Top-tier Unruly Master-Chapter 1688 - 1725: The Most Generous Reward
As the most outstanding disciple of the Thirty-Six Caves, Ah Du was even recommended directly to the Xuantian Secret Realm by Lake Master Long Ren without having to participate in a selection competition. Such an achievement is not just a mere stroke of luck; it stems from Ah Du’s dedication, focus, and passion for cultivation.
In one week, although Ah Du didn’t learn a new sword technique, his understanding of the "Sword Drawing Technique" became increasingly profound and clear, giving him greater power when executing it. This "Sword Drawing Technique" is not an ordinary martial art. Even though Ah Du has a natural gift for cultivation, mastering it is no easy feat.
After all, this martial art was left behind by a powerful village chief and is not something an ordinary cultivator can easily comprehend. The fact that Ah Du has successfully mastered the first three sword techniques is already quite an impressive achievement.
During this week, besides Guo Lin and Ah Du, Leng Jian’s injuries have mostly healed. Although Leng Jian’s injuries were severe, the elders from the Thirty-Six Caves are at the distraction phase in cultivation, with some even at the transcendance tribulation stage. With such cultivation levels, they poured all their efforts into healing him, perhaps even capable of bringing someone back to life.
Additionally, upon Long Ren’s repeated insistence, they didn’t hesitate to use supreme quality medicine pills to treat Leng Jian. As a result, Leng Jian’s injuries have mostly healed over this week. Long Ren and some elders breathed a sigh of relief. It was clear that both Long Ren and the elders of the Thirty-Six Caves valued Leng Jian greatly.
Everyone knew that being able to come out from the Xuantian Secret Realm itself was already a miracle. By then, it was already well beyond the expected time for a normal return, and most people had given up hope that any disciples would emerge from the Xuantian Secret Realm.
Yet, Leng Jian did indeed come out, albeit with severe injuries, evidently having fought a fierce battle. His return clearly signified success, as escaping from the Xuantian Secret Realm single-handedly was no easy task.
It was obvious that everyone sensed Leng Jian had brought back many secrets from this trip to the Xuantian Secret Realm. This was something everyone thought about. Furthermore, everyone had some understanding of Leng Jian’s previous strength. Considering that, escaping from the Xuantian Secret Realm with his former strength seemed impossible.
Therefore, they understood he must have encountered numerous fortuitous opportunities in the Xuantian Secret Realm; this was a point of particular interest to everyone.
After all, this time, allowing disciples from the Thirty-Six Caves to enter the Xuantian Secret Realm was not just a form of training but also meant to provide some useful contributions to the development of the Thirty-Six Caves.
During this period, the elders who previously managed the formation in the Thirty-Six Caves had mostly recovered. They all knew that without Long Ren’s elder brother Ding Fan’s timely intervention, they wouldn’t have known how long they would endure maintaining the teleportation array. If any disciples had indeed returned, they would have accepted some backlash.
The key point was, at the time, all the elders understood that no matter how long the teleportation array lasted, no other disciples would be coming out of the Xuantian Secret Realm. Once the teleportation array is activated, disciples inside the Xuantian Secret Realm would automatically be teleported out unless they explicitly refused. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have remained inside for such a long time.
The only explanation was that those disciples had encountered misfortune and perished, hence not being teleported out.
At that moment, the elders could understand Lake Master Long Ren’s feelings. They knew the outcome of this Xuantian Secret Realm venture was beyond anyone’s expectations and was, indeed, a significant loss for the Thirty-Six Caves, which is why they couldn’t persuade Lake Master Long Ren to stop.
Therefore, the person they were most grateful to was Ding Fan. If not for Ding Fan persuading Lake Master Long Ren, they would have already suffered severe backlash from the Xuantian Secret Realm and wouldn’t have recovered in such a short time.
At this time, at Long Ren’s command, all the sect leaders and elders of the Thirty-Six Caves gathered in the meeting hall. It was evident that the rest period had passed, and Long Ren was ready to investigate the disciples who emerged from the Xuantian Secret Realm, which is why Guo Lin and others had already gathered here early.
Ding Fan naturally arrived at the first opportunity. He was invited personally by Long Ren and did not refuse. He knew that if not for his virtuous brother Long Ren, he wouldn’t have had the chance to enter the Xuantian Secret Realm, so he felt gratitude towards Long Ren.
Observing Long Ren’s recent demeanor, Ding Fan could tell that Long Ren seemed to have moved on from the losses incurred in the Xuantian Secret Realm, but Ding Fan still felt that Long Ren was burdened with something he hadn’t shared.
Therefore, Ding Fan attended this meeting of the Thirty-Six Caves, hoping to understand if Long Ren had any unresolved matters, and if so, Ding Fan would undoubtedly lend his help to his virtuous brother.
"Now that everyone is here, I want to say a few words. Regarding the incident in the Xuantian Secret Realm, I know everyone is distressed, as am I. I never expected so many disciples to lose their lives there. I bear responsibility for this, and I sincerely apologize."
Long Ren stood at the forefront of everyone, speaking with some degree of sorrow and apology on his face.
The elders and sect leaders of the Thirty-Six Caves, upon hearing Long Ren’s words, felt a bit troubled. They shared the pain of the losses in the Xuantian Secret Realm but completely understood Long Ren’s position. They all knew this couldn’t entirely be blamed on Lake Master Long Ren.
After all, the Xuantian Secret Realm itself is an unpredictable existence, and no one could have foreseen the outcome. Furthermore, in this time of difficulty, many individuals offered some words of comfort to Long Ren:
"The Lake Master is too kind; the Xuantian Secret Realm is inherently unpredictable."
"Indeed, and the responsibility shouldn’t lie with the Lake Master. The greatest responsibility should be with us for not thoroughly observing the Xuantian Secret Realm, which resulted in this tragedy."
"No one can be blamed for this; everyone was attentive in observing the Xuantian Secret Realm, but no one expected the outcome to be like this..."
"Yes... the calamity of the thirty-six caves was inevitable. But blessings and curses come together, and now it doesn’t seem to be entirely bad..."
"Yes... yes..."
"..."
For a moment, the elders and sect masters of the thirty-six caves spoke one after another. Everyone understood that this was merely an unfortunate accident, and naturally, it couldn’t be blamed on the Lake Master, nor was it the Lake Master’s fault. Therefore, everyone sympathized. Although this time the Xuantian Secret Realm lost some of the outstanding disciples of the thirty-six caves, three disciples emerged after all. Everyone knew that if these three disciples could bring out some precious items, the event in the Xuantian Secret Realm wouldn’t be entirely a bad thing. After all, there were still gains.
Long Ren felt somewhat comforted by the crowd’s words and continued:
"No matter what, I lost my composure when activating the Teleportation Array, but fortunately, my elder brother reminded me in time, preventing me from making a greater mistake. Here, I must thank my elder brother first."
As Long Ren spoke, he cupped his fists and slightly bowed toward Ding Fan.
Ding Fan smiled indifferently and then waved his hand without saying more. He knew that Long Ren could speak such words, which meant he was no longer as saddened, and this was also what Ding Fan hoped to see.
"I know that during this period, Leng Jian, Guo Linn, and Ah Du, you three disciples have almost fully recovered and have even been cultivating for a while. Your contributions to the thirty-six caves by coming out from the Xuantian Secret Realm are enormous, so rewarding you is essential. Of course, I presume you have gained quite a bit by entering the Xuantian Secret Realm this time. I’m also aware of some of it; I know the best reward for you is to let you retain any items you obtained from the Xuantian Secret Realm. I wonder how this reward feels for you?"
After Long Ren finished speaking, he looked at Leng Jian and the other two disciples with a smile.
At this moment, Guo Linn was shocked by Long Ren’s words. He never thought that the martial arts "Sorcery" he gained from entering the Xuantian Secret Realm this time would not have to be handed over to the sect but could be kept for himself. This was simply unbelievable! He knew very well that no reward was more substantial and generous than this one.
Guo Linn understood that in such situations, after entering the Xuantian Secret Realm and obtaining some opportunities or treasures, they would have to be handed over to the thirty-six caves or the sect since it was the thirty-six caves that provided the quota to enter the Xuantian Secret Realm. Therefore, disciples needed to unconditionally hand over their gains.
However, there would still be many additional rewards for these disciples, even including Supreme Quality Medicine Pills. This was a considerable opportunity for the disciples. Even though treasures could be turned in, many disciples who entered the Xuantian Secret Realm had already consumed and absorbed some good things inside to enhance themselves.
Only some martial arts couldn’t be fully practiced, but they could be practiced for a time during the month in the Xuantian Secret Realm, a considerable opportunity for them. And even if the martial arts were handed over to the thirty-six caves or the sect after returning to the Cultivation World, those disciples would still have a chance to obtain those martial arts in the future at the thirty-six caves or within the sect.
Anyway, for the disciples who could enter the Xuantian Secret Realm and come out alive, it was a great opportunity, gaining fortuitous encounters that were typically difficult to obtain. Nevertheless, Guo Linn knew that the Lake Master’s reward was surprisingly generous this time, allowing them not to hand over the treasures obtained in the Xuantian Secret Realm.
This was truly exhilarating for him.
After all, even though Supreme Quality Medicine Pills are good, they aren’t as valuable as the martial arts obtained in the Xuantian Secret Realm. Guo Linn was incredibly happy at heart, not knowing what to say anymore, and even found it hard to believe this was real because it was so incredible!
At this moment, Ah Du felt as joyful as Guo Linn, utterly pleased, not expecting that the reward for entering the Xuantian Secret Realm this time meant not having to hand over the treasures they acquired. Clearly, this decision wasn’t great for the thirty-six caves or the sect.
But for these few disciples who entered the Xuantian Secret Realm, it was indeed a great benefit, and he knew that there was no better reward than this. He naturally understood the prowess of his "Sword Drawing Technique," even greater than that of the Supreme Quality Medicine Pills. However, besides being as happy as Guo Linn, Ah Du also pondered why the Lake Master made such a decision?
