Chapter 258: Chapter 258: The Arrogance of the Star Pavilion Elder
Four Star Pavilion Elders handed the invitation to Lu Changsheng before leaving Mount Shu.
“I didn’t expect the Sect Leader of Mount Shu to have just stepped into the Unity Realm, it seems that in this Zhong Zhou Conference, Mount Shu is merely making up the numbers.”
“The entire sect only exudes the aura of three Unity Realm cultivators; not even one at the Great Accomplishment of the Unity Realm. It appears Mount Shu really has declined. Given how much our Pavilion Master regarded Mount Shu, considering it could be one of the strong opponents at the Zhong Zhou Conference, the Pavilion Master can probably rest easy now. The Sect Leader of Mount Shu, hardly a challenge.”
“We specifically came to Xia State this time, only to discover that Mount Shu, ranked first, is merely at this level. The strength of the other sects can only be worse, truly a waste of time.”
“This is the rule of the Zhong Zhou Conference, even though these sects are not strong, we still need to inform them. Stop complaining; next, we have to notify Immeasurable Temple, the second-ranked in Xia State. Immeasurable Temple once had a sacred monk who ascended to the Immortal Realm a long time ago; their strength is not weak, hopefully they won’t disappoint us.”
As three Star Pavilion Elders were hastening toward Immeasurable Temple, they exchanged thoughts in secret, filled with contempt for Lu Changsheng, the newly appointed Sect Leader of Mount Shu.
Sect Leader Lu Changsheng had just entered the Unity Realm, and the Zhong Zhou Conference was still over a hundred years away. How much more could his cultivation possibly improve by then?
Early Unity Realm, at the Zhong Zhou Conference teeming with powerful figures, would be nothing more than bottom rung.
Only the woman in green did not join in the discussion; instead, she was utterly shocked.
Back in the Immortal Ruins, Lu Changsheng had to avoid the eighth layer Void Refinement Realm’s Demon General. If not for the intervention of the woman in green, Shen Xiaoyao, Lu Changsheng’s disciple, would have been killed by the Demon General long ago.
Yet, how much time had passed since then?
Lu Changsheng’s cultivation had already surpassed her, and he had entered the Unity Realm!
Such aptitude could no longer be described merely as an unmatched genius; it was freakishly monstrous!
Perhaps even the Pavilion Master of the Star Pavilion didn’t have such a rapid improvement in cultivation when he was young.
This was what truly astonished her.
The other three Star Pavilion Elders only saw Lu Changsheng’s current level of cultivation; they didn’t know that not long ago he had still been struggling in the early stages of the Void Refinement Realm.
It was precisely because of their lack of understanding that the three Star Pavilion Elders underestimated Lu Changsheng.
The woman in green knew of Lu Changsheng’s astonishing rate of cultivation increase and dared not underestimate him.
Given Lu Changsheng’s monstrous growth speed, the woman in green didn’t dare to imagine what level of cultivation he might reach by the time of the Zhong Zhou Conference.
“Could it be that back in the Immortal Ruins, he knew I would intervene, so he deliberately concealed his true cultivation? This seems to be the only explanation.”
The woman in green shook her head; still, she couldn’t believe that Lu Changsheng could advance from the early stages of the Void Refinement Realm to the Unity Realm in just a few decades. Therefore, she reasoned that back in the Immortal Ruins, Lu Changsheng must have purposefully hidden his cultivation.
“No, why did he happen to be in the Immortal Ruins at that time? Our Star Pavilion had Supreme Elders at the peak of the Unity Realm calculating the heavens’ secrets to determine the time and place of the Immortal Ruins’ emergence. How could his early Unity Realm cultivation accurately deduce the details of the Immortal Ruins? There must be a hidden story.”
“I’m beginning to look forward to the Zhong Zhou Conference…”
The woman in green became lost in her thoughts en route.
Lu Changsheng, to her, was full of mysteries.
The four Star Pavilion Elders arrived at Immeasurable Temple.
The Immeasurable Temple was a tower reaching a thousand zhang, but the Star Pavilion Elder who had reached Great Accomplishment in the Void Refinement Realm was unimpressed.
Zhong Zhou was not lacking in powerful sects that cultivated Buddhist techniques.
“Immeasurable Temple is weaker than Mount Shu, and not at all able to withstand a single blow,”
such was the assessment of the three Star Pavilion Elders.
Immeasurable Temple, on the surface, did not have a single Unity Realm powerhouse.
Apart from the green-clad woman who had become cautious due to the enigma that was Lu Changsheng, the other three Star Pavilion Elders appeared even more arrogant.
Since Immeasurable Temple did not have a single Unity Realm powerhouse, in their eyes at Star Pavilion, it was too fragile to stand up against a breeze.
Master Wuxiang was cultivating Buddhist Techniques with the Power of Faith accumulated by Immeasurable Temple, delegating the task of accepting invitations to a Void Refinement Realm monk.
The Void Refinement Realm monk was startled upon seeing the invitation from Star Pavilion.
Star Pavilion was known as the number one Sect in this realm, a gathering place of countless exceptional individuals, truly formidable.
In front of Star Pavilion, Immeasurable Temple could only be considered a mid-tier Sect.
“Once our Abbot exits seclusion, this monk will surely pass on the invitation. When the time comes, our Immeasurable Temple will definitely attend the grand assembly in Zhong Zhou on time. Amitabha Buddha.”
The Void Refinement Realm monk pressed his palms together and bowed respectfully.
Immeasurable Temple did not dare to offend the powerful Star Pavilion, for fear it might bring about catastrophic disaster.
“Heh, with the level of your cultivation, whether you come or not is of little significance to us. Let’s go notify the next Sect.”
Several Star Pavilion Elders departed from Immeasurable Temple through Sword Flight, headed toward the Martial Alliance.
The monk from Immeasurable Temple could only smile wryly and helplessly.
Being the strongest Sect in the realm, it was not surprising that Star Pavilion looked down on Immeasurable Temple.
However, a Sect like Immeasurable Temple that had once produced a divine monk was far from simple…
The group from Star Pavilion went on to inform two major Sects, Martial Alliance and Hidden Dragon Temple.
Alliance Leader Master Chen of Martial Alliance and Temple Master Yu Xuanji of Hidden Dragon Temple were both at the first layer of the Unity Realm, and not regarded highly by the Star Pavilion elders.
They would only take a second look if there was a powerhouse who had reached Great Accomplishment in the Unity Realm.
“Aside from that woman in green, the people from Star Pavilion really are arrogant despite their inferior capabilities. They are merely at the Void Refinement Realm, yet they rely on the backing of Star Pavilion and completely disregard even me, failing to show any courtesy. What a pity. If my master were still here, or if I had cultivated a few thousand more years, would they dare to be so presumptuous?”
Alliance Leader Master Chen of Martial Alliance was outspoken and forthright, and after the group from Star Pavilion left, he could not help but complain.
His chief disciple, Ye Wen, asked, “Master, is Star Pavilion really that powerful? Can Elders of the Void Refinement Realm afford to look down on our Martial Alliance like this?”
The other Supreme Elders and Chen’s disciples of Martial Alliance also turned to look at him unanimously.
Sects from Xia State occupied remote locations and generally did not interact lightly with Sects from Zhong Zhou; moreover, the grand assembly in Zhong Zhou was a rare event, happening once every fifty thousand years.
The last generation of peerless geniuses who attended the grand assembly in Zhong Zhou had either ascended to the Immortal Realm or fallen, and therefore, it was understandable that the younger generation of Elders and Disciples from Xia State did not know the strength of Star Pavilion.
While Master Chen grumbled, when he spoke of the strength of Star Pavilion, he became solemnly respectful: “Star Pavilion is the strongest Sect in this realm. Let’s put it this way: in the hundreds of thousands of years, there have been more than a dozen peerless geniuses from Mount Shu who succeeded in ascending to the Immortal Realm, seven or eight from our Martial Alliance, only two from Inquiry Immortal Pavilion; thus, when ranking the Sects of Xia State, Mount Shu occupies the top spot year after year, with Inquiry Immortal Pavilion behind. But according to legend, the number of peerless geniuses from Star Pavilion that ascended to the Immortal Realm, as recorded, is several hundred.”