The four Heavenly Realm experts from the Pei and Sun families were filled with envy. Although they had judged early on that Yi Zuojun should be advancing in rank, the actual event still strongly stimulated their nerves and aroused their inner fervor.
At this moment, they wished their families could produce beauties on par with Xi Shi and Diao Chan. They were willing to pay any price to win over Lin Yao!
Elder Yi Potian's eyes were blurred with tears, sometimes filled with joy, sometimes with sorrow. The past few decades of the Yi family's experiences flashed through his mind like a movie: the successive sacrifices for the country, the neglect during times of ruin, the attacks and framing by rival families, and the many members who risked their lives to die with the enemy...
All these hardships have tempered the Yi family for far too long, but they cannot diminish their indomitable will and determination!
Now, their wish has finally come true. The family has gained another Heaven-level disciple, and in the future, there will surely be disciples with even greater talent than Yi Zuojun who will advance to the Heaven-level. All of this is thanks to that young man. The Yi family owes him far too much, and it is impossible to repay him.
"Then let him and his descendants always be the most respected people in the Yi family, and they will never dare to disobey any orders!" Yi Potian made his decision and also set the Yi family's future motto—to be on good terms with the Lin family for eternity and to support the Lin family with all our might.
The lightning that advanced to the Heavenly level was far inferior to the heavenly lightning caused by Lin Yao, but it was still the strongest heavenly might in the world before Lin Yao. Duke Witt of the Dark Faction had already hidden far away before the heavenly might appeared. His worship of his master deepened once again, and his loyalty became more and more firm, without a trace of impurity.
"Ah, this..."
Yi Zuojun opened his eyes, his gaze filled with confusion. He stared blankly at his surroundings, then shook his head vigorously, trying to figure out if this was a dream.
"Zuo Jun, put out the fire on your body!" Elder Yi Potian's tone was no longer stern as usual, and his voice was somewhat hoarse and unsteady.
"Ah! Oh." Yi Zuojun woke up and immediately frantically patted his burning clothes, looking like a clown.
The First Elder, Yi Potian, smiled wryly at Pei Tianzong and Sun Woxing beside him, shook his head, and waved his hand to gather the energy of heaven and earth to help Yi Zuojun extinguish the flames covering his body.
This guy, having advanced to the Heavenly Rank, is completely unaware of it, showing none of the awareness expected of a Heavenly Rank expert. Not only does he not need to frantically thrash and jump around to extinguish the fire, but his mortal body showed almost no reaction to the flames—shouldn't he have noticed something? Unfortunately, Yi Zuojun, stunned into a daze, completely missed these two points. His usual quick wit had vanished completely.
Congratulations, Mr. Yi!
"Comrade Xiaojun, welcome to the Heavenly-level Club!"
The first sentence was spoken by Pei Tianzong, filled with envy and jealousy, while the second sentence was a joke by Maitreya Buddha, showing the close relationship between the Sun family and the Yi family. In fact, it was said on purpose.
"I've reached the Heavenly level?" Yi Zuojun was still not confident, but he could definitely feel the difference; the whole world had changed.
With an almost instinctive wave of his hand, a gust of wind suddenly arose, quickly sweeping up the withered branches and leaves five meters away, revealing dark blue soil twenty centimeters deep.
"Don't try it,"
Sun Woxing couldn't stand it anymore. Even his naturally magnanimous heart couldn't bear this guy who had just vaguely advanced to the Heavenly level and was still foolishly doing experiments. This world was simply unfair. He remembered how much hardship he had endured when he advanced to the Heavenly level. This kid hadn't done anything and had just become a Heavenly level person without even realizing it. Was he trying to kill him?
"I swear on my enormous belly, you're already at the Heavenly level. Don't try it here. Go home and try it with Po Tian. Aren't you just trying to provoke me?"
"I'm sorry, Elder Sun." Yi Zuojun bowed instinctively, but when he raised his head, he suddenly felt something was wrong. He was already at the Heavenly level. Would doing this disgrace the Yi family?
Yi Zuojun glanced cautiously at the First Elder, Yi Potian, beside him, and his heart settled down. He saw a face beaming with joy, and the First Elder's eyes were exceptionally bright. He was clearly in a very good mood.
"Ah!" Yi Zuojun suddenly exclaimed, startling those around him. "Where is the master?"
The five experts at the Heavenly Realm level were all taken aback. They exchanged glances, made helpless expressions, and then focused their attention on Yi Zuojun.
Once upon a time, Lin Yao, a junior member of the family, had grown to a level where they had to look up to him in order to keep up with him. Everyone, including the elders of the Pei and Sun families, felt that the distance between them and Lin Yao was growing wider and wider, and this distance also included interpersonal relationships.
Of all the people, only Yi Zuojun, who is favored by Lin Yao, has more opportunities to get close to him. Just by looking at how Lin Yao immediately "fed" Yi Zuojun to the Heavenly level, we can see the situation. In the future, the benefits of the three aristocratic families, especially the Pei family and the Sun family, will depend on the newly promoted expert Yi Zuojun.
Lin Yao's attitude of ignoring everyone's questions and opinions on several occasions has already said it all: everyone's position in Lin Yao's mind is becoming less and less important. Of course, he has to find someone who can speak up for him, and Yi Zuojun is obviously the best candidate.
Although everyone misunderstood Lin Yao, and his previous ignoring of her was simply because he had important matters on his mind, choosing Yi Zuojun as the spokesperson was in the best interests of the Yi family. The First Elder, Yi Potian, was so pleased that he remained silent, his tears completely wiped away, and his gaze became very clear.
"Ah! My satellite phone!"
Completely oblivious, the Heavenly-level expert Yi Zuojun cried out in surprise again. He quickly walked to the ground where he was meditating and advanced, picked up a dark, lumpy object, and looked quite distressed. It was clearly the satellite phone that had short-circuited and burned out under the heavenly lightning, causing the fire.
"That gentleman can't find us..."
The last sentence made everyone a little nervous. Lin Yao couldn't contact Yi Zuojun, and none of them had brought extra satellite phones. Were they supposed to just wait here forever?
They set up camp on the spot, and the veteran Heavenly Realm experts from the Pei and Sun families generously shared their insights on the manipulation and utilization of the energy of heaven and earth with Yi Zuojun. The Grand Elder Yi Potian also provided guidance, which greatly benefited the newly promoted Heavenly Realm expert of the Yi family. Even the five veteran Heavenly Realm experts benefited greatly from the exchange. Perhaps this was the first time that Heavenly Realm experts in the country had openly shared their experiences.
For a moment, everyone forgot about the time, and the discussions, research, and drills were in full swing. Only Duke Witte was very bored. As a result, the small animals around him suffered, and many were killed. He planned to hunt more game, freeze it, and take it back to Chengdu to please his master's parents and wife.
Three days later, Lin Yao, who had been absent for a long time, suddenly appeared, much to everyone's delight.
"Zuo Jun, why is your phone off?"
Lin Yao's first words were a question, without any congratulations to Yi Zuojun for advancing to the Heavenly Realm. It was as if the advancement was a matter of course and not worth celebrating at all.
"Sir. I accidentally meditated with my phone in my hand. During my advancement, the heavenly lightning damaged the phone, so I couldn't contact you and ended up waiting here." Yi Zuojun felt guilty, like a child who had made a mistake. He blamed himself for being too excited and not considering these things beforehand, and for having to trouble Lin Yao to come back and pick him up. He felt he had been very irresponsible.
"Oh, I see. It's alright now. Everyone, go back."
Lin Yao nodded indifferently and was about to turn and leave, his expression revealing neither joy nor anger.
In three days, Lin Yao and Xiao Cao traveled almost all over the mountains and rivers of China, and even went to the jungles and plateaus of neighboring countries, which allowed Xiao Cao to find quite a few "Tai Sui".
There are a total of 7,431 "adult" Tai Sui, all of which are over one meter in diameter and over 3,333 years old. There are countless "immature" Tai Sui, roughly 150,000 in number. The small grasses were not cleared away, and Lin Yao put them all into the cauldron.
These "Tai Sui" ranged in size from nearly a meter in diameter to the size of a ping-pong ball, and Xiao Cao had plundered them all. In her words, "Who can afford to wait thousands of years for them to mature?" It would be foolish not to use resources. No one could guarantee that future generations would have the same abilities as Lin Yao, so it was better to capture and plunder them all. This would also be a way to make the most of the resources to fight against the "Morning Mist." The pills made from the extra "Tai Sui" could be left to future generations to benefit them for generations to come.
What should have been a joyous nationwide trip was disrupted by a piece of information Xiaocao shared with Lin Yao at the end. While investigating the "Tai Sui," Xiaocao also paid some attention to people's livelihoods. Information obtained from towns near remote mountainous areas indicated that the "People's Red" policy was not being implemented thoroughly and was causing serious problems in various places. Almost all of these problems stemmed from strong interference from local governments and other forces. It was unclear why headquarters hadn't notified them. Lin Yao remembered Yi Zuojun saying that everything was normal.
"Wait, Lin Yao... this..."
Sun Woxing was the first to speak up and persuade Lin Yao to stay. Apart from the Yi family, he was the closest person to Lin Yao. His ever-smiling face made it impossible for anyone to refuse him, which was clearly the greatest weapon in interpersonal relationships.
Lin Yao stopped, a plan suddenly forming in his mind. He turned to look at Sun Woxing without saying a word.
"Well... look, Yi Zuojun only took one pill and became a Heavenly-level expert. Could you give some to our Sun family too?"
Sun Woxing forced himself to continue, feeling his old face burning with embarrassment, "As you know, the partnership between the Sun family and the Yi family is the most perfect combination, but if the difference in strength is too great, this combination cannot achieve its maximum effect."