Over the following days, Xu Yang made time every day to practice the Stormy Waves Fist. In just five or six days, he reached the sixth layer, only to stall at stacking the seventh layer of force.
Stacking the seventh layer was more than ten times harder than stacking six. A single careless mistake would scatter all the force he had already layered together.
Everyone spent those days adjusting to life at the Violet Sun Gate. Lu Ren, Zhang Yong, Zhao Zhifei, and the others occasionally dropped by to chat.
Some of the more impatient disciples had already started taking tasks to earn contribution points.
That day, when Xu Yang returned from practicing the Stormy Waves Fist outside, Sun Tao and Lin Wei came to see him. They told him they had found Xiao Hua's residence and intended to pay him a visit.
"Wait a moment, senior brother, senior sister!"
Xu Yang washed off his foul-smelling sweat and changed into another set of clothes before heading out with Sun Tao and Lin Wei toward Xiao Hua's residence.
Lin Wei carried a sandalwood box containing the gift Lin Cheng had prepared: a thirty-year-old wild ginseng worth a hundred taels.
The Outer Disciple Stewards lived in a different area, where the surroundings were far better than the outer disciples' quarters. Their courtyards were also more elegant and imposing, with rare flowers and unusual trees planted everywhere.
Lin Wei led the two men to a courtyard and stepped forward to tap gently on the door latch. Before long, movement sounded inside, and a young man opened the door and came out.
Seeing Xu Yang and Sun Tao dressed as Outer Sect disciples, he frowned slightly. But once he spotted Lin Wei's delicate features and spirited bearing, his face immediately broke into a smile.