Amidst a chorus of gasps from the crowd, Su Bai stepped out of the stone chamber and appeared before everyone.
He did not look like he had changed much, still maintaining his elderly appearance with white hair and a white beard. Yet now, waves of spiritual power radiated from him, letting everyone know that he was truly a cultivator at last, no longer just an old mortal handyman.
"He actually... he really succeeded!"
"Impossible, absolutely impossible!"
"Sixty years of cultivation, building up a reservoir of strength over a long time—he actually pulled it off!"
"This is just too powerful, a true legend!"
Normally, let alone a mortal breaking through to Qi Refinement, even an outer sect disciple advancing to the inner sect wouldn't cause such a shock. But Su Bai's sixty-year arduous journey was truly deeply moving.
In the Qingyun Sect, there were certainly many old handymen like Su Bai, but most of them either muddled through their days or had given up on cultivation entirely. Su Bai was the only one who had persisted all the way to the present!
"Senior, you really came out."
Ziyun smiled slightly, stepping forward to present a prepared wine gourd filled with spirit wine she had brewed herself. In her view, while this wasn't anything remarkable, it was at least a token of her sincere regard.
Su Bai accepted the gourd of wine, nodded, and smiled broadly. His breakthrough in cultivation had put him in high spirits, and on a day like this, having someone gift him a flask of wine was truly heartwarming.
"Senior Sister Ziyun actually gifted him a flask of wine!"
"No way, could Senior Sister Ziyun really have taken a fancy to this old handyman?"
Many found it hard to accept. Among these Qingyun Sect disciples, there were quite a few who wanted to pursue Ziyun, but she had not been there long, and they hadn't yet had time to make their move. Yet now, Ziyun was showing such favor to this unknown old handyman.
Even though Su Bai had now broken through to Qi Refinement and become a true outer sect disciple, it still filled the Qingyun Sect disciples with envy, jealousy, and hatred.
"Old fellow, as long as you're not dead, I was already getting ready to come collect your corpse."
Lin Xiaoyue snorted, then pulled a set of garments from her Storage Bag. The attire appeared to be standard outer sect disciple wear, but it was interwoven with threads of gold and silver. Not only did it look more ornate, but it also offered a certain degree of defensive capability.
Many people recognized it immediately.
"That's a lower-grade treasured garment!"
"Even if it's only lower-grade, it's still a genuine magical artifact!"
"Is Senior Sister Lin always this good to her subordinates? I want to be Senior Sister Lin's dog too!"
"No, I mean, I want to be Senior Sister Lin's subordinate too!"
The Qingyun Sect disciples were consumed with envy.
"Hehe, Senior Sister Lin, then I won't stand on ceremony. Rest assured, whatever you ask me to do, I'll definitely get it done for you and make sure you're satisfied!"
Su Bai accepted the treasured garment, thinking that if he found an opportunity to gift this garment away, he might get an even better treasure in return. Although he was now a cultivator, he only possessed lethal offensive arts and was still somewhat lacking in defense.
Now he had two Daughters of Fortune by his side. All he needed to do was pass the item from his left hand to his right, finding an opportunity to gift this set of outer sect attire to Ziyun, and the value of the treasure would double. Su Bai made up his mind.
He was now a true cultivator, and the technique he practiced was not the Qingyun Sect's outer sect Azure Dragon Formula, but rather the dual internal and external Qingyun Sect's Azure Dragon Formula! Utilizing this heaven-grade technique to forge his foundation, although his cultivation level was Qi Refinement 1st Layer just like the many other outer sect disciples, his physical body was many times stronger than theirs.
With his current strength, he could easily lift huge boulders, and taking a lower-grade flying sword head-on was not out of the question. However, due to Su Bai's cautious nature, he chose not to reveal his true strength and continued to put on the appearance of a feeble old man.
After leaving the training room, Su Bai went straight to report to the outer sect elder and collect his outer sect disciple token.
Elder Qin of the outer sect was quite elderly now, and out of respect, the disciples all called him Uncle Qin.
Inside the room, Elder Qin sat in an armchair, leisurely perusing an ancient text. He had been an elder in the outer sect for a very long time; although his resource allocation could not compare to those high and mighty inner sect elders, his life was incomparably more leisurely. Moreover, his position was not entirely without perks.
Clever outer sect disciples often came to pay their respects the moment they joined the Qingyun Sect, because he controlled the distribution of outer sect missions. Some missions were low in difficulty and high in profit, easily completed. Others were not only immensely difficult and time-consuming, but offered paltry rewards. In this regard, a single word from Elder Qin could decide whether a newly joined outer sect disciple's next few years of missions would be comfortable or agonizing.
"Reporting to the Elder, outer sect disciple Su Bai requests an audience."
"Su Bai? I feel like I've heard that name before..."
Elder Qin remembered there was an old handyman in the outer sect named Su Bai. This person had been in the Qingyun Sect for over sixty years and still hadn't broken through to the Qi Refinement Realm. Elder Qin didn't think much of it, assuming someone merely shared the same name, never imagining that Su Bai had actually advanced.
A moment later, Su Bai hobbled in, leaning on a walking stick and trembling all over. Judging purely by appearance, people would likely have guessed that Su Bai was the elder of ten thousand gates, while Elder Qin was the new recruit to the Qingyun Sect. Although Elder Qin was not young, his cultivation was high, so he still maintained the appearance of a middle-aged man.
At that moment, seeing Su Bai stagger in, he was actually afraid Su Bai would fall and try to shake him down for compensation.
"Disciple Su Bai pays his respects to Elder Qin."
Trembling, Su Bai offered a bow, while in his hand he produced a small bundle.
Seeing Su Bai take out this item, Elder Qin's face immediately broke into a smile. As the saying goes, one does not strike a smiling person. Since the other party had brought good things, he was a customer!
Despite his exalted status as an elder, Elder Qin personally poured Su Bai a cup of tea. Su Bai stood on no ceremony, taking the cup of tea from Elder Qin with both trembling hands, blowing on it, and sipping it down.
"Elder Qin's tea is truly extraordinary."
"It seems quite a few people come to pay their respects to leadership on ordinary days."
"Your tea is rich in spiritual Qi, and after drinking it, I feel completely refreshed."
Su Bai chatted on as he drank his tea.
*Who are you hinting at?* Elder Qin thought to himself. *I'm an elder of the sect, not some local lord.* Are you here today to ask me for a favor, or to accuse me of corruption and bribery?
Yet before Su Bai could finish his remarks, he untied the bundle in his hand, and the brilliant, dazzling light within gave Elder Qin quite a start.