”Boom—”
A deafening thunderclap rang out. The massive blade formed of fiery red true essence, struck so violently by the lightning ball, was instantly swallowed by the lightning and vanished in a flash. Immediately afterward, the arrogant voice let out a scream: “Damn it! My magic artifact!”
Everyone looked over and saw a domineering young master in splendid clothes looking at the arm-length curved blade in his hand with heartache, and on that blade, tiny cracks had already appeared. Yu Tianze stood with his hands behind his back, seemingly oblivious to everything, only the wisps of lightning flickering around him revealing a powerful, domineering aura. Mu Zirun was startled; his peak master looking like this… in the parlance of his previous life, was truly incredibly handsome and cool.
Everyone knew Yu Tianze’s personality. After destroying the arrogant young master’s magic weapon with a single lightning ball, he coldly snorted, “I let you go last time, but you dare to be so arrogant this time! If it weren’t for the fact that the Fengyan Sect and my Jiuyang Sect are both under the same Immortal Sect, I would have killed you ten thousand times over! Now I’m just giving you a small punishment. If you’re still not satisfied, let’s see how many magic weapons you still have! I am ready at any time.”
Mu Zirun felt that if the atmosphere weren’t so tense, he would have liked to applaud his peak master. Such a powerful man, such terrifying power… it made him involuntarily ignite a burning ambition. He wanted to be as strong as Yu Tianze—no, even stronger! If Mu Zirun had previously cultivated to better establish himself in this world, to avoid being bullied, and to gain control of his life, then at this moment, he was even more dazzled by the brilliance of the lightning.
He had a desire… to stand shoulder to shoulder with Yu Tianze. Mu Zirun had only just begun his cultivation, and his perception of Yu Tianze’s power was purely based on the visual and auditory effects and the oppressive aura emanating from him at close range. Those who had cultivated for longer periods saw it more directly.
For example, the arrogant young master, after a three-second moment of regret over his magic artifact, forced himself to turn around, his face grim, and said, “Yu Tianze, you’ve broken through again?”
Beside the young master were many other disciples of the Fengyan Sect, many of whom had participated in the last ranking competition. Only five years ago, Yu Tianze’s cultivation was merely at the mid-Nascent Soul stage. If he had broken through again in just a few years, wouldn’t he be at the late-Nascent Soul stage?
Such a cultivation speed was unparalleled, if not unprecedented. What was even more infuriating was that, judging from the immense power of the lightning ball just now, this guy had not only broken through, but his realm was also very stable, showing no signs of instability.
How could his luck be so good? Yu Tianze ignored him, spreading his five fingers with his right hand and grabbing another lightning ball. He didn’t make any real movements, simply slamming the lightning ball against the nearby mountainside—the explosion shattered the nearby boulder into pieces.
The meaning was clear: …See for yourself?
The arrogant young master’s expression changed; this Yu Tianze was far too arrogant! Yu Tianze gave him a mocking look, then turned and led Mu Zirun to the other side of the mountain. Mu Zirun was slightly embarrassed. His peak master was really too provocative; wasn’t the moment he smashed the lightning ball just now a demonstration that he could also smash people’s heads like that?
Although the disciples of the Fengyan Sect were very unhappy, they couldn’t do anything about Yu Tianze. After all, they had not only attacked first, but also given him a show of force afterward. It wasn’t just the arrogant young master of the sect, or rather, Han Chenghui, the son of Elder Han, who had considerable influence in Fengyan Sect, who disliked Yu Tianze; none of them liked him.
As everyone knows, in the cultivation world, talent and comprehension are of paramount importance. Excelling in either one can lead to being nurtured by a sect with all one’s might. As a child, Yu Tianze was virtually unknown. Although his comprehension was excellent, he was too young, and no one knew what would happen to him later. But then one day, he was struck by lightning.
Surviving a lightning strike is already incredibly lucky; to have one’s three spiritual roots transformed into a mutated dual spiritual root of lightning and fire is unheard of! Not to mention, after that, Yu Tianze, with his combined comprehension and talent, rose to the ranks of the sect’s top figures within a few decades—it was practically defying the heavens. Even cultivators with exceptional talent couldn’t match this newcomer’s cultivation speed, and those with only three spiritual roots found that someone similar to themselves had suddenly risen a level.
How could they not be jealous? They couldn’t. So even if they didn’t admit it outwardly, deep down, they harbored hostility towards Yu Tianze.
Like Han Chenghui, who originally possessed dual spiritual roots and whose cultivation speed was considered top-tier among the younger generation of cultivators, he was highly regarded by his sect and a source of pride for his father, Elder Han. However, since Yu Tianze’s sudden emergence, his speed had fallen behind. Even Elder Han had become stricter with him, often using Yu Tianze as an example. Over time, after encountering Yu Tianze in the ranking tournament, he began to provoke him. The result was obvious: he lost last time, and this time… he lost again.
If Mu Zirun knew the reason behind this, he would definitely say that this was the consequence of being “someone else’s child.” As “someone else’s child,” Yu Tianze was truly wronged. On the other side of the mountain, the aggrieved Yu Tianze didn’t take the troublesome Fengyan Sect disciple seriously at all. He was pulling Mu Zirun to sit opposite him, making him demonstrate the process of drawing qi into the body.
Yes, he had always been this serious and meticulous. Now that he had decided to make Mu Zirun his disciple, he would start paying attention to the other’s cultivation progress from now on. For example, his usual practice was to use his true essence to check the growth of his prospective disciple’s spiritual energy every half month or so. This time, it was almost time, and he was too impatient to bother with those people, so he simply came to take care of the little one.
Mu Zirun also habitually stretched out his hand, letting Yu Tianze once again probe his body with that tingling, thunder-fire-infused true essence. Although he didn’t know how other masters and disciples did it, he knew at least that Yu Tianze was worried that he might make a mistake, so he was taking extra care of him. He remembered this kindness.
Yu Tianze quickly circled around and nodded: “Not bad, you’ve grown two more points. You’re quite diligent in your cultivation.”
Mu Zirun was also very serious: “I will continue to work hard, Peak Master.”
Yu Tianze was very satisfied. He nodded again and began to tell him about how he broke through to the first level of Qi Refining after the Qi Induction.
Time flew by. Among the many mid-level sects, the Nine Yang Sect arrived relatively early, and gradually, the surrounding smaller peaks filled with people. During this time, Mu Zirun gained a clear understanding of Yu Tianze’s interpersonal relationships. They were truly… utterly terrible.
If Han Chenghui of the Fengyan Sect on the first day had slightly surprised Mu Zirun, then the subsequent encounters with various sects were nothing new. These people generally shared a common trait: each one was arrogant and haughty, their thoughts practically written on their faces. In Mu Zirun’s view, this “young generation, unable to hide their intentions posed no real threat.
Yu Tianze was also used to being challenged; after all, a few lightning balls would suffice, requiring little effort. As for why he didn’t use more supernatural powers? Because there’s nothing simpler and more convenient than a lightning ball. Mu Zirun thought to himself with a strange feeling: This is probably just his peak master’s style, it’s quite… interesting.
Moreover, he seemed to understand more and more why Yu Tianze was always said to have a capricious personality. Probably not really capricious, but obviously, he was angry more often than calm. In short, he just had a bad temper.
Two or three days later, the ranking competition finally began. A beautiful female cultivator from the Xinyi Sect came to lead the way, and many disciples of the Jiuyang Sect, led by a beautiful Luan bird, rode their respective flying beasts to the competition venue. It was a vast platform, with many high seats around it, each sect having its own fixed territory.
The largest were the positions of the nine immortal sects, belonging to nine high platforms, with many large chairs arranged at the top, followed by many small chairs and some standing positions; none of the positions were empty, and the layout of each platform was roughly similar.
Surrounding the main platform were lower stone platforms, marking the locations of their affiliated sects. The closer a platform was to the main platform, the higher the status of the affiliated sect. No sect could overstep its original position.
Now that the nine major immortal sects had all arrived, the disciples of the main sects, adorned with gleaming magical treasures, took their seats, creating a scene resembling a cluster of blooming flowers—a sight to put it nicely, a thousand auspicious omens; to put it bluntly, it was dazzling.
The Zheng Gang Immortal Sect sat on the third-ranked platform. This advanced sect possessed formidable strength, ranking third in overall power among all immortal sects. The disciples of the Jiuyang Sect quickly took their seats on the second-to-last low stone platform on the left.
Their sect was considered relatively good among mid-level sects, but among all the affiliated sects of the Zheng Gang Immortal Sect, they only ranked fifth, failing to crack into the top twenty of all mid-level sects. Therefore, their status within the main sect wasn’t particularly high.
In fact, if Yu Tianze hadn’t consistently ranked among the top one hundred Nascent Soul disciples, the Jiuyang Sect’s influence among the affiliated sects would have been even lower. This explains why Yu Tianze, despite his poor reputation, still wielded considerable influence within the Jiuyang Sect.
This time, however, Yu Tianze came with even greater ambitions: to break into the top ten.
