Chapter 18: Du Busi Takes a Disciple! Liu Yuan Listed as the Next Sect Successor!
Inside the Elder Hall, the blinding golden light gradually receded, but that holy, domineering aura still lingered heavy in the air.
Elder Chen's frantic shout—"Quickly notify the Sect Master!"—struck like a thunderclap, violently snapping everyone out of their stunned daze.
"I'll go!"
Long Aotian was the first to react. Though usually a man of immense pride, he knew exactly what was at stake. A genius with Gold-grade Secondary Awakening potential was the absolute lifeblood of the Body Sect's future. Without a second of hesitation, he stomped his foot. The stone floor cracked as his body launched out of the Elder Hall like a fired cannonball. His sheer velocity kicked up a howling gust of wind, causing the eternal flames flanking the heavy bronze doors to violently flicker and nearly extinguish.
"I'll go too!"
Wang Yanfeng, Chen Lu, and the other disciples finally found their voices, scrambling to follow closely behind. They couldn't intervene in this historic moment, but running errands was the least they could do.
Vina watched their hurried backs disappear down the corridor. A soft, knowing smile curled at the corners of her lips. She turned her gaze back to Liu Yuan, who still stood calmly in the center of the testing array. Her eyes shimmered with a mix of deep relief and intense appreciation.
'Liu Yuan... you really are outstanding.'
...
Meanwhile, deep within the inner sanctum of the Body Sect, the Sect Master's Hall stood in absolute silence. Constructed entirely from massive blocks of black basalt, the architecture itself exuded a suffocating, heavy oppression that demanded reverence.
Outside a secluded meditation chamber deep within the hall, several elite disciples stood guard. Their postures were rigid, cold sweat beading on their foreheads as they trembled slightly.
Just half an hour ago, their infamously hot-tempered and overwhelmingly powerful Sect Master, Du Busi, had slammed the heavy stone doors shut, leaving behind a harsh, echoing threat: "All of you guard this door with your lives! This old man is going into deep seclusion. Even if the sky falls and the earth shatters, do not dare to bother me!"
The disciples had sworn on their martial paths to maintain absolute silence.
However, right at this moment—
"Master! Master! Something bad happened... No, wait, it's a huge piece of good news!"
A deep, frantic voice shattered the sacred silence of the hall. Immediately after, Long Aotian's figure tore into the main corridor like a raging whirlwind. He completely ignored the desperate, waving arms of the guarding disciples, bulldozing straight toward the forbidden meditation chamber.
"Senior Brother! You can't! The Sect Master is in deep seclusion—" one of the guards pleaded, stepping forward to block the path.
Long Aotian simply shoved him aside with a sweep of his arm. He planted his feet directly in front of the heavy stone door, took a massive gulp of air, and roared at the top of his lungs: "Master! You must come out! Something devastating has happened!"
Inside the pitch-black quiet room, Du Busi sat cross-legged on a jade platform. He had just begun to circulate his soul power, preparing to sink into a deep meditative state. At Long Aotian's shout, thick blue veins instantly popped out across his forehead, pulsing with violent rhythm.
His eyes snapped open. A terrifying flash of furious, emerald-green light illuminated the dark room.
"You insolent brat!"
Boom!
The massive stone door of the quiet room didn't just open; it was violently blasted outward, shattering into dozens of jagged fragments under a tyrannical burst of soul power.
Du Busi's towering, mountain-like physique stepped through the settling dust. His entire body radiated a terrifying, suffocating pressure, resembling an enraged, ancient lion whose slumber had been disturbed.
"Long Aotian! Is your skin itching for a beating?" Du Busi glared, his voice booming like rolling thunder, shaking the very dust from the ceiling. "This old man explicitly ordered that I was entering seclusion, yet you dare to come here and make a racket? If the sky hasn't fallen, this old man will personally peel your skin off today!"
Facing his master's overwhelming, murderous aura, Long Aotian didn't shrink back a single inch. Instead, his face flushed red with sheer excitement. "Master, even if you want to peel my skin, you have to listen to me first! Our Sect... we have a new disciple!"
"A new disciple?" Du Busi's emerald eyes widened in sheer disbelief and rising fury. "Just for this? A new disciple joining the sect requires me to personally intervene? What the hell is Elder Chen doing? What are you doing? Have you all lost your minds?!"
"He's not an ordinary disciple, Master!" Long Aotian stamped his foot against the basalt floor, the stone cracking under his anxiety. He spoke at lightning speed, desperate to get the words out before his master actually struck him. "That new disciple... in the testing array just now... he was measured to have a Gold-grade Secondary Awakening potential!"
"What kind of bullshit Gold-grade? Even if it's Silver-grade, don't you dare bother me with—"
Du Busi's furious roaring stopped dead. The sound caught in his throat, choking off completely.
The towering Level 98 Super Douluo froze in place, looking exactly as if he had been struck by a high-tier immobilization skill.
One second passed. Two seconds.
Then, his emerald eyes bulged, widening larger than copper bells. His chest heaved, his breathing suddenly ragged and heavy, sounding like a broken bellows. "You... what did you just say? Say it again. What grade?"
"Gold-grade!" Long Aotian shouted, his voice straining under the residual pressure of his master's aura, yet he forced the words out with absolute conviction. "Master! It's Gold-grade! A genuine Gold-grade! Elder Chen has already confirmed it with his own eyes, which is exactly why I rushed here to notify you!"
"Gold... Gold-grade..."
Du Busi stood utterly stunned. The words echoed in his mind. Then, a tidal wave of pure, unadulterated ecstasy surged into his heart. His originally fierce, intimidating old face instantly contorted, blooming into a wildly exaggerated, wrinkled smile that resembled a blooming chrysanthemum.
"Hahahaha! Gold-grade! Is it really Gold-grade?! The Heavens have finally opened their eyes! Hahaha!"
Before Long Aotian could even blink, he felt the air pressure drop. A blur of motion flashed before his eyes.
Swoosh!
Du Busi, who had been standing right in front of him a fraction of a second ago, vanished without a single trace. Only a faint, emerald-green afterimage remained, slowly dissipating into the cold air of the hall.
"This..."
Wang Yanfeng, Chen Lu, and the others, who had just arrived panting at the entrance of the hall, witnessed this exact scene. They stared at the empty space, exchanging dumbfounded looks.
Long Aotian let out a bitter, helpless chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck. "Master's temperament... is exactly the same as always. Let's go. We need to hurry back too."
...
Back inside the Elder Hall.
Liu Yuan stepped out of the testing array, adjusting his sleeves. He turned, preparing to offer a polite word of thanks to Elder Chen.
Suddenly, a terrifyingly extreme aura whistled in from outside the grand hall. The sheer pressure felt as though a massive, burning meteorite was crashing directly toward the building.
"Where is he?! Where is that Gold-grade kid? Let this old man take a look!"
Accompanied by a deafening roar that rattled the stained glass windows, an emerald-green figure materialized in the absolute center of the hall, moving so fast it looked like instantaneous teleportation.
The newcomer was exceptionally tall and broad-shouldered. Though his wild hair and thick beard were a deep, inky green, his facial features didn't carry the frailty of old age; instead, his skin practically radiated a wild, explosive vitality.
But it was his eyes—a bizarre, deep emerald green—that commanded attention, flashing with a captivating, almost predatory sharpness.
This was the absolute ruler of the Body Sect, the Level 98 Super Douluo, Du Busi!
"Greetings, Sect Master!" Elder Chen bowed deeply the moment he registered the figure.
But Du Busi didn't spare him a single glance. His emerald eyes swept the room like a tracking array, instantly locking onto Liu Yuan's figure.
In that split second, Liu Yuan felt every single hair on his body stand on end.
Du Busi's gaze was entirely too naked, too intensely fanatical!
This wasn't the look of a venerable master evaluating a promising junior. No, this was the look of a starving man who hadn't eaten in three days and three nights suddenly spotting a lavish, steaming feast laid out before him. It was a gaze dripping with raw greed, burning desire, and an overwhelming urge to swallow him whole!
Liu Yuan couldn't suppress a slight shudder. He subconsciously took half a step back, a cold chill creeping into his heart.
'This old man... isn't his stare a bit too perverted?'
"Is this the kid?"
Du Busi cared nothing for Liu Yuan's internal discomfort. With a mere flicker of movement, he closed the distance, appearing directly in front of the boy. He reached out with terrifyingly large, calloused hands, pinching Liu Yuan's arm, slapping his shoulder, and patting his thigh, clicking his tongue in absolute wonder.
"Good! What a spectacular physique! Your blood vitality is roaring like a river, and your meridians are incredibly wide! You are a supreme piece of material!"
"Sect... Sect Master..." Liu Yuan forced an awkward, stiff smile, feeling deeply uncomfortable being handled like a prized piece of livestock.
"Sect Master, please, don't scare the child," Elder Chen quickly stepped forward, offering a placating smile to smooth over the intense atmosphere. "This is Liu Yuan, the new disciple Vina brought back. You already know the test results. It is indeed Gold-grade potential."
"I want to see it with my own eyes!"
Du Busi waved his massive hand dismissively. Though he already believed it eighty percent, this was a monumental event that dictated the entire future of the Body Sect. He had to ensure there wasn't a single flaw in the assessment.
"Kid, step back in and test it again for this old man! If it truly is Gold-grade, this old man will reward you heavily!"
"Yes, Sect Master."
Having no other choice, Liu Yuan turned and walked back into the center of the array.
He calmed his breathing and skillfully released his martial soul. The Double Pupils reappeared in his eyes, splitting his irises, and that strange, deep fluctuation permeated the hall once more.
Gray-black, cyan, silver-white...
The colors shifted rapidly, climbing the tiers without any suspense, until finally, that brilliant, dazzling, holy, and domineering golden light erupted, flooding every corner of the grand hall!
Under Du Busi's intense scrutiny, the golden radiance seemed even a few shades brighter and purer than the first time!
"Hahahaha! Good! Excellent!"
Witnessing the blinding golden light with his own two eyes, Du Busi finally let go of all restraint. He threw his head back and laughed up at the ceiling, the sheer volume and soul power behind his voice causing the massive stone pillars of the Elder Hall to vibrate and hum.
"Truly, the Heavens bless my Body Sect! To actually possess two geniuses with Gold-grade potential in the exact same era!"
Du Busi's laughter abruptly ceased. He lowered his head, staring at Liu Yuan with burning, intense eyes. The previous eccentric, almost perverted fanaticism vanished completely, instantly replaced by an unmatched, suffocating solemnity and a truly domineering aura fit for a sect master.
He turned his imposing figure, his voice echoing loudly as he announced his decree to Elder Chen, Vina, and Long Aotian, who had just rushed back into the hall:
"Pass on my absolute order!"
"From this day forward, Liu Yuan officially becomes the second personal disciple of me, Du Busi!"
"His status, authority, and treatment shall be exactly equal to that of the Chief Disciple, Long Aotian! All resources within the Sect—as long as he requires them—will be supplied to him with absolute priority and without condition!"
Du Busi paused, his sharp gaze sweeping over every single person present. He spoke his final words with heavy, deliberate weight:
"Additionally, officially list Liu Yuan as a candidate for the next Sect Master! He shall compete directly with Long Aotian. In the future, whoever completes their Gold-grade Secondary Awakening first, whoever proves to be the absolute strongest... shall be the next Sect Master of my Body Sect!"
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