Chapter 273: Chapter 144: Like a Demon Lord Descending from Heaven, Truly a Tai Sui God on Earth

They hadn’t expected that of the three Daoists who had arrived, aside from the more level-headed Wei Zhong Mountain, the other two were each more arrogant than the last.

Especially Ruan Shi. Her soft and cold demeanor made her words give Lin Kong, Zhu Junfeng, and the others a surreal feeling.

’So familiar...’

’Isn’t this just like Zhong Ming’s attitude?’

Just as the crowd was stunned by Ruan Shi’s domineering attitude, which was a carbon copy of Zhong Ming’s, her next sentence calmed their minds.

"My accumulation is already sufficient. I should have advanced to Foundation Establishment seven days ago, but my master stopped me. He wants me to defeat Zhong Ming under the watchful eyes of all."

When she said this, Ruan Shi’s tone was as placid as ever.

But this time, no one thought she was being fanciful or arrogant.

As a Daoist, Ruan Shi already possessed the combat strength to overwhelm others of the same cultivation level. Even Di Yun and Lin Kong, who had once been defeated by Zhong Ming, believed their strengths were not far apart.

If someone like her were to advance during battle, they couldn’t imagine how she could possibly lose against a qualitatively transformed Ruan Shi.

Qin Zhou and Wei Zhong Mountain were also left speechless. After a long moment, Qin Zhou finally murmured:

"To think you’re already prepared to advance. It looks like this is going to be your one-woman show... Huh?!"

Before the words had even left his mouth, Qin Zhou sensed something. His expression changed, and he snapped his head to look toward the sky.

He wasn’t the only one. The others also turned their heads one after another, their sharp gazes fixed on the sky.

On the horizon, a luxurious Flying Ship, built entirely from Thousand-year-old Agarwood and inlaid with countless rare and exotic treasures, appeared like a behemoth. It ignored the Restrictions of the Qinghe Commandery Mansion, brutally tearing through the clouds as it sailed toward Crescent Lake.

"What... is that?"

...

While the Daoists of the Prefecture City’s Six Major Sects gathered at the Drunken Immortal Tower to discuss matters, Zhong Ming, who had just emerged from seclusion, was summoned by Prince Qinghe.

Having not seen him for more than ten days, Zhong Ming noticed that Prince Qinghe, who had seemed somewhat relaxed before, now wore a grave expression, his brows tightly furrowed.

Seeing this, Zhong Ming got straight to the point. "Is Your Highness worried about those three Daoists?"

"Yes."

His nod confused Zhong Ming and even displeased him somewhat. "Does Your Highness not believe me? I’ve already told you, among those of the same cultivation level, I am invincible."

Zhong Ming’s arrogant words, far from letting Prince Qinghe breathe a sigh of relief, only deepened the bitter look on his face. "But what if they aren’t of the same level?"

"Hm? What do you mean by that?" The realization that he might have to face an opponent whose strength far surpassed the Qi Cultivation realm made Zhong Ming’s expression turn grave as well.

The extremely disadvantageous situation left Prince Qinghe with no mood to keep him in suspense. "I’ve received some intelligence from the Six Major Sects. They’ve spared no expense this time, sending over people from their sects who are on the verge of a breakthrough!"

"When those people compete with you in the Star Sea Treasure Vault, they will break through to Foundation Establishment right in the middle of battle. And among that group of people on the verge of a breakthrough, there is one more—a Daoist!"

"..."

These words left Zhong Ming speechless as well.

At the same time, he couldn’t accuse the Six Major Sects of breaking the rules.

When they fought him, they would indeed be genuine Qi Cultivation cultivators. You can’t just forbid someone from breaking through in the middle of a fight, can you?

Besides, the Six Major Sects wouldn’t be scorned by onlookers for doing this—a breakthrough in the middle of combat was precisely the sort of thing cultivators loved to see and discuss.

It would only earn them the admiration of others.

As Zhong Ming remained silent, Prince Qinghe delivered even worse news.

"You must have seen that luxurious Flying Ship on the horizon, right?"

"I saw it..." Before he could finish, a thought struck Zhong Ming, and he said with dawning realization, "Those aren’t people from the Six Major Sects?"

"No." Prince Qinghe’s voice grew even deeper. "That’s the Divine Void Sect, one of the three supreme sects of the Frost Moon Immortal Dynasty. They’ve also sent a True Disciple to participate in the contest for the Star Sea Secret Vault."

Zhong Ming had heard of these three supreme sects. They were powerful enough to rival the Frost Moon Immortal Dynasty itself. Back in the day, the Six Extremes Demon Sect, which had once dominated the region, was forced out by a joint effort from these three.

To think that the opening of the Star Treasure Vault had even drawn their attention... At this point, Zhong Ming finally understood why Prince Qinghe looked so troubled.

The current situation was indeed highly unfavorable for the prince.

And the disadvantage wasn’t merely about resources being plundered.

What Prince Qinghe cared about most was control over the alliance. He had expended countless manpower and resources to gather the various factions here, all for the sake of ensuring the Qinghe Commandery Mansion would hold leadership of the alliance in the coming cataclysm, or at the very least, occupy a core position.

Only by doing so could he and the Qinghe Commandery Mansion secure their place in the turbulent times to come.

And neither the Six Major Sects nor the meddling Divine Void Sect would ever willingly allow the Qinghe Commandery Mansion to take control.

As Zhong Ming contemplated the situation in Qinghe Prefecture, Prince Qinghe gritted his teeth as if having made a monumental decision. He looked up at him sharply. "Zhong Ming, can you break through to Foundation Establishment in the near future? If you’re lacking anything for your breakthrough, you can tell me. I will do everything in my power to find it for you!"

Having Zhong Ming also achieve a breakthrough mid-battle within the Star Secret Vault—this was the strategy Prince Qinghe had devised to deal with the crisis.

It had to be said, his method did have a certain degree of feasibility.

A Foundation Establishment cultivator fighting another Foundation Establishment cultivator—Zhong Ming’s disadvantage would completely disappear, and his chances of victory would be extremely high.

But, of course, Zhong Ming had no intention of breaking through at this point in time.