Yesterday, Han Lin completely stole the spotlight, but the person in the sect who despised him the most was the Enforcing Elder, Feng Deji. When his son, Feng Qing, saw Han Lin's cultivation level, he was shocked and filled with jealousy.
In truth, Feng Qing was not just jealous of Han Lin's cultivation; he was even more envious of Ye Hong's cold and distant attitude toward him.
The disciples had no idea that Ye Hong was merely Han Lin's cousin, and that any romantic affection between them was utterly impossible.
Originally, Han Lin had planned to visit the sect leader after the trial concluded. With the sect's expenses running high lately, he wanted to contribute a portion of his own Spirit Stones to help break through the current bottleneck.
"The sect leader is in seclusion, didn't you know?" Li Chao said.
"Very well, Senior Brother, please take these five thousand Spirit Stones. The sect's sources of revenue are currently limited," Han Lin said considerately.
Han Lin had his reasons for doing this. With someone like Xie Nan showing up today, who knew when a disciple from another sect might turn up to make trouble? Short of absolute necessity, Han Lin preferred not to kill.
With a sect this large, did they really need to worry about not being able to pay him back? Han Lin was an ambitious man. In the future, he wanted to revitalize the Zixiao Sect, help more people on their path of cultivation, and build a powerful army of his own to command personally. That way, he would never have to lower himself to beg others again.
The next day, just as the sky was turning pale, the inner sect morning assembly members had all gathered. The only one missing was Feng Qing. Senior Sister Ye Hong, Junior Sister Shen Wan'er, and Junior Brother Zhou Ping were all present. Seeing that everyone had arrived, Elder Shen made a special announcement:
"With the sect leader currently in seclusion, I am temporarily handling the sect's affairs in his stead. Is everyone clear on this?"
Elder Feng scoffed, casting a lingering glance. "She's just an acting sect leader, what's so great about that? Hmph!"
"There is one more matter to announce. Tomorrow, all disciples will undergo a cultivation test to verify their true strength. Those who meet the requirements may go to Divine Dragon Island to hunt Monster Beasts and submit their internal cores. A first-rank internal core can be exchanged for one hundred Spirit Stones, a second-rank internal core for two hundred Spirit Stones, and so on."
"In addition, those who complete the mission may claim a mid-grade Xuan-tier cultivation technique from the Pavilion of Scriptures."
Elder Feng stepped forward and demanded, "What if a disciple goes to Divine Dragon Island and doesn't make it back? Who will take responsibility for that?"
"I will. I take full responsibility," Elder Shen replied. "I am intimately familiar with Divine Dragon Island. The ones we are sending everyone to hunt this time are only first-rank Monster Beasts; you lot probably wouldn't even get a turn at the higher-grade ones anyway."
As it happened, Zhao Changsheng was returning to Divine Dragon Island himself, so they would have the Divine Soul Boat to carry them. On one hand, this would ensure the disciples' safety; on the other hand, Zhao Changsheng was extremely familiar with the environment on Divine Dragon Island, meaning that if any unforeseen danger arose, students from the nearby Luojia Academy whose cultivation exceeded the Foundation Establishment stage could be called over to provide backup.
This meant that disciples from other sects would likely be there as well, though the Zixiao Sect would not go out of their way to provoke them—the real concern was other sects' disciples getting there first to snatch up the treasures.
Senior Brother Li Chao said to the group, "You have nothing to fear. Just complete your mission objectives and return immediately."
"Strange, how come I haven't seen Feng Qing these past few days?" Zhou Ping asked.
Elder Feng replied, "My good-for-nothing son has arranged a marriage with Lady Lu Shuyao, the daughter of the Lu family in Ziyun Town, so he has been exceptionally busy lately."
"When I get back tonight, I'll notify him to head over to the Spirit Stone grounds tomorrow morning to test his cultivation."
"The inner sect disciples are all heading out on missions, and the only thing he's busy with is dating and getting married. It's a disgrace to the sect," Zhou Ping said with utter disdain.
With Senior Sister Ye Hong present as well, Elder Feng's remarks were meant to show that his son wasn't unwanted—he was simply holding out for a match from a family of equal social standing to be his daughter-in-law.
Senior Sister Ye Hong finally let out a sigh of relief! That fellow Feng Qing had finally transferred his affections elsewhere and stopped pestering her.
Of course, how could Senior Sister Ye Hong ever take a fancy to Feng Qing? In truth, she preferred not to entangle herself with anyone at all, especially since gossip within the sect was already rampant enough.
In the blink of an eye, evening arrived. Han Lin cooked for himself personally, steaming a piece of sweet potato, a bowl of millet porridge, and an egg on the side. Recently, he had been taking care of his physique, using Spirit Stones to buy some Beauty Elixirs. Taking ninety pills a day—morning, noon, and night combined—his skincare and beauty routine could not be neglected!
Lately, he kept dreaming of that girl Shen Wan'er. Who knows why? As the saying goes: what you think about by day, you dream about by night!
After finishing his meal, he returned to the secret chamber. He studied his cultivation technique for a while. Yesterday, he had exchanged Spirit Stones for two bottles of Qi Gathering Pills; now, he took them out and swallowed ten pills to make a push for the Qi Condensation 4th Layer.
The Qi Condensation stage had a total of nine layers, and advancing each layer typically required twenty days of practice in a location dense with spiritual qi. For a cultivator with ordinary spiritual roots, advancing a single layer in the Qi Condensation stage took six months.
Judging by his own cultivation progress, however, advancing from the 3rd to the 4th layer of Qi Condensation would only take a few days. What a monstrous talent he was! Haha!
"Come, begin circulating the spiritual qi and form the Qi Vortex. Breathe in the spiritual qi, guide it into the dantian. Gathering qi in the dantian cannot be done without these Qi Gathering Pills."
The Qi Gathering Pills played an auxiliary role, allowing the spiritual qi of an entire major cycle to gather in the dantian and surge back through the blood vessels straight to the crown of the head.
Ah, finally reached the Qi Condensation 4th Layer! Haha!