"Thanks, Brother," Yi Chen handed the coachman a few silver coins and got out the next moment.

Whip!

The sound of the hooves soon resounded in the narrow street outside Elder Lei's residence as the carriage made its way towards the exit gate.

Glancing at the old gate of the residence, Yi Chen couldn't help but feel nostalgic.

'I've only left for a few hours, but why does it feel like days…'

Too much happened in just a few hours that made him feel that he had spent days at the banquet hall. An exhausted sigh escaped his chest the next second as he dragged his feet towards the gate.

After entering the courtyard, just when he was wondering as to what should be his next course of action, a system sound echoed in his mind, followed by a few message panels.

Ding! Mission Completion Confirmed!

Reward Issued!

10x Comprehension Speed buff has been added to the [Cultivation Arsenal]!

Seeing the set of words, exhaustion left Yi Chen's being, and with a completely rejuvenated expression, he opened up the cultivation arsenal.

======Cultivation Arsenal ======

#Weapon Arts

1) Basic Swordsmanship [Progress: 160.1 / 1000]

#Cultivation Arts

1) Crimson Fire Arts [Comprehension: 40%]

#System Items

1) 10x Comprehension Speed for 90 days [Activate now? (Yes / No)]

============ END ===========

Seeing the panel, he was just about to activate the comprehension buff when his finger hesitated.

'Wait…I think it would be best to activate it tomorrow just before Elder Lei's lesson.' A thought crossed his mind the next instant, and he decided to stick to it.

Pulling the status screen away, he made his way inside the building.

It was around five in the evening, not wanting to disturb Qin Yao, who should be practising, Yi Chen walked straight to his room with slow and deliberate steps.

Since his Qi pool was already full thanks to the banquet, he directly began the refining process.

By seven, he had refined one meridian and was currently in the kitchen with Qin Yao.

"Wow! Were there really so many experts?!" Qin Yao asked with beaming eyes when he heard Yi Chen explain about the banquet.

"Indeed. A couple of Core Building Stage Experts and dozens of Qi Absorption Stage cultivators were there too," Yi Chen nodded in confirmation.

"So cool! I wish I could also see a Core Building Stage Cultivator from up close," Qin Yao muttered with a sigh.

"Then just work hard on your training and get selected in the Heavenly Azure Dragon Sect. There ought to be quite a few of them, there isn't it?"

Yi Chen asked with a smirk the next moment.

"You're right! If we perform exceptionally in the entrance test, then we might even get selected as disciples of the peak masters!" Qin Yao said with bright eyes.

"Yes, so let's quickly finish up with our dinner and return to cultivating again, then, shall we?" Yi Chen asked with a subtle smile on his face as he arranged the plates on the table.

"Mhm," Qin Yao nodded as he too helped him with that.

Soon they finished with the dinner while discussing the morning lesson and returned to their rooms.

Although Yi Chen felt mentally exhausted after attending the banquet this afternoon, he didn't let that affect his cultivation.

Pushing through his exhaustion, he kept refining his meridians until he had reached his limit and called it a night at three in the morning.

The next day.

After breakfast, both Yi Chen and Qin Yao were sitting in front of the banyan tree waiting for Elder Lei to start the lesson.

However, unlike usual, Yi Chen's eyes seemed a little distracted as, instead of focusing on Elder Lei, they were currently navigating through the system panel.

'Yes'

He mentally activated the 10x Comprehension buff, and all of a sudden, he felt the entire world slowing down… No, it would be more appropriate to say that it was his mind that had started working faster.

"What we are going to talk about to-"

His gaze fell upon Elder Lei the very next moment as the morning lesson began.

To his very surprise, words that previously used to feel evasive, making him attempt to understand them in an indirect manner, started making sense to him the moment they were spoken.

'!!!"

Excitement welled up inside Yi Chen the very next moment, and like a dried-up sponge that was being poured with water, he absorbed every word that came out of Elder Lei's mouth in the following few hours.

"That's all for today. Think over what was taught during the day."

With those words, Elder Lei got up from his spot and left the residence.

As for Yi Chen, his breathing rate had increased a little as an exhilarated smile made its presence evident on his face.

The reason for this change was the panel which was looking at it right now.

======Cultivation Arsenal ======

#Weapon Arts

1) Basic Swordsmanship [Progress: 160.1 / 1000]

#Cultivation Arts

1) Crimson Fire Arts [Comprehension: 40% -> 40.5%]

#System Items

1) 10x Comprehension Speed [Activated: 90 days left]

============ END ===========

To anyone else, it would just look like half a present increase, but for Yi Chen, it wasn't. It was a 'monumental' increase.

Only he knew how many concepts he needed to understand, from the simplest building blocks to the complex details about the Fire Qi that finally allowed him to breach the 40% barrier.

He also came to understand the importance of Elder Lei's lessons.

If not for Elder Lei's morning lesson, just this breakthrough of 0.5% would have taken him five days, even with his 10x buff activated!

He quickly stabilised his mind and, not wanting to waste even a single moment of his comprehension buff, immediately busied himself with cleaning the residence along with Qin Yao.

Afterwards, while Qin Yao focused on his weapon training, Yi Chen just sat in a meditative posture under the tree and was about to go through all the lessons that had been imparted to him by Elder Lei.

'Swordsmanship can wait. Comprehending the absorption art is of higher priority because I have a deadline to reach…'

With that thought, Yi Chen fully devoted himself to comprehending the Crimson Fire Arts until it was lunchtime.

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