Gathering

Dong Lin began browsing from the bookshelves at the very bottom.

After carefully selecting and comparing them, Dong Lin ultimately chose two movement technique manuals that suited him fairly well, intending to borrow them back to his residence for slow study.

They were the Moon-Grasping Wind-Chasing Steps and the Pine-Wind Treading-Snow Steps.

Both movement techniques were High Yellow Tier. He did not know how difficult they would be.

The Moon-Grasping Wind-Chasing Steps were an explosive movement technique, pursuing bursts of speed.

By harnessing wind and lightning spiritual qi, one could briefly tread through the air.

It was divided into two realms: the Wind-Chasing Realm and the Moon-Grasping Realm.

The Moon-Grasping Realm allowed one to tread the air and evade danger, while the Wind-Chasing Realm used wind-attributed spiritual qi to unleash a powerful wind field, helping the cultivator erupt with astonishing speed.

Once both realms reached minor accomplishment, one could tread the air and glide at extreme speed for a stretch. Whether for maneuvering in battle, pursuit, or retreat, it had considerable practical use.

The Pine-Wind Treading-Snow Steps, meanwhile, were a movement technique focused on agility. In battle, it emphasized shifting and changing, avoiding an enemy's spells.

By using wind-attributed spiritual power, one could change direction flexibly and without pattern, dealing with close-range entanglements.

When airborne, such nimble changes in direction could yield unexpected results. That was precisely why Dong Lin had chosen it alongside the Moon-Grasping Wind-Chasing Steps.

Used together, the two could produce remarkably dazzling results.

For the time being, nothing disturbed Dong Lin. Aside from clearing pests from the spirit fields on schedule, he threw himself wholeheartedly into cultivation.

Every day, he spent half his time cultivating movement techniques and the other half raising his cultivation.

More than two months slipped quietly away.

His cultivation advanced rapidly at a rate of more than two units a day.

Just as before, the minor bottlenecks he had learned about in class, as well as small tricks like using spiritual qi to scour ailments from the body, proved entirely unnecessary.

He advanced smoothly all the way to the Peak Mid Qi Refining Stage.

The two hundred and ten units of spiritual power in his Dantian gave Dong Lin a deep sense of security.

His movement techniques had also shown some progress, though nothing particularly outstanding.

Both realms of the Moon-Grasping Wind-Chasing Steps had reached minor accomplishment, while the Pine-Wind Treading-Snow Steps had only barely entered the gate.

When it came to cultivation techniques of ordinary attributes, Dong Lin's comprehension appeared rather unremarkable.

He spent quite a bit of time before his use of wind-attributed spiritual power gradually got on the right track.

For Dong Lin, whose elemental affinity lay solely with lightning, cultivating a technique that made use of the wind element—

was far more difficult.

Yet this kind of precise usage differed from casting wide-area offensive wind-attributed spells, which required exceptionally strong wind-attributed talent.

The demands movement techniques placed on the use of wind attributes were still much lower than those of offensive methods.

Just as Dong Lin was about to get up and treat himself to a good meal, a message came through his jade token.

It was from Gu Chen, the captain of the Star Eternity Squad.

He informed Dong Lin to gather at the outer sect plaza in one day, preparing to enter the Dawnsource Secret Realm and improve the squad's coordination.

A month later, the sect would hold a Hunting Tournament. While tempering its disciples, it would also clear out a wave of spirit beasts around the outskirts of the secret realms.

This would allow sect disciples to explore the secret realms more safely.

The rewards were exceedingly generous, stirring the enthusiasm of many disciples.

After the mountain had been sealed, many disciples accustomed to venturing out for training had long been itching for action.

Qi Refining Stage disciples would compete in the Dawnsource Secret Realm, while Foundation Establishment Realm disciples would compete within the Mystic Nether Secret Realm.

These two secret realms were the sect's regularly open exploration grounds, and they contained many precious resources.

As spirit beasts proliferated, the outskirts of the secret realms had become increasingly dangerous.

With all the disciples present for this occasion, the sect planned to organize a grand competition.

The competition's points were calculated individually, but the sect did not forbid hunting in squads.

That made Gu Chen, who had been cultivating in seclusion, begin to entertain an idea.

Blindly cultivating in seclusion might instead lead one into a dead end with no way out.

Taking part in more battles and tempering oneself could sometimes bring about entirely different results.

Although spirit beasts now covered the Dawnsource Secret Realm, making it somewhat more dangerous,

solo exploration might cause problems, but the chances of the Star Eternity Squad—composed entirely of personal disciples—capsizing were minuscule.

Besides, personal disciples all had more or less some life-saving items bestowed by their elders, so no major problems would arise.

For his first "dungeon run," Dong Lin prepared rather thoroughly.

He prepared a bottle each of several useful pills, such as Poison-Averting Pills and Clearheart Pills.

The two Peak Black Tier protective lightning talismans Zheng Huayuan had given him not long ago were carried close to his body.

It was only because Dong Lin's command of Lightning Arts was exceptionally profound that Zheng Huayuan felt at ease handing him two Peak Black Tier Sky Thunder Talismans for self-defense.

For an ordinary disciple, talismans that so vastly exceeded their own cultivation—

might explode in their hands before they could even release them.

Activating a talisman also required a certain level of cultivation.

Generally, cultivators could at most control talismans equivalent to their own realm.

After Dong Lin grasped the True Intent of Thunder, his control over lightning attributes was strengthened.

After testing him, Zheng Huayuan confidently handed Dong Lin these two Peak Black Tier lightning talismans, each as powerful as the full-force strike of a Peak Foundation Establishment Realm lightning cultivator.

Beyond that, Dong Lin also wore the High Black Tier Mystic Nether Robe issued to personal disciples.

This robe was made from Celestial Profound Silkworm Silk, with a trace of Netherworld Power refined and attached to its surface.

Netherworld Power was extremely cold and profoundly yin. It possessed considerable resistance to lightning and fire attributes, while also blocking most of the chill from cold spells such as water and ice. It was an excellent defensive robe.

The Dawnsource Secret Realm lay fifty li north of the mountain gate. The group raced through the forest, skimming across the leaves.

In merely half an hour, they reached their destination.

The entrance to the secret realm was guarded by two high-ranking deacons from the Law Enforcement Hall.

Generally, deacons in the various divisions of the Heaven Sect managed the affairs of their respective departments, and most were disciples talented in administration.

Deacons were also divided into ranks. Usually, only high-ranking deacons could access the core affairs of each department and wield a portion of its authority.

One key hard requirement for promotion to high-ranking deacon was the Golden Core Realm.

Normally, high-ranking deacons managed and arranged for mid-ranking and junior deacons to handle specific duties.

The number of high-ranking deacons in any department was extremely limited.

Within the sect, most high-level cultivators were either keen on venturing out for training or cultivating in seclusion.

There were very few high-level cultivators willing to take up posts and manage sect affairs.

On the path of cultivation, the farther one went, the more one desired nothing.

Only those who could endure loneliness could pluck the Dao Fruit and attain the Great Dao.

Yet high-ranking deacons happened to be the busiest people in the sect.

That was because Nascent Soul patriarchs stood high above all others. Even when they served as leaders of various departments, it was merely due to their cultivation.

Most were hands-off shopkeepers, personally handling matters only when major incidents arose.

In ordinary daily operations, there was basically nothing that needed to disturb the highest leaders.

The sole motivation for high-ranking deacons was that their positions made it easier to accumulate resources and wield authority.

Accumulating resources was far more convenient than for those who buried their heads in bitter cultivation.

Only the sect's sole violent institution would offer all kinds of benefits and perks to recruit high-level cultivators from within the sect.

Because the Law Enforcement Hall had extremely high requirements for combat strength,

it could maintain more than a dozen high-ranking deacons and still have enough personnel to send two of them to guard the gate.