The Grandmaster Token's New Skill

Under Ning Ri's shocked, expectant gaze, a new skill appeared in the first skill slot—

1, [****]: 0 (Cannot add points)

Ning Ri: "?"

What was this thing?

What the ** was this?

And why couldn't he add points?!

Ning Ri stared at the panel for quite a while, yet he could not make heads or tails of it. The incessant ding-ding-ding ringing of the Grandmaster Token in his mind also faded away.

Clearly, this was the extent of the "insight" the Grandmaster Token had given him.

Helpless, Ning Ri could only tear his gaze away from [****] and close the panel.

The instant Ning Ri closed the panel, he saw the utterly expectant looks in the other elders' eyes...

They could tell from the changes in Ning Ri's expression that he had likely finished his enlightenment.

Yet the moment Ning Ri returned to normal, they immediately withdrew their gazes as well.

No one unnecessarily asked how his enlightenment had gone.

Holding the Grandmaster Token, Ning Ri said nothing else and simply said, "Thank you, Elders!"

The elders replied, "No need, no need."

Zhou Hai, however, changed the subject and said with emotion, "Fortunately, we didn't rashly hand you those pills to repair your aptitude before. We knew you could definitely do it!"

"Of course, this was also your own choice!"

The Grandmaster Token was the strongest possible signal that Ning Ri had indeed set foot on a different path of cultivation.

That was why Zhou Hai could praise Ning Ri with such certainty.

As Zhou Hai spoke, the elders all revealed approving expressions.

Clearly, the elders who had come to the Pillars of Cultivation Pavilion today to welcome "Grandmaster Ning Ri" were all among those who had planned to help Ning Ri obtain the "pills" from the strange realm last time.

Naturally, they also knew that Ning Ri had rejected Zhou Hai's proposal.

Now that they saw Ning Ri had truly forged his own heaven-defying path, they shared Zhou Hai's thoughts—

Fortunately, they had not let good intentions do bad things.

If they had obtained those pills for Ning Ri, and his aptitude had truly been restored, wouldn't this heaven-defying path have been cut off?

That would not do!

But upon hearing this, Ning Ri inwardly cried that things were bad...

They aren't going to repair my aptitude anymore?

Even with the panel, he would not mind having better spirit roots.

The reason was simple.

With spirit roots, he would possess the talent to cultivate immortality.

With good immortal cultivation talent, he could cultivate techniques.

Then perhaps the speed at which he earned skill points would far surpass practicing saber techniques...

His current habit of pulling out a saber at every turn was not exactly unworkable, but it was ultimately rather strange.

Then again, staying in the Heaven Defying Sect, acting a little strangely would not make anyone gossip. They would only assume he was cultivating...

Zhou Hai continued, "Now that you have already walked your own path, the Qi Refining Realm is naturally only a small step on your heaven-defying road."

"If you wish to go farther, you must guard against arrogance and impatience, constantly strengthen your conviction, build a solid heaven-defying foundation, stir heaven-defying power, preserve the heaven-defying spirit, and forge a heaven-defying immortal path!"

"The Heaven Defying Sect will support you. Rest assured!"

Ning Ri immediately nodded out of reflex. "Yes, Elder Zhou. This disciple certainly will!"

Those words stirred familiar memories in him, making him nod involuntarily. He even wanted to raise his hands and clap, letting thunderous applause blossom in his palms...

Fortunately, he stopped himself.

Zhou Hai smiled faintly, then continued, "However, there is one regrettable matter I must tell you."

Ning Ri asked, "What is it?"

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Zhou Hai said, "Because being a Grandmaster only proves that you possess great strength, it does not represent your authority within the sect. Therefore, you are still considered an Outer Sect disciple within the sect for now."

"You must still complete the process of entering the Inner Sect."

"But you have already reached the peak of Qi Refining. I believe you will be able to enter the Inner Sect in a couple of days."

"Once you become an Inner Sect disciple, we will hold a Grandmaster Ceremony for you."

"The Grandmaster Ceremony can only be held in the Inner Sect's Valley of Grandmaster's Will. You cannot enter it for the time being, so... sorry for the trouble."

Ning Ri said, "It's fine, it's fine. I still have to trouble all the elders to concern yourselves with this matter. This disciple actually feels that there is no need to hold any Grandmaster Ceremony. This disciple's cultivation is still insufficient..."

Ning Ri felt it would be best if he remained an ordinary disciple.

Forget this Grandmaster identity.

He wanted to interact with his fellow disciples as an ordinary person.

He did not want to be both Grandmaster and disciple. This grand-disciple duality did not suit him.

But someone immediately said, "Wrong. There is no need to be modest about this. This is what you deserve."

Xun Zang even shook his head. "If you refuse, what will the other Grandmasters think? These are rules they established!"

Ning Ri said, "...All right."

After obtaining the Grandmaster Token, Ning Ri immediately returned to Golden Osmanthus Garden without chatting with the elders.

He had originally sought out Zhou Hai in order to report Chen Xingfeng's matter. But since Chen Xingfeng had contacted Zhou Hai beforehand, there was no need for him to report anything further.

He guessed Chen Xingfeng had already explained the situation more or less clearly.

Still, before leaving, Ning Ri mentioned that the Lingxi Immortal Sect had given him Five Elements Essence.

He had thought of this before returning.

Someone had given him such a precious gift, so he had to mention it.

First, it was to show his sincerity: I want to remain in the Heaven Defying Sect. I have no plans to go anywhere else. See how candid I am.

Second, it was to raise his own value: others had even produced Five Elements Essence to express their appreciation for him...

Ning Ri was not trying to extort anything. It was merely a bad habit from his previous life. Doing this allowed him to update, in real time, how his superiors viewed his position, so they would not treat him like some cheap employee...

However, after becoming a Grandmaster, Ning Ri felt he had worried too much.

The Heaven Defying Sect could not possibly consider him a cheap disciple anymore.

He was already a Grandmaster—how could he possibly be cheap?

He had not expected that after going out and returning, he would become a Grandmaster and receive an exceedingly mysterious Grandmaster Token that even the panel could not decipher...

If he still wanted to leave the Heaven Defying Sect and join the Lingxi Immortal Sect, that would be a real headache...

On his way back, Ning Ri thought of something—

Fortunately, he had not reset his points when he returned from Luoxia City.

Otherwise, they would have learned beforehand that he had already reached the peak of Qi Refining, yet when they met him, he would only be at the Third Stage Qi Refining...

That would have been hard to explain!

But when he thought of this, Ning Ri's footsteps paused.

Then again, in the eyes of the Heaven Defying Sect's people, this might not be something that needed much explanation...

When he arrived at his little house, Ning Ri was still thinking...

For now, this Grandmaster Token seemed useless.

He still had to go somewhere else and get some offensive techniques.

At present, the offensive methods he possessed were: the incomplete Gale Step, Crocodile Turtle Iron Bone Skill, and Lightning Control Palm.

He would see whether he could acquire a few more offensive methods over the next two days...

However, Ning Ri had already made up his mind. When he entered the Yin De Sect, he would reset all of his cultivation and techniques, presenting a state with zero techniques and cultivation methods added.

Before, when he did not know what the Yin De Sect was for, he had wanted to raise his cultivation.

But after learning from Jiang Wen that the first trial in this strange realm was the Disciple Acceptance Ceremony, Ning Ri began to turn the matter over in his mind...

Since it was a Disciple Acceptance Ceremony, ordinary people could enter too, right?