Chapter 144 A Qualitative Evolution

What a shame!

Lu Tianzi lamented in his heart.

If he was allowed to continue living out the memories of the Lifebrand Ancient Tree, Lu Tianzi had no doubt that he would be able to glean further insights, and perhaps even deepen his understandings in the Law of Origin while he was at it.

Even so, there was no helping it.

It was either this, or risk exposing the existence of the Spiritual Essence system within him.

There was no way that he would have chosen otherwise.

Now that Lu Tianzi's consciousness had returned to the Lifebrand Courtyard, he was finally able to take a good look around him.

Even though millennia had passed while he was in the Lifebrand Ancient Tree's world of memories, it seemed like almost nothing had changed in the real world.

How much time had passed since they started?

Were they nearing the end of the seven days?

But Lu Tianzi eventually decided not to think too much about it.

What mattered now was to make full use of whatever time he had left!

However, connecting with the Lifebrand Ancient Tree was no longer an option for him. In that case, the next best alternative would be to use this time to organise the precious insights that he had newly comprehended.

At this moment, Lu Tianzi suddenly felt an unfamiliar dampness in his right hand.

Hmm?

Lu Tianzi opened his hand to see that for some unknown reason, droplets of water had gathered in his palm.

As Lu Tianzi's attention fell upon these ordinary looking droplets of water, he felt a mysterious connection with them, as though these droplets of water had come from his body.

Could it be… dew water from the Lifebrand Ancient Tree?

Lu Tianzi was shocked when he realised this.

How did these droplets of dew even end up in his hand?

The dew on the Lifebrand Ancient Tree could be considered as a part of its body. No matter how little the amount, for these droplets of dew water to appear in his hand, it was an unparalleled display of good fortune for Lu Tianzi!

Fortunately, these droplets of dew were now completely devoid of spiritual energy.

Even if they lay directly in Lu Tianzi's hand, it would not trigger the breakthrough in his Spiritual Essence system.

No, that was not it.

These droplets of dew water were the reason why his inner world had been filled to the brim in the first place. Because he had already subconsciously absorbed all the spiritual energy within them!

But what's done is done.

Right now, Lu Tianzi was only interested in whatever benefits he could gain from these droplets of dew water that had come from the Lifebrand Ancient Tree.

Lu Tianzi immediately tried to probe the dew water with his perception.

Since these droplets of dew water had been part of the Lifebrand Ancient Tree, perhaps it would be possible to see through their memories as well!

After a long while, Lu Tianzi's consciousness still remained within the Lifebrand Courtyard…

As expected, it failed to react in the same matter as the Lifebrand Ancient Tree.

Since that was the case, Lu Tianzi could only give up on that idea. Out of ideas, he could only fall back to his initial plan of organising his newly acquired insights.

He closed his eyes once again, quickly diving into a state of deep meditation.

In this state, Lu Tianzi silently pondered upon the insights that he had acquired over the past few days.

It might be due to the dense World Origin Energy within the Lifebrand Courtyard, but Lu Tianzi was not only able to efficiently internalise these insights, but he was even able to form brand new insights by recalling his experience as the Lifebrand Ancient Tree!

His thoughts were clear and flowed smoothly, just like a river of water that had remained untainted and pristine.

Wait… river of water?

At this moment, Lu Tianzi suddenly discovered that some changes had occurred within his body without him even realising it.

In Lu Tianzi's inner world, a portion of his Spiritual Essence had always displayed an obvious difference from the rest, bearing a shade of blue. This blue Spiritual Essence was also why he possessed an innate affiliation with the water element.

And right now, Lu Tianzi realised that almost half of his Spiritual Essence had been converted into a similar shade of blue!

In fact, even the shade of blue had slightly changed in colour, becoming clearer than before, as though it had mutated into a completely different form.

No, it was more accurate to say that it had undergone a qualitative evolution.

While he was not paying attention, his Spiritual Essence had become far purer and denser. Even his comprehensions into the Law of Water was already much deeper than before!

Still with his eyes closed, Lu Tianzi gently felt the palm of his right hand.

It was completely dry now, the dew water from before no longer anywhere to be seen.

Though he was surprised, Lu Tianzi did not allow this matter to affect his current state of meditation.

He had just experienced living through thousands of years, and there were a lot that he had witnessed. These experiences were not just limited to the Law of Origin or the art of swordsmanship.

Lu Tianzi wanted to make full use of this time to internalise as much of it as he could.

Now that he was no longer in the Lifebrand Ancient Tree's world of memories, time seemed to pass much more quickly in comparison.

"All right, your time is up." Marshal Xianming announced, his voice conveyed straight into the minds of each of the two hundred people present.

Contained within his words was just the right amount of strength. It was enough to stir them from their meditation, yet not so forceful that they would be jolted awake and risk suffering from a mental backlash.

One by one, the members of the younger generation opened their eyes, revealing all kinds of different expressions.

Some had eyes full of gratitude and appreciation, while others were full of reluctance.

Some were indignant, while others were indifferent.

But no matter what it was, their time in the Lifebrand Courtyard had come to an end all the same.

"Please exit and follow the ushers. They will be bringing you to register your communication mark before you take your leave," Marshal Xianming explained. "Let me remind you to properly prepare yourselves during these three months. Do not let us down!"

In the end, the main reason why these participants were allowed into the Lifebrand Courtyard was because they had implicitly agreed to take part in the coming war. Thus, it was not a surprise that the Scarlet Moon Palace would want an easier way of contacting them.

By registering their communication marks, the Scarlet Moon Palace would be able to relay information to them much more efficiently.

Upon doing so, participants who did not belong to the Scarlet Moon Palace were led to the exit of the palace.

After all, seven days had already passed since the end of the Scarlet Moon Heroes Meet. Even the banquet hosted by the Scarlet Moon Palace had ended long ago.

Right now, many of these members of the younger generation were eager to return to their respective influences and report their respective gains.

"I will be returning with my fellow sect members then," Lu Tianzi clasped his fist towards Beimu Fei.

"Mm," Beimu Fei nodded. "Be careful."

Lu Tianzi nodded with a smile, fully understanding what Beimu Fei was worried about.

By climbing to the top rank, Lu Tianzi had definitely succeeded in grabbing the attention of the Scarlet Moon Overlord.

But the Scarlet Moon Overlord had not been the only one watching, and it was inevitable that there would be spectators who eyed Lu Tianzi with malicious thoughts.

Even so, Lu Tianzi had no regrets.

This time, his benefits had been enormous!

Considering that, it was definitely worth it even if he had come under the radar of a few powerful influences.

After Lu Tianzi bid farewell to Beimu Fei, he returned to City Lord Nanlan's residence along with Nanlan Qianxue and Nanhuang Jiansheng.

During the past week, both Nanlan Qianxue and Nanhuang Jiansheng had managed to establish a connection with the Lifebrand Ancient Tree at a certain point as well.

However, what they experienced was just like what Lu Tianzi saw initially, where countless images flashed through their minds in an incoherent manner.

As for their takeaways, even they were unable to say for sure.

Not wanting to explain too much, Lu Tianzi simply lied that he had experienced the same thing as them.

Well, he was not exactly lying either.

After all, Lu Tianzi truly did experience the same thing as them. It was just that on top of that, he also managed to experience something else.

***

"Young Mistress, Sir Nanlu, Sir Nanhuang, welcome back!" the servants greeted them enthusiastically upon seeing their arrival, their faces beaming with the brightest of smiles.

One must not underestimate the information gathering ability of servants.

By now, they had already understood that these three youngsters were considered among the greatest talents within the younger generation of the entire Scarlet Moon Kingdom.

Furthermore, Nanlu Tianzi was even able to obtain the top spot in the Scarlet Moon Heroes Meet, the grandest event in Scarlet Moon Kingdom for decades!

This meant that his talent likely stood even above the renowned Four Stars!

If they managed to catch his eye and be accepted under his wing in the future, then their status could possibly become even higher than serving under City Lord Nanlan!

"Thank you," the three youngsters replied politely before wanting to head back to their rooms.

However, one of the servants hurriedly stepped towards Lu Tianzi. "Sir Nanlu, the Master has passed down instructions to inform him the moment you returned. So please do prepare yourself as the Master is likely to be calling for you soon."

"Only me?" Lu Tianzi was surprised, shooting an awkward glance at Nanlan Qianxue and Nanhuang Jiansheng beside him. "What about them?"

"The Master only mentioned Sir Nanlu," the servant replied honestly.

"This…" Lu Tianzi frowned.

Strange, why was it only him?

Did City Lord Nanlan not have any words for Nanlan Qianxue and Nanhuang Jiansheng who got into the top two hundred as well?

"What's with that look on your face? You don't have to feel bad for us!" Nanlan Qianxue lightly punched his chest playfully. "You are the top ranker after all, it is no wonder that the City Lord would want to speak to you in confidence. Perhaps you are even getting a second reward for your performance?"

"Nanlan Qianxue is right," Nanhuang Jiansheng agreed with a smile. "Our ranks are far too different, so it is only natural for the City Lord Nanlan to make separate arrangements for us. Since he only called for you, it is likely that City Lord Nanlan has a reward in store. After all, I would have prepared something for you as well if I were him."

"I guess you are right," Lu Tianzi nodded before turning back to the servant. "There is no need to go inform City Lord Nanlan about my return. I will go with you to see City Lord Nanlan."

"Understood, Sir Nanlu," a polite smile broke across the servant's face. "Please follow me!"

It did not take long before they arrived at the front hall, where City Lord Nanlan happened to be discussing something with Elder Xingmeng of the Nine Suns Sect.

"Nanlu Tianzi pays my respects to the City Lord and Elder Xingmeng!" Lu Tianzi clasped his fist towards the two when he entered.

"Hahaha! Take a look at who this is!" City Lord Nanlan broke out into a hearty laugh. "Top ranker of the Scarlet Moon Heroes Meet, Nanlu Tianzi of the Nine Suns Sect, Bluenight City! Come, take a seat."

"You have done well," Elder Xingmeng had a big smile on his face as well. "Hearing the name of the Nine Suns Sect being announced in front of the Scarlet Moon Overlord truly made me feel an indescribable joy! I have already sent word about this matter back to Bluenight City. I am sure the Sect Master will handsomely reward you upon your return."

"Junior is thankful for the kindness" Lu Tianzi replied.

"This is nothing at all," City Lord Nanlan shook his head. "This time, you have really earned quite some face back for us. Other than the reward from your sect master, you can expect some good things from me after we return to Bluenight City as well!"

"Junior is only doing my best, and do not deserve such rewards," Lu Tianzi answered with the usual pleasantries.

"Hahaha! No need to be humble! But that aside, there is one more matter that we have to settle before we can return," City Lord Nanlan continued, this time with a slightly more serious tone. "There is somewhere that your Elder Xingmeng and I have to go tomorrow. Nanlu Tianzi, you will be coming along with us as well."

"May I ask where?" Lu Tianzi asked curiously.

City Lord Nanlan cleared his throat awkwardly before answering. "We will be making a visit to the Lightning Crow Sect."