Through challenging the inner disciples and core disciples, he had earned quite a number of Sword Pavilion Coins back in the Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion. However, as he thought that he did not have much use for them, he had spent most of his wealth on Immortal Pills for Dan Xiaotian and Bai Ruanqing.
As such, while he was not exactly poor, the amount of money he had left was definitely insufficient for him to strike a deal with the Sevenstar Pavilion.
However, since it was guaranteed that he would be able to purchase a ride on the immortal beast as long he had enough money, everything else would be simple to deal with. He would just have to find a way to earn some money.
With such thoughts in mind, he looked at the elder and asked, “How much will it cost?”
“It’s the personal mount of the head of the Sevenstar Pavilion, and considering the location is the faraway Ocean of Exiled Stars, it’ll cost at least 20,000 Ethereal Coins,” the elder replied after a swift calculation.
“20,000 Ethereal Coins?” Zhang Xuan frowned.
Even the True Immortal realm Ethereal Token only cost 2,700 Ethereal Coins. With 20,000 Ethereal Coins, one would be able to buy even a High Immortal-tier weapon.
It was indeed very pricy.
“Yes.” The elder nodded. “Well, I’ll be frank with you. I’ll be taking half of the sum as commission. However, you should know that without my introduction, even with 20,000 Ethereal Coins, you might not be able to strike a deal with the Sevenstar Pavilion on your own!”
Hearing those words, Zhang Xuan nodded in agreement.
He was an outsider, and he did not know anyone in the Sevenstar Pavilion. Without the elder, putting aside striking a deal with them, he would not even be aware of this piece of information.
“I understand. I’ll go and prepare the money now.” Zhang Xuan nodded as he turned around and walked back into the private chamber in the Ethereal Hall.
Safety came first. As long as he could avoid getting found by the Hall of Gods, spending that bit of money was nothing at all.
As for how he would earn his money, wherever there was an Ethereal Hall, there would be public duels as well. Considering how he was invincible in his cultivation realm, it was a piece of cake for him to earn his money!
As long as he did not reveal his Gods’ Sword Intent, the Hall of Gods should not be able to find him.
He quickly set up a few Isolation Formations within the silent chamber before immersing his consciousness into the Ethereal Token.
The layout of the virtual Ethereal Hall was similar to the one in the real world. He quickly made his way over to the dueling ring.
As one of the largest cities on the Forsaken Continent, Biyuan City was filled with experts. While True Immortal realm cultivators were already considered to be in the top echelon in smaller cities like Wuhai City, over here, there were so many of them that it was hard to believe that they were a rarity in other parts of the continent.
As such, the dueling rings were filled to the brim.
After registering at the receptionist, Zhang Xuan waited roughly ten minutes before being ushered toward the dueling ring.
…
The receptionist turned to the elder and asked curiously, “Elder, is the Sevenstar Pavilion really sending people to the Ocean of Exiled Stars?”
The Starchaser Palace was known to have bad relations with the other five sects, so why would the Sevenstar Pavilion send its men over?
“It’s confidential news, so make sure not to spread it around. It’s said that the sect leader is heading over there to discuss something important,” the elder replied.
He was the person in charge of managing the Biyuan City’s Ethereal Hall, and his cultivation had long reached the Heavenly High Immortal realm, making him a highly esteemed figure there. However, he was still not privy to the matters happening within the Sevenstar Pavilion.
“Oh…” Hearing that it was confidential, the receptionist did not dare probe any deeper into it. With a chuckle, she changed the topic and said, “I wonder if that fellow will be able to raise 20,000 Ethereal Coins in time…”
“Heh!” the elder scoffed. “Other than High Immortals, it’s impossible for anyone to fork out such a huge sum!”
“Then…” The receptionist blinked, surprised by the elder’s reaction.
“I’m just letting him know that he should know his place and back off. It would only take a month riding on a normal aerial immortal beast, and it would only cost two hundred Ethereal Coins. On the other hand, going with the Sevenstar Pavilion will cost him 20,000 Ethereal Coins. There’s no one who would pay a hundred times the price just to save twenty days of travel!” The elder shook his head.
Those at their cultivation realm could easily spend months in seclusion for their cultivation. Only a madman would spend so much money just to save twenty days!
“Well, that’s true…” The receptionist nodded in agreement. “Thinking about it, based on his tone, it doesn’t seem like he has the money, so he’s intending to head off to earn a bit of money first.”
The elder harrumphed in response. “The fastest way to earn money in the Ethereal Hall is through the dueling ring. However, even with the stakes multiplying with each victory, he will have to win many rounds consecutively. Even the core disciples from the Sevenstar Pavilion who frequent our dueling rings find it hard to win four rounds consecutively, let alone him!”
As the Sevenstar Pavilion was located in proximity to Biyuan City’s Ethereal Hall, the disciples of the Sevenstar Pavilion often frequented the place.
“The registration price is five Ethereal Coins. Even if he manages to win five rounds back-to-back, that would only be eighty Ethereal Coins. He’s still a long way off from reaching his goal of 20,000 Ethereal Coins,” the receptionist replied with a chuckle.
The initial cost for joining the dueling ring was set to not be too high, just five Ethereal Coins. This was to attract more people to participate in the duels.
If one won a round, the stakes would immediately double. The next challenger would have to pay a corresponding price in order to join the battle.
The elder nodded with a smile. “Alright, I’ll be heading back to rest now. Call me if anything else happens.”
Following which, he turned around and returned to his room. However, barely after he took a few steps, another receptionist rushed over anxiously and shouted, “Elder!”
“What’s wrong?” The elder frowned.
“Just earlier, someone has won ten consecutively rounds in the dueling ring!” the receptionist exclaimed.
“Ten rounds?” The elder was taken aback. “It’s been a long time since anyone has been so successful in the dueling ring. Is he a core disciple from the Sevenstar Pavilion?”
In Biyuan City, those who could possibly win ten rounds consecutively were, more often than not, core disciples of the Sevenstar Pavilion.
These experts would make an appearance from time to time, but they would rarely participate in the duel. After all, it would be simply too unfair for the other cultivators. It would be like a professional fighter going on stage to challenge amateurs; it would not reflect well on them even if they did win.
“According to Zhao Meng, he isn’t a core disciple from the Sevenstar Pavilion!” the receptionist replied.
Zhao Meng was one of the core disciples of the Sevenstar Pavilions, and his ranking was rather high.
“I see…” The elder was stunned for a moment before quickly rushing back to his room. “I have to head over to take a look!”
He took out his Ethereal Token and immersed his consciousness into it. Before long, he was standing within the virtual Ethereal Hall.
With a few steps, he made his way over to the dueling ring.
Atop the dueling ring, there were two figures fighting one another barehanded.
The gray-robed fighter on the left was launching a series of powerful palm strikes. In response, the fighter on the right swiftly treaded around the battlefield nimbly, dodging the attacks.
“Isn’t that gray-robed fighter over there the top ranker of the Sevenstar Pavilion’s core disciples, Meng Han?”
“I never thought that he would come here personally!”
“Well, the other fighter up there has already won twelve rounds consecutively with ease, and three of his opponents were fellow core disciples from the Sevenstar Pavilion. As the top ranker of the core disciples, he probably feels obliged to make a move to protect the reputation of the Sevenstar Pavilion.”
…
Barely after arriving at the dueling ring, the elder could already hear such discussions all around.
“This is already the thirteenth round?” The elder was stunned.
He vividly recalled the receptionist reporting to him earlier that someone had won ten rounds consecutively. When did it turn into winning twelve rounds consecutively?
“He must have won two more rounds while I was looking for you…” Beside him, the receptionist from earlier had a look of disbelief on her face. “But that doesn’t seem right either. It hasn’t even been a single minute since I left the Ethereal Hall to look for you!”
The elder’s lips twitched.
This fellow actually defeated two more opponents on the dueling ring within a single minute!
“Look!”
While the elder was trying to rationalize how such a thing could have been possible, the fighter who had been dodging the palm strikes all along suddenly executed a punch.
Peng!
The top ranker of the Sevenstar Pavilion’s core disciples, Meng Han, collapsed to the ground as his body convulsed uncontrollably. Taking a closer look, his head was dented inward.
“Even Meng Han has been defeated so easily?” The elder was taken aback.
Meng Han had been at the top of the Ethereal Hall’s dueling ring ranking for at least three years, but who would have thought that even he would fall to a single punch?
This was too anticlimactic!
Not only was the elder shocked by what he was seeing, the rest of the crowd was stunned as well.
For such a powerful person to be defeated within a single move… it was hard to believe that this was really happening.
…
In the Elder Council of the Sevenstar Pavilion…
Peng peng peng peng!
Two middle-aged men were exchanging blows with one another. Shockwaves rippled from their clashes, causing the inscriptions on the surrounding formations to glow from time to time as they neutralized the incoming force.
The two of them appeared to be in their forties or fifties, but their cultivation had already reached Heavenly High Immortal. Every move that they made seemed to sway the forces of nature.
Hu!
Eventually, the green-robed elder managed to get close enough to launch a direct jab toward the gray-robed elder’s neck, stopping just the distance of a single finger away.
“I have lost…” The gray-robed elder surrendered.
“It was a good fight!” the green-robed elder replied cheerily before turning to the crowd. “Is there anyone else who wishes to have a match with me?”
Silence.
An elder stepped forth and announced, “Since that’s the case, I hereby declare that Elder Hong Wu has won the tournament. I’ll be bringing him with me to the Ocean of Exiled Stars!”
This elder was the head of the Sevenstar Pavilion, Kui Xiao!
“Yes, Pavilion Master Kui!”
The crowd clasped their fists.
Two hours ago, Kui Xiao had ordered all elders whose cultivation had reached the Heavenly High Immortal realm and were beneath a hundred years of age to gather together in this hall. He had made all of them fight one another in a round-robin tournament, and eventually, it was this Elder Hong Wu who had emerged victorious.
As such, there was no one who had any issues with Kui Xiao’s verdict.
“There are some things that I would like to tell Elder Hong Wu privately. The rest of you are dismissed for now,” Pavilion Master Kui said with a wave of his hand.
The crowd nodded before leaving the hall.
But before they could walk out, an elder suddenly rushed over and reported, “Pavilion Master Kui, something has happened!”
“Oh?” Pavilion Master Kui frowned.
The elder who had just walked into the hall was the First Elder of the Sevenstar Pavilion. Even though the other party’s cultivation was beneath his, the other party was still one of the strongest Heavenly High Immortal realm cultivators on the Forsaken Continent.
Given his strength, there were very few things in the world that could faze him. Yet, for the other party to rush over so anxiously… it had to be something of vital importance.
“An expert has appeared in Biyuan City’s Ethereal Hall. This expert has challenged many opponents consecutively, but there’s no one who is able to stand against him. So far, he has already won thirteen rounds. Our core disciple, Meng Han, challenged him as well, but even he was defeated with a single punch,” the First Elder reported through zhenqi telepathy.
“Even Meng Han wasn’t a match for that person?” Pavilion Master Kui was clearly a little surprised.
Meng Han was not just the top ranker of the Sevenstar Pavilion—he was also his direct disciple! It was very likely that Meng Han would eventually rise to the position of the First Elder or even succeed his position!
Given Meng Han’s strength, he should have been invincible existence when facing others at the True Immortal realm, but he had ended up getting defeated within a single punch? Was this for real?
Unable to remain calm before a bizarre situation like this, Kui Xiao said with a wave of his hand, “Let’s head over to take a look.”
“Yes!”
The First Elder quickly brought out the Ethereal Tokens that he had prepared beforehand.
Taking one of the Ethereal Tokens, Kui Xiao was just about to enter the Ethereal Hall when he suddenly recalled something. He turned to Elder Hong Wu and said, “You should come along with us, too.”
As he spoke, he threw an Ethereal Token over.
“Yes, Pavilion Master Kui!” Elder Hong Wu replied as he caught the Ethereal Token.
Considering how this expert was able to defeat even Meng Han with ease, he was curious just how powerful the other party was.
“What’s the name of the person who defeated Meng Han?” Pavilion Master Kui asked as he dripped a blood droplet on the Ethereal Token to activate it.
“His name seems to be…” The First Elder paused for a moment to ponder for a moment before replying. “Liu Yang!”
