Chapter 66: It’s Her!
Chapter 66: It’s Her!
In the great hall of the Tang Family, Tang Jinbiao and others had all arrived, quietly standing below the platform, awaiting the arrival of the instructor from the Divine Wind Academy.
This grand hall was remarkably spacious, a staggering over ten zhang wide and more than twenty zhang long. Dozens of massive stone pillars, each thick as a man meter, stood along the sides. The floor was entirely paved with stone slabs. Rather than a hall, it resembled a stone palace more closely.
At the very center of this stone palace stood three chairs. The middle seat was vacant. Beside this central seat, the Great Elder sat with his eyes closed, resting his mind. In the chair on the other side sat Tang Zhantian, while Wang Wanyu stood silently behind him.
The remaining Elders sat in lower positions, mingled with other individuals Tang Jinbiao had never met before.
Younger disciples like Tang Jinbiao were fewer, only about ten or so. None of them had seats; they could only stand quietly at the very bottom.
“All this is money! Could that woman possibly be my mother?”
Looking at the stone slabs on the floor and the exquisite decorations, Tang Jinbiao felt a slight shock inwardly. He knew the Tang Family was wealthy, but having had little personal exposure, he hadn’t realized it was to this extent. Furthermore, he noticed the pale-faced, beautiful woman standing behind Tang Zhantian and quietly wondered, finding it somewhat ridiculous that he hadn’t seen his own mother even once in nearly a year.
“Young Master, don’t look around!”
Noticing Tang Jinbiao’s lack of focus, Little Lv beside him gently tugged his sleeve and directly transmitted her voice to him.
“Hmm.”
Unable to cultivate immortality, Tang Jinbiao was incapable of that feat; he could only nod helplessly.
“Hey, kid, I warn you, if you dare blabber foolishly, I’ll really castrate you!”
Just then, a cold voice suddenly rang out inside Tang Jinbiao’s ear.
Clatter, clatter!
Hearing this voice, Tang Jinbiao couldn’t help but shiver with a chattering sound.
Tang Jinbiao’s face was bruised purple and green, with many parts of his body aching faintly. It never occurred to him that Little Lv and the other two would truly be so ruthless, ganging up to viciously beat him in that place. He had initially assumed it was just teasing. To his surprise, Tang Yilin immediately restrained him as soon as she took action, initiating the group beating.
Feeling a pang of leftover fear, Tang Jinbiaomicro-shifted his body, wanting to glance at Tang Yilin who wasn’t far away, but he didn’t quite dare to move.
Now, the great hall was utterly silent. Besides faint breathing sounds, almost no other noise could be heard.
“Hmm, they’ve arrived!”
At that very moment, the Great Elder, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly opened his eyes. He stood up and looked towards the outside.
Rustle, rustle, rustle!
As soon as the Great Elder moved, the remaining Elders promptly stood up one after another moments later. Clearly, their Divine Sense was far superior to others’, already detecting someone’s approach.
Swish, swish, swish!
Though unable to sense the arrival, everyone else also turned their gazes outward.
“What? It’s her!”
Yet, at this moment, a look of shock flashed across the Great Elder’s face. He seemed startled by the identity or appearance of the visitor.
“It’s her!”
Moments later, the other Elders also sensed that the newcomer was extraordinary.
“Second Elder, Third Elder, Fourth Elder, Fifth Elder, Sixth Elder, Family Head! Accompany me to greet the guest! Everyone else remains here; stand guard without fail!”
The Great Elder rose to his feet, deciding they shouldn’t wait within the hall, and intended to personally go outside to welcome the guest.
Whoosh!
After speaking, the Great Elder transformed into an escape beam and shot swiftly towards the outside of the great hall, vanishing from everyone’s sight in the blink of an eye.
“Obeying orders!”
The Elders also realized that the newcomer was extraordinary and each agreed. Then they transformed one after another into escape beams and shot swiftly outward.
“Hmm?”
Tang Zhantian, because he was only at the Mid Core Formation Stage in cultivation level, his spiritual sense naturally couldn’t compare to those Elders. He still hadn’t discovered who the newcomer was and frowned slightly. But at this moment, the Third Elder, who hadn’t left yet, moved his lips slightly as if transmitting a message to Tang Zhantian.
Whizz!
After that, the Third Elder also transformed into an escape beam and followed out.
“What? It’s her!”
Tang Zhantian was startled after understanding and dared not stay. He moved his lips slightly to transmit a message to Wang Wanyu, then transformed into an escape beam and followed.
“It’s actually you!”
Wang Wanyu revealed a bitter smile on her pale face after hearing Tang Zhantian’s words.
…
For a moment, the entire great hall fell silent again, but that silence lasted only briefly before bursting into discussions.
“Who exactly has come? How could the Great Elder and the Tang Family personally go out to welcome them?”
“I don’t know. From the Great Elder’s expression earlier, it seemed the newcomer was extraordinary!”
“Isn’t it the academy’s admissions instructor? Or perhaps those deputy deans?”
“Impossible! What status does the deputy dean of the Divine Wind Academy hold? How could they come to our remote Tang Family?”
Members of the Tang Family started discussing one after another.
“Hey, Little Lv, who are they talking about? It seems impressive!”
Tang Jinbiao whispered quietly to Little Lv beside him and asked.
“Young Master, don’t speak! How would I know who the newcomer is? But we’ll find out soon enough. Seeing how serious the Elders are, the newcomer must be extraordinary.”
Little Lv also didn’t know who it was but could only wait quietly at this time.
“Mmm!”
Tang Jinbiao nodded helplessly.
“Silence! Silence!”
However, just as everyone was discussing intensely, a middle-aged man suddenly shouted harshly. His voice was deep and resonant like a bronze bell.
The man appeared to be in his early forties, tall and imposing with muscles bulging visibly all over his body. At a glance, one could tell he was a Body Refiner.
Rustle, rustle, rustle!
After hearing that voice, the great hall sank into silence once more.
“Young Master, that man is called Tang Hantian. He’s your second uncle and also a Body Refiner. It’s said he has reached the peak of the Third Tier and could break through to the Fourth Tier at any moment, becoming a powerful Body Refiner!”
Afraid that Tang Jinbiao didn’t know, Little Lv quickly transmitted a message to explain to Tang Jinbiao.
“What?”
After hearing Little Lv’s words, Tang Jinbiao paused slightly and began scrutinizing the middle-aged man intently.
Body Refiners were different from ordinary Cultivators. Ordinary Cultivators, once they reached the fourth layer of Qi Condensation and could project their Spiritual Energy outward, only needed to learn a few flying Spells to achieve basic flight. But Body Refiners were different. Only after breaking through the Third Tier and reaching the Fourth Rank of Body Refining would they form a Qi Sea inside their bodies, similar to a Nascent Soul. Only upon possessing a Qi Sea could a Body Refiner fly. Achieving the Fourth Rank was when a Body Refiner truly began to grasp the essence of Body Refining.
However, for unknown reasons, the Fourth Rank of Body Refining was both a terminal point and a starting point. Countless Cultivators remained trapped at the Third Tier their entire lives, unable ever to reach the Fourth Rank. Some reached the Fourth Rank by chance but found breaking through further nearly impossible. Only a rare few, upon breaking through to the Fourth Rank, found themselves like a dragon entering the ocean or a bird soaring into the blue sky, able to stride confidently towards the longer path ahead.
Thinking of this, Tang Jinbiao couldn’t help but stare at the burly man a few more times, silently muttering to himself, “Right, that Heixiang gave me a cultivation method last night. I need to find some time to study it!”
“Cough, it seems I’ve really become decadent!”
But when Tang Jinbiao recalled that demonic cultivation method, a faint unease prickled his heart. Since the competition, he had trained very little. And after Huang Biaozi left, he hadn’t actively trained at all. Over these recent days, he had started feeling a sense of self-indulgence settling in.
“No. Starting tomorrow, I absolutely must begin training again. Now that Huang Biaozi, that Old Charlatan, isn’t around, the test for Divine Wind Academy definitely won’t go smoothly!”
Tang Jinbiao swore an oath within his heart; after this matter was settled, he would get serious, exert effort, and intensify his training.
Throughout this period, Tang Jinbiao had barely trained at all. The Ape Art, which he had more or less mastered before, was now mostly forgotten. Worse still, without any guidance, his proficiency had likely deteriorated to a truly pitiful level.
…
After the burly man’s voice faded, the great hall fell silent, free of any further murmuring discussion. For a moment, only the soft sounds of quiet breathing remained as everyone calmly awaited the return of the Great Elder and the others.
…
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Half an hour later, sudden, violent sounds of cutting through air pierced in from outside.
“They’re here!”
“They’re back!”
“Finally back!”
Hearing these sounds, everyone immediately shifted their gaze towards the sky outside, their expressions filled with eager anticipation.
“What? It’s her!”
However, mere moments later, a Core Formation Cultivator seemed to recognize the arrivals; his face slightly changed color.
“It’s her!”
Just as that person made the discovery, another individual also showed a look of shock, their expression shifting slightly.
“It’s her!”
“It’s her!”
In no time, many with a Cultivation Level at Core Formation or above seemed to recognize the arrivals one by one. Moreover, they seemed familiar with the identity of the newcomer; complex expressions colored each of their faces.
“Hmm?”
Tang Jinbiao was completely bewildered, utterly clueless about what had shocked everyone. He thought of asking Little Lv beside him, but Little Lv was equally perplexed, appearing completely oblivious.
“What? It’s her!”
Right at that moment, Tang Yilin, standing not far away, also registered a look of profound astonishment.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
But just then, Tang Jinbiao felt a blur before his eyes as several figures shot in from outside and landed atop the great hall.
These figures solidified, revealing the forms of the Great Elder and his companions, though this time with one additional person.
“Heehee, everyone, it’s been so long! Missed me?”
It was a female, or rather, a young woman. The young woman wore a brilliant, unrestrained smile, seemingly feeling not the slightest bit constrained. She spoke cheerfully.