.
Ethan quickly returned home.
With his current cultivation level, it didn't take him more than half an hour to reach the sect.
The long staircase he used to complain about was no longer a problem for him.
In fact, he climbed it in less than ten minutes and wasn't tired at all at this moment.
Without wasting time, he headed towards the dormitory.
As he passed through the sect area, his ears couldn't help but catch a conversation between some disciples.
"Hey, I heard that one of the inner disciples who joined the sect this year has already broken through to the fifth level of body refining," said a boy.
"What, already at the fifth level?
That's amazing.
Let me guess, it's one of the three prodigies who entered with the highest scores?" said the boy's friend.
"Yeah, but I'm not sure which one of the three."
"It's probably Zhao Ming. He's the only one who could reach that level so quickly."
"I think so too. I've heard his family didn't hold back in spending on many resources for him.
I'm so envious; with just a third of those resources, I could finally break through to the second level of body refining."
The conversation between the two continued, and they didn't notice Ethan passing by.
Ethan, as he reached his dormitory, couldn't help but think about the conversation.
'So, someone from our group has already broken through to the fifth level?
The others probably aren't far behind,' he thought, remembering that on the day of the entrance test, three people had particularly stood out.
Ethan hadn't had the chance to meet these people during the year, mainly because they were admitted directly to the inner sect due to their exceptional results, unlike him and many others.
Ethan didn't mind this; after all, he didn't know any of them personally.
At this moment, he only cared about his own cultivation.
'Hmph, an entire year to reach the fifth level?
Tch, this daddy will do it in less than 30 days,' he thought as he entered his dormitory.
He didn't bother to check on Da Shu; after all, he knew he wasn't home.
Since they had started doing business together, Da Shu's routine had changed a bit.
Ethan knew that if Da Shu wasn't at home, he was either using the sect's training rooms or selling their pills.
Every 2-3 days, after receiving a certain number of pills from Ethan, Da Shu would go to his family's shops to sell them.
Yesterday, Ethan had given him the latest batch of pills he had created, so he was likely out selling them today.
Ethan entered his room and locked the door.
He then took out his refining materials and began producing high-grade level 1 pills one after another.
[Congratulations, you have successfully created three high-grade basic recovery pills.]
[You have gained 10 QI] (x3)
[Congratulations, you have successfully created three high-grade basic recovery pills.]
[You have gained 10 QI] (x3)
[Congratulations, you have successfully created three high-grade basic recovery pills.]
[You have gained 10 QI] (x3)
...
Ethan refined the pills in batches of three, placed them in appropriate containers, and then resumed refining.
He continued this process for a while, until he finally began to feel the QI within him reaching a certain threshold.
'Come on, just a little more,' he told himself as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.
He could feel he was almost reaching the next level, so maintaining his concentration, he continued producing pills.
At that moment, in Ethan's sea of consciousness, Bai Yu, who was resting beneath the water's surface, opened his azure eyes.
Hm?
He sensed fluctuations of spiritual energy and, lifting his gaze, saw that the Amphora of the Seven Sages, which had remained rather calm in recent times, began to glow slightly as some runes on it started to appear one after another.
Seeing these runes, Bai Yu couldn't help but narrow his eyes as he pondered something.
'Could it be—'
At that moment, just as he finished speaking, one of the runes that had appeared on the artifact began to lose its brightness.
'Just as I thought, the seal has started to loosen,' he said with a voice filled with surprise but also a hint of joy.
The rune that was losing its glow didn't stop, and soon there was no trace of light left in it.
At the same time, outside the sea of consciousness, Ethan, who had just finished preparing another pill, felt the change.
Realizing what it was, he quickly put away the cauldron and the pile of pills he had created, preparing for what was about to happen.
He could feel the QI within him, which he had accumulated over the recent period, starting to stir and gradually spread throughout his body.
He felt a refreshing sensation spreading through all his limbs as the QI within him continued to circulate and envelop every fiber of his being.
Feeling this refreshing sensation, Ethan couldn't help but think:
'Haa, I'll need a good cleaning after this.'
From his feet to his hands, and finally to his head, Ethan's entire being was engulfed by this wave of QI, causing his body to heat up slightly.
Then, as if triggered by something, a small boom resounded in Ethan's room.
Black droplets flew in all directions, staining Ethan's body and the surrounding area with a dark substance.
A black liquid with a pungent odor splattered the walls as well as Ethan himself.
At that moment, a system message appeared:
[Congratulations, you have successfully advanced to level 5 of body refining.]
Ethan, who was currently in a meditative position, didn't notice the message and continued to keep his eyes closed as if he hadn't heard it.
Meanwhile, in Ethan's sea of consciousness, luminous particles began to condense at a point, and the figure of a young woman started to form.
Ethan, who had just finished breaking through, suddenly appeared in his sea of consciousness.
Towards the end of the process, he had sensed some changes in his sea of consciousness, so as soon as he finished advancing, he decided to enter it to see what was happening.
His body finished reconstructing, and he opened his eyes.
At first glance, everything seemed normal in his sea of consciousness, but then, as he continued to examine the area, his eyes caught sight of a figure standing not too far away from him.
'What?'
For a moment, Ethan was alarmed as he turned to see who it was.
A few meters away from him, a figure could be seen standing with its back to him, looking upwards. Sёarch* The Novёlƒire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
As far as he knew, apart from him and Bai Yu, no one else could appear in this place, so seeing an unfamiliar figure in his sea of consciousness alarmed him.
The figure was a woman, a little over 170 cm tall, wearing a classic white robe adorned with metallic gray trimmings.
She had long white hair cascading down her back, and despite the distance, it seemed to emit an ethereal glow under the dim light.
Her skin was pale, almost translucent, as if made of porcelain.
As if sensing his presence, the woman slowly turned around, and a melodious voice emanated from her.
"It seems you haven't forgotten to pay me a visit," she said, her beautiful, sparkling blue eyes gazing at Ethan.
For a moment, Ethan didn't know how to react. Then, with a bit of hesitation, he said:
"Bai Yu?"
.
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FRANK_LEE_JUNIOR:
And here's today's chapter; I hope you enjoyed it.
As usual, if you have any comments, suggestions, or errors to report, you know where to do it.
See you tomorrow.