Instructor Bian Gui was now a 6th-grade Spirit Warrior. As punishment, he had been forced to seclude himself in a cave for nine years, just like Ancestor Wu. Clearly, it had been beneficial to his cultivation. Cao Yun could tell that his cultivation was extremely stable. There was no reason why he couldn't reach the higher stages of the Spirit Warrior realm given enough time. Currently, he was likely to be eight or nine hundred years old but he had stagnated in his cultivation for a very long time. Seeing him now, it was apparent that this stagnation had not been due to a lack of talent or resources. No, it had been because of his character. He was stubborn and arrogant. At least, he used to be.

In Instructor Bian Gui, Cao Yun detected no animosity. In fact, being a mere instructor with his cultivation, and at his age, would be seen as an insult by almost anyone. And yet, he was glad to do this job. Cao Yun had seen him observe the trio on the ground. Instructor Bian Gui had not been doing a half-hearted job. To the contrary, even when he was speaking with Cao Yun, Instructor Bian Gui was still monitoring the disciples down below, just to be safe.

Before Cao Yun could say anything though, Instructor Bian Gui decided to talk. He stayed kowtowing in midair.

"Young Sect Master Chen Guo, this unworthy one was blind and didn't see your valor. Worse than that, this stupid one was blinded by arrogance and obstinance. This humble one pleads Young Sect Master Chen Guo to accept my sincere apologies. I was too thick-headed to listen to anything. Not only have I failed to ascertain your innocence with fairness, I even tried to subject you to a humiliating and dangerous technique. Without Spirit Master Xiao's intervention, I would have committed a terrible crime that even my life couldn't have expiated. If Young Sect Master Chen Guo deems this one's punishment was not enough, I urge you to judge me."

Sensing his sincerity, Cao Yun got closer and took his arms to make him stand up.

"Instructor Bian Gui, what is done is done. You were being manipulated by demonic cultivators trying to sow discord and division among us."

Bian Gui let Cao Yun raise him up but he kept his head low.

"But I did decide to listen to them. I completely ignored everything else and only focused on what made you look guilty despite a lot of evidence to the contrary. The truth was that my ego had been bruised. I needed to uphold the law, no matter what. However, in my heart, I was upholding my own authority, not the impartial law."

"Instructor Bian Gui, you are a valuable member of our Wubei Sect, do not deprive us of your talents. Those young disciples down below need you and every other member of our Wubei Sect. Not only our sect, but our Hongchen Kingdom, and even our very kind, are under threat from the Empyrean Asura Theocracy. Do not let your doubts and your guilt keep you down. Accept your erring in the past and walk forward in the future. I made mistakes too, but you shouldn't let them hold you back. Understand them and do better."

"Thank you, Young Sect Master. I will take your words to heart. My life is not my own. I swear to dedicate my existence to the improvement of our Wubei Sect in order to protect our Hongchen Kingdom and keep our kind safe."

"Good. By the way, among this group below... That black-haired girl using the 'Azure Dragon's Seven piercing Stars'... She looks awfully familiar."

"I imagine she would. She's Yun Hua, Commander Yun Ping's younger sister and General Yun Po's daughter."

"Of course!"

Now that Instructor Bian Gui had told Cao Yun, the resemblance was striking. Maybe Cao Yun had failed to recognize her because last he had seen her, she had been only five years old. In fact, it made Cao Yun realize just how much time had passed. Thus, he also thought about his own sister. At the moment, she had to be twenty-eight. Most of her life, she had been separated from her brother. Seeing Yun Hua down below, he also thought about his friend. Yun Ping was afraid for his sister. Next year she would be safe in the Ancient Ruins, but after that, she could be called on the battlefield at any moment. Even as an outer disciple of the Wubei Sect, she could be called by the Hongchen Kingdom to fight. Commander Yun Ping was on the front line and he had seen first-hand the desolation of war. Cao Yun could understand why he didn't want that for his younger sister.

In Yun Hua's demeanor, Cao Yun could tell that she was always uncertain of herself. To be fair, she came from a prestigious family of soldiers. Her own brother had mastered Spear Spirit, this wasn't an easy feat at all. Cao Yun could imagine the weight on her shoulders and the shadow cast by her own family over all her achievements. Honestly, her mastery of 'Azure Dragon's Seven Piercing Stars' was very good. Even Cao Yun could commend her on that. Anyway, he stopped wandering in his thoughts and asked Instructor Bian Gui.

"Instructor Bian Gui, I will leave you to your occupation. But could you ask the guards to open the array formations for me, please? I would prefer not to cause a scene by showing myself at the entrance."

"Of course, Young Sect Master. I will also relay your arrival to Sect Leader Xuan."

"By the way, I understand that Sister Mei Hua is away, but what about Brother Sun Liao and Brother Ren Chao? And while I'm at it... I also imagine that Spirit Master Xiao Xuefeng is at the Golden Flowery Fragrance Institute."

"Exactly, and so is your Sister Mei Hua. Your Brother Ren Chao is with us, but unfortunately, your Brother Sun Liao is extremely busy all over the Hongchen Kingdom. I don't know when he'll be back, nor where he is. Maybe Sect Leader Xuan knows, but I can't guarantee anything on the matter."

"Thank you, Instructor Bian Gui. I'll take my leave."

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The two men bowed toward one another. Then, Cao Yun flew toward the Shell Gate. As he passed through the Shell Gate, Dian Mo was quite surprised.

"Those array formations?! What happened here?!"

Looking around, Cao Yun also realized that the defenses of the Wubei Sect were much better. But they were not new array formations. In fact, someone had clearly improved upon the ancient array formations already in place. But those were 5-star Heaven array formations, some were even close to being Spirit array formations. Improving them was obviously an extraordinary achievement. In fact, Dian Mo himself wouldn't have boasted that he could.

"Wait, they changed the position of the Desolation Gate and balanced it by adding a layer around the Patience Mansion so the entire array formation wouldn't crumble. That's... Why didn't I think of that?! What?! They completely got rid of the Mouse Gate?! How did they?! Oh... they aligned the Tiger Gate with the North Shadow Star. Impressive... No! I mean..."

Cao Yun stayed quiet as Dian Mo was observing the changes made to the array formations. Unfortunately for Dian Mo's countenance, this wasn't the only array formation that had been altered. As the Young Sect Master, Cao Yun had the right to fly even in the Wubei Sect. Besides, his stealth made it impossible for any disciple to know about his presence. That being said, he did decide to land and to walk through the entire Wubei Sect. In so doing, it allowed Cao Yun and Dian Mo to observe many other array formations. Most of them had been improved. Some had simply gone through minor changes just to maintain them while others had truly changed. Here and there, a few 5-star Heaven array formations had even been set up in order to improve the overall synergy between every array formation.

"What?! They merged the Rabbit Gate of the Celestial Cover and the Lunar Mansion of the Lesser Tidal Wall?! But it should have reduced the efficiency of the Lesser Tidal Wall, how did they compensate it? That's... They added a minor array formation just around the Rabbit Gate to consolidate the Wandering Qi and alter the Fire element within. More Fire Qi will leave the Rabbit Gate, strengthening the Celestial Cover while more Water Qi will remain in the Lunar Mansion, balancing out the Lesser Tidal Wall... No! It's making it slightly stronger. Who did that?! Who?!"

Despite Dian Mo's scream, Cao Yun could hear his frustration and admiration. In fact, it was because he admired those changes that he was frustrated. Even he had not thought about any of that. As the spirit of the Palace of Supreme Wisdom, Dian Mo was very well versed when it came to the array formations of the Wubei Sect. Even with his great knowledge and extremely long life, Dian Mo had never thought about many of those changes. He could accept someone setting up a better array formation than he could, but someone had literally improved the subject he knew the most about, on aspects that Dian Mo himself had never even suspected. Obviously, he was both in admiration and infuriated.

Given how much he was screaming, Cao Yun deemed it prudent to leave Dian Mo alone. With each step Cao Yun took, the spirit discovered new things all around. Sometimes they were huge and sometimes, he just saw a minute detail that almost didn't change anything but still drove him insane. Such minute changes were like an insult to him. It was someone trying to optimize the array formations to the limit when Dian Mo had failed to see even obvious improvements...

Anyway, Cao Yun walked forward and soon arrived at some training ground. There, he saw a familiar face, Chief Instructor Peng. The man was still quite round but his beard had changed a lot. Cao Yun recognized his poorly kept beard and, most of all, he recognized his voice. Chief Instructor Peng was just finishing his session with a small group of inner disciples. Just looking at the poor disciples, Cao Yun remembered how strenuous his training with Chief Instructor Peng had been, but also how much he had helped him. Since he was done, Cao Yun sent him a small telepathic message.

"Hmm...?!"

Although he was surprised, Chief Instructor Peng hid it very well.

"Well, today's training is over. But if you wish to get stronger, you'll repeat the entire session every single day of the week, until you can just breeze through it. You wish you were dead right now, but if you don't train hard enough for our next session, you'll realize that this is heaven in comparison. And unlike death, I can assure you that my training never ends, there won't be any rest or respite."

"Yes, Chief Instructor Peng!"

Despite being out of breath, all the disciples stood straight and answered with all of their strength.

Then, Chief Instructor Peng left the training ground and got to Cao Yun. As he was walking toward the young man, Cao Yun heard his thoughts resound in his mind. Chief Instructor Peng had broken through and was now a 1st-grade Spirit Warrior. In fact, Cao Yun could tell that he was only a couple years away from becoming a 2nd-grade Spirit Warrior.

"Young Sect Master, you gave me quite a surprise. Are you some kind of ghost?!"

"No, I'm very well alive. It simply took me a lot of time to get back home. And everything changed so much..."

"Oh, yes. War can have that effect. Just so you know, your funerals were magnificent. So many people were sad, I had to console a lot of women, all at once. That was a very difficult time for me. Mourning can be very arousing for some... I mean... I probably shouldn't talk about that... Wait, now that you're older, maybe..."

"No, you probably shouldn't."

"Oh, well... By the way, you do know that you're a war hero, besides being the Young Sect Master of the strongest sect in the Hongchen Kingdom. Just being known as your first instructor opens me a lot of... I mean... Well, you can imagine. You must be tired, you could take some rest and enjoy yourself a little. I can assure you that every woman, even the most humble and modest one, would turn into a ravaging beast just for you. So if you want..."

"We probably shouldn't talk about that... Besides, I'd hate to have to report your words to Chief Elder Baishen."

"No threat, no threat. Ha ha ha! It's really good to know that you're safe, really. I just joke around... Well, it's completely true by the way, but I do jest. Anyway, I heard some rumors. After all, I trained a lot of soldiers too, so I do hear things from time to time. Chief Elder Baishen will also be glad to see you again. I'll be honest, I fully believed that you were dead, but Spirit Master Xiao, Chief Elder Baishen and Sect Leader Xuan seemed to have always known you were alive. And that's not even talking about your brothers. I guess you want to meet Ren Chao, right?"

"Yes, I do. But I should probably get to Chief Elder Baishen first."

"For sure! I'll warn your brother for you. There are many things that you'll want to know though. By the way, you know that your Heavenly Swallow Faction is the strongest faction now? You'll probably want to visit it a little. I can assure you that you'll be quite shocked."

"I will keep that in mind."

Cao Yun and Chief Instructor Peng began to reminisce about the past. Then, they began to talk about cultivation. Now, Cao Yun was the one giving pointers to his former teacher. Honestly, it did feel a bit odd. But he was also repaying him. With Cao Yun's help, Chief Instructor Peng might become a 2nd-grade Spirit Warrior in half the time. Just like that, they talked and wandered until they somehow reached the martial arts pavilion of Chief Elder Baishen. It had been renovated but it had not really changed. A wave of nostalgia washed over Cao Yun for a moment.

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