What Reason Is There to Leave Chives Unharvested? A Textbook Standard Setup
What Reason Is There to Leave Chives Unharvested? A Textbook Standard Setup
As this announcement rang out, the Skyward Gate Tower fell dead silent for a full moment.
Then it erupted like a pot boiling over, and every young prodigy present couldn’t help but be shocked.
Gu Changge had actually come?!
“As the host of Skyward Schloss, what reason would Brother Gu have not to come?”
Ye Langtian rose to his feet.
The gloom on his face vanished, replaced by a smile as he headed toward the palace gates to greet the arrival.
“Gu Changge is here?”
A flash of delight passed through Ye Liuli’s beautiful eyes, and she followed along.
Due to the influence of the Demonic Manipulation Urn, many of her memories of the Overworld had grown somewhat hazy.
She only remembered that Gu Changge had bullied her and made her call him Master.
Yet she didn’t dislike it in the slightest—on the contrary, she especially wanted to see him.
The other young prodigies, including several Young Prodigies with profound auras among them, also rose one after another, preparing to offer their greetings.
It had to be said that in the various heavens of the Inner Domain today, aside from Gu Changge, there were few who could command such intimidation over them.
“The Gu Family’s Young Master? Gu Changge?”
Bai Lie, the Young Master of the White Tiger Clan, furrowed his brow.
He naturally knew of Gu Changge’s reputation and had dealt with him quite a few times before—dealings from which he had never gained any advantage.
He hadn’t expected Gu Changge to actually come to the Thousands Banquet either. Many Young Prodigies looked down on attending a banquet backed by the Alliance of Thousand Merchants like this one.
But on second thought, Skyward Schloss could be considered Gu Changge’s territory.
His coming here wasn’t really out of place.
As he was thinking this, Bai Lie looked over, and his brow unconsciously furrowed even deeper.
At the entrance of the palace, a young man walked in.
His figure was tall and straight, his white robes otherworldly and spotless, as if flowing with endless radiance.
He appeared transcendent and calm, exuding an air of refined elegance—one look was enough to know he was extraordinary. The title of True Celestial Being was clearly no empty boast.
Behind Gu Changge followed a large group of Skyward Schloss disciples.
And among them, strikingly, was Bai Lie’s fiancée, the Nine-Lives Gifted Lady Yin Mei.
Watching Yin Mei walk in together with Gu Changge—though not side by side, she was half a step behind him—still made Bai Lie’s expression turn very ugly.
Yin Mei wore a red dress, her figure tall and graceful, her oval face lustrous white like mutton-fat jade, carrying a bewitching beauty.
Her dark eyebrows curved gently, her eyes like rubies shimmering with light, her nose elegantly raised, her red lips dotted like blossoms, her pearly teeth gleaming, her hair smooth as silk.
Anyone who saw them at this moment would feel that Yin Mei and that white-robed man were an extremely well-matched pair, like a celestial couple of immortals.
His heart was extremely displeased. Any man in his place would be displeased—his own fiancée walking in like this with another man, what was this supposed to mean?
Quite a few Young Prodigies’ expressions turned somewhat suggestive for a moment. They glanced at the sour-faced Bai Lie with strange smiles.
No matter how you looked at it, this looked like someone was wearing a green hat, didn’t it?
This Bai Lie had just been acting all smug, saying he came to see his fiancée?
More like his fiancée didn’t want to see him!
“Brother Gu, you’ve come after all. I said it—as the host, with prodigies from all sides gathered here, what reason would you have not to come?”
Ye Langtian stepped forward, his expression carrying a hearty smile as he greeted Gu Changge.
Anyone who didn’t know better would think he and Gu Changge were close friends.
But in reality, this was the very first time the two had met.
Ye Langtian had heard quite a bit about Gu Changge from his sister Ye Liuli.
Especially regarding the matter in the Overworld—Gu Changge had not blamed his sister for her rudeness, which gave him quite a favorable impression of Gu Changge.
Moreover, in the eyes of many powers in the Beyond, Gu Changge was hailed as a True Celestial Being, while he himself bore the title of Reincarnation of an Ancient Emperor. From any angle, the two of them ought to get acquainted.
“Gu Changge, long time no see~” Ye Liuli also greeted Gu Changge, her expression slightly evasive, as if shy.
Seeing this, many young prodigies felt their hearts sink halfway into ice. They had just been entertaining ideas about Ye Liuli.
Now, at a glance, it was clear someone already occupied her heart.
Gu Changge swept his gaze over the crowd, a faint smile on his face. “Brother Ye is too courteous. Miss Liuli, long time no see.”
He had never met Ye Langtian, but guessing his identity wasn’t difficult.
As for the so-called Reincarnation of an Ancient Emperor, Gu Changge didn’t actually care. In his eyes, even if an Ancient Emperor were alive in the flesh, as long as they offended him, he could still peel a layer of skin off them.
It was just that Ye Langtian’s attitude was decent enough, so he reluctantly returned the greeting.
After that, the other prodigies began introducing themselves and exchanging pleasantries one by one, starting to show themselves off before Gu Changge.
Even the few Young Prodigies appeared quite cautious, greeting Gu Changge carefully, unwilling to easily offend him.
Gu Changge’s purpose in coming here naturally wasn’t the Thousands Banquet itself—he wasn’t interested in it at all.
Right now, Skyward Schloss had attracted many powers, and there were quite a few of the younger generation among them. Skyward Ancient City sat right at the foot of Skyward Schloss’s mountain gate, so many young people would come here first.
So he came to try his luck too.
A new Fortuitous One had appeared, which meant new chives were ready to be harvested.
And most importantly, this Fortuitous One was very close to his own territory!
On the way here, he had also heard the System issue a random Fortuity Mission.
“Destroy the Fortuitous One’s relationship lines. Completion reward: 1,000 Fortuity, 5,000 Fatums.”
This reward could be called extremely generous—the Fortuity Missions of the Overworld simply couldn’t compare.
Gu Changge more or less understood now what caliber this Fortuitous One was. Just a single related mission carried this kind of reward.
Interesting.
Speaking of which, the Overworld’s Fortuitous One could at most be considered a toy—calling him a tool would be overestimating him.
But this newly appeared Fortuitous One of the Beyond could finally be considered a qualified tool.
However, the relationship line the System indicated was within Skyward Ancient City, so it presumably had something to do with some of the young prodigies.
Gu Changge was intimately familiar with this kind of routine. Back in the Overworld, hadn’t he conveniently destroyed some Holy Land or other?
Right, the Karura Holy Land.
That time, he had also happened to encounter a similar mission.
“Brother Gu’s unfathomable strength truly lives up to your reputation—not revealing a hint of it.”
At this moment, Ye Langtian sighed with some emotion. Only after meeting Gu Changge did he realize the rumors were true.
Middle stage of the Honoured King Realm.
Even if he played every trump card he had, he probably wouldn’t be Gu Changge’s match. His chances of victory were slim.
“Why is Brother Ye being so modest about your strength? At the very least, in my view, there are few people in this hall who could be your match,” Gu Changge said with a casual smile.
Although saying this somewhat offended the other Young Prodigies, he didn’t care. Besides, Ye Langtian was the Young Master of the Ye Family and Ye Liuli’s older brother—
Gu Changge had actually developed some thoughts of winning him over.
Hearing this, Ye Langtian gave a bitter laugh and sighed. “Brother Gu saying that only leaves me helpless. There are thousands upon thousands of prodigies in this world—who can claim to be invincible?”
Hearing this, a sharp glint flashed through Gu Changge’s eyes. He smiled and said, “Could it be that Brother Ye has suffered some kind of blow, to say such a thing?”
As a Young Prodigy and the successor of the Ancient Ye Family, for such words to come from Ye Langtian’s mouth—
That was rather thought-provoking.
Gu Changge felt like he was groping his way toward something... the new Fortuitous One?
Ye Liuli’s expression also turned somewhat indignant as she explained, “Recently, my brother really did have his state of mind affected by a scheming collateral clansman. Speaking of which, that person named Ye Ling really went too far...”
“Oh? I’d love to hear the details.”
Hearing this, Gu Changge’s interest was piqued.
A conflict between a collateral clansman and the Young Master, from the Ye Family of the Ancient Immortal Races no less.
No matter how you looked at it, this smelled like a classic setup!
Ye Langtian shook his head with a bitter smile, then recounted the matter to Gu Changge.
His heart was currently full of gloom and frustration.
“Accidentally severely injuring his father, seeking justice for his father, a collateral clansman, bizarre methods... and surnamed Ye again...”
After listening, Gu Changge had more or less sorted out the whole sequence of events.
There were so many tropes in this world, yet why were they all the old tropes he knew best?
Thinking of this, Gu Changge felt that in the future, whenever he encountered someone surnamed Ye, he’d have to keep an eye out. As the number one surname in the fantasy world, it was spread across All of Heaven and Its Thousand Worlds.
Who knew how many Fortuitous Ones were among them.
In his early years, during the family’s annual competition, Ye Langtian had accidentally severely injured the head of a collateral branch, causing that branch to rapidly decline.
Afterward, he gave them a great deal of compensation, which that branch accepted in full.
But a few years later, the son of that family head emerged, raising the banner of seeking justice for his father. He seized first place in the grand competition in one fell swoop and took the opportunity to challenge Ye Langtian.
As the Young Master, Ye Langtian had to consider the feelings of the collateral clansmen, and besides, the fault in that incident back then had indeed been his.
So he suppressed his cultivation and fought that man.
Who knew that man would be so insidious—playing the pig to eat the tiger all along. His actual strength was formidable, yet he insisted on pretending to be weak and fighting dirty.
Fortunately, Ye Langtian himself was also very strong. Even with his cultivation suppressed, he fought that battle to a draw.
But that battle made the man named Ye Ling famous overnight. Within the Ye Family, it drew the attention of quite a few old monsters and clan elders, who felt his talent surpassed Ye Langtian’s and intended to focus on cultivating him.
“...This series of maneuvers is really something.”
After hearing it all, Gu Changge knew that the newly appeared Fortuitous One was, nine times out of ten, that man named Ye Ling.
Playing the pig to eat the tiger, counterattacking and face-slapping, raising a grand banner to reap benefits for himself—this was the textbook standard equipment of a Fortuitous One. No doubt about it.
From Ye Langtian’s perspective, this Ye Ling was indeed insidious, with endless schemes and tricks one after another.
If he wanted justice, why had he accepted the compensation back then?
Of course, Gu Changge thought it was perfectly normal. Free benefits not taken—wouldn’t that be stupid?
Raising a banner to reap benefits for oneself was also normal for a Fortuitous One.
Moreover, in his view, this Fortuitous One’s character was hardly anything righteous and honorable.
“Logically speaking, I’ve never even met this Fortuitous One named Ye Ling. How did I offend him?”
“Or am I just naturally at odds with them?”
Gu Changge pondered inwardly.
Of course, not having offended him now didn’t mean he wouldn’t offend him later.
Fortuitous Ones—sooner or later, he would harvest them all. Whether they’d offended him or not, what reason was there to leave chives unharvested?
He was just a little puzzled, that’s all.
“Yin Mei...”
At this moment, a voice carrying some displeasure rang out, pulling Gu Changge’s thoughts back to the present, and he looked over.
His gaze immediately turned rather intrigued.
The speaker was naturally Bai Lie, the Young Master of the White Tiger Clan.
He was burly in build, with distinct white markings on his forehead, draped in the hide of some unknown beast.
Sitting there, a terrifying baleful aura emanated from him, his blood energy surging tremendously—he was practically like a giant furnace standing erect.
The young prodigies nearby all kept a considerable distance from him, clearly quite fearful of him.
The White Tiger Clan was a lineage of the Ancient Royal Families, possessing the Geng Metal talent, hailed as one of the top three offensive arts in the Beyond.
Among the younger generation, few dared provoke them. Their strength was formidable.
Gu Changge was actually quite interested in this Geng Metal talent.
Moreover, this Bai Lie, unlike the other young prodigies, showed him no reverence or attempts to curry favor—clearly, they didn’t get along.
Since they didn’t get along, and from what he’d just learned from Ye Langtian, Bai Lie and Ye Ling were sworn brothers—
The key to this random System mission clearly lay in Bai Lie’s hands.
“Junior Sister Yin Mei, since Brother Bai Lie is calling you, why don’t you respond to him?”
At this moment, Gu Changge smiled faintly, his expression gentle as he spoke to Yin Mei beside him.
And while he was at it, he casually grabbed one of her fluffy, soft fox tails and stroked it gently, like petting a cat in his previous life.
This scene instantly turned Bai Lie’s face green. His entire being looked like it was about to explode.
The other young prodigies also looked like their eyeballs were about to pop out of their sockets.