Chapter 976: Elder Zhuang Debates the Elders
At the mountain gate.
Lin Chen smiled slightly towards the disciple from the Ten Thousand Flames Sect, Elder Zhuang’s temper is still explosive like this, but it precisely shows that Elder Zhuang truly considers him as a younger member of the family, otherwise, he wouldn’t speak in such a tone.
Since he is a genius disciple of Canglan Sect, representing Canglan Sect externally, even Elder Zhuang would treat him with respect unless he was considered part of the family.
“Then I won’t hold up Brother Lin any longer.”
The disciple of Ten Thousand Flames Sect twitched his mouth slightly; since Elder Zhuang personally transmitted a message, he shouldn’t hold Lin up any longer. Elder Zhuang’s explosive temper…none of the sect disciples would dare to provoke him.
This time, Lin Chen directly headed to the courtyard where Elder Zhuang resides.
“Senior Brother Lin?”
Zhao Haoyang was initially stunned on seeing Lin Chen and then felt a wave of excitement overwhelm him.
“Junior Brother Zhao.”
Lin smiled while scrutinizing Zhao Haoyang, who seemed much more mature now than he was over two years ago.
“Senior Brother Lin, how come you are here?”
“Doesn’t Junior Brother Zhao know? I came here because I was invited by Elder Zhuang to your esteemed sect.”
Lin Chen felt puzzled upon hearing Zhao Haoyang’s inquiry; hadn’t Elder Zhuang informed Junior Brother Zhao?
“My Master invited you?”
Zhao Haoyang’s eyes showed a hint of astonishment; why hadn’t his Master mentioned this to him?
“Has Junior Brother Zhao placed himself under Elder Zhuang’s tutelage?”
Although Lin Chen had some inkling in his heart upon seeing Zhao Haoyang at Elder Zhuang’s residence, knowing that Elder Zhuang accepted Zhao Haoyang as a disciple, he couldn’t help but feel happy for him.
“My Master didn’t mind my foolishness, willing to…”
“Indeed, you are a fool. Even now, you haven’t successfully refined the second Innate Fire.”
Zhuang Lie’s voice came, followed by his figure appearing from behind, causing Zhao Haoyang to promptly close his mouth. Lin Chen then respectfully greeted him, “Junior greets Elder Zhuang.”
“Now what realm are you in?”
Zhuang Lie squinted his eyes at Lin Chen. Before sending a message to Canglan Sect, he wasn’t sure if Lin Chen was there, but after the messenger returned informing him the message reached Lin Chen.
Knowing Lin Chen received the message, based on his understanding of Lin Chen, he was bound to come to the sect. His divine perception was constantly monitoring the mountain gate, which is why he could discover Lin Chen the moment he arrived there.
Yet earlier at the mountain gate, his divine perception only detected Lin Chen, but the perception of Lin’s realm was fuzzy, which greatly startled Zhuang Lie, prompting him to ask upon seeing Lin Chen.
“By sheer luck, Junior stepped into the Innate Fourth Realm.”
Beside him, Zhao Haoyang’s pupils constricted dramatically, as if he had heard something inconceivable, with his mouth agape…
Innate Fourth Realm…
How did Senior Brother Lin cultivate?
Zhuang Lie’s expression remained unchanged; he had already anticipated this and was now merely hearing Lin Chen confirm it verbally.
“Stay here for a while, I’m going to see the Sect Leader, will be back to meet you later.”
“Elder Zhuang, please go ahead. Junior is not in a hurry.”
Lin Chen nodded. He suspected Elder Zhuang going to meet the Sect Leader of Ten Thousand Flames Sect likely involved an issue concerning himself.
Zhuang Lie left, while Zhao Haoyang invited Lin Chen inside the courtyard, serving fragrant tea.
“Senior Brother Lin, do you know why my Master called you here?”
Zhao Haoyang proactively asked, to which Lin Chen shook his head, “Elder Zhuang didn’t clarify in his letter; he just asked me to come to Ten Thousand Flames Sect.”
After listening to Lin Chen’s response, Zhao Haoyang contemplated for a while and said, “If I’m not mistaken, Master calling you here probably has to do with the Holy Fire Realm.”
Sect internal matters are theoretically not supposed to be disclosed to outsiders, but Zhao Haoyang knew how much his Master valued Lin Chen; calling him here at this time could only be because of the Holy Fire Realm.
Thus, Zhao Haoyang believed divulging information regarding the Holy Fire Realm would not entail punishment from his Master; even if the steward of the Law Enforcement Hall learned of it, he feared nothing, since given his Master’s temper, the people from Law Enforcement Hall would likely turn a blind eye.
“Holy Fire Realm?”
Lin Chen’s eyes narrowed slightly, “When I first visited the Ten Thousand Flames Sect, Elder Zhuang had an agreement with me to visit again after two years; I suspect Elder Zhuang calling me again has something to do with the Holy Fire Realm, but three years have passed now; shouldn’t the time for Holy Fire Realm have already lapsed?”
“The time for Holy Fire Realm has indeed passed, but it hasn’t closed yet.”
Zhao Haoyang lowered his voice a bit, “I’m not entirely clear on the specifics, just know that none of those senior brothers who entered the Holy Fire Realm have come out yet.”
“Haven’t come out yet?”
“I’ve heard other senior brothers say that each time the Holy Fire Realm opens, those who enter gradually come out within six months; some could come out in as little as two weeks, but this time, seven months have elapsed since it opened, not one has emerged.”
The opening of the Holy Fire Realm is a significant event for the disciples of Ten Thousand Flames Sect, and the disciples entering it are all genius disciples; despite attempts by high-level officials to conceal the news, word couldn’t be kept under wraps as these disciples have fellow brothers they are closely connected with.
Listening to the information revealed by Zhao Haoyang, Lin Chen too fell into contemplation, he could now ascertain Elder Zhuang genuinely called him here due to issues with the Holy Fire Realm. Yet, clearly, something unprecedented occurred with this opening of the Holy Fire Realm, and under such circumstances, why did Elder Zhuang still summon him?