"Boundless Celestial Venerable, this man absolutely cannot be left alive!"

"Perhaps we should ask Zen Master Zhisheng of Mount Emei to investigate. If he proves uncooperative, we’ll have no choice but to..."

The speaker paused, but everyone present understood his meaning.

"Let’s gauge his true strength first!"

The speaker’s word was final. The others filed out of the great hall.

...

The Yan Zhao Land has been known for its heroes since ancient times.

Since the revival of the Martial Dao, a great number of martial artists have emerged from among the common people.

In its wake, martial arts halls sprang up everywhere, and family lineages and small sects flourished as they began taking on disciples.

The Lark Sect was a very small sect.

With only five members, it was even smaller than the average martial arts hall.

On this day, the Sect Leader, Elder Cui, had a cigarette dangling from his lips. With a worried frown, he clacked away at an abacus, calculating his daily expenses.

The more he calculated, the deeper his brow furrowed.

’I can’t even recruit a single apprentice. How are we supposed to get by? Sigh... If this keeps up, I’ll have to just disband the sect and get a regular job!’

Elder Cui was almost forty, but his Martial Arts were only at Martial Arts Level 9—inferior to even many university students.

The sect’s Martial Arts were painfully mediocre, with no distinguishing features.

It was no wonder no one wanted to come and learn from him.

’Master, oh, Master, why did you have to take me as your disciple? Did you want me to go down in history as the man who ruined the Lark Sect?’

Elder Cui couldn’t help but resent his late master. It would have been so much better if his master had just disbanded the Lark Sect back then, saving him from this current dilemma.

Just as he was mired in his gloomy indecision, a clear voice suddenly called out from outside his door.

"You’re the current Sect Leader of the Lark Sect?"

"Wang Pengfei, are you asking for a beating?"

Elder Cui was already in a foul mood, and now his own disciple was outside mocking him.

’The little brat has gotten too big for his britches. He’s asking for it!’

Elder Cui immediately snatched the disciplinary ruler from his desk and shoved the door open.

Sure enough, his young disciple Wang Pengfei was standing right there in the doorway.

The boy stood with his hands clasped behind his back, an arrogant tilt to his chin. He looked for all the world like he was begging for a thrashing.

A fire of rage ignited in Elder Cui. He swung the ruler, bringing it down on the boy.

"Insolent!"

Wang Pengfei’s eyes went cold. He reached out and caught the ruler between two fingers.

Elder Cui froze. He tugged with all his might, but the ruler didn’t budge an inch. He stared in astonishment. "You brat, how...?"

Before he could finish, he felt a sledgehammer-like blow to his chest. With a muffled grunt, he stumbled back into the room.

Wang Pengfei stepped inside. With a single wave of his hand, a surge of Powerful Qi slammed the door shut behind him.

"I am a disciple of the fifteenth generation of the Lark Sect. By order of the Sect Leader, I have crossed the boundary to assist you in your Cultivation and prepare for the advent of the true Lark Sect."

"You need not doubt my words. This will only benefit you, not harm you. We share the same origin..."

Wang Pengfei explained the situation in a low, serious voice.

Clutching his chest, Elder Cui was too stunned to speak.

But a moment later, a realization dawned on him: the Lark Sect’s time had finally come.

Wang Pengfei was openly reciting the complete text of a Peak Martial Arts technique recorded in the Lark Sect’s history: Cloud Crane Nine Transformations.

It was a Supreme Lightness Skill. According to the records, one who mastered this Martial Art could move with the grace of a celestial crane and let out a Crane Cry in the Nine Heavens.

Though he couldn’t verify its authenticity, Elder Cui had no doubt about the verses Wang Pengfei recited.

A large portion of those verses consisted of the very same fragments from the incomplete Cultivation Technique he currently practiced.

No other school had a method like this.

"Senior, forgive my offense! Senior, I beg your forgiveness! This disciple is willing to abdicate the position of Sect Leader. Please, Senior, I implore you to restore the glory of our Lark Sect!"

Elder Cui knelt without the slightest hesitation, just as he offered his position without a second thought.

’I was about to disband the sect anyway. What’s there to hesitate about?’

"I have no interest in the position of Sect Leader, of course, and you needn’t worry I’ll go back on my word. As for this Lark Sect with its handful of members... I’m afraid if I became the leader and returned to my own Sect, I’d be a laughingstock."

Wang Pengfei said with a sneer.

Elder Cui gave an embarrassed laugh and said no more.

"From this day forward, the Lark Sect will be sealed for closed-door Cultivation..."

"Yes, Senior!"

Across the Huaxia Land, scenes just like the one at the Lark Sect were playing out in various places.

In many sects, organizations, and even families with established lineages, individuals would suddenly appear as if they had become entirely new people.

Not only were their Martial Arts skills superb, but they could also execute many long-lost heritage Martial Arts.

Everyone believed this was a gift from the heavens. One by one, they eagerly went into seclusion, planning to wait until their Martial Arts reached Great Success before emerging to make a name for themselves.

And so, with everyone hiding away, barely anyone in the wider world knew of their existence.

「Mount Emei, Sichuan Province.」

Zhao Rui, traveling at a slow pace, had unexpectedly found his way to the territory of Mount Emei.

Mount Emei was a vast range with countless peaks, and since it was close to Qingcheng Mountain, it was no great effort for Zhao Rui to get there.

However, he was completely unaware of this at the moment. He paid no mind to whether it was Mount Emei or not.

As long as it was a mountain, it would do.

Information about the Six Yi Charm Immortal Technique surfaced endlessly in Zhao Rui’s mind. His Divine Soul Power, amplified by both the Illusionary Sound Technique and the Charm Immortal Technique, had already reached the Divine Void Realm.

The only thing he lacked was his True Qi Cultivation.

He was currently focused on refining his True Qi Cultivation and Divine Soul Power, working to merge them into a perfect, inseparable whole.

He sought to achieve the complete state of the Divine Void Realm.

He walked through the mountains, floating over ravines.

A single step from Zhao Rui covered dozens of meters. A blade of grass or the surface of a stream was all he needed as a foothold to push off from in mid-air.

From a distance, it looked as if he were taking a leisurely stroll just above the ground.

His movements were exceedingly graceful.

"That lad up ahead has some impressive Lightweight Skill!"

Just as he was wandering aimlessly forward, a deep, resonant voice rang out behind him.

Zhao Rui’s Divine Soul was focused inward. As long as his six senses didn’t perceive any danger, he remained completely oblivious to his surroundings.

"Hm? Could he be in a state of epiphany?"

The newcomer gasped in surprise, but he didn’t slow his pace, catching up in an instant.

Once he was close enough to see Zhao Rui’s condition, he instinctively backed away a few meters, pressed his palms together, and chanted, "Amitabha Buddha. Such profound spiritual aptitude. He truly has an affinity with the Buddha."

The newcomer was a tall, handsome young Monk. The ordination scars on his smooth, bald head showed he was a formally ordained Buddhist monk.

His voice, however, was deep and resonant, sounding more like that of a middle-aged man.

After speaking, the Monk did not interrupt Zhao Rui’s Cultivation. Instead, he fell in silently beside him, and they proceeded onward together.

This Monk’s Martial Arts were exceedingly high, and his Lightweight Skill was particularly outstanding.

He and Zhao Rui paid each other no mind, each lost in their own thoughts as they traveled.

It was as if both men were in a state of epiphany.

They walked like this for over fifty kilometers, their figures gradually leaving the domain of Mount Emei.

Zhao Rui’s aura grew more and more intense. An inexplicable power began to erupt from his body, affecting not only his True Qi but also initiating a transformation in his Divine Soul.

His entire being seemed to grow more ethereal.

’Good lad. He’s actually trying to force a breakthrough to the Divine Void Realm. In that case, I might as well lend him a hand!’

The young Monk laughed heartily. Powerful Qi billowed from his body, and he too began to manifest an aura where True Qi and Divine Soul merged, just like Zhao Rui.

This aura slowly drew closer to Zhao Rui. After a few brief clashes, it began to pulse at a specific frequency.

This pulse, in turn, began to induce a change within Zhao Rui’s own True Qi and Divine Soul.

The half-conscious Zhao Rui was simply following his instincts, cultivating. As he did, he felt an inexplicable, pulsating aura begin to guide him.

Zhao Rui was already on the cusp of a breakthrough. With the Monk’s guidance, he immediately found the opening he needed.

In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Zhao Rui smoothly unified his Divine Soul and True Qi, reaching the Divine Void Realm, where the virtual and real are one and boundless.

The moment he awoke from the state of soul-body unity, Zhao Rui received a system notification.

"Copyable Martial Arts detected: Mahayana Infinite Divine Skill. Copy?"

’What? I can get a freebie just by cultivating?’

Zhao Rui hastily selected ’Yes’. He then began to match the rhythm of the other man’s circulating True Qi and Divine Soul, using his own Charming Immortal Technique Heart Method to practice alongside him.

The young Monk had only intended to give a little help and then withdraw.

But a moment later, he discovered that Zhao Rui’s aura had locked firmly onto his own.