Chapter 1345: Lively World
After saying goodbye to Master Meng, Lu Yang returned to the Dao-Seeking Sect, and life settled back into tranquility. News of Lu Yang’s recent activities rarely circulated, and the Cultivation World and the entire universe had entered a period of peaceful development.
Lu Yang didn’t leave again after returning. The Cultivation World had already integrated spirit qi with technology. One could learn all the news in the universe without stepping outside. Moreover, the internet wasn’t Lu Yang’s only source of outside information. The Dao-Seeking Sect disciples out on training also kept him informed.
“Young people are quite active these days.” Lu Yang smiled.
Although the Cultivation World had long since ended its state of combat readiness, many prodigies had risen during that period, seizing the opportunity to make a name for themselves in the cosmos. The number of prodigies was several times greater than in Lu Yang’s era. Some called it the true recurrence of the Battle of the Great Era in ancient times.
Numerous major factions had joined forces to hold a Grand Prodigy Tournament, where any cultivator under a hundred years old could participate. Rewards included abundant cultivation resources, and participants could become famous throughout the world. The tournament was broadcast live across the universe, and dark horses emerged one after another. It was a grand event for the cosmos.
The prodigies yielded to no one. Lost techniques reappeared, and there were several stunning comeback victories. Even the Cultivation World’s citizens, who were accustomed to duels between prodigies, were astonished, let alone people from other planets.
The young monk Xinding, whom Lu Yang had met at the Xitian Temple, had become number one on the Buddhist Kingdom’s Heaven Ranking. Wielding the sealed Heaven-Splitting Axe, he defeated opponents and converted them.
Song Tianjing, whom Lu Yang had met at the Spirit Chef Competition, had genuinely comprehended something from the Everlasting Immortal Fairy’s Comprehensive Culinary Compendium. His masterful poison arts made him an opponent every prodigy dreaded facing.
Though he was expelled from the spirit chef community for his poison arts, he had made his mark in the poison community, becoming a fearsome rising star. The only problem was that no poison cultivators attended his matches. They were all locked up in Great Xia’s prisons, silently cheering for Song Tianjing.
The most conspicuous participant was undoubtedly Half-Immortal Meng.
Meng Jingzhou had been out of the public eye for many years, busy running his fortune-telling stall and cultivating his Incipient Dao Fruit. When he appeared, the audience froze. Isn’t this a prodigy tournament? Why is Meng Jingzhou competing?
Then they realized that Meng Jingzhou’s cultivation was so high that he was one of the strongest even among Transcendent Tribulation cultivators, causing people to subconsciously overlook his age. He was still under a hundred, which meant he still qualified as a prodigy.
With Lu Yang not competing, who could possibly be a match for Half-Immortal Meng? Even a swarm of opponents couldn’t budge him an inch. The prodigies bearing titles like “Small Lu Yang” and “Makings of a Meng Jingzhou” finally realized the true gap between themselves and Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou.
Everyone assumed that Lu Yang would appear if Meng Jingzhou did, but they were disappointed. From start to finish, Lu Yang never showed up. Without a doubt, Meng Jingzhou won the championship.
Lu Yang’s only public appearance was at the wedding of the Vast Sea Daoist Lord and Ao Ya, who respectively hailed from the Dao-Seeking Sect and the East Sea Dragon Palace, both renowned for extravagance. When the two became Dao partners, every faction in the Cultivation World came to congratulate them.
The Vast Sea Daoist Lord kept his promise, and they held their wedding in the cosmos. The various factions displayed their mighty abilities, arriving by boat, gourd, and great demons. It was as if the ancient myths had come to life.
The wedding was broadcast across the universe. When other civilizations saw thousands of true dragons soaring through space, their minds went blank, overwhelmed by the sight.
More than one immortal attended the wedding. This was the first time immortals had appeared before the entire cosmos. The live chat was filled with people bowing to immortals and praying for good fortune, while tips poured in ceaselessly. The atmosphere was incredibly lively.
At such moments, Lu Yang became the less conspicuous one. Cosmic beings weren’t very familiar with Lu Yang. They struggled to connect him to the legends even when they saw him.
However, they still knew beauty when they saw it. Yun Zhi, Yun Mengmeng, Qing He, Gan Tian, Tao Yaoye, Lan Ting, and the others were all beauties in their own right, and they gained countless fans the moment they appeared. Advertisers considered recruiting them, but after learning their identities, no one entertained the idea again.
After the wedding, the world’s attention returned to the prodigies’ contests. Yet two cultivators who weren’t prodigies caught everyone’s attention.
“Fang Shan lost? Isn’t he said to be unbeatable at the Divine Transfiguration Stage? How did he lose to a veteran Divine Transfiguration cultivator?”
“Who did he lose to?”
“Someone called Mo Xiaochou. I heard he’s a cultivator from the Buddhist Kingdom, though he’s not well-known there. He was even missing for a long time. When he reappeared, he defeated Fang Shan.”
“An exceptionally powerful veteran cultivator has also appeared among the Fusion cultivators. He’s called Duan Qingshui, also from the Buddhist Kingdom.”
The world was puzzled. Prodigies were called prodigies precisely because of their limitless potential. They could fight beyond their level, defeating veteran cultivators who had exhausted their potential and using them as backdrops and stepping stones. Yet two anomalies had emerged among the veterans.
Furthermore, these two weren’t just strong in combat. They had dabbled in the hundred arts of cultivation. Though they weren’t proficient in all of them, they were more knowledgeable than most peers.
Defeating them through the hundred arts of cultivation would be extremely difficult. Their combat awareness was remarkable, far beyond what someone at their realm should possess. Despite being besieged by numerous opponents, they handled it with ease.
𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦
“I’ve witnessed countless battles between groups of Transcendent Tribulation cultivators and half-immortals. You think this handful of people can trap me?”
The prodigies were unsettled. In this era, Transcendent Tribulation cultivators and half-immortals rarely fought, let alone in repeated group battles. Where had these two witnessed such battles?
Rumor had it that the two had entered an ancient secret domain together, where countless ancient powerhouses had left avatars and legacies. The two had spent untold ages passing the trials, undergoing a complete transformation and obtaining ancient legacies.
Once the rumor spread, the Cultivation World was swept by a wave of searches for this ancient secret domain, as everyone hoped to become as powerful as Mo Xiaochou and Duan Qingshui. Unfortunately, they wound up empty-handed.
When the prisoners saw reports about these two, they joyfully called a temporary truce and agreed to resume fighting tomorrow.
“I knew Little Mo had it in him!
“Little Duan hasn’t disgraced Great Qian’s name!”
Taking in all these sights, Lu Yang simply smiled faintly, with no intention of participating. He was very busy now and tried his best to avoid getting involved in trivial matters. The most urgent thing right now is cultivation.
“Come, Second-in-Command, try my newly developed dish.”
“Lu Yang, the River Spirit made me a body from water. What do you think?” Bai Shuang hopped about like a child, showing off her new body.
“Writing cultivation techniques is so hard. Can’t you help me?” Xia He complained bitterly. How am I supposed to write a cultivation technique? That jerk Lu Yang won’t even give me a hint.
Lu Yang lay on a rocking chair, swaying back and forth as he browsed the news. He tilted his head and took a bite. “Tastes good.”
He then pushed off the chair and bounced to his feet, taking a few more bites of Yun Mengmeng’s new dish, still craving more.
“Time to enter seclusion for a breakthrough.”