Cultivation Surges, Qi Refining Ninth Layer!

A system notification suddenly rang out.

Chen Changqing's mind jolted.

He hurriedly shut the courtyard gate and returned inside.

He had just been wondering when the idle cultivation with the triple speed boost would end.

He hadn't expected it to arrive the moment he thought of it.

"System, extract!"

Once inside, Chen Changqing sent the mental command directly.

Deep down, he began to yearn for the results.

I wonder what level my cultivation will reach after these few months of idle time?

Just as Chen Changqing was lost in thought, a prompt echoed in his mind:

[Ding!]

[Idle cultivation results successfully extracted!]

As the system notification faded, golden light began to spill out from the three Little Golden Men before him.

Immediately after, that golden light condensed like a river, surging into Chen Changqing's body all at once.

Previously, Chen Changqing's Sword Control Technique and Thunder Fist had already reached the stage of perfection.

The Little Golden Men that had been idling on those two techniques naturally shifted to idling on the Nine Turns Qi Refining Art.

In less than a moment, Chen Changqing felt waves of majestic essence energy explode within his body.

"Boom!"

His aura began to climb steadily, and the spiritual energy in his meridians surged like a rushing river, quickly gathering within his dantian.

Before long, the essence energy in Chen Changqing's dantian broke through eighteen thousand strands.

His cultivation level also rose accordingly to the sixth layer of Qi Refining.

But that was not the end; the three Little Golden Men were still continuously injecting essence energy into Chen Changqing's body.

Soon, the essence energy in his dantian broke through again, exceeding twenty-one thousand strands.

His cultivation instantly rose to the seventh layer of Qi Refining!

Yet it still didn't stop.

In the blink of an eye, he broke through to the eighth layer of Qi Refining, with twenty-four thousand strands of essence energy in his body.

At this moment, the three Little Golden Men were still emitting a constant stream of golden light.

Chen Changqing's aura was like a rainbow, and within his dantian, strands of essence energy were rapidly condensing.

For a moment, the quantity of essence energy broke through to twenty-seven thousand strands.

With this, Chen Changqing's cultivation level broke through directly to the ninth layer of Qi Refining!

Only then did the three Little Golden Men stop emitting golden light.

With this extraction of cultivation results, Chen Changqing's cultivation finally settled at the ninth layer of Qi Refining.

"My goodness..."

Chen Changqing felt the surging power within his body and couldn't help but gasp.

"This leveling speed is truly—it's off the charts!"

He was filled with excitement.

Although he hadn't reached Foundation Establishment in one step as he had hoped, being able to raise his cultivation from the fifth layer of Qi Refining directly to the ninth was already extraordinary.

One had to realize, this had only taken a few short months.

With such a cultivation speed, looking across the entire Mount Shu Sect, even the monstrous geniuses of the Inner Sect might not be able to achieve it.

"It's a good thing I had the triple speed idle efficiency."

"Otherwise, I'm afraid it would have taken a very long time to reach the ninth layer of Qi Refining."

Chen Changqing muttered to himself.

He felt that everything had worked out perfectly.

Now that his strength had reached the ninth layer of Qi Refining, the Outer Sect Grand Competition was set to begin shortly.

Thinking of the Outer Sect Grand Competition, Chen Changqing clenched his fists, his eyes burning with fighting spirit.

He was aiming for first place in this Outer Courtyard Grand Competition!

Although his cultivation was only at the ninth layer of Qi Refining, his true combat power far exceeded his realm.

After all, what he practiced was the Nine Turns Qi Refining Art.

A typical ninth-level Qi Refining cultivator only possessed nine thousand strands of essence energy within their dantian.

Yet for Chen Changqing, he had a full twenty-seven thousand strands.

"Refreshing!"

After a moment of thought, Chen Changqing felt comfortable all over.

"System, continue AFK cultivation!"

Time slipped away quietly.

In the blink of an eye, ten days passed.

A melodious bell chime resonated throughout the Seven Courtyards.

"Dong!"

The bell toll was vast, spreading across the entire Seven Courtyards. All the disciples of the Seven Courtyards looked up one after another, their eyes filled with excitement.

Everyone knew this was the summoning bell for the Seven Courtyards.

News had spread earlier that the elders of the Seven Courtyards would select the disciples to participate in the Outer Sect Grand Competition today.

Soon, figures began rushing toward the training grounds of the Seven Courtyards.

Upon hearing the bell, Chen Changqing walked straight out of his room and happened to run into Ran Hua.

"Senior Brother Chen!"

Ran Hua approached him excitedly.

"Hmm?"

After taking a quick look, Ran Hua's heart trembled, and he couldn't help but ask in surprise:

"Senior Brother, you didn't break through again, did you?"

Although he could not perceive Chen Changqing's specific cultivation level, Ran Hua could sense that Chen Changqing seemed even stronger than the last time they met.

Chen Changqing's lips curled up slightly as he smiled and said, "Just a lucky, minor breakthrough."

Hearing this, Ran Hua gave a bitter smile and muttered to himself:

"Another lucky breakthrough?"

"If only I could have such luck, how good would that be?"

Afterward, the two walked together toward the training grounds of the Seven Courtyards.

When they arrived, hundreds of disciples from the Seven Courtyards had already gathered in the center of the grounds, bustling and lively.

The appearance of Chen Changqing and Ran Hua did not attract much attention.

After all, they had always been "invisible" in the Seven Courtyards.

"So this is the training ground of the Seven Courtyards?"

"I wonder when I will be able to come here to cultivate?"

Ran Hua sighed quietly. Although he and Chen Changqing were disciples of the Seven Courtyards, they were responsible for guarding the mountain gate.

One worked the morning shift, the other the afternoon shift.

One was responsible for opening the gate, the other for closing it.

Those disciples who could come to the Seven Courtyards' training ground to focus on cultivation naturally possessed extraordinary aptitude.

Chen Changqing's expression remained indifferent, looking completely unconcerned.

While it was certainly nice to cultivate in the Seven Courtyards' training ground, he didn't take it to heart.

With the AFK Cultivation System, it made no difference to him where he cultivated.

Soon, several figures appeared.

Chen Changqing was no stranger to these people; he had previously gone with them to Green Creek Village to carry out a mission.

The arrival of these individuals immediately caused a stir.

"Look! It's Senior Brother Zhao and the others!"

"I heard they wiped out a group of demonic cultivators a few months ago."

"And Elder Liu Mu was leading the team!"

"It feels like Senior Brother Zhao and the others have improved their strength again!"

"They will definitely be among those in this Outer Sect Grand Competition."

"..."

The disciples of the Seven Courtyards were discussing it heatedly when, at that moment, a graceful figure in white drifted over, looking like a fairy descending to the mortal world.

The woman had snow-white skin and a cold expression, her perfect figure forming a sharp contrast with the chill on her face.

Who else could it be but Liu Ruyan of the Seven Courtyards?

With Liu Ruyan's appearance, she immediately drew the gaze of the entire crowd, and many male disciples revealed looks of admiration in their eyes.

"Senior Sister Liu is here!"

"She's at the half-step Foundation Establishment!"

"In this Outer Sect Grand Competition, Senior Sister Liu will surely shine brilliantly!"

"..."

Just as the crowd was marveling at Liu Ruyan's stunning presence, a sharp Sword Qi suddenly tore through the sky.

"Clang!"

Immediately following, a man was seen arriving on a flying sword.

"Boom!"

The powerful pressure of the Sword Qi instantly enveloped the entire arena, causing many disciples to turn pale and nearly lose their footing.