In the Void, Yang Kai strode over to Ouyang Lie's side and clasped his fists toward an elderly man standing nearby, smiling as he said, "Congratulations, Elder Yu."
Though Yu Changdao had long since reached the pinnacle of the Eighth Order, he couldn't help but show a tense expression on his face at this moment. He returned the courtesy and said, "The same to you, the same to you."
It was no wonder he was nervous. The one preparing to break through and advance this time was his Personal Disciple — Shi Dazhuang, who had been taken under his wing all those years ago, carefully cultivated, and possessed a Natural Dao Body!
Shi Dazhuang — that was an exceedingly simple name. If one had never met him and only heard the name, they would probably mistake him for some rough country bumpkin from the mountains.
But it was also an exceedingly extraordinary name, because it represented the first person to advance directly to the Seventh Order Open Heaven after the Star Boundary's World Tree sub-tree had nourished it back to life!
One could say he was the symbol of the rise of a new generation of emerging talents.
When word of the World Tree sub-tree's restorative effects spread, the various Great Caverns and Blessed Lands received the news and came to the Star Boundary one after another, setting up their domains, dividing up territory, and recruiting disciples on a grand scale.
In that initial stage, although the warriors native to the Star Boundary had all benefited from the sub-tree's nourishment, no truly heaven-defying individual had yet emerged.
Until Yu Changdao found Shi Dazhuang.
This child, who lived with his widowed mother, may have had a crude name, but he possessed a rarely seen Natural Dao Body — a constitution that was most compatible with a particular cultivation technique of the Blessed Land of Ease.
Having originated from the Blessed Land of Ease, Yu Changdao naturally intended to take Shi Dazhuang as his disciple. One could say that as long as he managed to bring Shi Dazhuang under his wing, he would have the opportunity to carry forward that divine technique and ensure his legacy continued. In this lifetime, he himself had no chance of advancing to the Ninth Order, but Shi Dazhuang — who possessed exceptional talent and a Natural Dao Body — would have hope of reaching that realm if carefully instructed by him.
The Blessed Land of Ease was renowned far and wide, ranked among the Seventy-Two Blessed Lands as one of the top-tier powers of the Three Thousand Worlds. Yu Changdao himself was an Eighth Order Open Heaven cultivator of extremely high status. For any ordinary person, such an opportunity would be akin to smoke rising from their ancestral graves — a sign of tremendous fortune — and they would most likely have accepted with overwhelming joy.
However, Shi Dazhuang's widowed mother, Liu Caixia, did not see it that way. When faced with Yu Changdao's intention to take Shi Dazhuang as his disciple, she flatly refused.
That era was only a few hundred years after Yang Kai had joined forces with the various Great Emperors to battle the Great Demon God Mo Sheng, and Lingxiao Palace had turned the tide to save the Star Boundary.
At that time in the Star Boundary, Lingxiao Palace's prestige was at its absolute zenith, unmatched by any other.
All the warriors of the Star Boundary considered it an honor to be accepted into Lingxiao Palace — who cared about any Great Caverns or Blessed Lands?
Shi Dazhuang's father, who had died young, was no different. Before his death, he had left behind his dying wish: that if there was ever an opportunity, his child must be accepted into Lingxiao Palace to fulfill his unfulfilled dream.
Liu Caixia was merely a simple woman of modest knowledge, but it was precisely such a person who possessed a steadfastness that ordinary people lacked.
She treasured her late husband's dying words in her heart, determined with all her being to see Shi Dazhuang accepted into Lingxiao Palace.
So when Yu Changdao came to their door, declaring his intention to take Shi Dazhuang as his disciple, only to be flatly refused by Liu Caixia, the old man was left stunned for a long while, unable to recover his composure.
After learning the reason, he didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and realized just how thorny the situation was.
With his status and strength, he could certainly have forcibly taken Shi Dazhuang away, but trampling upon the wishes of an ordinary couple would have violated his Dao Heart.
Having no other recourse, Yu Changdao thought of Yang Kai and paid him a personal visit to discuss the matter.
Originally, he had wanted Yang Kai to step forward and persuade Liu Caixia to agree to the discipleship — because after all, this sort of thing would be enormously beneficial for Shi Dazhuang's future.
In the end, somehow or other, he wound up as the Supreme Guest Elder of Lingxiao Palace, while Shi Dazhuang joined Lingxiao Palace to be personally taught by him.
Yu Changdao was not unaware that Yang Kai had been pulling some strings behind the scenes, but regardless of how it came about, he ultimately got to take this disciple as he had wished.
Over the many years since, Yu Changdao had poured all his knowledge into carefully mentoring his sole apprentice. Shi Dazhuang, for his part, lived up to his innate gift as a Heavenly Dao Body, making rapid progress in his cultivation. What was even more rare was that the boy had inherited his mother’s honest and simple nature, lacking the arrogance and pride typical of many favored children of heaven, which greatly satisfied Yu Changdao.
His cultivation advanced steadily, straight to the Seventh-Stage Open Heaven Realm. Now, after all this time, he was on the verge of breaking through to the Ninth Stage!
Yu Changdao had reported the matter to the General Headquarters immediately. Mi Jinglun had treated it with great seriousness, not only dispatching Ouyang Lie to stand guard but also sending word to Yang Kai.
With two Ninth-Stage masters guarding the place, as long as Shi Dazhuang’s own foundations were solid enough, this breakthrough would likely succeed without issue.
Yang Kai glanced over and let out a sigh: "In the blink of an eye, several thousand years have passed…"
It felt like just yesterday that Shi Dazhuang had become a disciple. That was back before he had even departed for the Ink Battlefield. Even though Yang Kai was now a Ninth-Stage cultivator himself, he couldn’t help but remark on how swiftly time flew.
The higher one’s cultivation, the faster time seemed to slip away. Looking back at those early years of his own practice, every day, every year had felt so full and substantial. It was nothing like now; a casual period of secluded cultivation could swallow up years or even decades without him even feeling it.
And after several thousand years, even with the long lifespan afforded to an Eighth-Stage Open Heaven cultivator, Yu Changdao had visibly aged.
As for himself, though, he remained as handsome and dashing as ever.