Free Web NovelChapter 419: Chapter 402: Not a Good Lover
"Three years is enough time. I want to participate too!" Li Tianyi was fired up. Wang Meng and Mingren had both reached Minor Perfection, giving him an immense surge of motivation. He was determined to join!
Ma Tian’Er’s progress was also quite significant. However, combat was never her goal. She much preferred refining Pills to help everyone with their Cultivation.
Ma Tian’Er watched Wang Meng, who was focused on his Cultivation, and her heart felt both happy for him and a little sorrowful. ’From start to finish, love between a man and a woman is just an accessory on the path of Cultivation. Wang Meng has already reached Minor Perfection, and I know his personality well. This is only the beginning. He definitely has even higher goals.’
Since Wang Meng’s return, Ma Tian’Er had been very level-headed. She didn’t want to distract him with romantic entanglements.
In truth, it wasn’t just her; Yang Ying was the same. This was the very reason Yang Ying stayed away. Both of them saw the situation clearly. Wang Meng was a man who valued his relationships deeply, but on the path of Cultivation, that was truly a hindrance. Emotional attachments, especially, were something to be avoided at all costs.
Ma Tian’Er just wanted to watch silently from the sidelines as Wang Meng took great strides forward.
Of course Wang Meng had to participate in the Battle of the Other Shore; it was his agreement with Mingren. He didn’t know what level Mingren would reach in three years under the guidance of the Pure Land, but he was confident that in three years, he would be able to use his Life Wheel with complete freedom. ’Then we’ll see who’s more formidable.’
Within the Heaven and Earth Spirit Locking Array, Wang Meng and Moo Shan fought once more, and he could clearly feel the difference.
With the addition of his Life Wheel, Wang Meng’s Sword Technique had become faster and more powerful. While the improvement was marginal, his strikes were now infinitely close to the level of Godhood.
At this level, even though Godhood was far superior to a Life Wheel, there wasn’t much room for that advantage to be fully exploited.
He was still losing, but Wang Meng was no longer being instantly defeated by Moo Shan and Wangtian. After being tormented for so many years, this was the first time he could finally hold his head high.
The Mozi sword Mo Chen had given him was truly a fine blade. Only a sword fit for a Great Perfection cultivator could withstand the power of the Life Wheel.
Shan Lin was a little annoyed. The Star Ring had arrived, so why couldn’t they just have Wang Meng come and pick it up? Why make a soul mentor like him deliver it personally? Still, it was a direct order from Lv Yuantian, and Shan Lin didn’t dare disobey.
Arhat was sweeping the courtyard and froze when he saw Shan Lin. He then quickly darted inside to announce the visitor.
Wang Meng and the others were chatting cheerfully when Arhat burst in, panting. "Mentor Shan Lin is here."
Everyone was stunned and confused. Why would a soul mentor come to their hall? They all hurried out to greet him.
Shan Lin sized up the Little Holy Hall. Spotting Wang Meng, he beckoned him over. "Wang Meng, your new Star Ring has arrived. Try not to lose it this time."
He then took out a box, which bore the Star Alliance’s iconic seal—a seal that only the intended recipient could open.
Wang Meng thought nothing of it and opened the box. A soft, shimmering starlight immediately radiated out.
Never mind Wang Meng—Shan Lin’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.
’How can this be?’
This was... a Star Crest!
It was a symbol of status that only members of the Star Alliance were qualified to possess.
Engraved upon the Star Crest was a shining star, and the light emanated from it.
A One-Star Star Crest. The more stars, the greater the authority it represented. Only those at Great Perfection, or Minor Perfection cultivators with immense potential, were eligible to own one.
Shan Lin had been waiting many years for a ring like this. The scene before him felt completely unreal.
"Huh? What’s this? Mentor Shan Lin, is there some mistake? Wasn’t it supposed to be a Star Ring? What is this thing?" Fan Hong asked. "I feel like I’ve seen one somewhere before."
Of course Fan Hong had seen one. His own father wore one.
A faint smile touched Wang Meng’s lips. ’This must be a gesture from Lv Yuantian. Sometimes, I really can’t figure out what’s going on in that Old Demon Dean’s head.’
Hex Zui was too flustered to speak. His hand trembled as he pointed, but the words were caught in his throat and wouldn’t come out.
In the entire Holy Hall, only one person possessed such a thing: the Holy Hall Master, Xuee Zhongnan.
’Gods, am I dreaming?’
Wang Meng took out the Star Crest and slipped it onto his finger. Shan Lin held his breath, hoping it was all a mistake, but... the Star Alliance didn’t make errors like this. As the Star Crest settled onto Wang Meng’s hand, Shan Lin felt as if he could hear his own heart shatter.
He had been paying close attention to the new recruits for the Star Alliance. This latest batch had only five members. Three were top-tier Great Perfection experts who had demonstrated formidable combat strength in the Slaughter Space. The other two were at Minor Perfection. Generally, for a Minor Perfection cultivator to join the Star Alliance, they had to either possess a Holy Statue or a Top-Grade Life Artifact.
One was, without a doubt, Mingren. His Holy Light Demon Collapse Body was world-famous; even the Pure Land had made an exception for him, to say nothing of the Star Alliance. But the identity of the other was a mystery. Many people in Shan Lin’s position desperately wanted to join the Star Alliance, even just as a provisional member, so they followed this news with rapt attention. ’Could it be that another Sect has produced a Sacred Body?’
Yet here was this Star Crest, resting on Wang Meng’s hand.
Wang Meng examined the Star Crest. It felt completely different from his old Star Ring. He activated the Array Technique within it and found it was far more complex, containing data on numerous Small Thousand Realms and equipped with a full suite of Teleportation Arrays. ...Truly magnificent. ...At least this Master Wang wouldn’t have to worry about getting lost anymore.
It contained Teleportation Arrays for over a thousand Small Thousand Realms—one of the privileges of becoming a Star Alliance member.
A true display of status.
Furthermore, any Sect affiliated with the Star Alliance was required to receive a Star Alliance Envoy with the same honors afforded to a Sect Leader.
Wang Meng’s casual inspection was enough to make everyone else drool with envy.
"Thank you, Mentor Shan Lin. The Dean is really too kind," Wang Meng said with a smile.
Shan Lin was still in a daze. He was about to say something, but then it hit him: the person before him was no longer an ordinary academy Cultivator. He was... a Star Alliance Envoy.
"Envoy Wang, you are too kind. As of today, you are an official member of the Star Alliance."
Shan Lin’s attitude became respectful, but the shift in their roles was so abrupt that he still felt a little awkward.
"Mentor, you’re being too formal. At the academy, I was always under your care. No matter what I become, I will always have been your student. Please, just call me Wang Meng."
Shan Lin was stunned. He had seen how possessing a Star Crest changed many Cultivators, but he had never met anyone like Wang Meng. Setting aside Wang Meng’s personal strength, owning a Star Crest meant that his future path would be completely different from others. And he had achieved all this as a mere Minor Perfection cultivator.
From his first interactions with Wang Meng, he knew the young man had an enthusiasm that was rare among Cultivators. But at this moment, Shan Lin was truly won over. He could see that Wang Meng’s humility was not an act.
"Wang Meng, congratulations. You are the second Cultivator from our Starlight Academy to become a Star Alliance member while at the Minor Perfection realm. I assume you know who the first one was."
"It must be Ling Fei," Wang Meng said.
Shan Lin nodded. "With the Star Crest, you can now freely enter and exit the Cultivation Academy, and you can travel to any Small Thousand Realm you wish. Oh, and I imagine the Holy Hall’s ranking is about to get a huge boost."
Hex Zui and the others quickly checked the data on their Star Rings. ...The Holy Hall had already risen to sixty-eighth place.
Everyone felt like they were in a dream. Had they really just soared from the brink of elimination all the way to sixty-eighth place, just like that?
If they pushed just a little harder, maybe they could even break into the top fifty!
After seeing Shan Lin off, Wang Meng himself was still rather surprised. Everyone offered a round of congratulations. Hex Zui was the most moved; he felt that as long as he could watch Wang Meng continue to create miracles, his life would not have been lived in vain. The most excited, however, was Fan Hong. ’Damn, who has an eye for talent like I do? This investment is yielding a ten-thousand-fold return!’
Fan Xiaoniao had truly given a lot for Wang Meng’s sake. Of course, he did so willingly; it had nothing to do with the materialistic attitude he so often professed. At his core, he was the same kind of person as Wang Meng.
Once they believed in someone, they would see it through to the end. Even if they were wrong, there was no turning back.
Ma Tian’Er was happy for Wang Meng, offering him her silent blessings. Even though he was smiling right in front of her, she knew he was drifting further and further away.
Now, she truly understood how Yang Ying must have felt. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to stay by Wang Meng’s side; it was that, at this stage, they would only be a hindrance to his advancement.
’Perhaps Yang Ying’s mother was never sick at all.’
Now, it was her turn to do what Yang Ying had done.
A man is the sun, destined to shine with brilliant light. A woman is the moon, destined only to wait silently in the dead of night.
Zhou Feng was so happy he was practically dancing. His gains during his time at the Cultivation Academy were beyond words. He was determined to bring everything he had learned, along with his own insights, back to the Holy Hall. It would surely spark a great revolution in the Holy Hall Alchemy Technique.
"I think a celebration is in order today!" Fan Hong declared, raising his hand.
"We’re eating good tonight! Fan Xiaoniao, you’re treating, and it’s gonna cost you big time!" Hex Zui exclaimed.
"Shit, when have I ever chickened out? To the Drunken Immortal Tower! We’re not going home until we’re drunk!"
Everyone roared in agreement, dragging along even Arhat, who didn’t drink.
「Drunken Immortal Tower」
Everyone drank to their hearts’ content. They had been worried and on edge for over a year, but all of that seemed insignificant now that Wang Meng was a Star Alliance Envoy.
"Arhat, have a drink! Don’t play coy. I’ll let you in on a secret: drinking makes your hair grow!"
Fan Hong threw an arm around Arhat, trying to force the drink on the young man.
"Senior Brother Fan, I can’t drink," Arhat protested. "And I’m not bald, I shave my head."
"Tsk, tsk. You’re drinking today. Be a good boy, or your big brother here is gonna have to help you drink it!"
Arhat’s face immediately turned green. He quickly chugged the drink. ’Too terrifying!’
Everyone roared with laughter.
Yanm Yuyue was also puzzled. Over the past year, Heaven-Dominating Hall had prepared a massive amount of resources for her advancement. She was just one step away from Minor Perfection, and breaking through was only a matter of time. The crucial part was whether she could successfully forge a Life Artifact. She already had an Artifact Soul within her Sea of Fate, so she felt reasonably confident.
Yanm Yuyue knew full well that the Holy Hall had always been at a disadvantage when it came to resources, especially given their current situation. ’If Wang Meng had some fortuitous encounter that let him break through to Minor Perfection, did he get a Life Artifact? Or a Holy Statue?’
’Could it be that, like Mingren, he also possesses one of the Ten Great Sacred Bodies?’
For a single Sect to produce two Sacred Bodies was an extremely rare occurrence, even among the Ten Great Sects.
In a world at the level of the Four Directions Small Thousand World, it was completely unheard of.
"Yuyue, have a drink."
Lv Buwei and Li Lishang spoke, both feeling a wave of emotion. They had followed Yanm Yuyue to the Holy Hall and stood by her at the most critical moments, all for her sake. Both men were in love with her, but they knew that her heart belonged to the man right in front of them.
Unfortunately, it was likely another case of unrequited love.
Wang Meng was a great friend, but he would not make a great lover.
