Chapter 540

Chapter 540: Test Flight of the Star Ship

Upon hearing the Grand Elder’s words, Master Qianling immediately straightened up with a serious expression.

"Leader, are you serious? If so, how about I join the Hidden Spirit Sect right now?" Master Qianling said.

"I’ve told you before, second brother has always had rebellious intentions; he’s not trustworthy. Do you believe me now?"

"Third brother, the leader has already agreed; what are you saying?" Master Qianling glanced at the apparition with disdain.

"If you’re going, then go together," the Grand Elder of Qianling Sect said, looking at the third brother.

"I…" The Third Grand Elder of Qianling Sect hesitated.

"Forget it; I’m an honest person, not like you with such thick skin. I’ll stay in Qianling Sect," the Third Grand Elder finally said.

"At least you have some self-awareness," Master Qianling chuckled.

"Self-awareness? Third brother’s schemes run deeper than yours," the Grand Elder of Qianling Sect shot a glance at Master Qianling.

"So what?"

"Enough, stop arguing. You all have tasks to complete."

"Second brother, you will test the new Star Ship, and third brother, you will observe how disciples are trained here," the Grand Elder interrupted their bickering.

"Understood," both replied in unison.

For the next three days, the Third Grand Elder of Qianling Sect wandered around the Hidden Spirit Sect.

Master Qianling stayed on the classical-style Star Ship.

Xu Fan spent his time with the Grand Elder of Qianling Sect, enjoying tea and playing chess.

In the pavilion atop the main peak, the Grand Elder of Qianling Sect frowned, holding a black piece while staring intently at the chessboard.

After a while, the Grand Elder of Qianling Sect set down his piece and said, "I lost. The Grand Elder’s chess prowess is truly remarkable."

"I can’t accept such praise from the Grand Elder. This is my first time facing such a formidable opponent," Xu Fan replied humbly with a smile.

If the game hadn’t had stakes, Xu Fan might have let the Grand Elder win.

But the rewards were too tempting, so Xu Fan had to secure the victory.

"How long have you been studying chess, Grand Elder?" the Grand Elder of Qianling Sect asked with a smile.

"I’ve enjoyed it since I began cultivating, though I haven’t kept track of the years," Xu Fan modestly replied, not wanting to admit he simply dabbled in it.

The Grand Elder of Qianling Sect nodded and handed Xu Fan an Avatar Jade Talisman.

"Thank you for the generous gift, Grand Elder; I’ll accept it without shame," Xu Fan said with a smile.

For some reason, he found himself drawn to collecting the Avatar Jade Talismans of the invincible respected elder.

In critical moments, each talisman could prove invaluable.

"I’m not one to disregard agreements. I’ll honor the terms of our wager, as I promised the Grand Elder," Xu Fan stated.

He sensed that this Grand Elder was here to benefit him, and he assumed the Avatar Jade Talisman would end up in his hands regardless.

A flicker of discomfort crossed the Grand Elder’s eyes; he had intended to win the game and then present the talisman, but things hadn’t gone as planned.

In their chess match, he had hoped to defeat Xu Fan before handing over the Avatar Jade Talisman.

However, he never expected that his chess skills, honed over a thousand years, would be inferior to a young novice who was not even a thousand years old.

"The Avatar Jade Talisman was originally meant for the Grand Elder, but who knew the Grand Elder would actually win against me in chess; I miscalculated," the Grand Elder of Qianling Sect said with a cheerful demeanor.

"I was just lucky~" Xu Fan replied with a smile.

"This is the first time I have met someone with such a multifaceted talent like the Grand Elder," he continued.

"Artifact crafting, formations, alchemy, puppetry, way of the five elements, chess prowess—all these are nearly mastered by you, and you can easily execute various core techniques. Could it be that the Grand Elder is a reincarnated great being?" the Grand Elder of Qianling Sect asked with curiosity.

"You are thinking too much, Grand Elder. If I were a reincarnated great being, I would have hidden away somewhere to cultivate properly. Then I would ascend to the Upper World instead of establishing a small sect and amusing myself like this," Xu Fan laughed.

Reincarnation is one thing, but being a great being is not.

"Still, a genius like the Grand Elder is rare in the entire cultivation world," the Grand Elder praised.

Xu Fan simply smiled humbly.

Three days later, two Star Ships took off from the plain behind the main peak. As soon as they left the protective grand formation of the Hidden Spirit Sect, they began to accelerate swiftly.

At this moment, Master Qianling on the classic Star Ship was quite excited.

"Qi Yi, how fast can our Star Ship go?" Master Qianling asked enthusiastically.

"At regular speed, it can go three times the speed of the old Qianling Sect ship, and at maximum speed, it can reach five times," Qi Yi, who was calmly steering the ship, replied.

"With this speed, what can’t we do in the future!" Master Qianling said with a grin.

"Not to mention anything else, just using this for teleportation messages and passengers, we can recoup our costs in a few years," the virtual image of the Third Grand Elder of Qianling Sect added.

"Teleportation messages and passengers?"

"Third brother, no wonder the sect hasn’t shown any progress over the years; the root cause lies in you!" Master Qianling mocked.

"With this new Star Ship, of course, we will go to the Extreme Void Domain and hunt the Beast Race Warships."

"My Qianling Sect is originally a top-tier sect on the central continent. If we don’t aim to eliminate the beast race and unify the two realms, what face do we have to exist on the central continent?" Master Qianling declared with righteous seriousness.

"You’re just good at talking; it’s as if the central continent can’t survive without you. Isn’t steady development a better option?" the Third Grand Elder of Qianling Sect scoffed, clearly unimpressed by Master Qianling.

"If the leader were not on this Star Ship, he would also have something to say to you."

Just then, Xu Fan’s voice rang out from the control room.

"Respected Elder, we are testing maximum speed, aiming for the depths of the Extreme Void Domain, beyond the giant rock barrier," Xu Fan said.

"Understood," Master Qianling replied.

In the sky, the two parallel Star Ships suddenly accelerated.

The classic Star Ship’s long wings began to flap slowly, each flap increasing the speed of the ship.

Hidden Spirit No. 2 directly fired massive flames from its wings and rear.

Half a month later, outside the giant rock barrier in the Extreme Void Domain, a classic-style Star Ship floated.

"The Grand Elder hasn’t mentioned any issues and has just run off," Master Qianling said with some dissatisfaction.

"He must not want you to know. Without the Grand Elder, we can still test the Star Ship."

"Am I right, Qi Yi?" the Third Grand Elder of Qianling Sect remarked.

"In my database, I already have all the information about this Star Ship. There are no barriers in controlling it, and we do not need the Grand Elder’s ship to accompany us," the puppet operating the Star Ship responded.

"Then let’s go ahead and test this Star Ship’s performance ourselves," Master Qianling said.