CH 22.1

senior sister’s lesson number twenty-two

in the trial cave, lin shuang lay down, reading her manuscript.

she occasionally glanced at the movements on her left and right.

shouldn’t there be any problems?

the rail transit cultivation method, she gave them was the first draft she wrote nine years ago.

compared to the current seventh draft, it was much simpler.

for example, there was also the magnetic levitation train cultivation method, which allowed spiritual energy to become magnetic, floating above the meridians, reducing friction with the meridians and accelerating circulation.

she hadn’t given them these newly added methods.

she was afraid that if the difficulty was too high, they wouldn’t learn it in a short time, and it might damage their meridians and dantians.

right now, she was only accelerating their cultivation several times; it shouldn’t be too difficult, right?

after giving them the methods for fast cultivation, lin shuang felt a little uneasy.

after all, the first little white sister who lived with her left not long after.

could it be that little white junior sister was scared away by the frequent three-day mini-exams and five-day major exams that she had back then?

when zhao keran comes later, she won’t dare to pressure this little junior sister anymore.

ah, the exam-oriented education system is harmful.

“uh, if you guys find these methods difficult, then forget it, take it slowly.”

thinking this, lin shuang consoled meng zhi and huang fuyuan on both sides while holding her nose.

both of them shivered.

lin shuang felt that she had reminded them and then comfortably lay back down.

meng zhi held the paper and took a deep breath.

he felt embarrassed to try a cultivation method meant for qi condensation disciples.

but what’s face compared to the spiritual stones needed for passing?

the problem was that he had thrown many warning tokens in the past, asking that junior sister surnamed zhao from the outer sect to stay away from lin shuang, who was not ambitious!

moreover, he had promised xiao bai to stand up for him.

now, what should he do?

is it possible that, for the sake of spiritual stones, he’s breaking his own words?

but if he doesn’t follow the instructions on this paper, doesn’t that mean he’s admitting that what she said is too difficult for him?

meng zhi stared wide-eyed, finding himself in a dilemma over a mere 300-level trial.

he turned to see how senior brother huang fuyuan was handling it.

but as soon as he glanced over, he saw senior brother huang fuyuan smiling, activating a fire-based cultivation technique exactly as she had instructed.

then, he swallowed three bottles of pills with a crisp gulp.

after three bottles, huang fuyuan’s face turned red, and the light shield shattered.

he forced his breakthrough by taking the pills!

meng zhi:!

they’ve both completed it, and he’s the only one left?

meng zhi’s scalp went numb in an instant, and he had no choice but to look at the paper in his hand.

1. burn fat, the higher the heart rate?

he didn’t quite understand, did it mean a faster heartbeat?

meng zhi looked left and right and noticed that huang fuyuan had closed his eyes, and lin shuang had already fallen asleep.

he immediately stood up and, within the light array, began to practice the forty-two stances of the great sword!

jumping and leaping…

afterward, he moved on to high temperatures. he looked around and realized that, without having learned any fire-based techniques, he could only quickly retrieve a wooden barrel from his mustard seed bag.

“what is junior brother meng doing?”

the trio watching the 349th-level projection were stunned.

especially the senior brother who sent the message to xu rui, saying that the outer sect’s lin shuang was abnormal. now he felt his face getting hot and a little painful.

in the projection, meng zhi was cultivating his spiritual qi in the light array, practicing his sword technique frantically.

he also prepared a large wooden bucket of suspicious hot water and jumped in with his clothes on.

he… was bathing openly in the zhenchuan trial ground!

compared to the silent breakthroughs and now… the crazy outer sect female disciples who were sleeping, it was hard to imagine!

“um, does meng junior brother know that the more people watch the projection, the more rewards the assessed disciples can get?”

“…”

the senior brother who was a year older covered his forehead. “is he crazy about spiritual stones?”

only xiao bai remained silent, his eyelashes trembling, and his hand holding the projection stone was shaking.

“heart rate, high temperature…”

“that’s right, it’s the fastest learning…”

“what?”

“he… is about to break through…”

“huh?!”

just as they spoke, in the projection stone, meng zhi was soaking in the wooden barrel, his face contorted in pain.

but the spiritual energy gathered above his head formed a vortex!

like a whirlpool that sucked water, it seemed eager to rush into his body, creating a small whirlwind of qi!

the trio of xiao bai watched in astonishment.

“what kind of speed in attracting spiritual energy is this!?”

“didn’t senior brother meng just reach the third level of the foundation establishment stage?”

both members of their team had reached the pinnacle of the fourth level of qi condensation, and xiao bai had reached the fifth level, but they had never experienced a qi vortex like this in their cultivation.

“could it be that he’s using a medicinal bath???”

the skeptical senior brother was stupefied.

only xiao bai gritted his teeth and looked up.

no.

taking a bath was just the prelude, the real secret technique was the rail transit method, but unfortunately, he couldn’t learn it!

meng zhi, who was in the projection, was still unaware that their 300-level trial was being watched by disciples spending spiritual stones. otherwise, he would probably be ecstatic.

he was currently immersed in his cultivation.

the hot water and sword techniques made his blood boil and accelerated its circulation.

and the rail transit…

he had tried four times, and on the fifth attempt, he finally succeeded in getting the ren meridian to run at full speed.

at the speed of running two small cycles in one go, it almost made his dantian take off on the spot!

he had never felt this fast before!

excited, he suddenly froze.

the bird learns to fly chapter she gave him… actually works.

meng zhi jolted; his neck covered in goosebumps.

in a moment of contemplation, the qi vortex suddenly dispersed.

he blinked in confusion.

【foundation manifestation peak at level three → level four.】

【trial successful.】

the qi shield shattered in an instant.

meng zhi:!

so fast?

hearing the sound, lin shuang, still half-asleep on her marching bed, opened her eyes and saw huang fuyuan sitting cross-legged at the entrance of the trial chamber, having already completed the assessment.

it seemed like he succeeded.

lin shuang breathed a sigh of relief; that was pretty quick.

she then turned her gaze to another trial shield, where she saw meng zhi, looking both astonished and not quite satisfied, still soaking in the hot water tub.

lin shuang smiled. “it seems like you’ve figured it out.”

bathing meng zhi:!

a blush spread from the corner of his eyes to behind his ears.

he quickly lowered his head and covered his soaked clothes.

attempting to conceal his embarrassment.

“i was already close to a breakthrough…”

meng zhi turned away and clenched his teeth.

he took a deep breath and quickly jumped out of the tub.

“i… owe you one.”

lin shuang nodded with a smile and folded up her camp bed, placing it back into her mustard seed bag.

meng zhi secretly watched her with a mix of curiosity and inner turmoil.

why did she have such a fast cultivation method, yet she’s been at the qi condensation stage for years?

for the first time, meng zhi felt lost.

xiao bai, what’s the secret you kept about leaving the outer sect? what was it?

is it really because she isn’t diligent in her cultivation?

meng zhi was puzzled.

“junior sister lin, thanks a lot for this.” huang fuyuan, with a pale face, also expressed his gratitude to lin shuang.

lin shuang waved her hand.

“no big deal, what i brought out was just the initial draft from nine years ago.”

“???”

“…”

huang fuyuan, meng zhi, and lin shuang were left speechless for a moment. but in the next instant, a five-colored ray of light shot into their disciple badges.

[huang fuyuan, meng zhi, and lin shuang have passed the 349th trial of zhenchuan!]

” seated alone in the mountains, my shadow becomes three: time taken, 102 days.”

“currently ranked first in this level, congratulations to the three of you. you can go to the resting courtyard to check your rewards.”

the red leaderboard fluttered again and appeared before everyone’s eyes.

there was a moment of excitement, and in the chamber of the 349th level where lin shuang and the others were, the beast’s head on the door twisted momentarily.

— lin shuang, meng zhi, huang fuyuan.

— currently the fastest disciples!

their names were carved onto the bronze nails, stroke by stroke, as if branded!

at the same time, on the right chest of their qing shui sect robes, a ripple-like pattern slowly appeared.

a beast’s head faintly emerged, with “349” written on its forehead.

lin shuang’s heart surged for a moment.

she stood tall and proud, feeling greatly honored.

beside her, huang fuyuan squinted his phoenix eyes as he gazed at the bronze nails, his expression somewhat peculiar.

meng zhi’s lips twitched.

“fastest disciple in the trial? come on, let’s go to the resting courtyard to see the rewards for this level.”

the hot bath was worth it!

but after taking a couple of steps, he looked at lin shuang and took a deep breath. “well… how about i trade my swift desk with you, the one for rapid cultivation?”

lin shuang immediately made a bitter face.

“no, thanks.”

meng zhi:!

he gritted his teeth, realizing that a cultivation secret like this, which would benefit his future cultivation, was worth at least tens of thousands of spirit stones.

“in that case, you can have my gathering desk. i’ve also ordered a third-tier confinement seal chair from an inner sect senior sister, and… that’s for you too!”

inner sect senior sister?

…

lin shuang’s eyelids twitched.

this unique aesthetic—stepping on two desks and adding a chair—she couldn’t handle it.

she waved her hand and quickened her pace.

“no need, the vip content comes after the third draft.”

“???”

[zhenchuan trial, main participants of the 349th level — huang fuyuan, meng zhi, lin shuang!]

“congratulations to the three disciples!”

the message of the change in leadership on the red leaderboard was seen by many inner sect disciples.

“so fast! the previous group took half a year, and they’ve shortened it by eighty days!”

“huang fuyuan and meng zhi, this is unexpected.”

“huh, who’s this lin shuang?”

many inner sect disciples were puzzled.

however, lin shuang, who was the center of attention, was completely unaware of it.

in between each pomodoro, she had set a five-minute break.

at this moment, she was leisurely looking around, seemingly fascinated by everything.

meng zhi, in front of the comprehension stone wall on the 349th level, activated a surge of spiritual qi.

the stone wall, which was originally covered in moss, slowly opened, revealing a space beyond the trial chamber.

inside, there was a large platform with a desk about three times the size of a person in the middle. around it were several round tables and chairs, enough to accommodate hundreds of people.

to the left were twelve transmission light pillars, like ‘elevators,’ leading to different floor levels of the trial.

to the right was a self-service treasure rack with elixirs and spiritual treasures.

a woman in pink daoist robes, with cat-like eyes, was holding an abacus and standing behind the central jade carving table.

the moment she saw lin shuang and the others appear; her cat-like eyes brightened.

especially when her gaze fell on lin shuang, who seemed curious about everything, she smiled even more. “this sister looks unfamiliar; is it your first time in zhenchuan?”

“do you want to replenish your elixirs and have some spiritual tea for a short rest?”

it was a five-minute break before the next pomodoro session.

lin shuang looked around. “is this the resting courtyard in zhenchuan’s trial?”

earlier, during the announcement of the red leaderboard, it was mentioned that they should come here to receive their rewards.

“yes, that’s right, sister.”

the woman with cat-like eyes smiled warmly and walked out from behind the table, guiding lin shuang to sit at a nearby stone table.

“hey!” meng zhi wanted to speak up to stop her, but he was a step too late.

lin shuang had already been seated by the woman at the tea table.

meng zhi’s mouth twitched.

huang fuyuan’s face also showed a trace of helplessness.

lin shuang looked at them suspiciously, but in an instant, a red tray with three jade tokens was placed in front of her.

the cat-eyed woman’s gaze, upon seeing lin shuang’s outer sect badge at her waist, caused her pupils to dilate.

and then, her gaze grew even hotter.

“sister, you don’t have an inner sect cave-dwelling, right? by passing the 349th level of zhenchuan, you now have the qualifications to purchase or rent a cave-dwelling within the inner sect, numbered 300 and below.”

in an instant, a jade plaque that could be flipped through displayed images of cave dwellings, their geographical locations, and the scenery around the entrances in front of lin shuang.

“take a look; these are all beautiful places with abundant spiritual energy.”

lin shuang was momentarily stunned. when she looked up, she noticed the three characters embroidered on the woman’s pink daoist robe — “sales office.”