The Crying Phoenix and the Magnificent Empress

Jiang Ming quickly dismissed his thoughts. No transmigrator would willingly lower their heads to another person. Moreover, he felt Zi Linglong's dependence on him and her affections were genuine. Their relationship value in the Human Path Records confirmed this as well.

'Was she reborn? However, that's unlikely as well…'

If Zi Linglong had been reborn, would their relationship value be so high? The value of 95 meant that she would lay down her life for him without any hesitation.

'It must be due to her phoenix bloodline…' Jiang Ming concluded. Although he did not know much about the powers of bloodlines, he could make a few good guesses. The phoenix was a divine beast of legends. Demons had to bow before it. Hence, he speculated that her strength and the domineering energy she emitted sometimes were all due to the phoenix bloodline. Moreover, she was adept at learning spells as well. She could master a spell almost as soon as she learned it. He attributed this to her bloodline as well.

"As expected of the legendary phoenix bloodline. It's on par with an Immortal Body, Overlord Body, or Saint Body, if not better. Currently, Linglong is still in the early stages of her awakening. When she progresses further…" Yin Yue said. Then, she paused to look at Gu Hai before she continued to say, "Old Gu, my disciples are all females. Why don't you leave her to me? No matter how I see it, she'll improve faster with me as opposed to staying on Chuyang Peak."

"No! Absolutely not!" Gu Hai shook his head vehemently. "I brought her to my mountain when she was just a little child and raised her with great difficulty! How can I let you take her away? Do you have any conscience, Yin Yue? How can you propose such a thing!"

Yin Yue cocked an eyebrow. "You raised her? Wasn't it Ming who raised her?"

Gu Hai coughed before he said, "Anyway, no means no. Moreover, Linglong thinks of me as her father. She won't want to leave Chuyang Peak."

Yin Yue nodded as she said, "Alright. In that case, I can be her mother."

Gu Hai blushed and coughed to mask his embarrassment, swiftly turning away.

Jiang Ming lowered his head and tried to suppress his laughter. 'First Seat Yin Yue is the only one who can handle this old geezer! I wonder if there was something between them in the past…'

At this time, the other First Seats were stealing glances at them as well. Jiang Ming could see the envy in their eyes. After all, Linglong was a peerless talent who made it past the ninth floor when she was only ten years old. They could not believe Gu Hai was so lucky to have obtained such a disciple.

'F*ck this!'

'I raised and nurtured so many disciples, but how many of them ended up being so talented?'

Dongfang Lie massaged his neck. When he heard the hushed conversations in his surroundings, he sulked. 'What's so great about this old fart? D*mn it! I can't stand this!'

Meanwhile, Jiang Ming glanced at Yue Cheng. He saw Yue Cheng had a faint smile on his face. 'This sly and vicious fox! Although his junior brother is dead and his identity might be exposed, he doesn't seem nervous at all!'

Jiang Ming was naturally unaware that Yue Cheng was nearly frightened to death when he first learned that Zuo Han had been killed. After searching the sect and returning to Zhiyang Peak, he spent his night plagued with unease. At one point, he even briefly considered abandoning his post as First Seat and fleeing. Fortunately, so far, nothing had happened so he felt slightly more at ease. Currently, despite his outer appearance, inwardly, he still felt uneasy and flustered by the unexpected development.

At this moment, the Sect Master suddenly said, "Old Gu, why don't you let your disciple stay with me? I'll personally train her, and I promise to give her all the resources the sect can provide."

"Sect Master, you still can provide her with the sect's resources even if she doesn't stay by your side. With her strength and talent, she'll definitely be an exceptional disciple. In fact, according to sect rules, she must be given appropriate resources from the sect…"

"Name your conditions, Old Gu."

"Sect Master, I raised her like my own daughter!" Gu Hai protested.

"She can gain more if she stays with me. She'll grow faster, develop her potential further, and reach greater heights in the future. If you treat her as your daughter, you should want the best for her."

"You never change, Yan Yan, you old prick!"

"Old Gu, we're old now, but I can see the years did nothing to refine your language. Don't you feel embarrassed speaking like that in front of the young ones? For your disciple's sake and the sect's sake, you should hand her over to me. Old Gu, I promise to help you win Junior Sister Yin Yue's heart if you agree to my request."

Gu Hai choked briefly upon hearing these words. "F*ck off! If I wanted to… Well, I admit my cultivation base isn't the best, and she'll… What the f*ck! I almost fell into your trap!"

Gu Hai was annoyed to no end. After a moment, he looked at Jiang Ming quietly before he finally said, "I'll let Linglong decide for herself…"

"Very good! I expected no less from you, Old Gu. You have the sect and your disciple's best interest at heart!"

"You old prick! Let's make things clear first. You can't force her at all. If she says she doesn't want to join you, you can't withhold the resources she deserves!"

"I'm not that kind of person. I proposed this because I want to train her as one of my successors. If she stays on Chuyang Peak and ends up becoming the Sect Master, how many Peaks do you think will acknowledge her?"

"D*mn you, old prick! You're powerful and scheming. I can never win against your reasoning!"

"If only I can focus on my cultivation instead of dealing with all these messy affairs. However, I'm the Sect Master, after all. I don't have a choice. Anyway, can you show me some respect? I'm the Sect Master, you know."

"What does it matter? We're communicating through Voice Transmissions right now. I have to curse at you. Otherwise, I won't be able to sleep easily tonight."

"Okay, fine! F*ck! She just made it past the tenth floor!"

Yan Yan lost his cool when the tenth floor of the Tower of Trials lit up.

Yan Yan was not the only one. The other First Seats were shocked as well. For Zi Linglong to pass the tenth floor, it meant that she possessed the combat strength of an Extreme Golden Core cultivator when she was barely eleven years old. All of them looked at Gu Hai enviously.

'How can that old fart be so lucky?'

When Gu Hai recovered from his shock, a wide grin bloomed on his face. 'This feels f*cking amazing! I can hold my f*cking head high now!'

Gu Hai stroked his beard and fanned himself with his other hand. He could barely stop himself from doing a small celebratory dance.

At this time, Yue Cheng walked over. "Senior Brother Gu! I didn't know you have such an extraordinary disciple. To think you kept it a secret for so long. She really shocked all of us today. She's really amazing for being able to clear the tenth floor. Very few people have her talent. However, there's one thing I'm curious about. Cultivation base alone isn't enough for her to pass the ninth and tenth floors. She would need to master powerful spells as well. However, she's only ten years old. Where does she find time to learn spells between cultivating?"

The other First Seats' eyes gleamed with curiosity upon hearing this question. They had been wondering about this matter as well.

"I've told you before. She awakened her phoenix bloodline. She did it before your disciple, Linghu Yin, came to my Peak to look for trouble nine months ago. Her cultivation base reached the peak Foundation Establishment Realm the morning of the awakening. That's how she defeated Linghu Yin," Gu Hai said with a cold smile, "I've told the Sect Master about this a long time ago. I have her all the spiritual items I had accumulated. Fortunately, she didn't disappoint me. She's truly a peerless genius with her phoenix bloodline. Her cultivation base is improving by leaps and bounds, and she learns spells quickly. I know what you're trying to imply. You're trying to say she's possessed or is using clones, right? The Sect Master and I have already investigated this. There's nothing strange about Linglong. I know it's hard for you to imagine that such a peerless genius with unimaginable powers could exist, but the truth is right in front of your eyes. Children of heaven, individuals with Saint Bodies, and even legendary reincarnations of immortals had appeared throughout history. Why is it so hard to believe that one of them is a Jiuyang Sect member? She has the phoenix bloodline, after all. Everyone, what do you think the demons will do when they find out about this? I planned to keep her condition a secret, but Linghu Yin, Jia Guang, and the others forced her to reveal her strength. Hence, I had no choice but to let her come today and display her strength so the sect would better protect her."

Gu Hai sneered at Yue Cheng after he finished speaking.

Yan Yan nodded. He said helplessly, "That's right. I knew about this. I wanted Linglong to grow without fanfare and disturbance as well. Alas, we're left with no choice but to do this now…"

Yue Cheng was inwardly shocked. He thought Zi Linglong was just a young genius, but he did not expect her to be a potential immortal on par with those who had Saint Bodies. He could not believe he did not notice this before. In the end, he only smiled awkwardly.

"Jia Guang deserves to die," Dongfang Lie said through gritted teeth. Then, he cupped his fists together at Gu Hai and said, "It was my mistake, Senior Brother Gu. To express how apologetic I feel, I'm willing to accept Linglong as my disciple. I'll nurture her with everything my Peak has to offer!"

"Dream on!" Gu Hai scoffed.

Jiang Ming remained silent as he listened to the exchange. He found the entire thing strange.