Homeward Journey

The echoes of Cloud Crane True Person's words, "Dao Champion," had yet to fade when the silence around the Dao Discussion Platform was replaced by even more complex, surging undercurrents.

It was no longer mere cheering or shock, but the gravity of all factions being forced, after the dust had settled, to reassess and even adjust their strategies.

Xu Yuan remained seated in meditation with his eyes closed, as though all the clamor outside had nothing to do with him.

Yet only he knew that within his spiritual veins, his connection with the Thousand Net Dharma Net, as inseparable as water and milk, was growing ever clearer.

And his head-on clash with Cold Jade had also given him fresh insights into wielding the Celestial Wood Vine and drawing upon the power of the Green Wood Sacred Body.

As for those two petty clowns instantly subdued by the Dharma Net, they had been nothing more than an insignificant interlude—not even worthy of his reflection.

The assembly did not end immediately, but to many, the proceedings that followed had already become utterly dull.

With Xu Yuan's brilliance set before them like pearls and jade, even if other Foundation Establishment cultivators took the stage to spar afterward, they seemed dim and colorless. Everyone's thoughts had long since flown beyond the assembly.

That evening, the Azure Billows Water-Land Assembly officially came to an end.

By the time the Clear Sand River party returned to Listening Wave Garden, a long queue had quietly formed outside the courtyard.

The first to call were stewards dispatched by Emerald Wave Lake, the Star Sword Sect, and the Hundred Treasures Pavilion. With respectful attitudes, they presented congratulatory gifts in honor of Warden Xu's crowning as Dao Champion.

Emerald Wave Lake's gift list was the most generous: apart from a