Even the strongest person cannot lift themselves off the ground by sheer physical strength alone.

But now, Alaric Ye could envelop his body with mana and lift himself up!

This is the fundamental difference between mortals and cultivators.

Suspended in mid-air, Alaric Ye reached out with a large hand, and a delicate teacup filled with more than half a cup of water slowly floated up from the table, wobbling slightly before landing in his hand. Not a single drop of tea was spilled.

This was the ability to manipulate objects from a distance!

This ability was limited to inanimate objects or living beings that did not resist. Any living being that struggled could cause immense pressure on the caster, making it difficult to succeed.

Alaric Ye took a large gulp from the teacup, quenching his thirst after days of neither eating nor drinking. At the same time, he pointed at the Black Iron sword on the table. With a "clang," the sword transformed into a cold light and flew into his hand.

This was not sword control but also a form of manipulating objects from a distance.

To truly control a sword, one needed a flying sword of artifact level.

Alaric Ye closed his eyes and looked inward at his Dantian, discovering that the previously scattered mana clouds had gathered into a mana vortex. As he practiced his breathing techniques, the vortex continued to spin, refining the mana at its center to be even purer.

"To reach the Foundation Establishment stage, I need to condense the mana in my Dantian into a liquid state!"

"And to reach the Golden Elixir stage, I need to further condense the liquid mana into solid crystals. These mana crystals are what we call the Golden Elixir!"

After testing his abilities, Alaric Ye was very satisfied but suddenly showed a hint of confusion.

"Why did my first attempt at aerial levitation feel so effortless? It wasn't as strenuous as the rumors say, and the mana consumption wasn't excessive either."

"Could it be that I have more than just the mana of a single steed?"

With this doubt in mind, Alaric Ye waved his hand, and the figures of Little White and Little Strong appeared in the dormitory.

Seeing Alaric Ye floating, Little White cheerfully said, "Congratulations, Master, on successfully reaching the first level of Qi Refining!"

Chirp chirp!

Little Strong also let out a happy sound.

The higher Alaric Ye's cultivation, the more nutrients his blood contained, accelerating the growth of Little White and Little Strong.

Alaric Ye nodded.

"Little White, help me test how much mana I have. Something feels off."

"Alright."

Saying this, Alaric Ye slowly landed, stood up, and took out a thick rope from his storage space. Little White bit one end of the rope, and with a "whoosh," the thick rope was pulled taut between Little White and Alaric Ye!

With mana enhancing his entire body, Alaric Ye felt an immense, inexhaustible strength. However, he couldn't resist being pulled towards Little White.

Only now did Alaric Ye have a clear understanding of Little White's strength.

After confirming Alaric Ye's strength, Little White and Alaric Ye ended the one-sided tug-of-war.

"Master now has the mana equivalent to 2.4 steeds!"

Alaric Ye was slightly shocked. His mana was more than twice as strong as that of an ordinary cultivator who had just reached the first level of Qi Refining, even surpassing those who had just reached the second level!

"How could this be? Shouldn't cultivators who reach the first level of Qi Refining only have the strength of one steed? Could it be that the pearls I consumed earlier enhanced my mana, fully digesting their power when I reached the first level?"

Little White thought for a moment and said, "Little White believes those pearls could only improve your Spiritual Root and enhance your physique. Master having a mid-grade five-element Spiritual Root is mostly due to the pearls."

"Master's strong mana is likely related to the Insect Emperor's body!"

Little White continued, "The Insect Emperor's body, although primarily a Holy Physique for insect control, naturally has thicker mana than cultivators of the same level. The advantages of the Insect Emperor's body will gradually become apparent in your future cultivation. This is just the beginning."

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"So that's how it is!" Alaric Ye was momentarily excited.

Although he would mostly rely on his spirit insects for combat in the future, having strong personal strength was always a good thing.

Feeling quite pleased, Alaric Ye put away Little White and Little Strong, closed the door, and headed to the preparatory miscellaneous disciples' cafeteria for a hearty meal. When he came out of the cafeteria, he saw a large group of cultivators gathered around a bulletin board, whispering about something.

Alaric Ye squeezed in and saw that the first rule of the Top Xuan Sect had indeed been changed!

Alaric Ye clearly remembered that the first rule used to be: "Disciples must not kill each other. Violators will be executed." Now it had been changed to: "Disciples must not kill each other outside the duel zone. Violators will have their cultivation abolished and be expelled from the sect."

The so-called duel zone was a new concept.

Previously, any conflicts between disciples were arbitrated by the sect's enforcement team. Now, the enforcement team would no longer mediate conflicts. If there was an intolerable conflict, disciples could initiate a duel and settle it in the duel zone.

Even outside the duel zone, killing a fellow disciple would no longer result in the death penalty but rather the abolition of cultivation and expulsion from the sect.

The word "maximum" was very flexible.

This meant that one could also receive some minor punishments!

Additionally, many new clauses were added to the sect rules, one of which was particularly shocking.

Starting from miscellaneous disciples, every disciple had the right to challenge another disciple of the same or higher realm once every three months. If the challenger won, they could choose one item from the opponent's storage bag as a reward. If they lost, the opponent could choose two items from their storage bag.

During the challenge, killing was prohibited, and even severely injuring the opponent was allowed without compensation.

This was encouraging disciples to fight and rob each other!

Besides these two rules, the Top Xuan Sect would also increase the supply of pills and spirit stones to disciples. The monthly stipend for ordinary miscellaneous disciples would increase from two spirit stones to three, and for senior miscellaneous disciples, from four spirit stones to six, along with one Gathering Qi Pill.

The benefits for outer and inner disciples would increase even more.

Additionally, the sect would regularly hold various competitions, and those who placed in these competitions would receive generous rewards.

Apart from internal competitions, the sect also encouraged disciples to engage in inter-sect exchanges, with substantial rewards for those who won.

In summary, the new rules encouraged competition and intensified the rivalry among inner disciples!

Everyone was discussing fervently.

"In the mortal world, killing and robbing are crimes punishable by death. Now, the sect is encouraging us to be robbers and steal from our fellow disciples. Is the Top Xuan Sect really a prestigious sect?"

"I don't want to cultivate anymore. I don't want immortality. I want to go home. As a miscellaneous disciple, I could be robbed or even killed at any moment. How can I sleep peacefully, let alone cultivate? Isn't cultivation supposed to be about self-improvement and inner peace?"

Under the influence of the new rules, even the preparatory miscellaneous disciples around them became extremely wary of each other, filled with distrust.

The peaceful and harmonious atmosphere that had prevailed in the Top Xuan Sect for hundreds of years was gone!

After carefully reading the announcement, Alaric Ye left the crowd and headed to the Miscellaneous Hall.

He had not yet registered his breakthrough to the first level of Qi Refining at the Miscellaneous Hall. Once registered, he would officially become a miscellaneous disciple, with the right to challenge and the possibility of being challenged by other first-level Qi Refining cultivators.

On his way, Alaric Ye witnessed three fights among Top Xuan Sect disciples, all of whom had previous grudges. With the new rules, they were settling old scores, releasing the pent-up aggression among the disciples.

Some were arrogant, taking their opponent's most precious artifact during the challenge.

Others failed in their challenges and were severely injured, losing their pills and artifacts to the victor.

The atmosphere in the Top Xuan Sect became tense and oppressive.

Alaric Ye arrived at the Miscellaneous Hall office to report his promotion.

A pretty senior sister working there smiled and said, "Junior Brother Ye, congratulations on becoming a formal miscellaneous disciple within three months. From now on, you can receive a monthly stipend of three spirit stones from the Miscellaneous Hall."

"Additionally, your application to participate in the senior miscellaneous disciple assessment at Spirit Beast Peak has been registered. The assessment will be held the day after tomorrow. Make sure to be on time; if you're late, you'll have to wait six months to reapply."

"If you don't pass the assessment, the Miscellaneous Hall will assign you other miscellaneous tasks."

"Also, congratulations on receiving the sect's reward for breaking through to the first level of Qi Refining within three months: ten low-grade spirit stones and a low-grade artifact flying sword!"

"You're probably the first to receive this reward. I'm so envious. I had to work as a miscellaneous disciple for a year and a half to exchange for my first flying sword with contribution points."

Saying this, the pretty senior sister handed over a small pouch and a blue, sheathless small sword. Alaric Ye opened the pouch and found ten low-grade spirit stones emitting a faint blue glow.

Alaric Ye's eyes lit up.

Ten spirit stones were a fortune for someone like him, who still owed Elijah Wang three spirit stones.

Putting the spirit stones into his storage ring, Alaric Ye carefully examined the blue small sword.

In the cultivation world, the weapons used by cultivators are divided into four major grades: artifacts, spiritual tools, magical treasures, and dao tools. Each major grade is further divided into low, mid, high, and top grades.

Even a low-grade artifact would cost dozens of low-grade spirit stones. Spiritual tools and magical treasures were exorbitantly priced, and dao tools were legendary.

Above dao tools, there were the mythical, world-destroying celestial tools, which no one had ever seen.

Holding the flying sword, Alaric Ye couldn't help but feel excited. He was incredibly poor at the moment.

If he had to slowly accumulate spirit stones or contribution points to exchange for a flying sword, it would take forever.

Alaric Ye couldn't help but think that the rule changes might not be a bad thing. The new rules brought both challenges and opportunities, and he had already reaped the benefits on the first day.

Without hesitation, Alaric Ye drew the Black Iron sword and made a small cut on his fingertip, letting his blood drip onto the blue small sword. In an instant, the unclaimed blue small sword merged with Alaric Ye's blood.

Buzz buzz buzz...

The blue small sword in Alaric Ye's hand buzzed, quickly establishing a mystical connection with him.

With a thought, the blue small sword shot into the sky, transforming into a blue rainbow. In the sky, the blue small sword grew to the size of a normal flying sword before returning to Alaric Ye's hand.

This scene made the miscellaneous disciples waiting in line behind Alaric Ye incredibly envious.

"He's so lucky! Ten spirit stones and a low-grade artifact flying sword. Even after two years of hard work as a miscellaneous disciple, I might not be able to exchange for that. And he got it right after joining!"

"Hmph, the more pleased he is now, the more desperate he'll be later. This guy is clueless. He probably doesn't know he's already being targeted. With the new rules, strength is king. He's just reached the first level of Qi Refining. Any cultivator close to the second level with an artifact could easily defeat him!"

"What a pity. I just reached the second level of Qi Refining, so I can't challenge him. It's frustrating to see such a juicy target and not be able to take it!"

Alaric Ye didn't care about the envy, jealousy, and covetous looks from those around him. He excitedly asked the pretty senior sister, "Senior Sister, does this flying sword have a name?"

The senior sister replied, "This is a standard flying sword produced by Spirit Sword Peak. I believe it's called... Blue Rainbow. By the way, now that you're a formal miscellaneous disciple, you can go to the Skill Transference Pavilion to receive a basic spell and a cultivation method."

"Thank you, Senior Sister. Goodbye, Senior Sister!"

After receiving his rewards, Alaric Ye felt a surge of relief, thinking that the rule changes might actually be beneficial for him.

With the new rules, higher-level cultivators couldn't challenge him, and among those at the same level, Alaric Ye had several times the mana of others, giving him a significant advantage.

He could just say he consumed some Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures in the mortal world, explaining his strong mana. At the Qi Refining stage, this shouldn't raise any suspicion among the Top Xuan Sect's higher-ups.

After all, both Elijah Wang and Zachary Song believed it.

It was as if the new rules were tailor-made for him!

Alaric Ye released his flying sword, leaped a meter high, and landed steadily on the sword's back. Initially, he wobbled and had to extend his arms for balance. After a brief adjustment, the flying sword carried Alaric Ye into the air, wobbling towards the Skill Transference Pavilion.

To onlookers, it seemed like Alaric Ye might fall at any moment, but he didn't, much to their disappointment.

In the sky, Alaric Ye flew higher and steadier, his view expanding. The wind whistled past his ears.

He saw the buildings of the Top Xuan Sect shrinking below him.

He saw celestial cranes dancing in the sky and other cultivators flying on their swords.

He saw the peaks of the Top Xuan Sect: Top Xuan Peak, Thundercloud Peak, Spirit Sword Peak, Spirit Beast Peak...

Everything was in sight!