Chapter 267 - 226: The Heavenly Sovereign’s Personal Disciple

Chapter 267: Chapter 226: The Heavenly Sovereign’s Personal Disciple

"Someone’s come out of the Secret Realm."

"So soon? It’s been less than a day, hasn’t it?"

Amidst the crowd’s confusion, Zhang Ji, who had activated his Token, was teleported to the Secret Realm Plaza.

Watching from a distance, the expression on Feng Chen’s face shifted as he looked at Zhang Ji.

He hadn’t expected Zhang Ji to come out after only a single day.

"It’s all right. You’ll have other chances to enter different Secret Realms in the future," Feng Chen said, trying to console him.

He clearly assumed Zhang Ji had gained nothing and had run into trouble, forcing him to activate his Token and flee immediately.

Just as Zhang Ji was about to explain, Master Huaxiang, who had been sitting quietly in the distance, appeared before the two of them.

"Master Huaxiang," Feng Chen said, performing a salute.

Zhang Ji followed suit with a salute of his own.

Master Huaxiang stared at Zhang Ji for a moment, then abruptly poked a finger toward him.

It was a good thing Zhang Ji didn’t lash out instantly. The finger stopped about two inches from his brow, and a moment later, a special blue pattern materialized.

"A Celestial Monarch Seal."

The elder guarding the Secret Realm exclaimed in astonishment.

Zhang Ji was also a little shocked. ’Someone secretly left a mark on me, and I didn’t even notice?’

’This technique is truly unusual. It seems only the experts of the Qingcang Sect can see it...’

Master Huaxiang retracted their finger, and the seal receded back into Zhang Ji’s body.

"Have you seen Celestial Monarch Qin?"

The question was tinged with a slight spiritual fluctuation, enough to make an ordinary Molting Realm cultivator spill everything they knew.

Zhang Ji had no intention of exposing everything, so he carefully chose his words, revealing only what was safe to say.

"I saw him in the tower," Zhang Ji said. "He passed the Nine Marvels Dao Scripture on to me."

He didn’t say how he had met him or how the inheritance was passed down, and Master Huaxiang couldn’t probe for those details either.

Some information involved matters of great karma, making it impossible to trace or view, even for a super S-rank expert at the Profound Heart Realm.

Information of that magnitude was impossible to pry out, even if one were to drain a person dry.

Hearing Zhang Ji’s words, Master Huaxiang looked as if they had expected it. Feng Chen and the elder guarding the Secret Realm, however, stared with wide eyes. The many instructors from the other peaks were also looking at Zhang Ji and Master Huaxiang in utter disbelief.

Feng Chen had thought Zhang Ji had gotten nothing in such a short time, but it turned out he had won the grand prize.

No, it was more than the grand prize. This was the jackpot.

"Do you want to stay on Huaxiang Peak? I will teach you myself. Once you reach the Profound Heart Realm, I’ll let you become the Peak Master," Master Huaxiang said to Zhang Ji.

Faced with a Peak Master from a main peak trying to poach his disciple, Feng Chen was clearly anxious. But he couldn’t utter a single word. In the presence of a Profound Heart Realm mighty figure, if he wasn’t given permission to speak, he couldn’t speak.

Hearing this, Zhang Ji began to understand Celestial Monarch Qin’s intention in leaving the seal on him.

’This is to help confirm my identity so I can get more benefits and grow more easily!’

Faced with Master Huaxiang’s invitation, Zhang Ji was tempted.

’If I could deal directly with the Peak Master of a main peak, wouldn’t the many hidden resources of the Qingcang Sect be within my grasp?’

Just as Zhang Ji was about to agree, an illusory, human-like figure suddenly materialized in front of Master Huaxiang.

It was a red-haired youth in orange-red robes. He spoke up, "Guo Huaxiang, you’re trying to steal my people too? Come on, let’s have a go!!"

Of course, Zhang Ji recognized this person. It was none other than the Peak Master of Divine Peak, Ji Ziyang.

Zhang Ji glanced discreetly at Feng Chen. Ji Ziyang’s sudden arrival via message was clearly Feng Chen’s doing.

"Ji Ziyang, he is Celestial Monarch Qin’s personal disciple. Where he goes is not for you to decide. Only his own decision matters," Master Huaxiang said, their expression unchanging.

With that said, they waved a hand and scattered Ji Ziyang’s projection.

Just as Master Huaxiang was about to ask for Zhang Ji’s opinion again, an angry roar that shook the heavens rang out.

"Guo Huaxiang, you shattered my Divine Intent! Are you looking for a fight?"

Along with the roar, a massive streak of red light arrived above Huaxiang Peak almost instantly, heading straight for the Secret Realm Plaza.

The next moment, the red-haired man in orange-red robes, Ji Ziyang, appeared in the plaza.

Master Huaxiang’s brow furrowed almost imperceptibly. They stepped in front of Zhang Ji, blocking Ji Ziyang’s approach.

Ji Ziyang paid it no mind, however, raising a hand to push Master Huaxiang aside. In response, Master Huaxiang reached out to grab Ji Ziyang’s palm.

The next moment, their two palms touched lightly.

On the surface, it was a light touch, but in that instant, the space within their palms distorted slightly. A majestic power was released, only to be instantly controlled and absorbed by the two of them, preventing it from spreading.

"Guo Huaxiang, you didn’t even say a word before trying to take a disciple from my Divine Peak?" Ji Ziyang said angrily.

"Well, you know now, don’t you?" Master Huaxiang said calmly.

"Yes, and my answer is no," Ji Ziyang said.

"He is a Celestial Monarch’s personal disciple. Not even the Sect Leader could decide whether he stays or goes," Master Huaxiang said. "You have to ask him yourself."

Hearing this, Ji Ziyang looked at Zhang Ji behind Master Huaxiang and forced an ugly smile onto his face. "You’re Li Long, right? Let’s go back to Divine Peak. There’s nothing good here. Once we’re back, I can teach you Divine Peak’s secret legacy, the Azure Dragon God-Stinging Skill. It’s a top-tier Profound Tier method that can lead to the Profound Heart Realm upon mastery. Also, any high-level secret medicines or Magical Artifacts in the Secret Medicine Repository and Magical Artifact Armory are yours for the taking, as long as you have a use for them... And in the future, when you reach the Profound Heart Realm, the position of Divine Peak’s Peak Master can be yours too..."

Master Huaxiang heard this and turned to Zhang Ji. "Actually, staying on Huaxiang Peak or Divine Peak is more or less the same. As a Celestial Monarch’s personal disciple, you can choose your own path and indirectly enjoy the resources of a main peak’s Peak Master through your affiliation. No matter which peak you go to, we can receive extra benefits because of you. However, Huaxiang Peak has more of the methods originally passed down by Celestial Monarch Qin. It would be relatively better to study the Nine Marvels Dao Scripture here."

At this moment, Master Huaxiang was taking a step back to advance.

On the surface, they seemed to be laying out the facts and reasoning with Zhang Ji, but in reality, they were subtly elevating their own peak.

Ji Ziyang naturally understood Master Huaxiang’s tactic but didn’t say much more. If Zhang Ji didn’t choose his Divine Peak, he wouldn’t force the issue. He had come here purely because he couldn’t stomach the insult.

Zhang Ji read between the lines of Master Huaxiang’s words and understood a deeper meaning.

’So the reason I’m such a hot commodity right now is because my new status can help the Peak Masters apply for more "funding"?’

’Also, I can choose my own path and go to any peak.’

’Does that mean I’m not tied down to just one?’

’In that case, why should I limit myself to a single peak?’

"Can I experience both?" Zhang Ji asked, feigning curiosity.

"What?" Ji Ziyang seemed a little confused.

"I’d like to spend some time on both peaks to see which one is a better fit for me..." Zhang Ji said shamelessly.

"You brat, you’re really greedy!" Ji Ziyang laughed, amused. He said, "Fine, we’ll do it that way. You can return to Divine Peak for this month, then go to Huaxiang Peak next month. Guo Huaxiang, you don’t have a problem with that, do you?"

"Fine. There is precedent for this, so it is acceptable," Master Huaxiang nodded and said. "I’m just concerned that if he learns too many different things, it will hinder his cultivation progress."

Hearing this, Zhang Ji’s expression flickered slightly.

’I’m not the first one to pull a slick move like this?’

’There have been other personal disciples of Celestial Monarchs who’ve done the same thing in the past?’

"Can a Celestial Monarch’s personal disciple be compared to an ordinary prodigy? Guo Huaxiang, for you to worry about this is to underestimate the Celestial Monarch’s judgment!" Ji Ziyang scoffed.

After some bickering, Zhang Ji’s arrangements were settled.

He would be jointly nurtured by the two main peaks.

He could use the resources of whichever peak he was on.

All the cultivation methods and so on would be laid out for him to choose from; he could learn whatever he wanted.

Furthermore, if he wanted to spend time on other peaks later, their Peak Masters likely wouldn’t refuse either. It was simply too good to be true.

The Dharma Seal that Celestial Monarch Qin had given Zhang Ji had basically unlocked a free-roam mode for him.

Of course, the Peak Masters weren’t willing to accept this for no reason.

It was because for any resources Zhang Ji used, the Peak Masters could directly apply to the Sect for reimbursement, and they could even add a little something for their trouble.

This "fee" was actually quite substantial, which was precisely why they were fighting over where Zhang Ji would go.

Afterward, Ji Ziyang personally led Zhang Ji and Feng Chen back to Divine Peak.

Upon returning to Divine Peak, Ji Ziyang didn’t change Zhang Ji’s cultivation residence. He only did a few things for him.

He upgraded his status. Zhang Ji skipped from an Upper-Path Disciple, bypassing the rank of True-Hearer Disciple, directly to [Celestial Monarch’s Personal Disciple].

In terms of status, it was equivalent to that of a main peak’s Peak Master.

At the same time, all of Divine Peak’s resources were opened to him. He could go to any treasury or the Scripture Hall as he pleased. After registering, he could basically take whatever he wanted without limit.

The contribution point value on his identity tablet was also changed to an unlimited symbol.

It was like activating an infinite money cheat.

However, it seemed there was still a purchase limit, but it was an extremely high one.

With the resources a main peak’s Peak Master could expend, contribution points would truly be just a number to Zhang Ji from now on. He could use as many as he wanted.

After all this was done, Zhang Ji returned to Pure Heart Hall. Feng Chen exchanged a few words with him and then left as well, not wanting to disturb him and giving him space to process everything that had happened.

Of course, given who Zhang Ji was, he wasn’t going to have huge emotional swings like a normal young man.

In his room, he reached up and covered the spot between his eyebrows.

The next moment, a Dharma Seal shimmering with blue light was pulled out by him.

After examining it for a while, Zhang Ji roughly figured out how it worked.

’This thing is just an energy imprint; there’s no profound technique to speak of.’

’The truly incredible part is that it was directly imprinted into my spatiotemporal information.’

’Without mastering a special technique, and without a high enough cultivation level, it’s impossible to perceive.’

The only reason Zhang Ji could find it was because he had seen Master Huaxiang draw it out, which allowed him to grasp the corresponding technique.

After a moment’s hesitation, Zhang Ji chose not to destroy it, deciding to keep it instead.

With this seal on him, getting by in the Qingcang Sect would be much easier.

Speaking of which, each of the Qingcang Sect’s ten main peaks had its own ultimate Secret Skill. The sect had produced five Returning Void Celestial Monarchs in its history, all of whom had left behind Secret Realms and inheritances. There were also other high-level resources. He could try to scheme for all of them now; there was no need to be satisfied with just obtaining the [Intercept] technique.