Translator: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The Opportunity Column continued to click and clack non-stop. By now, the dark clouds in the sky had become so thick that it almost felt like nighttime.
Everyone was looking up into the sky. Although they were still worried, Gu Yang had told some of them that the phenomenon was nothing, and the word had spread. That was why no one was particularly panicked.
The moment the clicking noises from the Divine Opportunity Column stopped, the dark clouds abruptly descended toward the ground. From a distance, it looked like a massive piece of cotton was falling toward the Crimson Blood Sect’s Outpost.
The wind blew. It was so powerful that the disciples had to squint.
The dark clouds abruptly disappeared, and light returned to the Outpost once more. That wasn’t the only thing that had changed though. The surrounding World Spiritual Qi had also undergone an impossible change.
Cultivators were naturally sensitive toward changes like this. Exclamations of shock immediately broke out from every corner of the Outpost. No one could quite believe what they were sensing.
The surrounding Spiritual Qi had become much richer. Now that the Divine Opportunity Column was imbued with ninety-nine Blessings instead of nineteen, the concentration of the Outpost’s World Spiritual Qi was ten times richer than the wilderness’.
It was almost like the air had suddenly turned liquid.
The disciples began cheering. In the past, they were independent cultivators that belonged to nowhere. They had had to attach themselves to the bazaar located outside the Crimson Blood Sect’s Outpost until Lu Ye recruited them and afforded them the treatment and benefits a proper cultivator enjoyed.
Not long ago, the quality of the Outpost’s World Spiritual Qi had increased, and the disciples were overjoyed as it directly improved their cultivation efficiency.
However, today’s improvement was even greater than that. The concentration of the World Spiritual Qi went from two times greater than the wilderness to ten times.
Everyone knew that the good times had arrived.
Their talent might be below average, but with such an environment, their cultivation speed would be as good as most of the sects in the Outer Circle or even the Inner Circle, if not better.
While the disciples at the Outpost were celebrating uproariously, Lu Ye had teleported back to the headquarters.
The headquarters was almost desolate compared to the Outpost because they didn’t have many true acolytes yet. Besides Hua Ci’s group, they had only Gu Yang, He Xiyin and a handful of people in their ranks. Moreover, they spent most of their time cultivating in the Outpost and returned to the headquarters only once in a while.
First, Lu Ye paid his respects to the sect master and listened to his teachings.
“The commotion you caused in the Inner Circle this time is no joke. It was agreed during the peace talks that the Divine Ocean Realm cultivators of the Thousand Demon Ridge will pay us a hefty compensation to make you stop. You should lie low until then.”
“Yes, Sect Master,” Lu Ye responded before asking, “Does this mean I can’t breach another Outpost’s grand ward without good reason from now on, Sect Master?”
“Of course you can. Whatever made you think that?”
“But the peace talks…”
“We agreed that you will stop this time, but we never agreed that you will stop once and for all. That said, you should wait until we’ve received the compensation, and know that the Thousand Demon Ridge would rather fight us to the death than let this happen a second time. That is how hard you’ve hurt them.
“In the future, try not to go overboard with your schemes. It’s one thing to test one’s bottom line, and another to completely cross the line so to speak. The Grand Sky Coalition will suffer if the Thousand Demon Ridge resolves themselves to take us down with them.”
. .
Lu Ye thought for a moment before nodding, “I understand.”
The sect master’s meaning was clear. He was saying that Lu Ye was free to attack any Outpost, but it was best if he avoided creating an army of thousands or tens of thousands. It was arguable that Lu Ye was simply acting in his capacity as a cultivator in the first case, but not the second. The Thousand Demon Ridge was also far more inclined to resort to drastic action in the second case.
“This disciple shall be taking his leave.”
“Yi Ye.”
Lu Ye turned around.
The sect master beamed at him. “It is the Crimson Blood Sect and my fortune to have met you in the Evil Moon Valley.”
Lu Ye bowed deeply, “And I you, Sect Master.”
“Go well.”
Now that he thought about it, there were two main reasons he was able to join the Crimson Blood Sect. One of them was luck, and another was Pang Dahai. Without Pang Dahai’s careful explanation and hints, he might not have made the decision to join the Crimson Blood Sect that day.
Back then, he had wondered why Pang Dahai hadn’t just told it to him straight, and that he was making things unnecessarily complicated with his obtuse hints or even just making fun of him. Now though, he realized it was an act of kindness. He was a disciple of the Righteous Sect and the nephew of the vice coalition leader of the Grand Sky Coalition, Pang Zhen. He clearly did not want the Crimson Blood Sect to be removed. That was why he had secretly manipulated him into joining the Crimson Blood Sect. It was to ensure its continued existence.
He’d like to thank the man if he got the chance.
Every time Lu Ye came home, Shui Yuan would prepare a feast for him. Today was no exception.
There was barely any talking at the dining table because everyone was busy gorging themselves on her food, and this was doubly true for Ju Jia. The body tempering cultivator had never eaten such a delicious medicinal feast in his life, and he hadn’t stopped chowing down since he had taken his first bite. He ate until he felt like his own tongue had vanished into his stomach.
He was a quiet, wooden man. Despite having followed Lu Ye for some time, he had remained aloof and uncaring of other people’s opinion. Not Shui Yuan though. His respect toward Shui Yuan was almost palpable.
Lu Ye and Li Baxian were trying to get each other drunk. His fourth senior brother was looking at Shui Yuan nervously at the beginning, but he let go after realizing that his second senior sister wasn’t about to whoop his ass.
It was a feast with good liquor, a lot of drink, and mild drunkenness.
Some time later, Lu Ye and Li Baxian went fishing at the center of the Lunarmere. They each held a fishing rod and chatted about everything while Yi Yi cooked tea next to them. The fragrant scent blended well with the evening air.
Lu Ye was no good at fishing. He generally dove into the lake to catch them. His fourth senior brother was a master at the art though, not to mention that he loved the feeling of fishing. That was why he never failed to fish some Blood Sturgeons every time he came home.
“The Blood Sturgeon is technically a cultivation resource or sorts, you know. Have I ever told you that this type of Spirit Fish is used to temper a disciple’s body?”
“Yes, you did.”
“For obvious reasons, we disciples weren’t allowed to fish beyond a certain number of Blood Sturgeons to avoid depleting them, but I didn’t know that when I was younger. Every time I felt like eating a Blood Sturgeon, your first senior brother or second senior sister would bring me here to catch a fish. Sometimes, we were successful, and no one knew what we did. Sometimes, we were caught by the old man and received a beating for our efforts. It was why I hated the old man to death back then.
“Now that I think about it though, the old man is a Divine Ocean Realm cultivator. There is nothing in the headquarters that could hide from his perception. It wasn’t that the old man didn’t notice my doing, he just couldn’t be bothered to discipline me most of the time. Plus, Brother Feng and Sister Shui always protected me during those beatings.”
“Brother Feng… What kind of person was he?”
Li Baxian fell silent for a moment before answering, “He was a man of peerless talent like you, but unlike you, he was a nobody until he reached the late stage of Cloud River Realm. From then on, he shot through the ladders of Real Lake Realm and the Divine Ocean Realm like they were nothing and pushed the Crimson Blood Sect to the top in no time.
“Unfortunately, we were both raised up and cast down by your first senior brother. It is why your cultivation journey is much more precarious compared to ours. The number of difficulties and dangers you will face will only increase. Remember this well, junior brother. Do not make the same mistakes Brother Feng did.”
Lu Ye nodded solemnly. “I will not.”
Yi Yi chose this moment to serve them both a new cup of tea. She then sat beside them and watched them fish in silence.
“Did you notice something different about your second senior sister?” Li Baxian asked suddenly.
Lu Ye thought for a moment before answering, “You mean, she didn’t stop you from drinking?”
Li Baxian burst out laughing. “Well, she is in a good mood. Everyone’s less strict when they’re in a good mood.” He looked left and right before adding in a subdued voice, “She’s ascended to Divine Ocean Realm.”
Lu Ye perked up immediately.
Before his arrival, the sect consisted only of his sect master and his second senior sister. One of them was a Divine Ocean Realm Master, and the other a Real Lake Realm Master. If the Crimson Blood Sect wasn’t a top-tier sect back then, it would’ve been removed from the list of sects many, many years ago.
Now that his second senior sister had ascended, it meant that the Crimson Blood Sect had two Divine Ocean Realm cultivators. He had a feeling that it was thanks to the Soul Cleansing Water he had given her a while ago.
This was good news, but the sect still had a long way to go. Right now, they had two Divine Ocean Realm cultivators, no Real Lake Realm cultivators and no Cloud River Realm cultivators. If he wasn’t destined to make it to the Divine Ocean Realm, one might even say that they were facing a crisis of succession.
“She hasn’t released the news yet, so we’re the only ones who know about it right now.”
Suddenly, Li Baxian raised his fishing pole and pulled a colorful Blood Sturgeon right out of the water. Yi Yi immediately clapped and cheered like she was the one who had gotten the fish. Even her face was red with excitement.
Lu Ye instinctively raised his fishing pole as well, but unfortunately he got nothing but air.
Li Baxian chuckled. “Fishing looks like a simple task, but in reality it tests a person’s patience and their ability to seize an opportunity before it slips through their grasp. Some things cannot be rushed, junior brother. Just let nature take its course, and the future you seek will come to you eventually.”
It was clear his senior brother noticed something. Li Baxian added in a meaningful tone, “A sect’s development isn’t a one-man task, and it never will. Your first senior brother is the real life example of that. This is why I told you not to make the same mistakes he did.”
“I understand.”
“By the way, you didn’t ask me to stay behind just for dinner, did you? Would you like to talk about it now?”
“Indeed, I would like to ask you to teach me the Way of Telekinesis. I heard that you can control over a hundred swords telekinetically. Is it true?”
“What do you think?” Li Baxian returned the question back to Lu Ye.
“I thought it was exaggerated,” Lu Ye answered honestly. He had the right to say this because his Divine Soul was far, far stronger than his peers’. In fact, he was certain that it was greater than Li Baxian’s as well. However, he could not control ten Spirit Artifacts satisfactorily even if he pushed himself to his limit, much less a hundred.
“Ho, to think that my own junior brother underestimates me.” Li Baxian let out a chuckle before slapping his calabash gourd hanging off his waist.
The cork popped open, and metallic ringing filled the ears. The next moment, countless Spiritual Lights danced around them. The afterglow of sunset gave them a rainbow-colored appearance that was beyond gorgeous.
Lu Ye stared at his surroundings with a stunned expression. The rumors were real! Li Baxian really could control a hundred flying swords at Heaven-Grade Eighth-Order!
“How on earth do you do it?” Lu Ye asked in puzzlement.
“I’ll teach you.”
A while later, the duo stood about a hundred and thirty meters away from each other at the shore and fought using their flying weapons only. As the mock battle continued, Li Baxian would advise Lu Ye from time to time.
Yi Yi and the boat were still at the center of the lake. From time to time, she would lift one of the fishing rods to see if they had caught anything, but she did not succeed once. She eventually grew so frustrated that her cheeks were puffed up.
After looking left and right and confirming that no one was paying attention to her, she jumped off the boat and slipped soundlessly into the water.
Metallic clangs were still resounding from the shore of the Lunarmere. It was easier to notice one’s flaws when training via mock combat, especially when the opponent was a champion who could telekinetically control a hundred swords at once.