Not long after, Wen Zonglin entered, surrounded by admirers. Seeing Ling Luoyi seated in the hall, he burst into laughter, "Girl, you've finally arrived. Before, when you didn't come, these people thought the old man had gone mad. You're here to vouch for me, are you my disciple?"
Those who came with Wen Zonglin were his friends, the old sect leaders of the top powers on the Ancient Spirit Continent. They had known for a long time that Wen Zonglin had taken a disciple but had never met her in person, so they had always assumed Wen Zonglin was ill. Although a year and a half ago, Wen Zonglin had publicly acknowledged Ling Luoyi, the eldest daughter of the Ling family, as his disciple in front of everyone, and the news had spread, few had seen her with their own eyes. While they had all heard rumors about Ling Luoyi, no one had actually met her, so they still harbored some doubts.
Ling Luoyi reluctantly rose and respectfully performed the disciple's ceremony, thus solidifying her identity.
Wen Zonglin became even more smug and said to those people proudly, "How about that? Did I lie to you? I told you, but you didn't believe me. Now that you've seen her in person, do you believe it?"
"Alright, Old Wen, how many years have you been showing off in front of us? Still showing off?" a white-haired old man retorted unceremoniously. This old man was the Old Sect Leader Shen of the Jade Sword Sect, and a long-time friend of Wen Zonglin.
"Old Shen, why can't I show off? If you had such a good disciple, wouldn't you show off?" Wen Zonglin retorted directly, then said to Ling Luoyi with a beaming smile, "Girl, why have you come?"
"Master, do you have a place suitable for planting a tree here? I have a tree I want to plant here."
"Planting a tree? Hahaha, Old Wen, your little disciple is quite interesting. She comes to you to plant a tree." Someone else chuckled, but not with malicious intent.
Wen Zonglin ignored them. He didn't think there was anything wrong with Ling Luoyi asking him to plant a tree. Everything this girl had given him was a treasure; this tree was certainly no ordinary tree.
After considering the grounds of the Ancient Spirit Academy, Wen Zonglin pointed to the mountain behind the courtyard and said, "Girl, what do you think of this mountain? There's a flat area at the summit, which should be enough for you to plant your tree."
Upon hearing this, Ling Luoyi followed Wen Zonglin's gaze. The mountain wasn't very high, only about two thousand meters. After thinking for a moment, Ling Luoyi said, "It's fine. Let's plant it there. It will be easier for Master to manage."
What needed managing, Ling Luoyi didn't say before walking out. Wen Zonglin followed, and the others, curious about what tree Ling Luoyi was going to plant, also followed.
The disciples outside the courtyard were still gathered around, and more and more were joining. Wen Zonglin was a bit angry and reprimanded, "Are you all so idle today? Gathered here, don't you need to cultivate?!"
Sensing Wen Zonglin's anger, the disciples were still afraid and dispersed, leaving only Wen Zonglin's four disciples standing there.
Watching the retreating backs of the disciples and then glancing at Ling Luoyi standing beside him, Wen Zonglin finally fixed his gaze on his four disciples and couldn't help but grumble, "You brats, it's one thing that your cultivation can't compare to the young lady, but you're not even as diligent as her."
The four who were caught in the crossfire felt wronged: Master, we didn't do anything.
Wen Zonglin treated Wen Ting'an and the other three one way, and Ling Luoyi another. He asked with a smile, "Girl, your master brother will dig the hole for you, and you just need to plant the tree."
"No need, Master, I can do it myself. Do you want to go up and take a look, Master?"
"Certainly." Wen Zonglin had intended to, but Ling Luoyi spoke first. Knowing that Ling Luoyi's tree was no ordinary item, how could Wen Zonglin miss this opportunity to show off his disciple? He then said to his friends, "Do you want to come along?"
The old sect leaders expressed that they couldn't bear to watch. They had known each other for more than twenty years; how could they not see what Wen Zonglin was up to? However, they were also very curious about what tree Ling Luoyi was going to plant, so they nodded.
This time, Wen Zonglin also brought Wen Ting'an and the other three along, so they could see if what he said was true and if Ling Luoyi was indeed formidable!
Wen Zonglin didn't forget to set a trap for his fellow old sect leaders. The old sect leaders watched as Wen Zonglin, with his four disciples, quickly boarded his flying spiritual treasure and headed straight for the mountain. Wen Zonglin's voice lingered in the air, "If you want to come, come up on your own. I won't bring you."
Their smug demeanor made the old sect leaders want to hit someone. As for why there were only four disciples, it was because...
"Girl, your master can only bring four people, so I've brought your four useless master brothers. You come up yourself; I won't wait for you."
Seeing Ling Luoyi also left behind, Old Sect Leader Shen asked, "Miss Ling, would you like me to take you up?"
"No, thank you, sir." Ling Luoyi politely refused. The next moment, Ling Luoyi's toes moved slightly, and the old sect leaders watched as Ling Luoyi shot upwards like an arrow released from a bow. In just a moment, she disappeared from their sight.
Watching Ling Luoyi surpass them, Wen Zonglin stroked his beard and said to his four stunned disciples, "Now you know your master's words were not false. You haven't seen it because your vision is limited; don't think such things don't exist in the world."
The four disciples, looking at the vanished Ling Luoyi, were filled with shock. After a long while, Qin Yu asked dazedly, "Master, what is Junior Sister's current cultivation?"
Wen Zonglin smiled and said, "I can't see through this girl's current cultivation either, but she is definitely much stronger than me. You don't need to feel inferior. This girl will probably not stay on this continent."
"Master, do you mean that Junior Sister left this continent during the ten years she was missing?"
"Yes." Wen Zonglin said with emotion, "I have reached my limit. From now on, it depends on whether you can surpass the limitations of this continent."
Wen Ting'an and the other three looked at Wen Zonglin blankly. Could they really do it?
On Ling Luoyi's side, she quickly reached the summit. The summit was very wide and flat. If it weren't for the difficulty of ascending, it could have been a small plaza.
Ling Luoyi looked at Wen Zonglin and the old sect leaders who had not yet arrived. She raised her hand and cast a formation to stabilize the mountain. Then, those below heard a loud noise from the summit. They all looked up. They were not far from the summit, so they saw Ling Luoyi standing in mid-air, her right hand raised, throwing something towards the summit.
They quickly reached the summit and saw a large pit with a tree as thick as three people embracing it standing in the center. They didn't know what the summit was like before, so they looked at Wen Zonglin in confusion. Seeing Wen Zonglin staring blankly at the large tree, they understood that this tree in the pit was the one Ling Luoyi had mentioned planting.
Wen Zonglin stared dumbfoundedly at the large tree in the pit. He had expected Ling Luoyi to plant a sapling, but he didn't expect it to be so large, its canopy almost covering the entire summit. Wen Zonglin didn't know what kind of tree it was, but he keenly noticed that the spiritual energy on the summit seemed different, though he couldn't pinpoint why.
The other old sect leaders who had discovered this also noticed it, but they too didn't know the reason.
At this moment, Ling Luoyi also landed and walked to Wen Zonglin's side. Knowing what he wanted to ask, she spoke before he could, "Master, this tree is called the Enlightenment Tree. The most important thing in our cultivation is enlightenment, and this tree can help disciples realize their own path."