"Hehe, someone's looking for you, Senior Brother Li."
While Li Lingtian was in deep thought, a loud and cheerful voice rang out and interrupted his concentration.
Li Lingtian recognized who it was without even having to look at him. It could not have been anyone other than Xue Da. Li Lingtian had not encountered Xue Da and the other two people ever since he had been in Wall-facing Cliff for reflection.
"Who's looking for me?"
There was a puzzled look on Li Lingtian's face when he looked at Xue Da and Shangguan Linger before he realized that the girl looked more beautiful and charming now.
"Junior Sister Shangguan is looking for you. She has been dragging me along this entire time to look for you, and we finally found you."
Xue Da let out a gleeful chuckle as he pointed at Shangguan Linger who was beside him. Soon after that, he hurriedly stepped away while Shangguan Linger remained far away from him.
"You!" Shangguan Linger's cheeks turned rosy before she glared at Xue Da angrily for a while.
"Junior Sister Linger, can I help you?"
Something faintly stirred in Li Lingtian's heart when he saw how Shangguan Linger was behaving. This little girl was extremely fascinating despite not being as noble or as threatening as Nangong Mingyue. Although Shangguan Linger was not as adorable or gorgeous as Tang Zimeng, she was beautiful in a unique and reserved kind of way.
"No, I was just wondering if Senior Brother Li was going to hunt demonic beasts at the Sky Mountains."
Upon noticing that Li Lingtian was gazing at her, Shangguan Linger's heart raced. Moreover, her voice had turned much softer now like a mosquito's buzz; nobody else could hear her.
Waves of emotion stirred in the girl's heart as she recalled what Li Lingtian had previously done for her at the Life or Death Canyon. Not only had she become extremely curious about this Senior Brother since then, but she had also felt rather depressed during that period of not seeing Li Lingtian. Hence, she sought out Xue Da so they could look for Li Lingtian together.
"I'm not going to hunt demonic beasts at the Sky Mountains for now."
Li Lingtian did not hesitate at all because naturally, his current self would not go to the Sky Mountains to kill the demonic beasts. Instead, he was cultivating several skills so that he could be included in the quota to enter the Hidden Dragon Isle.
"Several days ago, I was greatly rewarded for encountering a surge of beasts at the Sky Mountains, and I managed to exchange them for more than a thousand spiritual stones. Here, this pill is for you."
Xue Da took a jade bottle out and passed it to Li Lingtian while Shangguan Linger nodded to gesture that Xue Da was right. It was also an indication for Li Lingtian to accept the pill.
However, they were surprised when Li Lingtian pushed the jade bottle back at them. He then took two pill bottles out of his storage stack and passed them to Xue Da and Shangguan Linger.
"What is this?"
Shocked, both Xue Da and Shangguan Linger stared at Li Lingtian in a stunned manner. They had no idea what he was trying to say.
"I've managed to refine this pill recently. You guys should take it and use it."
Li Lingtian chuckled before he stuffed the jade bottle in Shangguan Linger and Xue Da's hands.
"Did you really refine this pill?"
"You must be joking. Since when were you an Apothecary?"
Shangguan Linger and Xue Da were still stunned since everyone knew that you had to be a Tier One Apothecary to even refine the most basic pills. Li Lingtian's cultivation level was profound despite only being fourteen years old, but the two of them still could not believe that he was an Apothecary.
"Why don't you guys take a look?"
There was a faint smile on Li Lingtian's face when he looked at his two friends. The pill that he had refined was definitely not something that an ordinary Apothecary could imitate.
"This is a Vitality Pill. You've really managed to refine a peerless pill."
"No, this is a high-quality, peerless pill. It's a peerless Vitality Pill!"
Shangguan Linger and Xue Da opened the jade bottle in disbelief. When they looked at the pill inside, the pill even had a hint of Li Lingtian's Spiritual Qi on it, which proved that he had truly refined it.
Xue Da was instantly stunned because the quality of this pill had exceeded his expectations. Indeed, this pill was several times more superior than the Vitality Pills that were distributed by the sect.
His expression changed greatly when he eventually discovered that this Vitality Pill was actually a peerless pill. Xue Da felt as though he had seen a ghost because a peerless pill was considered a myth throughout the Divine Martial Continent. Since it had never appeared before, nobody would have imagined that they would see it here.
"Why do you look so stunned? It's just a Vitality Pill."
Li Lingtian laughed. He knew what a peerless pill represented, but he was not aiming for a mere Vitality Pill. Rather, he wanted a more impressive and higher quality pill. Otherwise, this would be an insult to the Ancient Pill Art.
"Just a Vitality Pill?
"This is a peerless pill! Do you even know what that means? It's a legend throughout the Divine Martial Continent."
Xue Da looked defeated as he stared silently at Li Lingtian. Was he insane? He had refined a peerless pill, yet he was saying such ridiculous things. The arrogant top-notch Apothecaries would be terribly shocked if they had witnessed this.
"Senior Brother Li, are you actually an Apothecary? Are you a Great Apothecary?"
Shangguan Linger's face was filled with admiration as she looked at Li Lingtian and asked that question in a gentle voice. Senior Brother Li was a mysterious and unpredictable person. Not only did he have a terrifying cultivation level, but he was also able to refine a peerless pill.
"What's the big deal about Great Apothecaries? You can bet your *ss that I'm not one of them."
Li Lingtian briefly pouted before he spoke disdainfully. Although he was only an Apothecary now, it had barely taken him one or two months of fumbling around on his own before he could refine his own pills. If all he did was simply rely on the Ancient Pill Art to achieve this result, Great Apothecaries were not that big of a deal to him.
"Hehe, we won't have to worry about pills anymore. I guess we were too blind to notice that the person right next to us could refine peerless pills all this while. We should just get rid of these useless Vitality Pills."
Xue Da got so riled up that he picked up the original Vitality Pill in which he had gotten in exchange. He was about to fling it outside in an exaggerated manner, but he suddenly placed it back down.
"I'm going to sell it because this should be worth a few spiritual stones," Xue Da reluctantly said as he kept the jade bottle.
"Heehee." As Shangguan Linger saw how Xue Da's was acting, she giggled playfully. Her enchanting laugh was enough to change the atmosphere completely.
"Hurry up and cultivate because the Grand Tournament is about to begin." Li Lingtian immediately walked to his room once he was done speaking. He had to quickly undergo his cultivation so that it would peak in time for the Grand Tournament.
…
The atmosphere at the sect grew livelier with each passing day because the Sect Grand Tournament was about to begin soon. The peripheral disciples were about to become outer sect disciples, whereas the current outer sect disciples were competing to become inner sect disciples.
Meanwhile, the inner sect disciples were competing to rank higher so that they would be included in the quota to enter the Hidden Dragon Isle. Li Lingtian was refining pills in his room, cultivating the Flaming Divine Fist, Ice Vitality Divine Fist, Astounding Sword Technique, and Sky Perishing Spear.
"I've achieved perfection as a Tier Nine Warrior."
A satisfied look appeared on his face before he glanced outside. He then walked outside energetically and gazed at the sunny morning sky. The radiant sun had illuminated the whole area.
While he was walking on the limestone-paved path, Li Lingtian smiled faintly as he looked at the numerous disciples who were happy and excited.
All the disciples were heading toward the Sky Cloud Sect's Sky Cloud Square which was almost half a mile wide in terms of length and width. The Sky Cloud Sect used this square to hold their events.
The square sat in the middle of the sec's four mountain peaks which was also the center of the Sky Cloud Sect. At this time, the square was already filled with people within a radius of one mile.
It was certainly quite amazing that the Sky Cloud Sect had more than ten thousand disciples.
Li Lingtian briefly scanned the square when he arrived. There were four gigantic arenas in the center of the square, and each arena was about 33 feet tall, 66 feet wide, and 66 feet long.
Those four arenas were used for the disciples' competitions. On the opposite side of the four arenas stood a 300-feet-tall platform with more than 100 seats. Everyone knew that those seats were reserved for the judges and organizers, as well as for the Sect Elders.
"I've heard that numerous top-notch Genius Senior Brothers and Sisters are going to participate in this tournament. We're in for a good show."
"It seems like Senior Sister Lan Yuyan has already become a Tier Six Warrior Spirit Powerhouse. I don't think anyone in the inner sect would stand a chance against her. This is probably the first time such a thing has happened."
"Indeed, Senior Sister Lan Yuyan is amazing because she's a top-notch Genius in the inner sect. However, I've heard that Senior Brother Dongfang Qingyu has also achieved the Tier Six Warrior Spirit. Both of them could end up competing against each other."
"You've forgotten someone."
"Who?"
"Senior Brother Duanmu Qing. He's achieved the Tier Six Warrior Spirit too."
"Oh, I should've said that I have high hopes for Senior Brother Duanmu Qing."
"How ignorant and inexperienced of you. Murong Tianjiao is the strongest."
"Xiao Tianba is the most impressive one to me."
Numerous disciples were having an enthusiastic discussion in the square. The individuals whom they had mentioned were the most skilled Geniuses among the inner sect for the past five years. They were considered as the most amazing Geniuses throughout the entire Eastern Spirit Greenland because they had managed to achieve Tier Five Warrior Spirit despite only being twenty years old.
Only held once every five years, this competition was also a chance for the elite disciples to change their positions. Everyone who had spent the last five years honing their skills would wish to achieve instant fame here.
"Boom, boom, boom."
A loud banging noise rang out as the sound of drums echoed into the sky. All of the Sky Cloud Sect's disciples had heard it clearly, including the disciples who were deep in the Sky Mountains.