Sometimes, a single decision could determine your fate.
Within Yunyang, those who were on good terms with Zhou Donghuang were bound to succeed in time to come. Even the Primal Core stage was not an unachievable feat.
As for the people who had made an enemy out of him, they were all wallowing in their regret.
Just like now.
The people watched as the teenage girl and the middle-aged man stepped onto the back of the huge eagle to join the small girl. In the blink of an eye, the giant eagle flew up and into the clouds. The higher-ups of the lesser Qin Family from Qingshan town were filled with regret.
“The Qin Family has missed its chance!”
“If we didn’t stop this family from adopting Xiaoyu back then, the Qin Family wouldn’t have cut ties with that Young Master Donghuang… I regret it, I really do!”
“Xiaoyu and Qin Zhen are bound to succeed after they leave! And as for us, we’re doomed to only look up at them in the days to come.”
…
But it was not just the lesser Qin Family from Qingshan town—there were a lot of people who were stewing in regrets.
Like the preeminent Lin Family from the capital of the Yunfeng Prefecture.
If the Lin Family had not chased Lin Lan out, Zhou Donghuang would have been a guest disciple with their family and much, much closer to them than he was with the Lu family.
But alas, because of the Lin Family’s miscalculations, they had completely and utterly cut ties with Lin Lan and missed their opportunity with Zhou Donghuang.
“The people of the Lu Family, every last one of them are with the Donghuang Sect now… And the Donghuang Sect is now located where the Valley of the Medicine Masters once was.”
“I heard the people of the Lu Family are gifted, all of them are, and all of them stand a chance of being sent to the main branch of the Donghuang Sect. For example, Lu Qinghu, previous head of the Lu Family, is now the leader of the sub-sect, and his son was sent to the main branch of the Donghuang Sect.”
“I heard Lu Qinghu is a Primal Core adept now… I remember how he was like back then, and he was nowhere near as competent as our Lin Family head.”
“If not for the fact that the family head had kicked Lin Lan out of the family, he would have been a Primal Core adept by now. And the position of the Donghuang Sub-Sect leader would definitely belong to the family head.”
“One wrong move is all it takes.”
“My God! We of the Lin Family really missed the opportunity of a lifetime!”
…
The disciples and elders of the Lin Family alike were all lamenting and wallowing in regret back in the Lin Residence. No one said it but, deep down, all of them thought the family head must have been blind to have let such a golden opportunity slip through his fingers.
On the other hand, the Lin Family head, Lin Zhuoye, had fallen sick. When he had first heard of how the Zhou Donghuang of today had risen to become such a hulking figure, he was so angry that he became bedridden.
Now the whole of the Yunfeng Prefecture capital was mocking Lin Zhuoye, the foolish head of the Lin Family who had shut his doors on such an opportunity.
“Hahahaha… Serves you right, Chen Dandan! Good kill, it was a good kill!”
Hong Yunfei, the first young master of the Hong Family, had once been chased out of Valley of the Medicine Masters by Chen Dandan. After a desperate return to the Hong Family in the Yunfeng Prefecture capital, he cooped himself up at home to train and rarely left his home.
After he caught wind of the news that Zhou Donghuang had killed Chen Dandan in the Feast of Ziyun, he was overcome with joy. He felt vindicated, like his revenge was complete.
“If I had known that that brat Zhou Donghuang would become the person he is today… I would have succeeded if I just sucked up to that b*itch Chen Dandan and Zhou Donghuang at the same time.”
The Hong Family Head, Hong Wei, lamented not taking action when he could have. “Otherwise, I would have been in a decent place now, even if I wasn’t as competent as Lu Qinghu.”
Now, he was a merely a Qi-Gathering adept, while Lu Qinghu was already a Primal Core adept!
He even looked up to the Connate adepts, much less a Primal Core adept.
“Father! I’m making preparations to take part in the assessment that the Donghuang Sect will host this year at Yunyang. I’m going to do my best to pass the assessment and become a Donghuang Sect disciple!”
Hong Yunfei responded to Hong Wei with a serious face, “The current Donghuang Sect is even stronger than the Valley of the Medicine Masters was… but I still want to join the Donghuang Sub-Sect!”
Of course, there was still one thing he left unsaid.
He wanted to meet the legendary Donghuang Sect leader, Zhou Donghuang. He wanted to personally thank the man for killing Chen Dandan and indirectly exacting his revenge for him!
“Zhou Donghuang, h-he’s actually accomplished so much?”
In the Li Residence, Li Rui paled. He never would have expected for Zhou Donghuang to climb up to the top of Ziyun in the span of a few short years.
The Zhou Donghuang of today was just like the sky of Ziyun; with just one word, he could take the life of any person in Ziyun.
He stood on top of the world, and there was no higher place than his.
…
The Donghuang Peak was now the base of the Donghuang Sect.
Of course, the Donghuang Sect had not started recruiting for disciples yet.
The Divine Light Sect left the area completely vacant when they up and relocated, and not a single elder or disciple was left behind.
Of course, that was partially because Zhou Donghuang did not let them leave a single person behind. Otherwise, one word of his and the Divine Light Sect would leave anyone he so wanted.
“Sister Jiapei, I know you like Big Brother Zhou too.”
Halfway up Donghuang Peak in a sequestered courtyard, Yang Zixi was currently sitting beside Ren Jiapei who had just arrived at the Donghuang Sect. She held on tightly to Ren Jiapei’s hands as she confided.
“Don’t worry, Sister Zixi, I… I won’t compete with you.”
There was a strained smile on Ren Jiapei’s face.
“Sister Jiapei, that’s not what I mean.”
Yang Zixi shook her head. “I just wanted to tell you that you don’t have to worry about me if you really like Big Brother Zhou. Because, to be honest, I’m just a third-party to him.”
Yang Zixi heaved a huge sigh. “Big Brother Zhou has long had someone else in his mind.”
“Who?”
Ren Jiapei’s pupils constricted. All along, she had truly believed that Zixi would have been the first choice if he wanted a good partner.
But now, the lady was telling her something else. Big Brother Zhou had been in love with someone else all this time?
“I don’t know her either… All I know is that she’s not from Ziyun.
“I’ve asked Xiao Lu before, and she said that the person he’s in love with has been a Primal Core adept when she was only twenty.”
“A twenty-year-old Primal Core adept who is not from Ziyun. This person must come from an extraordinary background. There’s no telling the heights they will soar to in the days to come.”
“I’m telling you all this mainly because I want to say that if you really like Big Brother Zhou and you don’t mind the fact that he’s being surrounded by so many women all the time, you need to train hard to keep in pace with that lady.”
“I… I’m thinking the same.”
“This is the only way we can be of help to Big Brother Zhou. We might even be recognized by him.”
Yang Zixi had kept these words tucked away in a corner of her heart for a very long time and only said it all in front of Ren Jiapei, who was taken aback and fell silent in the face of the confession.
In the next moment, Ren Jiapei’s gaze steeled, hardened over by resolve.
“Of course, be that as it may, there’s a possibility we won’t be by his side in the future… Love is not love without reciprocation.
“But I do think that, since we like Big Brother Zhou, we should at least help him with some tasks or share his burdens, even if we won’t end up together.”
Yang Zixi fell into a trance as she spoke, her face clouded over with infatuation. “I think it’s worth if I get to see him smile.”
Lin Lan stood in another secluded courtyard not far off, staring at the two ladies from a distance as she heaved a deep sigh. “Such good girls… It’d be great if one of them could be my daughter-in-law.”
“Miss, Young Master Donghuang is all grown up now… Let time take its course with the matters of the heart,” Granny Lian said with a smile from where she stood behind Lin Lan.
“Sometimes, I just can’t understand what goes through that kid’s head.”
Lin Lan shook her head. “Leave it. He’s leaving Ziyun soon anyway, just let him do what he wants.
“If he sorts out his relationship with those two girls right before he leaves, it wouldn’t be fair to them anyway. If we look at how things are now, at least they won’t be dealing with too much heartbreak even when Donghuang leaves.”
Lin Lan looked up after she said that, looking towards the higher part of Donghuang Peak. “Donghuang’s probably more or less done with the spells.
“He’ll leave soon, when the time comes.”
The depths of Lin Lan’s gaze betrayed a sense of reluctance and unwillingness to let him go.
Of course, she had no intention of stopping her son from leaving even if she did not really want him to go, since she knew that her child had his own path to walk.
“A twenty-three-year-old Primal Core adept… Ziyun cannot contain him.”
Lin Lan sighed gently.
Zhou Donghuang, clad from head to toe in clothes whiter than snow, was floating high above the apex of Donghuang Peak. He used his finger as a brush, condensing the inner Yuan and using it to draw out intricate patterns and lines on the cliffs.
Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!
…
After carving for some time, spirit stone after spirit stone started falling from between his hands, as if they were not worth much. Every last one fell into one of the patterns he had carved out.
He was currently casting spells to protect the Donghuang Sect.
This would also be the very first protective spell in the whole of Ziyun.
Whether it was the other great four sects of Ziyun of the Xuanyin Sect that Zhou Donghuang had already wiped out, not a single one of them had this spell.
Throughout the entire universe, this spell to protect the sect could only be cast by the sects that had individuals who were at least as strong as Primordial Souls.
Because casting the spell simply required too many resources that the average sect just could not afford.
Even though Zhou Donghuang was carving out the spell now, he was only able to do so by recalling the most basic of the spells and discarding quite a few bits of it.
Otherwise, the resources he had on hand would not be able to sustain this.
“I don’t want the defensive spell or any of the other spells. Leave only the offensive spell.
“I’ll fill the spirit stones with the offensive spell, enough for it to be activated three times.
“Once the offensive spell is activated, even the early Dharma adepts will not be able to escape from its clutches! Surprisingly, it’s also able to injure the mid Dharma adepts.”
This was also the trump card that Zhou Donghuang was leaving here before he had to leave this place. He would then leave things in the hands of his mother, Lin Lan, and his sister, Yun Lu.
“Done.”
Zhou Donghuang completed the spells after half a month.
Of course, it was not like he had been working on the spells round the clock during that period of time. The spells he had done up were not just to protect the sect, there were also several other energy-gathering positions.
Zhou Donghuang had been practicing during this half-month, and he used what time he had left to do up the spells. As such, his practice was not affected in any way.
“I have to keep mother and Xiao Lu company in the next two days… After those two days, I’ll be leaving Ziyun!”
It was late in the night. Zhou Donghuang looked up at the vast sky, dotted with an innumerable amount of stars, eyes filled with anticipation and excitement.
He was finally leaving Ziyun!
He was even more excited than he had been when he had left Earth!
