In Nine Dragons City of Youzhou, a city of moderate development, the person with the highest cultivation level was the City Lord, an early-stage Spirit Transformation cultivator.

It was rumored that outside the city lay a secret realm, yet no one had been able to discover it, and so the tale gradually became a legend.

Besides that, there were the locally renowned three Great Sects: Mixed Yuan Ancient Sword Sect, White Sun Ascension Sect, and Qian Kun Purple Cloud Palace, each with Nascent Soul cultivators in residence.

For those like Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou who were at the Heavy Infant Stage, they could strut through Nine Dragons City unimpeded, with no one to block their way.

However, they were not troublemakers; they were here on a mission, and only through covert observation could they determine one’s character.

"It should be in this direction." Meng Jingzhou left Old Ma at the stables, and he and Lu Yang went out to look for someone.

"The information says that Xie An has no parents and lives in a run-down temple outside the city."

Following the leads provided by their intelligence, the three came to this dilapidated temple. The temple’s archway was on the verge of collapse, and the inscriptions were illegible, with no clue as to how long it had been since the temple’s construction or why the monks had moved out.

The small temple was draughty from every corner, and the lotus platform was completely empty, even devoid of a Buddha statue.

Dry straw covered the ground in front of the lotus platform, with extinguished embers in the middle. Xie An was nowhere to be seen, only an old beggar lying sluggishly on the ground, propping up his head with one hand and picking lice off himself with the other.

"Shall we reveal ourselves and ask where Xie An is?" The two communicated in whispers, not daring to rashly show themselves and ask the old beggar.

If the old beggar knew Xie An, it would alert Xie An to their presence, which would be unfavorable for secretly observing his character.

Analyzing the situation, Lu Yang said, "Let’s wait a bit longer. Look how neatly the bedding is folded; it definitely wasn’t done by the old beggar. It’s very likely Xie An’s doing, which means even though he has left, he hasn’t gone far."

Indeed, as evening approached, the filth-covered Xie An was supported into the temple by a little girl.

Upon seeing this, the old beggar took perverse joy in their misfortune, "So, you went to the Mixed Yuan Ancient Sword Sect? I told you they wouldn’t accept either of you."

Xie An stayed silent, but the little girl defending him said indignantly, "That’s too much! They didn’t even test Xie Brother’s Spirit Root. They saw his tattered clothes and said straight away that he definitely has no talent for cultivation and threw him out of the Sect!"

The little girl’s clothes were ragged, as though she had just been unearthed from a dirt pit. Lu Yang could see that if the young girl were cleaned up and dressed properly, she would be a Beauty in the making.

The old beggar yawned, "The price for a Spirit Root stone is high, and it has a limited number of uses. Nobody would bother to test you."

Xie An frowned but said nothing.

"Alright, don’t sulk. Look at what I’ve got today." The old beggar, as if by magic, produced three large white steamed buns.

Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou had been watching all day long, and the old beggar hadn’t moved from his spot.

"Steamed buns!" The little girl’s eyes lit up at the sight of the buns.

An old man and two children ate steamed buns by the fire, quietly and contentedly.

Midway through their meal, Xie An suddenly said, "Qiao’er Sister, I’m going to try the White Sun Ascension Sect tomorrow."

Xie An’s eyes were resolute.

"Good, I’ll go with Xie Brother."

The old beggar scoffed as if mocking Xie An for engaging in a futile effort.

After eating the steamed buns, an excited old beggar pulled Xie An aside, cleared the dry straw, and revealed a makeshift Go board etched into the stones.

The old beggar took out a handful of black and white pebbles.

"Come on, Xie Lad, play a couple of games with me."

Xie An agreed, and the elder and the youngster engaged in battle over the Go board, while the girl called Qiao’er watched from the side.

After five rounds, Xie An won every game, leading to the old beggar’s immense regret.

The night passed, and while the old beggar was still asleep, Xie An and Qiao’er headed towards the White Sun Ascension Sect, with Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou secretly following.

At the gates of White Sun Ascension Sect, Xie An expressed his purpose and wished to have his Spirit Root tested, but the two Outer Gate Disciples on duty scoffed at Xie An.

"Scram, scram, scram! Where did this little beggar come from? Someone like you could have a Spirit Root?"

"Even the Qian Kun Purple Cloud Palace, whose Nascent Soul Patriarch has gone missing, wouldn’t want you."

Once again, Xie An was pushed to the ground. He stayed silent, enduring the humiliation, biting his lip till it bled. Stay updated through freewebnovel

Today’s disgrace would be returned a hundredfold!

That evening, Xie An was again helped back by Qiao’er, with the old beggar still showing the same schadenfreude expression.

"I told you already, no one wants a person like you."

It was the same routine—eating steamed buns and playing Go. And again, the old beggar kept losing.

Just when he was about to lose for the fifth time, the old beggar suddenly said, "Xie An, do you really want to cultivate?"

Xie An nodded vigorously.

"Little girl, what about you? You’ve been following Xie An since he saved you from the bandits. Do you also want to cultivate?"

"Wherever Brother Xie goes, Qiao’er will follow!"

The old beggar stared into Qiao’er’s eyes, then suddenly burst into loud laughter.

"Very good, very good. I indeed wasn’t wrong about you two! You are naturally born with excellent potential for cultivation!"

The old beggar pulled out a token as if performing a magic trick and threw it to Xie An.

"What is this?" Xie An’s eyes were filled with confusion.

"Take this token to the Qiankun Ziyun Palace tomorrow; I want to see who dares not to accept you!"

With that, the old beggar’s figure dimmed and gradually disappeared.

"Wait, who are you really?" Xie An tried to grab the old beggar but caught only a wisp of white smoke.

"Once you join the Qiankun Ziyun Palace, you will naturally know who I am, hahaha."

The old beggar vanished.

Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou remained silent.

Who would have thought that an old beggar would appear now? Clearly, this was the Nascent Soul ancestor from the Qiankun Ziyun Palace, who had disappeared and now, unexpectedly encountering Xie An, was moved to take him as a disciple.

If they didn’t reveal themselves now, Xie An would become a disciple of the Qiankun Ziyun Palace. The Seek Dao Sect couldn’t lower its pride to compete with such an insignificant little sect for disciples.

The space twisted, and two figures emerged, their clothes bright and resplendent, clashing with the dilapidated temple surroundings.

"Who are you!" Xie An watched Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou with wariness, cautiously shielding Qiao’er behind him.

Lu Yang smiled slightly, "Don’t be alarmed. We are disciples of the Seek Dao Sect..."

Inside the Spiritual Space, Fairy Eternity suddenly said, "Oh, this boy is disguised as someone at the Transcendance Tribulation Stage."

Lu Yang’s smile froze.

Could you have mentioned that a bit earlier, Fairy?

"You’ve seen him before at the sect’s celebration. I remember he’s the Supreme Elder Wuji Zun from the Super-grade Sect, Wuji Gate."

"..."

So you big shots just love to masquerade as common folk, huh?

Understanding Xie An’s true identity, Lu Yang went through the entire process in his mind:

Considering the current situation, if he wasn’t here, Xie An would join the Qiankun Ziyun Palace. Disciples there would humiliate Xie An, some might even suspect that he found the token, and then Xie An would train diligently, defeat a bunch of disciples, and astonish everyone.

Then, he would move up from being an Outer Gate Disciple to an Inner Gate Disciple. Elders, because of conflicts of interest, would plot against Xie An. The Sect Leader, being weak, wouldn’t be able to protect him. At that point, the old beggar would appear and take Xie An as his disciple in front of everyone, shocking the crowd.

Afterwards, Xie An would lead the Qiankun Ziyun Palace to conquer the other two Great Sects and become the most powerful sect in Nine Dragons City.

He might even discover a Secret Realm outside of Nine Dragons City, gaining an opportunity and finding a new reason to grow stronger.

From then on, he would soar to the heavens.

Just as Meng Jingzhou was still amiably asking Xie An if he wanted to test his Spirit Root, Lu Yang suddenly said, "Are you the Great Wuji Zun?"

Meng Jingzhou’s body stiffened, and he silently stepped back.

He knew that Lu Yang wouldn’t make a mistake in such matters.

Xie An’s face was cold, "Not bad for a disciple taught by Yun Zhi, to be able to see through my true form."

Speaking of Yun Zhi, Lu Yang suddenly recalled what Third Senior Sister had once said, that some Great Powers, after being struck down, would break their Dao heart and, in order to reclaim it, would start from the life of a common person by showing off and slapping faces.

Was Wuji Zun in such a situation?

But that didn’t make sense chronologically.

Lu Yang asked cautiously, "You should have already reclaimed your Dao heart, so why start over again?"

Xie An revealed a cruel smile, "I’ve become addicted."