Wudang Disciple

Zhang Hupan was instantly stunned. He had no idea how he had offended the two young Daoists in front of him. Carefully recalling everything he had said, he felt certain he had not said anything offensive. Although Zhang Hupan knew he was inexperienced in worldly affairs, he was still capable of determining whether he had offended anyone. He had just been inexplicably attacked by a young woman and cursed as a stinking Daoist, and now that he had arrived at his own sect, he was coldly turned away as though he were a thousand miles away. Even someone as simple-natured as Zhang Hupan was beginning to feel a little angry. With Zhang Hupan's cultivation, even hundreds or thousands more Daoists like these would be unable to stop his advance. However, as the disciple of Wudang Sect's founding patriarch and the sect's current supreme existence, Zhang Hupan still possessed his own dignity. He did not need a grand reception from Wudang Sect, but he could not bring himself to lower his pride and force his way inside.

"Kuye, come out and meet me!" Although Zhang Hupan merely shouted softly, his slight anger led him to use a tiny bit of immortal power. Yet that tiny bit of immortal power shook the entire temple.

The two young Daoists bore the brunt of it. Under Zhang Hupan's immense, world-shaking aura, they had already collapsed helplessly onto the ground. At that moment, Kuye, who was cultivating in the rear hall of the temple, opened his eyes in astonishment. Two streaks of solid golden light shot from his eyes and vanished in a flash. Since Kuye had already reached the Core Formation Stage, he was over three hundred years old yet still looked as young as a thirty-year-old. Although Zhang Hupan had used only a trace of immortal power, to Kuye, who had cultivated only to the mid-stage of Core Formation, it sounded no less than a crashing thunderclap. Even more strangely, that trace of immortal power felt so familiar. It seemed to originate from the same source as the Wudang Celestial Arts he cultivated. But who else in Wudang Sect could possess such profound cultivation? Though Kuye was puzzled, he did not dare delay in the slightest. He rose and walked toward the main hall. By then, several dozen senior figures from Wudang's past generations were already standing there, each wearing an astonished expression. When they saw Kuye emerge from the rear hall, they consciously opened a path, then followed behind him toward the entrance.

If anyone had seen these Daoists at that moment, they would have been utterly shocked. Every one of them had once been a renowned figure in the martial world before suddenly withdrawing from the jianghu and vanishing without a trace. Most of these Daoists possessed an otherworldly bearing, with white brows and beards. Only two looked as young as Kuye. These two Daoists should have reached the Core Formation Stage as well.

Although any one of these Daoists would have been an Innate Realm expert if they ventured into the martial world, and their cultivation was considered impressive even among cultivators, Zhang Hupan still secretly shook his head. He was dissatisfied that most of these Daoists, despite already being over two hundred years old, had remained in the "Qi" realm. Yet he failed to consider who else could have enjoyed luck as good as his own—not only possessing exceptional talent, but also growing up from childhood in a valley filled with immortal spiritual energy, eating all kinds of precious spirit medicines as though they were ordinary meals, and, most frightening of all, receiving a full hundred years of personal instruction from Zhang Sanfeng, a Void Breaking expert. It would have been difficult not to become a master under such circumstances!

In stark contrast to Zhang Hupan's thoughts, the old Daoists were astonished by him. They could not see through Zhang Hupan's cultivation, just as they could not see through Kuye's. This meant that the Daoist before them should possess Core Formation Stage cultivation. What an extraordinary level that was—it was the same realm as Daoist Kuye and the other two! To these old Daoists, being able to enter the "Dan" stage would have been enough to satisfy them, even if they only reached the early stage of Core Formation. As for the Nascent Soul Stage, they did not even dare dream of it. It was said that in the entire Wudang Sect, only their patriarch Zhang Sanfeng had cultivated to that realm—and even that was merely a legend. Kuye was even more astonished, because he found that he could not see through the depth of this exceptionally young Daoist with an utterly ordinary appearance either. The Daoist before him felt as unfathomable as the sea and as lofty and imposing as a mountain. Generally speaking, one could see through another person's cultivation only when that person was two major realms below oneself. Kuye had already reached the mid-stage of Core Formation, yet he still could not discern Zhang Hupan's realm. Thus, Kuye estimated that the man before him had at least reached the early stage of Condensation Formation.

By then, Zhang Hupan had already withdrawn the aura he had created. The two young Daoists, who had been slumped on the ground, finally regained their senses. Seeing all those old patriarchs emerge from the palace, they still felt lingering fear from what had happened, but with so many senior experts present, they soon recovered. They hurriedly rose from the ground and stood beside the old Daoists. Just as they were preparing to report what had happened to the old patriarchs, Zhang Hupan remained perfectly calm. He smiled and nodded at Kuye. "You must be Kuye, I presume?"

"How dare you! Is the name of our Grand Grandmaster something you can call so casually?" Seeing so many senior figures present and remembering how he had embarrassed himself earlier, the fat Daoist boldly shouted, borrowing the authority of those around him while completely forgetting that, with so many seniors present, he had no place to speak.

"Qingteng, do not be insolent!" Kuye softly rebuked the fat Daoist. Only then did the Daoist known as Qingteng remember his position. He hurriedly withdrew, nodding and bowing.

"May I ask how I should address you, fellow Daoist?" The moment he finished speaking, Kuye froze completely, because he saw the Universe Ring worn on Zhang Hupan's thumb. In fact, ever since entering Yuzhen Palace, Zhang Hupan had deliberately made the Universe Ring visible. But how could those secular disciples possibly recognize Wudang Sect's supreme Universe Ring?

The fact that those secular disciples did not recognize it did not mean that Kuye and the others failed to. Quite the opposite—they were intimately familiar with the ring. From the day they advanced from the postnatal realm into the Innate Realm, truly stepping into the world of cultivation, their masters had solemnly told them that the Universe Ring was Wudang Sect's supreme token. Whoever possessed the Universe Ring was the true Sect Leader of Wudang Sect, existing on an entirely different level from the Sect Leader currently displayed before the world. However, the Universe Ring had supposedly never been passed down and had always remained on Zhang Sanfeng's finger. Yet now it had appeared, worn on the thumb of a complete stranger. But that did not diminish the authority of the Universe Ring. All the old Daoists, including Kuye, dropped to their knees in unison. Only the two young Daoists remained standing foolishly, still unaware of what was happening, but they immediately came to their senses and knelt as well. After all, even their Grand Grandmaster was kneeling so uniformly—how could they possibly dare to remain standing? (To be continued.)