Lord Fang was indeed an upright gentleman. The two talked for a long time, and he never once asked about Jiang Chen's background or origins, nor did he try to recruit him on behalf of his own sect.
This kind of bearing earned Jiang Chen's sincere admiration.
They kept talking and talking, going on well past midnight before Lord Fang finally rose to take his leave, feeling as though he still hadn't had enough.
He hadn't expected that he could hit it off so well with a young man from the secular world.
What surprised him most was that this secular youth's knowledge and composure—his insights into so many matters—continuously caught him off guard. In terms of the height and breadth of his perspective, Lord Fang felt that even he, a senior figure in his sect, was somewhat inferior.
What kind of monster was this? Was he really just a commoner?
Lord Fang smiled bitterly to himself, but his confidence in Jiang Chen only grew firmer. A young man like this—even if he came from a secular background—his rise would likely be unstoppable.
"Alright, no need to see me off. Tomorrow, you'll be reporting to the Earth Spirit Zone. Let me just remind you of one thing. The chief steward of the Earth Spirit Zone is Master Shuiyue of the Purple Sun Sect."
Jiang Chen's mind exploded. The speaker had no particular intent, but the listener took it to heart.
Lord Fang's well-meaning reminder was surely casual. He certainly didn't know Jiang Chen's true identity, and even if he did, he wouldn't necessarily know about the grudge between Jiang Chen and Master Shuiyue.
Lord Fang's emphasis in that reminder was really on the Purple Sun Sect.
But the emphasis Jiang Chen heard was Master Shuiyue.
Lord Fang patted Jiang Chen on the shoulder. "Get some good rest. Tomorrow, go to the Earth Spirit Zone in your best form. With your talent, I believe the Earth Spirit Zone shouldn't be able to hold you back either."
…
In the Earth Spirit Zone, a list had also been delivered to the chief steward, Master Shuiyue.
The list contained only ten names—the ten who had risen from the Mystic Spirit Zone. Master Shuiyue read it for a moment and frowned.
"Two of them are secular martial artists?"
Master Shuiyue herself had benefited from secular martial artists. Her most prized disciple at present was none other than a young woman from the secular Eastern Kingdom.
However, despite being a beneficiary, the prejudice she held against secular martial artists had never left her heart. Especially in recent times, all manner of rumors from the Mystic Spirit Zone had been filtering to her ears.
Guo Ren was not a disciple of Master Shuiyue's lineage, but he was still a bona fide sect disciple—and yet he had been reduced to such a state by a secular martial artist!
After hearing these rumors, Master Shuiyue had silently cursed Guo Ren as useless and a disgrace to the Purple Sun Sect, but she certainly hadn't formed any favorable impression of that secular martial artist either.
"This Rock monster—I'd like to see whether he truly has three heads and six arms." Master Shuiyue tossed the list aside with a flick of her wrist.
With a graceful lift of her delicate hand, she issued several commands that transformed into a ball of spiritual light and vanished into the void.
Before long, four of Master Shuiyue's direct disciples arrived before her.
"We greet our Master." These four disciples were all prized pupils of Master Shuiyue.
"Rise." Master Shuiyue's noble and elegant face carried a thread of authority. "You four are among my ten greatest disciples. In the first three-month period, not a single one of you managed to break into the Heavenly Spirit Zone. That has truly disappointed me."
All four hung their heads in shame, thoroughly alarmed.
"Fortunately, my Shuiyue lineage still has three disciples holding the fort in the Heavenly Spirit Zone. Now, I'm setting you a target: over these three months, no matter what, at least one of you must break into the Heavenly Spirit Zone. Do you have the confidence?"
Master Shuiyue asked coolly.
These four were Master Shuiyue's personally taught disciples. Aside from the three already in the Heavenly Spirit Zone, they were the most powerful among her remaining students.
"Disciple will give his absolute all." The four bowed in unison.
"Haitian, among my ten greatest disciples, you rank third—behind only Senior Brother Zeng Shi and Second Brother Chu Xinghan. Of course, Long Juxue has her Innate Spirit Body, so I won't compare you to her. But aside from those three, you are the pillar among the rest. I want you to summon your resolve over these next three months and not let me down. Strive to break into the Heavenly Spirit Zone after this three-month period."
The browless young man on the left nodded firmly. "Master, disciple will give everything—even if it means being crushed to dust—to seize a spot and charge into the Heavenly Spirit Zone."
"The three of you must not slack off either. Competition in the Earth Spirit Zone is fierce. My Shuiyue lineage is considered an important force within the Purple Sun Sect. If you perform poorly, then no matter how dazzling Long Juxue and Zeng Shi are in the Heavenly Spirit Zone, people will say that our Shuiyue lineage only has a handful of geniuses while the rest are all mediocre. Would you like others to point fingers at your backs like that?"
"Disciple would not," all four answered in unison.
"By the way, ten people have been promoted from the Mystic Spirit Zone this time. Most of them are nothing special, but there is one freak from the secular world—you should all take note of him." Master Shuiyue cautioned.
The browless youth, Haitian, asked with curiosity, "Master, anyone promoted from the Mystic Spirit Zone can't be that extraordinary—especially someone from the secular world."