Meanwhile, Yu Tianze was unaware that Mu Zirun had begun to harbor some suspicions about him—in fact, he never imagined that a mere child like him would see through his disguise. He was currently feeling rather annoyed. Why?
Because just this morning, his Elder’s Token had activated. And from within the token came the voice of Chen Yiheng, the very person he had so painstakingly worked hard to forget, the very one who had once caused his death. Leaving aside how Chen Yiheng’s overly solicitous attitude had soured his mood, the message he brought was enough to make him furious.
In half a month, it would be time for the Ranking Competition. As the name suggests, simply put, all sects would send their best disciples to compete in several rounds at each realm. Based on the different performances of each sect, a ranking would be established, and the sects would receive certain resources and rewards.
Yes, rewards.
As mentioned earlier, the Nine Yang Sect is an affiliated sect of the Zheng Gang Immortal Sect, one of the Nine Great Immortal Sects. There are at least seven or eight other sects affiliated with the Zheng Gang Immortal Sect, also at the mid-level.
In the current cultivation world, the hierarchy is extremely strict. Besides the Nine Great Immortal Sects, which are considered top-level sects, there are mid-level sects, and among these, those affiliated with the Nine Great Immortal Sects hold even higher status. Similarly, below the mid-level sects are many lower-level sects, some affiliated with different mid-level sects, and others without any backing.
In the ranking competition, just as cultivators at the Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, and Nascent Soul stages compete against each other, sects of the same level also need to be ranked.
The ranking of the Nine Great Immortal Sects, besides the strength of their own disciples, is also determined by the number of their affiliated sects ranked in the top twenty. Meanwhile, cultivators at different realms are ranked on different lists after battles, and the number of cultivators in the top 100 is also the capital for these affiliated sects’ rankings.
Such ranking battles occur roughly every five years, and Yu Tianze, from his previous life to this one, from Foundation Establishment to Nascent Soul, has never missed one. Now, he’s clearly being notified out of habit—who told him to have never refused before? Yu Tianze’s displeasure stems from the fact that every time he fought to the death, every time he broke into the top 100, every time he earned a lot of resources for the sect, he received only limited benefits himself, and in the end, he was even betrayed and killed.
Now, how could he possibly be interested in working for the sect’s benefit? But refusing like this seems a bit unreasonable, as if he’s being too obvious. After frowning, Yu Tianze replied, accepting the sect’s assignment. Anyway, it’s a kind of training, and his strength has improved quite a bit. If he has a chance to break into the top ten, he might be directly accepted by the main sect of the Zheng Gang Immortal Sect, even if it’s under the guise of seclusion. That would keep him away from these troublesome guys, right?
Thinking about it this way, he wasn’t so annoyed anymore. A few days later, Yu Tianze was in a better mood when he found that the little brat he had taken over had successfully induced Qi. Mu Zirun stood obediently in front of Yu Tianze, letting Yu Tianze grab his wrist to examine him. Just like Yu Tianze’s personality, the wisp of true essence sent into Mu Zirun’s body, carrying the attributes of lightning and fire, tingled and numbed as it traveled through his entire body and through his meridians.
Mu Zirun felt slightly comfortable, but at the same time, he discovered that the Qi flow in his body was weak compared to Yu Tianze’s true essence, which was probably only one ten-thousandth or one hundred-millionth. Instantly, he had a direct understanding of the peak master’s strength.
After examining him, Yu Tianze withdrew his hand with satisfaction, “Very good, he didn’t slack off.”
He also felt that Mu Zirun’s comprehension was indeed very high. For something like guiding Qi into the body, the first thing is to be able to communicate with heaven and earth—this is inextricably linked to comprehension. Then, one can guide and gather spiritual energy through the spiritual root.
Four spiritual roots are indeed inferior, but when guiding Qi into the body, a trace of spiritual energy is enough. Its main weakness lies in the subsequent accumulation of spiritual energy, but the first sensing of spiritual energy won’t cause any obstacles.
Therefore, Yu Tianze praised Mu Zirun generously. In his view, the little brat needed encouragement—even he himself, when making progress as a child, didn’t he like being praised by Ming Yuan? Initially, Ming Yuan did praise him frequently, which made him cultivate harder. But as the praise became commonplace, Ming Yuan rarely said anything encouraging to him anymore. Later, his cultivation had nothing to do with Ming Yuan anymore; it all depended on himself.
Ultimately, Ming Yuan’s help with his cultivation might not have been as much as the elders who gave monthly lectures in the sect. He used to feel a little regretful about this, but now, thinking about it, it was simply because Ming Yuan didn’t care about him! Otherwise, even if Ming Yuan couldn’t teach him, was it so difficult for him to spend some time with him occasionally? To put it nicely, it was a sign of trust; to put it bluntly… Ming Yuan had always been perfunctory towards him. He was just blinded by his own perspective, whether he couldn’t see it or subconsciously didn’t want to see it.
Yu Tianze had already decided to take Mu Zirun as his disciple sooner or later. He felt he couldn’t be like Ming Yuan. He wanted to give this little brat he had taken in everything he lacked and everything he could think of! So, as a reward for Mu Zirun, he gave him another key.
Mu Zirun looked up at his little face, “Peak Master, what’s this?”
Yu Tianze pointed to a room, “This room is piled with junk I don’t need, but some of it you can use, so I’ll give it to you.”
Mu Zirun turned to look, “…Thank you, Peak Master.”
Yu Tianze thought for a moment, then said, “You should cultivate diligently recently. In a few days, I will be going to the Xinyi Sect with the sect to participate in the ranking competition. After I leave the sect, I’m afraid I won’t be able to guide you anymore.”
The implication was that he should ask if he didn’t understand anything, because if he didn’t ask now, it would be even longer.
Mu Zirun understood what Yu Tianze meant, but he also thought for a moment and asked expectantly, “Peak Master, can I come with you?”
If this were asked by a servant, it would be a bit disrespectful, but as a disciple, it was just a coquettish question. Mu Zirun was curious to know how Yu Tianze, who had probably given him another large sum of resources, would answer. Yu Tianze was a little surprised. But he immediately thought that the little brat was not even ten years old yet, so it was normal for him to like excitement. Moreover, taking his disciple to broaden his horizons wasn’t considered outrageous.
So he nodded without hesitation, “Since you want to go, then I’ll go with you.” Then he reminded him again, “Cultivate diligently, or I won’t take you.” After saying that, he felt like a strict teacher and went back to his room smugly.
Later, Mu Zirun looked up at the sky. Well, maybe he really was treated as a disciple by Yu Tianze… And he seemed a bit too lively at the end, did he think Mu Zirun wouldn’t notice? Afterwards, took the key to check another room, which was indeed a storeroom-like place.
Inside, there were some boxes piled up haphazardly, containing some spiritual herbs and medicines whose medicinal properties hadn’t yet deteriorated, some low-grade ores, talismans, array plates, and piles of things that were obviously looted from others, placed in small heaps with storage bags on top, obviously poured out from there.
Most of them were common, ordinary items. Perhaps there were rare items among the piles, but Yu Tianze didn’t seem to have the patience to sort them. He guessed these things were probably obtained by him after slaying demons or being robbed and then fighting back. He didn’t care about them himself, nor did he feel they were meant to be presented to Ming Yuan, so he just left them there.
However, what Yu Tianze considered junk was quite a treasure to Mu Zirun now. He was always patient and didn’t like wasting usable things. So he first sorted out the ones he recognized, and for the ones he didn’t recognize, he took out the system to appraise them one by one—of course, in his busy schedule, he still didn’t forget to cook dinner for Yu Tianze…
In the blink of an eye, another ten days had passed. Yu Tianze led Mu Zirun to the outside of the Thunderfire Hall.
Tomorrow was the start of the ranking competition, and today they had to meet up with the other disciples and elders from their sect who were also participating in the competition, and then go together to the Xinyi Sect, which was in charge of organizing the competition. Yu Tianze stood ramrod straight, his long purple robe exuding elegance. With a flick of his wrist, he sent a ball of lightning soaring into the sky, where it exploded instantly.
Immediately afterward, a clear, resonant cry echoed from afar, followed by the rapid arrival of a giant bird, casting a shadow across the ground. It was a large bird, entirely blue-purple, ten feet long with a wingspan of ten feet, its eyes golden, its head like an eagle’s, its body like a snake’s, extremely fierce. This was a peculiar giant bird of lightning attribute, called a Thunder Eagle, a level four demonic beast. However, this Thunder Eagle possessed a golden crown atop its head, clearly indicating it was the King of Thunder Eagles, a level five demonic beast.
After arriving, the Thunder Eagle King circled once before landing on the ground. Its temperament was usually quite arrogant, but upon seeing Yu Tianze, its eagle eyes revealed a hint of fear, obediently lowering its head. Yu Tianze, carrying Mu Zirun, leaped onto the back of the Thunder Eagle in a flash, while Mu Zirun was shielded in front of him, clinging to his arm.
Mu Zirun had flown in airplanes before, even piloted one himself, but he had never ridden in the open on a giant bird like this. Having only recently entered the Qi Refining stage, he couldn’t sit steadily on his own, so he didn’t feel his pride was hurt and obediently held onto Yu Tianze tightly. Yu Tianze was pleased to see Mu Zirun relying on him like this. He patted the Thunder Eagle King’s head and said, “Take off!”
A gust of wind swept through, and the bird soared into the air.
Mu Zirun, shielded from the wind by a bolt of lightning, asked with a cheerful tone, “Is this giant bird raised by the Peak Master?”
Yu Tianze was taken aback, “Raised?” He scoffed, “Raised with what? When needed, just go to the back mountain to catch one.”
This time, it was Mu Zirun’s turn to be stunned.
So, this was a “plane” that Yu Tianze had personally captured?
Truly powerful and straightforward… Ah.
