Seeing the strange smile at the corner of Ian Song's mouth, Elder Gideon Skyreach suddenly spoke: "All right, it's enough that you know about this. Don't spread it around."
"Yes, Master!"
Next, under Elder Gideon Skyreach's supervision, and with the other five elders and more than sixty Male Phoenix Line disciples in the Lesser Immortal Realm as witnesses, Ian Song formally joined the Male Phoenix Line and bowed to Gideon Skyreach as his master.
"Take these ten immortal stones—they're my gift to you for becoming my disciple!" With a casual wave of his hand, Gideon Skyreach sent ten thumb-sized, pure immortal stones flying over to Ian.
Immortal stones are also called immortal crystals, and just like spirit crystals, they come in different grades.
These ten immortal stones were all lower-grade, but even so, they're extremely precious in the mortal world.
After all, even immortal essence is rarely found in the mortal world, let alone the concentrated essence within immortal stones.
"Thank you, Master!"
Ian Song quickly bowed to express his gratitude.
"Don't use immortal stones for daily cultivation—save them for battle to restore your strength!" Gideon Skyreach reminded him.
"I'll remember, Master!" Ian nodded. Immortal yuan force is powerful, but it's extremely hard to recover, making prolonged battles difficult. With immortal stones, though, things are different—he could absorb energy while fighting. Just a single immortal stone could let Ian absorb continuously for ten days and nights.
After the ceremony, Gideon Skyreach called Ian Song aside and said, "The secret arts you practice are no weaker than the Male Phoenix Line's inheritance techniques, so I don't recommend switching. As for weapons, the Azure Flood-Dragon Sword is more than enough for you all the way to late Tribulation, so I won't be giving you another. Instead, I'll spar with you personally, guiding your combat skills, tempering your battle will, and cultivating your fighting talent!"
A whole year flashed by in the blink of an eye.
During this year, Ian Song spent almost all his time in the Lesser Immortal Realm, constantly battling Gideon Skyreach.
His opponent was an Immortal-level master.
Even the simplest Dao arts became miraculous in his hands. So, in these matches, Ian suffered greatly—even when Gideon Skyreach suppressed his cultivation to Ian's level, he could still thrash Ian so badly it felt like dying and coming back to life.
Luckily, Ian's comprehension was extraordinary. In the first month, he could last at most three moves against Gideon Skyreach.
By the second month, five moves.
By the third month, twenty moves.
......
By the twelfth month, Ian Song could already exchange five hundred blows with Gideon Skyreach without losing.
Over this year, his Heavenbreaker Sword Canon advanced by leaps and bounds—he even comprehended the sixth form: Shock the Heavens.
If he were to fight Princess Claire again, Ian was confident he could defeat her without using World-Shaping Avatar or Spatial Stasis.
Meanwhile, his ranking on the Rising Talents Ranking kept climbing, mainly because everyone he challenged promptly conceded. By this month, he had reached eleventh place.
And he had already issued a challenge to Scar Yishang, ranked tenth.
Scar Yishang was a rogue cultivator with considerable talent, but strangely, he refused to join any sect—even the Phoenix Heaven Church had tried to recruit him as an elite disciple, but he declined.
Moreover, he followed a path of self-created cultivation arts.
But creating cultivation arts is incredibly difficult, and making them powerful is even harder.
That's why Scar Yishang was ranked tenth.
Otherwise, with his talent, if he joined any sect and learned powerful arts and Dao techniques, he could easily move up several ranks—maybe even reach the top five!
Because Scar Yishang had no sect or affiliation and his whereabouts were unpredictable, Ian Song had already issued a challenge half a month ago, yet Scar Yishang still hadn't come to the capital to accept.
Throughout this year, Ian Song barely showed his face in the capital and stopped doing anything eye-catching, so his reputation gradually settled down.
Another event: Half a year ago, Little Prince Wu Suyang was appointed by the Empress as the new Prince of Muye.
Although he became the new Prince of Muye, Wu Suyang never tried to make trouble for Ian Song—mainly because he didn't have the guts.
Another change was that, while cultivating in the Lesser Immortal Realm, Ian Song transferred some immortal essence into the Divine Temple, greatly benefiting his subordinates. Since one year outside meant a hundred years inside, their cultivation advanced tremendously.
Of course, Ian didn't forget to share these benefits with his two wives.
With his special care, Li Tianluo had reached late Fusion stage, and Lin Wan'er had broken through several major realms in succession, reaching the peak of late Soul Departure—just one step away from Fusion.
On a cliff before the Phoenix Line's mountain peak, Gideon Skyreach stood with his hands behind his back, looking at Ian Song with satisfaction. "Disciple, you've made great progress in combat this year, but don't get arrogant. Your cultivation is also at a breakthrough point—rest for a while, then come to the Lesser Immortal Realm to prepare for your Fusion breakthrough!"
"Yes, Master. Then I'll take my leave." Ian Song nodded.
"Go on!"
Leaving the Lesser Immortal Realm, Ian Song teleported straight back to the Song Residence, then released Li Tianluo and Lin Wan'er from the Divine Temple.
"Husband!"
"Brother Song!"
As soon as they saw Ian Song, both women forgot all restraint and rushed over together. By their reckoning, they'd spent seventy or eighty years in the Divine Temple, and since Ian couldn't enter the temple while in the Lesser Immortal Realm, it had been decades since they'd last met.
Seeing the two women rush over, Ian Song didn't hesitate—he pulled them into his arms and indulged in a bout of affectionate cuddling.
Soon, both women were blushing deeply.
"Brother Song, I'll head back to my room!"
Suddenly, Lin Wan'er, still unfinished in her affairs, broke free from Ian Song's mischievous hands and fled in embarrassment.
Seeing this, Li Tianluo couldn't help but smile knowingly. "Husband, Wan'er's cultivation has reached late Soul Departure. Are you planning...?"
"Don't worry, I have my own plans. Once I break through to Fusion, I'll take her in properly—and help her reach Fusion too. But let's put that aside for now. Let's talk about us."
"What about us?"
"Naturally, it's...!"
Ian Song gave a mischievous grin, then lowered his head and kissed Li Tianluo fiercely on her cherry lips.
Ian Song stayed at the Song Residence for five or six days before returning to the Lesser Immortal Realm to begin his closed-door cultivation for the Fusion breakthrough.
He cultivated top-tier immortal arts and possessed an exceptionally solid foundation, plus his body was filled with immortal yuan force. So, what others considered a difficult breakthrough was nothing to Ian Song.
Even though Gideon Skyreach had great confidence in Ian Song, he still guarded him during the breakthrough, which moved Ian deeply.
The so-called Fusion stage is actually the process of dispersing the nascent soul and fusing it with the body, then giving birth to the so-called primordial spirit.
After nodding to Gideon Skyreach, Ian Song sat cross-legged on the ground, letting his mind sink into his sea of consciousness...