Shen Jun left as soon as she was done with all of that. Ye Futian sported a pondering face after he left.
He never expected that Shen Jun's objective never involved him personally. Shen Jun was after Yu Sheng, Wuchen, and the others around him instead.
That was to say that when Shen Jun already had such thoughts when they first met outside, so he invited all of them to Qianye City and had Bai Ze to test them out.
However, the commotion the group of outsiders caused exceeded his expectations, as they went out to raze Bliss Palace right away.
As such, Shen Jun took the chance to test the capabilities of Yu Sheng and the others, using sparring as an excuse.
The event, eh? he thought.
He turned to Xia Qingyuan and asked, "Is martial arts really that popular in Crimson Dragon Realm?"
"This place is the main realm of the region, after all. Some imperial realms near the Crimson Dragon Realm would have even expanded their forces here. Furthermore, many mighty ones from foreign realms are here, too, and the Crimson Dragon Emperor himself favors martial arts. As such, martial arts are more popular here than they are back in Emperor Xia's Realm." Xia Qingyuan replied, "There are places like the Jiutian Temple here as well."
"Yeah." Ye Futian nodded. "Seems like I'll need to take a good look at this place, then."
Yu Sheng, Wuchen, Huang Jiuge, and the others were all at the pinnacle of Sage Plane. They deemed such an opportunity to be something not to be missed, so they agreed to Shen Jun's proposal.
But then again, that did not mean that Shen Jun did not set them up.
Shen Jun's description was vastly different from the truth, after all.
Sparring at their level?
Do you really think that will be all? some thought.
People in the inn watched Ye Futian's party since they had appeared. Many called them idiots behind their backs when they found out what happened.
That's outsiders for you, indeed. They might be extremely powerful, but they know too little about trickery and schemes, those people thought.
There is no way the young city lord would go easy on this bunch.
However, it was apparent that no one would have reminded Ye Futian of anything, as it would have turned out to be a slight against Shen Jun, after all.
However, it was actually too late to caution Ye Futian's party of anything. With their spiritual powers linked to the crystal sphere, it enabled them to sense Yu Sheng's whereabouts within a short period of time. If they were to not show up to the event, they would have suffered punishment in one form or another.
Furthermore, it would not have been punishment from Qianye City, but from the Crimson Dragon Army.
Those were the rules laid down by the Crimson Dragon Emperor, after all, and no one would have dared to disobey them.
Saints notwithstanding, as the king of the main realm of Crimson Dragon Realm, the Crimson Dragon Emperor was known to be the number one mighty one in Crimson Emperor Realm, so not even a Renhuang of another realm would have dared to get on his bad side.
There were someone who came to the inn to look for Ye Futian and his people. It was none other than Situ Yan.
She did not come alone; she had the little girl that she took tagging along.
Ye Futian smiled. The little girl had new clothes, looking clean and elegant, even resembling the daughters of well-to-do families.
Her parents must have doted on her very much when they were alive.
"Thank you," Ye Futian smiled and said to Situ Yan.
Situ Yan looked at Ye Futian with a puzzled look in her eyes. This fellow razed the Bliss Palace for the kid, killing the palace lord and Bai Ze for her sake.
And yet, he is now so easily set up by Shen Jun?
What is the deal with him indeed? Situ Yan thought.
"Uncle." The little girl flashed a brimming smile as she walked to Ye Futian's side. Her head reached Ye Futian's waist. Ye Futian extended his arms and picked her up, smiling and saying, "How are you doing?"
"Ms. Situ has taken me as her student. Thank you for saving my life," the little girl lowered her head and said to Ye Futian. It was apparent that she had begun to learn the ways of the world.
She knew that Ye Futian did more than just save her life; he had changed her fate and given her a future.
"Little Ran, you should thank your teacher instead," Ye Futian smiled and said. He looked at Situ Yan with a smile, showing goodwill, and nodded as a gesture of gratitude.
Situ Yan was a daughter of the Situ clan and the youngest woman saint of her clan. As such, her status was supreme. With Little Ran becoming her student, her status would have naturally been far higher than that of a servant girl.
"You're half the reason why I took her as my student," Situ Yan quipped honestly. If it had not been for what Ye Futian pulled, there was no way she would have picked a little girl out of nowhere to be her student.
What he did had apparently triggered something within her.
"I have heard that you agreed with the young city lord in letting them participate in the Battle of the Sleeping Dragon." Situ Yan then said to Ye Futian, "Do you know what the Battle of the Sleeping Dragon actually is?"
Ye Futian looked at Situ Yan with a puzzled look. It seemed that she had used Little Ran as an excuse to meet him.
Situ Yan was there to warn him.
"I have heard things," Ye Futian nodded and answered.
Situ Yan was puzzled by what he said, seeing how Ye Futian remained calm and collected even after hearing her mentioning the Battle of the Sleeping Dragon.
She was wondering if he had truly understood, or that he was only putting up a front.
Did Shen Jun tell them about the Battle of the Sleeping Dragon?
"You are from foreign realms. Are you sure you know about the Battle of the Sleeping Dragon here at Crimson Dragon Realm?" Situ Yan's expression turned somewhat solemn as she continued, "Crimson Dragon Realm is a place where mighty ones from all realms gather, and the Crimson Dragon Realm itself is a huge place, to begin with. Other than Crimson Dragon City, which the Crimson Dragon Emperor resides in, other Renhuangs are carving out their own territories here. It is unknown how many mighty ones have gathered in the mightiest main city of the realm—the Crimson Dragon City.
"Given the background, there would be some extremely terrifying people participating in the Battle of the Sleeping Dragon. You might be very confident in their powers, but you need to know, nonetheless, what it means to fight in the Battle of the Sleeping Dragon." Situ Yan's voice sounded rather solemn.
Her clan had been training in Qianye City for generations and there was no doubt that they knew the Battle of the Sleeping Dragon very well. They knew how terrifying the battles would have been, and even someone who were from top-notch forces, like her, would not have participated without thinking things through.
There were a great many cities like Qianye City to be found in Crimson Dragon Realm. There were many top-notch forces to be found in the realm, and legendary figures were in abundance. As such, even someone of her caliber was hardly considered much of a genius in the realm.
There were too many who were more extraordinary than she was.
She speculated that Ye Futian and his people would have been legendary people back in Emperor Xia's Realm, and as such, were extremely confident in their own powers. The fact that they were able to raze Bliss Palace served as a testament of their powers, but they might have underestimated just how powerful mighty ones in Crimson Dragon Realm were.
"I know." Ye Futian nodded with a smile.
"…"
Situ Yan looked at him feeling speechless, wondering if she had wasted her breath.
She was unable to come up with words for some time, looking at him and not knowing what to say.
"Are you sure?" Situ Yan asked again.
"Yeah." Ye Futian nodded still.
"I shall take my leave." Situ Yan took Little Ran and left. She had no intention of saying more.
Ye Futian had brought his people to raze Bliss Palace and kill the palace lord. That meant that he probably had a good idea of what he was doing.
She had done her part to warn him. If Ye Futian were to continue to underestimate the Battle of the Sleeping Dragon of the Crimson Realm, then the problem was his to deal with.
He was a saint and things had been laid out to that extent. There was little need to say more.
"Goodbye, uncle." Little Ran took her to the air. She then turned around to wave goodbye to Ye Futian.
Ye Futian waved at her as well, saying with a smile, "Thank you, heroine."
Situ Yan's arms twitched and her movements in the air stuttered for a bit. All of that lasted for a brief moment. She and Little Ran turned into mirages and were out of sight soon after.
…
A group of people came above the inn several days later.
Many mighty ones from the city lord's office came together with Shen Jun. The entourage was a grand one. Other than the people of the city lord's office, there were many members of top-notch forces arriving as well, together with Shen Jun.
Ye Futian saw Mo Chen, who Shen Jun had invited to the restaurant back then, among the crowd.
It was a given that Situ Yan was there as well, but she was with her clansman, and Little Ran was not around.
While the Battle of the Sleeping Dragon was something held as frequently as once a month, it was nonetheless a great event of the martial arts in the Crimson Dragon Realm. At the same time, it was also a gathering of many members of top-notch forces in the Crimson Dragon Realm, although not all of them would participate in the event.
"Let's go, Brother Ye," Shen Jun called while looking Ye Futian in the inn.
"Alright." Ye Futian nodded and the group took to the air, meeting up with the group led by Shen Jun.
"You'd be getting to Crimson Dragon City soon enough, Brother Ye, and you'd witness the grand event held once a month at the Crimson Dragon City," Shen Jun said to Ye Futian after taking one good look at him. He had no idea if Ye Futian had learned what the Battle of the Sleeping Dragon was by then.
Of course, it did not matter if they knew or not; everything was already set in stone.
Shen Jun did not bother with any of that. Even though Ye Futian might have learned of the deception, there was nothing they could have done about it.
He speculated that Ye Futian and his party came from a top-notch holy land of the sword in Emperor Xia's Realm. However, a powerful dragon cannot crush a snake in its old haunt, after all. While there were many cities like Qianye City to be found in the Crimson Dragon Realm, being to reign over one city was a testament of status in itself.
"I'm sorry to trouble you, young city lord," Ye Futian replied plainly.
Many around Shen Jun went about gauging Ye Futian's party, especially Ye Futian and Yaya. The ones who caught their attention the most after that were Xia Qingyuan and the Glass Saint.
Ye Futian's party had become legends in Qianye City for having razed Bliss Palace and yet still been received by the young palace lord. They did not know if they should have been impressed or dismissive of those newcomers.
Situ Yan took one look at Ye Futian's party and said nothing. She kept to the crowd among her clansmen.
"Nothing worth mentioning. Let's go," Shen Jun said, and the crowd took flight, crossing the border and heading straight for Crimson Dragon City.
The Crimson Dragon City was the number one city in Crimson Dragon Realm. Some claimed that the Crimson Dragon City was the largest city to be found in the Crimson Dragon Region. One could have only imagined how majestic and grand the place was.
Countless powerful cultivators from all realms came to trade in that city, acquiring top-notch methods and arts, or treasures in some other forms.
Ye Futian had only one feeling when he stepped into the Crimson Dragon City.
The place was a majestic, regal one.
Every single building had a history behind it. They felt as though they were historical annals in themselves, being passed through the generations.
Even if realm wars were to break out in the Crimson Dragon Region, Crimson Dragon Realm would have hardly been affected. That place was the main realm, after all.
That was, unless, a super war broke out between main realms in the same region.
The city that was lauded to be the number one city in the Crimson Dragon Region was extremely vast. Ye Futian and the rest of the group stayed in the air for quite a long time before they found their destination of the trip.
A towering castle was first seen, which was ring-shaped and surrounded an area at the center.
There were countless mighty ones in the area.
That place was the extremely renowned spot—the Rising Dragon Platform.