After completing the formalities to become a True Martial Disciple in the Sect’s Affairs Pavilion, Zhao Lu showed Duan Ling Tian around Myriad Phenomena Island. He showed Duan Ling Tian the Law Enforcement Hall, the Artifact Pavilion, the Divine Pill Pavilion, the Free Trade Plaza, and the cultivation ground for disciples and elders who did not join a faction.
During this time, Duan Ling Tian realized how vast Myriad Phenomena Island was. It was like a large city with mountains and rivers. He was also surprised by how tight the security was in some places. There were Spirit Void Elders who guarded those places.
Duan Ling Tian also saw a Transcendence Elder.
After the Emperors of Gods who were Ascension Elders and Nirvanic Elders, the Transcendence Elders were the strongest in the Pure Yang Sect.
Zhao Lu respectfully greeted the Transcendence Elder and addressed the other party as ‘junior uncle’. However, the elder was not from the Cloud Peak faction.
Just as Duan Ling Tian and Zhao Lu were about to leave Myriad Phenomena Island and return to Cloud Peak Island, Zhao Lu suddenly stopped in his tracks before he smiled and called out, “Duan Ling Tian.”
Duan Ling Tian turned to look at Zhao Lu in confusion.
Zhao Lu’s smile widened as he said, “Good news. I just received a Voice Transmission. After news of you passing the most difficult test for your age group, the sect leader summoned the high-ranking officials and held a meeting to discuss you.”
“Me?” Duan Ling Tian was slightly surprised. Although he passed the most difficult True Martial Disciple test, it did not make sense that the high-ranking officials would make a big fuss about it. Why did the sect leader gather everyone?
From what Zhao Lu told him, Duan Ling Tian knew the high-ranking officials of the Pure Yang Sect were a mix of those who belonged to factions and those who did not belong to any faction. They were all in charge of managing the sect’s affairs.
Those who were not in any factions in the Pure Yang Sect were referred to as neutral members.
Seeing Duan Ling Tian’s puzzled and surprised expression, Zhao Lu explained, “The meeting just ended. I was told that during the meeting, the sect leader just agreed on a decision. An elder from our Cloud Peak faction suggested it, and the other high-ranking officials agreed to it. Can you guess what it is?”
Duan Ling Tian shook his head. How could he know? It was not like he attended the meeting.
“‘It was decided that the sect will give some resources to our Cloud Peak faction. The resources are specifically for you,” Zhao Lu said with a grin, “The resources should arrive in a few days at most.”
Duan Ling Tian was stunned by these words. Why would the Sect Leader of the Pure Yang Sect and the high-ranking officials of the sect agree to allocate resources just for him? Although his performance during the True Martial Disciple test was not bad, and he had broken the previous record, this treatment was rather exaggerated.
The Sect Leader of the Pure Yang Sect was an Emperor of Gods, and the high-ranking officials were mostly Emperors of Gods as well. Those who were not Emperors of Gods were all extraordinary Lords of Gods. Why did such a group of people gather because of him and even agreed to allocate resources specifically for him?
For a moment, Duan Ling Tian wondered if Zhen Ping Fan, the Nirvanic Elder, had anything to do with this. With this thought in mind, he looked at Zhao Lu and said with a wry smile, “Elder Zhao, did Elder Zhen ask the sect leader to do this? This is a bit too much…”
Duan Ling Tian was truly flattered to be given such a treatment when he had just arrived. He could already imagine how jealous the other True Martial Disciples would be when they found out about this matter.
“Junior granduncle?” Zhao Lu was briefly stunned. Then, realization dawned on him. He shook his head and explained, “Duan Ling Tian, you overestimate junior granduncle. Although he has a high status in the sect, even if he and the leader of our faction asked this of the sect leader and the sect leader agreed, the other high-ranking officials definitely would not agree to it. Don’t forget that there are many factions in our Pure Yang Sect. Apart from our Cloud Peak faction, there are still another six factions with Ascension Elders. If we don’t count the sect leader, our faction isn’t the top two strongest factions in the sect.”
Duan Ling Tian nodded. Zhao Lu had a point.
The top two strongest factions in the Pure Yang Sect were the Tyrannic Saber faction and another faction.
Zhao Lu continued to say, “Hence, under such circumstances, let alone the others, those high-ranking officials from the two strongest factions definitely would not agree to such a suggestion. If our sect leader had insisted, the two ancestors from the two factions would definitely step forward. It would definitely stir up trouble. Even if our ancestor stepped forward, nothing could be done about it. There are also the other four major factions. They won’t just sit still and do nothing. If all six ancestors from the six major factions disagree, what can our Cloud Peak faction and the sect leader do?”
“So you mean to say they came to this decision because of me?” Duan Ling Tian suddenly felt chills run up his spine. There was no such thing as a free lunch in the world, after all. Why did the group of high-ranking officials suddenly decide to give him resources for no reason? What was their motive? He could not help but feel suspicious and worried about this matter.
Duan Ling Tian could not suppress unease at all. He looked around vigilantly before he asked Zhao Lu, “Elder Zhao Lu, do you know why they’re doing this? I don’t believe they’re doing this out of kindness or just because I’m talented…”
Upon hearing Duan Ling Tian’s words, Zhao Lu shook his head and said with a smile, “You’re right. Naturally, they have a reason for doing so. They would not give you resources for no reason like our Cloud Peak faction. They’re doing this because you can change the future of the sect.”
“Me? Change the future of the sect?” Duan Ling Tian was even more confused. Then, he said with a wry smile, “Elder Zhao, does the sect think I have a high possibility of becoming an advanced Emperor of Gods?”
The current Pure Yang Sect had no shortage of intermediate Emperors of Gods. They would only give him such treatment because they were highly certain he would become an advanced Emperor of Gods.
Duan Ling Tian continued to say, “Elder Zhao Lu, although I’m certain I’ll be an advanced Emperor of Gods in the future, I won’t be staying in the Pure Yang Sect. I have things I must do.” A hint of helplessness could be heard in his voice as he continued to say, “Elder Zhao, why don’t you speak to the sect leader and tell him not to give me the resources? I really don’t plan to stay in the Pure Yang Sect for a long time.”
Upon hearing Duan Ling Tian’s words, Zhao Lu burst out laughing. When his laughter subsided, he said, “Duan Ling Tian, you really think highly of yourself! I agree that you’ll be able to become an advanced Emperor of Gods in the future. However, you’re just a rudimentary Lord of Gods now. It’ll take a while for you to become an advanced Emperor of Gods from a rudimentary Lord of Gods even if you’re highly talented. Moreover, that’s only if you don’t die an untimely death. In the Pure Yang Sect, there’s no lack of prodigies who could become advanced Emperors of Gods, but many of them die before they can fulfill their potential. Do you think the sect will specifically give you resources just because of this alone?”
Zhao Lu laughed again at the end of his words.
“Then what’s the reason for this?” Duan Ling Tian asked. Zhao Lu’s words made sense, but he became even more puzzled about the intention of the high-ranking officials of the Pure Yang Sect.
Zhao Lu’s laughter subsided; even the smile disappeared from his face. His expression was solemn as he said, “It’s because of the Seven Mansions Feast.”
“Seven Mansion Feasts?” Duan Ling Tian’s eyes widened slightly. This was not the first time he had heard of the Seven Mansions Feast. He had first heard about it from Long Qing Chong, the Sect Leader of the Flying Dragon Sect.
At that time, Long Qing Chong had said that only prodigies under the age of 10,000 could participate in the Seven Mansions Feast. After Duan Ling Tian killed the two intermediate Lord of Gods, Long Qing Chong had said the top emperor-rank forces in the Eastern Ridge Mansion would definitely recruit him.
As expected, Long Qing Chong told him that four emperor-rank forces in the Eastern Ridge Mansion had sent representatives, who were no weaker than Golden Dragon Elders, to recruit him. However, while the representatives were waiting for him to come out from the Imperial War Realm, Zhen Ping Fan arrived and persuaded them to retreat.
At that time, Long Qing Chong had told him that Zhen Ping Fan had persuaded the other representatives to retreat with his words. However, he had a feeling that the others were likely intimidated by Zhen Ping Fan, who was an Emperor of Gods, and had no choice but to leave.
“What is the Seven Mansions Feast?” Duan Ling Tian asked. Then, he added, “I’ve heard the Sect Leader of the Flying Dragon Sect mention it, but it seemed like he didn’t know much either. He only knows that it’s of great significance to the top five emperor-rank forces in the Eastern Ridge Mansion like the Pure Yang Sect.”