No matter how shocked the crowd was, the celestial phenomena continued, growing ever more intense.
Zhou Tong’s rebirth was an accomplished fact.
The sky darkened and thunder rolled; pitch-black clouds pressed down upon the heavens until not a crack of light remained, as if something was about to burst forth.
“This…
this is the tribulation lightning of the Way of Heaven!
His enlightenment has disturbed the Way of Heaven!” White Crane Immortal murmured, her voice filled with awe.
Mo Liusu shuddered, staring fixedly ahead.
But before she could speak, Jiang Yuyao and Ge Hongqiu broke down first.
“Impossible — this is absolutely impossible!
What has Zhou Tong ever done to deserve this?
Is he even worthy?
He’s nothing but a bootlicker and a failure!
Of all the disciples in the Yuqing Sect, only Junior Brother has the right to disturb the Way of Heaven!”
Tang Qi said nothing but nodded slightly, clearly agreeing with them.
The Elders held the same view.
For a man who had just been crippled to disturb the Way of Heaven in the blink of an eye was sheer fantasy!
“CRACK!”
A thunderbolt blasted down, carrying the power of a tribulation, and slapped everyone across the face.
Everyone stood dumbstruck, hands and feet gone cold.
It really was the tribulation lightning of the Way of Heaven!
Dazzling lightning suddenly flashed into being, light surging, bolts snaking like dragons — and in midair, it formed a diagram of tribulation.
The diagram trembled once, then transformed into a vast river of stars; countless stars fell at once, hurtling down at Zhou Tong.
The knowledgeable among them trembled.
Those weren’t stars at all — they were the essence of heaven and earth’s aura, condensed to the extreme, a supreme stroke of fortune!
Before everyone’s eyes, Zhou Tong spread his arms and devoured those stars, drawing them all into his body!
In that instant, his aura surged — from a crippled mortal he became a cultivator once more, and then stepped straight into the peak of the Postnatal Realm.
The sight made everyone gasp.
The path of cultivation was harder than climbing to heaven; every single step forward required years of accumulation.
Yet Zhou Tong had leapt across nine minor stages of the Postnatal Realm in an instant — it defied all reason!
Could a single moment of enlightenment truly have such an effect?
In truth, no one understood what this enlightenment really meant.
Zhou Tong’s state of mind had reached perfect consummation.
From this moment on, he possessed the qualification to contend for the supreme Emperor Realm.
This phenomenon was the Way of Heaven’s acknowledgment of one destined to become an Emperor!
“What’s there to make such a fuss about?” Mo Liusu said with a look of disdain, drawing everyone’s attention.
“The ancient texts record that if a person burns their potential to the limit, their realm will rise temporarily — it can even deceive the Way of Heaven into granting an omen.
But the price for doing so is…”
“…burning out completely, to ash and nothing!”
Someone couldn’t help exclaiming, looking at Zhou Tong in disbelief.
Would this once-arrogant genius really destroy his own future just to steal the spotlight?
But aside from that possibility, there seemed to be no other explanation.
Seeing that many were convinced, the mockery on Mo Liusu’s lips grew more pronounced.
“To spite me, you made such an ugly choice — too bad I’ve seen through your little scheme.
Your act is nothing but a clown’s performance!”
“Master, this trash’s potential is surely spent. Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
Even if he kneels and begs for mercy, would you still take him back?” Ge Hongqiu said with mockery dripping from her eyes, her tone dripping with sarcasm.
“Hmph.
Whatever else he is, he and I do share a tangled fate.
If he repents in time, I might yet grant him a little life-prolonging medicine, so he can eke out his miserable existence!”
For a moment, the looks people cast at Zhou Tong were filled with pity.
Even the greatest genius could reach the end of the road and fall in obscurity.
Throughout the ages, tragedies like Zhou Tong’s were as numerous as hairs on an ox.
“BOOM!”
Just as the crowd was wallowing in sympathy, an even greater phenomenon suddenly descended!
Rosy light blazed brighter across heaven and earth; the ground split open, spiritual springs gushed forth, and lotus blossoms flourished, clustering around Zhou Tong at their center.
A hundred birds beat their wings and circled him in flight; tigers and leopards prostrated themselves before him in homage — casting him like an Immortal King descended to the mortal world.
It was a sight never seen before.
The crowd was stupefied.
Was this really enlightenment?
It seemed more like some supreme powerhouse had been reborn, seizing Zhou Tong’s body to live a second life!
At the same time, Zhou Tong’s realm surged once more, breaking into the Innate Realm — and again rising nine levels straight to the peak of the Innate Realm!
This could no longer be explained by burning one’s potential.
Even if a mortal burned to ash, he could never leap two great realms at once, let alone summon such an absurd spectacle!
“Birds bow to the sovereign lord, / Beasts kneel before the sage’s grace, / The diagram devours star and moon, / Springwaters flood the earth’s embrace!”
Someone recited the verse in a low murmur — and every ear that heard it ran cold.
Those were unmistakably lines from the Chart of Emperor Ascension, matching Zhou Tong’s phenomenon to the letter.
The implications were terrifying to contemplate!
Could Zhou Tong truly hold the potential to become an Emperor?
“What’s going on?
This kid’s aura is clearly weak, and we’re this far away — so why do I feel the urge to prostrate myself in worship?” Someone wiped the cold sweat from his brow and whispered.
“Don’t even mention it — I have the same urge, my knees seem to have a mind of their own.
This isn’t right.
Could the Yuqing Sect have let a true dragon slip through its fingers?”
“Heh heh…
if it’s true, this just got interesting.
That woman’s lofty airs are insufferable — I want to see her regret!”
“I say the best move now is to apologize to Zhou Tong at once and invite him back.
That would solve everything!”
Hearing these remarks, the Elders in the hall broke out in cold sweat and silently fixed their eyes on Mo Liusu, making her sit as if on a bed of nails.
But in a flash she resumed an air of indifference and said coldly: “So what if he drew celestial phenomena?
Trash is trash.
I will absolutely not take him back — besides, at such a low realm he’s worse than a menial disciple.
Let’s see who’d be willing to take in this piece of junk!”
At these words, the still-tense Tang Qi finally relaxed into a smile.
Mo Liusu was right — so what if Zhou Tong could still cultivate?
He was no longer worthy of being Tang Qi’s rival.
The realms of cultivation ran: first the Postnatal Realm, then the Innate Realm, then the Soul-Splitting Realm, the Soul-Revolving Realm, and the Heart-Merging Realm — these five together were known as the Five Mortal Realms. The source of this chapter is novelping dot com.
Only by breaking through the Heart-Merging Realm could one shed the mortal shell and transcend the Mortal Realm.
Before being crippled, Zhou Tong had stood at the peak of the Heart-Merging Realm; and he, Tang Qi, had also reached the Heart-Merging Realm, certain it wouldn’t be long before he crossed the Mortal Barrier.
By then, he and Zhou Tong would live in two different worlds — a single wave of his hand would crush the latter to dust!
But the smile on his face abruptly froze.
Several figures radiating formidable auras descended from the sky and landed beside Zhou Tong.
Gasps rippled through the crowd as they recognized these people — all of them leading figures of their respective sects, and more than a few were overlords of sect-master rank.
Clearly, they had all come to recruit Zhou Tong.
“Young friend, you are a free man now.
Would you care to join our Qingdan Sect?” An old man stepped forward and asked with a kindly face.
“The Qingdan Sect?
Good heavens!”
Many showed signs of shock.
Though the Qingdan Sect had no supreme powerhouse of its own, it was the sect of pill refiners, closely tied to countless great figures, and held an extremely lofty status.
If Zhou Tong joined them, he would surely receive ample support in spirit pills and quickly recover his former peak.
And the Qingdan Sect, in turn, had set its sights on Zhou Tong’s potential, wanting to forge its own supreme expert.
The two sides complemented each other perfectly.
“Young man, don’t listen to that old codger’s nonsense — they know nothing of true cultivation.
Go with them and your talent will go to waste!”
A refined, elegant man stepped forward, and the mere sight of him struck the crowd like a thunderbolt.
“It’s him!
Ying Shaoxuan, the Sect Leader of the Taiqing Sect!”
Even Mo Liusu could no longer remain composed at the sight of him.
The Taiqing Sect, the Yuqing Sect, and the Shangqing Sect were known together as the Three Great Sects — all peerless powers of matching strength.
As the Sect Leader of the Taiqing Sect, Ying Shaoxuan’s standing matched the Yuqing Sect’s own leader; even Mo Liusu had to offer him the courtesy due an elder.
That such a man would take an interest in recruiting Zhou Tong utterly surpassed her expectations.
“You wish to take me as your disciple?” Zhou Tong looked at him and asked flatly.
“Not I — my master wishes to take you as his disciple.
Agree, and you’ll be my junior brother!”
At that, the crowd was rattled to the core.
Ying Shaoxuan’s master…
wasn’t that the former Sect Leader of the Taiqing Sect, now its Supreme Elder!
If Zhou Tong took that man as his master, he would instantly be on the same generation as Ying Shaoxuan — and from then on, even Mo Liusu would have to address him as “Master’s Junior”!
At the thought, her expression shifted several times, and she shot to her feet.
“Senior, you truly intend this — to bring that wretch into the Taiqing Sect?”
Through the projection of the Way of Heaven, Mo Liusu bowed to Ying Shaoxuan and asked in a stiff voice.
“Do you have an objection?
Or have you changed your mind and want to take him back as your disciple?” Ying Shaoxuan narrowed his eyes and laughed heartily.
“How could I?
I would never take back such scum!” Mo Liusu hastened to deny it.
“Then shut your mouth and watch quietly!”
Treated so rudely, Mo Liusu’s expression flickered, yet she could not flare up and could only smile: “I mean this for the Taiqing Sect’s own good.
There’s something you don’t know, Senior — that wretch carries a demon seed within him!
If you don’t believe me, you can verify it on the spot.
If you bring him back to your sect, it would be like taking a little demon whelp home — you can imagine the consequences!”