Chapter 221: A Grand Banquet
The Wild Heaven Sect was far from the only force shocked by the news.
Every faction that received word was stunned. An Immortal King under two hundred years old? Surely he'd been forcibly elevated through some special method?
But then they recalled that the Prodigy Rankings had been issued by Tianji Pavilion, and chose to believe it.
When the Prodigy Rankings had first been released, there had been factions that used underhanded means to forcibly elevate extremely young cultivators to the Immortal King Realm.
Yet none of them had been recorded on the Prodigy Rankings.
The Tianji Immortal Emperor had once stepped forward to explain that the Prodigy Rankings drew upon the power of the Heavenly Dao, comprehensively evaluating a cultivator's age, talent, realm, and other factors.
If a realm had been forcibly elevated through extraordinary means, it was no different from having one's future path severed entirely, and thus would never be recorded on the Prodigy Rankings.
Moreover, Lu Qingyun, ranked third on the Prodigy Rankings, had also attracted their attention. Given the two's similar ages and shared Lu surname, they couldn't help but suspect the two knew each other--or even shared a blood relation.
Furthermore, with the Primordial Sect and Ancient Wood Sect each harboring such terrifyingly talented prodigies, they swiftly attracted the scrutiny of major forces across the Immortal Realm.
Within the Vermilion Bird Clan Territory.
"Clan Chief, look--this is the latest Prodigy Rankings!"
A Vermilion Bird Race elder delivered the Prodigy Rankings into Zhu Qingyan's hands.
At the moment, Zhu Qingyan was in the middle of guiding the clan's Late Immortal Emperor Realm patriarchs, hoping to see if she could help them break through to the Peak of the Immortal Emperor Realm so she could finally step down from her position.
Seeing the elder's flustered urgency, Zhu Qingyan couldn't help but grow curious.
Could it be that a newly risen prodigy from the Vermilion Bird Race had made it onto the Prodigy Rankings?
But that didn't make sense. If that were the case, she, as Clan Chief, should have been the first to know.
With curiosity, Zhu Qingyan accepted the Prodigy Rankings, and upon seeing the name at the very top, her face couldn't help but betray intense shock.
"I never would've guessed that kid was so young--and that girl, too."
Previously, Lu Xiaoyao and Lu Qingyun had never disclosed their ages, and since she hadn't seen them on the Prodigy Rankings before, Zhu Qingyan had assumed both were over ten thousand years old.
She never expected it was because they were simply too young.
"Someone, relay my orders--establish friendly relations with the Primordial Sect and the Ancient Wood Sect."
With talent this terrifying, and the Primordial Sect and Ancient Wood Sect being far from the most powerful sects, there would inevitably be forces seeking to claim Lu Xiaoyao and Lu Qingyun for their own use.
Although Lu Xunxian had already laid contingencies before his departure, this was her way of showing her stance.
"Yes, Clan Chief."
The elder withdrew and immediately went to carry out the orders.
Meanwhile, the remaining nine of the Ten Great Races also received the news and rushed toward the Primordial Sect, each hoping to recruit the two.
Though the two were not of their race, in the face of such terrifying talent, whether they shared the same bloodline no longer mattered.
At the Immortal Court, Lin Chongtian stirred from his meditation.
"Vice Court Master, both Young Masters have made it onto the Prodigy Rankings."
"Furthermore, the Primordial Sect and the Ancient Wood Sect have announced a three-year grand banquet in honor of the two Young Masters. Should our Immortal Court attend?"
A member of the Immortal Court approached Lin Chongtian to inform him.
Lin Chongtian slowly opened his eyes.
"Go? Of course we're going."
"Besides, the entire Immortal Realm is likely to be shaken by this. If we attend, we can shore up the Young Masters' standing."
As an Immortal Emperor, Lin Chongtian naturally considered far more than most.
Without anyone backing the two Young Masters, some forces might resort to the mentality of destroying what they couldn't obtain.
Although the master had said there was no need to act unless absolutely necessary, attending to congratulate the Young Masters surely qualified as necessary.
And though he was only at the Early Immortal Emperor Realm, he carried the foundation of a Dao Venerable within him. Let alone a Mid Immortal Emperor--even Late or Peak Immortal Emperors might not be able to do anything to him.
With that thought, Lin Chongtian decided to set out immediately.
He glanced toward the inner depths of the Immortal Court, where Hua Rouyu was in seclusion attempting to break through to the Immortal Venerable Realm, so he didn't bring her along and departed alone.
Within Heavenly Dao Mountain.
"Eldest Senior Brother, take a look! Aren't the first and third on the Prodigy Rankings the two people our master told us to look after?"
Gu Daoshi had taken five disciples under his wing, and even the weakest among them was at the Early Immortal Emperor Realm.
His eldest disciple, Li Fan, was a mighty being at the Late Immortal Emperor Realm.
The one who had spoken to Li Fan was Fifth Junior Brother, Xu Huan.
After taking the Prodigy Rankings and seeing the names on it, Li Fan pondered briefly before speaking.
"In that case, I'll go deliver congratulatory gifts on behalf of Heavenly Dao Mountain."
He had never seen his master place such importance on two people before. Now that these two had made it onto the Prodigy Rankings with such terrifying placements, he naturally had to go see them in person.
Watching his eldest senior brother leave, Xu Huan stood frozen in place. He'd been hoping to get some cultivation guidance from him.
But since his eldest senior brother had left, he'd just have to figure things out on his own.
By this time, the Primordial Sect was already awash in festivity, with no fewer than thirty thousand tables laid out for the banquet.
Those invited to the Primordial Sect's banquet were naturally no small factions--at minimum, each had a Peak Immortal King Realm cultivator at its helm.
Upon learning that the Primordial Sect harbored such a prodigy, they came in droves to offer their congratulations.
Anyone who ranked in the top ten of the Prodigy Rankings, so long as they didn't perish prematurely, was all but guaranteed to reach at least the Immortal Emperor Realm.
In other words, as long as Lu Xiaoyao didn't die young, reaching the Immortal Emperor Realm was as good as set in stone.
"Sect Master Xu, congratulations! What a double blessing!"
"Congratulations on gaining such a prodigy, and congratulations on your breakthrough to the Immortal Monarch Realm!"
"Your Primordial Sect's future is truly boundless!"
Guests came up one after another to offer their well-wishes, leaving Xu Long grinning from ear to ear.
As for Lu Xiaoyao, he was still in seclusion within his Cave Dwelling.
In his own words, he'd come out to show his face once the important people arrived. Entertaining guests was simply a waste of time.
Xu Long naturally had no complaints about this. After all, without Lu Xiaoyao, the Primordial Sect wouldn't be where it was today.
On the other side, the Ancient Wood Sect was much the same.
Lu Qingyun was also training with single-minded focus, pushing toward the Immortal King Realm.
In a rare moment of rest, Lu Qingyun glanced at Lu Dao beside her, her face full of envy.
Why couldn't she be like Lu Dao--breaking straight through to the Peak of the Immortal Emperor Realm without lifting a finger?
Indeed, over the past century, Lu Dao's cultivation had silently broken through to the Peak of the Immortal Emperor Realm.
And because Lu Dao was a Dao Spirit, born in accordance with the Great Dao, his breakthroughs produced no celestial phenomena.
Back at the Primordial Sect.
Xu Long was busy entertaining guests. Nearly half had come at his invitation, while the other half had shown up on their own after hearing the news.
He couldn't very well turn them away, so he had no choice but to receive them all.
Just then, an excited voice rang out from the sect's entrance.
"Li Daoyi, Holy Son of the Wild Heaven Sect, has arrived!"