Void Sword Sect was spread over the Void Isolation Peak. Some areas were specifically for housing, while others held Dao Pavilions, the Hall of Mastery, or Sacred Cultivation grounds.
White Crane Peak was where all of the Trial Disciples were located, and there existed a towering pavilion where they took up their daily missions.
Lin Fei arrived before the gates and moved inside. A lone desk stood right opposite the doors, and he walked right over.
"I wish to exchange this for the contribution points." He handed a small wooden slip.
The old man with bushy brows leaned forward to examine the piece of wood and then dropped it into a bin.
"Name?"
"Lin Fei," he answered.
"Your total contribution points amount to 1,235."
"I wish to use them all."
At his words, the old man looked up and then nodded. "Very well."
He then handed him a jade slip and went back to taking a nap.
Lin Fei glanced at the slip and read '1,235' on the back and 'Trial - Lin Fei' on the front.
Satisfied, he left the pavilion and made his way back to his quarters.
"Lin Fei!"
Hearing someone shout his name, Lin Fei turned to glance at a tall, scrawny man rushing toward him.
"Lin Fei, you're back." The man—his friend Ye Chenxi—seemed out of breath despite only running a few feet.
"What happened?" he asked.
Having caught his breath, Ye Chenxi made to speak, "That..." He hesitated. "I..."
"Just spit it out." Feeling impatient, Lin Fei urged.
"Lin Fei, do you still have those contribution points?" Ye Chenxi asked apprehensively.
"Why?"
"Well, you remember what I told you a few days ago?"
Lin Fei took a moment to recall and then nodded. "That you wish to leave early instead of waiting for another two years?"
"Yeah, that." He nodded. "So the day before yesterday, I exchanged all my contribution points into Spirit Stones and sent them home."
"And what's that got to do with me?" By now a frown was creeping on his features. Ye Chenxi might've been Lin Fei's friend, but that Lin Fei wasn't him. He honestly didn't much care for this friend or his supposed family for that matter.
Ye Chenxi gulped. "Chen Wei found out about it."
"Is that how you got those bruises and a black eye?"
The man nodded. "He beat me up."
"Ok." Lin Fei nodded. "But I still don't see what it has got to do with me."
The man seemed hesitant. "D-Do you still have those contribution points?"
"What's that—" Lin Fei stopped mid-sentence and stared at Ye Chenxi. "You fucker. You told him!"
Ye Chenxi took a step back, his back hitting the wall of the hallway. "I—I had no choice. He was going to kill me."
Lin Fei groaned in annoyance. Just when he was thinking how smooth everything would be, this idiot had to open his mouth and ruin it all.
"What else did you tell him? Does he know when I'm coming back?"
Hearing his calm tone, Ye Chenxi felt calm return to him also.
"No, I didn't, he asked me, but I said that you took up the task to fill the tankers and will be busy for the rest of the week."
At least he had two days before that guy came knocking on his doors. "Did he also tell you to inform him when I show up?"
"Lin Fei, I—" Before Ye Chenxi could finish his sentence, Lin Fei grabbed his collar and slammed him against the wall.
"If you utter a single more word, you don't have to worry about Chen Wei killing you. I will do it myself." Saying so, he let go and turned to leave but then stopped. "Oh, and one more thing: stay out of the room when I'm inside."
Leaving behind those words, Lin Fei retired to his room. Usually the duo would share space, but after this new headache, he didn't even want to see that idiot's face, lest rage blind him.
Lin Fei decided to examine his body and found just how weak he was compared to a Body Tempering realm cultivator.
In the Mortal Foundation Realm, there were a total of four minor realms—Body Tempering, Bone Refinement, Meridian Opening, and Dantian Establishment.
After that came the realm of Qi Gathering, once more divided into four minor realms. The same was true for Qi Refinement. From Foundation Establishment Realm, there were only three minor realms going forward.
Needless to say, Lin Fei was currently at the very bottom of the cultivation hierarchy.
To temper the body, one needed to exercise extensively and consume body-strengthening elixirs. In the Void Sword Sect, a Trail Disciple was taught a technique called Eighteen Serpent Formation.
It would allow one to thoroughly strengthen one's body and extract much essence from the elixirs.
But Lin Fei had read up on thousands of methods used across countless realms on how to temper one's body. And one had stood differentiated from the rest.
The method was called Earthly Titan Body Art. And what was most fascinating about this art was that one could continue to use this method even after finishing the Mortal Foundation Realm. Although it didn't offer infinite growth, the limit was truly the sky in this case.
Having made his decision, Lin Fei used Earthly Titan Body Art to cultivate. He spread his legs in a stable manner and punched out, feeling the strength being directed from his leg to his waist and then flowing through his fist. He then performed a kick and then a horse stance.
Going through the forms of the method, he felt a cool sensation spread from beneath his navel. Somehow, even without establishing his dantian, a murky essence was taking form within.
Startled, he hurried to check it and found it bearing properties similar to Earth Element.
Feeling a grin stretch across his face, Lin Fei went back to performing the forms. The gathering of Qi within his dantian was slow, so slow in fact that it would take years just to fill it to the brim. And it must be noted that it only takes a few months to fill one's dantian with Qi once they step into the Qi Gathering Realm.
Of course, for Lin Fei, the addition of Earthly Essence was just a side benefit; his main goal was to temper his body.