Has He Always Been Like This?**
After leaving the Great Star Dou Forest, Jin Peng no longer dared to waste any time because of Xuanzi's interception earlier. After picking up Lang Ya midway, the group of three immediately set off toward the headquarters of the Noumenon Sect.
Yuhao was carried along for most of the journey. After all, with his current cultivation, his traveling speed was still far too slow.
Yuhao had no objections to this arrangement. On the contrary, he felt rather relaxed.
However, deep down, Yuhao was somewhat curious and even a little expectant about the place known as "Tianqi", where the Noumenon Sect was stationed.
...
Finally, after three full days of rushing nonstop, Jin Peng suddenly spoke:
"Yuhao, our Noumenon Sect is right ahead."
Following the direction of Jin Peng's finger, Yuhao saw an enormous waterfall nearly three hundred meters wide, with torrents of water crashing downward. Even from thousands of meters away, the deafening roar of the waterfall echoed continuously.
On both sides of the waterfall stood two towering mountain peaks, steep and majestic, piercing straight into the clouds.
From afar, it looked as though a colossal mountain had been cleaved in two by the waterfall itself.
"No wonder it's called Tianqi…"
Yuhao muttered softly to himself. He then lifted his gaze along the mountain peak and saw a massive castle built into the mountainside. That was the headquarters of the Noumenon Sect.
Not long after, Jin Peng led Yuhao and Lang Ya down to a spacious open area halfway up the mountain. At the center of the clearing stood a huge stone stele, upon which the three ancient characters "Noumenon Sect" were engraved with imposing force.
Behind the stone stele stretched a winding stone staircase that led upward, clearly the main path into the sect.
"Let's go."
Hearing Jin Peng's words, Yuhao nodded slightly and immediately followed him up the stone steps.
After walking for nearly half an hour, the three finally reached the summit.
Once at the top, Yuhao discovered that the place was not a single castle, but rather an extensive cluster of buildings. In addition to the main towering structure, there were numerous halls, stone pillars, stone houses, and training grounds scattered throughout the area.
It was difficult to imagine who had originally constructed such a grand complex among the mountains.
At the same time, many people were moving about within the sect grounds—young and old alike, including quite a few teenagers around Yuhao's age. Evidently, they were all disciples of the Noumenon Sect.
When these people saw Jin Peng leading Yuhao, many of them cast curious looks in his direction.
"There's another newcomer. I wonder which part of his body awakened."
"He was personally brought here by the deputy sect leader. His Noumenon Awakening must be extraordinary."
"I heard that a genius soul master appeared in Tiandou City recently."
"Oh? Tell us more."
...
Most of those whispering were young disciples, while the older elders clearly knew more of the inside story.
A middle-aged man with a noticeably oversized left arm approached Jin Peng, glanced at Yuhao, and asked:
"Deputy Sect Leader, is this the child?"
"Yes," Jin Peng nodded with a smile. "This is him. His name is Huo Yuhao. From today onward, he will be a member of our Noumenon Sect."
Jin Peng then pointed to the middle-aged man and introduced him to Yuhao:
"Yuhao, this is Elder Luo."
"Old Luo."
Yuhao greeted casually.
Elder Luo was momentarily stunned by Yuhao's attitude. He wasn't angry, but he instinctively felt that this kid was extraordinarily arrogant.
"This kid is even more arrogant than Long Aotian," Elder Luo muttered.
Hearing this, Jin Peng could only shake his head helplessly. He wanted to explain a few things, but in the end merely smiled bitterly and said:
"Old Luo, don't take it to heart. This is just Yuhao's personality… you'll understand later."
After all, he hadn't even officially entered the sect yet and already wanted to become the Young Sect Master. Without arrogance, who would dare to think like that?
Elder Luo didn't pursue the matter further. Remembering something important, he said:
"Old Jin, the sect master asked you to see him as soon as you returned. He also said to bring this little guy along."
"Understood," Jin Peng replied, then led Yuhao toward the main castle.
...
"Yuhao, once you're here, treat this place like your own home. Don't feel restrained," Jin Peng said along the way, worried that Yuhao might not adapt.
However, when he turned his head, he found Yuhao already examining the surroundings, touching stone carvings and glancing around with interest.
The corner of Jin Peng's mouth twitched as he scolded lightly:
"Hurry up and keep up."
"Oh, oh."
Yuhao had just been wondering whether the stone carving he touched earlier was made from gray ink stone. Hearing Jin Peng's voice, he quickly followed behind.
Looking at Yuhao's relaxed demeanor, Jin Peng sighed softly.
"Yuhao, when you meet the sect master later, you absolutely cannot be so presumptuous."
"Don't worry," Yuhao said confidently, patting his chest. "I know what I'm doing."
As everyone knew, the more Yuhao said this, the more worried Jin Peng felt.
He couldn't help thinking—if Yuhao really asked to become the Young Sect Master the moment he met the sect master, he didn't dare imagine what kind of reaction that would provoke.
...
Soon, Jin Peng led Yuhao to the top floor of the main castle.
With a soft creak, Jin Peng pushed open the wooden door. What appeared before Yuhao was a vast, empty hall. A massive floor-to-ceiling window faced the sunlit side, and it happened to be noon. Warm sunlight poured in, filling the room with a gentle glow.
At the center of the room was a sofa. Sitting upon it was a tall elderly man with long green hair. The top of his head, however, was completely bald, giving him an appearance somewhat reminiscent of Sha Monk.
He was none other than Du Bu Shi, the current sect master of the Noumenon Sect—a level ninety-eight Super Douluo known as the Poison Immortal, whose body was immune to all poisons.
Seeing Jin Peng and Yuhao enter, Du Bu Shi laughed and said:
"Old Jin, you took a bit longer than expected. I thought you might have run into some trouble."
He said it casually, but to his surprise, Jin Peng actually nodded.
"We did encounter some trouble."
"Hm?"
Du Bu Shi's pupils shrank instantly. "What happened?"
Jin Peng then recounted Xuanzi's appearance in Tiandou City and everything that followed, from beginning to end.
As he finished, a terrifying aura erupted violently from Du Bu Shi's body.
Bang!
He slammed his fist into the sofa, instantly blowing apart the seat made from the hide of an unknown soul beast.
"Hmph! They really think our Noumenon Sect has stayed hidden for too long and become easy to bully!"
Du Bu Shi's voice was cold with fury. "Daring to attack my people—they truly don't know whether to live or die."
Du Bu Shi stood up abruptly.
"Old Jin, issue a sect summons. We're going to Shrek Academy."
Though Du Bu Shi's personality was eccentric, he was famously protective of his own. When faced with such a matter, he would never let it slide.
"Sect Master," Jin Peng said quickly, "going to Shrek Academy is inevitable. But before that, shouldn't you take a good look at this little guy?"
He gestured toward Yuhao.
Hearing this, Du Bu Shi turned his gaze to Yuhao.
Seeing that Yuhao showed no fear whatsoever—even when facing a Super Douluo like himself—a trace of delight flashed in Du Bu Shi's eyes.
"I like this kid's eyes," Du Bu Shi said. "From today onward, you'll be my disciple."
If anyone else were offered discipleship by a level ninety-eight Super Douluo, they would probably burst into tears of gratitude and kneel immediately.
But Yuhao remained calm and replied indifferently:
"If you become my teacher, then I should become the Young Sect Master."
The moment these words left his mouth, Jin Peng slapped his forehead internally.
This kid definitely ignored everything I just told him…
Even Du Bu Shi froze for a brief moment. He then turned his head to look at Jin Peng and asked slowly:
"Has he always been like this?"