After consuming so many Huanyuan Dan, Yun Jin noticed something else. Her meridians had not only expanded slightly but also become more resilient. It was said that Huanyuan Dan was a medicinal pill meant for healing. Normally, no one would consume it unless they were injured.
But Yun Jin was different.
First, she had no shortage of Huanyuan Dan.
Second, anything she ate that contained spiritual energy could boost her cultivation.
Huanyuan Dan, too, contained spiritual energy—and even more than a Zhujidan.
To her, the pill wasn't just for healing. It could raise her cultivation as well. That was why Yun Jin had taken to popping them like sugar beans whenever she had nothing better to do. And that was how she accidentally discovered this hidden effect.
Of course, this benefit probably wouldn't apply to anyone else.
After all, who had the nerve to treat Huanyuan Dan like candy?
Not even Huo Lie or Zhao Wuji could afford to do that. An idea began to form in Yun Jin's mind. Once her alchemy skills advanced enough, she could start refining pills like this for her senior brothers and sisters too.
With expanded meridians, cultivators of the same realm would be able to store significantly more spiritual energy than their peers. A sect full of geniuses wouldn't be a dream anymore.
Lastly, there was her Planting Technique. In recent days, she had tasked Gu Jinghong with grinding out practice for her. Thanks to that, her interface had changed significantly.
To become a Grade One Planting Master, one needed to raise three planting secret arts to level one.
Grade Two required all three to reach level two, and so on.
Right now, Yun Jin's three secret arts had all been raised to the peak of level two, just one step away from level three. From what she knew, Senior Brother Ye Cheng was a Grade Three Planting Master.
Since Tianxing Sect only had a handful of planting secret manuals, Ye Cheng had also practiced Xiao Yunyushu, Earth Control Technique, and Pest-Banishing Finger. He had already trained all three to level three.
In terms of rank, Yun Jin was still behind.
But—
Her versions of the secret techniques had been modified, even if just a little. Beating Ye Cheng would not be difficult. Now that she had done all the prep work, the ten-day deadline had arrived. Just as she finished checking her panel, someone sent by Zhao Wuji came to fetch her.
This match was something Zhao Wuji had taken seriously.
He had personally selected a spiritual field as the competition ground. This field had originally been tended by Ye Cheng and was the one he knew best. After researching Ye Cheng's secret arts, Zhao Wuji even tailored the competition categories himself.
He refused to believe Yun Jin had any chance of winning under these conditions. In fact, the more likely outcome was that she wouldn't even be able to execute the most basic secret art, making a fool of herself on the spot.
The duel had been hyped up ever since the last incident at the Law Enforcement Hall, brewing for a full ten days. Word had spread fast, and now, there wasn't a single person in the sect who wasn't here to watch.
The area around the spiritual field was packed to bursting.
Even Ye Danxia had been brought out in custody.
Her face was pale, but her eyes still flickered with faint hope.
Her fate rested entirely on the outcome of this match.
This time, all ten Peak Masters had arrived.
Even figures like Elder Ming, Elder Jian and Elder Ling—who usually remained aloof from sect affairs—had come in person.
Zhao Wuji was so confident of victory that he graciously arranged seats for them all.
"Think you can challenge my authority?
Believe a mere Yun Jin can shake my reign?
Fine—let them all see!
Let them understand that in the Tianxing Sect, Zhao Wuji's word is divine law!"
Yun Jin and Ye Cheng stood on opposite sides of the field.
Ye Cheng, as usual, kept his head down. His whole body was trembling from nervousness.
"Senior Brother Ye is really nervous. Could it be that Yun Jin is actually pretty strong?"
"Clearly, you don't know Senior Brother Ye. He's always like this—unless he's with plants, he's constantly on edge."
"Uncle-Master Ma once said that Ye Cheng was born for spirit plants. His talent in planting actually surpasses even his own. It's just that our sect has too few planting manuals. Once someone reaches level five, that's the limit. Anyone who wants to pursue a higher level has to go to a top-tier sect, a super sect, or even... a Holy Land. Uncle-Master Ma has already given up on himself. But as for Ye Cheng, if he can reach Grade Five within ten years, he might just catch the eye of a top-tier or even a super sect."
As for the Holy Lands...
That was something they didn't even dare to dream about.
In the past few hundred years, their mid-tier sect had only produced one case—Elder Jian.
Back then, Elder Jian had been unmatched within the sect. But after joining the Kunlun Sword Sect, what happened?
He claimed that within the Holy Land, he was at the absolute bottom. The other prodigies were so overwhelming that he couldn't breathe. Within just a few years, his brilliance had dimmed. Eventually, he stopped progressing altogether and requested to leave the sect. Since then, he had mostly stayed at Tianxing Sect, occasionally venturing out to scout for promising sword talents.
That was why—
For those who barely met the Holy Land's threshold, it might not actually be the best choice.
The Four Great Holy Lands—
Were only for the true monsters who could sweep through their generation, peerless and unrivaled.
Speaking of monsters...
Someone couldn't help but glance at Yun Jin.
Would she count as one?
If she didn't fall during some future life-or-death challenge, perhaps she really could earn the recognition of a Holy Land.
But that was all speculation.
Yun Jin still had a mountain to climb. And the first one stood right in front of her now.
Zhao Wuji looked at her and spoke calmly, "Within Tianxing Sect, the person with the greatest planting talent is Ma Hongyu. So, the categories of this match were set by him. Do you have any objections?"
Ma Hongyu? The categories were decided by him?
Was that fair?
He was the Headmaster's direct disciple, and also Ye Cheng's master.
Of course he'd favor Ye Cheng.
Hearing Zhao Wuji's announcement, some in the crowd tensed up. Others grew excited.
Knowing Yun Jin's personality, there was no way she'd stay silent. She'd definitely blow up again!
Wouldn't that mean more drama to watch?
But Yun Jin only smiled. Her voice was calm as she said, "I trust Uncle-Master Ma's professionalism."
Zhao Wuji had fully prepared for Yun Jin to kick up a fuss. He even had countermeasures ready to shut her down. But to his surprise, she responded with such nonchalance.
It threw him off a little.
He stared at her suspiciously for a few moments, then said, "In that case, let us announce the rules."
Ma Hongyu nodded and stepped forward.
"For this match," he said, "I've selected a spiritual field to test three secret arts. The field has just finished producing a batch of herbs and is currently empty. Next, we will plant a batch of Yellow-Grade medicinal herbs: Anhun Fruit. These fruits require very specific soil conditions. You will need to use Earth Control Technique to cultivate the land into soil best suited for Anhun Fruit."
"Then, you will each plant seeds and use Xiao Yunyushu to stimulate growth until the sprouts emerge. Lastly, I will release a swarm of pests that target young shoots to test your proficiency with Pest-Banishing Finger. The winner will be determined through a combined evaluation of all three stages. Do either of you have any objections?"