In a spacious courtyard, a tall, bald young man in golden armor sat cross-legged at its center. His features were sharp and angular, as if carved by blade and chisel, giving his face an intense three-dimensionality. One look at him and you'd feel a powerful sense of intimidation — an aura of authority without anger.
This man was Lei Gangyang, the strongest cultivator among the younger generation of the Purple Sun Sect.
Even Long Juxue, a prodigy with an innate divine body, didn't dare place herself above Lei Gangyang at this moment — testament to the sheer oppressive force this man wielded.
At present, Long Juxue and Zeng Shi both stood to his left. Three other young men stood to his right, and from their bearing, not one of them had any objection to Lei Gangyang's position as the undisputed leader of the Purple Sun Sect's younger generation.
These six were, to date, the strongest and highest-ranked individuals the Purple Sun Sect had produced.
Which meant this summit had been personally convened by Lei Gangyang without a shred of controversy.
Over on the other three sides, three of the Treasure Tree Sect's members had already arrived — everyone except Tang Hong. But the three of them stood with noticeable distance between them, not clustered together. Just from that simple arrangement, it was plain to see that the Treasure Tree Sect's contingent had no intention of presenting a united front, nor had any one of them been acknowledged as their leader.
Lei Gangyang's sharp gaze swept across the Treasure Tree Sect's side, and the corner of his mouth twitched into a faint smile. Clearly, the internal discord within the Treasure Tree Sect was something he was only too happy to see.
The Flowing Cloud Sect had sent two women and one man. A young girl with an air of quiet elegance and delicate features stood in the middle, the other two flanking her on either side.
The Myriad Spirit Sect had also sent only three, led by a brawny young man. His name was Luo Xi, a martial arts prodigy of the Myriad Spirit Sect. His current ranking in the Heavenly Spirit Zone placed him second only to Lei Gangyang — firmly occupying the number two position.
Even the top geniuses of the Treasure Tree Sect and Flowing Cloud Sect hadn't been able to shake him from that second-place ranking.
Lei Gangyang's cold, stern eyes suddenly widened as he swept his gaze around the courtyard. His commanding voice rang out.
"Why are there only fifteen people?"
His voice was neither shrill nor deep. Just a few casual words, yet they carried the force of a thunderclap that set the blood boiling.
Over on the Treasure Tree Sect's side, Tie Dazhi wore a smirk. "Tang Hong of our Treasure Tree Sect has quite the ego. Brother Lei's transmission talisman may not have been enough to lure him here."
The moment those words left his mouth, both of the other Treasure Tree Sect members showed a flicker of contempt on their faces. They might not think particularly highly of Tang Hong themselves, but they'd never sink as low as Tie Dazhi, kicking their own fellow disciple while he was down.
Tie Dazhi's failed recruitment of Tang Hong had left a bitter grudge in his heart. Now that an opportunity to twist the knife had presented itself, he certainly wasn't about to let it pass.
"Tang Hong?" Lei Gangyang murmured, the image of Tang Hong's brash, carefree demeanor surfacing in his mind. His brow furrowed slightly. As the number-one seed of the Heavenly Spirit Zone, he'd issued the summit invitation personally — and this Tang Hong had the nerve to give him the cold shoulder?
Just as he was mulling it over, a grating laugh drifted in from outside.
"Ha ha, my apologies, everyone! Had to take a urgent bathroom break just now — took a big old dump outside. Sorry I'm late, sorry I'm late!"
Before the words had even finished echoing, heavy, thumping footsteps sounded as someone strode in with enormous strides.
Tang Hong's frame towered a full head above any normal person — perhaps even more. The way he walked practically shook the ground, radiating an extremely rough-and-tumble energy.
Everyone present was a genius, and hearing such crude language as "took a big old dump" made them all frown. One of the Flowing Cloud Sect's female disciples, however, covered her mouth and giggled softly, as if she found Tang Hong's vulgarity somewhat amusing.
Tie Dazhi saw Tang Hong walk in and barked, "Tang Hong, what's the big idea? Everyone's been waiting on you. You think awfully highly of yourself!"
Tang Hong shoved a massive hand toward him. "Do I need your permission to take a dump?"
With that, he plonked himself down at the Treasure Tree Sect's spot and flashed a wide grin at the other two. "Just finished my business and didn't wash my hands — you two don't mind if I sit here, do you?"
One of the other two Treasure Tree Sect members, a slender youth in white robes, furrowed his brow. "Would it kill you to shut up for once?"
The other, a young man in apricot-yellow robes, simply laughed. "Come on, Tang Hong, sit right here."
This young man in apricot-yellow robes was Xie Yufan, a genius from the Xie clan of the Treasure Tree Sect.
The slender youth in white was named Lian Canghai. In terms of talent and cultivation, he now ranked first among the Treasure Tree Sect's four disciples, and across the entire Heavenly Spirit Zone, he held a firm position in the top four.
Lian Canghai was the personal disciple of Tie Long, the Supreme Elder of the Tie clan within the Treasure Tree Sect — a young prodigy that Tie Long had personally discovered and nurtured.
His talent was leagues above someone like Tie Dazhi.
Because Lian Canghai was a member of the Tie clan, Xie Yufan — the Xie clan's genius — had no choice but to curry favor with Tang Hong in hopes of striking a balance. He hoped to leverage Tang Hong's strength to counterbalance Lian Canghai and Tie Dazhi, creating a stalemate of sorts.
Fortunately, Lian Canghai had a cold and aloof temperament. Though he was Tie Long's personal disciple, he didn't follow Tie Dazhi's lead in everything. At times, he wouldn't even deign to associate himself with Tie Dazhi.
And so, among the four major sects' disciples participating in the Heavenly Spirit Zone trials, the Treasure Tree Sect's geniuses were by far the least united and the most distant from one another.
Lei Gangyang watched Tang Hong bumble his way in and completely derail his carefully laid plans, and he couldn't help but feel a spike of irritation.