After a moment, Lu Yi could clearly feel a deeper understanding of the White Cloud Qi Refining Art. He tried to run the technique and was immediately pleasantly surprised, the flow of spiritual energy was smoother than before, reducing the time for a circulation by nearly a third, and the efficiency of absorbing spiritual energy had also improved.
Overall, the cultivation efficiency was likely to improve by nearly 50%!
Such an improvement was enormous!
Lu Yi originally estimated it would take him about seven or eight months to break through to the Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer, but now... it might only take five or six months.
Not only that, with smoother spiritual energy flow, Lu Yi's speed in using arts would also be faster, and his combat power would similarly increase.
It could be said that the improvement of just the Qi Cultivation technique brought significant overall enhancements for Lu Yi!
So Lu Yi gave himself another task, to cultivate the White Cloud Qi Refining Art ten times, and continued to cultivate—after all, he had to cultivate anyway, not taking on a task felt like a loss.
......
Time passed like this.
Every day, Lu Yi set tasks for himself: practicing the White Cloud Sword Technique in the morning, the White Cloud Stance in the afternoon, and the White Cloud Qi Refining Art in the evening.
As he completed the tasks, the levels of his three cultivation skills were rapidly improving.
In the blink of an eye, two weeks had passed, and it was the beginning of the month.
In the morning, Lu Yi, Lu Gaoyang, and Wang Siqi were having breakfast together.
Lu Gaoyang thought of something and looked at Lu Yi, saying, "Yi'er, today is the day the Elder gives his lecture, don't forget the time."
Lu Yi took a bite of his meat bun and nodded, "I know."
At the beginning of each month, the Outer Sect Elder would give a lecture on the White Sun Peak, teaching some basic cultivation principles and addressing some cultivation questions the Outer Sect disciples had.
It's important to know that even though they were outer sect elders, they had Golden Core cultivation bases. Any small bit of their cultivation experience was immensely valuable to the Qi Cultivation realm outer sect disciples.
Practically every month, unless they had other matters, outer sect disciples would attend the lecture. Lu Yi, of course, was no exception.
If one didn't take advantage of a free lecture by a Golden Core master, were they even human?
Although Lu Yi now had a Golden Finger and his cultivation speed had increased greatly, he wouldn't become conceited and feel invincible. He was still just an insignificant new cultivator in the Qi Cultivation realm; if even a great master needed guidance, how much more so for a Golden Core master?
Lu Yi felt that no matter what you do, you shouldn't be arrogant or conceited, otherwise, you'd only end up hurting yourself.
After quickly finishing breakfast, Lu Yi said, "Mom, Dad, I'm off to White Sun Peak."
Wang Siqi, seeing Lu Yi rushing out, quickly said, "Be careful, don't run too fast."
"Got it!" Lu Yi replied with a smile and ran out of the small courtyard.
The White Cloud Sect was located within the White Cloud Mountain Range, occupying an area of several hundred kilometers, with high mountains everywhere.
The outer sect was situated on the outermost side of the sect, with hundreds of high peaks including White Sun Peak, where the outer sect Elder gave lectures.
The peak Lu Yi lived on was called White Spirit Peak, not too far from White Sun Peak, separated by six other peaks.
Lu Yi looked at the time—it was still early before the lecture started, so he wasn't in a hurry and jogged along the mountain path toward White Sun Peak.
Along the way, Lu Yi saw other outer sect disciples, some alone, and some in pairs or small groups.
Living on the same peak, they had mostly seen each other before, so when they met, they nodded and smiled at each other.
Lu Yi was usually busy with cultivation and didn't socialize much, so he didn't have any particularly close friends. He didn't mind, believing that in the cultivation world, while socializing was important, strength was even more critical. Since he was now in a period of rapid strength improvement, it was better to focus on cultivation. Otherwise, when he aged, it would be too late to regret.
Young idleness breeds old regret.
Of course, Lu Yi didn't have any particularly bad relationships with others either. His parents were stewards, giving him some status in the outer sect, so people generally spoke nicely to him.
Lu Yi's cultivation talent was also considered top-tier in the outer sect. People usually looked up to him, and very few would provoke him without reason.
Not just someone like Lu Yi with relatively high cultivation, even those with weaker cultivation talents were generally left alone. Seldom would anyone deliberately target them.
After all, there was no need.
If someone had weaker cultivation, harassing them wouldn't help one's own cultivation—there was no benefit, just wasted time.
Moreover, what if that person got a lucky chance and soared ahead, seeking revenge later? It wouldn't be pleasant for you.
Don't say it's impossible—in Tianming Continent, there were many remains of ancient sects, legacies of powerful cultivators, and abundant Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures. What if someone really lucked out with a significant opportunity?
Lu Yi thought there was a good saying: "The martial world isn't just about fighting and killing; it's about human relationships."
The same was true in the cultivation world; unless there's a direct conflict of interest, everyone lived in peace.
As Lu Yi got closer to White Sun Peak, he saw more and more outer sect disciples.
The outer sect had tens of thousands of disciples, and around ten thousand would come to White Sun Peak at the beginning of each month. From above, they looked like a migrating colony of ants.
As they neared White Sun Peak, the atmosphere among the outer sect disciples grew more solemn.
The lecture area on the mountain peak was located at the summit. Although the platform at the summit was quite large, there were only a thousand seats, enough for only a thousand disciples.
What about the others? Of course, they would stand on the paths, halfway up the mountain, wherever there was space.
Listening at the summit was clearer, and after the lecture, the Elder would randomly address disciples' cultivation questions—specifically, those on the summit platform.
Who wouldn't want to scramble for a seat there?
Who got to sit? Naturally, it depended on strength.
The strong got on; the weak, unfortunately, did not.
Lu Yi had always listened from halfway up the mountain.
This time, he intended to check out the view from the summit platform.
With a smile, Lu Yi walked toward the summit of White Sun Peak.
As he climbed higher, disciples at the Qi Cultivation First and Second Layers stopped. It wasn't that they didn't want to continue but rather dared not. The spots were limited, and if they climbed up and took spots meant for stronger disciples, they would get beaten.
Most disciples had a good sense of their place.
Soon, disciples at the Qi Cultivation Third and Fourth Layers also stopped.
By the time he reached halfway up the mountain, the number of people significantly decreased, and even those at the Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer stopped.
Not long after, most disciples at the Qi Cultivation Sixth Layer stopped too.
Beyond that point was the territory for disciples at the Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer and above.
But Lu Yi did not stop; he continued upward.
The outer sect disciples nearby were stunned for a moment, then showed expressions of amusement.
Someone wanted to challenge the authority of the stronger disciples? It had been a while since they had seen such a bold act.
Disciples at the Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer and above frowned upon seeing Lu Yi. It was already crowded up there, and now a Qi Cultivation Sixth Layer disciple was trying to join them? Ridiculous!
Lu Yi ignored their gazes, smiling as he continued forward.
Those disciples' expressions became increasingly strange.
Even those at the Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer stopped, but Lu Yi hadn't.
That was close to the summit, a place for particularly strong Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer and even Qi Cultivation Eighth Layer disciples!
There were only so many spots there, and this bold disciple dared to go up?
"What the heck? Where did this daredevil come from? Isn't he afraid?"
"Isn't he afraid of getting beaten? I dub this junior apprentice the Iron-Headed Kid!"
"Want to bet how long before this kid is kicked down?"
The disciples chattered among themselves.
At that moment, a tall outer sect disciple blocked Lu Yi's path, smiling, "Junior Apprentice Brother, you're heading to the wrong place. How about you head down?"
It began!
The eyes of many outer sect disciples lit up as they eagerly watched the unfolding drama with delight.