Soaring the Heavens

"Of course I'm happy! Why wouldn't I be?" Miao Yi hurriedly cupped his fists and smiled, "Congratulations!"

Sikong Wuwei immediately broke into loud, arrogant laughter. He was simply much too happy. To a cultivator, this was indeed a joyous affair. No one wouldn't be excited by this achievement.

Beside him, Miao Yi asked, "Sikong, now that your cultivation has increased, when are you going to pull the Celestial Sage off her seat?"

"Uhh…." As though someone had caught him by the throat, Sikong Wuwei immediately lost the smile on his face. How could such words be spoken so casually like this? Wouldn't it spell disaster for him if someone heard it? He immediately glared at Miao Yi and said angrily, "What do you mean by that? Are you intentionally trying to spoil my fun?"

Miao Yi sighed, "Zhao Fei was here yesterday, and boasted to my face just before leaving. Now, you're here to do the same as well. Do the two of you really have to slap your breakthroughs in my face back and forth like this? So what if you can fly? Do you two expect me to feel good about this?"

"Jealousy! I see it now. You're feeling jealous. Nothing but pure, blatant jealousy!" Sikong Wuwei felt utterly conceited as he pointed at Miao Yi's face and said scornfully.

"Stop feeling so full of yourself. Jealousy? You've only just broken through to the Red Lotus First Grade after cultivating for a couple thousand years. It's not like I've never seen fast cultivators before. What's there to be jealous about?" If Miao Yi really had to be jealous of someone, then it would be Yan Beihong. However, he couldn't be bothered to slap this harsh reality in Sikong's face. The other party was already a Hall Master, for crying out loud!

"You—"

Before Sikong Wuwei could release a mouthful of spit on his face, Miao Yi grabbed the wrist that was pointing at him, then dragged him to Raincloud Pavilion. "Let's go! I'll throw you a feast to celebrate!"

"That's more like it!" Sikong Wuwei huffed.

Needless to say, after downing a few drinks, the matter of Sikong Wuwei's Third Grade Transcendent Artifact was tasked to Yao Ruoxian as well.

Yao Ruoxian couldn't help sighing to himself. He thought he had hidden himself well enough, but business was still making its way to him somehow. Indeed, when one's skills are too dazzling, there's just no way to conceal it!

As he watched Sikong Wuwei fly off into the sky, Miao Yi let out a bitter smile. If he was successful, he would only just break through to Blue Lotus Sixth Grade next year!

He would be lying if he said he wasn't the slightest bit envious of Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei. Since time immemorial, man had admired birds for their ability to freely traverse the skies. This was something that all mortals dreamed about the moment they were born, and was also the desire of the cultivators who were able to travel the land as they pleased.

After seeing one after another of his friends breaking free of the shackles of the earth and soaring into the skies, while he himself was still stuck on the ground, Miao Yi couldn't help but feel how small he was as he gazed into the distant blue sky. How could he possibly not feel envious?

He was still able to accept the fact that Sikong Wuwei and Zhao Fei were able to break through. However, even Yan Beihong—who started cultivating around the same time he did—had also reached this realm. On the other hand, he was still far from being able to reach their level. Miao Yi had to remind himself deep down, 'You have to work harder! If you fall too far behind, then no matter how close our friendship is, a rift will eventually form. Because you can no longer catch up to them!'

His relationship with Chen Fei was a good example of this. It was no longer possible for the two of them to revert to being friends and treat each other as equals. Although Miao Yi himself could be casual, Chen Fei had to display proper courtesy and humility when speaking to him. In front of Miao Yi, he had completely become an obedient subordinate, and whatever Miao Yi said, to Chen Fei, it was the same as an official decree. Chen Fei had gone from being a friend to becoming nothing more than a close subordinate. There was no way for them to go back to the way things were before!

A few days later, both Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei sent over a massive heap of artifact-refining ingredients. The two of them had really expended much of their fortunes for this.

There was simply no helping it as they both knew that when facing a more powerful opponent, if they wished to survive, then they needed the strength to protect themselves. Otherwise, they would be no different than a piece of meat on the chopping board. If someone wished to dice them up, then they could do it with the simple drop of a knife. Only by covering themselves in a coat of thorns like a hedgehog would their enemies be forced to think twice before messing with them.

Just for refining the keystone that would be the formation core of the transcendent artifact alone, Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei had used up about eight million low-grade Orbs of Wills' worth of spending. Moreover, the keystone itself wasn't even of a particularly high quality. After which, they each had to prepare twenty-five Third Grade Yao Cores as well. A single Third Grade Yao Core cost around one million low-grade Orbs of Will, so twenty-five Yao Cores were equivalent to twenty-five million low-grade Orbs of Will.

On these two things alone, the two of them had each spent over thirty million low-grade Orbs of Wills' worth of purchases. They also had to include the cost of other materials as well as the exorbitant labor costs Yao Ruoxian was charging them. Just for making the whole set of artifacts for each person, both Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei had already spent over forty million low-grade Orbs of Will.

To recount, the two of them had each managed to obtain around three hundred sets of Second Grade Armor Artifacts from the Subjugation Crusade, and now they were practically spending over two hundred of them in one fell swoop. This was a great expense indeed. That said, there weren't too many cultivators who could obtain a whole set of Third Grade Transcendent Artifact for themselves right after breaking through to the Red Lotus First Grade. If Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei were really able to do such a thing, then unless they were fighting against a really tough opponent, there wouldn't be too many Red Lotus cultivators who would dare challenge them. Even Hall Master Shen Huaixin might not necessarily be their match. Evidently, this was also the reason why both Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei had spared no expense in procuring themselves a full set of Third Grade Transcendent Artifacts.

Miao Yi couldn't help sighing to himself when he realized how easy it was for Yao Ruoxian to make a living out of his artifact-refining skills. Why did the old man need to force himself to go through such a miserable life then? He was always hiding around here and there, and even after running all the way to the Sea of Constellations, he was labeled as a thief and was hunted down.

At the same time, Miao Yi could imagine how big the smile on Wen Fang's face must be right now. The commission from this alone was probably quite the hefty profit for her already. It probably wouldn't take her too many years to become the Manager for Raincloud City. Her promotion was all but assured…

Word that two of Suppressing Tenth Manor's members had simultaneously managed to break through to the Red Lotus realm soon spread, and the whole place was shaken to the core. And even the people from Traversing Water Palace were now focusing their attention on Suppressing Tenth Hall.

There was no way Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei could keep the news under wraps now that they had both broken through to the Red Lotus realm. There were certain rules they had to oblige, after all. Once a cultivator reached this stage, their strength would clearly be completely different than before their breakthrough. Naturally, the respective Palaces needed to keep a close eye on these people. As such, they must report their statuses to the higher-ups as soon as possible. Otherwise, they would be severely punished!

Many of Suppressing Tenth Hall's members were once again expecting to see another performance. Presently, the three Advisors and the three Manor Heads were about evenly matched. If they fought, then that would surely be quite the battle to watch.

While news of Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei's breakthrough was still spreading like wildfire throughout Suppressing Tenth Hall, Traversing Water Palace had sent a messenger over to deliver an official decree straight to the two Manor Head's hands. They were being summoned by the Palace Lord!

Both of them then met up at Miao Yi's place to brainstorm about the possible reasons behind the Palace Lord's summons.

However, they couldn't come up with anything at all. It was equally possible for this to be a good and bad thing at the same time. In the end, Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei had no choice but to fly off into the skies.

Atop the island resting upon the vast, serene waters of the lake, Miao Yi stood on top of the roof and looked up to the sky, his figure gradually becoming smaller and smaller...

There were absolutely no roads leading to the precipitous cliff that was surrounded on all sides by massive waterfalls, and sitting at the peak was the structure of a lofty palace. It was evident that this was not a place that mere mortals can make their way into, and its name was Traversing Water Palace!

Within the fluttering curtains of the main assembly hall, a gentle breeze drifted into the room from all sides. It was as though the building itself was floating on air, and it made one feel as if it existed separate from the mortal plane.

The main hall itself was empty, and within its fluttering curtains, only Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei stood shoulder to shoulder in silence as they waited for the Palace Lord to arrive.

Soon, a steady knocking sound reached their ears. The two of them were not unfamiliar with this sound, as they had heard it before back in Jade Capital Peak as well. Their expressions immediately tensed up as they knew that the Palace Lord—Granny Tao—had arrived.

Tao Qingli supported Granny Tao as they walked in from behind Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei. The two Manor Heads then quickly retreated to the side and vacated the center of the room.

As they waited for Granny Tao to walk by, both Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei cupped their fists and said, "Your subordinates—Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei—respectfully greet the Palace Lord and Advisor!"

After passing through the center between the two of them, Granny Tao chuckled, then raised her hand and said, "At ease!"

Once Granny Tao had passed them by completely, Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei returned to their original positions and stood side by side as they faced forward.

After she helped Granny Tao sit down on her Palace Lord's seat, Tao Qingli stood to the side, then cast a scrutinizing gaze at the two Manor Heads. Out of the three Manor Heads of the 'Iron Triangle' that surrounded Tranquil Sun Manor, she had only ever seen Miao Yi. It was her first time meeting these two.

"The two of you were brought back by me from the Overlord's place. How time flies. It has been over thirty years since then, yes?" Granny Tao asked.

Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei cupped their fists, "Yes, Ma'am!"

"You don't have to be so tense. You should be more like what's-his-name… Out of the three that I brought back all those years ago, the little scamp that isn't here today. That's right. His name is Miao Yi. Qingli, how exactly did he complain to you again?" Granny Tao turned her head to look at Tao Qingli and asked.

Tao Qingli was slightly taken aback. After some thought, she answered, "Miao Yi said: 'It's not like I've never seen powerful individuals before. I've met all ten Palace Lords of the Fifth Earthly Branch, and I've even been in the presence of the Overlord himself! And while I was in the Sea of Constellations, I didn't so much as bat an eye at the sight of bloodshed in every corner. I've slept upon a pile of corpses, bathed in a puddle of blood, fought side-by-side with the disciple of the Celestial Sage, swept the grounds of the Western Constellations Palace. Hell, I've even been in the capital city's prison! I've called the grandson of the Devil Sage my brother and fought against the grandchild of the Yao Sage. Even the Celestial Sage's disciple—Tang Jun, once helped me in my time of need. The people that worked alongside each of the Six Sages, I've met almost every one of them…' It was something along those lines!"

'OH MY GOD!' Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei secretly turned to look at one another. They were a little speechless. Miao Yi had actually said such a thing to Tao Qingli? Why didn't the bastard ever mention this to them before? Wasn't this a little too bold of him?

"That's it! The three of you are comrades, so I'm sure you've been through similar situations as well. You've already had so many valuable experiences. There's no need to be nervous. I only called you two here today to have a little chat and nothing else besides that." Granny Tao smiled and said.

Down below, Sikong Wuwei smiled wryly and said, "We have indeed been in prison with him before, but he was the only one who's ever swept the grounds of the Western Constellations Palace. Nevertheless, most of those experiences were simply a result of our bad luck. The two of us haven't had as many random experiences as that guy."

Zhao Fei slightly frowned. However, as he thought it over, he realized Sikong Wuwei did indeed have a point. Those were unfortunate situations that they were in most of the time. How was being in prison not being unlucky? It seemed that that bastard Miao Yi had only swept the grounds of the Western Constellations Palace because he was forced to as well. He wouldn't stop complaining about it afterward. And back when they were fighting the grandson of the Yao Sage, things were even worse for them; they had almost lost their lives. Moreover, if that bastard Miao Yi hadn't gotten himself into a sticky situation after that, then Tang Jun wouldn't have helped him to resolve the troublesome affair as well. Not to mention, there was also the time when they were almost taken away by Lan Hou back when they were meeting the Overlord and ten Palace Lords in the capital city.

As he recalled each affair, Zhao Fei soon realized that most of them had nothing good worth noting at all. It was just that Miao Yi had talked about them in a way that made it sound like they were impressive experiences. Those who knew the full story would probably laugh their heads off at this. Who would be so shameless as to boast about such experiences to try and intimidate another person?

Granny Tao asked, "Were you friends before joining the Subjugation Crusade?"

"No, Ma'am! We got to know each other during the Subjugation Crusade itself!" Sikong Wuwei replied.

"The three of you came to my Traversing Water Palace together, stirred up trouble together, and even your fights, you fight hand-in-hand. What camaraderie! That's why you've got this old one intrigued. Not many cultivators out there share as close a relationship the way you three do!" Granny Tao sighed.

'Stirring up trouble? Fighting?' Sikong Wuwei's expression froze. 'She's not trying to punish us, is she?' He furtively glanced at Zhao Fei.

Zhao Fei cupped his fists and replied, "The three of us have been through life and death and overcame countless tribulations together in the Subjugation Crusade. We were only able to make it back alive by supporting one another. It's understandable that our relationship will be close after such an experience. However, we're definitely not the type who like to go around causing trouble. At most, we're the type of people who won't go offending others, provided they don't offend us first!"

"Yup! You are all faithful individuals! It is good to have such loyalty! That's the kind of person I like the most! Let's do this then! I'll let the two of you oversee the Suppressing Second Hall and Suppressing Third Hall that's at the foot of this mountain!" As she said this, Granny Tao quickly wrote down two decrees of appointment. She gently raised her palm, and the decrees floated right down to Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei.