Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Though the Guiyao planet was some distance away from the Tielao planet, a planet with an interstellar teleporter was still closer to the Guiyao planet.
This was why the people of the Lightning Sword Sect had left directly from the Tielao planet, tearing through space to move towards the Guiyao planet.
Zhou Donghuang was taken back by the sights he saw along the way. He saw a few planets illuminated by the glow of the central star in the Hengliu galaxy, which gleamed magnificently. It was absolutely resplendent.
“The Guiyao planet is right up ahead.”
A voice accompanying the Lightning Sword Sect Leader, Yu Yucheng called out. Zhou Donghuang subconsciously raised his head and saw a planet covered by intertwining colors of gray and green which brought out the little bits of blue on the planet.
Zhou Donghuang was certain of one thing: the grayish-green portions were the land, as well as the rivers and lakes, of the planet. As for the blue portions, those were most likely the oceans. The planet was less blue than it was gray and green.
The other thing was this: there was a layer of air encapsulating the planet. It was not so much white as it was a grayish brown, which seemed a little odd.
“That’s a lot of people!”
After he took a step to move closer, he heard a smattering of shocked exclamations from beside him. He then realized that there were quite a lot of people standing in groups on the planet they were approaching.
It was obvious that these were people from the other sects of the alliance.
“The alliance has a total of 52 sects… There are more than 2,000 Dharma disciples taking part in the hunt this time. It seems like there aren’t even a thousand people here now, so it’s obvious that quite a few people have not arrived yet,” He Mengxi gently informed Zhou Donghuang from beside him.
“The hunt takes place tomorrow. Those who are not yet here should more or less arrive on time by today,” Da Zhuang said.
“Little Junior Brother.”
He Mengxi looked at Zhou Donghuang with a teasing smile on her face. “Run along and go see if your little lover’s here yet. I wouldn’t know—I’m not too familiar with the Jihan Sect.”
Although the Jihan Sect had more female than male disciples, there were actually quite a few sects in the Hengliu galaxy that had a similar demographic.
So much so that there existed a sect which only accepted female disciples!
In the face of He Mengxi’s teasing, Zhou Donghuang could do little but look up helplessly. He let his gaze sweep over the crowd in front of him, but he did not catch a glimpse of Luo Qinghan.
Evidently, Luo Qinghan had not arrived yet.
Or she was already here, just on the other side of the planet.
“Haha… You and your sect are here ahead of time too, Sect Leader Yu?”
As soon as Zhou Donghuang and the rest reached the Guiyao planet, they were greeted by a man. The man was the leader of the group of people closest to them. He was a tall, middle-aged man dressed in robes of muted gold, and he had a bushy beard. From a distance, he greeted the Lightning Sword Sect leader, Yu Yucheng, with a laugh.
It was easy to spot Yu Yucheng from where he stood, right at the front of the Lightning Sword Sect members.
“Sect Leader Zhang.”
Yu Yucheng looked at the other man with a grin on his face. “You people of the Yunyue Sect are ahead of us once again.”
“We’ve only just arrived, too.”
The middle-aged man dressed in gold shook his head with a smile, then his gaze immediately and subconsciously drifted to the people standing behind Yu Yucheng. He asked without a trace of malice, “Sect Leader Yu, I heard that there’s another mid Dharma adept in your esteemed sect now, and that he’s a genius who’s mastered Dharmic possession… He should be here this time, right?”
Since the man stood quite some distance from Yu Yucheng, everyone behind both him and Yu Yucheng could hear what he said as soon as the words left his mouth.
The group from the Lightning Sword Sect were fine. There were only a few people who unknowingly looked towards Zhou Donghuang before breaking out into whispers, “I think the Yunyue Sect leader doesn’t really know yet… Junior Brother Donghuang is already at the late Dharma stage.”
“To think that Junior Brother Donghuang’s name is so widely known that even someone as far away from our sect as the Yunyue Sect would be aware of his existence.”
“Even the news of the Thunder Knife Sect accepting Han Yuzheng, the man famed to be a once-in-a-century talent of the Tielao planet, had spread to a good half of the Hengliu galaxy… It’s only natural that the news of Zhou Donghuang taking Han Yuzheng out with a single blow is something that cannot be hidden. It’s probably safe to assume that the big sects from the alliance have already caught wind of the news.”
…
Unlike the group of Dharma disciples from the Lightning Sword Sect who were well aware of Zhou Donghuang’s abilities, those from the Yunyue Sect were looking at the group of them with doubt and uncertainty in their eyes.
“He’s got a grasp on Dharmic possession even though he’s only at the mid Dharma stage? You’re kidding, right?”
“I don’t think that’s possible either! That’s something only a few ultimate Dharma adepts are able to execute.”
“But that’s exactly what the rumors are saying.”
“Seems like it’s fake news… You know how it is, information gets twisted the further it’s spread.”
…
It was evident that the group of Dharma disciples from the Yunyue Sect did not fully believe that the Lightning Sword Sect was harboring someone who was capable of executing the Dharmic possession technique despite only being at the mid Dharma stage.
Yu Yucheng burst into laughter in the face of the Yunyue Sect leader’s question. “Sect Leader Zhang, you really are well-informed.”
“Little Junior Brother, that’s Zhang Yuanhan, leader of the Yunyue Sect,” He Mengxi said to Zhou Donghuang.
“We have quite a good relationship with the Yunyue Sect… Under the leadership of Zhang Yuanhan, their sect also has quite a remarkable mid Dharma disciple. They say that the Yunyue Sect’s strength is second only to that disciple, and they’ve never lasted more than one move against him.”
Speak of the devil.
Almost at the same time as He Mengxi finished speaking, someone appeared from behind the Yunyue Sect leader Zhang Yuanhan. A burly, young man dressed resplendently moved forward, and he lowered into a bow as he greeted Yu Yucheng. “Yuan Dong. I offer my greetings to you, Senior Uncle Yu.”
“This is the person I was talking about earlier.” At this moment, He Mengxi spoke to Zhou Donghuang again.
“He’s also done a really good job at tempering his Dharma power. Although he’s not yet at the stage of Dharmic possession, he’s pretty close to it.”
Yu Yucheng chuckled as Yuan Dong greeted him. “You’re not yet at the late Dharma stage yet, are you, Junior Nephew Yuan Dong?”
“Senior Uncle Yu, I intend to move to that stage after this hunt ends,” Yuan Dong responded mildly.
“It seems like you can make the breakthrough now, you’re just choosing not to.”
Yu Yucheng stared firmly at Yuan Dong. This was not an uncommon occurrence within the big sect of the alliance.
Choosing not to raise their level of training for their time being and choosing to join the alliance hunt by relying on their current Dharma power made it easier to accumulate points and gather more advantages.
“Junior Nephew Yuan Dong, do you plan on placing within the top ten this time?” Yu Yucheng asked.
“Hopefully so.”
As soon as Yuan Dong said that, he looked at Yu Yucheng with a fire in his eyes, then said to the latter, “Senior Uncle Yu, I know I’m no match for the genius of a mid Dharma disciple from your esteemed sect, the one who has mastered the Dharmic possession technique… However, I would still like to exchange blows with him before the alliance hunt. Would that be possible?”
The moment he said that, he followed up, “I’ve recently hit a bottleneck with my Dharma power, and it’s been difficult to move forward to learn the Dharmic possession technique.
“I would like to find out if sparring with the genius disciple from your esteemed sect will inspire me at all.”
Yuan Dong’s words were as good as a challenge to Zhou Donghuang.
Except Yu Yucheng shook his head after hearing what Yuan Dong had said. “I think it’s better if we don’t, Junior Nephew Yuan Dong.”
“Senior Uncle Yu.”
Yuan Dong spoke with a serious look on his face, “All I want is to witness his power for myself. Even if he strikes me down with one blow, I’ll acknowledge it.”
“Junior Nephew Yuan Dong, he’s already at the late Dharma stage,” Yu Yucheng said. “There is absolutely no meaning in you sparring with him.”
The Yunyue Sect disciple had initially wanted to mock the Lightning Sword Sect disciple Zhou Donghuang, although he had no right to. However, he kept his mouth shut after hearing Yu Yucheng’s response.
Yuan Dong’s face fell, but then he laughed bitterly and lamented, “He’s much bolder than I am.”
He retreated after saying that.
“Sect Leader Yu, Sect Leader Zhang.”
At this time, another group of people made their way closer from the far distance. The person at the helm was an old man dressed in robes white as his hair and eyebrows. He greeted Yu Yucheng and Zhang Yuanhan with a smile.
“Sect Leader Huang,” Yu Yucheng and Zhang Yuanhan returned the greeting in unison.
At this moment, He Mengxi introduced the man to Zhou Donghuang and Da Zhuang who were standing beside her, “This is Huang Chunqiu, leader of the Tiansong Sect.”
“Sect Leader Yu, that genius of a mid Dharma adept from your sect has quite the reputation. His name has already spread through the whole of the Hengliu galaxy, you know? He should be here now, no?”
Huang Chunqiu lead the group of people from the Tiansong Sect and moved closer, looking towards Yu Yucheng as he approached. Judging by his words, it was clear that Zhou Donghuang had piqued his interest.
“I told you, Little Junior Brother. You’re now famous in the entire the Hengliu galaxy. Even the two transcendent forces spread your name, I’m sure,” He Mengxi said with a smile.
“I’m sure that even your little lover would’ve heard of what happened… It’s strange, though, that she hasn’t come looking for you yet.
Zhou Donghuang was speechless as he stood there listening to He Mengxi speak.
The leader of the Yunyue Sect, Zhang Yuanhan, said to Tiansong Sect Leader Huang Chunqiu with a smile, “Sect Leader Huang, the Lightning Sword Sect’s genius disciple is already at the late Dharma stage.
“My disciple, Yuan Dong had wanted to look for him earlier, in hopes of sparring with him, but there was nothing he could do when he found out that the disciple was already at the late Dharma stage.
“From what I know, the last disciple you took into your sect, Mo Yitian, tempered his Dharma power enough to execute the Dharmic possession technique when he was at the late Dharma stage… Between your disciple and the one from the Lightning Sword Sect, I wonder who’s the stronger one,” Zhang Yuanhan said, curiosity brimming in his eyes.
“Sect Leader Zhang, you know how dangerous fights are. It’ll be too risky to have them spar today since the alliance hunt begins tomorrow… Even if you really want to see this clumsy disciple of mine spar with the Lightning Sword Sect’s genius disciple, at least wait until the hunt ends tomorrow,” Huang Chunqiu said with a shake of his head.
“If that’s the case, then I’ll wait and see.”
Zhang Yuanhan was not the least bit surprised to hear this response because he knew very well that the leader of the Tiansong Sect was known to be a cautious man.
Mo Yitian, the last disciple he took in, was the Tiansong Sect’s trump card for this hunt. It was natural that Huang Chunqiu would be unwilling to have the disciple spar against someone at this time.
Especially since he might not emerge victorious.
But even if he did, that victory might come at a price.
“Little Junior Brother, the Tiansong Sect leader’s final disciple, Mo Yitian, mastered the Dharmic possession technique at the late Dharma stage. He’s aiming to place within the top ten this hunt. Judging by how the past hunts went, he’s basically a shoo-in,” He Mengxi said to Zhou Donghuang.
“We just don’t know what rank he’ll place at.”
