Elder Zhi's heart started to beat wildly as he stared at the yellow-robed young man in front of him, with a look of realization, as well as horror in his eyes.
As soon as he raised his head, Liao Changming was stunned when he saw the look of fear in his master's eyes.
Elder Zhi didn't even question how there was another monster with an immortal-grade bloodline in Shun Long's faction as he asked in a natural, but slightly trembling voice
''Which Elder has accepted him as a disciple?''
Naturally, for a monster with an immortal-grade bloodline, it was only natural that the inner court Elders would fight to accept him as their disciple.
Although Elder Zhi didn't know why the Elders of the Holy sect hadn't turned their eyes towards Shun Long yet, and even though Liao Changming's investigation hadn't given him an answer about this either, this Elder of the Administration Hall who had been hoping to take care of Shun Long before he was noticed by the Elders now realized that it was all a fool's dream!
He had been extremely naive from the beginning!
If Shun Long's faction had 4 members, all of whom were personal disciples of the inner court Elders, how could the inner court Elders possibly not have noticed Shun Long already?
''Something is definitely going on! I can't get involved in this matter any longer!''
As this thought appeared in his mind, Elder Zhi looked at Liao Changming who nodded his head before he answered in a respectful tone
''Master, it's Elder Yao XueDong. He is the one who accepted him as his personal disciple!''
Nodding his head, Elder Zhi looked at his disciple who was kneeling in front of him, and without asking any further questions, he said in a serious tone that brought chills down Liao Changming's heart
''Changming, you will stop any further investigations regarding that kid and the people in his faction at once! If I find out that you keep doing that, you will receive punishment from me personally!''
Elder Zhi's cold voice and his sudden order made Liao Changming shiver in fear, as he lowered his head even further and said
''Yes, master!''
Although that was what Liao Changming had said on the outside, he was actually grumbling inwardly that his master was so unreasonable.
He was the one who ordered him to investigate everything, and yet now he acted like it was all Liao Changming's idea?
Unfortunately, Liao Changming didn't dare to say anything, as he simply nodded his head before he left his master's room.
Standing all by himself inside the empty room, Elder Zhi first took out a deep breath to finally calm himself down, before he waved his hand, taking out a small black-colored crystal ball from his spatial ring.
After staring at the crystal ball in silence for a few moments he placed his hand on top of the ball's surface, before the voice of an old man sounded from the ball barely a few moments later, as it reverberated throughout the silent room
''Zhi Xiuying, what took you so long, you old fart? Do you finally have any news for me?''
''Yan Gong... I suggest you give up. Things have gone beyond your control already.''
...
At the same time that this conversation was taking place in Elder Zhi's room, in a private room inside a luxurious inn at the heart of the Holy city, Shun Long who had already entered the foggy space in the 'Stone of Time' had no idea that 2 peak Dao Kings were discussing about him, as he kept cultivating with his eyes closed while the 'Heaven Swallowing vine' continued to fill the air around him with pure qi.
In the blink of an eye, 2 weeks had gone by as Shun Long finally opened his eyes.
A mountain of middle-grade spirit stones had covered his surroundings, but most of them seemed to have lost their luster and were just a few moments away from turning into dust.
Raising his head, Shun Long saw the 27 balls of qi that were floating above his head, all of them emitting the same light.
In the past 2 weeks, Shun Long had used more than 130.000 middle-grade spirit stones to reach the peak of rank 3 in the Nascent Soul, and fully purify every single one of his qi balls, bringing them all at the same level as the 27th qi ball.
Since today marked the end of the 1-month period where everyone had to complete their faction missions and meet up in front of the Holy sect's entrance, Shun Long stopped cultivating and stood up from his usual seat, before he closed his eyes and imagined himself leaving the foggy space in the 'Stone of Time'.
At that moment however, before he could actually return to his room inside the inn, Shun Long felt the air inside the foggy space suddenly turn heavy and stifling as a terrifying aura erupted from behind him.
This aura that was filled with endless majesty and bloodlust was much more powerful than anything that Shun Long had ever felt so far, and yet, it only caused a huge smile to break on his face, as Shun Long turned around and stared at the scene behind him.
At the same time that Shun Long turned around, Little Black's eyes that had remained closed for more than 2 years suddenly opened, causing the powerful, chaotic aura that was coming from his body to become even more intense!
The air inside the foggy space in the 'Stone of Time' turned even heavier, but Shun Long didn't seem to feel the slightest bits of pressure from this, as he stared at the black dragon in front of him with a relieved smile on his face.
This feeling only lasted for a single moment before the aura coming from Little Black's body instantly calmed down, causing the entire foggy space in the 'Stone of Time' to return to normal.
Staring at Shun Long with his bright blue eyes that seemed to hold a myriad of emotions inside them, Little Black's spoke a moment later, his voice sounding directly inside Shun Long's mind
''Master, I am awake!''
Author's note: This chapter was late today since I have been feeling some pain in my wrist today and I didn't want to rush it. It's nothing serious so don't worry. We are still getting another chapter in the next few hours as well.