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“It’s completely different from the Numinous Sword Sect. It feels peaceful,” Shu Qingya said as she stood next to him.

After the encounter with Demon Empress Bluefeather, Meng Tingfeng told Shu Qingya everything. Since he already said it in front of everyone else, he didn’t think he could hide it, even if he wanted to. If that’s the case, why not just confess everything?

Shu Qingya thanked him for his frankness, and she didn’t treat him any differently.

However, the same could not be said for the entire Numinous Sword Sect. Meng Tingfeng could already feel a certain estrangement. He was someone who ascended from the lower realms. Even if he inherited the Seven Star Sword Monarch’s legacy, the Numinous Sword Sect would always question his loyalty more than the members that grew up as part of the sect.

Not to mention that Meng Tingfeng hadn’t stayed long in the Numinous Sword Sect. He had only ascended for only a little over a thousand years, but to most immortals, that was far too short. True immortals could live for at least a hundred thousand years, and immortal monarchs lived longer on average. He would need to stay at least ten thousand years for most of the Numinous Sword Sect to trust him as much as members that grew up in the Numinous Sword Sect.

Meng Tingfeng already expected this, so he didn’t become distraught. Instead, he focused on cultivating and ascending to the Extremity Immortal Realm.

The last encounter with Ba Shifang and Xi Tianyi already made him doubt his previous conjectures. He didn’t think Xi Tianyi or Ba Shifang would lie to him on such matters, and it didn’t seem that the other Buzhou Immortal Court’s monarch conspired together to trick him. And what would be the point?

Aside from himself, no one knew. How could they conspire without insider information that they didn’t have? Well, maybe except Xi Mengfei, but Meng Tingfeng didn’t know what she thought. She ignored him, after all. According to his guess, she must want to hide the information. Since that’s the case, Meng Tingfeng realized that Xi Tianyi being his actual son, and Ba Shifang being a clone, had grounds to stand on.

So, he began to consider everything if Xi Tianyi really was his son. Then Meng Tingfeng had a headache. Originally, he was very surprised that Ba Shifang had enough power to defeat him, but he still had the confidence to grow stronger than him. However, Xi Tianyi made him feel a slight sense of despair.

He didn’t want his son to die when the Numinous Sword Sect and Buzhou Immortal Court came to blows. As long as he had enough strength, he could suppress Ba Shifang and capture him. He didn’t think Ba Shifang would despair too much if Xi Mengfei died, considering how she treated him. But now that the truth was revealed, Meng Tingfeng’s original plan could no longer commence.

Meng Tingfeng didn’t think the Numinous Sword Sect would be willing to let an immortal emperor live just because of him. The Numinous Sword Sect would definitely do all it could to kill Xi Mengfei unless she joined them. And Xi Tianyi definitely would resent him if he let Xi Mengfei die. He could see how close his son was to his mother, just from how he refused to acknowledge their relationship.

If he wanted to save both Xi Tianyi and Xi Mengfei, then he would have to be strong enough. His strength would have to exceed the Immortal Realm and reach the Divine Realm. As long as he had the power of a divinity, it would be simple to defeat the Buzhou Immortal Court, which didn’t have a divinity, and the Numinous Sword Sect would take his words into consideration once he had such strength.

The only problem was that it was easier said than done. Forget the Divine Realm. His strength was weaker than his son and Sovereign Xi. So, Meng Tingfeng decided that he had to increase his strength as fast as possible in order to save the mother-son duo. Not to mention that it was kinda embarrassing for a father to be weaker than his own son.

Thankfully, the time for the war between the Numinous Sword Sect and Buzhou Immortal Court should be still far into the future, and the war against the Demon Clan gave him a perfect whetstone to sharpen himself.

However, his plan to spend decades or even centuries before the war against the Demon Clan in secluded cultivation was broken by the joint plan of the two hegemonic forces. It was called the cultural exchange, a program promoted by the Buzhou Immortal Court to deepen the relationship between the two forces.

The two hegemonic forces would send diplomatic envoys consisting of immortal monarchs, true immortals, and mortal cultivators to learn and understand each other’s culture. Meng Tingfeng had to snort. It was a super idealistic idea, but the more likely case would be that the force would dispatch spies hidden among those immortals. Still, the Numinous Sword Sect did not reject the program and accepted it.

What surprised Meng Tingfeng was that he was specifically named as a required participant in the cultural exchange. The only reason he could think of that he was specifically named was because of his connection to Xi Tianyi and Xi Mengfei. Did the Buzhou Immortal Court want to win him over?

Regardless of the reason, Meng Tingfeng could not reject it. What surprised him was that Shu Qingya volunteered as one of the ten monarchs sent to the Primordial Realm. Aside from the two, most of the immortal monarchs were those that reached the limit of their talent or those whose willpower had started to decline.

“Welcome, welcome,” a middle-aged man with a head full of black hair said as he smiled at them with a cupped fist.

The leader of the diplomatic envoy was an elderly man with salt and pepper hair. Unlike the other immortal monarchs, he was the sole pill monarch. Most of the cultivators in the Numinous Sword Sect chose to become sword cultivators, but not every member pursued the sword path.

A few, like this monarch, chose other paths. On the surface, their status could not be said to equal sword monarchs, but in other ways, their status also exceeded the vast majority of sword cultivators in the same realm. Especially alchemists. For sword monarchs who constantly bordered on life and death, alchemists were saviors that could treat their injuries.

“To be welcomed personally by Emperor Xia is a great honor,” the pill monarch said as he returned Grand Elder Xia’s gesture.

“Nonsense, everyone of you is an honored guest. You are the hope and lynchpin of our future cooperation,” Grand Elder Xia said. His words were full of sincerity, and many of the mortal cultivators, and even some true immortals, became entranced by his charisma. “Come, come. You all must be tired. I’ll lead you to your abode for now. We have prepared a sumptuous banquet for you all tomorrow.”

“In that case, I will humbly thank you,” the pill monarch said as he got onto the smaller immortal boat Grand Elder Xia took out. All the envoys followed him and were led towards Rites Peak. There, they were led toward the guest palace, the Myriad Sword Palace. Unlike the other palaces, which exuded peaceful or gentle auras, the Myriad Sword Palace exuded a slightly sharp aura, but for the envoys, it felt more familiar. Almost homey.

The palace was large enough that each person received their own rooms and then some. The numbers of servant-disciples also eclipsed the envoys, ready to service them at their beck and call. Room size depended on the occupants’ realm and status. For immortals like Meng Tingfeng, he naturally received one of the largest.

Currently, he stood on the balcony, staring at the distant stars. The placements were different, but he could still recognize many stars in the sky. Perhaps the reason he embarked on the Law of Stars was because only they accompanied him each time he reached a new realm.

“What are you thinking about?”

On the balcony next to his, a woman walked out dressed in a loose blue dress. Meng Tingfeng turned to look at Shu Qingya. “Nothing much. I’m just thinking about how to face my son and the truth. Why didn’t she recognize me?”

“Where’s the confidence that you had when you said you would make people call you a junior divinity?” Shu Qingya asked, her teasing clear.

“Yes, what must be faced will eventually come. There’s no point in delaying,” Meng Tingfeng said. The feeble aura around him condensed until it was as hard as iron once more. “Tomorrow, I will try to find a time to speak to her publicly. Since it’s a banquet to welcome us, she must appear.”

Shu Qingya also nodded. Her eyes lit up with a certain type of fire. “I only saw Sovereign Xi from afar in the Jade-and Numinous Conference. I wonder what she’s like as a person.”

Meng Tingfeng couldn’t help but glance at his chosen partner. He could feel a strange fighting intent emanating from her for an unknown reason. Still, he did not think much of it as he returned to his room. He did not sleep, but adjusted himself to his most perfect condition, both in mind and body, for tomorrow’s banquet.

However, the night passed much faster than Meng Tingfeng anticipated. When he flew up toward Rites Palace at the mountaintop, butterflies appeared in his stomach. He took a few deep breaths to calm down and finally sat down in his arranged seat in the banquet hall of the palace.

He looked around, scanning the immortals and mortals present. There was no clear division between the people of the Numinous Sword Sect and the Buzhou Immortal Court to facilitate easier integration, but most of them were still stuck to their own group.

Meng Tingfeng’s eyes paused when he saw Xi Mengfei sitting a bit away from himself. Aside from her, Minister Everpast was also present and the host of the banquet. In his presence, even Grand Elder Xia, the former sect master, could only play second fiddle. One person that wasn’t present that made him dejected was Xi Tianyi.

Minister Everpast stood up and gave a grand speech about the peace between the Buzhou Immortal Court and the Numinous Sword Sect, as well as alluding to the future cooperation. Of course, to the outside, this was just a probe by the Buzhou Immortal Court after it gained hegemony over the Primordial Realm.

However, Meng Tingfeng heard none of it. He had eyes only for Xi Mengfei at this time. He didn’t know for what reason, but she appeared even more beautiful than before. Was it because of the closer distance, or maybe because he realized his previous evaluation of her was wrong?

She quickly noticed his gaze and turned to look at him. Just as Meng Tingfeng thought she would turn away without acknowledging him, she actually nodded. Only then did Xi Mengfei turn away. Despite himself, Meng Tingfeng couldn’t help but become slightly excited.

Soon, the banquet began. There was no such thing as friendly sparring or the like. This was a banquet to establish a cooperative relationship. Something like a friendly competition will only incite resistance or ill will on both sides. Once there was a chance, Meng Tingfeng took a chance to walk up to Xi Mengfei. “Hello.”

Xi Mengfei glanced at him and only gave a brief, “Hello.”

The two sunk into silence again. Finally, Meng Tingfeng asked again. “Is Tianyi not here?”

Xi Mengfei stared at him. Her brows subconsciously twitched for a single moment before smoothing over. Neither she nor anyone else detected it. “Yi’er said he wasn’t interested.”

And just like that, silence filled the air between the two. Although the two were inconspicuous, they noticed many eyes drawn toward their location. After all, rumors had spread like wildfire, and these people wanted to know the truth.

When Meng Tingfeng was thinking of how to break the ice, Shu Qingya walked forward and stood next to Meng Tingfeng, her shoulder practically glued to his. “Sovereign Xi, I want to ask, do you remember Tingfeng?”

Meng Tingfeng stared at Xi Mengfei. Unknowing to him, a hint of anticipation appeared in his eyes.

Xi Mengfei looked at the duo, expressionless. “No.”