The Yu Yang faction saw Duan Ling Tian as their lifeline, after all.
Zhao Lu looked at Huang Feng with a complicated expression.
In the history of the Pure Yang Sect, there were many factions that had to be disbanded due to a lack of successors. The members would then be evicted from the floating islands that were once their homes. Some of them stayed together and worked hard to create a new faction together, some joined another faction, and some never did make a comeback.
Zhao Lu did not have much pity for the Yu Yang faction. After all, the world was cruel. Only the strong could make the rules and enjoy special treatment. This was naturally true for all the factions in the Pure Yang Sect.
“Duan Ling Tian, I hope you’ll consider this carefully. This is my Soul Pearl. Please contact me once you’ve made up your mind,” Huang Feng said after giving Duan Ling Tian his Soul Pearl, “I hope you’ll join us. Apart from the benefits I mentioned earlier, I’m also willing to give you half of my life savings if you join us.
After saying that, Huang Feng bade farewell and left.
Before the young man, who seemed to be Huang Feng’s disciple, left, he sent Duan Ling Tian a Voice Transmission as well.
“Senior Brother Duan, if you join our Yu Yang faction, the faction will not spare any effort at all to make you an Emperor of Gods. It’s the best choice for you to join us now that you’ve joined the Pure Yang Sect.”
Now that Huang Feng had left, Duan Ling Tian and Zhao Lu were about to leave when they were stopped again.
This time, they were stopped by a blue-clad old man with a ruddy complexion and a friendly disposition. When he approached the duo, he said, “Zhao Lu, I’d like to speak to Duan Ling Tian as well.”
“Please speak, Brother Liu,” Zhao Lu said with a nod. His attitude was markedly better than when he was facing Huang Feng.
With this, Duan Ling Tian glanced at the old man’s identity token curiously. Realization dawned on him immediately when he saw the old man’s identity token. ‘No wonder. He’s a Transcendence Elder.”
Transcendence Elders were the strongest advanced Lords of Gods in the Pure Yang Sect. They were at least as strong as the Golden Dragon Elders from the Flying Dragon Sect.
The old man looked at Duan Ling Tian and introduced himself with a smile on his face. “Duan Ling Tian, I’m Liu Yuan from the Tyrannic Saber faction. My grandfather, Ascension Elder Liu Jing Tao, is the leader of the Tyrannic Saber faction.”
At the same time, Zhao Lu’s Voice Transmission rang in Duan Ling Tian’s ears as well.
“Duan Ling Tian, he’s Liu Yuan. He’s a Transcendence Elder, and he’s the strongest advanced Lord of Gods in the Tyrannic Saber faction. His grandfather is Ascension Elder Liu Jing Tao, who’s also the leader of the faction.”
Meanwhile, the crowd was also whispering among themselves. They were shocked when they saw Liu Yuan.
“Heavens! A Transcendence Elder came in person! Duan Ling Tian is really a hotshot!”
“The Tyrannic Saber faction wants to recruit him as well?”
“Is Duan Ling Tian really that great?”
In fact, there were many representatives from the various factions in the surroundings. However, many of them gave up on recruiting Duan Ling Tian when they heard Huang Feng’s offer. After consulting with the higher-ups in their factions, they decided they did not want to spend so much on recruiting him. Since their offer was not as good as Huang Feng’s, they would naturally not step forward to recruit Duan Ling Tian. Would it not be embarrassing when Duan Ling Tian refused them? They were also shocked when they saw Liu Yuan.
There were 19 factions in the Pure Yang Sect. Among them, the seven major factions were led by Ascension Elders while the other twelve factions were led by Nirvanic Elders.
The Tyrannic Saber faction was led by an Ascension Elder. Apart from that, it was one out of two factions that had three Emperors of Gods. Hence, it was a strong faction.
“Elder Liu Yuan,” Duan Ling Tian greeted with a smile. He had heard the discussions on the surroundings so he had a bit of understanding regarding the Tyrannic Saber faction. He had also speculated that the only other faction with three Emperors of Gods was the Cloud Peak faction, to which Zhen Ping Fan, Qin Wu Yang, Zhao Lu, and he belonged. However, he was not too certain if he was right.
Duan Ling Tian knew the Emperors of Gods in the Cloud Peak faction were Ascension Elder Zhen Yun Feng, Nirvanic Elder Zhen Ping Fan, and the Sect Leader of the Pure Yang Sect. However, he was not sure if the Sect Leader of the Pure Yang Sect would be counted as a member of the faction. After all, as the sect leader, he had to oversee the entire sect, including all the factions.
Liu Yuan said with a smile, “Duan Ling Tian, although our benefits aren’t as good as Yu Yang faction now in that we won’t offer you two million divine rocks, in the long term, the benefits we offer are better. I can promise you that one of our two Nirvanic Elders will accept you as a disciple. Most importantly, when our Ascension Elder has the time, he’ll guide you and give you pointers as well.”
An uproar broke out as soon as Liu Yuan spoke about the Ascension Elder guiding Duan Ling Tian.
Many of those who were originally calm lost their composure immediately, and they stared at Duan Ling Tian, filled with jealousy and envy. After all, Ascension Elders were the most powerful in the Pure Yang Sect. They were usually elusive, and it was rather hard to meet them, let alone ask for guidance from them. When they saw how unmoved Duan Ling Tian was, their jealousy and envy were joined by anger. They wondered if he was pretending to be calm, hoping to obtain more benefits; they thought he was greedy.
“Duan Ling Tian, I hope you’ll think about this carefully. This is…” Liu Yuan said as he brought his Soul Pearl out.
Before Liu Yuan finished speaking and before he could hand his Soul Pearl over, Duan Ling Tian said apologetically, “Elder Liu, there’s no need for you to give you Soul Pearl. I think it’s best for me to make my intentions clear today. I have already decided on a faction to join so I won’t be considering any other factions. I apologize, but I’ll have to decline your invitation.”
Although Liu Yuan was a little surprised by Duan Ling Tian’s straightforwardness, he was very calm as he said, “Everyone has their own aspirations so we won’t force you.”
With that, Liu Yuan bade farewell to Zhao Lu and left.
Everyone’s eyes were fixed on Liu Yuan’s elegant back until he disappeared from sight. Immediately after, they shifted their eyes to Duan Ling Tian immediately.
“Duan Ling Tian has already decided to join a faction?”
“He refused Elder Liu Yuan’s Soul Pearl but accepted Elder Huang’s Soul Pearl… Does this mean he’s going to join the Yu Yang faction?”
“But there’s no Ascension Elder in the Yu Yang faction…”
“So what? There’s no doubt the Yu Yang faction would prioritize Duan Ling Tian and give him the best of everything so he can become an Emperor of Gods. After all, they’re in dire need of a successor, and there’s no suitable candidate in the faction now.”
“If I were Duan Ling Tian, I would also choose to join the Yu Yang faction. After all, the position of the leader of the faction is almost guaranteed!”
Despite being reassured by Duan Ling Tian, Zhao Lu still could not help but feel slightly shaken when he heard the discussion in the surroundings. He called out tentatively, “Duan Ling Tian?”
“Elder Zhao Lu, since we’ll be in the same faction soon, please take care of me,” Duan Ling Tian said with a smile. He had said this loudly so the others, especially those from the Yu Yang faction, would not misunderstand his decision.
Zhao Lu was briefly stunned. He reacted quickly and said with a bright smile, “Of course! Welcome to the Cloud Peak faction!”
The others were shocked when they heard Duan Ling Tian was going to the Cloud Peak faction. After all, they were convinced he was going to join the Yu Yang faction.
“I wonder what the Cloud Peak faction offered him since he chose to reject the Yu Yang faction and join them?”
“It can be considered that the Yu Yang faction will give him all of their best resources if he joins them, but he still refuses them?”
“I’m really curious what kind of benefits the Cloud Peak faction promised him. It can’t be that he chose the Cloud Peak faction just because their elders brought him here, right?”
“Impossible! This is a profit-driven world where the strong are revered. Moreover, making a small mistake in one’s cultivation could lead to death by the Heavenly Tribulation in the future.”
Duan Ling Tian only smiled when he heard the conversation in his surroundings. After a while, he said to the crowd, “If any one of you knows people from the Yu Yang faction, please inform them of this. I don’t have any desire to lead a faction. I’m confident I’ll be able to become an Emperor of Gods, but I don’t think I’ll be in the Pure Yang Sect at that time.”
Everyone was filled with admiration for Duan Ling Tian when they heard his words. They thought he was mature and ambitious. After all, it was clear that his aspirations were not limited to the Pure Yang Sect, intending to soar higher.
After thinking about it, Duan Ling Tian sent a message to Huang Feng through the Soul Pearl.
“Elder Huang Feng, I’m sorry.”
In fact, Duan Ling Tian did not plan to accept Huang Feng’s Soul Pearl. However, he was stunned by Huang Feng’s generous offer that before he had time to react, Huang Feng had already given him the Soul Pearl and left.