Misty Canyon

"Teacher, you're amazing!"

As the eldest disciple, Linley was the first to leap to Zhao Nan's side after he landed. He looked at Zhao Nan with admiration and said,

"Teacher, you're the best!"

Ace didn't stand beside Zhao Nan like Linley had. Instead, he threw himself into Zhao Nan's arms.

Barker and the others came over as well, looking at Zhao Nan with admiration. "Teacher, congratulations on your victory!"

Zhao Nan first hugged Ace, then patted Linley on the head, and nodded to the Bark Five Brothers.

After that, he greeted Hogg and the others.

Once Zhao Nan had finished greeting them, he told them to hurry and reassure the residents of Wushan Town.

After all, powerful people had descended on the town two days in a row, which was bound to frighten the residents. They needed Hogg, the man in charge, to step in.

After Hogg left, Zhao Nan cheerfully took Linley and the others to the back hills, ready to teach them how to cultivate.

Time passed, and ten more days went by in the blink of an eye.

That morning, after getting up, Zhao Nan told Linley and the others, "I'll be leaving Wushan Town for a few days. Make sure you listen carefully to Mr. Doehring's lessons.

"Especially you two, Linley and Ace.

"You both have a talent for Earth Element magic, and Mr. Doehring is a Saint-level Magus of the Earth Element."

Linley and Ace both nodded. Linley then asked, "Teacher, what are you going to do away from Wushan Town?

"Can you take us with you?"

Zhao Nan heard him and ruffled Linley's hair. With a cheerful smile, he said, "I'm going to the Magical Beast Mountain Range to take care of something. It wouldn't be convenient to bring you along, but I'll take you another time.

"When I come back, I'll bring you gifts."

At the mention of gifts, Linley and Ace cheered, and the Bark Five Brothers smiled as well.

Clearly, all the disciples were delighted by the prospect of gifts.

Zhao Nan went to let Hogg know, then turned into a streak of light and flew straight toward the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

The place Zhao Nan was heading to was none other than the Misty Canyon that Linley discovered in the original story.

This time, Zhao Nan didn't hire a carriage. He flew there the whole way.

Zhao Nan had already made quite a name for himself on the continent. News couldn't be kept under wraps forever, and not a single major power on the Yulan Continent could ignore the emergence of a new Saint-level powerhouse.

Besides, Zhao Nan was now strong enough to defeat Tyrone, so he no longer had to worry about other matters.

And so, he flew straight to the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

Zhao Nan flew for about three days before finally finding the strange Misty Canyon.

The journey had taken three days not because the canyon was far from Wushan Town, but because he'd spent quite some time searching for it.

Hovering in the air, Zhao Nan looked at a mountain range stretching for hundreds of miles, its slopes thick with trees.

The canyon lay beside the range's highest peak, formed by it and the neighboring peaks into a bizarre chasm. This was the Misty Canyon he'd been searching for.

The two peaks on either side of the canyon came so close together at their edges that there was barely a step's distance between them. The sight gave anyone who saw it an eerie feeling.

The peaks were also shrouded in endless white mist. That was why Linley called it the Misty Valley.

Now that Zhao Nan had reached the Saint-level, he had no need to cautiously make his way down like Linley. He floated straight down through the air.

Zhao Nan had come to the Misty Valley for one reason only: Blue Heart Grass.

Of his seven disciples, the Bark Five Brothers had already awakened their bloodlines, and Ace's bloodline was strong enough too. He was simply too young to have awakened it yet.

Only Linley's bloodline was too weak. He would need Blue Heart Grass and living dragon blood to awaken it.

Blue Heart Grass was a brilliant green, but a blue glow flowed across its surface, making it look like a beautiful piece of jade. It was truly lovely!

Zhao Nan hadn't wanted to come to the Magical Beast Mountain Range to look for Blue Heart Grass, but it was so rare that it was almost impossible to buy.

He had visited many cities, yet still hadn't found enough Blue Heart Grass.

With no other choice, Zhao Nan had come to the Misty Valley to pick it himself.

Of course, there was another reason he'd chosen to leave at this time: he wanted Linley to subdue Bebe.

At first, Zhao Nan had planned to subdue Bebe himself. But when he thought of Beirut, a Chief God, he ultimately gave up on the idea.

After all, Linley had already caught Beirut's attention while still on the Yulan Continent. Most importantly, he had formed an Equality Contract with Bebe.

An Equality Contract was less binding than a Master-Servant Contract, but it had one advantage: it wouldn't vanish if either party died. Instead, if one of them died, the other would be injured.

As he thought this over, Zhao Nan began gathering the Blue Heart Grass.

One stalk after another drifted into Zhao Nan's hand, then disappeared into his Space Ring.

As he gathered the Blue Heart Grass, Zhao Nan remained alert for attacks from magical beasts.

But perhaps it was because of the aura surrounding Zhao Nan, or perhaps there was some other reason. Not a single one of the magical beasts that had repeatedly attacked Linley in the original story appeared before him.

After collecting quite a bit of Blue Heart Grass, Zhao Nan was about to leave. Then he thought of the Violet Blood Soft Sword Linley would find later. After a moment's consideration, he headed deeper into the canyon.

As he made his way forward, Zhao Nan noticed that the deeper he went, the richer the magical elements became.

Zhao Nan flew quickly and soon reached the canyon floor. Along the way, he had also spotted quite a few magical beasts.

There were Velociraptors, Pterosaurs, Fire Dragons, and various other dragon-type magical beasts.

Seeing these beasts and sensing the elemental energies in the area gave Zhao Nan an idea. After Linley formed a contract with Bebe, he could bring all his disciples here to cultivate.

At the same time, Zhao Nan wondered whether Linley should still attend the Ernst Institute now that he had taken him on as a disciple.

Leaving everything else aside, what about Linley's roommates? Should he separate them?

Zhao Nan thought it over for a long while but still couldn't reach a decision. In the end, he decided to let Linley choose for himself when the time came.

Zhao Nan's aura was powerful enough that, under the pressure of a Saint-level powerhouse, the dragon-shaped magical beasts hurriedly scattered.