A Chaotic World

Early the next day, Lu Tianzi once again returned to the Pagoda of Wisdom.

While he was there the previous evening, Lu Tianzi had realised that there was a separate section to the Pagoda of Widom – one that focused on information rather than techniques.

And among these various types of information were also information on herbalism and the art of inscriptions!

That was the reason why he had returned immediately after a night of cultivation.

When he thought about it, this made sense as well.

As the largest influence within Bluenight City, how could the Nine Suns Sect not possess its own heritage in terms of side jobs?

Even though the Heaven Constellations Inscription Tower had its own library of information, Lu Tianzi had been done with going through them a long time ago.

Of course, this only referred to the ones that were made available to him.

As for the personal secrets of each inscription master, Lu Tianzi naturally would not be able to get his hands on those.

Thankfully, being a member of both influences, Lu Tianzi was not only entitled to enjoy the heritage of the Heaven Constellations Inscription Tower, but he could similarly browse through those of the Nine Suns Sect.

That was double the benefits available to others!

By now, Lu Tianzi could already be considered as quite knowledgeable when it came to these two subjects. He was able to easily understand the underlying concepts within each jade slip, allowing him to breeze through all the available information.

But even so, due to the sheer amount of jade slips available, he had to spend almost the entire day before he was finally done.

By the time he exited the Pagoda of Wisdom, it was already almost time for the grand feast as informed by Elder Diansheng. It was also due to this matter that he had informed the Heaven Constellations Inscription Tower that he would not be going over today.

Satisfied with the knowledge that he had gained over the day, Lu Tianzi happily went to meet up with the rest before they headed over to Bluenight Palace.

What Lu Tianzi did not know was that while he was burying himself in the sea of knowledge, something huge had happened at another corner of the sect grounds!

The prison cell was poorly furnished, containing only a bed and nothing else, not even windows to allow the sunlight to enter.

A small candle with a flickering flame that was placed outside the cell was the only thing that provided any form of illumination.

Nancheng Shu's expression was extremely ugly as he stood in front of the dark prison cell, staring at the young man within.

The person within the dark cell looked up in a lethargic manner when he noticed someone's presence.

But upon seeing Nancheng Shu's face, the young man's downcast eyes immediately lit up as he was filled with anticipation.

"Shu, you are finally here!" the young man called out in an excited manner.

"Older brother," Nancheng Shu answered coldly.

This young man in the cell was actually none other than Nancheng Wei!

Even though he was older than Nancheng Shu, his martial talent was much lower as well, resulting in his cultivation level falling behind his younger brother's by a large extent.

As for how he ended up in the prison cell, it was something that had only happened a few hours before.

Early this morning, Elder Diansheng had suddenly ordered the enforcers of the sect to capture him, throwing him into the sect's prison to await trial.

To imprison a sect member even before conducting trial was a huge matter, so Elder Diansheng's actions naturally shocked the entire Nine Suns Sect!

As one of the leaders of the Inner Sect, there was no way that Nancheng Shu would not learn of it.

"Shu, you will be able to get me out of here, won't you? With your status in the sect, even the Elders will have to give you some face if you asked them!" Nancheng Wei's eyes were full of expectation.

But unexpectedly, Nancheng Shu only felt his lips twitch uncontrollably upon seeing the hope in this older brother's eyes. At this point, he could not help but feel rage rapidly welling up within him.

"Older brother, you need to wake the fuck up!" Nancheng Shu roared in anger, causing Nancheng Wei to jump in fright.

"W-What's wrong, Shu?" Nancheng Wei stuttered nervously. Right now, the younger brother in front of him actually frightened him.

"Do you still not understand the gravity of the matter?" Nancheng Shu huffed as he tried to calm himself down. "I have already gone to Elder Diansheng before coming over, hoping to intercede for whatever you have done. That is also how I have come to learn of the good deeds that you have done!"

"You already went to intercede with Elder Diansheng?" Nancheng Wei's face lit up once again. "What did he say? Did he agree to let me go?"

"Do you think these bars will still be separating us now if he had agreed?" Nancheng Shu snorted in disdain, the contempt for his older brother growing by the second. "Older brother, of all the things you could do, you just had to choose the one thing that is absolutely taboo, setting up a fellow sect member! On top of that, this person whom you targeted just had to be the top ranker in the Nine Suns Trial! Just what is wrong with your brain? With how things are, do you really think that my words alone will suffice to get you off the hook?!"

"This…" Nancheng Wei's countenance sank once more. "What should I do then? There must be something I can do!"

Nancheng Wei was getting desperate as he saw the reaction of his younger brother.

His younger brother always had his back in every situation, and that had allowed him to get away with committing quite a few mistakes in the past. But seeing that even Nancheng Shu was so negative about the situation now, Nancheng Wei was finally starting to fear for his eventual fate!

"Right, can't you ask that Nanlu Tianzi for a favour? If he chooses to forgive me and forget about the matter, there should be a good chance of me being released!" Nancheng Wei quickly suggested.

"Are you saying that you want me to beg Nanlu Tianzi for forgiveness in your stead?" Nancheng Shu's tone instantly turned cold.

"Shu, you will do it for me… won't you? I am your older brother after all…" Nancheng Wei pleaded meekly.

Nancheng Shu did not answer.

Instead, he flicked his sleeves and directly turned to walk away, leaving Nancheng Wei staring helplessly at his back as he slowly disappeared into the shadows…

When Lu Tianzi reached the main entrance of the sect grounds, he realised that everyone else had already arrived. Waiting for him was not just the other four top rankers, but also the Sect Master along with a few Elders.

However, something felt different about them today?

Lu TIanzi wondered in his heart, and it did not take long for him to notice the difference. When he finally did notice, his eyes immediately opened wide in astonishment.

Their cultivation levels… Lu Tianzi was now able to sense it!

Normally, Essence Condensation realm martial artists were only able to sense the cultivation levels of any martial artist under the Origin Core realm. This meant that the exact cultivation level of anyone at the Origin Core realm or above would appear as an enigma to them.

But now, Lu Tianzi had smashed apart the norm!

Was it because he was now at the Primary Essence Condensation realm for both cultivation systems?

Lu Tianzi did not know the exact reason, but that did not matter.

With this newfound ability, Lu Tianzi stealthily checked out the exact cultivation levels of the few seniors before him.

As its name suggested, the Origin Core realm was the stage at which a martial artist concentrated all the Essence within his inner world, compressing them to form a core of pure Essence.

The formation of this core represented the martial artist bringing his inner world back to its state of origin, a sign of finally gaining complete control over all the refined Essence within his inner world.

With all his Essence compressed into a single core, the martial artist would then be able to explode out with a level of power incomparably greater than before.

The Origin Core realm was separated into nine different boundaries, also known as the Nine Cycles of Origin. The First Cycle was the lowest, which naturally meant that the Ninth Cycle was the highest boundary within the Origin Core realm.

At each of the nine boundaries, the martial artist would refine even more Essence and send it into the core of pure Essence that had already formed, causing the origin core to grow larger.

With the passing of each cycle, the martial artist would once again collapse the origin core that had grown larger, returning it to its original size. This would allow the explosive strength and energy capacity of the martial artist to grow exponentially stronger.

Sect Master Nanhui was at the Sixth Cycle Origin Core realm, Elder Wanglei was at the First Cycle Origin Core realm, while Elder Diansheng and another Elder Mingxin were both at the Third Cycle Origin Core realm.

This Elder Mingxin was a beautiful Elder who looked not a day older than a young girl in her early twenties. Her long hair was always tied up in a bun, exposing the tender skin on her neck that was ever so tempting to all men.

However, Lu Tianzi knew better than to believe that she was truly as young as she looked.

The seniors in the group could have easily carried the juniors to fly through the air. However, they did not do so, choosing to make their way there on foot instead.

Even though they were already widely known as the strongest influence within the city, it was still necessary to display their dominating strength for the people to admire from time to time.

Wherever they went, the released aura from the four Origin Core realm martial artists immediately drew the attention of the crowds. Everyone immediately stepped to the side, freeing up the streets for them to walk past.

It was like the prestigious parade of a famous army, with people running out from within buildings to stand by the side of the streets, all so that they could bask in the glory of these powerful figures who were passing by.

With all of them dressed in their sect robes, they truly were an imposing sight as they marched down the streets of Bluenight City.

As martial artists of their level, it did not take long before they arrived at Bluenight Palace.

"Welcome, Sect Master Nanhui!" the City Lord personally greeted them at the entrance.

"Greetings to the City Lord," Sect Master Nanhui clasped his fist towards the City Lord in response.

Even though Sect Master Nanhui possessed a higher cultivation level than the City Lord who was at the Fifth Cycle Origin Core realm, his official title was still inferior, and it was only right for him to pay his respects to the other party.

"Please spare with the formalities," City Lord Nanlan hurriedly stopped him. "Let us enter immediately. The grand feast is just waiting for your arrival to begin!"

Lu Tianzi could not help but steal a glance at Nanlan Qianxue at this point. Sensing his glance, the latter turned to give him a bright smile.

Lu Tianzi reflexively smiled in response, but he could not help but wonder why there were no interactions whatsoever between this pair of father and daughter.

With City Lord Nanlan personally leading the way, the group quickly arrived at the venue of the grand feast.

Held in the gardens of Bluenight Palace, there were dozens of tables specially set up under a beautiful pavilion for the attendees of the feast.

It might seem like quite a lot, but this was in fact far from enough to accommodate all parties that were interested in attending this grand feast.

After all, this was the perfect occasion to network with the upper echelons of the city, and also the best opportunity to befriend the rising star Nanlu Tianzi!

As the main stars of the night, the Nine Suns Sect was the last group to arrive.

When they entered the pavilion, everyone immediately stood up in courtesy, patiently waiting for them to make their way to the front where their seats were.

However, not everyone's eyes were filled with respect and awe.

From the table beside that of the Nine Suns Sect, a young lady could not help but sneer in her heart as she watched the members of the Nine Suns Sect enter the pavilion.

"So these are the top rankers of the Nine Suns Trial?" she conveyed her voice to the young man standing beside her. "With how everyone is praising them, I have thought that they would be some amazing people. But now that I have seen them with my own eyes, they sure do not seem as impressive as how everyone makes them out to be!"