“…‘Soaring Cloud Steps: Transforming Jiao,’ a top-tier movement technique formed from the fusion of dozens of movement skills. When paired with the extraordinary technique ‘Bull Demon Technique: Condensed Sha,’ it produces remarkable effects. At Great Perfection, no one below the Sixth Stage of Martial Veins can match its movement speed, and it remains among the elite below the Ninth Stage.”
“Requires an advanced movement technique as a foundation for further improvement.”
“When combined with gang qi, it can even produce offensive effects.”
As expected, after reaching the sixth layer, “Soaring Cloud Steps” underwent a qualitative transformation, and it seemed to have a special connection with “Bull Demon Technique.”
Now it appeared that “Soaring Cloud Steps” and “Bull Demon Technique” weren’t standalone techniques—they complemented each other.
Gang qi!
He had to comprehend gang qi right away!
Both “Bull Demon Technique: Condensed Sha” and “Soaring Cloud Steps: Transforming Jiao” required gang qi to unleash their true potential.
Yet when he closed his eyes again to grasp gang qi, he managed to convert the true qi in his three martial veins into gang qi.
But at the critical moment of success, it fell apart.
All the gang qi dissipated, reverting to true qi.
Ling Xiao was utterly baffled by this.
He sat there thinking for a while, then simply stood up.
He couldn’t keep fumbling around on his own—he needed to find someone who understood gang qi and ask them.
He was, after all, a Ling family disciple. Surely the family wouldn’t just ignore him.
The Ling family was a mixed bag—sure, there were people like Ling Chong, but not everyone was like that. Take the Uncle Master at the medicine hall, for instance—he was genuinely kind.
With that in mind, he abandoned the idea of continuing his seclusion.
Then he stepped out of the training room.
That’s when he saw Grandpa Hong Qi pacing back and forth, looking anxious.
“What’s wrong, Grandpa? Something happened again?”
Ling Xiao asked, puzzled.
“You’re out of seclusion, child? Here’s the thing—your Uncle Master from the medicine hall came by for tea just now and told me something.”
Hong Qi said, “Tomorrow, Old Master Ling is coming out of seclusion, and all the disciples have to greet him.”
“Do we have to go?” Ling Xiao frowned.
Honestly, he didn’t want to join the crowd.
With so many disciples in the Ling family, what difference would it make if he went? Would Old Master Ling even recognise him?
“It’s not mandatory, but your Uncle Master said that every time Old Master Ling comes out of seclusion, he gives pointers to the disciples’ cultivation. Even a single sentence could bring huge benefits!”
Hong Qi explained, “More importantly, if Old Master Ling takes a liking to you and accepts you as a personal disciple, your status would skyrocket.”
“Looks like I really should go!”
To say Ling Xiao didn’t want to be Old Master Ling’s disciple would be a lie.
After all, Old Master Ling was the strongest in the Ling family. Ling Xiao didn’t know his exact strength, but he was leagues above everyone else.
More crucially, if he became his disciple, would resources ever be an issue again?
With Old Master Ling’s guidance, a lot of things could become much easier.
Even if he couldn’t become a disciple, gaining a spark of insight from Old Master Ling’s advice would still be fantastic.
“I’ll go!”
Ling Xiao nodded. “When does he come out?”
“Head over now—it’s about to happen soon.”
Hong Qi’s urgency stemmed from the tight timing.
Hearing this, Ling Xiao didn’t waste a word. He turned and dashed out of the courtyard, his speed startling Hong Qi.
At that moment, the plaza outside Old Master Ling’s seclusion site was already packed with disciples.
Aside from low-tier disciples like Ling Xiao, there were top disciples from the Elite Hall and Genius Hall.
Genius Hall disciples were usually out on missions at this time, so only two or three were present, just happening to be around.
Most of the crowd consisted of Elite Hall disciples and the unranked ones.
The top ten from the Elite Hall were all there.
It was a rare sight.
“Tsk tsk, it’s lively today. Those two are monsters from the Genius Hall. They’re ranked around a hundred, but they’re both Fourth Stage Martial Vein disciples who’ve comprehended gang qi.”
“We can’t compare to those freaks, but the Elite Hall disciples are within reach. See that? Ling Yixue, currently ranked second, just beat the third-place Ling Feng and moved up to third. And Ling Feng’s here too!”
“The one he beat was Ling Cheng, right? He’s here too, now ranked sixth, I think!”
The disciples present envied the Genius Hall monsters, but those were out of reach.
So they talked most about the Elite Hall’s top ten.
At least chasing them felt somewhat achievable.
The Elite Hall had over a thousand disciples, all above the Third Stage of Martial Veins.
The unranked disciples were countless, all below the Second Stage.
Back when Ling Xiao joined, he was among the bottom of the unranked.
So it was only natural that people mocked and looked down on him then.
Of course, even now, few paid him any attention—most didn’t know he’d broken through to the Third Stage yet.
For someone at the Second Stage, there was no need to care too much.
Unless you cracked the Elite Hall’s top ten, gaining fans wasn’t easy.
Among the Elite Hall’s top ten, Ling Yixue was the only female disciple.
With her natural beauty and terrifying strength, she naturally drew a lot of attention.
“Ling Yihang is here!”
“Ling Yihang! The current top disciple of the Elite Hall? Stronger than Ling Yixue?”
“Yeah, that’s him! He’s incredible. He joined through the assessment, changed his surname to Ling, and now he’s the top disciple of the Elite Hall. A true role model for us!”
A wave of exclamations erupted.
Everyone’s attention shifted over.
Even the few Genius Hall monsters turned to look.
The top disciple of the Elite Hall was a strong candidate to join the Genius Hall and become a minor monster—potentially their future rival.
Ling Xiao followed the crowd’s gaze.
What he saw was a plainly dressed male disciple.
Judging by his age, he was probably two or three years older than Ling Xiao, with a simple, honest smile on his face.
It was a stark contrast to the haughty expressions of the Ling family’s main clan disciples.
“Impressive guy. Worthy of being the Elite Hall’s top disciple. He looks honest and unassuming, but there’s a beast lurking inside. Anyone who underestimates him is in for a rough time!”
Ling Xiao had heard of Ling Yihang before, but back then, he didn’t have the standing to even talk to him.
To avoid humiliating himself, he’d always kept his distance from these Elite Hall disciples.
Today was his first real look at him.
This was a formidable opponent.
At least to Ling Xiao, Ling Yihang seemed far trickier to deal with than Ling Feng or Ling Fei.
Ling Yihang’s arrival didn’t just catch Ling Xiao’s eye.
The top ten Elite Hall disciples—Ling Yixue, Ling Feng, Ling Yun, Ling Cheng, Ling Tieshou—all aiming to challenge the top spot, glared at him with fierce fighting spirit.
The top disciple of the Elite Hall.
It wasn’t just a hollow title or glory.
It came with real, tangible benefits.
In training, they’d gain unexpected advantages.
Everyone wanted that position, but few were truly qualified to challenge for it.
Among the Elite Hall’s thousand-plus disciples, maybe the top ten had a shot, but only the top five could genuinely threaten Ling Yihang.
Of course, Ling Xiao was an exception—he didn’t plan to reveal too much strength just yet.
“Look! Ling Tieshou, who just rose to fourth place recently, is here!”
