Top-tier Unruly Master

Meanwhile, as everyone occasionally discussed Gu Feng.

Suddenly, a commotion erupted from a part of the crowd, drawing Ding Fan's gaze toward the noise.

A young man dressed in white, with sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, slowly stepped into the crowd. At this moment, the crowd's attention was entirely focused on this young man. He held a longsword in his hand, his expression calm, exuding an immortal aura, appearing somewhat detached from worldly affairs. His face had a certain handsomeness, yet it was different from Gao Qi's type of beauty.

This young man possessed a kind of charisma that made people hesitate to approach him, causing them to admire from afar rather than coming closer. This was the result of his exceptional cultivation level.

Ding Fan fixed his gaze on the young man for a moment, discovering that his cultivation was also at the Late Nascent Soul Stage, and his True Qi was incredibly focused, indicating he had long surpassed this Late Nascent Soul Stage, his True Qi was indeed concentrated.

In an instant, Ding Fan's interest was piqued; this person's cultivation made things interesting. This outer sect disciples' tournament might not be so dull after all.

Ding Fan had not expected this outer sect disciples' tournament to feature one or two people with commendable strength, suggesting that the upcoming competition would likely be very exciting!

"Look! It's Senior Brother Ye!"

"Senior Brother Ye has indeed emerged from seclusion. It seems his strength has surely improved!"

"Of course! You should know, Ye Qingfeng is a disciple even the Sect Master greatly admires. It's said he could have joined the inner sect long ago and becoming a core disciple would be no issue."

"I heard when Ye Qingfeng was nearing a breakthrough and seemed to have comprehended some swordsmanship, he went into seclusion for five years. Nobody expected him to return just in time for this outer sect disciples' tournament!"

"My information conflicts with that. I heard the rewards for the top three in this outer sect disciples' tournament are extremely generous, which is why Ye Qingfeng came out of seclusion."

"I've heard the same. One wonders what extraordinary treasures this tournament offers to attract cultivation prodigies like Ye Qingfeng and Gu Feng back!"

"Naturally, the rewards for this outer sect disciple evaluation are the most generous in hundreds of years. It's bound to be something extraordinary."

For a while, many outer sect disciples engaged in heated discussions.

Even the inner sect disciples were shocked to see Ye Qingfeng, indicating many inner sect disciples knew him, since his reputation before seclusion was overwhelmingly prominent.

"Back in the day, Ye Qingfeng was almost the champion of the outer sect disciple evaluation. Who would expect this guy to participate again!"

"Haha, perhaps Brother Ye thinks being champion is nice and wants to experience it again!"

"With this guy in the outer sect disciples' tournament, he's definitely the champion! Isn't that obvious?"

"He's acclaimed as an unparalleled genius of the century!"

"Such brilliance is not a title anyone can claim!"

"Just wait to see Qingfeng unleash his divine might!"

"…"

The number of inner sect disciples wasn't many, and fewer than five hundred attended to watch the outer sect disciples' tournament. However, most cultivators knew Ye Qingfeng, indicating many of the inner sect disciples had joined the sect alongside Ye Qingfeng.

The inner sect disciples engaged in even more fervent discussions than the outer sect disciples.

At the elders' area, the rotund elder had already spotted Ding Fan. This time, returning to the sect, the rotund elder's foremost concern was Ding Fan, whose outstanding performance in the disciples' recruitment evaluation had been astonishing!

Almost everyone in the southern square had their gaze fixed on Ye Qingfeng, yet the rotund elder didn't pay attention to Ye Qingfeng but kept searching for Ding Fan's whereabouts. In his heart, he believed Ding Fan wouldn't fall short compared to Ye Qingfeng; he might even surpass Ye Qingfeng significantly.

Soon, the rotund elder extended his Divine Sense and found Ding Fan standing there, which brought him some peace of mind.

Yet upon noticing Ding Fan's attire, his brows furrowed slightly; Ding Fan didn't wear the clean white disciples' robes. While he understood some outer sect disciples also didn't have formal outer sect attire—those were typically disciples with mediocre talent or with special reasons like Gu Feng and Ye Qingfeng who wouldn't wear the standard outer sect attire.

Nonetheless, Ding Fan, as a new outer sect disciple, without any special reason, why was he also not wearing disciples' attire?

The rotund elder's brows furrowed as he summoned an inner sect disciple beside him:

"Go investigate and see if that disciple Ding Fan is receiving focused cultivation?"

A young man in inner sect disciple attire listened to the rotund elder, nodded respectfully, and agreed:

"Yes, Elder."

"Alright, go!"

After speaking, the inner sect disciple disappeared behind the rotund elder.

The rotund elder very much wished to personally inquire about Ding Fan's recent situation, but given it was the occasion of the outer sect disciples' tournament, he refrained to prevent causing unnecessary trouble, yet he glanced at Ding Fan with concern. If such an outstanding disciple received unfair treatment in the sect, he surely wouldn't let those responsible off!

"Lao Lu, what's troubling you, making you frown?"

An elder beside the rotund elder asked curiously, observing his expression.

"Lao Lu, do you think Ye Qingfeng could be my disciple this time? I am increasingly hopeful for this lad!"

The elder continued without waiting for a response from the rotund elder.

The rotund elder glanced at the elder, then shifted his gaze to Ding Fan's direction, currently disinterested in other matters, pondering over Ding Fan's potential results in the outer sect disciples' tournament.

The elder next to the fat elder was not tall but somewhat skinny. At this moment, he looked at the fat elder with a face full of surprise, as if he hadn't heard him at all.

"Hey, it's that kid Ye Qingfeng, aren't you interested anymore?"

The skinny elder asked the fat elder curiously.

"Hmph!"

"What's Ye Qingfeng anyway, just average."

The fat elder said indifferently.

Hearing the fat elder's words, the skinny elder couldn't help but be shocked. Ye Qingfeng, at such a young age, had reached the late Nascent Soul Stage and was rumored to have recently comprehended some Sword Intent. Such a talented young cultivator was still considered average. It was known that if he grew up, he would be very powerful, adding another strong figure to the Dayang Sect in the future!

The fat elder's words not only shocked the skinny elder but also surprised some surrounding elders who heard him! At this moment, it wasn't known which elder suddenly remembered that the current outer sect disciple recruitment was presided over by the fat elder. Could it be that he discovered another very talented disciple?

"Old Lu, have you discovered another good disciple?"

An elder asked knowingly.

For a moment, the elders suddenly remembered that this disciple recruitment was indeed presided over by Old Lu. Could it be that he really found a disciple more talented than Ye Qingfeng!

"Yes, Old Lu, do tell us!"

"Old Lu, are you thinking of keeping it to yourself again?"

Several elders looked cunningly at the fat elder while asking.

The next moment, several elders followed the fat elder's gaze and saw Ding Fan. Then, a few elders said indifferently:

"There's nothing special about that kid, his cultivation is so low. How did Old Lu recruit such a disciple into the Dayang Sect?"

"You underestimate Old Lu. I think that kid is extraordinary. Facing the challenge, he remained calm and showed great temperament. The important thing is that if his cultivation is truly that low, why would Old Lu recruit him? Clearly, this disciple is definitely not an ordinary person. It seems I need to keep an eye out to prevent Old Lu from keeping it to himself!"

At this moment, the skinny elder said slyly to the fat elder.

"You... are really shameless. But it doesn't matter. I have already negotiated well with him, that kid will definitely not acknowledge anyone else as his master! Hmph!"

The fat elder said with a slightly angry face.

The surrounding elders began to seriously scrutinize Ding Fan, clearly thinking the fat elder meant the young man was indeed a genius.

This inevitably attracted the attention of many elders.

"So petty, you're even angry..." The skinny elder couldn't help but laugh when he saw the fat elder's angry expression.

Some surrounding elders, seeing this scene, couldn't help but chuckle, evidently having witnessed the fat elder's childishness before.

...

At this moment, Ding Fan didn't know that he was already being watched by many elders; he was just occasionally chatting with Lianzi.

An hour had quickly passed. It was now exactly eight o'clock in the morning.

At this time, there were still many outer sect disciples, while the inner sect disciples were almost all present, and many deacons had already filled the seats. Many disciples gradually stopped talking.

A middle-aged man followed by a group of elders appeared on a high platform in the Southern Square.

The middle-aged man was of medium build, his eyes exuded a unique spirit different from ordinary people, and his cultivation could not be discerned by ordinary cultivators. At this moment, all the disciples held their breath when they saw the middle-aged man arrive, and even the deacons and all elders put on serious expressions.

Evidently, the entire Southern Square recognized that the middle-aged man was none other than the Sect Master of the Dayang Sect—He Zhenfeng!

When Zhang Zhenfeng passed by everyone, they all bowed respectfully and said:

"Greetings, Sect Master!"

"Greetings, Sect Master!"

"..."

Ding Fan, seeing the middle-aged man He Zhenfeng, felt he looked somewhat familiar, but couldn't remember where he had seen him before.

Then Ding Fan suddenly recognized a young lady next to the Sect Master as He Qianyao. Since both of their surnames were He, Ding Fan thought she might be the daughter of Sect Master He.

Ding Fan then turned and asked Lianzi next to him:

"What is the relationship between that young lady and the Sect Master?"

Hearing Ding Fan's question, Lianzi immediately replied with admiration:

"She is the Sect Master's only treasure, Miss He!"

Hearing this, Ding Fan realized his guess was correct, that He Qianyao was indeed He Zhenfeng's daughter, no wonder he found He Zhenfeng familiar.