"That's right!"
Li Sheng clapped his hands, coming up with the quickest path forward.
During the ninth and eighth ranks, when disciples practice spirit-level martial arts, their physical transformation is the most intense.
Once their qualifications improve, they can practice ordinary entry-level martial arts.
This way, he could quickly cultivate a batch of high-tier warriors.
"If everything goes smoothly, in at most two months, the Qing Ling Sect will have a new batch of fourth-rank Spirit Nourishing Realm warriors!"
"And if we consider the functions of the Black Tower, this time could be significantly reduced!"
"When the time comes for the sect's promotion, we will gain over two hundred sect points..."
Li Sheng murmured to himself, his eyes shining brighter.
"Then next, all these sect points will need to be used on the alchemy room."
"But first, let's see if the spirit vein can be upgraded. If the spirit vein can be upgraded to superior quality, the effect of the gathering spirit chamber would rival that of a top-tier pill!"
Thinking of this, Li Sheng brought up the panel, focusing on the spirit vein.
**Spirit Vein +: Intermediate Level (Cultivation Talent +4, Comprehension +4)**
**[Would you like to consume 50 sect points to improve the quality of the spirit vein?]**
"Fifty... as expected..."
Li Sheng shook his head, feeling a bit disappointed despite being mentally prepared.
He then turned his gaze to the alchemy room.
**[Would you like to consume 5 sect points to enhance the spirit quality of the alchemy room?]**
"Yes!"
**[Alchemy room spirit quality is being enhanced, estimated time: three hours]**
"Ten points left... no rush, let's wait until the alchemy room is upgraded."
Taking this opportunity, Li Sheng entered the Black Tower, planning to challenge the Hundred Battles Arena.
In the spacious area, Li Sheng focused his mind and arrived at the vortex in the Tianyu battlefield on the right.
The Tianyu battlefield, the boundary battlefield, and the genius battlefield still showed as not opened, only the passage to the Hundred Battles Secret Realm glimmered faintly.
**[Hundred Battles Secret Realm: Progress (First Level)]**
**[Hint: Defeating the opponent equals victory]**
**[Hint: Death will damage mental strength, and it will not reopen until restored]**
**[Reward: Technique Fragments]**
Glancing at the hints, Li Sheng stepped into the passage without hesitation.
On the arena, Li Sheng picked up a long sword, and then two illusory black figures gradually emerged.
"Two?"
Li Sheng gasped, thinking to himself.
He had won the first level by using a clever tactic.
If these two were as strong as last time, there would be no point in fighting.
At that moment, the two black figures, each wielding a long sword, charged at him.
Li Sheng focused, planning to probe their strengths before deciding on a strategy.
As the long swords approached, Li Sheng moved his feet, slightly sidestepping one sword while meeting the other.
"Clang!"
Sparks flew as the black figure staggered back two steps.
Feeling the tremendous force from the long sword, Li Sheng relaxed a bit.
"They're strong, but slightly weaker than me; this might be interesting!"
With a single strike, he pushed back one black figure, unleashing nine spirit forms that surged toward the two black figures like an unstoppable tide.
As Li Sheng exploded with power, the two black figures didn't back down, also using nine spirit forms, and the two swords combined to send Li Sheng reeling.
Although the black figures were a notch weaker, their combined attack caught him off guard.
Li Sheng then changed his approach, no longer eager to decide a winner, but instead engaging them in a tactical back-and-forth.
Three shadowy figures flickered in and out, the sounds of metal clashing echoed endlessly.
After a moment, Li Sheng managed to push both figures back and paused, exhaling.
"That felt great!"
Previously, Li Sheng relied mostly on brute force in battles, his understanding of technique was quite superficial.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Now, as he fought these two black figures on equal footing, he began to appreciate their clever moves and free-flowing style, which made him inwardly praise them.
His understanding of martial arts deepened, his techniques becoming more fluid and less rigid.
Gradually, the two black figures began to fall behind.
Moments later, as two cold flashes cut through, the black figures instantly vanished.
Watching the place where they had disappeared, Li Sheng let out a satisfied breath.
**[Second Level Cleared, Reward: Two Technique Fragments]**
A voice echoed from the arena, and soon two technique fragments floated down.
Li Sheng reached out to catch them, noticing that together they were smaller than the ones from the first level.
This puzzled him, and he brought the two fragments to his forehead.
A flash of light flickered and dove into his mind.
In the dim space, the two black figures either slashed or stabbed, practicing their sword techniques.
Li Sheng felt as if he was inhabiting their bodies, clearly perceiving their techniques.
The wondrous insights captivated him, drawing him in.
Unconsciously, he wielded his long sword, repeatedly executing the twelve foundational sword forms.
After a moment, the insights faded, and Li Sheng paused, having some guesses but feeling uncertain.
He then started the challenge for the third level, wanting to confirm his hunch.
As he called out to continue the challenge, three black figures slowly materialized.
Once they solidified, Li Sheng charged straight in.
After a brief exchange, he sensed that the strength of the three black figures was unchanged from before, but their techniques were more refined.
With the three working together, he had to be fully alert.
While entangled with the three, he analyzed their movements, quickly deducing their capabilities due to his extraordinary comprehension.
Then he unleashed his full power, defeating the three at the cost of minor injuries.
After absorbing the three technique fragments, he had a feeling that if he challenged one more level, he would break through to the second level of extreme strength.
However, considering the time, the alchemy room was also nearing its completion, so Li Sheng left the Black Tower.
In the alchemy room, Li Sheng focused his attention, looking at the ancient, mysterious plant spirit furnace ahead.
At this moment, it was enveloped in a gray mist, obscuring his view of its movements.
Suddenly, a prompt sound rang out.
**[Ding! Alchemy Room Promotion Completed]**
The mist dissipated, revealing the plant spirit furnace.
The number of alchemy sessions increased from ten to fifteen.
The synthesis count changed from two to three.
"Being able to synthesize three top-tier pills every day isn't bad..."
He brought up the panel and decided to promote the alchemy room again.
**[Would you like to consume 10 sect points to improve the spirit quality of the alchemy room?]**
"Promote!"
**[Alchemy room spirit quality is being enhanced, estimated time: three hours]**
"Done!"
Li Sheng clapped his hands and exited the alchemy room.
Since the sect's promotion, he hadn't taken a close look, so he focused his mind and surveyed the current Qing Ling Sect.
There weren't many significant changes within the sect, but the architecture of the alchemy room had become more ancient and elegant.
The area of the entire Qing Ling Sect had expanded tenfold again.
Now, the sect only occupied about one percent of the entire Qing Ling Sect, leaving large areas desolate, which troubled him.
With the range of a third-tier array, it wasn't enough to cover these areas, only encompassing about half.
Seeing this, Li Sheng instructed Tuan Tuan to maintain the status quo and reduce the array's consumption, as they were all wasteland that couldn't be utilized for the time being.
At that moment, a group of people appeared, looking disheveled as they approached the Qing Ling Sect, among them was the familiar figure of Manager Hua.
"Finally arrived!"
Reeling back his thoughts, Li Sheng called to Bai Ye and headed out towards the mountain.