Unrestricted Dao Lord

Within the Guiyuan Sect’s Inner Sect, only Lu Quan and Wei Yunzhou were in Wei Yunzhou’s courtyard.

At this moment, the vast courtyard was deathly still.

Wei Yunzhou’s face was grim, his eyes were faintly bloodshot, and his hands trembled slightly.

"Senior Brother Wei, the news is confirmed. Zhang Su achieved Three Stars in One Day. Many Inner Sect Disciples witnessed it with their own eyes..."

Lu Quan said cautiously.

In truth, Wei Yunzhou already knew the news.

He had only sent Lu Quan out to confirm it.

"Three Stars in One Day... an unprecedented feat in the entire history of the Guiyuan Sect..."

Wei Yunzhou ground out the words through clenched teeth.

A while ago, he had Lu Quan deliver a letter to the Wei Family, telling them to find a way to stir up trouble for the Su Family to lure Zhang Su down the mountain.

He never expected that before the Wei Family could even act, Zhang Su would achieve Three Stars in One Day and become a Three-Star Disciple.

Fast!

It was just too fast!

So fast that Wei Yunzhou couldn’t even process it.

"The plan has changed. I didn’t think Zhang Su would actually become a real threat!"

Wei Yunzhou’s tone had changed.

A trace of uncontrollable fear arose in his heart.

Even though he was an Inner Force Martial Artist, nearly at the level of Huajin.

But Zhang Su’s achievement of Three Stars in One Day was simply too shocking.

"Senior Brother, what do we do now?"

Lu Quan asked.

Truthfully, he was also afraid.

He only had a meager Outer Force Cultivation.

He couldn’t even defeat Lu Tianqing back when he was in the Qi Blood Realm, let alone the current Zhang Su who had achieved Three Stars in One Day.

"Didn’t you bring back a letter from my father? It mentioned that next month, Zhang Su’s little sister will marry Jiang Cheng. Zhang Su will definitely go back for that."

"This might be our only chance... so we must be fully prepared!"

Wei Yunzhou took a deep breath, a vicious glint flashing in his eyes.

He had always been cautious.

But when it came to dealing with Zhang Su, he had made one mistake after another.

’Come to think of it, I have been very cautious with Zhang Su, but he’s just growing too fast. It’s made every one of my plans a step too slow.’

One step behind, always a step behind.

This time, he would not give Zhang Su another chance.

"Senior Brother, are you planning to..."

"Lu Quan, go contact all the unorthodox masters in the Jianghu who would dare to attack an Inner Sect Disciple of the Guiyuan Sect. No matter what price they name, as long as we can afford it, hire them!"

"If we can get a Huajin master to act, it will be a foolproof plan... Unfortunately, I can’t easily hire a Huajin master. If it’s Inner Force masters, then the more the better. Eight or ten of them would be good..."

Wei Yunzhou did not want to let Zhang Su continue to grow stronger.

He planned to do it all in one go, using all his power to kill Zhang Su.

He was willing to pay any price!

Lu Quan’s heart went cold.

In his opinion, Wei Yunzhou was making a mountain out of a molehill.

To deal with a mere Inner Sect Disciple at the Early Stage of Outer Force, even if he was a Three-Star Disciple, there was no need to hire a Huajin master at any cost.

And even if not a Huajin master, he wanted eight to ten Inner Force Martial Artists?

This was too much of an exaggeration.

Of course, in a way, Wei Yunzhou’s approach could also be called "thorough."

It seemed Zhang Su was doomed this time.

"Senior Brother, I understand."

Lu Quan nodded to show he understood.

Besides, no matter how many masters were hired, it would be Wei Yunzhou bleeding money, not him.

He just needed to follow Wei Yunzhou’s orders and find the people.

...

Bamboo Sword Peak, behind the mountain waterfall.

Yu Jingjing stood respectfully before the waterfall and reported, "Master, this disciple has something to report."

Yu Jingjing’s clear, cold voice could not be drowned out even by the roar of the cascading waterfall.

"Speak."

Qu Zhengliu did not even open his eyes.

"Master, Junior Brother Li Heng’s spot for the Fire Melting Cave... has been taken!"

Yu Jingjing said, steeling herself.

"Hmm?"

Qu Zhengliu’s eyes snapped open, his brow furrowing slightly. "Who could take Li Heng’s spot? Was it Zhang Yuan from Yishui Peak or Shen Que from Feiniao Peak?"

"Or perhaps, Bai Jinghong from Cyan Wood Peak?"

The names Qu Zhengliu mentioned were all genius disciples from the various branches of the Guiyuan Sect.

In his mind, there were only a handful of Inner Sect Disciples who could compete with Li Heng for a spot in the Fire Melting Cave.

However, Yu Jingjing shook her head. "It was none of them."

"Who else could it be besides them?"

Qu Zhengliu was now curious.

’Could it be that a new rising star has appeared in the Inner Sect recently?’

Yu Jingjing took a deep breath, a complicated expression on her face. Then, she spoke slowly, "Master, it was Zhang Su."

"Who did you say? Zhang Su?"

Qu Zhengliu was slightly taken aback.

He would never have thought of the name "Zhang Su."

"Yes, Zhang Su. After he left Bamboo Sword Peak last time, he was taken in as a disciple by Elder Zhao of the Instructor Pavilion."

"And a few days ago, Zhang Su did something that shook the entire Inner Sect. He went to the Inner Sect Grand Hall for his rating evaluation and, under everyone’s watchful eyes, rose three stars in a row. His performance was astonishing."

"Afterward, Elder Zhao applied for a Fire Melting Cave spot on Zhang Su’s behalf. Furthermore, Elder Wang Dakui from the Little Stone Peak branch co-signed the recommendation. Coupled with the fact that Zhang Su achieving Three Stars in One Day truly is an unprecedented feat, the Sect took everything into consideration and gave the spot to Zhang Su."

Yu Jingjing explained the whole sequence of events in one breath.

For a moment, Qu Zhengliu was silent.

In truth, he had never even met Zhang Su.

Rejecting Zhang Su from joining Bamboo Sword Peak was simply a matter of following the rules.

After a long while, Qu Zhengliu said nonchalantly, "It’s just one spot for the Fire Melting Cave. It doesn’t matter that it was taken. Li Heng is still young. The worst that can happen is he waits another three months."

"As for Zhang Su... whether it’s Three Stars in One Day or making a name for himself in the Inner Sect, it doesn’t matter. As a Dharma Protector Disciple, it will be difficult for him to even break through to the Postnatal Realm in the future. Even if he gets lucky and manages to, he won’t go far, let alone reach for the Innate Realm."

"The disciples of my Bamboo Sword Peak are all elites of the Inner Sect with immense potential. Don’t be impatient for immediate results; we must look at long-term performance."

Yu Jingjing understood her Master’s meaning.

Her Master placed more importance on one’s potential in the Martial Dao.

How far a disciple could walk on the path of the Martial Dao was what truly mattered.

"Yes, Master. This disciple understands."

"Alright, you may go."

Yu Jingjing bowed to her Master and then respectfully withdrew.

Qu Zhengliu closed his eyes once more.

He appeared calm on the surface, but in reality, ripples of disturbance stirred uncontrollably in his heart.

It seemed he was not as calm as his words suggested.

Clearly, his heart was no longer at peace...

...

WHOOSH.

A figure came to a stop.

Feeling the scorching temperature in the air, Zhang Su thought to himself, ’This is just the outer area of the Fire Melting Cave, and it’s already this hot. How high must the temperature be inside?’

He gazed at the cave entrance before him as waves of heat washed over his face, searingly hot.

Ordinary Martial Artists would feel uncomfortable just being near the Fire Melting Cave, let alone trying to practice their Cultivation.

But for Zhang Su, this was an ideal environment for Cultivation.

After all, he practiced Triple Yang Cultivation, and his Inner Strength was of the Extreme Yang attribute. Cultivating in the Fire Melting Cave would yield twice the results with half the effort, making it remarkably efficient.

Just then, two more figures approached the Fire Melting Cave from a distance.

One of them didn’t pause at all, stopping only after passing Zhang Su by two or three paces.

The other figure stopped parallel to Zhang Su.

The one who had passed him was a young woman with a stunning figure, dressed in red.

The one who had stopped next to Zhang Su was a young man wearing the attire of an Inner Sect Inheritor Disciple.

The young man saw the woman in the red dress ahead and, with a look of awe in his eyes, said softly, "Might you be Senior Sister Pei Hongluan from Jade Peak?"

The woman in red didn’t turn her head, asking coolly, "And who are you?"

The young man quickly replied, "Senior Sister Pei, I am Zhang Yuan from Yishui Peak."

"So you’re Zhang Yuan? I’ve heard of you."

Pei Hongluan’s tone was calm. After that one cold remark, she said no more.

For a moment, the atmosphere became a little awkward.

Fortunately, Zhang Yuan was a sociable person. He was a bit surprised when he saw Zhang Su next to him, especially since Zhang Su was wearing the uniform of a Dharma Protector Disciple.

Spots for the Fire Melting Cave were not easy to come by.

’How could a Dharma Protector Disciple get a spot in the Fire Melting Cave?’

But Zhang Yuan would not let his thoughts show on his face.

He asked softly, "Which branch is this senior brother from? I don’t believe we’ve met..."

Zhang Yuan thought to himself that he knew basically every Inner Sect Disciple from all the major branches.

But he had no impression of the disciple beside him.

Zhang Su said calmly, "Inner Sect, Zhang Su. Unaffiliated with any Martial Vein."

"Unaffiliated with any Martial Vein?"

Zhang Yuan was slightly stunned.

’Unaffiliated with a Martial Vein, and yet he can come to the Fire Melting Cave?’

You had to understand, the spots for the Fire Melting Cave were highly sought-after. If you weren’t a disciple from a top-ranking Martial Vein, you could be waiting in line for who knows how long.

"You’re that Zhang Su who recently caused a stir in the Inner Sect by achieving Three Stars in One Day?"

The woman in red up ahead suddenly turned her head, her beautiful eyes staring at Zhang Su with a hint of astonishment.