Chapter 2573: Tea Ceremony Seat

A few days later, two people arrived: Xu Xiangyin and You Teng.

Cang Bi blocked their path. "Xuan Qi is being investigated for his connections to Luo Qian and the Fenglei clan. I cannot allow you to take him away yet."

"Out of my way! You have no right to stop me!" Xu Xiangyin raised his hand and brought out his carrion bug. There was a surge of voidforce energy, and it caused Cang Bi to hesitate.

Cultivators from the Voidforce Universe were able to harness voidforce energy that exceeded their own strength by several fold. This meant that, even if Xu Xiangyin and Cang Bi possessed similar power levels, the moment that Xu Xiangyin summoned his voidforce puppet, he would wield a level of strength equal to multiple Cang Bis. This was not an opponent that Cang Bi could stop on his own.

Even so, Cang Bi remained firm. "I cannot stop you on my own, but I'm not alone. The Mo Courtyard is here too."

As his words echoed, streams of monarch essence shot into space across the Emperor Domain.

The Mo Courtyard consisted of fifteen Demi-Monarchs. Even after three had been crippled by Qing Ping, there were still twelve experts present.

The united power of twelve Demi-Monarchs was enough to halt Xu Xiangyin and You Teng in their tracks, though Xu Xiangyin just sneered. "Are you threatening me with the Mo Courtyard?"

Cang Bi did not back down.

You Teng spoke up, "The Mo Courtyard’s duty is to protect the Emperor Domain. If you can gather all of the order’s Demi-Monarchs to stand here against us, we will retreat immediately. If not, you will need to step back."

Cang Bi responded, "Why are you placing me in such a difficult position? I was assigned this task by Monarch Luo himself. Everyone who has had any dealings with the Fenglei clan must be detained and investigated."

"Did Xuan Qi have dealings with the Fenglei clan?" Xu Xiangyin arched a brow. "He only just arrived at the Fenglei clan ruins and was detained before he even managed to meet with someone from the clan. So, exactly who from that clan has he come into contact with?"

"Luo Qian," Cang Bi replied.

Xu Xiangyin sneered. "Xuan Qi and Luo Qian met each other in the Sixverse Academy before they were both captured by an Aeternus spy. Even if both of them were sent to this universe, they wouldn’t have been able to communicate with each other. If they had, after Luo Qian escaped, why would Xuan Qi willingly walk into a trap?"

Cang Bi’s brow furrowed, as he was unable to refute the logic of Xu Xiangyin's argument. This was also the reason why Xuan Qi had merely been captured and confined, rather than interrogated like all the others.

Xu Xiangyin then turned to You Teng. "Time waits for no one. We can’t allow them to delay matters."

You Teng brushed past Cang Bi. "Leave any issues that arise to Monarch Luo and Madam He Ran. We will be taking Xuan Qi with us now."

Cang Bi raised a hand and blocked You Teng's path.

You Teng stared at Cang Bi. "Surely you're aware of what Monarch Luo is doing."

Cang Bi froze, and his hand reflexively dropped back down.

You Teng entered the courtyard with Xu Xiangyin following, though not before giving a contemptuous grunt.

Upon entering the courtyard, You Teng and Xu Xiangyin were greeted by the sight of Xuan Qi cultivating his voidforce energy.

Xu Xiangyin excitedly called out, "Boy, finding you was no easy task."

Lu Yin directed a surprised look at Xu Xiangyin, immediately growing excited himself. "Senior, you’ve finally arrived! I was about to lose hope."

A hearty laugh erupted from Xu Xiangyin. "Rest assured, we will take you back right away."

The man was genuinely relieved. He had watched the kidnapped students return one by one, but he had never seen Xuan Qi among the returnees. The old man had started to fear that the youth might have died. Xu Xiangyin had been truly concerned about the young man’s fate. It was beyond rare to find a child with such incredible talent, obedience, comprehension, and desire for the Voidforce Universe.

Despite the fact that there was a very real possibility of Xuan Qi being poached by the Cyclic Universe’s Stone Gate, Xu Xiangyin had not given up. In fact, he even felt a bit guilty, as it would be his Voidforce Universe's loss if they failed to keep the child.

You Teng also let out a sigh of relief. Xuan Qi was incredibly important to the Transcendent Universe as well, and He Ran had urged You Teng to find the youth on several occasions. For this reason, You Teng had rushed to the Three Monarchs Universe along with Xu Xiangyin at the first opportunity. Thankfully, everything had worked out.

"Senior, am I allowed to leave now?" Xuan Qi asked apprehensively.

Xu Xiangyin dismissed the question with a wave of his hand. "Let's go. What does the mess in this universe have to do with you? You were just unlucky to be stranded here."

Hearing these words, Lu Yin's expression fell and turned bitter. "Senior, you have no idea what I've gone through recently! I wasn’t able to find anyone at all, and only after a tremendous amount of effort was I able to learn of the Fenglei clan’s location. I wasn’t even able to reveal my strength, as my power doesn't belong to this universe. After several events, I finally arrived, only to be taken captive. Senior Cang Bi made things sound nice and told me to patiently wait here, but I can see that I was nothing more than a prisoner."

Outside the courtyard, Cang Bi looked quite troubled as he repeatedly attempted to contact Monarch Luo and Monarch Xing. Unfortunately, the fighting at the border would likely last for several months at minimum, which made any sort of communication very difficult.

"Enough," Xu Xiangyin sighed, "You can recount your struggles after returning. Shi Jiao has been searching for you this whole time, and she even mobilized the entire Stone Gate to search through the various universes that other students appeared in. While I hate to admit it, the Stone Gate genuinely cares about you."

With that, the old man and Lu Yin left the Three Monarchs Universe, headed back to the Sixverse Academy.

While Cang Bi was reluctant to allow them to leave, he did not try to stop them. Out of all the members of the Sixverse Association, the Three Monarchs Universe had the least say, and they could even be replaced at any moment. With Monarch Mu’s disappearance, their universe was already on the verge of being eliminated. They did not dare to offend anyone at such a delicate juncture.

As for Xuan Qi, they would be able to find him in the Sixverse Academy, the Voidforce Universe, or the Cyclic Universe. If the investigations uncovered anything suspicious about the youth, he would not be able to escape no matter where he went.

Only after arriving in the Sixverse Academy was Xu Xiangyin finally able to relax. "Fortunately, Cang Bi isn't too stubborn. If we had run into Chen Le, he might have stopped us. Honest, we would’ve struggled against Chen Le, and he might have even mobilized the entire Mo Courtyard to keep us from leaving."

You Teng replied, "Chen Le rarely leaves the Emperor Domain, and it's even said that he's at a crucial point in breaking through to become a Monarch himself. He can't be bothered with such matters."

"Chen Le is breaking through?" Xu Xiangyin exclaimed. "He really deserves the title of the most powerful Demi-Monarch in their universe. After he breaks through, he will be able to offset the problem caused by Monarch Mu's disappearance. Even so, it will be quite a challenge to fully integrate him into the Three Monarchs Formation."

"That's none of our concern. We have succeeded in returning with Xuan Qi, so now it's your turn to take over. After all, he will end up going to either your Voidforce Universe or the Cyclic Universe," You Teng said before leaving.

Lu Yin looked at Xu Xiangyin with confusion.

The old man stated, "It’s lucky that you showed up when you did. If you had been even just a few days late, you would have missed this opportunity."

"An opportunity?" Lu Yin asked in surprise.

Xu Xiangyin grew serious. "The Sixverse Academy's trial."

Lu Yin was taken aback. "The academy’s trial? Climbing the mountain?"

"That is the first trial. You Teng told you that you needed to leave from the same place that you arrived, yes?"

"That’s right."

"That trial is designed for those who have integrated different cultivation methods of the members of the Sixverse Association. Upon completing that trial, a student is allowed to leave the Sixverse Academy and return to their original universe. It’s inevitable that the trial be taken repeatedly, but that does not matter. At the moment, there is an additional trial. It is both a test and a challenge, as well as a reward. This is the good news that I mentioned to you. Have you ever heard of the 'Origin Universe?'"

Lu Yin's finger twitched, but he pasted a confused look on his face. "The Origin Universe?"

Xu Xiangyin straightened up. "I guess that you haven't heard of it. Before achieving my current level of strength, I hadn't either. You can think of the Origin Universe as a powerful parallel universe. The current trial is to capture specific people from the Origin Universe." The man paused for a moment. "By completing this task, you will be given a reward from the Sixverse Association."

"It sounds dangerous." Lu Yin hesitated, and a sense of unease crept into his heart. Was the Sixverse Association starting to move against him? Capturing people from the Origin Universe most likely meant capturing people with connections to him. Where had they gotten the confidence to send people into the Fifth Mainland?

Xu Xiangyin replied, "Of course, it will be dangerous, but we're not sending students on a suicide mission. Sovereign Nine Lotus, who is one of the Cyclic Universe’s three Sovereigns, is providing Lotus Artifacts for this trial. If anyone encounters terrible danger, activating their Lotus Artifact will teleport them back to the Sixverse Academy. Even a peak powerhouse will find it difficult to break through the defenses of a Lotus Artifact, and there are very few such experts where you'll be heading, and none of the targets to be captured will be in close proximity to such people. As long as you don't expose yourself, the danger that you will face won’t be significant.”

"Xuan Qi, you should take advantage of this opportunity. The Origin Universe is a special place for those of us in the Sixverse Academy. This is something that you will eventually come to understand, but besides that, the greatest reward for this trial is enough to drive people mad."

Xu Xiangyin's eyes positively blazed as he asked, "Do you know what that reward might be?"

Lu Yin managed a bitter smile. "How could this junior know?"

A wild light lit up Xu Xiangyin's eyes. "A seat!"

Lu Yin arched a brow. "One of the Cyclic Universe’s seats?"

"No, a seat at the Great Sovereign's tea ceremony!" Xu Xiangyin said, carefully emphasizing each word.

Lu Yin's pupils shrank. He had heard of the Great Sovereign's tea ceremonies on more than one occasion. They were events that everyone in the Sixverse Academy was keenly interested in.

In normal situations, the Great Sovereign seldom made any appearances. Only during his tea ceremonies did most people even have a chance to gaze upon the Great Sovereign.

What were referred to as tea ceremonies were not merely for tasting tea, but also a platform for cultivators to listen to the Great Sovereign's teachings. Any mention of a tea ceremony never failed to stir up excitement within the Sixverse Academy, and everyone would do whatever it took to listen to the Great Sovereign. Despite this, how many were allowed to attend a ceremony? As for the tea, only by being granted a seat could one even hope to sip tea that had been brewed by the Great Sovereign himself.

Xu Xiangyin lifted his head, longing clear in his eyes as he continued. "There are only ninety nine seats at the Great Sovereign's tea ceremonies. Out of the entire Sixverse Association and all its associated parallel universes, only ninety nine people are given the chance to sit at a tea ceremony and engage in conversation with the Great Sovereign while savoring tea that was personally brewed by the Great Sovereign. Aside from those ninety nine, another 9,990,000 individuals are allowed to listen in on the Great Sovereign’s teachings. I was able to reach my current state as one of the strongest individuals in the Voidforce Universe because I was allowed to hear the Great Sovereign's teachings. That opportunity was a gift from Senior Xu Wuwei."

The old man stared intently at Lu Yin. "Do you understand how many people die each time the Great Sovereign holds a tea ceremony, just because they are fighting for a chance to hear those teachings? These deaths are not from internal discord, but rather because people die on the battlefield while gloriously sacrificing themselves in an attempt to make a name for themselves throughout the megaverse. Being powerful is not nearly enough to secure a place at a tea ceremony, as opportunities and merit are far more important. As for the ninety nine seats, those are far more difficult to secure. Even I struggle to obtain one. How many peak powerhouses are there throughout the Sixverse Association? How many more at my level? If all of the associated parallel universes are included, how high does that number climb? There are just too many. Any seat that becomes available is valuable enough to start a war."

Lu Yin was already aware of everything that Xu Xiangyin was sharing. He had heard plenty of people talking about how badly they hoped to be able to attend a tea ceremony. They were something that even Progenitors longed to attend.

"Throughout history, seventeen people have had breakthroughs and become peak powerhouses because of the Great Sovereign's tea ceremonies," Xu Xiangyin added at the end.

Lu Yin sucked in a sharp breath. Seventeen peak powerhouses! That meant that seventeen Progenitor-level experts had risen to power because of the Great Sovereign's tea ceremonies. It sounded completely unbelievable.

"Now, do you understand just how important these seats are?" Xu Xiangyin asked solemnly.