"Go back and tell Old Ma An that he owes me a big favor this time,"
Xun Xiangzhou watched Ning Shangfeng with a loud laugh, and then, with a leap, he shot up into the sky, stepping on the void and flying into the distance; in no time at all, he had vanished without a trace.
Everyone watched the direction in which Xun Xiangzhou had left, feeling a wave of admiration and envy in their hearts.
This was the power of a Heaven-reaching Realm master, able to tread on air and fly freely, coming and going as they pleased, like an immortal being.
Lin Chen, too, yearned for such ability deep down.
While everyone was watching Xun Xiangzhou depart, another figure flew over from the direction of the sky. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novel✶fire.net
It was not Xun Xiangzhou returning, but a beautiful woman in a red dress, who looked extremely stunning.
People were once again deeply shocked by the sight, wondering what winds had brought several Heaven-reaching Realm masters to the small Desolate Sky City today, one after the other.
"What major incident caused you to shatter the emergency Communication Jade Slip?"
The beautiful woman in red arrived at the square, floating in mid-air, and fixed her gaze on Ning Shangfeng as she began to inquire.
Ning Shangfeng looked at the beautiful woman with respectful eyes and recounted everything that had happened in Desolate Sky City that day.
Lin Chen and the others’ test results were not elaborated on by Ning Shangfeng; instead, he highlighted the scheme of Li Dashan of the Li Family and Li Chu, then he mentioned how Xun Xiangzhou, the mysterious figure, had stepped in to resolve Ximen Cailong’s crisis.
After listening to Ning Shangfeng’s account, the beautiful woman’s brows furrowed tightly, and she looked into the distance.
At this point, a pursuit would most likely be in vain.
She had not expected the Black Cloud Sect to have such a grand scheme, daring to make a move within Jade Cauldron Sect’s territory to plan and protect their pawn, even at the risk of exposure to danger.
If a strong figure from Jade Cauldron Sect had appeared, Ximen Cailong would have definitely been unable to escape.
Luckily, this incident had been accidentally uncovered by the young fellow before her, thwarting the Black Cloud Sect’s conspiracy. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable, and the Jade Cauldron Sect might have suffered a severe blow.
"Those people from the Black Cloud Sect are getting more and more arrogant, daring to step directly into the domain of Jade Cauldron Sect. When I return, I must report this to the Sect Leader Senior Brother. It’s been many years since we’ve put pressure on the Black Cloud Sect; it seems they think they’re capable again,"
the red-dressed beautiful woman said coldly, her face showing mild anger for Ximen Cailong daring to intrude into Desolate Sky City.
The Black Cloud Sect really didn’t consider Jade Cauldron Sect a threat at all.
"And there’s Old Immortal Xun; after so many years without a whisper of news, who would have thought he’d hidden himself in this remote backwater."
A look of reminiscence flashed in the beautiful woman’s eyes as she looked in the direction Xun Xiangzhou had departed.
Ning Shangfeng was embarrassed; from the beautiful woman’s words, it seemed the predecessor who had left earlier truly had a mysterious connection with the Jade Cauldron Sect.
Earlier, when Xun Xiangzhou had left, Ning Shangfeng had been instructed to convey a message to the Sect Leader of the Jade Cauldron Sect. Naturally, Ning Shangfeng didn’t dare to relay the message verbatim, calling the Sect Leader a "child"; he probably didn’t know what death meant.
"You’re saying this young fellow has a Profound Grade Physique and has opened all 1,367 meridians in his body?"
The red-dressed beauty landed beside Lin Chen and scrutinized him from head to toe.
He was handsome and his build was neither fat nor thin; judging by physique alone, he seemed to be a promising seedling.
However, martial artists are different from ordinary people in their practice; aside from physique, the more important aspects are one’s aptitude and the capacity of the body’s meridians to store Spiritual Power.
Lin Chen felt a bit uncomfortable under the intense gaze of the woman in red. Like Yu Weilian, she was a fairy-like temptress, astonishingly beautiful and with an incredibly curvaceous figure that her tight-fitting red dress showcased perfectly.
A gentle breeze blew by, and no man could withstand her charm.
"That’s right, this young man has indeed unblocked all his meridians, evaluated by the Spirit Testing Stone as having superior aptitude,"
Ning Shangfeng respectfully responded, but his gaze didn’t dare to linger on the red-clothed beauty for too long.
The red-clothed beauty, within the Jade Cauldron Sect, was the Sect Leader’s junior-most disciple, with a very high seniority as well as an unfathomably high cultivation. Most importantly, her talent was exceptional, which allowed her to become a Peak Master of the Jade Cauldron Sect at such a young age.
"Lad, kowtow to me. From today onwards, you are a disciple of my Jade Bird Peak."
Convinced that Ning Shangfeng wouldn’t dare to lie, she believed that if Lin Chen had been evaluated as having superior aptitude by the Spirit Testing Stone, he certainly possessed extraordinary talent.
He was only sixteen years old, and his talent was only a bit inferior to the beauty’s.
But what was unknown to them was that Lin Chen’s cultivation had reached the Spirit Gathering Realm three years ago, and he was now at the ninth level of the Body Tempering Realm, undergoing his second cultivation.
In other words, Lin Chen was already a Spirit Gathering Realm powerhouse at the age of thirteen, a level of innate talent far beyond just superior.
The Spirit Testing Stone displayed superior aptitude, but it was merely concealed by the Primordial Myriad Transformation Cauldron within Lin Chen’s body.
"Peak Master Yang, this child hasn’t yet entered the sect, and you’re already recruiting him. This seems to be somewhat against the rules; how will I explain myself later?"
Upon hearing the red-clothed beauty’s words, Ning Shangfeng’s face turned the color of liver.
Disciples recruited by the Jade Cauldron Sect had to be first sent to the main sect and then be assessed, truly displaying their talent through strength and combat abilities before being selected by the different Peaks.
This trip ensured that those heading to the Jade Cauldron Sect would at least become Outer Sect disciples.
Those selected in the second-tier would become Inner Sect disciples, and if chosen by multiple Peaks, they could even pick their desired Peak.
After returning to the Jade Cauldron Sect, if they performed exceptionally in the tests, they could even be chosen by some of the Elders and Peak Masters to become True Disciples.
However, such extraordinarily talented individuals were very rare, and it had been many years since someone was directly selected to be a True Disciple.
Typically, one becomes an Inner Sect disciple first, and through step-by-step cultivation and strengthening, they eventually get promoted to True Disciple.
Someone with exceptional talent like Lin Chen, upon returning to the sect this time, would certainly be fought over by many Peak Masters, and at the very least, he would become an Inner Sect disciple.
But at this moment, the red-clothed beauty wanted to directly take Lin Chen as her disciple, which was clearly against the rules.
Most importantly, he was the one who had brought the young man back, and he hadn’t even returned to register and claim his reward yet.
Moreover, for such a prodigious talent, if he was taken by the beauty before even returning to the sect, other Peak Masters might suspect Ning Shangfeng of currying favor with Yang Yuemin by purposely informing her of Lin Chen’s details first.
Ning Shangfeng was in a difficult position.
"Who dares to stop me when I want to take a disciple?"
"Are you perhaps hoping to exchange a couple of moves with me?"
With a light shout from the red-clothed beauty, her cold gaze fell on Ning Shangfeng, and a massive pressure instantly bore down on him.
"No, no, for this child to be appreciated by Peak Master Yang is a fortune of three lifetimes, how could I obstruct?"
"Lad, why haven’t you paid your respects and taken me as your master yet!"