Chapter 313: Li Hongjiu

To verify the truth of the rumors, some sects had indeed put in a great deal of effort. For instance, the Yanbao Sect, ranked third in the artifact-refining world, had lost the treasure-offering competition, which meant only twenty of their members were allowed to enter, just like ordinary sects.

At this moment, a group was politely bidding farewell to another. After seeing off their guests, Guang Haoyou, the leading disciple of the Yanbao Sect group, turned his head to look at an older man not far away, who was leisurely drinking from a wine gourd while reclining on a large stone.

The drinking man, seeing his fellow disciples looking at him, immediately raised his gourd in a distant toast, revealing a brilliant, white-toothed smile. His smile was like sunlight melting snow, utterly ignoring the harsh environment of the place. He was quite handsome, but his lazy demeanor seemed somewhat out of place compared to others who had entered the Divine Flame Realm. He didn't look like he was there to compete; instead, he seemed to be on a leisurely trip, traveling and enjoying himself wherever he went.

This person was named Li Hongjiu. It was said that his mother, while heavily pregnant and fleeing pursuers, gave birth to him in a wine vat during her escape. The blood stained the wine red, and so his mother named him Li Hongjiu. It was quite a casually chosen name. It was unclear whether it was because he was born in a wine vat or if the name itself was ill-omened, but Li Hongjiu was particularly fond of wine. Of course, he wasn't an alcoholic. Perhaps it had nothing to do with his name; after all, the elder from the Refining Heaven Sect on this trip, Qin Zhijiu, also had 'Jiu' in his name, yet he wasn't known for being particularly fond of wine.

Although Guang Haoyou appeared to be the leader of the Yanbao Sect group, he was not their actual leader for this trip; Li Hongjiu was. Many within the Yanbao Sect actually opposed having Li Hongjiu as their leader. Especially since only twenty disciples were allowed to enter this time, their strength in searching for the divine flame was already diminished. Who could accept such an irresponsible leader?

However, Li Hongjiu, this troublesome disciple, truly vexed the Yanbao Sect. Despite being from a major artifact-refining sect like Yanbao, he was lazy and never focused on his duties. One might call him idle, yet his talent for artifact refining was exceptionally high. He was simply too lazy to learn or practice. But when truly forced to act, his skill was so profound it left everyone else speechless. What's more, he possessed the highest cultivation talent among all disciples of this generation—not just high, but exceptionally high—proclaimed as the first of his kind in the Yanbao Sect's 1,800-year history. This title referred to his cultivation talent, not his actual cultivation level.

Just how high was his cultivation talent? Once, when fellow disciples encountered danger outside, he stepped forward and, bare-handed, parried a strike from a Human Immortal realm master. The master, unsure of his true capabilities, left out of caution, effectively saving everyone's lives. The shock this incident caused to the high-ranking officials of the Yanbao Sect was unimaginable to outsiders. Only upon later inquiry did they learn that when Li Hongjiu was at the Minor Accomplishment stage of High Martial Arts, he had found the sect's cultivation techniques unsatisfying and had thus created his own set. The shock this caused to the sect's high-ranking officials was immense.

Since he possessed such an excellent cultivation method, the sect urged him not to keep it to himself, reminding him that his current achievements were due to the sect's nurturing, and he should share it for the common good. He did not hide it; he presented it. However, the cultivation method he had created was incredibly profound and elusive, like a gazelle's horns that leave no trace. It relied entirely on one's innate comprehension, and no one apart from him could master it. To this day, it remains in the Yanbao Sect, revered but unused.

Logically, with such high cultivation talent, if he was unwilling to refine artifacts, it would still be acceptable for him to cultivate diligently and become a powerful individual, as the sect could still make use of him. In short, despite repeatedly punishing this fellow, the sect was still willing to provide him with every possible resource and condition. If he was willing to earnestly pursue the path of artifact refining, the sect would offer full support, providing any materials he desired, giving him everything they could. If he preferred not to refine artifacts but was willing to cultivate and improve his realm, the sect would also fully satisfy all his cultivation resource needs. This was a level of treatment other disciples could only dream of.

But what was the result? He was utterly devoid of ambition, indifferent to his future or fate. In his own words, "I'm living quite well now, why should I exert myself and struggle?" Countless teaching sticks were broken trying to discipline him, to no avail. In fact, it would be strange if he *didn't* end up kneeling at his master's door for punishment every ten days to half a month. Oh, and his master was Qu Wuming, the Sect Leader of Yanbao Sect. That year, seeing the disciple's immense talent, Qu Wuming eagerly took him in. As a result, after taking this disciple, Qu Wuming became somewhat disheartened and lost the desire to take any more apprentices. Consequently, Li Hongjiu became Sect Leader Qu's last disciple and was referred to as "Uncle-Master" by many in the Yanbao Sect.

Because of this disciple, the Yanbao Sect Leader was infuriated to the point of stomping his feet multiple times, shouting that he would expel him from the sect. But each time, it was just talk. When faced with such a disciple, he couldn't bear to cast him aside, yet keeping him was infuriating—it was too exasperating. How could the sect confidently allow such a person to enter the Divine Flame Realm? However, the situation this time was truly unique. The Yanbao Sect could only send twenty disciples into the Divine Flame Realm, diminishing their power to find the divine flame. If they wanted to win, many people's gazes repeatedly fell upon Li Hongjiu, the kind of gaze that forced them to look away only to be compelled to scrutinize him again.

Firstly, he was the most capable fighter among the High Martial Arts realm disciples. In combat situations, he wouldn't simply stand by and watch his fellow disciples die; he would certainly intervene to help. Secondly, Li Hongjiu's artifact refining talent was exceptionally high. While he might not be willing to spend extensive time on refining daily, contributing his efforts in a competition after exiting the Divine Flame Realm would be no problem at all. Based on these considerations, the Yanbao Sect decided to allow him to participate.

Initially, the Yanbao Sect Leader worried this fellow would be lazy and cause him a lot of trouble and persuasion. To his surprise, upon hearing it was an opportunity to visit the Divine Flame Realm—a place he had never been—he immediately became interested and agreed without hesitation. For this reason, Sect Leader Qu was somewhat annoyed again. If only this fellow had applied himself to cultivation, he would have broken through to the Human Immortal realm at least twenty years ago, and there would have been no need for him to risk entering the Divine Flame Realm. However, he then reconsidered: if one absorbed the divine flame, comparatively, their cultivation might advance even more rapidly. Could it be that this fellow had been too lazy to improve his cultivation all these years precisely to wait for this day? After all, one could no longer enter the Divine Flame Realm once they reached the Human Immortal realm. Afterward, many people harbored such suspicions, but most eventually dismissed the idea, concluding that the fellow had been like that since childhood.

After entering the Divine Flame Realm, the Yanbao Sect's fears finally materialized. After exploring the Divine Flame Realm for a bit, Li Hongjiu quickly lost interest. He found the place uninteresting, utterly devoid of appeal. Constantly searching in this barren land, he immediately gave up, declaring to everyone, "I'm just here to make up the numbers; you all do as you deem fit." He did, however, have a place of interest: he had heard that the 'No-Light Forbidden Zone' was intriguing and had always wanted to visit it.

This thoroughly alarmed the Yanbao Sect disciples, who desperately restrained him. Not only did they have to assign people to monitor him, but they also tried to compel him by appealing to the sect's greater good. In any case, Guang Haoyou and the other disciples began to suffer headaches, experiencing firsthand the Sect Leader's torment as they fretted endlessly over this Uncle-Master. Searching for the divine flame was already arduous enough; now, having a burden by their side, who could truly understand their suffering?

What was even more exasperating was that after painstakingly finding a divine flame, the group eagerly offered it to this Uncle-Master for absorption. Yet, he surprisingly refused, claiming he had no need for such external objects and didn't want them. He even added, "I know you all want to absorb it more." In any case, he flat-out refused, instead designating it for Guang Haoyou to absorb, stating that Guang Haoyou's absorption of it would be of greater value.

Guang Haoyou was almost "moved" to tears, feeling as though he should thank Li Hongjiu's ancestors. He certainly *wanted* to absorb it, but the sect had designated this Uncle-Master as the primary candidate for absorbing the divine flame, and it would only be his turn afterward—a directive he had been repeatedly given. He understood the reason: his Uncle-Master was the most promising individual to help the Yanbao Sect secure victory. If he were to absorb this divine flame and still fail to secure victory, how could he explain himself to the sect afterward? His supposed selflessness would be perceived as selfishness, and he'd be drowned in scorn and criticism. How could he possibly hold his head high in the sect ever again? Furthermore, he had vaguely guessed Li Hongjiu's reason for not absorbing the divine flame: if Guang Haoyou absorbed it, then the responsibility for securing victory would fall upon Guang Haoyou, allowing Li Hongjiu to freely and unscrupulously wander off to play in the 'No-Light Forbidden Zone'. And if this Uncle-Master was determined to run off, who among them could stop him?

And so, a spectacle unseen by other sects unfolded among the Yanbao Sect group: pleading, tearful pleas, and kneeling. The entire group begged Li Hongjiu to absorb the divine flame. Finally, cornered by appeals to the sect's greater good, he had no choice, and they even had to drag him to the exit to meet an elder. Only then did Li Hongjiu reluctantly absorb three divine flames—the total number the Yanbao Sect had managed to find. He did no work, reaped the benefits, yet still acted reluctant. On top of that, he was always holding them back. Which sect would have such a member? The Yanbao Sect disciples were so angry they wanted to hit him. In short, every time they found a divine flame, no one could be happy; they all sighed in resignation.

After seeing off their guests, Guang Haoyou moved closer to the lazily drinking Li Hongjiu and asked, "Little Uncle-Master, did you hear? It's been confirmed that the Refining Heaven Sect is indeed looking for Shi Chun and the others. This means the rumors are true: Shi Chun and his group genuinely have a method to quickly locate the divine flames."

Li Hongjiu also replied with a helpless expression, "Why worry so much? I told you, three divine flames are enough. We should be able to win the championship with that. What more do you want?"

Guang Haoyou clutched his head in anguish and sighed, "Uncle-Master, please stop joking. They have hundreds! *Hundreds* of divine flames! What do you propose we use to win?"

Other disciples either sighed, lowered their heads in helplessness, or subtly shook their heads. In short, no one wanted to speak further.

Li Hongjiu surveyed everyone's reactions, then tilted his head back, took a large gulp of wine, and exhaled a boozy breath. "It doesn't matter if it's hundreds or thousands," he declared. "The core principle remains the same: one can only absorb a maximum of thirty-six divine flames. Aren't there only thirty-six types of divine flames, after all? Furthermore, in my opinion, even if they find hundreds, it's highly unlikely they'll gather thirty-six *different* kinds. So, we still have a chance at victory. When it comes to refining techniques, if there's too much external aid and insufficient personal understanding, one might not achieve true perfection."

Guang Haoyou retorted, distressed, "Uncle-Master, if logical arguments could solve problems, why did we even bother coming in here?"

Li Hongjiu simply smiled, raised his wine gourd in a gesture, and, tilting his head back to gaze leisurely at the sky just before taking another sip, he replied, "You're right. Whatever you say we should do, we'll do. I'll listen to you."