It's best not to ask about private matters

But... Xia Wantang had saved up fifteen more draws. Before the Grand Competition, she decided to do a ten-pull to liven things up.

"System, I want to do a ten-pull."

[Alright host, arranging it now!]

A flash of purple light streaked across, and the System's voice sounded again:

[Congratulations host! You received: Wood Spirit Root (Immortal Grade Seventh Tier), Advanced Spirit Talisman Compendium (Immortal Grade Seventh Tier), True Essence Pill * 4, Qi Replenishing Pill * 4.]

[Wow, two Immortal Grade Seventh Tier magic treasures dropped! My luck is pretty good this time~]

"You say that every time."

[Hehe, this System just speaks the truth. After all, our host is a chosen Son of Destiny.]

"System, you're the ancient Greek god in charge of flattery!"

After bantering with the System, Xia Wantang decided to refine the Wood Spirit Root first.

She was consuming a large amount of spirit herbs daily to concoct pills, and cultivators with a Wood Spirit Root were particularly suited for planting spirit herbs, as it could accelerate their growth.

The higher the grade of the Wood Spirit Root, the greater the boost to spirit herb growth.

"Come to think of it, I should dedicate a plot of spiritual land on Quiet Heart Peak to grow herbs?"

No sooner said than done, Xia Wantang leaped to the mountainside of Quiet Heart Peak. She activated her spiritual power, cultivated the previously bare grassland, spread out the prepared spiritual soil, and scattered spirit herb seeds. Nourishing them with Wood Spiritual Power would mark the completion of the task.

As the gentle Wood Spiritual Power touched the spiritual soil, the seeds sprouted at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Xia Wantang: ? I knew you were fast, but I didn't expect you to be this fast.

[After all, it's an Immortal Grade spirit root, naturally it's extraordinary.]

Originally, the Wood Spirit Root could have been fused with the Water Spirit Root or Light Spirit Root, but unfortunately, they had already been fused with other spirit roots.

The Wood Spirit Root did not harmonize with the Ice Spirit Root, Lightning Spirit Root, or Fire Spirit Root, so fusion was impossible.

After dealing with the spiritual land, Xia Wantang returned to Quiet Heart Hall to continue her cultivation.

The next day.

Early in the morning, Xia Wantang and Ye Xing were summoned to the main hall of Azure Cloud Palace by Fu Hanqiu:

"Lingyun, Wantang, today, the Inner Sect Grand Competition officially begins."

"Do you have any inner disciples you're particularly looking forward to seeing?"

The Holy Son and Saintess were naturally participating in the Inner Sect Grand Competition. However, as their cultivation was already at the forefront among their peers, they were directly granted a spot in the top four.

Hearing this, Ye Xing answered first:

"All the inner disciples are equally outstanding. Lingyun cannot choose."

Ye Xing hardly interacted with other disciples, so how would he understand their strength?

Moreover, with his cultivation level, he simply didn't take these Azure Cloud Palace disciples seriously. As a Demon Prince, he was inherently arrogant and too lazy to pay attention to what he considered ants.

It could be said that he was probably the worst in terms of true personality among all the Sons of Destiny. It was only in front of Xia Wantang that he was relatively polite due to the favorability bonus.

This answer was within Fu Hanqiu's expectations, so he turned to Xia Wantang, hoping to hear if she had any different thoughts.

Xia Wantang hesitated for a moment, then decided to praise Xiao Rui:

"Reporting to the Palace Lord, there are no inner disciples worth noting. However, there is one outer disciple whom Wantang thinks highly of."

Hearing this, Fu Hanqiu became interested:

"Oh? Who is it that has earned Wantang's favor?"

Even Ye Xing glanced over, his dark pupils inscrutable.

Xia Wantang paused for a moment before saying:

"It's the utility disciple from the outer sect, Xiao Rui."

"A utility disciple?!"

This time, Fu Hanqiu was genuinely surprised. However, the name "Xiao Rui" sounded somewhat familiar to him:

"Xiao Rui, isn't that the disciple with the single Lightning Spirit Root from many years ago?"

"His talent is indeed good, but I heard his cultivation hasn't progressed at all over the years, otherwise, he wouldn't have ended up as a utility disciple."

Ye Xing had also heard of Xiao Rui. Thinking that he was a disciple Xia Wantang favored, his tone involuntarily became passive-aggressive:

"Xiao Rui is merely a utility disciple. Saintess, you should aim higher."

For example, there's a promising Holy Son right in front of you, isn't he much more capable than that darn Xiao Rui?

Xia Wantang glanced at him indifferently:

"Palace Lord and Holy Son may not know, but two months ago, Xiao Rui's proclaimed cultivation was only at the late stage of the Human Martial Realm. But now, his cultivation has reached the peak of the Mystic Martial Realm, no weaker than the Holy Son and myself."

That's right, Xiao Rui's cultivation had advanced again.

He had sworn to catch up to Ye Xing's cultivation within a month, and he had indeed achieved it.

Of course, Ye Xing hadn't been idle this past month either. Although he still only displayed a cultivation at the peak of the Mystic Martial Realm to the public, his actual cultivation had already broken through to the peak of the Spirit Channeling Realm.

It could be said that these Sons of Destiny were all more formidable than the last.

If it weren't for Xia Wantang having the System as a cheat, she might not have been able to keep up with their pace.

Upon hearing this, Fu Hanqiu was shocked:

"Is this truly the case!?"

Ye Xing also frowned:

"To break through so quickly within two months, why was Xiao Rui's cultivation stagnant for the previous few years?"

Xia Wantang lowered her gaze and said:

"Wantang believes he might have been concealing his strength, wanting to surprise everyone during the Inner Sect Grand Competition and the Sect Grand Competition."

She had also considered a few explanations, such as encountering a great opportunity or a late bloomer surpassing others.

However, doing so would inevitably invite jealousy from those with ulterior motives.

Xiao Rui hadn't truly grown yet; it wouldn't do for him to be nipped in the bud.

Therefore, concealing his strength was the most logical explanation.

Coupled with his exceptional single Lightning Spirit Root talent, it was no wonder Fu Hanqiu had agreed to Xiao Rui's forceful "buy one, get one free" deal to bring Ye Yilan into the sect with him.

Hearing Xia Wantang's explanation, Fu Hanqiu nodded thoughtfully:

"The tallest tree catches the wind. This lad is quite clever."

"If he truly possesses such high cultivation, it seems this year's Inner Sect Grand Competition will be quite exciting."

Speaking of which, Fu Hanqiu's gaze fell upon Xia Wantang and Ye Xing:

"Lingyun, Wantang, you two are also disciples I have high hopes for. You must perform well in this Inner Sect Grand Competition."

"You don't want to lose to an outer sect disciple, do you?"

"Yes!"

As Xia Wantang and Ye Xing emerged from the main hall of Azure Cloud Palace, Ye Xing couldn't help but start with his passive-aggressive remarks:

"I never expected the usually aloof Saintess would associate with an unknown utility disciple."

Xia Wantang merely glanced at him indifferently, her eyes devoid of the former admiration and affection:

"What business does the Saint Son have with whom the Saintess of Azure Cloud Palace associates?"

"Since the Saint Son requires us to maintain distance from each other, it's best not to pry too much into private matters."