Jiang Liu remained seated in the courtyard until a waitress came in to call Jiang Liu for dinner, at which point Jiang Liu came to his senses.
Jiang Liu followed the waitress to Luo Shiyuan's courtyard, where he saw Luo Shiyuan standing alone in front of the side hall door waiting. Jiang Liu quickly walked up to him, cupped his hands, and said, "I am ashamed to trouble you to wait, Jiang Liu."
"There's no need for formalities between us. Nephew, you've come from afar, so it's only right that your uncle waits for you. Let's go in!" Luo Shiyuan waved his hand and said.
Luo Shiyuan led Jiang Liu into the side hall, where three people were sitting: two young men and women, and a middle-aged woman who still retained her charm.
Jiang Liu immediately knew that these must be Luo Shiyuan's wife and children.
Sure enough, Luo Shiyuan pointed to the young man and said, "Nephew, let me introduce you. This is my son, Luo Tong. Tong'er, and this is Jiang Liu. You should get to know him well."
Luo Tong stood up, glanced at Jiang Liu indifferently, cupped his hands in greeting and said, "I've heard so much about you!" Then he sat down.
Jiang Liu smiled and returned the greeting with a cupped hand, saying, "Nice to meet you!"
Luo Shiyuan frowned slightly as he looked at Luo Tong, then pointed to the young woman and introduced her, "This is my daughter, Luo Qi. Luo Qi Luo Qi, this is your sister Murong Yin's fiancé, Jiang Liu."
Luo Qi looked at Jiang Liu with curiosity, sizing him up and down, and said, "You're Sister Yin's fiancé, but you're not all that great, are you?"
Jiang Liu smiled but didn't say anything.
Luo Shiyuan continued, "This is my wife, Li Qingmei. Qingmei, this is Jiang Liu, whom my elder brother mentioned before."
Jiang Liu bowed to Li Qingmei and said, "Hello, Aunt Luo!"
Li Qingmei smiled and nodded to Jiang Liu, saying, "Sit down! No need for formalities."
Afterwards, the five of them sat down to have a meal together. After Jiang Liu finished his meal, he did not stay long and returned to his residence in the courtyard.
After Jiang Liu left, Luo Shiyuan frowned and shouted angrily at Luo Tong, "What was your attitude just now?"
Luo Tong said dismissively, "What attitude am I talking about? He's just a nobody who rose to power by relying on the Murong Family! What else do you want from me?"
"A nobody? Even your father might not be able to beat him now. You call him a nobody? Then what am I?" Luo Shiyuan retorted angrily.
Luo Tong was immediately shocked. "He's already Grandmaster Realm? How could he be so fast? And he's only twenty years old."
"What else do you think? You think he relies on the Murong Family? You're so wrong. Now the Murong Family needs him. I told you to pay more attention to the news, cultivate more, and stop fooling around, but you just wouldn't listen," Luo Shiyuan said, exasperated.
Luo Tong fell into deep self-doubt, while Luo Qi looked at Luo Shiyuan with great interest, hoping he would say more about Jiang Liu.
Li Qingmei defended her son, saying, "Alright, stop talking. Our Tong'er has been working very hard in his cultivation. Besides, he's still young, and he's already at the Seventh Grade, which is quite impressive."
Luo Shiyuan said speechlessly, "He's young? He's already twenty-seven, and he's still young? Look at Jiang Liu, he's only twenty, and he's already Minor Grandmaster. If this continues, how long will it take him to reach the Minor Grandmaster level?"
Jiang Liu had no idea that the Luo Family had started arguing because of him. He returned to the courtyard and began meditating and cultivating in the small square.
He thought to himself, "I'll just eat out next time! I don't like the atmosphere tonight."
Jiang Liu circulated the Saintly Sky Art Technique, slowly absorbing the surrounding Essence Particles. As the Saintly Sky Art circulated, the surrounding Essence Particles began to gradually and rapidly converge towards Jiang Liu.
Soon, a small Primal Qi Storm began to form around the Jiang Liu, and the Essence Particles were violently poured into the Jiang Liu's meridians.
When Jiang Liu first practiced the Saintly Sky Art, Jiang Liu was also startled. However, after several sessions of practice, Jiang Liu found that the resilience and width of his meridians had increased significantly.
He gradually adapted and is now able to practice the Saintly Sky Art three times in a row. Before, he needed several hours to recover after practicing it once before he could continue practicing, but now he no longer has that problem.
However, the conditioning was done using the same methods as the previous cultivation techniques, so it wasn't a waste of time.
However, the efficiency of absorbing vital energy in cultivating the Saintly Sky Art is indeed high. One cultivation session is more efficient than the previous cultivation method. Not only does it take only one-eighth of the time, but it also absorbs more vital energy than the previous cultivation method.
This is the power of the Saintly Sky Art. If it weren't for its domineering cultivation method, Jiang Liu would have wanted to keep cultivating the Saintly Sky Art forever.
After Jiang Liu finished practicing the Saintly Sky Art three times, he felt his meridians and dantian swelling, and knew that he needed to refine them completely before he could continue absorbing vital energy.
Jiang Liu continued his meditation practice, channeling the primordial energy already contained within his dantian into the sphere at the center of his dantian.
Now, the center of the dantian is a round sphere, and it is a solid object. Because it is solidified Primal Qi Liquid, it manifests as a sphere.
The absorbed vital energy can be quickly transformed into Primal Qi Liquid, but it takes a considerable amount of time for Primal Qi Liquid to transform into solid, which is why the refining process takes a relatively long time.
Especially now that the Saintly Sky Art absorbs several times more vital energy than previous cultivation methods, the time required for refining it will be even longer. Perhaps this time will be shortened significantly once the proficiency with the Saintly Sky Art increases.
Jiang Liu spent another night meditating and cultivating. In the early morning, Jiang Liu got up, washed up, left the courtyard, and walked towards the gate of the Ascension Tower.
Jiang Liu had just reached the gate when he suddenly saw a familiar figure appear at the entrance, with Luo Shiyuan beside him.
Tianming? How did he get here? Then he thought about it, the headquarters of the Haotian Sect and the other two sects are all in Qiancheng, so it makes perfect sense that he is here.
Upon seeing Jiang Liu, Luo Shiyuan immediately greeted him, "Nephew, come and pay your respects to Elder Tianming."
Tianming smiled and said, "No need for introductions, I've known this young man for a long time."
Jiang Liu quickly stepped forward to greet him, saying, "Elder Tianming, greetings!"
Tianming nodded, then looked at Jiang Liu with surprise, "Young brother, you've entered the Grandmaster Realm? I really didn't expect that! It's only been a little over two years since we first met, back when you were still an eighth-rank."
"The second time I saw you was in front of the Saint Heaven Sect's secret realm. Now that I see you again, you're already Minor Grandmaster. Will you advance to Grandmaster next time I see you? Your cultivation speed is truly amazing!"
Tianming said jokingly to Jiang Liu.
Luo Shiyuan was shocked to hear this. He never expected that Jiang Liu's advancement speed would be so fast, reaching the level of Subordinate Eighth Rank Minor Grandmaster in just over two years.
Jiang Liu looked embarrassed and said to Tianming, "Elder Tianming, you're making me very ashamed."
"Haha! You don't need to be modest, you are one of the most monstrous geniuses I have ever seen." Tianming laughed heartily.
Luo Shiyuan said from the side, "Elder Tianming, let's go upstairs and talk about it!"
Tianming nodded, then turned to Jiang Liu and said, "Young friend, please come along too!"
Jiang Liu nodded and followed them back into the Ascension Tower.