Chapter 1739: Like Father Like Son?
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Although w.a.n.g Fei Xuan knew from the beginning she was no match for Duan Ling Tian, she still wanted to see how wide the gap between them was.
Before she broke through to the Intermediate Refined Saint Stage, she did not even have the courage to have a duel with Duan Ling Tian since his ability was at the Mastery Refined Saint Stage. Moreover, he was not an ordinary powerhouse at the Mastery Refined Saint Stage.
Coupled with the fact that Duan Ling Tian had gone to the Spirit Pool to cultivate, his ability must have been greatly boosted as well even if he did not break through to the peak of the Refined Saint Stage.
Now that she had broken through to the Intermediate Refined Saint Stage, her confidence was greatly boosted. Due to this reason, she wanted to have a friendly match with Duan Ling Tian.
“H-How’s this possible?!” However, when she saw the attack she had unleashed unreservedly did not even leave a scratch on the defensive s.h.i.+eld on Duan Ling Tian’s body, she was shocked. Her confidence that had been greatly boosted from her breakthrough crumbled into nothing at this moment.
“Y-you’ve broken through to the peak of the Refined Saint Stage?” She asked bluntly as a scary thought appeared in her mind at this moment.
What happened could only be explained if he had broken through to the peak of the Refined Saint Stage.
No matter how strong a person at the Mastery Refined Saint Stage was, it would still be impossible for him or her to block her attack that had been unleashed with all her might so easily.
Originally, w.a.n.g Fei Xuan was already wondering whether this fellow had already broken through to the peak of the Refined Saint Stage after coming out of the Spirit Pool. Now that they had a duel, she could finally confirm that he had broken through. Otherwise, it was impossible for him to be so strong.
Faced with w.a.n.g Fei Xuan’s question, Duan Ling Tian merely shrugged and smiled indifferently. He did not say anything.
In w.a.n.g Fei Xuan’s eyes, it was as good as him admitting to it.
If Duan Ling Tian could read w.a.n.g Fei Xuan’s thoughts, he would be rendered speechless. He had chosen not to give an answer because he was worried he would scare w.a.n.g Fei Xuan if he had told the truth. Moreover, she might not even believe him. In fact, his true cultivation base was only at the Early Refined Saint Stage. It was not even comparable to the current w.a.n.g Fei Xuan.
Naturally, it was only his cultivation base, not his prowess. Duan Ling Tian’s current prowess was no longer restricted by his cultivation base.
Even if he did not rely on his powerful brute strength and external forces, just his True Origin alone was comparable to an Early Eminent Saint Stage powerhouse.
After w.a.n.g Fei Xuan received a heavy blow from Duan Ling Tian, her confidence had also crumbled. She no longer wanted to remain here so she left in a haste after saying, “In three days’ time, the compet.i.tion to earn a spot to enter the Saint Martial Secret Zone will take place. At that time, I’ll look for you, and we’ll go together.”
“In three days’ time, we’ll compete for a spot… Thirteen days later, the Saint Martial Secret Zone will open… I’m looking forward to entering the Saint Martial Secret Zone,” Duan Ling Tian muttered to himself as he looked at w.a.n.g Fei Xuan’s disappearing silhouette.
Duan Ling Tian did not know that while he was waiting for the compet.i.tion to qualify in entering the Saint Martial Secret Zone to arrive in three days’ time, news of Ling Tian, his other ident.i.ty, had already begun to spread and reached the ears of the few quasi third-rate forces.
Ling Tian was a Saint Stage genius below the age of forty. The moment he entered the Mystical Sky Mansion, he came to a draw in a duel with a powerhouse at the Mastery Refined Saint Stage in the Heaven Palace. Apart from that, it had taken him only twenty days in the Heaven Palace’s Spirit Pool to finish absorbing the Heaven and Earth Spirit Energy.
Such a Saint Stage genius was a rarity in the other quasi third-rate forces, let alone the Mystical Sky Mansion.
Just take the Mountainshade Black Market and Azure Cloud Mansion as examples. The two were leading forces among the quasi third-rate forces in the Lower Province of the Dao Martial Saint Land’s Lower Province, and although they had such young geniuses as well, they only had one each. Moreover, they were far inferior to the Mystical Sky Mansion’s Ling Tian.
It was precisely because of this when news regarding Ling Tian spread to the Mountainshade Black Market and Azure Cloud Mansion, it had caused quite a commotion.
At Mountainshade Black Market’s headquarter, the highest leader, Dugu, finally heard the news.
“You’ve confirmed it?” Dugu asked calmly. His gaze was calm as well when he looked at the polite black-clad old man standing below.
“Yes, Lord Leader,” the black-clad old man replied respectfully, “This news came from the spy we’ve planted in the Mystical Sky Mansion so it’s not fake. Lord Leader, that Ling Tian is absolutely a prodigy with a rare talent in the Lower Province of the Dao Martial Saint Land. If he joins our Mountainshade Black Market, our Mountainshade Black Market will still be able to maintain its glory for several hundred years even after you leave to the Upper Province, Lord Leader.”
“Looks like you have quite a high opinion of him… However, do you really think he’s more powerful than Hei Ying?” Dugu asked again.
“Lord Leader, I suspect this Ling Tian from the Mountainshade Black Market is already at the peak of the Refined Saint Stage now! Although Hei Ying is also a rare genius in our Mountainshade Black Market, he’s already 39 years old. He’ll be in his forties when he breaks through to the peak of the Refined Saint Stage,” the black-clad old man replied again.
In the Dao Martial Saint Land, those who were below the age of forty were considered young. Only after they had pa.s.sed the age of forty they would no longer be considered young.
“How old is Ling Tian?” Dugu asked again.
“It’s said that he’s not even 38 years old,” the black-clad old man replied.
“Not even 38 years old?” Dugu’s eyes brightened immediately. “Then, does this mean Ling Tian is not inferior to Li Feng who had appeared in the Rising Sky Mansion’s district previously?”
“Perhaps he’s slightly inferior to Li Feng, but the gap is definitely not huge,” the black-clad old man’s eyes gleamed as he continued to say, “However, Li Feng disappeared as soon as he appeared. Many people think he’s from the Upper Province. Ling Tian, on the other hand, is different. If he’s from the Upper Province, it’ll be easy for him to join those powerful sects. There’s no need for him to come to the Lower Province to join a quasi third-rate force.”
“Good! Very good!” Dugu nodded. “Make a trip there personally, and do everything you can to bring Ling Tian back. If he’s unwilling, kill him! If the Mystical Sky Mansion has him, they’ll definitely ride above our Mountainshade Black Market’s head in 100 years’ time. I don’t wish for the Mystical Sky Mansion to become the second Azure Cloud Mansion, understand?”
“Yes!” Upon hearing that, the black-clad old man nodded his head solemnly before he retreated.
“Ling Tian… This name sounds a little familiar,” Dugu muttered to himself after the old man retreated before he was. .h.i.t by a pang of realization, “That’s right! Duan Ru Feng’s son’s called Duan Ling Tian!”
Although the name of the son of Duan Ru Feng, the Mansion Master of Azure Cloud Mansion, was similar to the genius in the Mystical Sky Mansion, Dugu, the Leader of Mountainshade Black Market, did not put two and two together.
This was because he did not think it was possible for Duan Ru Feng’s son to be so highly talented. Second, if Ling Tian was really Duan Ru Feng’s son, he would have gone to the Azure Cloud Mansion since the Mystical Sky Mansion was far from being comparable to it.
Since the Mountainshade Black Market had received the news, the Azure Cloud Mansion whose strength was on par with the Mountainshade Black Market in the Lower Province of the Dao Martial Saint Land, naturally, had also received the news.
On a suspended island that looked like a fairyland, in a gigantic palace, a blue-robed middle-aged man was sitting in the Main Hall. The two jade beads in his hands that he kept rotating gave off a faint sound that was particularly piercing in the quiet hall.
Finally, the blue-robed middle-aged man, who was none other than Duan Ru Feng, the Mansion Master of Azure Cloud Mansion, looked at one of the old men standing below him and asked, “Elder Yuan, did you say the genius in the Mystical Sky Mansion is called Ling Tian?”
“Yes.” The old man Duan Ru Feng was looking at was none other than Rong Yuan, Duan Ru Feng’s right-hand man. In the Azure Cloud Mansion, he was someone who shared equal fame with Ku Mi. When he heard Duan Ru Feng’s question, he nodded solemnly.
At this moment, Ku Mi who was standing at the side chimed in, “Lord Mansion Master, this Ling Tian from the Mystical Sky Mansion seems as though he had appeared out of nowhere… Moreover, his name is identical to Young Mansion Master as well! Could it be that he’s actually Young Mansion Master?”
“Tian’er?” When Duan Ru Feng heard Ku Mi’s words, his eyes gleamed brilliantly. In fact, he had also thought about this.
However, he did not dare to believe his son’s cultivation base had already reached the peak of the Refined Saint Stage. After all, how long has it been since his son had come to the Dao Martial Saint Land?
“If he’s really Tian’er, then he might stand a chance in fighting Di Jue, that Five-clawed Golden Dragon from the dragon clan and s.n.a.t.c.h the opportunity to enter the Dragon Cleansing Pool… B-but, is he really Tian’er?” However, Duan Ru Feng felt it was very unlikely.
“I really don’t think so.” Rong Yuan shook his head. “Two years ago, when Young Mansion Master left the Windfall Nation with the Devilseal Tablet, he was only at the Paramount Mortal Shedding Stage… How’s it possible for him to reach the peak of the Refined Saint Stage from the Paramount Mortal Shedding Stage in just over two years’ time?”
“Perhaps, it’s impossible for an ordinary person, but he’s our Young Mansion Master, Lord Mansion Master’s son!” Ku Mi chimed in confidently. Based on his words, it seemed like he was br.i.m.m.i.n.g with confidence for the Young Mansion Master whom he had never even seen before. Naturally, this was because he had taken Duan Ru Feng’s innate talent into account. As the saying went, ‘The apple never falls far from the tree.’
Upon hearing Ku Mi’s words, Rong Yuan glanced at Duan Ru Feng before he fell silent.
The rise of this Mansion Master of Azure Cloud Mansion was absolutely legendary. If his son inherited his talent and only spent over two years to reach the peak of the Refined Saint Stage from the Paramount Mortal Shedding Stage, then, it was not completely impossible.
Upon sensing Ku Mi and Rong Yuan’s gaze, Duan Ru Feng shook his head.
Only he knew about his own meteoric rise.
The main reason he had risen in such a short time was mostly due to the powerful Devil Cultivator, Black Nether. At that time, in order to raise his own ability, Black Nether had taken a lot of shortcuts, and that was not a cultivation journey that any ordinary Martial or Dao Cultivator could copy.
Due to this reason, only he knew that unless his son had a similar similar fortuitous encounter, it was impossible for him to rise to the peak of the Refined Saint Stage from the Paramount Mortal Shedding Stage in just a short span of over two years.
After a long while, Duan Ru Feng looked at Ku Mi and said, “Elder Ku, please make a trip to the Mystical Sky Mansion to have a look. It doesn’t matter if he’s Tian’er or not.”