Eternal Life: Talent Grows with Age

According to the rules, if the Little Fire Cloud Beast refuses everyone and still doesn’t choose to sign a Spirit Contract within three years, it gains its freedom.

However, this is something that will never happen—a private understanding reached between the elder Fire Cloud Beasts and the absolute top brass of the Good Beast Sect.

Because the moment a young Fire Cloud Beast leaves the protection of the Immortal Sect, chances are it’ll be thrown into a world of dangers and its odds of dying young are extremely high. To protect the young beasts, neither side is ever going to let it fly free at such a tender age.

Wanna fly?

Maybe wait until you’re older.

But according to the agreement between the Fire Cloud Beasts and the Good Beast Sect, they won’t ever force the Little Fire Cloud Beast’s decision. In the end, this kind of thing is always left to the elders of the Fire Cloud Beast clan to handle.

Hidden in the thousands of years of history that’s unknown to most current Good Beast Sect members, the Fire Cloud Beast fathers have shown the young ones what "parental love" really means—turning dreams of flying into solid, responsible beastly behavior and a willingness to sign contracts without fuss.

Of course, stuff like this, which just sounds unpleasant, is never recorded or talked about.

From the perspective of Ning Yun and the Fire Cloud Beasts, the Little Fire Cloud Beast’s final choice should probably be He Feng—not only does he have a decent C-grade mid-tier Spirit Root, his alchemy talent is impressive. Overall, he’s the best of the bunch this time around.

As parents, everyone wants their kid’s partner to be outstanding; only this way can there be real benefits for their future growth and development.

Lu Chang’sheng’s alchemy talent is higher than He Feng’s, but his Spirit Root is a major drawback—he might never even make it to Foundation Establishment.

"As far as I know, you’ve cultivated the Cyan Spirit Technique."

Lu Chang’sheng nodded, but his expression didn’t look discouraged. "Ancestor Ning Yun might not realize, but I’ve only just reached Entry level in the Cyan Spirit Technique, at best."

"What a surprise."

Huang Ling repeated Ancestor Ning Yun’s reply, her own face also filled with astonishment.

"We all assumed you at least had a pretty solid foundation in the Cyan Spirit Technique," said Huang Ling.

This was exactly what Ancestor Ning Yun thought.

Within the Good Beast Sect, a lot of the surface information about Lu Chang’sheng didn’t get past Huang Ling. Even though Ancestor Ning Yun was still in recovery, she could always get the basics from Huang Ling.

When Lu Chang’sheng first entered the Good Beast Sect, word of it was all over Platinum Immortal City. The talk of the town was his Immortal Dao Spirit Root.

After much digging, people initially confirmed that Lu Chang’sheng’s Immortal Dao Root Bone was ranked D, inferior tier. With that quality of Spirit Root, it’d be nearly impossible to reach late-stage Qi Cultivation—certainly not in twenty or thirty years.

Granted, nothing’s absolute, but to manage that, you’d need some serious tricks. Nobody believed such tricks could happen in a place like Platinum Immortal City. With all the speculation, another rumor emerged—he’d cultivated the Cyan Spirit Technique, a Spirit Body Method.

Then everything made sense to everyone else.

The Spirit Body Cultivation Technique can forge a Spiritual Body, improve cultivation talent, and—by another route—boost the quality of one’s Immortal Dao Spirit Root.

Folks decided Lu Chang’sheng must’ve raised his ability to at least the level of a D-grade low Spirit Root, maybe D-grade mid.

And the Cyan Spirit Technique? He must have at least reached Minor Achievement.

Bear in mind, back then Lu Chang’sheng was only at the seventh level of Qi Cultivation. In twenty years he’d reached the ninth level, so in the minds of folks at the Good Beast Sect, this Alchemist Lu probably made even more progress in the Cyan Spirit Technique.

The next step: Great Success.

But that’s just about the limit. The further you go in upgrading your innate Spirit Root, the harder it gets. Even if Lu Chang’sheng perfected the Cyan Spirit Technique someday, it’s unlikely he’ll break past C-grade low.

That jump to C-grade is a hard one.

And now, Lu Chang’sheng has told Ancestor Ning Yun that he’s just hit Entry level—so that offers a clue.

Sooner or later, he’ll probably reach C-grade low Spirit Root.

Compared to He Feng, that’s already respectable. Which means his talent in alchemy becomes all the more important.

"About that bottle of pills—Ancestor Ning Yun might not know, but if I get enough time every month, I could probably refine close to ten bottles of it."

Ancestor Ning Yun’s eyes, which had been closed, snapped open instantly.

Huang Ling stared, dumbfounded.

Then she looked at Lu Chang’sheng with utter disbelief.

Ever since more than twenty years ago, when Ancestor Ning Yun got wounded in the eyes during a magical duel, she’d rarely opened them fully. At most, she’d crack them open just a little.

Just what kind of pill was in that bottle to actually shock Ancestor Ning Yun into losing her composure?

Huang Ling suddenly wanted to run off and find out everything about Lu Chang’sheng. She’d had no special opinion about this newly entered Alchemist Lu, but she hadn’t been fond of him either.

"Tomorrow...No, actually, come by next door in a bit."

That was Ancestor Ning Yun’s instruction.

Huang Ling, as she relayed the message, actually dropped her mouth open wide enough to fit a chicken egg.

So it’s come to this after all!

Turns out Ancestor Ning Yun isn’t as impartial as she’d imagined!

Lu Chang’sheng couldn’t help feeling a bit pleased—he was just about to accept, but then something crossed his mind and he shook his head slightly.

"Let’s put this aside for now."

Seeing the confusion on Huang Ling and Ning Yun’s faces, Lu Chang’sheng coughed. "Signing a Spirit Contract goes both ways. The Little Fire Cloud Beast is certainly gifted, and with my nurturing, he’ll have no problem getting to late Foundation Establishment in the future. I respect his talent a lot, but there’s one issue—his temperament doesn’t really seem right for it!"

"I understand what you mean," came Ancestor Ning Yun’s relayed words.

"The pup is unruly. He needs to be properly disciplined. Give me some time. And in the meantime, let’s keep this matter between us."

Ancestor Ning Yun closed her eyes again, letting that striking scar in the depths of her gaze become hidden once more.

A flicker of suspicion appeared in Lu Chang’sheng’s eyes, but then something clicked, and his expression turned odd.

So the big, honest-looking Ancestor Ning Yun is just as crafty as anyone else, huh?

Pity for those poor saps who tried to feed the beast first.

Lu Chang’sheng agreed anyway. It’s in his own best interest, and with Ancestor Ning Yun being so cooperative, there’s no reason not to accept a simple request like this.

Huang Ling glanced over, visibly stunned—as if she was meeting Ning Yun for the very first time. Who knows what Ning Yun said to her, but Huang Ling quickly got her composure back.

Leaving the Beast Institute, Lu Chang’sheng ran into He Zhao, who tried to sound him out with some side comments. Seeing Lu Chang’sheng didn’t bite, he could only leave in frustration.

He Zhao was from the He Family. In a sense, folks in this branch stuck closer together—same blood, after all, so naturally they banded together for support.

He Feng was the one they were pushing forward this time.

"Fellow Daoist Lu." Just as he turned, He Qing and He Feng came over.

"Fellow Daoists."

Lu Chang’sheng greeted the two.

They both seemed in good spirits—He Qing in particular.

Before Lu Chang’sheng could say anything, He Qing smiled brightly and said, "He Feng and the Little Fire Cloud Beast have made fast progress. Give it another couple years and most likely they’ll sign the Spirit Contract."

"Congratulations, congratulations," Lu Chang’sheng replied.

He Qing’s motives were crystal clear to him. He Qing hardly had any real relationship with Lu Chang’sheng, and with the bit of competition between the He and Ning families, they were at best just acquaintances—no need to rush over for a friendly chat.

So, he’s just trying to use this as a way to get Lu Chang’sheng to step away from competing with He Feng.

"You’re too kind. It’s still not set in stone,"

He Qing said with a smile.

Lu Chang’sheng wasn’t going to call out the inconsistencies in his words; after a few polite exchanges, he turned and left.

"Of everyone with a chance, I’m the standout. I don’t need to play these little tricks, do I?" He Feng said, once Lu Chang’sheng had walked off.

"You’re just too young. Never get complacent before the final decision is made."

"I came back from Purple Ice Lake this time not hoping you’d miss out on this Fire Cloud Beast. If you secure this one, in a hundred years, the Good Beast Sect will belong to our He Family. So we can’t be sloppy about this. Lu Chang’sheng’s Root Bone might be lacking, but when it comes to alchemy, he’s definitely strong. He’s a real rival for you," He Qing stated.

He Feng shook his head, a trace of pride in his voice. "He’s just coasting on the benefits of his age. I can already sense I’m on the verge of mastering Grade Two. Soon, in the sect’s Alchemy Institute, all respect will come to me."