A month later, the tension inside Cloud Mist Market still had not settled.
Instead, it had become even more chaotic.
The rumors of ancient inheritances hidden within the Cloud Mist Forest spread further and further throughout the surrounding regions. Countless rogue cultivators, wandering martial artists, hunting teams and even small cultivation families started entering the forest in hopes of obtaining opportunities.
For many low level cultivators, this was the chance to change their fate.
And some truly succeeded.
Within the Bing and Ding regions of the market, stories spread almost daily.
Someone found a precious spirit herb hidden inside a cliffside cave.
Another stumbled upon a Spirit Fruit tree while escaping from a beast.
A lucky scavenger discovered an incomplete cultivation technique.
There were even rumors that a rogue cultivator obtained ancient medicinal pills from a ruined underground palace.
Of course, for every lucky person, there were many more corpses.
Robberies.
Ambushes.
Disappearances.
The already chaotic Ding region became even bloodier.
Many who found treasures lacked the strength to protect them.
Some tried hiding their gains.
Others became arrogant after gaining opportunities.
Most ended up dead.
After all, the cultivation world had always been cruel.
Possessing treasure without strength was simply inviting disaster.
Inside the training center, life continued differently.
The ranked matches had already been conducted once more for the outer courtyard trainees.
This time, however, there were no dark horses like Lou Han.
No one managed to replace another Grade A trainee.
After Gu Fei's defeat during the previous competition, everyone had become more cautious and serious.
Especially the inner courtyard members.
No one wished to become the second Gu Fei.
As for the Grade A trainees, their cultivation progress had become increasingly terrifying.
Most had already reached the peak of 2nd rate.
Several among them had successfully entered 1st rate a week ago.
Lin Xiaolu.
Lin Shou.
Zhao Feng.
And unexpectedly—
Lou Han.
The moment Lou Han reached 1st rate, his reputation within the training center rose once again.
A Group C trainee rising this quickly naturally attracted attention.
Especially after defeating Gu Fei publicly.
Mentor Xu had practically been smiling every day recently.
Anyone could tell that the current batch of trainees was far more talented than usual.
After all, mentors inside Cloud Mist Training Center received rewards based on the number of successful Innate Realm martial artists produced from their batches.
The better the students performed, the greater the rewards.
As for Lin Sheng...
He sat quietly inside his room while pondering something important.
Whether or not to reveal his cultivation.
Currently, his body contained over three hundred years worth of internal energy.
Not only that, but his internal energy circulation had already formed a unique Heavenly Circulation system throughout his meridians.
The twelve main meridians.
The eight extraordinary meridians.
And dozens of secondary meridians.
All connected perfectly.
Every breath naturally circulated internal energy throughout his body continuously.
His cultivation foundation had already reached an outrageous level.
If he reported his actual realm now, he would immediately gain access to Innate level resources and manuals.
But there were risks.
Too much exposure could attract dangerous attention.
Still...
Lin Sheng slowly opened his eyes.
Compared to before, his mentality had become calmer.
More stable.
From Ghost's memories and everything he had witnessed so far, he already understood one thing.
Strength itself attracted attention.
But weakness attracted danger even faster.
As long as his displayed talent remained within somewhat explainable limits, the Lin Family would likely protect him rather than suppress him.
Especially since monstrous geniuses were not unheard of in cultivation worlds.
Meanwhile, compared to immortal cultivators...
His speed was not completely abnormal.
For immortal cultivators with high grade spiritual roots, reaching Qi Refining from Fetal Breath could take barely over a month.
Medium grade spiritual roots required around two months.
Low grade spiritual roots required several months.
Compared to them, martial cultivation was still slower overall.
Of course, the paths were entirely different.
Martial artists focused heavily on physical foundations and internal circulation.
Immortal cultivators focused more on absorbing spiritual qi directly.
Both had advantages.
Lin Sheng calmly exhaled.
"I'll wait a few more days."
The current commotion involving inheritances throughout the market should dull attention slightly.
Besides...
He could feel another breakthrough approaching.
Inside his sea of consciousness, the eight star points had almost reached their limits.
Once they transformed, he would officially step into Mid Stage Entering Samadhi.
Lin Sheng closed his eyes again and continued meditating.
Days quietly passed.
Finally—
Several days later.
Lin Sheng walked calmly toward Mentor Xu's courtyard.
The assistants along the path already recognized him and no longer showed surprise when seeing him enter the core courtyard.
His reputation within the training center had already become extremely high.
Reaching 1st rate this quickly was enough to shock most people.
But none of them knew the true extent of his cultivation.
Reaching Mentor Xu's courtyard, Lin Sheng stopped before one of the assistants.
"Is Mentor Xu inside?"
The assistant nodded respectfully.
"Please wait a moment."
Shortly afterward, the assistant returned and gestured inward.
"Mentor Xu says you may enter."
Lin Sheng stepped into the courtyard calmly.
Mentor Xu sat beneath a tree while slowly drinking tea.
The moment he saw Lin Sheng enter, a faint smile appeared on his face.
"It seems you've come because of another breakthrough."
Lin Sheng bowed slightly.
"This disciple has reached the peak of the Acquired Realm."
Mentor Xu's hand paused slightly.
For the first time in a while, genuine surprise flashed through his eyes.
But unlike before, he quickly calmed down.
Instead of immediately speaking, he stood up and walked toward Lin Sheng.
"Extend your hand."
Lin Sheng complied calmly.
Mentor Xu placed two fingers against Lin Sheng's wrist.
A strand of internal energy entered his body.
Moments later—
Mentor Xu's eyes widened slightly.
Stable.
Unbelievably stable.
Not only had Lin Sheng opened all eight extraordinary meridians...
His meridians themselves were astonishingly tough and steady.
There were almost no signs of damage or instability.
Even his internal energy quality far surpassed ordinary martial artists.
Mentor Xu slowly withdrew his hand while suppressing the shock in his heart.
"Wait here."
Without explaining further, he turned and left the courtyard briefly.
Not long afterward, an elder arrived together with him.
The elder looked elderly with white hair and calm eyes.
The moment he entered, Lin Sheng immediately felt pressure far greater than Mentor Xu's.
Xuan Gang Realm.
Possibly even stronger.
The elder calmly observed Lin Sheng before speaking.
"Release your internal energy circulation."
Lin Sheng nodded.
Immediately, internal energy flowed naturally throughout his meridians.
The surrounding air faintly stirred.
The elder's calm expression changed slightly.
Then he directly placed his hand against Lin Sheng's back.
Moments later—
The elder slowly withdrew his hand while looking at Lin Sheng with obvious surprise.
"Excellent foundation."
Even his tone became gentler.
Few martial artists could reach this level of stability after opening the extraordinary meridians.
Most suffered hidden injuries or unstable circulation.
Lin Sheng, however, looked almost perfect.
The elder nodded slightly.
"You may begin learning the Innate breakthrough process."
Hearing this, Lin Sheng focused immediately.
This was one of the most important stages in martial cultivation.
The elder slowly began explaining.
"There are three realms and three stages within the Innate Realm."
"The first stage involves converting all internal energy within the body into True Qi while opening three acupoints."
"Once True Qi forms completely, the martial artist officially enters Innate."
Lin Sheng listened carefully.
The elder continued.
"The second stage involves opening the middle dantian and filling it with True Qi while simultaneously opening another three acupoints."
"The third stage involves compressing True Qi into a higher quality liquid state known as True Essence while opening the final three acupoints."
"Only then can one truly be considered a peak Innate expert."
Lin Sheng nodded slowly.
This was far more detailed than ordinary explanations.
The elder continued calmly.
"The acupoints themselves are extremely important."
"They increase one's absorption speed of Heaven and Earth spiritual qi while also stabilizing the foundation."
"Without stable acupoints, later cultivation becomes extremely difficult."
Lin Sheng thought carefully before asking.
"Then how does one begin the breakthrough?"
The elder replied calmly.
"You must use your Innate cultivation technique to attack and open a corresponding acupoint."
"For some techniques, the primary acupoint is Baihui."
"For others, it may be Daimai or another major acupoint."
"It depends entirely on the cultivation exercise."
Lin Sheng immediately understood.
Different Innate manuals specialized in different pathways.
Meaning the chosen manual would heavily affect future cultivation.
The elder looked at him calmly.
"Every trainee who reaches the peak of Acquired is granted access to the restricted section of the library."
"There, you may select one Innate level cultivation manual."
Hearing this, Lin Sheng's eyes narrowed slightly.
Finally.
The restricted section.