Immortality Starts With Ignorant Heart Sword Art

Chapter 131: Ranked First on the Sky List

In two months, Zhong Cang advanced two levels in cultivation, which was undeniably fast. This made the two Perfected Beings somewhat silent.

What's even more crucial is that during these two months, Zhong Cang not only advanced, but also broke through a bottleneck.

Such rapid progress caught the attention of one of the Perfected Beings, who couldn't help but look at Tao Juran curiously and asked, "Fellow Taoist Tao, if I remember correctly, you have a Heavenly Grade spiritual root. How long did it take you to go from the fifth level of Qi Refining to the seventh level?"

"...Two years," Tao Juran replied.

After saying this, he noticed that the faces of the two Perfected Beings and others had become somewhat strange. Tao Juran couldn't help but explain himself, trying to save face.

"My situation was different. My master didn't allow me to use pills or treasures at the time. He only had me cultivate diligently to stabilize my foundation."

"Moreover, the cultivation technique I practiced at the time was a prerequisite for a Heaven Level technique, which was extremely difficult. As a result, most of my time was spent studying the technique rather than improving my cultivation... Even so, my cultivation level remained at the second stage of perfection. It took me eight months to break through to the third stage and advance my cultivation."

Upon hearing that Tao Juran had a reason for his slower progress, rather than being truly left behind by Zhong Cang with a tenfold difference, the two Perfected Beings felt relieved.

However, after this momentary relief, they quickly became distressed.

"Our sect leader wants us to create the Sky List to demonstrate the benefits of exploring the foreign realm. But if Zhong Cang ranks first, what advantage is there to exploring the foreign realm?"

"That's right. Such rankings might even give people in the sect the impression that it's better to cultivate diligently at home like Zhong Cang, rather than putting in effort to explore the foreign realm."

"...," the two Perfected Beings fell silent.

Tao Juran was also at a loss for words in response to the Perfected Beings' concerns.

After a moment of silence, one of the Perfected Beings suddenly had an idea and brightened up, saying, "Zhong Cang must have advanced two levels in cultivation in two months by taking some treasures, and these treasures must be of high grade. After taking such treasures, his cultivation will inevitably become unstable, requiring a long period of time to stabilize. The disciple from the foreign realm only advanced one level and took nine months to stabilize his cultivation. Zhong Cang's cultivation progress is even more intense, so it would take even more time. His cultivation must still be in a state of turbulence!"

Upon hearing this, Tao Juran also realized what they were getting at.

"Are you suggesting that we use his unstable cultivation as a reason to remove Zhong Cang's ranking?"

"Yes, and no one can argue against such a reason."

Indeed, this reason was feasible.

Cultivating recklessly without considering the stability of one's foundation would be detrimental to future Foundation Building and Core Formation. Therefore, the Cloud Firmament Sect, as well as other prestigious sects with long-term plans, have always advocated for stability rather than speed.

If Zhong Cang's foundation was unstable, it could indeed serve as a negative example.

However, all of this depends on whether Zhong Cang's cultivation is truly unstable.

With the Vow Monument and the Sky Mirror, the Cloud Firmament Sect is able to investigate the physical condition of its disciples.

As a result, the person conducting the investigation had an awkward expression of wanting to speak but hesitating.

The three Perfected Beings noticed this expression and immediately knew that something was amiss.

"...Sigh, just say it. We won't blame you," they said.

"Yes, Perfected Being... According to the information displayed on the oath monument, Zhong Cang's foundation is very solid and there are no signs of instability. Furthermore, according to the reported information, the cultivation technique practiced by inner disciple Zhong Cang was created by Old Qin and has a power level of Heaven Level."

"..."

Although the three Perfected Beings had already noticed something strange in the disciple's expression, it was only when they truly heard about it that their faces showed a peculiar expression.

Especially Tao Perfected Being, upon learning that Zhong Cang had advanced two levels in cultivation in two months while practicing a Heaven Level technique, he couldn't help but feel a bit overwhelmed.

With a sigh, he shook his head and said, "Forget it, since his cultivation is stable, let's just issue the Observing Heaven List directly."

"But what about the instructions from the Sect Master?"

"It's nothing. One person's words can't influence the overall situation. Besides, I don't believe his cultivation can keep rising... If it's increasing so quickly now, it will slow down in the following months, which will perfectly demonstrate the allure of exploring the foreign realm."

"Tao Fellow Daoist is wise."

...

Led by the Cloud Firmament Sect, the Observing Heaven List was quickly distributed and spread throughout the sect and even within the Cloud Firmament Sect's territory.

This release of the list brought endless shock to the inner and outer disciples of the sect, just as the higher-ups had anticipated.

First, the outer disciples, who were of low strength and originally only lived without many dreams.

But as soon as the Observing Heaven List was issued, the entire outer sect became restless.

It's not surprising considering that the list showed that in the past two months, the cultivation speed of Qi Refining disciples in the sect had surpassed that of the inner disciples, and the children of humble families had surpassed the aristocratic families.

[Tenth place, outer disciple Fan Chao, talent level four, advanced one level in cultivation in two months, accepted as a disciple by a Foundation Building Perfected Being.]

[Fifth place, outer disciple Si Huan, Qi Refining level three, talent level five, advanced one level in cultivation, already accepted as a disciple by a Gold Core Perfected Being. That Perfected Being even made a vow to raise his cultivation to Foundation Building.]

[Third place, Zhou Yuan, Qi Refining level five...]

Each piece of information stimulated the hearts of the people, making them eager to enter the foreign realm and explore adventures.

Especially for many outer disciples, they inevitably needed to work or take risks.

With travel comes social interaction, and as a result, some people became acquainted with Fan Chao, Si Huan, and others.

Seeing acquaintances advancing, it further stimulated their eyes to turn red.

"I know Fan Chao, his cultivation speed is not even as fast as mine, but now he has been accepted as a disciple by a Foundation Building Perfected Being. If I were the first to enter, would the one accepted as a disciple by Foundation Building also be me?"

"Si Huan??? Captain, wasn't there a Qi Refining level three disciple who begged to join our team last time but was rejected because his cultivation was too low? Isn't this Si Huan the same person?"

"It's definitely him, Qi Refining level three, talent level five. If he didn't have any cultivation value at all, we wouldn't have given him a chance back then."

"Gold Core, someone like him can also be accepted as a disciple by a Gold Core... Boss..."

Looking at the reddened eyes of his subordinates, the leader, even though he felt something fishy, knew that he couldn't stop them from taking risks.

If he forcefully stopped them, his team would definitely fall apart.

Moreover, he himself is also inclined to explore the foreign realm.

As for danger—when exploring the ruins in the Hongxuan Continent and hunting Demonic Beasts, isn't there any risk?

"Let's go!"

With a command, they headed towards the newly established department of the Cloud Firmament Sect, the Cloud Sea Gate, which is responsible for exploring the foreign realm.

And it wasn't just this team that was attracted by the information on the Observation Heaven List.

A continuous stream of people gathered outside the Cloud Sea Gate, causing congestion in the area.

...

Because of the Observation Heaven List, the outer disciples were like they had been injected with chicken blood, all requesting to go into battle.

Since it was a voluntary request and not a mission assigned by the sect, they had a high degree of subjective initiative in exploring the foreign realm.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, even if the Divine Heaven Hall introduced a fifty-fifty split for the gains in the foreign realm, no one said anything.

After all, the experts of the Divine Heaven Hall also explained that maintaining the operation of the teleportation array requires a large amount of spirit stones.

And when they are in the foreign realm, they are bound to encounter unpredictable dangers, and at that time, the senior members of the sect will come to their rescue.

These experts are escorting and protecting you, so they won't go in vain, right?

In short, when everyone was excited and only thinking about soaring to the sky, the tax policy landed almost without a ripple.

By the way, the sect takes fifty percent of the gains from the outer disciples, while the inner disciples' gains are only thirty percent taken by the sect.

It is said that the high-level members of the sect are considering whether to allow Independent Cultivators to join in the development of the foreign realm in order to reduce the casualties of their own disciples.

Of course, if Independent Cultivators join, Cloud Firmament Sect will take seventy to ninety percent of their gains.

It can only be said that Independent Cultivators are always at the bottom of the Immortal Cultivation World.

...

The outer disciples were stimulated by the Observation Heaven List, and so were the inner disciples.

They were also envious of the numerous gains.

Moreover, the inner disciples not only envied, but also had a deep sense of crisis.

The outer disciples and the inner disciples were not two separate lines that would never intersect.

Just look at the situation of the past two months, many outer disciples have been accepted as disciples by Foundation Building and even Gold Core Perfected Beings because of their adventures.

With more disciples, the resources and attention they can allocate naturally decrease.

And if this situation continues, they, who are falling behind, may be expelled by their masters and become outer disciples instead of inner disciples.

Thinking about this, just like Yan Lingwei said, the inner disciples cannot wait for a year or two, they want to go to the foreign realm now to avoid being left behind.

However, while their emotions were shaken, these inner disciples who gathered together to discuss team formation also saw the first phase of the Observation Heaven List, with Zhong Cang ranking first.

In just two months, seeing his cultivation progress so quickly, these inner disciples were greatly shocked and felt embarrassed.

Even Yan Ying and Zhou Cang, who were Apex Level geniuses, felt the same way.

One considered himself to have exceptional talent, while the other believed he had encountered a stroke of luck.

But even so, neither of them had the confidence to raise their cultivation by two whole levels in just two months.

However, when they sighed, they also noticed that some people in their team were restless.

Seeing this, the two immediately used their respective methods to calm them down.

Although they were from different factions, their words of comfort were almost the same.

Zhou Cang: "Zhong Cang does indeed have great talent, which is why I recruited him. However, he made a wrong choice—due to his arrogance and complacency, he has stagnated and will inevitably be surpassed by others."

Yan Ying: "Did you see Zhong Cang's name? He is now in first place. If we follow him and work hard, he has a great chance of remaining in first place. But now, we are entering the foreign realm while he is stuck at the mountain gate!"

"We who go to the foreign realm will definitely surpass him!"

"The outer disciples can make it onto the list, so can we!"

"Next month, I hope to be on the list with my fellow Daoists!"

"Good!"

...

Zhong Cang wouldn't know that many people believed he wouldn't be able to improve his cultivation in a short period of time.

Perfected Being Tao even planned to use his declining progress to highlight the beauty of adventuring in the foreign realm.

And Zhou Cang and Yan Ying saw surpassing Zhong Cang as their goal, inspiring their subordinates.

Zhong Cang didn't understand or care about all of this.

At this moment, he was under the (pseudo) Observation Heaven Mirror, taking the second drop of Sunlight Essence.

"Boom..."

Just like before, flames burned Zhong Cang's body, and in the burning, his physique became stronger and stronger.

At the same time, the strength of Zhong Cang's physique, which had reached the seventh level of Qi Refining after the last consumption, directly broke through to the eighth level of Qi Refining—relying solely on his physical body, he could now fight against a cultivator at the eighth level of Qi Refining.

Under the burning of the Sunlight Essence, the strength of Zhong Cang's physique was progressing rapidly, almost flying.

But the physique was the slowest to progress among Zhong Cang's body, mind, and qi (spiritual energy, magical power).

(End of this chapter)