Chapter 454 - 334: Change in Position
Nearby, Bai Qinying came over to chat with Song Qiaoqiao.
During his great-granddaughter and Bai Qinying’s conversation, Zhong Yankun overheard Bai Qinying referring to Fang Yun as "Junior Brother."
He had previously thought this form of address was inappropriate, but now that Fang Yun had successfully achieved Core Formation, there was nothing wrong with Bai Qinying calling him that.
After all, Fang Yun, Bai Qinying, and his great-granddaughter were all disciples of the Celestial Cloud Sect from the same generation.
Among all the Supreme Elders of the sect,
the one whose residence was farthest from the cave where Fang Yun was secluded for his Core Formation breakthrough was Supreme Elder Miao Qinghong.
Previously, she had viewed the Core Formations of both Bai Qinying and Song Qiaoqiao as merely adding to the sect’s strength.
But Fang Yun’s successful Core Formation was a completely different matter in her eyes.
The crucial part wasn’t Fang Yun’s talent in Alchemy and Artifact Refining; it was that his approach to dealing with Evil Sects was consistent with her own.
This meant she now had someone in the sect’s upper echelons who was on the same page as her.
Given Fang Yun’s relationships, first, his Tao Companion, Song Qiaoqiao, would most likely side with him.
This was the conclusion Miao Qinghong had drawn from observing Song Qiaoqiao.
Second, Bai Qinying would also very likely side with Fang Yun. If they could also pull Zhong Yankun over, then the support for her viewpoint would be even greater.
As Miao Qinghong thought this, she began to look forward to what would happen next.
As a Sword Cultivator, it had been a long time since she had last drawn her sword against an enemy.
...
Inside the cave for Core Formation seclusion.
As the Core Formation Phenomenon faded, Fang Yun slowly opened his eyes.
"The Core Formation Stage!"
From Foundation Establishment to Core Formation, his level of existence had broken through once more. His Life Span had doubled, and some Core Formation Cultivators who practiced life-extending Cultivation Techniques could even live to be five hundred years old.
At this moment, Fang Yun was undoubtedly thrilled.
It wasn’t just the increase in his Life Span and the strengthening of his power; breaking through to the Core Formation Stage meant he was now a bona fide member of the sect’s upper echelons.
During the worldly phenomenon that was the gift of his breakthrough, a notification had already appeared on the light screen.
This had to be a notification about his increased influence.
It was just as Fang Yun had thought.
The moment he opened the light screen, Fang Yun immediately looked at the influence column.
Before his seclusion, his sect influence of eighty-two percent had already risen to ninety-five percent!
A full thirteen-percentage-point increase!
Without a doubt, with the appearance of the Core Formation Phenomenon, the middle and upper echelons of the sect already knew he had successfully achieved Core Formation. During the phenomenon, most of the sect’s disciples had also figured out what was happening.
Under these circumstances, his influence in the sect had begun to rise continuously.
’Only five percentage points left to reach one hundred percent influence over the sect... Before I become the Sect Leader, these last five points probably won’t budge at all.’
After closing the light screen, Fang Yun immediately began to analyze the situation in his mind.
He estimated that at this stage, ninety-five percent was the maximum influence he could wield. To break this ceiling, he had to become the Sect Leader.
If all went as expected, once he secured the position of Sect Leader in the future, the remaining five percent of influence would be added all at once.
Fang Yun didn’t test what specific changes had come with breaking through to the Core Formation Stage.
Right now, there were probably many Supreme Elders and Elders waiting outside his cave to congratulate him on his Core Formation breakthrough.
He couldn’t keep them waiting in the Outer Sect.
As Fang Yun rose to his feet, he also willed the cave entrance to open.
The first person Fang Yun saw upon exiting the cave was Song Qiaoqiao.
Song Qiaoqiao was standing at the very front.
This was another matter of positioning etiquette. Fang Yun didn’t even have to think to know it was surely at the behest of her great-grandfather, Zhong Yankun. In such matters, Song Qiaoqiao had originally been heavily influenced by Zhong Yankun, but she had gradually come to be more influenced by him.
As a Core Formation Stage Cultivator and his Tao Companion, she should be the one standing at the very front at a time like this. If Song Qiaoqiao were still at the Foundation Establishment Stage, she would have had to stand a little farther back, and Zhong Yankun would have been at the front.
After Song Qiaoqiao, in order, were Zhong Yankun, Sect Leader Duan Qingyun, and his master, Xiong Xingfeng. Behind them were the other Supreme Elders of the sect.
Last of all were the Elders.
Since the Elders were all of the same rank, those who could stand at the front of their group were generally the ones on good terms with him.
Fang Yun had to admit, a truly large number of Elders had come this time, and all of the sect’s upper echelons were present. Never before had so many from the middle and upper ranks come to congratulate a Supreme Elder on successfully achieving Core Formation.
This was a demonstration of his influence in the sect.
Now in the Core Formation Stage, he was already the most influential Supreme Elder in the sect. Once he became Sect Leader, he would be one of only two Sect Leaders in the history of the Celestial Cloud Sect to have reached the pinnacle of influence—the other being the Celestial Cloud Sect’s First Generation Sect Leader.
"Congratulations, my husband, on your successful Core Formation!"
As Song Qiaoqiao offered her congratulations, the other Supreme Elders, as well as the Elders behind them, also chimed in with their own felicitations.
"Congratulations, Elder Fang Taishang! Felicitations, Elder Fang Taishang!"
"I just knew something good was bound to happen soon. Elder Fang Taishang’s successful Core Formation today has proven me right."
"May Elder Fang Taishang’s path of cultivation be smooth and boundless from this day forward!"
With the exception of a few Supreme Elders and Elders, everyone else’s form of address for Fang Yun had already changed.
Fang Yun responded to each person’s congratulations in turn.
After the congratulations were over, the sect’s middle and upper echelons lingered for quite a while this time.
"Fang Yun, give me your Elder Token," Sect Leader Duan Qingyun said.
"Alright." As Fang Yun nodded, he also took out his Elder Token.
After taking the Elder Token, another token appeared in Duan Qingyun’s hand. This was undoubtedly the token of a Supreme Elder of the sect.