Fire Qi streamed through his meridians and collected inside the Qi pool. There, it was continuously being sucked in and purified by spirit root, and finally, a dense red Qi was collected.

The speed of absorption with the spirit stones around him couldn't be compared to the earlier one, and before Yi Chen could realise, he became addicted to this feeling, not worried about the passing of time.

An hour later, he finally opened his eyes, not because he was tired of absorbing Qi but because his Qi pool was finally filled.

"Now I can refine another meridian today!" Yi Chen thought in jubilation as his gaze fell on the Spirit Stones he had laid around him.

Out of the eight spirit stones, the one resting right in front of him had turned to dust, while the other seven were still in better condition.

With a sweep of his hand, the seven stones returned inside the card's space, and he shifted his focus to clearing his next meridian.

Two hours later, it was already midnight.

Only two rooms in the residence were occupied at the moment. From one, the sounds of snoring could be heard at regular intervals. While in the other, there was pin-drop silence.

Yi Chen, whose body was drenched in sweat, opened his eyes the next moment with a grin.

He had just finished refining his third meridian, and his Qi capacity had increased again.

However, instead of calling it a night, he began another round of absorption, which lasted a little less than an hour this time.

With his Qi at full capacity, he began refining his fourth meridian without a moment's rest and kept at it until his Qi was exhausted.

As a result, it was only by three in the morning that Yi Chen stopped cultivating.

Glancing at his Spiritual Qi's capacity, which had increased to eighteen now, a wave of satisfaction engulfed him, and he finally decided to rest.

But before that, there was still something he needed to do.

"I'll soil the new beddings if I sleep on them in this state…sigh."

Dragging his exhausted body towards the bathhouse for the third time today, he took a bath and finally shoved himself under the blanket.

Not even ten seconds had passed, and he was already asleep. A content expression apparent on his face.

In one dark corner of his room, a black figure suddenly appeared and made its presence known. Its gaze lingered on Yi Chen a couple of seconds before it finally turned towards the window and left.

'To think someone would be capable of cultivating so fast! In just six hours, he was able to completely refine two meridians…I must report this to the commander!" The figure thought with disbelief apparent in its yellow pupils.

'Shit!'

Just when the figure was about to climb out of the residence's walls and escape, it felt an approaching footstep and chose to hide itself on top of the tree in the courtyard.

Hiding underneath the dense foliage of the banyan tree, the figure observed through the gaps among the leaves.

The door of the residence was open. An elderly man entered and locked the door from inside the next moment.

'So, it's just the Ninth Elder,' the figure thought.

Being a Ninth Level of Qi Absorption Stage cultivator and also a Shadow Guard, it was confident in its stealth abilities.

Therefore, it didn't think much about the situation and patiently waited for Elder Lei to enter the residence while curiously observing his condition.

'Did he return after fighting with someone?' It thought while observing the blood marks on Elder Lei's robes.

Just then, Elder Lei's eyes locked with hers. It was as if the eyes of a ferocious beast had locked onto its prey.

'How?!'

The figure exclaimed inwardly. It was unable to wrap its head around how Elder Lei was able to sense its presence.

However, with no time to waste, the figure immediately circulated its Qi and rushed out of the residence walls.

"What if my cover is blown? With his cultivation level, he would never be able to catch me!" A muffled voice of a woman filled with mockery came out of the face mask.

Despite her confidence, she still glanced behind her to double-check whether she was being followed or not.

Seeing the empty street, a snort escaped her nostrils as she turned her head forward.

'Just as I thou-'

However, before she could finish her words, Elder Lei's figure appeared in front of her like a ghost.

His hand caught hold of her neck like a hook and lifted her in the air.

"Y-You-"

The woman struggled and tried to circulate her Qi to counterattack, but to her surprise, she had lost control of her Qi. However, that wasn't the end of her surprise. She soon realised that her Qi was on the brink of depletion.

"!!!"

"I was wondering who it was. Turns out the pavilion has not let go of its old habit of snooping around…" Elder Lei said as he let go of the woman the next moment.

Cough! Cough!

Slamming down on her knees, the woman kept coughing out nonstop as her mask became wet with tears and snot, forcing her to pull it off.

She was a woman in her late 80s. However, being a cultivator, a youthful glow was evident on her face. However, seeing the appearance of the person behind the mask made no difference to Elder Lei.

Not in a hurry, he calmly stood next to the woman and waited for her to stop coughing. With her Qi pool completely depleted, the woman could no longer pose a threat to him.

"If you tell me what you were doing here, I'll at least make your death a little less miserable," Elder Lei's words entered the woman's ears.

However, instead of words, she answered with poison-laced knives, which Elder Lei was easily able to deflect with a wave of his hand.

"So be it," Elder Lei muttered, and the next moment, crimson flames engulfed the woman's figure.

A painful screech echoed inside the Feng Clan's premises and broke the silence of the night.

Not caring about her anymore, Elder Lei's figure slowly disappeared in the darkness as the woman saw his fading back while screaming in misery.

'This isn't something a Qi Absorption Stage Cultivator is capable of…'

Regret and hatred flashed in her eyes as she roared even louder in pain before succumbing to the flames.

"There! The sound came from there!"

A bunch of footsteps were soon heard, and the area was soon surrounded by cultivators. However, by then only ashes remained.

"Heighten the security! Secure the perimeter!" Commands rang out left and right as the once peaceful night turned chaotic.

However, this chaos failed to reach one residence located at the farthest end of the clan.

The next day.

Opening his eyes to the bright rays of the rising sun, Yi Chen smiled while stretching his body on the bed.

A contented groan left his mouth the next moment as he soon pushed himself up. Even though he had slept for only three hours, he felt fully refreshed.

"Let's freshen up first," he muttered to himself and after arranging his bed, went to the toilet outside.

From what Qin Yao had told him, he needed to get ready by seven in the morning.

After helping with the breakfast preparation and eating his fill, the two of them should report outside the courtyard by nine o'clock.

Every morning, exactly at that time, Elder Lei would teach Qin Yao for two hours and starting today, Yi Chen was also going to join them.

"Good morning, Brother Chen!" Qin Yao greeted Yi Chen when he saw him relaxing inside the bathhouse.

"Good morning, had a good sleep?" Yi Chen asked with a smile.

"Yes, now that the house is not as empty as before, I slept very comfortably," Qin Yao answered as he sat opposite Yi Chen on the steamy pool.

"That's good. I also slept well," Yi Chen nodded and said curiously, "When I checked your room half an hour ago, you weren't there."

"Oh, that? I was preparing herbal tea in the kitchen for Elder Lei, who loves drinking that every morning," Qin Yao answered.

"Ah, I see. Did he return just now?" Yi Chen asked.

"No, it should be late at night as he was still on his bed when I served him the tea," Qin Yao answered.

"Oh…" Yi Chen nodded and thought, 'I didn't sense anything last night…he must have returned quite late,'

At the same time, a subtle curiosity rose inside him as he wondered just what he was going so late at night.

The two of them soon finished up with their bath and went to the kitchen to prepare their breakfast.

After filling their stomach, it was time to attend the morning lecture, and both Yi Chen and Qin Yao soon reached the courtyard.

Elder Lei was calmly sitting on the platform beneath the tree with his eyes closed.

"Sit," his words rang out the next moment, and with a subtle nod, both Yi Chen and Qin Yao took a seat in front of him on the ground.

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