...

After Lu Qing withdrew his spell, looking back here, he could already feel the previously surging Spiritual Qi gathering at this single place.

This Spiritual Plant Garden in the valley had a vast area, and judging by the mission message, this was still only the outer perimeter.

From the moment Lu Qing entered and looked around, he hadn't seen anyone else.

"There should be a concealment Formation here, right."

Otherwise, it would be impossible that apart from disciples and Elders, besides the water lotus pond before his eyes, nothing else could be seen, as if this place were just an ordinary valley.

That of course was impossible.

Since it was a Spiritual Plant Garden, there were definitely spiritual plants.

But in fact, after Lu Qing finished casting the spell and looked around carefully, it was still a natural pond at the bottom of the valley.

No other clues were found.

"However, this has nothing to do with me either; it is fine not to deal with them."

"What needs to be looked at now is that the water level drop speed seems extremely slow."

After Lu Qing finished casting this spell, only a thin wisp of Spiritual Qi remained in his Dantian. However, the Spiritual Qi here was abundant, and in the span of a breath, coupled with his good Aptitude, he slightly circulated the Spiritual Qi in his body into his Dantian, and the previously depleted Spiritual Qi slowly accumulated again.

This recovery speed was actually faster than when he sat in meditation at the Dao Peak. Firstly, it was due to the effect of that rare snow spirit fruit, and secondly, it truly showed that the places where these spiritual plants were cultivated could gather the scattered Spiritual Qi of heaven and earth.

Thinking about this, it was also no wonder that behind the nameless Dao Peak he chose, there was a large area of spiritual fields.

He gazed at the pond, and after the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, he still couldn't see the water level dropping.

"Forget it, I will cultivation here. Water lotuses grow by absorbing the water sources of heaven and earth, and having someone Cultivating nearby will not affect them."

Lu Qing naturally understood the spiritual plant known as the water lotus. Water lotuses bloom in seven days and bear lotus fruits in fourteen days.

Lotus fruit can be used in dietary supplements, making it a Spiritual Qi dietary supplement with fairly good evaluations among Sect disciples. Consuming it can reduce the speed of the great circulation cycle of circulating Spiritual Qi; to put it bluntly, it can reduce Cultivation time by a day or two.

However, this kind of water lotus is not considered precious. If eaten year-round, the effect becomes quite minimal after getting used to it. Also, because water lotus seeds are not rare, it was placed on the outer perimeter of the garden.

And after they bear fruit, naturally someone will come to handle them.

Equivalent to fourteen days later, someone specialized will come to harvest the fruits. The scope of his task is just to ensure that the water lotuses bear fruit; subsequent harvesting is not within the scope of this task.

The spiritual plant task chosen by Lu Qing was also within his tolerance. As for those whose price was too precious, how could he be joking to tend to them?

Do not forget, he currently only has the Minor Cloud Rain Technique that he can take out. Watering is nothing, but the problem is that for most precious spiritual plants, watering can no longer meet their growth needs.

Therefore, water lotuses live very crudely and are extremely easy to raise.

And no one will covet them.

Lu Qing Cultivated here with peace of mind.

His heart was at ease and calm, concentrating on refining the Spiritual Qi in his Dantian.

As for the initiation sparring tournament that happened just yesterday.

The storm was only just beginning.

The ranking list had not been published yet, but every disciple had their own ranking, and some who were socially active could roughly deduce the names of the top ten after slightly inquiring with each other.

However, this initiation sparring tournament suddenly gave rise to twists and turns, and what the final result actually was, no one was clear.

The ones who could have a clear grasp were probably those few Prodigies with Heaven Grade Aptitude.

On a certain mountain peak, an elegant pavilion stood towering and solemn, surrounded by countless auspicious lights of spiritual mist.

Inside, several disciples of the Outer Court had set up a small banquet.

"Brother Fu, we actually ranked outside the top twenty; we took a huge loss."

Lin Tiannan's expression was indignant; he was a prodigy among this batch of Geniuses who came from the Central Region territory of the Profound Heaven Domain.

He originally thought he was competing for the top ten, but never expected that he would fall beyond the twentieth place.

Doesn't that mean that above them, quite a few High-Grade Aptitude disciples had already squeezed them down?

Fu Wuding sneered, "Then what do you want? It's just a sparring tournament ranking."

Lin Tiannan: "This is not just a sparring tournament ranking. I asked earlier; there is someone who doesn't know what's good for them—he obtained a Foundation Establishment spiritual object."

A disciple in green robes beside them spoke up. Those in their entourage who were able to enter this small banquet were all Geniuses who could originally enter the Inner Sect Courtyard.

Although they were currently in the Outer Court, one or two of them had already taken masters within the Inner Sect Courtyard.

Even the three Elders of the Outer Court in charge of the channels for ascending from the Outer Court to the Inner Sect Courtyard turned a blind eye to this batch of disciples who had been demoted to the Outer Court by higher-ups for unknown reasons.

"A mere Foundation Establishment spiritual object—with our strength, this is not too precious of a thing for us either. Junior Brother Lin, do not be too petty."

At this time, a person sitting at the top spoke.

"Senior Brother Li, I... I am just a bit indignant. Clearly our Cultivation is higher than theirs. If we were to fight in the arena, they definitely wouldn't be our opponents."

Seeing the person speaking at the top, Lin Tiannan's gaze flashed, and then he slowly spoke.

This person was the same as them, but recently was recruited over by Bai Yunqing, and somehow gained the regard of Senior Brother Yan.

Now, his Cultivation was even a step faster than theirs.

In Cultivation, the preceding ones come first. Aside from others of the same master's lineage, most followed this rule, so calling him Senior Brother was also not wrong.

When Lin Tiannan refused to accept it initially, he naturally had his own inner arrogance.

Yan Langyu was of High-Grade Aptitude, but because he obtained a certain fated opportunity, he gradually transformed into an Earth Grade Aptitude.

As someone born with Earth Grade Aptitude, Lin Tiannan was unwilling to submit to others.

Let alone the fact that they were originally able to enter the Inner Sect Courtyard.

The disciple speaking at the top did not care either; he knew that he was responsible for establishing good relations with these people.

Li Jiao: "Oh, then I wonder which high-ranking dark horses Junior Brother knows? I would like to get acquainted with them."

As he said this.

Lin Tiannan's gaze flickered, a few parts of contempt rising in his heart—truly a good dog.

Yet on the surface, he immediately smiled and said, "There are a few, but because of the reason that it has not been published, I cannot know all of them either, so it is just this Junior Brother's guess."

"The High-Grade disciples recruited this year are several times more than previous years, and anyone is possible. I can guess about three or four of them."

"That's good, I will make good acquaintances with them." Li Jiao did not mind.

All in all, this small banquet was originally for these disciples to communicate and network with each other, and by the way, they also touched upon the accident that happened yesterday.

"What on earth happened yesterday?"

"Heh, don't mention it. A Purple Mansion Demonic Beast was making trouble and had its Divine Soul shattered by a single sword strike from the supervisory Elder. The pity is that many people were too close at the time and are still recovering from injuries now."

The expression of the disciple who spoke was subtle, and the others were the same.

Not to mention anything else, those of Heaven Grade and those few who stood out in their Cultivation Realm—it should be said that basically the top ten all suffered heavy injuries.

Of course, a trace of relief and joy in the depths of their hearts was not revealed on their faces.

"I originally wanted to recruit some with High-Grade Aptitude, but unfortunately, there are still a few I couldn't find the fated opportunity to approach."

Li Jiao sat at the top, holding his wine cup and thinking inwardly.

He knew what his Aptitude was like, but that wasn't real; it was purely because his Clan paid a heavy price. He originally thought he could send himself into the Inner Sect Courtyard, and then continuously utilize the resources of the Inner Sect Courtyard to raise his Realm, and afterwards feed back into the Clan.

...