Cultivation Starting from Choosing Augments-Chapter 36: Promotion to Inner Sect Disciple

Master Ming Yan had already returned to the sect six months ago, but he had been observing it from the shadows.

He had been traveling abroad, searching for Tier Three Spiritual Objects for his Golden Core while also seeking an opportunity for a breakthrough.

Then, a little over six months ago, he chanced upon a Divination Master from the Celestial Secret Pavilion. He requested a reading to divine his future path.

To his surprise, he drew a rather auspicious lot. It read: "A dragon lies hidden in cloud and mist; a keen eye spies the purest gold. No need to wander far and wide, for destiny is found close by."

He spent three thousand Spirit Stones for an interpretation. The Divination Master explained that, according to the hexagram, his fated opportunity lay in the northwest of Li State—right near the Li Huo Sect.

So, Master Ming Yan secretly returned to the Li Huo Sect. But after half a year of searching, he still hadn’t found his fated opportunity.

But it didn’t matter. Master Ming Yan was very patient when it came to destiny; after all, he was still young and had a long life ahead of him.

The ultimate goal of a Cultivator is, after all, longevity and immortality.

Qi Refining grants a lifespan of a hundred years. Breaking through to Foundation Establishment adds another century. And if one could form a Golden Core, one could live for five hundred years—longer than most dynasties in the mortal world.

For this reason, he didn’t mind spending a few more years searching near the sect until his fated opportunity revealed itself.

However, his time wasn’t entirely fruitless.

For instance, during his search, he happened to discover a suspicious group of people approaching and attempting to frame one of his sect’s disciples.

Normally, a trivial matter like this wouldn’t require his intervention; his subordinates would naturally handle it.

Unexpectedly, however, the situation gradually escalated into a struggle between the Jiang Family and the Chen Family, with Jiang Shiyou even planning to abuse his authority for personal reasons.

That crossed a line.

So Master Ming Yan intervened personally, inspecting Xiao Chen in front of everyone before announcing that he was not a Demon Cultivator.

The truth immediately came to light. For abusing his power for personal gain, Jiang Shiyou was stripped of his position as an Elder of the Law Enforcement Hall and sentenced to ten years of solitary confinement, forbidden from leaving.

Xiao Chen, though lacking in innate talent, has cultivated diligently and broken the sect’s record for fastest cultivation. He is to be rewarded with an Evergreen Sword and a Cyan Wood Spirit Nurturing Pill as encouragement.

The Chen Clan Members present, for causing a public disturbance, will be collectively fined one month’s stipend.

The disciples of the Law Enforcement Hall, for aiding in this injustice, will be punished with one day of solitary reflection, in light of the fact that they were obeying an Elder’s command.

In short order, Master Ming Yan resolved the conflict and ordered everyone to disperse and return to their duties.

He then departed through the air alone, continuing his search for his fated opportunity in the vicinity of the sect.

Although the master had departed, the matter was far from over. In fact, news of the incident began to spread even faster.

The news that Xiao Chen had broken through to the late stage of Qi Refining in just seven months, combined with the news of the master’s appearance, swept through the entire Li Huo Sect like a hurricane.

Numerous disciples, including many senior brothers from the Inner Sect, first reacted with disbelief, which then turned to envy and jealousy.

Finally, they were left to lament why they couldn’t cultivate so quickly, and why they didn’t have such good luck.

Somehow, in the retelling, the reason for Xiao Chen’s breakthrough was chalked up to good luck.

Many disciples believed that if they had access to that many Spiritual Objects to aid their cultivation, they would have broken through even faster than Xiao Chen.

Only a handful of the more talented disciples realized there was more to Xiao Chen than met the eye.

For example, Jiang Sixuan, who possessed a Dual Spirit Root, was so dumbfounded when she heard the news that she nearly fainted.

She had to admit to herself that even if she were given the exact same resources, she couldn’t have possibly achieved such a rapid breakthrough.

She recalled how, six months ago, she, Xiao Chen, and Ye Fei had all broken through to the fourth level of Qi Refining one after another in the Dharma Transmission Hall.

Back then, she had even been a step ahead of Xiao Chen.

In fact, after confirming at Baiyu Studio that Xiao Chen had no significant background, she had for a time believed they were not destined to walk the same path.

She had assumed that as time went on, Xiao Chen would gradually fall behind and eventually fade into mediocrity.

Meanwhile, she, with her superior talent, would go much further, until they were living under the same sky but in two entirely different worlds.

But it had only been six months—just six months!—and she was still at the fourth level of Qi Refining, having only just reached the threshold of the fifth level.

Yet Xiao Chen had already broken through to the seventh level of Qi Refining, leaving her completely in his dust.

They were indeed not walking the same path, and they truly did live in two different worlds now. It was just that the one who had been left behind was her, Jiang Sixuan.

’He’s about to become an Inner Sect Disciple, has already been accepted as a student by Elder Chen, and was just gifted a Magical Artifact by a Golden Core True Man... His future looks limitless.’

Jiang Sixuan finally felt a pang of regret. She had been one of the very first people to get to know Xiao Chen.

’If only she hadn’t quietly distanced herself from him after that banquet... If only she hadn’t deliberately kept her distance when they traveled together during the Outer Sect trial...’

’Even if, after the trial results were announced, she had taken the initiative to get closer to him, investing in him early like the Su Family or the Chen Family...’

’...then by now, she and Xiao Chen would probably be good friends, sharing a deep bond.’

But after all the trouble her fifth uncle, Jiang Shiyou, had caused, it was likely too late for her to get close to him now, even if she wanted to.

People’s joys and sorrows are not always shared.

In stark contrast, Su Wanqing, who also possessed a Dual Spirit Root, was leaping with joy.

She had previously given Xiao Chen access to her family’s Bone Tempering Spring and, because of Su Yuanpeng, had even thrown in some Cyan Wood Spirit Liquid.

Now, it all looked like a brilliant display of foresight, an investment that had paid off.

Most importantly, Xiao Chen had made a promise to her regarding the Chief Disciple selection.

The better he performed, the more it would benefit her.

"I really scored big this time! But now I have to get serious about my own cultivation too."

Su Wanqing beamed for a moment, then secretly resolved, ’I have a better Spiritual Root, after all. I can’t let Xiao Chen leave me in the dust.’

Wait!

A thought suddenly struck her. ’Xiao Chen is progressing so quickly... could he actually break through to Foundation Establishment by the time of the Chief Disciple selection?’

"Impossible. That’s just too ridiculous."

Su Wanqing immediately dismissed her own startling thought.

The transition from the Qi Refining realm to Foundation Establishment was a massive bottleneck. For Cultivators with insufficient talent, calling it an insurmountable chasm was no exaggeration.

Tens of thousands of Cultivators at the Great Perfection stage of the ninth level of Qi Refining were stopped at this step, stuck for years, decades, or even their entire lives, unable to break through.

Even with a powerful Cultivation Technique, Xiao Chen was still limited by his low-grade Spiritual Root. He would have to endure countless hardships just for a sliver of hope.

"Ugh, what am I even thinking about? That’s all so far in the future."

Su Wanqing shook her head and psyched herself up. "Starting today, I’ll cultivate for an extra half-hour every day. Time to catch up to Xiao Chen! Let’s go, go, go!"

Similar scenes played out for Ye Fei, Song Zhongming, Liu Benxin, and others.

While they were shocked by Xiao Chen’s new record and marveled at his incredible cultivation speed, they also became deeply dissatisfied with their own progress and secretly resolved to catch up to him.

Meanwhile, Xiao Chen, the target of their ambition, had already completed the procedures required for his promotion to an Inner Sect Disciple.

He collected the three most important items for an Inner Sect Disciple—a Storage Bag, a defensive magic robe, and an Identity Token—along with a large crate of miscellaneous goods.

After a brief discussion with Elder Chen, he decided to choose a peak that didn’t align with his own Spirit Root Attribute, thereby bypassing Sandalwood Peak, which was overseen by another Jiang Family Elder, Jiang Shiwei.

Instead, he joined Bishui Peak, which was under the purview of Elder Qi from the Neutral Faction.

Elder Qi had not yet returned, but the head disciple, Shen Siyue, welcomed him and arranged a small courtyard for him near the summit.

"Junior Brother Xiao, rest here for a bit. Check if you’re missing anything, and don’t hesitate to let me know if you are."

"When our Master returns, I’ll come and take you to be formally introduced."

Xiao Chen cupped his hands in thanks and watched her leave from the courtyard gate before returning inside to sort through the numerous items he had just acquired.

His main task was to familiarize himself with the contents of the large crate, especially the Inner Sect Manual and the Qi Refining and Combat Guide.

The former detailed the duties and benefits of an Inner Sect Disciple, while the latter was a compilation of invaluable insights from generations of sect seniors on how to use Magic effectively.

The latter, in particular, seemed ordinary, as every Inner Sect Disciple received a copy.

However, it was no exaggeration to say that to an outside Loose Cultivator, its value was no less than that of a Profound-grade Cultivation Technique.

Xiao Chen became completely engrossed as he read through the insightful yet easy-to-understand case studies.