Chapter 398: Chapter 184: Raising Gu
"Brother Shi, Junior Brother Fang, and I have been discussing something. I was wondering if we could form a team to operate together? We could look out for each other, be more efficient, and take on some of the more lucrative team missions."
Shi Ziyi immediately chimed in, "That’s right. On the Xuanjia Sect’s side, besides Junior Brother Fang and myself, three other capable junior brothers are willing to join."
Clearly, they had already coordinated this.
Hearing this, Li Wang’s eyes lit up, and he immediately declared, "An excellent idea! I’m in!"
He had been worrying about the low efficiency and high risk of completing missions alone. Teaming up with these top disciples was undoubtedly a golden opportunity.
Li Lei pondered for a moment before nodding. "Count me in."
After receiving his Military Merit Order, he had browsed the list of exchangeable items. The Astral Condensing Pill held a huge appeal for him as well, and teaming up was undoubtedly the fastest way to accumulate Military Merit.
Nie Shanshan fell into thought.
Although she had a cold personality, she understood the importance of cultivation resources.
Her recent failure to break through made her realize that having another way to acquire resources was by no means a bad thing. Finally, she said softly, "I’ll join too."
Finally, all eyes turned back to Chen Qing.
Yan Yaoyang smiled. "Junior Brother Chen, what about you? If you join us, our team’s strength will surely increase immensely!"
Chen Qing smiled faintly and shook his head. "I appreciate the offer, Senior Brother Yan. However, I need to quietly consolidate my cultivation and study my cultivation technique for a while, so I can’t be distracted right now. Let me reconsider teaming up at a later time."
Li Wang tried to persuade him further. "Junior Brother Chen, there’s a lot of good stuff on the Military Merit exchange list. It would be a shame to miss out..."
Chen Qing politely refused again. "I understand. Once I’ve finished what I’m working on, if you senior brothers and sisters still haven’t found enough people, I will come and trouble you then."
Seeing that his mind was made up and his reason was sound, the others didn’t press him further.
After all, cultivation was a personal journey, and it couldn’t be forced.
After that, the group started to chat idly, exchanging stories about their cultivation and interesting tidbits from around the prefecture. The atmosphere in the pavilion gradually became relaxed and harmonious.
However, just then, a disciple from the Geng Metal Institute hurried to the outside of the pavilion. Cupping his hands toward Yan Yaoyang, he said, "Senior Brother Yan, Senior Sister He just received news. It’s said... it’s said that Feng Shuhao has broken through to the Astral Force realm!"
"What?!"
"Is that really true!?"
"Feng Shuhao broke through?!"
The words hit them like a clap of thunder, and the pavilion was instantly plunged into dead silence.
He Lanxin was the daughter of Qixia Manor’s Second Manor Master. The chances of her news being false were not high.
HISS—
A series of sharp intakes of breath could be heard inside the pavilion.
Everyone stared at each other, their faces etched with shock and disbelief.
Nie Shanshan’s beautiful eyes flew wide open. The hand holding her teacup trembled slightly, and she didn’t even notice as a few drops of water sloshed out.
She had just experienced failure and knew full well how difficult it was. ’How could Feng Shuhao succeed in a single attempt?’
Li Lei’s mouth fell open, but no words came out for a long moment. He just kept muttering, "It was him... He was the first one to break through..."
Li Wang was simply stunned on the spot, left with nothing but immense pressure and a hint of bewilderment.
’Feng Shuhao actually took that step?!’
Shi Ziyi and Fang Rui exchanged a look, both seeing the shock and gravity in the other’s eyes.
The Xuanjia Sect and Qixia Manor were both located in Yunlin Prefecture. They were rivals, but they also cooperated. Feng Shuhao being the first to break through would undoubtedly and completely change the landscape for the younger generation.
Yan Yaoyang slowly sank back onto the stone bench. The shock on his face gradually faded, replaced by an extremely complex mix of emotions—profound shock and utter disbelief.
’He had tried to break through and failed, yet Feng Shuhao had succeeded?’
Chen Qing’s gaze also narrowed slightly, and he felt a sense of surprise in his heart.
’It seems this prodigy from Qixia Manor has had some kind of unknown fortuitous encounter.’
For a time, the pavilion was silent, filled only with the sound of the wind blowing across the lake and their slightly heavy breathing.
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