East Dawn Peak

East Dawn Peak treated newly inducted outer disciples quite well. During these ten years, every disciple could claim cultivation resources according to their cultivation level. Qi Refining Layer 1 disciples could receive one hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones each month, and for every additional layer of cultivation, the number of Spirit Stones they received increased by one hundred.

Qin Huaian was now at Qi Refining Sixth Layer and could receive 600 Low-Grade Spirit Stones each month. Back when the original owner had been in Cloudfield Market, he had to toil bitterly for a few dozen Spirit Stones a month, while sect disciples were simply given them—and these were only outer disciples.

Outer disciples during their ten years at East Dawn were not required to undertake sect missions. In other words, if they had no great ambitions during those ten years, they could cultivate entirely on welfare resources alone.

Once those ten years were over and they became ordinary outer disciples, their monthly cultivation resources would be cut in half, and they would also have to complete a stipulated number of sect missions.

Did you think completing sect missions meant you could remain in the Yellow Mountain Sword Sect forever?

No! The "Disciple Guide" clearly stated that outer disciples had to reach Qi Refining Fourth Layer before the age of thirty, Qi Refining Fifth Layer before thirty-five, Qi Refining Sixth Layer before forty, and Seventh Qi Refining Layer before fifty.

If they failed to reach the corresponding cultivation level, they had to leave. Only by reaching the Late Qi Refinement Realm before fifty could they remain in the Yellow Mountain Sword Sect for good.

Without the Seed Space, following the original owner's cultivation path, he had begun cultivating at fifteen and only broke through to Qi Refining Second Layer after six years. He likely would not have broken through to Qi Refining Third Layer until nearly thirty. Subsequent breakthroughs would only grow harder and harder, so he definitely would not have reached Qi Refining Fourth Layer before thirty.

Fortunately, he had arrived with a cheat. Otherwise, how could he have broken through to Qi Refining Sixth Layer in less than a year as he had now? For an ordinary cultivator, staying behind truly was not easy, Qin Huaian thought to himself.

Another benefit was listed separately: outer disciples during their ten years at East Dawn had two opportunities each year to enter the sect's Trial Tower.

It did not explain what the Trial Tower was, and Qin Huaian had never heard of it before.

For East Dawn Peak's outer disciples, the most important matter was the East Dawn Peak Grand Competition.

During those ten years at East Dawn Peak, three outer disciple competitions would be held—in the fourth, seventh, and tenth years respectively.

The disciples who ranked near the top in each competition would be admitted into the inner sect!

Only after entering the inner sect could one be considered a core disciple of the Yellow Mountain Sword Sect. Although outer disciples like them received considerable cultivation resources, the gap between them and inner disciples was still enormous.

Of course, anyone who successfully achieved Foundation Establishment during those ten years would also become an inner disciple directly.

So lying flat was impossible. Every disciple who entered the Yellow Mountain Sword Sect carried a heart that yearned to enter the inner sect.

Otherwise, they might as well remain in the mortal world, become an "immortal master" revered by all, and enjoy the world's riches and splendor.

Qin Huaian did not dwell on it further. He entered the cultivation chamber, swallowed a Qi Recovery Pill, and began cultivating.

The spiritual energy in the Yellow Mountain Sword Sect was denser than it had been in Cloudfield Market. Running the Azure Splendor Art in the same way, Qin Huaian felt that he absorbed spiritual energy about twenty percent faster. Though it was only twenty percent, over time, the effect would be quite pronounced.

Qin Huaian opened the Data Panel:

Cultivation: Qi Refining (Sixth Layer 29/100)

Cultivation Art: Azure Splendor Art (Perfected)

Fireball Technique (Perfected)

Spirit Eye Technique (Major Mastery, can be optimized)

Skystride Hundred Transformations (Major Mastery, can be optimized)

Skill: First-Rank Alchemist (Qi Recovery Pill: Minor Mastery 12/100, can be deduced)

"It went up another 6 points!" Aside from the recruitment and entering the sect over the past few days, Qin Huaian had spent all his remaining free time cultivating.

Although the Qi Recovery Pill's effects had weakened, he still took pills while cultivating. He used one Qi Recovery Pill roughly every two hours, and now had fewer than twenty-six bottles left.

Time slipped away unnoticed in cultivation. In the blink of an eye, it was already Qin Huaian's third day at the Yellow Mountain Sword Sect.

That morning, while the sky was still dim, Qin Huaian left his cave abode and prepared to head for East Dawn Plaza.

The moment he stepped outside, he saw a pretty young woman emerge from the courtyard next door. She looked about seventeen or eighteen and was at Qi Refining Fifth Layer.

She was not tall and wore a pale blue long dress. A white silk ribbon cinched her slender waist, her brows like kingfisher feathers and her skin like white snow. She was delicately beautiful and unworldly at a glance. Clearly, she was a young lady from a prominent family.

The young woman saw Qin Huaian as well, and her eyes immediately lit up. This senior brother was so handsome, and his gaze was so deep!

She hurried forward with light, graceful movements and reached Qin Huaian in a few steps. Smiling faintly, she said, "Hello, Senior Brother. Do you live next door? Then we'll be neighbors from now on."

"I'm from the Jin Kingdom, and my name is Lin Qingxuan. Senior Brother can call me Qingxuan or Xuanxuan. What about you?"

Qin Huaian was slightly taken aback. Were women in the Cultivation World all this familiar with strangers? "Hello, Junior Sister Lin. My name is Qin Huaian, and I'm from Cloudfield Market."

"Ah, Senior Brother Qin used to be in Cloudfield Market? That's right next to our Jin Kingdom, so it's not far at all."

"Mm, Junior Sister Lin, let's go. We need to reach East Dawn Plaza before the sun rises." Qin Huaian did not continue chatting with Lin Qingxuan and headed toward East Dawn Plaza.

"Senior Brother Qin, let's go together~" Lin Qingxuan hurried a few steps and caught up with Qin Huaian.

By the time they arrived at East Dawn Plaza, a faint blush had already spread across the eastern horizon. The square was packed with bustling crowds.

When a red sun slowly peeked out from the sea of clouds, several figures flew in from the horizon and landed on the raised platform at the front of the square. There were three men and one woman, with He Zhiping standing beside an elderly man.

Seeing them fly over, the people in the square gradually fell silent.

At that moment, He Zhiping called out loudly, "Hello, Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters. Let me introduce our East Dawn Peak to everyone."

"I believe you have all read the East Dawn Peak Disciple Guide and have gained a certain understanding of our Yellow Mountain Sword Sect and East Dawn Peak."

"That's right. East Dawn Peak is where our Yellow Mountain Sword Sect specifically cultivates newly inducted disciples. The sect has poured vast resources into all of you, and we hope you will cherish this opportunity, cultivate diligently, and repay the sect."

"This person beside me is our East Dawn Peak's Peak Master Han." He Zhiping introduced the white-haired elder beside him.

He then introduced the other two: a middle-aged man and an exquisitely beautiful young married woman who looked to be in her early thirties. "These two are Elder Meng and Elder Mo of East Dawn Peak."

"Enough, Zhiping. Stop rambling so much. Senior Brother, you say a few words first." The middle-aged man beside him had a rough voice as he spoke to the white-haired elder.

He Zhiping smiled awkwardly and cupped his hands toward the elder as well. "Master, please say a few words to the newly inducted disciples."

Peak Master Han wore a gentle expression. Smiling as he stroked his beard, he stepped forward and said, "Welcome, everyone, to East Dawn Peak."

His voice was not loud, yet every person heard it with perfect clarity.

"The fact that you have come to East Dawn Peak means that you all possess middle- or low-grade spiritual roots."

"Do not become lax because your spiritual root aptitude is lacking. Spiritual root aptitude is not the deciding factor in cultivation. Comprehension, perseverance, and temperament are also important factors that determine your path of cultivation."

"Among you are people with merely low-grade spiritual roots who reached Eighth Qi Refining Layer before thirty. They are not inferior in the slightest even when compared to cultivators with high-grade spiritual roots."

"I will tell you only one thing: half of the Golden Core cultivators in our Yellow Mountain Sword Sect possess middle- or low-grade spiritual roots."

"Everyone, as long as you have spiritual roots and can cultivate, you have already obtained a ticket of admission to the path of cultivation. The human body is the most mysterious treasure trove; it depends on how much you can excavate from it. All right, that is all I have to say."

At once, the crowd in the square stirred slightly, and many cultivators' eyes blazed with fervor.

That was right. Although their spiritual root aptitude was ordinary, as long as they worked hard, they still had a chance to catch up with cultivators who had better spiritual root aptitude.

Qin Huaian was also somewhat stirred. He understood this deeply. His aptitude was merely average, but after cultivating the Azure Splendor Art to the perfected level, his cultivation speed had become several times faster than it had been at the entry level.

If one had high comprehension and a profound understanding of a cultivation art, allowing one to cultivate it to an extremely deep realm, then one's cultivation speed could indeed surge by leaps and bounds.

The only basic cultivation arts Qin Huaian had seen were the Azure Splendor Art and the Everlasting Spring Art. He did not know the grades of these two arts, but he had heard that high-grade basic cultivation arts absorbed spiritual energy far faster than low-grade ones.

Seeing everyone's reaction, the white-bearded Peak Master Han nodded in satisfaction and said to the middle-aged man, "Junior Brother Meng, tell them about the East Dawn Grand Competition."

"Yes, Senior Brother."