limelight and honors had been taken by him, leaving them with discontent in their hearts.
Great General Duantian suddenly snorted coldly, "Enough, what’s all this noise about? This place is crowded, and outsiders might laugh if they hear you. Anyone would think our Great General’s Mansion is small-minded!"
Having said that, Great General Duantian glanced coldly at Ye Feng and sneered, "It is often said that the tallest tree catches the most wind, and the bird at the forefront gets shot. There’s also, ’commit too many injustices, and you will seal your own doom.’ Today, let’s just wait and see how those from the Nine Great Sects of Ancient Martial Arts handle him!"
No sooner had the Great General finished speaking than someone suddenly exclaimed, "The Great General really has divine foresight. Look there, the people from the Flora Sect are getting up. Aren’t they heading right towards Northern King Ye Feng?"
"It’s not just the Flora Sect, but also the Underworld Sect, Mount Shu, and the Dao Sect. Nearly half of the young generation from the Sects of Ancient Martial Arts are heading towards that Ye fellow. Wow, the Great General was spot on. The bigger you are, the more you attract trouble.
Lately, Northern King Ye Feng’s influence has indeed been too predominant, to the point where even those from the Nine Great Sects of Ancient Martial Arts are annoyed and seeking to trouble him!"
With that, Great General Duantian watched the scene, snorting with indifference before turning his head away.
Meanwhile, various young people arrived at Ye Feng’s side, eager and in small groups. It didn’t take long before four young people wearing flamboyantly colored clothing, immediately identifiable as disciples of the Flora Sect, approached. All four were quite young and each one of them was a strong figure in the Divine Path Realm.
But of course, the one who caught Ye Feng’s eye the most was the leading figure in a blue-purple long robe, with a tall and slender frame. This handsome young man was exceptionally beautiful, and most notably, he had a red mole in the center of his brow that made him seem even more enchanting. Unquestionably, this person’s presence was the strongest amongst the four, and even strangely powerful.
Ye Feng instantly remembered the words Shadow had told him the night before, that there was a powerful young prodigy within the Flora Sect. Shadow hadn’t elaborated on the individual’s background, merely advising that Ye Feng would understand once he saw the person.
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Now, Ye Feng understood. The prodigy from the Flora Sect was probably the individual with the red mole on his brow before him.
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The four members of the Flora Sect marched straight up to Ye Feng, each one seething with killing intent. The one with the red mole between his eyebrows immediately snorted, "Are you Northern King Ye Feng?"
"How dare you, the name of the Northern King is not for you to call out directly, kneel down at once, and should you be disrespectful again, there will be no mercy!" Sima Zhantian, who was hot-tempered, immediately roared from behind.
The young man with the red mole didn’t even glance at Sima Zhantian, but continued to stare coldly at Ye Feng, as if waiting for Ye Feng to speak, his demeanor exuding an indescribable arrogance and insolence.
Ye Feng smiled slightly, his tone playful, "Since you already know, why bother to ask?"
The young man with the red mole sneered, "I came only to let you know that my name is Hua Bairi. Since you dared to kill an elder of our Flora Sect, in the upcoming grand martial arts tournament, the first stage allows individual challenges. So I hope you’ll stand up like a man and accept my challenge!"
After saying this, Hua Bairi, the young man with the red mole, turned and walked away decisively, his actions brimming with a cold arrogance.
Ye Feng’s voice slowly followed from behind, "As the saying goes, ’No flower blooms for a hundred days, and no man is esteemed for a thousand.’ Remember this: this is not your Flora Sect. You’d better rein in your arrogance, or I won’t hesitate to send you down to reunite with those three elders of yours!"
"Impudent, Ye, are these words of yours a challenge to our Flora Sect? Are you trying to incite a war between sects?" The remaining three disciples of the Flora Sect were instantly enraged.
Ye Feng gave a faint smile, saying, "A war between sects? If you truly believe so, then why not?"
There was suddenly a moment when Ye Feng had a stroke of inspiration. He thought of a rapid method to cultivate the Emperor’s Dao—starting a war with the Nine Great Sects of Ancient Martial Arts. If possible, to destroy the Nine Great Sects in one fell swoop and establish a brand-new Martial Academy.
No sooner had this idea come to him than his heart skipped a beat. He had already stated that he would not let history repeat itself. If he openly waged war against the Nine Great Sects of Ancient Martial Arts and even leveled these sect influences, how would he be any different from that person from over two thousand years ago?
So with this in mind, Ye Feng could only suppress this audacious thought. Moreover, with his current strength and background, he was far from being able to contend with the Nine Great Sects of Ancient Martial Arts.
Hua Bairi suddenly halted his steps, not turning back, and said coldly, "Sir, you do have quite the confidence. However, I hope you will still stand and repeat these words at the end of the grand martial arts tournament. My words remain the same: if you have the guts, accept my challenge later!"
"Hey now, the people of your Flora Sect sure are hasty, aren’t they? If you ask me, Northern King, you should rather accept our challenge from the Underworld Sect. The disciples of the Flora Sect are too weak, not worth the effort. If there’s going to be a fight, pick the strongest to fight!"
The young elites of the Underworld Sect at that moment also stepped forward. Unlike the Flora Sect, the disciples of the Underworld Sect wore unified black robes, black shoes, and even black lips, which, due to the special nature of their cultivation methods, meant their auras were also dark and chilling.
Before Ye Feng could speak up, several young elites from the Dao Sect and also from Mount Shu made their way over.
"If we’re choosing the strongest to fight, then naturally it should be Mount Shu. Who in the world doesn’t know that our Mount Shu’s Flying Swords are the most powerful, able to kill from a thousand miles away? Northern King, I trust you won’t let us down later, choose Mount Shu!"
"To hell with that! If you’re picking the strongest, then of course, it’s our Dao Sect. Who doesn’t know in the world that the Flying Swords of your Mount Shu originally came from our Dao Sect, derived from our Immortal Swords? So when it comes to the authentic lineage of ancient martial arts, it has to be our Dao Sect!" A few Dao Sect disciples in Dao robes shouted out.
Suddenly, the disciples from these Great Sects began to argue and bicker, leaving Ye Feng feeling a headache coming on, as he saw even the disciples from several other Great Sects like the Holy Mansion of Confucian Sect, Kunlun, and Heaven Poison Sect approaching, drawing everyone’s gaze in the assembly to his location, which made him quite helpless.
However, Ye Feng also knew the reason he had been targeted by the disciples of the Nine Great Sects was primarily because of the incident at Fallen Dragon Valley. After all, he had by himself broken through the layers of the Nine Great Sects’ defenses and ultimately thwarted their plans, naturally leaving the Sects of Ancient Martial Arts with a grudge in their hearts.
Beyond that, there was the matter concerning the Valley of the Medicine God. The status of the Valley of the Medicine God in the Ancient Martial World was, in fact, very special, and the beloved daughter of the Valley Master, Yu Xianhe—Fish Not Fish—held a unique position in the Ancient Martial World.
In a sense, whoever married Fish Not Fish would essentially gain the support of the Valley of the Medicine God, raising their standing among the Sects of Ancient Martial Arts.
Yet, because two days ago, Yu Xianhe had announced that it seemed Northern King Ye Feng had already won the martial contest for marriage held by the Valley of the Medicine God, how could the many young geniuses of the Ancient Martial World accept this?
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