Some time later, Su Yun successfully obtained a Mystic-Breaking Pill from City Lord Lin.
Afterward, he rose to take his leave.
Watching Su Yun's departing figure, City Lord Lin sighed with emotion. "This young hero Su truly has boundless potential. He actually killed that scoundrel while still in the Body Refining Realm."
"My daughter really does have a keen eye for talent!"
"All these years, my position has risen higher and higher, but my judgment has only gotten worse."
At that, City Lord Lin felt a little uneasy.
If he had treated Su Yun any worse back then, upsetting him and causing him to abandon the mission, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
"Father, think about it carefully and you'll understand. A young hero like Su, who dared to take on this mission himself, could hardly be an ordinary person, could he?"
Watching Su Yun's figure gradually shrink into the distance, Miss Lin couldn't help but exclaim.
Although she couldn't cultivate and had no cultivation base, she naturally understood matters related to cultivation realms.
Killing someone in the Mystic Profound Realm while at the Body Refining Realm was naturally extremely difficult!
Even though she had already realized that Su Yun was no ordinary person, she hadn't expected him to be so powerful.
"Haha! Your father was the one who misjudged him."
City Lord Lin chuckled, in a fairly good mood.
After all, the greatest threat to Lin Mansion had been eliminated, so he was naturally pleased.
Some time later, news that a Lin Mansion martial artist had killed the Flower-Plucking Sword Lord spread.
The entire city was instantly in an uproar.
"What? The Flower-Plucking Sword Lord is dead? Is it true?"
"Wonderful! He deserved to die!"
"Alas, it's a pity my elder brother's daughter didn't get to hear this good news."
"I hope she can rest in peace beneath the Yellow Springs."
The city's taverns were packed with people, their cries of surprise and cheers rising one after another.
Everywhere, people were discussing what had happened.
Afterward, City Lord Lin ordered someone to deliver the Flower-Plucking Sword Lord's corpse to the authorities.
As for the government's reward, Su Yun hadn't taken it for himself.
He had City Lord Lin send the money to Su Estate.
After all, the government's reward amounted to only a few tens of thousands of taels in banknotes, and banknotes were no longer of much use to him.
He might as well send them home to keep Su Estate's finances running.
At dusk, the rosy clouds stretched across the sky. Birds chirped at the horizon, and a cool breeze blew.
By then, Su Yun had successfully returned to the Mystic Blade Sect.
He headed to the Mission Pavilion to turn in his mission.
"Hmm?"
Before long, he spotted Song Que on the square outside the Mission Pavilion, chatting and laughing with a female disciple.
When Song Que saw Su Yun, he smiled and walked over.
He looked Su Yun up and down. Seeing that he was completely unharmed, Song Que asked in surprise, "Junior Brother Su Yun, could it be that you've already completed the mission?"
"I have."
Su Yun nodded.
Hearing this, Song Que couldn't help exclaiming, "Junior Brother Su Yun, your strength may have already surpassed mine completely!"
"I'm still far behind you, Senior Brother."
Su Yun smiled as he replied.
The two chatted as they walked, soon entering the Mission Pavilion and arriving at the registration desk.
After hearing Su Yun's account, the registration elder checked to confirm it.
The Mystic Blade Sect's informants were spread across a radius of several thousand miles. Whether a disciple had completed a mission could be verified with a simple inquiry.
A moment later, the elder looked at Su Yun in surprise.
"Su Yun, you're impressive. You actually killed the Flower-Plucking Sword Lord while still in the Body Refining Realm."
"I've already added the mission reward of ten thousand Contribution Points to your Disciple Token."
The registration elder stroked his white beard and handed Su Yun his Disciple Token.
Then he studied Su Yun's face and sighed, "I estimate that even if you aren't the number one disciple in the Outer Sect, you'll certainly have a place among its top three."
"You flatter me, Elder."
Su Yun accepted the Disciple Token and smiled.
After chatting for a while, he and Song Que left the Mission Pavilion.
On the way, Su Yun asked, "Senior Brother Song, do you know where I can get the pill formulas for Body Tempering Pills and Jade Marrow Pills?"
He hadn't forgotten that there was a well-fed, well-housed alchemist back at Su Estate.
From time to time, Su Ling had sent him letters. In them, she said she had mastered all the alchemy knowledge perfectly and was ready to start refining pills at any time.
So naturally, he wanted to get some formulas and have Su Ling begin refining pills.
"Junior Brother, you want pill formulas?"
Song Que looked surprised, then frowned and gave a wry smile. "Junior Brother, pill formulas are quite precious. Even though I'm an Inner Sect disciple, I'm not qualified to access them."
After all, he had no powerful backer or influential background. He was a disciple who had risen from humble beginnings.
Pill formulas were among the foundations of the various great powers, so he naturally couldn't get his hands on them.
"However, I've thought of someone who might be able to help you get the formulas."
A figure suddenly flashed through Song Que's mind. After considering it, he spoke up.
"Who?"
Su Yun was curious.
"Senior Sister Chen!"
Song Que smiled as he explained, "Don't underestimate Senior Sister Chen. Her background is quite astonishing."
"If she's willing to help, I can't say for sure whether she'll get you the Jade Marrow Pill formula."
"But she can definitely get you the Body Tempering Pill formula."
"Senior Sister Chen?"
Su Yun's thoughts stirred, and he decided to give it a try.
Of course, he and Senior Sister Chen were barely more than acquaintances. They had no real relationship.
So he wasn't very confident.
"Junior Brother, I'll talk to Senior Sister Chen about this. But I can't guarantee whether it'll work."
Song Que's expression turned serious as he spoke honestly.
"Thank you, Senior Brother Song."
Su Yun cupped his hands in gratitude.
After chatting for a while, the two parted ways.
After returning to his courtyard, Su Yun spent some time sorting through the Flower-Plucking Sword Lord's spoils.
The two cultivation manuals he had obtained were only Human Grade High Tier and weren't worth much.
However, there were quite a lot of banknotes—one hundred thousand taels in all.
After giving it some thought, he submitted the two manuals to the sect in exchange for ten thousand Contribution Points.
Then he returned to his courtyard and began refining Body Tempering Pills, continuing his cultivation.
The night passed without incident.
Early the next morning, a voice rang out in Su Yun's mind.
"After diligently practicing the Breathing Technique throughout the night, a flash of inspiration struck, greatly increasing cultivation progress. Current cultivation progress (66%)."
"Very good. The efficiency is decent."
"It looks like it won't be long before I break through to the Body Refining Ninth Layer."
Su Yun was fairly satisfied with this cultivation speed.
Afterward, he set off for the Seven-Story Purple Pavilion to listen to Senior Sister Chen's lecture.
Some time later, he arrived, sat cross-legged, and listened attentively.
"After carefully listening to the lecture, the Breathing Technique gained deep insights and began cycling faster, increasing cultivation efficiency!"
Sure enough, after listening for only a little while, the Breathing Technique had already gained something.
Specks of spiritual energy continuously poured into Su Yun's meridians.
His cultivation began to improve steadily.
At one point, a voice rang out in his mind.
"The Breathing Technique continued to deepen its understanding, becoming completely absorbed and entering a state of spiritual clarity. Breathing efficiency increased fivefold for one hour!"
Su Yun found that he was absorbing spiritual energy faster and faster.
The twelve meridians in his body were like twelve roaring ancient beasts, wildly devouring the spiritual energy around him.
"Hmm?"
At the center of the hall, Senior Sister Chen, who was giving the lecture, looked at Su Yun in surprise.
"What a powerful surge of spiritual energy!"
She sensed a powerful force of attraction coming from Su Yun, continuously devouring the spiritual energy around him!
"Could he have entered a state of Enlightenment?"
At that moment, the thought came to her mind.
Thinking back to what Song Que had told her the day before, Senior Sister Chen grew even more curious as she looked at Su Yun.
"To kill the Flower-Plucking Sword Lord in the Mystic Profound Realm while still in the Body Refining Realm proves his extraordinary potential."
"Now, after listening to a single lecture, he's entered a state of Enlightenment."
"This Junior Brother Su Yun really is as monstrous as Junior Brother Song said!"
Senior Sister Chen marveled inwardly.
A thought crossed her mind, and she decided to give Su Yun a hand.
After that, she explained the material in a deliberate progression, from the simplest concepts to the deeper ones, and the content was clearly much more profound than before.
But this made things difficult for the other disciples!
Sitting cross-legged, they scratched their heads one by one, utterly confused and unable to make head or tail of it.
The Breathing Technique, however, was delighted.
"After hearing profound explanations, the Breathing Technique had an explosion of inspiration, greatly boosting cultivation efficiency. Current cultivation progress (75%)."
The Breathing Technique's improvement caused Su Yun's spiritual energy absorption efficiency to surge once more!
Gradually, the amount of spiritual energy absorbed by his meridians showed signs of nearing saturation.
Then, at one moment, a voice rang out.
"The Breathing Technique cultivated at full speed, pressing onward in one burst and raising cultivation progress to one hundred percent. Successfully broke through to the Body Refining Ninth Layer!"
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