254 Looking Towards the Future (1/2)

After he had taken out the famed once-in-a-century genius disciple of the Tielao planet, Han Yuzheng, Zhou Donghuang's reputation within the Lightning Sword Sect soared!

And when the people of the Lightning Sword Sect found out that Zhou Donghuang was no older than 24—that is, he was as old as Han Yuzheng—they could not help but be surprised.

”Han Yuzheng, the once-in-a-century martial arts genius of the Tielao planet? He's nothing much in the face of Junior Brother Zhou Donghuang!”

”Exactly! They're both only 24 years old, but if you look at our core disciple, Zhou Donghuang and then at him… it's truly embarrassing!”

…

Zhou Donghuang had little to no regard for his sudden popularity within the sect.

In his previous life, he had dealt with a similar situation on a larger scale.

This bit was really not much at all. To him, it was nothing worth mentioning.

His life was just as it had been before, revolving around inner core and training… The only point worth bringing up was that he had managed to gather a batch of rare herbs that even He Jin would struggle with collecting, all because of the promise that the sect leader, Yu Yucheng, had made to him that day.

The core drug that he could craft with these herbs would help not only him but also his third senior sister, He Mengxi to raise their level of training at an astonishing rate.

Although the Lightning Sword Sect leader Yu Yucheng had specially permitted for Zhou Donghuang to become a core disciple and for him to train at the Lightning Peak, Zhou Donghuang had never once stepped foot into that area.

To him, there was little to no difference between training in the Autumn Valley and training at the Lightning Peak. Both spots were within the grounds of the Lightning Sword Sect, and he genuinely could not be bothered to make the move.

Also, there were a lot of things that were easier for him to deal with if he stayed in the Autumn Valley.

At the very least, he had the support and assistance of Autumn Valley Head He Jin. This was something no one else in the Lightning Sword Sect could provide with him.

He Jin had taken to keeping a close eye on Zhou Donghuang these days. As soon as he stepped out of his house, the Valley Head would immediately go to him for a quick chat.

This was all because of a chat they had once, where He Jin had unintentionally brought up a question related to training.

And he regretted asking the question as soon as it left his lips.

How was a question about a Primordial Soul adept's training one that a Dharma adept like Zhou Donghuang could answer?

Despite that, Zhou Donghuang had a perfect solution for the man that left him enlightened, so much so that He Jin was now one step closer to the Divine Transformation stage.

This was a thought that had crossed He Jin's head more than one.

Ever since that encounter, He Jin had taken to looking for Zhou Donghuang frequently to consult him on issues about training, like a student modestly and humbly sitting in a lecture.

He Jin had never once left empty-handed.

He Jin could not help but look at Zhou Donghuang in respect every time he saw the younger man, as if he were looking at his own teacher.

”Valley Head, is there only one Divine Transformation adept in the entire Lightning Sword Sect?” Zhou Donghuang asked He Jin.

”Officially, it's just the sect leader,” He Jin said with a smile.

”However, there's still someone else who's also at that stage… Here's the thing: that person's existence is something few are aware of. To quite a few people, he's someone who's already left the Lightning Sword Sect many years ago, someone who left the Hengliu galaxy to roam another one.”

Zhou Donghuang had an epiphany.

He knew, instinctively, that there were many sects as traditional as the Lightning Sword Sect in this vast universe.

If this sort of tradition was something great enough to be respected in one galaxy, it went without saying that the opposite was true somewhere in another galaxy. That is, that there was a galaxy somewhere out there that had training resources and environments which were extremely substandard.

In such situations, a lot of people looked towards greater heights. There were also adepts who would even go one step further and try to break the longevity limit, and these were the people who would choose to leave their planet their sect was based in and move to a greater and more abundant galaxy.

Those people either wound up dying in a foreign galaxy or return to their home planet to escort the people closest to them over to the new planet after they found their footing.

With the passage of time, they would slowly lose touch with the sect they had originally hailed from.

There were actually quite a few adepts at the Divine Transformation stage who walked out of the Lightning Sword Sect and left the planet, but not many of them returned. After all, the world outside was filled mystery, so there was no way for anyone to know what they would face if they stepped into the unknown.

Some people would perish not long after leaving the Hengliu galaxy.

All of them knew of the risks that came with their departure.

Despite all of that, they still chose to leave because they knew that there was a limit to what they could do if they decided to stay in the Hengliu galaxy. They had to leave if they wanted to move forward with their lives!

But never mind the tales of strangers—let's talk about Zhou Donghuang.

Why did Zhou Donghuang leave the Ziyun planet, and why did he leave the Kaiyuan galaxy where the Ziyun planet was?

This was all because the Ziyun planet and the Kaiyuan galaxy, even was too small a playing field for him. The training resources were limited and exhaustible; they were simply inadequate for his growth.

Zhou Donghuang's continued stay in the Ziyun planet would restrict him to the Primordial Soul stage, and a thousand years' worth of memories from his previous life be damned.

”That person is probably stronger than the sect leader, right?” Zhou Donghuang probed.

”Mm.”

He Jin nodded, and his eyes filled with a fire. ”The old sect leader exists at the mid Divine Transformation stage.”

Martial arts training was increasingly difficult the further one progressed.

Before he obtained the Thousand-Star Sword Technique from Zhou Donghuang, a practice method at the level of Deity's Tribulation, the latter had claimed to be top-notch in the entire universe, this doubt had crossed He Jin's mind more than once: