265: The 14th and 22nd on the Heavenly Ranking

Seeing this, Zhou Yan was taken aback and immediately used his Saint permissions to seal off this space.

The space that was originally connected to other areas was instantly shrouded by golden, thread-like streams of light, leaving only the door connecting to the high platform in the air still open.

Seeing that the entrance and exit were basically sealed, Zhou Yan finally breathed a sigh of relief. He hurriedly pushed the female Cultivator away, his gaze toward the two of them turning vigilant.

He was currently wearing a simple blue robe, and his face was covered by a face-concealing Magical Artifact provided by his cheap master, making his appearance look plain and unremarkable to others.

There were countless Cultivators wearing blue robes today. With his blue robe lacking any fancy patterns or special effects, combined with a generic face, it was impossible for him to be recognized while sitting in a corner.

Yet, not only did these two head straight for him, the female Cultivator even hugged his leg the moment she approached, shouting "Brother Zhou." It looked strange no matter how one viewed it.

"Who exactly are you two? I don't believe I know you."

Seeing Zhou Yan's guard, the male Cultivator picked up the female Cultivator and moved her further away from Zhou Yan.

"What is wrong with you? Didn't we agree to confirm first?"

"You spilled everything the moment you came up. What if we recognized the wrong person?"

The male Cultivator helplessly rubbed his forehead, his face full of exhaustion.

But the female Cultivator still maintained that cold, frost-like expression, though her tone was completely different from her appearance.

"Relax, I still trust your ability. If you say he is Zhou Yan, then he definitely is. Besides, if we came up and tested him first, it would ruin the impression. What if he refuses to let me tag along because of that?"

"Wouldn't I have lost a powerful ally for nothing?"

The male Cultivator finally sighed, looking very weary.

"Apologies, Brother Zhou."

"I originally intended to come over alone to have a normal conversation with you, but this idiot insisted on following, and I couldn't do anything about it."

After speaking, the male Cultivator's expression became solemn.

"I am the Saint of Butian Pavilion, and this person beside me is the current Saintess of Liyan Holy Land."

"We are here specifically to pay a visit to the current Saint of Qingxu Grotto-Heaven."

Hearing this, Zhou Yan immediately recalled the information.

Because his cheap master had mentioned that the Saints and Saintesses of the other two of the Three Sects would also be present, he had specifically looked at the guest list when giving the gift.

At the time, he had glanced at the important attendees from the two sects, but because time was tight and he was being urged by others, he only hastily remembered two names.

One seemed to be Xuanyuan Qingyao, and the other was called Bai Ling.

"Could you two be... Fellow Daoist Xuanyuan Qingyao and Fellow Daoist Bai Ling?" Zhou Yan asked tentatively.

"I am Bai Ling, courtesy name Lingming," the Saint of Butian Pavilion said.

"I am Xuanyuan Qingyao," the Saintess of Liyan Holy Land replied calmly, still wearing that expressionless face.

"Ah?"

Zhou Yan was stunned.

He had previously felt it was strange, vaguely remembering that the forces corresponding to those two names seemed different from what the two in front of him said, and he thought he had misread them in his haste.

As it turns out, the man is actually named Bai Ling, and the woman is named Xuanyuan Qingyao?

The parents of these two families are truly talented to have come up with these names.

After some conversation, the three of them finally sat down.

Bai Ling sat with proper posture, and Xuanyuan Qingyao also barely managed to look like a proper person.

This Brother... Sister Xuanyuan, Zhou Yan's thoughts stalled for a moment.

"You can call me Qing'er or Nickname."

Xuanyuan Qingyao grabbed the food in the plate and stuffed it into her mouth, her image collapsing further.

And of the two titles she suggested, one was too intimate, and the other was too annoying.

At this moment, Bai Ling also spoke up to explain.

"Brother Zhou might not know, 'Qing'er' is her childhood Nickname, and 'Nickname' is her moniker when she travels outside."

"After all, the Southern Desert practices a 'free-range' style of upbringing. She spends most of her time training outside and rarely shows herself using her real name and true appearance."

"Plus, her real name does sound a bit strange, so we usually call her Qing'er or Nickname."

"You can call her Qing'er in private. If she is hiding her identity outside, we call her Nickname."

"Of course, if Brother Zhou finds it troublesome, you can call her Nickname in public or private. After all, she is indeed quite a bit older than you."

Speaking of this, Nickname stopped her movements, wiped her mouth, and pointed at Bai Ling.

"What do you mean by that!"

As expected, even a female Cultivator like her cares about age-related issues?

Zhou Yan breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that she was a normal woman after all, but then he heard Nickname continue.

"As the saying goes, the one who is more skilled is the master."

"For a heaven-sent genius like Brother Zhou to reach the same Realm as us within a year, your future is truly limitless."

"How could I possibly rely on my age to act superior?"

As she spoke, she picked up a small wine cup with her oily hand, stood up, and toasted Zhou Yan.

"Apologies Brother Zhou, I haven't had a proper meal in too long, so my brain was a bit slow."

"How can I let Brother Zhou call me Nickname?"

"You can just call me Xiao Yao, both in public and private."

"I spoke out of turn just now, I will punish myself with three cups."

Before Zhou Yan could stop her, she drank them all in one go, then drank two more, forced a smile that could barely be called bright, and went back to eating.

Damn, why make it look so pitiful?

Have I become a bully?

"Brother Zhou, don't be deceived by appearances," Bai Ling said from the side.

"This person actually has no emotions. Most of what you see now are survival techniques she learned from her sect."

"Except for the 'haven't had a proper meal in too long' part, which is true, you'd better not believe a single word of what she said afterward."

"Her strength isn't that great; she relies entirely on her exquisite combat talent. If you feel soft-hearted and team up with her, she will be the death of you."

Nickname gnawed on a pork knuckle, her big, bright eyes gazing at Zhou Yan, but she did not refute Bai Ling's words.

Looking at Bai Ling's "been there, done that" expression, Zhou Yan knew that his words were not false.

"By the way, how did you recognize me? I clearly used a disguise."

Mentioning this, Bai Ling revealed a confident smile again.

"When I held my ceremony, my master attended on my behalf, and the seat I sat in back then was the exact one you are in now."

"Following the style of the Three Sects standing together, Qingxu Grotto-Heaven definitely sent an Elder to attend on their behalf."

"Plus, most of the surrounding Cultivators are dressed in gorgeous clothing. Only you, Brother Zhou, are dressed so plainly, and you specifically chose to sit in this position, making the whole thing look too deliberate."

"So based on my experience, it wasn't difficult to deduce."

After saying this, Bai Ling crossed his arms and gave a crooked smile.

"You should have heard of some of my deeds."

"Although my strength relies entirely on talent and I don't like to use my brain, I am actually quite sharp."

"If you need to team up in the Eastern Extreme Secret Realm, Brother Zhou can definitely prioritize me."

"Take me with you two, I'll just grab some loot and leave," Nickname said, raising her hand while eating.

"Screw you, you pit-digging disaster!" Bai Ling directly gave a gesture of contempt.

Zhou Yan watched this scene, not knowing how to interject.

The two were clearly very familiar with each other, as they were of the same generation, and he was a newcomer.

He had even come here to probe their true strength, but now they had explained their situations in a half-joking manner, which made him feel a bit embarrassed.

To summarize their statements.

Bai Ling was likely a stat-monster with a powerful Physique and deep cultivation, and his combat record was indeed fierce; he had once killed a genuine Core Formation Cultivator without any negative side effects while still in the Foundation Establishment Stage.

When he was in the Middle Stage of the Nascent Soul, he had even killed a Late Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator who possessed a Domain, thus ranking 14th on the Heavenly Rankings.

As for Xuanyuan Qingyao, her own cultivation seemed unremarkable; she was a "technique-based" fighter who rarely faced enemies head-on and did not fight battles she wasn't sure of winning.

Most of the time, she was either running away or on the way to running away, so she didn't have any outstanding combat records.

Even with extremely high talent, having reached the Late Nascent Soul Stage early, she was only ranked 22nd on the Heavenly Rankings, even lower than Zhou Yan, a latecomer.

Oh? Alright.

The contact time was about enough, and with their favorability increasing quite quickly, Zhou Yan easily unlocked their panels.

But when he saw the panel data, Zhou Yan's smile froze.

【Bai Ling】 【Realm: Late Nascent Soul Stage】 【Vitality: 85w / 85w】 【Mana: 100w / 100w】

【Xuanyuan Qingyao】 【Realm: Late Nascent Soul Stage】 【Vitality: 1900w / 1900w】 【Mana: 800w / 800w】

"Pfft—!"

Zhou Yan sprayed a mouthful of tea directly onto Bai Ling's face opposite him.

Bai Ling's smile instantly froze, and he looked at Zhou Yan with a blank expression.

Beside him, Nickname, who was stuffing food into her mouth while earnestly discussing combat experience with Bai Ling and occasionally commenting on his rough techniques, was also stunned.

She looked at Zhou Yan and casually swiped the chicken leg Bai Ling had just picked up.