After Ling Yunzi finished speaking, he immediately coughed out a mouthful of blood, giving Tu Fang a great fright.

“Sect leader!”

Ling Yunzi waved his hand, indifferently saying, “It’s nothing, just a mouthful of blood. In order to confirm my guess, it was definitely worth it.”

Tu Fang already didn’t know what to say. That was because what was happening now had already far surpassed his understanding.

“Ah, having a low cultivation base does have its good points. The backlash wasn’t that bad. If my cultivation base was any higher, perhaps I would have already been exterminated under the Heavenly Daos,” laughed Ling Yunzi.

“Sect leader, are you ok?” asked Tu Fang.

“I’m fine. I’ve just received a backlash from the Heavenly Daos. It’ll need a couple of months to recover,” Ling Yunzi said indifferently.

“A couple of months?!” Tu Fang couldn’t believe that. Someone who had reached Ling Yunzi’s cultivation base could borrow the natural energy to heal. Even if his limbs were broken, he would still be able to quickly recover. But after just coughing up a mouthful of blood, he would need to recover for several months?

“Tu Fang, you must remember the heavens are difficult to fathom. What I did just now, you absolutely cannot repeat. This injury isn’t on my physical body, but on my soul. It’s extremely difficult to cure,” warned Ling Yunzi.

“Then do you really think doing so was worth it?” exclaimed Tu Fang.

“Haha, of course it was worth it. This kind of situation is hard to come by even once in ten thousand years. Once such a person’s cultivation base reaches a high level, his body will be masked by the Heavenly Daos and no one will be able to see through him.

“So being able to encounter such a figure is definitely a rare opportunity for us. What I did just now was probably the greatest thing I’ve ever done,” said Ling Yunzi lightly. But his gaze seemed to disdainfully look down on all the heavens.

Divergents were exceedingly rare. And Divergents amongst the human race were even rarer. And for a Divergent to be noticed before the Heavenly Daos had masked them was essentially unheard of.

Normally, only when Divergents were eliminated by the Heavenly Daos would people know what they were. It had been countless years since someone had noticed a Divergent that had yet to mature.

He had risked his own life to prove his conjecture. That was true courage. Or perhaps it was simply that the thinking of experts was not the same as ordinary people. In any case, Ling Yunzi believed it to have been entirely worth it.

“Then how should we handle Long Chen?” asked Tu Fang.

Although he had been a bit doubtful of Ling Yunzi’s words before, after Ling Yunzi had been punished by the Heavenly Daos, he had no choice but to accept them.

“Such a figure will always grow quickly like a shooting star. His light will dazzle the world, and he will step over countless experts’ corpses.” Ling Yunzi was muttering. It seemed as if he was remembering something, as certain scenes flashed through his mind.

“But unfortunately, such an existence will never be accepted by the Heavenly Daos. No matter how strong they are, they’ll all die under the power of the Heavens, not even leaving a corpse.” Ling Yunzi sighed deeply.

Divergents were not accepted by the Heavenly Daos. The stronger they were, the more powerfully they would be rejected by the Heavenly Daos. Each of them would be a shocking genius that would sweep across the world. Unfortunately, fireworks could not be sustained for more than a moment.

Within the long history of the cultivation world, such figures were like the flower known as the Queen of the Night. That flower bloomed for but one night a year, wilting before dawn. When these figures bloomed, although they would shake the entire world, their time would be over in just a moment.

“It truly is a pity.” Tu Fang also sighed.

“That’s why the current world’s strongest experts do not possess such existences. Divergents will all be pitilessly exterminated before they can manage to stand at the peak of the cultivation world. However, I really wonder just how long this Long Chen will be able to live. Will he be able to blossom with such magnificence, or will he be snuffed out before he can release such radiance?” wondered Ling Yunzi.

“So what should we do?” asked Tu Fang.

“Just let nature take its course. Such a figure has his own destiny. His lifespan has already been set by the heavens. If we try to change that course, we’ll be affected by karma. That’s something we absolutely must avoid.

“So it’ll be best if we just stay bystanders. Sometimes even being a bystander can be fun.

“Furthermore, I have a premonition that this fellow will completely overturn our Xuantian Monastery. Hehe, perhaps I will be the most successful Xuantian Monastery’s sect leader in all of history.” A bright light shined in Ling Yunzi’s eyes.

“Then this time in the Monastery Competition, do you think we can get a good ranking?” Tu Fang was also starting to be filled with anticipation.

“The Xuantian Supermonastery has 108 monasteries. In the Grand Competitions, we always end with a bottom ranking. Just thinking about it is infuriating.

“The lower ranking we get, the fewer resources we get. Our monastery hasn’t been able to break out of this vicious cycle for a thousand years. The difference between us and the other monasteries is only growing greater.

“Ever since I became the sect leader, I worked incredibly hard to change this. Unfortunately, I was never able to change this cycle. I let down my master,” sighed Ling Yunzi.

Ling Yunzi's talent was extremely great. He had stepped into the Bone Forging realm in his twenties. With a single longsword, he swept through those in his generation. He had truly been high-spirited back then.

Back then, he had paid his respects to the sect leader of that time as his master. When he was thirty-five, that sect leader passed away and he had received the position.

Recalling his master’s benevolence, Ling Yunzi had worked incredibly hard to change the situation of their monastery. He had poured in endless sweat and blood but was still powerless to change their constant defeats.

Furthermore, in the past few years, their disciples had become increasingly depressed. There were no stand-out experts rising out of them. That was even more discouraging.

But the year before this, several monster-class sprouts had registered with them. That had caused Ling Yunzi’s dust-covered heart to once more pulse with hope.

Seeing these geniuses like Tang Wan-er finally appearing, his ambition once more ignited. He was prepared to once more fight all-out and change their constant label of being a bottom-padder.

Long Chen’s appearance boosted his morale even more. In his excitement, he had even been willing to receive the Heavenly Daos’ backlash just to confirm Long Chen’s potential.

Although he had suffered the backlash, Ling Yunzi was still extremely excited. As long as Long Chen didn’t die, he would definitely shine brightly.

They had five monster-class geniuses plus one Divergent. They could definitely break out of this vicious cycle. Ling Yunzi pondered for a moment and said, “Other than Long Chen, groom the other geniuses as best as you can. They are our hope of rising up this time. Don’t worry about the cultivation resources. We must cut off any paths of retreat; this is our only chance! We must take advantage of it.”

“Yes,” said Tu Fang hastily.

“I have to go heal my wounds. During this time, the monastery will be handed to you. Remember to let everything take its course naturally. You mustn’t give Long Chen any special treatment; otherwise, our monastery will be implicated.”

Ling Yunzi gave one last warning before leaving to heal his wounds. After he left, Tu Fang looked into the distance, apprehensiveness pounding within his heart. In the end, he also disappeared.

…

At this time, within a scenic world of thousands of mountains and pools, within a beautiful immortal cave, a long-haired young woman was holding a certain comic, calmly appreciating it.

She had a jade-like face, snow-white skin, and beautiful, rippling eyes whose gaze cleansed a person’s heart and soul. The entire immortal cave became a fairyland due to her presence.

Gently touching the pages of the comic, that resolute face which still held a trace of tender youth was smiling.

“Long Chen, now you’ve also stepped onto the path of cultivation. Did you do that because of me?” Meng Qi’s cherry lips opened as she faintly sighed.

“Hehe, sister, you’re once more secretly longing for love.” Suddenly, another maiden silently arrived beside Meng Qi and laughed.

“Fang-er, you… don’t be so distasteful!” Meng Qi’s face reddened. She hastily hid the comic.

“Haha, our Wind Spirit Pavilion’s number one beauty has finally fallen for someone. I wonder just how many people’s hearts will be broken.” Lu Fang-er had no intention of letting Meng Qi off as she winked at her teasingly.

“Fang-er… if you continue…,” raged Meng Qi.

“I, of course, had long since known such a day would come. Now that you finally have a boyfriend, do you still need this sister for anything?” A mischievous light shined in Lu Fang-er’s eyes as she feigned sorrow.

“You…!”

“Ah, I’m just joking sister! Don’t be so petty.” Afraid Meng Qi would actually become angry, Lu Fang-er gently pulled on her arm and laughed. “This Long Chen really is amazing. In the Blood Condensation realm, he was able to consecutively kill Tendon Transformation experts. Furthermore, it was said that one of them was even a sect disciple. It really is inconceivable.” After laughing, Lu Fang-er puzzled over this mystery.

Through a couple of their methods, they had managed to keep track of what was going on with Long Chen. Yesterday, news had come from Phoenix Cry which had completely shocked them.

Meng Qi’s blush finally retreated now. A trace of warmth flashed within her beautiful eyes. “Although I haven’t been in contact with him much, I can tell he’s someone who will never give up. To obtain such a powerful heart, I believe he must have already suffered unimaginable bitterness.”

“In order for a person to distinguish themselves, they must endure and suffer greatly outside other people’s eyes as tempering. That is a rule that has never changed. Long Chen might have been able to obtain the Xuantian Monastery’s registration card, but the Xuantian Monastery’s disciple selection is famously harsh. It isn’t sure whether or not Long Chen can pass,” sighed Lu Fang-er somewhat worriedly.

Meng Qi once more took out that comic. Looking at that figure that was just like a war god, a warm feeling arose in her heart.

Long Chen, I believe in you. I’m looking forward to the time when I can see you once more.

…

“Stop! This path was opened by me, and these trees were planted by me, so you have to-”

An ear-ringing slap viciously landed on that person’s face, interrupting him. Long Chen pointed at that person and cursed,

“Do you think I’m an idiot? These trees have all lived for thousands of years. At that time, your ancestors were still just rolling around in the mud. These trees were planted by you?”

Long Chen had just been walking, minding his own business, when some fool had jumped out with an ax, actually thinking of robbing Long Chen.

That person was slapped dizzy and only came to his senses after a while. When he did, he looked at Long Chen with horror. “You… you…”

That person only stuttered for a moment before crawling up frantically and rushing away. As he ran, he repeatedly berated himself.

He cursed his own stupidity. He couldn’t even see through just who he was trying to rob and ended up trying to rob this demon king. He escaped in an instant.

Watching that person miserably flee, Long Chen just shook his head. Even someone with this level of intelligence had come here. It really did cause him to be speechless.

For a moment he thought about taking his jade tile, but he still decided that there was no point in it. He didn’t really have time to waste. Once he ran into someone who had already collected them all, he could just directly snatch them then.

Honestly speaking, Long Chen wasn’t interested in bullying novices. There were plenty of experts around if he wanted entertainment.

Long Chen followed the mountain range as he walked. Suddenly, his eyes brightened.

“Immortal Chrysanthemum!”

Atop a stone cliff was a plant around a foot tall. Its body was actually the shape of a man, and at the spot of the head was a small blossom that looked just like a miniature sunflower.