The new chapter is going to be posted on the public domain twice a week (Tuesday and Saturday), and thrice a week in my Patreon:
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The next day. Early morning.
Boom!
A powerful aura exploded from Li Xun's thatched hut, causing the entire structure to shake.
His body radiated with an intense energy, shining like a small sun and emitting countless rays of light.
His eyes glowed with a divine light, like two bolts of lightning shooting out, extraordinarily dazzling.
Li Xun stood up tall.
At this moment, he exuded a magnificent aura.
The energy he emitted made the ground beneath him tremble, forming tiny cracks.
"So this is the Pure Yang Body? Truly extraordinary!"
Li Xun examined his condition internally and sighed with amazement.
In just one night, he had transformed from an ordinary body to a Pure Yang Body.
Although his realm was still at the peak of the Qi Condensation Stage, his strength had multiplied several times over.
'With my current power, I could easily defeat my previous self. Even those in the Spirit Meridian Stage might not be my match!' Li Xun thought to himself.
And this was without practicing the Inner Sect disciples' cultivation techniques.
If he were to cultivate advanced techniques, his strength would increase even further.
"It's time to go to the Hall of Examinations for my assessment. I should also see if I can find a few investable people along the way."
The Profound Sun Sect had tens of thousands of outer disciples and thousands of inner disciples.
Even if only one percent were investable in, that would still be a considerable number.
Yesterday, he left late and met fewer people. Today, leaving earlier, he believed he could invest in some people.
With this plan in mind, Li Xun tidied up his belongings, packed everything into his storage ring, and set off.
This time, he was determined to become an inner disciple, so he brought all his possessions, knowing he wouldn't return to this thatched hut.
Zichen Peak was particularly quiet since it wasn't a day for distributing Sect's stipend.
As Li Xun walked, he scanned each disciple he encountered.
"Not investable, not investable... none of them are investable. What's going on?" Li Xun frowned.
He had met hundreds of people, but every one of them showed as not investable.
This puzzled him.
Could it be that his luck had run out yesterday?
Another disciple passed by, and the words "not investable" appeared above his head again.
"It seems that investing also depends on fate," Li Xun sighed, retracting his gaze.
He looked ahead, the Hall of Examinations was in sight.
Finding potential investments had to wait; becoming an inner disciple was the immediate priority.
He strode into the Hall of Examinations.
As he entered, a white-robed inner disciple sitting behind a desk glanced at him and said indifferently, "Here for the assessment?"
In the outer sect, Li Xun was quite famous. But in the inner sect, few had heard of him since he wasn't an inner disciple yet, and they wouldn't flatter him like the outer disciples did.
"Yes," Li Xun nodded.
"Follow me then."
The white-robed disciple stood up, gestured for Li Xun to follow, and led him to a chamber behind the hall.
Inside the chamber, the white-robed disciple took out a dull grey stone and placed it in Li Xun's hand. "Use all your strength to grip this stone and see what color it emits."
"Remember, Body Refinement Stage is white, Qi Condensation Stage is blue."
"If you're at the Qi Condensation Stage but can't make the stone emit blue light, then I'm sorry."
His last words were clear: if a Qi Condensation Stage disciple couldn't make the stone emit blue light, it indicated a mismatch between their realm and strength, disqualifying them from becoming an inner disciple.
After all, every inner disciple represented Profound Sun Sect when they went on missions. If an inner disciple was defeated by a Body Refinement Stage practitioner, it would disgrace the sect.
"Understood?"
The white-robed disciple asked again.
"Yes," Li Xun nodded.
"Then begin."
The white-robed disciple stepped aside, looking at Li Xun with interest.
Li Xun took a deep breath, curious about how his Pure Yang Body and peak Qi Condensation Stage strength would affect the stone.
Boom!
In the next moment, Li Xun's fingers exerted force, his robe billowing as the peak Qi Condensation Stage aura erupted like a volcano, flooding the chamber.
Buzz!
A deep blue light, as profound as the ocean, illuminated the room.
But the brilliance didn't last long.
Boom!
Thud!
Two different sounds occurred almost simultaneously.
"Hmm?"
Li Xun muttered, his eyes flashing with a trace of confusion as he looked at the powder in his hand. He hadn't expected to crush the stone with too much force.
"Senior Brother, this... Hmm? Senior Brother, why are you kneeling?"
Li Xun turned around to explain, but he found the white-robed disciple inexplicably kneeling on the ground.
"Junior Brother... No, you are the Senior Brother. Could you please... restrain your aura?"
The white-robed disciple, kneeling, was paralyzed with shock.
He couldn't fathom how someone could hold back from breaking through to the peak Qi Condensation Stage for so long before taking the assessment.
The power Li Xun displayed nearly made him wet himself.
After all, he was only at the early stage of the Qi Condensation Stage!
Yet Li Xun, at the peak of the Qi Condensation Stage, exerted a pressure comparable to that of Spirit Meridian Stage disciples.
Who was this extraordinary Senior Brother? How did he reach the peak Qi Condensation Stage with just basic Qi cultivation techniques?
"Uh... forgive me, Junior Brother," Li Xun said, retracting his aura and helping the disciple up. "Do I need to retest with another stone?"
"Senior Brother, you're quite the joker. With your strength, there's no need for the stone test," the white-robed disciple squeezed out a smile and said, "We can proceed to the next part."