Close the Doors and Wait for Them

Soaring Tower Headquarters.

Fan Yuan stood in Mountain Gate, looking up at the towering building that seemed to reach into the clouds, and remained silent for a long time.

After a long while, he finally let out a soft breath.

"I thought I'd never come here again in my life."

After speaking, he turned to look at Qin Wangchuan beside him, and his expression immediately became more respectful.

"Sir, this is the Soaring Tower before you."

Qin Wangchuan looked up.

"It's quite tall."

These four casual words sound like a comment on an ordinary attic.

In reality, the Soaring Tower is anything but ordinary.

The Mountain Gate is built against the mountain, surrounded by a cluster of halls and pavilions with overlapping eaves, and shrouded in clouds and mist.

The outer side consists of disciples' residences, Martial Arts Arena, Library Pavilion, an Artifact Refining room, and a medicine hall, extending inwards in layers.

And at the very center is the true "Soaring Tower".

The building is entirely black, with eaves that rise in layers like wings, reaching straight into the clouds.

At a glance, it must be at least fifty or sixty stories high.

In this world, to be able to build such a Tall Building is already an astonishing feat.

Fan Yuan nodded slightly, but he quietly noticed a detail in his mind.

When an ordinary person first arrives at Soaring Tower, the first thing they see is its size.

The second sight is magnificent.

Only after that comes reverence.

But Qin Wangchuan is different.

He merely glanced at it indifferently.

After glancing at the surrounding palaces and the Soaring Tower, which many people call the Tall Building in Qing Prefecture, I could only say one thing – it's quite tall.

This is definitely not a feigned composure.

Rather, he had actually seen something higher, bigger, and more incredible.

Thinking about this, Fan Yuan felt a surge of curiosity.

What kind of world did you see before, sir?

Just then, someone came out from Mountain Gate to greet them.

There were quite a few people there.

The leader was a young man, followed by more than ten disciples of Soaring Tower.

These people all looked young and their cultivation levels weren't very high, so they were clearly not people who could truly make decisions.

The man in the lead approached and bowed respectfully.

"Mr. Fan."

"My name is Liu Zhou, and I am here to greet you as ordered."

"Please come with me."

Fan Yuan stood still.

He glanced at Liu Zhou, his tone calm yet incredibly imposing.

"They only sent a junior like you to pick me up?"

"Is this how Soaring Tower approaches hiring people?"

The two questions in a row brought a wry smile to Liu Zhou's face, but he dared not be impolite.

We can only lower our stance further.

"Mr. Fan, please calm down."

"We are well aware of your esteemed reputation, and we also know that this action may be inappropriate."

"I was merely following orders, so please don't make things difficult for me, sir."

"Acting under orders?"

Fan Yuan snorted coldly, but didn't continue to make things difficult for him.

His gaze passed over the Liu Zhou and landed on the Tall Building in the distance.

"The Soaring Tower remains the same as always."

"Everyone from top to bottom is infuriating."

Liu Zhou could only manage a wry smile.

"Mr. Fan, this way please."

As he spoke, he glanced at Qin Wangchuan out of the corner of his eye.

A boy.

She looked quite young, and was holding a book in her arms, her expression unusually calm.

Liu Zhou was surprised, but didn't dare to ask any further questions.

Fan Yuan was clearly in a bad mood, and asking another question would only cause trouble.

Fan Yuan strode forward.

Qin Wangchuan followed behind him, neither hurried nor slow.

As they traveled, the disciples of Soaring Tower all cast their gazes at them.

I'm curious.

There was scrutiny.

There was also a hint of inexplicable disdain.

Fan Yuan saw it all, but he couldn't be bothered to pay any attention.

His gaze swept over the familiar palace, over the distant Martial Arts Arena, and over the long bluestone steps that were almost identical to those in his memory.

A hint of disgust flickered deep in his eyes.

There was also a hint of inexplicable nostalgia.

"It hasn't changed at all..."

The sound was extremely soft.

So quiet that only Qin Wangchuan, who was walking behind him, could hear it.

Qin Wangchuan glanced at him but said nothing.

'He must have genuinely wanted to change this place before.'

'I was genuinely disappointed.'

Otherwise, after so many years, there wouldn't be that kind of look left in his eyes.

Unfortunately, Fan Yuan wasn't strong enough back then.

It also lacks the weight to shake this already decaying Tall Building.

So in the end, he could only leave Soaring Tower filled with anger and resentment.

And now, he's back.

Qin Wangchuan withdrew his gaze, his expression remaining calm.

'I didn't choose the wrong person.'

Not long after.

After passing through several palaces, the group finally arrived at the main building of Soaring Tower.

Ascend along the wide, long steps.

The building was brightly lit, with imposing pillars in the corridors. Occasionally, disciples would walk by with their heads down, their footsteps barely audible.

The higher you go, the more somber the atmosphere becomes.

Finally, the Liu Zhou came to rest in front of a heavy wooden door.

Behind the door lies the Council Hall.

He took a couple of breaths, his chest rising and falling slightly.

Leading him up this path would have made an ordinary person's legs weak by now, and even he, a disciple of Soaring Tower, was finding it difficult to keep up.

Liu Zhou subconsciously turned to look at Fan Yuan.

Fan Yuan's expression remained unchanged, and his breathing was steady, as if he had just strolled up and down the long flight of stairs at a leisurely pace.

That's normal.

After all, he was Ninth Level of Cultivators.

But when Liu Zhou's gaze fell on the boy behind Fan Yuan, her heart skipped a beat.

The young man showed no sign of fatigue whatsoever.

He appeared calm and his breathing was normal.

How is that possible?

A hint of surprise flashed across Liu Zhou's eyes.

'Extraordinary.'

'Could he be Successor of Old Fan?'

With a sudden change of heart, his mind became active.

Fan Yuan will now serve as an elder in the council, and his status in the building will inevitably change in the future.

If this young man is truly his Successor, it wouldn't be a bad thing to forge a good relationship now.

Thinking of this, Liu Zhou cleared his throat, stepped forward, and spoke in an even more polite tone.

"Mr. Fan, the Council Hall is inside."

"As for this young man, why don't I arrange a quiet place for him to rest?"

As he spoke, he began to walk towards Qin Wangchuan.

But before he could take even half a step, Fan Yuan raised his hand to block his way.

"Need not."

You can leave now.

The voice was solemn, leaving no room for negotiation.

Liu Zhou was taken aback, but had not yet spoken.

A cold voice suddenly came from behind.

"What a magnificent sight!"

Liu Zhou's expression changed slightly, and he quickly stepped aside.

The newcomer was dressed in a dark robe and had a gloomy face. He was none other than Zhao Chengyue, who had previously proposed killing people and seizing the sword in the council meeting.

He glanced at Qin Wangchuan first.

That gaze lingered for only a short time, but it carried a hint of scrutiny.

Then, he landed back on Fan Yuan, a cold, enigmatic smile playing on his lips.

"It seems some people are really holding their heads higher than the sky these days."

"They haven't even officially entered the Council Hall yet, and they've already started bringing people into the building."

Fan Yuan's eyes instantly turned cold.

"Zhao Chengyue."

"Shut your dog mouth if you don't want to die!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the corridor fell silent.

Liu Zhou's heart skipped a beat, and he didn't even dare to breathe heavily.

Zhao Chengyue's face darkened for a moment, and anger surged in his eyes.

He glanced down at the sword at Fan Yuan's waist, then simply snorted coldly and remained silent.

He reached out and pushed open the heavy wooden door, walking straight into the Council Hall.

Fan Yuan did not go in immediately.

He turned and glanced at Qin Wangchuan.

Seeing that Qin Wangchuan's expression remained unchanged, and he didn't even lift his eyelids, Fan Yuan finally breathed a slight sigh of relief.

He stepped forward, reached out to hold the heavy wooden door, and pushed it open halfway.

Then, stepping aside, he whispered:

"Sir, please."

Qin Wangchuan didn't stand on ceremony and went inside with the medical book in his arms.

Inside the Council Hall, the people who had been talking in hushed tones fell silent almost simultaneously.

All eyes fell on Fan Yuan.

It also landed on the boy behind him.

The boy looked young, dressed in ordinary clothes, and was holding a medical book in his arms. His expression was unusually calm.

He didn't look at the people in the hall, nor did he show the slightest restraint.

After entering, I simply glanced around.

Several seats were empty; some people hadn't arrived yet.

It was this one glance that made the hearts of the several veteran Cultivator inexplicably tighten.

Golden eyes.

Calm, indifferent, carrying with it a certain natural sense of superiority.

Lu Guanlan's fingertips paused slightly.

A hint of surprise flashed across Xu Xuantong's eyes.

Even Jiang Xuan, who was at the head of the table, narrowed his eyes slightly for a moment.

But the boy quickly looked away, as if nothing had happened, and sat down on an empty chair near the door.

The crowd's brows furrowed slightly.

Before they could even speak, Fan Yuan had already followed them inside.

But what's even more surprising is --

He did not go to the spot that had been assigned to him.

Instead, he went straight to Qin Wangchuan's side and sat down on the other side of the door.

One left and one right.

They managed to guard that door perfectly.

That appearance hardly resembles that of a newly appointed elder entering the Council Hall.

It looks more like a stone statue guarding a gate.

The expressions of everyone in the hall immediately became subtle.

Zhao Chengyue's eyelids twitched, and he sneered:

"Fan Yuan, your spot is here."

Fan Yuan glanced at him, his tone indifferent.

"I'll sit here."

The Council Hall fell even quieter for a moment.

Qin Wangchuan, however, seemed completely oblivious to these gazes.

He sat by the door, looking down as he opened a medical book.

His fingertips gently pressed against the pages, his expression calm.

He didn't say a single word from beginning to end.

Yet it was precisely this tranquility that inexplicably stirred a sense of unease in the hearts of many of the senior Cultivator in the hall.

Fan Yuan's attitude speaks volumes.

This young man was definitely not a junior whom Fan Yuan had casually brought in to broaden his horizons.

It was more like he had accompanied the boy in.

Thinking of this, the gazes of the several old Cultivator in the hall fell on Qin Wangchuan once again.

Who exactly is this young man?