Why was Lin Ke so well known?
Because the disciples who had joined alongside him had either established their Dao Foundations or stalled below the fifth layer of Qi Refining, unable to advance another inch.
And Lin Ke?
Lin Ke had originally been among the fastest to progress, reaching the ninth layer of Qi Refining shortly after joining the sect.
But then, bizarrely, his cultivation had regressed to the first layer of Qi Refining over three years. Even a Nascent Soul elder had come to investigate and found that it had nothing to do with possession or anything of the sort.
Later, an elder surmised that Lin Ke had been born with a Myriad-Leak Body—in other words, a congenital defect that prevented his body from retaining spiritual energy.
And so Lin Ke had been sent off to the Green Mulberry Garden to while away his remaining days.
There was also a disciple named Li Le involved. He and Lin Ke's senior sister had been a perfect match, a talented man and a beautiful woman, yet Lin Ke's interference had kept them apart.
His cultivation had fallen from the ninth layer to the first, he had gone from a prospective inner disciple to someone sent to languish in the Green Mulberry Garden, and there was even a romantic entanglement...
So the story grew more outrageous with every telling, but that only helped it spread farther. Gossip was human nature, after all.
Many people knew that someone was about to be expelled from the sect, while those with discerning eyes could uncover the suspicious dealings hidden beneath it all.
For instance, a little investigation was all some inner disciples needed to discover who stood behind Li Le.
But Lin Ke did not care about his reputation, so he paid little attention to the peculiar looks in the two men's eyes.
Unexpectedly, Huang Fuqi spoke up.
"You must have had quite a fortuitous encounter, Brother Lin."
Huang Fuqi had said little while Lin Ke was asking questions earlier, but now he cupped his hands. "I've always spoken plainly, so I'll come straight to the point."
"My master is White Dew True Person. As the verse goes, 'Clear springs flow through White Dew Ravine; with wine in hand, sing long and loud.' My master loves freedom and has always despised the elders of Li Le's faction for throwing their weight around."
"You managed to break through Li Le's blockade, Brother Lin. You have my admiration!"
Clear springs flow through White Dew Ravine; with wine in hand, sing long and loud?
Lin Ke's expression jolted.
Some Nascent Soul mighty cultivators had verses about them circulating within the sect, expressing their outlook, their Daoist titles, or their strengths.
And every person whose verses circulated like that was a powerhouse acknowledged both within and beyond the sect.
In the entire Golden Wing Sect, only one Golden Core stage Personal Disciple enjoyed that distinction, while no more than five Nascent Soul realm mighty cultivators did.
Their names were known throughout the Poison Tempering Mountains, and even across the entire Cloud Frontier. They were celebrities in every sense.
"So you're a disciple of White Dew True Person." Lin Ke cupped his hands with a smile. "Li Le is nothing but a clay chicken and a straw dog. Let him swagger."
So what if Li Le had an elder behind him?
Disputes between elders were only natural.
That was why, after establishing his Dao Foundation, Lin Ke had stopped taking Li Le seriously.
His main goals were to strengthen himself, attain longevity, see this world so different from his previous one, and seek the Dao-even if hearing it in the morning meant dying content that evening.
Not to waste his energy on a parasite like Li Le.
"Well said!" Shi Ping praised him:
"I hate the sort who swagger around just because they have elders in their family backing them! I hope to become White Dew True Person's disciple someday, too. White Dew Ravine would be wonderful—drinking and making merry between cultivation sessions. Wouldn't that be a delight?"
Beside him, Huang Fuqi had naturally sensed Lin Ke's disdain for Li Le as he spoke, along with an inexplicable, unbending pride.
So he smiled at Lin Ke as well. "You must have been through a great deal to reach this point. If you attain the late stage someday, perhaps you could join my master's disciples and roam the world with us."
"My master, White Dew True Person, is a sword cultivator. Li Le's father, True Person Yuan Yong, wouldn't dare contend with him."
Lin Ke smiled. "White Dew True Person is unrivaled in battle, roaming the world with wine and sword. Truly enviable."
As for taking a master?
Lin Ke did not bring it up.
No matter what, to catch a Nascent Soul elder's eye, he would at least need a chance of breaking through to the Golden Core stage.
He was only at the Dao Foundation initial stage. Even reaching the middle stage would take a period of hard cultivation, let alone the Dao Foundation Late Stage or Golden Core.
So he changed the subject and began chatting with Shi Ping and Huang Fuqi about other things.
The three flew together, soon arriving at an enormous plaza.
The plaza's center was level and fully three times the size of the Bird's Nest stadium from his previous life. Mountains surrounded it, with an Origin Artifact atop each one anchoring the void.
At the very center of those mountains, high above the middle of the plaza, an earring refined from scorpion-tail stinger hung at the highest point in the sky, radiating a vast, surging aura.
Even the lowest-grade of these Origin Artifacts was upper-grade Origin Tier!
Beneath the Origin Artifacts, buildings of various distinctive designs floated in the air, arranged in neat rows and columns.
Some buildings were shaped like honeycombs, with entrances in their centers and people streaming in and out.
Others took the forms of triangular pyramids, cylinders, and more. Their exteriors displayed features drawn from the clothing and architecture of many ethnic groups, vying in splendor, each with its own merits.
Floating buildings filled the space all the way down from the sky. Only at ground level was there a plaza, complete with seating like that of a soccer stadium.
Hundreds of thousands of Golden Wing Sect disciples had gathered here, their voices boiling into a roar.
Even though Lin Ke had seen scenes like this in the original owner's memories, experiencing it in person still left him awestruck.
In his previous life, he had seen great cities where tens of millions of people lived, but this was his first time seeing countless buildings hanging in the air like the floating mountains in Avatar.
Seeing something with his own eyes and recalling it from memories were two different experiences.
This was a grand gathering of the Golden Wing Sect!
"Brother Lin, Brother Shi and I will head to our master's quarters first. Let's meet again another day." Seeing that they had arrived, Huang Fuqi cupped his hands and bade Lin Ke farewell.
"You two must come to my Green Mulberry Garden sometime to eat some mulberries and enjoy the scenery." Lin Ke had enjoyed talking with Shi Ping and Huang Fuqi, so he cupped his hands in farewell.
"Oh, right, Brother Lin. Do you have a Mystic Vein Book?" Just before leaving, Shi Ping took out a book brimming with spiritual light.
A Mystic Vein Book?
Lin Ke shook his head. "My purse is rather thin. I haven't bought one yet."
The Mystic Vein Book was something like a communication device, specially refined to let people converse with one another.
They only needed to leave their respective auras on one of its pages, and then they could exchange written messages by channeling spiritual power into it.
Unfortunately, Lin Ke knew few people in the sect and was poor, so he had never bought one.
"That's a shame, then," Shi Ping said regretfully.
"Not at all." Lin Ke smiled. "We're all in the sect. Once I buy a Mystic Vein Book, we can use it to communicate."
"That's true." Shi Ping scratched his head, then cupped his hands. "Do come visit me at Azure Glow Peak another day, Brother Lin."
Huang Fuqi also smiled and said, "I'm at the Fine Crane River in White Dew Ravine."
After saying goodbye, the two flew toward one of the spherical buildings floating in the air. Lin Ke parted ways with them and flew alone toward the second tier of buildings above the plaza.
He wanted to make good use of the time before the Sect Grand Tournament began and explore this place.
These dozen or so tiers of buildings above and below were unlike the tall buildings he knew, whose foundations were planted in the ground.
The entrances to those tall buildings were on the first floor, whereas the entrances here were on the middle level.
Flying straight into buildings like this was rather interesting.
And there were plenty of good things inside them.
After all, only cultivators at Dao Foundation or above could fly, so the merchants in these buildings catered to those cultivators, and their wares were expensive.
Of course, Qi Refining stage disciples riding flying mounts could shop there too, provided they could afford it.
But Lin Ke was not buying anything. He was merely strolling around, taking a look, and broadening his horizons.
His main purpose in coming was still the Sect Grand Tournament.
Once he cleared this hurdle, the vast sky would be his to soar through!
Before you continue