Chapter 55
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Two weeks after the Grand Valley Tomb incident.
On a certain mountain peak within the Six Ocean Sect, laid a large house. At this moment, the wooden door opened. A youth in gold-white robe stepped out, his conspicuous white flowed tidily behind him.
For the past period, Huang Xue had remained in seclusion, but at the same time, he had secretly requested a few of his Shen clansmen to gather intel on Luo Ke. After finally finding his first destined one, Huang Xue had begun contemplating on how he should go about helping Luo Ke. Only after the latter became stronger, would Huang Xue consider taking him and moving to other regions.
Since, even now, Huang Xue’s other two divine clones are still in the process of searching their respective area. They were in progress of gathering information, and have yet to find any clues leading to his other Destined Ones.
But given Huang Xue’s meeting with Luo Ke, he now understood that the background, bloodline, and strength of his Destined Ones were truly hard to predict. And at times, their “specialness” may not be directly because of their body itself, but may be from their tremendous destiny and artifact.
For example, Luo Ke has a relatively normal constitution. However, upon gaining the help of the Saint Mirror that seems to have a strong tie with his own fortune, Luo Ke was able to rapidly improve his strength and change his fate! For powerful artifacts, only in the hands of those with great destiny ties to it, would its true might be revealed. This was also why Huang Xue held no thoughts towards taking the Saint Mirror away from Luo Ke, despite having some idea of its importance in the future.
Only by allowing Luo Ke to grow along with the Saint Mirror, would there come a day when a peak cultivator would be birthed - one who could potentially “save” the Earthly Lands should Huang Xue lose himself in the end.
Now that Huang Xue had made contact with Luo Ke, there is a vague relationship created between the two. However, Huang Xue wants to solidify his standing in Luo Ke’s mind.
If Huang Xue cannot become Luo Ke’s master, then he must strive to become...his most trusted elder brother!
This way, he would be able to further nourish Luo Ke’s growth.
At this point in time, Huang Xue could at best be considered a mysterious person who Luo Ke does not want to offend, but any brotherly trust between the two is negligible.
Huang Xue did not wish to use his background as a mean to establish relation with Luo Ke. This path is very limited in future potential. If he went down this road, it’ll become more of a business-type connection; one that is fragile and easily broken once Luo Ke becomes powerful.
Therefore, Huang Xue decided that it should be time...show a bit of his “capability”. His strength is already clear. Then what other qualities should be ‘displayed’ next? His leadership skill? Heroic disposition? Upright moral? Or should he go support Luo Ke’s family to show his good will?
However, from the intel that Huang Xue received, he learned that Luo Ke’s parents had long passed away. There are no other blood relatives connected to Luo Ke either.
From the age of twelve, Luo Ke had struggled within the jungle of the fitness by himself. His cultivation talent was originally ordinary until his fourteenth birthday, wher he met with a fortuitous opportunity. From that point on, Luo Ke experienced a great improvement in his power and he joined the Six Ocean Sect when he reached the age of sixteen. It was said that the thirteenth elder, Hong Wu, was the one who introduced Luo Ke into the sect, promoting him instantly to an inner disciple.
After deeper digging, Huang Xue learned that Luo Ke was reported to have tested out a Clear Root talent during his assessment! This news had only recently been released, too. As to why it was withheld until now, Huang Xue did not care too much about it. Internal struggles, fear of outside interventions, and what not. They mean very little to him.
Moreover, from the various reported fights that Luo Ke had participated in, Huang Xue gained a reinforced understanding of the former’s character. The child was resolute, alright, up to the point where he could be considered doggedly stubborn; if an opponent seeked trouble, he was not afraid to stir up trouble on stage - or even behind the scene.
But fortunately, it seems that Luo Ke was not the type to blindly engage in hopeless battles. Even when he fought those of a higher stage, he supposedly had a plan to win. At least, in such fights, Luo Ke had never been easily swept aside.
These were the thoughts Huang Xue got from hearing the reports given by the Shen clan.
“At least, this child is seems determined in his martial path.” was what Huang Xue concluded.
Out of the two weeks period of seclusion, Huang Xue spent the last two days in complete quiet to consolidate his foundation. He refused to meet anyone, even the intel reporters, for those two days. And today, was the first time he was coming out his meditation.
As Huang Xue walked through his courtyard, he took a glance at his surrounding before he took a deep breath, apparently feeling satisfied.
“This Six Ocean Sect is built upon a Qi Vein that runs through this land, stemming its outreach within a thousand kilometers. The dense Earth Qi and Heaven Qi in this location are due to that, albeit they’re still severely lacking.” Huang Xue thought silently.
“But if I can utilise the resources in this sect, along with those from the Shen clan, they can provide the best environment for Luo Ke to grow…”
Even though the Shen clan was a major clan in the Long Dynasty, its resource vault was not limitless. Having an additional resource vault would prove to only have more benefit anyways.
As for seeking assistance from the Godly Supreme Hall, it’s not realistic. First, being the huge distance between the two regions. And second, any activity within a paragon-like sect such as the Godly Supreme Hall would inevitably be found out eventually by the other powerhouses within the Upper Region, in particular, the other Three Absolute Grand Sects.
Huang Xue did not want to see other powers coming to the Long Dynasty to interfere or even investigate with his business.
And when it came to using Huang Xue’s own resources, they’re even more limited. While there were some great pills and artifacts in Huang Xue’s cosmic bag, they were still too high of a level for Luo Ke to consume or wield.
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Moreover, there are limited quantities; with precious pills and herbs numbering less than a hundred, and with everything totaling no greater than five thousand!
Even if considering the vast wealth of Qi stones, those eventually become useless past the Dao Ascent realm. In total, there were roughly a 50 million Qi stones left over. However, the Qi stones’ worth and uses are minimal, even with such quantity.
Therefore, using the Six Ocean Sect would be the best option. Their resources were much more vast than what Huang Xue has on himself. And the cultivation capital the sect has may be more suitable for lower-leveled practitioners like Luo Ke.
The pills and skills that Huang Xue has now were generally all geared towards much stronger cultivators; a misstep on his part.
Huang Xue turned towards the direction where the sect’s Main Hall was located, before he began to head towards there. However, just as he was about to leave, he felt two auras rapidly approaching him.
“Brother Huang Xue!” A clear voice suddenly called out from above.
“Hm?” Huang Xue looked up to see two young men in cyan robe treading across the sky before landing before him. A strong sense of heavenly Qi aura emanated off their body.
“Tian realm experts?” Huang Xue thought as he looked at the two newcomer. One of the youth had a muscular, buff physique, while the other one looked slim and had a scholarly air to him. It was a bit of a visual contrast when looking at the two of them side by side.
“I greet you, Brother Huang Xue!” The scholarly man spoke first as he respectfully cupped his hands toward Huang Xue. This was the same person who had called out earlier. “I am Shen Cai and this one here with me is Shen Hai. We have heard that Brother Huang Xue had come out of his seclusion, so we brothers have especially come to meet you.”
The muscular solemnly saluted Huang Xue at Shen Cai’s gesture.
In the past few days when Huang Xue was still in seclusion, he had obviously been able to detect several auras lurking around on his mountain peak. Most of them only stayed briefly before leaving while a few lingered around a bit longer. However, there was one presence that was especially filled with a faint murderous intent directed towards his room. But as that aura left quickly and Huang Xue was still busy in his thoughts, he did not pay any attention to it. Killing someone in the sect was a taboo of the highest degree, so it was relatively safe here.
“Hoh? You guys are Shen Lin’s sons?” Huang Xue asked as he sized up the two youths.
Previously, before his departure to the Six Ocean Sect, Huang Xue had accepted a request from Shen Lin to take care of his children, who were also in the sect, However, because the two had been out training, Huang Xue did not have a chance to meet them, much less give them any support as he promised.
Though, looking at their cultivation, it did not seem they would have much trouble anyways…
To enter the Tian realm before the age of thirty could be considered a genius in the Lower Regions. And in the Long Dynasty, where Profound He eccentrics often did not bother with the country’s matters, Tian realm experts were seen as top level powerhouses.
Shen Cai and Shen Hai stared at Huang Xue with an incredulous look before the scholarly youth cleared his throat and said with an awkward smile: “Ahem! Um, uh, yes. That is indeed my father’s name…We two brothers have also come to apologize for not welcoming you earlier when you first entered the sect. Because we were at a critical junction of our training, we were unable to come out and meet anyone.”
As he looked at Huang Xue, Shen Cai could not help but think to himself inwardly. “This person is indeed not native to our land. To say our father’s full name without any honorifics, either this person is simply insensitive, or he has an incredible identity that allows him to be arrogant!”
When other people mentioned the Shen clan’s patriarch, practically no one dared to say his name out directly, at least, without a proper honorific. To be able to say out the full name of someone with a high status like Shen Lin, one would either have to his direct descendants, his blood family members...or someone who has a greater status or power than the former!
Moreover, even in the presence of two Tian realm practitioners, Huang Xue’s expression did not change to that of awe, but simply indifference. If a normal practitioner stood before them, even if they were at the peak of the Jie Hai realm, the unique Heaven Qi aura from a Tian realm cultivator would have caused them to feel extremely pressured.
The density and quality of Qi between the Jie Hai realm and Tian realm were simply like heaven and earth. A 1st stage Tian realm expert can easily subdue ten peak Jie Hai experts.
Previously, the two Shen brothers had naturally received messages from their father about Huang Xue. What was told to them was that this person would be their “third brother” from now on, however, they were to treat him with the utmost respect as if they were meeting their ancestors!
With this kind of abrupt and absurd request, the brothers obviously could not comply without more information. But, despite their eagerness, their honorable father had only told him that this Huang Xue person came from a distant land, and possessed an identity...that was even higher than their Shen ancestor himself!
And knowing how serious Shen Lin was when it came to matters pertaining to the ancestor, the Shen brothers knew that their father would not lie to them about this. As such, despite Huang Xue looking younger them and even having a slightly weaker cultivation base, they treated him with great respect.
In fact, just by Huang Xue’s Jie Hai realm cultivation at the age of sixteen was enough for them to understand that even if this person did not have a powerful background, this person would at least be a peerless genius.
To enter the late stages of Jie Hai realm before the age of twenty, perhaps no more than thirty people in the entire history of the Long Dynasty had accomplished this.
When Huang Xue’s results at the testing boulder were spread across the Six Ocean Sect, it had generated a huge buzz among the community. No one could have expected a peerless genius to emerge from the freshmen’s bracket this year. And with the sudden promotion to a core disciple upon entrance, even the senior sect disciples then had no choice but to pay closer attention Huang Xue.
Despite everything happening, Huang Xue particularly did not paid much attention to these gossips about himself. He was too busy thinking of ways to find his Destined Ones, so much that these clutters of useless information held no appeal to him.
“It’s fine, it’s fine. Upgrading one’s strength must always be a priority in order to survive in this world.” Huang Xue waved off Shen Cai’s apology. He would not get angry for something as trivial as this. Whether they came to greet him in the beginning or not, it would not have mattered to Huang Xue.
“Ah, since you two are in the Tian realm, you should have been promoted to a core disciple long ago, right?” Huang Xue suddenly asked.
“Yes, we became core disciples two years ago.” Shen Cai respectfully replied.
“Then, you should know quite a bit about the sect’s internal matters by now. Tell me, besides the elders’ group and the sect master, how are the other powers distributed in the Six Ocean Sect?” Huang Xue questioned.
“Hmm...from what I can tell, the factions within the sect have considerable influence and power. The top factions are the Lost Bone Guild, the Tian Zhu Association, the Du Alliance, the Yang Faction, and our Heavenly Shen Legion. These groups are all overseen by more than one core disciple, so they have quite an influence in the sect.
In fact, the leading disciples of those factions are within the top twenty on the Sea Disciple Ranking. They even have an elder within their group, so normal factions are unable to touch them.” Shen Cai answered.
Huang Xue nodded as he said: “If that’s the case, then I’ll join your Heavenly Shen legion then. I have some things I want to achieve in this sect, so having a bit more backing will be nice.”
Shen Cai and Shen Hai’s eyes lit up at Huang Xue’s words.
“Haha, it’s a great honor if you’ll join our faction, Brother Huang Xue! I, as the faction leader, gladly welcomes you!” Shen Cai hastily said.
Originally, the Shen brothers had come to visit Huang Xue for two reasons. One was to pay their respect to this mysterious person. If their “third young master” was truly as capable as they were told by their family, Shen Cai would obviously wish to recruit such a person into their faction. Even if the chance was low, they still had to try.
After all, even though their Heavenly Shen Legion was among the top five factions in the Six Ocean Sect, they were barely managing to keep their position as the third strongest group. To have a weak faction with a strong background was dangerous in the sect, as there were naturally vicious people who would strike others when they’re down. The Shen brothers had to quickly strengthen their faction.
But who would have thought that while Shen Cai was looking for an opportunity to bring this matter up, the other party would simply give their consent on their own?
“Mmn.” Huang Xue gave a smiling nod. “Right, since you guys had especially come to meet and helped answer my questions, and even allowed me to join your faction, I will not be stingy. Take these.”
With a flip of his sleeve, Huang Xue threw a silver cosmic bag to Shen Cai.
“Inside, there are 500 thousand Qi stones along with a few Tier-2 pills. You can use those to recruit more students or strengthen our faction even more. If not, you can just use it all for yourself, either way is fine with me.” Huang Xue nonchalantly said.
Shen Cai’s eyes widened, looking at the sudden wealth in his hand. Off to the side, even Shen Hai had a hard time comprehending the situation. While the 500,000 Qi stones are not a lot, it was still typically not possible for a person to just give away so much that easily. That is, unless that person is filthy rich or has an enormous backing…
Shen Cai quickly calmed down as he back at Huang Xue, a hint of admiration and curiosity twinkled within his eyes. “Then, I will thank you for your generosity, Brother Huang Xue!”
There was no need to act courteous or refuse Huang Xue’s help. With the other party’s carefree attitude and good will, it really did not seem like the things he gave them were significant in any way. If that was so, then it would only be appropriate that they give their thanks and just accept the gift.
As for Huang Xue, the reason for his generosity was because he wanted to help the Shen brothers, as he had promised Shen Lin. Disregarding if he knew Shen Lin well or not, the latter could be considered a subject of his. And when making a promise to one’s subject, no matter how small, was important. That was what Huang Xue thought.
“If there is anything that Brother Huang Xue needs in the future, just come visit us at our mountain peak.” Shen Cai said as he handed a wooden slip to Huang Xue. “This special wood slip will help guide you to our place so that you would not get lost within the surrounding thousand mountain peaks. It is also the headquarter of our Heavenly Shen Legion. And since Brother Huang Xue looked like he needed to go somewhere, we two brothers will not hold you up any longer. When you have the time, do pay us a visit! We will be sure to properly receive then.”
Huang Xue and the Shen brothers chatted a bit more before the two departed away through the air.
Without a word, Huang Xue then began to walk down the mountain peak.