Tian Fu nodded to show he understood. He opened his mouth to say something, but in the end, the words remained unspoken.
Silence settled over the group until Lin Dayong called Wu Chang and the other three over.
"Senior Brother Liu."
Wu Chang, Zhou Guibo, and the other two cupped their hands in unison and greeted him respectfully.
Five years had passed, and Liu Yu was not the only one whose cultivation had advanced. All four had made some progress, to varying degrees.
Thanks to the considerable resources and spirit stones they had acquired five years ago, Wu Chang and Zhou Guibo had both broken through to late Qi refining. Unfortunately, Wu Chang had only reached late Qi refining after turning thirty, leaving him no chance of entering the inner sect.
After receiving those resources, Zhou Guibo had immediately asked Liu Yu for help. Through the Hou Household and the Gongsun Household, he had purchased two kinds of pills and spiritual treasures to aid in breaking through a bottleneck. He had finally reached late Qi refining just before turning thirty. Once he returned to the sect, he only needed to report his breakthrough and undergo verification to become an inner disciple.
As for Xie Huaxiong and Sun Ju, both had still been far from their bottlenecks. Over those five years, they had cultivated to the peak of the Qi refining sixth layer.
Although the four had made considerable gains in cultivation and strength, they remained utterly respectful toward Liu Yu for one simple reason: his progress had been even greater.
They had also learned that Liu Yu was an alchemist and had purchased pills from him over those five years. Naturally, his prices had been slightly below market rates.
Looking calm and unruffled, Liu Yu nodded lightly and gestured to