Hu Yunxi's Change

After Li Changfeng secretly transmitted his voice, he shot up into the sky and sped towards the Sect Great Hall.

Xiao Ming was still pondering what had just happened.

He hadn't actually killed Lei Fang; he had only severed one of Lei Fang's arms, so logically, Lei Fang shouldn't have died.

It was probably because Lei Fang had offended Hu Yunxi.

Hu Yunxi possessed a very special Nine-Colored Luck: anyone who offended her would inevitably fall into a state of extreme misfortune.

It was likely that being plagued by bad luck led to Lei Fang's death.

But none of that mattered anymore... Upon hearing Li Changfeng's secret voice transmission, Xiao Ming's expression remained unchanged as he quietly left the crowd.

Before long,

Xiao Ming arrived at the Sect Great Hall, where Li Changfeng had already been waiting for a long time.

"Disciple greets Master!" Xiao Ming bowed slightly and said, "The Lei Family Fortress came aggressively, especially Lei Ao, who seemed determined not to give up. Disciple thanks Master for stepping in and helping me resolve this crisis!"

"We are master and disciple; if I don't help you, who will?" Li Changfeng smiled, waved his hand, and said, "There's no need for such formalities between us; it makes us seem like strangers!"

"Yes, Master!" Xiao Ming straightened his body, a smile on his face.

After a moment of contemplation, Li Changfeng said, "There's no need to discuss the ins and outs of the Lei Family Fortress matter, because a martial artist's dignity lies solely on the edge of his sword. Lei Ao has already been severely injured by me, damaging his fundamental power. His strength has now plummeted, and he is, at most, at the Danhu Realm mid-stage."

"Without seven or eight years of diligent cultivation, he won't be able to recover to his original state, so he is no longer a concern."

"However!"

"You still cannot be careless!"

At this point, Li Changfeng's expression turned serious as he warned, "Although Lei Ao has been suppressed by me, the Lei Family Fortress still has many experts, and quite a few powerhouses at the Danhu Realm."

"The Lei Family Fortress will certainly not swallow this insult. Once you descend the mountain to handle matters, they will swarm you like hyenas. So, for the foreseeable future, you should stay within the sect and cultivate diligently."

"It won't be too late to descend the mountain once you have improved your strength."

"Thank you, Master, for your guidance. Disciple has noted it down." Xiao Ming bowed again, genuinely expressing his gratitude.

At the same time, he muttered to himself.

Master said he could only descend the mountain once his strength had improved?

Then the question was,

To what Cultivation Level did he need to cultivate to be considered to have improved his strength?

There was no specific standard for this.

With Xiao Ming's current strength, he could even contend with an early-stage Danhu Realm powerhouse. If he encountered a mid-stage Danhu Realm powerhouse, even if he couldn't win, escaping would still be no problem.

Did this count as having strength?

While he was thinking,

Li Changfeng chuckled and said, "Disciple, I see that your aura is much denser than a few days ago. Have you perhaps advanced again?"

"Yes, Master, disciple was fortunate and advanced to the Yuangang Realm late-stage." Xiao Ming spoke without reservation.

"As expected of my disciple, your cultivation speed is incredibly fast!" Li Changfeng beamed with joy, then fumbled in his embrace for a while before pulling out an exquisite black ring.

"This item is called the ink void ring. It's a rare spatial artifact that can store things. I'm giving it to you now."

With that, Li Changfeng tossed the ring to Xiao Ming.

Xiao Ming quickly and happily caught it.

The ink void ring, a spatial artifact!

He could finally carry his belongings with him, instead of having to lug a large bag around everywhere like before.

"The ink void ring is ownerless. You only need to drip your essence blood into it to use it freely," Li Changfeng said. "Additionally, I've placed twenty thousand-year-old spirit herbs inside for you as well."

"Thank you, Master!"

"Thank me for what? You've been under my tutelage for some time now. This is the first time I, your master, have bestowed a treasure upon you, and it's only right," Li Changfeng said. "However, the ink void ring is communal property of the sect. My giving it to you privately technically violates the sect's rules."

"Ah??" Xiao Ming was stunned.

His Master's actions seemed to be a case of embezzlement and using public resources for personal gain.

"Ah what? Rules are meant to be broken. I am the Sect Master, and my words are the rules!" Li Changfeng waved his hand and said, "As long as you don't flaunt it excessively, even if the other elders see it, they will pretend not to."

"Alright, enough idle chatter. You should go back and cultivate quickly."

"Yes, Master!"

Xiao Ming bowed slightly, then exited the Sect Great Hall.

After Xiao Ming had walked far away, Li Changfeng stood up and walked to the entrance of the Great Hall.

He then looked up at the sky, towards the location of the Lei Family Fortress.

After today's battle, the Spirit Sword Sect and the Lei Family Fortress had completely fallen out. In truth, Li Changfeng didn't want this, because it would only push the Lei Family Fortress towards another two-star power, the Qingfeng City Lord's Mansion.

"However, for Xiao Ming, any price, no matter how great, is worth it!"

With that, Li Changfeng fiercely clenched his fist.

Xiao Ming was a genius of the sect whom he highly regarded, and he could not afford to lose him!

As for falling out with the Lei Family Fortress, so be it... Meanwhile,

Xiao Ming returned to his small courtyard.

Opening the courtyard gate, he saw Hu Yunxi sitting on a stone stool, her chin resting on her hand, her face full of worry.

Hearing the sound of the gate opening, Hu Yunxi subconsciously looked over and saw Xiao Ming, with his slender figure, handsome face, and flowing hair.

"Young Master!"

Hu Yunxi exclaimed, then ran over excitedly and hugged Xiao Ming's leg.

"Young Master, are you alright?" Hu Yunxi looked up with her small face, asking anxiously.

"I'm fine," Xiao Ming patted Hu Yunxi's small head and said with a smile, "The people from the Lei Family Fortress have been driven back, and our crisis is over. You don't have to worry anymore."

"Mmm! I knew Young Master was amazing!" Hu Yunxi nodded heavily.

At the same time,

The system's voice suddenly rang out within Xiao Ming's body, "host has once again protected Hu Yunxi, gaining +10 Hu Yunxi favorability."

Favorability increased again?

Xiao Ming was surprised and delighted.

With the additional 10 favorability points he just received, he had now raised Hu Yunxi's favorability to 70 points.

Looking at the current situation, it wouldn't take him long to max out Hu Yunxi's favorability to 100 points.

The future was promising!

In the days that followed, everything was calm.

Xiao Ming stayed indoors, diligently cultivating in his room.

As one thousand-year-old spirit herb after another was refined, and the true essence within his body increased, Xiao Ming's aura also grew denser.

About half a month later,

Xiao Ming finished his cultivation.

He had consumed most of the thousand-year-old spirit herbs given by Li Changfeng, and his Cultivation Level had reached the brink of a breakthrough.

Yet, he had not broken through.

It was just like his previous state; he was only separated from breaking through to the Yuangang Realm Great Perfection by a thin sheet of paper. Although he could break through at any time, he just couldn't take that final step.

It must be that his opportunity had not yet arrived.

Opportunity, this elusive thing, was invisible and intangible, yet it had an extremely important influence on martial artists.

Some people could advance instantly by simply eating a meal or drinking water, while others cultivated diligently for countless years, yet their Cultivation Level remained stagnant.

"Opportunity... Should I go find Lin Feng again to see if there are any new opportunities?" Xiao Ming thought to himself.

Lin Feng was a fat sheep, and Xiao Ming had shorn a good deal of wool from him.

"Eh? Wait!"

"Why is there still a powerful aura in the small courtyard?"

Suddenly, Xiao Ming sensed something, and a look of astonishment appeared on his face.

In his perception, a faint yet astonishing aura had appeared in the small courtyard. This aura was very mysterious; if one didn't sense it carefully, one wouldn't even notice it!

Puzzled, Xiao Ming walked out of his room.

Then he saw Hu Yunxi sitting idly in the small courtyard.

That faint, mysterious aura was emanating from Hu Yunxi!

"Young Master, are you done cultivating?" Hu Yunxi saw Xiao Ming come out and ran over, skipping and hopping.

Xiao Ming didn't speak, but instead, he scrutinized Hu Yunxi with a curious gaze.

Hu Yunxi felt self-conscious under his gaze and said bashfully, "Young Master, what are you looking at?"

"Little Yunxi, I've noticed something strange about you!" Xiao Ming said seriously, "Why do you have an energy aura on you? And it seems to have reached the Body Refinement Tenth Level!"

Hu Yunxi's current Cultivation Level had, astonishingly, reached the Body Refinement Tenth Level!

But she hadn't cultivated any martial arts techniques, nor had she consumed any elixirs, and he didn't know how she had cultivated.

"Oh, you mean that..." Hu Yunxi tilted her head, thought for a moment, and said, "A few days ago, I suddenly had a dream. I dreamt that I came to a Nine-Fold Heavenly Palace and sat on a resplendent golden imperial throne within the palace."

"Below my feet were five-colored clouds, through which I could see many small worlds."

"Oh, and many people inexplicably knelt and worshipped me!"

"And then?" Xiao Ming asked in a deep voice.

"And then? There was no 'and then'," Hu Yunxi said obediently, "Every time I wake up, I find that my strength has increased quite a bit, and I'm getting stronger every moment..."

Xiao Ming was speechless.

Was this the terrifying power of a Daughter of Destiny?

Dreaming of sitting high on the imperial throne of a Nine-Fold Heavenly Palace, getting stronger every time she woke up, and even growing stronger every moment... Compared to Hu Yunxi's heaven-defying talent, Xiao Ming realized he was too weak.

He was simply a small fry!