Because Lin Xuan had stepped in, these inner disciples were no longer extorted for protection fees. For the time to come, they believed that as long as Lin Xuan remained, they wouldn't be extorted again, and they were naturally grateful to him. At the same time, they knew that since Lin Xuan had entered the inner sect, the inner sect would likely no longer be peaceful. After all, a top-tier genius like Lin Xuan wasn't one to settle for mediocrity. They looked forward to hearing news and rumors about Lin Xuan again.
Lin Xuan, however, paid them no mind. He stored his original belongings from the house into his storage ring and moved to the neighboring house. It took him another ten-plus minutes to finish packing. Then, sitting on the bed, he took out the storage ring he had obtained from Zhao Gang and examined it carefully. Earlier, he had only glanced at it and noticed there were quite a few spirit stones inside—enough to support his cultivation for a while. Naturally, he wanted to inspect it thoroughly.
Soon, Lin Xuan had a clear picture, a smile spreading across his face as delight filled his eyes. Inside, there were 843 low-grade spirit stones, and the unregistered identity token held over five thousand contribution points. He had originally earned five thousand contribution points for winning first place in the competition, but after spending two thousand to break through to the Qi Transformation stage, only three thousand remained. He hadn't expected that upon entering the inner sect, someone would willingly deliver another five thousand contribution points, along with over eight hundred low-grade spirit stones. It instantly fattened his wallet.
"Indeed, robbery is the way to make money," Lin Xuan couldn't help but remark with a sigh. Of course, he knew this was a stroke of luck—using his strength and reputation to rob Zhao Gang, who had just collected most of the protection fees, had yielded this income. Such an opportunity wouldn't come again.
"Next, I'll continue cultivating," Lin Xuan mused inwardly. With so many spirit stones and contribution points, even for ordinary inner disciples, let alone the elite ones, this was a considerable sum. By forcibly seizing them, he had deeply offended that inner elite, Chen Xiao. Although his current reputation for talent might intimidate him for a while, it might not hold. The other party could come knocking at any time. When that happened, Lin Xuan couldn't guarantee that unleashing all his trump cards would be enough to repel him. Moreover, if he revealed his full arsenal—several techniques and even a twenty-percent sword intent—it could attract even bigger trouble. After all, even Xu Anlan, a standout among the true disciples, had only grasped twenty-percent sword intent. For him, an ordinary inner disciple at the early Qi Transformation stage, to have achieved that would be too much, wouldn't it? Being one or two steps ahead marked a genius; ten or twenty steps, a prodigy. But being a hundred steps or more ahead couldn't be explained by talent alone—there had to be a secret. It might draw the attention of the sect's higher-ups, and with his current strength still lacking, that would be dangerous. He'd better play it safe. First, improve his strength. With enough power, nothing would be a problem. Even if he had secrets, no one would dare investigate. Besides, his current talent wasn't bad—after replication and stacking, it even surpassed Xu Anlan's. Within the inner sect, it was hard to find anyone worth replicating. So, it was better to focus on raising his cultivation realm first, then consider other matters.
After some deliberation, Lin Xuan decided to continue cultivating in seclusion. "This time, I'll try cultivating with spirit stones," he said with a faint smile, looking at the dense pile of low-grade spirit stones in his storage ring. In fact, after reaching the Qi Transformation stage, one could forcibly absorb the spiritual energy from spirit stones to cultivate. However, this method only absorbed most of it, leading to significant waste. Moreover, spirit stones were precious—ten contribution points could only exchange for one low-grade spirit stone. It wasn't as cost-effective as using pills. Although pills might not be as effective as spirit stones, they were much cheaper. But Lin Xuan urgently needed to boost his strength, and since these spirit stones had come effortlessly, he didn't mind using them directly.
With that, Lin Xuan went to the cultivation room, sat cross-legged on a cushion, and set aside dozens of spirit stones. Picking up a few, he activated the *Hunyuan Art* to absorb the spiritual energy and began cultivating. Instantly, a cool sensation washed over him, and his cultivation speed increased dramatically compared to before. Indeed, using spirit stones was the way to go! A glint of satisfaction flashed in Lin Xuan's eyes as he continued his cultivation. His aura steadily and slowly grew stronger.
Meanwhile, as Lin Xuan was in seclusion, news about him spread throughout the inner sect. Lin Xuan, a new disciple who had only joined a little over a month ago, had defeated all outer disciples in the outer sect competition to claim first place—that was already remarkable. But today, rumors claimed that Lin Xuan had broken through to the Qi Transformation stage and entered the inner sect. Upon hearing this, everyone instinctively doubted it. Yet, given Lin Xuan's previous reputation, it didn't seem impossible. However, the news didn't stop there. It was said that on his first day in the inner sect, Lin Xuan encountered Zhao Gang, a seasoned ordinary inner disciple, who came to collect protection fees. Unaware that the new disciple was Lin Xuan, Zhao Gang naturally didn't let him off and demanded payment. Lin Xuan, as a top-tier genius and the outer sect's number one, had too much pride to comply. Instead, he even tried to rob Zhao Gang of the fees he had already collected. A conflict erupted, leading to a fierce battle. Everyone had anticipated this, thinking that this time, Lin Xuan would surely lose. But that wasn't the case! Lin Xuan maintained his winning streak, and even Zhao Gang, at the seventh layer of the Qi Transformation stage, couldn't break it. In fact, Zhao Gang was no match for Lin Xuan, who defeated him in a few moves, leaving him severely injured. Moreover, this time, Lin Xuan relied solely on his own strength without using any intent. Hearing this, everyone fell silent, frozen in disbelief. After a long moment, they gasped, gaining a clearer understanding of Lin Xuan's terrifying talent. In just four days, he had broken through multiple minor realms and one major realm, from the fourth layer of the Qi Gathering stage to the Qi Transformation stage, entering the inner sect. Such a frightening cultivation speed was already unmatched. Yet, while rapidly improving his cultivation, his combat strength hadn't lagged behind. Having just reached the Qi Transformation stage, he could effortlessly defeat Zhao Gang at the seventh layer. All of this was utterly astonishing. And achieving all this relied on Lin Xuan's innate talent. The disciples were even more awestruck by his abilities. The rumors were true—Lin Xuan was indeed a top-tier genius of the entire Flowing Cloud Sect! The disciples sighed inwardly. Now that Lin Xuan had entered the inner sect, it would likely become turbulent. Lin Xuan's reputation spread throughout the inner sect, surpassing its previous level, and many inner disciples came to hear of him.