Vow

At night, inside the cave.

Lin Ye began to refine Qi Gathering Pills.

The Qi Gathering Pill is a Mortal-grade mid-tier pill, and its difficulty is much higher than that of the Body Tempering Pill.

"How many points are required to deduce the refining method for the Qi Gathering Pill?"

[Deducing the refining method for the Qi Gathering Pill (Mortal-grade mid-tier) requires 100 Martial Arts Points.]

[Do you wish to deduce?]

"Yes."

The key techniques for refining the Qi Gathering Pill flooded into his mind.

Two hours later, the first batch of Qi Gathering Pills was finished.

Three pills were produced, all mid-tier.

Lin Ye was not very satisfied and continued to deduce and optimize.

The second batch produced four pills, all high-tier.

The third batch produced five pills, all top-tier.

When the sky began to turn pale at dawn, twenty top-tier Qi Gathering Pills were already laid out in front of Lin Ye.

Lin Ye put away the pills, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

With these Qi Gathering Pills, his cultivation speed could increase several times over.

The eighth level of Body Tempering was within reach.

He also now had a stable source of income.

His points were now exhausted.

"I must cultivate quickly; the rate of point growth seems related to my cultivation level. If I break through to the True Qi Realm, will my point growth rate double?"

Lin Ye sat cross-legged and swallowed a top-tier Qi Gathering Pill.

The pill entered his stomach, transforming into a surging medicinal force that scoured his limbs and bones.

The Azure Origin Technique spun frantically, converting the medicinal force into true qi to temper his body.

In the cave, Lin Ye opened his eyes, a sharp light radiating from them.

The eighth level of Body Tempering, finally broken!

Disguising his cultivation as having just broken through to the seventh level of Body Tempering, Lin Ye stood up and left the cave.

When he returned to the Herb Repository, Chen Feng was already waiting for him at the entrance. Seeing him, his eyes flickered: "You broke through?"

"Yes." Lin Ye nodded.

"Congratulations," Chen Feng said, "I'm almost there too."

The two smiled at each other.

At this moment, Zhou Bapi hurried over, his face covered in dark clouds.

"Lin Ye, Chen Feng, come with me!"

The two exchanged a glance and followed Zhou Bapi to a secret room.

Inside the secret room, another person was sitting there.

It was Zhao Liang.

"Senior Brother Zhao, I have brought them here," Zhou Bapi said respectfully.

Zhao Liang sat in the main seat, looking coldly at Lin Ye and Chen Feng.

"It's been over a month, and you two are doing quite well," Zhao Liang began, his tone icy. "Seventh level of Body Tempering? To be able to break through in a place like the Herb Repository, you truly have extraordinary talent."

"Thanks to Senior Brother Zhao's blessing," Lin Ye said calmly.

Zhao Liang laughed, his smile cold. "Lin Ye, I really underestimated you. I thought that by sending you to the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall and the Herb Repository, I could dispose of you without any effort. I didn't expect you to be thriving here."

"This disciple is merely doing his duty," Lin Ye lowered his head.

"Duty?" Zhao Liang stood up, walked in front of Lin Ye, and stared at him. "Your duty is to honestly be a piece of trash and be content with being stepped on by me! Not to be here, breaking through, refining pills, and even colluding with Zhou Bapi to embezzle medicinal materials!"

Lin Ye felt a chill in his heart, but his expression remained unchanged: "I don't understand what Senior Brother Zhao is talking about."

"You don't understand?" Zhao Liang sneered and took a pill from his robe, throwing it onto the table.

It was the top-tier Qi Gathering Pill that Lin Ye had sold to the black market.

"This Qi Gathering Pill, you refined it, right?" Zhao Liang stared at Lin Ye. "In the entire outer sect, there are only five people who can refine top-tier Qi Gathering Pills. You, a mere handyman, actually managed to refine one. Tell me, should I praise you as a genius, or say you are courting death?"

Lin Ye remained silent.

He had not expected Zhao Liang's reach to be so long. He could even investigate the black market.

"What does Senior Brother Zhao want?" Lin Ye looked up.

"It's simple." Zhao Liang sat back down. "Hand over your alchemy techniques, cripple your own cultivation, and get out of the Qingyun Sect. I can spare your life."

"And if I don't?"

"Then you die." Zhao Liang's eyes were cold and sinister. "A fire in the Herb Repository, two servants burned to death—that's perfectly normal. Don't you agree, Steward Zhou?"

"Yes, yes, yes, normal, perfectly normal!" Zhou Bapi nodded hurriedly.

Lin Ye looked at Zhao Liang, then at Zhou Bapi, and suddenly laughed.

"What are you laughing at?" Zhao Liang frowned.

"I'm laughing at you, Senior Brother Zhao. You're too clever for your own good." Lin Ye said slowly. "Do you really think you have me cornered?"

"Oh, you have a backup plan?" Zhao Liang sneered. "This is my territory, and my men are outside. You're only at the seventh level of Body Tempering; what kind of waves can you possibly make?"

"At the seventh level of Body Tempering, I can't." Lin Ye nodded.

Before the words had even faded, Lin Ye's aura erupted suddenly.

His true cultivation of the eighth level of Body Tempering was released without reservation.

Majestic energy surged within his body, faintly emitting the sound of a roaring river.

"Eighth level of Body Tempering?!" Zhao Liang's expression changed drastically. "You aren't at the seventh level?!"

"I never said I was at the seventh level." Lin Ye said calmly.

"So what if you are?" Zhao Liang quickly calmed down. "I can kill you just the same at the eighth level of Body Tempering!"

His aura exploded, revealing that he was also at the eighth level of Body Tempering, and at the peak of it!

"What if you add me to the mix?" Chen Feng suddenly spoke up, his own aura erupting as well.

Early eighth level of Body Tempering!

"You?" Zhao Liang's pupils constricted.

These two had actually both been hiding their true strength?!

"Zhou Bapi, do it!" Zhao Liang growled.

But Zhou Bapi didn't move.

He slumped in his chair, his face deathly pale, his entire body trembling.

A short blade was pressed against his throat.

When did that happen?

Zhao Liang hadn't even seen it.

"Senior Brother Zhao, can we talk now?" Lin Ye looked at Zhao Liang, his eyes calm but filled with chilling killing intent.

Zhao Liang's expression shifted, and finally, he gritted his teeth. "What do you want?"

"It's simple." Lin Ye said. "From now on, we stay out of each other's way. You walk your path, and I'll walk mine. If you provoke me again..."

He flicked his wrist, and the short blade drew a line of blood across Zhou Bapi's neck.

"Next time, it won't be as simple as just drawing blood."

Zhou Bapi was so scared he nearly wet his pants.

Zhao Liang stared fixedly at Lin Ye, finally taking a deep breath. "Fine, I agree."

"Swear it by your martial path." Lin Ye said.

"Don't push your luck!"

"Swear it, or die." Lin Ye pressed the blade a fraction deeper.

Zhao Liang's face turned livid, but eventually, he bit his finger and swore by his blood: "I, Zhao Liang, swear here that from this day forward, I will never again actively provoke Lin Ye or Chen Feng. If I break this oath, may my martial path be destroyed, and may I suffer a miserable death!"

Only then did Lin Ye retract the blade.

"Get lost."

Zhao Liang glared fiercely at Lin Ye before turning to leave.

Zhou Bapi scrambled out after him, crawling and stumbling.

In the dark room, only Lin Ye and Chen Feng remained.

"He'll likely still look for trouble." Chen Feng said.

"I know." Lin Ye nodded. "But he won't for the time being. We need time."

"What do we do next?"

"Refine pills, cultivate, and break through." Lin Ye said. "Once we reach the True Qi Realm, Zhao Liang will no longer be a threat."

"But the Outer Sect Competition is only two months away." Chen Feng said. "Only the top fifty can enter the inner sect. Zhao Liang will definitely try to sabotage us during the competition."

"Then let him try." A cold glint flashed in Lin Ye's eyes. "I will defeat him fair and square during the competition and ensure he can never recover."

"Are you confident?"

"I am." Lin Ye looked out of the cave at the rising sun, its light filling the sky.