"Is Master suggesting that Elder Wen anticipated Sun Feiyu would be harmful to me, so he deliberately arranged for me to go on a mission outside the sect?" Jiang Heng asked after taking a deep breath.
"Your father's conflict with Elder Sun is known to almost all the high-ranking members of the sect, and Elder Wen, as your father's good friend, naturally knows too."
"Based on my past impression of him, Elder Wen is an extremely restrained and deep-thinking individual. Knowing about your talent and strength, he can naturally guess what actions the impulsive and simple-minded Elder Sun might take against you."
"And precisely at this moment, Elder Wen arranges a mission for you to leave the sect. Can you guess why?"
"On the surface, you only have Fleshly Realm strength. Even with the record of defeating a True Qi Realm martial artist, it doesn't prove that you are necessarily much stronger than a True Qi Realm martial artist."
"I've seen the records of your previous mission. In the attack incident, a True Qi Realm martial artist was already killed. Who can guarantee that you are definitely stronger than the one who committed the attack?"
Bai Haocang looked deeply at Jiang Heng.
"So, the mission itself has a considerable level of danger. Coupled with the potential threat from Elder Sun, at that specific moment, Elder Wen's intentions were evidently not good."
"He just needed to appear indifferent and send you to the slaughter. The person wielding the blade would take action."
Jiang Heng fell silent for a moment and then said:
"When I first entered the sect, it was Elder Wen who helped me. It was thanks to him that I became a menial disciple of the sect, so I owe him a favor."
"On that day, I visited him voluntarily and mentioned wanting to repay this favor. It was then that Elder Wen arranged this mission for me."
Bai Haocang calmly shook his head.
"The ill intentions might have always existed in him. It's just that it was specific to this mission, and he might have come up with it on the spot when you mentioned it."
"Or perhaps, even if you hadn't mentioned it, Elder Wen would have found another way to make you take on the mission and temporarily leave the sect."
"In any case, you should be cautious of Elder Wen. Do you understand?"
Jiang Heng nodded silently.
To be honest, Master Bai Haocang's words had indeed stirred a ripple in his heart.
If it was really as Master had said, that Elder Sun had a simple and easily understandable mind, then he believed that Elder Wen might indeed have ulterior motives, just as Master had said, in arranging for him to leave the sect for a mission.
However, why would Elder Wen have ill intentions towards him?
A grudge?
Impossible! In the eyes of the other party, he was just a child, with hardly any interaction. There couldn't possibly be any grudge.
Then, a grudge with his parents?
It shouldn't be possible either. They were good friends for many years...
Wait, this is uncertain.
There are many apparent good friends who secretly hold grudges for small matters.
What if Elder Wen, on the surface calling him 'Big Brother Jiang' all the time, actually harbors jealousy or resentment for some small matter from the past?
Jiang Heng pondered in his mind for a while, but eventually pushed it aside.
"After all, these are just speculations and can't be used to do anything to Elder Wen. As long as we keep a little caution in our hearts for the future.
More importantly, it's strength!
Only strong power is the strongest weapon against all conspiracies! After leaving the Sect Master's cultivation hall, Jiang Heng went to collect the new identity token belonging to the inner disciples and changed into the exclusive uniform for inner disciples before heading to the Scripture Repository.
After presenting his identity token, he went straight to the second floor.
He started picking from the secret manuals on two bookshelves.
Since he had decided to cultivate both his physical body and True Qi simultaneously, the martial arts techniques of the True Qi realm were naturally indispensable.
After some selection.
He chose a mysterious-grade sword technique named 'Qian Heaven One Qi Sword.'
Unlike when he entered the outer sect, where he could learn physical body realm martial arts freely, learning martial arts in the True Qi realm required spending contribution points.
The price for yellow-grade techniques was 10 contribution points.
The price for mysterious-grade techniques was 100 contribution points.
For Jiang Heng, when converted to Blood Qi Pills, they were equivalent to 1 and 10, which was a difference of 10,000 and 100,000 potential points, considering the contribution points needed to upgrade yellow-grade techniques to the mysterious grade.
Actually, purchasing yellow-grade techniques was the most cost-effective.
But since Jiang Heng had his eye on this particular sword technique, he naturally didn't care about the slight difference.
After all, he could be considered quite wealthy now.
The 10,000 contribution points from the previous outer sect competition award, after previous expenditures and the accumulation until half a month ago, still had a surplus of 11,900 contribution points.
So, the 100 contribution points for the mysterious-grade technique didn't really catch his eye.
"Ding! Consuming 10,000 potential points, learned 'Qian Heaven One Qi Sword (Mysterious Grade Beginner).'"
After learning it, Jiang Heng didn't stop at all. He immediately consumed 100,000 potential points to upgrade it to the perfect mysterious grade.
After finishing his studies, Jiang Heng went to the inner sect area and, guided by a miscellaneous disciple, selected a secluded courtyard as his new residence.
On the way, the miscellaneous disciple explained some of the rules of the inner sect to him.
Unlike the almost free-range style of the outer sect, the number of inner disciples was relatively smaller, and their status was higher. Therefore, different people would be arranged to conduct classes in the Martial Arts Hall every day.
There were those teaching combat experience, those teaching martial arts experience, those teaching martial insights, and even miscellaneous courses like wilderness survival, management, and more, available for the inner disciples.
Outside the Martial Arts Hall, the course schedule for the next week was updated daily, and all inner disciples could go and study at any time.
In addition to that.
Most inner disciples would apprentice themselves under a certain elder, like the previous Mi Wenjie.
In a way.
Outer sect disciples were like school students, while inner sect disciples had already entered the internship stage, and the elders were like supervisors in charge of their internships."
And Jiang Heng is like an intern directly managed by the CEO.
There are pros and cons to this.
The advantage is that the Sect Master can provide more resources to cultivate him.
The downside is that the Sect Master may not have much time to oversee him.
After getting a general understanding, Jiang Heng exchanged five hundred Blood Qi Pills at once and immersed himself in cultivation once again.
A few days later.
"Brother Jiang Heng! Are you inside?"
A clear voice echoed outside the courtyard.
Jiang Heng paused his cultivation and went to open the courtyard gate.
Outside the courtyard stood Wen Qingxue, just as charming and lovely as ever. What surprised Jiang Heng was that she was now wearing the inner disciple attire of the Dalu Sect.
Previously, as Elder Wen's daughter, Wen Qingxue held a status akin to a sect relative and was not considered a member of the sect, much like Jiang Heng during his childhood.
But now, dressed in inner disciple attire, it was evident that she had formally joined the sect.
Furthermore, her cultivation had reached the True Qi Realm.
"You've broken through to the True Qi Realm? So quickly?" Jiang Heng couldn't hide his astonishment.
"Hehe!" Wen Qingxue giggled playfully and said, "Yep, while you were on your missions, I made the breakthrough. I'm now a Fifth-level True Qi Realm warrior. Impressive, right?"
"Very impressive!" Jiang Heng genuinely marveled and then invited her inside the courtyard.
"You've returned to the sect, and you didn't even come to see me. All you do is bury yourself in cultivation. I heard you were almost assassinated by a Pre-Natal Realm expert before, and I've been worried about you."
Wen Qingxue pouted and complained.
Jiang Heng chuckled awkwardly, "Well, there were a lot of things happening during the mission, so I got caught up and forgot!"
"But fortunately, it was a narrow escape. It's a good thing I reminded you back then."
Wen Qingxue suddenly smiled sweetly.
"Reminded me?" Jiang Heng couldn't help but be puzzled.