Nine Hundred and Ninety-Nine Strands of Blood Qi!

At the Martial Arts Arena, the crowd grew larger and larger after the list of the "Top Ten Outer Sect Disciples" was posted.

Many people noticed that the name "Lu Tianqing" had disappeared.

That "freak" who had long dominated the position of "Number One Outer Sect Disciple" was gone.

There were two reasons for a name to disappear.

One was death.

If a person died, everything became void.

The second was... promotion to the Inner Sect!

Once promoted to the Inner Sect and becoming an Inner Sect disciple, one naturally no longer participated in the rankings of the Top Ten Outer Sect Disciples.

"I just heard some news; Senior Brother Lu Tianqing has been promoted to the Inner Sect..."

Suddenly, someone spoke up.

"Promoted to the Inner Sect? No wonder Lu Tianqing's name isn't on the Top Ten Outer Sect Disciples list."

"If you count the time, Lu Tianqing is almost sixteen. If he didn't want to become an overage disciple, he had to promote to the Inner Sect before turning sixteen. That makes sense."

"Looking at it this way, Zhang Su has 'lazily' reached the top to become the number one Outer Sect disciple..."

"Zhang Su's strength is indeed very strong; even Bai Junze is no match for him. However, Lu Tianqing is different. If Lu Tianqing hadn't chosen to promote to the Inner Sect, I'm afraid Zhang Su would never have been able to reach the top spot!"

Many Outer Sect disciples were buzzing with discussion.

Zhang Su's rise had been short and aggressive.

But in the hearts of these Outer Sect disciples, Lu Tianqing was the true number one!

As for the great battle between Zhang Su and Lu Tianqing, because it was a private sparring session, no one knew about it except for a few people from Jinyu Peak.

Regardless, Zhang Su reaching the top spot was big news, and it soon spread throughout the entire Guiyuan Sect.

For a time, Zhang Su's reputation soared!

After all, the influence of being one of the Top Ten Outer Sect Disciples versus being the number one Outer Sect disciple was worlds apart.

Qingquan Prefecture, Gu Family.

Gu Ying felt that things had been a bit strange lately.

The Gu Family's business had suddenly taken a turn for the better.

Those business partners were all increasing their cooperation with the Gu Family.

Some even intentionally or unintentionally offered concessions to the Gu Family.

When Gu Ying went to negotiate business, it went very smoothly, and she encountered almost no obstacles.

This left Gu Ying somewhat bewildered.

Since when was doing business this easy?

"Miss, the head of the Zhen Family is here to visit."

At this moment, a servant came to report.

"The head of the Zhen Family?"

Gu Ying was a bit surprised.

Not long ago, the Zhen Family of Baifeng Prefecture was still strangling the Gu Family's business.

If it hadn't been for Zhang Su becoming one of the Top Ten Outer Sect Disciples of the Guiyuan Sect, the Gu Family's business in Baifeng Prefecture would likely have been completely ruined.

Why would the head of the Zhen Family come all the way to Qingquan Prefecture to visit now?

"Invite the head of the Zhen Family in."

"Yes, Miss."

Gu Ying went to the living room.

Soon, the head of the Zhen Family arrived as well.

The head of the Zhen Family was a middle-aged man dressed in a green robe. Upon arriving in the living room, he smiled and said, "Greetings, Miss Gu. I have come this time on behalf of the Zhen Family to offer my apologies to you."

"This is the sincerity of the Zhen Family!"

The head of the Zhen Family waved his hand, and immediately, a servant from the Zhen Family handed over a list.

Gu Ying looked at it carefully, and her expression gradually began to change.

This list was actually a cooperation agreement between the Zhen Family and the Gu Family.

The list was very long; if the Gu Family agreed, their business in Baifeng Prefecture would be smooth and unobstructed from then on.

However, Gu Ying was not overly happy; instead, she frowned and asked, "Family Head Zhen, what is the meaning of this?"

Gu Ying knew that the last time the Gu Family resolved their crisis, it was because Zhang Su had reached the rank of one of the Top Ten Outer Sect Disciples of the Guiyuan Sect.

But while being one of the Top Ten Outer Sect Disciples of the Guiyuan Sect might make the Zhen Family cautious, it could never make them so humble as to come to the Gu Family in person to seek a resolution to their conflict.

The head of the Zhen Family froze for a moment, then asked in surprise, "Miss Gu, you don't know the news from the Guiyuan Sect?"

"What news could the Guiyuan Sect possibly have?"

Gu Ying now realized that there must be some new development regarding the Guiyuan Sect.

However, ever since the Gu Family had fallen into decline, they had little intelligence-gathering capability left.

The head of the Zhen Family wore a look of envy as he spoke, "Word has come from the Guiyuan Sect that Young Master Zhang Su, whom the Gu Family has been sponsoring, has ascended to the number one spot among the top ten disciples of the Outer Sect! It has truly caused a sensation throughout the Guiyuan Sect..."

"What, Young Master Zhang is already number one in the Outer Sect?"

Gu Ying's eyes widened.

Number one in the Guiyuan Sect Outer Sect!

Gu Ying naturally understood how much influence that carried.

That meant suppressing the tens of thousands of disciples in the Guiyuan Sect Outer Sect.

What kind of glory was that?

The head of the Zhen Family fell silent.

He had investigated the situation regarding the Gu Family's sponsorship of Zhang Su in detail.

Gu Ying had indeed shown great foresight back then.

But how long had Gu Ying been sponsoring Zhang Su?

She hadn't spent much silver, yet Zhang Su had suddenly "exploded" in talent.

He had defeated Luo Feng and Bai Junze along the way.

And now, he had reached the pinnacle as the number one disciple of the Guiyuan Sect Outer Sect!

He was truly envious.

The Gu Family hadn't done anything, yet they had "won while lying down."

Gu Ying quickly snapped back to reality.

"Someone, go! Send five thousand taels of silver to Young Master Zhang Su as a congratulatory gift."

"Yes, Miss."

Gu Ying breathed a sigh of relief.

She had to hold onto "Zhang Su" tightly; this was the greatest opportunity for her, and for the entire Gu Family!

In the living room of the First Branch of the Su Family.

Uncle Guan hurried into the front hall, tears streaming down his face, his voice trembling as he said, "Eldest Young Master, Young Mistress, the Second Young Master... he has reached the top as the number one disciple of the Guiyuan Sect Outer Sect!"

"What?"

Zhang Chen and Su Zhenzhen's eyes widened instantly.

"The news sent back from the Guiyuan Sect is absolutely certain..."

Uncle Guan took out the carrier pigeon message and handed it to Zhang Chen.

Zhang Chen and Su Zhenzhen looked at it carefully.

Sure enough, it recorded in detail that Zhang Su had ascended to the number one spot in the Guiyuan Sect Outer Sect!

"Number one in the Outer Sect... Hahaha, my second brother is number one in the Outer Sect!"

Zhang Chen burst into laughter.

There were tens of thousands of disciples in the Guiyuan Sect Outer Sect.

Every single one of them could be considered a martial arts genius.

At the very least, they were one in a hundred.

But now?

Zhang Su had suppressed every single disciple in the Guiyuan Sect Outer Sect.

What kind of honor was this?

Su Zhenzhen was also very happy, smiling as she said, "Second Brother is truly extraordinary. In the vast Qingquan Prefecture, Second Brother is the first martial artist to ever reach the number one spot in the Guiyuan Sect Outer Sect!"

"Husband, with Second Brother's martial arts talent being so outstanding and having achieved such illustrious fame, who would dare touch the Su Family's goods now? Your business will be much easier to manage."

Zhang Chen nodded, "That's true. Even before Second Brother reached the top spot, just being one of the top ten disciples of the Guiyuan Sect Outer Sect was enough to ensure no one dared to touch our goods."

"Even the Wei Family has restrained themselves significantly; they now keep to their own side and don't interfere with the Su Family."

Zhang Chen paused, then said to Uncle Guan, "Uncle Guan, please make another trip to the Guiyuan Sect. Send ten thousand taels of silver to Second Brother. Tell him not to worry about money, to focus entirely on his martial arts, and that his training is the priority!"

"Yes, Eldest Young Master."

Uncle Guan immediately turned and left.

Guiyuan Sect, Jinyu Peak.

The influence of Zhang Su ascending to the top of the Outer Sect was still spreading.

Yet, Zhang Su remained extremely calm.

Because the focus of his attention had never been on empty titles like being the number one in the Outer Sect.

What he cared about was his own cultivation!

"Nine hundred and ninety-nine strands of blood energy... I have truly reached the limit!"

Zhang Su muttered in a low voice.

In fact, he had already condensed nine hundred and ninety-nine strands of blood energy yesterday.

He had spent another full day attempting to cultivate.

However, no matter how he cultivated, his blood energy could not increase by even a single strand.

Zhang Su understood that going from nine hundred and ninety-nine strands of blood energy to one thousand might seem like just adding one more, but it was actually breaking the human limit for the second time!

A second limit-break was exponentially more difficult.

Even for someone with transcendent talent like Lu Tianqing, it was incredibly arduous.

In the end, even Lu Tianqing had failed to achieve a second limit-break.

"To achieve a second limit-break and condense one thousand strands of blood energy, I must master another peerless divine art, and it must be brought to perfection..."

Zhang Su muttered to himself.

The difficulty was simply too great.

Even Lu Tianqing had not been able to do it.

At most, Lu Tianqing had only managed to cultivate a second peerless divine art to the great completion stage.

It might seem like a small difference, but in reality, it was worlds apart!

But Zhang Su was different.

Wasn't it just a second peerless divine art?

Simple!

He had now saved up ten points of Compatibility Value.

Was there anything to fear about failing to master a second peerless divine art?

With that, Zhang Su no longer hesitated; he immediately rose to his feet, left Jinyu Peak, and headed straight for the Scripture Pavilion!