"Hehehe..."
"Old Qingdan, I spotted you ages ago!"
"I was thinking that if you didn't show yourself soon, I'd drag you out myself!"
Yin Ya gave a strange chuckle and rubbed his hands.
"Hahaha..."
"How could I possibly escape the discerning eyes of Shadow Crow Ancient Sage?"
"Oh, no, I should be calling you Great Emperor Yin Ya now!"
Ancient Sage Qingdan laughed heartily.
Beyond the courtesy between old friends, his attitude toward Yin Ya now carried an added measure of reverence.
"Spare me that useless nonsense!"
"This is my dear disciple. Your alchemy's pretty good, old man, so hurry up and give him a welcoming gift!"
"Oh, and my dear disciple needs pills that can restore his lifespan!"
Grinning, Yin Ya asked Ancient Sage Qingdan for a welcoming gift on Chu Luo's behalf.
The sight left Lin Feng and the elders utterly speechless.
The third elder was a Great Emperor now, yet he was still just as shameless...
Ancient Sage Qingdan knew Yin Ya's temperament well.
He immediately took out several bottles of high-quality pills that could restore vitality and handed them to Chu Luo.
Chu Luo stood on no ceremony either. He accepted the pills and happily put them away.
The quality of pills bestowed by an Ancient Sage alchemist naturally needed no explanation.
"Thank you, Ancient Sage Qingdan!"
Chu Luo cupped his hands in thanks to Ancient Sage Qingdan.
Ancient Sage Qingdan waved a hand, looking Chu Luo up and down as a smile lifted the corners of his mouth.
He had watched Chu Luo's entire battle with Han Wujie.
He could scarcely imagine that Chu Luo, the young man before him, could defeat Han Wujie of the Heavenly Prodigy Ranking despite being at a lower cultivation level!
Even now, the sight of Chu Luo breaking through five minor realms in one breath remained vivid in Ancient Sage Qingdan's mind, astonishing him beyond belief.
"Fellow Daoist Qingdan, what brings you here this time?"
"You never visit a temple without something to pray for!"
Lin Feng suddenly asked with a smile.
"Hahaha..."
"Of course I have business, and important business at that!"
Ancient Sage Qingdan answered with a hearty laugh.
"Oh? What is it?"
The elders were intensely curious, and even Chu Luo pricked up his ears.
Ancient Sage Qingdan sighed and replied:
"I recently heard that a Great Emperor Secret Realm may have appeared in Desolate Heaven Province of the Northern Plains Realm!"
"According to the experts our Pill Sect sent to investigate, the master of that Great Emperor Secret Realm may have been a Great Emperor ancestor of our sect who perished away from home in ancient times!"
"I imagine you'll soon hear the news that this Great Emperor Secret Realm is about to emerge."
"Once word spreads, news of the Great Emperor Secret Realm will surely stir the entire Three Thousand Great Worlds!"
"That ancestor of ours who perished away from home was an unparalleled genius in his day. He created two kinds of Emperor Pills!"
"But his death came far too suddenly, and he never left the formulas for those two Emperor Pills in the sect!"
"Still, we're certain that he had those formulas on him!"
"So, after the old fellows in our sect discussed it, they decided to send me to the Forbidden Sect to ask your prodigies to help our disciples enter the secret realm and recover the lost formulas."
"As you know, most of our Pill Sect disciples aren't a match for those monsters on the Heavenly Prodigy Ranking."
"Of course, we won't ask you to help for nothing. Afterward, our sect will offer sixteen saint-grade pills and one Emperor Pill as payment!"
At this point, Ancient Sage Qingdan looked rather helpless.
The Pill Sect was one of the foremost powers, after all.
Yet its younger generation was woefully lacking.
In the entire vast Pill Sect, only one prodigy had made the ranking...
"I see..."
"Unfortunately, even with a Great Emperor Secret Realm appearing, all our personal disciples are in secluded cultivation and won't come out..."
"I'm afraid..."
Lin Feng felt deeply regretful.
The emergence of a Great Emperor Secret Realm was unquestionably a tremendous opportunity!
Yet all the sect's finest prodigies were in seclusion and would miss it...
Once the Great Emperor Secret Realm opened, the monstrous prodigies of all the foremost powers would surely gather there.
Ordinary disciples stood no chance of competing with such monsters!
"Hahaha..."
"Sect Master Lin, that's no problem!"
"Isn't there still one right here?"
Ancient Sage Qingdan looked at Chu Luo.
Chu Luo froze. He had only wanted to listen to some gossip. How had this suddenly become about him?
Hearing this, Lin Feng and the elders' eyes lit up!
That was right!
How had they forgotten this brat?!
Although Chu Luo was only in the Beginningless Realm.
The memory of Chu Luo breaking through five minor realms in one breath still filled them with excitement.
Once he entered the Great Emperor Secret Realm and obtained an opportunity, breaking through to the Divine Soul Realm would only be a matter of time!
Then, even if he encountered the top monsters on the Heavenly Prodigy Ranking, he would be able to put up a fight!
Their Forbidden Sect wouldn't have to miss this opportunity!
"Chu Luo, would you be willing to lead a team into the Great Emperor Secret Realm?"
"The Great Emperor Secret Realm holds countless opportunities. If you want to compete for a Sequence Disciple position, I'm afraid your current strength isn't enough..."
"Aside from those personal disciples in seclusion, several core disciples are also on the Heavenly Prodigy Ranking. Do you think you can beat them with your current strength?"
Lin Feng looked at Chu Luo and asked with a smile.
Chu Luo's brows drew together slightly. Lin Feng was right.
Although none of the core disciples present were a match for Han Wujie.
There were monstrous talents among the core disciples as well.
They were simply all in seclusion, improving their strength for the contest for Sequence Disciple positions!
That contest was the Forbidden Sect's grandest event.
Sequence Disciples were candidates to become the next sect master and senior elders!
"My dear disciple, you can't go wrong listening to the sect master!"
"You must seize this opportunity!"
Yin Ya pulled Chu Luo aside and spoke in a low voice.
"All right, but you have to come too, Master!"
"I'm afraid someone might target me..."
Chu Luo nodded, agreeing to lead the team into the secret realm.
But in truth, Chu Luo really wanted to tell his master something.
Master, your fierce protectiveness is my greatest opportunity!
"Of course!"
"If anyone dares target you, I'll grind their bones to dust and scatter their ashes!"
"Don't worry. I'll go with you when the time comes!"
Yin Ya told Chu Luo to act boldly without fear, thumping his chest in assurance.
Chu Luo nodded, then turned around.
"All right, Sect Master. I'll go!"
"Senior Qingdan, when do we leave?"
Ancient Sage Qingdan smiled faintly. With Chu Luo joining them, he finally felt somewhat reassured, and answered:
"Young friend Chu, if you have nothing else to attend to, we can leave tomorrow!"
"All right!"
Afterward, Ancient Sage Qingdan chatted with everyone for a while before leaving the Forbidden Sect and returning to his own sect.
After that day's battle.
Chu Luo's name once again spread throughout the Forbidden Sect.
Only this time, it was a good reputation!
In this battle, Chu Luo had preserved the Forbidden Sect's dignity.
Disciples throughout the sect were discussing Chu Luo's spectacular fight with Han Wujie.
That night, Chu Luo returned to Yin Ya's mountain peak.
Summer-Memorial Peak!
Since Chu Luo was Yin Ya's only disciple.
Summer-Memorial Peak was particularly quiet and deserted.
Chu Luo was the only person in the vast courtyard.
For more than a decade, only moonlight and fireflies had kept him company at night.
But Chu Luo had long since grown accustomed to it.
Late that night, seeing that his unreliable master still hadn't returned, Chu Luo went back to his room alone.
He closed the door and windows, then entered the system with a thought.
Checking his status panel, Chu Luo discovered that his apprentice-protection points, which had previously dropped to zero, had risen to 35,000.
Chu Luo had intended to use the apprentice-protection points to break through to the Divine Soul Realm.
But he suddenly remembered the Blazing Saint Physique Han Wujie had used that day.
As far as Chu Luo knew.
Of the sect's nine personal disciples, he alone lacked a special physique.
The other eight all possessed heaven-defying Saint Physiques...
As for the prodigies on the Heavenly Prodigy Ranking, more than half possessed heaven-defying physiques...
"Are Saint Physiques really that cheap these days?"
"Everyone's got one!"
"No, if I want to get stronger, I need to get myself a Saint Physique or a Divine Physique too!"
Before you continue