Light Wings emerged from his back. They had already extended more than halfway, nearly forming a complete pair.
As the Light Wings vibrated, a Spirit Wind surged beneath his feet. Zhang Deming rode the wind, flying up toward the Mountain Peak Cloud Pool above the waterfall.
A moment later, Zhang Deming arrived at the pavilion behind the Cloud Pool’s cluster of buildings, where they often met to discuss matters and chat.
Yue Mengsheng and the other two were already waiting inside.
Zhang Deming stepped forward and offered a salute. "Greetings, Senior Brothers."
The four of them were already very familiar with one another, and they all greeted him warmly upon his arrival.
"Junior Brother Zhang," Gan Zili replied, "I haven’t had the chance to congratulate you on your strength recovering even further!"
Zhang Deming looked up with a smile. Just as he was about to respond, he paused, his gaze falling on Guk Liancai. "Senior Brother Guk, what’s with the long face? Are you unhappy with me for some reason?"
Of the three men seated there, Yue Mengsheng and Gan Zili seemed normal, but Guk Liancai’s face was dark and sullen. He looked as if someone owed him eight million Spirit Stones.
Gan Zili paused and shot Guk Liancai a glare. "Don’t mind him," he said. "His skills weren’t up to par and his head wasn’t screwed on right, so Senior Brother Yuee had to stop him. Now he’s just sulking."
Guk Liancai’s face fell further. "Who says my skills are lacking?" he retorted. "If Senior Brother Yuee hadn’t stopped me, I might have succeeded! I could have even surpassed the quota!"
"Besides, don’t act like you’ve met your quota. The day before yesterday, you had barely scraped together twenty, hadn’t you?"
"The deadline is in a day or two. Are you going to magically pull five more out of thin air?"
Gan Zili’s smile froze on his face. Fortunately, he was used to this man. He took a deep breath and decided to simply ignore him, not dignifying that with a response.
Zhang Deming watched, thoroughly confused. When neither of them spoke, he had no choice but to look to Yue Mengsheng for an explanation.
Yue Mengsheng glanced at the two of them and shook his head, exasperated. "He’s not giving you the cold shoulder," he said. "He’s giving it to me."
This made Zhang Deming even more curious. He recalled that while Guk Liancai was a contrarian and incredibly stubborn, he had rarely seen him get into a spat with the others.
Yue Mengsheng paused for a moment. "It’s nothing serious," he explained. "It’s about the Flower Demon Elf assignment."
At those words, understanding instantly dawned on Zhang Deming.
Yue Mengsheng continued, "Because the one-year deadline is approaching, the Sect has to begin preparations ahead of schedule. We received a message from the Sect Leader telling us to make the delivery next month.
I’ve barely managed to make twenty-five, and Junior Brother Gan isn’t far off. But Junior Brother Guk has only managed a little over ten.
So when he heard the news, he got anxious.
Early this morning, he went and performed some ’Four-Radiance Resonance’ in the Flower Sea, which made the Cyan Wood Flower Sea unusually active.
But as for the results... well, he just ended up blowing craters all over the place!
I was worried he was going to burn down the entire Flower Sea, so I couldn’t just stand by. I insisted on an early inventory count to keep him from causing any more trouble."
While Yue Mengsheng was speaking, Guk Liancai’s lips twitched as if he wanted to argue, but he seemed at a loss for words.
Only after Yue Mengsheng had finished did he manage to blurt out, "It’s all the fault of these Cyan Wood Flower Demons! Their Extreme Wood Bloodline is just too much to handle."
Yue Mengsheng glanced at him but didn’t rebuke him, not wanting to further wound his already bruised pride. Instead, he continued, "Speaking of which, Junior Brother Zhang, if you hadn’t come today, we would have had to contact you in a couple of days anyway."
Zhang Deming laughed. "Heh, and I thought it was something serious. Senior Brother Guk, you don’t need to worry about this. Thanks to my affinity with the Wood Dao, I’ve managed to create over thirty, almost forty, of them this past year."
"A few days ago, I had my Child go to your Flower Sea zones and discreetly take an inventory. We’ve already reached one hundred, with two to spare."
"And that’s not even counting the first three little ones I created. I don’t plan on handing them over. I’ve been raising them for a year now, and I’ve grown rather fond of them."
"Really?!" Guk Liancai exclaimed, his face lighting up with surprise and delight.
Zhang Deming had been away for long periods and hadn’t interacted much with them. On top of that, he usually kept the Array for the Fourth Flower Sea activated.
As a result, the three of them rarely paid any attention to the Fourth Flower Sea. After all, even if the active Array was just for show, everyone understood its unspoken message.
Zhang Deming smiled. "I wouldn’t joke about this with you, Senior Brother Guk."
"That’s wonderful!" Gan Zili chimed in.
"Then thank you, Junior Brother," Guk Liancai replied. "Don’t worry, when it comes to the reward shares, I’ll make sure you’re compensated for your contribution."
Gan Zili was speechless.
’For once you’re not being a contrarian, and you’re even thanking someone, but why does it sound like you’re implying he did it for your share of the reward?’
Zhang Deming, being quite familiar with Guk Liancai’s personality, just smiled and said, "Then I thank you in advance, Senior Brother Guk."
Yue Mengsheng shot Guk Liancai a look—he was used to his antics and couldn’t be bothered to comment. Turning to Zhang Deming, he asked, "Junior Brother Zhang, you’ve only just recovered a bit of your cultivation. Instead of resting and cultivating in seclusion, you came looking for us. Is there something you need?"
Zhang Deming paused, glanced at the three of them, and smiled. "It’s a little embarrassing to admit," he began, "but a few days ago, I had a moment of insight. I took advantage of the momentum from my recovery, and my Spirit Nurturing Technique broke through to Tier Four at the same time."
"For real?!"
"Really!"
"Is that true?"
The three of them froze for a second before exclaiming in delighted surprise.
Zhang Deming nodded. "It’s true. I wouldn’t dare joke with you all about something so important."
"Have you successfully formed a pearl yet?" Gan Zili asked excitedly.
Zhang Deming smiled and shook his head. "I’ve only just stabilized my cultivation over the past few days and only left my Cave Mansion today. I haven’t even collected any Three-Star materials, so how could I have possibly formed a pearl?"
Gan Zili paused, then declared, "Let’s go! We’re heading to the Source Pearl Hall!"
Zhang Deming paused. ’Do they want me to form a pearl on the spot?’
Frowning slightly, he asked, "Senior Brother Gan, is that really necessary?"
Gan Zili was taken aback for a moment, then quickly explained, "Junior Brother Zhang, please don’t misunderstand. It’s not that I don’t believe you. It’s just that the matter of a Law-Level Spirit Nurturer is of immense importance."