The speed at which Yu Yanhua could fly meant it took no more than ten minutes to reach the area that Huang Jingyi had mentioned. It had been weeks since Wei Liang had first appeared here, but even if the chances of finding out more were negligible, she had to make sure.

Accepting a disciple of Wei Liang’s suspected potential was not simple for any sect, especially if the sect had an overlord like the Tianxia Empire pressuring it in the shadows. At the least, it could be a death sentence for the Elders involved. In rare cases, a purge would be imposed on the entire sect to warn others of what would happen if they dared to accept such disciples instead of handing them over.

There had been an instance when the Empire had placed a daughter of heaven in a sect showing signs of disobedience, giving them enough of an excuse to erase the sect from existence, adding another concern with accepting such disciples.

However, as far as Yu Yanhua knew, the Jade Healing Sect and the Empire were on good terms, and unless the Sect master had done something she didn’t know of recently, that should still be the case.

Yu Yanhua suddenly stopped as she stared at a spot that would seem no different than any other part of the dirt road to others, mortals and cultivators alike. Unknown to most, she was a rare cultivator with great insight into the tremendously difficult Space Dao. While it was only her secondary specialty, it was enough to make her one of the most dangerous Nascent Soul Realm cultivators in the Tianxia Empire.

That insight let Yu Yanhua see a tear in the world, though it was almost healed to the point where she would have missed it if she wasn’t already looking for anomalies in the area. While she couldn’t confirm if the tear had been large enough to transport a boy of Wei Liang’s size, the story she was given certainly implied it. Not that she expected to see such advanced use of Space Dao, something that was far beyond what she was capable of.

Yu Yanhua had thought that the ‘Senior’ Huang Jingyi kept referencing might be a realm above her, but unless there was a cultivator that attained unmatched levels of insight into Space Dao while in the Spirit Severing Realm, she suspected that the one who saved Wei Liang was a respected senior in the Dao Seeking Realm.

She wasted no more time looking for clues and used her full speed to fly back to the Jade Healing Sect’s Inner Court. The surroundings blurred as a distance that would take mortals six months to travel was covered within four hours as Yu Yanhua rushed to report what she had found to the Sect Master. This was now a decision that was beyond her.

“Yu Yanhua!” A man adorned in precious gems yelped in shock at the sudden intrusion, “Where are your manners?!”

“Sect Master Guan Feng, I have something to report!” Yu Yanhua bowed, knowing she was in the wrong.

The Sect Master let out a heavy sigh before a pulsating surge of Qi enveloped her body, signaling that the formation had been activated. She rose from her bow to see the irritated look he was sending her.

“Yu Yanhua, if this is about Li Jie again….” Guan Feng trailed off helplessly, knowing that there wasn’t much he could do. He wanted Yu Yanhua to stop wasting her time and take more responsibility in the Sect, but she insisted on being the Head Elder of the Outer Court until she accepted a disciple.

“I may have found a potential disciple, Sect Master.”

“You have?” Guan Feng asked, briefly stunned, before a bright smile appeared on his lips, “That’s great! Who is it? How can I help?”

“He’s a new disciple named Wei Liang that was recommended by Huang Jingyi… but there are problems that could be disastrous for the Sect.”

Guan Feng’s smile slowly turned into a grimacing frown as he listened to Yu Yanhua explain what she had discovered before standing up in shock at what he was told at the end.

“That can’t be!” Guan Feng shook his head in disbelief, “Do you know how ridiculous this sounds, Yu Yanhua?”

“I’m aware,” Yu Yanhua replied with a nod, “But the alternative is equally preposterous. A Spirit Severing Realm cultivator with such control over Space Dao has never existed.”

Guan Feng knew that, he did, but it was hard to reconcile with the fact that a true pillar of humankind had made a move to save a mere mortal. After a few seconds of silence, he said, “I’m not sure it matters.”

“Sect Master?”

“I give you my permission, Yu Yanhua,” Guan Feng said carefully, “But do not allow Wei Liang to get the attention of the Grand Elder’s faction. I don’t have to tell you what will happen if that’s the case.”

“I already arranged for Wei Liang to stay with Huang Jingyi in Xuanjing City.”

“Xuanjing City?” Guan Feng repeated with a smile, “I never thought I would hear you say that willingly after the headache you gave us for decades about mortal cities.”

“It’s the best place for him to stay and avoid detection,” Yu Yanhua said stiffly, “The only danger is the Prince guarding the city, and he’s a paper tiger at best.”

Guan Feng chuckled, but he agreed with her. The Imperial Family’s true experts do not concern themselves with the daily rulings of the Empire. They made it a habit of selecting mediocre talents in the family and raising them to the Nascent Soul Realm with precious pills before dumping the administrative work on them. It was a wasteful use of such pills, but it was also a way for the Imperial Family to show their extravagant wealth.

“You’re correct,” Guan Feng finally agreed, “I know this doesn’t need to be said, but prepare for the worst.”

Yu Yanhua nodded. “Of course, Sect Master.”

“Good,” Guan Feng said, “Unfortunately, I’ll have to keep you as the Head Elder for the Outer Court since you can’t announce that you will be taking Wei Liang as your disciple. I wish you hadn’t made that declaration to the Elders.”

“I wouldn’t be able to take on more burden anyway,” Yu Yanhua shrugged without care.

Upon seeing that Yu Yanhua was openly neglecting her duties instead of using the excuse of finding a disciple, Guan Feng found it difficult to suppress his frustration. It seemed that she no longer felt the need to hide her blatant disregard for responsibility.

“Go!” Guan Feng signaled for her to leave with an irritated wave of his sleeve.

Yu Yanhua lowered her head in a slight bow and departed the Sect Master’s chambers.

However, she couldn’t shake off the unease as she walked to the exit. The fact that Wei Liang had caught the attention of such a powerful figure almost assured that he was a once-in-a-millennia talent. Still, it also meant that the Empire’s discovery of him would be a matter of when, not if.

They had eyes and ears everywhere. Even without that, if Wei Liang was too outstanding in front of the wrong people, it was unlikely that they would allow a talent like him to slip through their fingers.

The worst that the Sect Master told her to prepare for was the Empire finding out about the existence of Wei Liang too early before they could make contingency plans for a quick retreat.

It had been years, no, decades since Yu Yanhua had felt such an urgency to grow more powerful. At the heart of the Empire’s power stood the Spirit Severing Elders, secluded in the Empire’s sacred lands and devoted to uninterrupted cultivation. They emerged only in moments of crisis, when the Empire teetered on the brink of collapse or when a prodigious talent threatened to jeopardize its future existence.

Yu Yanhua had never personally witnessed such an event in her lifetime, but she accepted it as a fact. After all, the current Emperor was not of imperial blood. Rather, he was an unparalleled prodigy deemed by the Spirit Severing Elders to be of such importance that he must wed into the Imperial Family to preserve their dominion.

She harbored no doubt that Wei Liang would be bestowed with immeasurable riches from the Imperial Family if his existence were exposed. Therefore, it was even more imperative to keep Wei Liang hidden. Given his tender age, enticing him away with lavish presents would not be challenging.

This was not to say that the Jade Healing Sect would not do the same, but it would be reasonable, given that Wei Liang was a disciple of the Sect.