“What, what did you say?!”
Miss Zhang stared in disbelief at Li Tan, who was standing not far away.
The steward was afraid that Zhang would feel embarrassed by the comparison, so he had tried not to mention it at the beginning, hoping to avoid hurting her feelings. However, this effort clearly failed, and now he didn’t know what to say.
Seeing the situation seemed to get awkward, Li Tan shrugged and said, “Steward, give me the stuff quickly, it’s time to go.”
Li Tan thought to himself that he would wander around outside for a bit, check the notice board at the city gate for recent news, and then retreat to his cultivation room for a month.
“Ah, okay, right away.”
Unable to ease the tension, the steward decisively chose to flee the awkward situation and hastily ran away.
Li Tan waited on the spot. Not long after, Miss Zhang regained her senses. Ignoring her fellow apprentices, she walked directly to Li Tan and asked, “Excuse me, Master Li, but did you really pass the Two-Star Alchemist exam?”
A Seventeen or eighteen-year-old One-Star Alchemist was already a rarity throughout the Great Xia Dynasty. A Two-Star Alchemist of the same age was practically unheard of. Li Tan silently nodded.
Miss Zhang barely regained her composure. After hesitating for a while, she asked curiously, “May I ask, Master Li, who is your master?”
“I have no master.”
Li Tan honestly replied.
However, Miss Zhang seemed unconvinced. Pouting, she said, “Then you must be an independent cultivator. I’ve never seen such an impressive independent cultivator in my life.”
“I’m not exactly an independent cultivator either.”
Li Tan continued to tell the truth. Strictly speaking, he indeed wasn’t an independent cultivator.
This back and forth left Miss Zhang somewhat confused.
“Well,” she probably wanted to ask, “then what exactly is your background?” but she was interrupted by the steward rushing over.
“I’ve completed your registration. Here is the Two-Star Alchemist robe and identification token.”
The steward handed the light-blue robe to Li Tan.
The conversation was interrupted. Miss Zhang looked somewhat displeased. The sycophantic apprentices around her immediately rushed over to chatter, and in the past, they would probably have directly questioned Li Tan’s actions. But now, they were awkwardly hesitant.
They dared not offend Li Tan.
Li Tan paid no heed to their thoughts. He took the robe from the steward and stored it in the desolate tower, then picked up the wooden identification plaque engraved with a large “Li” character and special patterns. After giving it a quick glance, he tucked it away as well.
“Well then, I’ll take my leave.”
Li Tan turned and left with a flick of his sleeve. The jade pendant on his waist swayed as he moved. The steward happened to catch a glimpse and thought it looked familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere before, but didn’t dwell on it.
“You guys, move aside.”
Miss Zhang irritably pushed away the young men fawning around her and shouted from afar, “Master! Master Li!”
Li Tan turned back. “What is it?”
“May I ask for your honorable name? Oh, and I’m surnamed Zhang, my name is Chenghuan.”
“Li Tan, the ‘Tan’ in ‘壏埮’.”
After answering, Li Tan turned his head and walked down the stairs.
“Li Tan…” Miss Zhang gazed hopefully at his retreating figure, lost in thought for a moment before following downstairs as well.
Li Tan went directly to the first floor and suddenly saw seven or eight youths entering through the main entrance, led by a middle-aged man of remarkable bearing.
“Dear, how did the exam go?”
The well-dressed, dignified middle-aged man called out toward Li Tan’s direction.
“I accidentally blew up the furnace. I didn’t pass.”
Zhang Chenghuan’s somewhat dejected voice came from behind.
Puzzling. Was this man the Tianlang Sect’s leader?
Li Tan looked over in surprise and even swept his spiritual sense over.
Li Tan recalled that the leader of the Tianlang Sect was a peak Xiantian expert and ranked second in strength within the sect, surpassed only by the grandmaster-level senior elder.
However, upon scanning with his spiritual sense, Li Tan was surprised to find that things weren’t that simple. The Tianlang Sect leader’s aura was strange; there was no sense of peak Xiantian strength at all, more like early-stage Xiantian.
This did not mean he was inherently weak in the early stages, but rather that his strength far surpassed Li Tan’s, causing the spiritual sense scan to appear indistinct.
Had he achieved the realm of a grandmaster?
Li Tan was somewhat surprised. However, recalling that before his rebirth, the tomb of ancient sages near Chi Ze had been discovered, and the Tianlang Sect had obtained the most valuable inheritance, it wasn’t strange that he had broken through to the Grandmaster level.
Originally, he had considered letting Li Jiayin and others go directly to the Tianlang Sect, since it would be convenient for him to take care of them. However, he thought that if they relied on him too much, they would lose their initiative. For example, if someone bullied them, he would definitely rush over and wipe out the bully himself. Therefore, for the purpose of tempering them, he abandoned that idea and sent them to another suitable sect instead.
Getting off track.
In any case, after hearing his daughter’s words, the Tianlang Sect leader sighed with some regret and comforted her, “It’s okay. You can try again next time. You’re still young and lack experience.”
Normally, after such words, Zhang Chenghuan would have felt better. Unfortunately, an abnormality like Li Tan had appeared midway.
Pouting, Zhang Chenghuan looked at Li Tan with envy and said, “That young man over there passed the Two-Star Alchemist exam, but I can’t even pass the One-Star.”
The Tianlang Sect leader was startled and turned his gaze toward Li Tan, “So this young master is already a Two-Star Alchemist?”
Li Tan nodded affirmatively.
The Tianlang Sect leader, worthy of his position as sect leader, calmed down within a few breaths after hearing such shocking news. “May I ask which sect you hail from, young friend?”
Li Tan repeated his previous answer to Zhang Chenghuan, “I have no sect background; I’m merely an independent cultivator.”
No sect background?
Could it be that he had severed ties with his sect for some reason, or had studied under a reclusive elder?
The Tianlang Sect leader had many more thoughts than Zhang Chenghuan.
After carefully observing Li Tan for a few moments, he decisively extended an invitation: “Being an independent cultivator without a sect background can pose many obstacles to cultivation. What do you think of my Tianlang Sect?”
The subtext of this sentence was “Join my Tianlang Sect,” which was already very direct; Li Tan couldn’t possibly miss it.
Unfortunately, although what he said made sense, and Li Tan did have plans to join a sect, he had absolutely no interest in the Tianlang Sect.
The main reason for his lack of interest was that their cultivation level was too low.
After all, he was an emperor among men. How could a sect whose strongest expert was merely at the Grandmaster level possibly meet his standards?
Li Tan originally intended to refuse directly, but his gaze inadvertently shifted, and upon seeing someone behind the Tianlang Sect leader, he immediately changed his mind. His eyes narrowed, and his tone turned slightly cold as he replied, “I have long admired the Tianlang Sect…”
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