Senior Brother Wu Bing, I Truly Admire You!

Everyone looked in utter shock toward Tang Ru suspended in midair. The current Tang Ru exuded an extraordinary bearing. The naive, simple impression he had previously given off due to his plump frame was entirely gone. Not only was his face resolute, but his facial features were sharply defined, making him undeniably a suave, dashing young nobleman. Tang Ru spread both arms wide and tilted his head back slightly, a faint smile playing at the corners of his mouth as he bathed in the sunlight. Looking at his lean, sculpted muscles, Li Guanqi and the others couldn't help glancing down at themselves. "Well... er... I suddenly don't know what to say." "Uh... me neither." Li Guanqi's eyes flickered. His gaze toward Tang Ru was exceedingly gentle, genuinely happy for him deep down! All this time, he had never taken the initiative to approach Tang Ru to counsel him. That was because he knew Tang Ru possessed immense pride. It was one thing for Tang Ru to endure those feelings on his own, but if Li Guanqi had stepped in to counsel him, it might very well have backfired. Yet now... Li Guanqi's lips curved slightly upward. Looking back at his brothers with their varied expressions, a surging wave of emotion inexplicably welled up in his chest. Six sworn brothers, every single one in the Mahayana realm! Gu Li's cultivation speed had been astonishing lately; it likely wouldn't be long before he broke through to the late-stage Mahayana realm. As of yet, not one among them had touched the threshold of the Tribulation Transcendence realm! And it wasn't just them. Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes, thoughts flashing through his mind. From what he could sense, not even all of the Eight Generals seemed to have touched the threshold of the Tribulation Transcendence realm yet. Between these two realms, an invisible chasm seemed to yawn wide. Hum! Rosy clouds filled the sky between heaven and earth. Tang Ru sat cross-legged in the void, an ethereal air about him. Standing off to the side, Tang Wei stared blankly and slapped himself across the face twice. "Is this... my son?!" "Was I ever this handsome?!" "Hiss... could it be...?!" Xiao Chen's mouth twitched. Seeing Tang Wei letting his imagination run wild, he couldn't help chiming in. "Uncle Tang, that's enough! Tang Ru's looks and facial features clearly take after his mother!" "Though his mouth and eyes look just like yours!" Only then did Tang Wei snap out of it. Scratching his head awkwardly, he mumbled, "I suppose so, ha... I was pretty dashing back in my youth, too." Li Guanqi chuckled, his face still somewhat pale. Looking at the rosy light surging across the sky toward Tang Ru, he said softly, "All right, everyone can rest easy now. The danger has passed." "Tang Ru's breakthrough is truly cause for celebration. But... I reckon it won't be long before we have to head back!" Hearing this, the others beside him nodded in agreement. With the immortal's descent and the Six Domains' rebellion regarding ascension, the Seventh Domain would surely have to provide an answer. Li Guanqi frowned slightly. Looking at the present Great Xia Sword Sect, he took a deep breath. Turning his wrist, he produced a jade slip and spoke softly into it: "Grandfather, has Sect Master Lu broken through yet?" Before long, Su Xuan's voice came from the jade slip. "Heh, he just broke through and is absorbing heaven and earth's bounty right now." "The power of immortal incense that Xun Tian left behind was quite substantial. Lu Kangnian just broke through to the Mahayana realm and is already approaching the peak of the early stage." "Also, Wanshu has just reached the late-stage Mahayana realm as well!" "The cultivation speed of you young folks is truly astonishing..." Hearing the old man's marveling sigh, Li Guanqi's eyes lit up. He hadn't expected Wanshu to come out of seclusion as well. What was more, Lu Kangnian had shot straight toward the peak of the early-stage Mahayana realm! It seemed the power of immortal incense back then was immensely potent indeed! At that, Li Guanqi spoke into the jade slip: "As for the Great Xia Sword Sect now... it might be time for Sect Master Lu to return!" "With us away, Wu Bing won't be able to handle all these matters alone!" Su Xuan smiled faintly and replied softly, "I know. Meng Jiangchu is already on his way back with the two of them." "In addition... Ye Xuan of the Nine Dragons Immortal Sect and Qin Xiao of the Qin clan will also be heading back to their respective factions for a time." Holding the jade slip, Li Guanqi furrowed his brows slightly and murmured, "They're all coming back?" "Does that mean... they're preparing not to return for a long time?" Stowing the jade slip, Li Guanqi turned to Ye Feng and the others. "Those of you who need to heal, go tend to your injuries." Ye Feng and the others nodded one after another. Gu Li was also getting ready to head back and continue his research into the Dao of inscribed talismans. He had never harbored much ambition for personal power or cultivation. His sole motivation for breaking through realms and cultivating diligently was that his current cultivation level wasn't sufficient to support drawing certain inscribed talismans. Lately, however, Gu Li was bursting with drive—after all, he still had very few leads on the Forced Conception Talisman. After everyone else had departed, Li Guanqi turned toward Wu Bing and the others. By now, Gong Ze and the rest had experienced qualitative leaps in strength. After all, the current Great Xia Sword Sect lacked no resources whatsoever. Not only Li Guanqi himself, but Xiao Chen, Cao Yan, and the others would prepare vast amounts of resources for the sect every time they returned. What was more, Guanyun Pavilion was now located right within Great Xia Sword Sect territory. Many resources obtained by Guanyun Auction House were prioritized for the Great Xia Sword Sect. Exhaustion was hard to conceal in Wu Bing's eyes. Looking at him, Li Guanqi cupped his hands in greeting. "You've worked hard." Wu Bing hurriedly returned the salute, smiling wryly. "Hard work? What hard work?" "You are the ones battling in the Seventh Domain, fighting enemies on the outside—that is true peril." "Compared to that... what we do seems utterly insignificant." Li Guanqi interrupted Wu Bing, speaking with absolute seriousness. "That is not true!" "Only with someone like you, Senior Brother Wu, can a sect endure and prosper. Though what you do may seem mundane, it forms the very foundation and backbone of our sect!" "Today, when the Six Domains fell into chaos, and countless cultivators showed signs of demonic possession in their thirst to ascend, ravaging the common people..." "...you resolved without hesitation to shut down the sect-protecting grand formation and lead the sect's disciples to rescue people amidst the turmoil. That can already be called profound righteousness!" "No duty is insignificant, nor is killing enemies as the strong the only thing of importance. What Senior Brother has done shows true, selfless righteousness." "Your junior brother truly admires you!" Hearing this, Wu Bing's eyes reddened. All this time, he had sat upon the seat of acting sect master with the utmost caution. He knew he lacked the qualifications to vie for supremacy among geniuses, for there were simply too many monstrous talents within the Great Xia Sword Sect. All he wished was to dedicate himself wholeheartedly to the sect, guarding it faithfully in the sect master's absence. Now it seemed... he had done it! He, Wu Bing, had done it! Looking at Wu Bing, whose emotions were surging, Li Guanqi couldn't help sighing with feeling. Back when he first joined the Great Xia Sword Sect, he had heard of Wu Bing's renown. At that time, Wu Bing was already Sect Master Lu Kangnian's personal legacy disciple. Even back then, Wu Bing was being groomed as the heir to the sect master position. Furthermore, aside from Li Guanqi himself, Wu Bing had been the only chosen prodigy endowed with a king-grade spirit root!