"Sigh! What a pity!"
"The feeling of gaining something and then losing it again is so frustrating!"
Walking on the path back to Peak Return, Jiang Heng wore a sorrowful expression.
He had initially thought that becoming a disciple would come with additional resources, but it turned out to be nothing more than the same championship reward as in the previous Grand Competition.
While the rewards were quite generous, the disappointment was inevitable.
What made Jiang Heng even more conflicted was that the Sect Leader had instructed him to break through to the True Qi Realm but hadn't specified the rewards awaiting him after the breakthrough.
Previously, during his trials in the Western Luo Mountain Range, after his battle with Bu Hanyi, he had discovered the high potential points awarded for challenging opponents of higher realms.
At that time, he had resolved to accumulate enough potential points before breaking through.
However, now there were mysterious rewards from the Sect Leader waiting for him, and all he needed to do was break through to claim them.
Jiang Heng returned to the outer sect area of Peak Return while pondering his decision. He headed towards his small courtyard.
"Well, no matter whether my master has rewards or not, I'll wait until I've earned enough potential points," he decided.
Having made up his mind, Jiang Heng pushed open the door while holding a wooden box.
In the courtyard, a charming young girl sat on a stone bench in the corner. She was none other than Jiang Heng's childhood friend, Wen Qingxue.
"Brother Jiang Heng, I heard you won the sect's competition!" As soon as she saw Jiang Heng enter, Wen Qingxue immediately stood up, exclaiming excitedly.
Jiang Heng chuckled and walked into the house. "Calm down, calm down! It's not that big of a deal!"
The two of them entered the house one after the other. Jiang Heng placed the wooden box he was carrying on the table and looked at Wen Qingxue again.
"Sister Qingxue, you heard about my victory so quickly?"
"Yeah! Our maid told me. She said you're the number one disciple in the outer sect and even the strongest cultivator in the Body Refining Realm in history!" Wen Qingxue's eyes sparkled with admiration and longing.
"That's too exaggerated. I've just been using the time others spend drinking coffee to cultivate, so I'm a bit stronger, that's all!" Jiang Heng grinned.
However, at this moment, Jiang Heng didn't notice that Wen Qingxue seemed to have discovered something unusual. Her pupils suddenly contracted, and she shivered all over. Then she quickly returned to her usual playful and innocent demeanor, curiously asking, "Coffee? What's coffee?"
"It's just a delicious type of tea," Jiang Heng casually changed the topic. They continued to chat for a while, and then Wen Qingxue pouted and said, "My father asked me to tell you that he hasn't seen you for a long time. Please come and visit our house when you have time."
Jiang Heng smiled playfully and nodded in agreement. "Sure, I'll visit when I have the time."
I apologize for any inconsistencies. Let me correct that:
"He and Wen Qingxue were childhood sweethearts, and after they joined the sect, they spent a lot of time together, naturally forming a close relationship.
However, Jiang Heng didn't have much goodwill towards Wen Qingxue's father deep inside.
In his memories, Elder Wen had always been a good friend of his father, often addressing him as 'Brother Jiang.' But after his parents passed away, Elder Wen's attitude towards him had rapidly turned cold.
While the sect's rules might have dictated his placement with an ordinary family, the way Elder Wen, his father's good friend and 'brother,' had acted so coldly felt like a harsh dose of reality and heartlessness.
Back when he had sought Elder Wen's help to join the sect, it was merely to repay a favor owed, not out of any particular fondness for the man.
He would repay favors but maintain distance from people.
Within the entire sect, the only person he had genuine feelings for right now was Wen Qingxue.
After chatting for a while longer, Wen Qingxue left the scene with playful jumps.
In her mind, she asked, 'Sister Lingyun, did you investigate carefully? What exactly is Jiang Heng's extraordinary encounter?'
Xiao Lingyun's voice responded in her mind, 'There should also be a fragment of a powerful soul in his mind. If I were to release my soul power to investigate, there's a high chance of being detected.'
'You're still too weak right now, so I can't risk exposure.'
'So, for now, I can't investigate in detail.'
Wen Qingxue maintained her cute and playful smile.
'Is that so? Then let's forget about it! This is also a good thing!'
...
After Wen Qingxue left, Jiang Heng locked the courtyard gate and took out some Blood Qi Pills to start his cultivation.
He had a thousand Blood Qi Pills, which, at his current rate of cultivation, would be enough for a thousand hours of practice.
Even if he practiced for six hours every day, they would last for half a year.
One pill after another entered his stomach, and Jiang Heng's potential points began another round of rapid growth.
Ten days later.
Inside the small courtyard.
Jiang Heng was enveloped in a dense blood-like aura, stretching his body to its limits while practicing the 'Primordial Genesis Art.'
The aura surged, and the strong wind roared.
After a while, he closed his fists and stood still.
The wind subsided, and the courtyard returned to tranquility.
Jiang Heng opened his personal panel to check.
Host: Jiang Heng.
Cultivation: Body Refining Realm Tenth Stage (23/100,000).
Primary Cultivation Technique: 'Primordial Genesis Art (Heaven Tier)' (Entry Level).
Martial Techniques: 'Mountain Breaking Fist (Profound Tier)' (Perfected), 'Swift Wind Steps (Profound Tier)' (Perfected).
Secret Technique: 'Golden Statue Art (Profound Tier)' (Triple).
Potential Points: 1,160,000.
He took a deep breath and ordered in his mind:
'Upgrade! Primordial Genesis Art!'
'Ding! Consuming 1,000,000 potential points. Learned 'Primordial Genesis Art (Heaven Tier)' (Proficient).'
Meanwhile,
A vast stream of information surged into his mind, and there seemed to be a mysterious change happening within his body.
Jiang Heng lit a stick of incense in the corner of the courtyard.
Then he swallowed another Qi Blood Pill and began practicing the proficient level of the "Primordial Genesis Art."
His stomach writhed wildly, driving the rapid digestion of the Qi Blood Pill, and countless streams of heat surged throughout his body.
After a long time,
The Qi Blood Pill was completely digested.
Jiang Heng immediately turned his head to look at the corner of the courtyard, a look of joy in his heart.
"It only took half an hour!"
"Compared to before the upgrade, the efficiency has doubled!"
He opened his personal panel to take a look.
Potential Points: 170,000.
The number of potential points obtained hadn't changed; it was still 10,000 points.
"At this rate, I can digest at least ten or more Qi Blood Pills every day, enough to increase my potential points by over a hundred thousand!"
"I'm going to go into seclusion and completely digest all the Qi Blood Pills!"
Thinking of this, Jiang Heng became excited.
With such rapid progress in cultivation at every moment,
In addition to fighting to the death,
Only this kind of closed-door cultivation can make Jiang Heng's blood boil!
...
At the same time, not far from Jiang Heng's small courtyard,
Lei Song, who had been monitoring him all along, furrowed his brows.
Elder Sun had given him a deadline of half a year for the task. Originally, he had a rough plan in mind and was just waiting for Jiang Heng to take the bait.
However, now that Jiang Heng had won the grand competition, he hadn't left his door for over ten days.
Moreover, who knows when he'll leave next?
According to Elder Sun's requirements, he not only had to kill Jiang Heng but also couldn't leave any traces of human intervention.
He couldn't kill openly or secretly; he could only find a way to lure him outside the sect and then get him involved in an event, in order to reasonably kill him.
So now, all Lei Song could do was wait!
Wait for Jiang Heng to leave the sect.
At that time, it would be a full-force kill!