"Mm. Once you reach the level of a Nascent Soul old monster, there may not even be any need for an all-out brawl to determine who's stronger. That said, this Millennium Grand Tournament is supposed to be a grand occasion for the whole of the Taigu minor jianghu—surely it can't just be a gathering of Nascent Soul old monsters?" Wei Zhao asked.

"Of course not. Nascent Soul old monsters may be the deciding threshold by which a sect or family's rank is measured, but other aspects can't be overlooked either. The contests among the core Golden Core experts—especially the duels between young disciples—those are the main attraction," Ling Tianyou said.

"Looks like there'll be quite a show to watch," Wei Zhao said with a nod.

"Haha, Brother Lin, you're the one actually calling the shots at the North Island Cangwu Sect now. What position the Cangwu Sect ends up occupying will rest entirely on your shoulders, and you'll have to steady the young disciples below when the matches come. Even if you wanted to sit back and enjoy the show, you won't have the leisure for it," Ling Tianyou could not help laughing.

Wei Zhao had nearly forgotten that particular burden. Shaking his head with a rueful smile, he turned the question around: "And how about your Thousand Blades Sect?"

"No help for it. We have no Nascent Soul old monster at present, so the Ten Minor Sects and Families are out of the question. All we can do is first fight for a strong placing on the periphery—say, qualifying as a substitute for one of the Ten Minor Sects and Families. That way, though we won't get any real say, at least when something comes up we'll still get a taste of the broth, and be ready for the day we return to the Ten Minor Sects and Families." A bitter smile hung on Ling Tianyou's face, but his tone was utterly resolute; this top-tier prodigy, unprecedented in the history of the Thousand Blades Sect, was plainly full of confidence about restoring his sect's glory.

All the hopes of the Thousand Blades Sect rested on his shoulders alone.

"A substitute qualification? But if a sect is to rank among the Ten Minor Sects and Families, that means every one of them has a Nascent Soul old monster holding it down. Even if your Thousand Blades Sect produces a Nascent Soul old monster by then, you can't exactly make an eleventh, can you?" Wei Zhao asked, puzzled.

"In theory, no. But in truth, it's not as though there's no chance at all," Ling Tianyou said with a knowing smile.

"How so?" Wei Zhao asked.

Ling Tianyou glanced at Bing Wushuang beside him, and instead of answering, smiled and said: "Speaking of which, I haven't yet congratulated Brother Bing. Advancing to Nascent Soul old monster is a joy of the highest order—I drink to you."

Bing Wushuang's strength could hardly be hidden from Ling Tianyou, and most people trembled in the presence of a Nascent Soul old monster; yet Ling Tianyou showed not the slightest constraint. Since their meeting he had done nothing beyond exchanging greetings and had said not a word more—let alone flattered or fawned. A mere Foundation Establishment expert utterly ignoring the presence of a Nascent Soul old monster—such confidence on Ling Tianyou's part was rare indeed.

Bing Wushuang gave a slight nod and drained a cup with him, showing not the least hint of condescension. Even now that he was a peak early-Nascent Soul expert, he would never on that account underestimate Ling Tianyou—after all, the man was the Thousand Blades Flying Swords himself!

Once the two had emptied their cups, Ling Tianyou continued: "The Snow Sword Sect now has three Nascent Soul old monsters. Such an ultra-luxurious lineup is no longer something the mere Ten Minor Sects and Families can contain; the four great sects and families at the very top are the Snow Sword Sect's target this time. I'm not wrong, am I, Brother Bing?"

"There is indeed such an intention," Bing Wushuang said with a nod. The four great sects and families represented the highest status and strength—the dream of everyone in the Snow Sword Sect. Now that such an opportunity had finally come, they would naturally not let it slip.

"There you have it. Who knows—after this Millennium Grand Tournament, the four great may well become five great, and then a place among the Ten Minor Sects and Families will open up. Wouldn't my Thousand Blades Sect then have a chance to make up the numbers as a substitute?" Ling Tianyou laughed.

"But what if the Snow Sword Sect fails to advance?" Wei Zhao asked.

"Even then, it's not as though there's no chance. The other Ten Minor Sects and Families will more or less run into trouble of their own—take the current Yeling Sect. Word in the jianghu is that their Grand Elder Ye Yixing suffered a backlash and has been gravely injured ever since, never healing. Once his strength drops and he falls out of Nascent Soul, this Millennium Grand Tournament will be a perilous affair for them indeed—they might well be struck from the rolls," Ling Tianyou said.

"Mm. Ye Yixing's condition is indeed far from encouraging. If he stayed in secluded cultivation to rest, perhaps he might fare a little better; but if he truly goes out to trade blows with other Nascent Soul old monsters for the sake of this Millennium Grand Tournament, the consequences don't bear thinking about." Wei Zhao was in a position to speak on this matter, and he thought to himself that the Yeling Sect had already sunk to such a precarious state, yet Ye Qingguo and the rest were still stirring up all this mess internally—courting death, plain and simple.

"The Yeling Sect knows the situation better than anyone. The moment I got back I heard they'd already made contingency preparations. There's a Qin family nearby—a local clan, nothing special at first, but a couple of years ago, heaven knows by what stroke of luck, one of them actually produced a Nascent Soul old monster. A pity their foundations are too thin; otherwise, with this Millennium Grand Tournament as an opportunity, they might well have made a push for a place among the Ten Minor Sects and Families," Ling Tianyou said.

"What does the Qin family have to do with the Yeling Sect's contingency preparations?" Wei Zhao asked.

"The Qin family has a Nascent Soul old monster but no foundations, while the Yeling Sect has foundations but its Nascent Soul old monster is finished. Aren't the two a perfect complement to each other? So someone proposed a marriage alliance. On the Qin family's side it's Qin Shaohao, the legitimate grandson of the Nascent Soul old monster; on the Yeling Sect's side it's none other than your friend, Brother Lin—Duanmu Yu." Ling Tianyou was deliberately dropping a hint.

In the Taigu minor jianghu, unions between different sects and families for mutual benefit were nothing new—the North Island Cangwu Sect and the North Island Chen family were a case in point. The Yeling Sect was simply driven to it, with no way out, and could only follow suit.

"What…" Wei Zhao was stunned for a good while at the news, and only at this moment did he finally understand Duanmu Yu's strange behavior. She, who had always been so free and easy, so brisk and straightforward, had suddenly shown him a woman's side—so it was because she was about to be married off to someone!

Learning this news so abruptly, Wei Zhao felt an inexplicable stirring in his heart! Between him and Duanmu Yu, he had never once thought in terms of man and woman before—chiefly because Duanmu Yu was simply too much like a full-blooded man most of the time. However pleasantly they got along, Wei Zhao was hardly likely to take the initiative in thinking that direction; mainly, it would have been embarrassing.

I treat you like a brother, and you damn well want to bed me?

If Duanmu Yu ever blurted out those words, how horribly awkward that would be, right…