Chapter 871: Life-Changing Fire Beast (Source Fire) Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios Moreover, Lin Yuan had been mentioned before Zong Ze. This meant that Zuo Ming was silently indicating that Lin Yuan had a higher status than Zong Ze. Everyone present started to make guesses about Lin Yuan’s identity again. Many disciples of top factions had heard from their elders that the Moon Empress’ disciple might be making an appearance at the Guard Ye Banquet. Now, it seemed as though Lin Yuan was definitely the Moon Empress’ disciple. The veteran factions’ disciples were still unsure about Lin Yuan’s identity. Although the news had not been leaked, the veteran factions’ disciples had heard that the blood moon that had risen a few months ago had had something to do with the Moon Empress’ mysterious disciple. Zong Ze stepped toward Zuo Ming, but a thought seemed to strike him moments later that made him halt his steps and turn around. Although he did not explicitly invite Lin Yuan, he was clearly waiting for him to go up together. Since Zong Ze had already joined the group, Long Tao, Li Xuan, Gao Feng, and Sun Ningxiang cheered on Zong Ze despite being closer to Lin Yuan. Liu Jie did not move from Lin Yuan’s side as he gave Lin Yuan some words of encouragement. Liu Jie’s actions made Gu Lang raise an eyebrow in surprise. For the sake of appearances, the best choice was to encourage both parties. However, the fact that Liu Jie only cheered Lin Yuan on meant that he was extremely biased toward Lin Yuan and that they had a very good relationship. Gu Lang had only recently gotten to know Lin Yuan and was closer to Zong Ze. Nonetheless, Gu Lang still said, “Zong Ze, Lin Yuan, good luck to the both of you! Zong Ze, if you lose to Lin Yuan due to a lack of skill, why don’t you personally cook a feast for us at Kitchen Fragrance Palace?” Zong Ze glared at Gu Lang for a second. He felt that Gu Lang was taking advantage of him. However, he was more than happy to treat Lin Yuan to a meal. But when he thought about how he had caused Gu Lang to give up on the Martial Arts Stage, Zong Ze nodded in agreement. Long Tao, Gao Feng, Li Xuan, and Sun Ningxiang had been completely excluded. They did not have a high enough status to be invited to a place like Kitchen Fragrance Palace. “If Zong Ze loses to Lin Yuan, he’ll have to fulfill his promise of cooking the Kitchen Fragrance Palace’s 360 dishes. I’ll invite the two of you to try Zong Ze’s cooking. He might be cold and distant, but his cooking skills are unrivaled,” said Gu Lang. Liu Jie looked indignant behind his mask. No one cooks better than me! Lin Yuan always sings endless praises of my food. I’ll have to find a chance to compete with Zong Ze. Due to his special sacred source lifeform, Liu Jie could not use his sacred source lifeform during a fight against Zong Ze. If Zong Ze made the first move with his sacred source lifeform, he would not be able to fight back. But if they competed in cooking, there was no guarantee that Zong Ze would win even if he was Chef Supreme’s disciple. He was the man who had all the stomachs in Return from Faraway Mansion wrapped around his finger. Before Zheng Kaiyuan had come to the Guard Ye Banquet, what he wanted the most was to steal the spotlight. But as he stood amongst this group that had all eyes on them, he felt heavy pressure resting on his shoulders. The people who cared the most about status were the most aware of the burden that came with it. Every look from the top factions’ young disciples was like an additional sandbag of pressure on Zheng Kaiyuan’s back. He broke out in cold sweat but raised his head as high as he could to try to look like he fit in with the group. When he saw everyone cheering on Lin Yuan and Zong Ze, Zheng Kaiyuan hastily joined in. But one sour look from Zong Ze and Zheng Kaiyuan anxiously backed away. He remembered that it was Lin Yuan who had called him over, so he bravely stuck by Lin Yuan’s side. The sharp-tongued Zheng Kaiyuan stammered, “Lo… Lord Lin Yuan, good… good luck.” Lin Yuan looked deeply into Zheng Kaiyuan’s eyes. This gaze from Lin Yuan made Zheng Kaiyuan feel flustered for some reason. A young man’s pleasant voice said by Zheng Kaiyuan’s ear, “You have to do your best too.” Do his best and become a conveyor belt for communication. People were destined to become frivolous after they gained a step up in society. To those who had a low status, they would become envious. To those who were of a higher status, they would become resentful. If the leader of the Miao family personally approached Zheng Kaiyuan, the latter would gain indisputable authority in the Miao family and Zheng family. Lin Yuan had been observing Zheng Kaiyuan from the moment he called him over to join the group and knew that he was by no means a humble person. He was not afraid that Zheng Kaiyuan would go crazy with power in the Miao family and Zheng family. In fact, he was afraid that Zheng Kaiyuan would not be crazy enough. In the end, Lin Yuan would not even need to lift a finger to finish off Zheng Kaiyuan. Once a building became tall enough, it would not even need to be pushed to collapse. The higher the tower, the more seriously hurt the person standing atop of it would become when the tower collapsed. Lin Yuan wondered what kind of horrible fate awaited Zheng Kaiyuan from the Miao family and the Zheng family. Resentment turned into a monstrous creature when it reached its peak. Lin Yuan was always good to his friends, but he felt that no amount of brutal torture was enough for his enemies. As he stood opposite Zong Ze on the Martial Stage in front of everyone, Lin Yuan took a deep breath and focused his entire body into a combat-ready state. Now that Zong Ze was apart from Lin Yuan, his obsession for combat bubbled up again. After Zuo Ming announced the start of the battle, Zong Ze immediately summoned two feys. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂 One of the feys was a small palm-sized orange mouse that did not enter the combat area after it was summoned. Instead, it climbed up to Zong Ze’s shoulder and started squeaking as though it was watching a show. The other fey was an enormous viscous granular creature that constantly changed its shape. In the short time after it was summoned, the enormous viscous granular creature had already changed into the shape of seven or eight different beasts. Every time it changed its shape, the viscous creature would release the aura that was unique to that beast.