The conversation between master and disciple eventually came to an end.
Li Yang patted her chest and said with confidence, “Don’t worry, Master, leave it all to me. You just need to focus on accepting your students when the time comes!”
Si Kui nodded, though a little reluctant.
After all, his little disciple had a way with words, and she was certified by Shen Chahua, so there was a chance she could indeed recruit one or two students.
As for whether it would actually be of any use, well, that didn’t matter.
If she wanted to do it, then so be it.
Li Yang, fired up with enthusiasm, went back to her room to meditate and break through her current boundaries.
Si Kui waited for a moment, ensuring that she was fine with the breakthrough, then turned and went toward the small cave dwelling at the back of the courtyard.
The temperature inside the cave was extremely low, a stark contrast to the warmth outside.
The walls were covered with thick layers of frost, making the ice crystal coffin within appear even more translucent and beautiful.
Inside the coffin, the snow-white lotus heart stood motionless, its lifeless appearance making it seem devoid of any vitality.
The process of breaking through at high levels was very different from low-level ones.
Especially when upgrading from the peak of the eighth rank to the ninth rank, it wasn’t just about defeating opponents of a higher level—this was something Si Kui had already accomplished 28 years ago in Xinggang City.
What was needed now was the rare and supreme secret treasure.
The ninth-rank lotus heart could be used as a material for breaking through, but Si Kui had never been able to integrate it into herself.
To integrate it meant placing it into her spiritual sea.
However, after 28 years, Si Kui still hadn’t found a breakthrough point.
There were two possible reasons for this phenomenon: either Si Kui hadn’t completed her high-level kill, or the ninth-rank lotus heart was still “alive.”
The first possibility was impossible—Si Kui had already killed a ninth-rank Supreme of the Feng Lie Clan.
The second possibility was equally impossible.
If the lotus heart were still alive, it would have sprouted by now.
Even for certain starry realm beings, a few decades were nothing, but the lotus heart had existed in the Feng Lie Clan’s records for at least several hundred thousand years.
It hadn’t sprouted in all that time, so it must have long since died.
Si Kui stared at it for a moment, recalling what her master had once said:
“The last resort is to use the advantage of the human race to forcibly swallow it. The risk of doing so is that your ninth-rank status will become unstable.”
Integrating something into one’s spiritual sea was a gradual process.
Si Kui could use the supreme treasure to slowly consolidate her rank.
Swallowing it directly would allow her to reach the ninth rank, but it was like trying to force a plant to grow too quickly—it would leave her stuck at the early stages of the ninth rank with no possibility of advancing further, and she might even fall back.
So, Si Kui didn’t want to resort to swallowing the ninth-rank lotus heart unless it was absolutely necessary.
But now, she truly wanted to break through.
If she could ascend to the ninth rank, she would have a say in the Xing Su Pavilion, and the things Li Hua wanted to do would proceed much more smoothly.
As a teacher, how could she pass all the responsibilities onto her disciple?
Meanwhile, Li Yang returned to her east wing room, quickly starting her breakthrough process.
After killing a second-rank peak cultist, Li Yang had gained some insight, and the star aperture at her chest had been emitting a brilliant light.
Her spiritual sea was also stirring with energy.
Li Yang meditated, sensing her star aperture, and slowly peeled away the excess brilliance.
Then, with a swish, another brand-new star aperture appeared beside her.
“I did it!” Li Yang opened her eyes and found that it was already dawn.
She had only felt like a few minutes had passed, but when she checked her phone, she realized it had been a whole night.
Meditation really did consume time.
No wonder novels often mention people going into seclusion for decades or even centuries.
Not in a hurry to burn through her life force, Li Yang first went downstairs to find something to eat. She was starving!
She had felt hungry before going to bed last night, and after a whole night, her hunger had grown even worse.
In the small courtyard, Feng Yiqiao had just steamed a basket of buns.
Upon seeing Li Yang, she greeted her, “Come eat.”
Lu Shunshun yawned as he came out, and Xia Putao, still shouting loudly, called, “Junior Brother! Time to wake up and eat!”
Yu Hongyuan groaned, “Let me sleep a bit more.”
Li Yang called out, “Yu Hongyuan, wake up and eat. I need to talk to you about something.”
Yu Hongyuan was about to reply, “Let me sleep a little longer…” when he heard the voice of the senior sister!
He jumped out of bed in a hurry, with his messy hair, and rushed outside.
“Senior Sister! You’re back!” Yu Hongyuan said with sincerity, his face full of a dog-like smile.
Xia Putao, in a sour tone, muttered, “I even practiced with you every day! This two-faced fish.”
Feng Yiqiao chuckled, “Come, come, let’s eat first.”
Li Yang didn’t rush to talk to Yu Hongyuan, instead, she took out ten mutated buns and started showing them off.
Even though he had seen it several times, he was still amazed.
Senior sister could really eat!
No matter how hard he tried to stuff himself, he could only manage five or six buns.
Feng Yiqiao blinked and said, “Xiao Li, you’ve reached second rank?”
Li Yang nodded.
“Yes, I just broke through last night.”
Lu Shunshun, now wide awake, looked at her with shining eyes and asked, “Tell us, what kind of cultist did you kill?”
“Second-rank peak.”
“Wow!”
Xia Putao quickly asked, “Tell us everything, what was the mission like?”
Li Yang briefly explained, “Nothing special, I got lucky and happened to pick up the slack with the seniors.”
At that moment, He Song and his group arrived, carrying large bags from the barren wheat fields.
Feng Yiqiao exclaimed, “It’s Assistant He!”
Lu Shunshun and Xia Putao cheered, “Assistant He always brings good stuff! His parents used to be from the Agriculture Department…”
They continued chatting about things Li Yang already knew, while Yu Hongyuan listened with great interest.
Feng Yiqiao greeted He Song, who smiled and asked, “Is Li Yang here?”
After a moment of surprise, Feng Yiqiao replied, “Yes.”
He Song and his group entered the small courtyard, set down their bags, and solemnly said, “I’ll never forget the life-saving grace. If you ever need anything, just let me know!”
It wasn’t just him; the cool and stylish sister, the energetic Wala, and the quiet sister all said the same thing.
The Agriculture Department’s group was puzzled, “What’s going on here?”
Wala stepped forward and began recounting how they had attacked the cultist’s meeting, encountered a third-rank peak leader, and then managed to escape under Li Yang’s brave charge.
Feng Yiqiao, Lu Shunshun, Xia Putao, and Yu Hongyuan immediately turned to look at Li Yang, asking, “You got lucky and picked up the slack?”
Forget it, let’s just keep eating buns. With so many people around, there wouldn’t even be enough to go around.
Luckily, no one was paying attention to the buns.
Four people wanted to ask questions, four others had things to say, and the eight of them gathered together for an hour-long conversation.
By the time they snapped back to reality…
“Hey… where’s the main person?”
“Hey, where are the buns?”
The main person had already finished her buns and was back to cultivating.
Xia Putao’s sharp eyes caught a note that read, “Junior Brother, I’ve reached second rank. When the first floor of the Tree Tower opens, I’ll need you to help gather monsters for everyone.”
Yu Hongyuan: “???”
A moment later, he realized.
The video of the Tree Tower’s first floor was still circulating on the forum, and the pre-sale tickets had already sold out.
After Li Yang’s promotion to second rank, the only person in the Agriculture Department who could qualify for entry was Yu Hongyuan, who was about to enter the Starry Body stage.
“No… no!”
Yu Hongyuan thought of Li Yang’s thrilling monster gathering scene and turned pale, exclaiming, “Senior Sister, I… I can’t do it!”
Feng Yiqiao pondered for a moment and said, “Xiao Yu, you need to start entering the Starry Body stage soon.”
Xia Putao added, “The pre-sale tickets are all sold, we’re counting on you, Junior Brother!”
He Song laughed and said, “I’ll guide him. I’m experienced with helping new students enter the Starry Body stage.”
With the next Tree Tower opening still two months away, He Song was confident he could help Yu Hongyuan reach the first rank and stabilize his position for the monster gathering.
Yu Hongyuan: “This script is going off track! Mom, I just want to relax! I don’t want to be turned into a ‘chicken child’!”
After eating and filling up, Li Yang resumed her cultivation (and life force burning).
She first checked her system panel.
Sure enough, after breaking through to the second rank, her lifespan limit had increased significantly.
Li Yang immediately decided, “Spend ten years of lifespan to increase physical strength.”
【You have exercised for ten years, surpassing your physical limits. Your physical strength has been forcibly increased to 401 points.】
Li Yang: “???”
Even with her good temperament, she was about to explode.
Ten years for just 1 point?
System, you’ve gone too far!
Li Yang re-read the prompt carefully and caught some details:
“Surpassing my limits… does that mean this body can only reach a maximum of 400 points? This ‘forced improvement’ seems to defy nature.”
Li Yang was no longer the naive beginner she once was.
Not everyone was suited for cultivation.
Just like in her previous life, some people understood within minutes, while others took days to understand.
Talent truly left people helpless.
Li Yang’s body was of average quality.
When she arrived, her physical strength was only 30 points, a clue to her body’s baseline.
Even with the Eternal Life System’s help, this body could only improve to 400 points, so the increase would be limited, requiring even more life force for smaller gains.
A poor foundation required a thousand times more effort.
Li Yang calmed down and no longer felt the system was harsh.
Without the Eternal Life System, she wouldn’t even have a chance to cultivate.
When she thought of this as “defying fate,” the life force consumption didn’t seem so bad.
After all, harvesting life force wasn’t hard for Li Yang.
A batch of wheat could yield 600 years, which she could afford for now.
Li Yang prepared herself, realizing that as her cultivation progressed, the life force consumption would only get higher.
Second rank was just the limit.
What about third, fourth, or higher ranks?
She suspected the lifespan consumption would be even more terrifying by then.
A thousand years, ten thousand years—nothing was impossible.
She might have to burn several hundred thousand years to become an old monster!
Li Yang let out a sigh and continued, “Spend 100 years of lifespan to increase physical strength.”
The system:【You have trained for 100 years, and with your indomitable willpower, you triggered the ‘Even Heaven was Moved’ event. Your physical strength has increased to 415 points.】
Li Yang, even though mentally prepared, still felt a wave of darkness before her eyes.
It was too hard.
If physical strength was this hard to improve, then mental strength would be even harder.
She had thought that 700 years would suffice, but now it seemed like even filling up her physical strength would be a struggle!
After another 500 years, her physical strength barely increased to 470 points.
“Can’t continue burning, need to save some lifespan…” Li Yang reluctantly stopped, looking at her remaining 123 years of lifespan with a pained heart.
Making money and burning life force—both had to be put on the agenda.
Li Yang took out a small notebook and started organizing her situation.