The Disciplinary Hall—to outsiders, it sounded like a single establishment, perhaps a cold stone building filled with rules and punishments.
But in truth, it was far more than that.
Spread across several acres of land, the Hall was a vast residence built in the traditional architecture of the Wudi Family—rows of quiet courtyards, high walls etched with spiritual formations, and the faint scent of incense drifting through the air.
Nearly five hundred cultivators resided within its bounds, though the true members of the Hall numbered scarcely over a hundred.
Every one of them was trained in the arts of discipline, investigation, and suppression.
They were the backbone of order in the Wudi Family—the eyes and hands of judgment.
Inside the main pavilion, Hall Master Tian sat in silence. The morning light filtered through the tall lattice windows, tracing slow patterns on the floor of polished black stone. In his hand rested a scroll, freshly delivered moments ago. His brows furrowed as his gaze moved across the lines, and when he finished, a deep sigh escaped his chest.
Across from him sat a tall, lean old man with a long grey beard and a bald crown that gleamed faintly beneath the light. His features were sharp, refined—like a sword sheathed in human form. Dressed in a silver robe trimmed with black, he was Vice Hall Master Yong, Tian's most trusted confidant and one of the few alive who dared to address him informally.
"What is it?" Vice Hall Master Yong finally asked, his tone deep and steady. "You've read that message three times now. Something troubles you."
He placed his teacup gently upon the table between them. The faint clink of porcelain echoed softly through the room.
Hall Master Tian's fingers lingered on the scroll for a long moment before he finally spoke. "It's nothing of grave urgency," he said slowly, though the heaviness in his voice betrayed otherwise. "But it seems… I must visit Codex once again."
"Codex?" Yong frowned deeply. "This would make it your eighth visit this year alone. Tian, how many times must you go to that place? Even the Patriarch grows anxious whenever you vanish for a month."
He leaned forward, his sharp gaze fixed on the older man. "You and I both know that each visit to the Codex drains your strength. Your body—"
"—is my own concern," Tian interrupted, though not with anger. He smiled faintly, a tired, knowing smile that seemed to carry the weight of centuries. "I will not crumble so easily, Yong. You of all people should know that."
Vice Hall Master Yong's frown deepened. "You jest, but the last time you returned, your aura was unstable for days. If our enemies from the Heavenly Knight Alliance were to catch even a whisper of that, we'd have chaos across the entire Eastern Domain."
Hall Master Tian said nothing. He placed the scroll aside and reached for his tea. The steam rose and curled between them like faint white smoke, blurring the air.
After a moment of silence, Yong's voice softened.
"…Is this about your disciple again?"
Tian's hand paused midair.
Then, slowly, he nodded. "Yes. Wudi Egun."
"Ah." Yong exhaled heavily, leaning back in his chair. "So that boy truly has you this worried. You've taken him as your personal disciple for only half a year, and yet he's managed to drag the mighty Hall Master Tian into countless sleepless nights."
A faint chuckle escaped the old master's lips. "You mock me, Yong. But yes… that child's existence stirs things even I had long buried."
Yong tilted his head, studying him. "You've said before—his Martial Spirit is unlike any recorded in the Codex, and his eyes… what did you call them again?"
"The Eyes of the Paragon," Tian replied softly, as though uttering a secret name. "They are beyond the comprehension of this world's systems. Even the Codex lacks reference to such a manifestation."
Yong crossed his arms. "And yet, despite such a gift, he spends half his time getting beaten to a pulp. If not for his natural vitality, he would've been bedridden permanently."
Tian laughed under his breath. "You're not wrong. He's reckless, impulsive, and too curious for his own good. But… those are the very traits of a cultivator who dares to step beyond the mortal path."
His tone softened as he looked out through the window toward the distant mountains. The morning mist coiled lazily over the rooftops.
"He reminds me of myself, five centuries ago."
Yong's gaze flickered slightly. "You mean during the War against the Heavenly Knight Alliance?"
Tian nodded faintly, his expression turning distant.
"Yes. Back then, I was still known as Ancestor Tian. The Wudi Family was drowning in blood and smoke. I created the Ghost Deity Cultivation Manual to gain an edge in that war… and it worked. It granted me power beyond measure—but it also consumed me from within."
He touched his chest lightly. "The backlash still lingers. Every breath I take is a reminder of what pride costs."
Yong lowered his eyes in silence. He had witnessed that war. He had seen Tian return—victorious, yet broken, with his meridians shattered and his lifespan shortened. The man before him was a living legend who should have long turned to dust.
After a pause, Tian spoke again, voice almost gentle.
"I once thought I would take my secrets to the grave. But fate gave me that boy, Egun. His awakening… his will… something about him tells me the path of the Ghost Deity may yet be perfected through him."
Yong looked unconvinced. "So you plan to leave him your legacy."
"That, and more," Tian replied. "He must refine the path I could not. Surpass me. Correct the errors I left behind. The Ghost Deity path cannot remain incomplete. If it does, he will suffer the same fate I did."
Yong's expression darkened. "Then you must not let him walk it yet. He is still too young, too wild. If he touches that cultivation art unprepared, it will destroy him."
"I know," Tian said, sighing softly. "That is why I must visit Codex again. There are truths buried there—truths that may guide him safely through the Ghost Deity's trial."
Yong rubbed his temples. "Then so be it. But promise me you won't overextend your life essence again. The disciples of the Hall need their master whole."
Hall Master Tian smiled faintly. "If life essence were the cost of my disciple's future… it would be a small price to pay."
Yong sighed deeply, knowing words would do little to dissuade him.
Outside, the courtyard wind carried the faint sound of training swords clashing, of young disciples shouting in rhythm.
"Hall Master," Yong said finally, his tone gentler, "you've seen centuries pass. You've seen generations of cultivators rise and fall. But this disciple of yours—he's… different, isn't he?"
Tian's eyes softened.
"Yes," he murmured. "Too different. His fate moves like a shadow beneath heaven's law… and I fear, one day, the heavens will notice."
He rose slowly, straightening his robes, the long sleeves flowing with a quiet grace that carried the weight of centuries.
"By the way, did you bring that boy from the Grand Hall whom I asked you to bring?"
Hall Master Tian turned to look at Vice Hall Master Yong.
"Yeah… that brat was hard to deal with, but I finally got him—by the collar."
Vice Hall Master Yong sighed, rubbing his temples as if recalling a nightmare.
He had lived for three thousand years, yet no one had ever tested his patience as much as that boy did.
Hall Master Tian chuckled lightly. Though they were of the same generation, he had far surpassed Yong in cultivation.
While Tian had become the Paragon of their age and later ascended to the position of Ancestor, Yong had only reached the level of Grand Elder and joined the Grand Hall—an honorable post, but nothing compared to carrying the title of Ancestor.
"If I remember correctly, that brat Wudi Yexin is from the Ancient Beast Tribe under our family's jurisdiction," Yong said, frowning.
"Although he was born with a Sacred Beast Physique, I don't see what's so special about him for you to take such interest."
Hall Master Tian only smiled faintly.
"Sacred Beast Physique… do you even know what that truly means?"
Yong shook his head. "Not really. I've heard it allows the host to control beasts—but Beast Cultivators can do that as well, can't they?"
Tian sighed, setting his teacup down.
"You still don't understand. When I was young—an arrogant fool traveling the Eastern Domain—I once met a man who possessed the Sacred Beast Physique. For five years, I journeyed alongside him."
His gaze drifted away, eyes gleaming faintly with nostalgia.
"The more I saw, the more I envied him. That physique… was beyond comprehension."
Vice Hall Master Yong leaned forward, interest flickering in his tired eyes.
"The Sacred Beast Physique doesn't merely let one tame beasts," Tian continued slowly.
"It allows fusion. The host can fuse with every beast they've tamed—sharing their strength, senses, and power. Imagine fusing not with one or two, but with tens of thousands… or even millions."
He paused, his tone deepening.
"And that's not all. Every beast tamed by the host becomes immortal—revivable as long as the host supplies Cultivation Qi. Their Qi Pool is ten times larger than ordinary cultivators, making such resurrection possible."
Yong's fingers froze around his teacup. "You're joking. That sounds like a fairy tale."
Tian smiled faintly. "I thought so too. Until I saw it myself. That friend of mine… by the end of our travels, he had tamed more than ten million beasts."
Even now, recalling that memory sent a tremor of awe through him.
"Just imagine… a man with the combined might of ten million beasts."
"Wait—three thousand years ago, there was no Ancient Beast Tribe in the Eastern Domain."
Yong's eyes widened. "Don't tell me—"
Tian's mysterious smile was answer enough.
Only now did realization dawn upon Yong.
When the Ancient Beast Tribe appeared, its founder had married the eldest daughter of the Wudi Family, binding their bloodlines together.
The founder had no surname, so he took the name Wudi—cementing the alliance between man and beast forever.
"Yeah," Tian said with a hint of pride, "it was I who suggested marriage between the Sacred Beast Progenitor and our eldest mistress."
Yong nodded slowly, still processing the revelation. "I see… but why do you need this Wudi Yexin now?"
"I want Wudi Yexin to become a Dao Partner for Wudi Egun," Tian said calmly.
Yong blinked, startled.
"Dao Partner? You mean—?"
"Not Dao Companion," Tian clarified, waving his hand. "A Dao Partner—someone you trust with your life, who guards your back when the heavens themselves turn against you."
He turned back toward the window, the faint moonlight outlining his silhouette.
"Such bonds are rarer than any treasure. And with that boy's physique… he will be the perfect one."
Yong frowned slightly. "But why Yexin specifically? There are more talented ones in the family."
"Because of his Sacred Beast Physique," Tian replied simply.
Yong still didn't fully understand, but Tian no longer explained.
Only he knew the true depth of that physique—its mysteries rivaled even those of Immortal Physiques.
Though two ranks below, to him, they stood on equal ground.
As the Hall Master gazed out the window, the corners of his lips lifted ever so slightly.
His plans were already unfolding—quietly, precisely, as if he carried the weight of a century on his shoulders.