A Chaotic World

Chapter 380: Eternal Flame City

"So I just happened to be in Sacred Cliff City for an errand when I heard that Young Master Xuan Hao is here as well. That is why I decided that we might as well return together," Old Zheng explained with a smile. "It is always better to go a group than to go than alone, isn't it?"

"That is certainly true," Young Master Xuan Hao agreed. "I heard that the remnants of the Radiant Raven Sect has became less active, but nobody confirmed that they have left the area. So I feel much safer with Old Zheng here too."

"Hahaha! It's good to see that this old man is welcomed to join you bunch of youngsters!" Old Zheng laughed. "Then again, you have been out for quite some time now, Young Master Xuan Hao. It is good to see that you are finally willing to return."

"You are right, Old Zheng. I really should have returned earlier," Young Master Xuan Hao scratched his cheek in embarassment.

In the past, he truly had not been acting in a way that befitted a proper heir of the Timeless Flame Sect.

By leaving the sect without the protection of an elder, he was effectively putting himself and the reputation of the sect at risk.

Lu Tianzi merely smiled as he listened from the side.

After they got acquainted with Old Zheng, someone whom Lu Tianzi had almost clean forgotten joined them as well.

It was Bo'er, the little girl slave whom Young Master Xuan Hao had ended up bidding for during the Sacred Lotus Auction. Earlier, she was just tasked to make some simple purchases, which was why she had not been standing with the rest.

Still, Lu Tianzi could not help but raise an eyebrow in surprise when he saw her.

It seemed that Young Master Xuan Hao was still keeping her around.

Then again, Bo'er seemed to have improved a lot in how she interacted with others. At the very least, she was no longer as jittery as when they first met.

At this rate, perhaps she would be able to make a decent servant for Young Master Xuan Hao or Ruan Ling.

Either way, it had nothing to do with Lu Tianzi.

The group did not hire a horse carriage, choosing to directly fly through the air as they travelled towards the territory of the Timeless Flame Sect. As for Bo'er, Young Master Xuan Hao carried her along with his Origin Force.

Choosing to travel by flying would make them a more conspicuous target for bandits, but they also had the Overlord realm Old Zheng with them to act as a deterrent, so they were not too worried.

The Timeless Flame Sect's territory spanned a huge area, and the sect's true headquarters was deep within, making it quite a distance away from Sacred Cliff City.

Even with their speed, it would take them a while to arrive.

During the long journey, the group talked about various matters.

Perhaps it was because Old Zheng and Ruan Ling already knew each other, but Old Zheng seemed to only ask her a few questions out of courtesy before moving on to Lu Tianzi and Nanlan Qianxue.

He asked about their origins, their aspirations, and even offered to answer whatever questions they had pertaining to cultivation.

Lu Tianzi naturally did not tell the senior everything. Neither did he ask anything about cultivation, claiming that he was looking to focus on improving himself in the art of inscriptions for now.

Nanlan Qianxue had never been a person of many words, and her attitude towards unfamiliar people was notoriously cold. Therefore, her replies were rather curt.

It made things slightly awkward for the other youngsters, but the boisterous Old Zheng did not seem to mind. He even encouraged Nanlan Qianxue to speak up more in the future in case others misunderstood her for deliberately being rude.

After which, Old Zheng returned to chatting with Young Master Xuan Hao about his travel experiences and the happenings in the sect since he left.

Lu Tianzi did not bother listening in on their conversation.

Instead, he closed his eyes and embraced the feeling of flying through the clouds.

Due to his affinity to water, Lu Tianzi had always been fond of being in the water, and clouds were basically made up of water as well.

Feeling the cool sensation in his face, Lu Tianzi emptied his mind of unnecessary thoughts, and allowed his body to glide through the clouds without restraint.

His poor movement techniques while airborne had always been an issue that bothered him.

Compared to his movements in the water or on the ground, it was simply too predictable, almost as though his feet had been locked down with invisible chains.

However, when they reached such an altitude and had the luxury of flying through the clouds, Lu Tianzi no longer felt as restricted.

He felt that as long as he willed it, the clouds would almost become an extension of his own two feet, pushing him in whatever direction he wanted to go.

It was a calming sensation that allowed his mind to truly relax.

Lu Tianzi was still relishing in this feeling of serenity when Old Zheng's voice suddenly sounded out in his head. "Manor Lord Lu, this might be sudden, but I need to tell you something. Truth be told, I have already told my master about your achievements here in Sacred Cliff City, and he was really impressed. If you are agreeable to it, he would love to meet you when we arrive at Eternal Flame City."

Lu Tianzi could not help but be surprised.

Old Zheng's master wants to meet him?

Could this mean...?

As if having read his mind, Old Zheng quickly followed up with another voice conveyance message, "Oh right, you might not know this, but my master Xuan Wen is Young Master Xuan Hao's elder brother. Just like Young Master Xuan Hao, he is also an heir candidate of the Timeless Flame Sect. In fact, he can be considered the hot favourite to become the heir. Meeting my master doesn't mean anything concrete, so Manor Lord Lu doesn't have to read too much into it. It merely gives you more options now that things have yet to develop beyond your control."

This confirmed the conjectures that Lu Tianzi had in his heart.

Prior to this, Ruan Ling had also secretly informed them that Old Zheng was actually the personal steward of another heir candidate, which made Lu Tianzi heighten his guard against the senior.

However, it seemed that not only was Old Zheng not intending to do them harm, he might even be trying to recruit him?

Him, a mere Third Cycle Origin Core realm martial artist?

It seemed that Young Master Xuan Hao was right.

Perhaps the Timeless Flame Sect really placed greater emphasis on the matter of future potential rather than current attainments.

In terms of potential, Lu Tianzi was confident that he would not pale in comparison to even the best, or at least not by much.

However, this confidence was mainly because of the two true origin cores in his inner world, something that others would not be aware of. Even though others might be able to detect his current cultivation level, there was basically no way to tell that his were true origin cores.

Having been to the Divine Storm Sect, Lu Tianzi also understood that his currently cultivation level was only considered average as compared to the martial geniuses of the ancient sects.

Despite that, both Old Zheng and Young Master Xuan Hao were intending to bring him over to their side.

This could only mean that they were mainly interested in his potential in the art of inscriptions.

Lu Tianzi smiled in his heart.

It seemed that the time spent in Sacred Cliff City had not been for naught.

At this point, Lu Tianzi could not help but sneak a peek at Young Master Xuan Hao.

Right now, Young Master Xuan Hao was still chatting with Old Zheng, completely oblivious to the fact that the other party was multi-tasking.

As expected, someone like Young Master Xuan Hao who trusted others too much would be at a disadvantage against the other heir candidates.

"Thank you for your kind intentions, Senior Zheng," Lu Tianzi replied via voice conveyance. "But I am unsure what Brother Xuan Hao has planned for us upon our arrival. Perhaps it might not be too convenient."

Old Zheng could not help but reveal a slight frown, an act that Young Master Xuan Hao caught instantly.

"Is there something wrong with what I said?" Young Master Xuan Hao asked.

"No, it's nothing," Old Zheng's expression quickly returned to the amiable smile from before. "I thought that there was someone tailling us, but it seems that I have overreacted."

In his heart, however, Old Zheng was feeling rather conflicted.

That was because Lu Tianzi's reply was too ambiguous!

Was he trying to say that he wanted to stick to his Brother Xuan Hao, or was he trying to say that his Brother Xuan Hao would be in the way?

But even though he had yet to make clear of the situaton, Old Zheng no longer pressed on with the topic.

He did not wish to be too pushy about it.

Otherwise, he might be seen as being desperate for Lu Tianzi to join his master's side, which could end up lowering Lu Tianzi's evaluation of his master.

Because the group had not been rushing at top speed, it took a full month before they finally arrived at their destination.

The headquarters of the Timeless Flame Sect Eternal Flame City.

As expected of the headquarters of another ancient sect, Eternal Flame City was just as grand as the Divine Storm Sect's Divine Storm City.

But unlike the pure white city walls of Divine Storm City, the boundaries of Eternal Flame City were marked out by yellow brick walls. Banners showing the emblem the Timeless Flame Sect a fireball hovering over an open palm hung down from the top of the walls at regular intervals.

With that, it was clear at first glance that the city was the territory of the Timeless Flame Sect.

There was also a wondrous defensive formation shrouding the entire city.

Lu Tianzi did not investigate it too deeply for fear of any unexpected backlash, but he could detect a combination of a detection and binding formation within.

"Finally!" Ruan Ling heaved a sigh of relief as they descended from the air.

It had been a long and boring journey, so she was really looking forward to getting a comfortable bath.

"Let's enter," Young Master Xuan Hao led the way as they flew straight towards the city gate, directly bypassing the line of people queuing to enter.

The guards at the gate almost jumped up in shock when they saw the group approaching.

"Welcome back, Young Master Xuan Hao!" the guards shouted in unison.

"Mm, thank you for your hard work," Young Master Xuan Hao nodded at them in a natural manner.

It would appeared that he was already used to such a greeting from the city guards.

Lu Tianzi, Nanlan Qianxue, Ruan Ling, Bo'er, and Old Zheng silently followed behind him as he led the way into the city.

The city guards stood at attention by the side, not daring to stand in their way.

After they stepped through the gate and onto the streets of the city, Young Master Xuan Hao turned around to face them with open arms.

"All right, guys. Welcome to Eternal Flame City!" Young Master Xuan Hao exclaimed. "Is there anywhere that you wish to go first?"

"We will follow Brother Xuan Hao's arrangements," Lu Tianzi replied with a smile.

This was Young Master Xuan Hao's home turf, so he would surely know it better than they do.

"Hmm, that is fine as well. Let me see, where shall we visit first?" Young Master Xuan Hao rubbed his chin in contemplation.

There were too many interesting things in the city that he would like to show his friends, such that he was unable make up his mind immediately.

"How about this?" Old Zheng spoke up at this moment. "We have all travelled for a while, so why don't we head to the True Fire Tavern for a good meal? The food there is indubitably the best in the city, and would surely be able to satisfy our guests."

"That's a good idea, Old Zheng!" Young Master Xuan Hao agreed before turning to Lu Tianzi and Nanlan Qianxue. "The food served at True Fire Tavern is not only delicious, but also contains faint traces of primordial Slaughter Essence that could help consolidate the cultivation of martial artists. You will not regret going there for sure!"

"You might not know this, but the True Fire Tavern doesn't just serve anyone who enters," Ruan Ling added with a smile. "We are only able to dine there freely because Brother Xuan Hao is with us."

"Sounds like we are in for a treat then!" Lu Tianzi laughed.

"Let's not wait any longer. Follow me!" Young Master Xuan Hao turned and strode down the busy street.

Eternal Flame City was huge.

Thankfully, the True Fire Tavern was not too far away from the city gate. So it did not take long before they arrived before the famous True Fire Tavern.

But just as they were about to enter, a male voice called out to them from behind.

"Hao! You are back!"

The group turned around to see a young man walking over with a confident smile on his face.

Young Master Xuan Hao and Ruan Ling immediately revealed a look of surprise, while Old Zheng bowed slightly.

"Elder Brother," Young Master Xuan Hao greeted somewhat awkwardly.

On the other hand, Old Zheng's voice was loud and clear. "I have returned, Master."

Lu Tianzi immediately narrowed his eyes.

By how Young Master Xuan Hao and Old Zheng addressed him, it was already obvious who this young man was.

He was one of the other heir candidates, as well as Young Master Xuan Hao's elder brother Xuan Wen.