The Fight for Resources
Azure Dragon Hall.
Sun Hong stood in front of Song Qinglin and recounted the recent activities of the Black Tortoise Hall: "Ye An hasn't come out; he hasn't shown his face from beginning to end. He's probably scared."
Song Qinglin was meditating. After listening, he didn't open his eyes, but placed his palms upward on his knees and said, "Understood."
He didn't ask any further questions. Ye An was just a Meridian Opening at the Open Meridian stage. He originally wanted Sun Hong to teach him a lesson, but he didn't expect Ye An to be so stubborn and refuse to come out.
Song Qinglin didn't waste any more time thinking about it; he could already feel that barrier.
Seeing that Qinglin was no longer willing to speak, Sun Hong withdrew.
In just one month, Ye An had advanced the Meridian Opening Formula to a level that even surprised himself.
He held the Blood Essence Crystal in his palm and swallowed the Meridian Opening Pill. The two circulated simultaneously, and his cultivation speed was so fast that he barely had time to think.
He had initially planned to push the Meridian Opening Formula to 200 before touching the Blood Essence Crystal, but in reality, he changed his mind after only a few days.
The progress of the previously anticipated 200 was faster than expected, and the energy of the Blood Essence Crystal was gentler than he had imagined, probably due to the Heart-Cleansing Pill.
During this period, Ye An used two resources simultaneously for cultivation.
The Meridian Opening Pill assists in the circulation of True Qi, while the Blood Essence Crystal provides external energy. After the two converge in the body, they form a cycle that is more than twice as fast as cultivating alone.
[Meridian Opening Formula (Third Level): 210/500]
[Meridian Opening Formula (Third Level): 320/500]
[Meridian Opening Formula (Third Level): 410/500]
One month later, it was pushed down to 410.
He tossed the Blood Essence Crystal up and weighed it in his hand. It was much lighter than when he first got it, and the dark red color on its surface had faded, as if it had been drained.
Ye An finished his practice and reopened the scroll of Qi Condensation Miscellany, hoping to anticipate the changes that would occur next and achieve twice the result with half the effort.
Inside the quiet room of the Azure Dragon Hall.
Song Qinglin sat cross-legged with his eyes slightly closed. Then, a stream of True Qi at the Mid Qi Condensation slowly flowed through him, and he broke through.
After Song Qinglin broke through to the Mid Qi Condensation, the atmosphere in the Azure Dragon Hall changed.
A group of disciples, led by Sun Hong, were the first to stir up trouble. They walked around the hall in much louder voices than usual, and from time to time they mentioned that "the Chief Disciple position should be held by the strongest."
Some people echoed, saying that Pei Lie had occupied the Chief Disciple position for too long and it was time to give way; others remained silent, as they belonged neither to Song Qinglin's faction nor to Pei Lie's party, or perhaps they had been abandoned by both.
"Chief Disciple Pei is waiting for you!" The members of Pei Lie's faction will not tolerate this. Even though Pei Lie is only at the Early-Stage Peak, they still believe in Pei Lie.
Sun Hong laughed upon hearing this, "Let's see if this Chief Disciple can still sit still."
Sun Hong directly conveyed Song Qinglin's challenge to Pei Lie, setting a time and place.
On the day of the challenge, a large crowd gathered outside the Azure Dragon Hall's Martial Practice Ground.
Sun Hong stood on Song Qinglin's side, while Pei Lie had several disciples who had followed him for many years.
Pei Lie stared at the letter for a long time after receiving it.
Back when he was at the Early-Stage Peak, Song Qinglin hadn't even reached that level yet. But now, Song Qinglin was already at the mid-stage, while he was still stuck at the Early-Stage Peak. This hurdle had been troubling him for a long time.
"Fine, Song Qinglin is talented, he deserves this Chief Disciple position."
The fight between the two did not last long, and the result was soon reported.
Pei Lie lost. When Song Qinglin stopped, his face didn't show much expression. Pei Lie didn't say much either, and turned to leave the Martial Practice Ground.
When the news reached Black Tortoise Hall, Zhou Zhong was inside.
After hearing the news, he did not get up immediately, but remained silent for a long time before finally going to Ye An's residence.
Ye An heard a knock on the door, and Zhou Zhong pushed the door open and came in.
When Zhou Zhong entered, his gaze lingered on Ye An for a moment. He sensed that Ye An's aura was different from when they last met.
Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that Ye An's True Essence had become significantly more profound, resembling the level of someone nearing the peak of the Late Meridian Opening.
Zhou Zhong was taken aback for a moment, then remembered that Ye An had gone out to handle some business not long ago, and probably had obtained some kind of fortuitous opportunity.
He stopped thinking about it and didn't ask Ye An what was going on.
Zhou Zhong recounted Song Qinglin's situation to Ye An.
He continued, "After Song Qinglin became the Chief Disciple the Azure Dragon Hall, his next move will likely be to target the Black Tortoise Hall during resource allocation. He's been eyeing the Black Tortoise Hall's resources for too long, and now that he's reached the Mid Qi Condensation, I admit I'm no match for him, but the Black Tortoise Hall can't lose face. I must fight this battle."
Ye An remained silent for a while, looking at Zhou Zhong's even more honest appearance than his own, and couldn't bear to speak, "Chief Disciple Brother, you should always put yourself first. If your guess is right, you will definitely get injured if you go up. It's better to conserve your strength and fight after you break through."
Zhou Zhong to Ye An's suggestion, lost in thought, "There's a saying, 'Don't strive for the present, strive for the endless flow of time.'"
He understood, but as the Chief Disciple of the Xuanwu Black Tortoise Hall, how would the Black Tortoise Hall disciples view him if he retreated without a fight?
Can I live up to this title?
Ye An had already seen through Zhou Zhong's thoughts. After all, no one is like him; no one has the heaven-defying talent to rely on, so they can't focus on cultivation like he can.
Zhou Zhong smiled, feigning understanding—that he had no regrets about what he had done. "Junior Brother Ye, I understand what you mean, but I'm still not reconciled."
He turned and left, glancing back at Ye An as he stepped out of the doorway.
Upon discovering that Ye An had actually begun refining his True Essence, Zhou Zhong realized that even something as important as this couldn't be interrupted from his junior brother's cultivation.
Zhou Zhong felt a pang of envy, envying Ye An's mindset, something he himself couldn't achieve.
What he didn't know was that Ye An was out of options; after all, there wasn't much to say about the Late Meridian Opening.
Song Qinglin became the Chief Disciple the Azure Dragon Hall less than ten days later.
The day for allocating resources in the Four Halls has arrived.
The resource allocation was overseen by Steward Liu, who Late Qi Condensation and had managed resource allocation in the Four Symbols Sect for over a decade.
He flipped through the booklet and said that, according to custom, the White Tiger Hall and the Vermilion Bird Hall each received 30%.
The Azure Dragon Hall and the Black Tortoise Hall each receive two portions.
Steward Liu looked at the four Chief Disciples. "No objections, right?"
Just when everyone thought the matter was about to end, someone spoke up. Looking in the direction of the voice, it was the Chief Disciple the Azure Dragon Hall.
Song Qinglin stood up. "I have a problem with this. The Black Tortoise Hall disciples have been declining in strength in recent years, while my Azure Dragon Hall is on the rise. Rather than the two halls sharing 20% of the resources, how about the Black Tortoise Hall giving up 10%?"
As he spoke, his eyes were fixed on Zhou Zhong, the Chief Disciple the Black Tortoise Hall.
Zhou Zhong, under immense pressure, stepped forward and said, "One-tenth is too much."
Song Qinglin didn't argue. "Then let's have a match."
"If you win, the Azure Dragon Hall will give up 10% of its resources to the Black Tortoise Hall; if you lose, the same applies."