From the Heavens Descended an Immortal Sister

Having spoken, Mu Hui Qing took her seat at the specially arranged seats, as Bai Chaojin's face once again donned a smile, whereas Mu Qing Mountain looked utterly troubled, guessing that after the competition ended, an uncontrollable farce would ensue.

After Mu Hui Qing's brief speech, the entire venue once again became noisy.

"How is this different from what the rumors suggested? Is the relationship between Madame Xuan and Brother Song not as good as people say?"

"What do you mean 'not good'? They are both heroes on the Human Battlefield; how could they be on bad terms? At most, Madame Xuan just didn't have that kind of feeling for Brother Song."

"I think so too. But isn't it weird? Clearly, there's no affection between the two, so why was it spread around as if it were true?"

"Though what Madame Xuan said is indeed right, the Human Race is now facing an invasion from the Void race, and nurturing the next generation is crucial. If Madame Xuan really wants to marry an ordinary person, I'm afraid the entire Central Area would disagree."

"Yes, we must prioritize the bigger picture."

…

Fang Ye, sitting in the specially arranged seats, couldn't contain his glee upon hearing Mu Hui Qing's speech, thinking that he wouldn't need to take any action — Mu Hui Qing would stir up trouble on her own. All he had to do was add fuel to the fire for Song Mobei, get him to kill Fang Ren, and everything would fall into place.

However, he was still troubled by a lingering question in his mind; in the entire world, other than the Patriarch of the Fang family, Mu Hui Qing was the only other person most likely to break through to the Xuan Night Realm.

But the True Qi Mu Hui Qing was using did not seem to be at the strength of the Xuan Night Realm, which vexed him greatly — who else in this world could break through to the Xuan Night Realm before Mu Hui Qing?

At that moment, in the front row of another spectator stand, a group of core members of the Tianjiang Great Family sat together, their splendid clothes making them very conspicuous in the entire venue.

"Hey, Tongtong, that's your brother over there! He looks so refined!"

A seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl, holding the hand of a girl of the same age next to her, pointed in the direction of Fang Ren and excitedly spoke.

Fang Tong, following the direction Wang Lin was pointing, looked over with a slight frown. Her feelings were complicated; she never knew she had a brother, a fact her father had only disclosed to her two months ago.

Today's Elixir Competition was the reason she had come — to see her own brother, whom she had never met in her life.

Truthfully, the first time she saw Fang Ren, she felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity. He had some resemblance to their father, but she felt that Fang Ren's face was more similar to their mother's.

From her very first sight of him and what she heard from those around her, the praise for her brother was plentiful; comments about his unparalleled alchemy talent and predictions of him taking the Human Elixir Field to new heights were tossed around him.

However, Fang Tong couldn't understand why just half a month ago, every piece of news she heard about this brother was that he was nothing more than a castoff of the family, secretly abandoned due to a lack of Cultivational Talent.

Yet, when the Elixir Competition district match came around, everything took a drastic turn.

"Xiaolin, I feel so conflicted right now," Fang Tong said to the girl beside her.

"What's the matter, Tongtong? Having a brother like that is great. If you ever want elixirs, just ask him to make you some, and in a few days, you'll be able to call the Princess Consort sister-in-law!" Wang Lin said excitedly.

"It's not about that; I don't know how to interact with him. He's been outside for twenty-two years… I feel like he won't like our family much, nor will he like me," Fang Tong expressed.

"Oh, come on, how could that be? Didn't you hear what your grandfather said? The reason they sent him away from the family was to keep him away from worldly troubles and allow him to focus on Alchemy. It's all for his own good," Wang Lin assured her.

Fang Tong gave a slight smile and shook her head; that was just what her grandfather had said here, and she vividly remembered running to ask her grandfather when she first learned of her brother two months ago, only to be sternly chastised by him, claiming that there was no such person as Fang Ren in the Fang family.

Today, she saw her grandfather's hypocrisy and seemed to glimpse all the hardship her blood brother endured outside across twenty-two years.

At this time, a young man sitting among the Fang camp spoke to Fang Tong, "Ah Tong, don't think too much about such things; just let nature take its course. The hardships he's endured outside, grandfather will compensate him."

Fang Tong turned her head, nodded, and said, "I understand, Brother Li Zhong."

Compensation... how typical of a great family.

Meanwhile, Fang Liqun, sitting next to Fang Lizhong, looked at Fang Ren in the arena with a look of aversion. This suddenly emerged elder brother had directly disrupted their father's plans and was also betrothed to the woman he loved, fueling his hatred even more.

The Fang family had three elders: the eldest, Fang Zheng, who had a daughter Fang Tong; the second, Fang Ye, who had a son Fang Liqun; and the third, Fang Jing, who had a son, Fang Lizhong.

The Fang family's left faction was under the eldest son, the right faction under the second, and the third son was rather mediocre, keeping his family out of these matters.

Fang Tong didn't have a good impression of her cousin Fang Liqun, due to their fathers' animosity, and she felt Fang Lizhong was more like a brother to her. Despite his questionable behavior outside, he took good care of her at home.

Also worth mentioning is that Liu Qianqian of the Liu family is the fiancée of Fang Lizhong, son of the third elder of the Fang family.

…

Bai Qi, looking at Mu Hui Qing sitting in the specially arranged seats, gradually became pensive, "It seems... you were right; it's all just a façade."

Fang Ren didn't respond; his gaze was fixed on Xia Fu Lan, who was also looking back at him from afar.

Only Mu Hui Qing and Song Mobei were seated in the specially arranged seats, while the disciples of the Tiandao Sword Sect sat opposite Fang Ren, across more than three hundred seats at the front of the spectator stand.

"What's Xia Fu Lan's current realm?" Fang Ren asked.

Bai Qi glanced at him, "Midterm phase of Yingyue Realm. Even though your cultivation level has skyrocketed like a monster, you'd have no chance in a sword duel with her, even if you were at the same cultivation level now."

"Is that so?" Fang Ren said, "Actually, I would really like to spar with her while using True Qi."

"Are you out of your mind?" Bai Qi gave him a disparaging look.

Even if Fang Ren had monstrously freakish cultivational talent, how could he possibly contend with someone at the Peak of the Azure Sky Realm when he was only in the Midterm phase of the Yingyue Realm? She could knock him down with a single slap.

Bai Qi spoke again, "In a while, I'll go and apologize with you. Forget about the sword duel, there are so many people here, aren't you afraid of losing face?"

Fang Ren smiled and said, "Have you ever seen me do something I'm not sure of?"

Bai Qi paused, then thought about it, and indeed, this guy was full of unknowns. At first, she thought Fang Ren would not excel in cultivation, but then his cultivation level soared like he was riding a shooting star. Then she thought Fang Ren had no money, but it turned out he could whip out billions. Lastly, she believed Fang Ren was no good at alchemy, but then he surpassed the world masters...

This time with the Sword Dao, she truly had no reason not to believe Fang Ren was confident.

But she was still worried. After all, the other party was the daughter of the Leader of the Tiandao Sword Sect. Her swordsmanship was ranked among the top in the entire world, and Fang Ren had never even touched a sword.

"If you are defeated later, I will definitely help you regain your face," Bai Qi said earnestly.

"We haven't even started fighting yet, aren't you thinking too far ahead?" Fang Ren said.

Bai Qi frowned and said, "Am I not just worried you'll embarrass yourself in front of the person you like? If you lose, how could Sister Hui Qing possibly like you? I'll definitely have to find a way to make you look a bit better in her eyes."

"Hey hey, when did you start planning to help me pursue her?" Fang Ren was taken aback.

"Since you don't like me, what can I do? Might as well kick you to the curb sooner rather than later," Bai Qi said with a puffed-up face.

"..."

Fang Ren laughed awkwardly. This girl's thought process was still as magical as ever.

...

The time had almost passed, and the President of the Tianjiang Tianxing Alchemist Guild stood up and began the opening speech for this alchemy competition: a long-winded discourse that was to be expected.

He talked about the hard experiences of alchemists from generations past and how many editions of the elixir competition there had been up to now, its significance, and how, on the current battlefield, alchemists are crucial...

"Ninth District Chief! How did you get here?"

While the President was speaking, suddenly, a middle-aged man with a scarf around his head snuck in through the door and was immediately caught by a staff member there.

Shang Han looked pained as he addressed the staff member, "Listen, buddy, there's something wrong with your thinking! As the dignified Ninth District Chief, don't I have the right to enter this place?"

The staff member panicked, "No, no, of course not! Ninth District Chief! I didn't mean that at all, I just thought you'd be busy with your duties, and with the void race possibly descending at any moment, if something unexpected occurred in the Ninth District while you're here..."

"You don't know squat!" Shang Han covered half of his face with his scarf and looked furtively around, putting an arm around the shoulder of the staff member and said in a low voice, backing away from the presidential platform, "Let me tell you, we just killed an Eighth-order Void Beast in my district. According to our estimates, no large Void Beasts will appear in the next three days.

So what's wrong with me, the Ninth District Chief taking a little time to come and see my daughter?"

The staff member was stunned again, "An Eighth-order Void Beast appeared in the Ninth District?"

The Ninth District was the outermost region of human resistance against the Void; logically, Void Beasts of no more than sixth order should appear there frequently.

But Shang Han said they had annihilated an Eighth-order Void Beast in his district... Anyone with half a brain could tell that he was spouting nonsense. Were Eighth-order Void Beasts that easy to deal with? Without an Anti-Void Array, Eighth-order Void Beasts were equivalent to mid-phase Xuanyang realm powerhouses!

And Shang Han, he seemed to have only recently broken through to the early phase of the Xuanyang realm...

Seeing the staffer doubting his words, Shang Han's expression turned serious, "Of course! Otherwise, would I, as the dignified Ninth District Chief, be so irresponsible as to wander off?"

"You... seem to have been wandering off for over twenty years already..."

"Nonsense! You don't know anything!" Shang Han smacked him on the head, "Anyway, I came here to see my daughter. Do you understand the feeling of yearning for one's daughter? Do you have a daughter? If you don't, then don't go making false reports!"

"I..."

The staffer still wanted to stop him, but when he looked back, Shang Han had already run off towards the huge audience stand, covered up like a thief.

The young staffer slapped his face, feeling a mix of frustration and helplessness, "If you really had a longing for your daughter, the whole of Tianjiang wouldn't be gossiping about your twenty-year disappearance, never caring for Madame Xuan..."

Watching Shang Han disappear into the distance, the young staffer sighed in resignation. Perhaps it was better not to report this; the Ninth District Chief had been capricious for more than just a year or two. To think he could abandon his own daughter for over twenty years and not see her, even if this were reported to the higher-ups, it would be futile.

At best, they would forcibly drag the Ninth District Chief back to his district.

And whether the Ninth District Chief would hold a grudge was yet another uncertainty. Anyway, it was rumored that the soldiers of the Ninth District had once been gentlemen; but after Shang Han came, they all turned into ruffians.