Chapter 88 The Twelve Nascent Soul Cultivators

Zan Yunxiao continued sightseeing around the city for the rest of the day before eventually returning to the City Lord's residence. Another month quietly passed, and the excitement of the previous weeks gradually faded as winter continued to cover the Northern Region in snow.

Inside the City Lord's office, Zan Yunxiao sat quietly with his eyes closed while spreading his spiritual sense throughout the surroundings. His perception covered every corner of the city and extended for nearly a hundred miles, allowing him to observe even the slightest movement beyond the city walls.

After sweeping his spiritual sense across the region several times, Zan Yunxiao suddenly sensed several familiar auras approaching from outside the city.

“Hm?” Zan Yunxiao opened his eyes and looked toward the distance.

Through his spiritual sense, he saw a familiar figure flying toward the city, accompanied by several powerful cultivators.

“It seems Qiu Wuyin has finally returned,” Zan Yunxiao muttered while recognizing the old man's aura.

Behind Qiu Wuyin were several Nascent Soul cultivators, each carrying an aura far stronger than ordinary cultivators of the same realm.

Zan Yunxiao raised an eyebrow.

“He actually managed to recruit quite a few.”

He leaned back in his chair and calmly waited for them to arrive.

A few moments later, the door to the office opened, and Qiu Wuyin stepped inside. He immediately bowed respectfully toward Zan Yunxiao and greeted him, “This old man, Qiu Wuyin, greets the Unseen Emperor.”

Zan Yunxiao glanced at him before calmly asking, “You're back.”

“Yes, My Lord,” Qiu Wuyin replied respectfully. “This old man has returned after completing your order.”

Zan Yunxiao looked toward Qiu Wuyin and asked, “Where are the people you recruited?”

“They're waiting outside the city,” Qiu Wuyin replied respectfully.

Zan Yunxiao raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

Qiu Wuyin gave an embarrassed smile and explained, “Those old fellows have been bickering with each other ever since we returned. If I let them enter the city together, I'm afraid they might start fighting and damage the city. The mortals could also be caught in the aftermath.”

“I see,” Zan Yunxiao said with a slight nod. “Then let's go see them.”

He rose from his chair, and the space before him suddenly trembled violently. A powerful surge of energy spread through the room as the surrounding space distorted, and a spatial rift slowly tore open before him.

Qiu Wuyin's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the spatial rift.

“This...”

He had never seen anything like this in his entire life.

Not once had he witnessed someone directly tear open space and create a spatial rift right before his eyes. Even after hundreds of years of cultivation, this was completely beyond his understanding.

"So this is the power of the Unseen Emperor..."

Qiu Wuyin's heart trembled with awe.

Zan Yunxiao casually stepped toward the spatial rift and glanced back at him. “Come.”

Qiu Wuyin immediately recovered and hurriedly followed. “Yes, My Lord!”

He stepped into the spatial rift behind Zan Yunxiao, still unable to hide the shock in his eyes.

For Qiu Wuyin, witnessing someone tear open space so effortlessly was an experience he would never forget.

. . .

Outside the city, twelve Nascent Soul cultivators had gathered together with their disciples, all of whom were only at the Qi Refinement Realm. Instead of entering the city, they remained in an open area to avoid accidentally damaging the nearby buildings or harming the mortals.

The twelve old cultivators, however, were anything but peaceful.

“My disciple is clearly the most talented among all of them!” one of the Nascent Soul cultivators declared proudly.

“Your disciple? Don't make me laugh. Mine reached the 8th Qi Refinement Realm at the youngest age!”

“Hmph! Realm alone doesn't determine talent. My disciple has already comprehended the fundamentals of my technique!”

The argument quickly grew louder as the twelve cultivators began boasting about their disciples.

The disciples standing behind them could only exchange helpless glances. None of them dared to interrupt their masters.

After a while, however, the conversation shifted toward another matter.

“Speaking of which...” one of the Nascent Soul cultivators frowned. “Are we really supposed to believe Qiu Wuyin's story?”

Another old cultivator snorted. “The Unseen Emperor? A legendary existence from 100,000 years ago suddenly appearing in front of him?”

“Exactly. It sounds ridiculous.”

“If that so-called Unseen Emperor is fake, I'll personally beat him up for wasting our time!”

Several cultivators nodded in agreement.

They had agreed to follow Qiu Wuyin because of their old friendship with him, but none of them were completely convinced by his story. The legendary Unseen Emperor was simply too unbelievable.

One of the cultivators crossed his arms and muttered, “If he's truly the Unseen Emperor, then we'll acknowledge him. But until we see his strength with our own eyes, don't expect us to blindly believe everything Qiu Wuyin says.”

The others nodded.

They were powerful Nascent Soul cultivators themselves, and they naturally possessed their own pride.

None of them were willing to submit to someone merely because of an ancient legend.

Then, one of them suddenly stroked his beard and suggested, “Since we're waiting anyway, why don't we let our disciples spar with each other?”

Several cultivators immediately nodded in agreement.

“That's a good idea.”

“Let the younger generation exchange pointers.”

However, one of the old cultivators shook his head. “No, I'm not interested.”

The cultivator who had proposed the idea immediately looked at him. “What? You're refusing?”

“Yes. What's the benefit?”

“Benefit?” The old cultivator blinked before laughing. “It's just a friendly match. We're not asking them to fight to the death.”

The other cultivator remained unmoved. “If there's no benefit, then why should I let my disciple participate?”

His response immediately provoked the other cultivator, who sneered. “Wait... don't tell me your disciple is too weak to beat mine?”

The old man's expression darkened. “What did you say?”

“I said, perhaps you're refusing because you're afraid your disciple will lose.”

“Hmph.” The old cultivator glanced toward his disciple before calmly replying, “Don't mistake caution for cowardice.”

The surrounding cultivators immediately became interested.

“Oho, then you agree?”

The old man sighed. “Fine. If you insist on making this into a competition, then my disciple will participate.”

After the decision was made, the disciples slowly stepped forward and prepared themselves for the sparring match. Some of them wore arrogant expressions, clearly confident in their abilities, while others looked nervous and kept glancing at the other disciples.

One young disciple quietly approached his master and whispered, “Master, can I sit this one out? Their disciples look much stronger than me.”

His master immediately glared at him. “What? You're already afraid before the fight even begins?”

“But, Master—”

“No buts!” the old cultivator scolded. “You are my disciple. If you can't even face someone at the same cultivation realm, how do you expect to accomplish anything in the future?”

The young disciple lowered his head helplessly. “Yes, Master...”

Nearby, another disciple nervously tugged at his master's sleeve. “Master, perhaps we should refuse. I don't think I'm strong enough.”

His master's face immediately darkened. “You're embarrassing me. Get out there!”

“Yes, Master!”

One by one, the disciples were pushed into the open area.

Some walked forward confidently, their faces filled with arrogance, while others stepped onto the field with trembling legs, clearly wishing they could disappear.

At the side of the gathering, Old Fu stood quietly with his arms folded, watching the younger disciples prepare for their sparring match. Unlike the other Nascent Soul cultivators, he had no disciple participating in the competition.

His thoughts, however, weren't focused on the sparring at all.

"Old Qiu is taking his time. When is he going to introduce me to the Unseen Emperor?"

Old Fu had been looking forward to meeting the legendary existence ever since Qiu Wuyin told him about his mysterious backer. Yet instead of immediately bringing him to meet the Unseen Emperor, Qiu Wuyin had given him another task.

"And why did he order me to watch these people? Does he think I'm his subordinate?"

Old Fu couldn't help but feel slightly annoyed. He was also a Nascent Soul cultivator, and yet Qiu Wuyin had casually ordered him to watch over a group of old fellows as though he were one of his subordinates.

Still, after glancing at the twelve Nascent Soul cultivators and their disciples, Old Fu sighed.

"Well, I suppose someone has to keep them from causing trouble."

If any of these cultivators caused trouble while waiting for the Unseen Emperor to arrive, Old Fu would immediately intervene and stop them before the situation became serious.

“Seriously...” Old Fu muttered while rubbing his forehead. “I came here to meet the Unseen Emperor, yet somehow I ended up watching over these old fellows.”