From Miao Shou Garden until now, it has only been about twenty years.
By no means is he over thirty.
Fire Cloud Venerable chuckled and said, "I guess Brother Lu isnât over a hundred years old."
"If youâre not over a hundred years old, then itâll be much easier to handle."
"Brother Lu, you can consider heading to the Martial Saint Mansion."
"The Martial Saint Mansion is an open academy established by numerous Martial Saints from the Holy Land, claiming to teach without discrimination. Regardless of background or status, anyone can try to enter the Martial Saint Mansion."
"However, the Martial Saint Mansion is divided into the Inner Mansion and the Outer Mansion. For the Outer Mansion, resources, cultivation techniques, and the like are definitely much inferior. But it does not require any particular status; as long as your talent is sufficient, you can become an Outer Mansion member. Of course, the prerequisite is that you must be a Divine Power Realm martial artist."
"As for the Inner Mansion, it is far superior. Martial artists in the Inner Mansion can enjoy all kinds of resources, cultivation techniques, secret techniques, and so on. Beyond being extraordinarily talented, you also need to be recommended by a Martial Saint-level faction, and the recommendation must come personally from a Martial Saint within the faction."
"This Martial Saint recommendation quota is extremely precious. No matter how many Martial Saints exist within a faction, each faction only gets one recommendation slot every ten years, and these slots are generally reserved for the most outstanding Divine Power Realm martial artists within the faction."
"If you can enter the Inner Mansion, the Holy Body Techniques that Brother Lu needs will definitely not be an issue. Even if you canât secure a Martial Saint recommendation and end up in the Outer Mansion, itâs still a good option. At the very least, you can still obtain part of the Holy Body Techniques."
Hearing Fire Cloud Venerableâs words, Lu Changshengâs eyes immediately lit up.
The Martial Saint Mansion?
To think a place like that exists.
Teach without discrimination?
It seems the Martial Saint Mansion is truly a grand undertaking.
But with the distinction between the Inner Mansion and Outer Mansion,
there must be a significant difference.
The resources, techniques, and benefits in the Inner Mansion all far exceed those of the Outer Mansion.
But regardless of whether itâs the Inner or Outer Mansion, as long as he can join the Martial Saint Mansion, the cultivation techniques Lu Changsheng needs to forge a Sacred Body will be assured.
"Thank you, Fire Cloud Venerable."
"Haha, no need to thank me. Itâs just a small favor."
"If Brother Lu truly decides to go to the Martial Saint Mansion, Iâm sure youâll shine brightly in the future and achieving Martial Saint status will be a certainty. Brother Lu, when that time comes, donât forget about this old fellow."
Lu Changsheng smiled faintly.
He knew Fire Cloud Venerable was merely joking.
At such levels of cultivation, oneâs words and actions are often driven by whim rather than formality.
If Lu Changsheng hadnât suited Fire Cloud Venerableâs personality,
then regardless of how strong or talented Lu Changsheng might be, Fire Cloud Venerable wouldnât have wasted a single extra word on him.
"Alright, Fire Cloud Venerable, I take my leave. Until we meet again!"
Lu Changsheng cupped his fist in respect and departed from Fire Cloud Venerable.
"Whoosh."
In the next moment, Lu Changsheng transformed into a streak of flowing light, vanishing from sight.
Watching Lu Changshengâs disappearing figure, Fire Cloud Venerable felt a trace of emotion within.
"A figure like Lu Changsheng... the next time we meet, he might already be a Martial Saint... I need to hurry as well, striving to forge my Sacred Body and achieve Martial Saint status!"
Fire Cloud Venerable didnât hesitate further and also departed from Void Spirit Mountain.
...
Lu Changsheng flew all the way back to Heavenly Saint City.
The first thing he did was seek out Li Guang.
"Brother Lu, how did your trip to Void Spirit Mountain turn out?"
Li Guang inquired.
"Quite fruitful."
A faint smile appeared on Lu Changshengâs face.
Seeing the smile on Lu Changshengâs face, Li Guang could tell that this trip must have been an enormous success for him.
"Brother Li, I need to purchase some Heavenly Spirit Water."
Lu Changsheng stated directly without preamble.
"Hmm, my Li familyâs Commerce naturally has Heavenly Spirit Water. However, I canât offer you the 30% discount this time. But a 10% discount is still doable."
Li Guang pondered briefly and named the price.
"10% off? Fair enough!"
Lu Changsheng was considerate and wouldnât put Li Guang in a tough spot.
A 10% discount allowed the Li familyâs Commerce to still make a profit, while he could enjoy some savings as well.
It was a win-win scenario.
"Brother Lu, how much Heavenly Spirit Water do you plan to purchase this time?"
Li Guang asked.
After some consideration, Lu Changsheng finally waved his hand and resolutely said, "Start with 200 drops of Heavenly Spirit Water for now. If itâs not enough, Iâll buy more."
Truthfully, Lu Changsheng had a rough idea that 200 drops of Heavenly Spirit Water wouldnât be sufficient.
But he could first estimate how much Heavenly Spirit Water would be needed to transform one of his two Divine Power Fruits,
and then decide based on the actual requirements.
"What, 200 drops of Heavenly Spirit Water?"
"Brother Lu, just how fruitful was your trip to Void Spirit Mountain?"
Li Guangâs face showed a hint of astonishment.
Two hundred drops of Heavenly Spirit Water amounted to a staggering 1.8 million Spirit Stones.
Li Guang was well aware of Lu Changshengâs agreement with the Pot Immortal Sect.
Each drop of Transformation Pill Liquid cost 50,000 Spirit Stones.
This meant Lu Changsheng must have acquired no fewer than 36 drops of Transformation Pill Liquid.
Furthermore, judging by the situation, Lu Changsheng still had plenty of Spirit Stones and could continue buying Heavenly Spirit Water.
Lu Changsheng must have collected around 40, or even 50 drops of Transformation Pill Liquid!
Li Guang understood very well what those numbers signified.
Lu Changsheng couldnât have swept through all of Void Spirit Mountain, could he?
If anyone else claimed to have swept through Void Spirit Mountain, Li Guang wouldnât believe it.
But if it was Lu Changsheng, there wasnât the slightest doubt in Li Guangâs mind.
Lu Changsheng responded with a serene smile.
Sometimes silence was the best answer.
Li Guang promptly stood up and said, "Brother Lu, letâs head to the Li familyâs Commerce."
Thus, the two made their way to the Li familyâs Commerce.
Lu Changsheng took out 1.8 million Spirit Stones and purchased 200 drops of Heavenly Spirit Water from the Li familyâs Commerce.
Lu Changsheng still had 1.6 million Spirit Stones left.
It was still an enormous sum.
"Brother Li, Iâll be closing up for a time soon."
"But before going into closed-door training, I do have one favor to ask of you."
Seeing how serious Lu Changsheng was, Li Guang quickly adopted a solemn expression and said in a low tone, "What is it?"
Lu Changsheng took a deep breath.
After deliberating for quite a while, he finally decided that if he wanted to enter the Martial Saint Mansionâs Inner Mansion, he would have to rely on the Li family.
After all, the Li family, as a Martial Saint-level faction with a Martial Saint at its helm, must have a recommendation slot for the Martial Saint Mansion.
But the question was whether the Li family was willing to use such a precious recommendation slot for him.
"Brother Li, does the Li family have a recommendation slot for the Martial Saint Mansion?"
"I wish to enter the Martial Saint Mansion and require a recommendation slot!"
Lu Changsheng spoke each word deliberately and clearly.
"A recommendation slot for the Martial Saint Mansion!"
Li Guangâs heart skipped a beat.
He realized that since Lu Changsheng brought this up so earnestly, it was no trivial matter.
Sure enough, what Lu Changsheng sought was the Martial Saint Mansionâs recommendation slot.
This was an invaluable asset for any Martial Saint-level faction.
"Brother Lu, if it were up to me, the recommendation slot would naturally be yours."
"But Iâm merely the heir to the family. Frankly, even if my fatherâthe family lord himselfâwere to decide, he wouldnât have the authority over the recommendation slot."
"The recommendation slot has always been determined personally by the Martial Saint Ancestor. If you wish to have it, I can only put forward the request to the Ancestor."
"I cannot guarantee the outcome; all I can do is give it my best. The good news is that the Li family hasnât yet used this yearâs recommendation slot."
Li Guang considered for a while before speaking slowly.
He dared not make any promises.
After all, even he had no authority over such matters. He could only petition the Martial Saint Ancestor directly.
Lu Changsheng nodded. He hadnât expected Li Guang to agree outright.
After all, this matter was of great importance.
Not just for Lu Changsheng but for the Li family as well.
"No problem, Brother Li. Please petition the Ancestor on my behalf."
"In the meantime, Iâll be entering closed-door training."
"By the time Iâm done, the Ancestor will likely have made a decision."
With that, Lu Changsheng rose. After discussing briefly with Li Guang, the two parted ways.
Watching Lu Changshengâs departing figure, Li Guang sighed deeply, saying, "The Martial Saint Mansion recommendation slot... The Ancestor holds this in the highest regard, usually reserving it for the familyâs most outstanding Divine Power Realm disciples."
"But Lu Changsheng is no ordinary man. Perhaps I should speak with my father and see if the Ancestor can be persuaded."
"If this recommendation slot is given to Lu Changsheng, the ties between him and the Li family will become deeply intertwined..."
Li Guang took a deep breath, as if making a decision.
With that thought, he hurried back to the Li family.