Cultivating Disciples to Breakthrough

As Li Feng and his group of friends made their way out of the Death Marsh and towards the mountain range that they had learnt about from the city lord, Xuan Hao found himself standing at the entrance to the Giant’s Valley, a valley situated in the middle of an ancient mountain range the shape of a massive footprint hundreds of kilometers wide.

Having felt a bit doubtful even with the explanation of how this valley had come into existence from Shen Yue and his friend, he had already attempted to observe the valley from up high and found out that it did indeed resemble some kind of giant footprint. The main difference from his expectations was the fact that the footprint in question didn’t belong to a giant human, but instead some kind of demon beast, which from what he had learnt, should have been consumed by the Dao of Corruption.

Still, the sheer size of the demon beast capable of leaving this kind of footprint behind was unimaginable.

However, as he continued to observe the footprint that had been left behind and created the valley, he couldn’t help remembering the construct or golem he had just barely managed to escape from within the ancient battlefield that had been connected to the First Star Peak.

Back then, he had just recently reached the Intermediate Stage of the Dao Domain Lord Realm and knew that his strength had reached a level comparable to someone at the Dao Seed Realm, but even then, he was nowhere near comparable to that old decaying golem that had been corrupted and taken over by the Dao of Corruption.

If he were to compare that towering golem that he had even entered by accident back then to the footprint before him, he guessed that the corrupted golem behind the footprint might have been above the Profound Immortal Realm in terms of strength before it had been corrupted and might also have been able to wield that kind of strength after being corrupted.

After all, the golem or construct he had encountered back then had been severely weakened and decayed to the point where it wasn’t able to properly wield its full strength. If it had been at full strength, it should have been able to reach the Breaking Dawn Realm in terms of strength, something that would undoubtedly have been more than capable of preventing his past self at the Intermediate Stage of the Dao Domain Lord Realm from escaping.

Shaking his head as he thought about what might have happened to that golem after he had closed off the spatial passage before it had the chance to catch him, Xuan Hao’s attention returned to the valley before him.

Even if he was curious about what had happened to that ancient golem after he had escaped, he wasn’t exactly worried about it now that his strength had reached the Land Creation Realm. If anything, he was more curious about potentially dissecting it to learn how to create similar golems in the future for guarding the sect or important locations under the sect’s control. Giving the elders who would normally have to guard these locations more time to cultivate within the Shattered Star Peaks.

”Hm? Who is that…?” But along with his attention returning to the valley before him, he also noticed a small figure below locked in what could only be described as a life and death battle with one of the demon beasts roaming the valley.

Of course, just that alone would be far from enough to draw his attention. Instead, it was the fact that this person was more than talented enough for him to take on as a disciple.

✧He Jie✧ Race: Human

Talent: 87

Comprehension: 9

Physique: Ancient Divine Bull Physique (Dormant)

Realm: Early Stage of the Martial Arts Grandmaster Realm (Foundation Establishment Realm)

The only downside he saw with this sudden potential disciple was the abysmal comprehension, as talent alone surpassed all his other disciples.

Still, this kind of terrifying talent was more than enough for him to still consider taking the other person on as a personal disciple and he would definitely already have done so if not for the simple fact that the other person wasn’t exactly young and seemed to be older than even Elder Song and Wei Chin, the old grand elder of the half spirit race, both of whom had ended up with far more work to take care of compared to others within the sect.

Not because the sect was deliberately pushing work onto the two, but instead because the two seemed to have almost become kindred spirits when it came to working towards growing the sect. Elder Song’s reason being rather obvious, while Wei Chin’s also had to do with the fact that he wanted to ensure a safe environment for members of his race to grow, as it would be impossible for a nonhuman race to grow outside the Star Shattering Sect with the current state of the Ewaria Continent.

Feeling this hesitation at potentially taking on a disciple that might be older than himself, Xuan Hao found himself coming to the realization that he himself wasn’t exactly young anymore either.

If not for the fact that his cultivation preserved his appearance and enhanced it over time the stronger, he became, he might very well also have joined Elder Song, Wei Chin and the older man who was a potential disciple in becoming grey haired…

Thinking about it like this, he felt far less reluctant when it came to potentially taking on this older man as his disciple. Although, it did give him the chance to think about the state of the old man for more than a few seconds, as he realized that someone with that kind of terrifying talent shouldn’t have only reached the Martial Arts Grandmaster Realm towards the end of his life.

After looking through his status again, the only reason he could think of was that the old man hadn’t had the opportunity to cultivate while young and had ended up starting late or something was wrong with his dormant physique that prevented him from making use of his talent properly.

No matter what it was, Xuan Hao had already decided to meet this old man, as the talent he possessed was more than enough to justify bringing him back out of the ancient secret realm and place him inside the Star Shattering Sect even if he didn’t end up taking him on as a disciple.

…

Bang!

”Hah…! Finally dead!” Around the same time, the old man himself, He Jie, managed to slip past the swiping attack of the cat like demon beast and land a finishing blow on it. Killing it before it could swipe out with another claw that would undoubtedly have killed him.

Thud~

”This place truly is deadly like the rumors described… So many demon beasts at the Master and Grandmaster Realm. Not to mention the few at the Lord Realm that I just barely avoided.” Slumping down to the ground out of exhaustion, He Jie could not help silently muttering this to himself as he looked off towards the deeper sections of the valley. ”I wonder when I will have the chance to reach the true core where those ruins housing ancient cultivation techniques and body refining manuals can be found.” Wondering out loud to himself before his attention returned to the dead demon beast.

Rustle~

”Huh!?” However, the rustling of the leaves next to him instantly forced him back into motion, as he sprung to his feet. Ready for a fight as he looked in the direction of the sound. Soon enough spotting a person emerging from the nearby foliage with a sinister look on his face.

”Might I ask who you are and if there is anything I can help with?” Seeing the sinister look on the other party’s face, He Jie understood almost immediately that the other party didn’t have any kind intentions and had likely been eyeing the demon beast he had just killed. Having waited for him to be exhausted before showing his face.

Understandable as the entire situation was, he still had to ask and make sure just in case the other party had a naturally sinister looking face.

”Hehe, of course there is something you can help with~ For one, that demon beast corpse, I would very much like it.”

”This…” Hearing the expected answer, He Jie frowned visibly as only a second later he sensed movement all around him as several other figures began emerging to surround him.

Although only the one confronting him directly had reached the Grandmaster Realm like himself while the rest were in the Master Realm, his current strength had been exhausted to the point where even someone in the Martial Arts Master Realm would be able to threaten his life.

To say he had found himself in a dangerous situation would be an understatement, as he understood full well from how these kinds of people worked that just handing over the demon beast corpse like the other party asked would be far from enough…