The next morning, the outer sect was quieter than usual.
Most disciples had already returned to cultivation after the first stage of the competition ended. The excitement from the elimination battles still remained in everyone's minds, but now the atmosphere had changed.
The true battles had not yet begun.
The Top Sixteen ranking tournament would start soon, and everyone understood that the upcoming fights would be completely different from the earlier rounds.
Only the strongest disciples remained now.
As sunlight slowly spread across the mountain pathways of the Green Bamboo Sect, Fang Lin finally stepped out of his room after cultivating continuously for many days.
The moment he walked outside, he felt the difference in his body clearly.
His movements felt very lighter than before.
At the same time, his body felt stronger and more stable.
The Nine Nether Phantom Body had finally reached Lesser Mastery in the Nether Skin stage, and the improvement was enormous.
Fang Lin slowly clenched his fist. A faint explosive force spread through his muscles instantly.
He quietly thought, "If Zhou Yan fought me now, he would not even be able to scratch my muscles even if I stand there allowing him to hit me without any weapon."
Even Fang Lin himself was slightly shocked by how powerful the body technique was becoming.
The 'Nether Skin' stage was only the first stage of the Nine Nether Phantom Body.
Yet it had already strengthened his body far beyond ordinary cultivators.
As Fang Lin walked through the outer sect pathways, many disciples immediately noticed him.
"That's Fang Lin."
"He disappeared for almost ten days."
"I heard he has been cultivating nonstop."
"Of course he would. The ranking tournament is starting soon."
Some disciples looked at him with admiration.
Others looked at him with jealousy.
A few looked at him with fear.
However, Fang Lin ignored all of the gazes calmly and continued walking toward the Bamboo Lotus Palace.
For the past several days, he had barely eaten properly while forcing himself to cultivate the Nine Nether Phantom Body. He had consumed all of his healing pills during the breakthrough to Lesser Mastery, and his body still felt exhausted from the strain.
As he entered the restaurant, the servants immediately recognized him.
One servant respectfully said, "Senior Brother Fang, please come inside."
Fang Lin nodded calmly before sitting near the second-floor railing.
A few moments later, familiar voices suddenly sounded nearby.
Murong Yue happily waved her hand and said, "Fang Lin! Over here!"
Fang Lin turned slightly and saw Li Shan, Murong Yue, Bai Qing, Zhao Feng, Luo Chen, and Han Zhi already sitting together nearby.
He calmly walked toward them.
Murong Yue looked at Fang Lin carefully for a moment before widening her eyes slightly.
Murong Yue said, "What do I feel that you're different again?"
Luo Chen immediately laughed and said, "I thought the same thing the moment I saw him."
Li Shan calmly observed Fang Lin for several seconds. Then Li Shan smiled faintly and said, "Looks like your closed-door cultivation gave you good results."
Fang Lin sat down quietly before replying, "I made some progress."
Murong Yue narrowed her eyes suspiciously and said, "Whenever you say 'some progress,' someone usually gets beaten badly afterward."
Even Bai Qing smiled slightly after hearing that.
The atmosphere around the table quickly became relaxed.
After the food arrived, Luo Chen immediately began eating enthusiastically while Murong Yue continued asking Fang Lin questions.
Murong Yue asked, "So what exactly were you cultivating?"
Fang Lin calmly replied, "A body technique."
Murong Yue nearly choked on her food.
Murong Yue said, "A body technique? You said this the last time too. No wonder your aura feels strange now. A body technique shouldn't have this much of extravagant changes."
Han Zhi quietly looked toward Fang Lin and said, "Body cultivation techniques are extremely difficult. Most disciples give up after a few days."
Fang Lin nodded slightly.
"It is difficult," Fang Lin said honestly.
Difficult was actually an understatement.
Even now, Fang Lin could still remember the pain he experienced while breaking through to Lesser Mastery.
His muscles had felt as though they were being torn apart repeatedly, while his bones felt like they were cracking continuously. And his skin, he doesn't want to remember that pain again of it splitting apart!
Without the healing pills, he would not have been able to endure the process.
Li Shan calmly drank his tea before speaking again.
Li Shan said, "The final ranking battles will begin in two days."
Fang Lin looked toward him quietly.
Li Shan continued, "The rankings from sixteen upward will begin changing after that."
Murong Yue leaned forward slightly and said, "You should be careful this time."
Fang Lin calmly asked, "Because of Chen Hao's side?"
Murong Yue immediately nodded.
Murong Yue said, "Especially Chen Hao."
Bai Qing softly added, "Ever since you entered the Top Sixteen, the faction side has become very quiet."
"That is not a good sign," Zhao Feng calmly said.
Fang Lin remained silent for a moment.
Then he calmly asked, "What about Rank 1 and Rank 2?"
The table became quieter immediately.
Luo Chen slowly stopped eating.
Murong Yue's playful expression faded slightly.
Li Shan finally replied calmly, "Neither of them participated in the elimination rounds."
Han Zhi added, "They do not need to."
Murong Yue crossed her arms and said, "Su Wanqing and Jian Wuji are completely different from the rest of us."
Bai Qing softly nodded.
"Most people in the sect believe the final battle will once again be between those two."
Fang Lin quietly memorized the names once more.
Su Wanqing.
Jian Wuji.
The strongest disciples of the outer sect.
Li Shan suddenly looked directly at Fang Lin and asked, "What rank are you aiming for?"
Everyone at the table looked toward Fang Lin curiously.
For a brief moment, Fang Lin remained silent while looking outside the second-floor railing toward the distant mountains of the sect.
Then Fang Lin calmly replied, "As high as possible."
Murong Yue immediately laughed loudly.
Murong Yue said, "Good answer!"
Li Shan smiled faintly as well.
However, deep inside his mind, Li Shan understood something clearly.
Fang Lin was growing far too quickly.
And that speed…
Was beginning to make even the older monsters of the sect grow uneasy.
-----
At the same time, in another part of the sect, Chen Hao quietly stood alone near a mountain pavilion.
His expression remained calm as he looked toward the distant outer sect arena.
However, his eyes had become much colder than before.
Xu Ren slowly approached from behind and asked, "You really think Fang Lin can threaten you?"
Chen Hao remained silent for several moments.
Then Chen Hao calmly replied, "Not now."
A faint breeze passed through the mountain path.
Chen Hao slowly narrowed his eyes.
"But later…he might."
Xu Ren frowned slightly and asked, "Then what do we do?"
Chen Hao quietly looked toward the distant sky.
Then Chen Hao calmly said, "Nothing for now."
"Let him continue."
"But if he keeps growing at this speed…"
A faint killing intent flashed deep inside Chen Hao's eyes before disappearing once more.
"…someone will eventually have to stop him."