When Old Bai appeared, both Vin and Elder Ling were quite surprised, as they hadn't expected him at all.
But that wasn't what had shocked Elder Ling the most, no it was the words that were spoken.
"Vin, old Bai is your master?" Elder Ling asked in surprise.
"Yes, for a while now" Vin replied matter-of-factly, but this only made Elder Ling to smile wryly.
'Just when I was thinking of taking him as my deciple, but then again I guess old Bai is even more worthy of him than I am, only he would be able to raise such a great genius' Elder Ling thought.
He then looked at Vin with a smile as he observed him, but that was when he noticed something he hadn't thought of before and his widened in shock like saucers.
"Vin, you.. Your.. Your cultivation, what's with your realm, why is it like that?" Elder Ling exclaimed in surprised.
"Yes kid, I know you're talented and have terrifying potential, but how can you skip two entire stages and enter the third stage of the Spirit sea realm in one go on your first Breakthrough?. That's inconceivable" old Bai also asked.
"That.... I also have no idea what happened" Vin said and proceeded to tell then what had happened during his Breakthrough.
"Hmmmm. The only thing I can think of is that your bloodline took control of your Breakthrough while it was evolving. But that's a good thing too as now you have what it takes to learn from me" old Bai said as he stroke his beard.
"Yes that is indeed correct, but I don't think I'll learn anything if we don't leave here right now, the deciples are quite restless and are about to storm this place" Vin stated as he gazed through the stone walls.
"You can see what's going on outside?" old Bai asked in surprise "Yes, it's one of traits I've acquired after the Breakthrough" Vin replied.
"Not bad, not bad, I guess we need to leave here now. Ling Fengzi, you should go pacify the deciples, tell them everything is fine" old Bai instructed as he continued stroking his beard.
"Yes, old Bai" Elder Ling said with a slight bow and left.
When they the only ones left old turned to with faint smile on his face "It seems you've really gained a lot from this Breakthrough, and I've heard all about your recent adventures, come, tell me the details" old Bai said as he patted Vin on his shoulders and they vanished.
When they appeared again, they were on a familiar place that Vin knew all too well.
"Do we really have to always come to this shabby old cottage each time we need to talk?" Vin asked as he shook his head.
"Of course, after all, this was your roots in the sect, you shouldn't forget that" old Bai replied as he took a sit on the old chair in the room.
"Well, I never did anyways" Vin stated as he sat on the bed.
"Now then, tell me all that happened during your last mission" old Bai said.
"Well, this is what happened...." Vin started as he proceeded to explain what had happened against the Tenebrous Taskforce.
He also told him about his Exodus Order, their purpose, and his plans for the future.
It was a few hours later when he was done explaining and it was quite exhausting, "And that's what happened, I basically almost died though".
"Hmm. Well it's a good thing you came back alive, and congratulations on becoming the new Mortal King, your battle was quite intriguing" old Bai said after a while.
"Yeah I guess, wait were you watching my battle?" Vin asked as he raised an eyebrow.
"Only you last battle, and I can tell you Franky that, that kid held back against you, if he had gone all out right from the start, you wouldn't have had the chance to use that mysterious movement skill of yours" old Bai said.
"Yeah, I could tell" Vin said. "So Master when can I start my training"
"Not so fast kid, you just broke through, you should consolidate your strength first, or better still, you should have something much more heavier than what you wore for the tournament right, put them on!" old Bai instructed.
"Yeah I do" Vin said as he brought out two silver gauntlets from his small world and put them on, immediately his strength saw a sharp decrease as his realm fell to the first stage of the Spirit sea realm.
"Hmm, that's better, there's no need to reveal you true cultivation to everyone, its good to retain an element of surprise, besides these gauntlets are good treasures, if you're able to master them and allow your true cultivation to return while still putting them on, it'll be a good addition to your strength" old Bai said.
Vin nodded his head in agreement to his master's words, he had seen how incredible these gauntlets were when he took them, he could barely even lift them up then, but now that he had put them on he could see how amazing they were.
They were incredibly hard and durable, increasing his physical stats by a lot, and that was a good enhancement as his pure physical stats at the moment were quite off the charts, he could probably kill Daemon Cadmus with a single slap.
Even with his strength currently suppressed he would still win against Delmos of the Tenebrous Taskforce, and he was also sure that if he fought with this same strength, he would win even if Thorne used his full strength.
"And yeah, by the way Master, how long was I in the spirit pool" Vin asked a question that just flashed through his head now.
"You're only asking this now, you were in there for nine days, congratulations on obtaining a new record" old Bai chuckled.
"Nine days??!!, Damn not bad, I survived that helish torture for that long, I'm definitely a genius" Vin grined at himself.
Old Bai rolled his eyes at his antics as he stroked his beard in deep thoughts before he raised his head.
"How did you intend to train the Exodus Order?" he asked after a while.
"Hmm, well I had already provided them with resources and instructed them to Breakthrough to the first stage of the Body refining realm, I gave them guidance so they should be fine with the Breakthrough, I had planned that after the competition I was going to take them to the outer layer of the dark wind forest for combat training" Vin replied with his hand on his chin.
"Hmm. You do need to train them at the same time learn under me for the next three months" old Bai said "So to make it balanced, I'll train you for three days every week and you can use the rest of the week to develop the Exodus Order.
"Some of my training methods might extend throughout a week as they might involve going on missions too. So get prepared" old Bai said.
"I understand that training methods and the schedule, but why only three months, is there something happening after that?" Vin asked.
"Yes there is indeed something happening on three months" old Bai said.
Vin's Master then went on to reveal the existence of the secret realm known as the Storm Heavens Mystic Realm.
This Mystic Realm is said to only appear once every decade, remaining accessible for one a brief period of three months before vanishing into the fabric of time till the next decade.
The Storm Heavens Mystic Realm was said to only be assessible to those in the Spirit Sea Realm, no one knew why so they just followed the rules.
"You're going to be meeting a lot of other genius from the inner court and even those from the other four major powers, the ruling power, the Cloud Plane Empire is also sure to send their geniuses, and although you're strong, don't be complacent.
"Don't look down on anyone, you can be proud but not arrogant, and even with that you still need enough strength to backup that pride. These three months should be an opportunity for you to master those gauntlets and return to your true realm.
"There's still three days before the week runs out, use these three days to consolidate your strength and strengthen your foundation, from next week your training starts, and it's going to be a tough one so be prepared" after old Bai had said these words he stood up taking a step forward he vanished.
Vin stood up after a while, and taking a step forward he also vanished, appearing in his room a while later.
Where he was, was a huge palace that was awarded to him as the new Mortal King.
The palace of the new Mortal King was a majestic, ethereal structure with a curved, shell-shaped central pavilion and sweeping arches. It was made of rare, luminous materials like starlight-infused marble and crystal.
The palace featured lush gardens, glowing runes, and shimmering spires that evoked a sense of harmony and balance. Its design reflects the Mortal King's wisdom, power, and connection to the world.
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