Covering the Sky: I, Wang Teng, truly lack the bearing of an emperor.

In response to Wang Teng's question, Yao Guang Shengzi nodded with a faint smile.

"They're just petty scoundrels who can only hide in the shadows, doing little things behind the scenes but never daring to bring them out into the open. What's there to worry about with such people?" Yao Guang Holy Son said with a smile.

Hearing the barbed words from this guy, Wang Teng's smile became even brighter.

"Who can argue with that? Insects that only dare to live in the shadows will never dare to put their deeds in the light, and even if given the opportunity, they will be useless," Wang Teng chuckled.

When he was undergoing his tribulation, it was arguably the most vulnerable time for him, yet even so, those in the shadows failed to seize the opportunity.

“Indeed, they wanted to target Brother Wang when he was undergoing his tribulation, but they didn’t expect Brother Wang to be even stronger! Those ancient saints originally had the potential to become the hope of the human race and be revered by countless humans, but they chose the wrong path and insisted on targeting Brother Wang. As a result, they ended up like this, which makes others applaud.” Ji Haoyue also spoke up.

That incident caused quite a stir back then, and many people knew about it. Many people felt ashamed of the behavior of those ancient sages and even talked about it behind their backs. Even now, when that incident is brought up again, others still feel contempt and dissatisfaction.

Especially now that the ancient race is about to revive, the human race and the ancient race have been discussing the revival of the ancient race for so long. One after another, the sages of the ancient race have appeared, while the human race has not had many sages appear.

The fact that so many sages had stepped in to deal with Wang Teng made those people even more indignant, and some even gritted their teeth when the matter was brought up.

"In the end, those people were only at the highest level; they didn't have the same mindset as the White-Robed God King and the Great Sage of the Crane. Otherwise, why would they have attacked the geniuses of our human race?"

Even the successor of the Heavenly Fiend couldn't help but speak up.

Originally, every ancient sage deserves respect, but after the Wang Teng incident, some people have started to have opinions about certain ancient sages when they are mentioned.

“It is indeed somewhat disappointing, but not all of them are ancient saints. Some people, though they walk in the shadows, are still working hard for the human race, right, Brother Yaoguang?” Wang Teng said with a light laugh, and then asked Yaoguang Saint Son.

Others also knew that the two had a very good relationship, after all, back in the Eastern Wilderness, there were rumors that the two almost became sworn brothers.

Whether or not they successfully became sworn brothers is unknown, but everyone believes that Wang Teng's relationship with the Holy Son of Yaoguang surpasses his relationship with other prodigies.

At this moment, everyone else assumed that the two of them were discussing the matter, and that they were doing so with smiles on their faces.

“Indeed, some people may walk in the shadows, but what they do may not necessarily be bad. Whether they walk in the light or in the shadows, as long as what they do is right, that is enough,” Yao Guang Holy Son nodded and said.

Wang Teng never expected that this guy would become so shameless.

He could certainly understand the meaning behind Yao Guang Sheng Zi's words.

Interestingly, the original Yao Guang Holy Son was not like this. In the original work, the Yao Guang Holy Son was one of the most oppressive villains in the early stages. Whether he appeared as a protagonist or an antagonist, the oppressive force he brought was extremely strong, even comparable to Shi Yi in Perfect World.

Even in the end, the Holy Son of Yaoguang achieved the Chaotic Body and attained enlightenment in an unconventional way, making him one of the few powerful figures in the world of Shrouding the Heavens who achieved enlightenment through his own strength.

Perhaps it was because of him that the Holy Son of Yaoguang became like this?

Actually, upon closer reflection, it's not impossible, because it seems that it was precisely because of what I did that Yao Guang Sheng Zi's schemes failed one after another.

Wouldn't too many failures lead to mental breakdown?
However, Wang Teng was just thinking about it; he certainly wouldn't really believe it.

Seeing that the Holy Son of Yaoguang was developing in the same direction as Ye Fan, Wang Teng directly shifted the blame to Ye Fan.

"Perhaps he's been in contact with Ye Fan for too long and has become a bit cunning," Wang Teng thought to himself.

However, he did not show it. When he looked at Yao Guang Shengzi, the two smiled at each other, their faces full of tacit understanding. They raised their cups from afar and then drank them down in one gulp.

To others, this undoubtedly proves that their relationship is extraordinary.

But only they themselves know the truth.

After a few rounds of drinks, the group gradually became closer.

Although they were among the first to arrive at Qishi Mansion, they didn't interact much before, and they weren't all gathered together like they are now.

Wang Teng's arrival provided them with an opportunity. Prodigies from the Eastern Wilderness, Central Plains, Northern Plains, and Southern Ridge gathered together, raising their glasses to each other. They might not have said anything to celebrate, but simply drinking a glass was enough.

The Southern Demon and the Azure-Clad Little Flood Dragon King sat down together, their arms around each other as they looked at the Ji Family Divine Body not far away, then at the Yao Guang Holy Son and whispered among themselves.

"Wasn't it the Ji family who made the first move?" Nan Yao asked.

"It's them! They want to seize the Demon Emperor's Weapon from the princess!" The little dragon king in blue nodded.

Hearing the words of the little dragon king in blue, Nan Yao's gaze turned cold. "This guy really dares to think that way! That's an ultimate imperial weapon. Even if he can temporarily take it from the princess, does that mean the Ji family is prepared to oppose all the demon races in the world?"

"Who knows? Maybe they've gotten a little arrogant because a divine body has appeared." The little dragon king in blue snorted.

"I heard that when they were chasing down Senior Peacock King, the Yao Guang Holy Land also took action?" Nan Yao continued to ask.

The little dragon king in green nodded, the main force being their Ji family and the Yao Guang Holy Land.

Nan Yao understood immediately. "After this gathering, I'll go and have a good talk with that Yao Guang Holy Son."

"Then thank you very much, Brother Nan Yao." The little dragon king in green robes smiled and clinked glasses with Nan Yao.

"We are both demons, why be so polite?" Nan Yao chuckled.

Previously, he didn't know much about this descendant of a great bandit from the northern region of the Eastern Wilderness. It was only after he heard that the Azure-Clad Little Flood Dragon King had mastered the Demon Emperor's inheritance and suppressed the Golden-Winged Little Roc King, who was famous in the central part of the Eastern Wilderness, that he became somewhat interested in this seemingly refined young man. After several encounters, they found that their personalities were quite compatible and they quickly became friends.

Although the two were plotting something, they didn't deliberately lower their voices. The people on the nearby sky bridge became interested after hearing their conversation. Although they didn't go up to talk to them, they couldn't help but compare the two of them to the Ji family's divine body and the Yao Guang Holy Son.

On the other side, Wang Teng was busy, frequently clinking glasses with people. Whether they were prodigies he had met before and had a good relationship with, or prodigies he had never met before, they all came up to clink glasses with Wang Teng, wanting to become familiar with him. Wang Teng greeted them one by one.

Beside him, Yan Ruyu became the center of attention for many female cultivators. Many female prodigies also gathered around to talk to Yan Ruyu, but most of the time their eyes were still on Wang Teng.

Yan Ruyu wasn't angry, because she and Wang Teng had already opened their hearts to each other long ago. Not to mention these few people, even if you brought over the most beautiful girls from the East and the Central Plains, she wouldn't feel any sense of crisis.

While a group of brilliant minds were enjoying themselves, others were also quietly watching them.

"Do you think Wang Teng and the Holy Son of Yaoguang were just trying to trick us?" the old master of Qishi Mansion couldn't help but ask.

They had been listening intently for a long time, having been secretly observing the gathering from the very beginning until now. They had also been paying close attention to the discussions taking place at the meeting.

When the ancient race and the human race were mentioned again, as well as the things that happened in the open and in the shadows, and those sages, he always felt that the two of them were singing in unison, mentioning his name and the names of the several deputy prefects beside him.

“I think you might be overthinking it. Given Wang Teng’s and Yao Guang’s personalities, if they really wanted to say something, they wouldn’t need to use those sarcastic and suggestive tactics. They would just find you directly and ask why you didn’t go to Yaochi Holy Land,” a deputy prefecture master said after a moment’s thought.

Upon hearing this, the lord of Qishi Mansion gave the man a deep look. Although what he said made a lot of sense, he still felt uneasy.

"Speaking of which, you've been a sage for two or three thousand years now, haven't you?" the Lord of the Qishi Mansion suddenly asked.

"Yes, what's wrong?" The deputy prefect nodded.

He was not a being of this era, but rather someone who lived tens of thousands of years earlier. After becoming a saint, he sealed himself away, and only recently emerged from seclusion when the Qishi Mansion was about to open.

"Only two or three thousand years ago, he is still a young saint. Why don't you go to the Yaochi Holy Land?" said the master of Qishi Mansion.

The deputy prefect was taken aback upon hearing this. "What?"

"Let's go to the Yaochi Holy Land. The revival of the ancient clans ultimately requires all parties to sit down and discuss it," the Lord of Qishi Mansion said again.

“But aren’t we completely neutral? The origins of the Qishi Mansion aren’t on this star. At worst, we can just leave and let the people on this star find their own way to embark on the ancient star path, right?” the deputy manor master said.

“But we come from this star. And although the Qishi Mansion maintains absolute neutrality, it doesn’t mean they don’t care about anything. You can go to the Yaochi Holy Land and do something for the neutral Qishi Mansion there. Even if it’s just to calm them down before they take action and have a proper talk, that would be a contribution. And if someone grows up in the future and wants to settle scores, we can use that as an excuse to say a few words.”

The head of the Qishi Mansion spoke.

“But our Qishi Mansion has never done this before, throughout history,” the deputy head of the manor said.

"Never before in history has such a thing happened. Never before in history has such a heaven-defying genius as Wang Teng been born. At such a young age, he has already gained the recognition and admiration of more than half of the forces in the Eastern Wilderness Central Continent. What I mean is that times have changed. Nowadays, many things can no longer follow the old rules. Actively embracing the changes of the times is also a good thing for our Qishi Mansion."

The head of the Qishi Mansion spoke.

When he mentioned this, there was a hint of regret in his voice.

When he took over the position from the previous head of the manor, he never imagined that someone could be so defying the heavens and so abnormal.

Even the once-invincible Emperor Wushi did not seem to perform as powerfully and exaggeratedly as Wang Teng at the same age.

Therefore, when dealing with Wang Teng, one must be flexible in many ways.

The deputy prefectural lord was silent for a moment after hearing the prefectural lord's words, then nodded.

“Alright, I’ll go. But let me make this clear beforehand: I will remain absolutely neutral. I will not side with the human race because of Wang Teng’s strength, nor will I side with the ancient race because of their oppression. I’m only going there to prevent their argument from turning into a conflict,” the deputy prefectural lord said.

"That's enough." The lord of Qishi Mansion nodded.

Looking at the joyous scene in the distance, he couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.

"Sometimes I wonder if what we're doing is right or wrong, but there are just too many variables these days. Take that Supreme Hall for example, has any of you ever heard of it before? Even I've never heard of such a place. But this place suddenly appeared before the public, and not only us, but even the ancient clans haven't questioned its authenticity. So many times I've wondered if there are many powerful forces that even we ourselves don't know about."

While we claim to maintain neutrality, complete neutrality is often a form of bias, especially when one side is weak and then suddenly becomes powerful. In their eyes, so-called neutrality might simply be a compromise between the moderate and the powerful.

The lord of Qishi Mansion sighed and spoke.

He was worried that Qishi Mansion would be labeled in this way, so he broke the rules that had been in place for hundreds of thousands of years and sent one of his deputy heads to Yaochi Holy Land.

“I understand, Lord of the Manor, there’s no need to worry.” The deputy lord of the manor nodded.

In the past, they were able to remain aloof because no powerful figure exerted pressure on them.

But no one has forgotten that back then, a powerful figure directly stormed into the Qishi Mansion and completely wiped out 30% of the Qishi Mansions in the starry sky.

No one wants to see such tragedies repeat themselves.

Soon, a beam of light shot into the sky from the Qishi Mansion.

Even Wang Teng and the Holy Son of Yao Guang were unaware that their heated debate had caused such a stir.

Even the head of the Qishi Mansion "compromised" and sent people to the Yaochi Holy Land.

If they knew about this, they would be absolutely incredulous.

Even after the gathering ended, people didn't completely disperse. Besides the large groups, some people had their own smaller groups and continued to get together.

However, to Wang Teng's surprise, the Azure-Clad Little Flood Dragon King did not come.

He glanced into the distance and immediately understood what had happened.

"This guy really doesn't hold grudges overnight!" (End of Chapter)