Under Qingping's whispered explanation and Azure Green True Person's nod of affirmation, Daoist Changqing finally believed that Lin Yuan had truly become the Heavenly Master of the Heavenly Master Mansion.
To be precise, he was the thirty-seventh Heavenly Master.
The thirty-sixth Heavenly Master hadn't been around for 500 years.
"Life is truly unpredictable," Daoist Changqing said with a complex expression of relief.
Before he had fallen unconscious, the Heavenly Master Mansion was uniting with other orthodox forces to suppress the expansion of the Ten Thousand Demons Sect and other demonic paths.
The situation at that time wasn't exactly in their favor.
However, now, the Lin Yuan he watched grow up had become a Heavenly Master and directly decimated the Ten Thousand Demons Sect.
The blood of the demonic cult at the foot of Dragon Tiger Mountain was still warm.
Such a drastic turn of events filled Daoist Changqing with emotion.
Afterward, Lin Yuan examined Daoist Changqing's body multiple times, ensuring no demonic energy was left, then excused himself.
Daoist Changqing stood at the doorway of the Daoist Academy, watching Lin Yuan's departing figure and murmured to himself, "Brother Zhang, your son, your son has become the invincible Heavenly Master."
Back at the True Martial Dao Treasury, Lin Yuan returned to a place that was originally the retreat for generations of Heavenly Masters from the Heavenly Master Mansion.
Only without a Heavenly Master around would it be the training ground for potential Heavenly Masters and the Heavenly Phenomenon seeds.
As Lin Yuan sat cross-legged, he took the time to truly experience his newfound power as a Heavenly Master.
Upon becoming a Heavenly Master, he first rushed to deal with the Ten Thousand Demons Sect and then to heal Daoist Changqing.
Only now did he have the chance to appreciate the power of a Heavenly Master.
Firstly, his lifespan had greatly increased, reaching five hundred years by combining the powers of lunar and solar extremes.
This was significant since past Heavenly Masters only lived for about two hundred years.
Lin Yuan's lifespan more than doubled, reflecting his dual mastery of lunar and solar powers not only in combat but also in longevity.
"Five hundred years!" Lin Yuan was shaken.
This lifespan was his natural state, meaning he could live for five hundred years without any external aid.
If he returned to the Universal Human Alliance, with advanced biological technologies, he estimated he could extend his life to over two thousand years.
The limit of lifespan essentially stems from organ failure, but in the Alliance, new organs can be cultivated to replace decaying ones.
This is why evolvers could live easily for four to five hundred years.
However, replacing organs only delays the inevitable; eventually, the soul consciousness weakens, and no amount of organ replacements would help.
The strength of one's soul consciousness is tied to their level of power.
The stronger the being, the stronger their consciousness naturally is.
"With my current strength, compared to the levels in the Human Alliance, I'm roughly at the ninth stage of the second tier," Lin Yuan pondered.
In this world, the Heavenly Phenomenon Realm corresponds to the second-tier evolver in the Alliance, typically between the first and second stage.
Meanwhile, the Heavenly Master ranges from the fourth to the sixth stage.
Lin Yuan's foundation in lunar and solar extremes places him far beyond previous Heavenly Masters, thus at the ninth stage.
Even a single stage difference is significant; in the Alliance, each stage denotes almost double the energy within one's body.
Lin Yuan checked the remaining time he could stay using the virtual interface:
[Name: Zhang Shanfeng (Lin Yuan)]
[Role: Master of the Gate of Myriad Realms]
[Bound Talent: Heaven-Defying Comprehension]
[Current State: Consciousness Descent]
[Remaining Time: Sixty Years and Eleven Months]
This traverse granted Lin Yuan eighty years of stay.
After ten years initially and over nine years as a potential Heavenly Master, nineteen years and a month in total had passed.
"I still have plenty of time," Lin Yuan acknowledged.
Compared to his first traverse with only twenty years of stay, this extended time was much more generous.
"Perhaps as my strength grows, so will the duration of each stay?" Lin Yuan speculated.
Having considered the mysteries of his new abilities, he willed the True Martial Sword to appear before him.
"Return," Lin Yuan whispered, stroking the sword's hilt.
With his current level, the power within the True Martial Sword, once vital, now offered little help.
He decided to return the sword to its resting place in the Sword Tomb for slumber.
After bidding farewell to the True Martial Sword, Azure Green True Person respectfully entered.
"Heavenly Master," Azure Green inquired, "how would you like your Heavenly Master Sword crafted? Do you have any specific requirements?"
Every Heavenly Master through the ages had a personalized Heavenly Master Sword.
This sword became a symbol of the Heavenly Master, enduring even after their passing.
Occasionally, during journeys to the Sword Tomb every twenty years, a past Heavenly Master's sword would choose a deserving disciple to receive focused training from the Heavenly Master Mansion.
"The Heavenly Master Sword," Lin Yuan mused.
He didn't have particular requirements other than a classic sword shape.
"Should I inscribe something on the sword's hilt or blade?" Azure Green prompted.
Traditionally, Heavenly Masters would engrave their names or symbols onto the Heavenly Master Sword, whether it was words, symbols, or even an image.
The mansion's swordsmiths were skilled and could handle these requests with ease.
"An inscription..."
Lin Yuan thought for a moment.
"My name is Shanfeng. Let's engrave a mountain peak on my sword, then."
"No problem," Azure Green promptly agreed.
This was easily done.
"Wait a moment," Lin Yuan paused, recalling something.
His parents had given him the name Zhang Shanfeng, wishing he'd be strong enough to protect the Zhang Family Fortress like a mountain.
But his parents had been deceased for almost twenty years now.
"Add two more peaks," Lin Yuan adjusted his request, "engrave three peaks on the Heavenly Master Sword."
"Three peaks?" Azure Green was a bit surprised.
"Three Peaks?"
Days later, the swordsmiths finished the Heavenly Master Sword and presented it to Lin Yuan.
Their speed was due to their predecessors crafting the sword's embryo ahead of time, ensuring a finished sword could be swiftly made when a new Heavenly Master arose.
"Indeed a fine sword," Lin Yuan nodded slightly, his gaze falling on the three engraved peaks on the sword.
Of course, he compared this sword's quality against mundane weapons.
The uniqueness of past Heavenly Master swords lies in the gradual spirit they gain from exposure to the Heavenly Master's aura, and many contain remnants of the previous Heavenly Master's power, which future generations could harness to combat foes.
Azure Green True Person had utilized the remaining Heavenly Master's power while battling the Ten Thousand Demons Sect's leader.
"It’s time to descend the mountain," Lin Yuan declared, grasping the handle of his Heavenly Master Sword.
He left the True Martial Dao Treasury and descended Dragon Tiger Mountain.
The destruction of Zhang Family Fortress two decades ago, the possession of Daoist Changqing by demonic energy, and the assault on Dragon Tiger Mountain by the Ten Thousand Demons Sect had left deep scars.
New grievances and old grudges weren't something that could just be washed away by defeating the sect leader and thousands of demon followers.
(End of Chapter)