Crowds thronged around the venue. Countless visitors from far away craned their necks to take in the spectacle on the great grass field.
Dressed as a Wandering Daoist, Lü Yan stroked his beard as he surveyed the ordinary tribespeople of the Grasslands. Now that he had entered the fifth realm and joined the ranks of Sect Masters, he did feel a certain transcendence, like a Reclusive Expert hidden among mortals.
After all, those of transcendent grade were the leading figures of their respective provinces. Though their status was far from low, every region had them. Ultimately, they stood somewhere between the worldly Jianghu and the cultivation world-above those below, but short of those above.
A fifth-realm Sect Master, however, was a genuine immortal elder atop the mountain peak. Most ordinary mortals would only ever hear their names.
In the tales told by storytellers and the strange accounts of immortals and heroes, those lucky souls who encountered Reclusive Experts, accidentally entered immortal cave abodes, or picked up little rings and bottles containing old grandpas were usually encountering Sect Masters and ancestors like him.
Though he might currently be the weakest Sect Master under heaven, unable even to defeat Chen Chi of the Blessing and Sacrifice Faction, who had previously brought up the rear, a phoenix's tail was still part of a phoenix. Having climbed to this position, he naturally had to do something befitting a Reclusive Expert, such as finding a righteous youngster, offering a few pointers, and granting an opportunity to serve as their golden finger.
It might look like charity, but today's causes bore tomorrow's fruit. Xie Jinhuan's present accomplishments owed something to the various extraordinary encounters of his childhood.
So long as he performed one good deed a day and his eye for people was not too poor,