The tournament participants had all dispersed, and the winners were guided by the elders to heal their injuries.
-------------
-1 day before the Lingyun Sect selection-
In the Chang Jiang forest, inside a cave, one could see a young man of about 14 years old cultivating. Spiritual energy condensed around him and entered his body before a little smoke came out of his nose, creating a mesmerizing cycle.
The young man had jet-black hair, tied in a high ponytail, with an unparalleled face. This young man was, of course, Jian Ning.
[Ding, the host cultivated for 1 minute and gained +36 cultivation points and +36 white energy]
[Ding, the host cultivated for 1 minute and gained +36 cultivation points and +36 white energy]
[Ding, the host cultivated for 4 hours and gained +8680 cultivation points and +8640 white energy]
Jian Ning slowly opened his deep blue eyes, filled with stars.
"Ling, show me my status," Jian Ning ordered as he stood up and prepared to return home.
[Name: Jian Ning]
[Cultivation: Rank 4 Qi Gathering [13,280/60,000] (+)]
[Age: 14 years]
[Body: Storm Body "dormant"]
[Talent: Low Earth rank cultivation talent [0/256,000] (+) // Mid Sky rank lightning talent [0/2,480,000] (+) // Low Sky rank wind talent [0/1,240,000] (+) // Low King rank sword talent [60,000/10,000,000] (+)]
[Cultivation technique: "Jian Family Technique" (Mid Yellow rank) – comprehended to perfection – [2,185/3,200] (+)]
[Martial skill: 'Leaf Sword Technique' (Mid Yellow rank) – comprehended to perfection – [1,000/3,200] (+) // 'Mystic Phantom Steps' (Mid Yellow rank) – comprehended to peak – [230/1,600] (+) //'Shadowless Sword Technique' (High Yellow rank) – comprehended to peak perfection1 – [9,600/9,600] (+) // 'Wind Breeze Steps' – comprehended to peak – [9,600/9,600] (+)]
[Weapon intention: entered sword intention at 10% [0/100,000] (+)]
[Luck: Sky rank luck [101/800]]
[Total energy: 69,000 white energy]
[White energy per minute: 18 white energy/minute]
"Good! With my current points, I can easily upgrade my martial technique from High Yellow rank to Low Black rank," Jian Ning thought as he looked at the number of his points, which slightly exceeded what he needed.
Fortunately, he had hunted a lot and his notoriety was still significant in the city of Tianjin. Without the emotions gathered from the inhabitants, he surely wouldn't have been able to amass such wealth in such a short time.
"It's time to go home!" Jian Ning said with a joyful voice at the thought of acquiring a deep rank martial technique. After all, a deep rank technique is necessary to learn an artistic conception.
If it wasn't for his monstrous talent, Jian Ning surely wouldn't have understood sword intention, even with the help of the spiritual sword fruit.
The prerequisites for understanding an artistic conception are: 1 - understand a deep rank martial technique to the great realization level at minimum; 2 - have at least a Black rank talent or a very powerful external aid.
Although Jian Ning didn't meet the first prerequisite, he had the second, and it was mainly his talent that helped him.
-------------
~ 30 minutes later ~
At the entrance of the Jian family residence, while two guards at the end of Tempering Body were guarding the main entrance, a silhouette suddenly appeared, faster than a lightning bolt in a storm.
The guards, seeing this silhouette suddenly appear before them, immediately took their weapons and pointed them at the silhouette that was clearing to reveal the face of Jian Ning.
Seeing the guards pointing their weapons at him, Jian Ning wasn't offended at all, on the contrary, he was pleased to see the guards so attentive and reactive.
So Jian Ning wasn't going to make things difficult for them and just took out a badge from his spatial ring.
The guards' eyes suddenly widened at the sight of the badge. "Greetings to young master Jian Ning," the two guards shouted, not only out of respect but also out of fear.
For it is well known in the city that Jian Ning is already a Qi Gathering rank cultivator, at the age of 14.
"Good, at ease," replied Jian Ning as he disappeared again, bringing a breeze over the faces of the two guards.
Seeing Jian Ning leave, the two guards began to discuss amongst themselves.
"Wow! So the rumor that the young master has already reached the Qi Gathering level is true!"
"I believe his level might have already surpassed level 1 Qi Gathering"
The two guards exclaimed with admiration and envy.
Jian Ning quickly headed to the family library, without even taking the time to speak with his adoptive parents to let them know he was back.
Jian Ning had mixed feelings about his adoptive parents. Although they were not his biological parents, they had always treated him very well. He felt a bit guilty about creating tension in the family because of his unfriendly relationship with Jian Mei.
Even though Jian Ning didn't want to get too attached to them, he knew deep down that he would have to leave one day to explore a broader world.
It didn't take long for Jian Ning to reach the library. Fortunately, the badge he had obtained from his father allowed him to choose any martial technique in the library.
After greeting the grand elder in charge of the library, Jian Ning went straight to the top floor where the High Yellow rank martial techniques were stored.
"Since I can take as many techniques as I want, I might as well indulge myself! Last time, I didn't know about Ling's function to upgrade my martial techniques, so I didn't see the point in learning other techniques besides the ones I already knew," Jian Ning thought as he browsed the few High Yellow rank techniques.
This time he wanted a sword technique and a movement technique.
Finally, after a few minutes of searching, Jian Ning chose the "Raining Cloud Sword Technique" and the "Thunder Cloud Legs".
Right after choosing these martial techniques, Jian Ning went down to the reception to notify the grand elder of his choices.
"Grand elder, I would like to take these two martial techniques," Jian Ning said, handing the two books to the grand elder.
"So you've decided to take new martial techniques even though you took one just a few days ago?!" asked the grand elder, skeptical and a bit angry with Jian Ning.
Does this kid want to rush things?!
The grand elder believed that Jian Ning was eager for quick success.
"In response to the grand elder, the technique I took earlier didn't suit me very well, so I took the 'Raining Cloud Sword Technique' to test, while I chose the 'Thunder Cloud Legs' because when I went into the forest, I had great luck but also almost lost my life," Jian Ning lied without blinking, as he had already prepared an answer for such situations.
After all, he couldn't simply tell the truth without endangering his life. Jian Ning had decided to keep Ling secret, and that for the rest of his life or at least as long as possible.
The grand elder patiently listened to what Jian Ning had to say, and upon hearing the word 'great luck', he immediately scanned Jian Ning's cultivation level.
And he was shocked by what he saw.
Rank 4 Qi Gathering!!
The grand elder hadn't scanned Jian Ning's cultivation at first because it was pointless, after all he had just broken through a few days ago.
But seeing him with this cultivation level stunned the grand elder.
Such a cultivation speed even made him a bit greedy for a moment, but as an old monster with many years of experience, he quickly regained control over his emotions.
"Very well! You can take these techniques, you are after all the greatest genius of our family, I hope you will bring the glory that our family deserves," said the grand elder, letting go.
A genius like this must have some space and a few secrets.
For he knew very well that in the path of cultivation, luck is a very important factor, especially at higher levels.
"Don't worry, grand elder, I won't disappoint you," said Jian Ning solemnly, as he began to head to the fourth elder's house.
He didn't want to upgrade the martial technique openly, after all there are always people with bad intentions and too much curiosity.
Moreover, he had to notify his adoptive family of his return.