1508 It’s Impossible That He Was Still Alive!

Duan Ling Tian was only slightly shocked and surprised by the fact that Ouyang Clan had been annihilated, and he forgot about it soon enough.

However, there was something that annoyed him.

"Huang Cheng has left his post and disappeared?" The thing Duan Ling Tian did not want to see happened had come to pass.

The Moon Illumination Sect's outer court elder, Huang Cheng, who wanted to kill him back then had chosen to leave the Moon Illumination Sect after he failed to kill him.

"He must've been worried that I'll return to the Moon Illumination Sect and tell Senior Brother Bai Li about him trying to kill me." Duan Ling Tian was almost certain about this.

Although Huang Cheng was an outer court elder, his Senior Brother, Bai Li Hong, could easily kill him if he wanted to. In fact, he did not even have to do it himself.

The days after Duan Ling Tian returned to the Moon Illumination Sect was not peaceful either. At the very least, it was not peaceful around him.

It was because along with the news of the annihilation of the Ouyang Clan, the news of him breaking through to the Saint Rudiment Stage had also spread in the entire Moon Illumination Sect quickly. Needless to say, it shocked the entire sect.

"Oh, God! Someone, please tell me that this isn't real!" Many inner court disciples cried out loud.

Those inner court disciples were the ones who had witnessed Duan Ling Tian defeating He Zhong and verified his cultivation base back then.

All of them were certain Duan Ling Tian was only a Martial Cultivator at the Perfection Mortal Shedding Stage when he defeated He Zhong.

However, not much time had passed, and Duan Ling Tian had broken through to the Saint Rudiment Stage?

"Did Elder Bai Li fed him some spirit pills, miracle herbs, or rare spirit fruits?"

"I've never heard of any spirit pills, miracle herbs, or rare spirit fruits that can help a person progress from the Perfection Mortal Shedding Stage to the Saint Rudiment Stage within a span of a few months!"

"Is that Duan Ling Tian even human? Why do I feel like he's the reincarnation of a celestial being?"

"It's getting more and more outrageous… Maybe he had some fortuitous encounter."

…

No matter what, the news about Duan Ling Tian breaking through to the Saint Rudiment Stage was true.

When Duan Ling Tian revealed his strength at the Saint Rudiment Stage, not only was many Moon Illumination Sect's inner court disciples present, but there were also a lot of people from the other eight sects. There was no way it could be staged.

For a time, the entire Moon Illumination Sect turned lively because of Duan Ling Tian.

If the Moon Illumination Sect was akin to a pool of still water prior to Duan Ling Tian's arrival, then he was undoubtedly the one that stirred the pool of still water.

"Junior Brother, you… You've broken through to the Saint Rudiment Stage?" Bai Li Hong who had just received the news was also stunned.

Although the news that was spreading outside said that Duan Ling Tian's cultivation base had improved so quickly and outrageously because of him, he knew it was not true. He did not possess this sort of ability.

"Yes." Duan Ling Tian nodded with a smile in response to Bai Li Hong's question.

For a time, Bai Li Hong smiled bitterly with a complicated gaze. "I'd originally thought that Junior Brother's innate talent in the Saint Inscription Dao is terrifying enough. Who knew your innate talent in the Martial Dao is just as terrifying… No! This is more than terrifying… It's heaven-defying!"

In just a few months' time, he had improved from the Perfection Mortal Shedding Stage to the Saint Rudiment Stage. This sort of progress was too heaven-defying!

Only Duan Ling Tian knew that he did not achieve it within the span of a few months.

Even though his innate talent was fairly good, it was mostly because of the Seven Treasures Exquisite Pagoda.

The time flow inside the Seven Treasures Exquisite Pagoda was extremely slow compared to the outside world. It provided him with an unimaginable cultivation environment that allowed him to catch up to others or even surpass them in the shortest time possible.

"Junior Brother, now that you've broken through to the Saint Rudiment Stage, you should be able to inscribe Two Star Saint Inscriptions, right?" Bai Li Hong asked.

"Yes." Duan Ling Tian nodded. He did try inscribing a Two Star Saint Inscription when he returned. He finally succeeded after failing a few times.

"Can you inscribe it with the Strange Inscription Art?" Bai Li Hong asked as his eyes brightened.

"After I came back, I've thought about inscribing a Two Star Saint Inscription with the Strange Inscription Art and walked through the steps in my head, but I haven't actually practiced or tried it yet," Duan Ling Tian said.

"Will I be lucky enough to observe the process?" Bai Li Hong asked with a smile.

"Sure." Duan Ling Tian quickly agreed to it. At the same time, he began to try inscribing a Two Star Saint Inscription using the Strange Inscription Art in front of Bai Li Hong.

Inscribing Saint Inscriptions with the Strange Inscription Art merely required half the number of materials required.

After several trials, Duan Ling Tian finally succeeded in inscribing a Two Star Saint Inscription with the Strange Inscription Art.

The materials he used was less than half of the materials required if one were to inscribe it using the traditional Saint Inscription method.

"Junior Brother Duan, you're really a genius when it comes to the Saint Inscription Dao!" Bai Li Hong could not help but exclaim when he saw Duan Ling Tian managed to inscribe a Two Stars Saint Inscription using the Strange Inscription Art so quickly.

"I was thinking of how I should advise you to focus more on the Saint Inscription Dao… Now, it seems like there's no need for that because no matter if it's your achievement in the Martial Dao or your achievement in the Saint Inscription Dao, they're way beyond an ordinary person. Ordinary people might not be able to handle both the Martial Dao and the Saint Inscription Dao at once, but that doesn't apply to you." The blind confidence Bai Li Hong had in Duan Ling Tian was evident in his words.

"Senior Brother, I'm ready to participate in the inner court disciples' assessment… When will the inner court disciples' assessment begin?" Duan Ling Tian asked.

"Junior Brother, with your current strength, there's no point in joining the inner court disciples' assessment… I'll ask someone to go get the identity order token of an inner court disciple for you," Bai Li Hong said.

Duan Ling Tian thought about it for a while before he agreed to it.

With his current strength, even a Mastery Saint Rudiment Stage powerhouse would not pose much of threat to him. Hence, he did not reject Bai Li Hong's noble intention.

"Junior Brother, I still remember you previously promised me that if you ever join the inner court, you'll stay at my place," Bai Li Hong said as he squinted.

"Of course, I remember that," Duan Ling Tian nodded and said with a smile, "If Senior Brother doesn't mind, I'll be staying at your place from on now."

"Haha… Great! I've already prepared a room for you, and it's cleaned every once in a while. You can move in immediately." Bai Li Hong laughed happily as soon as Duan Ling Tian agreed to it.

Duan Ling Tian felt touched by Bai Li Hong's words.

"Right. How was your trip to Han River City? Was everything alright?" Bai Li Hong asked.

He knew nothing about what happened to Duan Ling Tian during his journey to Han River City and the things that had happened in Han River City because he did not have the time to ask around. In fact, he did not even know Duan Ling Tian had left the Moon Illumination Sect previously.

However, he did not blame Duan Ling Tian because he knew that Duan Ling Tian did not want to bother or worry him.

Duan Ling Tian had long regarded Bai Li Hong as his elder brother even though the age gap between them was quite vast.

Therefore, he did not conceal anything that happened to him during his travels and told Bai Li Hong everything. Naturally, he downplayed the dangerous parts.

Even so, it still frightened Bai Li Hong and made him shudder.

"Huang Cheng, a mere outer court elder, actually dare to covet your things and intend to kill you… He deserves to die! Don't worry, Junior Brother, I'll use my connections to find Huang Cheng and bring him to you so you can deal with him however you want!" Bai Li Hong was truly enraged.

If in the beginning he was merely impressed by Duan Ling Tian and had recognized him as his Junior Brother because he was worthy enough to inherit the Strange Inscription Art, now, he really regarded Duan Ling Tian as his Junior Brother.

It was not only because he was the person who inherited the Strange Inscription Art, but also because they got along well.

When he was with Duan Ling Tian, he felt like they had a friendship that transcended age.

When he learned that Duan Ling Tian almost died in Huang Cheng's hands, he could not suppress the anger he felt.

"Senior Brother, don't be angry. I'm not concerned about Huang Cheng," Duan Ling Tian said confidently with a faint smile.

He was actually very confident. Even if he still could not fight Huang Cheng directly with his current strength, but given some time, he would certainly be able to surpass Huang Cheng in every way.

The cultivation environment on the third level of the Seven Treasures Exquisite Pagoda was not something the second level could compare to. It was enough to bring him soaring to new heights!

"The black-robed man that came later should be an assassin from the Mountainshade Black Market if I'm not mistaken," Bai Li Hong said solemnly, "Fortunately, you met a savior, otherwise, it might end up in a disaster."

Duan Ling Tian had told him about the black-robed assassin. However, he omitted the part about the Devilseal Tablet and merely said that a powerhouse who was passing by had stood up against the injustice and killed the black-robed man.

"Yes, luckily I met a savior… It's a pity that when I asked him for his name and where he's from, he left without responding," Duan Ling Tian exclaimed. His act seemed very real.

Naturally, Bai Li Hong did not doubt Duan Ling Tian. He nodded and said, "That savior of yours must either be a reclusive powerhouse staying in the area under the Nine Sect Alliances or he's from a force that's at least at the same level as the Moon Illumination Sect."

"From your description, the black-robed man who wanted to kill you should be a Three Star Assassin from the Mountainshade Black Market… However, your savior killed him easily. This means he's not an ordinary Saint Stage powerhouse," Bai Li Hong said as his eyes shone with gratitude toward Duan Ling Tian's savior.

In one of the spacious residences in the inner court, Liu Huan's face darkened in anger when he learned that not only did Duan Ling Tian return safely, but he had even broken through to the Saint Rudiment Stage.

"Impossible! Impossible! It's impossible that he's still alive!" Liu Huan muttered after taking a deep breath. An expression of disbelief was apparent on his face.