Three days later, in the morning.
Duck Mountain Island lay shrouded in a faint mist, while disciples traveled between the peaks of the Profound Truth Sect's various branches.
Sun Ningxiang emerged from the Dining Hall carrying a food box and headed toward Yunxi Peak with light steps. Her route took her along the mountain path between Lingxi Peak and the Main Peak.
Beneath the shade of the trees beside the path, disciples gathered around stone tables to chat. Their conversations inevitably centered on Yang Jing and Chu Yunhai, the subjects of much recent discussion within the sect.
"Senior Brother Chu has second-grade root bone and exceptional comprehension. Now that he's awakened a battle body, hardly anyone at his level can match him. His future achievements will surely know no bounds!"
"Exactly. Senior Brother Yang Jing might be progressing quickly, but his root bone is what it is. With eighth-grade root bone, he's already lucky to have gotten this far. Breaking through to the Qi-Nourishing Realm later will probably be harder than climbing to heaven."
"No, no, Senior Brother Yang must have some other talent we don't know about. Otherwise, how could he have become so strong in such a short time? Still, when it comes to potential, Senior Brother Chu definitely has more."
Snatches of their discussions drifted into Sun Ningxiang's ears, slowly dampening her cheerful mood.
She knew how talented Yang Jing was and how hard he worked. Dismissing his future based solely on his root bone was far too one-sided.
But she was only an ordinary disciple, and her words carried little weight. Despite her indignation, she could only stamp her foot, bite her lip, and quicken her pace, unable to offer even a word in his defense.
Meanwhile.
In the training room area halfway up Lingxi