The Book Reader, the Angler, and the Meditator continued reading, fishing, and meditating as before, but even they could not help their books trembling, their rods shaking, and their brows twitching.
The thunder and lightning, a spectacle like the calamity of the demon stone, lasted for nearly half an incense stick before finally dissipating.
A clear, piercing cry suddenly rang out from a distant valley. It rolled like waves, one wave following another, each chasing the last without end, growing ever lighter and more soaring.
The cry shot straight up into the heavens, sweeping away every cloud within several hundred zhang.
When the cry subsided, a middle-aged man with red eyebrows strode out of the valley.
His body was like an immortal crane, his spine like an ancient dragon. He seemed to float free of the mortal world, and even from afar, his presence brought a spring breeze.
The Book Reader, the Angler, and the Meditator all rose and went to meet the red-browed middle-aged man with smiles, each cupping his fists in greeting from a distance.
The Angler said, "Congratulations, Brother Zhou! Congratulations, Brother Zhou! You've weathered the minor lightning tribulation and attained the Yang Venerable realm, washing away more than ten years of ups and downs. You should be a model for us all."
The Book Reader said, "Brother Zhou has leapt straight into the Yang Venerable realm. To cross this threshold is no different from ascending to immortality."
The Meditator said, "They're always saying that the Huaixi Prefecture Elder Council is all title and no substance, and that only by relying on that Qin fellow can it barely save face. Brother Zhou's breakthrough has upheld the dignity of our Huaixi Elder Council. Let's see who dares wag their tongues now. It's a good thing that Qin fellow