A day passed quickly, and Wang Meng remembered Mi Dao’s reminder. He had been so busy with his cultivation lately that he had often neglected such things, and he felt a little embarrassed. Even though his annual allowance had arrived, he was still a Steward at the Alchemy Institute; he couldn’t let Fan Hong cover for him all the time.

When Wang Meng arrived at the Alchemy Institute, Mi Dao glanced at him. ’This kid is really lucky to have found such a powerful backer in Fan Hong,’ he thought. Of course, Mi Dao wanted to keep Fan Hong tied to the Alchemy Institute—he was a living talisman. But he couldn’t actually have Fan Hong doing menial chores. That work was out of the question for him, so Mi Dao found a few other people to do it, naturally including Wang Meng. Since Wang Meng and Fan Hong had a good relationship, Mi Dao’s attitude toward him was quite good.

After taking over, Wang Meng diligently busied himself. As he swept, he mulled over the various Sword Techniques he had seen during the day. An outline was already forming in his mind; the next step was to figure out how to put them into practice.

Night fell, and the Alchemy Institute grew quiet. It was undisturbed and spacious, which felt quite liberating. Broom in hand, Wang Meng swept while practicing his moves, swinging it left and then right.

"Hello, may I use an Alchemy Room?"

Wang Meng looked up, slightly startled. ’Isn’t this the same woman from last time?’ he thought. ’She’s a good person. Not only is she beautiful, but she’s also considerate enough to clean up after she’s done.’

"Of course, go ahead. I’ll be here for a while anyway."

Wang Meng said with a smile.

The woman nodded without another word and walked to one of the Alchemy Rooms down the corridor.

Wang Meng didn’t stare. ’Beautiful women are great,’ he mused, ’but right now, my focus is entirely on Sword Techniques.’

The broom flew about wildly, but there was a distinct method to his flourishes.

As he practiced his moves, time passed without him noticing.

When Wang Meng came to his senses, he realized the woman was staring at him.

"Are you practicing?"

"Ahem, just messing around. What’s up, are you finished?" Wang Meng lowered the wildly swinging broom.

"Yes. Thank you."

"Don’t mention it."

After a brief, polite exchange, the woman floated away gracefully. Wang Meng checked the time and saw that it was time to close up.

Back in his room, Wang Meng carefully mulled over what Ning Zhiquan had said earlier that day. ’Whatever this Star Alliance is,’ he thought, ’nothing ventured, nothing gained. If I can manage to become a member, I can at least be of some help to Hu Jing and the others.’

Wang Meng immersed his Heart Spirit in cultivation. The Five Elements Technique was merely a foundation; real combat power had to be manifested through Sword Techniques. The Curved Sword Skill alone was not enough.

Within his Sea of Heart, the power his Godhood could replenish in his Heart Spirit was minuscule. However, Wang Meng was too close to the situation to notice the full picture. A careful observer would have seen that his Sea of Heart was being continuously nourished by this leaking wisp of Divine Sense.

Whenever he started practicing a new set of Sword Techniques, Wang Meng would choose to fight "Wangtian." Wangtian was ruthless and applied enough pressure to truly stimulate him. Whether Wangtian was dead or alive, he remained Wang Meng’s ultimate imaginary enemy.

Fan Hong had been a rare sight lately. It was hard to say whether he was busy cultivating or occupied with other things. One thing was certain: he no longer had to report to the Alchemy Institute, and Mi Dao never complained about it.

Wang Meng’s life became even busier. During the day, he immersed himself in the teaching arrays. In the evening, he went to help at the Alchemy Institute. And when he returned at night, he would cultivate his Magic.

That mysterious woman would show up every few days. Each time, they would exchange polite greetings. She no longer bothered with pleasantries, and Wang Meng would always wait for her to finish before locking up for the night. The woman always left the Alchemy Room impeccably clean.

Normally, Wang Meng would have been curious why this woman always came at night and what she was practicing in the Alchemy Room. But these days, while he was sweeping, his mind was completely preoccupied with digesting the Magic from the teaching arrays. And he had to admit, multitasking while thinking suited him well. As for when he returned to his own room, that time was for battle. Endless battle.

「Holy Hall.」

Zhao Guang was feeling quite pleased with himself. ’So what if the Thunderlight Hall is ranked first now?’ he thought with a sneer. ’And that bastard Gongsun Wuqing, always using his seniority to oppose me. He brings up Ning Zhiquan at the drop of a hat, going on about how things were "back when the Senior was here." The dynasty has long since changed!’

Opportunity favors the prepared. When Zhao Lingxuan began her Sub-Hall cultivation so early, Zhao Guang realized something was amiss.

He was unwilling to pave the way for Zhao Lingxuan’s success. ’What does a little brat like her know?’ he scoffed internally. ’So she has talent? What’s so great about that?’

But the key was that Ancestor Master Zhao favored her. However, Ancestor Master Zhao wasn’t the only one in the Zhao Family. To be precise, he was merely the Zhao Family’s spokesperson in the Holy Hall.

When that old Ancestral Master returned to the Holy Hall, Zhao Guang knew his opportunity had come. And Zhao Guang was, without a doubt, a man who dared to take risks. He had to make his move, even if it meant offending Zhao Tianlong.

And he had succeeded. That Ancestral Master had returned from the Great Yuan Realm, and he knew that the Great Yuan Realm required people who were both powerful and wise. In his view, Zhao Lingxuan was completely immature, nothing more than a child. She had a bit of cunning but was far too naive. Furthermore, her decision to join the Thunderlight Hall was undoubtedly a factor that directly led to this Ancestral Master’s dissatisfaction.

Zhao Tianlong had to carry out the old Ancestral Master’s decision, especially since the Zhao Family’s sudden rise in prestige was all due to this Ancestral Master’s success.

Once Zhao Guang held power, his ambitions began to stir. He hadn’t completely lost his head, though. ’I never imagined that woman, Hu Jing, would be this capable,’ he mused. ’At first, I just thought the girl from the mortal realm was good-looking and had a nice disposition. Who knew she would be so shrewd and calm?’

The Thunderlight Hall’s standing was built by Wang Meng. With Wang Meng gone, could Hu Jing command respect?

It was as if they had lost their Stabilizing Needle, yet Hu Jing truly managed to hold her own. The hall’s strength was growing rapidly, but most importantly, she was skilled at winning people over. It was unbelievable, but Zhang Xiaojiang, Zhou Qian, and the others all followed her lead. Even some of the Thunderlight Hall’s veterans, like Hex Ziyuan and Chen Haiguan, assisted her with all their hearts. He had tried various methods to divide and conquer the Thunderlight Hall, but to no effect.

This was just one of Zhao Guang’s headaches. The failure to sow internal discord could simply mean those cowards lacked ambition. But the Thunderlight Hall’s foundation of disciples was weak; you couldn’t just build that up with a massive pile of Spirit Stones.

With his current prestige and the backing of the old Ancestral Master, he should have been able to make the other fence-sitters bow before him.

This should have been an unstoppable trend, but Hu Jing and her people had actually managed to stop it.

Qiao Qian and Jia Shidao were currently in the Thunderlight Hall, facing Hu Jing, Yang Ying, and the core members of the hall.

"Junior Sister Hu, you’ve been a tremendous help. We really don’t know how to thank you enough."

Qiao Qian said.

"With Junior Sister Hu in charge, everyone gets a piece of the pie, haha. It would be for the best if our Beast Hall could control the trade of our own Spirit Beasts."

Jia Shidao was, of course, overjoyed. Back when Ning Zhiquan was around, the Beast Hall had been nothing more than the Dao Guang Hall’s private garden. This new Zhao Guang was even more outrageous—he wanted to order Jia Shidao around like a personal servant. Ning Zhiquan had at least shown some restraint, but this man seemed intent on completely gutting the Beast Hall.

"Brother Jia, Brother Qiao, you’re too kind. I feel that as the number one hall, we have a greater responsibility to consider the other Sub-Halls, rather than using our power to strengthen only ourselves. The Holy Hall can only grow stronger and produce more outstanding disciples when each Sub-Hall is allowed to truly develop its unique strengths."

"Hehe, Junior Sister Hu, everyone understands the principle, but you’re the first person to sit in this position and actually consider others."

Yang Ying remarked. She and Hu Jing had become like sisters who could talk about anything; one was Wang Meng’s woman, the other his most trusted confidante.

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