Jiang Ye flicked his wrist, retrieving the 《Mystic Gang Sword Body Manual》 awarded by the game from his spatial ring.
He had long since transcribed a copy. He tossed the rubric jade slip straight to them like throwing a cabbage.
“Alright, stop looking at me with those eyes.”
“That ‘second personality’ thing is purely personal talent. You guys can't learn it.”
“This technique should be of some use to you. Take it and practice it.”
Qi Linger accepted the jade slip with a face full of disappointment. Thinking it was just an ordinary technique, she absentmindedly extended her divine sense inside, intending to casually skim through it...
“Ah—!!”
The next second, Qi Linger let out a scream, her eyes widening as she stared at “Bai Zhirou” in shock.
Gu Changqing had a face full of confusion. “What is it? Making such a fuss.”
He took the jade slip and looked inside. “Holy crap—!!”
That cracked exclamation completely aroused Eldest Senior Brother's curiosity...
Soon, the jade slip was passed around among everyone. The atmosphere once again fell into a bizarre silence.
Even Nangong Yue, holding the jade slip in her hand, had an extremely strange expression. Because this damn thing was actually a peak Earth-grade body tempering technique!!
Even though Nangong Yue had already reached the Nascent Soul realm, the technique she cultivated was still a Low-grade Earth-grade technique passed down through her family, which could not be shared externally due to family rules.
One had to understand that supreme techniques were not lightly passed on precisely because of the karma involved. After all, powerful figures with grand divine abilities could trace this karmic line in a minute to find anyone who secretly learned their family's secret techniques.
Body tempering techniques above Profound-grade on the market were extremely rare, let alone Earth-grade! Nearby sects that focused on physical tempering would treasure a Low-grade Earth-grade technique as their core ancestral legacy!
Because an Earth-grade technique could push one's physical realm to at least the Golden Body Realm!
This realm was a watershed in body tempering. Once broken through, blood qi became like mercury, penetrating from outside to inside, making the physical body flawless with no vulnerabilities all over!
Releasing blood qi outward could even form a “Protective Gang Qi”!
With gang qi unleashed, every strike carried terrifying shock force that could easily shatter an enemy's protective spiritual glow, or even tear apart low-tier magic tools with bare hands!
Even more amazing was that this 《Mystic Gang Sword Body Manual》 was specially made for sword cultivators, perfectly fitting every single person present!
Nangong Yue stared at Jiang Ye with a solemn expression. “This technique... how did you obtain it?”
Jiang Ye shrugged casually. “Just a personal opportunity. It doesn't belong to any faction, so feel free to cultivate it.”
Everyone showed hesitant expressions. But they desperately wanted to make progress!
Dual cultivation of magic and body was a goal pursued by every expert!
Ye Jinghong was already at the mid-stage Golden Core realm, yet his body tempering realm remained stuck at the early-stage Iron Bone Realm, simply because he hadn't found a better body tempering technique!
Then, the True Disciples exchanged glances. Cupping their hands, they all bowed slightly to Jiang Ye and said, “Then... thank you, Junior Sister Bai, for imparting this technique!!”
Jiang Ye wasn't someone who hoarded secrets. These people suited his taste quite well—at least they were protective enough of their own. So he didn't mind building up their affinity. The stronger they got, the more helpful it would be for pushing the storyline later.
In her sea of consciousness, Bai Zhirou was also extremely happy watching this scene. She had been thinking of ways to repay her senior brothers and sisters, never expecting that the "Great Demon" could actually be quite nice at times.
However, looking at the two pairs of eyes belonging to Gu Qingxue and Qi Linger—gentle as water—Jiang Ye really couldn't handle it.
He muttered in his mind, “Xiao Bai, pick up your own chicks. I'm outta here.”
With that, Jiang Ye decisively logged off.
Buzz.
Bai Zhirou's body trembled as she retook control of her own body.
Faced with Jiang Ye's habit of passing the buck, she could only bite the bullet and take over. After all, this was her body; she had no choice but to indulge him...
...
Late at night, at a certain peak of the Azure Mystic Sect, two figures stood inside a secret room covered in various formations.
“Damn it! That stupid, greedy fool Huang Tiannan! We clearly told him to tamper directly with the Eight-Patterned Foundation Establishment Pills, yet he actually wanted to keep those two eight-patterned pills for himself and substitute them with two six-patterned ones!”
“We shouldn't have sought out such an idiot in the first place!!”
Tap, tap, tap.
Silence fell over the secret room, leaving only the sound of another figure in black tapping fingers against the table.
“Bai Zhirou will ultimately still have to enter the secret realm to break through. Have someone reach out to those top-ten contestants over the next few days.”
“Mm, that's our only option. We cannot let her break through smoothly...”
...
In the days that followed, Bai Zhirou hid in her cave dwelling every day, dutifully practicing her techniques and cultivating the 《Mystic Gang Sword Body Manual》.
This peak Earth-grade body tempering technique was practically custom-tailored for her.
Despite its frighteningly high grade, her progress advanced by leaps and bounds, even a bit faster than when she practiced that Yellow-grade technique before.
It was worth mentioning that under Qi Linger's guidance, Bai Zhirou planted some spiritual herbs in the spiritual field outside her cave dwelling.
Before the task to recruit outer disciples was even posted in the Quest Pavilion—
Ye Ningning, like a cat catching the scent of fish, appeared at the cave dwelling's entrance right on time, volunteering to handle the management of the entire herb garden.
According to the strict rules of the Azure Mystic Sect, outer disciples had to complete two sect commissions every month.
Private tasks posted by True Disciples like Bai Zhirou were always highly sought-after prizes in the outer sect.
There was no need to go down the mountain and fight, no danger to one's life, and one could leech off the rich spiritual energy outside a True Disciple's cave dwelling to cultivate, while picking up a spirit stone reward at the end. It was definitely a lucrative job that killed three birds with one stone.
For Ye Ningning, however, these rewards weren't important.
The most important thing was being able to stick close to Bai Zhirou every single day!
To her, this was killing four birds with one stone—an absolute win.
Bai Zhirou naturally wouldn't refuse. After all, the two were well-acquainted and knew each other inside out, making her feel at ease employing her.
...
A week later.
Inside the cave dwelling halfway up Sword Peak.
Bai Zhirou stood up from the steaming medicinal bath barrel, her thin clothing clinging wetly to her shapely curves.
With a thought, her true qi circulated within her body, instantly drying her clothes completely.
In just seven short days.
Her body tempering cultivation had actually soared straight to the high-tier Copper Skin Realm!
At this moment, faint traces of sharp sword gang qi even flowed slowly beneath the surface of her fair, delicate skin.
“Junior Sister Bai, it's time to set off.”
From outside the door came Gu Qingxue's cool, aloof voice.
“Coming.”
Bai Zhirou quickly threw on an outer robe and pushed open the door.
Outside the door, all the True Disciple senior brothers and sisters were actually present, an unprecedented sight.
They wore motherly smiles on their faces, their gazes toward Bai Zhirou filled with indescribable warmth and even a hint of gratitude.
Over the past week, they had all switched to cultivating the 《Mystic Gang Sword Body Manual》 given by Jiang Ye, clearly reaping huge benefits and boosting their strength immensely.
Chatting and laughing, everyone boarded a flying boat and headed straight for the upside-down giant sword at the peak of Sword Peak.
At this time, numerous flying boats were already floating in the sky above Sword Peak, belonging to the forces of Dao Mystic Peak and Beast-Taming Peak, the area bustling with clamor.
Right at that moment—
Nangong Yue suddenly appeared at the hilt of the giant sword.
Her fair hands flew as she rapidly formed intricate hand seals.
Buzz—!
In an instant, ripples like water spread out at the hilt before it slowly tore open, revealing a dark, massive cavernous entrance out of nowhere.
A dense surge of spiritual energy—almost tangible—poured out from the black hole, mixed with traces of sharp pressure.
This scene immediately sparked whispers among the surrounding disciples.
A few newly admitted Dao Mystic Peak disciples gossiped in hushed tones:
“Senior Brother, why is the sect secret realm's entrance located on Sword Peak?”
“Yeah, isn't Sword Peak publicly recognized as the weakest and least populated?”
“I don't know either. Supposedly, it was decided by the sect higher-ups many years ago.”
“Damn, that's way too unfair! No wonder the spiritual energy concentration on Sword Peak is so much higher than ours...”
Just then, Nangong Yue's cool voice echoed across the field:
“The secret realm is open. Top ten of the outer sect tournament, enter.”
Bai Zhirou leaped down from the flying boat, landing firmly on the open ground.
At this time, the other top-ten tournament contestants had already been waiting for a long time.
The moment they saw Bai Zhirou walk over, they began glancing around, their eyes darting away.
Counting Bai Zhirou, there were only nine people present.
Evidently, Gao Jinli—who had forcibly contracted a peak Tier Two demon beast during the tournament and been thoroughly beaten up by Jiang Ye—was still playing dead in bed, missing this secret realm trip entirely.
Nangong Yue's divine sense swept coldly over the crowd, and she waved her wide sleeve.
Swish!
The nine figures were instantly swept into the black hole, disappearing from the spot.
Immediately after, the elders leading each peak flew through the air into the portal one after another, with many elders followed by a few disciples.
Only Sword Peak was an exception.
Leading them was Eldest Senior Brother Ye Jinghong. Standing alone among the senior generation, he looked completely out of place, yet he held his hands behind his back with an expression of utter enjoyment.
The disciples left outside could only watch helplessly.
Because everyone knew full well that the minimum threshold to enter this secret realm was at the True Disciple level.
Rate on N.U.
