"I wish you the best of luck outside in the real cultivation world, Disciple Yuan... Even though you probably won’t need it." Long Yijun said to him with a smile.
"Thank you, Sect Master." Yuan accepted the Core Disciple’s uniform before storing it inside the Dragon Spatial Ring alongside his Inner Court Disciple’s uniform.
Sometime later, Yuan left the place and proceeded to make his way towards the gates of the sect. Although he could simply fly away, he wanted to leave this place properly.
The moment Yuan left the Dragon Essence Temple, Xiao Hua appeared from her necklace, and she said, "Now that Brother Yuan is finally finished with this place, Xiao Hua can stop hiding as well."
"How was your experience, Brother Yuan?" Xiao Hua asked him.
After all, the only reason she hid inside the necklace this entire time was to give Yuan some independence whilst he experienced the life of a disciple in a sect.
"It was great. I have learned a lot of things about cultivators and the cultivation world in general. Though, I could’ve probably remained a disciple there for a little longer."
However, Xiao Hua shook her head and said, "Once Brother Yuan reached the top of the ranks in the sect, there is no longer any point for you to stay there. It’s just how sects work in general."
Yuan looked at her and asked, "Xiao Hua, have you been in a sect before?"
After a moment of silence, she nodded.
"What was it like over there? How is it compared to the Dragon Essence Temple?"
"Compared to the Dragon Essence Temple?"
A slight smile appeared on her face as she said, "The Dragon Essence Temple is like a playground for children in comparison."
"Eh? What do you mean by that?" Yuan raised his eyebrows in a puzzled manner, as there could be many meanings behind her words.
"The Dragon Essence Temple is a lawful and a peaceful place. Although there are some troublemakers, it’s not unreasonable or cruel. However, the sect Xiao Hua has experienced before is the complete opposite, and there is only one rule— the strong is always right."
Yuan was speechless. Just what kind of sect is she talking about? And how come she had to go to such a place at such a young age?
Yuan wanted to ask her about her background, but he didn’t want to intrude on her privacy. Furthermore, he’d already said that he would patiently wait until she willingly told him herself.
"What are we going to do now, Young Master?" Feng Yuxiang’s voice suddenly resounded as she appeared in front of him.
"We’re going to find Meixiu a cultivation technique now."
"Where are we going to look for a cultivation technique? It’s not easy finding a good cultivation technique, and the ones you can find easily are generally low-rank cultivation techniques that aren’t much better than the Basic Qi Gathering Technique." Feng Yuxiang said.
"Maybe we can look around auction houses to see if we can find one there— actually, I know where we can go."
"Where?"
"The Myriad of Techniques. It’s also where I obtained the Demon Sealing Strike and Yu Rou’s technique. I think we’ll be able to find a good cultivation technique for Meixiu if we go there."
"The Myriad of Techniques, huh? I have always heard good things about them even in the upper heavens." Feng Yuxiang suddenly said.
"Eh? Wait a second... They exist in the upper heaven as well?" Yuan said in a surprised voice.
Feng Yuxiang nodded and said, "The Myriad of Techniques is a special shop that exists in many cities across the Nine Heavens, and rumor has it they’re all owned by a single person. However, nobody really knows the identity of that person, as they have never seen him or her before."
"I see..."
Sometime later, Yuan said, "Then let’s go to Spring City, where the store is."
"Spring City? Why do we have to go to Spring City?" Feng Yuxiang raised her eyebrows.
"Eh? Because that’s where the Myriad of Techniques is?"
"But there’s one even closer. It’s in Long Chen City."
"Oh, really? I didn’t know that, nor did we see it when we went there last time." Yuan said.
"Then let’s go to Long Chen City."
Thus, Yuan proceeded to soar in the sky with the others whilst Feng Yuxiang carried Meixiu.
"Xiao Hua, I have always wanted to fly beside you without needing the flying sword ever since we flew together. I didn’t think I’d get the chance to do so this quickly." Yuan said to her as they flew towards Long Chen City.
"Xiao Hua didn’t expect Brother Yuan to grow so fast either," she nodded.
Yuan suddenly retrieved his flying sword and began flying on it instead.
"I think I still like flying on a sword better. It has a different feeling to it that flying normally doesn’t." Yuan said.
Once they arrived at Long Chen City a few minutes later, they entered the city and began looking for the store.
After asking around, they found the Myriad of Techniques somewhat hidden in a narrow path in the middle of the city.
"Myriad of Techniques..." Xiao Hua looked at the storefront with a slight frown on her face, as she could still remember their last visit to this place and that powerful girl who greeted them at the door.
A few moments later, Yuan opened the door and entered the store.
"Welcome to Myriad of Techniques—"
A beautiful girl with a familiar face greeted them but stopped halfway through her sentence.
"Hm? You’re that little Spirit King from the last time." The beautiful girl looked at Xiao Hua with a pleasantly surprised look on her face.
"You’re... Zhu Yuying? What are you doing here?" Yuan was surprised to see the same girl who greeted them in Spring City in this store as well. Did she change locations? What a coincidence.
"Huh? That voice... You’re the one who broke the Divine Crystal of Heavenly Fortune last time!" Zhu Yuying didn’t immediately recognize Yuan because of the mask covering his face, and his cultivation base and aura were vastly different. However, she recognized his voice.