Looking at the information on the chat channel, Zhang Yuhe felt a little out of sync with the other players.
Not to mention those who had already gone offline, but even those still active in the game, the highest cultivation level was just the first level of Qi training. He, on the other hand, had already reached the great perfection of Qi training several days ago.
The huge gap felt unreal.
Zhang Yuhe felt as though he was gradually becoming an NPC. When he appeared, who would still see him as a player? At this stage, only NPCs would be so strong.
After closing the chat channel, Zhang Yuhe took one more look at the trading market.
Unlike at the beginning, there were now players listing items. Of course, the items were mostly trivial things—steamed buns, clothes, and the like—with prices listed in the smallest unit: a spiritual stone.
Selling these sundries for a spiritual stone was laughable. No one would actually buy them.
The market seemed completely unreliable. Yet, in his opinion, it might prove useful in the future. As the players' strength grew, with their business acumen from Blue Star, there would surely be dealers. At that point, the trading market could become a more convenient way to buy and sell items.
After finishing his barbecue, Zhang Yuhe walked into the inner hall of the pavilion and lay down on a stone bed to rest.
The next morning, a stream of light shot across Yinhe Peak and flew away. Zhang Yuhe quickly passed by mountains and lakes. As he flew past a small pavilion on the water, he saw several disciples in purple sitting and discussing Taoism.
However, he ignored them and continued on his way. Zhang Yuhe lacked social skills and wasn't interested in greeting people he didn't know.
When the disciples saw him fly by, they were visibly surprised. After all, it was uncommon for someone at the Qi Refining Stage to appear within Daosheng Sect.
One of them asked, "Brother He, who is that person? Do you know him?"
"I heard that a cultivator in the Qi Refining Stage joined the inner sect yesterday with a token in hand. It must be him," another replied.
"No way, that's really happening?"
"It's true. I've heard people talking about it."
"Ugh, the sect's old rules seem to be disregarded now. Just like this time—a young cultivator in the Qi Refining Stage can join the inner sect with a token. That's unfair to the 100,000 outer disciples."
"Yeah, not to mention the outer disciples. Even I feel a little annoyed. Lu Ziming practiced Taoism for hundreds of years, finally achieving the Nascent Soul Stage and being promoted to an inner disciple. This kid, with just a token, is now on the same level as me. It's unreasonable."
"Tell me about it. It really is unpleasant."
Just as they were complaining about Zhang Yuhe's entry, a voice rang out from a distance.
"Stop complaining like the women in the mortal world. You'd be better off practicing more."
Upon hearing the voice, they immediately stood up and shouted respectfully in unison, "Hello, Senior Brother."
A young man in purple, wearing a golden crown and carrying a long sword, appeared quickly and hovered in front of them. His sharp eyes scanned the group before he spoke sternly.
"The Daosheng Sect has been in this world for millions of years, relying on rules. Don't let me hear such talk again, hum."
With that, the young man turned into a streak of light and vanished.
He had overheard their conversation as he passed by and stopped to reprimand them.
The group of disciples watched him leave, exchanging looks. After a long moment, one of them sighed in admiration.
"Big Brother's aura has grown even stronger. He'll likely reach the Refining Emptiness stage soon."
"Very likely. Big Brother has a natural spiritual root and a fire spirit body. He's incomparable to us."
"His cultivation speed is incredible."
"Yes, he's only been practicing for a thousand years and is on the verge of breaking through to the Refining Emptiness stage. Big Brother may be the first in Daosheng Sect's history to do so."
"True. It's just a matter of when he'll break through."
"No more talking. I'll retreat to cultivate. I swear I won't leave until I've entered the Spirit Transformation stage."
They all nodded to each other and left in a streak of light.
Zhang Yuhe remained unaware of the incident. He soon arrived in front of a grand attic.
Above the entrance, two large characters read "Shulou."
Instead of going straight to the Sutra Building to exchange for skills, Zhang Yuhe had come to the Book Building first. He intended to browse the library and enrich his basic knowledge.
To be honest, he could only be considered a semi-illiterate cultivator at this point. All his knowledge about cultivation came from Jia Huwei of the Wu family in Feiyun City. But Jia Huwei was only a young cultivator at the sixth level of Qi Refining and didn't have much knowledge.
Now that Zhang Yuhe had entered Daosheng Sect, he was determined to learn more. There was no rush to get skills from the Sutra Building; he could go any time. Besides, learning more about cultivating immortals would help him choose the right techniques in the future.
The Daosheng Sect Library was divided into four floors.
The first floor was open to all disciples and contained general knowledge about cultivating immortals: travel notes, strange stories, and basic skills. It was a vast treasure trove of information.
The second through fourth floors housed Huang, Xuan, and Earth-level skills and magical powers, requiring merits to access.
Since Zhang Yuhe had just joined the sect and had zero merit points, he wasn't qualified to access these higher floors. But he wasn't interested in those skills at the moment—he just wanted to read for now.
He showed his identity jade card and entered the first floor of the library.
Rows upon rows of bookshelves stretched before him, filled with jade slips and even some paper books. He released his spiritual sense and scanned the shelves slowly.
The sheer volume of books would take a long time to get through, but Zhang Yuhe wasn't in a hurry. He understood the importance of taking time to learn.
"Sharpening the knife does not delay the chopping of wood," he thought. "A tall building rises from the ground."
If he wanted to cultivate successfully in the future, he knew he had to start by removing the ignorance of being illiterate in the ways of cultivating immortals. Illiteracy had no future.
As time passed, Zhang Yuhe immersed himself in the sea of knowledge.
"Yufantian Chronicle."
"Analysis of Spiritual Roots."
"What is a Spiritual Body?"
"Five Elements Basic Techniques."
"Introduction to the Dao of Alchemy."
"Introduction to the Dao of Talismans."
"Basic Knowledge of Refining Equipment."
"Introduction to Formation…"
"Now I get it," he thought, finishing one book after another. Things that had been unclear before now seemed simple and straightforward.
Zhang Yuhe read quickly, perhaps because of his heightened comprehension. Once he read something, he could remember it and integrate it effortlessly. It was as though he could absorb knowledge at a glance.
Though much of the knowledge had yet to be put into practice, he felt that he truly understood it.
More than a month later, Zhang Yuhe emerged from the library, looking slightly tired. "Finally finished reading everything," he said, letting out a long sigh of relief.
Most people wouldn't have been able to endure such intense reading, but as a cultivator, Zhang Yuhe had been able to handle it. If a mortal had tried to read like this, they would have likely collapsed.
"I never worked this hard in school," he muttered, exhausted but satisfied.
He might have been physically drained, but emotionally, he felt fulfilled. Perhaps it was because he truly loved practicing, which made him able to tolerate the loneliness and fully devote himself to learning.
"Time to head to the Sutra Building."
Zhang Yuhe stood up and flew toward the Sutra Tower next door.