Chapter 3976: Provocation
The members of the Pure Yang Sect and the Wanqi clan and the other elder of the Seven Kills Valley, who were supposed to lead those from the Wanqi clan to the venue of the Trading Conference, were stunned. None of them expected that Zhen Ping Fan, who had been cordial just a moment ago, would abruptly and inappropriately belittle Wanqi Hong. Moreover, Zhen Ping Fan had said those words in front of Wanqi Jue. There was no one who did not know that Wanqi Jue was the proudest of his great-great-grandson, Wanqi Hong.
Wanqi Jue regarded Wanqi Hong as the face of the Wanqi clan. When he encountered intermediate Emperors of Gods, whom he was no match for, he would say, “Although I’m slightly weaker than you, it’s difficult for you to find someone among your descendants who’s a match for my great-great-grandson, Wanqi Hong.”
Wanqi Jue valued Wanqi Hong the most among all his descendants. Everyone in the top five emperor-rank forces in the Eastern Ridge Mansion knew about this so it was impossible that Zhen Ping Fan, a Nirvanic Elder of the Pure Yang, was unaware of it. For this, everyone was dumbfounded by Zhen Ping Fan’s provocative words.
Although Duan Ling Tian and Yu Chang Lian were not confused like the others, they were still a little caught off guard. They knew Zhen Ping Fan would provoke Wanqi Jue into bet with him, but they did not expect him to do it as soon as he met Wanqi Jue.
Yu Chang Lian glanced at Duan Ling Tian before he said through Voice Transmission, “I really didn’t expect him to provoke Wanqi Jue now. I thought he would at least wait until we arrived at the venue of the Trading Conference.”
Duan Ling Tian smiled bitterly as he replied, “Me too.”
Apart from Zhen Ping Fan, Duan Ling Tian and Yu Chang Lian were the only ones present who were aware of Zhen Ping Fan’s reason for suddenly provoking Wanqi Jue.
“Is Zhen Ping Fan crazy?”
When the members of the Wanqi clan regained their senses, they looked at Zhen Ping Fan with hostile expressions on their faces. Although none of them were stronger than Zhen Ping Fan, the person leading them was Wanqi Jue, an intermediate Emperor of Gods, who was stronger than Zhen Ping Fan. Zhen Ping Fan was no match for their Wanqi clan’s Golden Seat Elder at all.
“Elder Zhen…”
On the other hand, the members of the Pure Yang, including the Nirvanic Elder from the Hidden Sword faction, looked at Zhen Ping Fan’s back with worried and skeptical expressions on their faces. They wondered why Zhen Ping Fan had angered Wanqi Jue.
“Zhen Ping Fan, what do you mean by that?!” Wanqi Jue asked in a deep voice.
Zhen Ping Fan’s expression remained unchanged. Instead of responding to Wanqi Jue, he said, “Duan Ling Tian, come here.”
Duan Ling Tian felt rather speechless when he heard Zhen Ping Fan’s words. Nonetheless, he still stepped forward and moved to stand next to Zhen Ping Fan.
Then, Zhen Ping Fan finally looked at Wanqi Jue and asked, “Senior Uncle Wanqi, do you know what I mean now?” Then, he pointed at Duan Ling Tian, who was standing next to him, and grinned as he said, “Duan Ling Tian from our Pure Yang Sect is superior to your great-great-grandson, Wanqi Hong in terms of looks and temperament, don’t you agree? Everyone present has eyes, and they can all see this.”
Zhen Ping Fan’s grin grew wider and wider and he ignored the anger that continued to surge in Wanqi Jue’s eyes.
After listening to Zhen Ping Fan’s words, Wanqi Jue looked at Duan Ling Tian indifferently before he said with a sneer, “So what if he’s good-looking? Is he going to be a kept man? He’s weak. If he doesn’t rank in the top ten during the Seven Mansions Feast, he’s going to get in trouble with the Pure Yang Sect, right? Based on what I know, your Pure Yang Sect has invested a lot of resources in him.”
Wanqi Jue’s sneer deepened as he spoke. Although it was his first time meeting Duan Ling Tian, he already disliked Duan Ling Tian due to Zhen Ping Fan’s provocative words. Moreover, it was true that Duan Ling Tian’s appearance and temperament were superior to those of his great-great-grandson.
Although Wanqi Jue was not afraid of Zhen Ping Fan, he could not say the same about Zhen Yun Feng, Zhen Ping Fan’s father. After all, he was no match for Zhen Yun Feng. Moreover, Zhen Yun Feng was known for being overprotective of his family.
In the past, a rudimentary Emperor of Gods from a top emperor-rank force in the Eastern Ridge Mansion bullied and hurt Zhen Ping Fang, who had yet to become a rudimentary Emperor of Gods at that time. As a result, Zhen Yun Feng went to that top emperor-rank force and severely injured that rudimentary Emperor of Gods. Until now, that rudimentary Emperor of Gods had yet to fully recover from his injuries. There were even rumors that he might not survive his upcoming Heavenly Tribulation due to the injuries.
For this reason, due to his fear of Zhen Yun Feng, Wanqi Jue, who could not do anything to Zhen Yun Feng, could only vent his anger on Duan Ling Tian. Moreover, he already had a bad impression of Duan Ling Tian when he heard about Duan Ling Tian’s refusal to join the Wanqi clan. Today’s matter only served to exacerbate his anger.
Zhen Ping Fan maintained the smile even after he heard Wanqi Jue’s words. He was clearly not angry at all. He turned to look at Duan Ling Tian and asked teasingly, “Duan Ling Tian, are you going to just stay silent and do nothing after you’ve been insulted?”
Upon hearing Zhen Ping Fan’s words, Duan Ling Tian knew Zhen Ping Fan wanted him to provoke Wanqi Jue as well so that they could successfully get Wanqi Jue to agree to betting with them.
Duan Ling Tian frowned as he looked at Wanqi Jue and said, “Elder Wanqi, you said that I’m weak, but how much do you know about me? Although you’re an elder, you can’t spread rumors like that.”
As Duan Ling Tian spoke, his voice turned frostier and frostier.
Wanqi Jue did not expect that Duan Ling Tian, a junior, would dare to speak in such a manner to him. He laughed angrily before he said, “What? Do you think I’m underestimating you, brat? In my eyes, you’re nothing great.”
Wanqi Jue looked at Duan Ling Tian contemptuously as he spoke.
Duan Ling Tian sneered. “It’s only natural that I can’t compare to you, who’s an intermediate Emperor of Gods. I’m aware of the limitations of my strength. However, Elder Wanqi, I won’t be any weaker than you if I live to your age.”
Then, Duan Ling Tian looked at Wanqi Jue meaningfully after he finished speaking.
Wanqi Jue’s expression darkened immediately. He naturally knew that Duan Ling Tian was not even 3,000 years old. At Duan Ling Tian’s age, he had not even stepped into the realm of a Lord of Gods, let alone entered the realm of an intermediate Lord of Gods. Hence, he could not compare to Duan Ling Tian.
Sometime during the past two days, Wanqi Jue learned that Duan Ling Tian had broken through and become an intermediate Lord of Gods. He had learned about it from the people of the Wanqi clan who heard about it from the people of the Seven Kills Valley.
If it was not Yu Chang Lian, it had to be Dao Wei or Yu Chang Lian’s other disciple who spread the news.
While Wanqi Jue’s expression was still dark, Wanqi Hong, who wore a gloomy expression on his face, took two steps forward. Then, he stared at Duan Ling Tian murderously as he said, “Impudent! Duan Ling Tian, do you think a mere brat like you is worthy of being compared to my great-great-grandfather? So what if you’re talented? Are you sure you’ll be able to live to my great-great-grandfather’s age? In this world, there are countless prodigies who die young…”
Before Wanqi Hong could speak again, Duan Ling Tian, whose expression and voice were icy, asked, “Wanqi Hong, are you threatening me?”
“So what if I am?” Wanqi Hong sneered. He was not afraid of Duan Ling Tian, who was an intermediate Lord of Gods, at all. Even if Duan Ling Tian was stronger and possessed strength comparable to ordinary advanced Lords of Gods, he was still not afraid of Duan Ling Tian. Although he had only become an advanced Lord of Gods not too long ago, and his cultivation base had yet to completely stabilize, he had already defeated many of the elders who were advanced Lords of Gods in the Wanqi clan. How could Duan Ling Tian, who was just a rudimentary Lord of Gods, compare to the elders of the Wanqi clan? Apart from that, he was also not worried about being attacked by the powerhouses from the Pure Yang Sect. After all, his great-great-grandfather was an intermediate Emperor of Gods. Even Zhen Ping Fan, the strongest among the entourage from the Pure Yang Sect, was no match for his great-great-grandfather even if Zhen Ping Fan was the strongest rudimentary Emperor of Gods in the Pure Yang Sect.
“Wanqi Hong…” Zhen Ping Fan’s expression darkened. He was about to rebuke Wanqi Hong when Duan Ling Tian raised a hand to stop him.
At this time, many members of the Wanqi clan were looking at Duan Ling Tian derisively, waiting to watch a good show.
Duan Ling Tian looked at Wanqi Hong and said with a faint smile on his face, “Wanqi Hong, I heard that you’ve become an advanced Lord of Gods. Is that true?”
Upon hearing this, Wanqin Hong did not reply. Instead, he only raised his chin proudly, looking as though he could not be bothered to answer Duan Ling Tian’s question.
Duan Ling Tian continued to say calmly, “In fact, even if you’ve become an advanced Lord of Gods, you’re still nothing in my eyes. I could already defeat two intermediate Lords of Gods when I was a rudimentary Lord of Gods. Now that I’ve become an intermediate Lord of Gods, someone like you, who has just become an advanced Lord of Gods, isn’t worth my attention at all.”
The crowd was in an uproar as soon as Duan Ling Tianfinished speaking. It was clear that he was deliberately provoking Wanqi Hong.
“Duan Ling Tian…” The expression on the Hidden Sword faction’s Nirvanic Elder’s face changed immediately. He would have confidence in Duan Ling Tian if Duan Ling Tian’s opponent was any of the prodigies under 10,000 years old in the Seven Kills Valley, but his confidence wavered greatly since Duan Ling Tian’s opponent was Wanqi Hong.
Wanqi Hong was the most outstanding prodigy of the Wanqi clan, and he had already become an advanced Lord of Gods before he even turned 10,000 years old. There were also rumors that he had defeated many advanced Lords of Gods despite only becoming an advanced Lord of Gods not too long ago.
On the other hand, Duan Ling Tian had just become an intermediate Lord of Gods two years ago.
How could the Hidden Sword faction’s Nirvanic Elder not be worried when Duan Ling Tian, who was an intermediate Lord of Gods for only two years, provoked Wanqi Hong, who was already an advanced Lord of Gods for 100 years?
Meanwhile, Wanqi Hong, who was briefly stunned, laughed heartily when he recovered his senses. It was as though he had heard the funniest joke in the world. As his laughter died away, his gaze turned frosty as he looked at Duan Ling Tian and said, “Duan Ling Tian, don’t tell me you think you’re amazing just because you killed two intermediate Lords of Gods when you were a rudimentary Lord of Gods? Those two you killedwere the weakest among intermediate Lords of Gods. I can kill them easily as well when I was a rudimentary Lord of Gods. You actually dare to compare me, Wanqi Hong, to that kind of trash?”
At the same time, the corners of Zhen Ping Fan’s lips twitched. He did not expect Duan Ling Tian’s words to be so ruthless and that Duan Ling Tian was so good at provoking others. If he were in Wanqi Jue or Wanqi Hong’s shoes, he would not be able to endure listening to Duan Ling Tian’s insults as well.