It was another busy day in the Infinite Dao Sect.

The sect was filled with disciples, in numbers not seen since the last Dao sermon months ago.

Without a doubt, the commotion was caused by the event the sect would witness that day—an extraordinary, symbolic, and unprecedented occurrence that would mark a new chapter in the sect's history.

It was the day of the ascension of a Holy Son and a Holy Daughter.

From that point on, in terms of foundations and division of roles, the Infinite Dao Sect would basically have the complete structure of a high-level power.

And, for everyone in the sect, this would merely be the official canonization, since everyone could see the tower's scoreboard, and the results were obvious.

Among the crowd, in a more deserted area, a handsome man with black hair and eyes sat on top of a rock, with a long black spear resting casually on his shoulder, observing the people around him with interest.

[Illustrative image]

The man, who did not appear much older than thirty, was clearly an inner elder, judging by the color of his purple robes. The fact that he still held his spear even in a moment of peace, rather than storing it in his storage ring, also made it easy to guess which pavilion he belonged to.

He was Lu Tianqiang, an inner elder of the Spear Pavilion.

At his side, standing, was a young man in his twenties, who accompanied him silently, with a distant gaze as the wind brushed against his long silver hair.

But beyond the boy's handsome appearance, what stood out the most were his gray eyes, which held a depth far beyond his age, conveying a calm that stemmed from a nature extremely contrasting with his visible youth.

[Illustrative image]

He was Lei Yun, a former Mahayana who, now reborn, calmly followed his respected master, Elder Lu Tianqiang.

And at that moment, his eyes were fixed on the light scoreboard that existed beside the Tower of a Hundred Thousand Beasts.

Lei Yun couldn't help but show a slight trace of perplexity as he looked at that score.

He still remembered the rankings of the top four, one month after the tower opened, eleven months ago, which were:

[{1st} Long Aotian — 3F — Achievement: 18 Points

Floors: 1F {Immortal}, 2F {Immortal}, 3F {Immortal}]

[{2nd} Lei Yun — 3F — Achievement: 8 Points

Floors: 1F {Extreme}, 2F {Extreme}, 3F {None}]

[{3rd} Liu Rihai — 3F — Achievement: 8 Points

Floors: 1F {Extreme}, 2F {Extreme}, 3F {None}]

[{4th} Mu Luyin — 4F — Achievement: 7 Points

Floors: 1F {Medium}, 2F {Medium}, 3F {Medium}, 4F {Easy}]

But now, after so much time, only one of the positions had truly changed place, yet the change was drastic.

[{1st} Long Aotian — 4F — Achievement: 24 Points

Floors: 1F {Immortal}, 2F {Immortal}, 3F {Immortal}, 4F {Immortal}]

[{2nd} Lei Yun — 4F — Achievement: 16 Points

Floors: 1F {Extreme}, 2F {Extreme}, 3F {Extreme}, 4F {Extreme}]

[{3rd} Liu Rihai — 4F — Achievement: 15 Points

Floors: 1F {Extreme}, 2F {Extreme}, 3F {Extreme}, 4F {Hard}]

[{4°} Xiao Ling — 4F — Achievement: 13 Points

Floors: 1F {Extreme}, 2F {Extreme}, 3F {Hard}, 4F {Medium}]

…

[{15°} Mu Luyin — 4F — Achievement: 9 Points

Floors: 1F {Hard}, 2F {Hard}, 3F {Medium}, 4F {Easy}]

Lei Yun looked at the name of his Dao companion, who had once been in 4th place, now so far from the top, with a trace of helplessness.

No matter how much he had taught her and helped her grow over the past year, there was no shortage of monsters in the Infinite Dao Sect, taught directly by immortals. Thus, Mu Luyin, with her more fragile foundation, ended up being surpassed as the other disciples advanced.

Of course, as she progressed through the cultivation realms, this difference in her foundation compared to the other disciples would gradually be reduced, but for now, she would still need to work harder to keep up.

Letting out an internal sigh for her, he soon set it aside and turned his attention back to the other names.

And just below his, with only a one-point difference, was Liu Rihai.

'If nothing too extreme happens, it seems she will become our sect's new Holy Daughter—and her talent is truly extraordinary.'

He reflected with a serious expression.

It should be remembered that he was a Mahayana who had lived for hundreds of thousands of years, with far more experience than youths like Rihai. Even so, the girl had conquered the Extreme difficulty of the first three floors—a feat that even he had to take very seriously. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

He knew that for her to conquer the Extreme difficulty of the fourth floor, it was only a matter of time.

The tower was not based on one's cultivation level, but rather on the level of skill and control a cultivator had over their realm, as the challenges adapted to each person's cultivation. Thus, someone at the 1st level of Nascent Soul would face the same difficulty as someone at the Perfection of Nascent Soul.

However, even though the challenge adapts to one's level, those at the peak of a realm have had far more time to refine their control over their cultivation.

Thus, Rihai, who had only recently entered the Nascent Soul realm and was still in the early stage, did not yet have enough skill to pass the Extreme difficulty. And this was different from Lei Yun, who had already thoroughly explored this realm in his past life.

But once she adapted and explored the new realm more deeply, at her current pace, she would undoubtedly also complete the Extreme difficulty of the Nascent Soul challenge.

Of course, one could not look only at the tower's results and think that the two were nearly at the same level. In a real fight, Lei Yun would still defeat Rihai by a comfortable margin at the same level, though not as easily as he would against others.

This was because there was a vast gap between the Extreme-level challenge and the next one, the Saint level.

[Extreme - Land 10 hits against 10% of Aotian's combat ability]

[Saint - Land 5 hits against 50% of Aotian's combat ability]

In this case, Lei Yun was much closer to the Saint level than Rihai, although both were still very far from it.

And that was while considering that Aotian hadn't used his full 50% in the challenges, since his ever-growing power and experience would eventually make all levels impossible to complete if he went all out.

Obviously, neither Rihai, nor Lei Yun, nor any other disciple knew this information, merely assuming it was a super puppet programmed by the sect, rather than a real challenge under Aotian's control.

In fact, the puppets of the lower challenges were no longer directly controlled by Aotian due to the large number of disciples in the sect. Now, the puppets followed predefined guidelines and combat patterns for low, medium, and high difficulty challenges.

Aotian only took control in the Extreme, Saint, and Immortal challenges, which made his life much easier, since the number of disciples attempting those levels was neither large nor frequent.

Although nowhere near as strong as when they were personally controlled by Aotian, the puppets, when limited to a reduced combat capacity, did not show major differences.

This was because Aotian, their creator, was also a skilled puppet master, with various avatar abilities aiding him in their construction.

Leaving that aside and returning to the present, Lei Yun's gaze moved to the section where the word "Immortal" was written multiple times beside the first name on the list.

A trace of solemnity appeared in his eyes.

'Long Aotian… how can he be so strong?'

A spark of curiosity, determination, and rivalry slowly began to grow in his heart.

If someone had told him, before entering the Infinite Dao Sect, that he would encounter someone of the same generation of his current body in this new life with combat ability superior to his, he would certainly have mocked it internally.

And since entering the sect, that had remained true—except for one person… Aotian.

Long Aotian was an enigma to Lei Yun, but also clear proof that there was still enormous room for him to grow as a cultivator, and that he had not mastered the true path of cultivation before the Mahayana realm as he once believed before joining the sect.

Thoughtful, he shook his head slightly and turned to the side, where his master was relaxing, observing the crowd with a faint smile on his face.

Lei Yun then suddenly cleared his throat into his fist, drawing his attention.

Elder Lu Tianqiang turned to him calmly and raised an eyebrow.

"What is it, Yun'er?"

He spoke with familiarity to his direct disciple, using a nickname reserved for family and those closest to him.

Lei Yun did not find this strange. Culturally, a master was not very different from a father, so such closeness was not unusual—on the contrary, it was expected.

"Master… how can I become stronger?"

He asked suddenly, with a serious look, a question that surprised even himself.

Yet Lu Tianqiang smiled faintly, showing no surprise at all.

"Lately, you've been trying whenever possible to challenge the tower to improve your score, sometimes even delaying a breakthrough to go there first. Is it that important to you?"

Amused, he looked at his disciple before turning his gaze back to the crowd as he spoke.

Lei Yun frowned slightly, somewhat stunned by his master's sudden question.

"I… I think I'm just unwilling to accept that I haven't reached my best."

He replied, a somewhat complicated look in his gray eyes.

His heart could not help but become unsettled.

In his past life, he had always been the best at everything, and even his foundation, as he advanced, he judged to be perfect and perhaps even unattainable by others. Many times, he pondered that perhaps not even other geniuses with Divine Physiques could surpass what he had once achieved, whether in the past or the future.

Well, that was what he thought—until the day he was about to ascend to immortality, when a powerful tribulation descended upon him, bringing an end to his legendary path.

Because of that, since being reborn, he had been determined to create a foundation even more powerful and legendary than in his previous life, never again allowing himself to be helpless before a tribulation. And after joining the Infinite Dao Sect, an even broader path had opened before him.

That was why… he could not accept even more that he was not reaching his best. For him, a proud genius, it was an extreme humiliation to be unable to complete even the Saint-level challenge of the most basic Qi Refinement realm.

Each time he challenged that tower at Saint difficulty, he felt himself growing stronger, but every time that happened, he also saw just how far he was from the Immortal difficulty.

Because of that, at some point in his heart, his path began to feel incomplete and flawed. And that haunted him.

Lei Yun's master turned his gaze toward him, with a calm expression, even though he could see in his disciple's eyes just how shaken he truly was.

And his answer to the question was simple.

"Become strong? That's easy. But do you really want it?"

Lei Yun trembled slightly upon hearing the question. The boy could only blink, surprised.

"Of course I do… but what's the price?"

He nodded firmly, determination in his gray eyes, yet still asked cautiously. From his master's tone, the matter was not as simple as he made it sound.

Lu Tianqiang took the spear off his shoulder, spun it lightly, and then struck the shaft firmly—though without breaking anything—against the rock he was sitting on. Leaning forward on it, he came face to face with Lei Yun.

"The price? That's simple too." He looked deeply into his disciple's eyes. "Abandon this haste of yours and that slight detachment you feel from your current cultivation realm."

His voice was heavy, and he leaned even further forward, raising a hand and pointing at the boy's chest as he spoke:

"As long as you see yourself as the former Mahayana you once were, trying to recover as quickly as possible what you lost, you will never fully understand what it means to be a low-level cultivator. Take your eyes off the heights and look downward—see the smooth path beneath your feet now, not the broken path you left behind."

After admonishing him with overwhelming presence, a small, mysterious smile appeared at the corner of Lu Tianqiang's lips as he observed the completely frozen Lei Yun.

The young man, in shock, couldn't help but take a slight step back, his face pale.

He didn't even try to feign indifference in the face of his master's shocking revelation, who apparently had known his true identity for a long time.

It wasn't probing, nor a joke, nor a guess. It was a clear and direct statement that he, Lei Yun, had once been a Mahayana and remembered it.

His mind, normally extremely calm, churned like never before. He didn't even remember his master's instructions—only the words "the former Mahayana you once were," echoing in his mind like thunder.

Seeing him frozen, Lu Tianqiang shook his head helplessly and suddenly disappeared from where he stood, reappearing directly beside Lei Yun.

A strong flick struck the wide-eyed boy's head before he could react, knocking his forehead slightly back and leaving a red mark in the middle of it.

"Kid, why that shocked expression? Do you think you can hide something like that from our eyes? Don't overthink it—Mahayana is just a slightly bigger ant. The difference in power between you at the Nascent Soul realm and at the Mahayana realm isn't as big as you think. As for being reborn with memories, it's not as uncommon as you think—it happens in the best families."

He spoke in a relaxed tone, smiling, and with the spear once again resting on his shoulder, he began to walk away in long strides, softly whistling, completely unconcerned.

Lei Yun blinked several times, stunned, then rubbed his reddened forehead, wearing an awkward and complicated expression.

'It seems… my greatest secret isn't as significant as I thought.'

Sighing, he turned and silently looked at his master's calm back as he left.

But then, something flashed in his mind, and without wasting time, he ran after him.

Lu Tianqiang glanced sideways, a trace of doubt appearing when he saw him returning so quickly.

"What is it, Yun'er?"

He asked, confused.

Seeing his master continue to treat him so normally even after the revelation, a trace of strangeness—but also warmth—appeared in Lei Yun's heart.

"Well, Master… I was just curious about something. You said being reborn is more common than I might imagine. In that case, Senior Brother Long… is he also like me?"

Taking a deep breath, he asked, with a trace of expectation.

A strange light flickered in Lu Tianqiang's eyes.

'Bingo, but it's not the same thing you're thinking.'

Aotian thought, with a mix of amusement and slight nervousness.

"No," he—or rather, Lu Tianqiang—lied without even blinking. "Your Senior Brother Long wasn't reborn, but his talent… is something that could be frightening even in the immortal plane, let alone the mortal one."

Elder Lu shrugged, explaining superficially without stopping his steps.

He merely replaced the word 'system' with 'talent,' and technically, it wasn't a lie. The system would certainly be something capable of shaking not only the mortal plane, but the immortal one as well.

"Hmm… I see."

The light in Lei Yun's eyes dimmed slightly, but soon returned with determination.

'If my talent doesn't compare to someone so monstrously strong, then I will make up for it with the diligence of someone who has been given a second chance and the experience of having already walked the path of cultivation once.'

With a serious look, he made up his mind.

Lu Tianqiang kept walking, but his mouth began to twitch.

When he looked back, he saw his disciple still following him, head slightly lowered and eyes thoughtful, lost in his thoughts.

"Why are you following me?" he asked, massaging his temple.

"Hm?" Lei Yun raised his eyes, confused. "I'm going to train at the pavilion."

He replied, not understanding the question.

This time, it was Lu Tianqiang's eye that twitched.

"Shouldn't you go watch the selection ceremony for the Holy Son and Holy Daughter? It's kind of a historic event for the sect, you know?"

Lei Yun heard him but shrugged.

"I already know the result. And you’re leaving too. Doesn’t seem like you intend to watch this historic ceremony."

Hearing the reply, Lu Tianqiang rolled his eyes.

“Touché,” he murmured.

“Touché? What’s that?” the boy asked, puzzled.

“Some swordsmanship nonsense I heard once.”

Disinterested, the elder waved his hand, no longer caring, and quickened his pace.

Smiling, both amused and exasperated, Lei Yun also sped up to catch his master.

Thus, the carefree master and disciple, sharing a quiet warmth, left the busiest part of the sect before the main event even began.