Qin Yun's return to the mountain caused quite a stir in the True Martial Sect, as he had been away for over half a year, not even returning for the New Year.
All the Disciples missed him greatly.
All the True Disciples on the mountain came and gathered around Qin Yun.
“You, Xiao Ba (Eighth), stayed down the mountain for so long without a word. You must have been dazzled by the glamorous world.”
Qin Yun looked at the familiar faces, feeling as if a lifetime had passed.
He was about to speak.
Ye Qinghe said with a smile:
“If you drink this pot of wine, we’ll forgive you.”
Looking at the wine Ye Qinghe handed over, Qin Yun felt his scalp tingle. He used to be a victim of Ye Qinghe's wine-making experiments. He braced himself and drank it, and the result was surprisingly good.
“Third Senior Sister, your wine-making skills have greatly improved!”
Qin Yun didn't stint on his praise.
Ye Qinghe smiled even more happily, but after Qin Yun saw the knowing smiles of the others, he vaguely understood something. His gaze fell on White Ape, then on Ning Qi.
He instinctively tried to discern Ning Qi's depth, but couldn't.
“Xiao Jiu,”
He smiled brightly, just as he had years ago.
But Ning Qi always felt that Qin Yun seemed to be suppressing something.
Afterward, Qin Yun went to see Dragon Mountain Daoist. To everyone's surprise, perhaps because he had been down the mountain for too long, Dragon Mountain Daoist actually ordered Qin Yun to be confined for closed-door cultivation. Luo Wentian tried to persuade him gently but was also reprimanded.
All the True Disciples were astonished; this was a very rare occurrence.
They could only hope that Master would calm down soon.
Ning Qi sighed slightly.
People's hearts are quite hard to fathom.
He vaguely felt that Master's actions were related to Eighth Senior Brother's condition.
But he couldn't control these things; he didn't have the ability to do so yet.
Ning Qi could only Cultivate silently.
He hoped Qin Yun would recover soon.
Time flew by.
In a blink of an eye, the New Year was approaching again.
Ning Qi had undergone two more feigned deaths, completing two more Transforming Forces.
Two months ago, he had successfully advanced to the Fifth Force Realm, his cultivation officially surpassing Seventh Senior Brother Song Cheng.
“After completing one more Transforming Force, I can advance to the Inner Yuan Realm Great Accomplishment. Ordinary Inner Yuan Realm Great Accomplishment Martial Artists can begin to Transform Force to add characteristics to their Inner Strength, but I could already do this at Minor Accomplishment.”
“Now my Inner Strength is becoming more and more solid. If I reach the Great Accomplishment Realm, I'm afraid I can extend my Inner Strength outside my body like others at the Perfected Realm.”
This made Ning Qi somewhat expectant.
At Inner Yuan Nine Transformations Perfected, Inner Strength can extend nearly a zhang outside the body, greatly increasing its power. He estimated that his would be similar, or even surpass it.
“However… I should be able to contend with White Mist Realm experts now, right?”
Ning Qi wasn't entirely sure, but he had this expectation.
The Gang Qi of the Gang Yuan Realm was too powerful, but he felt he had a fighting chance.
He hadn't forgotten the Blood Rain Tower's goal. Once he could easily defeat his Master, he should be able to get revenge.
“It's just that the Transforming Force method of the Great Dream Nine Deaths Art is still in its embryonic stage and needs a bit more time.”
Ning Qi was not in a hurry about this.
He had very high requirements for Transforming Force, as it involved the cultivation of the Gang Yuan Realm afterward.
He hoped his Inner Strength characteristics could encompass everything.
This was difficult.
But with the Ten Thousand Manifestations Source Stake preceding it, this was not impossible, it just required time to summarize and deduce. If Ning Qi didn't have maxed-out comprehension, this would be almost impossible.
Ning Qi felt that he would definitely succeed next year.
“Let’s go, Tiansheng.”
Looking at the diligent White Ape beside him, Ning Qi called out with a smile.
The White Ape had already completed bone refinement and was currently breaking through the Bottleneck of organ refinement. Perhaps in six years, it could complete Body Tempering. This speed was very fast, even Little Fatty Zhuang Chen couldn't compare, let alone Qin Yun.
Moreover, White Ape's strength also surpassed others at the same level.
Because its physical Foundation was quite solid, although not as good as Ning Qi's, it was probably no less than anyone practicing the True Martial Stake.
Ning Qi discovered that as White Ape's cultivation Realm became higher, a mysterious change seemed to be occurring within its body. He wondered if it was activating its Bloodline.
This made Ning Qi even more curious.
He thought.
Once his Inner Strength could extend outside his body, perhaps he could try to explore it.
With thoughts swirling in his mind, Ning Qi and White Ape had already arrived at the training ground.
The New Year's grand competition last year had achieved quite good results.
Luo Wentian naturally continued his efforts, planning to continue this excellent tradition.
Only after Ning Qi arrived did he realize.
Qin Yun had actually come too.
He had been confined by Dragon Mountain Daoist for over half a year, and now at the New Year, he was also allowed to come out temporarily. At this time, he was conversing with a group of True Disciples.
In 1619 Book Bar, there were no mistakes!
Everyone was advising him that if he had angered Master in any way, he should humble himself and not be stubborn.
Qin Yun just smiled and agreed.
Seeing Ning Qi.
Qin Yun's gaze instinctively looked over, sensing him.
“Xiao Jiu.”
He could tell that Ning Qi's aura was much stronger than half a year ago, but his specific Realm would probably only be known if Ning Qi made a move.
Ning Qi also sat down.
Everyone chatted.
And the Foreign Disciples' competition began again.
Compared to last year, the overall strength of the Foreign Disciples had improved, and several outstanding Disciples emerged, which made everyone very happy.
Then came the Inner Disciples.
After awarding prizes to the top twenty Disciples, it was time for the True Disciples to spar with each other and answer questions for the other Disciples.
However, this time there was an additional Qin Yun.
Luo Wentian fought Jiang Baishan again, and this time Luo Wentian lost even more decisively.
This thoroughly established Jiang Baishan's position as the second strongest in the True Martial Sect.
Currently, Jiang Baishan had hopes of breaking through to the Gang Yuan Realm before the age of forty, becoming the True Martial Sect's second Gang Yuan Realm expert.
At the age of forty, in this world where Martial Artists live long, he was still considered a young generation, with great momentum.
But watching the two fight, Ning Qi's heart was calm. He was even more certain that Senior Brother and Fifth Brother combined were probably no match for him.
However, after Luo Wentian lost, Qin Yun actually actively challenged Jiang Baishan.
As expected, Qin Yun lost.
But what shocked everyone was.
Qin Yun actually displayed the Inner Yuan Realm Sixth Force Realm!
One must know.
Qin Yun was only in his twenties, yet he had already reached Inner Yuan Great Accomplishment. Following this trend, he might have hopes of advancing to the Gang Yuan Realm before the age of thirty-five, or even faster.
Everyone in the True Martial Sect was incredibly excited.
They loudly praised Qin Yun.
This was a sign of True Martial's prosperity.
Only Dragon Mountain Daoist had a slight worry in his eyes.
Ning Qi also felt a little surprised; Qin Yun's cultivation progress seemed too fast. Could it be that he had an extraordinary encounter when he went down the mountain earlier?
After Jiang Baishan stepped down.
Qin Yun stood in the center of the training ground. He didn't leave but looked at Ning Qi and extended an invitation:
“Junior Brother, why don’t you come and try? Senior Brother will give you some pointers?”
His eyes held a strange meaning, and even the other Disciples vaguely noticed something was off.
A year ago, Jiang Baishan had extended such an invitation, but Ning Qi could directly decline with a smile.
However, a year later, Qin Yun extended the invitation again.
This made Ning Qi somewhat hesitant.
Qin Yun was different from Jiang Baishan; he felt that Qin Yun's changes over the past few years might have something to do with him.