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A group of young children, all looking up with rapt attention, stared intently at Xu Ying, listening with great interest, so engrossed they even forgot to eat.

Lin Qi didn't drag Luo Ci over to sit with her this time. Instead, she found a quiet spot to eat.

After all, she needed to care for her junior disciple's physical and mental well-being.

After finishing her meal, Lin Qi also bought some food.

She predicted she'd be spending the next few days shuttling between Zonglei Peak and Wind God Valley, likely not having time to go down the mountain.

Seeing this, Luo Ci, without a second thought, bought the same food as Lin Qi.

Lin Qi: ...Did she push Luo Ci too hard?

Right after finishing their meal, both Lin Qi and Luo Ci received a message from True Monarch Qingyun, instructing them to go directly to Wind God Valley.

Thinking of the dense, sturdy Swift Wind Divine Grass in that area made Lin Qi's whole body ache.

Beside her, Luo Ci had a grim expression, as if he wasn't going for training, but to his heroic death.

Lin Qi reached out and patted his shoulder, feigning a relaxed tone. "Calm down, it's just training. At worst, when our movement techniques reach Great Accomplishment one day, we'll go up and pull out all those weeds in Wind God Valley."

Luo Ci's eyes lit up, as if a new world had opened up to him. "We can do that?"

"Of course!" Lin Qi said with certainty.

Luo Ci clenched his fist, his voice filled with suppressed anger.

"I will definitely pull out those weeds in the future!"

Lin Qi nodded in support beside him. "Yes, pull out those weeds!"

"Little Sister Qi! I knew I saw you just now, I wasn't mistaken!"

Xu Ying's hearty laughter echoed from behind Lin Qi.

She lightly patted Lin Qi's shoulder.

"Where have you been these past few days? I left so many messages on the Jade Token I gave you, but you never replied."

Lin Qi turned and saw Xu Ying, her face beaming with a smile.

She calmly explained, "I had some matters to attend to a while ago and didn't have time to check my messages, but I replied as soon as I was free."

Lin Qi sized up Xu Ying and leaned closer to ask, "Sister Xu, your eyes are sparkling with joy. Could it be some good news recently?"

Xu Ying pulled Lin Qi to a quiet pavilion to sit.

"Speaking of which, it's all thanks to the two spiritual fruits you gave me."

"I ate your spiritual fruits the day before the assessment, and the bottleneck that had been stuck suddenly broke. That night, I broke through to Qi Cultivation second stage. I've already been promoted from Class C to Class B!"

"Congratulations, congratulations! But this is also thanks to your diligent cultivation all along. Without the daily foundation, where would such sudden good luck come from?"

Xu Ying became even happier upon hearing this.

She generously shared her recent news with Lin Qi.

"I heard Senior Sister Tan Yueqing just came out of the Lübing Abyss. She's only been in the Sect for half a month, and she's already at Qi Refining third stage!"

Lin Qi responded with a smile.

She was quite familiar with this matter, having personally witnessed Tan Yueqing's breakthrough.

Xu Ying, not sensing any oddity, continued, "Senior Sister Zhao Qi also went through a trial in Fire Dragon Valley and is now at Qi Refining third stage. I heard she's aiming for the Spirit Cleansing Pill this time and is determined to win first place in the Sect Grand Competition."

Lin Qi asked curiously, "First place is the Spirit Cleansing Pill?"

Xu Ying shook her head. "I don't know. But surely the higher the ranking, the more choices you have!"

"That's true."

Xu Ying added, "The Lu Family Siblings have already started practicing the Remnant Snow Swordplay. I heard that True Monarch Xiuzhe of Broken Sword Peak has praised their comprehension multiple times. I must go and witness the might of the Remnant Snow Swordplay!"

"Aren't the Lu Family Siblings disciples of Broken Sword Peak? Isn't the Peak Master of Broken Sword Peak True Monarch Xiuyue?"

Who was this True Monarch Xiuzhe?

Lin Qi was getting confused.

Xu Ying gave her a look that said, You don't understand.

"During the disciple recruitment ceremony, True Monarch Xiuyue couldn't win over True Monarch Tinghan, so he gave up the idea of taking disciples. But Broken Sword Peak is one of the three major peaks, after all. Someone had to take disciples, so True Monarch Xiuyue's senior brother, True Monarch Xiuzhe, stepped forward and took the Lu Family Siblings."

"So that's how it is." Lin Qi looked enlightened. "But were the Lu Family Siblings willing?"

Xu Ying quietly leaned close to Lin Qi's ear and lowered her voice. "Actually, the Lu Family Siblings came specifically for True Monarch Xiuzhe. True Monarch Xiuzhe was a disciple of the Lu family before. He climbed the Immortal Ascension Ladder specifically to avoid people saying they were using connections."

Lin Qi looked at Xu Ying with admiration. "Sister Xu, your news is so well-informed!"

Afterward, Xu Ying told Lin Qi about many other cultivators who were likely to contend for the top ten. Lin Qi listened with great interest, then gave Xu Ying two more spiritual fruits and this time, a bottle of Spirit Nurturing Pills.

Xu Ying accepted them with a smile, not refusing.

"Little Sister Qi, remember to check your Jade Token! I'll notify you immediately if I have any new information!"

"Got it."

Lin Qi smiled and bid her farewell.

Luo Ci had been listening silently from the side. Only after parting ways with Xu Ying did he ask, "Did she guess our identities? Otherwise, why would she only talk to cultivators who have a chance of making it into the top ten?"

Lin Qi and Luo Ci had never revealed their identities. A normal person seeing two such young children would only think they were lucky to get into the top hundred, so who would talk to them about the top ten?

Lin Qi was not surprised.

"Someone like her doesn't just need to be well-informed; most importantly, she needs to be sharp."

"Although the two of us haven't explicitly stated our identities, we also haven't hidden them. If she couldn't figure it out the first time, and still couldn't the second time, then she's just stupid."

During their first meeting, Xu Ying had immediately stated her name and class, while Lin Qi and Luo Ci had never revealed any information about their identities.

Being in the same sect, why did Lin Qi suddenly disappear for fifteen days?

"The fact that she didn't press me about why I didn't reply to her messages for half a month means she had already guessed my identity."

"She didn't expose me simply because she wanted to befriend us and go along with our wishes."

"I really thought you hit it off with her the moment you met..."

Luo Ci's small mouth parted slightly, his young mind unable to fully grasp such complex matters.

He suddenly realized the intelligence gap between himself and Lin Qi.

Speaking of which, could intelligence be compensated for with diligence?

Upon arriving at Wind God Valley, the two began practicing their movement techniques, which mostly involved getting beaten until they cried for their mothers.

True Monarch Qingyun had also brought a brown tea table this time, with a tea stove and cups placed on it.

Tea fragrance wafted, green waves rippled, and a gentle breeze brushed their faces, making it all very pleasant.

This time, even the simple-minded Luo Ci realized the hidden cunning beneath True Monarch Qingyun's gentle facade.

After the beating, Lin Qi and Luo Ci, dragging their exhausted bodies, went to Qingyun Palace to learn movement techniques and swordplay.

They also wandered around the Eight-Directional Flowing Wind Array for a bit.

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye. As Lin Qi underwent her fourth body tempering, she keenly discovered that her speed and strength had greatly increased.

When she practiced swordplay with Luo Ci, she could disarm him with a single sword strike when she wasn't playing by the rules.

Upon noticing the anomaly, Lin Qi immediately went to ask True Monarch Qingyun. As a result, she encountered people from Pill Peak at Qingyun Palace.

Today's update is complete.