After Ling Tian finished shouting at the heavens, his hands began to itch to test his new strength.
So Ling Tian looked at a nearby tree and thought: "Let's see then how much strength I have."
He began moving qi from his dantian to his hand. The process was slow, but this was natural since it was his first time trying to gather qi in his hand.
After gathering a decent amount of qi, he threw a punch at the tree, but what Ling Tian didn't expect was for his punch to break the tree.
Ling Tian was shocked and dodged the falling tree heading toward him, thinking with excitement: "This strike has the same power as someone at the second level of Qi Condensation!"
But then he remembered something that shocked him even more: "I didn't hit the tree with my full strength."
Then he turned his gaze from the tree that was on the ground to a large rock near the river: "What if we try this now?" he thought while approaching the rock.
When he reached the rock, he began gathering qi in his hand.
This time the process was much smoother and faster. After Ling Tian gathered all the qi in his fist, he struck the rock with everything he had. A loud breaking sound echoed and there was some dust that obstructed vision.
When the dust disappeared, Ling Tian saw that half the rock had been destroyed.
"This is amazing! Although I haven't reached the power of the fourth level of Qi Condensation, I've surpassed the power of the third level." Ling Tian thought happily while remembering his memories within the clan about how the third level could barely leave a mark on rocks, while the fourth level destroyed them easily.
"Well, although I can only use this power once, it's more than enough to severely injure someone at the third stage. Of course, if there were more than one, I wouldn't have any chance of winning at all." Ling Tian thought while examining his dantian, which was slowly recovering qi.
Ling Tian sat cross-legged on the ground and began training to speed up his qi recovery.
Ling Tian continued training until his dantian was full.
When Ling Tian opened his eyes and saw the sun beginning to rise, he sighed and thought: "Nothing is perfect. Although I have five times the spiritual energy, qi recovery speed has also slowed because of that."
Ling Tian remembered how clan members spent one hour recovering qi, while he had spent several hours.
"With this discovery, I'm certain I shouldn't enter any confrontation unless I'm sure of all factors, as one mistake could cost me my life," Ling Tian thought calmly while analyzing the situation.
After analyzing his situation, Ling Tian set rules before entering any battle:
First, he shouldn't fight more than one cultivator at the third stage.
Second, he must end any fight quickly so he doesn't run out of qi.
Third, he must ensure no one will follow him after the battle ends, or at least guarantee he can escape.
After setting these rules, Ling Tian raised his head and thought: "Well, it's time to return to the caravan."
Then he stood up and began returning to the caravan.
When he returned to the caravan, its members had begun packing tents and preparing to continue the journey.
Of course, they were still ignoring Ling Tian, but Ling Tian didn't really care.
He had only been trying to befriend them because he wanted their protection, but now that Ling Tian was stronger than them, he no longer cared about their opinions of him. Of course, Ling Tian wouldn't deny that he enjoyed their company, but that was all.
"Congratulations, you've become a cultivator." While he was thinking, he heard a voice behind him.
Ling Tian turned back only to see Shi Rui.
He smiled a little and said: "Thank you, Big Sister."
"Big Sister?" she said in surprise, then laughed and said: "Since when do you care about titles among cultivators?"
Ling Tian smiled embarrassedly and said: "Please excuse me, Big Sister, I wasn't a cultivator before, so I didn't pay much attention to titles."
"Well, it doesn't matter, but call me Sister Shi. I don't like when others call me Big Sister—I feel like I'm old." Shi Rui said while frowning slightly.
Ling Tian was shocked by her words and almost laughed while thinking: "Here or on Earth, all women hate being described as old by anyone."
But he didn't show it and answered: "Then I'll call you Sister Shi."
Shi Rui nodded when she heard Ling Tian's words and said: "That's much better."
"Young Master Ling, Miss Shi, I finally found you both." Qi Ji appeared with a slightly grim face.
Shi Rui turned and didn't care about his words, saying: "It seems you discovered who was behind that conspiracy."
Qi Ji said calmly: "Yes, it's..." but when he was answering, he was shocked when he realized Ling Tian had become a cultivator.
"Sorry for not noticing your achievement, Young Master Ling, and congratulations. I'm sure you'll become a very strong cultivator." Qi Ji said with a smile.
His words pleased Ling Tian even though he knew it was flattery, but who doesn't like to be praised?
He answered with a smile: "You're exaggerating your praise, Caravan Leader Qi. By the way, I'm sorry about my rude behavior last night—I was in a somewhat bad mood."
But Qi Ji waved both his hands and said: "No, I'm only telling the truth, Young Master Ling. As for your apology, I accept it and understand your mood at that time." Qi Ji said while looking at Shi Rui.
Then Qi Ji took out three golden cards with "Jin Sheng" written on them and said: "These cards give you discounts from our pavilion in Linhua City."
Then he continued while giving Shi Rui two cards, saying: "Miss Shi, can you give Master Su the card since I couldn't find him?"
Shi Rui didn't speak and took the card quietly.
But Ling Tian was shocked because pavilions were usually protected by Foundation Building cultivators, and Qi Ji didn't seem to have that strength.
But Ling Tian didn't ask because it wasn't his business.
Then Shi Rui said with curiosity: "So who was behind them?"
When Qi Ji heard Shi Rui's words, he didn't know why she was curious, but he still answered: "It's the Blood Scorpion gang. I hadn't heard of them before because they're not famous here. As for who hired them, it was the owner of Ming Chu Pavilion."
Then Qi Ji sighed and said: "Ever since my father, the leader of Jin Sheng Pavilion, died, Ming Chu Pavilion began targeting us."
When Shi Rui heard his words, her eyes gleamed and she said: "Caravan Leader, are you now the pavilion leader?"
Qi Ji answered calmly: "No, it's my elder brother."
Shi Rui said with a slight smile: "Then can you arrange a meeting with him? I want to discuss something with the pavilion leader."
Qi Ji felt surprised but still said: "Of course, this is the least I can do for you, Miss Shi."
Shi Rui answered with a happy smile: "Then I'll depend on you."
Ling Tian wondered what she wanted to discuss, but it didn't seem she would say, so he didn't ask.
After a while, the caravan prepared to leave and Su Han also appeared before departure—he looked like he had been training in the forest.
After Su Han's arrival, the caravan continued its journey, and finally after two days passed, they could see Linhua City.
It was very beautiful as it overlooked a river that ran through the entire kingdom, and behind it was a chain of mountains.
"How beautiful it is!" Ling Tian thought while looking at the distant city.
Then after some time, the caravan reached the city.