The judge’s head turned toward Justin Wu. “Start your furnace,” he said.
“Brother Lin, is this Viewing Flowers Festival really that grand?” Evan asked, surprised by Ethan Lin’s change in attitude.
Justin Wu’s face was pale, his aura flickering. Evan Yang could tell he was only at early Core-Formation, which made him rethink Skyline City: even a young alchemist from a pill-refining family was already at Core-Formation. The truly cultivation-focused families must be terrifying.
The question offended Jax Jia, who pinched Evan again, making Evan wonder why Jax was acting so weird.
Justin Wu had no clue what Evan was thinking; he just felt unwilling, about to blow up, when his attendant dragged him away. As he left, he grumbled, "Why are you dragging me?"
Ethan Lin didn’t respond to Jax Jia but said, “Because all the women here come from the same place.”
"Young Master, let's go!" The attendant saw the six pills and instantly realized Evan was just playing dumb—claiming he couldn’t refine pills was clearly fake. To make six without any tools meant he was probably a hidden powerhouse in the city. Not wanting Justin Wu to embarrass himself or cause trouble, the attendant didn’t ask anything and simply dragged him away.
“What place?” Evan asked curiously, while Jax Jia glared at them from the side.
No one expected such an outcome. When the judge opened Justin's furnace, there were indeed four top-grade pills, but compared to Evan, he still lost.
“Jinxiu Peak,” Ethan Lin replied.
The results of the duel quickly spread from the gambling house throughout the city. Refining six top-grade pills without any magical tools—this feat made many start speculating about the beggar’s true identity.
Evan was about to ask what kind of sect it was when Jax Jia suddenly exclaimed, “What? How can they be here?”
Ethan Lin retrieved his pill cauldron. Not wanting to stir up trouble, he took Evan and Jax Jia and left the gambling house. Once they reached a place where no one recognized them, he exclaimed, “Brother Yang, you’re amazing!”
Seeing Evan and Jax Jia interested, Ethan Lin felt he'd made up for today's mistake and continued, “This festival is organized by them. The Flower Queen is one of Jinxiu Peak's outstanding disciples chosen every three years, and this is their time for worldly experience.”
"Told you, Evan would definitely win." Jax Jia finally relaxed, happy to have kept the purple-gold iron safe.
“Why would they come here for training?” Evan asked, confused. Jax Jia fell silent, lost in thought.
"Come on, I'll take you to the best place in the city!" Ethan Lin said, his spirits high, to Evan and Jax Jia.
Ethan Lin continued, “I don't really know. Anyway, it's always the same woman for three years, so many outstanding young men come here—one to meet her, but mainly to gain everyone's admiration and boost their reputation.”
Evan and Jax Jia actually wanted to check out the pill cauldron, but seeing Ethan so excited, they felt awkward saying so. They could only follow him to this so-called "best place," hoping to find a chance to inspect the battered cauldron.
Just as Ethan finished, the crowd below grew noisy. A door upstairs opened, and several female attendants came out. One older-looking girl said, "Thank you all for coming tonight."
The night scene in Skyline City was indeed dazzling—everywhere was bustling with lights. Even the inner canals were lined with large wooden ships, and the riverside rows of tall wooden buildings stood proudly, their lights reflected in the water, giving the whole area a vibrant atmosphere.
“Hurry up and announce the topic!” someone shouted impatiently. The crowd joined in, sounding more like a street market than a festival. The woman upstairs smiled, used to the rudeness, and said, 'First, let's meet today's honored guests!'
The riverside was also packed with people coming and going. In other cities, seeing cultivators rowing boats would be shocking, but here, it was perfectly normal.
“Honored guests?” The crowd was confused; there had never been such guests before. They asked each other, puzzled, until impatient voices urged, 'Let the guests come out!'
In the end, after Evan and Jax Jia’s relentless complaints, Ethan Lin reluctantly agreed to leave. But as they reached the exit, a server blocked them, saying, “You’ll have to wait until the event is over.”
“Wait, there’s a restriction?” Evan and Jax Jia exchanged glances, then both looked at Ethan Lin.
Ethan Lin put on a face that said he had no idea why.
Evan could only sigh, “Friend, we really need to leave for urgent business!”
“Normally you could, but not tonight. Please return to your seats,” the server refused, not giving Evan any face.
Realizing it was his own fault, Ethan Lin stepped forward, “Friend, could you make an exception?” He handed over some low-grade crystals, but the server still refused. “Tonight is the annual Viewing Flowers Festival—once you’re in, you can’t leave until it’s over. Please understand.” With a flash, he closed the door, not letting them out. It seemed the time had come, and no one outside could enter either.
Ethan Lin was stunned, slapping his forehead, “How did I forget this rule!”
(Irrelevant webnovel navigation text omitted.)
Unable to leave, Evan and his friends returned to their seats and began asking Ethan Lin about the Viewing Flowers Festival. Ethan explained while watching the women on stage.
The Viewing Flowers Festival was a local tradition. Every three years, a Flower Queen was chosen—an outstanding disciple of Jinxiu Peak, famed for both her hidden cultivation and beauty. Every influential young man in the area would come for a chance to see her.
Evan had thought ten crystals for a map was already a lot, but now, just to see these "flowers," it was fifty per person. He was about to ask about it when applause erupted from the crowd below the platform.
Several women walked onto the stage, their clothes revealing almost everything except a few spots. At that moment, Evan and Jax Jia finally understood what these "flowers" were—and why so many men were here, but barely any women. Both shot Ethan Lin a glare.
Ethan Lin paid the crystals and laughed, "So, what do you think?"
"Brother Lin, this isn't really our scene. Why not show us your pill cauldron instead?" Evan said directly.
"These women don't catch your eye, Brother Yang?" Ethan Lin asked curiously, confused.
Evan rolled his eyes and said, "Compared to them, I'm way more interested in your cauldron."
Hearing Evan's explanation, Ethan Lin looked disappointed. "I thought you were a guy—you'd like this sort of thing."
Jax Jia finally couldn't help but curse, "Brother Lin, that's just dirty. Let's go already."
“Brother Lin, is this Viewing Flowers Festival really that grand?” Evan Yang asked in surprise, seeing how Ethan Lin’s demeanor had changed so much.
His question immediately offended Jax Jia, who pinched him again, leaving Evan puzzled by Jax’s odd behavior.
Ethan Lin ignored Jax Jia and answered directly, "Because all the women here come from the same place."
“Where’s that?” Evan asked curiously, while Jax Jia glared at them from the side.
“Jinxiu Peak,” Ethan replied.
As soon as he finished, Evan was about to ask what kind of sect that was when Jax Jia exclaimed in shock, “What? How could they be here?”
Seeing both Evan and Jax Jia interested, Ethan finally made up for his earlier mistake and continued, “The Viewing Flowers Festival is organized by them. The Flower Queen is a standout disciple from Jinxiu Peak, chosen every three years, and this period is their time to train and gain experience in the world.”
“Why would they come to a place like this to train?” Evan asked, still confused. Jax Jia fell silent beside him, lost in thought.
Noticing Jax Jia’s silence, Ethan Lin continued, “I don’t really know either. But every three years, it’s always the same woman. That’s why so many outstanding young men return here—to meet her and, more importantly, to gain everyone’s admiration and boost their own reputation.”
No sooner had Ethan finished speaking than the hall erupted in noise. A door on the second floor swung open, and several female attendants stepped out. One, an older-looking young woman, greeted everyone, “Thank you for coming tonight.”
“Hurry up and announce the challenge!” someone shouted impatiently. The crowd echoed the demand, sounding more like a street market than a festival. The woman upstairs just smiled, clearly used to unruly cultivators. “Let’s first introduce tonight’s guests of honor!”
“Guests of honor?” The crowd was confused. There were never guests of honor in previous years. They started asking around, exchanging puzzled looks, until someone grew impatient and yelled, “Then hurry up and bring them out!”
“Now, I’ll announce tonight’s four guests of honor: representing the Weapon Sect, Heaven-Earth Gate—Elias Li. Representing the Formation Sect, Beidou Seven Peaks—Brandon Tang. Representing the Qi-Path Lineage—Jude Jiu. And representing the city’s famous pill-refining Wu Family—Gavin Wu, ‘Ghost-Hand Wu.’” The woman upstairs read the names, and as each was called, a nearby door opened and a man stepped out, until four men stood on the second floor.
Elias Li was a burly man, his hands thick and dusted with metallic powder, shining and powerful as he clasped them together.
Brandon Tang was a pale, refined youth, holding a folding fan in one hand, the other resting against his waist.
Jude Jiu was a teenager with vacant eyes and a shaved head, lost in thought.
Gavin Wu wore a constant smile, his ears adorned with earrings like a woman’s.
Evan didn’t recognize any of the four, so he wasn’t particularly impressed. But the crowd below was stunned—where there had been noisy chatter, now there was only awe and envy.