Still with no sign of the Elder, Sa Min went to eat beef noodle soup before heading to his room.

Once inside, he pulled out three pouches from his robe that had 15 force apples in total, today’s small harvest. He sat cross-legged on his bed.

Closing his eyes, Sa Min evened out his breathing, centering his focus. After a moment, he sensed a cool breeze swirling around him—that wasn’t the wind, but rather the world's force.

Sensing the world’s force was something only cultivators with completely formed force gates could do. But sensing it was one thing; absorbing it was another. Without opening the meridians connected to the sea core, the world’s force could not be absorbed.

How many meridians a cultivator possessed depended on his aptitude. However, there was one meridian everyone had – the Prime Meridian, located in the force gate. This one opened on its own when the cultivator’s force gate was completely formed.

Once the cultivator opened his sea core – the first step in cultivation, he could start working on opening the remaining meridians from within the sea core.

Sa Min had heard of a breathing technique that could force meridians to open from the outside, bypassing the need to first open the sea core. Unfortunately, he’d never learned it, not that he needed to back then.

In his previous body, he’d been fortunate enough to open his sea core early in age, and with the decent 3-star aptitude , he never had to rely on such shortcuts techniques to cultivate.

It's fine, Sa Min thought as he sighed, opening his eyes and leaning back on the bed to rest. I just have to wait a little longer for the Elder to arrive. That's it. Then my journey back to the Celestial Heaven will start again.

He could easily grab one of his force apples and open his sea core right now, but that would mean facing an unnecessary penalty of 100 force apples. Despite his banishment from the clan, he still carried the Sa surname, which bound him to the rules and regulations of the Sa Clan.

As he waited in his bed, Sa Min couldn’t help but think of Sa Huiqing and his wife.

They already know I’m onto them. They probably think once I open my sea core and start cultivating, my stubbornness will fade. And if that doesn’t work, I’m sure they’ll try something else, something desperate, to make me unlock the Ka.

With over 600 years of experience, Sa Min could see right through Sa Huiqing’s schemes.

Cultivators would do anything for resources, and Sa Huiqing was no exception.

Those fools are absolutely convinced I’ve got some great sea core, mostly because of this body’s powerful background. They assume that since the parents of this body might be immortals, I must have inherited some incredible sea core. But that’s not entirely true.

Being born from immortals did not guarantee that one would have a superior sea core.

I might have it, I might not. Anything’s possible. A small smirk spread across Sa Min’s indifferent face. But isn’t that what makes life so damn interesting?

At that moment, a noise broke the silence outside. Sa Min rushed to the window to take a look.

Three cultivators were descending from the sky on their flying swords, heading straight for his house.

Without hesitation, Sa Min dashed outside to meet them.

As the cultivators landed, their flying swords morphed into a swirling gray mist. The mist quickly coalesced into the shape of a small, gray Ka before diving into their sea cores.

"Sa Clan harvesters…what are they doing here?" Sa Min thought, recognizing the wolf crest of the Sa Clan along with the reapers’ insignia on their green robes.

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Harvesters were simply a title for the cultivation who worked in Drinks Barns.

"Are you Sa Min, the Heaven's Miracle?" one of them called out as he approached "Is your father home?"

Heaven’s Miracle? Sa Min couldn’t help but smirk at that nickname.

The signs of genius he had displayed to Sa Huiqing and his wife, Lin Qiao, to trick tem hadn’t gone unnoticed—they had spread beyond the walls of this house and turned into rumors throughout the city.

Soon, people began calling him names like Heaven’s Miracle, Little Devil, and Rising Star. His numerous missions in the outer circle and the relentless hard work he put in only fueled the hype surrounding him.

Before Sa Min could utter a word, he heard footsteps approaching from inside the house. He stepped aside to let Sa Huiqing, Lin Qiao, and Sa Juan pass through the door.

"I am Sa Huiqing, his father," Sa Huiqing announced as he stepped forward. "You must be the harvesters assigned for this year. What brings you here? Has something gone wrong in the clan?"

The three cultivators, all at the Beyond Mortal Stage, bowed respectfully to Sa Huiqing, their fists pressed together in greeting. Despite him being banished from the clan, Sa Huiqing was still the head of the Drinks Barn and was at the True Master Stage, one stage above them.

The leader among them stepped forward, sorrow filled his face. "This is indeed a terrible day for our clan, Elder Huiqing," he said, his voice heavy with grief. "You are already aware of the tragedy that struck us two months ago when three of our Elders died fighting the Hungry-Tigers mercenary band. That was a devastating blow to our clan. But yesterday..."

Elder Huiqing? Sa Min thought. Is this going where I think it is?

"...Yesterday, Young Master Sa Qiao, the patriarch’s son, returned injured from the Black Steel Academy. His essence core was destroyed," the leader said with a heavy sigh. "He can’t cultivate anymore."

"What did you just say? The young master is injured?" Sa Huiqing’s eyes widened, and his hands balled into tight fists. "Sa Qiao is a cripple?" He was genuinely in shock.

Sa Qiao was the only cultivator from Tetra Blessing City to possess 3-star aptitude in hundreds of years—the only other was the City Lord, who wasn’t from the city. In less than ten years, Sa could reach the Golden Ancestor Stage, and just a year ago, he had managed to enter the prestigious Cultivation Academy of Shaanxi Province.

This young master was the hope Sa Clan had been relying on to extend their influence within the city and restore the clan to its origin glory.

Now that hope seemed to be shattered.

Watching the shock on Sa Huiqing' face, Sa Min couldn’t help but wonder if his reaction stemmed from the clan’s bad situation or the opportunity this presented for him.

It was definitely the latter.

"Unfortunately, it’s true," the cultivator, who appeared to be in his forties, said bitterly. "The entire clan is in shock. We not only face a shortage of Elders but also lack someone suitable to take on the role of the next patriarch. We’re truly at a disadvantage compared to the other two clans."

Sa Huiqing took a deep breath. "That’s indeed an unfortunate situation. So...why are you here?" he asked, though he already knew why.

"It is no secret in the clan or the city how talented your son is," the cultivator replied, glancing at Sa Min. "The boy shows all the signs of great talent, and many believe he possesses 3-star aptitude—including the patriarch himself."

Sa Min could see Sa Huiqing's face twitching, as though he was struggling to suppress a laugh.

"The Clan Council held an emergency meeting this morning," the harvester continued, pulling an object from his force gate. "It concluded with the patriarch’s decision to pardon your family and grant you the title of Elder." He carefully handed the object, Elder Seal, to Sa Huiqing. "Please accept it.

"From this moment on, you are an Elder of the Sa Clan, and you are welcome to return to your home within the clan."

Sa Min frowned slightly and turned to head back inside.

I guess I’ll have to wait another day, he sighed.

That night, Sa Huiqing handed over his responsibilities as head of the Drinks Barn to a Beyond Mortal Cultivator. Without wasting any time, they packed up and returned to their ancestral home within the Sa Clan's territory.

The joy on their faces was unmistakable, and Sa Min understood why.

Though they had technically remained members of the Sa Clan, they had been cut off from many of the clan’s privileges and resources. Now, with the patriarch’s forgiveness, they could fully rejoin the clan and use all that their blood afforded them.

The pardon indeed lifted what must have been a heavy burden for them.