Meanwhile, the other four patriarchs were secretly envious of Patriarch Patrick of the Coldreach Sect. Getting injured wasn’t a big deal—for experts at their level, it would only take seven or eight days to recover fully. But Patrick had just scored resources worth five thousand top-grade spirit crystals as compensation. It was such a good deal that the others almost wanted to get injured themselves.
After dividing up the loot, Ian Song suddenly turned to Patriarch Patrick and said, "Senior Zhou, I know a secret technique that can instantly heal your wounds. Would you like to give it a try?"
"Sure, go ahead!" Patriarch Patrick replied nonchalantly.
So Ian grabbed Patriarch Patrick’s arm and activated the Radiance of Life. Under the astonished gazes of the five Fusion patriarchs, Patrick’s arm injury healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"That’s just incredible!"
All five patriarchs stared in disbelief and amazement.
Ian just smiled and didn’t bother to explain.
Normally, after dividing the loot, everyone would take their share and leave. But this time, the four other patriarchs showed no intention of leaving; instead, they lingered, making small talk that sounded nostalgic but was actually completely meaningless.
"Seniors, I’ll take my leave now!"
Ian cupped his fists to the five Fusion patriarchs and prepared to leave. During the loot division, he’d noticed an interesting item and wanted to go back and study it.
"Hold on, Ian."
Just as Ian was about to leave, the five Fusion patriarchs—who had been chatting idly—immediately stopped talking.
Ian turned back, deliberately looking puzzled, though he knew exactly what was going on. "Do you seniors need anything else?" he asked.
For a moment, the other four patriarchs kept signaling to Shaoyang Chen with their eyes.
Shaoyang Chen gave an awkward laugh and said, "Ian, when are we planning our next operation?"
"You all want to do another job?" Ian asked, half amused, half serious.
Shaoyang Chen coughed and said, "Ahem, my lifespan is running out, and I have to leave something for my disciples and descendants, so...!"
Ian waved his hand and slowly swept his gaze across the five patriarchs. For some reason, his look made all five of them feel nervous and embarrassed.
"Do the other four seniors feel the same way?"
"That’s right!" said Patriarch Evan of the Sunrise Sword Sect. "My Sunrise Sword Sect has it tough. Don’t be fooled by our first-rate status—every disciple lives a hard life. As ancestor, I have to look out for them."
Patriarch Simon of the Spiritfish Sect nodded in agreement. "Yes, our Spiritfish Sect is in the same boat..."
Patriarch Patrick of the Coldreach Sect spoke up next, followed by Patriarch Martin of the Setting Sun Sect. Their reasons were all similar—their disciples were struggling, and as ancestors, it was their duty to earn more resources for them.
Ian found the whole thing rather amusing.
He said, "Seniors, as the saying goes, sharpening your axe won’t delay chopping wood. If you switch to the techniques I gave you, how long would it take to reach Fusion?"
After doing some mental math, Shaoyang Chen answered, "It’s not a complete rebuild, just a conversion, but the techniques you gave us are much higher-level than our originals. So, at least three months!"
Three months is short for cultivators, but for Ian right now, it felt way too long.
So he asked again, "How long would it take to break through from early Fusion to mid-Fusion?"
Shaoyang Chen thought seriously, then answered gravely, "At least ten years—and that’s with massive resource consumption!"
Hearing this, Ian started thinking. He’d just wiped out two Prime One Church branch altars, so the Church was bound to send more powerful experts to guard the rest. Five early Fusion allies wouldn’t be enough. If all five could reach mid-Fusion, they’d be able to handle even two more Fusion guardians per altar. But right now, it was clearly impossible for them to break through in such a short time.
That meant he’d have to use another method.
So Ian said to the five Fusion patriarchs, "Seniors, my sect has a Secret Realm where the time ratio is one hundred to one—one hundred days inside equals just one day outside. Would you be interested in cultivating there?"
The five Fusion patriarchs were utterly shocked. A Secret Realm like that was basically heaven-defying—entering it would give you nearly a hundred times more time than anyone else. If a sect could train in such a place, they’d surpass all others in no time.
After a long pause, Patriarch Evan of the Sunrise Sword Sect finally spoke up, curious. "Ian, if you don’t mind me asking, which sect do you belong to?"
"My sect is called the Divine Temple," Ian replied with a smile.
Everyone frowned—they’d clearly never heard of any sect called the Divine Temple.
Ian explained, "I won’t go into details, but all you need to know is that the master of the Divine Temple can travel across the myriad worlds."
"Is that really true?" The five patriarchs were stunned again.
Ian flipped his palm, producing a slim metal rectangle. As a ringtone sounded, one side lit up, and Ian swiped his finger across it, bringing up a video.
A group of scantily dressed young women started dancing inside the metal box.
Ian explained, "This is called a mobile phone—a product from another world..."
Ian briefly explained the phone’s functions. The five patriarchs were amazed and each took turns examining it.
Ian continued, "So far, I’ve followed the Divine Temple’s master to four different worlds. None of those worlds were particularly powerful, but each had its own quirks. For example, in one world, I spent decades uniting the human race and became the Human Emperor, which earned me endless resources."
At this, the five patriarchs’ eyes widened, their gazes burning with excitement.
Resources from an entire world—just how much was that? No wonder Ian was so generous despite his youth.
"Ian, if you don’t mind me asking, how many resources did you get in that fantasy world?" Shaoyang Chen asked.
"Just twenty million top-grade spirit crystals," Ian said modestly, with a smile.
"Twenty million top-grade spirit crystals—just ‘just’?"
The five patriarchs had just been delighted with their haul of a little over ten thousand top-grade spirit crystals, and now Ian was casually mentioning a figure like that.
Ian shrugged. "It’s really nothing. I have a senior brother who’s already conquered several worlds—his resources are practically limitless. My spirit crystals are just pocket change to him!"
Just pocket change? Twenty million top-grade spirit crystals are just pocket change!
The five Fusion patriarchs were stunned all over again.
They all silently decided—they had to cling to Ian’s thigh. If they could hitch a ride on the Divine Temple’s ship, their futures would be golden.
A day later, Ian led the five Fusion patriarchs to a valley shrouded in formations.
As they gazed at the valley, the five patriarchs looked eager—this was the Secret Realm Ian had told them about.