Chapter 39: A Challenge to Battle

Qin Yun's return to the mountain caused quite a stir within the Zhenwu Sect. After all, he had been away for over half a year, failing to even return during the Lunar New Year.

The disciples missed him dearly.

The true disciples remaining on the mountain all gathered, surrounding Qin Yun.

"You rascal, Little Eighth. Staying at the foot of the mountain for so long without a word—I'm afraid you've been blinded by the distractions of the mortal world."

Looking at the familiar faces, Qin Yun felt a sense of being worlds apart.

Just as he was about to speak, Ye Qinghe said with a chuckle

"If you drink this jar of wine, we'll forgive you."

Looking at the wine Ye Qinghe held out, Qin Yun felt his scalp tingle. He had previously been a victim of her wine-brewing experiments. He steeled himself and drank it, only to find that it was unexpectedly good.

"Third Senior Sister, your brewing skills have improved tremendously!"

Qin Yun did not hold back his praise.

Ye Qinghe smiled even more brightly, but after Qin Yun noticed the knowing smirks of the others, he understood what was happening. His gaze shifted to the white ape, and then landed on Ning Qi.

By instinct, he tried to gauge Ning Qi's depth, but he could not see through him.

"Little Ninth."

He gave a sunny smile, just as he had years ago.

But Ning Qi couldn't help but feel that Qin Yun seemed to be suppressing something.

Subsequently, Qin Yun went to see Daoist Longshan. To everyone's surprise, perhaps because of his long absence, Daoist Longshan actually ordered Qin Yun to undergo house arrest for secluded cultivation. Even when Luo Wentian tried to intercede with tactful persuasion, he was also reprimanded.

The true disciples were all stunned; this was an extremely rare occurrence.

They could only hope their master would soon calm his anger.

Ning Qi sighed inwardly.

The human heart is quite difficult to fathom.

He had a vague feeling that his master's actions were related to the state of his Eighth Senior Brother.

However, he could not interfere; he did not yet have that capability.

Ning Qi could only cultivate silently, hoping that Qin Yun would recover soon.

Time flowed steadily.

In the blink of an eye, the Lunar New Year approached once again.

Ning Qi underwent two more instances of "fake death," completing two more layers of stacked strength.

Two months ago, he had successfully ascended to the Five-Layered Realm, his cultivation officially surpassing his Seventh Senior Brother, Song Cheng.

"Once I complete one more layer of stacked strength, I can ascend to the Great Success stage of the Inner Yuan Realm. Ordinary martial artists at the Great Success stage can begin 'transforming strength' to allow their inner strength to take on specific attributes, but I can already do this at the Small Success stage."

"My inner strength is becoming increasingly solid. If I reach the Great Success stage, I fear I might be able to extend my inner strength outside my body, just like those in the Perfection stage."

This gave Ning Qi a sense of anticipation.

At the Perfection stage of the Nine Layers of Inner Yuan, one could extend their inner strength nearly ten feet, vastly increasing its power. He estimated he would be similar, or perhaps even surpass them.

"However... should I be able to go toe-to-toe with experts of the White Mist Realm by now?"

Ning Qi wasn't entirely certain, but he held this expectation.

The astral qi of the Gangyuan Realm was excessively powerful, but he felt he had the strength to fight.

He had not forgotten the goal of the Blood Rain Pavilion; once the day came when he could easily defeat his master, he would be able to seek revenge.

"It's just that the method for transforming strength in the Nine Deaths of the Great Dream is still in its prototype stage. I still need a little more time."

Ning Qi was in no rush regarding this.

He had very high standards for the transformation of strength, as it concerned his future cultivation in the Gangyuan Realm.

He hoped his inner strength attributes could encompass all things.

This was difficult.

But with the Myriad Manifestations Origin Post before him, it wasn't impossible; it simply required time to summarize and deduce. If not for Ning Qi's max-level comprehension, it would have been nearly impossible.

Ning Qi felt that he would surely succeed next year.

"Let's go, Tiansheng."

Looking at the hardworking white ape beside him, Ning Qi called out with a smile.

The white ape had now reached the perfection of Bone Refining and was currently attempting to break through the bottleneck of Organ Refining. Perhaps it would complete its body tempering in six years—a very fast speed, surpassing even the chubby Zhuang Chen, let alone Qin Yun.

Furthermore, the white ape's strength surpassed those of its peers.

Because its physical foundation was incredibly solid, although it was not equal to Ning Qi's, it was likely no different from others who practiced the Zhenwu Stance.

Ning Qi had discovered that as the white ape's cultivation level rose, a mysterious change seemed to be occurring within its body, as if it were activating a bloodline.

This made Ning Qi even more curious.

He felt that once his inner strength could be extended outside his body, he might attempt to explore this.

With these thoughts swirling in his mind, Ning Qi and the white ape arrived at the martial arts arena.

The New Year competition last year had yielded quite good results.

Luo Wentian naturally intended to build upon this success and continue the excellent tradition.

Upon arrival, Ning Qi discovered that Qin Yun had also come.

Having been under house arrest by Daoist Longshan for over half a year, he was permitted to come out temporarily for the New Year, and was currently conversing with the group of true disciples.

Everyone was advising him that if he had offended his master in any way, he should bow his head and soften his stance rather than being stubborn.

Qin Yun merely agreed with a smile.

Seeing Ning Qi, Qin Yun's gaze instinctively drifted toward him, sensing his presence.

"Little Ninth."

He could see that Ning Qi's aura was much stronger than it had been six months ago, but as for his specific realm, he would likely have to wait for Ning Qi to make a move to know for sure.

Ning Qi sat down among them.

As the group conversed, the matches for the outer disciples began once more.

Compared to last year, the overall strength of the outer disciples had increased, with several outstanding disciples emerging, which pleased everyone.

Next came the inner disciples.

After the top twenty disciples were awarded, the true disciples began sparring with one another and answering questions from the other disciples.

However, this time, there was an addition: Qin Yun.

Luo Wentian fought Jiang Baishan once again, and this time, Luo Wentian lost even more decisively.

This thoroughly solidified Jiang Baishan's position as the second strongest in Zhenwu.

Currently, Jiang Baishan had the hope of breaking through to the Gangyuan Realm by the age of forty, becoming the second Gangyuan expert of the Zhenwu Sect.

At forty, in this world of long-lived martial artists, he was still considered part of the younger generation, possessing great momentum.

But watching the battle between the two, Ning Qi's heart remained calm. He was even more certain that even if his Eldest Senior Brother and Fifth Senior Brother joined forces, they likely would not be his match.

However, after Luo Wentian's defeat, Qin Yun actually took the initiative to challenge Jiang Baishan.

Unsurprisingly, Qin Yun lost.

But what shocked everyone was that Qin Yun had actually demonstrated the realm of the Sixth Layer of the Inner Yuan Realm!

One must realize that Qin Yun was only in his twenties, yet he had already reached the Great Success stage of Inner Yuan. Following this trend, he might have the hope of ascending to the Gangyuan Realm before the age of thirty-five, or even sooner.

Everyone in the Zhenwu Sect was incredibly excited, loudly praising Qin Yun.

This was an omen of Zhenwu's prosperity.

Only Daoist Longshan had a hint of worry in his eyes.

Ning Qi also found it somewhat strange; Qin Yun's cultivation progress seemed far too fast. Could it be that he had encountered a fortuitous opportunity while he was away?

After Jiang Baishan stepped down, Qin Yun stood in the center of the arena. He did not leave, but instead looked toward Ning Qi and issued an invitation

"Junior Brother, why don't you come and try? Your Senior Brother will spar with you to help you practice."

There was an inexplicable meaning in his eyes, so much so that even the other disciples could vaguely sense something was amiss.

A year ago, when Jiang Baishan had made such an invitation, Ning Qi could simply decline with a smile.

But a year later, when Qin Yun made the invitation again, it made Ning Qi hesitate.

Qin Yun was different from Jiang Baishan; Ning Qi felt that the changes in Qin Yun over the past few years might have something to do with himself.