A Name Shakes the Region

Chapter 630: A Name Shakes the Region — Du Dong and the Audience

Han Li rubbed his nose. A sweep of his spiritual sense sent the murmurs and conversations of the crowd flooding into his ears.

“Who is that?” “Such a strange face. Is he a new disciple?” “Why would Uncle-Master Mu arrive with this person?” “Are they relatives? Uncle-Master Mu never travels with male cultivators. Why would she come with this fellow?”

A string of puzzled and envious remarks reached him clearly.

Han Li’s expression remained unchanged, but he gave a silent, inward sigh. A moment later, he stepped away from the front of the hall and slipped into the crowd.

Even so, he could still feel numerous gazes lingering on him, measuring him up and down.

“Junior Han! I didn’t think we’d meet again until now,” a voice that sounded hearty suddenly called out from behind him.

Han Li paused and turned his head.

Standing a few zhang away was a large man—the one named Du Dong.

The man was now beaming at Han Li in greeting.

A flicker of strangeness passed through Han Li’s eyes, but he immediately put on a warm expression and clasped his hands in a polite salute.

“So it’s Senior Brother Du. How have you been faring under Uncle-Master Jiang?” Han Li asked. The “Uncle-Master Jiang” he referred to was the white-haired old man who had taken Du Dong away that day.

“Well, very well indeed!” The big man chuckled, looking extremely simple and honest.

Han Li sneered coldly inside, but on the surface, he chatted amiably with the man about their experiences since parting.

According to Du Dong, the white-haired elder thought he had a great talent for talisman crafting and intended to groom him heavily. As he said this, Du Dong’s face was filled with delight, as if he were truly thrilled.

Listening to this, Han Li actually felt a bit of sympathy for that white-haired elder. Of all the people to choose for focused cultivation, the old man had to pick this scheming character. He would likely be heavily implicated by the man’s future actions.

With this thought, Han Li naturally had no intention of warning Elder Jiang. He continued to exchange pleasantries with the big man, one phrase at a time.

Then, a mysterious expression crossed Du Dong’s face.

“Junior Han, did you know?” Du Dong said to him. “Uncle-Master Mu, who is specifically tasked with guiding you, is the greatest beauty of our Heaven Spring Peak. Even in all of Falling Cloud Sect, she ranks among the top three. Walking in with her today must have caused quite a stir.”

“Not ‘must have.’ It already has,” Han Li said with a wry smile. He glanced around and spoke helplessly.

“Still, you arrived riding on the same artifact as Uncle-Master Mu. Did she perhaps say anything to you about today’s gathering?” Du Dong’s tone shifted. He asked the question as if it were casual, offhand.

“Oh? That. No, nothing at all. Have you heard something, Senior Brother Du? Why not share it with your junior?” Han Li’s expression remained steady, but his eyes turned into a knowing, almost-smiling look. He gave the big man a meaningful glance.

Under Han Li’s gaze, the man’s originally simple, honest smile faltered. His heart suddenly jumped. He had the strange feeling that Han Li had seen right through him.

A chill ran through him.

But then Han Li turned his head away to look in another direction, and the feeling vanished without a trace, as if it had been an illusion. This left Du Dong secretly unsettled.

Because of this, the big man was now vaguely reluctant to stay near Han Li. After forcing out a few more pleasantries, he excused himself and walked over to another Heaven Spring Peak cultivator he knew.

Han Li watched him leave. A flicker of derision passed across his face. Just then, Silvermoon’s voice sounded in his mind.

“Brother Han, was that deliberate—scaring him off? Aren’t you afraid he will grow suspicious of you and cause you trouble later?”

“That man’s identity is unknown, but infiltrating Falling Cloud Sect cannot be for any good purpose. I have no desire to have any more contact with him. Making him keep his distance is for the best,” Han Li replied slowly with his divine sense. “If something major does happen, it will keep me from being implicated. As for his suspicions, what does it matter? He has his own guilty conscience. What can he do to me? At most, he will be a bit more cautious around me. Even if he tries to ambush me, do you think he could succeed? I have no intention of stopping him either. I simply want no further entanglements with him.”

Silvermoon fell silent at Han Li’s words. She clearly acknowledged the logic behind them.

After all, if this Du Dong was indeed plotting some hidden scheme within Falling Cloud Sect, when the truth eventually came to light, any close disciple of his would certainly draw the attention and suspicion of the sect’s higher-ups.

That was not something Han Li wanted to see.

So, for the rest of the time, Han Li stood alone, observing the low-level disciples gathered there.

Among them were old and young, men and women. The older ones were not necessarily the more skilled, and some of the younger ones had already reached the twelfth or thirteenth layers of Qi Condensation.

There were also several attractive young women who drew noticeable attention in the crowd. Almost every one of them was accompanied by several male cultivators of similar age. It seemed that Falling Cloud Sect, like any other sect, had its share of young, beautiful female cultivators who were much sought after.

Right as Han Li was pondering this, the hall doors finally swung open.

A dignified voice sounded from within, instantly commanding respect.

“All Heaven Spring Peak disciples, enter the hall.” It was a calm, masculine voice—the voice of the Heaven Spring Peak’s master himself, the mid-Core Formation cultivator named Xin, whom Han Li had met once before.

Upon hearing this voice, the disciples outside immediately bowed in unison and spoke respectfully.

“As the Ancestral Master commands!” Then, in pairs, they began to file into the hall in an orderly manner.

Since he was the most recent addition, Han Li naturally ended up at the very back of the line with Du Dong, entering the Heart-Washing Hall last.

The hall was incredibly vast, stretching three to four hundred zhang in breadth. Aside from several dozen towering pillars, the only furniture was a pair of chairs—one in the center and one to the side—placed at the far front of the hall. The rest of the space was empty. Prismatic moonlight stones were embedded into the pillars, casting a soft, pale white light.

Two cultivators were already seated in those chairs. One was a white-robed man with a refined, scholarly face. The other was a gray-robed old man with wild hair and a somewhat ferocious expression.

Slightly in front of the two chairs, a dozen or so Foundation Establishment cultivators stood in two neat rows.

The cold, stunning woman surnamed Mu, and the young man surnamed Yu, who had led Han Li into the sect, were in the same row. The young man surnamed Miao, who had tested them with the Heart-Questioning Talisman that day, stood at the head of the opposite row, his face still bearing that sickly, frail look.

As soon as the disciples had entered and taken their positions, they bowed once more to the two elders seated in the chairs.

“We pay our respects to Ancestral Masters Xin and Yu!”

“Enough. Rise,” the middle-aged man in the center seat said with a smile. He waved a hand, gesturing for the disciples to stand.

The low-level disciples respectfully arranged themselves in two rows on either side of the hall. Han Li and Du Dong were positioned closest to the doors.

Han Li casually swept his spiritual sense over the fierce-looking old man, discovering that he was merely an early Core Formation cultivator. This must be the deputy peak master known as “Uncle-Master Yu,” whom Han Li had heard of but never met.

After a brief glance, Han Li dismissed him and withdrew his spiritual sense.

At that moment, the peak master, Uncle-Master Xin, began to speak in a measured tone.

“I have gathered you all here today. Some of you have likely guessed the reason. That is correct. Yesterday, our sect officially received a communiqué from the Ancient Sword Sect. The Sword Trial Assembly will be held six months from now. Since the previous assembly was hosted here, this year’s event will take place at our allied sect, the Hundred Ingenious Institute. The participating disciples from our sect and the Ancient Sword Sect will travel to the Western Meridian of Cloudmeng to attend. However, as per tradition, the Sword Trial Assembly only allows thirty participating disciples from each of the three sects. Only the top ten will receive significant rewards. Therefore, our Falling Cloud Sect must conduct an internal selection first to determine the participants.” The middle-aged man paused briefly before continuing.

“Naturally, six of those spots will be directly assigned by each of our six peak masters, without the need for a competition. The remaining twenty-four spots will be decided through a tournament among qualified disciples from all peaks. After the winners are decided, the sect’s elders will personally guide them for the remaining time. Yesterday, we peak masters discussed the matter with the sect leader. The internal tournament will be held in one month. However, before that, I want to remind those who are not yet familiar with the Sword Trial Assembly. Disciples over the age of thirty, or those whose cultivation has not yet reached the tenth layer of Qi Condensation, are barred from participating. There are no other restrictions. I will give you all the time it takes to burn one stick of incense to consider. Those who meet the conditions and wish to participate may step forward. I have some additional remarks to make. Ah, yes. As for the direct-entry spot for this assembly, Master Yu and I have jointly appointed Uncle-Master Mu. Now, Jun’er. Light the incense.”

“As you command, Master.” The young man surnamed Yu immediately stepped forward. He deftly pulled a bronze tripod from his storage pouch and set it in the center of the hall.

He inserted a stick of sandalwood into it, and with a flash of fire from his hand, lit it.

A wisp of blue smoke curled slowly upward into the air.