I Pick up a Lost Godhood-Chapter 87 - 85: Small Hall Assembly

Failure begins the moment you give up, and that wasn’t in Zhao Guang’s character.

"State your reasons." Zhao Tianlong’s expression remained unreadable.

"I have only just arrived at the Dao Guang Hall. I need to prove myself," Zhao Guang said, his tone measured and serious.

"Oh? Are you asking me to back you up?" Zhao Tianlong said lightly.

Zhao Guang hurriedly bowed. "I wouldn’t dare. While the Dao Guang Hall is full of outstanding talents, I am confident I can carve out a place for myself. I have also prepared for the Hundred Treasures Hall Meeting. However, the faction led by Ning Zhiyuan has invited Ancestor Master Ma to support them. All I ask for is a fair fight!"

"Raise your head!" Zhao Tianlong’s voice grew louder.

Zhao Guang raised his head, his gaze firm as he looked directly at Zhao Tianlong. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

After a moment, Zhao Tianlong nodded. "I will give you this chance. But do not disappoint me."

"I understand!"

Zhao Guang suppressed the joy in his heart and declared in a solemn voice, "Born for the Zhao Family, I fight for the Zhao Family!"

Zhao Tianlong waved his hand, and Zhao Guang departed respectfully.

’Truthfully, I’m conflicted,’ Zhao Tianlong thought. ’Zhao Lingxuan is excellent in every way, but unfortunately, she’s a girl. It’s not a problem now, but my greatest fear is that she will fall in love. On the other hand, while Zhao Guang’s Cultivation is a bit lacking, his mind is very mature, and his ambition is immense.’

’Ambition without the strength to back it up leads only to destruction. But as long as I am around, I can still make the choice.’

There were four great families in the Holy Hall: the Li Family, the Zhou Family, the Zhao Family, and the Ma Family. The Li Family ranked first and had deep ties to the current Sect Leader, the Sword God Xuee Zhongnan. While Xuee Zhongnan’s strength was indeed outstanding, his ascension to the position of Sect Leader had a great deal to do with the Li Family’s support.

The Zhou Family ranked second. As Pill Cultivators, they remained aloof from the power struggles, concerning themselves only with the growth of the Holy Hall. The nature of their cultivation path meant they held little ambition for power.

The Zhao and Ma Families, however, were both eager to expand. Zhao Tianlong and the Ma Family’s Ancestral Master, Ma Hezi, were both keenly aware of this fact. The Ma Family had been trying to win over Ning Zhiyuan for some time, and by showing him such favor on this occasion, they were clearly sending him a signal.

For a family to grow, relying on blood relatives alone was far from enough. The true path to power was to discover outstanding disciples and have them join the family. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement: these disciples would gain the support of the family’s vast resources, and the family would in turn grow stronger.

Of course, many disciples, like Xu Huang and his peers, disliked the family system, but things usually didn’t end well for them. There were also Ancestral Masters who disliked recruiting factions, such as Thunderbolt.

The Zhao Family had its troubles, but the Ma Family’s were clearly greater.

The current generation of the Ma Family was a major headache. Ancestor Master Ma had high hopes for Ma Wanliang, who was young and powerful. With the full backing of the Ma Family, he had already become the youngest Elder in the Holy Hall. But the man had a serious flaw: he was a lecher, a fact that displeased some of the other Holy Hall Elders.

Then there was Ma Tian’Er... that girl. Ma Hezi had built a lifetime of prestige, but when it came to Ma Tian’Er, he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She possessed unparalleled talent in Beast Taming, but her heart was as pure as crystal, and she had not a single shred of ambition.

You can teach someone anything, but how do you teach ambition?

That was why Ma Hezi had sent Ma Tian’Er to the worst Sub-Hall, the Thunderlight Hall, and forbade her from using any of the Ma Family’s resources. He wanted her to understand the harsh realities of the world. Cultivation meant stepping on others to get ahead; this was true even for Saint Cultivators.

If Ma Tian’Er could only understand this, her Beast Taming abilities, combined with Ma Liangcai’s talent for Bow Cultivation, would be enough to lead the Ma Family to a new era of glory.

But had she learned her lesson? The upcoming Hundred Treasures Hall Meeting would be the perfect opportunity to find out.

Thunderbolt, of course, could afford to wait and not get involved, but Wang Bodang couldn’t. He was sharp enough to have become the Elder of Thunderlight Hall, and by following the subtle clues left by Suo Ming, many leads pointed directly to Wang Meng.

When he also considered that a leading figure among the Pill Cultivation Elders, Zhou Feng, lived not far from Wang Meng, what had once seemed like a coincidence now seemed anything but.

The sword Wang Meng had forged lay before Wang Bodang. He had been staring at it for days, examining it over and over. He felt he was on the verge of discovering something, but he was missing that final spark of insight needed to see it.

But when he inquired about Wang Meng, he found out the kid had become obsessed with Alchemy. This left Wang Bodang a bit bewildered. It seemed that with Xu Huang gone, Wang Meng had given up on being a Sword Cultivator and switched to dabbling in Pill Cultivation instead.

Still, with the protection of Elder Zhou and the Zhou Family behind him, his future was incredibly bright—certainly better than continuing as a Sword Cultivator. With that, Wang Bodang gave up on the idea of observing Wang Meng’s talent as a Body Cultivator and focused his attention on training Suo Ming.

Since even Ancestor Master Lei thought highly of him, Wang Bodang knew he couldn’t afford to be complacent. Nurturing an outstanding disciple would reflect well on him as an Elder. Furthermore, once the disciple grew strong, they could in turn bring benefits back to their master. Of course, a troublesome disciple could also bring nothing but trouble.

After spending some time with him, he found Suo Ming’s character to be very solid and dependable. He was worth the effort.

And so, just as Wang Meng finally succeeded in breaking through to the Fourteenth Layer, the Hundred Treasures Hall Meeting began.

Zhang Xiaopang had already reached the Fifteenth Layer of Life Mark, and Hu Jing had reached the Sixteenth Layer. In fact, if Hu Jing had focused solely on raising her Elemental Power level, she could probably be even higher. But Hu Jing was clearly more level-headed. A high Elemental Power level was only one aspect of strength; one needed corresponding Cultivation Techniques and Magic to bring out its full potential. Different spells varied, and some advanced Magic were extensions of basic ones. If one jumped directly to Magic that required high Elemental Power and a high Life Mark Level, even if they managed to learn it, their foundation would be unstable and top-heavy.

Zhang Xiaojiang had also paused his advancement. The two of them had indeed rushed their Life Mark Levels recently, but their fundamentals had been neglected. Zhang Xiaopang, for example, had only practiced a single technique, the Bursting Heart-Piercing Arrow. It was safe to say that before the grand competition, their main task was to meticulously hone their Cultivation Techniques.

The Hundred Treasures Hall Meeting officially kicked off in the Holy Hall Pavilion. Disciples from the various Sub-Halls arrived one after another. This year’s event was grander than ever before, perhaps because the news of the Ancestral Masters’ attendance had greatly energized every hall.

Zhang Liang was among the first to arrive. While not a powerhouse of the Hundred Herbs Hall in terms of combat strength, he was certainly a power player in terms of influence. He immediately began setting up his intelligence network.

’He didn’t believe the excitement this time was merely due to the arrival of the Ancestral Masters. ’The empire, long divided, must unite; long united, must divide.’ The Dao Guang Hall had dominated the number one spot for many years. The other Sub-Halls, after years of accumulation and preparation, were all reaching their peak. Once they began to launch their challenge against the Dao Guang Hall, their power would be revealed in the smallest of details.’

’Based on his current analysis, the Flying Phoenix Hall had always been a major power. It held a unique advantage as a hall for female disciples, and its resource allocation had consistently been among the top for years. Add to that the Flying Phoenix Hall’s relationship with the Zhou Family, and the fact that Ancestor Master Zhou Luodan greatly admired Yang Ying—she had likely received her fair share of high-quality Pills. The Flying Phoenix Hall’s performance in the last grand competition was already astonishing. After accumulating so much strength, it was probably their time to shine.’

’The Lingyin Hall was the one Zhang Liang was most optimistic about. Among all the Seniors of the Sub-Halls, Mingren was the most patient. He had always kept the Lingyin Hall in the top three, never sticking its neck out but also never falling behind. He was a man who could let go of fame and fortune. But now, with the addition of a super-sharp sword like Li Tianyi, the timing for the Lingyin Hall couldn’t be better.’

’Would Mingren continue to hold back?’