Demon Cultivators and Evil Cultivators encouraged their disciples to advance through slaughter. Killing a Holy Hall Disciple was especially prized—the better the spoils of war, the greater the reward.
The enmity between the three factions hadn't faded with time; on the contrary, it had only deepened. The older generation could no longer act rashly, as a single move could set off a chain reaction affecting the entire situation. This made the performance of their disciples all the more critical. The same held true for the Holy Hall, where disciples who killed Demon Cultivators were rewarded with a considerable number of Contribution Points.
"You're worrying for nothing. Even if we really did fight, it's not certain who would win or lose."
Wu Fatian was very confident.
"We Saint Cultivators have too many rules, unlike the unscrupulous Demon and Evil Cultivators. We can't afford to lose. I recently came upon a Thousand-Year Blood Ginseng, and I plan to refine a cauldron of Small Rejuvenation Pills for the Grand Competition in two years to give our disciples a leg up!"
"Ah, what a great idea! You have to save some for my grand-disciples!" Wu Fatian's eyes immediately widened. This was truly good stuff.
"Wu the Kid, what else are you good for besides pulling strings?" a booming voice sounded from outside.
Wu Fatian's hair practically stood on end. "You old coot! Say that again and I'll fight you for a thousand rounds!"
"Give me a break. With those Ghost Talismans of yours, you could attack me for a year and not leave a scratch!"
Thunderbolt said.
Zhou Luodan helplessly separated the two. A hundred years had passed, yet they were still the same, acting like fighting cocks every time they met.
"Senior Brothers, if you two keep causing trouble, I'll kick both Thunderlight Hall and Lingyin Hall out," Zhou Luodan said.
When their Junior Sister got angry, the two Senior Brothers immediately behaved, but they refused to back down verbally.
"Junior Sister, don't let this old geezer's Thunderlight Hall drag our Lingyin Hall down with it. We're on a completely different level!" Wu Fatian said arrogantly.
This infuriated Thunderbolt beyond belief, but the man was speaking the truth. Lingyin Hall had always been one of the top three among the Nine Halls, and now with the addition of Li Tianyi, they were more arrogant than ever. As for Thunderlight Hall...
Thunderbolt sat there, sullen and silent, which only made Wu Fatian, standing to the side, even more smug.
"Senior Brother Lei, judging by your expression, it seems you've had some sort of epiphany," Zhou Luodan said with a smile.
Thunderbolt's spirits immediately lifted. "Junior Sister, you have a keen eye! I'm preparing to enter seclusion for a while. Hmph, when I come out, Wu the Kid will be eating my dust!"
Now that Zhou Luodan mentioned it, Wu Fatian also noticed that something was different about Thunderbolt's complexion. His state was exceptionally good, a sign of an impending breakthrough. 'How could this be?'
It was easy for Body Cultivators to start on the path, but the higher they climbed, the more difficult it became.
Seeing Wu Fatian's frustrated expression, it was now Thunderbolt's turn to be smug.
Zhou Luodan was truly at a loss with these two senior brothers who acted more childishly than children.
The news that Master Zhou was going to perform Alchemy immediately spread throughout the Nine Peaks of the Holy Hall. In two years, there would be a Holy Hall Grand Competition, and the winner would receive a Small Rejuvenation Pill.
A Small Rejuvenation Pill refined by Master Zhou could grant an Immortal Root to even the most useless person, and directly raising one's level by one or two ranks was no problem. For those disciples stuck at a bottleneck and trying to break through, it was an absolutely coveted treasure.
Meanwhile, Wang Meng was guarding the Spirit Field, practicing his techniques and brandishing his broken blade. His Blast-Inducing Technique was still in the charging phase, so he didn't plan on going anywhere. He needed to reach the Fifth Layer of Life Mark to properly execute the Hinayana Sword Technique.
Wang Meng, at least, was left undisturbed. However, things had been incredibly tumultuous in Thunderlight Hall recently. The other eight Halls all knew that the Senior of Thunderlight Hall, Zhao Guang, had transferred to Dao Guang Hall. This made the already top-three Dao Guang Hall even more powerful. With the Grand Competition two years away, wasn't this practically a robbery?
And with that, Thunderlight Hall had completely lost all hope. If not for Zhao Guang, Thunderlight Hall was basically a negligible Sub-Hall. The four Elders were anxious, but there was nothing they could do. You can't force a horse to drink. With Zhao Guang's departure, several other decent Sword Cultivators left as well. They had come for the Sword Tomb in the first place, and now that the Sword Tomb was gone, who would want to stay?
It wasn't just about the Sword Tomb. "You are who you hang out with" is a timeless truth; staying with the weak would only make one weaker. Moreover, you needed strong companions to take on certain Holy Hall missions together. Another timeless truth was, "It's not a god-like opponent I fear, but a pig-like teammate."
And in the eyes of outsiders, Thunderlight Hall was practically a pigsty.
Over the years, anyone with a bit of sense had started to leave. The situation only improved with Zhao Ya's arrival, especially since she brought Zhao Guang with her. But they rose by Zhao Guang and fell by Zhao Guang. Who would have thought he would leave so decisively, taking Thunderlight's last glimmer of hope with him?
The entire Thunderlight Hall was now shrouded in a deathly stillness, and it had become a laughingstock for the other Sub-Halls.
If there was anything that gave the four Elders a sliver of hope amidst their depression, it was Hu Jing and Zhang Xiaojiang.
Zhang Xiaojiang—now respectfully called Master Zhang—had mastered the Hinayana Bow Technique after only one month of practice, and his Life Mark had risen to the Sixth Layer, stunning all the Bow Cultivators in Thunderlight Hall. Hu Jing was even more incredible. After mastering the Hinayana Returning Essence Technique, she had explosively leaped to the Seventh Layer of Life Mark, displaying astonishing talent. It was also said she had a strong Spiritual Attribute for Alchemy.
New disciples typically experienced explosive growth at the beginning of their cultivation—the more talented, the more pronounced the growth. But advancing one layer in half a year was already considered good. Who had ever seen such explosive progress, let alone from two disciples at once?
This made Zhao Ya and Wan Jing grin from ear to ear. Thunderlight Hall finally had a few good seedlings. If they were nurtured properly, even if they couldn't achieve a high ranking in the competition two years from now, they could at least save some face. After all, their cultivation time was still short.
Rankings were secondary. The key was to show everyone Thunderlight Hall's potential. Otherwise, when the Main Hall allocated resources, Thunderlight Hall would once again receive the smallest share. If this vicious cycle continued, heaven knew if Thunderlight Hall could even survive.
With the two displaying such talent, Zhao Ya and Wan Jing naturally had to cultivate them with all their might. This even led to the lazy Zhang Xiaopang being too busy to split his attention. In the past, he would have long since slipped away to mooch off Wang Meng.
Upon hearing the news, Zhang Xiaopang immediately sent his Tiger Eagle, "Chestnut," to deliver a message to Wang Meng. A good fight was their favorite thing, after all.
After completing his previous mission, the fatty had wanted to release the Tiger Eagle King, but the creature had grown attached to him and wouldn't leave no matter how he tried to drive it away. In the spirit of compassion, Zhang Xiaopang took it in. When he had nothing better to do, he would flick the Tiger Eagle's forehead, which is how it earned the name "Chestnut."
Wang Meng read the letter and a smile touched his lips. 'It's like kids playing house.' Then he suddenly thought, 'Then again, I'm a kid too. It's the taking part that counts.'
He patted the Tiger Eagle's head. "Go back and tell Zhang Xiaopang not to slack off. Otherwise, no one's going to help him when he gets beaten black and blue!"
The Tiger Eagle nodded, then cheerfully soared into the sky and disappeared. Of course, when it came to its master—who would stuff his face and sleep whenever he had a spare moment—Chestnut felt the task was immensely difficult.
As night fell, Hu Jing sat quietly in Wang Meng's courtyard. When Wang Meng went to guard the Spirit Field, he left the place in the care of Hu Jing and Zhang Xiaojiang. That lazy bum Zhang Xiaojiang was obviously unreliable, but Hu Jing would come to clean up every day. Afterward, she would sit by the chessboard and stare into space, often for one or two ancient hours at a time.
It was better now. When she first started, she would stare blankly for the entire night.