Instead of visiting Star Pavilion, Yi Tianyun flew directly to Julong City. Thanks to the speed of his Phoenix Wings, he arrived in no time.

The magnificent city before him was Julong City, a part of the Netherworld Empire. The name "Julong" meant "Gathering Dragons," a place for the strong to congregate. It was a fine name, but the city itself wasn’t as formidable as he’d imagined. Aside from its grand scale, it didn’t house many experts; it was merely a large city.

Julong City was administered by the Netherworld Empire, but it wasn’t a major city, so no main forces were stationed here. Only now, with invitations sent out and droves of experts gathering, was it beginning to live up to its name.

Upon entering, he found it was no different from any other city. The bustling streets were filled with people coming and going, trading goods, creating a lively atmosphere. He had only just stepped inside, but he could already see many Cultivators moving about.

The cultivation levels of the Cultivators here were clearly much higher than in an ordinary city. This wasn’t the norm for Julong City, however. It was because of the recent invitations; many sects had brought their disciples, and plenty of others had come just to watch the excitement.

’Celestial Essence Inn...’

Yi Tianyun glanced around, looking for the Celestial Essence Inn. Just as he was about to ask someone for directions, a furious roar erupted from behind him. "Move! Everyone, get out of the way!"

He whipped his head around to see a Feather Vehicle barreling toward him. A massive Giant Eagle, instead of flying, was running, rampaging through the street and forcing terrified onlookers to scramble aside. Some Cultivators couldn’t dodge in time and were sent flying by the beast, crashing into a nearby shop in agony.

"Damn it! Who’s so arrogant? Daring to run wild in here? I’ll go stop it!"

"Are you crazy?! Look at the word carved on that Feather Vehicle! That’s a Feather Vehicle from the Netherworld Empire!"

"So it is..."

Some of the experts who were ready to step in and offer a Lending a Helping Hand immediately shrank back when they saw the word "Netherworld" carved on the Feather Vehicle. Admittedly, with so many sects gathered, there was no shortage of experts, and many among them were the type to intervene when they saw injustice. But upon seeing that the Feather Vehicle belonged to the Netherworld Empire, they all backed down.

Even ordinary sects wouldn’t dare to throw their weight around here. Not even third-rank factions would dare to start a fight casually, as provoking another third-rank faction was no laughing matter. But their primary fear was running afoul of the Netherworld Empire. That would be real trouble.

And now, here was the Netherworld Empire, acting just that arrogantly. They barged through their own territory, completely disregarding the safety of the bystanders, as if they were rushing back to report some urgent matter.

Yi Tianyun took a closer look and saw that it was true. The Giant Eagle’s wings were injured; no wonder it couldn’t fly.

He stepped aside, dodging the Giant Eagle’s charge, and shook his head as he watched it rush past.

’Someone dared to injure a beast from the Netherworld Empire? They’ve got guts...’ Yi Tianyun narrowed his eyes as he studied the Giant Eagle’s wounds. It had obviously faced resistance or encountered some trouble. ’This probably isn’t a simple matter.’

After this brief incident, the street quickly returned to its previous state of calm. People went back to what they were doing, at most venting their dissatisfaction internally. Who would dare to confront the Netherworld Empire?

He soon found the Celestial Essence Inn. The place was quite interesting, with rather unique decorations. While other inns were built of common wood or stone, this one was adorned with a type of fragrant wood. The moment he stepped inside, he was greeted by an especially pleasant aroma. It gave one a sense of tranquility and comfort—exactly what an inn should provide.

Although the inn was designed to be tranquil, the situation inside was anything but.

"Shopkeeper, are there really no other rooms?!" a large man roared at the Shopkeeper, repeatedly slamming his hand on the counter. The SLAM! SLAM! echoed throughout the lobby.

"Sir, we truly have no rooms left. They’ve all been booked..." the Shopkeeper said with a pained smile.

"What? We came all this way, days in advance, and it’s still fully booked?" The large man was furious, as were the few companions behind him.

The Shopkeeper apologized sincerely, "My sincerest apologies. We’re usually not at full capacity, but everything was booked well in advance this time. There are truly no other rooms... If there were, I would certainly arrange one for you, Sir."

The Netherworld Empire had invited numerous factions to a banquet, causing a sudden influx of people into Julong City, and the inns were all filled to capacity. Anyone who arrived even slightly late had no choice but to find a shabbier inn or camp outside.

Being so unique, the Celestial Essence Inn was a favorite among Cultivators, so it had been booked up far in advance.

"Do you have any idea who we are?!" The large man slammed his fist on the counter and roared, "We’re from the Divine Rune Mansion! If you don’t have a room for us, you’re dead!"

’Divine Rune Mansion?’

Yi Tianyun’s brow furrowed. ’The Divine Rune Mansion is an upper-mid-tier faction, quite a bit stronger than the Celestial Extreme Mansion. No wonder they’re so arrogant.’ The coincidence was the most striking part; he hadn’t expected to run into the Divine Rune Mansion again. His memory of Lin Li was still fresh.

"Sir, we truly are out of rooms. If we had any, I would certainly arrange them for you..." The Shopkeeper was at his wit’s end. It wasn’t that he didn’t want the business; he was just terrified of such brutish customers.

"Give me the ledger! I want to see just who is staying here!" Li Huan snatched the book and began flipping through its pages, determined to see who had taken the rooms.

Yi Tianyun shook his head. ’Looks like this is about to get ugly.’ He couldn’t be bothered to watch any longer and headed for the stairs. The Great Elder had told him their room should be on the third floor; since they had arrived early, they had surely been able to book one.

Just as he reached the third floor and started searching for the Great Elder’s room, a furious shout reached his ears. "Celestial Extreme Mansion? That trash Celestial Extreme Mansion dares to take a deluxe suite—and two of them?! I’m going to throw them out right now! A garbage faction that’s already fallen to a second-rank sect, and they dare to take two rooms? I doubt the Netherworld Empire even invited them. They’re probably just here to watch the fun!"

Immediately, Li Huan came stomping up the stairs, leading a group of disciples in a rage. The hallway was rather narrow, so Li Huan charged right at Yi Tianyun.

"Kid, get out of my way!" Li Huan snarled.

BAM!

Li Huan slammed into him, but the one sent flying wasn’t Yi Tianyun. Instead, Li Huan himself was thrown back. He stumbled to the top of the stairs, lost his footing, and went tumbling down with a series of loud THUMPS.

Yi Tianyun’s brow furrowed. ’The Divine Rune Mansion is far too arrogant, daring to cause trouble for my Celestial Extreme Mansion!’