Chapter One Hundred and Fifty-One: Convergence

Chapter 151: Convergence
Chapter 14: Waves Rise in the Nine Rivers to Send Fish and Dragons Leaping; Turmoil of Immortals and Demons Wreaks Havoc in the Six Ministries (Part 15)

Ye Hua could not help letting out a soft exclamation. "So it is these two senior brothers! I have indeed heard the reputations of the Twelve-Ringed Dock of Chìwěi Islet in the East Sea and the Swallow Pavilion. These two senior brothers must certainly be extraordinary figures!"

Liu Ruoming smiled and said, "Indeed, Li Mubai and Qian Jinxiao are both outstanding talents among the younger generation, and their cultivation and martial arts are exceptionally formidable! Even compared with Senior Brother Zhou, they are not the least bit inferior."

Ye Hua smiled gently. "Big Brother Zhou has indeed invited quite a few talents to come this time! The only pity is that several of the senior brothers have encountered some mishaps! I wonder when Senior Brother Zhou will come out of seclusion; it must be soon, I presume?"

Liu Ruoming nodded and said, "Using the 'Seven-Origin Tianji Dream-Weaving Art' and the 'Golden Light Array of Traversing the Earth', Senior Brother Zhou successively invited the disciples Jiang Hui and Jiang Chun of the 'Ancient True Spirit Lineage', followed by Tang Wen, a disciple of the 'Sichuan Ziggu', and Gong Yu, a disciple of the 'Xiangwang of Mount Dong', and now he has summoned Li Mubai, disciple of the 'Twelve-Ringed Dock of Chìwěi Islet in the East Sea' and concurrently the young leader of the Qianzhou branch of the Sun and Moon Divine Alliance, as well as Qian Jinxiao, master of the 'Swallow Pavilion' under the Tokyo branch of the Sun and Moon Divine Alliance—making a total of six senior brothers!"

She paused here, looked up at the clouds in the horizon, and continued, "These six senior brothers were originally thought to be more than enough to handle the trials at the Grand Promotional Bureau. Who would have expected that four of them have now been injured! If Senior Brother Lü had not agreed to delay his departure, the number of participants for this Grand Promotional Bureau trial would still be falling short! Senior Brother Zhou must have exhausted himself by now! The 'Seven-Origin Tianji Dream-Weaving Art' consumes the most mental energy, and to cast it several times in succession is already extremely taxing for him."

Ye Hua sighed softly without speaking. Liu Ruoming said, "Senior Brother Zhou should be coming out of seclusion soon—either today or tomorrow! Senior Brother Ye, how much of your inner vital energy has recovered by now?"

Ye Hua thought for a moment and said, "Today is somewhat better than yesterday! I suppose I have recovered seven or eight tenths of my inner vital energy."

Liu Ruoming smiled slightly and said, "That could not be better! There are still five days before the trial begins, and by then you will surely have fully recovered. If those senior brothers run into any more trouble, Senior Brother Ye, you can step in to take their place in the trials! With your cultivation and martial arts, those disciples of the Six Ministries of Northern Xi would only be able to turn and flee in terror!"

Ye Hua could not help shaking his head with a smile. "Junior Sister Liu, please do not make fun of me! My cultivation and martial arts are far inferior to those of the senior brothers."

Liu Ruoming smiled. "Senior Brother, do not be so modest. During the battle by the Nine Dragons Lake that day, I had fainted and did not witness you displaying your mighty powers! But afterwards, the senior brothers recounted the whole event to me in detail, and every one of them praised you without stint, holding you in the utmost awe and respect! They all said that your inner vital energy cultivation has reached an astonishing realm; with every move and stance casually executed, you displayed immense might, single-handedly driving back the entire crowd of the Concord Sect! If it were any of them, they could never have achieved such a feat."

Ye Hua smiled faintly. "Those senior brothers are exaggerating and speaking with empty praise! If Senior Brother Lü had not held down several of them that day, how could I ever have withstood those disciples of the Concord Sect? Junior Sister Liu, do not listen to their exaggerations!"

"Ha ha, Junior Brother Ye, what Junior Sister Liu says is entirely true! You single-handedly defeated that crowd of the Concord Sect that day—others might not have seen it, but could it be that we did not see it either!" Ye Hua and Liu Ruoming turned towards the sound to see two figures walking out of the Autumn Wave Tower—they were none of the others, but Guangchen and Shaohua!

Shaohua smiled and said, "Although that day was our first time meeting Junior Brother Ye, we were deeply moved by his righteous deeds, and even more astonished in our hearts: how could this young hero possess such formidable martial arts? It was simply startling and terrifying! How could we have never seen or heard of such a young master and cultivator in Jiujin City before? We only thought to ourselves that if we were fortunate enough to escape with our lives, we must by all means befriend and draw close to this young hero! Ha ha!"

Ye Hua smiled and said, "What are you saying, Senior Brother Shaohua? Being able to acquaint myself with all the senior brothers is my greatest fortune!"

Shaohua smiled. "Later on, I figured it out: that we could meet Junior Brother Ye was destined by the unseen will of heaven! For instance, Junior Brother Ye is named Ye Hua, and I am named Shaohua—both of us bear the character 'Hua' in our names. Isn't that a profound affinity?"

Liu Ruoming gave a light scoff and smiled. "A profound affinity indeed, except that this affinity is nothing more than your own wishful thinking and self-inflicted infatuation! Heh heh!"

"If Junior Brother Ye had not stepped in promptly, Junior Sister Liu's Black Rain Spirit Swallow would already have turned into a roasted spirit bird, eaten up by Du the Black, that old scoundrel of the Concord Sect!" Guangchen laughed.

Liu Ruoming smiled sweetly and said, "That old scoundrel Du the Black has always been gluttonous, styling himself 'He Who Eats Everything Across the Realm' and 'There is Nothing I Will Not Eat'. Yet my Black Rain Spirit Swallow is not that easy to digest and swallow into the belly! Besides, he is naturally dark-skinned to begin with; if he ate a Black Rain Swallow, wouldn't he turn even darker?"

Everyone burst into hearty laughter upon hearing this. After a moment, Shaohua smiled and said, "Very well, let us head to the main hall. I heard that the helper invited by Senior Brother Zhou today is about to arrive! We might as well go over and take a look!"

Liu Ruoming nodded and said, "Just now, Senior Brother Tang Wen, disciple of the 'Sichuan Ziggu', and Senior Brother Gong Yu, disciple of the 'Xiangwang of Mount Dong', have already arrived! Only, along the way, they were intercepted and ambushed by the Duan clan of the Six Ministries of Northern Xi, sustaining internal injuries! I am afraid they will no longer be able to participate in the trials."

Shaohua and Guangchen nodded and said, "We have already heard about it! Ah—that Duan clan truly has ruthless methods! As for how things actually stand, we will have to wait until Senior Brother Zhou comes out to decide!"

Liu Ruoming agreed with a nod, and the few of them slowly walked towards the main assembly hall of the Enlightenment Hall. When they were still several dozen paces away from the entrance of the hall, they heard a loud, hearty burst of laughter echoing from within! Liu Ruoming, Shaohua, and the others exchanged glances and smiled, understanding the situation in their hearts as if they had long anticipated it, without the slightest trace of surprise.

Guangchen sighed and said, "This laughter is surely peerless and renowned throughout the martial world! Even before one sees the person, merely hearing the sound tells you who it is."

Shaohua smiled. "Indeed so!"

Pushing the door open, the group entered. Liu Ruoming smiled and said, "I wonder who is here gloating so heartlessly and laughing out loud! Could it be that you are using this loud laughter to summon Senior Brother Zhou out?"

"Ha ha, Big Sister Liu, we haven't seen each other in a long time, and you've grown even more spirited and lovely! Ha ha! Could it be that once you found your beloved, you forgot all your senior brothers?"

Following Shaohua and others into the hall, Ye Hua saw some dozen people seated in a circle within the spacious hall of about an acre in size. On the guest seat to the left sat a plump, heavy-set man who was smiling at Liu Ruoming. The folds of flesh on his face shook up, down, left, and right along with his laughter. What was even more bizarre was his round, protruding belly, which was so exaggerated that even a pregnant woman eight or nine months along could hardly compare to him. That large belly also shook slightly as he laughed, appearing indescribably comical and laughable!

Liu Ruoming's face flushed red, and she said, "Lacking the dignity of an elder! A person's smile is usually worth a thousand pieces of gold, hee hee, but your smile is..."

The plump man laughed heartily. "A thousand-gold smile, smiling for a thousand pieces of gold, a belly full of laughter whose words cannot be trusted! Junior Sister Liu, I traveled all the way to Jiujin City precisely for the affairs of you folks at the Enlightenment Hall! How can you not even say a word of wholehearted welcome?"

Liu Ruoming could not help chuckling and said, "The Swallow Pavilion is far more amusing than this place! The Black Rain Spirit Swallow you gave me last time was far too lonely and needs a companion; you need to give me another one! If you have brought another Black Rain Spirit Swallow with you this time, I will naturally welcome you with all my heart!"

The plump man laughed in exasperation and said, "My good aunt, do you think the Black Rain Spirit Swallow is some common trinket? There are only three of them in total in my Swallow Pavilion, and I already gave one away to you! And yet you want to ask for another! Ha ha! However... however, it might just be possible..."

Liu Ruoming was pleasantly surprised. "Really?"

The plump man smiled and said, "You would have to come to the Swallow Pavilion to stay with me for three to five years, chat with me, and relieve my boredom. Perhaps one day, when I am in a good mood, I might harden my heart and give you another one! Only... only I'm afraid you wouldn't be willing! Ha ha!" As he spoke, he cast an intentional or accidental glance at Ye Hua!

The others burst into hearty laughter upon hearing this, and Ye Hua's face grew warm, feeling a faint sense of embarrassment. Scanning the four directions, he saw sitting in the lower left seat a young man dressed in cyan robes; in the main seat sat Zhang; and on the upper right guest seats sat two muscular men wearing leather trousers, their bulging muscles showing their exceptional sturdiness. In the lower seats sat a black-clad youth and a Taoist priest whose age also appeared quite young.

Zhang stood up and smiled, saying, "Junior Brother Ye, let me introduce the senior brothers to you!" With that, he stepped forward, took Ye Hua by the hand, and walked over to the right side. The plump man laughed heartily and said, "Junior Brother Zhang, wouldn't it be much more wonderful to let Junior Sister Liu introduce this little brother to us instead!"

Zhang was momentarily taken aback, and everyone secretly smiled to themselves: "Apart from you, big fatty Qian Jinxiao, who would dare say such a thing? Junior Sister Liu will surely come looking for us later to settle accounts!" Zhang was momentarily at a loss for words and stammered to Liu Ruoming, "This... this...!"

Liu Ruoming's face flushed crimson, and she glared at him with shy annoyance. "Qian Jinxiao, one day I will definitely have my father tear down your Swallow Pavilion!" With that, she stepped forward to Ye Hua's side, calmed herself slightly, turned towards the young Taoist priest, bowed respectfully, and smiled gently. "Liu Ruoming pays her respects to Senior Brother Tang Wen."

The young Taoist priest stood up, made a Daoist salute, and said, "Junior Sister Liu, it has been a long time. Trust you have been well since we last met?"

Liu Ruoming smiled gently. "Thanks to the immense fortune of Senior Brother! I heard that Senior Brother encountered some mishaps on the road; I wonder if you suffered any serious injuries?"

The Taoist shook his head with a trace of shame and said, "Ashamed... deeply ashamed! Senior Brother Gong and I managed to escape by sheer luck; aside from sustaining some internal injuries, there is no major harm!"

Liu Ruoming nodded and said, "The two senior brothers should recuperate properly." Turning to Ye Hua, she said, "Senior Brother Ye, this is Senior Brother Tang Wen, disciple of the 'Sichuan Ziggu'."

Ye Hua stepped forward, bowed deeply, and said, "Ye Hua pays his respects to Senior Brother Tang Wen."

The Taoist smiled gently and said, "Junior Brother Ye, please do not stand on ceremony. We have long held you in high esteem through hearsay. As Senior Brother Zhou mentioned, you single-handedly fought the Concord Sect and rescued Junior Sister Liu and the others—truly extraordinary!"

Liu Ruoming smiled. "If not for Senior Brother Ye, Senior Brother Tang would not even be seeing me right now."

The Taoist smiled lightly, shook his head, and sat down. Liu Ruoming walked over to the black-clad youth and said, "Senior Brother Gong, trust you have been well?"

The black-clad youth stood up and smiled. "When I left Jiujin City half a year ago, you still had the temperament of a little girl. How is it that you have suddenly transformed into a proper young lady of a noble family?"

"Senior Brother Gong is so refined in his speech. A noble lady?! Hee hee, I think it's more like a maiden waiting in her chambers to be married!" Qian Jinxiao the plump man chimed in with a wide grin!

Liu Ruoming cast a sideways glance at him, her face flushing red. "Wasn't I always a young lady of a noble family? Senior Brother Gong must have seen wrongly!"

The black-clad youth could not help shaking his head, and smilingly said to Ye Hua, "I am Gong Yu, disciple of the 'Xiangwang of Mount Dong'. Is this Junior Brother Ye? I have long admired your great name! Delighted to make your acquaintance, truly delighted!" With that, he cupped his fists slightly.

Ye Hua returned the salute and said, "I pay my respects to Senior Brother Gong." The black-clad youth bowed slightly once more before sitting back down.

Ye Hua thought to himself, "Senior Brother Gong and Senior Brother Tang Wen both have slightly pale complexions, which shows that their internal injuries are not light. Since these two possess such formidable cultivation and martial arts, it is clear that the Duan clan must have exerted a tremendous effort to ambush and trap them!"