54: All parties were shocked

Clang ~

The bell signaling the end of the sect assessment immediately echoed after the Saintess departed, but even as the bell slowly faded into silence, the fervent atmosphere within the sect showed no signs of dissipating.

Although there were only four newcomers in this assessment, the results shocked everyone.

Following the First Patriarch and the current Saintess, the third Golden Lotus Prodigy was born!

Moreover, it even drew the personal presence of Saintess Ji Ru Qianlong.

Before this, who could have imagined that a simple sect assessment would cause such a dramatic stir.

It is conceivable that this stir would definitely not be limited to the Holy Emperor Sect.

Soon, the news of the Holy Emperor Sect producing its third Golden Lotus Prodigy would spread like a storm, sweeping through the various major forces in the Central Plains, until it reached all corners of the world.

This was simply because the Holy Emperor Sect's Heavenly Ladder Golden Lotus evaluation was too legendary!

The two individuals who received the Golden Lotus evaluation before Lin Yang were one a truly deceased Great Emperor, and the other, the only Great Completion Holy Body female in the current era.

Under such circumstances, it was impossible for Lin Yang, this third Golden Lotus Prodigy, not to attract attention!

Furthermore, a tall tree catches the wind; once the news spread, those with ulterior motives would surely target Lin Yang.

In front of true Martial Dao powerhouses, the current Lin Yang was still too weak.

Any Saint Realm expert could easily kill him a thousand times over.

However, Lin Yang was not particularly afraid of this.

After all, he had Aili, whose strength was unknown and who grew stronger with stronger opponents, by his side.

The legendary daughter of the Dragon God, naturally possessing spatial authority, even a Nine-Star Saint would have to kneel and call her Lady Dragon.

According to Lin Yang's estimation, within the vast Holy Emperor Sect, perhaps only Saintess Qianlong, who had achieved Great Completion Holy Body, could render Aili helpless.

Recalling the fleeting appearance of Your Highness the Saintess earlier, a peculiar glint flashed in Lin Yang's eyes.

“This Your Highness the Saintess is truly resourceful. Her appearance just now to bestow me the title of Saint was likely intentional...”

With the Saintess's guarantee, even if external forces wished to harm him, they would first have to consider whether they could withstand the wrath of a Great Completion Holy Body.

Thus, even without Aili by his side, Lin Yang's safety was greatly assured.

-----------------

Central Plains, Heavenly Kingdom Sect.

“Useless!”

Saint Holy Son Ye Chen was furious upon hearing the news.

“Yun Bufan, that useless fellow! I told him to get rid of that Lin Yang, but instead, he not only failed to kill him but also inexplicably allowed him to become a Saint of the Holy Emperor Sect, entering Ji Ru Qianlong's sight.”

“To think that I, Holy Son Ye Chen, have been brilliant my entire life, respected among my peers, yet the Seven Ultimate Bodies I split off are all so useless? They can't accomplish anything!”

“Could it be... that the peerless Divine Ability of the Seven Ultimate Dharma Body has a problem?”

-----------------

Central Plains, Celestial Immortal Academy.

“As expected of Lin Yang, even in the Central Plains, he can still stand out among the crowd.”

Nangong Xueli was also lost in thought upon receiving the news.

“This young man of yours is quite interesting. As far as I know, the Golden Lotus phenomenon of the Holy Emperor Sect's Heavenly Ladder seems to foreshadow the potential for a Great Emperor in the future.”

Even Yao Mu was secretly startled, developing some curiosity about her Disciple's fiancé.

“My beloved actually has the potential of a Great Emperor!”

Nangong Xueli's beautiful eyes sparkled, and then she clenched her delicate fists, “In that case, I must Cultivate even harder. I absolutely cannot drag him down in the future!”

“Hehe, you don't have to underestimate yourself. Although your fiancé is indeed a bit unusual, with the lifelong spiritual power that old woman left you before her death, it's still uncertain who will drag whom down in the future...” Yao Mu chuckled.

-----------------

Eastern Desolation, Saint Essence Sect.

Within a palace permeated with a hint of feminine fragrance.

“To have actually obtained the highest Golden Lotus evaluation in the assessment, and even been conferred the title of Saint, Lin Yang truly lives up to expectations. Enduring the pain of parting to send him to the Central Plains was indeed the correct choice...”

Mu Yunxi sat on a jade bed, looking at the letter from the Central Plains, very satisfied with Lin Yang's performance, her pretty face beaming with smiles.

However, after putting down the letter, Mu Yunxi lowered her head and glanced at her lower abdomen, which seemed to have been a little unusual recently, and the smile on her face slowly disappeared.

She gently stroked it with her jade hand for a moment, and a faint worry gradually appeared between her delicate brows, as she let out a complex, soft sigh:

“It couldn't have been a one-time thing, could it...?”

-----------------

Two months later.

Two months had passed since the sect assessment that day.

During these two months, Lin Yang, apart from listening to the Saint's teachings daily like other Disciples, spent the rest of his time cultivating with all his might.

He had now successfully broken through the Realm barrier and advanced to One-Star Martial Ancestor!

During this period, he also accumulated a lot of Luck for draws and obtained many Origin Stones.

After absorbing and refining all the Origin Qi extracted from the Origin Stones, his Saint Physique Awakening degree increased significantly again, reaching a full forty percent!

Apart from this, he also did not forget to write to his Revered Master Mu Yunxi in the Eastern Desolation to report his safety and cultivation progress.

Previously in the Saint Essence Sect, Mu Yunxi would require him to periodically present his cultivation achievements for inspection.

Now, with them in different regions, the distance between the Eastern Desolation and the Central Plains was quite far. Even a Saint would take several days for a round trip, so it was naturally no longer possible for the Revered Master and Disciple to demonstrate and guide in person as before.

But once a Revered Master, always a Revered Master!

Lin Yang was a grateful person and naturally would not forget his beautiful Revered Master, who was far away, just because he was now a Saint of the Holy Emperor Sect.

Even if his body could not return, his thoughts could be conveyed to Mu Yunxi through the words in the letter.

Of course, speaking of writing letters, he naturally couldn't just write to Mu Yunxi, who was far away; writing to his little wife, who was also in the Central Plains, was his daily required lesson.

What if he didn't write to his little wife and the Luck-producing machine went on strike?

Moreover, during the process of writing letters, he also used his status as a Saint to inquire about Nangong Xueli's recent situation.

Not long ago, Nangong Xueli, with an unstoppable momentum, conquered an important checkpoint within the Celestial Immortal Academy called the Heavenly Gang Righteous Qi Tower, obtaining the ancient spiritual flame, Glazed Heart Flame, which had been passed down for thousands of years within the tower.

After refining the Glazed Heart Flame, Nangong Xueli's Realm surged, directly ascending to One-Star Martial Emperor.

When Lin Yang received this news, his head buzzed.

To think that he was exceptionally talented, aided by the System, and had been cultivating since birth, yet it had taken him a full eighteen years to reach his current cultivation.

And Nangong Xueli, after being crippled and starting cultivation anew, had not even been cultivating for a full year, yet she had already broken through the Martial Emperor Realm.

Is this even human?

Upon learning of such terrifying cultivation speed, even Lin Yang, with his Golden Lotus potential, couldn't help but exclaim internally: “Daughter of Destiny, truly terrifying!”

After the exclamation, another love letter full of affectionate concern was sent out.

-----------------

Meanwhile, above the clouds.

Xin Ru Yin, the rare beauty of the Northern Desolation, encountered once every three thousand years, was looking at the sacred and elegant Ji Ru Qianlong before her with a charming smile.

“Look, look ~ Look at your Saint. In just two months, how many love letters has he sent out? One would think his fiancée from the Celestial Immortal Academy is truly a Heavenly Immortal Reincarnation, he's so completely infatuated with her.”

Xin Ru Yin's big eyes curved into crescent moons as she smiled and teased Saintess Ji Ru Qianlong.

“If he wants to send them, let him. Isn't it normal for long-distance couples to exchange letters to maintain their feelings?”

Ji Ru Qianlong glanced at her indifferently, her tone neither warm nor cold.

“You can really keep your composure, can't you? If I were you, I would have taken advantage of the proximity and thoroughly captured that boy long ago!” Xin Ru Yin said, clenching her small hand.

Upon hearing this, Ji Ru Qianlong raised her slender brows, and a hint of a smile that wasn't quite a smile flashed in her beautiful eyes, “Xin Ru Yin, others may not know you, but I do, don't I?”

“You've been the Pavilion Revered Master of the Myriad Flowers Pavilion for over a thousand years; you're countless generations older than Lin Yang. If you're thinking of an old cow eating young grass, don't blame me for mercilessly exposing you and sending you back to the Northern Desolation.”

Ji Ru Qianlong also had a bit of a headache with this Xin Ru Yin.

Xin Ru Yin was not a Prodigy of this generation; she was actually the Pavilion Revered Master of the Myriad Flowers Pavilion who had already achieved the Saint Realm many years ago, and her current name was just an alias.

Many years ago, when Ji Ru Qianlong had just Transmigrated back from the future, she suffered severe injuries due to violating the Law of Time and Space, falling into the Northern Desolation region.

Fortunately, Xin Ru Yin saved her, allowing her to narrowly escape with her life.

In a way, Xin Ru Yin was her savior.

After receiving Xin Ru Yin's meticulous care, her injuries gradually improved, and she and Xin Ru Yin became sworn sisters, good confidantes.

Later, after her injuries healed, Ji Ru Qianlong did not forget her mission.

She parted ways with Xin Ru Yin, left the Northern Desolation alone, found an opportunity to join the Holy Emperor Sect in the Central Plains, and gradually secured the position of Saintess.

But she never expected that her good confidante, Xin Ru Yin, would actually follow her.

According to her original plan, this batch of new Disciples for the Holy Emperor Sect, apart from Lin Yang, would only include Tang Xuan and Xue Changming, two Central Plains Prodigies specifically used to cover for Lin Yang, entering the sect together.

Apart from these three, there would be no one else.

But who would have thought that at this critical moment of bringing Lin Yang into the sect, something would suddenly go wrong with her good confidante, Xin Ru Yin.

After Xin Ru Yin cultivated to the Peak of the Saint Realm, in order to glimpse the Emperor Realm, she secretly cultivated a forbidden ancient method.

As a result, she didn't see the threshold of the Emperor Realm, but instead inflicted serious Dao injuries upon herself, causing her life force to rapidly drain away.

She could not find a cure in the Northern Desolation, and in desperation, she could only rush to the Central Plains to seek help from her old confidante, Ji Ru Qianlong.

And Ji Ru Qianlong, coming from the future, was indeed incredibly powerful.

Although she also did not have a suitable method for treatment.

However, with her formidable strength, she forcibly sealed Xin Ru Yin's Dao injuries, stopping the decline of her lifespan, thus gaining enough time to find a cure.

However, this Seal was too powerful, so much so that while sealing the Dao injuries, it also sealed Xin Ru Yin's Peak Saint Realm cultivation.

The current Xin Ru Yin's cultivation was at the level of her younger self.

If she forcibly unsealed the Seal set by Ji Ru Qianlong, she could temporarily recover her Peak Saint Realm cultivation, but it would also exacerbate her Dao injuries and continue to erode her lifespan.

She would die soon after.

Therefore, unless absolutely necessary, Xin Ru Yin would not unseal the Seal Ji Ru Qianlong had placed on her.

And during this process, Ji Ru Qianlong suddenly thought of a win-win arrangement.

That was, to arrange Xin Ru Yin as the fourth Prodigy to enter the sect, and place her beside Lin Yang as a hidden Dao Protector!

One must know that the reason Xin Ru Yin risked cultivating a forbidden method to glimpse the Emperor Realm was because she had already reached the Peak of Nine Star Martial Saint but could not find a path forward.

Such powerful combat strength, and a trusted good confidante at that, reliable and reassuring; it would be a waste not to use her!

“Waaah ~”

At this moment, Xin Ru Yin, who was still completely unaware of how she had been arranged, pouted her small mouth and looked pitifully at Ji Ru Qianlong, saddened by her good confidante calling her an old cow wanting to eat young grass.