Chapter 931: Lu Yang's Seniority

Mangu and Lanting were preparing to aid Lu Yang, but before they could move, they watched as he delivered a flawless, flowing cascade of sword strikes that neatly decapitated the Elder of the Heartless Sect.

Seeing the Elder’s wide, disbelieving eyes staring back at them from a solitary, severed head, they were still gripped by a profound sense of unreality.

As the two began exchanging explanations to piece together the cause and effect, Lu Yang finally achieved a rough understanding of what had transpired.

"So, to put it simply, the two of you encountered an Elder of the Heartless Sect you couldn't defeat, and so you called me over?"

"We called upon the most formidable ancestor of our Barbarian Race from the Deity Transformation stage," Mangu corrected.

Hearing this, Lu Yang pressed a hand to his forehead in sheer helplessness, recalling how he had once spared no effort in apprenticing himself to the Immortal Fairy just to learn the art of feigning death. She had promised that becoming her disciple would elevate his seniority, placing him on the same generational tier as the ancient barbarians.

It seemed the Immortal Fairy had not deceived him after all.

What defined the ancient barbarians? They were a unique branch of humanity upon whom the Immortal Fairy had cast a hex, meaning that by this standard, he was indeed a genuine, bona fide ancient barbarian ancestor.

In fact, he was the oldest and most pure-blooded among them.

Mangu's primordial soul possessed the ability to summon the residual power of the barbarian ancestors left in the world; since those ancestors were now mere history, leaving only a fraction of their might lingering between heaven and earth, Mangu's primordial soul could only evoke that small fragment.

Yet here he was, a genuine barbarian ancestor who happened to still be among the living, resulting in his direct and literal summoning.

"I never knew, Brother Lu—are you truly an ancestor of our Barbarian Race?" Mangu inquired with utmost caution, his respect for Lu Yang deepening considerably.

Lanting likewise stared at Lu Yang in astonishment, reflecting silently that traveling with disciples of the Seeking Path Sect truly broadened one’s horizons.

Lu Yang: "..."

I only just found out myself.

"Junior Sister Lanting, it has been a long time," Lu Yang said with a smile. Their last encounter had been when the Ancestor of the Vast Ocean emerged after resolving the crisis of the Sovereign of All Laws, drawing a grand gathering of cultivating elites to pay their respects.

Lanting smiled in return, her green silken robes and elegant skirt swaying slightly; a few stray locks of hair adhered to her cheek from the battle, lending her a unique and striking grace. "Though we have not met, Senior Brother Lu Yang’s grand reputation has certainly reached my ears."

"Rescuing the ancient ancestor of the Dragon Race in the Eastern Sea to earn a profound favor, composing a stanza of poetry in the Imperial City for Ye Mengyin that will endure through the ages, reporting the Fourth Prince for treason, saving the Supreme of the Sword Pavilion and Senior Sister Yun Zhi at the Sword Pavilion, and holding back the Immortal Ying Tian..."

Cold sweat beaded on Lu Yang's brow as he heard the final remark. How on earth had that rumor spread?

Ah, of course. Back then, Yun Mengmeng had fought the corpse of Ying Tian while assuming the identity of the Eldest Senior Sister. Afterward, neither Yun Mengmeng nor the Eldest Senior Sister could be bothered to clarify the matter, leading the world to believe that he had stepped forward to rescue her!

"Those are merely rumors," Lu Yang replied with a hollow laugh, not daring to claim credit for events, particularly since some had been executed by the Immortal Fairy while possessing his body.

Yet to Lanting and Mangu, this response only cemented his humility, raising their admiration for him to even greater heights.

"By the way, ever since I arrived here, I have felt a surge of energy within my body that does not belong to me. Do either of you know what is happening?" Without the amplification of this mysterious power, even with his swift and erratic techniques, he could not have dispatched the Elder so quickly after Mangu and Lanting had already worn the man down.

Mangu looked thoroughly surprised. "What a coincidence. I feel as though my primordial soul is currently residing inside your body, Brother Lu."

"...Junior Brother Mangu, perhaps you should try undoing your ancestral summons?"

"Oh, right, of course."

Mangu brought the ancestral invocation to an end. His primordial soul drifted out from Lu Yang's chest and returned to his own form, causing Lu Yang's strength to recede to its original state.

"Why is this summoning of yours strictly a one-way trip?" Lu Yang mused, having hoped to return instantly to continue fooling Old Meng.

Seeing that Lu Yang could not leave immediately, Lanting's eyes brightened. "If you have no pressing matters, Senior Brother Lu Yang, why not grace our Laurel Celestial Palace with a visit? It would provide an excellent opportunity for us to spar and advance our cultivation together."

Lu Yang indeed had nothing urgent to attend to. "But does your Laurel Celestial Palace not forbid the entry of men?"

"The rules are not so unyielding," Lanting said with a soft smile.

Lu Yang considered the offer; since she had extended such an invitation, turning it down would surely be ungracious.

Furthermore, he genuinely harbored a curiosity to see what the legendary Laurel Celestial Palace looked like.

"Then I shall trouble you, Junior Sister Lanting."

Mangu watched the two of them converse so effortlessly, suddenly feeling rather superfluous.

"To whom should the soul of this Heartless Sect Elder belong?"

Since he and Lanting had accepted the mission together, to which sect should they deliver the captive?

"That is easily settled."

Lu Yang had witnessed how Jiang Ping'an divided the soul of Guan Shanhai, and he had learned the method well enough just by watching.

He applied a few drops of his own blood evenly across the edge of his blade and imbued it with several incantations. He then dragged out the soul of the Heartless Sect Elder hidden within the severed head and, ignoring the man’s agonized shrieks, split the three hun and seven po cleanly with a single stroke of his sword. Lanting received the three hun, while Mangu took the seven po.

"Do you not want any, Senior Brother Lu Yang?" Lanting asked, knowing full well that Lu Yang had contributed the most.

Lu Yang waved his hand dismissively; he could utilize the Immortal Fairy's contribution points at any time, rendering him exceedingly wealthy. The soul of a mere Body Integration stage cultivator held little value to him.

Then, as if remembering something important, Lu Yang turned to Mangu with an earnest expression. "Oh, by the way, Junior Brother Mangu, when you return, make sure to emphasize to Senior Brother Dai how much effort I put into this. It would be a perfect opportunity to improve my image in his mind."

"Understood."

"Let us depart, Junior Sister Lanting."

...

Dai Bufan was quite astonished when Mangu returned bearing the three hun of the Heartless Sect Elder.

The assignment had merely tasked Mangu with investigating clues regarding the Heartless Sect; discovering a high-ranking official so directly was a magnificent, unexpected windfall.

With these three hun secured, searching the soul would inevitably lead to the capture of several other high-level figures within the cult!

"I never expected you to slay a cultivator at the early Body Integration stage while only being at the early Deity Transformation stage, Junior Brother Mangu. Truly remarkable."

Mangu chuckled sheepishly, refusing to take the credit. "It was entirely the work of Senior Sister Lanting and Senior Brother Lu Yang. I contributed very little."

"What happened? Tell me the details."

Mangu recounted exactly how he and Lanting had crossed paths, how they found the trail that led to the Heartless Sect Elder, and, following Lu Yang's instructions, heavily emphasized that Lu Yang had appeared at the critical juncture to rescue Lanting and sever the Elder’s head, performing the supreme merit of the battle.

Dai Bufan found the tale rather amusing, wondering briefly how Lu Yang had suddenly transformed into an ancestor of the Barbarian Race.

"It seems Junior Brother Lu does not solely bring me shocks; he is capable of performing great deeds as well. I did not expect him to play such a vital role in this matter," Dai Bufan said with a smile.

In the past, it wasn't that Lu Yang failed to do good deeds, but rather that his merits were invariably accompanied by immense frights—such as suddenly founding the Heavenly Court Sect to infiltrate demonic cults, or unexpectedly unearthing a Primordial Ancestor.

This instance was different; this time, Lu Yang had performed a good deed entirely devoid of any terrifying surprises.

"Is everything you said true?" Dai Bufan verified once more.

Mangu replied with simple honesty, "It is true. Senior Brother Lu Yang told me to say exactly that."

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