Chapter 522: The Rumor Mill.
Roar said in anticipation, "She isn’t bad at all. I had fun with her and I am looking forward to tomorrow when we meet."
Arthur kept his thoughts to himself and simply nodded and said, "Good luck and have fun. Just don’t forget to learn your spells."
Roar groaned when he heard that last statement. Then he grumbled aloud, "I hate spells. They are complicated and make my head hurt just thinking about them."
Arthur encouraged him, "You simply have to keep trying. Take it slow. A little progress every day is enough."
Roar slumped onto the ground and sighed before saying, "If you say so. Unfortunately, I don’t have the god physique so I have to hope that you are right."
Arthur chuckled again. Then he went to the cultivation room to continue cultivating. His goal was to reach the peak of the third mortal coil and then begin preparing to transcend to the fourth mortal coil.
He didn’t seal himself from the world this time around because he wasn’t in a critical state during his cultivation.
He was just filling up his life seeds with energy. This is something he can do half-heartedly, so he could afford to pay attention to the world by reading the news.
While he was cultivating, news of an upcoming war between one of the sects in the Five Veins Region and an invading sect began to spread throughout the world.
Arthur didn’t pay much attention to it because just a few years ago, when Stella joined the sect, rumors of a war between the Black Bones sect and the Blood Skull sect also spread.
It was said that the patriarch of the Black Bones sect was very angry about Stella being forcefully taken and was hell-bent on retrieving her dead or alive, preferably dead so that he could use her corpse for something nefarious.
The rumor was very detailed and widespread, yet nothing happened. Many years have passed since then, yet the Black Bones sect hasn’t made a move against the Blood Skull sect.
So he didn’t trust this rumor either. He skipped over it to read other things.
The one piece of news he did pay attention to was the news of Storm Hawk trying to advance to the fourth mortal coil.
Storm Hawk had kept her attempt a secret from everyone. She sealed herself in her room and did something that would either lead to transcendence or death without telling anyone about her plan.
But her actions couldn’t be hidden from Stella. Stella was able to sense that someone was breaking through to the fourth mortal coil and was also able to pinpoint the exact location of the person making the attempt.
After Stella confirmed that the person trying to reach the golden core realm was Storm Hawk, she texted Arthur and told him about it.
When he saw her message, he said to himself, "On the one hand, I want her to succeed. On the other hand, I want her to fail so that I don’t have to call her elder again."
He was joking about the last part of his sentence, though. If he doesn’t want to call her an elder, he can always beat her up.
He said to himself, "If I, as a foundation establishment cultivator, can beat up a golden core elder, surely I don’t have to call that golden core cultivator an elder."
It has happened before that someone at the third mortal coil defeated someone at the fourth mortal coil. In fact, it happens a lot of times, and he has faith in himself that he will be able to replicate this feat.
This self-confidence made him not care about Storm Hawk’s attempt to break through. He chuckled to himself and whispered, "Good luck."
Maybe it was because of his wish; Storm Hawk succeeded and managed to advance to the fourth mortal coil. When she did, even he managed to sense it. He felt through his divine sense that a heavy object had appeared close to him.
One of the main reasons he was able to sense her breakthrough was because she left her apartment and appeared before the whole world. So the formations and barriers of her apartment stopped protecting her.
The second reason he was able to sense her was because she didn’t try to hide her advancement. In fact, she did the opposite.
She wanted everyone to know that she had advanced. So she appeared before everyone and broadcasted her newfound power for everyone to see and feel.
Many people, upon sensing the appearance of a new golden core cultivator, came out of their apartments to congratulate her. This was truly a joyous occasion for the sect and for Storm Hawk.
Cultivators rarely celebrate things like birthdays. Birthdays don’t have any meaning for them.
Weddings are rarely celebrated too because cultivators rarely get married. But occasions like this, when a cultivator transcends into a major realm, are something special and celebrated.
Arthur went to congratulate Stone Hawk, but he didn’t join in the celebration that followed because he was busy and didn’t lack for money.
The fourth mortal coil is the stage at which cultivators in the Five Veins Region become acknowledged powerhouses because nascent soul patriarchs rarely act. Arthur doesn’t know how other sects celebrate the appearance of a new powerhouse, but he got to find out how the Blood Skull sect celebrates theirs.
Storm Hawk celebrated her advancement by organizing a series of hunting games. Her party was essentially a raiding party.
She took disciples out of the sect to raid various families and the establishments of sects all over the Five Veins Region.
When the disciples she took out encountered someone they couldn’t beat, she would intervene. If she encountered some at the golden core that she couldn’t handle, the seniors who followed her in secret would come out and intervene.
She used the disciples as bait, and she too was used as bait. The whole celebration party was a fishing game within a fishing game.