Chapter 218: Chapter 217: Successor of the Profound Celestial Spirit King

When Steward Guan heard that Yi Tianyun was a Fourth Grade Divine Rune Master, he almost swallowed his tongue. It was simply too shocking. Within the entire Celestial Extreme Mansion, those who reached the level of a Fourth Grade Divine Rune Master were all at the Steward level, and they were exceedingly rare.

This young man before him, who looked to be only seventeen or eighteen, was actually a Fourth Grade Divine Rune Master? Was that even possible?

"Him, a Fourth Grade Divine Rune Master? Impossible!" Steward Guan quickly recovered, pointing at Yi Tianyun with utter disbelief.

"Whether you believe it or not is none of your concern." Steward He made a welcoming gesture, motioning for Yi Tianyun to head inside. "Young Master Yi, please, this way. I will introduce you to the other elders of the sect."

He Qianhan couldn’t be bothered to deal with Steward Guan and led Yi Tianyun inside. This enraged Steward Guan, who glared at her. After a moment’s thought, he followed them in, a cold sneer playing on his lips.

"Young Master Yi, with your astonishing talent, I wonder if you have any thoughts of joining our Celestial Extreme Mansion?" He Qianhan immediately tried to recruit him. Her heart had skipped a beat with joy, especially when she heard he was from a second-grade faction. If he had been from a third-grade faction, she would have had no way to recruit him.

But a second-grade faction was different. Although the Celestial Extreme Mansion was at the bottom of the third-grade factions, it was, at the very least, still a third-grade faction. If they could invite such a prodigy to join, it would be a huge gain for the Celestial Extreme Mansion.

"I have no such plans for now," Yi Tianyun tactfully refused. ’I came here to poach people, or to have the Celestial Extreme Mansion merge with us, with my sect taking the lead—not the other way around!’ 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

’If the Celestial Extreme Mansion were to take the lead, I might as well go it alone and develop slowly. Of course, given the Celestial Extreme Mansion’s current situation, they wouldn’t be willing to merge as a subordinate party either. After all, no matter how much they’ve declined, they are still a third-grade faction.’

From Yi Tianyun’s perspective, however, if things continued like this, the Celestial Extreme Mansion’s collapse was inevitable. With such internal disunity, nothing else mattered.

"Is that so..." A look of disappointment crossed He Qianhan’s face.

"However, if Steward He is considering joining our Merak Sect, I would welcome you with open arms. I would be very much looking forward to having you join," Yi Tianyun suddenly said, stunning He Qianhan.

A second-grade faction inviting someone from a third-grade faction to join them... unless the person being invited was a fool, they would never agree.

"Well, thank you for the kind offer, Young Master Yi, but I have no such plans either." He Qianhan shook her head. His question was rather unexpected.

Led by He Qianhan, they entered the main hall. As soon as they stepped inside, they saw several Core Disciples moving about. The cultivation of these Core Disciples was impressive; some had even broken through to the Core Formation Stage, which was already equivalent to the Steward level.

Steward He herself was once a Core Disciple before becoming a steward. The biggest difference between a Core Disciple and a Steward was authority; a Steward’s authority was certainly greater.

Among them, Yi Tianyun spotted a familiar face: Mu Xian’Er. She was speaking with an old man. Yi Tianyun glanced over and saw that the old man’s cultivation had reached the fifth level of the Spirit Pill Stage. He was clearly an Elder-level figure.

He saw Mu Xian’Er, and she saw him at the same time. She froze for a moment, then glared at him. "It’s you!"

She cried out in the middle of the hall. Although her voice wasn’t loud, everyone inside turned to look. Following the direction of her pointing finger, they saw Yi Tianyun, who had just walked in.

"That’s right, it’s me," Yi Tianyun said with a faint smile. "Miss Xian’Er, we meet again."

"See you, my ass!" Mu Xian’Er snarled, glaring at him.

"Xian’Er, what’s wrong? Did he bully you?" the elder beside her asked with a gentle smile.

"N-no..." How could Mu Xian’Er dare to admit that Yi Tianyun had spanked her?

"If not, then why are you speaking to him so loudly?" the Great Elder chided. "A young lady should speak gently. You can’t be so uncivilized. Who would dare to become your Dao companion in the future?"

"Grandpa, how could you say that about me!" Mu Xian’Er stomped her foot, thoroughly displeased. She then declared haughtily, "The one worthy of being my Dao companion hasn’t even been born yet!"

Yi Tianyun couldn’t help but smile. ’Now that’s what I call arrogant. She’s got quite the personality. But given her astonishing talent, there are few who would be worthy of her, though they’re not non-existent.’

"Young friend, I suppose Xian’Er has caused you some trouble. I hope you won’t take it to heart; she’s just fooling around."

It was clear that the Great Elder was very protective of his granddaughter. Although he chided her on the surface, he was actually doting on her.

"It’s fine, I don’t mind," Yi Tianyun said with a smile.

"Of course he doesn’t mind!" Mu Xian’Er shrieked, like a kitten whose tail had just been stepped on.

"Ahem... Great Elder, this is the honored guest who helped me at the Star Pavilion, Young Master Yi. He was also the winner of the Star Pavilion’s internal competition. Due to a misunderstanding, he was mistaken for a disciple I had recommended to join, but that is not the case," He Qianhan stepped forward and explained on Yi Tianyun’s behalf.

"First place in the Star Pavilion’s internal competition?"

The Great Elder’s eyes lit up. Beside him, Mu Xian’Er quieted down, shocked by the news. They had heard about the events at the Star Pavilion; it was a major affair, and since He Qianhan had gone to help, they were relatively clear on the situation.

To take first place meant that one’s skill had to be at least at the Fourth Grade level; anything less would be impossible. It seemed truly incredible that someone so young had reached the level of a Fourth Grade Divine Rune Master.

"That’s just hearsay. Who knows if it’s true? We weren’t there to see it. I could just grab any random person off the street and claim they won first place!" Steward Guan stepped forward at this moment and sneered. "It’s just like those disciples Steward He brought back before, claiming they were outstanding and would become excellent disciples. And what happened in the end? Their talent was terrible, and some couldn’t even endure it and just ran away!"

"I... I was only thinking of the sect..." He Qianhan felt deeply wronged. She had wholeheartedly served the Celestial Extreme Mansion, finding disciples with decent potential, only to be spoken to like this.

"Thinking of the sect?" Steward Guan sneered. "If you were really thinking of the sect, you wouldn’t bring back so much trash. It’s a complete waste of resources! To be honest, if you weren’t a descendant of the Profound Celestial Spirit King, you would have been stripped of your position as Steward long ago!"

"Steward Guan, that is enough!" the Great Elder roared in a low voice, putting a stop to Steward Guan’s insolence.

Yi Tianyun was startled. ’So He Qianhan is a descendant of the Profound Celestial Spirit King. No wonder she’s so willing to devote herself to the Celestial Extreme Mansion, only to be constantly ostracized here.’ This gave him the scent of an opportunity to poach someone...

"Great Elder, what did I say that was wrong? She often brings back these so-called ’promising talents,’ and in the end, they almost all run away," Steward Guan said coldly.

"Do you know why the people Steward He brought back ran away?" Yi Tianyun interjected. "It’s entirely because the Celestial Pattern Pavilion is a rotten place! What kind of disciples are in there? They viciously suppress any newcomers. If you don’t obey their orders, you get kicked out. They force you into duels. Forget a new disciple—even I would leave immediately!"

"Who the hell do you think you are? This is an internal matter of our Celestial Extreme Mansion. It’s not your place to butt in!" Steward Guan said coldly.

"I am the successor of the Profound Celestial Spirit King," Yi Tianyun said coldly. "Is that qualification enough?"