Chapter 326 Gift for Mubarak
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As Ezra watched, he suddenly asked, "Senior brother Mubarak, how many paths can you reach this time?"
Mubarak chuckled bitterly and answered, "It's going to be the same old 5 paths of ablution... I tried my best in the energy reservoir, but only managed to obtain a few dozen Duct Creation Energy crystals."
He sighed as he shook his head. He knew that Mubarak should be achieving the 5 paths of ablution again.
The prince fell silent for a moment, before pulling a confused Mubarak to the side.
"Junior brother?" Mubarak asked
Ezra smiled and patted his bracelet. Several rather large crystals instantly appeared in his hands, before he pushed them towards Ezra and said, "Senior brother, I've been wanting to thank you for your guidance and care for some time. Please take this as a little gift from me."
Mubarak was dumbstruck as he stared at the shining crystals. Every crystal was even larger than his hand and was clearly from large duct beasts.
"This... this..." Mubarak was a little overwhelmed, causing him to be dazed for a time. It took a while for him to return to his senses as he hastily declined, "Junior brother, this is too much..."
He pushed them towards Ezra. "With these crystals, you will definitely shine dazzlingly during this baptism. Giving them to me will be a waste. I am far less talented than you after all." n/-Ov(El-UsB-c,o-M
However, the prince refused all of the former's reasoning. "If senior brother Mubarak does not want them, just throw them away."
Mubarak hurriedly received them in a flustered manner, a bitter smile filling his face. In the end, he could only accept the gift.
"Thank you, junior brother." He looked towards the prince with gratitude.
He had been giving advice and guidance to Ezra mostly because it was his duty as the first disciple. Moreover, Elder Lo thought very highly of the prince, allowing Mubarak to understand that Ezra may perhaps become the central pillar of their faction, causing him to show extra care and concern for the former.
Mubarak never expected he would obtain such a return for his care. The prince grinned and waved his hand, "You should get going, Mubarak."
Mubarak nodded, before turning around to call out to several other disciples. Spiritual energy rose under their feet, bringing them towards the ablution altar. There was no longer a dispirited look on his face. Instead, it was filled with anticipation.
Ezra Zephyr gazed at their figures, before turning to look at James as an icy smile emerged on his lips.
How could he not know that James was making things difficult for him at every juncture, and was likely jealous of the way Elder Lo treated him. Compared to the generous and sincere first disciple Mubarak, James was clearly too petty and narrow-hearted.
Ezra was not someone without a temper. "A puny little side character like you isn't worthy for me to deal with, a good guy like Mubarak is enough for you."
***
Ancient stone pillars stood on the ablution altar that was currently a beehive of activity, with numerous figures landing on the pillars one after another.
After they landed on the altar, they impatiently began to retrieve their hard-earned crystals. The sounds of shattering crystals filled the area as the liquid essence flowed out and soaked into the ancient stone pillars.
Spiritual energy began to gather once again. Although none of them alone could match the impressive display by Ella earlier, they were an exceptionally spectacular sight together.
~HISS~
Loud hissing filled the area as basilisk silhouette after silhouette streamed out of the ancient stone pillars, and began circling around the numerous disciples atop them.
On the many mountains by the edge of the energy reservoir, countless disciples observed with curious eyes, gasps of amazement sounding from time to time.
Overall, most of the diamond belt disciples only managed to achieve 4 paths of ablution, and only a few of the more outstanding ones reached 5 paths.
As for the 6 paths level, a quick scan revealed a mere five! While not a single 7 paths could be seen!
After all, the 7th path was considered the mark of a ranker and was naturally a feat that ordinary disciples had great difficulty achieving.
On one of the stone pillars, a young man opened his eyes. 5 silhouettes circled him in different paths, showing that he had reached 5 paths.
This was a result that James Endoro felt rather satisfied with because the 5 paths of ablution were already enough to prove that he was quite remarkable even amongst all the diamond belt disciples in the entire Spirit Devouring Mountain.
At the very least, he was undoubtedly more outstanding than Mubarak, who was forever stuck at 4 paths.
"After this ablution is over, I should be able to surpass Mubarak. It may perhaps be time for him to vacate his position as the first disciple." James let out an icy chuckle. He was envious of Ezra due to the high expectations Elder Lo had of the former while viewing Mubarak as an obstacle and constantly preparing to replace him.
Once James became the first disciple, even more disciples would view him as their leader. When that happened, if Elder Lo still decided to be overly supportive of Ezra, James would only have to object and garner support from numerous disciples. He believed that even Elder Lo would not choose to go against the majority.
While James was feeling pleased with himself, he suddenly felt a disturbance around him, seeing gaze after gaze turning towards the same direction.
He also raised his head, only to be stunned by the sight of 6 basilisk silhouettes circling a figure on a nearby stone pillar.
"6 Paths of Ablution!" Envy flowed out in James's eyes. The 6th path was one of the dreams he had. Unfortunately, it had evaded his reach each time, because it required far too many Duct Creation Energy crystals.
"Normally speaking, only the chief disciples of each peak are able to reach a 6th path. I wonder which peak this person belongs to." James frowned because he suddenly felt the figure to be quite familiar.
The 6 silhouettes circling the figure suddenly descended as they tunnelled into his head. Moments later, the figure opened his eyes and turned around, coincidentally meeting James's gaze.
James's pupils abruptly shrank as disbelief flooded his face. "Mubarak?!"