Longevity Martial Arts: I have a Mysterious Water Snake Avatar

In the tense atmosphere of war preparations, the Sect's Grand Assembly arrived as scheduled.

On this day, heavy snow fluttered down.

Atop Phoenix Fire Peak, Hong Yuan, holding an oil-paper umbrella, stepped out of his courtyard, intending to head towards workshop room A06.

Zhu Wushang had invited him to watch the first day's competition and cheer for Lin Yiru together.

Although he didn't particularly want to interact with Lin Yiru, if spending a day could maintain his relationship with Zhu, Hong Yuan was very happy to do so.

After all, Hong Yuan had little else, but he truly had plenty of time.

[Name: Hong Yuan]

[Life Span: 16/287]

Hong Yuan's Life Span was nearly catching up to the basic Life Span of a sixth-rank Martial Saint, which was quite terrifying.

Of course, sixth-rank Martial Saints had various methods to extend their Life Spans, typically living for six to seven hundred years. There were even old demons who lingered for a thousand years.

"Yuan, over here," Zhu waved to Hong Yuan.

Flying?! Hong Yuan looked up into the sky.

Zhu floated in the air, snowflakes swirling around his outer red Essence Qi barrier. Beneath his feet, he stood on a clump of red clouds, which, on closer inspection, appeared to be made of red copper iron.

Not only that, but Zhu also had a pair of Black Iron Crow Wings on his back. Too hardcore!

"Brother, this…" Hong Yuan was astonished for a moment. TextacquiredfromM|V|LEMP&YR.

"Hahaha, although you only gain the natural ability to fly upon reaching the Martial Saint Realm, who are we?" Zhu Wushang winked. "We are Casters; making flying machines isn't too difficult."

No sooner had he finished speaking, Zhu piloted the red cloud down in front of Hong Yuan and gestured for him to hop on.

Stepping onto the red copper iron, Hong Yuan's heart trembled slightly. When he saw Zhu tossing a pile of Energy Stones into the red cloud's interior, he even felt an urge to get off.

"Yuan, want one? This was a gift from our Master. Once you become a fourth-rank Caster, you'll be able to make such sophisticated machines too," Zhu Wushang said. "Of course, you'll need a Talisman Master or an Array Master to help you engrave the Talisman Array on it."

Fourth-rank… Talisman Array… Hong Yuan nodded, almost inaudibly.

Accompanied by a gust of wind, Hong Yuan flew towards the Sect's Grand Hall with Zhu.

Outside the flying artifact, the gently falling snow was kept at bay by the red barrier formed by Essence Qi.

Looking down from above, Hong Yuan felt that the people scurrying over the various mountains and peaks had become mere ants, like ants trekking across white roads.

His day involved locating Lin Yiru, listening to Zhu's instructions about exploration tactics for the Five Elements Blessed Land, watching Zhu present various weapons to Lin Yiru's five-person squad, and then observing Lin Yiru, Zhao Gonghe, Yang Sen, and the others as they entered the fire domain of the Five Elements Blessed Land.

Throughout this, Hong Yuan stood by, silently watching Zhu act like a generous elder brother.

Even when Lin Yiru huffed beside him, Hong Yuan pretended not to notice.

Master Lin Daoyan and his other senior brothers had indeed treated Hong Yuan with great kindness.

Hong Yuan felt that as long as his Master and senior brothers were supportive enough, the young lady could act up as much as she pleased.

If things get too much, I can just flee and seek refuge with another senior brother. By then, the resource compensation I'd receive would probably be even greater!

Hong Yuan sat on Zhu's flying artifact, watching the live projection cast by the Mysterious Heaven State.

Hong Yuan marveled inwardly, Talisman Masters, are Talismans free? This is so over the top!

In the wood domain of the Five Elements Blessed Land, one five-person team, upon sighting a Demon Beast, threw a pile of Talisman papers, blowing the creature into bloody bits.

The materialized attacks of ice arrows, fireballs, and Water Guns depicted in the void made Hong Yuan look several times.

Spirit Plant Masters! Good heavens, are they playing Plants vs. Zombies here?

Hong Yuan saw a team methodically scouting the terrain, planting seedlings, and activating their Cultivation Technique to summon Energy Rain.

Once the seedlings rapidly grew into terrifying Spiritual Plants, they attracted and slew Demon Beasts…

This gave Hong Yuan the feeling of watching an online game competition.

Looking further, Hong Yuan noticed that the disciples of various halls and palaces frequently employed diverse tactics, truly resembling an online game.

As Hong Yuan shifted slightly, Zhu thought he had become excited.

"Regretting it now?" Zhu Wushang said softly. "The disciples who dare to participate in the Sect's Grand Competition are all the cream of the crop of their generation in the province. With our Phoenix Creek Sect's dominant position, the variety of methods these disciples possess are as numerous as the stars."

"Hehe…" Hong Yuan gave a shy smile, then changed the subject. "Brother, do you True Disciples also take part in the Sect's Grand Competition?"

Zhu shook his head slightly, looking towards the other True Disciples who were also hovering in mid-air, watching the competition.

These purple-robed True Disciples were either flying with wings condensed from True Essence or riding on swords.

"To become a True Disciple, one's cultivation level must be at least that of a third-order Martial Artist, and an exceptionally talented one at that. The usual Sect's Grand Competition doesn't really motivate us. After all, becoming a Martial Saint relies solely on oneself. We vie for rankings on the Phoenix Cry List, for one of the nine Phoenix Creek True Disciple positions. Each Phoenix Creek Tutelage can temporarily possess a Blessed Land given by the Sect. The annual income and expenditure of Energy Stones from these Blessed Lands amount to hundreds of thousands. There are even rumors of Immortal Nuance Stones—those are the real treasures!" Zhu explained.

Their branch's substantial accumulation relied firstly on their Master, Lin Daoyan, and secondly because both his Eldest Martial Brother and Second Martial Brother had attained Phoenix Creek Tutelage.

Unfortunately, Zhu Wushang, with his dull aptitude, couldn't fill a Phoenix Creek Tutelage position after his two senior martial brothers had passed away.

"Yuan, our branch once controlled the Eagle Immortal Blessed Land for a full seventy-six years!" Zhu Wushang said with melancholic pride.

That was a period that filled him with high spirits, but it was also the source of his lingering frustration.

His Second Martial Brother had successfully taken over the legacy of his Eldest Martial Brother, maintaining their foundation.

Yet he, as the Third Junior Brother, despite receiving much care, had failed to carry on Second Martial Brother's mantle. He had uselessly handed over the well-managed Eagle Immortal Blessed Land to others, even having to let his junior martial brothers be assigned outside the sect to seek their own breakthrough opportunities.

The Eagle Immortal Blessed Land… Hong Yuan's eyes showed a flicker of contemplation.

Could this be the root of Zhu's unceasing aspiration to achieve the Martial Saint Realm? If given the chance, I'll help Zhu fulfill his wish. If there's no chance, then so be it. No need to force it. After all, it would be somewhat presumptuous of me, his junior brother, to insist on achieving something even my senior brother hasn't managed.

...

「Time trickled by, from morning to afternoon.」

Hong Yuan and Zhu Wushang watched as Lin Yiru's team breezed through the various stages, reaching the central area in a leading position. Then they rested and recuperated, preparing for the upcoming week's survival operations.

「At dusk.」

Hong Yuan made an excuse and left, returning to his courtyard.

He had spent a day maintaining and strengthening his relationship with Zhu, and Hong Yuan felt that was satisfactory.

He could account for himself to both his Master and Zhu.

Standing in the hall, Hong Yuan held a carbon wood pen, sketching the form of the Ice Armor Python on paper.

A quarter of an hour later, Hong Yuan stopped drawing to observe, then blew away the graphite dust.

[Ice Armor Python +11]

[Ice Armor Python +22]

[Avatar: Mysterious Water Snake (Ice Armor Python 1877/10,000 → Ice Armor Python 1910/10,000)]

The 11 transformation points came from Painting, and the 22 transformation points from the Frost field created by the Mysterious Water Snake Avatar.

Since not every attempt at Painting or creating a Frost field yielded transformation points, Hong Yuan now gained anywhere from a minimum of 300 to over 500 transformation points per day.

It won't be long before the Mysterious Water Snake Avatar completely transforms into an Ice Armor Python. When that time comes, I must thoroughly explore the deep waters. Hong Yuan silently set this goal for himself.