Chapter 69

In an elegant courtyard, an old man dressed in fine robes was playing chess with a girl in white in the yard.

"Master, it's your turn."

The girl in white smiled gently as she spoke. This girl was none other than Lin Xintong, who had met Yi Yun before. The old man she called Master was naturally Old Master Su.

"Uh..."

Old Master Su's brows were tightly furrowed, his plump hand holding a chess piece, hesitating to make a move.

After using various excuses to retract his moves at least seven or eight times, he was still cornered by Lin Xintong. Now, it was almost time to end the game, and his dead pieces could not be revived.

"Cough, cough... Xintong, your chess skills have improved recently. You have a bit of your master's style. It seems I really need to take this seriously..."

Old Master Su said shamelessly, while Lin Xintong secretly laughed, only urging her master to make his move.

Lin Xintong usually did not smile much, but only in front of Old Master Su did she show a bit of the playful side of a young girl. In Lin Xintong's heart, Old Master Su was both her master and her grandfather.

At this moment, a voice suddenly came from the door, "This is Zhang Tan, a commander of the Jinlong Guard, delivering a letter from the Marquis to Master Su."

"Ah? A guest has arrived." Old Master Su was like a man saved from a crisis, "No more, no more. A guest has arrived. Xintong, go and make some tea."

Old Master Su directly mixed up the chess board with his big, fat hand, completely ruining the game.

"Uh..."

Lin Xintong was speechless, then said with a smile, "The tea was just made, Master. You were so focused on the game that you didn't drink it."

"Eh?"

Old Master Su looked at the teapot on the table, his small eyes blinking, not knowing what to say.

Fortunately, Commander Zhang Tan of the Jinlong Guard had already walked into the yard and bowed to Old Master Su.

"This is Zhang Tan, delivering a letter from the Marquis for Master Su to review."

As Zhang Tan spoke, he formally placed the letter on the chess table. It was a red-lacquered letter with a seal on it.

Old Master Su came to the Tao Clan mainly to wait for this letter from Zhang Tan.

He took the letter, his face serious, and said casually, "Zhang Tan, right? You've worked hard. Have a cup of tea."

Zhang Tan paused, glancing at the teacup on the table.

He was a cautious person and could tell that this was the tea Old Master Su and Lin Xintong had drunk while playing chess, which was likely made by Lin Xintong herself.

Lin Xintong was a person of great importance, with many prestigious families vying for her attention. There was even a small chance that she might marry a prince of the Tai'a Divine Kingdom, becoming a duchess or even an empress.

As a commander of the Jinlong Guard, if Zhang Tan drank tea made by a future empress, it would be like courting death!

Although the possibility was small, Zhang Tan, in his position, had to deal with all kinds of people and consider everything carefully.

He immediately said, "Thank you, Master Su, for the tea. I still need to report back, so I cannot drink it."

Zhang Tan was very polite and his words were very appropriate, but Old Master Su was a free spirit. As a master whom even the nobles of the divine kingdom treated with respect, he had no interest in secular etiquette and did not bother with such trivialities.

"Alright, you can go."

Old Master Su waved his hand. After Zhang Tan left, he tore open the red wax seal and performed a few hand seals to break the seal.

Then, Old Master Su took out the contents of the envelope. It was not a letter filled with words but a diagram of an array.

After Old Master Su took out the array diagram, a shadow of an ancient beast appeared from the diagram, rising into the air and finally disappearing like a wisp of smoke.

Seeing this array diagram, Old Master Su's eyes lit up, his expression like that of a miser who had found a priceless treasure.

He muttered to himself, "This Yunhuang might really have something extraordinary! Even Old Wenyun Marquis can't handle it alone and needs my help... This time, the divine kingdom's treasure compass search in Yunhuang was not in vain!"

"Master, what is this array diagram?" Lin Xintong, standing beside him, looked at the ancient beast's shadow that had already dissipated in the sky, deep in thought.

She could not see the intricacies of the array diagram, but she could feel its profoundness.

Old Master Su said, "This array diagram is something passed down from ancient times. I don't know if it has anything to do with the emergence of the Purple Cloud, but even if it doesn't, it is quite remarkable! Xintong, rest assured, I will search the ends of the earth to find a way to heal your congenital meridian blockage!"

...

Since Lian Chengyu's failure to advance to the Purple Blood Realm, the Lian Clan had returned to peace. The grand scenes of hundreds of people going up the mountain to gather herbs and a dozen strong men fanning and burning to refine the wild bones on the drying ground were no longer seen.

The news of Lian Chengyu's injury was covered up by the Lian Clan's upper echelons. Now, the clan members all believed that Lian Chengyu had already achieved the Purple Blood Realm and his strength had greatly improved!

They were now waiting for the divine kingdom's grand selection, where Lian Chengyu would become a divine kingdom warrior, leading the Lian Clan to a better life.

On this day, snowflakes were falling from the sky, and the clouds hung low. A large eagle appeared above the Lian Clan, circling in the sky.

"What is that?"

The poor people of the Lian Clan had never seen such a large eagle.

"Is it a fierce beast? Or... a wild beast!?"

Seeing such a large eagle, people were panic-stricken. With the protection of the spirit land, fierce beasts and wild beasts rarely approached the clan's territory.

But this was only under normal circumstances. In exceptional cases, fierce beasts and wild beasts could invade the spirit land of human clans, causing massive slaughters.

This usually meant the extermination of the clan. In the entire Yunhuang, there were countless small clans, and the sudden destruction of a few small clans was not a big deal.

If it was really a wild beast attack, it would be a disaster for the Lian Clan!

Just as the Lian Clan members were in a panic, something was suddenly thrown from the large eagle, burning in the air.

"Boom!"

A loud explosion, and a row of glowing words appeared in the sky.

Each word was about half an acre in size, spanning the sky, making it clear to every area of the Lian Clan.

"Three days from now, at noon, the Jinlong Guard envoy will enter the Lian Clan, taking ten warriors to the Tao Clan's grand selection. Those who pass the selection will become divine kingdom warriors and members of the Jinlong Guard! Ten slots, limited to those under 28 years old, selected from those who pass the preliminary selection. The specific number of slots will be determined by the clan."

Seeing this row of large words, people were stunned for a moment. The divine kingdom's grand selection, the grand selection had finally begun!

They had waited for many days and paid a great price for this day! They had finally waited for it!