"What is happening?"
At this moment, everyone was dumbfounded. The banner had actually appeared on its own. If it weren't for the astonished expressions on Wu Wuji's and Jian Kaicheng's faces, they would have thought it was deliberate.
"Who are you?" At the same time, Li Xuan frowned as he looked at the figure that appeared before him.
"Whoa, it's this guy." As soon as Li Xuan spoke, the Heavenly Dao Brush in the Suppressing Prison suddenly exclaimed.
Soon, Li Xuan learned the identity of the newcomer from the Heavenly Dao Brush's explanation.
"It seems you truly have a connection with the Master, as even the Heavenly Dao Brush follows you." Emperor Suiyue smiled faintly, glancing deeply at the Suppressing Prison Ring on Li Xuan's hand before quickly averting his gaze.
"You don't need to be nervous. I bear you no ill will. I encountered this banner just as I arrived, so I brought it with me," Emperor Suiyue said, seeing Li Xuan's wary expression.
Li Xuan looked at Emperor Suiyue with some surprise and said, "Your appearance like this must not be just to deliver this banner to me, right? And aren't you afraid of them discovering you by appearing so openly?"
Emperor Suiyue chuckled upon hearing this and said, "Within this River of Time, I am the master. Rest assured, they cannot see me. As for my purpose here, it is merely to familiarize myself with you, young friend. You will soon be stepping into the realm of a Time Walker, won't you? You can find me if you need anything then."
"Is that all?" Li Xuan became even more perplexed.
"Suiyue, you seem to have a trace of sword energy about you. With your strength, you're actually injured... Oh, I see, you must have been disciplined," the voice of the Heavenly Dao Brush chimed in.
Emperor Suiyue's expression instantly turned somewhat awkward. Under Li Xuan's gaze, he smiled wryly and nodded, "When young friend first entered the River of Time, I attempted to probe. I intended to divine the origins of the destined one, and thus suffered a backlash."
"You actually tried to pry into the existence behind the Young Master, no wonder there's lingering sword energy within you," the Heavenly Dao Brush said indignantly.
Seeing the Heavenly Dao Brush and Emperor Suiyue converse, Li Xuan's guard gradually lowered. Moreover, Li Xuan understood the situation: Emperor Suiyue was injured. And the cause of his injuries was most likely his invincible master, whom Li Xuan had never met.
"It seems a powerful individual has intervened from the shadows, otherwise, this academy wouldn't have remained unaware. This person's strength is unfathomable. Rest assured, your disciple from the Sword Sect should be fine. Otherwise, that patch of chaos wouldn't still exist," Wu Wuji said solemnly.
A hint of surprise flashed in Jian Kaicheng's eyes. Wu Wuji was a true Yearning realm existence. If even Wu Wuji couldn't sense this being, how could he?
"Strange, why can't we see Li Xuan's figure in the light screen?"
"The moment the banner appeared, Li Xuan's figure also vanished. Has something changed within the River of Time?"
"Let's wait for now. Since the Dean and Sect Master Kaicheng are not acting, why should we worry?"
"..."
At this moment, the disciples of the Sword Sect and the Martial Academy began to discuss with curiosity.
"Alright, many people are still waiting. Suiyue, since you wish to forge a good connection with the Young Master, let's discuss it after he steps into the realm of a Time Walker," the Heavenly Dao Brush said after a brief chat, seemingly sensing Li Xuan's thoughts.
"Good." Emperor Suiyue nodded and then looked at Li Xuan.
Seeing the anticipation in Emperor Suiyue's eyes, Li Xuan nodded slightly and said, "I will try to see if I can draw out the sword energy within you. We can discuss other matters later."
"Thank you, young friend." Emperor Suiyue breathed a sigh of relief. His purpose in coming here, besides forging a connection with Li Xuan, was naturally to hope that Li Xuan could resolve the sword energy within him. After all, with this sword energy lingering in his body, Emperor Suiyue couldn't sleep soundly.
Li Xuan nodded, and then a wisp of sword energy instantly entered Emperor Suiyue's body.
*Hum.*
When Li Xuan's sword energy touched the sword energy within Emperor Suiyue's body, a sword hum instantly sounded within him.
The next moment, Li Xuan willed it and drew out that wisp of sword energy.
*Boom!*
The sword energy returned to Li Xuan's body, and a rumbling sound instantly erupted. A strange expression flashed across Li Xuan's eyes. His master's wisp of sword energy had entered him, and his own bottleneck had loosened again.
"Thank you!" Feeling a lightness in his body, Emperor Suiyue nodded to Li Xuan in gratitude.
Li Xuan shook his head slightly and said, "It was just a small effort. Senior, I bid you farewell."
Emperor Suiyue, realizing this was not the time for a deep conversation with Li Xuan, moved his figure and disappeared.
As Emperor Suiyue left, Li Xuan pondered for a moment before bending down to pick up the banner.
"Huh, Li Xuan has appeared!"
"Look quickly, he actually obtained the banner just like that!"
"How should this be judged? The banner clearly wasn't found by Li Xuan."
"..."
As Li Xuan reappeared, the disciples of the Martial Academy began to discuss animatedly.
*Buzz.*
As Li Xuan held the banner, a buzzing sound instantly rang out.
The next moment, all the participating disciples still in the River of Time were enveloped by a beam of spiritual light and pulled out.
"Dean Wuji, this result..." Jian Kaicheng was somewhat helpless and turned his gaze to Wu Wuji.
Wu Wuji also gave a wry smile and replied, "The assessment this round was about which side's disciple obtained the banner first. Since the banner is in the hands of a Sword Sect disciple, naturally your Sword Sect has won."
Jian Kaicheng nodded slightly. Although Li Xuan obtaining the banner was partly due to luck, luck was also a form of strength. However, such a dramatic turn of events made Jian Kaicheng feel that the victory was not entirely straightforward.
With Wu Wuji's approval, the Grand Elder of the Martial Academy who was presiding over the assessment at the front desk immediately announced the result.
"In this assessment, the Sword Sect wins!"