"Please allow me that, young master!" Elder Zhen Peng repeated his request.

  By this point, everyone was staring at Xiang Shaoyun, their eyes filled with all sorts of emotions such as envy and doubt.

  Xiang Shaoyun coughed before finally giving a reply. "Fine, in view of the sincerity you've shown, just follow me around in the future. Your aptitude is really nothing special, but I suppose you can improve with some guidance. It won't be difficult for you to reach the peak of Skysoar Realm. But of course, you need to work hard if you want to reach an even higher level."

  Bang!

  The words slammed into the minds of the others, giving them a sensation that they were going to faint soon. A tiny Astral Realm cultivator was going to guide a new King Realm cultivator? Shouldn't it be the other way round? That was no different than a tiny brat claiming to teach an adult, something that completely toppled common sense.

  "Many thanks, young master!" Elder Zhen Peng replied deferentially.

  The people were now even more stunned. They were even starting to wonder if Elder Zhen Peng had been possessed or something. Why was he listening to this kid?

  Xiang Shaoyun glanced at the crowd and said with a shrug, "Alright, alright, don't look at me like that, guys. Your aptitudes are even worse. I won't even accept you fellows as my underlings. Forget it."

  Everyone's faces darkened.

  What the hell is this? Screw this kid! everyone cursed inwardly.

  They were elders of the Martial Hall Palace, experts at the Transformation Realm. And a kid was speaking to them with such contempt? That was an insult!

  "Elder Zhen Peng……" Yang Gaochuan did not know what to say anymore.

  Elder Zhen Peng waved his hand and said, "Leave, all of you. Don't spread the news that I've broken through. Deal with the aftermath as you see fit." He paused slightly before adding, "Of course, the matters of Martial Hall Palace will still be of my concern."

  He only added the final sentence to placate these people. Sure enough, everyone heaved a breath of relief when they heard his guarantee. They were worried that Elder Zhen Peng would focus on being this kid's underling and ignore everything about the Martial Hall Palace from then on.

  After Elder Zhen Peng said all he had to say, they saluted him and left one after another. It was at this moment that Xiang Shaoyun called out to Yang Gaochuan, "Palace master, please stay."

  "Oh, ki—uhm. What do you need?" Yang Gaochuan asked. He no longer dared to call Xiang Shaoyun "kid".

  "Where are my rewards? I've passed the sixth limit room! Don't leave without giving me my rewards!" Xiang Shaoyun said, stepping forth.

  "Sure, sure, I won't skimp on your rewards. Just go take whatever you need from the Weapon Hall and Medicine Hall. I will also get someone to pass 100,000 points to you as reward," Yang Gaochuan quickly said.

  \r\r\r

  Xiang Shaoyun now had the backing of Elder Zhen Peng. Where in the Martial Hall Palace couldn't he go? And what in the Martial Hall Palace couldn't he enjoy?

  "Oh, nice. That's it, then," Xiang Shaoyun said in satisfaction. He indeed needed a large amount of resources for his cultivation. If the Martial Hall Palace was able to fully open up to him, he would be able to at least triple his cultivation speed. To the side, Zi Changhe smiled helplessly as he watched on. He did not even know what he should say about this Xiang Shaoyun anymore.

  Freak?

  Yes, that was the most fitting description for Xiang Shaoyun. Zi Changhe still remembered how Xiang Shaoyun had bragged about what an incredibly talented genius he was when he first joined. Now, he finally believed that Xing Shaoyun hadn't been bragging. What he had said was the utter truth. That much was obvious after Xiang Shaoyun reached the second stage of the Astral Realm.

  And with some unknown method, Xiang Shaoyun had even managed to trick Elder Zhen Peng into becoming his underling. But no matter what, that still proved how extraordinary Xiang Shaoyun was. Zi Changhe now deeply believed that Xiang Shaoyun was an extraordinary person. He even started to feel as if Xiang Shaoyun no longer needed him as a senior brother.

  Right this moment, Xiang Shaoyun walked toward Zi Changhe and said, "If there's nothing else, let's go, senior brother. I'll demonstrate the Lightning Spear Technique once when we get back. I think I'm already at the level you requested."

  Zi Changhe blanked out when he heard that. He had never expected that Xiang Shaoyun would still call him senior brother.

  "Why are you blanking out? Are you nervous because Old Peng is here? Don't worry, just pretend he's an ordinary elder," Xiang Shaoyun consoled.

  Zi Changhe cursed, Kid, even if you know that, you shouldn't have exposed me like that!

  He immediately recovered and shouted, "Go back and show me!"

  "Haha, don't be like that, senior brother. I was just kidding. Look at me, I'm wounded all over! We have to at least wait for my wounds to heal, right?" Xiang Shaoyun said as he pointed at his wounds.

  "How did you get those wounds? Limit room?" Zi Changhe asked.

  At this time, Elder Zhen Peng interjected, "Young master, have you challenged all the limit rooms before the sixth limit room? I mean, have you passed all the challenges?"

  Xiang Shaoyun smiled. "Of course. Why else would the palace master allow me to enter the sixth room?"

  Elder Zhen Peng's pupils shrank, and a look of admiration covered his face. "Young master is indeed a giant among men, able to reach the sixth limit room I guarded with only the strength of first-stage Astral Realm. I thought you'd entered through the back door or something. Looks like I had merely been too ignorant."

  Even as a King Realm cultivator, Elder Zhen Peng was still completely astonished by Xiang Shaoyun's accomplishments. With the strength of first-stage Astral Realm, he charged all the way to the sixth limit room. This was definitely a first in the history of the Martial Hall Palace.

  In the past, only those at the fourth rank and above had ever reached that far. From this, it was obvious how remarkable Xiang Shaoyun was. When Zi Changhe heard their conversation, he was shocked once again. He suddenly felt extremely ignorant in the face of this junior brother.

  In the past, he had seen Xiang Shaoyun as an unpolished gem who needed some time to temper his character. When he grew more mature, it would be the perfect time to nurture him, helping him reach an even higher level in the future.

  But now, Xiang Shaoyun displayed a monstrous cultivation talent even without Zi Changhe teaching him anything.

  Xiang Shaoyun no longer bothered with anything else and started heading back to his residence. Before leaving, he did not forget to remind Elder Zhen Peng to have a talk with Yang Gaochuan about the incidents today. He did not want any unnecessary trouble for himself. He only wanted to cultivate peacefully.

  This young master is truly mighty. With a wave of my majestic hand, my august presence is revealed. And with that, a King Realm immediately begs to come under my wing! My charm is indeed irresistible! Xiang Shaoyun mused to himself narcissistically.

  Chapter 64: The Child of Heaven Has Descended Upon the Mortal World

  Wu Estate.

  Martial Hall Palace's thirteenth elder, Li Xuemeng had arrived to meet with Wu Clan's patriarch, Wu Fuxiang.

  "Town Head Wu, I've arrived at a decision on your proposal. I will be helping you with it!" Li Xuemeng said seriously.

  "Oh? Why did you change your mind?" Wu Fuxiang asked, surprised.

  "Are you aware of the incidents yesterday?" Li Xuemeng asked instead of answering.

  "Are you referring to Elder Zhen Peng reaching the King Realm?" Wu Fuxiang said, a longing look on his face.

  "Yes," Li Xuemeng answered.

  "How is that related to this business between us?" Wu Fuxiang asked.

  "After my explanation, you will understand," Li Xuemeng said before telling Wu Fuxiang everything that had happened the day before. Li Xuemeng's words sent Wu Fuxiang into a long daze. A King Realm expert had actually bowed to an Astral Realm kid? That was simply ludicrous! But he knew Li Xuemeng would never joke around about something like this.

  "I now understand why you’ve changed your mind. You do not want the Martial Hall Palace to lose Elder Zhen Peng, right?" Wu Fuxiang said.

  Prior to this, Wu Fuxiang had invited Li Xuemeng to collaborate with them and kidnap Xiang Shaoyun. Li Xuemeng, however, had not immediately agreed. He only gave some noncommittal response, most likely because he had his own misgivings about it.

  But now, Li Xuemeng had come to a decision. Perhaps the incident yesterday was the reason for that change of mind. But of course, there was also a possibility that there were some other factors at play.

  Li Xuemeng nodded. "Yes, but apart from that, you should be aware that I am not on friendly terms with that Zi Changhe. Otherwise, you wouldn't have looked for me in the first place." After a slight pause, he continued, "I have a clue as to why you want that kid, just be sure to not skimp on what you promised me when the job is done."

  "Don't worry, this old man will not go back on his words. But the kid now has Elder Zhen Peng by his side. It won't be easy to touch him anymore," Wu Fuxiang said.

  "Well, I'll need Town Head Wu's help with that. If you can go pay Elder Zhen Peng a formal visit and distract him, I will be able to kidnap that kid," Li Xuemeng suggested.

  Wu Fuxiang gave it some thought before saying, "Ok. I'll pay this new King a visit today. It'll be too impolite for us Wu Clan to not do so."

  The two discussed further in detail, and Li Xuemeng left once they were done.

  \r\r\r……

  Today, the Martial Hall Palace was much more lively than usual. Any person with status in town came to pay Elder Zhen Peng their respects. In Wu Town, the birth of every new King Rank cultivator was a major event.

  Elder Zhen Peng did not like dealing with such social events, but Xiang Shaoyun told him to go deal with it. Otherwise, those people would continue visiting endlessly, and that would ultimately disturb his cultivation.

  Elder Zhen Peng could only helplessly promise to finish dealing with this as soon as possible before focusing on standing guard for Xiang Shaoyun. As for why Elder Zhen Peng had decided to follow Xiang Shaoyun, even he himself found it a radical idea. But he did not regret his decision as he could clearly sense how extraordinary Xiang Shaoyun was. Perhaps this choice would be the turning point of his life.

  As for Xiang Shaoyun, he was focused on healing his injuries in his residence. He had charged through four limit rooms in a row the day before, and he had sustained rather heavy injuries in the fifth and sixth room. He needed to spend some time recovering. After a night of recovery, he had nearly regained his full strength, but his external injuries still lingered. But at present, he couldn't be bothered about these external injuries. He was busy grasping the essence behind the power of presence.

  Yesterday, under Elder Zhen Peng's suppression, the presence of a king was forced out of Xiang Shaoyun. His presence of a king was different than the presence of someone at the King Realm. Rather, it was an innate presence of a person born to be sovereign. It allowed him to be fearless in the face of other presences, and no ordinary power of presence could hope to shake his power of presence.

  Although he had grasped an initial understanding of the presence of a king, it wasn't easy to fully master. First, he had to possess the heart of a king who could reign above all others. This was a criteria he had long fulfilled. Secondly, he had to possess sufficient strength to back up this presence. Otherwise, his power of presence would be an empty shell.

  "The presence comes from the mind. By strengthening one's mind, the presence would be all powerful, unshakable, akin to the power of the heavens!" Xiang Shaoyun meditated on the sensation of presence without rest as he tried to increase his comprehension on the power of strength.

  His hard work rewarded him with a growing understanding of the power of presence.

  Of the power of presence, the empty presence was shapeless. He had reached this level. And if he grew further in strength, he would be able to give form to his presence and use it against others.

  Generally speaking, only those at the Transformation Realm or beyond would be able to even sense the power of presence. But Xiang Shaoyun was clearly an exception as he had done the same as a second-stage Astral Realm cultivator. One ought to admit that he truly had an excellent aptitude for cultivation.

  Xiang Shaoyun took out the illusionary star flower and a few stalks of other old medicines. He muttered to himself, "I hope I can further expand my astral cosmos sea."

  He then stuffed all the herbs down his throat. The illusionary star flower was very beneficial in helping one awaken one's stars, but for those already in the Astral Realm, this herb seemed useless.

  But why had Xiang Shaoyun bought it? Because it was also useful for growing the astral cosmos sea. After reaching the second stage of Astral Realm, his astral cosmos sea had also grown in size. It initially had the space the size of a fist, but now, it had the space the size of two fists.

  If Xiang Shaoyun kept this up, he only needed to keep advancing to grow his astral cosmos sea to the point he could store more and more items in it. But he was impatient. He thus needed to rely on spirit medicines to help with the growth. The medicinal power flooded his body as his astral cosmos sea started spinning rapidly to absorb all the medicinal power.

  The illusionary star flower was indeed worthy of being a spirit medicine. The energy contained within it was extremely beneficial, and with the old medicines acting as the catalyst, a pure power streamed into the astral cosmos sea, helping it grow at a rapid pace.

  As the astral cosmos sea grew, the nine stars of Xiang Shaoyun also reacted accordingly, creating a river of light within Xiang Shaoyun's body, one that looked enchanting and magical. Even his physical body seemed to glow. If someone saw the current him, they would most likely cry out in shock that the child of heaven had descended upon the mortal world.

  Xiang Shaoyun was unaware of what was happening, and his only sensation was of warmth and comfort. Unfortunately, that sensation did not last long. In less than an hour, the medicinal power was fully absorbed.

  "It's over just like that?" Xiang Shaoyun muttered in disappointment after opening his eyes.

  The illusionary star flower was a spirit medicine; thus, its medicinal power was pure and thick. At the very least, that was the case for people of Xiang Shaoyun's cultivation level. Even so, it did not last long at all.

  "Let's see how much the space has grown." Xiang Shaoyun did not keep thinking about the issue and quickly moved on. He walked to a corner of the residence, stared at a pile of random objects, and willed with his mind.