Chapter 2026 - 2026 Are You Willing to Become an Elder?
He was the elder of the Ethereal Hall who had demanded 20,000 Ethereal Coins from Zhang Xuan in exchange for a trip on the Sevenstar Pavilion’s immortal beast to the Sea of Exiled Stars. It was unbelievable, but he had just witnessed an individual winning sixteen consecutive battles without sustaining the slightest bit of damage!
He had not been told that the last two opponents were the First Elder and the head of the Sevenstar Pavilion, but through their battle techniques, he was still able to deduce a thing or two.
In other words, someone had just thrashed the entire Sevenstar Pavilion in Biyuan City’s Ethereal Hall!
Even the Semi-Divinity realm Pavilion Master Kui Xiao was not a match for the young man...
This news would surely cause a huge uproar across the Forsaken Continent!
“Elder, the other party seems to have used some kind of Isolation Formation that prevents us from tracing the details of his Ethereal Token. We were only able to deduce that he’s likely in one of the private chambers of our Ethereal Hall, but we still can’t confirm his identity,” the receptionist reported.
They had checked on the other party as soon as he defeated Meng Han, the top ranker of the Sevenstar Pavilion’s core disciples, but it was as if the other party had predicted that they would make such a move and set up an Isolation Formation in advance. As such, they were only able to gather his rough location.
“There is a total of 13,700 private chambers here... Start sieving through the records to narrow down the targets to those who have reached the True Immortal realm and whose timeline coincides with that of Liu Yang’s arrival. I want a list of their names as soon as possible,” the elder instructed.
It was infeasible to check all the private chambers one by one, but there were methods to narrow the targets down.
“After you find him, make sure to accord him the highest level of hospitality. Don’t let him leave by any means. I’ll come right over to pay my respects to him,” the elder said.
A person who could defeat the head of the Sevenstar Pavilion was bound to be an extraordinary figure, even if the latter’s cultivation was lowered to the True Immortal realm.
The receptionist nodded, but just as she was about to get to work, the young lady managing the front reception suddenly called out. “Elder, the young man who intends to head to the Sea of Exiled Stars is looking for you urgently...”
“He’s looking for me?” The elder waved his hand impatiently. “Tell him that I’m not free. I won’t waste my time entertaining him if he doesn’t have the money!”
What was more important at the moment was for him to find that expert. He did not have any time to waste on a mere True Immortal realm lad!
“He said that...” The young lady paused for a brief moment before continuing. “He has already managed to gather the required Ethereal Coins. He’s here to pay the sum.”
“He has already gathered the required Ethereal Coins?” The elder was stunned.
A thought suddenly flashed through his mind, and he felt as if his mind had just gone through a mini explosion. His eyes widened as he muttered beneath his breath, “Could it be him?”
He immediately turned to the young lady and exclaimed, “Hurry up and invite him in!”
True Immortal realm—check!
Thinking about it, the other party had told him to wait for a moment, then Liu Yang had suddenly appeared in the Ethereal Hall’s dueling ring and won sixteen matches straight... And right after the duel ended, the other party came rushing over to tell him that he had raised the required money. Timing—check!
More importantly, Liu Yang had said that he had earned enough and would not be fighting anymore after winning the fifteenth round...
Doing a quick calculation, the accumulated earnings at the fifteenth round happened to be slightly more than 20,000 Ethereal Coins!
Price—check!
While he was still in the midst of his contemplation, Zhang Xuan walked into the room and passed a card over.
“Here’s the 20,000 Ethereal Coins,” he said.
The elder quickly snapped out of his daze and received the Ethereal Card with both of his hands. Checking the contents, there were indeed 20,000 Ethereal Coins inside! His body tensed up a little as he nervously asked, “May I know... how I should address you? Don’t be mistaken, it’s not that I’m trying to probe into your identity or anything! It’s just that... I’ll need to introduce you to the Sevenstar Pavilion later on, so I’ll have to know your name and your background...”
“Of course, of course!” Zhang Xuan nodded. “I am Liu Yang.”
Putong!
The collapsed elder struggled a little as he rose back to his feet. As he looked at the young man before him, he could feel his eyes slowly becoming a little moist.
If only he had known that this fellow was so formidable, he never would have thought of profiting off him!
Who could have known that this ordinary-looking young man would actually be able to defeat the entire Sevenstar Pavilion?
“Were you the one in the dueling ring earlier?” The elder eventually popped the question.
“You mentioned that it would cost 20,000 Ethereal Coins, and I couldn’t think of a better way to raise the money within such a short period of time. So, I could only try my luck at the dueling ring. It’s fortunate that my opponents weren’t very strong, or else I really would’ve had trouble trying to raise the money!” Zhang Xuan replied with a bright smile.
Since he did not reveal his Gods’ Sword Intent or expose his identity as the head of the Myriad Beasts Hall, it should be fine for him to admit to this.
After all, he could not possibly not lift even a finger just to avoid the Hall of Gods, right?
“Your opponents weren’t very strong?”
The elder swayed a little on the spot as he tried to hold back the blood welling up at the back of his throat.
Do you know whom you just fought against? Are you honestly saying that the First Elder and the head of the Sevenstar Pavilion aren’t strong at all?
What would be considered strong in your eyes?
“If only I’d known that you were this powerful, I never would have dared demand money from you,” the elder muttered in a daze beneath his breath and sighed deeply. Lifting his gaze once more, he looked at the young man before him and said,”... Rest assured, I’ll contact the Sevenstar Pavilion right now!”
As he spoke, he quietly passed the Ethereal Card back.
It was not that he was not interested in the money, but he did not dare accept it!
If he offended an expert of this caliber, he could imagine that the life ahead of him would be a living hell!
The elder took out a Communication Jade Token and wrote a few words on it. A few moments later, he turned to Zhang Xuan and said, “Elder Liu, the head of the Sevenstar Pavilion wishes to meet you personally. Shall we head there?”
As soon as the elder reported what that had happened earlier, the other party had immediately requested for him to take Zhang Xuan over.
Naturally, the elder immediately understood what was going on. He knew that the young man before him was going to undergo a massive change in his standing, so he unhesitatingly changed his form of address to ‘Elder Liu’ as well.
“Alright.” Zhang Xuan nodded.
The Sevenstar Pavilion was located relatively close to the Ethereal Hall. Within ten minutes, they were already on their way into the Celestial Dipper Palace, the central hall of the Sevenstar Pavilion.
Sitting in the middle of the room was Pavilion Master Kui Xiao, the First Elder, and Elder Hong Wu. Upon seeing the two of them walking over, they centered their gazes upon Zhang Xuan.
The figure in the virtual Ethereal Hall was young, but the person standing before them was even more so. All in all, he appeared to be no more than thirty years in age.
He was only in his twenties, but he had already reached the Heavenly True Immortal realm and become so powerful that even they were not a match for him in the same cultivation realm.
“Are you the person who won sixteen matches earlier in the Ethereal Hall?” Pavilion Master Kui Xiao asked.
As the other party’s appearance in the Ethereal Hall and in reality was different, they could not really be sure if they were the same person.
“Yes.” Zhang Xuan nodded. “I have some urgent matters that require me to head to the Sea of Exiled Stars as soon as possible. Pavilion Master Kui, would it be fine if I shared a ride with you? I’ll compensate you according to the market price.”
On the way there, the elder had already told him that the person whom he would be meeting was Pavilion Master Kui Xiao of the Sevenstar Pavilion!
Had it been in the past, he would still have had some deference for Semi-Divinity realm experts. However, after meeting Han Jianqiu and Qin Yuan, killing four Heavenly High Immortals from the Hall of Gods, and witnessing Little Chick devouring a Semi-Divinity artifact, his deference was slowly wearing off.
You are heading to the Sea of Exiled Stars, too?” Pavilion Master Kui frowned upon hearing those words. “Brother Liu, may I ask which sect you are from? Pardon my ignorance, but I don’t recall having heard your name before.”
Out of fear of crossing the indigenous population, the experts of the Forsaken Continent would rarely make their way over to the Sea of Exiled Stars. However, the other party actually intended to make his way on his own accord...
This reminded him of the matter concerning the Azure Bridge. Could the young man before him possibly be a genius from some other sect?
If that was the case, Elder Hong Wu would not stand a chance at all!
It was not that easy to advance to the High Immortal realm, but if a sect devoted all of its resources into grooming a single person, it should not be too difficult!
Naturally, such a talented young man was worth a sect investing all its resources into!
Zhang Xuan clasped his fist and said, “I am an unaffiliated cultivator.”
If he said that he was from the Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion, the other party would immediately think of the Gods’ Sword Intent. If he said that he was from the Myriad Beasts Hall, the other party would immediately think of the newly inaugurated sect leader...
Instead of going to the trouble of trying to explain himself later on, it would better for him to maintain a low profile.
Shortly after he caused a commotion in the Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion, he faced an assassination attempt from the Hall of Gods. The same happened after he got too high profile in the Myriad Beasts Hall...
So, what he had to do right now was conceal his glow so that others would not notice him too much.
“Unaffiliated cultivator?” Pavilion Master Kui Xiao’s eyes immediately lit up. Then, a slight frown emerged on his forehead as he asked, “May I know the reason behind your visit to the Sea of Exiled Stars, Brother Liu?”
“It’s to resolve my private business,” Zhang Xuan replied.
“Private business...” Hearing those words, Pavilion Master Kui Xiao finally heaved a sigh of relief.
Since it was a private business, it had nothing to do with the Azure Bridge. That being the case, the young man should really be unaffiliated with any of the other sects.
Pavilion Kui Xiao looked at Zhang Xuan with piercing intensity as he asked, “Since you are an unaffiliated cultivator, Brother Liu, may I know if you are interested in joining our Sevenstar Pavilion?”
“Joining the Sevenstar Pavilion?” Zhang Xuan was stunned.
What was with this sudden invitation?
He was rather certain that he had maintained a low profile ever since he arrived in Biyuan City!
All he did was fight sixteen battles earlier on and defeat a bunch of not-too-strong opponents. Surely battles of that caliber would not be enough to catch the attention of the leader of one of the Six Sects!
“Indeed. As long as you become an elder of our Sevenstar Pavilion and represent our sect in a battle, I’ll gather all of the resources of the sect to help you reach the Heavenly High Immortal realm within ten days!” Pavilion Master Kui Xiao offered with a shrewd gleam in his eyes.
You would help me reach the Heavenly High Immortal realm?” Zhang Xuan narrowed his eyes.
There were two reasons he was in such a hurry to head to the Sea of Exiled Stars. One was to uncover the secrets behind the Godblood Rock, and the other was to gather soul cultivation techniques to raise his soul cultivation so that he could achieve a breakthrough to the High Immortal realm as soon as possible!
After facing two assassination attempts from the Hall of Gods, it would be a lie to say that he was not concerned. He felt a heavy pressure prompting him to raise his fighting prowess as quickly as possible.
Thinking back, he had been in the Azure for more than twenty days now, but he had only managed to raise his cultivation from Dimension Shatterer realm primary stage to the Heavenly True Immortal realm. How slow and pathetic!
After all, there was a time difference between that of the Azure and the Master Teacher Continent. Twenty days here was equivalent to more than half a year in the latter world.
“That’s right!” Pavilion Master Kui Xiao nodded.
There was no True Immortal who would not be tempted by an offer to achieve a breakthrough to the High Immortal realm!
“You mentioned earlier that he wanted me to represent the Sevenstar Pavilion in a battle. May I know what the battle’s regarding? Will I face any danger?” Zhang Xuan asked.
There was no such thing as a free lunch in the world.
It was no easy feat to help someone raise their cultivation up to the Heavenly High Immortal realm. Since the other party was willing to offer him something as attractive as this, it was likely that the other party had to gain something out of it as well.
“Rest assured, it’s just a duel among the Six Sects. Everyone will be of the same cultivation realm, and there won’t be any danger. If you surrender, no one will go too far,” Pavilion Master Kui Xiao said. “Furthermore, if you do it well, I’ll nominate you as my successor. You’ll inherit my position in the future, becoming the leader of the Sevenstar Pavilion!”
The purpose of the battle was to determine the leader of the expedition, so they would stop wherever appropriate. There would not be any danger at all.
As for entering the Azure Bridge and challenging the warriors of the Hall of Gods...
This was a rare opportunity to achieve a breakthrough to the Semi-Divinity realm. It might be dangerous, but the rewards were definitely worth the risks!
Both he and Hall Master Qin Yuan from the Myriad Beasts Hall had reached their current realms by surviving the trip to the Azure Bridge.
As long as the other party reached the Semi-Divinity realm, he was bound to become the leader of the Sevenstar Pavilion. There was no one who would possibly oppose it.
“I’ll become your successor and inherit your position in the future? It’s fine, I won’t need that.” Zhang Xuan shook his head.
Then, a thought suddenly came to his mind, and he looked at Pavilion Kui Xiao with a smile. “However, since you said that the battle won’t be dangerous, I don’t mind becoming an elder of the Sevenstar Pavilion... and as an elder, I should be able to access the libraries of the Sevenstar Pavilion, right?’