Yes! The very person in front of Bai Yunfei right now was none other than one of his trusted friends, Jing Mingfeng!

“Haha!!” Bai Yunfei boomed with laughter, “Who else but me? It’s been what, three years? Can’t you recognize me?”

“It really is you!!” Jing Mingfeng was beside himself with joy, “I...I can’t believe it! Haha!! You’re not dead! You’re alive!! But...what are you doing here?!”

“It’s a long story, but I want to ask you that too. Why are you here in the Dragon’s Ascent Mountains?”

“Me?” Jing Mingfeng grinned, “I’ve been training here all this time! Hehe...”

“What?!” Bai Yunfei’s eyes flew wide open, “You’re...you’ve been training here for three years?!”

“Yep...I’ve been living here since three years ago. Training all day every day.” Jing Mingfeng nodded. “I heard...that you were killed by the Soul Refining School three years ago. I really...Yunfei, I’m so glad you’re still alive!”

It moved Bai Yunfei to see Jing Mingfeng this emotional. He must’ve spent all his time here, never once leaving the Dragon’s Ascent Mountains. That had to be why he didn’t know Bai Yunfei was actually alive still.

Bai Yunfei once asked about Jing Mingfeng’s whereabouts when he spoke with Tang Xinyun. Her reply was that Jing Mingfeng never appeared again after the battle with the Qin. Bai Yunfei also remembered Jing Wuying taking him away, meaning Jing Mingfeng shouldn’t have been in any danger.

No news ever came up regarding Jing Mingfeng’s existence, but Bai Yunfei always thought him to be safe and never looked for him. Who knew they’d come across each other here today?

“I...I never thought you’d be training here in the Dragon’s Ascent Mountains...” Bai Yunfei admitted, “But good on you, you became a Soul Emperor! It must’ve been some time since you became an Early-stage Soul Emperor, right?”

The excitement died away from Jing Mingfeng’s eyes at once. “My achievements were all given to me by my grandfather...He...he...”

“Eh?” Bai Yunfei’s smile softened, “What happened to senior Jing?”

“Grandfather passed away three years ago...he transferred his power to me before he died. I managed to get lucky here in the Dragon’s Ascent Mountains, that’s how I managed to train so quickly...”

“Ah, so senior Jing has...I see...Mingfeng, I’m sorry to hear it.”

“Haha, let’s not talk about it. I’ll definitely live up to my grandfather’s expectations!” Jing Mingfeng bounced back with a great smile. “I’ll tell you now, I wasn’t slacking off for three years! Every day I spent here in these mountains has heightened my skills. The me of today will definitely win agai—”

He froze up to stare incredulously at Bai Yunfei. For two seconds, the man didn’t speak. “I...holy crap!! You’re kidding me! Ol’Bai...you’re a Mid-stage Soul Emperor?! Th—there’s...there’s...”

“Haha! What was that just now? You’ll definitely win what?”

“I f*cking knew it!!” Jing Mingfeng roared with frustration, “It’s always like this! Are you even human anymore?! Grandfather transferred me his power and I obtained the Wind Saint’s inheritance to get this far, but even now I’m still weaker than you! I...”

“Wait,” Bai Yunfei’s ears perked up, “what was that? The Wind Saint’s inheritance? What is that?”

“Yunfei.”

A voice interrupted Bai Yunfei. Turning around, Bai Yunfei saw Shen Pojun, the Frostfeather Saint, and Li Chengfeng all fly toward him.

The three of them were all surprised when a person appeared out of nowhere and clashed with Bai Yunfei. They were further shocked to see Bai Yunfei begin to talk to him as if he was a friend. Confused, but reassured that the man wasn’t an enemy, the three decided to come closer and see what was going on.

So excited was Bai Yunfei in reuniting with Jing Mingfeng that he forgot about the others. “Ancestor, senior Frostfeather, Chengfeng, this is a good friend of mine, Jing Mingfeng...Mingfeng, this is an ancestor of my school, Shen Pojun. This is the Frostfeather Saint, and this is Li Chengfeng of the Fate School...ah, Xinyun and Xiao Qi are both in the Core World. I’ll take you in there to see them later.”

“Jing Mingfeng?” Shen Pojun repeated. They were each surprised to see such a talented individual like him here. He wasn’t too far behind Bai Yunfei, in fact, if he was already an Early-stage Soul Emperor. And his ability to remain hidden as he did earlier was especially noteworthy.”

On the other side, Jing Mingfeng was just as startled at the introduction as the others. “This junior pays his respects to senior Shen, senior Frostfeather, and...brother Li.”

“Mingfeng, were you the one fighting that wildbeast earlier? You’re not afraid of fighting a mid-stage class eight wildbeast? And...what did you use to hide? The ancestor and senior Frostfeather didn’t even detect you, and they’re Saints! Don’t tell me the Soul Concealment Art is stronger than I thought?”

Jing Mingfeng shook his head, embarrassed. “Well...I was caught stealing a ‘darkwind fruit’ by it. Good thing I was faster than it expected, otherwise I would’ve been in danger.”

“Darkwind fruit? A high-heaven tier herb like that exists here?!” Bai Yunfei raised an eyebrow in surprise, “No wonder then, you’re a brave one. Even if it’s super compatible for someone like you, that’s still far too reckless...”

“Everything was going fine until the end. I didn’t think the fruit would give off a burst of energy like it did. I managed to hide after dodging two of its attacks and planned on slipping away when it left. I just didn’t think you guys would show up...were you the reason why it left?”

“Yeah, we scared it off—you didn’t realize it even when we were beside you?”

Jing Mingfeng shrugged his shoulders, “You think it’s super easy to hide from you guys? I was trying to block off every sign I was giving off. It’s a technique of my family, the Hidden Void. The technique allows us to hide into thin air as if we’re in a different dimension. No one should be able to sense us. If I try to peer into this dimension though, then senior Frostfeather and Shen should be able to spot me. I have to seal off every sense I have in order to hide. I just knew that a group of powerful people were coming and panicked. There was no way I’d know who you were, so I decided to hide in my panic...”

A lingering sliver of fear revealed itself in Jing Mingfeng’s eyes. He had indeed been very frightened when he was spotted.

Bai Yunfei was baffled. Such a technique like that existed? It seemed quite similar to the Hidden Horizon of the Fate School. Even the name was somewhat similar.

“It appears I managed to hide from the two seniors, but...how did you find me, Yunfei?” Jing Mingfeng asked, curious.

Bai Yunfei smiled, “It’s an unique ability of mine, an equipment effect to be specific.”

“Ughh...” Jing Mingfeng shook his head with a groan, “You always have these completely abnormal stuff on you! It’s ridiculous, you know...”

He didn’t feel as smug anymore. Hiding from two Saints with his technique was extremely satisfying, but to be discovered by one of Bai Yunfei’s soul armaments severely dampened his mood.

“Hey, what did you mean by the Wind Saint’s inheritance? Did you gain the inheritance of a Saint?”

“What?! The Wind Saint’s inheritance!?”

Shen Pojun gave a dumbfounded stare at Jing Mingfeng, “The Wind Saint of two hundred years ago? Ye Feixuan? You’ve gained his inheritance?!”

Jing Mingfeng nodded. “That’s correct, senior Shen. Two years ago, I was lucky enough to find where the Wind Saint resided in these mountains. His inheritance and the precious herbs he left behind helped become an Early-stage Soul Emperor.”

‘Wind Saint’ Ye Feixuan. A man of extraordinary power two hundred years ago. At the time, he had been the only wind-type Saint, thus how he became known as the ‘Wind Saint’. The Mid-stage Soul Saint went silent over two hundred years ago without anyone knowing where he went.

It would appear that he died and left behind an inheritance.

“Tsk...so you gained a Saint’s inheritance after all?” Bai Yunfei clicked his tongue, “Hurry up and tell us the story then.”

......

It took a while, but Bai Yunfei was now fully aware of the story and journey of Jing Mingfeng starting from three years ago.

Apparently, Jing Wuying used something known as Soul Transfer to transfer a good portion of his power to Jing Mingfeng. It took three months of isolated meditation, but Jing Mingfeng was able to successfully integrate the new power for himself and become a Mid-stage Soul King.

He heard the rumors of Bai Yunfei’s death by the Soul Refining School shortly after that. Struck by sorrow, Jing Mingfeng said he vowed to get stronger and take vengeance for both Jing Wuying and Bai Yunfei, even if it meant reducing himself to dust. That was the reason why he chose to come to the Dragon’s Ascent Mountains to train.

It was important to note that he had only been a Mid-stage Soul King at the time. Entering the Dragon’s Ascent Mountains when he did nearly led to him dying at the jaws of a wildbeast.

His constant dance with death taught him a lot, however, and in a single year, Jing Mingfeng was able to fully integrate everything Jing Wuying left him and become a Late-stage Soul King.

During one of his meditative moments, Jing Mingfeng came to realize the existence of a small cave. After he investigated it, Jing Mingfeng realized that it belonged to a powerful Saint, the ‘Wind Saint’ Ye Feixuan.

It was the opportunity of a lifetime. Obtaining the inheritance of a Mid-stage Soul Saint and receiving their power, technique, soul skills, soul armaments, and other treasures...it was priceless. Thanks to the help of everything, Jing Mingfeng was able to become a Soul Emperor.

He wasn’t like Bai Yunfei who became a Soul Emperor after going to the Tomb of the Emperor Beast. The way he did it was more difficult than Bai Yunfei.

After that, Jing Mingfeng decided to simply scavenge the Dragon’s Ascent Mountains in search for anything that might help him grow stronger. He was trying to get into even more danger so he could get stronger faster!

Needless to say, Jing Mingfeng’s determination to grow stronger was powerful enough to put Bai Yunfei to shame. Even Li Chengfeng felt awed by it.

......

Jing Mingfeng was smiling the entire time he told his story to Bai Yunfei. Perhaps it was because he didn’t speak to anyone for such a long time, or perhaps it was because he was meeting a friend long thought to be dead. But either way, he didn’t stop even once during his story.

Now that he was done speaking, Jing Mingfeng drew in a deep breath and found himself thirsty. A gourd of water appeared in his hand for him to drink. “Ol’Bai, let’s talk about you now! How’d you escape from the Soul Refining School? What have you been up to these few years? And...why come here? Where are you heading to?”

“It’s actually a bit of a long story, so I’ll tell you it later...We came here to...get to Hidden Dragon Valley.”

Bai Yunfei glanced to Shen Pojun, he wanted to tell Jing Mingfeng about the Supreme Saint’s Inheritance, but he also wanted to wait for Shen Pojun to agree first.

But Jing Mingfeng gasped before Shen Pojun could even nod or shake his head to answer Bai Yunfei. “What?! Hidden Dragon Valley?! Are...are you guys after the Supreme Saint’s Inheritance too?!”

Everyone’s heart skipped a beat at that.

“You know about the Supreme Saint’s Inheritance in Hidden Dragon Valley?! And...what do you mean, ‘too’?!”