Chapter 226.1: Who Is He? (I)
"Ca-Cave Residence No.1?"
"Did I hear that right? The artifact spirit said Cave Residence No.1?"
"Unbelievable... It really said Cave Residence No.1? Could it be that the artifact spirit made a mistake?"
"It did pause for quite long. Was that an error?"
"No, the artifact spirit shouldn't be capable of errors. But how could it assign Cave Residence No.1 to a martial artist who just entered the Martial Saint Institute?"
"If I remember correctly, isn't Cave Residence No.1 currently occupied by Martial Venerable Tian Ming?"
"That's right, Martial Venerable Tianming. He has held Cave Residence No.1 firmly for six years now. His ten-year term is almost up, but he still hasn't left. Given how strong he is, no one can make him leave."
"A pity. Now Martial Venerable Tian Ming is being forced to give up Cave Residence No.1 without even being challenged. That name sounds familiar, though. Where have I heard it before?"
"Who is he? Who on earth is he?"
"Lu Changsheng... Could it be..."
Following the artifact spirit's announcement, the crowd erupted into fervent discussion. Some people were outright stunned. Ever since the Martial Saint Institute was established and the artifact spirit began assigning cave residences, nothing like this had ever happened.
Who could enter the Martial Saint Institute and be assigned Cave Residence No.1 from the get-go? It was simply absurd, and no one had ever entertained such an idea before. And yet, it had just happened right before everyone's eyes.
"Cave Residence No.1?"
Lu Changsheng did not need to probe with his senses to realize this was no ordinary residence. The look of shock on Wei He's face already made it obvious that Cave Residence No.1 was special. In the Martial Saint Institute, this was certainly a big deal.
Wei He stood gaping, eyes wide. He couldn't help but think he had misheard the announcement.
How could Lu Changsheng be assigned Cave Residence No.1? It makes no sense whatsoever...
The artifact spirit made these decisions strictly based on strength. In other words, the artifact spirit had judged that Lu Changsheng was stronger than Venerable Tian Ming, the current tenant of Cave Residence No.1.
"Lu Changsheng... I remember now. Didn't the Void Spirit Mountain open a while back? Many immortal sects recruited experts to enter the Void Spirit Mountain and compete for Core Dissolution Liquid.
"In the end, one martial artist single-handedly obtained sixty-eight drops of Core Dissolution Liquid and even slaughtered over a hundred Void Devils by himself. That man was Lu Changsheng!"
Some people finally remembered about Lu Changsheng's origins. Around Heavenly Sacred City, Lu Changsheng's name naturally rang loud; he was hailed as its number one Martial Venerable.
But the Martial Saint Institute was far too distant, and the Heavenly Sacred City was hardly a place of great power. Who would care about the so-called number one Martial Venerable of some small corner of the world?
News of him had barely spread at all. Only the opening of the Void Spirit Mountain, which had gathered all the major immortal sects, had reached the ears of many in the Martial Saint Institute.
It was just that the Institute's martial artists rarely lacked supplies, so none of them had ventured into Void Spirit Mountain themselves. Still, they were well aware of how dangerous the mountain was and how troublesome those Void Devils were. Slaughtering over a hundred Void Devils single-handedly? It sounded like pure fantasy.
"Killing over a hundred Void Devils? No way."
"Yeah. Void Devils are extremely tricky to deal with. Even with a mental divine ability, killing a hundred of them would be impossible. At best you could protect yourself. That story is definitely exaggerated."
"Even a Martial Saint entering the Void Spirit Mountain wouldn't dare claim they could slay a hundred Void Devils, let alone a Divine Ability Realm martial artist."
"But Lu Changsheng obtaining sixty-eight drops of Core Dissolution Liquid is a fact. That couldn't have been luck alone. He must be incredibly strong."
"There's another rumor claiming that Lu Changsheng has condensed an immeasurable divine ability. I didn't quite believe it before, but now that the artifact spirit has assigned him Cave Residence No.1, I'm starting to think it might just be true. What else but an immeasurable divine ability would make the artifact spirit deem him stronger than Venerable Tian Ming?"
"An immeasurable divine ability... I don't dare imagine it..."
Many present now saw Lu Changsheng in a new light, and for one reason only: the immeasurable divine ability. Neither his words nor his actions were all that important. Simply having an immeasurable divine ability in his arsenal was enough to seal the deal.
Those who were still skeptical did not dare question Lu Changsheng, lest he actually possessed an immeasurable divine ability and decided to prove it by unleashing it upon them. Ultimately, it made no difference whether Lu Changsheng's background was obscure for these people. Likewise, it did not matter that he had just joined the Martial Saint Institute.
The second someone had uttered the words "immeasurable divine ability," all opposition was crushed.
"Fellow Daoist Wei, would you please tell me where Cave Residence No.1 is?" Lu Changsheng asked.
"Oh, yes! Cave Residence No.1 is actually easy to find!" Wei He answered at once, snapping out of his daze. "Among that cluster of residences, the one at the highest point is No.1. That said, when a residence is assigned and someone still occupies it, they must be given time to move out. You wouldn't really be able to move in until the next day. I'm afraid you'll have to wait a bit, Fellow Daoist Lu."
Lu Changsheng nodded. "That's fine. I'll just wait here."
Indeed, one day was nothing to a Divine Ability martial artist; they could just meditate, and the day would pass in the blink of an eye.
Lu Changsheng glanced around, then sat down cross-legged in the hall's cultivation zone. Many exchanged looks, but not one person dared to approach and disturb him.
Only Wei He, who had chatted with him earlier and counted as a familiar face, came over in high spirits. "Brother Lu, I was assigned Cave Residence No.189 this time. Not bad, right? Top two hundred."
"I see. By the way, inner division martial artists can stay at the Martial Saint Institute for ten years, right? If someone is dissatisfied with their assigned residence, can they challenge for a better one and claim it by winning?" asked Lu Changsheng.
"Yes, you can issue a challenge at any time. However, you can only challenge people who have occupied their residence for a full year. Newcomers like us who were just assigned residences don't need to worry about challenges during our first year."
Lu Changsheng nodded in understanding. That Venerable Tian Ming must be fuming right now, yet he can't do anything about it.
Indeed, Venerable Tian Ming would likely want to challenge Lu Changsheng right away and settle things with his fists, but the rules prohibited him from doing so. In any case, Lu Changsheng was not interested in such a duel; if anything, he was glad for the one-year grace period, as it allowed him to focus on forging his Saint Body and charting his parth to becoming a Martial Saint.
"Fellow Daoist Wei, you seem well informed. Do you know of Venerable Tian Ming?" Lu Changsheng asked.
"Of course I do."
"Then would you please tell me more about him?"
And so Wei He launched into an exhaustive, animated account of Venerable Tian Ming's deeds.
***
In Cave Residence No.1, Venerable Tian Ming was in seclusion, cultivating his Saint Body.
He had been at the Martial Saint Institute for a full eight years. Two years after arriving, he had challenged the master of Cave Residence No.1 and claimed it for himself, holding it for six years since.
But in two more years, he would have to leave the Institute, and he had still not become a Martial Saint. By his count, many of his old rivals had already forged their Saint Bodies and became Martial Saints, while he lagged behind.
Talent and great strength did not always go hand in hand. Martial artists weaker than Venerable Tian Ming had forged their Saint Bodies early and become Martial Saints, while he, the strongest of them, was still working on his.
Of course, that was also because of his great ambition. He wanted to forge an exceptionally powerful Saint Body, which was why it had dragged on until now.
Buzz...
The nearby formation rippled, and the artifact spirit's voice sounded out of thin air. "Cave Residence No.1 has been assigned to Lu Changsheng, newly admitted to the Martial Saint Institute. Venerable Tian Ming, you have one day to gather your belongings. You must vacate the residence by tomorrow."
With that, the voice faded.
Venerable Tian Ming's eyes snapped open, disbelief flickering through them. I have to leave Cave Residence No.1 because it's been assigned to some newcomer? What nonsense is this?
Venerable Tian Ming could scarcely believe something so absurd could happen. The maids within the residence were equally bewildered, with no idea what had just occurred.
"Come!"
At his shout, several beautiful handmaids hurried in. Venerable Tian Ming was a man of indulgence who demanded refinement in every aspect of his life. None of his maids were below the Dao Foundation Realm, and every one of them was a beauty.
"Venerable, what are your orders?" one of the maids asked with a bow.
"Go to the Registration Hall and find out exactly what has happened. Above all, find out about this man called Lu Changsheng."
"Yes, Venerable."
With that, the maids left the residence for the Registration Hall.