The night enveloped the sky, revealing a field of stars, and within the courtyard atop a certain mountain peak, several figures were present, including Zhao Qingtian and Li Shaohu.

"Junior Brother Li, how are you preparing?" Zhao Qingtian looked at a young man beside him, dressed in a yellow robe, with a sinister gaze, slim figure, and somewhat short stature, and asked.

"Brother Zhao, don't worry. Even if that kid has broken through to the Martial Soul, he's only at the first level of Martial Soul. My Life-Claiming Spear is not something he can contend with." The young man coldly said. He was around twenty-three or twenty-four years old, but his presence was absolutely formidable among his peers, being the twentieth-ranked Li Dajiang in the Dragon List, a truly prominent figure among the younger generation of the Yunyang Sect.

"With you taking action, I'm relieved. You are a dual-system martial artist, but this time, make sure you don't make any mistakes," Zhao Qingtian said.

"Don't worry. I will avenge Junior Brother Huang Hu. I'll turn that kid into a cripple," Li Dajiang coldly stated.

"I heard that kid has been practicing in the Martial Spirit Fantasy Realm these days, and he has passed through the fourth level and fourth layer in a single day," a young man in blue clothes lightly said, also possessing a Martial Soul-level cultivation.

"Only the fourth layer, it seems that kid is not so remarkable after all," Li Dajiang coldly remarked.

After a night of silent cultivation, Li Lin, early the next morning, entered the first layer of the fourth level in the Martial Spirit Fantasy Realm, to the surprise of the Second Protector.

What surprised the Second Protector even more was that Li Lin had passed through the fourth layer in just four hours, and this news immediately reached the ears of all the Protectors and Elders, including Yun Xiao Tian.

"Interesting, this kid is becoming more and more surprising to me," Yun Xiao Tian said with a light laugh in a courtyard.

"Sect Master, Li Lin has managed to break from the first layer to the fourth layer of the fourth level every day, but he does not continue to the fifth level, which I find strange," a black-robed elder beside Yun Xiao Tian asked.

"This kid is hiding his strength while honing himself. Can't you see that? To pass through the fourth layer in four hours, how much strength does that require?" Yun Xiao Tian said.

"Perhaps only the peak of the sixth level of Martial Soul could barely manage to do so," the black-robed elder speculated after a moment of thought.

"I heard this kid has a competition with Li Dajiang, who is ranked twentieth on the Dragon List, at the beginning of the month. You go and see for yourself what this kid's strength is really like," Yun Xiao Tian told the black-robed elder.

"Alright, I too want to see how far his strength has really gone," the black-robed elder lightly said.

In the courtyard, Li Lin picked up a brocade box, through which a faint terrifying energy pulsed.

"It's almost time to refine it," Li Lin murmured with a slight smile, opening the brocade box. A massive energy fluctuation rose, carrying strands of wind attribute energy. A demon pill appeared in front of Li Lin, obtained from a phantom mouse dressed as a woman, which Li Lin had killed in the Misty Mountain Range.

Having broken through to Martial Soul a few days ago and his aura having stabilized, Li Lin decided to consume this demon pill, curious about how much it would enhance his strength.

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"Consume." Without much hesitation, Li Lin swallowed the demon pill, the size of a baby's fist, into his stomach. Accompanied by a slightly scorching sensation, the phantom mouse's demon pill was ingested, immediately transforming into a wildly raging energy spreading throughout his body.

This energy, like a flood pouring out or thousands of horses galloping, instantly spread throughout Li Lin's body, rushing towards his meridians at the speed of lightning.

The fierce energy spread wildly, making Li Lin's face break out in cold sweat. Although Li Lin had anticipated the demon pill's terrifying energy, he hadn't expected it to be this formidable. It seemed that this wild energy was not much weaker than the true qi of a fourth-level Martial Soul.

The majestic energy transformed from the demon pill rampaged within, causing Li Lin's complexion to turn pale, his eyes to emit red firelight, and the majestic energy to surge through his meridians and even his blood, causing violent turmoil.

"This energy is too powerful." Li Lin broke out in cold sweat. At this moment, a faint yellow halo enveloped Li Lin's body, with the demon pill's majestic energy rampaging through his meridians, bones, and even blood, causing waves of intense pain.

Even the clash between this vast energy and Li Lin's own true qi caused fluctuations like boiling water, constantly churning, making Li Lin nearly wish to faint on the spot from the deep pain.

However, Li Lin knew he couldn't afford to faint now. After all the cultivation and trials he had gone through, his willpower had reached an extremely high level, making it difficult to find a peer with comparable resolve.

The intense pain was unbearable for most, but Li Lin clenched his teeth and persevered, controlling the massive energy within his body to begin refining it.

As time slowly passed, with the persistence through the intense pain, Li Lin finally began to grasp a bit of the majestic energy to start refining it. The energy was too vast and caused Li Lin much difficulty, but as he started refining it gradually, the benefits of the majestic energy became apparent, forming a huge amount of refined true qi rushing into his Dantian Qi Sea at a pleasing rate.

Li Lin could clearly feel that this batch of refined true qi was significant, continuously pouring into his Dantian Qi Sea.

At this moment, in the vast Dantian Qi Sea, as the external true qi entered, it began to fluctuate, with the five-colored Martial Pill inside starting to slowly rotate, like a never-stopping heart, surrounded by a faint five-colored glow.

In the nourishment of true qi, the Martial Pill was being enhanced at a speed invisible to the naked eye, absorbing bits of true qi and becoming more lustrous.

As the refining continued, the massive energy within was gradually suppressed and began to calm down. Meanwhile, Li Lin felt his bones, meridians, muscles, and internal organs being tempered by the vast energy.

Unknowingly, this tempering, though not immediately noticeable, was significant over time.

During this refining process, Li Lin entered a state of self-forgetfulness, controlling the energy within his body to refine, with bits of refined energy transforming into true qi entering his Dantian Qi Sea.

The energy from the demon pill, more challenging to assimilate than directly absorbing a martial artist's true qi, required a more complex refining process, similar to refining medicinal pills. However, this complexity was relative, as Li Lin's speed in refining the demon pill for cultivation was far faster than ordinary people.

Inside the Dantian Qi Sea, which seemed like a bottomless pit, was absorbing the refined true qi. After breaking through to the first level of Martial Soul, the energy required for further breakthroughs was frighteningly large. Li Lin felt his Dantian Qi Sea was much larger than those of his peers, requiring much more true qi for breakthroughs.

As the refining went on, a strange phenomenon occurred among the direct disciples of the Yunyang Sect. Initially, twenty or thirty disciples practiced martial techniques at night and cultivated true qi during the day. Eventually, nearly a hundred disciples did so, creating a constant rumbling noise in the Yunyang Sect whenever night fell.

Even Yun Xiao Tian was alarmed by this and discovered upon investigation that the instigator was Elder Yu and his disciples.

As Li Lin secluded himself to refine the demon pill, the Blood Lizard and Little Dragon, along with the Winged Snow Lion, guarded the mountain peak, even preventing Elder Yu from entering several times.

Elder Yu also left with a smile, secretly praising his diligent disciple, far surpassing his other two.

As the beginning of the month approached, many disciples looked forward to Li Lin's battle with Li Dajiang, speculating on who would win. Unknowingly, Li Lin gained the support of many, with half of the disciples believing in his victory.