Chapter 34: Half-Step Celestial

Daoist Longshan had reaped a great harvest this time.

Sharing the secrets of the Heaven-Man realm with the Old Sword God was not merely helping him; in reality, it was a win-win situation.

Although the Old Sword God's talent could not compare to Daoist Longshan's, he was, after all, a powerful sword cultivator of the Yuan Dan realm. Occasionally, his flashes of inspiration provided Daoist Longshan with significant enlightenment.

During this period of secluded cultivation, Daoist Longshan had fully digested his recent insights.

An air of transcendence now clung to him.

Merely standing there, he exuded a unique sense of pressure—the kind that came from one's being merging with heaven and earth. He could now truly be called a half-step Heaven-Man, a fundamental difference from his previous state of Great Perfection in the Yuan Dan realm.

Beside him, Luo Wentian’s eyes were filled with respect and filial devotion. He was the earliest disciple to follow Daoist Longshan, having entered his sect even before the reconstruction of the Zhenwu Sect.

He could see the changes in his master.

The subtle, underlying pressure made his heart palpitate.

"Master, are you perhaps..." Luo Wentian asked cautiously.

Daoist Longshan smiled.

"Soon. In a short time, perhaps a year, or at most three, I shall surely achieve the Heaven-Man realm!"

It sounded like it would take a long time, but in reality, he was already fully confident.

Looking across the world, how many people would have the courage to say such words before entering the Heaven-Man realm? Even if it truly took three years to succeed, given Daoist Longshan's age, he was still far from a hundred. With such talent, he was more than capable of standing proud in the Great Yan Empire.

Luo Wentian was overjoyed.

"Congratulations, Master! It seems this disciple must begin preparations for the Heaven-Man Ceremony in advance!"

According to custom, if a new Heaven-Man powerhouse emerged in the Great Yan Empire, a Heaven-Man Ceremony would be held. This was an excellent opportunity to bolster the prestige of the Zhenwu Sect, potentially allowing it to break out of Qingzhou and become famous throughout the Great Yan.

In the Great Yan Empire, Heaven-Man realm experts were a limited number of peerless masters, entitled to the respect of countless people.

Daoist Longshan composed himself and waved his hand slightly.

"Has anything important happened within the sect recently?"

Luo Wentian thought for a moment and said, "Everything in the sect is as usual, except that the Eighth Junior Brother has been away on training for quite some time and has not yet returned."

Daoist Longshan frowned slightly.

"Forget it. It seems Little Eight has not yet calmed his obsessions. It looks like he won't be back by the Lunar New Year. Let him be; he will return naturally once he has found clarity."

Luo Wentian remained silent, then added, "By the way, about a month ago, Little Nine came to seek you once. I wonder if there was something important."

Daoist Longshan was stunned.

His youngest disciple, Ning Qi, was the one who made him most proud and the one who required the least worry.

Aside from the effort required to impart martial experience when he first stepped onto the path of martial arts, he generally required no supervision. He rarely sought out his master proactively; Daoist Longshan only needed to provide the necessary resources.

Suddenly, Daoist Longshan remembered something.

His eyes shook.

"It couldn't be? Little Nine is only five... Even if he had already reached the Spirit Refining realm, breaking through the bottlenecks of the Flawless Physical Body and the birth of Inner Strength is not that easy..."

At this thought, Daoist Longshan could no longer sit still.

He wanted to go to the Dao Academy to see if his suspicions were true.

But just as he rose, he glanced outside the pavilion. His eyes flickered, and he sat back down.

"Wentian, you may leave for now."

Luo Wentian was somewhat bewildered. After all, he had only just arrived, and logically, there were still matters he needed to report.

However, he had always been respectful to his master.

After bowing, he strode away.

But just as he stepped outside the pavilion, Luo Wentian ran into Ning Qi. He smiled and said, "Little Nine, you've come at the right time. Master has finished his seclusion; we were just mentioning you."

Ning Qi nodded with a smile.

Watching Ning Qi's retreating back, Luo Wentian realized belatedly.

"Did Master sense that Little Nine was coming and thus asked me to leave?"

The thought surfaced in his mind, but he felt no particular dissatisfaction or resentment; he was merely curious about what business his master had with Ning Qi.

He then shook his head and laughed; it was not his place to worry.

"If Master breaks through to the Heaven-Man realm within the next two years, the Heaven-Man Ceremony will be held. The disciples will need to improve their strength so as not to diminish Master's prestige."

"Perhaps, during the Lunar New Year this year, we could hold a sect competition, allowing the Second Senior Brother and Third Senior Sister to guide the outer and inner disciples?"

Various thoughts raced through his mind as his figure gradually receded into the distance.

Inside the Mingwu Pavilion.

After Ning Qi offered a respectful salute, Daoist Longshan's eyes fixed upon him. Sensing him closely, he asked while suppressing his inner excitement, "Little Nine, you have broken through?"

Ning Qi was slightly taken aback, then nodded.

"I just broke through to the Inner Yuan realm a few days ago. I intended to inform you then, but you were in seclusion."

Receiving Ning Qi's affirmative answer, Daoist Longshan froze in place.

Speculation was one thing, but when the fact was laid bare before his eyes, it was quite another.

The impact was entirely different.

"Great Ancestor of the Dao, above... Little Nine is only five years old..."

Starting martial arts at three and breaking through to the Inner Yuan realm at five.

What kind of peerless genius was this!

According to Daoist Longshan's original estimation, Ning Qi might step into the Inner Yuan realm after the age of six. Even then, he would have considered him incredibly monstrous. He never expected Ning Qi to be even more world-shaking. It seemed like only a one-year difference, but the gap in talent it represented was beyond calculation.

At this moment, Daoist Longshan felt a pang of regret. He should have stopped Ning Qi from acting when the Divine Sword Sect ascended the mountain; he could have endured a little loss of face.

Fortunately, the level of body tempering Ning Qi had displayed was not high. He estimated that only the Old Sword God had caught a glimpse of the truth, and Daoist Longshan trusted the Old Sword God's character.

"Little Nine, from this day forward, remember that you must never reveal your cultivation in front of outsiders. Even if you do, it is best not to reveal your age, unless one day you have become a Heaven-Man," Daoist Longshan instructed seriously.

One must always be wary of others.

With talent like Qin Yun or Zhuang Chen, unless an enemy held a deep-seated grudge, no one would specifically target them. But someone like Ning Qi was too terrifying. If people found out, even without a grudge, they might seek to nip him in the bud.

Only by reaching the Heaven-Man realm would one have the power to protect oneself.

However, in another year or two, Daoist Longshan estimated he would also have ascended to the Heaven-Man realm. By then, protecting Ning Qi on Mount Zhenwu would be no problem.

This instruction to Ning Qi was merely a double insurance, a precaution against future trouble.

Ning Qi nodded earnestly. He felt his master's protection and concern.

"Master, you mentioned before that you had something important to tell me after I broke through to the Inner Yuan realm. May I ask what it is?" Ning Qi asked.

In truth, he already had some suspicions.

As expected, Daoist Longshan's expression stiffened. He let out a long, low sigh, appearing somewhat hesitant, before finally speaking slowly

"It concerns your origins."