Chapter 168: Chapter 29: Is He Ling Buyang?
The Elder Liu, who wanted to learn the Xuanlong Palm, had said he wouldn’t take the likes of concubines such as Ling Buyang anymore. Now that Lady Yu suddenly appeared and was related to a bet, it was very likely that she was the same person.
“Tell her I’m dealing with an urgent matter and have something to attend to; we can talk when I get home!”
Knowing his true situation, meeting face to face would easily give him away, so Zhang Xuan waved his hand dismissively and walked briskly towards the door.
He had not left Heaven Mandate Hall when he saw Xie Feng approaching a woman, who appeared to be in her early twenties and radiated the vibrance of youth.
Unnecessary Hall, a concubine in her early twenties—it seemed that this Ling Buyang had more secrets than I had imagined.
He contacted Sun Qiang through a special method and quickly located him.
Money makes things easy; the butler had already rented a mansion covering over ten acres, quite expansive.
Upon his arrival, the other party greeted him: “Young Master, shall we hire a batch of subordinates?”
“Not for now!”
Zhang Xuan shook his head, his thoughts shifted, and Dao Li appeared before him: “Whatever needs doing, just command it; four legs run faster…”
In his mansion, he would often appear in both identities—Zhang Xuan and Ling Buyang. Hiring subordinates made it hard to guarantee that no information would be leaked.
“Hehe, hehe…” Dao Li nodded seriously, indicating agreement.
“You all come out too!”
The space twinkled, and Nie Lingxi, Zhao Ya, and the others all appeared before him.
After practicing in the Suspended Realm for some time, everyone had already adapted to the Source World, and their sudden appearance did not feel out of the ordinary, just filled with curiosity.
“No wonder this is the founding place of thousands of worlds; the space here is indeed more stable and the oppressive force is stronger!”
After feeling around, Nie Lingxi couldn’t help but remark.
In the Empyrean, although she was a God Monarch, here she was no different from ordinary people; let alone flying or burrowing, she would get winded just from running a few steps.
Zhang Xuan nodded: “These are the identity tokens I’ve prepared for you.”
He handed out a token to everyone that he had obtained from Yu Longqing, and he continued, “Everyone should practice here for now. If you have any questions, feel free to ask at any time. If I am practicing, you can also consult Sun Qiang…”
Everyone nodded in unison.
After leaving the Tianxuan Kingdom, Zhao Ya and the others mostly followed their teacher’s arrangements, which they had since grown accustomed to. Nie Lingxi smiled slightly but said little.
On the contrary, the little yellow chick was flying curiously up and high.
Indeed, upon arriving in the Source World, under the pressure of the potent Origin qi, the creature returned to its “chicken” form from its humanoid shape.
Asking Dao Li to take everyone for a stroll, Zhang Xuan called Sun Qiang over again and instructed earnestly: “I’ll give you two days to find out exactly how many Fate Masters there are in this Heaven Mandate Hall, how many branches there are in Han Yuan City, and which powers they belong to!”
To impersonate Ling Buyang more convincingly without being discovered, remaining ignorant was certainly not an option; he at least needed to understand the situation in Han Yuan City.
“Young Master, rest assured, I’ve got this…” Sun Qiang replied with a slight smile.
He was adept at gathering information. Whenever he arrived in a new place, he could quickly find sources of information and clarify whatever he wanted to know.
Having organized everyone and everything, Zhang Xuan no longer went out but secluded himself in his room to practice peacefully.
In the New World, the soul energy, once deployed, would be annihilated by the Source World’s heavenly laws. To progress quickly in strength, one had to peacefully practice the power within.
For three consecutive days, until his cultivation broke through to the pinnacle of the Divine Soul Realm, he then paused.
There seemed to be no constraints of the Fate Lock in the Divine Soul Realm. An ordinary cultivator at the pinnacle would only have 200 units of Strength, but he had reached 500 units directly, and his soul energy was incredibly pure, easily extending over ten thousand meters.
Ordinary cultivators, at the same cultivation realm, could only extend up to a thousand meters at most, merely one-tenth of his capacity.
With such power, even facing opponents in the Dharma Form Realm’s double-layered Travel Realm, he could contend.
In other words, with his own strength alone, not invoking the power from the New World, he was already a match for the former Ling Buyang. With similar strength, it would be even more comfortable for him to disguise himself, and it should be less likely for others to notice.
Having returned to Han Yuan City and cultivated in seclusion, it was time to take a walk. Otherwise, disappearing for too long would certainly render the identity of “Ling Buyang” useless.
He walked out of the courtyard, and Sun Qiang approached, handing him a piece of paper: “Young Master, here is the information I’ve gathered, all recorded…”
Zhang Xuan unfolded it and quickly scanned through.
It must be said that the plump man was reliable; in just three short days, he had listed everything Zhang Xuan wanted to know.
In Heaven Mandate Hall of Han Yuan City, there were 19 Fate Masters in total. The cultivation level of Ling Buyang was considered quite high, ranking about the top five.
There were only a few, such as Han Xiao, who were stronger than him.
“That Elder Liu should be this Liu Bingshan…”
Among the 19 Fate Masters, there were two with the surname Liu, but one was only in his thirties, which clearly did not fit the description.
Of course, the content of the bet was certainly not something that could be inquired, but knowing the name was a great progress nonetheless.
“”Feng Zhaoting…”
His eyes fell upon another name, an Elder whose strength was comparable to Ling Buyang’s.
This must be Elder Feng that Han Xiao mentioned.
According to the information gathered by Sun Qiang, both he and Ling Buyang had a great chance of becoming the new Vice Hall Masters of Heaven Mandate Hall.
Each of them had a group of supporters, and Elder Liu Bingshan was one of them.
“Could it be… Ling Buyang made the bet to win Liu Bingshan’s support by indirectly gifting away his concubine?”
After reviewing all the information, Zhang Xuan speculated, “As for the Merit Points and help Han Xiao spoke about, they must be related to the competition for the position of Vice Hall Master. It’s clear that Han Xiao favors Ling Buyang, hence the reason she rushed over with various questions as soon as she heard he had returned…”
With that, everything seemed to make sense.
Of course, these were all speculations that couldn’t be confirmed with absolute certainty.
As for the sect, most Fate Masters had their own, where they would teach their own fragments of the heavens… The most famous were White Cloud Hall, Cold Night Hall, Mo You Hall, and Yunshan Hall, but who exactly stood behind each remained unknown.
After reading all this, Zhang Xuan felt a bit overwhelmed.
Wasn’t it said that one must keep their fragments of the heavens secret and that they shouldn’t let others discover them?
Wasn’t it said that at the end of cultivation, there could only be one person? So why were these Fate Masters spreading their methods of practice and teaching many people?
…
In the most famous clinic within Fuyuan Trading Company, Yu Fei looked nervously at the elderly physician in front of him.
This was Feng Jin, a physician well-known throughout the entire kingdom!
His child’s diagnosis, which indicated that only the Red Leaf Herb could save them, came from this man.
“Elder Feng, how… how is he?”
With palpable anxiety, Yu Fei asked cautiously.
To obtain this herb, his family of three had almost perished in the mountains; fortunately, they were saved by an expert.
“Don’t worry, with the Crimson Frond, I guarantee his safety…”
Feng Jin nodded.
“Thank you, Elder Feng…”
Hearing the confirmation, Yu Fei’s face flushed with excitement as he paid the consultation fee. After a while, something occurred to him, and he handed over a painting: “Elder Feng, there’s one more thing I need to trouble you with. As a physician who has seen much and knows many people, do you perhaps recognize the person in this picture?”
Feng Jin received the scroll with a curious expression and gently unrolled it, revealing a lifelike portrait of a middle-aged man in his forties.
The resemblance to the real person was uncanny, a testament to the artist’s skill.
“What do you need this person for?” Instead of answering right away, Feng Jin asked.
“It’s like this…” Yu Fei detailed the incident of searching for the herb and their dangerous encounter that resulted in being saved.
After listening, Feng Jin looked puzzled: “Are you saying… the three of you were chased by Unnecessary Hall, and this person, upon seeing the injustice, killed all the robbers?”
“Exactly that. He is the savior of our family, and we are determined to repay our debt of gratitude to him, no matter the cost!”
Yu Fei nodded earnestly, full of hope: “Since you ask about him like this, do you know who he is? I would be infinitely grateful if you could just tell us…”
“I do recognize him, but I’m afraid you won’t believe me!”
Feng Jin said with a bitter smile, shaking his head.
“Oh? Please do tell, Elder Feng! Whether we believe it or not, my wife and I will have our own conclusions.”
Yu Fei pressed.
On the side, Xiaoying also bowed respectfully: “Elder Feng…”
“All right, it’s no big deal to tell you!”
Eager to prevent them from asking any further, Feng Jin explained, “If your drawing is accurate and I haven’t mistaken, this man is none other than the Hall Master of Unnecessary Hall, Ling Buyang!”
“He is… Ling Buyang?”
Yu Fei was stunned in place.
Unnecessary Hall had been ruthlessly pursuing them, yet their Hall Master intervened to save people without asking for anything in return… What exactly was going on?
For a moment, everyone in the room was dumbfounded.
ps: On weekends, I accompany kids to various tutoring classes, the older one with mom and the younger one with dad… From now on, there will be one update on Saturdays and Sundays, and two updates from Monday to Friday.”