In one of Martial Hall Palace’s elder residences, an old man was feeling extremely unreconciled and spat, “A five-star physique was snatched by that brat Zi Changhe! God damn him!”
This old man was someone who had numerous feuds with Zi Changhe—the thirteenth elder, Li Xuemeng. He was one of the more senior elders, yet he had recently suffered defeat to Zi Changhe. Since then, he was constantly thinking about how to take him down a notch.
And since Zi Changhe had taken in a disciple with a five-star physique, he was more unhappy than usual. Even though Zi Changhe had claimed to be accepting a disciple on behalf of his master, how would Li Xuemeng believe that?
Since I cannot take him as my own disciple, I must eliminate him and not give him the chance to mature, Li Xuemeng thought to himself as he started crafting numerous schemes in his mind.
Around Wu Town, there were also several experts who had witnessed the five stars illuminate the sky phenomenon. One of them lived inside the most luxurious residence in Wu Town, an old expert whose teeth were falling out.
“Find out who caused the phenomenon of the five stars illuminating the sky at once!” the old man hoarsely shouted.
“Father, this phenomenon seemed to have arisen from the Martial Hall Palace,” a middle-aged man answered the old man.
With a greedy expression on his face, the old man told the middle-aged man, “I know those old bastards at Martial Hall Palace. None of them are capable of causing such a phenomenon. One year ago, there was a young girl who did it; it was a pity that she was taken by the palace master as a personal disciple. It seems like it was a new disciple who caused the phenomenon. Quickly go find out who caused it!”
“Yes father.” The middle-aged man did not dare delay, setting off at once.
“Hehe, this old man has waited a very long time for this. I never would have imagined that I would come across such a genius before the end of my lifespan. When I get ahold of him, I will be able to refine him into a Yang Restoration Body Sculpting Pill. Not only will I be able to extend my lifespan by ten years, I will also be able to escape from this prison!” the old man maniacally laughed to himself.
Meanwhile, Xiang Shaoyun had no idea that the phenomenon he had produced had caught the attention of these two experts. Today, he was with the other outer disciples, training his physical strength. He had initially thought that by following this senior brother Zi Changhe, he would have some form of special care and guidance. Never had he imagined that Zi Changhe would only pass him a simple cultivation method before throwing him to the outer court!
Back then, Xiang Shaoyun had complained, “How can you make me cultivate with all these outer court disciples?! No matter what, I’m the junior brother of an elder, which makes me a half elder! I don’t really mind, but I feel embarrassed for you!”
Sadly, Xiang Shaoyun’s complaint merely resulted in Zi Changhe coldly answering, “You dare to call yourself a half elder when you’re still in the Basic Realm? Come find me only if you can reach the Astral Realm within half a year! If you can’t accomplish such a simple task, then you really are the disappointment of your mother, a disgrace to your five-star physique!”
Xiang Shaoyun could not refute Zi Changhe and could only meekly obey.
“Hmph. Half a year? I’ll do it within three months!” Xiang Shaoyun resolved to himself.
It went without saying that Xiang Shaoyun was extremely narcissistic. However, when it came to cultivation, he worked harder than anybody else. Right now, one could see him madly sprinting while carrying a rock weighing 200 kilograms on his back.
Every cultivation realm was split into nine stages of proficiency. Xiang Shaoyun, with the strength of a third-stage Basic Realm practitioner, could initially lift a weight of 150 kilograms. However, after he produced the five stars illuminating the sky phenomenon, having undergone the cleansing of astral energy, he had broken through to the fifth-stage of the Basic Realm. Carrying 250 kilograms of weight was no problem for him, much less 200 kilograms.
Many outer disciples were unaware that Xiang Shaoyun had already broken through to the fifth stage of the Basic Realm and thought that he was still at the third stage. Hence, they were stunned to see him sprinting so effortlessly with 200 kilograms on his back.
“A five-star physique indeed is marvellous! He’s able to do what a fourth-stage Basic Realm cultivator can do at merely the third stage, truly amazing!” some disciples murmured, their faces green with envy.
“Talents are determined by the heavens. Although he possesses a five-star physique, his cultivation is lower than ours, despite being older than us by one or two years. He’s nothing much at all,” other disciples nearby said.
The outer disciples at Martial Hall Palace were mostly between 13 and 15 years of age, so there were disciples who were much younger than Xiang Shaoyun. That being said, all of the said disciples had cultivations at the fifth stage of the Basic Realm at the very least, which was the minimum standard to become a disciple at Martial Hall Palace.
Xiang Shaoyun did not take their words to heart and continued to full-heartedly sprint with the rock on his back. About two hours later, he put down the rock weighing 200 kilograms and made his way towards another rock weighing 225 kilograms.
“He can’t be trying to lift a heavier weight, right? Has he already broken through to the fourth stage?” somebody whispered.
“This is possible. With the Purple Lightning Marquis’s capabilities, breaking through several minor realms might not be a challenge,” several disciples speculated.
Paying no attention to any of them, Xiang Shaoyun lifted the 225 kilograms rock onto his back and continued sprinting until noontime. He was sweating profusely. His hands, which were originally fair as snow, were covered with cuts and bruises from carrying the rock.
Spreading his arms, he shook his head as he mockingly said, “I really am too used to living life comfortably; just exerting this bit of effort gets me injured.” After a short pause, he faced the heavens and lightly exclaimed, “Ten years! I am willing to wait ten years before going after those so-called geniuses. What I say I will do! You two thieves just wait. The day this young master returns will be the day I come to retrieve your dog heads!”
A vicious glint flashed across Xiang Shaoyun’s eyes, a stark contrast to the cheerful simpleton that he usually was. Needless to say, this young man was one with quite the history.
“Hey, what are you still standing there for? Quickly go to the canteen to get your food! If you keep dilly-dallying, there won’t be any left!” a clear yet graceful voice rang out beside Xiang Shaoyun.
Turning around, Xiang Shaoyun looked in the direction where the voice came from. Upon spotting his target, his eyes momentarily flashed as he uncontrollably said, “What a cute little girl!”
“Y-you’re a bad person!” the girl angrily scolded, her cheeks flushed red with embarrassment.
Immediately afterward, her slender figure turned away and furiously stomped off.
She was Lu Xiaoqing—the number one beauty of the outer court’s 10 great beauties. Her cute and graceful appearance charmed many males of the outer court. Furthermore, her talents were not lacking at all. Able to attract the power of four stars, her future was bright. She was also most likely to soon become an inner court disciple, having caught the eye of the eleventh elder, He Yinghua.
Lu Xiaoqing did not approach Xiang Shaoyun because she had fallen for him. Rather, she had noticed his vicious eyes as she passed by and couldn’t help but call out to him. She never imagined that Xiang Shaoyun would tease her at the first opportunity he got, causing her impression of him to drop straight down.
Xiang Shaoyun stared at her round buttocks swinging as she walked. He lightly touched his lower chin as he laughed, “This young master was only speaking my mind. Is there anything wrong with that?”
“Brother, stop staring so hard. Or else, you really will be doing something wrong,” another voice came from beside Xiang Shaoyun. The person who had spoken had an extremely unassuming appearance. Apart from the cunning look in his eyes, one could tell that he was an uncouth person from first glance.