Chapter 222: Shock After Shock (Part 1)
"What? Li Daoyi is here?"
"Did I hear that right? Li Daoyi actually came?"
"This is going to be good--the former number one on the Prodigy Rankings meeting the current number one. What kind of sparks are going to fly?"
The guests immediately buzzed with excitement upon hearing of Li Daoyi's arrival.
After all, Li Daoyi represented the Wild Heaven Sect.
And the Wild Heaven Sect was an overlord-tier force that they could only admire from afar.
Seeing Li Daoyi arrive, Xu Long didn't dare show the slightest negligence and hurried out to greet him.
"Young Friend Li is truly a fine figure of a man!"
Xu Long greeted him with a beaming smile and flattering words.
Li Daoyi, in turn, wore a smile that was polite yet not distant.
"Senior Xu flatters me. When it comes to fine figures, who could compare to Fellow Daoist Lu?"
"This is a small token of goodwill from our Wild Heaven Sect. Please accept it with a smile."
With that, Li Daoyi presented the Storage Ring that his Sect Master had entrusted to him.
Xu Long's smile grew even wider.
Even Li Daoyi had called the Holy Son a fine figure of a man.
What did that mean? It meant that even Li Daoyi acknowledged the Holy Son's talent.
"Your presence is gift enough--why bring anything?"
Though Xu Long's mouth offered polite refusal, his hands were already swiftly accepting Li Daoyi's Storage Ring.
Seeing that Xu Long had accepted the Storage Ring, Li Daoyi glanced around and asked.
"By the way, where's Fellow Daoist Lu?"
"The Holy Son? He's currently..."
Xu Long was about to say Lu Xiaoyao was in seclusion, but a voice rang out from behind him.
"Brother Li, it's been a while."
Lu Xiaoyao strolled out with a smile, looking as if he and Li Daoyi were old acquaintances.
After all, the two had forged a bond through battle.
Surprised that the Holy Son actually knew Li Daoyi, Xu Long quickly spoke up.
"Holy Son, since you know Young Friend Li, I'll leave you two to chat. I need to attend to the other guests."
With that, Xu Long promptly took his leave.
Li Daoyi stared at Lu Xiaoyao with an extremely complicated expression, and only after a long silence did he let out a sigh.
"Brother Lu, I never expected you to be hiding your true strength all along."
"Not at all, not at all--it was just a stroke of luck."
Lu Xiaoyao's face was the picture of modesty, but it only made Li Daoyi feel even more wounded. How come he hadn't gotten "lucky" enough to reach the Immortal King Realm at a hundred and forty?
Still, he didn't call Lu Xiaoyao out on it. Instead, he looked at him with utmost seriousness.
"Brother Lu, I know you'll probably refuse, but I have to say it anyway--if possible, I'd like you to join our Wild Heaven Sect."
"The Sect Master has said that if you're willing to come to the Wild Heaven Sect, he'll bestow upon you the title of Holy Son."
"Oh? And what about you?"
Lu Xiaoyao knew full well that Li Daoyi was the Holy Son of the Wild Heaven Sect. If he became a Holy Son too, what would happen to Li Daoyi?
Li Daoyi shrugged.
"Dual Holy Sons, of course."
Though Li Daoyi had extended the invitation, he knew in his heart that Lu Xiaoyao would most likely refuse.
After all, only overlord-tier forces could gain entry to the Azure Heaven Secret Realm, yet Lu Xiaoyao had gone in.
That was more than enough to prove that behind Lu Xiaoyao stood at least an Immortal Emperor-level existence, or that he had close ties with overlord-tier forces.
Thus, Lu Xiaoyao was unlikely to switch allegiance to their Wild Heaven Sect.
And just as expected, Lu Xiaoyao gently shook his head.
"I appreciate your kind offer, Fellow Daoist Li, but my father has set a challenge for me--to build the Primordial Sect into an overlord-tier force of the Immortal Realm. So I must respectfully decline."
Hearing this, Li Daoyi's mind quickly raced through countless implications.
So it seemed the Immortal Emperor backer behind Lu Xiaoyao was his own father.
Then, looking around the Primordial Sect and sensing that its strongest member was merely Xu Long at the Early Immortal Monarch Realm, Li Daoyi couldn't help but sigh and pat Lu Xiaoyao on the shoulder.
"Fellow Daoist Lu... good luck with that."
"Mm, I will."
Lu Xiaoyao's tone carried no impatience as he nodded.
Just then, several other Prodigy Rankings members arrived in quick succession.
As the guest-receiving elder assigned by the Primordial Sect announced each prodigy's name, the gathered guests erupted in yet another wave of astonishment.
But then again, if even Li Daoyi had come, the others' attendance wasn't entirely unexpected.
Before long, they too gathered before Li Daoyi and Lu Xiaoyao.
Without exception, their expressions were complicated. After all, each of them had looked down on Lu Xiaoyao to some degree back then. But in the end, they all sighed and addressed Lu Xiaoyao with respect.
"Brother Lu."
"Mm."
After a round of pleasantries, each of them, just like Li Daoyi, extended invitations to Lu Xiaoyao.
And without exception, every one was declined.
"By the way, Brother Lu--what's your relationship with the one ranked third on the Prodigy Rankings?"
Li Daoyi suddenly remembered something and hastily asked.
The other prodigies all perked up their ears to listen.
"She's my younger sister."
Lu Xiaoyao didn't bother hiding their relationship. After all, it would come out sooner or later.
Upon hearing this, Li Daoyi and the others wore expressions that said "I knew it."
Just as Li Daoyi was about to say something more, an excited voice tinged with trembling rang out from outside.
"Immortal Emperor Li Fan of Heavenly Dao Mountain has come to offer congratulations!"
The moment the guest-receiving elder's words fell, the entire venue went deathly silent, everyone stunned by what they'd just heard.
After a long moment, someone finally dared to speak, though their voice was barely above a whisper.
"Heavenly Dao Mountain? If I'm not mistaken, there's only one Heavenly Dao Mountain in the entire Immortal Realm, right?"
"I can't believe even Immortal Emperor Li Fan has been drawn out. The last time he appeared in the world was three hundred million years ago!"
Li Daoyi and the others were equally stunned.
They were certainly no strangers to Immortal Emperor Li Fan.
The eldest disciple of the number one figure in the Immortal Realm. A mighty being of the highest caliber at the Late Immortal Emperor Realm, with scarcely any rivals. Hailed as the person most likely to be the next to break through to the Peak of the Immortal Emperor Realm.
Any single one of those titles was enough to send countless people into a frenzy.
Then Li Fan walked in, plainly dressed, surveying the Primordial Sect before quickly locking onto Lu Xiaoyao and striding over.
"You must be Young Friend Lu. Congratulations on claiming the top spot on the Prodigy Rankings."
"This is Heavenly Dao Mountain's congratulatory gift. If anything comes up in the future, just invoke the name of Heavenly Dao Mountain."
Li Fan smiled as he produced a Storage Ring and handed it to Lu Xiaoyao.
Seeing Immortal Emperor Li Fan act so respectfully, the guests were so shocked their jaws dropped wide enough to fit a fist inside.
Clearly, none of them had ever imagined they'd see Immortal Emperor Li Fan behave in such a manner.
After congratulating Lu Xiaoyao, Li Fan didn't linger. He bid farewell and headed straight for the Ancient Wood Sect.
After all, he still needed to congratulate Lu Qingyun as well.