11: The secret of spring breeze and rain

"Slap!"

"You idiot!" Li Chunsheng glared at Steward Pang, who was collapsed on the ground. "You clearly knew, so why did you send him back to Spirit Beast Peak?"

"Senior Brother Li, I've been wronged! I wasn't the one who sent him," Steward Pang cried out in grief, clutching his face. "It was the instruction of the Spirit Beast Peak's Deacon Hall. Deacon Li personally named him, and Steward Qian came to collect him."

"Damn it, you're truly useless!" Li Chunsheng kicked Steward Pang in a rage. "Why didn't you report this sooner?!"

"I came last night during the Hour of the Dog... but at that time you were..." Steward Pang hesitated.

Hearing this, Li Chunsheng was exceptionally annoyed; he wished he could beat the man named Pang to death.

"You—I order you to find a way. No matter what it takes, get Jiang Yan to the Pill Refining Room!"

"Senior Brother Li, aren't you making things difficult for me?" Steward Pang was on the verge of tears. "That's Deacon Li, someone of your Junior Martial Uncle's generation. I'm just a mere Utility Steward. Even if you gave me ten times the courage, I still couldn't do it."

Furious to the extreme, Li Chunsheng gave Steward Pang another kick. "Get out! Get as far away as possible!"

"Yes, thank you, Senior Brother Li." Steward Pang stumbled to his feet and bowed in gratitude.

However, the moment Steward Pang turned to leave, a flash of hatred flickered in his eyes.

Spirit Beast Hall, Animal Rearing Chamber.

Deacon Li carefully sized up Jiang Yan. He had never scrutinized anyone so seriously before, but the person before him was different, as he was the Utility Disciple strongly recommended by Pang Xuan last night.

"Interesting, Qi Refining First Layer." A smile appeared at the corners of Deacon Li's mouth. "I didn't expect my Qingyun Immortal Sect to overlook such a fine piece of unpolished jade."

Jiang Yan didn't dare to speak; he had heard of how formidable the person before him was.

The Qingyun Sect had a rule that anyone who reached Foundation Establishment could serve as an Outer Sect Elder.

Deacon Li was an exception. Not only did he not become an Elder, but he specifically chose the position of Deacon of Spirit Beast Peak.

One might say he had an eccentric personality, yet he was more normal than anyone, and within the Foundation Establishment Realm, he had almost no rivals.

"To step from a common Mortal into the Qi Refining Realm in less than a month is quite interesting." Deacon Li set down the register and looked out at the layers of mountains. "When do you plan to participate in the Outer Sect Disciple Selection Trial?"

Deacon Li had a unique way of speaking and questioning. Although he had guessed some things, he was unwilling to probe. In his view, everyone had their own secrets, and as long as they weren't extreme actions, he wouldn't care.

"The third of next month," Jiang Yan said respectfully.

"Twelve days left. It seems you're quite confident?" Deacon Li asked with a smile.

"This Disciple's status is humble; I only wish to try," Jiang Yan said truthfully.

Deacon Li nodded slightly. He could see the Disciple before him was telling the truth. He continued, "Do you have a preferred Revered Master in mind?"

"Not for now," Jiang Yan answered.

"My name is Li Yi, and I have yet to take a Disciple. Are you willing to enter my tutelage?" Li Yi withdrew his distant gaze and turned to look at him.

Hearing this, Jiang Yan didn't hesitate for a second and decisively knelt. "Revered Master above, please accept three bows from your Disciple."

"Haha... Good, not bad!" Li Yi laughed with satisfaction, then produced a Cultivation Technique and a Spell. "The techniques in the Scripture Pavilion are incomplete to prevent leakage. This Qi Refining Technique is complete. As for this Spell, while it's not exceptionally great, it's sufficient for you in the Qi Refining Realm."

"Thank you, Revered Master." Taking the two books, Jiang Yan bowed again in salute.

"Remember, status within the Immortal sect is something you earn yourself. As long as you don't harm your fellow Disciples or betray your Revered Master and ancestors, no disaster will be an issue," Li Yi said.

Hearing this, Jiang Yan instantly understood his Revered Master's words.

Simply put, as long as he didn't kill his fellow Disciples or betray his Revered Master, his Revered Master could settle any trouble he caused.

"Oh, right." Li Yi seemed to remember something. He turned around and waved his right hand, and a giant Spell Restriction appeared before them. "This is the Formation Restriction of Spirit Beast Peak. Each area has a Restriction; remember them well. Although the Outer Sect has them too, they aren't complete. If you take on mountain patrolling missions in the future, don't accidentally enter the upper regions."

Jiang Yan nodded and carefully studied the Restrictions of each area.

'No wonder Steward Qian only let me feed within the specified range. It turns out that when I fought the Rock-Earth Green Wolf last time, I was already standing on the Restriction line.'

He quickly memorized the Restrictions of the upper regions; after all, it was truly dangerous there.

As for the middle regions, as long as he didn't go to those further back, he could roam the front and lower regions at will.

Half an hour later, he left the Animal Rearing Chamber.

Watching Jiang Yan's departing figure, Li Yi's smile didn't fade. "Little fellow, I hope you can bring me even more surprises."

"Deacon, the Peak Master requests your presence," Steward Qian said respectfully.

"Oh, I almost forgot." Li Yi smiled and tapped his head. "I need to tell Revered Master; the old man is a Grandmaster now."

Hearing this, Steward Qian was shocked.

Thinking of the Jiang Yan who just left, Steward Qian instantly guessed the general idea.

After a busy day, Jiang Yan returned to the Zayou Place and locked himself in his room.

Regarding the Qi Refining Technique Introductory Chapter, he had already examined it; it was the complete version, just like the one he plundered from Class: Qi Refining First Layer Cultivator.

As for the Spell Li Yi gave him, it surprised him.

He thought it would be some super-strong Spell, but it turned out to be "Spring Breeze Turns to Rain."

'Why is it Spring Breeze Turns to Rain again?'

He couldn't quite understand. His Aptitude clearly leaned towards Thunder and Fire, yet what he got was Water and Wood. Was there some secret in this?

'Forget it, I'll just Cultivate this Spell.'

Steeling his heart, he decisively began to invest two hundred years of life span.

Just as he pushed Spring Breeze Turns to Rain to mastery, an upgrade option actually appeared behind it.

'Holy crap, could this be the correct way to unlock Spring Breeze Turns to Rain?'

'Dammit, let's try it!'

With a thought, he instantly threw in 300 years of life span.

But to his surprise, there was no change in the Spell at all.

'Damn, is it that intense? Two hundred years of life span got it to mastery, yet three hundred years didn't even cause a ripple.'

'I'll go for it! Take a gamble, turn a bicycle into a motorcycle!'

As another three hundred years of life span were thrown in, he was instantly stunned.

'Damn it, what kind of Spell is this? No change even after six hundred years!'

Glancing at his remaining 1,923 years of life span, he instantly lost the courage to keep throwing it in.

One must know that these thousand-plus years of life span were his life-saving trump card. If he encountered danger and couldn't raise his Realm or Spells, he would be the one to die.

'Forget it, I'll keep 1,500. If there's still no change, I'll give up on this Spell in the future.'

Steeling his heart and gritting his teeth, 423 years of life span immediately merged into Spring Breeze Turns to Rain.

Suddenly, both the Spell column and the Martial Skill column on the panel changed.

'Thunderstorm Art?'

'Sword Rain Art?'

"Holy crap!"

He cried out in shock; he couldn't believe that Spring Breeze Turns to Rain was actually a hidden ultimate move!

"No wonder, no wonder! I finally understand!"

Jiang Yan cheered excitedly, as if he had discovered something incredible.

"Brother Jiang, what's wrong?" Ma Zi and Zhu Gan stood outside the courtyard, asking with concern.

Jiang Yan quickly stepped out of the room to respond. "Ah, I'm fine. I just thought of something happy."

"Oh, alright then. If you need anything, remember to call us," Zhu Gan said, waving.

"Will do," Jiang Yan smiled and waved.

Returning to his room, he opened the character panel.

[Host: Jiang Yan]

[Talents: Heaven Rewards the Diligent, Life Span Plunder]

[Rank: 9]

[Experience: 14.23%]

[life span: 20/889 years]

[life span: 1,500 years (Can be used to strengthen proficiency in Cultivation Techniques, Spells, and Martial Skills)]

[Essence: 14.3]

[Spirit: 6]

[Realm: Qi Refining Third Layer (Can freely summon Spiritual Qi within fifty meters)]

[Dao: 0]

[Cultivation Technique: Qi Refining Technique Introductory Chapter (scratching the surface)]

[Spells: Thunderstorm Art (glimpse of the threshold), Breath Concealment Technique (mastery)]

[Martial Skill: Sword Rain Art (glimpse of the threshold)]

...'Shouldn't I find a place to test these Spells and Martial Skills?'

Jiang Yan put his clothes back on, looked around, and vanished from the Zayou Place with a single leap.

Over a thousand meters away from the Zayou Place, he scouted the area. Once he was sure no one was around, he decisively began to cast the Thunderstorm Art.

Currently, dressed in black robes with a tall and straight posture, he looked like a banished Immortal from the mundane world.

"Crack!"

A thunderous roar streaked across the sky, followed by countless tiny, dense bolts of lightning crashing to the ground like rain.

"Boom! Boom! Boom..."

The massive thunderbolts exploded, frightening him into quickly fleeing the area.

'Holy crap, how is this a Spell? This is clearly a finishing move...'

Just a few breaths after Jiang Yan fled, an Outer Sect Elder arrived with ten patrolling Disciples.

When they saw the ground where the thunderbolts had struck, everyone's face showed a look of horror.

"This is... lightning?"

The Outer Sect Elder's expression was very surprised, and his gaze quickly swept the surroundings.

"Investigate! Find out who passed through here!"

"Yes."

Following the Elder's order, the group of Outer Sect Disciples immediately dispersed.