Reaching Level 40

Huo Shengsheng emerged from the shadows and walked up to Ning Rongrong. She scrutinized her for a long while. Reason told her that this was indeed Ning Rongrong—the same girl she'd threatened a few days ago. But her instincts told her that this person wasn't the same Ning Rongrong. Perhaps she'd stumbled upon some fortuitous encounter, or been possessed by someone. Whatever had happened, she was dangerous, and it was best not to get involved with her.

"Is there something you need?" Ning Rongrong asked, puzzled.

Hearing that, Huo Shengsheng became even more certain that the person before her wasn't the same one from a few days ago. If this were the old Ning Rongrong, unless she'd encountered some kind of lucky opportunity, she'd already be getting ready to make a run for it.

Of course, this was a minor matter to her.

She clapped her hands and said nonchalantly, "It's nothing much. Congratulations on becoming the Holy Spirit Cult's new Seventh Elder."

As she spoke, her eyes casually flicked to the side.

Ning Rongrong followed her gaze but saw nothing. Then she realized that the words had been meant for her, and grew even more confused. "I became the Seventh Elder? Is your Holy Spirit Cult really so casual about this?"

Lu Ma actually knew about this; it was written in the item description. He just didn't know what the Holy Spirit Cult's logic was, so he was asking to see how things worked in the game.

Huo Shengsheng nodded. "That's how our Holy Spirit Cult works. Members generally don't meet in their true identities, so they usually don't know who one another is. But the elders are among the more important people in the cult, so they have Elder Tokens to make confirming their identities easier. Under this system, since you have the Seventh Elder Token, you're the Seventh Elder."

Huo Shengsheng sighed, then continued. "I just didn't expect that in the few days since we last met, you'd gone from the person hiding in a wooden chest to an elder of the Holy Spirit Cult, with a higher position than mine. Oh, and by the way, I'm the person in charge of the Holy Spirit Cult. My job is to assist and supervise the Seventh Elder and the Eighth and Ninth Associate Elders. The Ninth Associate Elder is dead at your hands, and the Eighth Associate Elder has such an eccentric personality that he doesn't need a supervisor. In other words, all my work now revolves around you. I came here to see who the new Seventh Elder was, and I never expected it to be you."

Huo Shengsheng gave Ning Rongrong a meaningful look.

"The wooden chest... Forget it. I don't think there's any point discussing that." Lu Ma thought for a moment, then controlled Ning Rongrong to say, "So, can I ask you not to be my supervisor, like Yu Xiaogang did?"

Huo Shengsheng looked at Ning Rongrong in surprise. "Who's Yu Xiaogang? The Eighth Associate Elder?"

"Looks like you don't know who he is."

"Of course I don't. He doesn't have an Elder Token. The person in charge can sense the location of Elder Tokens, not the elders themselves." Huo Shengsheng replied as though it were obvious. "Now I'll tell you: since you have an Elder Token, you don't have the right to refuse."

"What if I give the Elder Token to someone else?"

Huo Shengsheng smiled. "That's certainly allowed. The choice is yours. But what if I told you the Elder Token could bring you quite a few benefits?"

"Oh?" Lu Ma immediately became interested. "Holy Spirit Pills and Holy Spirit Scrolls?"

"You know quite a bit. But that makes sense, considering you've dealt with two people of elder and associate elder rank. You guessed right: with an Elder Token, you can obtain those things. It's just that there might be a lot of paperwork, and you may need to raise your position. I don't know all the details either, so you'd best ask the other elders at the next meeting. Oh, right—the meeting. That's the main reason I came to find you. There'll be one in a week. Yes, that's it. I don't know much about the elders' meetings, but you don't need to worry about it. When the time comes, the Sect Master will teleport all of you there."

Huo Shengsheng thought for a moment. There was nothing else to discuss.

She saw that Ning Rongrong was still thinking, so she decided to stay and hear what she had to say.

"By the way, do you have any Holy Spirit Pills or Holy Spirit Scrolls?"

After thinking it over for a long time, Lu Ma finally asked.

In theory, the Seventh Elder and Ninth Elder both had Holy Spirit Pills and Holy Spirit Scrolls, so the Eighth Elder must have had some too.

But Yu Xiaogang was still Level 29. Either his talent was terrible, or he hadn't used the Holy Spirit Pill and Holy Spirit Scroll at all.

That left the question of where those things had gone.

Lu Ma had thought about it for a long time and figured the person in charge before him might know something.

Huo Shengsheng's expression first turned puzzled, then surprised, then hesitant. At last, she spoke. "I still have one set here. It was theoretically meant for the Eighth Elder. But the Eighth Elder doesn't need a supervisor, so I'm not obligated to give it to him."

She rummaged through her clothes and took out a pill and a scroll.

"If you want them, you can have them," she added.

Ning Rongrong could no longer hide the delight on her face.

She reached out, took the two items, and put them in her inventory. "Thanks. If there's nothing else, you can go back."

"Mm." Huo Shengsheng nodded and headed back.

Before long, she disappeared from Ning Rongrong's sight.

[Holy Spirit Pill: Stock 3]

[Holy Spirit Scroll (Fifth): Uses remaining before automatic destruction 3/3]

"That's quite a haul. I need to find somewhere to use these two items."

As Ning Rongrong spoke, her eyes were drawn to the inn before her.

Wasn't this inn the perfect place? And since her father and the others had just left, there had to be an empty room.

With that thought, she strode inside.

"Give me a room."

A while later, in a room at the inn.

Two newly acquired scrolls lay spread out before Ning Rongrong. One had already been opened: the scroll with only one use remaining.

Next, two currents of energy, one cold and one warm, surged into Ning Rongrong's body. Her Martial Soul appeared, and purple light began to glow from its lowest tier. Then the second tier lit up as well. But compared with the purple light from the bottom tier, the light from the second was negligible.

Level 34. Breakthrough!

Level 35. Breakthrough!

Level 36. Breakthrough!

Level 37. Breakthrough!

Level 38. Breakthrough!

Ning Rongrong could feel the scroll's power fading away. She didn't even need to sense it: the scroll itself had already turned to ash and vanished before her eyes.

But how could she force her level-up to stop now?

Thinking this, she reached out, took the other scroll, and opened it.

Two more currents of energy surged into her body. The purple light on the second tier of the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda continued to brighten until it matched the first. As expected, purple light then began to shine from the third tier.

Level 39. Breakthrough!

Level 40. Reached!

The instant she broke through to Level 40, the world changed.

Lightning flashed over Suotuo City.

The inn manager was startled. He stepped outside and looked up at the sky, muttering, "The weather sure changes fast. Is it going to rain already?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, a light drizzle began to fall over Suotuo City.