Chapter 352: Chapter 176: What Exactly Is Gui Xu’s Plan?

The main hall of Mingcan Courtyard!

The team members swarmed into the main hall. Seeing Wang Zhanshan inside, they were about to start asking questions when he held up a hand for silence.

He then pointed to the phone in his hand.

Everyone quickly shut their mouths and waited for him to finish his call.

A few minutes later, Wang Zhanshan let out a long breath and hung up. He then turned to his team members and said, "I know what you’re all about to ask."

"So, is it true? Coach!"

one of the members asked excitedly.

Wang Zhanshan nodded with a smile.

"Damn, Captain Zhao is a badass!"

"That’s insane!"

"Coach, does this mean Captain Zhao is already a top-tier master of the Dharma Realm?"

Everyone started chattering at once, bursting with excitement.

"Everyone, quiet down. Zhao Rui earned this achievement through his own painstaking cultivation, bit by bit. All of you should see him as a role model and strive to reach the Grandmaster Realm as soon as possible."

Wang Zhanshan said with a smile.

"Yes, Coach."

"So does this mean we can walk all over everyone now?"

"Get lost! How about you try crawling instead? Now get back to your cultivation!"

The crowd burst into laughter and scattered like birds, running out of the main hall.

The news was simply too stunning. They had to show off to their classmates at the Martial Arts Institute and brag to all their friends!

He was the ace of their Martial Arts Team, after all. Being on a team like this...

Who wouldn’t look up to them now?

Why join a Sect?

We *are* a Sect!

A short while after the team members left, Wang Zhanshan dialed Zhao Rui’s number.

"The provincial Lord Daoist just called me personally..."

"Our Dongqi Martial Arts Team is being made the provincial standard-bearer for the Martial Dao, and we’re getting special treatment..."

"When are you free? The Lord Daoist would like to meet you."

As Wang Zhanshan said this, his feelings were incredibly complex. ’This isn’t just about a meeting,’ he thought. ’It’s a declaration of his stance.’

Zhao Rui had already grown so powerful that even the Lord Daoist had to inquire about his availability.

"In a little while. I need to head back to the Qingcheng Sword Sect. I’ll return once I’ve taken care of things."

Zhao Rui said after a moment of thought.

"Okay..."

Wang Zhanshan hesitated, on the verge of saying something else, but after a moment’s pause, he just said, "Then we’ll wait for you to come back."

"Alright, Coach Wang!"

"Don’t call me ’Coach’ anymore; you’re making me look bad. I’d be flattered if you just called me Brother Wang."

Wang Zhanshan said, half-joking and half-testing the waters.

"Brother Wang, now you’re just teasing me. I haven’t even graduated yet! Haha, let’s chat more when I’m back."

"Alright!"

After hanging up, Wang Zhanshan breathed a sigh of relief. What he had really wanted to ask was, ’Zhao Rui, are you still going to come back to the Martial Arts Team?’

Although he hadn’t asked the question out loud, Zhao Rui had given him an answer: he hadn’t graduated yet.

Clearly, he wasn’t looking down on his identity as a member of the Martial Arts Team.

He let out a long sigh of relief.

After all, even if Zhao Rui only stayed for another year, it would be a year of rocketing growth for the Dongqi Martial Arts Team.

’How on earth does he cultivate? Grandmaster in one year, Dharma Realm the next... What about next year...?’

Wang Zhanshan didn’t dare to think about it any further.

After a moment’s hesitation, he took out his phone and dialed a number he almost never called.

...

The lands of Huaxia stretched for thousands of miles, a vast and beautiful country of majestic mountains and rivers.

Never before had Zhao Rui been able to look down upon the earth from high in the sky like this, taking in the breathtaking beauty of the land.

Since stepping into the Dharma Realm, achieving the Unity of Illusion and Reality and the externalization of his Divine Soul, he had reached a Realm where he could walk on air and cross a thousand li in a flash.

For his return to the Qingcheng Sword Sect, Zhao Rui took no transport, relying solely on his own power to race across the land.

He moved like a bolt of lightning, completely invisible to the naked eye, so there was no fear of causing a panic.

Gazing at the clear, bright sky and the gracefully drifting clouds, Zhao Rui suddenly felt an impulse to soar to the highest heavens and grasp the moon.

But he knew this was a Martial Arts Barrier, not his true desire.

When a Martial Artist reaches a certain level of power, they can develop the illusory feeling that the whole world is theirs to roam freely.

This feeling is, in fact, a type of Martial Arts Barrier. Act on such an impulse, and you are not far from falling to your inner demons.

With his knowledge of the Heavenly Demon Technique, Zhao Rui was intimately familiar with the various ploys of Celestial Demons. Naturally, he wouldn’t be tempted by such a minor illusion.

However, while the illusion was false, the Martial Dao is without limits. A thousand meters is high, but so is ten thousand meters.

Who could say how high he might reach in the future?

Zhao Rui gave a carefree smile as his figure slowly descended upon Crane Mountain.

This was the Qingcheng Sword Sect’s temporary headquarters, a site the local government had granted them special permission to renovate.

As he approached the Sword Sect’s encampment, he saw that many workers were still hard at work on the construction, full of energy.

"Elder, you’re back!"

Seeing Zhao Rui, the gatekeepers Shouzhuo and Shou Jing rushed forward to greet him with a respectful bow.

"Mm. How has the Daoist Temple been lately?"

"Great! We’ve even had people come to offer incense. I heard a few entrepreneurs from down the mountain want to donate a new Statue of the Three Pristine Ones..."

Shouzhuo rattled off everything that had been happening.

Zhao Rui nodded as he walked into the temple grounds.

The main hall was currently under renovation. The site itself was a previously abandoned Daoist Temple. The Court had designated it a protected landmark for restoration, which in turn provided the Qingcheng Sword Sect with a place to stay.

At the entrance to the main hall, Yu Zhengnan was holding a set of blueprints, diligently comparing them to the ongoing construction and checking for any issues.

Hearing footsteps, he turned to see Zhao Rui and hurried forward to greet him.

"Junior Brother, you’re finally back. The Qingcheng Sect sent an Elder from the Wei generation to visit us up here on the mountain..."

"And what are your thoughts, Senior Brother?"

"Qingcheng Mountain is a Cave Heaven Blessed Land, after all. Our roots are there. If we have the chance to return, I still want to go back..."

Yu Zhengnan sounded hesitant. He knew that the Qingcheng Sword Sect’s continued existence was entirely thanks to Zhao Rui’s efforts alone.