This was the lodging specifically prepared by the organizers of the Five Domains Prodigy Gathering for the participating cultivators.
One could stay here for free by presenting their participation token.
Yun Heng stepped into Lanying Pavilion.
The space inside was even larger than it appeared from the outside.
The entire layout of Lanying Pavilion was a square.
In the center was an extremely wide open space that resembled a small plaza.
Surrounding the plaza were multi-story pavilions where the participating cultivators stayed.
Each side rose several stories high, with row upon row of doors.
Cultivators from different sects, great families, and regions were assigned to different areas.
Just as Yun Heng walked in, the door of a pavilion on the west side was pushed open from within.
A slender female cultivator stepped out.
She wore a light green Daoist robe, its sleeves and hem embroidered with silver-white crescent moon patterns.
Her long hair was tied behind her head, secured only by a silver hair ring.
It was Yan Yi, whom she had not seen in a long time.
Following behind Yan Yi was a young female cultivator.
The moment Yan Yi stepped out, she immediately spotted Yun Heng standing in the courtyard.
Yan Yi's eyes lit up instantly, and she raised her hand to wave at her.
“Yun Heng!”
Her voice echoed throughout the courtyard.
Seeing her, a pleasant surprise also flickered in Yun Heng's eyes.
Yan Yi jogged over to her, her face beaming with smiles.
“You're finally here.”
Although the two had kept in touch via Transmission Jade Slips, they had not actually met in person for nearly five years since the end of the Qingming Secret Realm.
Yan Yi was clearly overjoyed to see her today.
After speaking, she seemed to suddenly remember there was someone behind her and quickly stepped aside.
“Oh, right.”
“This is my junior sister, Jiang Qian.”
Yun Heng looked over in the direction of her gesture.
Jiang Qian stood quietly behind Yan Yi, looking a bit constrained.
“Greetings, Young Lord Yun.”
Jiang Qian's voice was very soft.
Yun Heng smiled at her.
“There's no need to be so polite.”
“Just call me Yun Heng.”
Jiang Qian glanced at Yan Yi, who nodded at her.
Only then did Jiang Qian look back at Yun Heng.
“Yun Heng.”
Her voice this time was even softer than before.
The smile on Yun Heng's face deepened.
This Jiang Qian seemed a bit shy around strangers.
As the three were talking, Yun Heng noticed that quite a few people were coming out of the surrounding pavilions.
Some stood before their doors, while others leaned against the railings on the second and third floors, their gazes all landing on them.
It was likely because Yan Yi's shout earlier had been too loud.
Hearing the name Yun Heng, everyone nearby was drawn out.
Just then, a dark red figure walked over from another side.
Xiao Cen was still wearing a dark red robe today, with low-profile gold patterns embroidered on the collar and cuffs.
“Yun Heng.”
Xiao Cen walked up to them, a faint smile on her lips.
“We meet again.”
Yun Heng smiled and nodded at her.
Following behind Xiao Cen was a young male cultivator.
He wore a deep purple brocade robe with a golden jade belt around his waist, and his hair was tied high in a jade crown.
His gaze constantly shifted between Yun Heng and Xiao Cen, his thoughts practically written on his face, making him look a bit slow-witted.
Xiao Jingheng had long heard of Yun Heng's name.
No one in the imperial family was ignorant of what had happened in the Eastern Region five years ago.
In the past three months, the news that Yun Heng had reached the late stage of the Soul Transformation Realm at the age of twenty-five and had appeared in the Northern Wilderness with a Body Integration expert had spread like wildfire.
However, today was the first time Xiao Jingheng had laid eyes on her.
Only...
Why did his Third Imperial Sister seem so familiar with Yun Heng?
Though filled with doubt, Xiao Jingheng did not dare to delay.
He took a step forward and raised his hands in a salute to Yun Heng.
“Young Lord Yun.”
“I am Xiao Jingheng, the Fifth Prince of the Eastern Region.”
“It is a pleasure to meet you for the first time today.”
Yun Heng was also sizing up the person in front of her. She turned her head to look at Xiao Cen.
The meaning in her eyes was crystal clear.
Is this your imperial brother?
Xiao Cen's expression remained unchanged. She neither acknowledged him nor offered an introduction.
Yun Heng understood immediately.
It seemed the relationship between this brother and sister was not very good.
She returned the salute to Xiao Jingheng.
“Fifth Prince.”
Yan Yi watched from the side for a long time before finally unable to resist asking,
“Third Prince,”
“do you and Yun Heng know each other?”
“Two months ago, I had a brief encounter with Young Lord Yun in the Northern Wilderness,”
Xiao Cen replied.
Yun Heng nodded in agreement.
Yan Yi usually had little contact with the Eastern Region's imperial family.
Although she had seen Xiao Cen and Xiao Jingheng before, they could not be considered familiar.
The few of them stood in the courtyard conversing.
More and more people around them began to pay attention.
As early as three months ago, the name Yun Heng had already spread from Dingchuan City.
Most rogue cultivators who participated in previous sessions of the Five Domains Prodigy Gathering were only at the Nascent Soul Realm.
Being at the late stage of the Nascent Soul Realm already gave them a chance to compete with the young geniuses of major forces.
As for Soul Transformation cultivators, they had almost never appeared among the free slots.
Yet in this session, a late-stage Soul Transformation cultivator had suddenly emerged.
What was even more shocking was that her bone age was only twenty-five years.
Once this news spread, many sects and great families preparing to participate in the Five Domains Prodigy Gathering sent people to investigate Yun Heng's identity.
They quickly discovered that Yun Heng was indeed the Young Lord of the secluded clan that had shaken the Eastern Region five years ago.
And two months ago, she had appeared in the Northern Wilderness with her family's experts to resolve the beast tide.
Following that, the secluded Yun Family had officially announced their entry into the world.
This matter immediately aroused the vigilance of many top forces on the Taiyan Continent.
Who knew why the Yun Family had suddenly decided to enter the world.
Nor did they know how formidable the family's true strength actually was.
Once the Yun Family officially intervened in the cultivation world, would the original landscape of the Taiyan Continent be altered because of it?
Therefore, even if the people currently staying at Lanying Pavilion had never seen Yun Heng, most of them had heard of her name.
A wave of low-voiced conversations soon broke out around them.
“Is this the rumored Yun Heng?”
“It should be.”
“They were all calling her Young Lord Yun just now.”
A young cultivator carefully sized up Yun Heng.
“The clothes she's wearing are clearly no ordinary items.”
“And the sword at her waist is even more extraordinary.”
“As expected of a family with profound heritage.”
The person beside him sighed softly.
“I'm only at the mid stage of the Nascent Soul Realm. I probably won't even make it into the top fifty this time.”
“But this session of the Five Domains Prodigy Gathering is indeed worth watching.”
“Who do you think will take first place?”
“I was always favoring the Eldest Disciple of the Jiuyi Sect before.”
“She is the only person among the hundred slots who has reached the late stage of the Soul Transformation Realm.”
Another person immediately said,
“The Young Lord of the Bai Family is also a possibility.”
“Five years ago, the Young Lord of the Bai Family was only at the peak of the Nascent Soul Realm.”
“Now they have already broken through to the mid stage of the Soul Transformation Realm. Their cultivation speed is extremely fast.”
Speaking up to this point, that person glanced at Yun Heng standing in the courtyard again.
“But looking at it now...”
“I actually feel the Young Lord of the Yun Family is the most likely to take first place.”
Once these words were spoken, the several people around all nodded in agreement.
Not only had Yun Heng's cultivation already reached the late stage of the Soul Transformation Realm, but she was also the one with the youngest bone age among all the participants of this session.
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