CHAPTER 47: BLAZING THROUGH!

Chapter 47: Blazing through!

After Ken had ended his battle with the minotaur, he got a 30-minute rest.

And after that, he was allowed to start the 6th floor challenge.

And with the larger crowd of spirits and the others watching him from their abodes.

Nothing much had changed from the 6th floor upward, very much to their surprise.

Ken had taken all the floors from the 6th to the 9th against multiple mid-Qi refining stage spirits with the same difficulty as taking the 1st to 4th.

But throughout the end of the 9th floor, he had shown difficulty.

He was planning on winning the 10th floor, yes, but he wasn’t going to go beyond it.

So for now, he planned to show that he was reaching his limit, and with the efficiency records, he could easily achieve that much.

Tricking the elders’ eyes that he was starting to get tired, especially when they weren’t physically present, wasn’t as hard as it seemed when he had such flawless control over his body.

The 10th floor was up ahead, and he was done with his rest, ready to take on the last challenge before calling it a day till next month.

He had shown enough, and he wasn’t planning on showing much higher prowess until far, far into the months.

Maybe after coming back from the secret realm.

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"Master!" Beyond the mountain spirit sect’s fogs, and even far beyond the inner sect, there were the elder abodes.

The homes of the inner sect elders are powerhouses beyond the foundation establishment realm.

Their vision and spirit had reached heights far beyond normal convention, and their details weren’t to be disclosed this far off.

They were far too mystical as entities to be described in few words.

The two disciples, Alex and his junior, Sakamoto, had come to see their master.

The scroll displaying Ken’s battle against a snake spirit was still on, but the two had yet to start, still facing each other as the spirit showed her respect to him.

The two disciples were standing on a floating carpet, their gaze on the flat surface of an inverted mountain, a peak, so to say.

A golden formation was slowly rotating on its top, acting as the doorway to the mysterious realm inside; at its bottom, the sharp point wasn’t implanted in the ground but floated serenely.

However, the disciples couldn’t see it, as the mountain was so huge they were far beyond the clouds.

Their master, the inverted sage of the sect, was supposed to be in seclusion, and even without him informing them, they were far too respectful of him to disturb him if something wasn’t important enough.

But Ken’s appearance was, and they feared by this point that their master wouldn’t like the fact that they kept this news from him after finding out his prowess.

They had already started moving the second Ken had reached the 5th floor, but it took them all this time to reach their master’s abode.

First, due to the huge size of the sect, and due to them not teleporting and taking their time, even with their carpet’s speed.

Such flying artifacts flew at speeds beyond normal means, surpassing that of jets by a good percent.

In this world, they were the second best after the flying boats, the mainstream vehicle for the cultivation world.

And from the fact that they, official disciples, had it, one could understand that it wasn’t easy to get.

The disciples had to wait for 10 long minutes after the faint first call before the golden formation shone brightly, and from it, a voice resounded.

"My beloved disciples." More than a reply, it was a way of acknowledgment.

Their master, the Inverted Sage, was known for his endless kindness and how he was a man beloved by all who had so much as interacted with him.

But for them, he was much more than that; he was a master, a father, and, beyond all, a hero.

The two didn’t speak; they stood silently in their place until their master showed up.

A long-bearded man, his eyes golden and wisened, and his hand on his beard as he sat on a table with the same chessboard the two have been playing.

"Come and sit, my disciples." Once these words were spoken, the two walked out of the carpet and slowly floated to their seats.

The master, without a word or a gaze, took a teapot, held a cup in his hands, and served himself, the senior, and then the junior.

The two respectfully caught the cup from their master’s hands and waited for him to drink before they followed suit.

Then they remained still for a good 5 minutes, none speaking.

The disciples, out of their immense respect for their master, didn’t even bring the scroll with Ken’s fight on it, following the tradition more than anything.

Only after their master had finished his tea and played a move on the board did they speak.

"An interesting new disciple had arrived, master." The senior spoke.

The master squinted his golden eyes and opened them again.

He remained silent for a while, then asked.

"His name?"

"Ken, master." The disciple immediately replied.

"I see." The master then served himself another cup, and only after he finished it did the senior play his own move on the cup, and then the junior spoke.

"We have been watching his trial and floor ascension." The junior said.

"Then I believe my disciple’s appraisal." The master replied slowly.

After another serving and a good 5 minutes. The junior played a move, and the master spoke.

"Alex, you have been in the sect for too long. Go out, experience the world, and don’t come back until you bring a partner with you." The master said, giving his senior disciple a mission to get married.

"Yes, master." and the disciple accepted it as if it were the most natural action.

"As for you, Sakamoto. You have made good progress. You may break through." the master said.

The junior then smiled and spoke words of gratitude.

"Thank you, master. I shall do as you said."

"I’m pleased with you both. I shall go back into seclusion. Alex, make wise choices, and remember that this is an important choice." The master looked at the senior disciple and gave advice.

"I will keep your words in heart, master." The senior disciple replied.

"As for you, Sakamoto. You are to call your oldest brother to the sect. He is to be here at the time Ken succeeds in his inner sect trial; once that occurs, you may call me out from seclusion."

"Very well, master." The two disciples, with utmost respect, accepted their master’s request.

"Dismissed."

And without another word, the meeting that had taken enough time for Ken to clear his 10th floor with ’great effort’ has ended.

"Sakamoto." The senior disciple called out to his brother once they were a distance away from their master’s home.

"I may be gone for a good while. I shall visit the Ethereal Sect and the Mythic Realm in hope of finding a good wife; until then, make sure you take good care of yourself and Ken."

"Do not worry, senior brother."

"Give the eldest my greetings. When I come back, you might just have a nephew." The senior smiled, and the junior chuckled.

Then, the two separated. Each having his own mission.

-----End-----