Chapter 4: Zhu Bao

“I am Huo Zun. I wish to join Tongzhou Hall.”
Huo Zun stepped forward to the jade platform of Tongzhou Hall and immediately smiled.
“Good. Huo Zun, welcome. Come and talk.”
As Xiao Qiang spoke, he also winked at Zhu Bao and Sun Xiao, showing off slightly, eager to provoke them.
Huo Zun smiled helplessly.
Sun Xiao simply shrugged and went to discuss with the immortals gathered at the platform to select those who would join Chendan Pavilion.
Zhu Bao, on the other hand, stared coldly at Xiao Qiang before fixing his angry gaze on Huo Zun. Since Huo Zun hadn’t yielded despite his earlier threats, it naturally angered this leader of the Zhu family, sparking a desire to kill him. From now on, whenever Zhu Bao encountered Qu Yi, he would likely try to frame him.
Huo Zun paid no mind to Zhu Bao’s angry stare. If Zhu Bao really came after him, he wasn’t afraid to show off his strength and eliminate him completely.
Although Huo Zun, at the level of Human Soul Immortal, was not as advanced as Zhu Bao, he possessed a mid-grade immortal weapon. Moreover, inside his Realm Ball, Qu Yi’s four other avatars were cultivating in silence.
After showing off for a while, Xiao Qiang finally looked at Huo Zun seriously and said with a smile, “Huo Zun, give me your identity card. I’ll register you under Tongzhou Hall.”
Behind the jade platform stood a cylinder about the size of a person, with a slot the size of a card in the middle where the identity card could be inserted. This was a Registration Pillar, a common magical artifact in the immortal realm. Each sect had its own unique Registration Pillar, used to input the sect’s information into the identity cards of its cultivators.
Huo Zun already knew the function of the Registration Pillar. After all, after the Soul-Devouring Flower’s core consumed the four immortals—Zong Xi, Feng Qu, Yan Xuan, and Qiu Rui—it had retrieved information about this Registration Pillar from their soul memories.
“Here,” Huo Zun said with a faint smile as he handed over his newly obtained identity card.
The identity card he had obtained from the Huoxia Merchant Alliance didn’t use Qu Yi’s name but instead listed “Huo Zun” as his name. Thus, Huo Zun didn’t have to worry about his identity being exposed and could freely hand over the card.
Qu Yi’s name was too sensitive. The four immortals who had gone from the immortal realm to the cultivation realm had already used arrays to pass Qu Yi’s information to some powerful figures in the immortal realm. Naturally, these figures would order their subordinates to closely monitor Qu Yi’s movements. Anyone who mentioned Qu Yi would be thoroughly investigated.

Qu Yi is still too weak; I don’t want to expose him too early. For now, I can only hide his name and have his avatar operate in the Immortal Realm.
Xiao Qiang inserted the Identity Card of the Fire Venerable into the registration pillar. A ring of flames rose from the bottom to the top of the pillar before it came to rest. It seemed the registration pillar had already entered the information of Tongzhou Hall into the Identity Card.
“Fire Venerable, here’s your Identity Card. From now on, you’re one of us at Tongzhou Hall,” Xiao Qiang said happily as he took out the Identity Card.
The Fire Venerable nodded and then went behind the Jade Platform, waiting for the recruitment process to end.
…
Among the thousand Immortals, not everyone was chosen. Tongzhou Hall, including the Fire Venerable, took twenty people. Chen Dan Pavilion selected ten. However, the Zhu family wanted a hundred at once.
Although these three factions were wealthy, they couldn’t recruit people indefinitely. After all, admitting those without potential would only waste Origin Stones and other resources, offering no contribution to the faction’s development and instead becoming a burden.
Tongzhou Hall focused on weapon refinement, so it only needed Immortals who practiced fire-based cultivation techniques. Chen Dan Pavilion focused on pill-making, so only those interested in pills and with talent could be chosen.
The Zhu family’s influence spanned the entire Zhu Yan Planet and extended to other planets. Besides recruiting guards, they also needed people interested in management, so they required a larger number of recruits.
The Fire Venerable stood behind the Jade Platform until the recruitment was over. In fact, the process wasn’t long—less than half an hour—and all three factions completed their recruitment.
After all, with each of the three leaders being Soul Immortals, they could instantly spot those with outstanding potential just by sensing their immortal awareness. The rest was up to the three leaders competing secretly, using their immortal awareness to communicate and offer conditions to the promising Immortals.
Xiao Qiang retrieved the Jade Platform and, along with the other two, looked at the twenty new members added by the Fire Venerable.
“Welcome to Tongzhou Hall, everyone. From now on, we’re brothers in the sect. Our headquarters is located in the central part of the True Flame Continent, in the Purple Volcano Range. Now, let’s leave Hai Lan City and head to the Purple Volcano Range together,” Xiao Qiang said with a smile.
After saying that, he took out a Starship from his space ring—a Starship of lower-grade Immortal Artifact level.
Seeing the Starship on the ground, the Fire Venerable couldn’t help but smile slightly. The hundred Starships Qu Yi obtained in the Vast Heaven Immortal Mansion were all of this design.
All twenty-three of them boarded the Starship.

At that moment, Zhu Bao suddenly appeared beside the Starship, smiling as he looked at Xiao Qiang.
“Brother Xiao Qiang, this time Tongzhou Hall has acquired a very promising newcomer. I’m quite optimistic about Huo Zun. As for the other nineteen, they’re quite ordinary and won’t amount to much,” Zhu Bao said with a faint smile.
Xiao Qiang’s expression darkened, but he didn’t speak in protest, only forcing a bitter smile.
The newcomers from Tongzhou Hall inside the Starship grew resentful upon hearing Zhu Bao’s words and unconsciously moved further away from Huo Zun.
Since Huo Zun wasn’t under his control and didn’t even seem threatened by him, Zhu Bao was annoyed. He deliberately came over to say those words, aiming to create discord between Huo Zun and the others so they couldn’t practice peacefully in Tongzhou Hall anymore.
Although everyone understood Zhu Bao’s intentions, his words still had an effect—after all, people have a desire to excel and a craving for praise. Who could accept being outperformed by others? Especially in a world like the Immortal Realm, where the strong reign supreme, no one would tolerate being looked down upon.
Huo Zun merely smiled upon hearing this, fully aware of Zhu Bao’s motives. Yet he didn’t take it to heart. If those nineteen people really fell for it, it would be their own fate. Struggling against himself would only lead to a bad outcome.
Of course, Huo Zun had already decided in his heart that if he ever encountered Zhu Bao again, he would definitely kill him.
“Those who trap me shall be killed by me.”
Huo Zun smiled faintly at Zhu Bao and said softly, “Thank you, brother, for your praise. If I truly have great potential as you say, and when I reach the level of Human Soul Immortal, I hope I can seek your guidance then.”
His words implied that a deadly battle between the two was inevitable in the future.
Xiao Qiang and the others from Tongzhou Hall were shocked upon hearing Huo Zun’s words and stared at him in astonishment.
“Huo Zun is truly straightforward—he openly states his intention to avenge Zhu Bao in the future,” they thought.
Upon hearing Huo Zun’s words, Zhu Bao’s expression darkened, his eyes flashing with fury. But instead of acting, he suddenly laughed and said, “Good, very good. Our Zhu family needs a batch of Starships soon. I’ll go to your Purple Fire Volcanic Range to collect them. I hope by then, Brother Huo Zun will have made progress in his cultivation and can have a proper fight with me.”
Their relationship became completely hostile.
Huo Zun smiled relaxedly and said, “It seems I need to work hard on my cultivation. I won’t disappoint brother’s expectations then.”

Xiao Qiang listened to the verbal duel between the two and realized that mediation was useless. He could only sigh and say, “Brother Zhu Bao, we need to return to headquarters. Let’s talk again another time.” As soon as he finished speaking, the Starship soared into the sky, quickly disappearing into the clouds.

Zhu Bao watched the Starship leave and said harshly, “Kid, you’re seeking your own death. Don’t blame me.” After that, he returned to the Jade Platform of the Zhu family and left with the newly recruited Immortals of the Zhu family.

……

The Starship raced through the clouds at incredible speed. Inside, the twenty-three members of the Tongzhou Hall remained silent, creating a somber atmosphere as each was lost in their own thoughts.

“Fire Lord, if you had just lowered your stance a bit earlier, you wouldn’t have had to offend Zhu Bao or incur a grudge against him. Zhu Bao is also a key member of the Zhu family, with access to many resources. It would be difficult for you to confront him,” Xiao Qiang’s concerned spiritual voice transmitted to him.

Fire Lord nodded. He immediately felt goodwill toward Xiao Qiang. Not only did Xiao Qiang not blame him for his current cultivation level as a Human Soul Immortal, but he also showed concern and shared information about Zhu Bao, which won Fire Lord’s favor.

“Senior Xiao Qiang, I’m aware of Zhu Bao’s strength, but swallowing my anger isn’t in my nature. Since Zhu Bao intends to deal with me, I definitely won’t yield to him. Instead, I’ll make him regret it for life,” Fire Lord replied through his spiritual voice.

Xiao Qiang was stunned. He shook his head and then closed his eyes to meditate. Seeing Xiao Qiang’s reaction, Fire Lord knew he didn’t believe he could handle Zhu Bao, so he could only force a wry smile. After all, Fire Lord couldn’t show off his mid-tier immortal artifact, Youhuo Ling, nor could he openly display his strength, leaving Xiao Qiang to misunderstand.

The other newly recruited Immortals in the Starship also kept their distance from Fire Lord, unwilling to get too close to him. Fire Lord didn’t mind. As long as they didn’t target him, he wasn’t bothered by them. After all, the alchemy techniques taught by the Artifact God were surely superior to theirs, so why waste energy trying to please them?

Thus, like Xiao Qiang, Fire Lord sat quietly and continued to cultivate.

The newly recruited Immortals of the Tongzhou Hall glanced at Fire Lord, annoyed to see him sitting so calmly. Fire Lord wasn’t making any efforts to ease the anger caused by Zhu Bao’s earlier claim that Fire Lord had greater potential than the others. However, they could only keep their annoyance to themselves, not daring to speak up at this moment.

Inside the Starship, everything remained quiet.

Ten days later, the Starship finally arrived above the Purple Volcano Range.