Eternal Life: I Have the Favor System

Chu Lingguang had not expected this at all.

’It must be the Seventh Prince. He must have pulled some strings to get me this opportunity.’

Chu Lingguang’s thoughts turned to Yun Shu.

Yan Zhen and Qin Yu were both under the prince’s command. Yuanchu Mountain had finally broken its own rules to accept disciples. Although something felt fishy about it, this was still his best chance to get in.

Otherwise, even if people could merge with the strange objects, awaken all the responses within their bodies, and successfully step into the Qi Refining Realm, it would be difficult to display any real power without a proper Cultivation Technique.

Ultimately, wasn’t the reason Yuanchu Mountain stood unshakable because it controlled all the Cultivation Techniques for the Qi Refining Realm and beyond?

Besides, with so many people gathered at Divine Valley Mountain, it felt like they were all being rounded up in one fell swoop. No matter what Yuanchu Mountain’s objective was, since he had the chance, Chu Lingguang had to go see for himself.

So, Chu Lingguang packed his bags and set off for Divine Valley Mountain the next day. Before leaving, he instructed Zhaxi on how to practice the Tidal Breathing Technique and left his master’s Martial Arts Notes with him.

"My lord!"

Zhaxi kowtowed toward Chu Lingguang’s receding figure.

Chu Lingguang could sense the change in Zhaxi’s aura. He hoped that by the time Zhaxi had grown strong, Yuanchu Mountain would no longer be able to restrict others from cultivating, and everyone would have a chance to enter the Qi Refining Realm.

"Giddy-up!"

The journey was a long one.

Using his Sea of Consciousness to control the Han Gao Steed, Chu Lingguang covered a thousand miles a day. He finally reached Divine Valley Mountain just before the assessment began.

Divine Valley Mountain was a famous, scenic mountain within Divine Land Mansion. It was the subject of many historical tales and even legends about Immortals.

At this moment, figures with powerful auras were gathered here.

Nearly everyone had reached the True Martial Realm.

There were men and women, old and young. Everyone was full of anticipation for Yuanchu Mountain, discussing what kind of assessment it would hold.

’Xuanyuan Jinkang!’

Chu Lingguang released a Spiritual Sense Fluctuation.

Amidst the noisy crowd, he found Xuanyuan Jinkang sitting on a rock, eyes closed in meditation.

Xuanyuan Jinkang had also stepped into the True Martial Realm. He had wiped out the pirates on Black Bear Island, becoming a feared god of death in the South Sea. He had always hoped to use his merits to earn a chance to cultivate at Yuanchu Mountain.

He hadn’t expected Yuanchu Mountain to hold a wide-scale disciple recruitment at Divine Valley Mountain, and he had received an invitation from the Court to attend the assessment.

He seemed to hear Chu Lingguang’s voice, his eyes snapping open to look in Chu’s direction.

Standing in the crowd, Chu Lingguang waved to Xuanyuan Jinkang from a distance. Xuanyuan Jinkang’s brow furrowed. Recently, he had awakened a Divine Power from one of his forty-seven "responses." It allowed him to clearly remember everyone’s aura, sense their realm of strength through its fluctuations, and even judge their method of attack from the flow of their aura.

But Chu Lingguang, standing there in the crowd, was like a wisp of smoke. His Divine Ability was actually unable to probe him.

’Did he break through again?’

Xuanyuan Jinkang knew that Chu Lingguang had always been strong.

But he was on his own path of ascendancy. Why was there always a gap between him and Chu Lingguang? Why could he never surpass him?

’I must get into Yuanchu Mountain.’

Xuanyuan Jinkang thought to himself. In response to Chu Lingguang’s wave, he silently closed his eyes again. At first, he had been worried that Chu Lingguang wouldn’t be able to show up and enter Yuanchu Mountain with him. But now, seeing Chu Lingguang at Divine Valley Mountain with an aura so profound even he couldn’t see through it, Xuanyuan Jinkang felt a surge of imbalance. He even wished Chu Lingguang hadn’t come.

"Yan!"

"Qin!"

A short while later, Chu Lingguang found Yan Zhen and Qin Yu.

"The only reason you’re here at Divine Valley Mountain for the assessment is because Teacher Yun Hong pleaded your case through Li Mao. He finally managed to convince Zhang Xuan," Qin Yu said in a low voice.

"Zhang Xuan is still looking for your master," Yan Zhen reminded him.

"My master hasn’t contacted me. I have no idea where he is now."

Chu Lingguang desperately wanted to see Guo Wei and find out how he was doing.

"Master!" Yan Zhen called out.

The Commander of the Imperial Guard, Wei Yongguang, was also among those who had come for the assessment.

"Chu Lingguang, how have you been faring in West Warehouse?"

Wei Yongguang had been keeping an eye on Chu Lingguang. In hopes of recruiting him, he had once planned to help Guo Wei rescue Guo Xiaotian, but the Emperor had beaten him to it, granting Chu Lingguang the favor first.

"Thank you for your concern, Commander Wei. I’m doing alright," Chu Lingguang said, clasping his hands.

"Still as stubborn as ever. Good."

Wei Yongguang continued, "If a martial artist loses his heroic spirit, what good would it be even if he obtained an Immortal Technique in the future?"

Evidently, Wei Yongguang also knew about Chu Lingguang’s situation. Regardless of whether Chu Lingguang knew the Wolf Demon’s identity, as long as he didn’t yield to Yuanchu Mountain, he was someone worth associating with.

"Thank you for the compliment, Commander Wei. Are you also here to take the assessment?" Chu Lingguang asked.

"Yes. Yan Zhen should have told you. I’ve taken a Qi Refining Pill and have one foot in the Qi Refining Realm. If I have the chance, I naturally want to be like you all and enter Yuanchu Mountain to see a true Cultivation Technique," Wei Yongguang said noncommittally.

Chu Lingguang’s Spiritual Sense swept over Wei Yongguang.

His Sea of Consciousness Power had already formed into Telekinesis, so his Spiritual Sense was undetectable to Wei Yongguang. He really wanted to know if Yan Zhen had helped Wei Yongguang awaken his remaining "responses."

However, it seemed Wei Yongguang still didn’t know about Yan Zhen merging with the strange object. Perhaps Yan Zhen didn’t dare to tell him, or maybe he didn’t want to implicate him. Of course, there could be other reasons as well.

"Chu!"

Just then, another familiar voice called out.

"Lin!"

Chu Lingguang’s eyes lit up when he saw that the newcomers were Lin Longde and his master, Bao Zhenhai.

"Master, this is the Chu Lingguang I often tell you about," Lin Longde introduced.

"Chu Lingguang, my master is participating in the assessment. He brought me along to broaden my horizons," Lin Longde explained.

"This junior pays his respects to Senior."

Chu Lingguang bowed to Bao Zhenhai.

The man was a retired Military General and also a True Martial Realm expert. He and Guo Wei had met Bao Zhenhai once before in South City.

"Young and promising. Not bad," Bao Zhenhai praised.

"I never thought that one day, you’d be taking the same assessment as my master," Lin Longde remarked with a sigh.

His own strength was still a step away from the True Martial Realm. If he were to merge with a strange object, he could rapidly step into the True Martial Realm and, with its help, awaken the "responses" within his power in a relatively short time. As for whether he could use the strange object to break into the Qi Refining Realm later on, that was hard to say.

"Is there any news of your master?"

Bao Zhenhai asked about Guo Wei.

Guo Wei was the renowned Martial Arts Grandmaster of Qiling Prefecture. His sudden disappearance was known to everyone in the Qiling Prefecture’s Martial Arts Realm, and Bao Zhenhai had been trying to get news of him as well.

"No."

Chu Lingguang shook his head, dejected.

"Your master is a good man, and fortune favors the good. His strength is also greater than mine. He’ll be fine," Bao Zhenhai said comfortingly, feeling he shouldn’t have brought up Guo Wei.

"Chu!"

Martial arts experts had gathered at Divine Valley Mountain.

Chu Lingguang not only ran into Lin Longde, but also Chen Jin, Emperor Yue Xuan, Yu Jiaxin, Yan Chengdu, and others. None of them had reached the True Martial Realm yet; like Lin Longde, they had all come with their masters to witness the event.

Back at the Qiling Prefecture Academy, they had all been at the same starting line. Now, Chu Lingguang had pulled far ahead. He had not only made great contributions but his strength had also reached the peak of the True Martial Realm, earning him the chance to participate in the assessment.

"Mr. Liu, Mr. Li!"

A moment later, Chu Lingguang saw two more old acquaintances.

They were the Academy Masters, Liu Wan and Li Dayao. Their strength had long since reached the peak of the True Martial Realm, but their cultivation had stagnated due to their Cultivation Techniques. They, too, didn’t want to miss this rare opportunity.

Looking around, Chu Lingguang saw that nearly every True Martial Realm expert he knew—with the exception of Guo Wei—was present at Divine Valley Mountain.

If the experts from Yuanchu Mountain decided to eliminate everyone here, then no one would be left to affect Yuanchu Mountain’s karma in the three-hundred-year reincarnation cycle.

"Everyone!"

Just then, a voice filled with oppressive power rang out.

Chu Lingguang looked up and saw a familiar figure standing in mid-air.

’It’s him!’

Chu Lingguang recognized him. It was the young expert from Yuanchu Mountain with astonishing Telekinesis, the one who had casually crushed a group of True Martial Realm experts before taking him to Blood Wolf Cave and leaving him there.

’Is he the one presiding over this assessment?’

At that moment, he also spotted Zhang Xuan, Li Mao, and Yun Hong. He even saw a group of Yuanchu Mountain disciples in Outer Sect uniforms, as well as a dozen or so Inner Sect experts with mysterious auras.

Chu Lingguang, Yan Zhen, and Qin Yu couldn’t help but feel a surge of nervousness.

The true experts of Yuanchu Mountain had finally appeared before them. In front of such individuals, even though they had merged with strange objects and awakened all the "responses" of the fourth layer of the Mental Realm, they were nothing more than small fry.