Catch a Guard; The Meng Family

This was no coincidence, but the result of the All-Heavens Scan performed by the system back when it still had the power.

Although the probability of supreme aptitude appearing was extremely low, the Nine Heavens Realm was vast, with billions of living beings flourishing and multiplying.

Geniuses with grade-ten talent were not completely non-existent; if not thousands, there were at least hundreds scattered across various regions.

The thirty disciples of Gu Changyuan's generation came from various backgrounds.

A portion of them were unpolished jades he had discovered in small sects and minor families.

Those factions had limited vision or lacked resources. They simply could not recognize such peerless aptitude, treating them as merely slightly above-average seedlings, or failed to cultivate them properly. Some were even marginalized due to their aloof personalities or incompatible cultivation paths.

Under various pretexts such as making trades or offering guidance, Gu Changyuan took these dust-covered pearls away.

Another portion consisted of bitter, orphaned individuals with tragic fates.

There were beggars who had lost their parents at a young age and wandered the streets; orphans carrying blood feuds after their entire families were wiped out; children driven out by villagers who viewed them as monsters due to their unique physiques...

When Gu Changyuan met them, it was often at their most desperate and miserable moments. A bowl of hot rice, a helping hand, or a simple "Are you willing to cultivate with me?" completely changed their lives.

As for those supreme prodigies born into top-tier factions and ancient families...

Back then, Gu Changyuan's cultivation was still shallow. He had neither the ability nor the need to make contact with them.

Going to those dragon pools and tiger dens to demand people?

That would practically be asking for death.

......

The city gates of Vast Ocean City were much more magnificent than those of South China City. The city walls, dozens of fathoms high, were built with hard dark-cyan rock and covered in defensive runes, exuding a heavy and imposing aura.

At the city gate, over a dozen guards in silver armor were patrolling vigilantly. Their cultivation bases ranged mostly from the peak of the Nascent Soul realm to the early Soul Formation realm, a tier far stronger than the guards of South China City.

But when they saw the massive immortal boat hovering mid-air, blotting out the sun, everyone froze in place.

They stood dumbstruck, stormy waves surging in their hearts, while also filled with inner struggle.

To stop it? Or not to stop it?

If they stopped it... this was the first time in their lives they had seen an immortal boat of such scale up close. The flying boats they usually saw were at most a fraction of its size.

It was obvious this boat belonged to no ordinary faction, and the people aboard must be unfathomable bigwigs.

If they angered the other party, let alone a few guards like them, perhaps the entire Vast Ocean City would suffer.

If they did not stop it... as city gate guards, their duty was to inspect cultivators and flying vessels entering the city. If they just let it pass and the City Lord's Estate found out, they would be in deep trouble.

Just as the guards were hesitating and breaking out in cold sweat, Gu Changyuan had already stopped the immortal boat, making it hover steadily hundreds of meters above the city gate.

His gaze swept through the jade windows of the immortal boat over the dumbstruck guards below, quickly locking onto a tall middle-aged cultivator whose armor style differed from the rest.

By the looks of it, he should be the captain of the guards.

Gu Changyuan gently waved his right hand. Without using any majestic spiritual energy, just a minuscule trace of spatial power quietly surged out, instantly crossing hundreds of meters to accurately envelop the guard captain.

The next second, the guard captain felt his vision blur, and his surroundings instantly changed.

The originally noisy city gate disappeared, replaced by a spacious, elegant room. In the center of the room sat a tall and straight figure, looking at him calmly.

The guard captain's heart skipped a beat. He instantly became alert, his right hand subconsciously pressing on the sword at his waist.

But just as he tried to channel his spiritual energy, he keenly realized that his body seemed to be confined by an invisible force; he could not mobilize even a trace of spiritual energy.

Only then did he realize that the strength of the person before him had reached a realm beyond his imagination.

For the other party to bring him here from the city gate without him noticing at all, against such power, he probably would not last even a single breath of resistance.

Gu Changyuan ignored his vigilance and asked in a flat tone:

"Which is the largest family or faction in your Vast Ocean City?"

Following his voice, the scenery outside the portholes began to change.

The view of Vast Ocean City rapidly zoomed in and unfolded, revealing every minute detail.

The City Lord's Estate, major markets, towering sect pagodas, grand family manors...

The layout and core areas of the entire city were completely taken in with just this single glance.

The guard captain was horrified. What kind of divine ability was this?

Despite his horror, he still answered with the utmost respect:

"R-replying to My Lord! The faction with the greatest power and deepest foundation in Vast Ocean City right now is undeniably the Meng Family."

As he spoke, he pointed toward the scenery outside the porthole, at a vast complex of continuous pavilions and towers in the northern part of the city.

In the center of that area stood a giant cyan pagoda a hundred fathoms tall. The tip of the pagoda was wreathed in dense spiritual light, presenting an extraordinary sight.

"The Meng Family..."

Gu Changyuan nodded slightly.

"Good, you may go back."

Before the guard captain could react, Gu Changyuan gently waved his right hand again.

There was another spell of dizziness.

The guard captain's vision blurred, and his feet were already stepping back on the solid, cold ground of the city gate tower.

Around him were the bewildered and uncertain gazes of his colleagues, while the silver immortal boat in the distance remained quietly suspended.

Just as he was in a daze, a piece of flawlessly white jade marrow exuding dense spiritual energy suddenly fell into his hands.

He looked down, and wild joy instantly filled his eyes. This was a piece of Gengjin Spiritual Marrow, containing incomparably pure spiritual energy.

For a Nascent Soul cultivator like him, it was an extremely precious cultivation resource.

At this moment, Gu Changyuan had already withdrawn his gaze and issued a command to the immortal boat's array core.

The immortal boat started up again, slowly changing direction, and flew toward the Meng Family manor in the center of Vast Ocean City.