His face…felt like…it was emitting smoke!

Gu Zuo's mind was circling around these words, and he felt that his own embarra.s.sment was overflowing. He was letting his imagination run wild while sitting naked in a bath tub. Meanwhile, he was caught red-handed by his dear big brother, who was also giving him a bath! No matter what he thought about, it all made him feel ashamed, like he couldn't show his face.

After he shivered, Gu Zuo moved in such a way that it made him even more embarra.s.sed.

He directly squatted down.

Besides his head, his entire body was submerged under the water. This time, Gongyi Tianheng didn't say anything as he used the wooden ladle to pour water on him. Tianheng could only watch his face, which was so red that one wouldn't have known what he was choking on.

Tianheng braced his forehead with a palm. He couldn't resist smiling: "Ah Zuo, you really…"

…Have gotten more and more interesting.

But these words weren't easy for him to say.

He felt that if he really said the whole thing, maybe even his little pharmacist's head would sink into the water?

As he watched Gu Zuo's face become redder and redder, Gongyi Tianheng finally stopped teasing him.

He withdrew a few steps and said with feigned helplessness: "Okay, Ah Zuo. You can stand up. There's no need to let the water go cold."

Gu Zuo lifted his eyes and looked over. Seeing that Tianheng really had backed up a bit, he stood up apologetically. He took the wooden ladle that Tianheng had just set down to give himself a bath.

Tianheng already resumed his usual appearance. He shook his head and said with a smile: "It started as a joke with Ah Zuo, but it made Ah Zuo like this… As your big brother, that was somewhat rude of me."

Gu Zuo stuttered.

Alright. He actually knew that his own reactions were a little excessive…"

Tianheng also said: "However, Ah Zuo also shouldn't consider me an outsider. Up until now, I've frequently taken my clothes off in front of Ah Zuo to take a bath or soak in medicinal decoctions, and I've never felt embarra.s.sed. Ah Zuo should be even more calm in my presence."

After hearing this, the warmth on Gu Zuo's face slowly waned: What big brother says is reasonable… We're all men. It's just a joke.

His evasiveness also seemed too… En, too effeminate. It had to be mentioned that, although perplexing, because this matter unexpectedly let him understand another use of his psychic power, it also was a good thing. Actually, it wasn't necessary for him to be embarra.s.sed; Gu Zuo was sorry that he made his big brother uncomfortable.

After finishing his psychological preparations, Gu Zuo promptly returned to normal: "What big brother says is right. I just, I just didn't react for a moment…"

Gongyi Tianheng teasingly said: "Then in the future, I can also…help out Ah Zuo?"

Gu Zuo stared blankly, but quickly responded: "Big brother, don't tease me anymore…"

In the past, the two's interactions were already very close. But compared to that joke just now, those interactions still seemed somewhat polite and formal. In addition, it wasn't the same as with a real loved one or family member — It was probably because Gu Zuo always revered Tianheng more. And because Tianheng was a native in this world and had good self-control since childhood, it was the same situation as with his original interactions with those close to him.

It was different now.

According to Gu Zuo's way of thinking, that playful joke just now was as if something had been unlocked… He believed that his big brother's temperament hadn't always been like this, but the occasional joke was also very enjoyable.

Perhaps, this was what it meant to be so-called brothers?

At this time, Gu Zuo remembered that Gongyi Tianheng — This big brother whose mind was always planning all kinds of meticulous and witty strategies was actually just twenty years old.

If it was the modern era, when an ordinary person was twenty, they wouldn't have even finished university yet.

Currently, although Gu Zuo still felt a little embarra.s.sed, he calmly bathed in the presence of his big brother. As for Tianheng, he was just chatting with Gu Zuo.

— On the whole, the two would chat regularly.

Even if they were busy recently, they could chat when Tianheng soaked in his decoctions. Now that Gu Zuo was bathing, they could likewise chat.

As fo the topic of this chat, it would naturally be about the matter of Gu Zuo previously "flying".

As Gu Zuo washed up, he sensed something and said: "It's a function of my psychic power."

Tianheng: "Oh?"

Gu Zuo explained: "Just like when I condense a Spirit Piercing Awl, the gelatinous psychic power is condensed and distributed beneath my feet. I've found that it can actually be controlled."

Tianheng patiently listened.

Gu Zuo scratched his face: "En… I was too clumsy before, condensing psychic power into a Spirit Piercing Needle to injure people. To put it plainly, I control the physical transformation of the psychic power to do things. Currently, it's only switched from injuring others to supporting myself. So long as there's enough psychic power to bear the weight, it can carry me into the air."

Speaking up to here, he suddenly remembered: "Big brother, what do you Xiantian martial artists use to fly?"

Gongyi Tianheng replied: "Xiantian true qi is used to support our bodies, which is fused with the surrounding environment. Combining the true qi with the airflow in the sky, we can pull a bit of the world's power to allow ourselves to fly."

Gu Zuo nodded thoughtfully: "So, the methods pharmacists and martial artists use to fly are actually different."

Even the principles were different.

Tianheng nodded slightly: "Compared to martial artists, pharmacists also have medical beads. This is probably the reason why both cultivation systems are also different."

Gu Zuo expressed his understanding: "In any case, I'll get better with practice."

Tianheng grinned: "It'll be like this for now."

Hence, this topic came to an end.

Then they switched to another topic.

Gu Zuo suddenly let out a low cry: "Right! I almost forgot!"

Tianheng raised an eyebrow: "What?"

At a loss, Gu Zuo said: "Xu Lingxiu, he…invited me to the Violet Tower tomorrow."

Tianheng asked with a smile: "To give you pointers?"

Gu Zuo sighed: "Big brother guessed right."

Tianheng slightly murmured: "While you were refining medicine, I got some information."

Gu Zuo immediately showed a look of antic.i.p.ation.

Gongyi Tianheng smiled, and slowly stated: "That quasi Golden-Level Pharmacist Xu Lingxiu has a very special ident.i.ty…"

As previously mentioned, the powers within the Qingyun Sect's Inner Sect were very complex. The Elders and those extremely outstanding disciples were linked in countless ways through tangled and complicated relationships. Every group and every faction shared quite a few involvements. But if one really wanted to draw distinctions between them, there was roughly…a total of ten great powers.

It could be cla.s.sified as the bloodline of the Sect Master and the bloodlines of the nine Grand Elders.

Among them, the Sect Master's bloodline had the most power.

Each of the nine Grand Elders had the strength of the Atomic Realm. Normally, only those who've reached the Atomic Realm could be known as Grand Elders.

However, an Atomic Realm martial artist's lifespan was five hundred years at most. Once five hundred years were reached, no matter how special a person believed themselves to be, they would die if they didn't make a breakthrough.

Even so, it was too difficult to break through from the Immortal Realm to the Atomic Realm — In the entire Qingyun Sect, there might've been many Core Disciples and even Inner Sect Disciples who could become Immortal Realm martial artists. Unfortunately, after reaching this threshold, making progress was extremely hard.

Over countless years, the Sect had been controlled by ten bloodlines. If the Grand Elder of a bloodline perished without a new Atomic Realm appearing, what could be done? It wasn't good to handle matters without the authority of a Grand Elder!

So, if one's sovereignty was cut short in the future, they could elect the strongest one to serve as the Grand Elder. But without an Atomic Realm's suppression, their overall strength would inevitably decline. As a result, in this world that respected martial arts, although it was impossible for this bloodline to be divided up among the other nine bloodlines, this particular bloodline's power would be reduced. At the same time, the bloodline's disciples would conduct themselves with their tails between their legs.

As for the Sect Master's bloodline, apart from special circ.u.mstances, it was always the strongest bloodline.

Because only a person who could suppress the other nine Grand Elders would be able to claim the position of Sect Master! Even if their nature wasn't Sect Master material, they needed to search among that bloodline for the strongest one to replace them!

Tianheng said: "For this current generation, the Sect Master is the Sect's strongest individual."

Gu Zuo was a little curious: "Then, is the Sect Master talented as a scholar and martial artist?" Being able to govern the Sect and so forth…

Tianheng nodded slightly: "In addition, it's said that his strength far surpa.s.ses the other nine Grand Elders. It's already at a realm higher than the Atomic Realm."

Gu Zuo's eyes widened: "A higher realm? What is it?"

Tianheng paused: "I also haven't heard of it."

Gu Zuo: "…"

It was rare that his dear big brother didn't know about something.

Gongyi Tianheng didn't get hung up on this, and continued to talk about the first topic: "In the present Sect, there is a full set of nine Grand Elders. The Sect's interior doesn't favor one over the other and it's evenly distributed. There are nine Atomic Realms and one even more brilliant Sect Master. Overall, his strength isn't the greatest historically, but he's worthy of praise."

Gu Zuo nodded as he earnestly listened: "Big brother's saying that Xu Lingxiu's ident.i.ty isn't ordinary because there's a relationship between him and these powers?"

Tianheng praised: "What you said is correct. Ah Zuo responded quickly."

Among the nine Grand Elders, there was one who had the surname Xu. And this Grand Elder surnamed Xu possessed a bloodline that was currently the strongest power apart from the Sect Master's bloodline.

Xu Lingxiu was Grand Elder Xu's biological grandson by direct descent. After being born, his body's attributes were inspected and it was discovered that his const.i.tution was outstanding. Only, it wasn't possible at that time to tell how great his potential was. Grand Elder Xu doted upon him, giving him countless resources and inviting extremely prominent pharmacists to guide him. As he grew up, Xu Lingxiu's gifts became more and more apparent. He was finally judged to be a quasi Golden-Level Pharmacist. At the same time, his position in this bloodline reached even higher.

Meanwhile, Xi Yangyun, who accompanied and arrived with Xu Lingxiu, was the disciple of Xu Lingxiu's biological father. He was already an Immortal Realm martial artist, and it could be said that he watched Xu Lingxiu grow up. Additionally, the jade-green clothed young man had a pretty good relationship with Xi Yangyun, as he had also entered that little social circle of theirs. Xi Yangyun's little sister was only slightly younger than Xu Lingxiu, so he also treated her very importantly.

Gu Zuo understood.

One could say that Xu Lingxiu, that young master, was raised as a crown prince…

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