Banquet

"Isn't he only at rank 4? Are you sure you want to bet your life on him?" Jin Ling asked.

"Brother Jin, I am sure you will not be disappointed. If you will excuse me," after saying this, she walked past Jin Ling and went to a man who seemed to be in his fifties.

He had blue hair and the roots were already starting to turn white. His eyes color was blue with a tint of silver in them. He was tall, around seven feet. He wore a light-brown-colored robe with three sashes tied around his waist. It seemed like these sashes were made of something special.

He was Yue Qing's father, his name was Sun Jian.

"Yue Qing, you are late, you know that, right?" he said.

While saying this, he didn't even look at her and drank water.

"I hope you forgive me for my mistake, father. I will try to correct myself." Yue Qing replied.

"Forget it, come here and eat something. I ordered these dishes, especially for you." Sun Jian waved his hand and instead invited her to join him for the meal.

"Yes, father,"

She walked over and sat beside him on a chair. After a moment, she called out, "Tzu Yu, come here and sit down."

Sun Jian and the other looked as Yang Zhai came and sat. After that,

"Sister Yue, are you sure you don't want the one I invited?" Another boy, who also had blue short hair and blue eyes, asked.

He was wearing a tight warrior's robe. Strangely, he was wearing a cloak, but not on his shoulders. It was tied around his waist and draped down from there.

His eyes would occasionally turn black, though it lasted for less than a blink. At first, even Yang Zhai didn't notice, but sensing something unusual, he activated the yellow line and focused on him.

Not only did his eyes turn black, but another color seemed to flicker in between, one Yang Zhai couldn't quite catch during the transition.

His name was Liu Yang.

"No, Liu Yang, this Tzu Yu here is the one I choose." She rejected Liu Yang again.

"If you say so… but, I think you should reconsider. I don't feel much from him. I can't even sense whether he is a righteous or an evil person." He didn't hesitate to say what he wanted.

When Yang Zhai heard this, his expression remained the same, but his mind had already created an ocean.

These people aren't ordinary. This person can even sense if someone is evil or good. Even though I know about Sun Jian and Jin Ling, I am not so sure about Lei Yong and Liu Yang. I wonder if these two changed their names or if something else in my previous life is the matter, Yang Zhai contemplated.

"Liu Yang, you surely are underestimating him. I am sure you will be surprised during the competition. If I say that sister Yue has already won this competition, I wouldn't be exaggerating." Wu Zhu said.

"Oh, even you are praising him, Wu Zhu? Then I must surely be prepared." Liu Yang replied with a smile.

"Wu Zhu, you sure are shameless, aren't you?" Lei Yong grinned.

Everyone here knew what Lei Yong was pointing at. After looking at the silence, and remembering what Yue Qing had told him previously, even Yang Zhai had his guess.

"So, your name is Tzu Yu?" Sun Jian asked.

"Yes, senior." Yang Zhai replied politely.

These people are not to be messed with, especially, Sun Jian and Jin Ling. These two can get rid of me with just a single wave of their hands.

"Why are you covering your left arm with a cloth? Not to mention that you are also using a cloth to hide your left side of the neck." Sun Jian asked.

Yang Zhai was using a cloth to cover his left side completely.

"Senior, I am sure you already know this. But still, it's because of the incident that took place in the region of Vulpia." Yang Zhai implied.

"Now that you mentioned it, father. Tzu Yu, I noticed it too; your left arm still hasn't healed, right? Why did your arm not heal yet?" Yue Qing inquired.

"No, it's nothing. It's just that it's taking longer than usual."

"Come here, as you did it to save the qafila of my children, I will heal it for you." Sun Jian called Yang Zhai.

"No, senior, it's fine. You don't need to waste your time on me." Yang Zhai replied and thought: even I am unable to heal this even though it's related to just the toll of a technique. He might not be able to do so as well if it's related to the Aurora as I suspect. It will only complicate the situation.

"No, it's fine. Come here," Sun Jian shook his head.

If I insist further, he will only grow suspicious. Sigh, no choice left.

Yang Zhai walked up to Sun Jian.

Sun Jian activated his method, and one of his three sashes flew out, expanding in size until it completely enveloped Yang Zhai's left arm.

After a while, Sun Jian's eyes narrowed.

It's not healing…: he thought.

As such, he increased the force of his method. The sash began to glow.

Still not doing anything? No choice left: he thought.

Sun Jian summoned the full might of his method, and an unseen force began to ripple through the air. The very objects within the chamber swayed under its influence, and even the hair of those present stirred as if caught by a gentle breeze.

At first, the force crept outward, slow and steady, but soon its speed and power surged, threatening to break beyond the chamber walls with great intensity. Sensing this, Sun Jian swiftly stopped it, suppressing the force before it could go beyond the boundaries of the room.

"It's strange…" Sun Jian stopped using his method.

"Father, what happened?" Han Wen asked.

"Tzu Yu… the toll has already entered every core of your arm bones. Every part of your arm bones has been contaminated by it, including your shoulder and left side of your neck…"

Sun Jian began speaking.

"What's even more strange is that even though it has spread completely into your bones, it's not harming your body in any way. The reason it's also affecting your skin, muscles, and veins is that these things appear in the way to your bones. If I guess correctly, before going for your arm bones, these things got contaminated on the way…"

"And why do I suspect that the bones were the ones to initially get affected and not the skin, muscles, and veins? Well, it's because the main part of this toll has affected your bones specifically."

Sun Jian stopped for a while before continuing,

"If I say this, that your arm bones have been modified in a way, would not be wrong. However, the toll is still a toll. Now, the techniques will leave more toll on your body because of the existing toll, so you need to be careful from now on."

Yang Zhai heard this but didn't say anything. He was thinking of something.

"Anyway, how come you accumulated so much toll even though you are a Mastery Path cultivator?" Sun Jian asked.

!|!*****!*****!|!