***

The next morning.

"Woah, you already broke through, Ya Fei?" Yun Yun asked in amazement.

"That’s right. While all of you were asleep, I spent the entire night cultivating near the sect pond," Ya Fei answered with a smile.

There was no suspicion on Yun Yun’s face after hearing that answer.

Yun Yun had also received Lin Tian’s white seed before, and the man had given her the same order.

She was forbidden from telling anyone about the sect’s secret technique.

As a result, Ya Fei and Yun Yun silently protected each other’s secret in order to uphold their oaths and promises to Lin Tian.

The moment Ya Fei explained what she had done, Yun Yun immediately understood without asking too many questions.

"Now, only Xue’er hasn’t broken through yet," Yun Yun said.

That morning, they had already gathered in the front courtyard.

A long wooden table had been prepared, the kitchen was lit, and Su Hua had started cooking breakfast for everyone.

Some of the children glanced toward the sect’s main building.

They pointed at it while staring at the white dome formation that appeared to imprison the building within it.

An Yue warned them not to approach or touch the dome wall.

She stood beside Luo Mei, both of them keeping their eyes fixed on the sect’s main hall building.

Yun Yun and Ya Fei walked toward them and stopped nearby.

"Do the two of you know anything about this dome formation?"

Yun Yun shook her head, and so did Ya Fei. Ya Fei explained that she was the first to notice the dome the previous night while heading toward the pond to cultivate.

"Could it be... Master Lin is doing something?"

"Most likely," Yun Yun replied while crossing her arms.

"We never really know what Master Lin is planning, right?"

An Yue and Luo Mei nodded in agreement. What Yun Yun said was true.

Lin Tian was far too mysterious and often acted beyond their understanding.

Even so, An Yue believed that everything Master Lin was doing now was solely for the good of the sect.

"We only need to trust him. Don’t disturb his closed-door cultivation," An Yue said.

Yun Yun, Luo Mei, and Ya Fei nodded in understanding.

Since Lin Tian was busy and could not be disturbed, the responsibility of managing the daily affairs of the Lingxian Sect once again fell to An Yue.

"We’ll divide the training into shifts for the children. One shift will last four hours," An Yue instructed.

"Luo Mei and I will train their physical bodies. Yun Yun, Ya Fei, and Ji Xue will focus on helping them cultivate."

Luo Mei nodded shyly in agreement. Yun Yun looked ambitious and fully prepared to train the children. Ya Fei also appeared confident after successfully achieving her breakthrough.

Ji Xue?

She was still sitting near the dining table, happily chatting with the others. However, Ji Xue was the obedient type who never argued.

She would do whatever An Yue instructed her to do.

"Alright. It’s settled. After breakfast, they’ll begin physical training," An Yue explained. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

She turned toward Yun Yun and Ya Fei again.

"The three of you can cultivate while waiting for physical training to finish."

"I understand, Senior Sister An Yue."

Elsewhere, Lin Tian remained seated in meditation with both hands resting on his knees.

His eyes were closed, his mind calm, and his heart clear.

He allowed a massive amount of spiritual qi to flow into his body, steadily circulating through his twelve main meridians while refining and processing the qi within his dantian.

Lin Tian realized it would take too long if he relied only on the spiritual qi of heaven and earth.

He tapped his bag of holding and summoned five thousand high-grade spirit stones around him.

That was the entirety of his high-grade spirit stone fortune. He did not mind sacrificing it to save his sect disciples.

He began cultivating while absorbing spiritual qi from two different sources at once: the spiritual qi of nature and the spiritual qi inside the spirit stones.

By doing that, the amount of qi he absorbed would increase drastically.

Once his absorption reached maximum speed, Lin Tian would be able to achieve a breakthrough into Mid Nascent Soul much faster.

***

One year later.

The seasons changed. Winter snow melted as spring winds arrived. Flowers bloomed. Trees grew lush leaves once more. Birds chirped endlessly.

Many changes had occurred within the Lingxian Sect. Although many smaller sects had attacked them, not a single one succeeded in breaking through the sect formation, which was at the Earth Grade level.

An Yue successfully managed the situation, handled the sect’s operations, and ensured all disciples remained safe and comfortable while cultivating.

Their cultivation levels improved, and the sect’s new disciples also began cultivating after successfully awakening their spiritual roots.

That day, their routine continued as usual.

It was a spring morning. Warm air swept across the hills and greeted the sect residents.

They used the moment to focus on cultivation once more.

"Focus your mind and calm your heart. We’ll begin cultivating again," Yun Yun instructed.

"Yes, Senior Sister Yun."

Eleven children sat cross-legged together in the Lingxian Sect courtyard.

They wore matching uniforms of grayish white decorated with cloud patterns.

Yun Yun’s task was to guide their cultivation properly by channeling spiritual qi into them.

Beside her, Ya Fei and Ji Xue cultivated alongside the children with full concentration.

Elsewhere, An Yue trained tirelessly with her sword until she became increasingly skilled.

She swung her blade repeatedly while occasionally controlling it with the Qi Sword Technique.

An Yue danced and leaped gracefully through proper sword art movements. She practiced in the backyard near the Pill Refinement Hall.

She was not alone.

Luo Mei stood beside her, though she was not training the Qi Sword Technique. Instead, she focused on talking with Wu Yue.

Even though Wu Yue could not hear Luo Mei’s voice, they communicated smoothly through qi letters carved into the air.

The reason Luo Mei spoke with Wu Yue was not because she simply wanted someone to talk to.

Luo Mei remembered that Lin Tian intended to make Wu Yue the Master of the Pill Refinement Hall.

Among all cultivation arts, Luo Mei was honestly very interested in learning Pill Refinement.

Wu Yue did not mind. She was also bored from being trapped inside the Pill Refinement Hall with nothing to do except cultivate.

Many of their cultivation levels had increased.

Among all the sect disciples, An Yue now possessed the highest cultivation level, standing at the 10th Layer of Qi Condensation.

Yun Yun and Ya Fei were at the 9th Layer of Qi Condensation, Luo Mei was at the 8th Layer of Qi Condensation, and Ji Xue was at the 7th Layer of Qi Condensation.

As for Wu Yue, she had already reached Mid Foundation Establishment.

Her cultivation foundation had stabilized, and her hatred toward Lin Tian gradually faded because of her frequent interactions with Luo Mei and An Yue.

"Have you trained your Qi Sword Technique today, Mei’er?" An Yue asked.

"In a moment. Right now I’m trying to understand the characteristics of herbal ingredients."

"You know? You can only begin refining pills after reaching Foundation Establishment," An Yue replied.

"I know," Luo Mei answered. "Stop reminding me about it all the time, Senior Sister An."

"I’m not reminding you... I’m just..."

THUMP!

While An Yue and Luo Mei were talking, a deafening explosion suddenly erupted from the sect’s Main Hall.

A qi shockwave spread throughout the entire sect, even reaching beyond the hills and several villages near the Lingxian Sect.

Yun Yun, Ya Fei, and Ji Xue also felt the burst of spiritual qi fluctuations.

All three immediately stopped cultivating and stood up straight as they turned toward the same direction.

The other disciples felt it too. Even though they could not physically see the qi explosion, their bodies felt the powerful gust of wind coming from the sect’s main hall.

An Yue, Luo Mei, Yun Yun, Ya Fei, and Ji Xue smiled brightly as they all spoke the same words at the same time.

"Master Lin?"