In the courtyard, Li Sheng resumed his practice of the Serpent Stance, starting with the sixth form. The energy within him strengthened with each cycle, rapidly consuming his qi and blood, but the superior-grade elixir quickly replenished it, creating a stalemate between consumption and recovery.

In this state, his understanding of the Nine Serpent Forms deepened even further. Suddenly, his vision blurred, and his mind once again entered the vast, white space.

"It's happening again..." Li Sheng thought briefly before calming himself, neither excited nor anxious.

In the white void, a giant serpent moved fluidly, its every motion filled with an ancient and mystical aura. Li Sheng imitated its movements, silently comparing them to his own.

The Turtle Form: Unbreakable defense.

The Serpent Form: Mysterious and unpredictable.

In a trance, he heard a faint snake's hiss, and the white space vanished.

"The Nine Serpent Forms are complete!"

Inside his body, two streams of energy intertwined vigorously, bringing with them a faint tingling sensation wherever they passed. Li Sheng quickly sat down cross-legged, knowing this was the final step of body refinement. Once completed, he would break through to the Eighth Rank: Internal Breath Stage.

Time passed slowly, and before long, the sun began to set. Outside the courtyard, Bai Ye approached. Seeing Li Sheng sitting cross-legged, she immediately understood and stopped the servant from delivering his meal, silently standing guard.

Li Sheng's cultivation was at a critical moment. The tingling sensation within him gradually dissipated, and he vaguely heard the sound of something breaking inside him.

"Whoo..."

Opening his eyes, Li Sheng exhaled deeply, clenching his fists as he felt the explosive power surging through his body. A smile crept onto his face.

He called up the panel:

Cultivation: Eighth Rank, Internal Breath Stage

Martial Arts: Turtle-Serpent Body Refinement Technique (Mastered)

Talent: Superior (Nation's Genius)

Comprehension: Superior (Nation's Genius)

Skills: None

"I've been here for ten years since crossing over… finally, I've broken through to the Eighth Rank!" His gaze shifted to his talent.

"This transformation only raised my talent by one rank? It seems that the higher I go, the harder it is to improve."

"A genius of national renown, huh?"

He closed the panel, feeling pleased.

"Congratulations, Senior Brother, on your breakthrough!" Bai Ye entered the courtyard with two food containers, smiling warmly.

"Not bad, but it seems you've made a breakthrough as well," Li Sheng replied with a chuckle.

"Yes, with the help of the superior-grade Internal Breath Elixir, I've broken through to the Seventh Rank," Bai Ye said, clearly in a great mood as well.

"Good, good! A double blessing. However, there are only five doses of the Internal Breath Elixir left, and we're completely out of materials for Bone Refining Elixirs. It seems we'll need to purchase some more alchemy ingredients."

Feeling the genuine joy from her senior brother, Bai Ye was filled with warmth. "Senior Brother, I'll head to Qing Mountain City tomorrow to buy the materials for the elixirs."

Li Sheng thought it over and nodded. "I'll go with you tomorrow."

He decided it was better to go personally—not only to get a better understanding of the market but also to see if he could acquire higher-grade martial arts manuals. Relying solely on mundane-level techniques to fuse higher-level methods was a bit too slow.

"Senior Brother, let's eat together," Bai Ye said, setting out the food with a smile.

Li Sheng nodded and was about to sit when a glowing orb appeared.

"Chirp chirp chirp..."

"Tuan Tuan!" Bai Ye waved in greeting.

"Chirp chirp."

"Someone's here to visit?" Li Sheng furrowed his brows and, with a thought, shifted his perspective upward.

...

Bear Zhuang and his party of five arrived at the mountain gate. He waved his hand, saying, "Someone go inform Li Sheng to come out and greet us."

A disciple named Liu Hu stepped forward, but the moment he entered the formation, dense white mist rose, obscuring everyone's view.

Seeing this, Bear Zhuang's eyes flashed with surprise as he thought to himself, "How has the formation changed so much in just six or seven days? Could it really be the inheritance left by the Sect Leader?"

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Just as the group was about to force their way through, Li Sheng ordered the formation spirit to open a path, curious about what Bear Zhuang's intentions were.

"Bear Zhuang? What's he doing here..." Li Sheng wondered. Now that he had broken through to the Eighth Rank and mastered both the Turtle and Serpent forms, he was confident enough to face Bear Zhuang head-on, especially with the formation spirit and Bai Ye by his side.

"Senior Brother, what's wrong?" Bai Ye, unable to understand Tuan Tuan's chirps, asked in confusion.

"Bear Zhuang is here. Not sure what he wants, but I'll go take a look." Li Sheng withdrew his gaze and headed for the gate.

"Bear Zhuang?" Bai Ye's delicate eyebrows furrowed, a look of disgust appearing on her pretty face.

"Senior Brother, I'll come too." She bit her lip and followed him.

Outside the gate, Bear Zhuang was about to force his way through when the mist cleared, revealing Liu Hu wandering aimlessly inside.

"Elder Bear, looks like that waste Li Sheng has noticed we're back and lifted the formation."

"Let's go." Bear Zhuang arrogantly nodded and led the way.

As they entered, the peaceful atmosphere of the Qingling Sect was immediately disrupted. Several disciples began shouting, recalling some of Li Sheng's past embarrassments.

Even the old tortoise by the spirit pool seemed disturbed, glancing at the group before retreating into the water.

At the dining hall, a group of women doing chores gathered to whisper amongst themselves.

"These people look like troublemakers. I hope the young Sect Master and Miss Bai can handle them."

"Yeah, they give off bad vibes, just like that scoundrel Zhang in the village."

"Shush, these are martial artists—you want to get yourself killed?"

"Right, right…"

The Qingling Sect wasn't large, so the two groups quickly encountered each other. Those who had planned to ridicule Li Sheng were immediately distracted by Bai Ye's presence.

Bai Ye's frown deepened, and she stepped behind Li Sheng.

Li Sheng cleared his throat, breaking the spell. Internally annoyed, he thought, Even I don't ogle my junior sister like that, and you fools think you can get away with it?

"Bear Zhuang, if I remember correctly, you've already left the sect. What brings you to the Qingling Sect today?" Li Sheng's expression was cold, his voice frosty.

"You? A mere Ninth Rank nobody thinks he's really the Sect Master now?" one of Bear Zhuang's followers sneered.

"If the Elders hadn't wanted out, do you think you'd be sitting in that seat?"

"Seems like this guy's lost his mind."

Li Sheng's new demeanor seemed to have agitated them. They remembered him as the pushover who never stood up for himself, and they couldn't understand how he dared to show this kind of attitude now.

Some even looked ready to start a fight.

Bear Zhuang snorted coldly. "Li Sheng, I'll get straight to the point. Hand over the Sect Leader's inheritance, and I won't trouble you."

"The Sect Leader's inheritance?" Li Sheng was confused. What was this all about?

"Don't play dumb! I've already questioned the drivers who delivered the resources to your sect—one of the carts was full of alchemy ingredients, wasn't it?"

"That's true." Li Sheng nodded.

Seeing him admit it, Bear Zhuang's face lit up with joy. "Good, you know what's best. Now, bring them here."

Li Sheng gave him a strange look, finally understanding the situation. It seemed that the news of their recent resource purchase had leaked, and Bear Zhuang assumed it was part of the Sect Leader's legacy.

"Senior Brother, I'm sorry! It's my fault for not being more cautious. You can punish me," Bai Ye said, tugging on Li Sheng's sleeve, her expression full of guilt, looking so pitiful it was hard to be mad at her.

Come on, who could punish you like that? Li Sheng shook his head, about to say a few words of comfort, when Bear Zhuang interrupted.

"Bai girl, what future do you have following this waste? If you follow me, I promise you'll have enough resources to break through to the Seventh Rank within half a year!"