This measure, to many at the time, was utterly incomprehensible. After all, prodigies sent to the Ancient Sanctuary were, in a sense, no longer prodigies. They were of no further benefit to the Sect’s growth and prosperity! However, the facts proved that this move was extremely visionary!
After Zhuo Canglang and the others entered the Ancient Sanctuary, they found the Watchers of the Sanqing Immortal Sect and informed them of what had happened to the sect in the outside world. The revelation instantly shocked the Watchers to their core. When they learned that only thirty-six of the Sanqing Immortal Sect’s three hundred and sixty branches remained, the Watchers seemed to age thousands of years in a moment, a pain greater than enduring an eternity of loneliness.
To ensure the Sanqing lineage would not be extinguished and to make a resurgence possible, these Watchers resolutely chose to burn themselves. Nine Watchers at the Saint Manifestation stage ignited their life essence to remodel the meridians and purify the marrow of Zhuo Canglang and his peers, enhancing their aptitude by forcibly infusing them with power. Without compromising the potential of Zhuo Canglang and the others, they gave up almost everything—including their lives.
The ultimate result was that after burning their essence, the nine Watchers passed away within a few years. Meanwhile, Zhuo Canglang, Luo Binglan, and the others advanced triumphantly after leaving the Holy Academy. They dominated their peers, rapidly breaking through realms without any bottlenecks, and in just a few hundred years, they stepped into the Saint Manifestation realm. They became the new backbone of the Sanqing Immortal Sect, propping up the heavens and preventing the sect from falling into complete decline.
Afterward, the four remaining Watchers of the Sanqing Immortal Sect within the Holy Academy, though they did not burn their life essence, chose to contribute to the revival of the Sanqing in another way: to frantically procreate. If the Holy Academy’s world required one to be under a hundred years old to leave, the efficiency of procreation would be abysmally low. But what if the task was not limited to just the four Saint Manifestation-stage patriarchs?
Over eight hundred years, even with low probability, a few offspring could surely be born. Children would have children, who in turn would have grandchildren. Even if these descendants could not leave, they could significantly increase the base population. Moreover, the patriarchs established a rule: these descendants must begin procreating at fifteen for males and thirteen for females. This vastly increased the efficiency of procreation. These descendants continued to have children, their lineages branching out, until finally, in the century before the Ancient Sanctuary was due to open again, they could amass a tremendously large group of talented prodigies under the age of a hundred. This would serve as a blood transfusion for the Sanqing Immortal Sect in the outside world. It was an endeavor for the resurgence of the Sanqing.
Of course, the aptitude of individuals mass-produced in this way was certainly not on par with the second generation of saints. Furthermore, because that second generation had been immersed in procreation their entire lives, they had neglected their cultivation, leading to wasted talent and generally low cultivation levels. However, for the Sanqing Watchers at that time, there were no better options. Besides, even if the newborns’ aptitude was merely average, in the uniquely blessed environment of the Holy Academy’s world, even a pig could be nurtured into an expert. No matter what, advancing to the Golden Core or Nascent Soul realm was hardly an issue. Those with slightly better aptitude could easily cultivate to the Soul Travel stage after returning to the outside world, which would greatly alleviate the Sanqing Immortal Sect’s embarrassing predicament.
Luo Hongyi was born against such a backdrop. However, she was different from the others. While the younger generation of the Sanqing in the Holy Academy could all trace their lineage back to one of the four Saint Manifestation-stage Watchers, she was the sole exception. Her bloodline originated from one of the nine Watchers who had sacrificed themselves for Zhuo Canglang’s group. That Watcher, with their life source nearly depleted, had miraculously left behind an heir in their last few fragile years.
However, because that Watcher’s health was at its absolute limit when their child was conceived, all descendants of that lineage were born frail. It was a single line of succession; they could have one child at most, and after giving birth, they would almost certainly perish. When Luo Hongyi was born, she nearly died from a lack of innate vitality. Fortunately, her parents, in a desperate effort to save her, burned away their own lives completely. They used some unknown secret art to repair the defect in her bloodline, making her indistinguishable from a normal person.
Although Luo Hongyi survived, she was left without a father, mother, or even grandparents, effectively an orphan. She grew up being bullied by her peers. Children can be cruel, saying whatever awful things come to mind, and since the elders were too busy procreating, they had little time to intervene. Even a few words of reprimand would only deepen the bullies’ resentment, causing them to escalate their torment. As a result, Luo Hongyi spent most of her childhood being tormented by her peers. This made her timid and fearful, flinching at everything. But the more she feared, the more she was bullied.
Then one day, Luo Hongyi erupted from her silence. In a single, decisive move, she permanently crippled several of the clan members who had long bullied her. When she walked out of the dark wooden cabin drenched in blood, her entire personality seemed to have changed. No longer timid, no longer afraid. No one dared to bully her again.
Afterward, she began to cultivate and displayed an astonishing talent. In just over a decade, Luo Hongyi’s progress was explosive. She rapidly advanced through Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, and Golden Core, all the way to the seventh heaven of the Nascent Soul realm, completely dominating her peers. Not only among her generation in the Holy Academy’s Sanqing but even in the eyes of the youths from other Immortal Sects, Luo Hongyi was considered an extremely formidable opponent.
Luo Hongyi became the undisputed leader of the children. Under her leadership, the prestige of the Holy Academy Sanqing’s younger generation flourished as never before. Those who once bullied her had all become her followers. On the surface, it seemed glorious. But the scholarly young man, one of Luo Hongyi’s few childhood friends, knew just how reckless his "Big Sister" could be. Once, while fighting with a peer from a neighboring lineage over a spirit pearl that wasn’t even rare, she had broken all of his limbs. The incident scared him so badly that for years afterward, he would flee at the mere sight of her. The scholarly youth knew that Luo Hongyi had always harbored a deep-seated anger, but he never knew who it was directed at.
[Detected someone nearby bragging. Congratulations to the Host for gaining Mana +288!]
Hm? Wang Xiu frowned. Who’s bragging? Everyone from the Sanqing sect is quiet right now. They’re all sitting here meditating, waiting for the people from the Holy Academy’s Sanqing to come get them. No one is bragging. And +288 Mana... to get that reward, it has to be a cultivator at the Nascent Soul Realm or higher.
Wang Xiu mulled this over, then slowly stood up. He cupped his hands toward the dense forest. "Fellow Daoists from the Holy Academy, since you are here, why not show yourselves?"
Deep within the forest, Luo Hongyi’s expression shifted slightly. The others with her were equally surprised.
"Did he discover us?"
"His cultivation level is only Golden Core Stage! That’s impossible!"
"Even a peak Nascent Soul expert would struggle to see through Big Sister’s concealment technique. How could he have done it?"
However, Wang Xiu’s expression remained unchanged as he continued to smile toward the forest. "What’s the matter? Are there too many of us? Are you feeling shy?"
The clearing remained quiet.
Li Zuoyue glanced around warily but detected nothing out of the ordinary. He couldn’t help but ask, "Junior Brother Wang Xiu, are you sure?"
Wang Xiu did not respond. He simply kept his gaze fixed on the forest, a knowing smile on his face, looking as if he had everything under control. Googlᴇ search nοvelfire.net
Seeing this, Li Zuoyue and the others exchanged a look.
"They’ve come but refuse to show themselves, hiding in the shadows. Something isn’t right!" Xiang Tiange snorted, slamming his Great Halberd into the ground as he prepared for battle.
The others, no longer doubting, quickly formed a defensive circle, mana surging within them.
After another long moment of silence, just as restlessness began to creep back into their hearts, several figures slowly emerged from the dense woods.
Luo Hongyi’s gaze was indifferent as she asked Wang Xiu, "Interesting. How did you find us?"