Chapter 62: On the Verge of a Breakthrough

Zhen Nantian, the master of Juehuo Peak, became the second person after Hall Master Yun Zhouzi to reach the cultivation level of Earth Soul Immortal. Everyone was surprised, and even more curious. They flew together in the air, surrounding Zhen Nantian, all staring at him intently, eager to understand how he had managed to reach the level of One-Star Earth Soul Immortal.

Zhen Nantian stood proudly in the air, allowing countless pairs of eyes to gaze at him fervently, as if he had imagined this scene countless times before. Hall Master Yun Zhouzi also practiced fire-based cultivation techniques; he had mastered the speeds of warmth, heat, and ascent, thus reaching the level of Three-Star Earth Soul Immortal. At that moment, Yun Zhouzi kept staring at Zhen Nantian.

“Zhen Nantian, here comes your move!” Suddenly, Yun Zhouzi flew forward rapidly, aiming straight at Zhen Nantian. A massive flaming palm appeared before Zhen Nantian before he could even speak—those burning flames were none other than the Azure Scorching Fire, a power typically possessed only by powerful Earth Immortals, with flames now colored blue.

Zhen Nantian sensed Yun Zhouzi’s attack and also realized that Yun Zhouzi was using the speed of warmth to move. It seemed Yun Zhouzi wanted to test his own strength.

“I retreat!” Zhen Nantian exclaimed, quickly stepping back.

Both of them relied on the speed of warmth, with their fire-based immortal essence rapidly circulating to sustain steady flight. Yun Zhouzi’s flaming palm remained close to Zhen Nantian, and the distance between them in the air never changed—as one pursued, the other retreated.

The disciples of Tongzhou Hall quickly realized that their immortal senses could not track the two of them at all; they could only sense two vague streams of energy, with no idea where they were. Fortunately, the massive flaming palm allowed everyone to know where they were, though their eyes couldn’t keep up—the flaming palm was too fast for them to react.

Suddenly, both Yun Zhouzi and Zhen Nantian stopped in mid-air.

Yun Zhouzi smiled and said, “Zhen Nantian, you’ve indeed reached the level of Earth Soul Immortal. Being able to hold your ground against me for so long shows great potential in you.”

Zhen Nantian looked somewhat embarrassed. He had clearly seen that Yun Zhouzi hadn’t used much of his immortal essence, which was why he could match his speed without causing harm. If Yun Zhouzi had gone all out, Zhen Nantian knew he would have been injured long ago.

After all, Yun Zhouzi was a Three-Star Earth Soul Immortal, and the amount of immortal essence he possessed was beyond Zhen Nantian’s current capacity to match.

Through this comparison, Zhen Nantian’s once proud mindset immediately changed—he realized that although he had reached the level of Earth Soul Immortal, facing a true Earth Soul Immortal, he was still just an easy target; anyone could defeat him.
“Hall Master, thank you for your reminder,” Zhen Nantian said sincerely, understanding that Yun Zhouzi was testing his resolve.
Yun Zhouzi nodded and quickly landed on the ground.
“Zhen Nantian, the leader of Zhen Nantian Peak, has now reached the level of Earth Soul Immortal. Starting today, he will be the vice hall master of our Tongzhou Hall, and he will have full authority over all matters related to our hall,” Yun Zhouzi declared as soon as he landed.
“Yes, Hall Master.”
“Congratulations, Vice Hall Master, on reaching the level of Earth Soul Immortal!”
Ten thousand people responded with mixed emotions.
Especially those peak leaders who, like Zhen Nantian, had once been Upper Soul Immortals—looking at him, their faces showed a mix of feelings. They had all nearly become Upper Soul Immortals and became peak leaders not long after, but ever since Zhen Nantian obtained the Fire Lord, not only had the Strength of the Fire-Seizing Peak soared, but his own cultivation level had also advanced rapidly, greatly provoking these people.
“Zhen Nantian, congratulations,” said Leng Gu, the leader of the Fire-Seizing Peak, still looking coldly at Zhen Nantian in a calm voice.
Leng Gu used to be the strongest among the eighteen peaks of Tongzhou Hall; originally, the Fire Lord was supposed to belong to the Fire-Seizing Peak.
Zhen Nantian smiled faintly. “Leng Gu, you’ll break through soon too, right?”
Leng Gu’s lips twitched as he replied coldly, “I believe it won’t be long before I reach the level of one-star Earth Soul Immortal as well.”
Zhen Nantian nodded with a smile.
“Everyone, go and cultivate. I need to return to the Fire-Seizing Peak,” Zhen Nantian shouted abruptly. Under everyone’s astonished gazes, he flew away.
So Zhen Nantian had deliberately come to show off!
The ten thousand disciples of Tongzhou Hall immediately understood.
※※※
“Fire Lord, I’m here. I’ve already reached the level of one-star Earth Soul Immortal.”
Instead of returning to the Fire-Seizing Peak right away, Zhen Nantian flew straight to the Fire Lord’s cultivation cave. Upon landing, he shouted loudly.
“You fat idiot, why the noise? If you want to come in, just come in!” The Fire Lord’s voice came from inside the cave, and he removed the cave’s formation, revealing an entrance.
Zhen Nantian laughed heartily and happily flew into the Fire Lord’s cultivation cave.
Inside the cave, there was naturally a Soul Devouring Bloodline, filled with dense spiritual energy from the Fire Ascension Art.
The Fire Lord sat in the center of the cave.
“Fire Lord, I came to see you right after breaking through,” Zhen Nantian said, sitting down on the ground and laughing loudly.

“Fat bastard, you can’t hide it from me. You must have gone to the headquarters first to show off to all the sect leaders before coming to me, right?” Fire Lord said with a faint smile.

Zhen Nantian’s face turned red as he quickly rubbed his stomach before calmly saying, “Fire Lord, I’ve become the vice sect leader now. If you need anything in the future, just tell me directly, and I’ll do my best to help you.”

Upon hearing this, Fire Lord showed a hint of surprise before realizing that Yun Zhouzi must also have realized his own influence. To prevent him from abandoning himself in the future, Yun Zhouzi deliberately promoted Zhen Nantian, who was close to him, to the position of vice sect leader.

“Fat bastard, with your abilities, what can you possibly do to help me? Since you’ve become the vice sect leader, I’ll give you one more chance—I’ll take care of improving the cultivation levels of all the disciples in Tongzhou Hall,” Fire Lord said with a faint smile.

Hearing this, Zhen Nantian was so surprised that he jumped up immediately, staring at Fire Lord in disbelief.

“Fire Lord, you really have the ability to help all the disciples of Tongzhou Hall improve their cultivation levels,” Zhen Nantian said seriously, looking at Fire Lord intently for the first time.

Tongzhou Hall now had 130,000 disciples. If Fire Lord truly had the ability to improve their cultivation levels, he would undoubtedly be the most powerful figure in the entire immortal realm. After all, even celestial immortals didn’t have the power to directly boost others’ cultivation levels.

Fire Lord smiled at Zhen Nantian until he slowly sat back down before saying, “Fat guy, have you forgotten how you improved your own cultivation? The spiritual vein I possess can help disciples of the Human Soul Immortal, Human Spirit Immortal, and Earth Soul Immortal classes improve their cultivation at the same time.”

Zhen Nantian’s eyes widened in surprise again as he remembered the blood fountain in his cultivation cave. It was the special spiritual energy generated by the evaporating blood that allowed him to immerse himself in an environment of primal speed, enabling him to quickly comprehend the art of speed.

Of course, Fire Lord didn’t tell Zhen Nantian that this blood was actually the Soul Devouring Blood Vein; he simply referred to it as a spiritual vein.

Zhen Nantian had originally thought that this spiritual vein could only help him with his own cultivation. Now that he heard Fire Lord say it could assist people at three different cultivation levels, he was shocked and couldn’t calm down for a long time.

“Fire Lord, what do you plan to do? I’ll definitely assist you with all my might,” Zhen Nantian immediately declared.

Having already experienced the benefits of the spiritual vein, Zhen Nantian deeply understood that the spiritual energy emitted by it, which helped all disciples cultivate, was even better than practicing in a cultivation space.

In this way, in the future, the disciples of Tongzhou Hall won’t need to go to the distant Training Institute to cultivate; they can simply practice on their own territory. Zhen Nantian, who had just taken on the position of vice hall master, was already eager to develop Tongzhou Hall.

Seeing Zhen Nantian’s urgency, Huo Zun smiled and said, “Fat guy, you’re really impatient. Think about it—if all of Tongzhou Hall’s disciples stop going to the Training Institute, won’t Youhan Sect suspect us? Then, that spiritual vein we possess will surely be discovered by them.”

Upon hearing this, Zhen Nantian was shocked, with sweat appearing on his forehead. Indeed, if Tongzhou Hall’s disciples continued to improve rapidly without using the Training Institute’s cultivation space, it would surely arouse suspicion. Others would send strong fighters to investigate, and they would discover the Soul Devouring Bloodline, which would then be seized by Youhan Sect.

Huo Zun waved his hand to calm Zhen Nantian down and said with a smile, “Fat guy, you just need to select disciples you trust, and tell me their names. I’ll help them cultivate.”

By nurturing a few loyal and talented disciples, once a sufficient number of them reached a high level, they wouldn’t have to fear Youhan Sect’s strong fighters. At that point, the Soul Devouring Bloodline could be revealed without worry of it being taken away, allowing for the full development of all Tongzhou Hall’s disciples.

Zhen Nantian was intelligent and understood immediately after being reminded. “Okay, I’ll pay attention. I’ll send you more lists later,” he said seriously.

Huo Zun nodded.

At that moment, Huo Zun suddenly froze, then a faint smile appeared on his lips, as if he had learned something good. “Fat guy, you’ve just become the vice hall master—go ahead and get busy. I need to cultivate,” Huo Zun said with a smile, signaling it was time for him to leave.

Zhen Nantian was stunned for a moment before standing up unhappily and leaving Huo Zun’s cultivation cave on his own.

Huo Zun reactivated the cave’s array to prevent outsiders from detecting his movements, finally feeling at ease. “Hehe, Jin Zun and Shui Zun—are those two about to break through? How enviable. It seems I need to focus too and quickly reach the rank of Middle-Level Soul Immortal,” Huo Zun said happily.

It turned out that Jin Zun and Shui Zun, who had been cultivating in the cave, were close to breaking through. Qu Yi and his five avatars shared a single soul, so they were all aware of each other’s movements, allowing Huo Zun to keep track of their cultivation progress in real time.