Chapter 177
In Zheng Fa's room, spiritual energy surged like the tide, rising and falling, until it finally formed a small vortex.
Elder Pang wore a faint smile. Zheng Fa had a solid foundation; his breakthroughs were swift yet steady. Now, he was advancing even faster than his senior, Zhang Shizhi. None of his own disciples could compare.
Thinking of this, he swept his consciousness across the other disciples in the Wulong Heavenly Palace.
A few of his disciples happened to be passing by the small hall where Zheng Fa was, and they seemed to have noticed the unusual phenomenon of his breakthrough.
One disciple said, "Has Zheng Shidi broken through? He must be at the ninth level of Qi Refinement now, right?"
The others nodded quietly, their expressions somewhat gloomy.
Elder Pang felt a sense of relief. Although his disciples couldn't match Zheng Fa, they still had a sense of shame. With Zheng Fa around, they would likely put in more effort in their cultivation in the future.
"Too slow..."
He heard one disciple break the silence.
"?"
Elder Pang's face showed confusion. Zheng Fa's speed from entering the sect to reaching the ninth level of Qi Refinement was among the best in the Jiu Shan Sect. At this rate, he might even surpass Zhang Shizhi in establishing his foundation.
How could his disciple say Zheng Fa was cultivating too slowly?
To his surprise, the other disciples nodded in agreement, as if they shared the same sentiment.
The disciple continued, "Why can't Zheng Shidi establish his foundation this year, attain Golden Core next year, and reach Nascent Soul the year after? He could take over as the sect leader directly!"
"…"
Elder Pang twitched his lips.
Seriously? Why is the protagonist of this dream still someone else?
But then he noticed the other disciples sighing in unison.
"No need to wait until the year after for Nascent Soul. Once he forms his core, he might be able to take on the responsibilities of the sect leader. By then, the Discipline Hall will be under his control!" one disciple said softly. "At that time, we can at least nominally follow Zheng Shidi."
The Discipline Hall...
Isn't that under my control?
After realizing what these disciples were actually hoping for, Elder Pang's gaze turned toward Zheng Fa's small courtyard—
What about the Nascent Soul of the Great Freedom Demon Sect?
Are you all turtles?
So patient!
…
In the Thunder Pool, most disciples of the Great Freedom Demon Sect had yet to hear about the bounty.
A few disciples huddled together, cautiously moving through the Thunder Pool.
"Senior Brother, how long do we have to patrol like this?" a young disciple asked a middle-aged man beside him.
The middle-aged man, seemingly the leader of the group, shook his head. "Our secret realm has been exposed. The higher-ups want us to be careful and not let anyone infiltrate."
"The higher-ups... are so powerful, why should we be afraid of them?"
"Even the most powerful have been hiding in the secret realm for thousands of years, afraid to show themselves. The Holy Ancestor hasn't revealed himself, and we can't compete with the Immortal Sect." The middle-aged man shook his head. "If it weren't for this Thunder Pool, the Immortal Sect would have invaded our secret realm long ago—there might even be powerful cultivators nearby watching us."
"Powerful beings... isn't that just sending us to our deaths?" the disciple muttered, clearly dissatisfied.
"What are we? Those powerful cultivators wouldn't even glance at us..." The middle-aged man laughed. "Besides, they wouldn't dare enter this Thunder Pool."
"What about those Immortal Sect disciples?"
Hearing this, the middle-aged man chuckled, as if amused by the disciple's ignorance.
Seeing his expression, the disciple felt a bit indignant.
But he didn't dare to speak up.
Perhaps out of boredom from patrolling, the middle-aged man answered his question again. "You think the outside world is the same as our secret realm?"
"The outside has been peaceful for a thousand years. Those Immortal Sect disciples may control a realm, but they lack ambition. Think about our secret realm—when has there not been conflict? Who among us hasn't walked out from a pile of corpses?"
"…Are you saying?" The disciple's eyes lit up.
"I'm telling you, putting aside the difference in cultivation levels, those Immortal Sect disciples are all afraid for their lives. They can't compare to us disciples of the Holy Sect when it comes to fighting!" The middle-aged man spoke with a hint of bravado. "Now that our secret realm has emerged, though it was unexpected, I believe it's a great opportunity for us! If we stay in the secret realm, that's one thing, but once we come out, we’ll show them the might of our Holy Sect."
"Especially in this Thunder Pool. Those weak Immortal Sect disciples won't even dare to come here. If they do, and we run into them, won't they just be delivering us spirit stones and treasures?"
"Immortal Sect, ha! The hardships we've endured, they could never understand... I've heard from the senior brothers outside that most of those Immortal Sect disciples are soft-hearted and unfamiliar with combat. They are no match for us... If it weren't for the Holy Ancestor not having revealed himself, we would have swept across the world by now."
The other disciples of the Demon Sect nodded, feeling some truth in his words.
Their faces showed signs of anticipation.
"Be careful!"
Suddenly, one disciple shouted a warning.
The middle-aged man felt a jolt of alarm, tilting his head back just in time to dodge a flash of silver light.
"Who!"
Feeling a sharp pain in his earlobe, he couldn't help but shout angrily.
"Who!"
To his surprise, someone in the shadows shouted back.
"Weren't we supposed to ambush together and share the spoils?"
He turned to the source of the voice, and a dozen pairs of eyes, like wolves and tigers, were fixed on him.
The silver light returned to the hand of an old man with a goatee, who smiled sheepishly and explained in a low voice, "I got a bit too excited with this spirit stone... my hand slipped."
The middle-aged man felt as if he could understand, yet he truly grasped nothing.
Looking again, he realized they had been completely surrounded.
Nearly twenty unknown cultivators had encircled them from all sides.
The looks in their eyes made the middle-aged man feel as if he were facing wolves and tigers.
Beside him, the earlier questioning disciple spoke with a trembling voice, "Senior Brother... didn't they say the outside world has been peaceful for a long time? Why do these people look fiercer than us?"
The middle-aged man felt the same way...
"Remember! Don't rush to take blood. Someone is specifically responsible for that. We'll share the spoils later!" one of the surrounding cultivators shouted.
In the next moment, a rain of attacks came pouring down on them.
…
The middle-aged man from the Great Freedom Demon Sect, injured and in disarray, fled toward the entrance of the secret realm.
He felt a bit fortunate; although there were many outsiders, their cultivation levels were uneven, and their combat experience was lacking.
This allowed him to escape with his life from the ambush.
However, one thing puzzled him—these people seemed less interested in killing and more focused on collecting their blood.
Some were even specifically gathering the blood they lost from their injuries...
As he fled back, he noticed some unusual signs—
He didn't know when, but many more cultivators had appeared.
They were either alone or in groups, but their target was the same:
Disciples of the Great Freedom Demon Sect!
He had already seen several of his fellow disciples killed.
This made him increasingly anxious.
Just as he was nearing the secret realm, a voice suddenly came from behind him.
"Hey? Another one has come?"
A tall figure flew toward him.
What chilled him was that this person was holding one of his fellow disciples from the Great Freedom Demon Sect.
The middle-aged man activated his Heavenly Demon Shadow Escape, trying to flee.
To his shock, the figure flashed, transforming into lightning, blocking his path and striking out with a palm.
The palm, crackling with thunder, struck him, leaving him paralyzed and unable to resist.
The middle-aged man slumped into the hands of this person, and just before losing consciousness, he heard the person mumbling.
"Brother Zheng doesn't want to keep them; I can take care of them, right?"
"Two should be enough. Draw blood every other day; they should last a while. If they starve, I'll just catch more."
"Still fresh."
As the middle-aged man heard this, his vision darkened, and he finally understood why the previous group of cultivators had acted the way they did.
He closed his eyes, his lips trembling, wishing he could curse out loud:
Is it really this brutal outside?
Who the hell is the real demon sect here!
(End of chapter)
---
**Chapter 174: Agile**
In modern times.
As time passed and the month drew closer, Zheng Fa could feel the old man’s anxiety growing.
But the old man seemed to be afraid of affecting Zheng Fa, not uttering a single word of urgency.
In the past month, the old man had spent less time at the nursing home and more at Teacher Tian's house.
This weekend, the old man was not at the nursing home.
"Grandpa Bai is worried that Grandma Wu can't manage alone, so he goes to help her every day," Tang Lingwu whispered to Zheng Fa.
Zheng Fa nodded slightly, took out his phone, and sent a text to the old man: "I have a way to treat Teacher Tian."
In less than three seconds, his phone vibrated vigorously.
"Really?"
As soon as the call connected, the old man asked, his tone slightly trembling.
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