Chapter 1942 Goodbye Sloppy Old Man

Ye Bufan was carried away by someone at an astonishing speed.

Out of respect, he didn't use his Divine Sense to scan the person's appearance, but he could clearly see the large wine gourd on their back and smell a strong scent of alcohol.

From this, he deduced the identity of the person: it was the same scruffy Old Man he had met in the tavern earlier, and he hadn't expected him to be the one to save him at such a crucial moment.

The scruffy Old Man didn't take him away; instead, he returned to Tianfeng City.

After entering the city, they continued to rush, finally arriving at the foot of a mountain in the southwest corner.

The small mountain wasn't very large and didn't look steep, and the surrounding area was desolate with no homes nearby.

On the mountain peak, a building was faintly visible, appearing quite grand, though it was somewhat dilapidated due to disrepair over the years.

The scruffy Old Man didn't stop, leading him directly up the mountain and finally into a large hall.

After this period of recuperation, Ye Bufan's internal injuries were recovering rapidly; although he still couldn't fight, at least he wasn't as much in pain as before and had regained normal mobility.

He surveyed the hall; though somewhat rundown, its former grandeur was still evident.

However, it was now completely disheveled, with wine jars scattered everywhere on the floor, and the air was filled with the scent of alcohol.

The scruffy Old Man kicked a few wine jars aside, then gently set him down.

"Little fellow, how are you? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, thank you, Senior, for saving my life!"

Ye Bufan was deeply grateful to the scruffy Old Man; although even if the other party hadn't appeared, he could have hidden in the Dragon King Palace and saved his life.

But the consequences would have been entirely different; he would have been a fugitive in the Kunlun Immortal Realm, constantly on the run.

"No need for thanks, it's just fate that brought us together!"

The scruffy Old Man chuckled, looking at him, "Little fellow, your Body Refining technique is truly formidable; you're fine even after such severe injuries.

Since you survived a great disaster, there must be good fortune to follow; it's certainly something worth celebrating, don't you think we should have some good wine to celebrate?"

As he spoke, he couldn't help but gulp, his cloudy eyes filled with immense longing.

"Senior wants to drink, right!"

As Ye Bufan spoke, he threw a bottle of maotai over.

He was not a stingy person to begin with, and besides, this Old Man had just saved him, so a few bottles of wine were nothing in comparison.

A bottle of wine was nothing to him, but the scruffy Old Man treated it like a treasure, grinning from ear to ear as he grasped it.

He twisted off the cap, first taking a deep sniff, revealing a look of intoxication, then he drank the entire bottle in one gulp.

"Good wine! Truly good wine, this wine is so fragrant! It's a bit different from last time, soft and mellow, leaving a long aftertaste…"

The scruffy Old Man was clearly a connoisseur of wine, smacking his lips as he offered his evaluation.

Ye Bufan sat silently beside him; to him, all wine tasted the same—spicy. There was no difference between erguotou, maotai, and five grains liquid, and he couldn't discern the variations between vintages.

The scruffy Old Man finished his appraisal and then looked at him: "Little fellow, you really have some skill, to have gotten your hands on Old Lu's Burning Sky Purple Flame, and even killed that Old thing, Shi Wance."

When he said this, Ye Bufan was immediately startled, not expecting this Old Man to have seen everything.

However, he quickly calmed down, seeing that the scruffy Old Man had no ill intentions towards him.

If he did, he would have acted long ago; there would have been no need to save him, let alone bring him here.

"Senior saw all that?"

"Of course, I was following behind the whole time, so I saw everything clearly.

I was originally thinking about how to save you, but I didn't expect you to take care of that Old thing, Shi Wance, yourself. You really made this Old Man look at you in a new light."

"Senior, you've been following me?"

Ye Bufan was genuinely surprised; he didn't believe the scruffy Old Man had been following him just to get a few bottles of wine.

"We'll talk about that later."

The scruffy Old Man said, "Little fellow, I've seen everything about you. Now that you've been expelled from Cangfeng Academy by that Old thing Feng Xingkong, what are your plans?"

Upon mentioning this, Ye Bufan's expression became somewhat forlorn.

He had worked so hard for so long, precisely to participate in the New Talent Ranking Tournament through Cangfeng Academy, ultimately to obtain the hongyuan fruit as a prize and restore his cultivation.

But now, with such a major upheaval, all his plans were disrupted, and a wave of frustration washed over him.

What should he do next? How could he obtain the hongyuan fruit? How could he restore his cultivation? How could he return to his home?

A cunning smile appeared on the scruffy Old Man's Big Beard-covered face, and then he asked, "Little fellow, are you thinking about the New Talent Ranking Tournament?"

"Yes, Senior, how did you know?"

Ye Bufan was somewhat astonished, wondering how this Old Man knew so much about his affairs.

"Of course I know," the scruffy Old Man chuckled, "Little fellow, I, this Old Man, can solve your problem, on the condition that you give me ten bottles of good wine."

"Really?"

Ye Bufan was immediately overjoyed. The quota for the ranking tournament was his biggest problem; if it could be solved, let alone ten bottles of good wine, even a hundred or a thousand bottles would be no issue.

With a thought, ten bottles of maotai and ten bottles of jiuguijiu appeared before the scruffy Old Man.

"Oh, Little fellow, you really have a lot of good wine. What kind of wine is this?"

The scruffy Old Man reached out and took a bottle of jiuguijiu into his palm, caressing the bottle, his intoxicated and lecherous expression as if he were touching a woman's skin.

Then he twisted off the cap, habitually sniffing it.

Jiuguijiu was famous for its rich aroma; in terms of fragrance, it was no less than maotai, and immediately, a rich aroma of wine filled the entire hall.

"Good wine, truly good wine!"

The scruffy Old Man drank the entire bottle in one go, then revealed an intoxicated expression.

Ye Bufan waited for him to finish the wine, then eagerly asked, "Senior, don't just drink; quickly tell me how I can solve this problem?"

The scruffy Old Man took another bottle of maotai, drank it in one gulp, and then let out a comfortable burp.

He wiped his mouth and said, "How simple is this problem? In the Tianfeng Empire, the quotas for participating in the New Talent Ranking Tournament are not only available to Cangfeng Academy; just get another one."

Ye Bufan's face immediately darkened; what he said was equivalent to saying nothing.

"Senior, please be clearer."

The scruffy Old Man said, "Don't you know? Even students from Cangfeng Academy cannot directly participate in the New Talent Ranking Tournament; they still have to compete with the Tianfeng Empire's imperial family and Lingxiao Academy for the final spots."

Ye Bufan then remembered that Luo Yudie had mentioned it before; there indeed was a final competition.

It was just that Cangfeng Academy's strength was so great that they almost monopolized the final spots, leading people to mistakenly believe that Cangfeng Academy would ultimately represent the Tianfeng Empire in the New Talent Ranking Tournament.

He now understood what the scruffy Old Man meant and asked excitedly, "Senior, do you know the Tianfeng Empire's imperial family? Can you let me represent them in the competition?"

"The Tianfeng Empire's imperial family, of course I know them."

Before Ye Bufan could get excited, the scruffy Old Man chuckled, "I know them, but they don't know me!"