Thin Creek Village Guild Hall.
"Jenny, it's happening again!"
Jenny was furiously scribbling in a notebook of hers at the receptionist desk when she heard the urgent call from a middle-aged man wearing farmer's clothing. She raised her head alarmingly. "How many is it this time?"
"Over a hundred, I'm afraid." The farmer's expression was full of worry, "Miss Jenny, I don't think we can keep enduring this. The Wind Wolves are increasing in number every day, eventually even you won't be able to help us. Can't you ask the Guild Master to do something about it?"
"I've already informed him, but he can't do much either. He's working to send some Golden Core Cultivators our way, but Blue Moon City is also dealing with an outbreak from the Foam Desert."
The farmer became angry. "Golden Core? Bah!" he spat on the ground. "Who knows how long they will stay in a damned place !"
"I know, but it's all we can do for now..." Jenny knew the situation better than the farmer. The Guild Master entered the Livingwood Forest to clear the Wind Wolves a few days ago, but the situation was already . Without the Cores, the Livingwood Forest had become a deathtrap for humans and Cultivators alike!
"We can just leave, Miss Jenny. This village is doomed anyway. It's only a matter of time before they break through the protection Array. That Torc fellow is defending the basket weaver's house right now, said something about protecting that peasant boy's family. Torc's bravery is commendable, but I'm not willing to lay down my life for the sake of others!"
"I can't do that. I've been here my whole life and I have no intention of going out. Besides, even if something happens to the village, there is no way the Wind Wolves can enter the Guild Hall." her expression became serious. "Tell me where the Wind Wolves are, I'll go clear them out."
Blue Moon City, Array Hall.
"Activate the Guardian Statues! The Magical Beasts must not break through the Outer Wall!" the Head Array Master ordered.
"Yes Sir!" a series of Array Masters including Fowley weaved a few signs, activating the Arrays on half a dozen stone statues in the courtyard. The statues cracked, shattering into pieces as fierce beings emerged from the stone like hatching from an egg.
They flew above the walls of the city with trails of red light and disappeared into the horizon, their intense aura gradually dissipating.
Elder Fowley wiped away the sweat from his forehead. Hopefully this is enough to hold them back today, we only have a few dozen Guardian Statues left...
The Alchemy Competition ended not long after William finished refining his pill. Mia placed third, scoring 97 points, and Lu Bingying placed second, almost perfectly refining her pill for a score of 99. Both disciples gave it their all to compete with William, but his score of 108 points couldn't be easily topped.
Mia trudged to the exit of the Alchemy Hall, dissatisfied with her reward of 500 contribution points and thirty Mana Stones. Being of noble descent, Mia didn't lack money. She gave William an angry glare before leaving the Hall.
Lu Bingying was also quite sad that she didn't receive the grand prize, but she knew William deserved it, even if he did enter the competition late. She accepted a reward of a thousand contribution points, fifty Mana Stones, and a Silver-Ranked Fire Root.
Elder Arthur called up William next, awarding him two thousand contribution points, a hundred Mana Stones, and the Gold-Ranked Fire Root, nearly doubling William's reserve of Mana Stones.
-Discovered an Element Root: +100 PP
-System Quest Completed: +250 PP
Now I have enough Potential Points to for the upgrade!
William thanked Elder Arthur and the other judges for the rewards and spent a few minutes cleaning up with Yuming since it was still technically part of his assignment. Today marked the last day William needed to be in the Alchemy Hall, so it was better to leave a good impression.
Elder Tianshen approached William with a smile. "Congratulations on winning the competition, young man. Remember that you are still a member of the Alchemy Hall, so feel free to stop by and refine some pills. We will be sure to reward you properly with plenty of Mana Stones, much more than many other Halls in the Sect."
William nodded, "Thank you, Elder. I will be on my way now since there are still some things left to do."
Elder Tianshen seemed to recall something. "Oh right, you probably need to prepare for your Ranking Challenge tomorrow. Good luck!"
"You heard about my challenge?"
"Practically the whole Sect knows! After all, Miss Ren is rarely challenged, that's why she's remained in position 301 for the past four years!"
Four years? William had a bad feeling about this fight. From what he knew, most Outer Core Disciples became Inner Core Disciples within 4 years of entering the Sect. For someone of her status to remain in one spot for four years could only mean two things. Either she was not very talented in Cultivation, or she didn't care about the rewards. Google seaʀᴄh NovєlFіre.net
Elder Tianshen noticed William's expression, "Don't worry too much about it. She may be strong but at the end of the day she is a member of our Sect. There's nothing wrong with losing to a peer."
Elder Tianshen was right, it wouldn't do much good to think about it. William would do his best to win, regardless of the outcome. "Okay Elder, I'll be off now."
William returned to his residence for some lunch with Atticus. While eating, he made sure to spend most of the Potential Points he earned from the Alchemy Competition.
'System, upgrade my Balance, Flexibility, and Jumping Talents to B Rank.'
-390 Potential Points
Flexibility: (E --> D)
Flexibility: (D --> C)
Flexibility: (C --> B)
Before William even had a chance to test out his increased jump height and flexibility, the System posted another message in the corner of his view.
--Requirements met for a Talent Upgrade. Please wait...
William watched the System Panel as his Speed, Balance, Flexbility, and Jumping Talents disappeared one by one. His body began to slow down, until it had dropped to the peak of the Qi Refinement Realm.
-Talent Upgraded: Speed, Balance, Flexibility, and Jumping Talents have merged.
-Talent Lost: Balance
-Talent Lost: Flexibility
-Talent Lost: Jumping
-Talent Unlocked: Acrobatics
-Unlocked your first Rare Physical Talent: +5 PP
-Detected merged Talents were B Rank. Upgrading Acrobatics Talent...
The wave of System messages filled William's view. Before he had time to react to one message, another would pop up. The Acrobatics Talent upgraded from E Rank all the way to B Rank, filling William's body with overwhelming energy. His speed sharply increased with each Rank, only stopping when William could move at the peak of the Golden Core Realm.
If he was this fast when the Rhio Ancient Family chased him through Blue Moon City, they wouldn't last more than a minute before completely losing sight of William.
It wasn't just his speed that improved. William's other talents improved as well, to a point where William believed he could perform any complicated maneuver that a gymnast could think of, whether it was front flips, double backflips, or even the Produnova Vault, a complicated maneuver in the gymnastics community known as the "Vault of Death".