What a Huge Appetite!

"Good! You've got guts!"

Song Yongheng clapped his hands and laughed, his laughter echoing across the empty plaza.

He cast a meaningful glance at Jiang Tian, his eyes filled with a mix of amusement and disdain.

"Then ten days from now, at the Duel Platform, don't be a no-show!"

With that, he wrapped his arms around the two beauties and turned to walk toward the main hall.

The two women clung to his sides, one on the left and one on the right, while Song Yongheng's hands wandered casually over their waists.

Once Song Yongheng was far away, Jiang Tian turned to Mu Sining and asked, "Is that guy the descendant of some True Person? Why is he so arrogant?"

"Not exactly." Mu Sining shook her head, her expression calm. "His older brother is one of the ten Great Disciples of the Heavenly Fire Sect. Regardless... his background is very deep."

"What realm is a Great Disciple? Foundation Establishment?"

"Yes." Mu Sining nodded.

She paused, her face turning solemn, and the look she gave Jiang Tian held a hint of worry: "You were too rash. You won't be able to defeat him in ten days."

She held up one hand, fingers splayed, and counted as she spoke: "Gathering Qi into the body is the early stage of the Qi Gathering Realm; once the Qi in your body accumulates to a certain point and compresses into a liquid state, that is the middle stage; gathering True Qi into the body is the late stage; and forming a complete cycle so that the Qi in your body flows endlessly, that is the perfection stage."

"He has already gathered True Qi; he is in the late stage of the Qi Gathering Realm. You are only in the early stage. How do you expect to beat him in ten days?"

Jiang Tian said nothing, his gaze exceptionally firm.

Behind him, Yuan Manzhi gripped his hand even tighter.

Mu Sining's gaze drifted slightly downward, landing on their hands, which were tightly clasped together without them realizing it.

She watched for a moment, the corner of her mouth twitching slightly in an expression that was hard to define—perhaps self-mockery, or perhaps helplessness.

"As an outsider, there's no point in me saying more."

She turned around and began to walk away, her voice drifting back faintly: "Let's go. I'll take you to collect your clothes and choose a place to stay."

Only after she spoke did Jiang Tian realize that he and Yuan Manzhi were still holding hands tightly.

He subconsciously wanted to let go, but Yuan Manzhi had already pulled her hand back as if she had been electrocuted, moving with lightning speed.

Before long, they had collected their clothes.

In the process, Jiang Tian also gained a rough understanding of the structure of the Heavenly Fire Sect's inner sect.

The inner sect is primarily composed of three core pillars: the Law Enforcement Hall, the Mission Hall, and the Technique Hall.

The Law Enforcement Hall, as the name suggests, is responsible for maintaining the order and rules of the Heavenly Fire Sect; they answer to no one and care for no one's status.

The Mission Hall issues various tasks, some within the sect, such as tending to herb gardens or assisting in alchemy, and others outside the sect, such as hunting down traitors or exploring ruins.

Completing missions earns corresponding contribution points.

The Technique Hall has immortals of the Foundation Establishment realm lecturing on various techniques or answering questions about cultivation every day.

Beyond these, there is the Library Pavilion, the Artifact Pavilion, the Alchemy Pavilion, herb gardens, the Duel Platform, and more.

Everyone above the Foundation Establishment realm has their own cave dwelling, and if they find someone suitable, they can go and seek them out as a master.

However, based on what Mu Sining implied, the Heavenly Fire Sect is roughly divided into two factions.

The first is the "Descendants of the Six Monarchs."

These are the descendants of the six True Monarchs in the history of the Heavenly Fire Sect, representing aristocratic lineages that value bloodline and family background.

The second is the "Master-Disciple Lineage," which emphasizes mentorship and comprehension, valuing fate and aptitude.

These two factions have been locked in a struggle within the Heavenly Fire Sect for thousands of years, bickering since the generation of the founders, and they still haven't stopped.

Of the ten Great Disciples who represent the peak combat power of the younger generation of the Heavenly Fire Sect, six are Descendants of the Six Monarchs, and only four come from the Master-Disciple Lineage.

And that Song Yongheng is one of the Descendants of the Six Monarchs.

Jiang Tian committed all this information to memory.

Soon, Mu Sining helped Jiang Tian pick out a place to stay.

It cost five hundred and fifty contribution points a month, slightly more expensive than other accommodations.

But there was a reason for the price; this Wooden Pavilion was located at the foot of a mountain, very quiet, with a small stream nearby. The water was clear enough to see the pebbles and small fish swimming at the bottom.

It wasn't far from the core area of the inner sect, only a short walk away.

The two-story Wooden Pavilion was small, but enough for two people to live in.

In addition, Mu Sining recommended several highly skilled Foundation Establishment immortals for Jiang Tian to approach as potential masters.

The ones she recommended were all Foundation Establishment immortals from the Master-Disciple Lineage.

If Jiang Tian guessed correctly, Mu Sining herself must belong to the Master-Disciple Lineage.

He didn't ask, and there was no need to.

Before leaving, Mu Sining looked at Jiang Tian and said meaningfully: "If you feel you cannot handle the duel in ten days, you can come to Tianyuan Peak to find me."

"Understood." Jiang Tian nodded.

He understood what Mu Sining meant.

This was also an olive branch she had extended.

If you can't find the book title, try searching for the author; perhaps the name was just changed!

After Mu Sining left, the two-story building fell into an instant silence.

It was so quiet that they could hear each other's breathing.

Jiang Tian silently tidied up the room.

In truth, the room wasn't dirty; the tables, chairs, and bed had already been wiped down, and the floor had been swept.

"Jiang Tian."

Yuan Manzhi suddenly spoke. Her voice was very low, like the buzzing of a mosquito; if the room hadn't been so quiet, it would have been almost impossible to hear.

"That Daoist Qingchen said that if I cannot reach the Qi Gathering Realm within three months, I will be expelled."

She paused, her voice dropping even lower.

"I want to stay in the Heavenly Fire Sect."

The movement of Jiang Tian's hands came to an abrupt halt.

His mind was in a state of panic.

"I'm going out for a walk."

He dropped these words and left the Wooden Pavilion as if fleeing.

Yuan Manzhi stood by the window, watching Jiang Tian's somewhat flustered back as he walked further and further away. Her peach-blossom eyes shimmered with moisture.

Then, she let out a soft "pfft" and laughed.

It sounded like silver bells.

Jiang Tian left the wooden house and wandered around the crowded areas of the sect like a vagrant.

He wasn't curious, nor did he have the heart to be.

He wanted to gather enough points to upgrade his red-tier trait to a gold-tier trait as quickly as possible.

Ten days. He only had ten days.

The disciples of the Heavenly Fire Sect did not disappoint him.

He wove through the crowd, calmly scanning every face, occasionally stopping, occasionally quickening his pace.

He spotted several red-tier traits, and every time he saw one, he silently chanted "Extract" in his heart.

His points rose bit by bit.

He was less than ten thousand away from reaching one hundred thousand.

But he had almost finished circling the crowded areas and hadn't found any new red-tier traits. There were plenty of purple-tier traits, but a purple one was only worth one thousand points—the gap between it and a red one was far too large.

After some thought, he lifted his feet and headed toward the Library Pavilion.

The Library Pavilion had nine floors, a dusty, gray structure standing deep within the inner sect.

The long-eyebrowed old man sitting behind the desk at the entrance reminded him that disciples in the Qi Gathering Realm could only select techniques and cultivation manuals from the first six floors.

Jiang Tian nodded in acknowledgment and stepped inside.

He wandered floor by floor, flipping through book after book.

The prices for Qi Gathering Methods weren't expensive; one could buy a manual for a few hundred to a little over a thousand contribution points.

To his delight, he found Qi Gathering Methods for the other four elements.

Everlasting Wood Qi Gathering Method, Sun Heaven-Burning Qi Gathering Method, Lunar Profound Heaven Qi Gathering Method, Primordial Earth-Bearing Qi Gathering Method.

What puzzled him, however, was that all four of these manuals were covered in a thick layer of dust, as if no one had touched them in a very long time.

In addition to the Qi Gathering Methods, he also picked up a few technique manuals.

The one he looked forward to the most was the Nine Heavens Sword Control Manual.

Sword techniques.

Soon, Jiang Tian carried the stack of books to the old man on the first floor.

"Elder, I would like to exchange for these Qi Gathering Methods and techniques."

The long-eyebrowed old man was drinking from a wine flask, his face full of enjoyment.

When his gaze landed on the stack of books in Jiang Tian's arms:

"Pfft—"

A mouthful of wine sprayed out of his mouth, flying quite a distance.

If Jiang Tian hadn't dodged quickly, that mixture of saliva and wine would have landed right on his face.

The old man's eyes widened, his long eyebrows twitching.

"What a massive appetite!"

He looked Jiang Tian up and down, as if he were looking at a naive youth who didn't know the immensity of heaven and earth.

"Are all the newly initiated disciples this ignorant and reckless nowadays?"

(Please request updates; I modified Chapter 37. It felt too unreasonable and illogical for such a large sect to only have two types of Qi Gathering Methods, so I just changed it.)

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(Five thousand words delivered!)