If they could curry favor with one, they might rise to prominence. Thus, every day, many ordinary inner disciples or elite inner disciples gathered outside the Strong Ranking Zone. Everything that happened in the Strong Ranking Zone today was naturally witnessed by them. For a moment, all the inner disciples were shaken to the core, once again stunned by Lin Xuan’s terrifying talent. After a long while, when they came to their senses, they dispersed one by one. Such a major event in the Strong Ranking Zone was an incredible topic of conversation and a rare delight in the monotonous life of cultivation. Naturally, it had to be spread and shared widely.
Lin Xuan, unaware of all this, returned to his pavilion. After sorting through the day’s gains, a faint smile appeared on his face. Four hundred and fifty thousand contribution points and fifty-four thousand low-grade spirit stones. These were enough to sustain his cultivation for some time. Then, Lin Xuan entered the training room and continued his seclusion.
Meanwhile, as Lin Xuan was in seclusion, another storm swept through the inner sect. To everyone’s astonishment, the subject was once again Lin Xuan. After Lin Xuan defeated Hu Yuanhua and secured the twenty-eighth spot on the Strong Ranking with his Qi Transformation cultivation, just a few days later, he issued another challenge. Tian Guangliang, ranked twenty-second, was utterly powerless and was instantly defeated by Lin Xuan. The strength he displayed was close to the top ten of the Strong Ranking, matching what was published in the ranking roster. All who heard of it were deeply shaken, awed by Lin Xuan’s terrifying strength and talent.
But what Lin Xuan did next left everyone dumbfounded, their expressions strange, as if they wanted to say something but couldn’t. Lin Xuan didn’t take Tian Guangliang’s Strong Ranking token; instead, he made Tian Guangliang pay to buy his own token, clearly using the ranking to extort money. Tian Guangliang compromised and handed over his savings. When the others heard this, their expressions grew even more peculiar. They hadn’t expected Lin Xuan to succeed. They were speechless. After that, Lin Xuan continued to make money. Zhang Xin, ranked eighteenth, realizing he was no match, voluntarily handed over his savings and even came up with a reason, claiming it was payment for Lin Xuan’s guidance in martial arts. Lin Xuan did offer some guidance, having Zhang Xin perform his sword technique once before pointing out its flaws. He then demonstrated with a casual slash aimed at the pavilion. The defensive array covering the pavilion sensed it and activated automatically. In the end, the array’s light shield rippled, its glow dimming slightly before fading away.
Those who heard this were all stunned, unable to believe it. As everyone knew, the defensive arrays on the pavilions in the Strong Ranking Zone were specially designed, so powerful that even an Opening Spirit cultivator would struggle to damage them. Yet Lin Xuan’s casual slash could achieve such an effect. This clearly showed that Lin Xuan’s strength wasn’t just close to the top ten—it had already broken into it. Moreover, this was just a casual strike after Lin Xuan had observed the sword technique once, not his true power, as he hadn’t even used his sword intent, which was at least ten percent. In other words, Lin Xuan’s strength was far greater than this! That meant he wasn’t just in the top ten but could climb even higher! How could those who heard this not be utterly shocked and incredulous?
Yet, since this came from the Strong Ranking Zone, though no ranked disciple stepped forward to confirm it, none denied it either, tacitly acknowledging it. In other words, was this true? Everyone was even more horrified by Lin Xuan’s terrifying strength and talent, unable to calm down. As for what followed—Zhou Zhiquan, ranked thirteenth, voluntarily handed over his savings, and Lin Xuan guided him in a completely different sword technique. Wu Jie, ranked ninth, came forward to apologize and resolve their conflict—these were merely further proof of Lin Xuan’s terrifying talent and strength. Lin Xuan’s name once again spread through the sect, his reputation expanding several times over. He was universally recognized as the sect’s top genius, with no one daring to question it anymore. Even among the core disciples, who had previously voiced some criticism, there was now silence. However, after hearing this, Sect Leader Liu Changfeng let out a long, weary sigh. Wang Xufeng in the Martial Arts Pavilion secretly rejoiced and silently prayed.
Lin Xuan, still unaware of all this, now had enough spirit stones and spent most of his time in seclusion, striving to improve his strength and cultivation as much as possible. Time passed slowly. Unbeknownst to him, five days had gone by.
Inside the training room. Whoosh! Whoosh! The wind howled, and a thunderous pressure spread, accompanied by sharp crackling sounds. Soon, it dissipated. Lin Xuan, seated cross-legged on a cushion, slowly opened his eyes, a glint of light flashing through them as he gazed into the void before him: Swish! “Divine Replication System.” “Host: Lin Xuan.” “Realm: Condensing Rotation Layer Three.” “Talents: Spiritual-grade cultivation talent, Supreme-grade talents (Speed, Strength, Alchemy), Extreme-grade talents (Blade Dao, Sword Dao), Extreme-grade attribute talents (Sharp Metal, Gale, Crimson Fire, Azure Wood, Thick Earth, Heavy Water), High-grade attribute talents (Ice, Lightning).” “Martial Arts: Golden Scale Elephant Art (Unknown, Incomplete, Beginner), Chaos Art (Seventh-rank Mid-grade, Minor Completion), Sunrise Blade Technique (Seventh-rank Low-grade, Major Completion), Wind-Fire Sky-Shaking Sword Art (Seventh-rank Low-grade, Major Completion), Overwhelming Fist (Seventh-rank Low-grade, Major Completion), Ten-Thousand-Fold Surging Wave Palm (Seventh-rank Low-grade, Major Completion), Sky-Splitting Leg (Seventh-rank Low-grade, Major Completion), Shadow-Tracing Art (Seventh-rank Low-grade, Major Completion), Flame Control Art (Sixth-rank Low-grade, Minor Completion).” “Intent: Forty percent Blade Intent, Forty percent Sword Intent, Forty percent Wind Intent, Twenty percent Metal Intent, Thirty percent Fire Intent, Twenty percent Earth Intent, Ten percent Wood Intent.” “Energy Points: 2,086,000.” “Personal Space: 432.”
Looking at the attribute panel before him, Lin Xuan nodded slightly, a hint of amusement in his eyes: “I’ve broken through to Condensing Rotation, and in one go, I’ve reached Condensing Rotation Layer Three!” Over these five days, he had consumed all fifty-four thousand low-grade spirit stones he’d earned. Of the over four hundred thousand contribution points, he’d used many to exchange for pills, leaving only one hundred thousand. With all these cultivation resources combined, this time, it hadn’t disappointed him. Not only had he smoothly broken through to Condensing Rotation, but he had also advanced several layers, reaching Condensing Rotation Layer Three. Lin Xuan was quite satisfied. Additionally, there was the Golden Scale Elephant Art. “This time, the Golden Scale Elephant Art has also improved significantly!” Lin Xuan murmured to himself, feeling the far more surging power within his physique compared to before. He thrust out a fist. Slap! The endless air in front of him instantly exploded. A semi-transparent light shield suddenly appeared, absorbing most of the force. After a few tremors, its light dimmed by several degrees before fading away. This was the pavilion’s built-in defensive array, which automatically activated when it detected an attack reaching a certain level. At this moment, Lin Xuan’s casual punch was far more powerful than the slash he had demonstrated when guiding Zhang Xin five days ago!