Tao Xuehai had lost, but he did not leave. Unlike the other challengers, who lowered their heads in shame and walked away after losing, he stayed.
Instead, he took a keen interest in Lin Hui's swordplay. After repeatedly asking whether ordinary enrollment might let him learn such powerful sword techniques, he promptly stayed, paid the fee, and signed up.
Then he threw himself into grabbing every task he could and even joined the expedition team, rapidly piling up contribution points.
The expedition team in particular had not returned to the Purple Crystal Ruins since suffering heavy losses. It had obediently gone back to mapping the surrounding area.
What made Tao Xuehai formidable was that he went home once and came back with the most detailed map of the surrounding Mist Zone's distribution.
That saved the expedition team enormous time and effort. Some disciples resented him for snatching up tasks, but he easily settled matters by throwing money at them.
Within three days of joining, he had given lavish gifts to every disciple in the top ten and won them all over.
Even Xue Meng received a life-saving Precious Medicine for healing, leaving him with no objections.
But that was not the most impressive part. Once Tao Xuehai got his hands on the freely taught Seven Section Fast Sword and Nine Section Fast Sword, he needed only two days to master them. He missed not a single point of force application.
His Body Tempering still required a gradual switch in training and time to build up, but his speed had already surpassed everyone's imagination.
Even Lin Hui had taken a year to become thoroughly proficient in the Seven Section Fast Sword and Nine Section Fast Sword.
Tao Xuehai might already have been at the peak of inner strength, with a solid