Ling Tian Dao Palace.
In the courtyard, Chu Kuangren lay on a reclining chair.
Beside him, Xiao Bing held a plate of grapes, occasionally feeding one to Chu Kuangren. Nearby, Lan Yu sat cross-legged in a blue-and-white ruqun dress, with a jet-black ancient zither laid before her.
Lan Yu plucked the strings with all ten fingers, and a beautiful melody slowly filled the air.
"Ah..."
Chu Kuangren opened his mouth to take a grape Xiao Bing offered him. Listening to Lan Yu's zither, he narrowed his eyes in contentment.
Xiao Bing peeled grapes beside him. Looking at Chu Kuangren's godlike face from so close, her little face flushed, and indescribable delight filled her heart.
People outside flocked to her young master like ducks to water, and countless women wanted to meet him, yet she could feed him grapes with her own hands.
Just thinking about it made her incredibly happy.
The piece ended.
Lan Yu smiled faintly. "What else would you like to hear, young master?"
Besides being a powerful warrior, she was also well versed in music, something Chu Kuangren had only recently discovered.
He had to admit, Lan Yu was so wonderful that there was nothing to fault.
Beautiful, powerful, and obedient to Chu Kuangren's every word.
"No need. If I keep indulging myself like this, I really won't be able to crawl out of this Tenderness Township you've made for me," Chu Kuangren said with a shake of his head and a smile.
He stretched. "I'm going to cultivate."
Nearly a month had passed since he created the Sage King Law. His cultivation had made tremendous progress during that month, advancing from just entering the Golden Core realm to golden core realm perfection. He was now only a step away from the nascent soul realm.
During that month, Chu Kuangren had also drawn quite a few things from the Fantasy Roulette, but most were black iron or Silver-grade. Apart from a handful, the rest were of no use to him.
For instance, pills, cultivation techniques, and Spiritual Marrow had all gone toward nurturing Xiao Bing. Thus, he was not the only one whose cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds that month; Xiao Bing had also made considerable progress.
That afternoon, Chu Kuangren had just finished cultivating.
Xiao Bing informed him that Daoists Nangong Huang and Murong Xuan had come to visit.
In the main hall of the Dao Palace.
"Eldest Senior Brother, you're finally here."
Upon seeing Chu Kuangren, Murong Xuan went up to him excitedly.
Chu Kuangren's expression changed slightly, and he took half a step back. Why are you so excited? Anyone who didn't know better would think you'd just seen your girlfriend after a long separation.
Was this damned beauty of his enough to make even men lose control?
Murong Xuan stood awkwardly in place.
Eldest Senior Brother, did you really have to take that half step back?
Such a tiny movement, yet it hurt so much...
"Greetings, Eldest Senior Brother."
Nangong Huang bowed slightly. Ever since Chu Kuangren had beaten him into submission and he had witnessed him create his own Sage King Law, his admiration for him had only grown.
Like everyone else in the Mystic Heaven Sect, he had become a little fanboy.
"No need to stand on ceremony, junior brothers. Have a seat."
After they sat down, Murong Xuan spoke first. "We've come to ask your opinion on something, Eldest Senior Brother."
"Oh? What is it?"
"Eldest Senior Brother, have you heard of... Gu Changge?"
"Gu Changge?" Chu Kuangren murmured, seemingly finding the name somewhat familiar. Then he asked, "Qingyun's crown prince, Gu Changge?"
"That's right. That's him," Nangong Huang said gravely.
In this Great Age of Strife, Heavenly Prides emerged one after another, like a hundred flowers blooming, each vying to outshine the others.
Gu Changge was one of the most magnificent flowers among them, a supreme Heavenly Pride renowned throughout the world!
He was even a cut above Nangong Huang.
The power behind Qingyun's crown prince, the Qingyun Dynasty, was also one of the foremost sage orthodoxies in the Azure Dragon Domain, no weaker than the Mystic Heaven Sect.
"What about him?"
Chu Kuangren asked after thinking over what he knew about Gu Changge.
"Half a month ago, Gu Changge left the Qingyun Dynasty's royal capital. In the name of exchanging pointers, he traveled through four sage orthodoxies-the Ziyang Valley, the Wanfa Sect, the Lingxu Sect, and the Wuxing Sect-and defeated eight Daoists in succession!"
Murong Xuan spoke slowly, his voice carrying a measure of gravity as well.
Hearing this, how could Chu Kuangren fail to understand why the two had come to see him? "You're worried he'll come challenge the Mystic Heaven Sect too?"
"He'll certainly challenge us," Nangong Huang said.
"He's forging an invincible heart!"
"Exactly." Nangong Huang continued, "Several years ago, Tianjizi said that the path to becoming an Emperor would reopen in this age. Every Heavenly Pride on Firmament Star wants to contend for this era's imperial throne. By defeating the Daoists one after another, Gu Changge is using this method to forge an invincible heart, hoping to gain a head start on the path to becoming an Emperor!"
"Only by defeating him can we disrupt that process. Otherwise, once his invincible heart is fully formed, there may be hardly anyone who can contend with him!"
"But defeating him is easier said than done. His combat strength is unparalleled among the younger generation, and he has few worthy opponents. Meanwhile, it would be inappropriate for experts of the older generation to intervene. Rumor has it that Gu Changge also has a venerable realm guardian at his side, so even if someone wanted to strike in secret, that would be impossible."
Nangong Huang and Murong Xuan took turns explaining the situation, while Chu Kuangren listened and gained a general understanding.
"Eldest Senior Brother, Gu Changge is astonishingly powerful. Among the eight Daoists he defeated, there was no shortage of people whose combat strength matched mine. So I believe you're the only person in the entire Mystic Heaven Sect who can defeat him."
Nangong Huang looked at Chu Kuangren with shining eyes.
"What is his cultivation level?"
"Nascent soul perfection. No, it should be half-step void insight!"
Nangong Huang paused before saying this.
What?
Half-step void insight?
Chu Kuangren could not help feeling somewhat apprehensive.
He was only at golden core realm perfection now, not even in the nascent soul realm. The reason he had been able to subdue Nangong Huang last time was the cultivation experience card.
Now he was supposed to fight someone at half-step void insight with his golden core realm perfection cultivation?
And this person was a supreme Heavenly Pride, at that!
By the laws governing Heavenly Prides, this fellow was probably even fiercer than someone at void insight.
No matter how he looked at it, his chances seemed shaky.
But faced with the hopeful gazes of his two junior brothers, Nangong Huang and Murong Xuan, he could not show fear as their eldest senior brother.
"I understand."
Chu Kuangren's gaze was calm, his tone indifferent.
Nangong Huang and Murong Xuan exchanged a look, instantly reassured as though they had swallowed a calming pill. With their eldest senior brother so composed, he must have been almost certain of victory.
The two left the Dao Palace with their minds at ease.
"Nangong, what do you think Eldest Senior Brother's chances of winning against Gu Changge are?" Murong Xuan asked curiously outside the Dao Palace.
Nangong Huang paused in his steps and said calmly, "Ten out of ten!"
"You have that much confidence in Eldest Senior Brother?"
Murong Xuan was somewhat taken aback.
Although he also believed in Chu Kuangren, Gu Changge was no ordinary figure either. Having defeated eight Daoists in succession, he already bore the air of someone unrivaled among his generation!
Even Murong Xuan did not dare say Chu Kuangren had a ten-out-of-ten chance of victory.
"Eldest Senior Brother can subdue me with a mere gesture. His combat strength is unfathomable. Besides, couldn't you tell from his attitude just now? He clearly doesn't think anything of Gu Changge."
Nangong Huang spoke of Chu Kuangren with the utmost admiration.
Hearing this, the more Murong Xuan thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed. He nodded and said, "You're right. If he wasn't certain of victory, how could he be so calm and composed? Eldest Senior Brother is probably already unrivaled among his generation!"
"I think he's more than that. Eldest Senior Brother created his own Sage King Law. How many people in this world could do that? He's simply terrifying."
The two speculated about Chu Kuangren's strength. The more they speculated, the more unfathomable he seemed, and the awe in their hearts only continued to grow.
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