Between heaven and earth, a man sat alone, with only the clouds and wind for company.
This was clearly the Capital City of the Dayu Immortal Dynasty, the most prosperous place in the world, with a daily flow of people numbering in the tens of millions.
Yet, as they looked at the back of the white-robed youth, a sense of indescribable loneliness and solitude welled up within their hearts.
It was a feeling they couldn’t quite articulate, but one they all shared nonetheless.
HUUH!
The next moment, before anyone had seen Su Bai make a move,
they found that when he lifted his head, he was suddenly facing them, as if he had been all along.
It was truly unbelievable.
"True Master!"
"Grandmaster!"
The breath caught in the throats of Jin Yunfeng, Wang E, and the others. A moment later, they came to their senses and immediately performed a long, deep bow.
Even the hot-tempered Wang E had lost all of his previous rashness, his expression now one of utmost reverence.
Even ore can be forged into steel through a hundred refinings.
How much more so for a man as exceptionally talented as Wang E, one in a hundred million?
Through years of tempering, it was not just his Physique and Magical Power that had advanced, but his Mental Realm as well.
"You may all rise."
Su Bai gently raised a hand, and they found themselves rising to their feet involuntarily.
"How have the past eight years been for you?"
Su Bai’s gaze fell upon Cui Yanliang.
Tempered by the passage of time, Cui Yanliang was a different man. He was no longer the simple country priest who fled from danger and panicked at the first sign of trouble.
His Mental Realm had grown far more composed.
"Teacher, over these past eight years, I have felt joy and anger, pain and sorrow. I have known regret, and I have been gripped by fear..."
As Cui Yanliang recalled the past, a flicker of emotion rippled through his gaze, as if he were reliving everything that had happened over the last eight years.
The Dayu Immortal Dynasty consisted of thirteen Great Provinces, countless cities, and a population numbering in the hundreds of millions. Who could count the number of bizarre incidents that took place within it?
And the number of Evil Cultivators and Demon Cultivators was beyond counting.
Along his journey, he had narrowly escaped death time and again, facing lethal tribulations. He had watched followers die from grievous wounds, been caught in ambushes, succumbed to despair and fear, and witnessed every kind of human tragedy imaginable...
A glimmer of light seemed to flash in the depths of Su Bai’s eyes, as if he had perceived all of Cui Yanliang’s secrets and comprehended everything the man had experienced over the past eight years.
Then, he asked slowly,
"And now, are you still afraid?"
"Of course..."
Cui Yanliang paused, then let out a sigh.
"I’m still afraid."
He had inherited Su Bai’s path, one that emphasized the unity of knowledge and action, not the severing of the seven emotions. He still had all the feelings a person was meant to have.
Whether fear, terror, or worry, or joy, anger, grief, and pleasure—he experienced them all.
The difference was, in the past, his fear would have made him flee. Now, it spurred him to face challenges head-on.
"It is good to be afraid."
Su Bai nodded slightly, his voice tinged with admiration.
"Your training is complete."
WHOOSH!
As he spoke, he made a casual beckoning gesture.
Cui Yanliang’s clothes remained perfectly still, but his body trembled. In response to Su Bai’s gesture, a mote of light, invisible to the naked eye, leaped from his chest.
It landed in the palm of Su Bai’s hand.
"That is..."
A flicker of emotion in Cui Yanliang’s eyes vanished as quickly as it appeared, and his self-mastery was once again flawless.
This mote of light was one of Su Bai’s experiments. It contained a wisp of his Divine Thoughts and could be described as an auxiliary "Cultivation System."
It was thanks to this Cultivation System that Cui Yanliang had been able to make such rapid progress cultivating the *Fist Scripture*. He could ask it about any doubts he had, which allowed for his swift and dramatic transformation.
In truth, Cui Yanliang had long harbored suspicions about this mysterious ball of light.
He had guessed that this so-called Cultivation System was the handiwork of his teacher, but since Su Bai had never said so explicitly, he hadn’t dared to ask.
But seeing this scene now, everything became clear.
At the same time, however, he felt a sense of melancholy loss.
After eight years of constant companionship, day and night, he had come to regard the conscious mote of light as a mentor and a friend.
In fact, his ability to avoid so many disasters along his path was in large part thanks to this very ball of light.
"Your path to Ascension to Immortality is not one that relies on external objects, but on the self. You have already established your momentum and no longer need guidance."
"Thank you for your guidance, Teacher."
Cui Yanliang nodded, understanding Su Bai’s meaning in his heart.
After exchanging a few more pleasantries, he took his leave.
"Hero Jin."
Only then did Su Bai turn to look at Jin Yunfeng.
The pitch-black Cloak Robe was enough to block the gaze of a Returning Void Realm True Master, but it could not conceal anything from Su Bai’s eyes.
Eight years had passed, and Jin Yunfeng had also undergone several transformations.
Unfortunately, regenerating one’s own physical body from a White Bone Body was no easy task.
Even a prodigy as gifted as Gu Tianyun had taken a full ten years to transform from bone back into a man of flesh.
Jin Yunfeng was very fortunate, and his aptitude was not poor, but he ultimately couldn’t compare to Gu Tianyun.
In his current state, without some miraculous encounter, he would have no chance of becoming human again in this lifetime.
"Senior."
Jin Yunfeng bowed slightly.
"You have worked hard implementing the new law. There is a banquet being held in the city now. You should go and preside over it."
Su Bai said calmly.
"Afterward, you will accompany me on a trip."
"Yes."
Jin Yunfeng nodded, bowed, and also left the high platform.
With the two of them gone, only Wang E and Chen Shaoyou remained on the high platform.
One of them had a cunning, ever-changing mind, while the other was all brawn and no brains—and had an explosive temper.
But in front of Su Bai, they both kept their heads down, as timid as chicks, not daring to make the slightest sound.
One of them had truly suffered at his hands; the encounter in the Eight Trigrams Furnace remained the source of Wang E’s nightmares to this day.