After the alchemy duel, Qingmu was stripped of his deputy hall master position, and the disciple responsible for transporting materials was directly expelled from the Yuehua Sect. This punishment was undeniably severe.
Ling Xiao had no interest in meddling in these matters; he only desired a relatively quiet cultivation environment. Since the alchemy hall had handled the issue fairly, he chose not to pursue it further.
However, this incident sparked deeply malicious thoughts in Qingmu’s heart.
He couldn’t touch Yang Danlin.
Nor could he deal with Lan Yuer.
Likewise, he had no way to confront Ling Xiao.
But dealing with Dai Yuling was well within his reach.
Somehow, he had heard that Ling Xiao and Dai Yuling were once “senior sister and junior brother.” So, he spared no expense, using spiritual pills to entice Jin Ming, ranked third among the outer sect, Tuoba Shan, ranked fifth, and Gongyang Nu, ranked sixth, to agree to secretly sabotage Dai Yuling.
Qingmu couldn’t act himself, as he was under close scrutiny after the incident.
But Jin Ming, Tuoba Shan, and Gongyang Nu had plenty of time. These three half-step masters, desperate to break through to the Mortal Realm, cared little about the propriety of such actions.
After all, it was just about dealing with a little girl, nothing significant.
Ling Xiao was unaware of Qingmu’s schemes. After the alchemy duel, he received his reward: he could keep all twenty of the high-grade True Essence Pills he had refined.
Though he had made them, the materials belonged to the sect and were extremely costly, far beyond what he could easily gather at present.
So, this was quite a generous gift.
To celebrate the victory, Yang Danlin granted Ling Xiao a three-day holiday. Of course, it was a holiday in name only, as he was also given books on basic pharmacology and alchemy to study in his spare time.
Ling Xiao returned to his cave abode and set the books aside for the moment.
The twenty high-grade True Essence Pills he obtained were equivalent to perfect-grade True Essence Pills of standard quality. With these pills, breaking through his cultivation level again should be well within reach.
He consumed ten high-grade True Essence Pills in one go.
This cultivation session lasted quite a while.
It went on for a full seven days.
Ling Xiao’s cultivation soared to the peak of the Ninth Martial Vein, and the next step was to accumulate strength to break through to the Mortal Realm.
However, crossing from the peak of the Ninth Martial Vein to the Mortal Realm was no easy feat.
Once strength was accumulated to a certain degree, one could be called a half-step master.
If the journey from the peak of the Ninth Martial Vein to the Mortal Realm were divided into ten stages, a half-step master would be someone who had amassed over ninety percent of the required strength.
Ling Xiao, at present, hadn’t even reached ten percent.
Although Yang Danlin had only granted him a three-day break, secluded cultivation was unavoidable and couldn’t be interrupted midway. Ling Xiao trusted that the old hall master would understand.
During these few days of seclusion, the other disciples in the sect each had their own encounters.
After all, including these seven days, Ling Xiao had been with the Yuehua Sect for nearly a month.
In such a long time, many things were bound to change.
Zhao Zhi, who had the highest cultivation from the start, had already advanced to the half-step master realm.
Xu Ying was slightly behind, at the peak of the Ninth Martial Vein with about sixty to seventy percent of the strength accumulated.
These two had the highest talent and progressed the fastest.
Zhao Ci was a bit less impressive, currently only at the mid-Ninth Martial Vein stage.
However, Dai Yuling, due to her unique circumstances, had a special cultivation method. Despite her talent being inferior to Zhao Ci’s, she had also reached the mid-Ninth Martial Vein stage.
Such a terrifying cultivation speed would be unimaginable in the secular world.
Yet in the sect, it was nothing extraordinary. After all, in the sect, the Ninth Martial Vein was merely a starting point.
Xu Ying had now become a disciple under the Demonic Flame Heavenly Sovereign, reportedly through Ming Tian’s introduction. They were like-minded, both viewing Ling Xiao as a thorn in their side.
Zhao Zhi and Zhao Ci had also become disciples under an elder from the Northern Han royal family, though they remained outer sect disciples, much like Ling Xiao.
Their cultivation speeds were not slow, but Ling Xiao’s was even more astonishing. However, up to now, he still maintained the template of the peak Eighth Martial Vein.
He did this solely to avoid drawing the attention of the Demonic Flame Heavenly Sovereign. In the outer sect, his current cultivation was sufficient, unless he faced the top three ranked disciples. Otherwise, he had no need to reveal his Ninth Martial Vein strength.
During this time, he hadn’t deliberately cultivated. The Mortal Body Shaping Pill he had taken last time was still being slowly absorbed, and even without active cultivation, his physical condition was constantly improving.
When the time came, he would naturally seek a breakthrough.
Everything was within his calculations, wasting not a single moment, as his time was extremely precious.
He wondered how Leng Mei and Wu Xiang were doing.
Thinking of his two friends, Ling Xiao felt a pang of emotion. For now, he could only wish them safety.
The competition within the sect was far more intense than in the secular world.
Even someone like Wu Xiang, ranked dead last among the outer sect disciples, would be an unrivalled master in the secular world.
Yet here, he was merely at the bottom.
And this was just the outer sect.
The inner sect likely had even more geniuses and powerhouses.
This was evident from Lan Yuer. She was only two years older than him, yet her cultivation was at the Ninth Mortal Realm, something unimaginable in the secular world.
Ming Tian, Xu Ying, and Leng Hao had already entered the inner sect, able to practice inner sect martial arts and receive guidance from stronger martial artists.
This was an enormous advantage.
He, Zhao Zhi, Zhao Ci, and Dai Yuling were relatively fortunate. Though still in the outer sect, they had at least gained some benefits.
But this was far from enough. Outer sect disciples, even if accepted by an elder, remained outer sect disciples unless the elder permitted entry to the inner sect. Without that, they couldn’t access inner sect cultivation techniques.
There was a reason Ling Xiao persistently focused on improving his cultivation, making it his top priority.
Falling one step behind could leave you far in the dust.
Thus, not only must one build a solid foundation, but one must also strive to catch up or even surpass competitors in cultivation. Otherwise, survival was impossible, let alone becoming a powerhouse.
Others might find this contradictory.
But Ling Xiao was a special case. His cultivation breakthroughs were rapid, yet his foundation was already incomparably solid.
His True Essence, physical condition, and soul strength were already comparable to those of a Mortal Realm martial artist.
Thus, he had no need to worry about the negative effects of rapid cultivation breakthroughs, as such effects simply didn’t apply to him.
After emerging from seclusion, Ling Xiao sought out Yang Danlin.
“You rascal, I gave you a three-day break, and you secluded yourself for seven days without even breaking through. I don’t know what you’ve been up to,” the old hall master said with a wry smile, lightly tapping Ling Xiao’s head.
