Several hours passed while the commotion outside continued.
Many cultivators throughout Cloud Mist Market were still discussing the breakthrough phenomenon while various alliance halls hurriedly updated their records regarding the newest Xuan Gang expert born within the Training Center.
Meanwhile—
Inside the cultivation room, Lin Sheng remained seated cross-legged.
His eyes were closed.
His breathing was steady.
His attention wasn't focused on the people outside.
Instead—
It was focused entirely on the changes occurring within his body.
Countless streams of data continuously flowed across his vision.
The Chip was operating at maximum capacity.
Every transformation.
Every fluctuation.
Every microscopic change.
Nothing escaped observation.
This opportunity was simply too precious.
After all, opportunities to directly observe the transition from Innate to Xuan Gang only occurred once.
Missing such data would be foolish.
Within his body, the newly formed Gang Qi surged through his meridians like an endless river.
Compared to True Essence—
The difference was overwhelming.
If True Essence resembled liquid silver, then Gang Qi resembled molten lightning.
Its quality.
Density.
Purity.
Everything had undergone a complete transformation.
Most importantly—
Its quantity was increasing at a shocking speed.
Lin Sheng immediately noticed something unexpected.
His Qi Sea Acupoint located within the middle dantian had expanded during the breakthrough.
Not slightly.
Significantly.
As more Gang Qi entered it, the acupoint showed no signs of reaching its limit.
Instead, it continued stabilizing while absorbing more and more energy.
At the same time, the Spirit Gathering Formation around him continued operating.
Spiritual Qi poured toward the cultivation room from every direction.
The speed was astonishing.
Much faster than before.
Much faster than Innate cultivation.
If Innate martial artists absorbed spiritual qi one strand at a time, then Xuan Gang experts absorbed entire streams.
No wonder Xuan Gang was considered a completely different realm.
According to records within the Training Center, a Xuan Gang expert's cultivation speed was often judged by their Gang Qi projection during breakthrough.
One to three zhang.
Equivalent to low-grade spiritual roots.
Three to six zhang.
Equivalent to mid-grade spiritual roots.
Six zhang and above.
Equivalent to high-grade spiritual roots.
This was one of the reasons why geniuses with stronger foundations advanced much faster after entering Xuan Gang.
Yet as Lin Sheng observed his own absorption speed—
His expression gradually became strange.
Too fast.
Far too fast.
The surrounding spiritual qi inside the room was already beginning to thin.
Not because the formation was weak.
But because he was absorbing it faster than it could gather.
"This..."
Lin Sheng narrowed his eyes.
Even with the formation amplifying his cultivation speed, this result felt excessive.
The Chip rapidly calculated.
Soon a conclusion appeared.
[Estimated Spiritual Qi Absorption Rate: Exceeds High-Grade Spiritual Root Equivalent.]
[Estimated Range: Earth Grade and Above.]
Lin Sheng's eyelid twitched.
That wasn't good.
Not good at all.
His breakthrough phenomenon had already been suppressed to nearly ten zhang.
If people discovered his actual cultivation speed afterward, countless questions would follow.
Fortunately—
The problem was easy to solve.
He simply stopped.
Immediately, the surrounding spiritual qi stabilized.
The pressure inside the cultivation room lessened considerably.
A few moments later, Lin Sheng nodded.
"Good."
There was no need to reveal everything.
A high-grade spiritual root equivalent speed was already monstrous enough.
Anything higher would only attract unnecessary attention.
His foundation wasn't going anywhere.
The advantage would remain his regardless.
Looking inward once more, Lin Sheng shifted his attention toward cultivation.
The Baihui Acupoint at the crown of his head had already reached its limit.
Now—
His Gang Qi was moving toward the next acupoint.
Dongtian Acupoint.
The beginning of true Xuan Gang cultivation.
The moment he inspected it, a headache immediately appeared.
The reason was simple.
Numbers.
Lots of numbers.
According to martial cultivation records, the number of acupoints opened during the Innate Realm directly affected future cultivation.
Someone who opened ten acupoints during Innate would need to fill ten acupoints to reach Mid Xuan Gang.
Another Twenty to reach Late Xuan Gang.
Then another Thirty to reach Peak Xuan Gang.
Sixty Acupoints total.
Adding the original ten created a total foundation of forty.
Bai Ling belonged to this category.
She had opened ten acupoints.
Thus, her path was already considered excellent.
Lin Sheng, however—
Opened twelve.
Nine primary acupoints.
Three hidden acupoints.
Meaning he would need to fill twelve acupoints for Early Xuan Gang.
Another twenty-four for Mid Xuan Gang.
Then thirty-six more afterward.
A total of seventy-two acupoints.
Seventy-two.
Lin Sheng suddenly felt his scalp go numb.
Even with his cultivation speed, that number was terrifying.
The Chip quickly produced estimates.
[Current Estimated Time Required: Eleven to Twelve Years.]
[Potential Increase Due To Rising Difficulty: Fifteen To Thirty Years.]
"..."
Lin Sheng stared silently.
For a brief moment, he wondered if opening the hidden acupoints had been worth it.
Then he immediately dismissed the thought.
Of course it was worth it.
The stronger the foundation, the higher the future ceiling.
Without a sufficient foundation, reaching Astral Gang would become significantly harder.
He wasn't cultivating for speed.
He was cultivating for longevity and strength.
Still—
Seventy-two acupoints was absurd.
"Hopefully there are pills for this."
The thought appeared instinctively.
After all, immortal cultivators possessed countless pills for increasing cultivation.
Martial artists should have similar resources.
Perhaps Guardian Zhao would know.
Perhaps Old Liang.
Thinking about his master caused a slight smile to appear. Then the old man had hidden quite a few things.
Eventually, Lin Sheng stopped thinking about it. Standing up slowly, he stretched his body.
Crack!
Crack!
Crack!
A series of explosive sounds erupted from his bones.
The noise resembled distant thunder.
Every movement contained astonishing power.
Even without testing it, he knew his physical strength had increased tremendously.
Rank-2 Mid Stage Yao Beast.
Perhaps even stronger.
The Vajra Refinement Manual together with countless body-refining resources had finally begun displaying their effects.
Exhaling slowly, Lin Sheng walked toward the door.
The formation around the room gradually dispersed.
The moment he stepped outside—
He froze.
A crowd.
A massive crowd.
Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Alliance Hall representatives.
Core trainees.
Xuan Gang experts.
Even several market officials.
Everyone was waiting.
The instant they noticed him appear, numerous smiles emerged.
"Congratulations, Fellow Daoist Lin!"
"Congratulations on entering Xuan Gang!"
"Amazing talent!"
"Future Guardian material!"
Voices erupted from every direction.
Lin Sheng almost felt overwhelmed.
Thankfully, years of experience helped him maintain a calm expression.
One by one—
He returned greetings.
Accepted congratulations.
Exchanged pleasantries.
The process lasted nearly half an hour.
Among the crowd, Lin Yan also stepped forward.
Her expression appeared calm.
Professional.
Exactly like someone congratulating a distant relative.
"Congratulations."
Lin Sheng almost laughed.
The act was flawless.
Unfortunately—
His perception was too sharp.
He could clearly see the pride hidden within her eyes.
And beneath that pride—
A trace of anger.
Lin Sheng immediately knew why.
He hadn't informed her beforehand.
If something had gone wrong during the breakthrough, she would've learned about it only afterward.
Realizing this, he silently decided to apologize later.
Eventually the crowd dispersed enough for another familiar figure to approach.
Guardian Zhao.
The large man looked at him before nodding in satisfaction.
"Good."
"Very good."
His eyes contained genuine approval.
Lin Sheng immediately bowed.
"Thank you, Guardian Zhao."
The latter laughed.
Then he suddenly tossed something forward.
Lin Sheng instinctively caught it.
Looking down—
He discovered a dark metallic gauntlet covered in intricate runes.
Spiritual light flowed across its surface.
Rank-2 Spiritual Artifact.
His eyes widened slightly.
Such a gift wasn't cheap.
"Guardian Zhao..."
Before he could finish speaking, Zhao waved his hand dismissively.
"No need."
"We're family."
Lin Sheng blinked.
Family?
Seeing his confusion, Zhao grinned.
"You'll understand soon."
"Our master wanted it to remain a surprise."
Lin Sheng froze.
Our master.
The confirmation finally arrived.
Guardian Zhao truly was Old Liang's disciple.
Before he could ask further questions, Zhao shook his head.
"No spoilers."
"Wait until you return."
Then he turned and left.
Leaving Lin Sheng standing there with countless questions.
Eventually, he gave up.
If Old Liang wanted to explain personally, then there was no point asking further.
Turning around—
He spotted several familiar figures approaching.
Zhao Feng.
Lin Shou.
Lin Xiaolu.
Lou Han.
The entire group had arrived.
The moment Zhao Feng reached him, he slapped Lin Sheng's shoulder heavily.
Bang!
"Not bad!"
"You actually beat us all."
Lin Sheng smiled.
"You'll catch up."
Zhao Feng rolled his eyes.
"Easy for you to say."
Lin Shou nodded.
"Congratulations."
As usual, his words were few.
Lin Xiaolu also offered her congratulations while Lou Han simply grinned.
For the next several minutes, they discussed the breakthrough process.
The Life and Death Pass.
Gang Qi.
Protective Aura.
Various details.
Naturally, Lin Sheng omitted certain secrets.
But most of the information wasn't particularly sensitive.
The group listened attentively.
After all—
Their turn would arrive eventually.
Most of them were already approaching Peak Innate.
It was only a matter of time.
After chatting for a while, Zhao Feng suddenly asked,
"So."
"When's your banquet?"
Lin Sheng looked confused.
"What banquet?"
"The Xuan Gang banquet."
"The celebration."
"The feast."
"The part where you spend spirit stones."
Zhao Feng's smile became increasingly suspicious.
Lin Sheng instantly understood.
The others were also staring at him.
Even Lou Han stopped smiling.
Clearly—
They all wanted free food.
Lin Sheng immediately shook his head.
"No banquet."
Silence.
Several expressions froze.
Lou Han looked genuinely disappointed.
"You caused a ten-zhang phenomenon and don't want a banquet?"
"That's criminal."
Zhao Feng nodded seriously.
"I agree."
Lin Xiaolu couldn't help smiling slightly.
Even Lin Shou's lips twitched.
Seeing their reactions, Lin Sheng laughed.
Then he raised a hand.
"Fine."
"If you all want a banquet so badly, then let's do it properly."
The group immediately brightened.
Then Lin Sheng continued.
"I'll host it."
"When all of you break through to Xuan Gang."
The smiles froze. Instantly
Lou Han cursed. Zhao Feng groaned. Lin Xiaolu shook her head. Lin Shou simply laughed.
For a moment—
The atmosphere became lively once more.
And looking at his friends laughing together, Lin Sheng found himself smiling.
Regardless of future dangers. Regardless of cultivation. Regardless of ambitions.
At least for this moment—
Some things hadn't changed at all.