Chapter 672: Good Fortune

“The Celestial Plum Divine Clan?”

Yi Tianyun mulled over the name of this Hidden Clan. ‘To dare call themselves a Divine Race… they certainly have guts.’ However, at the peak of their glory, their clan had produced three Saint Kings.

That was similar to the Celestial Nether Divine Kingdom, which had also produced three Saint Kings—enough to stand proudly above many other Divine Country Powers. After the war in the Celestial Realm, the Celestial Plum Divine Clan suffered a devastating blow. Two of their Saint Kings fell, and countless elite disciples were killed or wounded, leading to the clan’s immediate decline.

Fortunately, their foundations were still deep. They hid within the Celestial Plum Mountain Range, where it was relatively safe. This had been their territory during their golden age, so it was fortified by the power of the three great Saint Kings, making it incredibly difficult to breach.

Ordinarily, no one would attack them without a compelling reason. After all, their legacy was formidable. Who knew what other Treasures or hidden powers they might still possess?

The only exception would be if the Celestial Plum Divine Clan possessed an extremely astonishing Treasure—something that could, for example, allow one to become a Divine King. In that case, they would surely be overrun.

‘They really are keeping a low profile. No wonder I couldn’t find out anything just by asking around; the Celestial Plum Divine Clan is truly difficult to find. They’ve been in decline for several hundred years and have lived in seclusion, so it’s no surprise that nobody is very clear on the details…’

Yi Tianyun frowned. The Celestial Plum Mountain Range wasn’t listed as part of the frigid zone. The vendor he’d asked knew the general area, but he didn’t know about the Celestial Plum Mountain Range itself.

That was because not just anyone could enter the Celestial Plum Mountain Range. It was completely cut off from the outside world; one couldn’t even see its true form. Even if it were a snow-capped mountain, it was invisible from a distance. All one could see was a hazy white mist, and to venture inside was to walk a path to certain death.

Over time, the place was simply forgotten. With no one daring to approach, who would even remember it was there?

‘If I had searched the entire frigid zone, it probably would have been for nothing…’ Yi Tianyun found the thought amusing. ‘To spend several years on it only to find out it was a wild goose chase… what a pointless ordeal that would have been.’

Of course, he wasn’t that foolish. His initial plan was to hunt some Demon Beasts to earn enough Madness Value to purchase Soul Guidance, which would have allowed him to find the location easily. Three million Madness Value wasn’t much; he could have earned it with a few months’ effort at most, so it wasn’t a major issue.

He wasn’t foolish enough to spend years on the search. Now that he had accurate information, he could basically head out.

“The information from your Zuoqiu Divine Kingdom is certainly detailed…” Yi Tianyun was quite pleased with the report. It even listed the old history of the Celestial Plum Divine Clan. It seemed they had written down everything they knew, and this diligence was very satisfying to him.

In addition to the text, they had also drawn the emblem of the Celestial Plum Divine Clan, confirming that it was a perfect match for the one Yi Tianyun had provided.

“Of course. When you make a request, Sir, our Zuoqiu Divine Kingdom is committed to providing a satisfactory answer. We would never try to pass off a half-hearted effort.” The Zuoqiu Divine Envoy smiled, confident that no one could have provided a more detailed report than he had.

“Excellent. Very good.” Yi Tianyun nodded in satisfaction. “Come here.”

The Zuoqiu Divine Envoy immediately walked over. Yi Tianyun took out a Jade Pendant and handed it to him.

“See for yourself,” Yi Tianyun said nonchalantly. “This is the reward I promised you. Don’t tell me it’s not satisfactory. Getting a reward like this just for gathering some information is an incredible bargain.”

The Zuoqiu Divine Envoy excitedly began to inspect it. He infused his Spiritual Power into the Jade Pendant, and the information within was immediately transmitted to his mind.

A moment later, the Zuoqiu Divine Envoy was ecstatic. He bowed again and again, saying, “Thank you, Sir! Thank you! We are extremely satisfied with this reward, absolutely satisfied!”

The Zuoqiu Divine Envoy kept bowing to Yi Tianyun, his back bent so low he could hardly straighten up. Clearly, he was absolutely satisfied with the reward.

“Alright, you may go.” Yi Tianyun waved his hand. “However, if I go to verify this information and find it to be false, don’t blame me for being merciless!”

“It is absolutely not false! Our Sovereign even said that I can personally escort you there and help you get inside—it would be no problem at all!” the Zuoqiu Divine Envoy said with a smile. “Our Zuoqiu Divine Kingdom had a bit of a connection with them a long, long time ago.”

He didn’t specify which power he was talking about. He had no desire for others to learn of this matter. After going to such great lengths to acquire this information for Yi Tianyun, why would he let anyone else benefit?

“So you have a connection. No wonder you were the first to arrive.” Yi Tianyun smiled. That part wasn’t surprising.

He had never believed that out of all the Divine Country Powers, not a single one would know about this Hidden Clan. No matter how reclusive a clan was, they had to have surfaced at some point.

After all, this was a clan, not an individual! A single person might be difficult to find, but an entire clan couldn’t possibly hide completely. Being a “Hidden Clan” simply meant they had retired from the world and no longer concerned themselves with its affairs; that was a far cry from being impossible to find.

“Yes, we had a slight advantage…” The Zuoqiu Divine Envoy smiled. He himself hadn’t known the details, but when he returned to his kingdom to make inquiries, the information came to him almost immediately.

Most of the time had been spent on the journey here; very little was spent actually collecting the information.

Just then, the final results for the top three were announced. He Rongkun had ultimately lost, placing fourth and thus failing to receive any reward.

“So he lost in the end…” Wei Feizhou found it a bit regrettable, but he was satisfied with the overall outcome.

“Master, I lost…”

After stepping down from the stage, He Rongkun looked at his master with a dejected expression. He had thought he could fight his way into the top three, but he had still lost in the end.

“You already worked very hard. You’re much stronger than I expected,” Wei Feizhou said. “If the Martial Arts I had given you were a bit better, the result would certainly have been different.” He knew their weaknesses lay not just in their weapons, but even more so in their Martial Arts.

To fight his way into the top four under such conditions was already a remarkable feat.

“Your talent is good; you just lack the right opportunity.” Yi Tianyun gestured with his hand, and a bright light appeared in his palm. He then tapped He Rongkun’s forehead, and the light flowed into his mind. “These are Martial Arts for you. Study them well. Even the prize for first place is inferior to this.”

He Rongkun squeezed his eyes shut to commit it to memory. The information flooded into his mind so forcefully that he had no chance to even say thank you; all he could do was focus on absorbing it.

“Thank you, Sir!” Wei Feizhou dropped to his knees and kowtowed heavily. “Thank you for this life-changing grace, Sir! Meeting you is the greatest blessing of my entire life!”

Although he didn’t know what Martial Arts Yi Tianyun had given, he knew it had to be astonishing. ‘This man casually tossed over a Sacred Artifact; how could the Martial Arts he provides be anything less than extraordinary?’

“Get up,” Yi Tianyun said calmly. “I felt an affinity with you both, so I decided to grant you this boon. Make good use of it.”

The others watched, filled with envy. ‘If only I could be so fortunate,’ they thought.

“Sir, I have a presumptuous request, and I beg you to grant it!” Wei Feizhou did not rise, remaining prostrated on the ground.