Normally, for a peak power, someone breaking through to the Tribulation Crossing stage, becoming the strongest in the Thunderwind Realm, would be a momentous, earth-shattering event.
It should be a grand occasion to invite guests and celebrate universally.
However, the Fang family's actions this time were not as grand. They only invited some forces with good relationships and the Fang patriarch's private friends to a small banquet at the Fang family's residence, which was even less ostentatious than when the Old Matriarch celebrated her birthday.
The other eight major powers merely sent some congratulatory gifts as a formality.
This was actually quite understandable. The Old Matriarch's birthday was a matter of superficial etiquette, expressing filial piety or respect for elders. It wasn't a substantive event, so everyone could join in the merriment.
But your patriarch's breakthrough to the Tribulation Crossing stage had a much greater impact.
Others might not know, but the nine major powers were acutely aware of how many Tribulation Crossing experts each family had.
Your Fang family already had two Tribulation Crossing experts. Now that your patriarch had also broken through, you had three. This immediately placed you on par with the Liu family and the Kaitian Sword Sect, making you a top-tier power among the nine major powers.
Furthermore, with your daughter and son-in-law, although they were only in the Mahayana stage, they possessed combat power comparable to Tribulation Crossing experts. They were even more valuable than ordinary Tribulation Crossing experts, and once they broke through, they would be powerhouses among the Tribulation Crossing stage.
These two, the youngest, possessed Innate Thunder Body and Innate Wind Body, constitutions that made them virtually invincible at the same level and capable of crushing opponents across cultivation realms.
Hadn't they witnessed the might of the Thunder Emperor in the past?
Five of them! Your family had five Tribulation Crossing experts!
Damn it, were they even letting anyone else live?
How could the other eight families feel good about this?
Especially the Huo family, who felt even worse. Their Huo family had finally gained one more Tribulation Crossing expert, and before they could even revel in it for a few years, they were killed by your two young brats with a snap.
Yet your family had gained so many more.
It was unfair,
Absolutely unfair!
But human joys and sorrows were not shared. The Huo family's grief did not affect the Fang family's warm atmosphere. Instead, mentioning the Huo family made the Fang family members hold their heads even higher.
To the guests' confusion, the patriarch's daughter and son-in-law, who were the focus of the celebration, were nowhere to be seen, which seemed quite illogical.
Moreover, it was widely known that the young powerhouse named Wan Lei had a peculiar hobby of enjoying banquets.
Why wasn't he here for such an occasion?
Many years later, the world would know that the Thunder Emperor Palace, which stood as the strongest force in the Thunderwind Realm, had two highly respected elders.
These two elders were the earliest followers of the second Thunder Emperor. Although their combat prowess was not particularly strong, they played a crucial role in handling all matters, big and small, within the Thunder Emperor Palace.
Whenever younger disciples inquired about the Thunder Emperor's glorious deeds, they would cast their gazes towards the empty Thunder Emperor's throne, their eyes filled with remembrance and sorrow.
Their names were Qing Feng and True Person Tao Dian.
And these two, who would later be highly respected elders, now wore bitter expressions.
This was because they had each just taken a punch.
After "His Majesty the Thunder Emperor" delivered a punch to each of them, he left in a hurry, leaving behind only one sentence.
"Damn it, such a big event, why didn't you say so sooner?!"
Thunderwind Continent, Central Region, Northwest.
This was the territory governed by the Dun family.
Wan Lei and Fang Xiaoyu stopped, panting, and looked at a dust storm that connected the heavens and the earth before them, finally letting out a sigh of relief.
This storm had stirred up dust that filled the sky, surpassing even the firestorm unleashed by Fang Xiaoyu, its power even more terrifying.
This was the entrance to the Earth Immortal Secret Realm.
Today was the third day after Old Fang's breakthrough, and also the day Old Fang was hosting his guests.
Early in the morning, Wan Lei and Fang Xiaoyu set out with radiant faces, wearing their best clothes.
After all, they were going to a banquet, and it was their father-in-law's banquet. Young Master Lei naturally had to be respectful.
Young Master Lei had already planned to feast heartily, to live up to the effort of changing into such fine clothes.
This was his favorite blue long robe.
As soon as they walked out of the courtyard, they saw Qing Feng and Tao Dian approaching them with smiling faces.
Since Wan Lei had not yet established his own force and had not yet taken charge of the Thunder Emperor Palace, Qing Feng and Tao Dian were staying at the Fang family as guest elders.
Qing Feng and Tao Dian asked Wan Lei where he was going. Wan Lei said he was going to a banquet and enthusiastically invited them to join.
Then, a remark from Qing Feng stunned Wan Lei.
"Oh, I thought you were going to the Earth Immortal Secret Realm. So you're going to a banquet."
Following this, Wan Lei learned that when Qing Feng and the others emerged from the Fire Immortal Secret Realm, they had learned that the Earth Immortal Secret Realm would open in three months.
And Wan Lei had come out three months later than them.
Today was the day the Earth Immortal Secret Realm was opening.
This led to the scene described above.
"Glad we made it. These two scamming bastards, don't they know how important this secret realm is to us?"
Wan Lei gritted his teeth at the thought.
For three days, the two of them hadn't said a word, forcing him and Sister Xiaoyu to travel such a long distance using teleportation arrays and flight.
Oh no! He wouldn't be able to attend the banquet!
One cannot have both fish and bear's paw. Young Master Lei still felt that the token of the secret realm was more important than the banquet.
The Earth Immortal Secret Realm had been open for some time, and most of the people entering the secret realm had already gone in. There were still a sparse dozen people outside, hesitating whether to enter.
When they saw Wan Lei and Fang Xiaoyu, they immediately recognized them.
After all, the two most renowned young individuals in the Central Region over the past few years were known to everyone in the cultivation world.
At the same time, they recalled the various rumors of the past few days. These were two top powerhouses comparable to Tribulation Crossing experts.
"Greetings, two seniors."
Hundreds of cultivators in their hundreds of years bowed to the two young people in their twenties.
There are no elders or juniors in learning; the accomplished are respected.
"How long has this secret realm been open?"
Wan Lei looked at them.
"Reporting to senior, it opened this morning and has been open for over two hours."
"Oh, not too late. How many people have entered?"
"Reporting to senior, five to six hundred people have entered."
"Heh, nowadays, this secret realm is really losing its appeal. In the beginning, tens of thousands of people would enter, but now..."
"Now there aren't many left alive."
Fang Xiaoyu chimed in,
"More than half the people died in the Water Immortal Secret Realm, and out of over a thousand people who entered the Fire Immortal Secret Realm, hundreds died. It's normal for people to be afraid to enter with such a high casualty rate."
"Yes, I think the map for this Earth Immortal Secret Realm might not be very large, as there aren't many people.
The previous few secret realms were entire worlds or continents. The Fire Immortal Secret Realm, with just over a thousand people, merely led them into a sea of fire.
This time, with even fewer people, the map is bound to be smaller."