126: Chapter 126 The Echoes of the Thunder Emperor, An Unexpected Joy

That pair of eyes, purely composed of thunder, fell upon Zhao Ruoan.

Like two substantive bolts of lightning, they split open the Void Realm, intending to see through him completely from the inside out.

Zhao Ruoan stood in place with a calm expression, neither dodging nor evading.

He could sense that there was no malice in this gaze, only a kind of scrutiny and a trace of... perplexity.

"Strange..."

The aged and majestic voice sounded once more, carrying a hint of incomprehension.

"My Nine Heavens Imperial Thunder Formation was set up by drawing upon the power of the Nine Heavens divine thunder. Without being at the Late Stage Nascent Soul and holding a special token, it is absolutely impossible to forcefully break it open from the outside."

"Just now, this seat sensed that someone outside used a blood sacrifice evil technique to draw upon the power of terrestrial evil, working from the inside and outside to erode the Formation barrier to its limit."

"I originally thought that whoever came in would be a demonic heretic."

The gaze of the thunder-light figure swept back and forth over Zhao Ruoan's body.

"Yet you... on your body, there isn't a single shred of Devilish Qi and blood Evil Qi."

"On the contrary, your spiritual power is pure and vast, and your Foundation is so solid that it is the only one this seat has ever seen in a lifetime."

"More importantly, you came straight through the Formation barrier... How did you accomplish this?"

Hearing this, Zhao Ruoan understood in his heart.

It seemed that the remnant soul of Master Tianlei did not know the specific situation happening outside.

He only sensed the changes in energy.

"Senior has misunderstood."

Zhao Ruoan cupped his hands neither servile nor overbearing, and spoke:

"The evil blood sacrifice array outside was indeed created by that bunch from the Blood Fiend Sect."

"However, at the very last moment when they were about to succeed, this Junior made a move and interrupted their ritual."

"Oh?" A hint of fluctuation appeared in the thunder-light figure's tone, "You interrupted them? With just you alone?"

He could sense that Zhao Ruoan's cultivation was at the Divine Soul Realm.

Although in present-day Cang Prefecture, the Divine Soul Realm was already a top expert.

But in his era, he would at most be considered a decent Junior.

As for that power outside, it had gathered the blood sacrifice of over a hundred people, stirred up the earth vein Evil Qi, and was presided over by a Demonic Path Genius who was also at the Divine Soul Realm, and even employed an ancient demonic treasure of considerable might.

Against such power, even a Middle Stage Nascent Soul Cultivator would not dare to easily confront it head-on.

This young man said that he alone interrupted the ritual?

"This Junior merely used some clever methods."

Zhao Ruoan simply explained:

"I destroyed the Magic Treasure that served as their energy hub, causing their power to lose control and conflict with each other, ultimately triggering a violent explosion."

"The breach in the thunder domain barrier was also blasted open at that time."

He did not describe in detail how he played the role of the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind, and simply glossed over it lightly.

But even so, it was enough to make the remnant soul of Master Tianlei feel surprised.

"Clever methods? Being able to accurately find the opponent's flaw among thousands of troops and deliver a fatal blow with a single strike is not a clever method, but great wisdom and great courage!"

In the thunder-light figure's voice, there was an added trace of approval.

"Not bad, not bad! Heart-Nature, resourcefulness, and bravery are all of the absolute highest tier! It seems that this seat's Legacy is destined to have no affinity with evil demons!"

He seemed very happy.

"Junior, step forward and let this seat examine your bone structure."

Following the instruction, Zhao Ruoan walked up the high platform and came before the thunder-light figure.

"Hum—!"

A gentle yet vast force of thunder surged into Zhao Ruoan's body, beginning to probe his Aptitude.

The next moment, the grand hall fell into a dead silence.

The thunder-light figure's palm stopped above Zhao Ruoan's head, motionless.

The entire figure flickered violently, resembling a TV snow screen with bad signal, seeming as though it could collapse at any moment.

After a very, very long time.

A voice carrying extreme shock, and even stuttering slightly, finally came out from the figure.

"Immortal... Immortal... Immortal Rank Grade 9?!!"

"This... How is this possible?!!"

The remnant soul of Master Tianlei completely lost its composure.

Having dominated the ancient times, the geniuses and prodigies he had seen were as numerous as crucian carp crossing a river, countless.

Whatever Heaven Rank High Grade, whatever Saint Body Dao Fetus, he had seen them all.

But Immortal Rank Aptitude only existed in legends! It was a supreme divine posture as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns even in the Immortal Realm, hard to encounter across ages!

Moreover, it was the pinnacle among Immortal Ranks—Grade 9!

A person with this kind of Aptitude, as long as they did not perish halfway, was destined in the future to become a peerless overlord, or even existences contending for the emperor's throne!

"You... Exactly who are you?!!"

The look in Master Tianlei's eyes as he looked at Zhao Ruoan completely changed.

Shock, astonishment, and even... carrying a trace of awe!

He even suspected whether this young man before him was some Immortal Emperor bigwig who had nothing better to do and ran to the Lower Realm to experience life.

"This Junior, Qingxuan Sect Disciple, Zhao Ruoan."

Zhao Ruoan calmly reported his name and title.

He had long anticipated this result.

His Immortal Rank Grade 9 talent was given by the System, and certified by his Revered Master Yun Qinghan, who was an Immortal Emperor Reincarnation.

To the remnant souls of these ancient mighty figures, this was undoubtedly a dimensional reduction strike.

"Qingxuan Sect... Zhao Ruoan..."

Master Tianlei muttered to himself, struggling to calm his churning mind.

Having lived for endless years, even as a mere remnant soul, his state of mind should have long been as calm as an ancient well. But today, there was simply no way for him to remain calm.

Immortal Rank Grade 9!

These four words carried far too much weight!

He suddenly understood.

Why the plan meticulously plotted by the Blood Fiend Sect for generations had fallen short at the very last moment.

Why the Legacy he had waited for three thousand years ultimately waited for such a young man.

This was no coincidence!

This was the will of heaven!

It was the vague Dao guiding all of this!

His Legacy was simply not prepared for that bunch of evil demons from the Blood Fiend Sect.

Instead, it was a small "welcome gift" prepared for the future overlord possessing the Immortal Rank divine posture right before him!

Having figured this out, Master Tianlei's mindset shifted from "testing the successor of the Legacy" to "forging a good karma."

Are you kidding? Acting as a half-guide for a future Immortal Emperor, this good karma was forged on a massive scale! In the future, he might even have the opportunity to reshape his true body and live another life through this!

"Ahem."

The thunder-light figure gave two light coughs, withdrew his palm, and his tone became incomparably amiable.

"Zhao... Little Friend Zhao, you truly are an eternal Prodigy, a dragon and phoenix among men! Old man, I lost my composure just now."

Watching this one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn in his attitude, Zhao Ruoan felt a bit like laughing inside, but on the surface, he still maintained his modesty.

"Senior flatters me excessively."

"No, no, no, it is not excessive flattery, it is a fact!"

Master Tianlei waved his hand repeatedly, afraid of slighting this "future bigwig."

"Little Friend, to tell you the truth, this seat's Dao name is Tianlei, and I was a Loose Cultivator of the ancient era. Back then, fighting a great battle against an otherworldly heavenly demon, although I finally slew it, this seat also suffered heavy injuries and my Lifespan was nearing its end."

"Having no other choice, I could only pass away here and set up this Immortal Cave, hoping to pass down everything I learned in my lifetime, which can also be considered preserving a spark for the Righteous Path of our Human Race."

"In my entire life, what this seat hates the most are scum like the Blood Fiend Sect who treat living beings as straw dogs and Cultivate malicious Demonic Techniques. Just now, if that Demonic Path brat had truly obtained this seat's Legacy, this seat probably wouldn't have been able to rest in peace even in death!"