The next day, at the Lecture Hall.
Xu Chen arrived early and chose a seat in the front row.
Today's lecture covered the "Essential Guide to Basic Body Refinement," exactly what he needed.
"Move aside."
A cold, arrogant voice rang out.
"This seat belongs to Senior Brother Liu."
Xu Xuan looked up.
He saw a young man in fine robes, with several disciples behind him.
Senior Brother Liu wore a sword at his waist, and his aura had already reached the meridian opening pinnacle.
"First come, first served," Xu Xuan replied coolly.
Senior Brother Liu narrowed his eyes. "You look unfamiliar. Are you new?"
"Do you know who I am?"
"No."
"Just go. This is Liu Yunfeng, the foremost outer disciple!"
A disciple beside him offered the warning.
As though he had heard nothing, Xu Xuan opened his book.
Liu Yunfeng laughed in fury. "Fine, then we'll do this by the rules!"
"Meet me on the martial arts platform!"
After the elder finished imparting his teachings, all the outer disciples went to the martial arts platform.
Xu Xuan had not intended to come, but figured that since he had nothing else to do, he might as well loosen up his muscles with these fellows.
"Is Senior Brother Liu teaching another newcomer a lesson?"
"That kid is in for it. Senior Brother Liu's swordsmanship has already received the elder's true teachings."
Xu Xuan walked slowly onto the platform, still barehanded.
Liu Yunfeng drew his sword. "Draw your weapon!"
"No need."
"Arrogant!"
Liu Yunfeng's sword flashed, striking straight for his throat.
The strike was swift and vicious, drawing cries of alarm from below.
Xu Xuan turned sideways to dodge and shot out his right hand like lightning, actually catching the blade directly.
His body had long since become as hard as iron; even meeting the blade head-on left only faint white marks.
"How can his body be so terrifying?"
Shocked, Liu Yunfeng tried to pull his sword free, only to discover that it would not budge.
Xu Xuan flicked his wrist, and the sword snapped with a crack.
He then struck with his palm, sending Liu Yunfeng flying several yards before crashing heavily to the ground, his fate unknown.
The entire crowd fell silent.
Xu Xuan surveyed the surroundings. "Anyone else care to instruct me?"
No one below dared answer.
Xu Xuan shook his head. Fighting these people was truly dull.
From then on, no one dared provoke him again.
Xu Xuan was happy to enjoy the peace, and his covert guards helped handle the few sect assignments he had.
All he needed to do was bury himself in rigorous cultivation.
The Purple Sun Gate's Scripture Pavilion was open to him, with all manner of cultivation manuals and texts available for him to read.
Three years would be enough for Xu Xuan to grow considerably.
Two and a half years passed in the blink of an eye.
In the mountains behind the Purple Sun Gate, a figure sat cross-legged beneath a waterfall.
The rushing water battered the young man's body, yet failed to shake him in the slightest.
Spiritual energy circulated around Xu Xuan, and a metallic sheen faintly glimmered beneath his skin.
He had cultivated the "Body Rebirth Technique" to its third level, combining it with "Dragon Vigor and Tiger Might."
His body's toughness rivaled that of an ordinary magical artifact.
Over these two years, he had not only raised his cultivation to the qi sea pinnacle.
He had also read more than half the Purple Sun Gate's collection.
Compared with when he first arrived, he now possessed quite a few more methods and spells.
Beside him stood a black-gold spear patterned with dragons.
It was a high-grade magical artifact sent by the chief shopkeeper of the Cloud Arrival Trading House.
Xu Xuan currently had no magical power and still could not activate its restrictions and secret patterns to unleash its full might.
But his strength was immense.
In his hands, a casual swing of this thousand-jin spear carried formidable killing power.
As he cultivated, a blue-robed disciple suddenly hurried over.
"Senior Brother Xu."
"The Steward Hall has issued an urgent assignment. An evil cultivator has appeared in Cloud Mountain Stockade to the north, and three disciples are needed to eliminate him."
Xu Xuan opened his eyes. "Count me in."
Over these two years, he had accepted many sect assignments.
They served both to temper him and to accumulate contribution points.
By now, his reputation among the outer disciples had soared, and he was known as the "Ferocious God."
Three days later, outside Cloud Mountain Stockade.
The two disciples accompanying him wore grave expressions.
"Senior Brother Xu, the evil cultivator in the stockade seems to be in the spiritual treasury realm. Should we return to the sect for reinforcements first?"
Xu Xuan swept his spiritual sense over the stockade, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.
"No need."
"Wait here for me for now."
His figure flashed, and he leaped into the stockade.
A dark figure immediately lunged at him.
The evil cultivator held a bone staff, with gusts of chilling wind swirling around him.
Xu Xuan neither dodged nor evaded, blasting out a punch.
Where the wind of his punch passed, the chilling gusts scattered, and the evil cultivator was sent flying several yards, staff and all.
"A body cultivator this powerful?!"
"Are you a disciple of the Purple Sun Gate?"
The evil cultivator was utterly terrified.
Xu Xuan did not answer and threw another punch.
This punch directly shattered his opponent's protective spiritual energy and ruptured his dantian.
He then chased after him and struck several more times, ending the evil cultivator's life for good.
The two disciples behind him stood frozen like wooden chickens.
"How is his body so powerful? He didn't even use spiritual power, yet he battered that evil cultivator to death!"
Xu Xuan ignored them.
While gathering the spoils, he discovered a blood-colored jade pendant inside the evil cultivator's robes.
Strange runes were carved into the pendant, faintly resonating with his soaring serpent bloodline.
"This thing..." Xu Xuan's pupils contracted slightly.
The aura on the pendant was actually identical to that of the dart that had struck him back then.
After returning to the Purple Sun Gate, Xu Xuan immediately went to the Scripture Pavilion.
He searched through the texts and finally found a clue in a book titled "Records of Strange Tales from the Northern Frontier."
The book recorded that three hundred years ago, there had been an evil cultivator sect called the "Blood God Cult."
Its identifying token was precisely a blood-colored jade pendant.
This cult specialized in refining bloodlines, and many members of the Chen Yue Imperial Family had suffered its murderous attacks and been stripped of their bloodlines.
In the end, the Blood God Cult was later wiped out by the combined forces of the major sects, and nothing more was heard of it.
Why would people from the Demon Suppression Bureau carry the Blood God Cult's aura?
Xu Xuan pondered inwardly.
For now, these were not matters that concerned him.
Before long, Xu Xuan received a secret letter from his father.
The letter contained only a few brief words.
"The three-year term approaches. Make preparations early."
Xu Xuan understood.
His father was reminding him that a new storm was about to arise.
Late that night, Xu Xuan packed his belongings in his room.
All his spirit stones, pills, magical artifacts, and talismans were packed into a storage pouch.
Over these two years, he had accumulated abundant resources through the Cloud Arrival Trading House.
Besides what he needed for cultivation, he had also secretly trained a group of people.
Everything was ready.
It was time to leave the Purple Sun Gate.
"Junior Brother Xu..."
Suddenly.
A clear female voice came from outside the door.
Xu Xuan opened it.
He saw Su Yuqing, the daughter of a sect elder.
Her talent was exceptional; at only sixteen, she was already at the early spirit treasury stage.
She was hailed as the Purple Sun Gate's greatest genius of the present age.
"What guidance do you have for me, Senior Sister?"
Su Yuqing smiled sweetly.
"I heard you're leaving the sect?"
"My three-year term is up. I can't stay in the sect any longer," Xu Xuan said frankly.
"What a pity." Su Yuqing sighed softly.
"With your talent, if you stayed in the sect, you would surely achieve great things."
Xu Xuan gave no response either way.
His path had never lain within the Purple Sun Gate.
Su Yuqing suddenly grew serious. "Before you leave, I have some news for you."
"The Chen Yue Imperial Family's second prince arrived at the sect yesterday. He's holding secret talks with the sect's senior figures."
Xu Xuan's gaze sharpened.
"Thank you for telling me, Senior Sister."
"I have my own plans."
Su Yuqing hesitated to speak, then finally took out a jade talisman and handed it over.
"This protective talisman was crafted by my father. It can withstand a full-power strike from a Qi Refining Cultivator."
"You... keep it with you."
Xu Xuan's deep eyes pierced straight to the soul as he gazed at the girl before him.
For no apparent reason, Su Yuqing began to feel flustered, her heart pounding as she stared blankly at the young man before her.
Xu Xuan reached out and patted her head.
"I'll remember this favor."
"Senior Sister, cultivate diligently and wait for me to return."
The Purple Sun Gate, in the main hall.
Candlelight flickered, illuminating a red sandalwood table.
The second prince, Chen Jing, gently stroked his teacup, his gaze deep:
"Sect Leader Zhang, the soaring serpent bloodline concerns the nation's fate. I hope your sect will put the greater good first."
Zhang Qingxuan, sect leader of the Purple Sun Gate, knitted his white brows slightly:
"Your Highness, since Xu Xuan has entered our sect, he is a disciple of the Purple Sun Gate."
"Under the sect's rules, we may not interfere in imperial family disputes."
"What if this isn't a dispute within the imperial family?"
Chen Jing took out a scroll of bright yellow silk.
"The Imperial Preceptor divined heaven's secrets. When the Soaring Serpent appears in the world, calamity is sure to follow."
"His Majesty has issued a decree ordering every sect to assist the Demon Suppression Bureau in conducting a thorough investigation."
Zhang Qingxuan accepted the imperial decree and remained silent for a long while.
"Very well. Xu Chen can leave the sect to travel in three days."
Chen Jing smiled in satisfaction.
"That would be excellent."
After watching Chen Jing leave, Zhang Qingxuan sat in the hall, sighing again and again.
"Born with a metal-earth spiritual root, at the spiritual treasury qi sea pinnacle at fifteen."
"Xu Chen, oh, Xu Chen, could you be the person the Xu Household is looking for?"
"If only you had that confounded soaring serpent bloodline."
"Now, unless Fairy Qingchan returns after reaching foundation establishment, no one will find it easy to protect you."