Upon entering, Lu Jie was secretly surprised. The outer hall was truly large, and there were many disciples present.
"Look for a place to cultivate. If you wish to spar, there is an outer area for that," said Elder Xiu, meaningfully.
"Understood, Master," Lu Jie replied.
Lu Jie had no interest in sparring at the moment. He had just begun his cultivation and wanted to focus as much time as possible on it. After experiencing spiritual Qi and feeling himself getting stronger every day, he was extremely excited, and all he wanted to do was cultivate. "I hope no one disturbs me," he pondered, looking around for a quieter corner to cultivate.
"Five years from now, the outer sect competition will take place. Only disciples in the Circulation Realm can become inner disciples. During this competition, some inner sect elders will be watching. If you attract the attention of one of them, you can become their disciple. And if you win the competition, you can receive a Circulation Realm pill to help you break through and, in any case, choose an elder as your master," she explained.
"I have five years to strengthen myself. I'll need to get an elder's attention to be able to cultivate in peace, so I'll have to become at least an inner disciple," he pondered.
"That is all," said the elder as she left. At that moment, Lu Jie looked at the elder's back, and a screen appeared before him.
[Name: Xiu (Outer elder of the Celestial Sword Sect)
Age: 523 years old
Cultivation: Unification Realm (level 8)]
He was surprised for an instant. "The system can do that too?" he thought silently.
After observing for a while, he pondered, "Unification Realm... That's why I couldn't feel any trace of spiritual Qi from her. Our realms are far apart. But she's already 523 years old. As far as I know, Unification Realm cultivators can live up to 600 years. She needs to break through as soon as possible." He was satisfied; now he could see the cultivation levels of anyone, even those several realms above him. In this way, he could avoid dangers more efficiently.
Soon, he found an ideal corner to cultivate peacefully, a more isolated place within the hall. He sat in the lotus position and began to cultivate.
Time passed very quickly, and soon two years had gone by. He slowly opened his eyes as he analyzed his cultivation. "Fifth level of the Opening Realm, not bad." He got up and decided to analyze the outer disciples, after all, in the competition in three years, he would have to duel them, so he naturally wanted to know the cultivation levels of the outer sect.
There were many disciples, but most he encountered were in the initial stages of the Opening Realm, and only a few were in the final stages. Even fewer were in the Circulation Realm. He felt he could stand out.
It's worth noting that his appearance attracted a lot of attention in the outer sect; he was truly very handsome. But he didn't particularly like this attention and just wanted to cultivate in peace, so he pushed most people away.
"Well, well, look who's here?" a voice came from behind Lu Jie.
"What do you want?" he replied indifferently.
This was Han Fei, an outer disciple who had participated in one of the spiritual root assessments where he was accepted for having a superior-grade spiritual root, while Lu Jie was rejected. At that time, he had bullied Lu Jie a lot.
"Is that how you talk to a senior?" Han Fei scoffed.
"What's going on?" another voice came from behind them, and they quickly turned around.
A blonde girl with bright blue eyes was standing there with a piercing gaze. This was Su Li, another outer disciple with a reputation for being quite fierce among the disciples.
"Senior sister Su," Han Fei said hurriedly.
"Don't 'senior sister' me. Why were you bothering a junior brother? Is that something honorable cultivators should do?"
"It's not that, sister, it's just..." Han Fei began.
"I don't want to know, get out of my sight," she said, giving them a piercing glare.
Lu Jie watched the two as they walked away. Han Fei was only at the third level of the Opening Realm. Lu Jie quickly saw Su Li's status window.
[Name: Su Li (Outer disciple of the Celestial Sword Sect)
Age: 20 years old
Cultivation: Seventh level of the Opening Realm]
"Junior brother, you're already at the fifth level of the Opening Realm. Why didn't you teach them a lesson?" she asked Lu Jie.
"There was no need, senior sister, and besides, we will end up dueling in the next competition, there's no rush," he replied, but secretly, he was insecure. After all, he still hadn't learned any offensive techniques. How could he attack them?
"If it were me, I would have already dealt with them."
"In any case, thank you, senior sister."
"If you need anything, you can always look for me," she replied.
He nodded and walked away. He didn't want to cause problems that could disrupt his cultivation in the future, so he decided to return to his peaceful cultivation.
After this incident, no one else disturbed Lu Jie's cultivation, and he was able to cultivate in peace for another two years. He opened his eyes, satisfied.
"Peak of the Opening Realm. This technique is truly incredible," he pondered.
He was very close to breaking through and was anxious about it. If he reached the Circulation Realm, he could attract the attention of the elders and become an inner disciple. He closed his eyes again and began to break through. Between the Opening Realm and the Circulation Realm, there was no celestial tribulation. It can be said that the Circulation Realm is the beginning of cultivation, and before this realm, you cannot consider yourself a true cultivator.
It took him about three months to break through. When he finally did, he didn't even open his eyes and spent another six months consolidating his cultivation. After another three months, he finally consolidated his cultivation, and suddenly a screen appeared in front of him.
[Detected that the Guardian has broken through to the Circulation Realm and has the following choices:]
[1 - Win the outer sect competition, become the prodigy, and you will receive a jar of Circulation Realm pills and a terrestrial-grade treasure.]
[2 - Fight discreetly, try your best not to attract attention, and you will receive a jar of Circulation Realm pills, a mortal-grade spell, and the system's concealment function.]
Upon seeing these messages, Lu Jie was secretly surprised. "A terrestrial-grade treasure? That's something only elders possess." He pondered for a moment, but still chose the second option. The system's concealment function was very appealing. Now, he could maintain a more discreet profile and not attract unnecessary attention.
[Congratulations on receiving a jar of Circulation Realm pills.]
[Jar of Circulation Realm pills: Contains twelve pills that help cultivators in the Circulation Realm.]
[Congratulations on receiving a mortal-grade spell: Celestial Wind Cut.]
[Celestial Wind Cut: This spell is a pure manifestation of spiritual Qi. The cultivator concentrates the Qi in their hands, and then releases it in a cutting motion, creating a sharp and invisible blade of wind that can cut through defenses and hit the enemy at a long distance. The speed and power of the cut depend on the quantity and purity of the Qi used.]
Lu Jie put away the jar of pills and returned his attention to the Celestial Wind Cut spell. He quickly asked the system to inherit this spell, and a flood of memories surged into his mind.