"This is the power of a million jin, the strength of one ox?"
Staring at the scene before him, Lin Xuan slowly withdrew his fist, murmuring to himself, his gaze flickering.
This time, as his cultivation advanced several realms, the *Golden Scale Wild Elephant Art* had also improved considerably.
His strength had surged by another several hundred thousand jin, reaching a full million jin.
In ancient times, the total strength of an ordinary wild ox was a million jin.
Thus, a million jin of power was also known as the strength of one ox.
It seemed ordinary.
But in the modern era, it was already extraordinary.
Not to mention the Condensation Whirlpool realm—even the Spirit Opening realm couldn't achieve it.
Only the Spirit Yuan realm, and only if one had practiced body-tempering martial arts, could reach this level.
With the boost of this one-ox strength, a peak Condensation Whirlpool cultivator could crush an opponent with a single punch with ease.
Even an ordinary early-stage Spirit Opening cultivator might not be able to withstand it.
Yet, despite all this, the *Golden Scale Wild Elephant Art* still hadn't reached its entry level.
This only highlighted the art's extraordinary nature.
Lin Xuan nodded slightly, very satisfied with the results of this seclusion.
He continued scanning the attribute panel.
Five days ago, while earning cultivation resources in the Elite Ranking Zone, he had startled quite a few elite disciples and copied some treasures.
After fusing and absorbing them, his various talents had all been elevated to the sect's peak.
In terms of martial arts and artistic conception, there wasn't much change.
Lin Xuan kept scanning downward.
"Two million energy points?"
His gaze landed at the very bottom of the attribute panel, and Lin Xuan's heart jolted, his expression brimming with joy.
Whoosh!
After a moment, Lin Xuan let out a long breath, calming himself a bit, though the smile in his eyes remained.
He hadn't expected that in just a few days, he could accumulate such a massive amount of energy points.
With so many energy points, he could copy many high-grade treasures.
Lin Xuan was naturally delighted.
"It seems that the commotion from a few days ago, after spreading, must have caused another stir within the sect."
Lin Xuan nodded lightly, a look of realization dawning on his face.
A few minutes later, Lin Xuan composed himself, got up, and left the cultivation chamber.
He took a short rest.
Then, in the small courtyard, he sat in a recliner, savoring the fragrance of the flowers, eating some desserts, and took out the foundational alchemy books Zhang Chen had given him to read.
These days, his reputation within the sect had spread enough, earning him a sea of energy points.
But at the same time, he had revealed some of his strength, making it less convenient to earn cultivation resources.
He needed to find another path.
That path was alchemy.
After discovering his alchemy talent in the Alchemy Pavilion and successfully copying it,
Lin Xuan had made up his mind.
Moreover, with alchemy talent, he only needed to copy extensively to raise its grade.
Alchemy would be the easiest thing for him.
It wouldn't waste much time, and he could earn plenty of cultivation resources.
Why not?
After spending over an hour reading and memorizing all the books from Zhang Chen,
he gained a certain understanding of the art of alchemy.
Then, after tidying up, he instructed Zhou Yun to guard the courtyard and left.
Using his Elite Ranking identity token, he easily exited the Flowing Cloud Sect.
He headed straight for the nearest city, Wind Cloud City.
Wind Cloud City, one of the five major cities of the Cang Yuan Kingdom, was several times larger than an ordinary prefectural city.
Built near the Flowing Cloud Sect, it wasn't under the sect's jurisdiction.
Within Wind Cloud City, there were many major powers inferior to the Flowing Cloud Sect, as well as some truly top-tier powers far surpassing it, which had set up branches there.
For example, various merchant guilds, the Alchemist Guild, the Artificer Guild, and so on.
Thus, the Flowing Cloud Sect didn't dare—or rather, wasn't qualified—to govern it.
All of this was explained in the books Zhang Chen had given him, which also included a map from the Flowing Cloud Sect to Wind Cloud City.
Lin Xuan's departure from the Flowing Cloud Sect this time was for the Alchemist Guild in Wind Cloud City.
The books also detailed the Alchemist Guild.
The Alchemist Guild was a loose assembly spontaneously formed by top-tier alchemists countless years ago.
Today, it had developed into a powerful force covering the entire Tian Yuan Continent.
No force dared to underestimate the Alchemist Guild in the slightest.
Because nearly ninety percent of high-grade alchemists came from the guild.
Whether it was a force or an individual, even the top experts, all needed elixirs to enhance their cultivation and strength.
Thus, they would have to seek help from the Alchemist Guild.
So, no one wanted to offend it.
The Alchemist Guild in Wind Cloud City was just a branch.
But even as a branch, it was no weaker than the Flowing Cloud Sect—in fact, it was slightly stronger.
Even the Flowing Cloud Sect had to purchase many high-grade elixirs from the Alchemist Guild.
That said it all.
And it was precisely because of this information that Lin Xuan had made his move.
The alchemy strength of the Alchemist Guild in Wind Cloud City far surpassed that of the Flowing Cloud Sect's Alchemy Hall.
If he went to the Alchemist Guild, it would be easier to copy more treasures and elevate his alchemy talent.
Then, by passing the alchemist rank exam and leveraging the guild's background, he could mass-produce and sell elixirs, earning a wealth of cultivation resources.
At that point, he could continue to rapidly improve his cultivation realm and strength.
Half an hour later, he was far from the Flowing Cloud Sect.
Lin Xuan scanned his surroundings, sensed for any followers, and, confirming there were none, stopped hiding.
He traveled at full speed.
With the boost of forty percent Wind Artistic Conception and a seventh-tier movement technique, his speed increased more than tenfold.
Even an early-stage Spirit Opening cultivator couldn't match Lin Xuan.
Soon, over an hour passed.
A city, vast as a giant beast, came into view.
It struck a sense of awe into his heart.
"So this is Wind Cloud City? No wonder it's one of the top major cities of the Cang Yuan Kingdom!"
Lin Xuan gazed from afar, murmuring softly.
Then, he slowed down and continued on his way.
Before long, he entered Wind Cloud City.
Pavilions and towers, red bricks and green tiles—it was the epitome of an ancient grand city.
Its prosperity even rivaled some provincial capitals from his past life.
Far beyond what a small city like Green Jade City could compare to.
Lin Xuan looked around, his heart filled with emotion.
But with his past-life experience, though it surprised him a bit, it was nothing major.
Lin Xuan quickly calmed down.
After some inquiries, he headed toward the Alchemist Guild.
Soon, he arrived before a massive complex shaped like a cauldron, with a faint fragrance wafting out.
Above the entrance, a plaque bore the five characters "Alchemist Guild."
The calligraphy was bold and vigorous, like dragons and snakes, with iron hooks and silver strokes.
An imposing aura radiated from it.
If one's cultivation wasn't at the Condensation Whirlpool realm, just looking at these characters could hurt their eyes.
"This is the Alchemist Guild?"
Lin Xuan stood on the square outside, his gaze fixed on it.
The surrounding crowd was bustling, but the weakest were at the late-stage Qi Transformation realm, with many at the Condensation Whirlpool realm, further highlighting the guild's status.