At noon, after class at the Qingyun Peak cultivation hall, Han Weishu quickly packed up her things and hurried back to the dormitory with Tong Jialiang.
"Ah Shu, why are you in such a rush?" Tong Jialiang asked as he jogged after her.
"I want to send a letter to my father," Han Weishu replied.
Suddenly, she stopped in her tracks and turned to look at Tong Jialiang, her eyes gleaming.
"Ah Liang, I advanced to the fifth level of the Qi Refinement stage last night!"
"Really? Congratulations!" Tong Jialiang was genuinely happy for her.
When he had first met Han Weishu, although she had never revealed her true background, she had mentioned that her father was highly skilled. However, as his only daughter, she felt inadequate due to her poor aptitude and was unable to inherit his legacy. She had also mentioned that she had a senior brother with exceptional talent.
Tong Jialiang had some understanding of her past disappointment and her pretense of indifference.
After joining Lingxian Sect, he learned that she was, in fact, the daughter of a sect leader from another cultivation sect. Combining this with the teachings about the cultivation world and other cultivators that their seniors often shared, he fully understood her situation.
Han Weishu smiled softly.
"Though I can't compare to you, this speed is something I never dared to imagine in my past ten years of cultivation. If my mother's spirit is watching over me, I believe she'd be very pleased."
"I truly think our sect is amazing! Just look at the speed of our cultivation. Not to mention the rapid development of Lingxian Sect over the past three years—it's unmatched by any other sect! I can't speak for the sects outside of Pusi Country, but just look at my Qinghe Sect. Even during the many years before I was born, the sect experienced little to no change, based on what my seniors always said. The only time anything remotely exciting happened was during the recruitment of new disciples."
"And don't even mention the other two sects in Pusi Country, Yunyan Sect and Shangyang Sect. They're even less impressive than Qinghe Sect. I think that, with the way our sect master and elders handle things, Lingxian Sect won't be content to stay the same. Who knows how it will develop in the future? That's why I want to write to my father, urging him to build a good relationship with our sect master and foster better ties between our sects."
It wasn't that Han Weishu looked down on her family's sect, but her personal experience had shown her that Qinghe Sect couldn't compare to Lingxian Sect. She felt it was best to advise her father to join forces with their sect now, while the opportunity was ripe. Otherwise, once Lingxian Sect truly flourished, her father might regret not having secured some benefits for their family from her association as a disciple.
Hearing Han Weishu's words, Tong Jialiang was also stirred.
At this point, his cultivation level was far above Han Weishu's, and even higher than most of the disciples at Qingyun Peak.
Currently, aside from disciples like Liang Zhonghuai and Yuan Jinsheng, who already had high cultivation levels when they joined the sect, only two disciples who started from scratch had reached the ninth level of Qi Refinement: Bai Shu and Tong Jialiang.
Both had reached the ninth level on the same day.
However, since Bai Shu had many friends, news of his breakthrough quickly spread, while Tong Jialiang, who hadn't told anyone except Han Weishu, remained unnoticed.
Additionally, since he always wore the Peach Leaf Pendant that the sect provided to conceal his cultivation level, no one was aware of his true strength.
Of course, theoretically, Lin Xiao could check the sect's disciples list to see this.
But Lin Xiao, busy with numerous important matters, rarely had the time to monitor the progress of the Qi Refinement disciples at Qingyun Peak. After all, with so many elder instructors keeping watch over them, there was little need for his personal attention.
For Tong Jialiang, joining Lingxian Sect had been a stroke of luck. But now, he had found his path in cultivation.
Before, his life had been filled with hardship, and he had only wished to survive and ensure the well-being of his uncle and aunt.
However, the pain and darkness of his past clung to him like a shadow, never leaving him, haunting him in the quiet of the night.
But now, as he listened to the elders' teachings each day and cultivated the Benyuan Heart Sutra, he felt those shadows gradually dissipating, allowing him to confront his past and slowly reclaim his sense of self.
For this, he was deeply grateful for the unexpected opportunity that had brought him to this path.
Here, he had found his place.
"You're right, Ah Shu," Tong Jialiang agreed. "Now that you've mentioned it, I also want to ask my uncle and aunt if they'd be willing to move here and settle at the foot of the mountain."
Seeing that he shared her sentiment, Han Weishu clasped her hands together with a smile.
"That would be perfect! We can send our letters together. If your uncle and aunt agree to move, I can ask my father to escort them here, sparing them the hardship of a long journey."
"No need, no need. That would trouble your father too much. I can just rent a small spirit boat from the sect and pick them up myself."
Tong Jialiang lifted his hand to show the locking ring on his finger.
"I've been helping Elder Xiao Luan at the Beast Garden lately, and she's been rewarding me handsomely."
Thinking of how Elder Xiao Luan always gave him generous rewards, Han Weishu didn't argue further.
Indeed, Tong Jialiang had earned quite a bit recently—enough to make her a little envious.
It was a strange situation, really.
When the Beast Garden initially posted tasks, many disciples signed up. But for some reason, none of them lasted more than a few days before Elder Xiao Luan dismissed them, saying they weren't suitable.
Tong Jialiang, on the other hand, not only wasn't dismissed but also frequently received extra rewards from Elder Xiao Luan.
When asked about it, Tong Jialiang could only say that he followed the instructions and completed his tasks as expected.
Even Liu Yunan had asked Elder Xiao Luan about it, but her only response was, "Tong Jialiang does a good job." No matter how he phrased the question, that was her answer.
In the end, since the Beast Garden seemed to be running smoothly with Elder Xiao Luan, Tong Jialiang, and the peach tree, Liu Yunan decided to stop worrying about it.
"Alright, then let's both write letters home. Once we get a reply from your uncle and aunt, we can submit a request to Elder Liu and go together. It's always good to have an extra pair of hands."
Remembering how, if not for Han Weishu's presence on his last trip, he might have died in the jishi mine, Tong Jialiang readily agreed.
Even though he had begun cultivating, it was important not to let his guard down. As Elder Liao often said, no matter your cultivation level, you never know when danger will strike. It's always better to be prepared.
Having settled on their plan, the two eagerly returned to their rooms to write their letters.
Once the letters were written, they handed them to a disciple at the Miscellaneous Hall, whose job it was to help send letters outside the sect.
That disciple took the letters and headed down to Shushui Village's official post station, where they would be sent out for delivery.