Lin Chu, leaving Saintess Peak, returned to his residence to find Chen Lingang just having broken through.
Seeing this, a hint of admiration flashed in Lin Chu’s eyes. Chen Lingang had been cultivating much more diligently recently than before, clearly spurred by the ranking battle and wanting to make a strong push.
“Congratulations, you’ve taken another step closer to the Spiritual Soul Realm,” Lin Chu said with a smile as Chen Lingang’s aura gradually stabilized.
Hoo.
Chen Lingang exhaled a turbid breath and opened his eyes. A hint of joy flashed in his eyes upon seeing Lin Chu return. “Senior Brother Lin Chu, I’ve just broken through to the advanced stage of Qi Refining. Compared to you, I’m still far behind.”
“Don’t underestimate yourself. Among ordinary disciples, you’ve already surpassed many. How does it feel?” Lin Chu chuckled and asked.
Chen Lingang replied, “It feels great. I just don’t know if I can meet Elder Yang Yun’s requirement of entering the Spiritual Soul Realm within a year. By the way, Senior Brother Lin Chu, where have you been this past month? I didn’t see you in the training room.”
“Hmm, I believe as long as you work hard, reaching the Spiritual Soul Realm shouldn’t be too difficult. As for me, I’ve been in seclusion cultivating for the past month.” Lin Chu replied.
“Um, Senior Brother Lin Chu, do you have any tips on how to break through to the Early Spirit Realm? Could you share some with me?” Chen Lingang nodded and then asked with a smile, leaning closer to Lin Chu.
Lin Chu pondered for a moment before looking at Chen Lingang and saying, “The Qi Refining Realm and the Early Spirit Realm are not that far apart. Your current strength has reached the advanced stage of Qi Refining. As long as you cultivate diligently and refine the spiritual energy within your body to a certain level of purity, entering the Early Spirit Realm will be a natural progression. Of course, there is a faster method, and that is practical combat.”
“Practical combat? Senior Brother Lin Chu, do you mean going to Qingjian Valley?” Chen Lingang asked after a brief moment of thought.
Lin Chu shook his head. “While Qingjian Valley can also temper your strength, it’s not the fastest method. Junior Brother Chen, do you know of the Cangmang Mountain Range?”
“What! The Cangmang Mountain Range? Senior Brother Lin Chu, do you mean entering that Cangmang Mountain Range? With my current strength, I fear it would be a one-way trip…” A look of fear flashed across Chen Lingang’s face.
Chen Lingang was well aware of the Cangmang Mountain Range.
Within the Cangmang Mountain Range, there were many powerful wild beasts. The deeper one went, the stronger the beasts became.
It was rumored that in the depths of the Cangmang Mountain Range, there was a sixth-order wild beast whose strength was close to that of a Spirit Venerable Realm.
Seeing this, Lin Chu rolled his eyes good-naturedly. “I’m not asking you to go into the depths; we’ll just stay in the peripheral areas. The beasts in the peripheral areas are mostly only first and second-order. Can’t you even handle those?”
“Us? Senior Brother Lin Chu, do you mean you’re going too?” Chen Lingang’s eyes lit up as he asked.
Lin Chu nodded. “With our current cultivation, it’s too difficult to break through to the Spiritual Soul Realm within a month. Moreover, I just learned from my sister today that the Spiritual Soul Realm is a watershed. If we want to go further in the future, our preparations before reaching the Spiritual Soul Realm must be sufficient.”
“Only through continuous accumulation can our spiritual souls become stronger when we break through to the Spiritual Soul Realm. Also, it won’t just be the two of us; I plan to invite Su Jinlong and Chen Desheng. That way, we’ll have each other’s backs.”
“Great! If that’s the case, there shouldn’t be too much danger in the peripheral areas of the Cangmang Mountain Range.” After hearing Lin Chu’s words, a flicker of eagerness appeared in Chen Lingang’s eyes.
To surpass oneself and unleash one’s potential, one must face life-and-death crises through constant practical combat. Only then can one’s potential be infinitely tapped.
“You’ve just broken through, so you should first recuperate for a while. I’ll inform Su Jinlong and Chen Desheng.” Lin Chu nodded and then turned to leave the room.
Chen Lingang watched Lin Chu leave and then closed his eyes again, savoring the feelings after his breakthrough.
“Senior Brother Lin Chu, how did it go?” Half an hour later, as Lin Chu pushed open the door, Chen Lingang stood up and asked somewhat eagerly.
“It seems Senior Brother Lin Chu was right. Junior Brother Chen, you’ve become much more diligent after your breakthrough.” As soon as Chen Lingang finished speaking, a voice entered the room.
Chen Lingang immediately smiled. The newcomers were Su Jinlong and Chen Desheng.
“Greetings, Senior Brother Jinlong, Junior Brother Desheng.” Chen Lingang bowed slightly to Su Jinlong and then nodded to Chen Desheng.
“Not bad. Now that both you and Junior Brother Desheng have broken through to the advanced stage of Qi Refining, we can head to the peripheral areas of the Cangmang Mountain Range for some training,” Su Jinlong said with a smile, observing Chen Lingang’s aura.
“Junior Brother Desheng also broke through to the advanced stage of Qi Refining?” Chen Lingang asked with a hint of surprise.
“Junior Brother Desheng was more than an hour faster than you. When I arrived, Junior Brother Desheng had just finished his breakthrough,” Lin Chu nodded and smiled.
Chen Desheng’s face flushed slightly, and he scratched his head awkwardly.
“So I’m the last one to break through to the advanced stage of Qi Refining,” Chen Lingang said with a wry smile.
“If you had worked a little harder, you would have broken through to the advanced stage of Qi Refining long ago. By the way, Senior Brother Lin Chu, when do we leave?” Su Jinlong smiled and then turned to look at Lin Chu.
Lin Chu pondered for a moment before raising his head. “We’re going out for training, and this matter needs to be reported to the elders. Brother Su, you are of a different rank, so you will likely have to find your Elder Wang Mang separately. Let’s gather here again in an hour.”
“Alright.” Su Jinlong nodded, cupped his fists to Chen Lingang and Chen Desheng, and turned to leave.
Watching Su Jinlong depart, Lin Chu continued, “Let’s go. We also need to inform Elder Yang Yun.”
“You’re going to the Cangmang Mountain Range for training?” Elder Yang Yun asked, slightly surprised after hearing Lin Chu’s explanation.
Lin Chu nodded. “We have been cultivating in seclusion within the sect, and while we can improve our strength, the speed is much slower. Furthermore, without experiencing actual combat, our combat skills are relatively weak.”
“Entering the Cangmang Mountain Range can be considered a form of training. It also offers a more direct and effective breakthrough in improving our combat awareness. Of course, Elder, please rest assured that we will only be operating in the peripheral areas of the Cangmang Mountain Range and should not encounter any insurmountable dangers.”
Elder Yang Yun nodded, a hint of relief in his eyes. “Your decision to think this way shows your attitude towards cultivation. Well, coincidentally, there is a mission within the sect: to collect one hundred beast cores from the Cangmang Mountain Range.”
“Wild beasts of the first order in the Cangmang Mountain Range naturally cannot condense beast cores. Therefore, your target should be second-order beasts. Lin Chu, your strength is almost at the intermediate stage of the Early Spirit Realm. Coupled with these two, dealing with second-order beasts should not be a problem. Take this mission and go together.”
“Thank you, Elder.” Lin Chu and the other two bowed respectfully and agreed.
“Remember, training is training, but always prioritize your safety. The three of you are disciples among the ordinary disciples who have the potential to compete in the ranking battle,” Elder Yang Yun said earnestly, nodding.
“We disciples will remember!” The three of them nodded, bowed again to Elder Yang Yun, and then turned to leave.
“Let’s go!”
When Su Jinlong arrived at the residence of Lin Chu and Chen Lingang, Lin Chu waved his hand and led the way towards the Cangmang Mountain Range. Chen Lingang, Chen Desheng, and Su Jinlong followed closely.
“They accepted a training mission? Hmph, you walk the path to heaven and choose the gates of hell. Lin Chu, you brought this upon yourself.”
At this moment, in the Core Disciple Pavilion, Qiu Shaolong’s eyes flashed with malevolence upon hearing that Lin Chu and the others had accepted the mission to enter the Cangmang Mountain Range and hunt beasts.
“Junior Brother Shaolong, the Sect Master has issued a strict decree that if Lin Chu suffers any mishap within the next five years, you will be held responsible immediately,” the reporting Outer Sect disciple said with a bow.
“This is indeed troublesome,” Qiu Shaolong said, a hint of unwillingness on his face.
“Junior Brother Shaolong, I have an idea,” the Outer Sect disciple stepped forward.
“What idea?” Qiu Shaolong turned to the Outer Sect disciple.
“Currently, the entire Outer Sect is preparing for the ranking battle in two years, and the elders are paying close attention. With your strength, Junior Brother Shaolong, you will naturally stand out. Lin Chu’s current actions are only in preparation for that ranking battle.”
“We can simply make a move against him during the competition. In a fight, fists and feet have no eyes. Even if Lin Chu dies, I don’t think the Sect Master and the Saintess will have anything to say,” the Outer Sect disciple said.
“You mean wait until the ranking battle? Even so, it’s not guaranteed that I’ll encounter Lin Chu,” Qiu Shaolong said, frowning slightly.
“Junior Brother Shaolong, the ranking battle among the five great sects is a free-for-all. With the manpower of our Heavenly Dragon Society, finding Lin Chu will be a piece of cake, won’t it? At that time, even if the Sect Master and the Saintess find out, as long as you, Junior Brother Shaolong, enter the top ten with your strength, I believe the Sect Master will choose to let it go,” the Outer Sect disciple said with a sinister smile.
Qiu Shaolong nodded. “Indeed, aiming for first place among the five great sects is difficult. But just entering the top ten is not beyond my ability. Fine, let Lin Chu frolic for another two years.”
Meanwhile, Lin Chu, who was leading Su Jinlong and the other two towards the Cangmang Mountain Range, was completely unaware that he had inadvertently avoided a disaster.