Sage of Humanity

In front of Heaven's Augury Hall, Lu Ye pondered slightly, "I'll go back and consult the sect master about taking in disciples, and I'll let you know when I have an update."

He didn't immediately give any response.

"Then I'll have to trouble Fellow Daoist Yiye," someone replied.

After Chen Yu had left, just as Lu Ye was about to examine the gains from his recent exploits, a message came through the battlefield marking. Upon opening it, it was from Second Senior Sister, "Time to come home for dinner!"

Remembering the delicious meals prepared by his Second Senior Sister, Lu Ye patted his butt, stood up, and walked to the Heaven's Augury Pillar. He placed his hand upon it and in the next moment, he was back at the sect headquarters.

Second Senior Sister must have timed it perfectly, preparing a table of dishes, waiting for Lu Ye and Hua Ci to return.

Lu Ye first paid his respects to the sect master. Hua Ci had already returned earlier to report their safety, but when the sect master saw him now, he still sized up Lu Ye from head to toe, confirming he was unharmed before nodding in relief, "Go have your meal; your Second Senior Sister has made lots of delicious food."

He didn't ask Lu Ye about his experiences during the Spirit Stream Defense Battle. For him, it was enough that the few remaining disciples of the sect had returned safely; he desired nothing more.

"Yes!"

The dining table was lively; the few remaining disciples of the Righteous Blood Sect were all gathered here, eating delicious food and continuously laughing and talking.

Amber stood at the door, sizing up the mechanical wolf that Hua Ci had brought back with her beastly eyes, then with a pounce, she toppled the mechanical wolf, stepping on it with her paws triumphantly.

Meanwhile, in the sect master's sleeping chamber, the sitting sect master opened his eyes, sensing his own marking.

The message was abruptly from Pang Zhen, "Veteran Thang, the Righteous Blood Sect has indeed taken in two promising disciples!"

The sect master frowned, puzzled by the implication. From Pang Zhen's words, it seemed like Lu Ye and Hua Ci had done something remarkable during the Spirit Stream Defense Battle?

Just as he thought of inquiring further, another message arrived—this time, shockingly, from the old ghost of Loyal Heart Sect, "When is Righteous Blood Sect going to disband? That disciple named Lu Ye and Hua Ci from your sect, I'll take them."

"Scram!" The sect master retorted curtly.

Soon afterwards, messages kept coming through the marking, all from various sect leaders or big sect masters of the Nine Provinces, overwhelming the sect master momentarily so he couldn't make immediate inquiries.

After a while, when the flood of messages thinned a bit, but still steadily continued to come.

One by one, the sect master checked the messages—some congratulating, some thanking on behalf of their disciples, and some wanting to form strategic alliances with Righteous Blood Sect.

The sect master truly became confused, but from those messages, it became apparent that his two disciples indeed did something significant, something that concerned many sects and even the entire Haotian Alliance, though he was not yet clear about the specifics.

He found Pang Zhen's marker and transmitted a message, "What happened?"

Pang Zhen immediately replied, "Veteran Thang, are you not aware? Haven't your two disciples come back?"

"They have returned."

"Since they have returned, why don't you ask them in person?"

"The youngsters are currently dining together, it wouldn't look good for an old man to interrupt now, just tell me."

Pang Zhen then recounted all about this time's Spirit Stream Defense Battle.

The sect master looked on in stupor, silent for a long time before suddenly bursting into loud laughter.

He truly hadn't expected that Lu Ye and Hua Ci, merely two Level 6 cultivators, could stir up such a storm in the Chess Sea.

Initially, he had simply sent Lu Ye and Hua Ci to broaden their experiences, never imagining these two young ones would indirectly save the fate of the entire Haotian Alliance for decades to come—an achievement so grand it was rare even once every hundred years, comparable only to the monumental battle fought by his eldest disciple forty years ago.

Unfortunately, his eldest disciple ultimately met with a disgraceful fate, dragging the sect down with him into decline, becoming sinners.

Today, decades later, the actions of the two disciples of Righteous Blood Sect somewhat redeemed the sect from past sins.

The sect master was genuinely relieved and happy.

"Veteran Thang, I've already sent orders not to let the news spread, to avoid drawing the attention of Ten Thousand Demons Ridge to Righteous Blood Sect any further," Pang Zhen transmitted yet again.

"Thank you," the sect master replied.

"Supporting the younger generation, just as you once supported us, is only right," came the reply.

Ending the communication with Pang Zhen, the sect master busied himself for a while, replying one by one to the messages from various sect leaders and masters, and then he finally stepped out of the sleeping chamber.

In the dining hall, where Lu Ye and others were still eating, a figure suddenly appeared—it was the sect master, and everyone hurriedly got up.

The sect master gestured for them to sit, smiling broadly, "Continue eating."

Turning to Shui Yuan, he said, "Bring some fine ingredients; I feel like cooking today and want to show off my skills." Saying this, he headed toward the kitchen.

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. Lu Ye, astonished, turned to Second Senior Sister, "The sect master can cook?"

Shui Yuan, with a suppressed smile, responded, "My culinary skills were taught by the old man himself; carry on eating." With that, she hurried after the sect master, puzzled and wondering why the old man was in such a good mood today.

Could it be that things have thawed with Madam Yun; has the old tree bloomed again?

During the meal, everyone's stomachs were bursting; who would have thought that the sect master of the Righteous Blood Sect, a strong cultivator from the Divine Sea Realm, possessed such impressive culinary skills.

Yiyi poked Ruan Lingyu's bulging belly, causing Lingyu to cry out in protest.

After a satisfying meal, Lu Ye greeted the Second Senior Sister and the others, then went into his room and fell straight to sleep.

In the Chess Sea, neither he nor Sister Hua Ci had much rest; over the month, both were physically and mentally exhausted.

In a daze, his nose tickled and when he opened his eyes, it was Yiyi poking his nostrils with his hair.

Lu Ye slowly got up, sitting in a daze.

Yiyi brought some water for washing his face, handed him a wet towel, and said, "Wake up, you've been asleep for a whole day and night."

Seeing no reaction from him, Yiyi slapped the towel on his face and began to scrub vigorously.

"I'm awake!" The cold water sharpened his senses, and Lu Ye immediately felt more alert, taking the towel and getting out of bed.

"How's everything been recently?" Lu Ye asked as he washed his face.

Yiyi stood next to him, hands behind her back, humming a tune. "Pretty good, it's just less lively without you and Sister Hua Ci around."

These days were truly idyllic; recalling their first encounter on Qingyun Mountain, Yiyi felt it was a fateful meeting.

If it weren't for meeting Lu Ye, she and Amber would still be at Qingyun Mountain and might have been captured by some cultivator one day - the thought alone was too frightening to contemplate.

Though the journey with Lu Ye had its dangers, now within the Righteous Blood Sect, under the protection of the sect master and with Lingyu and Amber as playmates, their days were incredibly comfortable.

Lu Ye finished with the towel and suddenly turned to look earnestly at Yiyi.

"What's the matter?" Yiyi felt puzzled under his stare.

Lu Ye reached out, pinched her cheek, and squeezed.

"What are you doing?" Yiyi asked, her words muffled.

"This texture... It's becoming more and more indistinguishable from a real body," Lu Ye said with a look of surprise, "And... have you gotten fatter?"

Yiyi suddenly panicked, "No way, you're making that up!" she said insecurely, patting her cheeks, suspicious in her gaze.

"Hmm, indeed, you've gotten a bit bigger." Lu Ye nodded seriously. "Can you still grow?"

Yiyi was initially stunned, then blushed, "Where are you looking?"

"Could it be related to Amber?" Lu Ye rubbed his chin, deep in thought. After returning, Amber's aura had strengthened significantly, and it immediately demanded the Scale Armor from him. Lu Ye didn't refuse, handed over the Scale Armor for Amber to absorb some blood Qi. As expected, Amber lay rigid on the ground, completely intoxicated.

"I... I'm going to tell Sister Hua Ci you're being a pervert!" Yiyi stomped her foot and ran out.

Feeling fresh and revitalized, Lu Ye stepped out of the room and bumped into Ruan Lingyu. The young girl glared at him, deliberately positioning herself in front of Lu Ye and stamping her feet, huffing loudly to express her displeasure at him bullying her friend.

"Have you completed your cultivation for today?" Lu Ye looked down at her.

Ruan Lingyu was somewhat evasive, "No, not yet... haven't started."

"Then go cultivate now!"

"Oh!" The little girl ran off toward Heaven's Augury Hall, her twin braids swinging from side to side.

"Second Senior Sister." Lu Ye called out to Shui Yuan as she approached.

Shui Yuan handed him a somewhat familiar wooden box. "The flesh of the Breath Fruit is being processed, which will take some time. Here, take this fruit core for now. It's unclear what it's used for, so you'll need to stimulate it with spirit force yourself. Continue your saga on My Virtual Library Empire

Some fruit cores choose their master—whomever first activates its power, it will acknowledge as its owner." Given this possibility, Shui Yuan dared not recklessly explore the effects of the fruit core.

The flesh of the Breath Fruit had extremely potent restorative effects, but it would be a waste to consume it directly, but in the hands of the Second Senior Sister, it was different.

Aside from being a healing cultivator, Shui Yuan was also an alchemy cultivator. With her expertise in medicine, she could certainly make good use of the fruit flesh.

That said, apart from the sect master, the Righteous Blood Sect currently had only six disciples, two of whom were healing cultivators—an odd ratio, considering that other sects had the fewest healing cultivators.

Lu Ye took the wooden box and gently opened it, discovering inside a blue, crystalline object that resembled a sapphire.

At first glance, it looked just like a piece of blue sapphire. He looked up at Shui Yuan, who said, "This is the Breath Fruit Core."

All Lu Ye could do was sigh, "It indeed lives up to the Breath Fruit, beyond ordinary reasoning as always."

"Shall we give it a try?" Shui Yuan was curious about the function of the fruit core herself.

Lu Ye nodded, picked up the blue fruit core, held it in his palm, and infused it with spirit force. The next moment, a somewhat familiar sensation emerged, similar to the feeling he always had when entering the Heaven's Augury treasure vault…