True Adept Xiong knew perfectly well that everything the other party said was true, every last thing was a secret buried deep in his heart. As those secrets were exposed one by one, he truly could not bear it anymore. His state of mind was collapsing step by step.
He was not worried about his identity. That had been reported to the sect. What worried him was that he had secretly studied Ninety-Nine Questions on Artifact Refining!
Ninety-Nine Questions on Artifact Refining was a tome that only Artifact Refining Path cultivators at the Nascent Soul Stage could access. Though it was called Ninety-Nine Questions, it actually contained far more than ninety-nine questions.
More importantly, as a unique Artifact Refining Path tome meant to broaden one's thinking, only true disciples of the sect were permitted to read it.
True Adept Xiong's master knew that his talent was limited and that he would likely never become a true disciple in this life. Trusting his character, his master had privately allowed him to read the tome after making him swear an oath. The purpose had been to broaden his horizons, so that his journey through the Artifact Refining Path would not have been in vain.
How should one put such a thing...? Strictly speaking, it could be pursued—or overlooked.
The book Ninety-Nine Questions on Artifact Refining could indeed only be read by true disciples. However, the essence of the tome was mainly to provide a way of thinking that expanded one's horizons. It contained the reflections of many Artifact Refining Path predecessors on the road ahead. It was certainly extremely precious, but it did not contain any secret techniques.
He was not the only one in the Artifact Refining Path who had secretly read it to broaden his knowledge.
But if an outsider