Chen Wentian beckoned to his six disciples, "Follow closely, don't let your eyes wander."
"Yes, master."
"Yes, master."
The six elegant women glided behind his rotund figure, keeping their eyes glued on his wide back. They were as well-behaved as dolls and attracted a lot of attention from the other people aboard the flying ship.
"Who is that fatty?"
"Six mysterious beauties?"
Gong Junqing led Chen Wentian around the deck and introduced him to other agents of the Seven Rivers Union as well as their guests. These other guests came from various provinces of the northern region. After a few words, they showed their contempt and did not bother talking with a bandit immortal anymore, as if such a thing was beneath their dignity. They merely cast a few extra glances at his six disciples, trying to determine if they were actually beauties or not. After all, few immortals had the audacity to name their followers First Great Beauty, Second Great Beauty, and so on. The fact that there was even a Sixth Great Beauty made them want to beat up the fatty so that he would be more sensible in the future.
"Lord Lin, I hope you won't take offense. The others can be a little closed-minded." Gong Junqing said afterward as the two found a table overlooking the scenery below.
"Haha, Lord Gong, how can I take offense? Your eyes can see what others cannot. That is enough for me," Chen Wentian replied.
"Haha, good, good."
In truth, Gong Junqing also wasn't confident in this Lin Huzhong in the past. However, the void crystals they traded were real. For some people, money was all the confidence they needed.
They shared a few cups of tea as they observed the festivities around the cloud temple. All told, Chen Wentian sensed the distinct aura of at least four hundred immortals. Among them, he could detect at least twenty Spirit Kings. There were even three Spirit Emperors present. This was the greatest gathering of immortals he had witnessed since the Golden Basin Auction House.
"Oh? Isn't that the Southern Virtue Cardinal Liu?" Chen Wentian commented, pretending to show great interest.
To the south, there was a large flying ship with a familiar figure on board. She was none other than Immortal Brush of the Prodigal Liu Haoxuan, Cardinal of the Virtuous Order. She said she would go to the Temple of the Clouds and she had told no lies.
On that ship, Chen Wentian could also sense the auras of several abbotesses and a large number of prioresses. The Virtuous Order was here in force which meant that they intended to seriously compete for this cloud temple.
"Hoh? You know about the Southern Virtue?" Gong Junqing asked.
"Haha, how can I not? I am a lover of beauties, after all. How can I not know about the Four Great Beauties of the Martial Brilliance Continent? Since the Southern Virtue is here, then the Northern Romantic should be here as well?" Chen Wentian said.
He turned to another cluster of flying ships that was nearby and focused on the most powerful aura there. She had to be the Cardinal of the Sororal Order, Immortal Kiss of Paradise Wanyan Jinxing. This person was also known as the Northern Romantic of the Four Great Beauties.
Like the other two Great Beauties he had met, this Wanyan Jinxing also wore a veil. Her aura was also heavy, like she was naturally born to be the center of attention. The most notable feature about her was a pair of the largest breasts he had ever seen. She did not try to hide her assets at all, proudly displaying them through the thinnest piece of silk, so thin that every contour, every detail was highlighted. A pair of erect nipples could be seen from afar, standing proudly. They could probably poke someone's eyes out if she swung those weapons around carelessly.
Chen Wentian sucked in a breath, "The Northern Romantic… her beauty has no equal."
Gong Junqing chuckled, "Lord Lin, indeed, our Northern Romantic is the most beautiful out of the Four Great Beauties. You have good eyes but it is best to not stare too long lest you end up like me."
The two immortals shared a laugh and another cup of tea.
"Indeed, the Southern Virtue and Northern Romantic have gathered today. Thus, today's competition will surely be fierce," Gong Junqing said.
"Lord Gong, how will everyone compete? Surely, they won't just send all the juniors into the cloud temple to fight it out amongst themselves?"
"Actually…"
Gong Junqing explained that long story short, for such ordinary temples with a cultivation restriction, the juniors of various powers would indeed fight it out inside the temple. However, this temple was especially unique and had an additional strange requirement and that was that only one thousand people were allowed inside.
Thus, the various powers had negotiated a quota. The Virtuous Order was given one hundred spots. The Seven Potentates of Jiannan were given two hundred pots. Likewise, the Sororal Order had one hundred spots while the Northern Oligarchs had two hundred. The remaining four hundred spots would be handled by the bandit emperor and the various large bandit alliances. As for no-name bandit lords like Lin Huzhong, he originally would have had no chance to complete or even the opportunity to complain.
"However," Gong Junqing said with a smile, "Since you are my guest, you can still fight for one of the spots among the Northern Oligarchs. You have brought six disciples today, are they your strongest? Perhaps one of them can succeed."
"Ah… really? Isn't a spot very precious?" Chen Wentian asked.
"Yes and no. After all, there will still be three hundred juniors in total from the northern region. I don't expect your disciple to suddenly be the champion and steal the most precious treasure from within the temple. However, aside from the big treasures, there are often smaller treasures that are still worth a lot. If your disciple gets lucky and manages to find one or two, I only ask that I get a share of the profit."
"Lord Gong, why don't you just bring your own disciples? There should be no need to ask me for my disciples?" Chen Wentian asked.
"This…" Gong Junqing looked somewhat ashamed, "I didn't bring any of my disciples on this trip to the Temple of the Clouds and it is too late now. I should have been more carefree like Lord Lin… Haha. Now, I can only rely on you. I cannot ask the other agents from the Seven Rivers Union as we usually operate independently, sometimes even as competitors. My profits and losses are independent of others and factor only into my personal contributions and merits."
Chen Wentian nodded, "I understand, Lord Gong. Then, I will let my disciples give it a try. However, I don't know if their talent is good enough to even earn a spot."
"Lord Lin, please give it a try."
Chen Wentian beckoned to his disciples, "First Great Beauty, you heard Lord Gong. Go onto the stage and see what you can do."
He pointed to a stage at the center of the flying ship where two juniors were currently fighting.
The first of the six veiled ladies beside him bowed deeply, "Yes, master."
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