"Well done, lad!"
Wen Qingye's gaze suddenly sharpened.
Instinctively, he sent a thread of divine sense sweeping over Shen Xiuhan. He sensed an aura as deep and steady as an abyss, mysterious and unfathomable, with spiritual radiance held within his brow and faint signs of awakened insight!
This was unmistakably the bearing of someone who had opened the spirit refinement pass and entered late-stage transformation force!
Delight instantly blossomed across Wen Qingye's face. He stared at his young disciple in disbelief, growing more pleased the longer he looked, then stroked his beard and laughed heartily.
"Good! Good! Good!"
"I was still thinking about how to plan ahead and pave the way for you!"
"But look at you!"
"Without a word, you broke through the spirit refinement pass all on your own!"
Beside him, Xu Zhouling could scarcely hide his amazement either.
"Like Mu Xian, Xiuhan succeeded on his very first attempt!"
"Junior Brother Wen, back in our day, it took both of us two attempts before we barely managed to push open that gate!"
Wen Qingye sighed.
"Indeed..."
"Xiuhan has reached late-stage transformation force before even turning twenty. Forget South Township Prefecture—even among the younger generation of Cangzhou's Nine Prefectures, he would rank near the top. He truly deserves to be called a prodigy."
Though mid-stage and late-stage transformation force were separated by only a single pass, the gulf between them was no less than that between clouds and mud.
Entering the Transformation-Viewing Upper Sect at mid-stage transformation force would, at best, make someone a standout in the Outer Sect.
But ascending the mountain with late-stage transformation force cultivation would allow them to enter the ranks of the Inner Sect Disciples directly.
After several more years of dedicated refinement, once they reached perfected transformation force, even a position as a