"Xie Zheng’s strength is quite impressive."

Sitting in the audience, Gu Shen withdrew his gaze.

Although the spiritual sealing items were obstructing him, Gu Shen still faintly felt the powerful soul of Xie Zheng. Despite ranking last, this young man was very likely to have comprehended two domains.

A prodigy brought from the Tundra Region by Mu Qingyang...

Thinking of Mu Qingyang, a hint of nostalgia flickered in Gu Shen’s eyes.

Of course, he wouldn’t forget this true man who fought alongside him in the Tundra.

Transferred back from Jiuning to Changye to serve as the main leader of the convergence project, Mu Qingyang has now become the Mu Family’s next Family Head of Changye. Due to his busy schedule, Mu Qingyang only had time to send a few spiritual communications from the deep water zone, and the two haven’t met in the real world yet.

"Hey, young brother."

Gu Shen’s thoughts were interrupted by a voice.

Looking up, he saw Xu Fang, who had just been talking with Old Yu, sitting down beside him.

This Transcendent leader from Qinghe District smiled and took out a small unopened bottle of wine from his pocket. The bottle was flat, holding about one to two hundred milliliters, looking quite delicate, with a "lion head" etched on it.

"... What’s this?"

Gu Shen asked with a smile.

"My surname is Xu, Xu Fang, came here from the Judgement Institute in Bai Ba City, Qinghe District."

Xu Fang raised an eyebrow with a smile, saying, "This young brother must be from out of town, right?"

Gu Shen smiled and said, "Oh? What makes you say that?"

"My ability is [Spiritual Eyes], though my realm is not high, only in the Deep Water Zone Sixth Layer, but I’ve vaguely touched the ’Domain Embryo’ level." Xu Fang grinned and said, "Earlier, while chatting with Old Yu, the young brother’s aura really stood out, so I took notice and glanced a few more times... Of course, I didn’t probe with spiritual power, I just felt your attire doesn’t quite match the locals of Changye. There’s some vaguely complex aura on you."

Then.

He pointed to Old Yu, not far away, and introduced, "The one who earlier took the elevator with you."

"I remember him."

Gu Shen became interested and smiled, "The complex aura you mentioned, what does it refer to?"

Having returned from the Ice Sea, visited Light City, and then back to Divine Temple Mountain... These three forbidden places all contain significant source matter.

Indeed, the composition of the aura on him is quite complex.

However, such information can’t be seen by a Transcendent of the Deep Water Zone Sixth Layer.

"Just a little intuition."

Xu Fang handed over the bottle of wine, whispering, "You’re from Qinghe District, aren’t you?"

"Yes."

Gu Shen didn’t take the wine but smiled, "Indeed, I’m from out of town and also from Qinghe District. I’m curious, how did you guess that?"

"These things, I guess them right every time."

Xu Fang pulled out a dim silver cross pendant from his collar and laughed, "This little broken thing usually isn’t useful, but the occasional spark of inspiration is pretty accurate... The reason for the previous guess was all because of ’it.’

It?

As the silver broken pendant appeared.

Gu Shen’s pupils suddenly contracted; even with his stable mindset, he nearly lost his composure.

The pendant Xu Fang pulled out was already broken, with only a small part exposed, looking like a sharply cut fragment of a cross...

"The Goddess of Destiny’s Sanctuary... The lost part!"

Chu Ling’s voice echoed in Gu Shen’s mind, a little trembling: "Such a valuable item... and it’s actually in the hands of a low-level Transcendent?"

Gu Shen took a deep breath.

The broken cross pendant in Xu Fang’s hand was clearly the missing part of the one he held!

Xu Fang babbled with a smile, "This is an interesting but useless little thing; sometimes it tells me tomorrow’s weather or which path will lead me to find money... All are insignificant small matters."

Transcendents essentially don’t lack money.

This thing is merely to offer daily amusement.

"Brother Xu, this pendant... how did you obtain it?"

Gu Shen quickly regained his composure, smiling as he asked.

"I’ve picked up this little broken thing many years ago..."

Even saying so, Xu Fang’s eyes were filled with overflowing affection.

Although the item holds no practical value, he wears it day and night, never parting from it. What could be more interesting than a daily amusement?

"... It floated downstream from the Qing River, and I grabbed it swiftly."

Picked up?

Gu Shen remained silent for a long time after hearing this.

If his memory serves correctly, Her Majesty the Beizhou Empress used numerous divine divinations but never found the missing part of the pendant.

Gu Shen originally thought the pendant’s missing part was in the Old World outside of Beizhou, never expecting it to be here.

No battle, no exploration, nothing at all.

Just as its name implies, containing the word "destiny," they met in such a mundane way.

"Today, this little broken thing tells me to have a chat with you, and it’d be best to give a gift."

Xu Fang chuckled, "Immediately I understood, young brother, you must be a Qinghe person. The locals of Changye here can be tough to talk to. I’ve tried to strike up conversations, but they simply ignore me."

The people of Changye are actually quite warm...

It’s just that Xu Fang is more "enthusiastic," practically a social disaster.

Gu Shen couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

Xu Fang is evidently an honest person, with a straightforward nature and kind heart, holding no schemes, fortunately receiving "destiny-type" sealing items, yet unaware of concealing them.

But this is good too.

"Brother Xu Fang... I can’t take your things for free."

Gu Shen looked at Xu Fang and uttered this somewhat double entendre and then took the bottle of wine, asking earnestly, "Is there anything you need my help with?"

"Haha, this wine is not really anything special."

Xu Fang said with delight, "It’s an imitation of ’Lion Awakening Wine’; the genuine version has been discontinued. It’s brewed by the Transcendents from our area."

After chatting for a while, and ensuring that Gu Shen accepted his gift, he quickly called Old Yu to sit down as well.

Standing awkwardly from afar, Old Yu showed a momentary look of surprise and disbelief when Xu Fang beckoned him, then slowly walked over.

"We’re all Qinghe people, nothing to feel embarrassed about."

Xu Fang stood up, pressed Old Yu to sit, and laughingly asked, "Little brother, how do we address you?"

He hesitated for a moment.

Gu Shen politely said, "My surname is Gu... you can just call me Xiao Gu."

"Gu, a big surname!"

Xu Fang took no notice and teased with a comment.

After all, there are so many people with the surname Gu in this world.

He grinned proudly, "Xiao Gu, even though there are many big names with the surname Gu in Changye, none of them can compare to the one from Qinghe District—"

He was referring to Gu Shen!

The biggest news in the Five Continents’ Deep Water Zone these days is that Gu Shen is not dead!

Not only is he not dead, but his prowess has increased significantly!

Every Transcendent across the Five Continents has watched the footage of Gu Shen’s duel with Jia Wei at Red Lake... that was like a Divine War!

And in the hearts of Qinghe District’s Transcendents, Gu Shen is their pride.

Born humble, yet he rose all the way up.

To defeat the strongest Titled in West Continent, to what level has Gu Shen’s prowess reached? When will the Federation issue him a title? These are what people care about.

"..."

Gu Shen felt a bit awkward, he just smiled without saying anything.

Xu Fang blinked and suddenly asked, "Brother Gu, may I ask a blunt question... are you currently a disciple of any Judge in Changye?"

Gu Shen seriously thought it over.

Well, his teacher Zhou Jiren is the Grand Judge... The title Grand Judge is just one word different from Judge, yet a completely different concept.

Moreover, his teacher has left the Five Continents for a long time, and now the position is vacant.

He honestly answered, "Well... I’m not."

Having received this response, Old Yu’s expression was quite disappointed, while Xu Fang patted the former’s leg and, with a smiling face, extended two fingers and rubbed the pads, "Remember to transfer the money to me later."

Gu Shen laughed helplessly, "So you guys were betting?"

"Hehe..."

Xu Fang chuckled, "The students I’ve brought out are already on stage, gotta find some fun."

As he spoke, he flicked his broken silver pendant, eliciting a faint clear sound.

The "fun" provided by the pendant today is likely this bet.

With the pendant’s "inspiration" support, he hardly loses when betting.

"Do you want to continue betting?"

Xu Fang put his arm around Old Yu’s shoulder, grinning, "Let’s bet on your disciple ’Guan Ji’ and my disciple ’Lian Du’, who will rank higher in the upcoming trials... if you win, the previous lost bet will be chalked up; if you lose, after this recruitment ends, I’ll bring the disciples to pick the most expensive restaurant in Changye and give you a hard treat."

The Transcendents at the Sixth Layer of Deep Water, even in small places... absolutely don’t need to worry about money.

With the Judgement Institute’s salary, Federation Government’s stipends, and occasional task rewards, they never need to worry about their financial issues for a lifetime.

This bet is purely for pride.

Old Yu, with a gentle personality, doesn’t fall for it; instead, he slowly says, "Guan Ji and Lian Du actually have comparable strength. This recruitment trial’s match table is randomly distributed, who ranks higher depends on luck... who can compare to you in terms of luck?"

Every year’s recruitment has powerful "seed contenders."

Qinghe District’s Bai Ba City is after all a small place...

If they encounter "seed contenders" in advance, they may end early, so this so-called ranking is truly a matter of luck.

Speaking of which.

Old Yu glanced at the pendant in front of Xu Fang’s neck.

This little piece of junk, Xu Fang would flaunt it to Old Yu every once in a while... Old Yu knows very well that this pendant looks worn, but it actually has the whimsical function of providing "inspiration" cues.

However, the pendant isn’t always reliable, merely sometimes triggers inspiration passively.

Perhaps Xu Fang is currently "using the fox’s prestige to threaten others," and hasn’t received any pendant alerts initially.

"What you say makes sense, so do you bet or not?"

Xu Fang said with a grin, "If you’re not confident, you can opt out; however, I only give you ten seconds to decide, the offer expires thereafter."

Old Yu’s brow furrowed into a knot, reassessing his options.

"Can I participate in this bet?"

At this moment, Gu Shen spoke up.

He took out a melting crystal of Purple Silver from his body, shyly said, "All along, I haven’t had many friends in the Judgement Institute, this is the first time I’ve come to the dojo to watch, I really didn’t expect to meet fellow hometown folks... Brother Xu Fang, it’s my first time betting with others, consider it a friendship gesture, I wonder if this piece of Purple Silver qualifies for the bet?"

Seeing this palm-sized Purple Silver crystal.

Xu Fang and Old Yu were both stunned.

...

...

(PS: Thanks to the Silver Alliance who eats white porridge in Bai Continent for the reward! Quickly join the group! I will add three Chapters for this Silver Alliance, may not be able to add more today, but at the latest will be completed within a week!)