Making a Name, a Jade Sword Grass

The turmoil outside had nothing to do with Lin Heng at this moment.

Four months flashed by in the course of cultivation.

On the day of the Grandmaster Ceremony, after several months of accumulation, Lin Heng finally completed another Transformation and reached the fourth level of the Grandmaster Realm.

He could clearly feel his body growing and developing rapidly. His muscles, bones, skin, flesh, organs, blood, and brain were all becoming stronger and more perfect; the very essence of his life was rising.

"Not bad. My physical strength has increased quite a bit again."

Sensing the changes after his breakthrough, Lin Heng nodded in satisfaction.

Every increase in cultivation brought a qualitative leap in Combat Power.

Compared to when he had first entered the Grandmaster Realm, Lin Heng was far more powerful now.

After completing his breakthrough, Lin Heng did not remain at the Cold Pool. He returned to Empty Bright Hall, swiftly took a bath under the Maid's care, washed away the dead skin produced by his bodily Transformation, and changed into a newly tailored, solemn ceremonial outfit.

Though only four months had passed, Lin Heng, who had just turned ten, had grown to a height of 1.78 meters through cultivation and natural development.

Such a rapidly maturing body was better suited for Combat.

Beyond his increased height, the childishness had gradually faded from Lin Heng's face. His features had become refined and sharply defined, filled with the confidence and heroic spirit accumulated through years of cultivation.

Anyone unfamiliar with Lin Heng would have taken him for a Youth of seventeen or eighteen at first glance.

If Lin Heng's previous 20 points of charm had given him the adorableness unique to a human cub, then the current Lin Heng possessed far greater attraction to the opposite sex.

As they helped Lin Heng dress and put on his accessories, the Maids' eyes shone again and again.

If not for a maiden's modesty and the gap in their statuses keeping them from overstepping, they would have dearly wished to cling to Lin Heng right then.

Lin Heng's expression remained calm, though he felt rather pleased inside.

Who would not enjoy being watched with admiring eyes?

Once everything was ready, Lin Heng appeared before the crowd at noon.

As handsome as a Banished Immortal Descending to the Mortal World and possessed of extraordinary bearing, Lin Heng instantly won the favor of many people seeing him for the first time.

"Thank you, fellow friends, for attending my Grandmaster Ceremony. I, Lin Heng, am unworthy, but I shall use tea in place of wine to offer everyone a toast."

After making his appearance, Lin Heng spoke with a smile.

Compared to the solemn gravity of the Master Acknowledgment Ceremony, the atmosphere of this Grandmaster Ceremony was much more relaxed.

After all, the Master Acknowledgment Ceremony was for taking on a disciple, while this event was mainly meant to make a name for Lin Heng—a large gathering for making connections.

Thus, by the time Lin Heng appeared, the Heroes of the Jianghu who had come to attend the ceremony had already taken their seats.

Seeing Lin Heng raise his cup, everyone graciously stood and returned the toast.

Afterward, the cold dishes were removed and hot dishes began to be served.

Many Cloud Sword Palace disciples who had prepared in advance also performed songs, dances, and other talents for the guests, making the atmosphere especially lively.

The gift lists for the presents bestowed upon Lin Heng by the Heroes of the Jianghu attending the Grandmaster Ceremony had long since been collected by Finance Elder Wei Xuan, so Lin Heng had no need to worry about them now.

After appearing before the guests, Lin Heng sat at the main table to eat. Under his master Xiao Rang's guidance, he became acquainted with many unfamiliar Cloud Sword Palace experts who had completed their training, while also chatting and laughing with envoys from the other two Martial Arts Holy Lands and several major Jianghu factions.

After three rounds of wine and five flavors of dishes.

Next came the free socializing segment, when people sought opportunities for advancement or exchanged pointers with fellow Jianghu practitioners.

Unlike at the previous Master Acknowledgment Ceremony, when he had merely watched from the sidelines, Lin Heng personally entered the fray this time, sparring with many experts whose cultivation did not exceed the fourth level of the Grandmaster Realm.

These experts were either Cloud Sword Palace disciples who had completed their training or people on good terms with the Sect. At first, they held back when attacking, lest Lin Heng lose face, and also because they feared the Cloud Sword Palace Elders glaring like tigers from beside the arena would make trouble for them.

But after fighting for a while, they discovered that Lin Heng was not merely a decorative rack with an impressive Realm.

His Ethereal Immeasurable Sword Technique had already reached the second level, the realm of sword intent. Every gesture carried surging sword qi, and paired with Gale Cloud's Movement Art, his Combat Power was not weak.

Although he made many mistakes at the beginning due to insufficient Combat experience, as Lin Heng's number of sparring matches increased, he relied on his powerful Comprehension to summarize his own strengths and weaknesses, growing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

This change left everyone present in amazement.

Many Neutral Forces that had originally hesitated over whether to pledge allegiance consequently made up their minds. In the future, they would surely follow Cloud Sword Palace closely, keeping pace with Young Sect Master Lin Heng.

In the end, when the sparring matches concluded, Lin Heng had achieved an excellent record of twenty consecutive victories.

Once the Grandmaster Ceremony ended, this record was spread abroad, raising Lin Heng's prestige in the Jianghu to an even higher level.

The next day, after seeing off the Heroes of the Jianghu, Lin Heng and several Sect higher-ups inspected the gains from this Grandmaster Ceremony in the storeroom.

"At this Grandmaster Ceremony, we received a total of 7.03 million taels in monetary gifts, while the other assets are worth 11.02 million taels."

Finance Elder Wei Xuan was grinning from ear to ear.

Although many of the gifts received this time would need to be reciprocated, roughly sixty percent had been sent by outsiders currying favor with Cloud Sword Palace and did not require repayment in actual money. A measure of protection and convenience would suffice.

Though such a sum still could not compare to the Cultivation Resources Cloud Sword Palace had invested in Lin Heng, it was at least a substantial recovery.

Xiao Rang, however, did not care much about such matters. Money only had value when spent.

His attention was entirely on things that could help Lin Heng increase his strength.

"Not bad. There is a Heaven and Earth Treasure here: Jade Sword Grass. Besides tempering a Martial Artist's Physique, it can also nurture and stimulate sword intent. It is just right for Heng'er. There are also quite a few Spirit Medicines suitable for alchemy; we will need them later."

"It was sent by Li Yang, who has completed his training. His Xiantian Eighteenth Level cultivation is also close to breaking through into the Grandmaster Realm. Once he breaks through, teach him a Body Protection Divine Art, then accept his descendants into the Sect as Inner Disciples to study martial arts, as repayment."

Xiao Rang selected a Jade Box from the pile of gifts. After confirming that there was no problem, he handed it to Lin Heng.

Lin Heng stood beside the enormous piles of gold and silver, feeling somewhat dazzled.

Gifts worth over ten million taels, combined with some of the Sect's savings—this truly formed a small mountain of gold and silver.

But after looking at it for a while, it was nothing much. Lin Heng quickly grew accustomed to it.

Seeing that there was nothing for him to do, Lin Heng took the Jade Box containing the Heaven and Earth Treasure, Jade Sword Grass, and swallowed the blade of grass in one gulp. It was jade-colored throughout, slender and straight like a longsword.

He then left the Treasure Vault and began cultivating.

The Medicinal Power of the Jade Sword Grass gradually spread through Lin Heng's body, making him feel as though all his Meridians and Acupoints were being sliced apart and tempered. In his mind, a Jade Sword Grass naturally took shape, standing tall enough to prop up heaven and earth, cleaving through everything before it.