Nine Evolutions of the True Spirit
chapter-362-2-30041322

The elder martial sister was shocked—she quickly looked over and saw a tall, muscular cultivator walking imposingly out from the cultivation room.

"Yao Yong the Fire Tiger, Ranked 45th among the North Ocean Prodigies!"

"They say he’s already in the Second Layer Core Forging Realm. But even though Elder Senior Sister is in the same cultivation layer, she’s clearly no match for an experienced fighter like him. Things aren’t looking good for the senior martial sisters."

The chatter naturally found its way into the elder senior martial sister’s ears, and her pale-white face darkened with gloom. But before she could say anything, another round of exclamations was heard.

"Enlightened Masters Jade Swords!"

Note: Yu means Jade, Jian means Sword.

"Enlightened Master Ma Xuan-Yu and Enlightened Master Zhong Xuan-Jian, ranked 73rd and 74th in the North Ocean Prodigies. Together, they learned a dual swordsman technique that helped them defeat a Third Layer Core Forging Realm monster before!"

Some disciples were proudly introducing Ma Yu and Zhong Jian to the other martial siblings.

"This is Enlightened Master Xuan-Ling. Although she isn’t ranked, she and Senior Sister Hu have been teaching the side hall disciples. Rumor has it that she isn’t any weaker than the others."

Second Senior Sister and Third Senior Sister were left in a daze, while the elder senior martial sister was already planning her escape. As a Core Forging Realm Enlightened Master in the sect, she knew more than the rest, that Shi Lingling was the descendant of a Great Ancestor, and daughter to an Enlightened Master, granting her a high standing in the sect.

"I’ve seen him somewhere before, I think he’s also a Master Immortal from the side hall."

Compared to the rest, Zhang Zi-Cheng’s presence was less significant.

"Look, another North Ocean Prodigy! Du Feng the Ruthless Sword!"

"It’s really him! He killed a monster Enlightened Master not long after advancing to the Core Forging Realm, that’s what brought him to Rank 62."

"What’s the matter, why are all these third-generation talents here in Fourth Senior Sister’s cave-dwelling? Are they here to congratulate her open house?"

"The senior martial sisters are in trouble!"

But that wasn’t all. Another female disciple pointed ahead, her eyes shining as she happily said, "Enlightened Master Chen Lian, the Flying Blaze, ranked 51st, and the most promising talent to become the next Master Smith."

Just as she said that, another female disciple exclaimed in shock again, "The Zhen Ling Twin Talents—Enlightened Master Ji Xuan-Xuan and Yin Xuan-Chu!"

"What? The Twin Talents who killed a Fourth Layer Core Forging Realm monster, thrashed a Fifth Layer monster to the brink of death, then fought Ouyang Wei-Jian into retreating? They’re ranked 37th and 38th!"

Ji Zi-Xuan—now Ji Xuan-Xuan after his Core Forging Realm advancement—turned with a helpless look and said to Yin Xuan-Chu: "I could’ve been Zhen Ling Three Talents, but some fellow decided to go missing in the East Ocean for years. So, three became two."

Yin Xuan-Chu merely glanced back expressionlessly and didn’t say a word, a reaction which Ji Xuan-Xuan was long used to. He shook his head, a shiver running through him.

At present, everyone in the cave-dwelling was busy looking compassionately at the three senior martial sisters. The elder senior martial sister was struggling to stand upright, while the second and third senior martial sisters were completely numb.

It was at this time, Lu Ping walked out last from the cultivation room.

Immediately, the crowd fell dead silent for a second, then abruptly burst into a commotion.

"This is…"

"Water Sword Immortal!"

"Master Alchemist!"

"Great Ancestor Tian-Ling’s ninth official disciple!"

"Is he Senior Sister Hu’s lover?"

"…."

Lu Ping’s appearance was like adding oil to the fire heating up the crowd, and also the straw that broke the camel’s back for the three senior martial sisters.

The eldest fell back into her chair, her mind in chaos and regret. It was likely that her state of mind had collapsed, with no chances of progressing in cultivation if she couldn’t snap back from this.

After all, who would’ve guessed they were Hu Lili’s friends!

Together, they comprised the majority of the third-generation talents, who were seen as the future pillars of the sect. As a group, even the higher-ups and Great Ancestors wouldn’t dare to take them lightly!

Just as the Blood Condensation Realm disciples were excited to see these third-generation talents, particularly Lu Ping, a clear and sweet voice spoke from outside of the cave-dwelling.

"Ninth Senior Brother, why didn’t you invite me to Senior Sister Hu Lili’s open house!"

The voice appeared to come from a hundred feet away at first, then two little girls barged into the cave-dwelling as the sentence ended.

One of them was in her seventies, wearing a palace dress and holding the hand of another bold-looking girl in her early teens. They were obviously Jiang Xuan-Xuan and Lu Qin.

These two were also Core Forging Realm Enlightened Masters and looked extremely young!

This shocked the crowd, while the elder senior martial sister almost fainted to see Jiang Xuan-Xuan, whom she recognized as the daughter of Great Ancestor Jiang Tian-Lin and Great Ancestor Liu Tian-Ling!

"Huh?"

Ji Xuan-Xuan abruptly looked at Lu Qin with a flash of light in his eyes, while on the other side, Yin Xuan-Chu had been staring at Lu Qin since she entered the cave-dwelling.

Right after them, Yao Yong and Chen Lian also noticed Lu Qin, while a jade pendant on Shi Lingling’s waist moved softly on its own.

In response, Lu Qin lowered her stance and stared back at them with fiery eyes. Beside her, Jiang Xuan-Xuan’s palace dress billowed softly, slowly changing colors between jade-green and fiery-red.

Naturally, all of this didn’t escape Lu Ping’s eyes. He smiled and said, "Little Junior Sister, you’ve been hiding in Liberal Palace all this time, how could I reach you?"

He called Lu Qin to come over and introduced her. "This is my god-sister, Lu Qin. She is the little bird that you’ve all met. Qin’er, come and greet your big brothers and sisters!"

Lu Qin obediently walked to Lu Ping, her boldness fading as she said shyly, "Qin’er greets the big brothers and sisters!"

Right away, the serious atmosphere dissolved on its own.

Shi Lingling said in surprise, "Qin’er is the little Verd… girl! Oh my… you’ve grown so big now, I didn’t recognize you!"

The other disciples in the cave-dwelling weren’t aware that Lu Qin was a monster cultivator, with the exception of one—the elder senior martial sister lowered her head quietly, covering the light that flashed in her eyes.

…

Wave after wave of spiritual energy ebbed away and flowed back into the Wave Listening Palace to the rhythm of the tides.

Some time later, when the tides receded, the spiritual energy also turned calm.

In the cultivation room, Lu Ping quietly opened his eyes, showing a trace of short-lived disappointment before returning to tranquility.

Taking the water-filled jade bowl in front of him, he casually put it back into his interspatial ring, He then glanced at an empty jade bottle, stood up and checked the time. This round of cultivation had lasted six days, and the side hall competition was already around the corner.

Six days ago, while he was returning from Hu Lili’s cave-dwelling open house, he’d inadvertently heard the sounds of the tides and was attracted by it. It was then that he knew; his time to break through to the Mid Core Forging Realm had come.

Immediately, he ignored everything and went straight into closed-door cultivation. He quickly took out the jade bowl which contained the low-grade Earth-class wonder water, the Magnificent Wave Water, together with his Core Forging Realm cultivation pellets, and plunged into cultivation.

Although the Magnificent Wave Water wasn’t outstanding compared to the other wonder waters, it was abundant in quantity. Furthermore, not many cultivators could use an Earth-class low-grade wonder item in their Mid Core Forging Realm breakthroughs.

With Lu Ping’s current prowess, the bowl of Magnificent Wave Water was just enough for him to use. Unfortunately, something was still lacking in his cultivation, and he missed the opportunity to break through.

On the bright side, after fusing with some of the Magnificent Wave Water, his true energy had grown much more abundant compared to before—his cultivation foundation had solidified further, and he felt more prepared for the next attempt.

A few days after the closed-door cultivation ended, Lu Ping arrived at the side hall and looked at it with sudden emotion. Unknowingly, more than ten years had passed since he graduated from the side hall. Now, he returned as an Enlightened Master.

Today was the day of the Zhen Ling Side Hall Competition which would be the grandest and largest yet for these past dozens of years.

Lu Ping didn’t enter the side hall but nonchalantly hid in a corner just outside of it. Even though he wasn’t inside, he could see everything happening through his divine revelation.

Compared to before, the side hall had been expanded to occupy more disciples. With the increase in numbers, their cheers were louder and more booming whenever an Enlightened Master flew into the side hall’s plaza.

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