302: Lion Lord

"Boom, rumble..."

"Look, it's the direction of Holy Son Peak! Could the Saint be undergoing a tribulation to achieve Immortal Ascension?"

A Disciple pointed toward Holy Son Peak with a face full of shock, his eyes filled with disbelief.

The companion beside him was much calmer.

"Are you stupid? The Saint only recently entered the Nascent Soul stage. If he were to have a Breakthrough, it would be to the Soul Transformation stage."

"Besides, you're quite old yourself. Can't you even distinguish a Core Formation Lightning Tribulation?"

The Disciple was stunned by the remark. Seeing the mocking gazes from those around him, he still stubbornly argued back.

"What if the Saint is exceptionally gifted and can condense a second Golden Core?"

Seeing his flushed face and stubborn attitude, everyone felt embarrassed for him. They couldn't be bothered to argue further and turned their gazes back to Holy Son Peak.

"I heard the Saint keeps a cat. Looking at this commotion, it's likely that cat is breaking through."

"A cat? Why did I hear he was raising a white tiger?"

"A white tiger? Wasn't there a rumor that he's keeping an extremely beautiful girl?"

"Shh! Keep it down, do you want to die?"

"That's the freaking Saint!"

"The Saint hates it most when people say he looks like a woman. Do you want to end up like that Senior Brother from back then, who is still reflecting before a wall for his loose tongue?"

At the mention of that Senior Brother, everyone couldn't help but sigh.

Back then, he was one of the Senior Brothers responsible for receiving new Disciples, but he was later punished for a certain reason and hasn't been seen since.

Some felt pity and even secretly set up a cenotaph for him as a sign of remembrance.

"Speaking of which, this Lightning Tribulation has been gathering for ages. Why hasn't it struck yet?"

"Exactly. I still have a furnace of pills burning. I'm just waiting to finish watching this before going back to continue refining, otherwise it'll be a waste of effort."

"Senior Brother, when do you supply the Medicinal Pill Hall?"

"I'll make sure to avoid those days and not go shopping then."

"What nonsense! Even if the pills from our Pill Peak are of ordinary quality, they are all sold to customers raising spirit pets or supplied at low prices to Body Cultivators and Sword Cultivators. When have you ever needed to avoid us?"

"We also value our reputation very much."

After a few jokes, the crowd quieted down again, their eyes focusing on Holy Son Peak once more.

A similar scene was occurring in the Sect Main Hall.

"Ho, this must be that kid Zhou Yan's doing, right?"

"Such a pure Divine Path cultivation method—where did he get it from?"

"I'd say it's not inferior to the private legacies of those old Taoist geezers."

Fifth Elder looked at the lightning gathering in the sky, showing a look of great interest.

"Old man, put away your devious thoughts! If you dare plot against Zhou Yan, I'll let you taste my Electric Chair Model II!" Fourth Elder grabbed Fifth Elder by the neck, forcing him to plead for mercy repeatedly.

"I was wrong, I was wrong! Fourth Brother, let go! This Physical Body was just repaired; it can't take much tossing around!"

Besides those two, the Sect Master and the Third Elder were also present in the hall.

"Old Second, it seems your previous arrangements actually disrupted Zhou Yan's plans instead."

"Isn't this Divine Path Legacy more useful than the tasks you assigned?"

"Even if you did nothing and let him figure it out himself, he should have been able to reach the Middle Stage of the Nascent Soul before the Three Sects Martial Competition."

"With his strength, securing a good rank is more than enough. Why bother with unnecessary actions?"

"You can't say that. I am, after all, the Sect Master of a Sect; I must consider the big picture." Sect Master Qingxu spoke in a relaxed tone, as if joking.

"Since I promised Old Fifth to help Long Tianxing avoid a segment of Karma, I might as well take this Opportunity to settle it all at once."

"As an Immortal Reincarnation, Zhou Yan is perfect for taking on Long Tianxing's Karma."

"This way, Long Tianxing avoids a death match, and the Opportunity isn't wasted."

"Moreover, this time I also helped Wang Yao temporarily lift his restrictions."

"This way, both Long Tianxing and Wang Yao can achieve Core Formation, making them both eligible for the Three Sects Martial Competition."

"The Opportunity wasn't lost, and I deliberately hid the truth from the Miechen Sect. In the future, they will only think it was Long Tianxing's doing."

"Due to past grudges, they will definitely trouble him, so Long Tianxing won't lack for training through experience."

"If you add the benefits Jiang Hongyue and Niu Zhiyuan received, this move of mine could be described as winning big."

Seeing his smug expression, and then seeing Old Fifth—who, despite being restrained by Fourth Elder, was still glaring red-eyed at Old Second—it was clear to anyone that the only one who truly 'won big' was likely the Sect Master himself.

"Solving problems with problems... You only did a bit of coordination throughout and paid no price to settle things. If anyone should be thanked, it's Zhou Yan. What does it have to do with you?" Third Elder retorted bluntly.

Old Second wasn't angry, merely giving a crooked smile.

"See, Old Fifth isn't saying anything either."

Fourth Elder sensed something, exchanged a glance with Old Fifth, and immediately let go.

Old Fifth's body flickered, turning into a phantom as he snatched Sect Master Qingxu's pants and bolted.

Only a shrieking phantom was left in his place.

Fourth Elder tacitly took out a recording Magic Treasure and began filming, waiting for the other party to trigger the trap he had already set underfoot.

Third Elder witnessed everything. Seeing Sect Master Qingxu left in only a pair of flowery boxers, he didn't expose the situation and instead helped cover it up.

"By the way, that Disciple surnamed Fan under Eldest Brother—why haven't you released him yet?"

"If I hadn't heard the Juniors mention it, I would have thought this matter was long over."

The Sect Master slapped his forehead upon hearing this and said with annoyance.

"Oops, I completely forgot."

"I originally agreed he would come out only one day later than me. How did I not remember?"

"Sigh, my memory is as small as my pettiness. No wonder that kid said I was petty at the hour of the Pig, eleven months and twenty-eight days ago... I really did him wrong."

Such shameless words were enough to make one's hands itch to hit him, yet seeing his current state made it hard to suppress a laugh.

Can't laugh, can't laugh yet.

Sect Master Qingxu casually wrote out an order to release the Disciple who was still reflecting before the wall.

As soon as that Disciple was released, he tore off his shirt and shouted to the heavens.

"I'm free!"

Then, he saw his own cenotaph.

Of course, that's a story for later.

At this moment, everyone was waiting for the lightning to fall, eager to witness the birth of a new Core Formation cultivator, especially since it was the Saint's spirit pet.

Thinking that the Saint had only been cultivating for a year and was already at the Nascent Soul stage, while even the pet by his side was entering Core Formation, it was truly enviable.

"Boom!"

The violent lightning finally struck, hitting Holy Son Peak. Simultaneously, a scream rang out.

However, that scream came from the direction of the Sect Main Hall, not Holy Son Peak.

The cultivation levels of those present were not weak, and they could all see that although the lightning was imposing, its power was weak, meant purely for tempering the Physical Body with little lethality.

Even more staggering was that after just this one strike, the tribulation clouds dispersed, as if it were just going through the motions.

Someone was just about to shout 'Heavenly Dao is unfair' when they saw the Sect Master, wearing flowery boxers, madly chasing after Fourth Elder and Fifth Elder where the scream had just come from.

Shortly after, an image/video quietly began to circulate within the Sect Market.

The protagonist was claimed to be 'not the Sect Master himself,' yet he wore familiar flowery boxers, and under his feet was a specially made small bomb.

After the bomb exploded, there was a burst of wailing, followed by a scene of the protagonist clutching his lower body and waving his hands repeatedly while shouting, 'Stop recording!'

Afterward, the Sect Master strictly investigated all markets to rectify the atmosphere, causing nearly ninety percent of such images to vanish.

Putting aside this interlude, the real protagonist of this matter and the one who gained the most, Yuan Chenling, was the true winner.

"Hahaha, I've achieved Core Formation too! Let's see who dares say I'm not a Prodigy now!"

After breaking through to Core Formation, Yuan Chenling's body grew significantly. Although he hadn't become a full-grown lion and his brown mane hadn't fully grown in yet,

his body length was already close to two meters, and he stood slightly taller than an average adult when upright.

"From now on, no one will dare shout at me! I, Yuan Chenling—no, I, the Acquired Deity Earl Spirit Lion, finally..."

"Stupid lion, time for work!"

"I gave you so much time to break through; why aren't you hurrying over now that you're done?"

"Do you not want Power Of Faith anymore?"

Qingxuan appeared and kicked Yuan Chenling, knocking him over, before disappearing after leaving those words.

Yuan Chenling quickly scrambled up and hurried back to the main city with a face full of smiles.

There was no helping it; Power Of Faith was just too good.

Not only did it help him take the final step, it even spared him from the Lightning Tribulation. No wonder the boss didn't let him face the Heavenly Tribulation head-on.

This feeling of being favored by heaven was truly delightful!