Host’s note: Host not author.

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Inside the grand colosseum, while everyone is settling down, several prominent figures could be seen conversing amongst themselves.

“Who do you predict will take first place in this year’s Annual Gathering, Wen Zhou?” A black robed youth, with a sinister faced asked to the blue clothed youth beside him.

“The Hou clan has taken first for the past three years. From how I see it, it will most likely be this way today as well. What do you think, Chen Ju?” The blue robed youth named ‘Wen Zhou’ calmly replied. Although his face was ordinary, there are rich aura revolving around him.

“Hehe, I’m betting on the Niu Clan this time around. They have been trailing behind in second places for a while now, so it should be any day now that they take first place for once!” Chen Ju replied with a grin.

“Then if we were to go by what you’re saying, then clans like our Wen Clan and your Chen clan should have a fair shot, no? We’ve been trailing as third and fourth places after all.” Wen Zhou jokingly said.

“Heh, I won’t deny that possibility.” Chen Ju responded, a faint determined light shining within his eyes.

From the conversation between the two youths, it could be seen that they were quite close to each other, despite the coming from a different family.

For years, clans like the Wen Clan, Chen Clan, Niu Clan, and Hou Clan have kept their spots among the top ten clans during the Annual Clans Gatherings for years. Their position may have been switched around here and there, but rarely had any one of them fell out of the top ten spots.

Compared to these large powerhouses, clans like Ju Clan, Bronze Turtle Clan, Grass Snake Clan, and the Gong Clan could at best occupy the top twenty five spots. Other clans could barely even keep their top thirty spots. From this, it could be said that with the exception of the top ten spots, any ranks below that are very volatile.

The Lan Clan do not participate in the Annual Clans Gathering. Their presence is merely that of a meditator, to be there to showcase their might without making a move.

It was even said that several tens of years ago, the Annual Clans Gatherings had been a way for the royal family to sniff out any ‘threats’ to their power. Once they discover that a family was too powerful, they will put the Lan Clan on alert.

If the Lan Fu finds the clan to have any ill or discontent showing on their face towards his rule, he will immediately dispatch his men on the spot to eradicate them, regardless of their status. But if that rising clan swears loyalty to his family, then Lan Fu would take their top geniuses and have them train within his royal estate; providing them with the greatest resources and ensuring that they do not grow to betray his own clan in the future!

So while the Annual Clans Gathering was a way for various families to display their might and establish their positions, it was more so for the Lan Clan to ‘check up’ on them.

“Ahh…I still remember that final showdown between Brother Niu Ken and Brother Hou Lang. It was such an intense duel between two fellow mid-staged Spiritual Dan practitioners that had left my blood boiling for days!” Chen Ju recalled as fervent look filled his eyes.

“Yes, but unfortunately Brother Niu Ken had lost by just a small margin. If he did not spent too much of his spirit qi trying to end the fight quickly, he may have been able to withstand Brother Hou Lang’s ‘Sky Scraping Strike’! But alas..” Wen Zhou seemed to begin reminiscing as well.

The two youths continued to chat with each other, when suddenly, a loud booming voice filled the air.

“Anyone have some tea on them?”

The voice was extremely loud, ricocheting across the entire colosseum. The massive crowd of chattering instantly died down as everyone turned towards the direction where the voice came from.

Standing up at the very end of the seatings, was a handsome white robed holding what looks like a skewer stick in his right hand. The youth had a smile on his face as he continued, his voice strangely filling up the entire colosseum:

“I have just finished eating this Tri-colored Demon Beef Ball a while ago, and now I’m feeling a bit thirsty. A cool, cherry flower tea would be perfect. Does anyone here have such tea on them at the moment?”

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By now, the eyes of the audience had landed on the body of this youth as frowns and confusion appeared on their face.

What the hell is this person even saying? Tea? Who would bother carrying around a common good like the Cherry Flower Tea on them, when they could carry more useful stuff?! This person must have something wrong with his head!

And when people saw that the youth was actually standing at the very back of the stadium, they knew that the other party must not be that influential. Only those with a prominent name were qualified to be seated at the front. Upon noticing this, many annoyed and disdainful expressions appeared on the faces of the people in the crowd, especially the men.

However, the snow robed youth’s handsome appearance made them feel quite depressed, as they could see several females already being entranced by the other party’s looks…

And that youth who spoke was naturally Jin Xia!

Jin Liu Dan, who was still seated by Jin Xia, blinked several times as he looked at his son. He was unsure what to say. Several moments before, Jin Xia had been patiently watching the crowd when the former suddenly stood up and spoke out loudly. Even as the father, Liu Dan still could not quite understood his son’s actions; and this feeling had only been growing increasingly stronger over time…

Jin Xia surveyed the quiet crowd briefly, a faint hint of disdain flickered within his eyes. Just as someone was about to say something, Jin Xia leaped from his section towards the stage at the center of the colosseum.

“Stop! No one is allowed to enter the battle stage before the competition begins!”

“How insolent! Get back here!:

Immediately, two elders who were standing guard around the stage quickly flew out to intercept Jin Xia.

From their expensive brown garments and the symbol ‘Lan’ on their chest area, they were obviously elders from the royal family. And judging from the strong aura that they carried, they seemed to have quite a decent position within the Lan clan!

As Jin Xia rapidly neared the stage, the two elders likewise honed in on him.

“Two mere Spiritual Dan ants want to block me…and you’re not even a high level one! Scram!” Jin Xia sneered as he flicked his sleeve.

An enormous pressure shot out towards the incoming royal elders. Although the elders had been prepared to attack Jin Xia, the latter’s sudden move was simply too quick. No, it should be said that it was too powerful.

When the elders felt the energy that was heading towards them, a sense of weakness had instantly washed over them. As if their body knew it was incapable of blocking or even escaping from this attack!

The only time something like this had happened was when these elders had spared against King Lan Fu …

A frightening thought appeared briefly in the elders’ mind before the energy crashed against their body.

*Spew*

Coughing up blood, the elders’ body bent over as they flew back like a cannonball, crashing against a wall stand. Cries of shock rang out from the sections where the two elders smashed into.

The crowd looked on in astonishment as they tried to comprehend the entire scene. Because Jin Xia had purposely directed his energy towards the elders, precisely concealing off any Qi leakage, the surrounding observers could not feel Jin Xia’s Qi aura.

As such, all they saw was Jin Xia slightly flicking his sleeve, before the elders flew back while coughing up blood. No signs of movement came from the elders afterwards. Whether they were dead or alive was questionable.

King Lan Fu furrowed his brows as he stared at Jin Xia’s figure on the stage. Earlier, during that brief exchange, he was unable to probe the white robed youth’s aura. He wasn’t even sure how Jin Xia had attacked without exposing his Qi aura, which greatly made him feel uneasy.

The more King Lan Fu stared at Jin Xia, the more solemn his expression became until a faint cold light appeared within his eyes.