"As a Maiden Sage of the Seven Emotions Sect, Sister Ningyu is quite remarkable in both cultivation and talent."

Chu Kuangren stopped his mind that was wandering like a loose horse and replied.

"You know that's not what I'm asking you about."

Lady Leng Yue said lightly.

"Um… I don't think I understand what you're asking about, Sister Leng Yue." Chu Kuangren pretended to be confused.

Who was he kidding? He knew what she meant.

There was no way he was going to let Lady Leng Yue tempt him into having an affair!

"I shall be frank then. I hope you can let Ningyu fall in love with you."

"Ahem. Sister Leng, please forgive me for saying no. Relations.h.i.+ps must never be forced, and I don't have any feelings for Sister Ningyu."

"It doesn't matter whether you have feelings for her or not. What's important is that Ningyu is allowed to feel that way."

Chu Kuangren got even more confused. "Sister Leng, are you asking me to seduce sister Ningyu? Wouldn't that make me a… playboy?"

"More or less, yes," Lady Leng Yue replied while rubbing her chin.

Chu Kuangren was dumbfounded.

'How much bad blood do this master and disciple have between them?'

'Hold up, that can't be right. Their relations.h.i.+p seems quite good, seeing that they're willing to sacrifice and bear hards.h.i.+ps for each other's sake. How did it change so quickly?'

'Although they say women are fickle creatures, this change is just too sudden.'

"Don't get me wrong. The reason I want you to do this is to help with Ningyu's cultivation by letting her fall in love with you and forget you later on. This will allow her to reach the complete stage of her Unruffled Emotions Dao."

Lady Leng Yue explained.

Only then did Chu Kuangren realize that he was asked to be a tool for someone else.

"What if she falls in love with me but can't forget me?"

"Don't you worry about this. You can leave it to me if this happens."

Chu Kuangren pondered for a moment and then shook his head. "I'm sorry. I really can't do something like this."

Asking him to play with a woman's feelings and letting her fall in love with him despite holding none for her, Chu Kuangren could never do something like this.

"Tsk tsk. It looks like I did not misjudge you, Brother Chu. Your refusal to do it is proof of your n.o.ble character. This means that Ningyu has her eyes on the right guy too."

Lady Leng Yue looked at Chu Kuangren with admiration.

"Then, what if I agree to this?"

"That'll be even better because I can now use you as a tool without any worries."

Chu Kuangren was speechless.

He then shook his head and asked, "I hear the Sword Daoist likes Sister Ningyu a lot? Why don't you ask him to help with this instead?"

"Him? If that guy has half of what you've got, Ningyu's Unruffled Emotions Dao would have reached a completed stage by now."

Lady Leng Yue curled her lips.

Meanwhile, in the Sword Tribe, the Sword Daoist suddenly sneezed for some unknown reason, which puzzled him. Could he still catch a cold at such a high cultivation level?

Back in the Seven Emotions Sect, Lady Leng Yue continued speaking, "But things like this do require the consent of both parties. If you do not wish to do so, then I shall not force you. Now that I've given you these five scrolls, I'll arrange for someone to have your study quarters ready. Take your time to study them, Brother Chu."

"I will. Many thanks, Sister Leng."

Chu Kuangren nodded before he turned around and left.

Looking at his departing silhouette, Lady Leng Yue smiled faintly. "Oh, Brother Chu, you have no idea of how attractive you are. Even someone like me has started to take a little liking to you. Regardless of whether you're willing or not, Ningyu will undoubtedly fall for you as long as you have that handsome look and alluring charm of yours. By the time that happens, her Unruffled Emotions Dao will be more than fifty percent complete."

After that, Lady Leng Yue called Leng Ningyu over.

"Greetings, Honorable Teacher."

"Ningyu, I've called you here today mainly because there's something I want to tell you. I want you to fall in love with someone."

Upon hearing this, Chu Kuangren's image immediately appeared within Leng Ningyu's thoughts for some reason.

"Honorable Teacher, who's this person you're talking about?"

"Chu Kuangren."

Leng Ningyu's heart skipped a beat, and a slightly fl.u.s.tered look appeared from her apathetic face.

Lady Leng Yue was secretly delighted to see this. 'Sure enough, she likes him!'

…

Seven Emotions Sect, inside a secret cultivation chamber.

Chu Kuangren opened the five scrolls one by one and started to gain insights into the Emperor Techniques within them.

He was already very familiar when it came to gaining insights into Emperor Techniques. With his ridiculous and indescribable cognizance, it took him no more than a full day to learn all five of them. If news of this got out, it would shock many disciples of the Seven Emotions Sect.

Even the most insanely overpowered sky-pride in the Seven Emotions Sect would take at least half a year to gain some understanding over the Emperor Techniques.

However, Chu Kuangren had fully grasped all five Emperor Techniques within a day!

His understanding of them was not on a surface level but a thorough mastery!

If Lady Leng Yue were to visit him now, even she might not be confident that her understanding in these Emperor Techniques was better than Chu Kuangren's.

"Now that I've mastered these Emperor Techniques, I might as well take the opportunity to refine the Wood Elemental Leyline Essence and White Spiritual Divine Fruit."

Chu Kuangren thought.

He then took out those two treasures excitedly. "A portion of this Wood Elemental Leyline Essence is enough to increase my cultivation to the Boundary Emperor level. As for this White Spiritual Divine Fruit, it can instantly allow me to enter a state of enlightenment and increase my understanding in the Dao."

Chu Kuangren's cultivation level could now be considered a Sage Ruler. Strictly speaking, he would be considered a Supreme Sage Ruler due to his Supreme Sage Foundation.

Not only him, but most of the outlawed sky-prides were at a Sage Ruler's level too.

Putting aside their foundation level, the most important factor that gave them a Boundary Emperor combat strength was having chosen their path of Dao!

However, their cultivation level remained within the Sage Realm's category.

As for the Sovereigns who were a level above, they were Boundary Emperors. The only difference was that their own path of Dao had progressed until a point that was hard for ordinary Boundary Emperors to reach.

Chu Kuangren started to refine the Wood Elemental Leyline Essence first.

In addition to increasing his cultivation level, this treasure could also prolong his life and heal him from injuries.

Its healing capabilities were so potent that even a Sovereign would be interested in it.

Chu Kuangren had previously split some portions of it with Murong Xuan and Shang Qingxue before this, so he refined what was left of it.

Healing abilities?

Why would he need its healing abilities when he already possessed the Immortal Body ability?

Moreover, he had the Spring Breeze Healing Technique, which its healing effects were more or less on par with the Wood Elemental Leyline Essence. Coupled with his top-tiered physician skill into this, he could even cure an injury so critical that the Wood Elemental Leyline Essence could not. In that case, what was the point for him to keep this? To be a waste of s.p.a.ce?

Hence, he decided to refine all of it.

He opened his mouth wide. Like he was drinking water, he swallowed all of the Wood Elemental Leyline Essence into his body.

In an instant, his Universal Cauldron Physique activated!

The terrifying Universal Cauldron Physique rapidly converted all the incoming energy into spiritual power.

The energy contained within the Wood Elemental Leyline Essence was so immense that even a top-notch Boundary Emperor would require at least one year to refine all of it.

However, Chu Kuangren was not the same.

His Universal Cauldron Physique could rapidly refine any type of strange energy in this world.

This leyline essence was one of those strange energies.

What took ordinary Boundary Emperors a year at least to refine only took him a day to refine most of it.

Within that day, his cultivation level kept on increasing from a Single-Step Sage Ruler to a Second-Step Sage Ruler, Third-Step Sage Ruler…

At last, he broke through the threshold of a Sage Ruler's level and reached the Boundary Emperor Realm!

Even so, his cultivation level still continued increasing until it had pa.s.sed a large portion of the Boundary Emperor Realm before stopping.

The Boundary Emperor Realm was not categorized in steps like the Sage Realm. Instead, it was based on one's spiritual power quality and categorized into four tiers — low, mid, high, and top-notched. For Boundary Emperors, what mattered most was the progress of their own way of Dao!

The stronger a Boundary Emperor's Dao, it meant that they had a more thorough understanding of it. So even if their spiritual power was lower than their opponent's, they still stood a chance to win!

"Before reaching the Emperor's Dao, the journey of one's Dao is divided into three steps — seeking one's Dao, solidifying one's Dao, and becoming an Emperor by affirming one's Dao. The second step, which is solidifying one's Dao, is split into five stages. It is the novice stage, expert stage, peak stage, perfected stage, and ultimate stage respectively. The Dao of those Sovereigns is at least in the perfected stage. Some of them might've reached the ultimate stage!!"

"Now that my cultivation is at a Boundary Emperor's level, I'm confident that coupled with my Supreme Sage Foundation Level, even a Boundary Emperor with top-notch spiritual power qualities won't be able to defeat me. With the help of my Emperor Weapons and other techniques, I believe I can defeat a Sovereign whose Dao is at the perfected stage in battle!"

Chu Kuangren let out a slight grin. He had a feeling that he was now much more powerful, but his evolution was not over yet.

He still had a White Spiritual Divine Fruit.