I Pick up a Lost Godhood

Chapter 369 - 352: The Second Master

Ning Zhiquan smiled faintly. "Junior Sister Yanm is currently cultivating. Please wait a moment."

"My god, I can’t take this place! I’ll never understand why the boss came to this dump. The Dragon King Faction is better in every way!"

Lv Buwei bellowed, completely ignoring the stares from others.

Li Lishang, on the other hand, stared coldly at Ning Zhiquan. ’Just from his aura, I can tell he’s nothing special. The way he calls Yanm Yuyue ’Junior Sister’ makes it seem like he’s someone important here. I guess this Holy Hall is nothing much after all.’

"Senior Brother, who’s making such a racket? They have no manners at all." Li Tianyi walked out, staring coldly at Li Lishang and Lv Buwei.

Ning Zhiquan smiled faintly. "Junior Brother, these two are from the Dragon King Faction. They’re here to see Junior Sister Yanm."

Li Tianyi sized the two of them up and down. "The Dragon King Faction... I think I’ve heard of you. If you have business here, spit it out. Otherwise, come back tomorrow. Senior Sister Yanm is busy today."

Li Lishang and Lv Buwei glanced at each other. They had been at the Cultivation Academy for some time, but they had never run into such a hothead.

An idea struck Li Lishang, and he sneered. "Quite arrogant for a kid, aren’t you? Do you have any idea what happens to those who provoke the Dragon King Faction?"

"Consequences? If you want to fight, just say so." Seeing that his opponent was a Sword Cultivator, Li Tianyi was already itching for a brawl.

In truth, Li Tianyi was quite frustrated. ’Ma Tian’Er and Yanm Yuyue are girls, and there’s no fun in fighting them. As for Wang Meng... that bastard is just infuriating. I can never beat him. And Mingren... sparring with Senior Brother Mingren is the most pointless exercise. I can’t win, but I can’t lose either. It’s completely unsatisfying.’

Now that someone looking for trouble had come knocking, how could Li Tianyi possibly resist?

"Heh. I was just itching to test you. What’s your rank in the Holy Hall Faction?"

"Just a grunt. But more than enough to deal with you."

A murderous look appeared on Li Tianyi’s face, as if he was about to burst into flames.

Their auras locked, and in the next instant, both drew their swords simultaneously. Lv Buwei leaped backward. ’Heh, I’m usually the one to handle this sort of thing. I never expected the quiet Li Lishang to be the first to attack. It seems he’s still hung up on Yanm Yuyue coming to a place like this. Even if she left the Dragon King Faction, there were so many other options.’

CLANG...

The moment they clashed, Lv Buwei jumped in surprise. ’This kid’s Sword Technique is ruthless!’

Li Tianyi was in his element, his pure Five Elements Flame Sword Technique radiating a murderous aura in a purely offensive style.

’You could tell he was skilled with a single glance. How can a tiny place like the Holy Hall have someone of this caliber?’

Li Lishang’s Elemental Power was rising, giving him a clear advantage. But faced with this pressure, Li Tianyi showed no fear. Instead, he fought with increasing ferocity, seemingly accustomed to fighting while at a disadvantage.

Their Sword Qi grew fiercer, but both were holding back. Though hot-tempered, Li Tianyi was anything but foolish. His opponent’s Sword Technique was vicious, but it lacked any true killing intent.

"Alright, alright, that’s enough!"

Seeing that they had fought long enough, Lv Buwei hurriedly separated the two.

"A misunderstanding! A total misunderstanding! We’re actually here to join the Holy Hall," Lv Buwei said with a beaming smile. "Is Brother Ning here the steward?"

Ning Zhiquan was taken aback. "You’re here to join?"

"That’s right. We’re Senior Sister Yanm’s men. Since she joined the Holy Hall Faction, we had no choice but to follow. I didn’t expect to find some real experts here, though."

"You’re not bad," Li Lishang said coolly.

"You’re not so bad yourself." Li Tianyi’s interest was thoroughly piqued. ’An opponent like this is perfect for me. His Elemental Power is stronger than mine, but I’m not afraid of that.’

"Oh, you must be the two Junior Sister Yanm mentioned. Heh, please, come inside."

"Brother Ning, my apologies about earlier," Lv Buwei said with a hearty laugh.

"Heh, think nothing of it. It’s only natural to test the waters before joining a new faction." Ning Zhiquan smiled faintly. When it came to magnanimity, Brother Ning was truly remarkable.

"Brother Ning, where does this Junior Brother Li rank in the Holy Hall Faction?"

Lv Buwei wanted to gauge where he and Li Lishang would stand.

"Fifth among the Sword Cultivators, I’d say," Ning Zhiquan replied with a faint smile.

Lv Buwei was stunned. ’There are only a handful of people here... so that kid is actually that powerful?’

"Please, get some rest. Junior Sister Yanm is indeed in the middle of her cultivation."

"Heh, no rush, no rush," Lv Buwei said with a laugh, his attitude noticeably more restrained. Ning Zhiquan didn’t seem like the type to exaggerate, and Li Tianyi didn’t carry himself with an air of arrogance.

’Rumor has it that the Holy Hall Faction took down the Demon Refining Faction. We never really thought much of the Demon Refining Faction, but for so few people to defeat them... they must have had to fight with both brains and brawn.’

"Tianyi, what took you so long?"

"There were a couple of newcomers outside. I couldn’t resist testing them out. They’re pretty skilled," Li Tianyi said with a grin.

"Don’t tell me it was Li Lishang and Lv Buwei?" Yanm Yuyue asked.

"The very same." Li Tianyi sat back down in his spot.

"Focus," Wang Meng said. "Let’s finish this array before we deal with other matters."

The Five Elements Cultivation Array was active, and even Wang Meng could feel its benefits. The others were surely experiencing it just as profoundly.

While controlling the Five Elements Technique, Wang Meng was cross-referencing it with the Pentagram Array in his Sea of Heart. An epiphany seemed to be gradually forming—an intuitive understanding that could be grasped but never put into words.

The five of them were clearly growing more synchronized. The difference in their Elemental Power wasn’t huge, and their innate talent and Control Power over their respective elements were excellent. Of course, the most critical factor was the presence of Wang Meng and Mingren. Wang Meng might have tired on his own, but with Mingren there, it was far easier. Wang Meng only needed to balance the Five Elements, while Mingren could handle all other stabilization tasks. After all, Mingren himself commanded three elements, which was quite extraordinary. Even then, he probably still wasn’t using his full strength.

No one really knew what to do about Mingren’s personality; you could only say to each their own. But after their last battle, Mingren’s position as the second-strongest member of the Holy Hall Faction was cemented. Even though Hex Zui’s Elemental Power was immense, he was clearly no match for Mingren.

Sometimes, you didn’t need a fight to know who was stronger.

Even Li Tianyi didn’t like to spar with Mingren, as he instinctively knew he was no match. The others wouldn’t even dream of challenging him. The only one who might entertain the thought was Wang Meng, but alas, even Master Wang couldn’t do anything about Mingren.

After the five completed a full circulation, they each absorbed the resulting energy, their faces beaming with joy. "This Array Technique is amazing! Little Baldy, thanks a lot!"

While they were cultivating, Arhat maintained the Array Technique from the sidelines, studying its transformations during operation.

Arhat rubbed his head. "I should be the one thanking you, Boss. I’ll keep working hard."

Sanmao enthusiastically patted Arhat on the head. Arhat was so good-natured that he never fought back when hit or talked back when scolded. Sanmao had finally found someone in the Holy Hall Faction it could pick on.

"Sanmao, come here. Stop bullying Arhat." Ma Tian’Er beckoned to the little creature. Sanmao reluctantly trotted over on its short legs. ’Master said not to offend Miss Ma. Why are there so many people Master is afraid of... and why are they all women?’ Sanmao lamented.

Ning Zhiquan was chatting with Li Lishang and Lv Buwei when the five top masters of the Little Holy Hall emerged.

Having learned about their situation, Ning Zhiquan sighed to himself. ’They may be a bit arrogant, but they have every right to be. The Sects that Li Lishang and Lv Buwei come from are ranked much higher than the Holy Hall, and they were even members of the Dragon King Faction. For them to be willing to join the Little Holy Hall is a big deal.’ He couldn’t help but feel a surge of emotion. ’If Wang Meng and the others hadn’t come, I can’t imagine what state I’d be in right now.’

"Let me make some introductions. This is Wang Meng, the leader of our Holy Hall Faction. This is Mingren, our second-strongest expert. You’ve just met Li Tianyi. This is Ma Tian’Er—I’m sure you’ve heard of her. And as for Junior Sister Yanm, she needs no introduction."

Ning Zhiquan said.