Heaven Realm Great Perfection

The Heaven and Earth Phenomenon lasted for a full ten-odd minutes before finally fading away. As it dissipated, Yao Ling slowly opened her eyes. Her delicate brows furrowed slightly as an incomparably vast surge of Soul power erupted in an instant, condensing into a figure as tangible as flesh and blood. With another thought, the figure transformed back into Soul power and returned to her body.

"Clan Leader, is this the so-called soul avatar?" Yao Ling could not conceal the delight in her heart. She knew that only when one's Soul power reached the Heaven Realm Great Perfection level could one summon such a soul avatar. Even across the entire Yao Clan, only a handful of ancient monsters with immense seniority had Soul power that had reached the Heaven Realm Great Perfection!

"Yes. Congratulations, your soul realm has indeed reached Heaven Realm Great Perfection." Yao Dan gave Yao Ling a thumbs-up. "Your achievement today is truly exceptional. After I advanced to Four-star Dou Sheng, it took me quite some time before my Soul power reached this level."

"Clan Leader, you flatter me too much. Everything I have achieved today is inseparable from your careful guidance." Yao Ling hurriedly waved her hands. "In other words, this soul realm is comparable to a Four-star Dou Sheng. Yet I am only a High-level Half-Saint right now. I scarcely have enough time to improve my strength, so I am even less worthy of your praise..."

"Haha, what a sharp tongue you have." Yao Dan grinned. "There is no need to put on false modesty before me. As your alchemy teacher, I watched you grow to this point with my own eyes. I know very well that you have always taken pride in having Soul power far stronger than those of your age. As your teacher, I will see you through in this regard one last time. From now on, you no longer need to bury that pride deep in your heart. Because now, even compared to me, your soul realm is not much weaker!"

"You really do understand me, Teacher." Yao Ling scratched her head and smiled embarrassedly. "I, Yao Ling, will forever remember this kindness. No matter how far I grow in the future, you will always be my most responsible teacher and my most respected Clan Leader! If there is ever anything I can do for you, just give the order. I will certainly do my utmost to accomplish it."

"As it happens, there is an important matter I need to trouble you with." Yao Dan spoke mysteriously. "Since you have such intentions, why not guess what I want you to do?"

"Mm... I cannot just make random guesses without any direction, can I? At the very least, I need to know where I am supposed to go, right?" After giving it some thought, Yao Ling asked directly.

"Have you heard of the Northwest Continent?" Yao Dan answered without hesitation.

"When my mother told me fairy tales as a child, she often began with, 'Long, long ago, on the barren and remote Northwest Continent, there was a big gray wolf...'" The smile vanished entirely from Yao Ling's face as she turned serious. "It seems this mission will be somewhat difficult."

"It will not be easy. You may have to deal with several Half-Saints." Yao Dan took out a letter from his Storage Ring. "That old man Mang Tianchi said he had taught an excellent student, so he wanted to take that student back to the academy he founded on the Northwest Continent and show him off. He also wanted to find a few people to return with him and lend him some prestige. Unfortunately, with that rotten temper of his, no one was willing to go with him..."

"If that is all, Clan Leader could simply find a good-tempered Half-Saint in the clan and have him accompany Mang Tianchi." Yao Ling stuck out her tongue. "I am afraid I would not be able to deal with that old gentleman. Of course—"

"If it were merely such a trivial matter, I naturally would not need to trouble you." Yao Dan smiled faintly. "His excellent student—Xiao Yan—established a small group on the Northwest Continent, apparently called the Yan Alliance. Recently, the Yan Alliance came into conflict with the Hun Clan's proxy, the Soul Hall. Xiao Yan not only invited old Mr. Mang Tianchi to handle it, but also asked me to mediate. After thinking it over, you seem to be the most suitable candidate. You are neither strong enough to make the relationship between the two clans extremely tense, nor too weak to handle the problem."

"Even old Mr. Mang cannot handle it?" Yao Ling's pupils contracted. Though Mang Tianchi had an eccentric and carefree temperament, his strength was not weak in the slightest. Even against a High-level Half-Saint, he could retreat unscathed. An opponent troublesome enough to stump even him was surely at least a High-level Half-Saint, perhaps even a Dou Sheng!

"The Soul Hall is, after all, the Hun Clan's proxy. Public intelligence indicates that the Soul Hall has at least six Saint Stage experts under its command. Among them is even an expert at the early Five-Star Dou Sheng level, who has suppressed his strength to the late Four-star Dou Sheng level to oversee affairs in the Central Continent." Yao Dan shook his head. "If you join forces with old Mr. Mang, you should be able to handle the three lower-ranked Saint Stage experts. But if you encounter any of the top three, then all you can do is flee for your lives."

"Mm, even if I must be shattered to pieces for Clan Leader, I would not hesitate. But I also hope that my efforts, and any sacrifice I may have to make, will be meaningful." Yao Ling stared intently at Yao Dan, her gaze burning.

As Yao Dan's only disciple, she considered herself his most trusted and capable subordinate, as close to his inner circle as one could be. Naturally, the other members of the clan saw her the same way. She did not believe that Yao Dan would disregard her safety entirely and send her to make a meaningless sacrifice.

"If you encounter danger that you cannot handle, crush this spatial scroll. Elder Wan Gui will step in to mediate." Yao Dan handed Yao Ling a jade spatial scroll. "The Imperial Sword I bestowed upon you last time also contains a soul imprint of mine. If it truly comes to a moment of utmost urgency, erase the soul imprint on that sword. Even if Hun Tiandi himself comes, I will personally save you."

"Thank you, Clan Leader." Yao Ling did not stand on ceremony and accepted the scroll directly.

"Then set off. It seems the Yan Alliance is urging us rather urgently." Yao Dan nodded. "Xiao Yan and Mang Tianchi are waiting for you at the Yao Clan's main gate."

An hour later, Yao Ling arrived at the Yao Clan's main gate, travel-worn and dusty. She looked around, then flashed forward and appeared several steps before an elderly man clad in tattered clothes.

"Mr. Mang Tianchi, Mr. Xiao Yan, my apologies for keeping you both waiting." Yao Ling cupped her hands slightly and spoke politely.

"Yes, we have been waiting quite a while. Your reports went up layer by layer, then the approvals came back down layer by layer, leaving Xiao Yan and me waiting here for a full three hours." Mang Tianchi snapped back. "Your clan's administrative efficiency is truly astonishing."

"Old Mr. Mang, this time it was the Clan Leader himself who decided to send me to assist you two. To report from the lowest level to the highest level took only three hours. No matter how one looks at it, that is already remarkably swift." Yao Ling frowned almost imperceptibly and explained patiently. "The Clan Leader prepared spatial scrolls for the three of us. Once crushed, they can precisely transport us to the Heavenly Snake Mansion on the Northwest Continent within half a day."

"Sister Yao Ling and Clan Leader Yao Dan have gone to great lengths for us." Xiao Yan hurriedly tried to smooth things over. "Headmaster, let us get going. Time is of the essence. If we delay any longer, it may be too late."

"Mm, let's go. I truly did not expect you brat to lure away even the Yao Clan's Saintess." Mang Tianchi said in surprise. "Not bad, not bad. You have about one-fifth of my style from back then."

"Old Mr. Mang, stop indulging in such meaningless verbal sparring." Yao Ling rubbed her temples and said softly. "I came to assist with your work, not to bicker with the two of you."

Her words instead seemed to acknowledge Mang Tianchi's claim. With that, she directly crushed a wooden spatial scroll in her hand. Within a few breaths, a spatial wormhole several zhang wide appeared where the scroll had shattered. The three said no more and swiftly flew into the wormhole.