Elder Huo had only left them one night to handle family affairs, so Shen Haoran did not sleep that evening. He spent the entire night in the study with Old Sir Shen, charting a smooth path for the Shen Family’s future.

After they finished discussing important family matters, Shen Haoran still felt a little uneasy. He decided to leave the Godslaying Crossbow, which he had obtained from the Spirit Emperor’s Ancient Tomb in Celestial Martial City, with the Shen Family. The weapon was easy to operate and possessed considerable Attack Power. In the hands of Old Sir Shen, it would be more than enough to defend against a Spirit Marquis Tier expert!

Not only that, but Shen Haoran also left the Shen Family a Profound Tier High Level Cultivation Technique and a Profound Tier High Level Martial Skill, both of which he had looted from the Storage Ring of Yang Yu from the Yang Family in Celestial Martial City. Additionally, Shen Haoran wrote out a copy of Heaven-Breaking Kill, the technique Elder Yan had taught him, and gave it to Old Sir Shen. It was to be used as a reward to motivate the younger generation of the Shen Family in their Cultivation!

Staring at the three Profound Tier High Tier Martial Arts Techniques in his hands, Old Sir Shen was too shocked to speak. Even a Profound Tier High Level Martial Skill was a rare treasure. If put up for auction, a single one could fetch a price of one or two million, yet the Shen Family’s hard-earned annual profit was only two to three hundred thousand! Furthermore, a single Profound Tier High Level Martial Skill was enough to prop up a minor family. Now that the Shen Family possessed three, their strength would experience a quantum leap! He truly had no idea what kind of opportunities Shen Haoran had encountered in the past two years to be so extravagant from the get-go!

But Shen Haoran was a member of the Shen Family, so it was only right for him to do these things. Old Sir Shen didn’t stand on ceremony with him and accepted the items directly.

Time flew by, and the night passed in the blink of an eye. Early the next morning, Elder Huo came to the study looking for Shen Haoran, seeming to fear that he might go back on his word.

Looking at the anxious Elder Huo, Shen Haoran gave a helpless smile. After giving Old Sir Shen some final instructions, he and Ji Lingxuan followed Elder Huo onto the back of a Tier Three Spirit Beast, the Liger Vulture.

The Five Elements Sect was located a great distance from Cyan Mountain City, so the three of them had to find a Spirit Beast for transport. Although the Liger Vulture was only a Tier Three Spirit Beast, it had the best stamina, making it ideal for long journeys!

Sitting cross-legged on the Liger Vulture’s back and watching Cyan Mountain City shrink into the distance, Shen Haoran couldn’t help but reflect. ’Two years ago, I was nothing but a pariah, despised by all. Even my own family wanted to cast me out. But after meeting Elder Yan, I began to grow at an incredible pace. In just two years, I’ve gone from being trash to a genius everyone is fighting to recruit. Only I know the true hardship it took to get here.’ Now, as he left Cyan Mountain City once more, a new adventure was beginning. He found himself faintly looking forward to the challenges that lay ahead!

"By the way, Elder Huo, where are we headed?" Cyan Mountain City finally vanished from Shen Haoran’s sight. He snapped out of his reverie and posed the question to Elder Huo up ahead.

"Red Flame City!"

The rest of the journey was tedious. Fortunately, Elder Huo spent the whole time filling Shen Haoran in on the history and current state of the Five Elements Sect, which breathed some life into the otherwise monotonous trip.

From Elder Huo, Shen Haoran began to learn about the Five Elements Sect.

The Five Elements Sect was situated in the Red Flame Mountain Range. The Red Flame Mountain Range was the largest on the Starfall Continent, serving as the border between the Southern Domain and the Northern Domain. Technically, this meant the Five Elements Sect wasn’t a Southern Domain power, which was why news of the Sect was rarely heard there. Elder Huo had only come to Cyan Mountain City while wandering about aimlessly; he never imagined his luck would be so heaven-defying as to run into two monstrous talents like Shen Haoran and Ji Lingxuan.

Within the Five Elements Sect, there were five divisions known as Halls. These were the Red Flame Hall, Linglong Hall, Cyan Wood Hall, Thick Earth Hall, and Golden Sun Hall, corresponding to the Five Elements of fire, water, wood, earth, and metal, respectively. And, just as their names suggested, the Martial Artists in each Hall possessed only a single attribute. For instance, the Red Flame Hall consisted entirely of Fire Attribute Martial Artists, while Linglong Hall was filled with Water Attribute Martial Artists, and so on.

These five Halls, while nominally part of one body, were also in constant competition with each other. It would be more accurate to call them an alliance of five different factions than a single Sect, and the subtle dynamics between them were impossible to fully grasp.

From Elder Huo, Shen Haoran also learned that the elder himself belonged to the Red Flame Hall. The Five Elements Sect recruited disciples every five years, and all five Halls had to send out emissaries to find talented prospects. The Red Flame Hall had originally been the most powerful Hall within the Five Elements Sect, its disciples accounting for half of the Sect’s entire student body. Because of this, the Red Flame Hall established a rule: they would not accept any Martial Artist who did not possess an Extreme Attribute Physique!

Once this rule was established, the Red Flame Hall’s numbers began to plummet over time. After all, Martial Artists with an Extreme Attribute Physique were pitifully few and far between. Even when one was found, there was no guarantee they could be convinced to join. Consequently, the elders in charge of recruitment for the Red Flame Hall returned empty-handed time after time. Gradually, the Hall started to go downhill. Lacking this infusion of new blood, the Red Flame Hall’s power diminished greatly, and it now ranked last among the Five Great Halls!

"Then why don’t they just get rid of that rule?" Shen Haoran asked, completely baffled.

"It was a rule established by the very first Hall Master of the Red Flame Hall, who was also the first Sect Leader of the Five Elements Sect. How could we possibly abolish it?" Elder Huo replied with a bitter smile.

"Rules are rigid, but people are flexible. Are you just going to stand by and watch the Red Flame Hall march toward its own destruction?" Shen Haoran frowned.

"Sigh... It’s not that we don’t know that. We’ve even tried to bend the rules in secret, but it’s no use. Other than Martial Artists with an Extreme Attribute Physique, no one can cultivate the Red Flame Hall’s techniques!" Elder Huo said, his face etched with worry.

’Something like that actually exists?’ Shen Haoran marveled inwardly. ’A Cultivation Technique that only Extreme Attribute Martial Artists can practice... how bizarre! Now I get why Elder Huo practically had to lie and cheat to drag me into the Five Elements Sect. It must be incredibly difficult to find a Martial Artist who fits the Red Flame Hall’s criteria.’ Shen Haoran started to feel a bit of sympathy for the elder.

"We’ve been suppressed by the other Halls for years. Unfortunately, everything they say is true, so we’ve had no choice but to grin and bear it. But now that I have you, I can finally take them down a peg! You little rascal, you better not disappoint me when the time comes!" Elder Huo said with an annoyed huff.

Upon hearing this, Shen Haoran could only manage a wry smile. ’Based on what Elder Huo said, the disciples recruited by the other four Halls are the crème de la crème of the Northern Domain. Going up against them will be anything but easy.’

"But don’t you have your little girlfriend here? She’s way more powerful than you are!" Elder Huo said, looking at Ji Lingxuan with a wide grin.

"Wait a second. Doesn’t the Red Flame Hall only recruit Fire Attribute Martial Artists? Why were you so insistent on bringing Ling Xuan?" Shen Haoran asked with a wary expression.

"Well... I can just assign her to Linglong Hall," Elder Huo said sheepishly. "With this little lady’s Talent, she’s guaranteed to become a Direct Disciple of that old crone who runs the place. Once that happens, she’ll have some real influence there. Then, thanks to the relationship between you two, won’t Linglong Hall become a staunch ally of the Red Flame Hall? We’d reduce our enemies by one and gain a friend. How could I possibly pass up such a great deal?"

"You..." Shen Haoran was speechless with rage. ’This old fox really has it all figured out! If the gap in our strength wasn’t so huge, I’d march right over and beat him senseless!’

Noticing Shen Haoran’s murderous glare, Elder Huo quickly let out an awkward laugh and pointed ahead. "We’re here! Almost there! Hey, the scenery on this route is really something, isn’t it..."