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Translator: Silavin & Qing
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
Yang Kai arrived beside Ou Yang Lie in the void and cupped his fist at the old man to the side, “Congratulations, Old Yu.”
Though Yu Chang Dao had already reached the peak of the Eighth Order a long time ago, he still couldn’t help but feel nervous while replying, “Congratulations to you too, Palace Master.”
His nervousness wasn’t without reason. The cultivator breaking through this time was his Legacy Disciple, the one he took under his wing and carefully trained, the one born with a Special Constitution made for cultivating his Grand Dao, Shi Da Zhuang!
Shi Da Zhuang was a man with a very modest name. If one only heard of his name but never saw him, one might mistake him for a villager living in some backwater countryside; however, from today onward, it would also be a name heralded through the ages as it belonged to the momentous first person to break through directly to the Seventh-Order after the World Tree clone began nurturing the Star Boundary.
One could say that Shi Da Zhuang was a symbol of the rise of a new generation.
When the Cave Heavens and Paradises received news of the effects of the World Tree clone’s nourishment, many came to the Star Boundary and built Dao Temples, dividing up the land and taking in disciples.
In the beginning, though all cultivators living in the Star Boundary received nourishment from the World Tree clone, there wasn’t anyone who could be described as Heaven-defying.
That was until Yu Chang Dao found Shi Da Zhuang.
The child who took his widowed mother’s maiden name had a modest given name, but had a truly rare physique. He was born with the Innate Dao Body which was perfectly suited to cultivating a certain core Secret Art from Free and Unfettered Paradise.
Since Yu Chang Dao came from Free and Unfettered Paradise, he naturally wanted to take Shi Da Zhuang as his Disciple. If he got Shi Da Zhuang to become his Disciple, he would be able to cultivate this Secret Art to its pinnacle and establish a lasting legacy. Moreover, Yu Chang Dao couldn’t become a Ninth-Order Master in his lifetime, but if he carefully taught Shi Da Zhuang, who had an exceptional attitude and was born with a perfect physique for cultivating, the latter might stand a chance to reach the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
Through this, Yu Chang Dao’s successor would be remembered throughout history.
Free and Unfettered Paradise was well-known and highly ranked among the 72 Paradises; therefore, they were one of the top Great Forces in the 3,000 Worlds. As for Yu Chang Dao, he was a Seventh-Order Inner Sect Elder at the time and had a high status. Anyone who came across such an opportunity was extremely lucky and would probably agree to it happily.
However, Shi Da Zhuang’s widowed mother, Liu Cai Xia, had different ideas. When faced with the idea of Yu Chang Dao taking Shi Da Zhuang in as his Legacy Disciple, she firmly disagreed.
Back then, it had not been long since Yang Kai worked with the other Great Emperors to defeat Great Demon God Mo Sheng and save the Star Boundary.
High Heaven Palace had an unparalleled reputation in the Star Boundary and was well known throughout the World.
All cultivators in the Star Boundary took joining High Heaven Palace as their goal in life, so they didn’t care about any Cave Heaven or Paradise.
Shi Da Zhuang’s father had died only months prior to Yu Chang Dao’s arrival, and before he passed away, his final wish was that if his child could cultivate, he would enter High Heaven Palace.
Liu Cai Xia was just an ordinary woman, simple-minded and ignorant, but such people could be more stubborn than any others.
She remembered her husband’s last words and insisted that Shi Da Zhuang enter High Heaven Palace.
Yu Chang Dao was shocked and confused for quite a while after he went to Liu Cai Xia’s doorstep and told her he wanted to take Shi Da Zhuang in as his Disciple.
After asking for the reason for her refusal, Yu Chang Dao didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but he felt how difficult this matter would be.
With his identity and abilities, he naturally could forcefully bring Shi Da Zhuang away, but by the same token, trampling the wishes of a mortal couple was far beneath his dignity.
With no other choice, Yu Chang Dao thought of Yang Kai and personally visited him to discuss this matter with him.
At first, he wanted Yang Kai to come forward and persuade Liu Cai Xia to agree to let Yu Chang Dao take her son as his Disciple; after all, this matter was greatly beneficial to Shi Da Zhuang.
After many twists and turns, Yu Chang Dao somehow became a High-Rank Guest Elder of High Heaven Palace and Shi Da Zhuang’s Master after he entered High Heaven Palace.
Yu Chang Dao knew Yang Kai had dug a pit for him in this matter, but no matter the process, he still gained his desired Legacy Disciple, so he jumped in all on his own.
Over the years, Yu Chang Dao poured everything he could into nurturing his Disciple. At the same time, Shi Da Zhuang proved worthy of his excellent physique as his cultivation increased rapidly. What was even rarer was that he inherited his mother’s modest and steady personality, not showing any of the arrogance and conceit that many gifted children had. This naturally made Yu Chang Dao even more satisfied.
Yu Chang Dao guided Shi Da Zhuang all the way through his cultivation, from directly reaching the Seventh Order until today, when he was finally about to become a Ninth-Order Master!
Yu Chang Dao immediately reported this matter to the Supreme Headquarters, and Mi Jing Lun treated the news very seriously. Not only had he dispatched Ou Yang Lie to stand guard for the event, he even told Yang Kai about this.
With two Ninth-Order Masters overseeing the situation here, it could be said that so long as Shi Da Zhuang had accumulated enough heritage, it wouldn’t be a problem for him to break through.
Looking in that direction, Yang Kai couldn’t help but sigh, “Thousands of years have passed just like that…”
It was as though the matter of Shi Da Zhuang finding a Master had only happened yesterday. It happened before Yang Kai headed to the Black Ink Battlefield. Even though Yang Kai was now a Ninth-Order Master, he couldn’t help but exclaim how time seemed to fly by.
The higher his cultivation, the faster time seemed to pass for Yang Kai. Thinking back to the days he had just begun cultivating, he felt every day and year was filled with adventure and fulfilment, but now, even a simple retreat could take dozens of years without him knowing it.
Even though an Eighth-Order Master had a long lifespan, Yu Chang Dao had obviously become older after several thousand years.
As for Yang Kai, he still looked the same as he did on that day…
“This kid has a good foundation,” Ou Yang Lie was looking in Shi Da Zhuang’s direction with an approving expression.
When mentioning that, the usually calm Yu Chang Dao had a proud expression as he chuckled, “The biggest virtue my Disciple possesses is that he’s never been anxious about his cultivation, so his foundation is naturally more stable than the others.”
Meanwhile, Yang Kai was laughing on the side, “You need solid ground to build a grand tower. With a more stable foundation, he will be able to ascend higher than others. There’s a good chance that his breakthrough will be smooth sailing, so you have nothing to worry about, Old Yu,”
With a bitter laugh, Yu Chang Dao replied, “I know, but how could I not be worried at this moment? Wouldn’t you worry if it were your Disciple here?”
Yang Kai smiled faintly, “My three Disciples are all people who exceed the ordinary to reach the extraordinary. They will definitely become Ninth-Order Masters, so I have nothing to worry about.”
Hearing that, Yu Chang Dao glared at him, “Palace Master, if you say it like that, we have nothing to continue this conversation with.”
Rolling his eyes, Ou Yang Lie quickly changed the subject, “Now that you’ve mentioned your three Disciples, are they still with the Suppressing Black Ink Army?”
“En,” Yang Kai nodded, a trace of worry on his face. Because the Old Tree had fallen into a coma, he couldn’t head to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction to check on the situation there.
“They’re probably not having it easy there either,” Ou Yang Lie sighed, “Counting the days, your Eldest Disciple and Second Disciple began cultivating at almost the same time as Shi Da Zhuang. Theoretically, they should have almost reached the point of breaking through to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm too.”
“Who knows,” Yang Kai shook his head.
Yu Chang Dao was a little frustrated, “It’s not that this Old Master wants to lecture you, Palace Master, but you care too little about your Disciples.”
As he was a High Heaven Palace High-Rank Guest Elder, he had a good relationship with the others from the Sect. His and Shi Da Zhuang’s relationship resembled a Father and Son, whereby he would be with Shi Da Zhuang all day and carefully teach and train him. On the other hand, Yang Kai and his few Disciples were the exact opposite.
Yu Chang Dao had rarely seen Yang Kai interacting with his Disciples. To describe it in one saying, it would be, ‘the Master teaches the trade, but the Disciple’s skills are self-made.’
However, even though Yang Kai didn’t teach them much, his Disciples all had excellent achievements. Before they joined the Suppressing Black Ink Army, all three Disciples had reached the Eighth Order with hopes of becoming Ninth-Order Masters.
“I was busy…” Yang Kai spread his hands hopelessly, “I do want to be like Old Yu and teach them personally, but I can’t help it.”
Yu Chang Dao groaned and sighed, “It’s been hard on you. Without you, the Human Race might not have made it to this day.”
“It’s starting!” Ou Yang Lie suddenly spoke up.
Meanwhile, the Seventh-Order and Eighth-Order Masters eavesdropping on the trio’s conversation also instantly became solemn and looked in the direction of the void.
When Yang Kai looked over, he saw Shi Da Zhuang sitting down cross-legged. His Small Universe’s illusory phantom had appeared behind him. Dao Strengths flowed as World Force pulsed rhythmically.
An Eighth-Order Master becoming a Ninth-Order Master was the greatest achievement when cultivating the Open Heaven Realm Method. The path to the peak was treacherous, and one would fall with one slip and suffer a tragic ending.
Since ancient times, there weren’t a lot of cultivators who could directly advance to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, but there weren’t few either. However, there were only around 100 Ninth-Order Old Ancestors from the Cave Heavens and Paradises on the Black Ink Battlefield.
Not everyone who had the qualifications to become a Ninth-Order Master would succeed because even the breakthrough process was very risky. If the cultivator failed at the last moment, the lightest consequence would be damaging their Small Universe, causing them to be unable to reach the Ninth Order, similar to Xiang Shan’s previous situation. The heavier consequence would be destroying the cultivator’s Small Universe and instantly perishing.
Many people had failed in this final step, so there hadn’t been many Ninth-Order Masters over the years.
The crowd could clearly see the illusory phantom behind Shi Da Zhuang increasing in size like a balloon being blown up. Meanwhile, the scene inside the Small Universe had become blurry because it was getting more bloated.
A while later, it was restored to its original condition.
After that, it happened again.
The movement made it seem like the Small Universe had its own life force and was slowly breathing.
Following every cycle, the Small Universe would slowly break through its limitations.
“It’s extremely dangerous for an Eighth-Order Master to become a Ninth-Order Master. The Cave Heavens and Paradises have naturally studied this matter for hundreds of thousands of years and come up with all kinds of methods to assist in this process. The current technique Shi Da Zhuang is using is the most common and ordinary Bridging Method. Although all of you come from different backgrounds, many of you have reached the peak of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, so I believe your Masters and Elders have spoken about this to you. The Bridging Method might seem ordinary, but it is also the safest method; its only flaw is that it takes a long time. All of you will experience this day too, so I hope you can take away something from today,” Ou Yang Lie said aloud.
The Open Heaven Realm Masters observing nodded and agreed.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai was instantly intrigued, “Do the Cave Heavens and Paradises have many Secret Techniques related to this breakthrough?”
Yu Chang Dao nodded and replied, “Of course. The heritage accumulated by the Cave Heavens and Paradises are something other Great Forces find hard to reach.”
Hearing that, Yang Kai agreed, “The accumulation gathered throughout several millions of years is no joke. I’ll inquire about it later.”
“There’s no need for that. Head Manager Hua has already asked the Cave Heavens and Paradises about such matters. Also, these things aren’t confidential anymore and can be exchanged for Military Merits.”
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Many thanks for the chapter, as always.