Yushi Tongjun personally stepped out of the Taoist temple to find Wu Tian, and Lv Mingyue announced she wanted to go too. Yushi Tongjun was startled for a moment, then nodded. He wanted Wu Tian to see how outstanding Lv Mingyue had become. He wanted to make Wu Tian regret his decision!

He hoped Wu Tian would utter a certain phrase. A Taoist acolyte from the Abyss had once sneaked out to the Underground World and then to the Surface World, and a saying had spread all the way back to the temple!

"Once, a sincere love was right in front of me, but I didn’t cherish it. It wasn’t until I lost it that I was filled with endless regret. There is no greater pain in this mortal world. If Heaven granted me another chance, I would surely say three words to that girl: ’I love you.’ If I had to put a time limit on that love, I hope it would be ten thousand years!"

But what Yushi Tongjun hoped Wu Tian would say was this:

"Once, an opportunity that comes once in ten thousand years was right in front of me, but I didn’t cherish it. It wasn’t until I lost it that I was filled with endless regret. There is no greater pain in the Three Realms of heaven, earth, and mortals. If Heaven granted me another chance, I would surely say three words to those three supreme existences: ’I’ll kneel to you.’ If I had to put a time limit on that master-disciple bond, I hope it would be ten thousand years!"

With this in mind, Yushi Tongjun took Lv Mingyue to meet Wu Tian. Upon finding him, Yushi Tongjun’s first words were spoken with solemn earnestness. "Look at Mingyue now. Don’t you feel she exudes an even greater immortal aura? Child, this opportunity should have belonged to you and your daughter. I must say, you both have talent superior to others, and that is an advantage! But talent must be cherished, and neither of you knows how. Having talent is useless without a good master. We three are the greatest masters of this generation. We are immortals, incomparable to any ordinary mentors."

He hoped Wu Tian would regret his decision right then and there and beg to become his disciple.

He finally understood what people meant by a "generation gap." Yushi Tongjun simply couldn’t comprehend Wu Tian’s way of thinking. Why wouldn’t he cherish having such good masters right before his eyes? I don’t get it. I truly don’t get it.

Similarly, Wu Tian didn’t understand them either. Why do he and the others think they’re such great masters? Just because you take a title like ’He Who is Equal to the World,’ you think you’re as incredible as Zhen Yuanzi? Even Zhen Yuanzi wouldn’t dare take me as a disciple, would he? We could only address each other as ’fellow Daoist!’ It’s a good thing Zhen Yuanzi is dead. If he knew that some old man in a later generation was using his name to pull these kinds of stunts, wouldn’t he be angry enough to die all over again?

Seeing Wu Tian remain silent, Yushi Tongjun assumed he was admitting his mistake. Greatly comforted, he chuckled and said, "Alright. You can perform the ceremony to become my disciple right here and now."

Wu Tian shot him a look as if he were an idiot. "I don’t have time to talk to you! I need to continue my cultivation!"

Yushi Tongjun was speechless.

Seeing Wu Tian dare to speak to her master that way, the six-year-old Lv Mingyue was about to argue with him. But she suddenly found she couldn’t open her mouth. She panicked and grew terrified. The next moment, her limbs wouldn’t move either, as if she were frozen in place.

Unaware of Lv Mingyue’s strange condition behind him, Yushi Tongjun looked at Wu Tian and sighed deeply. "Fine, fine. I see that making you realize your mistake won’t be easy. In that case, tell me: what did the Ginseng Fruit Tree say to you? And why are all the Ginsengfruits gone? What is going on?"

Wu Tian glanced at him and uttered a few cold words, "You have no right to know."

"What?" Upon hearing this, Yushi Tongjun’s expression soured. His fists clenched as he said angrily, "Don’t provoke my wrath, alright? The wrath of a Saint can make heaven and earth collapse. It is no small matter! The Ginseng Fruit Tree is mine, so how could I have no right to know?"

At this, Wu Tian finally couldn’t hold back his laughter. "HAHAHA! Wrong. You’re completely wrong."

Wrong? Where was he wrong? Yushi Tongjun still didn’t get it.

Wu Tian elaborated, "The Ginseng Fruit Tree is yours? No. Rather, you belong to the Ginseng Fruit Tree."

This statement carried a deep implication. ’This dog is yours’ versus ’you belong to this dog’—the reversal completely flipped the primary and secondary roles.

Wu Tian believed his understanding was the correct one. The Ginseng Fruit Tree had created these three arrogant fools, yet they actually thought they were its masters? They were merely servants tasked with guarding Wuzhuang Temple for the Ginseng Fruit Tree, yet they thought they were the temple’s Monastery Master? 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Ridiculous! What an absolute joke!

"How audacious!" Yushi Tongjun was utterly enraged. "The wrath of a Saint? Do you truly not care at all?"

"I’m tired of listening to you." Wu Tian found he couldn’t stand it any longer. He sent a palm flying toward Yushi Tongjun.

The slap followed a seemingly profound and unpredictable trajectory. Before Yushi Tongjun could even react, the palm, carrying terrifying force, had already struck him across the face.

PUH!

Yushi Tongjun spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.

"How... How is this possible?" Only after being hit did Yushi Tongjun finally react, his face a mask of disbelief. Behind him, Lv Mingyue looked as though she had seen a ghost.

"I... I am a Saint!" Yushi Tongjun couldn’t believe he had been slapped. In his own eyes, he was an existence on par with The Three Pure Ones, above all other immortals. So how could someone so powerful be struck without even realizing it until after the fact?

"Impossible? What’s impossible about it? You think that just because of your title, you’re actually Zhen Yuanzi?" Wu Tian asked coldly.

Yushi Tongjun was stunned. Am I really not a match for Zhen Yuanzi?

Behind him, Lv Mingyue was even more horrified. Master isn’t as good as Zhen Yuanzi? How can that be? They both have the same title. Even if there’s a difference, it can’t be that great, can it? In her heart, Lv Mingyue still refused to believe her master was so vastly inferior to Zhen Yuanzi.

"Now, do you still want me as your disciple?" Wu Tian asked mockingly.

"I... I want to try again. Just now... just now, I wasn’t prepared!" Yushi Tongjun declared after a moment’s thought. He hadn’t fought anyone since his Divine Technique had reached Great Achievement!

At that moment, Yushi Tongjun thrust out his palm. Instantly, the sound of an Immortal Melody echoed through the space, and his body began to glow with radiant light. Outwardly, this technique looked infinitely more splendid than Wu Tian’s simple slap; it was dazzling beyond compare. From its appearance, this move seemed utterly invincible.

Finally, his palm shot toward Wu Tian. The surrounding space twisted and distorted, a testament to the attack’s extraordinary power. A brilliant radiance shone wherever his palm passed.

Seeing Yushi Tongjun’s dazzling and seemingly invincible technique, Lv Mingyue watched with renewed hope. That’s it, that’s it! Master will definitely succeed! Master is the strongest! Wu Tian is sure to lose now, right? A mere mortal challenging a Saint... he’s completely overestimating himself.

But in the next moment, a scornful voice echoed once more. "This move of yours... it’s just a useless, flashy display, isn’t it?"