Chapter 1690: Sensation Across the City

Ning Canghai, an elder of the Ning clan at the sixth level of the Divine Lord realm, broke through to the seventh level!

Ning Zhongkai, an elder of the Ning clan at the fifth level of the Divine Lord realm, broke through to the sixth level!

…

Ning Zhiyuan, the clan leader of the Ning clan, finally broke through his bottleneck and reached the ninth level of the Divine Lord realm!

One sensational piece of news after another swept through the entire Tianying Imperial City like the wind.

It was as if the entire Ning clan had ascended overnight!

Those elders of the Ning clan who had been idling away their days with no hope of breakthrough had all broken through!

This news was too shocking.

Of course, the most shocking was Ning Zhiyuan's breakthrough!

What did the ninth level of the Divine Lord realm mean?

It meant standing at the pinnacle of the imperial city!

Apart from Heavenly God experts, the ninth level of the Divine Lord realm was supreme.

Moreover, reaching the ninth level of the Divine Lord realm also meant that Ning Zhiyuan had a chance to touch the elusive Heavenly God realm.

Whether he succeeded or not, at least he was qualified.

How many people in the city had such qualifications?

"Hey, is this news fake? Those old geezers were on their last legs, and they actually broke through?"

"How could it be fake? Those old fools are overjoyed, wishing the whole city knew they broke through!"

"This... isn't it too coincidental? It can't be... the Ning clan all had a sudden epiphany?"

"Epiphany my ass! Are you stupid? Elder Ye Yuan promised at the council meeting to refine pills for all elders, but no one took him seriously. Only Ning Zhiyuan asked him to refine pills! And now, the Ning clan has ascended overnight!"

"This... really? Hasn't Elder Ye Yuan just broken through recently? Is his alchemy already this terrifying?"

…

The experts in the imperial city were all discussing this matter.

For martial artists at the Divine Lord realm, what could be more attractive than a breakthrough?

Thus, the major families in the imperial city were thrown into chaos.

Especially the families of those elders; they were in complete disarray.

Those clan elders were all blaming their clan leaders for not seeking pills from Elder Ye Yuan!

At the Shi family, a group of old men were cursing Shi Feng to his face.

Shi Feng and Ning Zhiyuan had been rivals, both at the eighth level of the Divine Lord realm, both holding significant positions in the council.

The Shi and Ning families had always been in silent competition.

Shi Feng was close to Ruoxu, so he had always kept the Ning family suppressed.

In this matter, Shi Feng unhesitatingly chose to side with Ruoxu.

That day, Ning Zhiyuan had looked so obsequious, and Shi Feng had sneered at him, even looking down on his 'groveling.'

Both in public and behind his back, he had never spared Ning Zhiyuan from criticism.

But who knew that just a month later, Ning Zhiyuan would break through and become a ninth-level Divine Lord expert?

Shi Feng was completely stunned by the news!

But before he could recover, a group of clan elders cornered him, all pointing at him and cursing.

"Shi Feng, how are you managing this clan?"

"Shi Feng, you're such a bastard! Elder Ye Yuan was personally invited by the city lord, and you didn't show him any respect!"

"Now look! The Ning family's tails are all raised high! Look at us! Look at us!"

…

These clan elders were all ancient figures, many of them Shi Feng's seniors, and they cursed without restraint, giving him no face at all.

Shi Feng's face turned green from the scolding, but he was helpless.

These old fellows had no other skills; they just talked about this and that all day.

"Alright, alright, esteemed elders, please calm down. I'm thinking of a way to make amends, aren't I?"

Shi Feng managed to fob them off with some perfunctory words.

But his head was spinning; the situation in the city had developed far beyond his imagination.

This move was truly earth-shattering!

It was easy to imagine that the threshold of Elder Ye Yuan's mansion had already been worn down by visitors.

Shi Feng finally understood why Ye Yuan dared to throw Ruoxu into the Abyss of Refinement.

He was absolutely confident in his own strength!

If you can't do a job, don't take it on.

Ye Yuan was very close to Xuanyu, so he couldn't have been unaware of Ruoxu's influence in Tianying.

Yet he still dared to take the position of Grand Elder, which meant he had something to rely on.

All Ye Yuan needed was a breakthrough point.

Fortunately, the Ning family became that breakthrough point!

Shi Feng suddenly realized he had been too slow to catch on.

It was too late to understand all this now.

One wrong step, and everything goes wrong!

Ye Yuan had set a deadline of three months, and one month had already passed.

In two months, countless families would be fighting tooth and nail for this quota.

Time was too short!

Ye Yuan couldn't devote all his energy to one family like he did with the Ning family.

Now, the initiative was completely in Ye Yuan's hands.

He could refine pills for whoever he wanted!

If he didn't like someone, he could simply ignore them.

Shi Feng sighed, slowly stood up, and headed toward Ye Yuan's mansion.

Sure enough, the reception room of Ye Yuan's mansion was packed with people, enough to open a teahouse.

But everyone's face was full of worry, like prisoners awaiting judgment.

Normally, everyone would greet Shi Feng immediately.

But today, no one paid him any attention.

Shi Feng saw a friendly elder and went up to ask, "Brother Zhao, who is the Grand Elder meeting?"

This man was Zhao Yibin, the clan leader of the Zhao family.

Zhao Yibin looked up, saw it was Shi Feng, and couldn't help complaining, "Who else? Those bastards from the Ning family? Hmph! Look how smug they are!"

As soon as he spoke, the others exploded.

"Zhao Yibin, if you want to offend the Grand Elder, don't drag us into it!"

"Exactly! The Ning family is now in the Grand Elder's good graces. What's wrong with being smug?"

"Aren't you just upset that Ning Canghai's cultivation has caught up to yours?"

…

Everyone's spittle drowned Zhao Yibin.

But Zhao Yibin dared not retort; he immediately realized his slip and apologized to everyone, "Everyone, please calm down! Please calm down! It's all my fault!"

After much apologizing, the crowd's anger subsided.

Shi Feng was dumbfounded at the sight.

Were everyone's nerves this sensitive?

Then, Zhao Yibin shot Shi Feng a fierce glare and fell silent.

Shi Feng was speechless, finally understanding the shock that the Ning family's collective breakthrough had brought.

Now, everyone was afraid of offending Ye Yuan even in their speech!

Just then, Ning Zhiyuan led a group of old men bustling out from the inner courtyard of Ye Yuan's mansion.

Ning Zhiyuan spotted Shi Feng at once and said smugly, "Shi Feng, what did you say about me that day? Wagging my tail and begging for mercy? Now, even if you wag your tail and beg, the Grand Elder may not give you this chance! Hahaha..."