Sect Upgrade, Two-Star Sect

"Ding! A disciple's cultivation has broken through. Reward: 30 Points."

"Ding! Congratulations, the quest has been completed. The sect has upgraded to Two-Star. Rewards have been issued; please check them, Host."

"Ding! Congratulations on upgrading the sect to Two-Star. The Points and Quest System has been activated, and the Reputation System has been activated."

Nothing happened overnight. Early the next morning, Su Bai heard three consecutive system notifications.

[Sect Information]

Sect Name: Heavenly Dao Sect

Sect Level: Two-Star (Upgradeable)

Sect Members: 5 (Disciple information can be viewed at any time)

Sect Territory: Ten miles in every direction (The Host is absolutely invincible within the territory)

Sect Buildings: One Sect Main Hall (expandable), one Immortal Arts Pavilion, Battle Arts Pavilion (not built), Pill Pavilion (not built), ten Disciple Cultivation Pavilions (not built)

Sect Real Estate: Eleven mu of fertile fields, 1,100 spiritual seeds, and one Low-Grade Spirit Vein.

Sect Reputation: 4 (Number of people who worship the sect)

Sect Points: 120

Three-Star Sect upgrade requirements: Recruit ten disciples (with sect loyalty above 60), have at least one disciple reach the Foundation Establishment Realm, and raise sect reputation above 10,000.

Main Quest: Please upgrade to a Three-Star Sect as soon as possible. Reward: one Divine Artifacts Pavilion and one Formation Pavilion.

Host Feedback: The Host's strength is ten times the combined strength of all sect disciples.

As the system notifications rang out, Su Bai opened his eyes and watched the string of prompts floating across the screen before him.

It had upgraded!

Thirty Points... This meant a disciple had broken through to Third-Level Qi Refinement.

The only disciple at Second-Level Qi Refinement was Xiao Lingxi. Who had broken through was therefore obvious without saying.

Su Bai looked over. Outside the main hall not far away, Xiao Lingxi sat cross-legged, her posture straight as a ramrod. Her aura had changed greatly from before.

Her entire bearing was different.

Third-Level Qi Refinement!

The Low-Grade Spirit Stone in her palm had dimmed somewhat, clearly having expended a great deal of its spiritual energy.

Judging by its luster, it could probably still be used for two more days. In other words, one Spirit Stone was consumed every three days.

Her Spirit Stone consumption was more than ten times faster than that of an ordinary Qi Refining cultivator!

And the result was that her cultivation speed had increased severalfold!

With Spirit Stones, Xiao Lingxi's cultivation speed was now far faster even than Zhuge Feng's Heavenly Spiritual Root. This alone showed just how much Spirit Stones aided cultivation!

"Master, this Immortal Art is far too powerful! What it absorbs is pure spiritual energy, with no need for tempering or purification. As long as the spiritual energy is dense enough, breaking through is as easy as drinking water!"

Xiao Lingxi opened her eyes, thrilled beyond measure. She had never imagined that one day, her cultivation speed could become this fast!

She knew it was not because her aptitude was exceptional, nor because she cultivated with Spirit Stones. It was entirely due to the Immortal Art!

Spirit Stones increased the speed at which one absorbed spiritual energy, but they could not improve purification efficiency. Even with the Spirit Firmament Scripture, breaking through a level still required quite a bit of time.

But the Heavenly Dao Sect's Immortal Art was simply too powerful. It directly eliminated the complicated process of purification, saving an enormous amount of cultivation time.

Nearby, Zhuge Feng, who had been cultivating, also opened his eyes. Though he had yet to break through, he had already reached the Peak Third-Level Qi Refinement. Breaking through to the fourth level was not far off.

Ye Qingyao had cultivated diligently for an entire day. Since she possessed a Mortal Body and was Rootless, her cultivation speed was painfully slow. Even with Spirit Stones and the Mortal's Immortal Cultivation Formula assisting her, First-Level Qi Refinement remained far beyond reach.

A Mortal Body was fated to have no affinity with the immortal path. Those words were not empty talk. Even after shedding ten or a hundred times more sweat, one might still achieve nothing.

There had once been a young master from a great lineage in the empire who was likewise Rootless and possessed a Mortal Body. His patriarch had poured in vast resources, nearly dragging the entire lineage down, yet it still took him a full year just to succeed at Qi Refining.

Yet as she watched her senior brother and senior sister grow ever stronger, her gaze became increasingly resolute. She had to cultivate even harder and strive to catch up with them.

This was faith!

Just as Master had said, even a Mortal Body could climb to the pinnacle of immortality!

"I must strive to meet the conditions for cultivating the Primordial Chaos Body-Refining Art as soon as possible!"

Xiao Yan clenched his fists. His physique still did not meet the standards for cultivating the Primordial Chaos Body-Refining Art, so he could not begin formal cultivation yet. He could only watch as his senior brother and senior sister's cultivation grew stronger and stronger.

At that thought, he ran even faster.

"Today, I'll definitely run twenty laps around the foot of the sect mountain!"

One lap was roughly two li. Twenty laps made forty li!

A mere forty li!

Seeing some disciples making breakthroughs while others worked hard, Su Bai smiled even more happily.

His own strength had also increased due to his disciples' breakthroughs. He had now reached Seventh-Level Qi Refinement.

"Sect upgrade!"

Su Bai murmured inwardly.

In an instant, heaven and earth trembled, and spiritual energy churned within ten miles in every direction!

The Heavenly Dao Sect's mountain expanded by more than double again. It could now be called a true mountain.

A massive palace rose at the summit, grand and magnificent!

The palace covered roughly a hundred zhang. Four glazed lamps hung from its corners, radiating light.

On the palace plaque, the two ancient, vigorous characters for "Heavenly Dao" had been inscribed with dragons soaring and phoenixes dancing.

Beyond that, more than a dozen pavilions had appeared across the mountain, each splendid and imposing.

Immortal Arts Pavilion, Battle Arts Pavilion, Pill Pavilion...

It was not just the mountaintop that had changed. At the mountain's foot, more than a dozen mu of fertile fields had appeared as well, their spiritual energy so dense it was suffocating.

Previously, the sect's territory had been too small to accommodate the fertile fields. Moreover, spiritual seeds required spiritual energy for irrigation and a Spirit Vein for nourishment.

Now that the territory had expanded to ten miles in every direction, its farthest edge even neared Cloudwater City!

This sudden commotion naturally drew the attention of countless people who had been waiting to watch the Heavenly Dao Sect make a fool of itself.

"What... happened?"

"The spiritual energy density... has increased severalfold. Could a Spirit Vein have appeared underground?"

"Is this an auspicious sign descended from heaven?"

Everyone widened their eyes in astonishment, looking as though they had seen a ghost.

"Look! The Heavenly Dao Sect's mountain has grown several times larger!"

This place had originally been rather remote, with thin spiritual energy and only low hills.

But now, a towering mountain that pierced the clouds had sprung up out of nowhere, majestic and magnificent enough to inspire awe.

"Hiss! I remember a powerful sect once wanted to choose this place as its site, but their inspection found the spiritual energy here barren. Who would have thought it would change so drastically now!"

"Has a Spirit Vein nourished this land's dragon energy, causing the earth dragon to turn over? Otherwise, there's no explaining such changes!"

"No wonder the Heavenly Dao Sect's master chose to establish his sect here. So he had discovered that this place possessed a Spirit Vein!"

"A Spirit Vein! Even if it is only a Low-Grade Spirit Vein, it can support a large sect!"

"You should know that even the Jade Spirit Sect has no right to occupy a Spirit Vein!"

"The Heavenly Dao Sect is about to soar into the skies!"

The crowd buzzed with discussion. For a time, all eyes focused on the Heavenly Dao Sect, and everyone was utterly shaken!

On the Heavenly Dao Sect's mountain, the disciples' expressions were even more stunned.

A mountain rising from the earth, magnificent pavilions appearing from thin air, a grand and imposing main hall, the increased density of spiritual energy...

Zhuge Feng and Xiao Lingxi had already witnessed Su Bai's ability to create things from nothing once before, yet they were still deeply shaken upon seeing it again.

Xiao Yan, meanwhile, stood with a blank look on his face, his mouth hanging slightly open, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.

"Holy shit, Master, you're fucking incredible!"

Xiao Yan swallowed hard and muttered to himself. Admiration filled his eyes, and his worship of Su Bai grew even deeper.

At that moment, he seemed to feel a towering mountain standing behind him as his support!

Cloud Heaven Sect, Liu Yanran—three years from now, I'll make you understand who the genius is, and who the true trash is!

"Wait... Since the sect mountain has expanded, one lap around its foot now seems to be... more than ten li?"

Twenty laps meant two hundred li...

Xiao Yan: ...

The current Heavenly Dao Sect Territory centered on the Heavenly Dao Sect Main Hall and extended ten miles in every direction, reaching exactly to Cloudwater City's gates!

One more upgrade, and it would encompass all of Cloudwater City!

"Oh, right. There's now a Points and Quest System. I should first—"

Just as Su Bai was preparing to inspect the Points and Quest System, a chilling voice suddenly rang out from the sky.

"The Jade Spirit Sect is passing through. Uninvolved parties, withdraw at once!"

"Today is the day the Heavenly Dao Sect is destroyed!"