However, once she returned to her small courtyard and tried to fall asleep, she started having a headache and insomnia.

When she closed her eyes, scenes of brutal slaughter appeared in her mind!

Those scenes of brutality, bloodshed, and overwhelming sadness immediately jolted her awake, completely dispelling any drowsiness.

Despite her best efforts to try and sleep afterward, she simply couldn't.

Jiang Qingge was somewhat confused; she didn't understand why she suddenly had those dreams.

It was as if... she had personally experienced these events before.

Fortunately, after being unable to sleep last night, she wandered in the courtyard for a while and suddenly had the urge to walk to the small courtyard where Lu Ye used to stay.

Upon reaching the outer courtyard, she inexplicably felt a bit drowsy.

Currently, her cultivation level wasn't enough to sustain a cycle where meditation could replace an entire night's sleep.

Being able to sleep was nothing short of a blessing.

She wanted to discuss her current abnormality with Lu Ye.

However, as she sat on her bed in the sidelined courtyard, her perfect figure in full view, Jiang Qingge sighed quietly to herself and ultimately did not send a single message.

Although she had already apologized, Jiang Qingge still felt a lingering sense of guilt that wouldn't dissipate.

Some matters, even after apologizing, Jiang Qingge knew, truly existed as disturbances she had caused others earlier.

...

In East Cang City, as the streets began to fill with more and more people, the city gradually grew lively once more.

Today, as afternoon approached, a masked man once more appeared on East Cang Plaza.

Amidst the gazes of the crowd, he intended to challenge for a place on the East Cang Stele List.

For a moment, he drew considerable attention from the onlookers.

"Daring to challenge the listing, could this be yet another Martial Arts Grandmaster?!"

"There's certainly a possibility considering the festival; many cultivators from the other three territories have arrived, and even some reclusive powerhouse factions have people emerging."

"I just wonder if he'll succeed; these past few days, it seems that only Fang Zhiyu from Celestial Profound Sect and the mysterious Chen Beixuan succeeded."

The large plaza was abuzz with whispers, yet the masked man seemed not to hear any of it and went directly toward the hundred-meter stone stele.

Gazing at the thirty dazzling names upon it, a glimmer of sharp light flashed in the masked man's eyes.

He had come to the stele not to make a name for himself, but to… avenge his junior brother.

The masked man's junior brother was Elder Yinmang from the Northern Territory, a renowned Top Innate!

In their sect, there were few disciples, and they rarely ventured outside.

In their lineage, seniority wasn't determined by age but purely by strength.

Whoever was stronger became the senior brother.

It was months later when they received news of Elder Yinmang's demise.

Although Elder Yinmang was a disciple without much promise, unable to breakthrough to Grandmaster,

In the end, he left the sect's reclusive land, but he was, after all, still one of them.

Back then, he was forced to end his life on the spot.

Upon receiving the news, the sect was furious, as their Hidden Spirit Sect people had never suffered such indignation.

This time, the masked man left the sect intending to borrow the insight power from the East Cang Stele and, subsequently, head to the Northern Territory to avenge his lesser junior, Elder Yinmang.

As for getting a rank…

The masked man coldly smiled to himself, "If even the Grandmaster Sixth Layer cannot make the list, then the East Cang Stele List... hasn't reached that level of monstrosity yet."

Besides, he hailed from the Hidden Spirit Sect, where even his lowest martial arts training was Earth Tier Lower Grade!

It couldn't be compared to those average Grandmaster Sixth Layers outside.

Even when facing a Grandmaster Seventh Layer, this masked man had confidence, relying on the foundation of the Hidden Spirit Sect, to match them in battle!

The next moment, the onlookers saw the masked man shoot up into the sky like a meteor, swiftly rushing toward the top of the stele.

Immediately after, under the watchful eyes of the crowd, he effortlessly wrote three bold characters…

Yin Xunchuan!

The name, imbued with a vast Grandmaster's Source Qi, instantly merged into the ancient aura exuding from the stone stele.

Following that, an astonishing scene unfolded in the plaza, leaving countless people in shock.

A brand-new name, like a ghost, initially appeared at the bottom of the list.

Then, with rocket-like speed, it surged upwards!

In an instant, it surpassed Fang Zhiyu, who had climbed onto the East Cang List a few days prior, basking in glory under the gaze of all.

Before the crowd could react in astonishment, the shining streak didn't stop and kept moving forward.

In no time, it reached the vicinity of another newly-listed Grandmaster, Chen Beixuan, who had only recently appeared.

"Could it be that he's surpassing the mysterious figure at rank twenty-two, Chen Beixuan? Just who is this person?!"

"Judging by the momentum... it seems so."

Within the short discussion period, the three characters 'Yin Xunchuan' assertively pushed Chen Beixuan down a spot on the list!

Moments later…

As the unfamiliar name settled at rank sixteen, the tens of thousands in the plaza were all overtaken by shock and disbelief, gasping in wonder.

Today on the East Cang List... a cultivator had achieved the highest ranking in years!

"A Martial Arts Grandmaster... Grandmaster Sixth Layer?! Not yet fifty, and a Grandmaster Sixth Layer?! Am I seeing things?!"

"Hiss... With such prowess, he could probably contend with the Great Elder of the Celestial Profound Sect, right?"

"This festival conference truly hasn't been in vain; in just a few days, we've witnessed the East Cang List change three times. The struggle within the Martial Dao is indeed intense."

Meanwhile, Yin Xunchuan closed his eyes, accepting the nourishment from the East Cang Stele.

A formidable aura enveloped him.

Originally at the late stage of Grandmaster Sixth Layer, his power slowly advanced toward the Perfection of the Sixth Layer following this nourishing.

A moment later, when the protective shield of nourishment and realization around Yin Xunchuan automatically dissipated, his power had fully advanced to Six Layer Perfection!

"Such miraculous nourishment, it truly deserves its reputation as the legendary descended stele!"

If, after watching his junior Yinmang's Flood Dragon getting slain,

And later, witnessing an old and weakened Fifth Layer Grandmaster dying due to an ambush left Yin Xunchuan puzzled by the Heaven-Shocking Sword,

Now, after receiving the stele's nourishment…

His confidence had reached its peak!

Give him a little more time, and even a Grandmaster Seventh Layer would be at his fingertips.

Meanwhile, news that someone had reached the top twenty and climbed to rank sixteen on the East Cang Stele List exploded in East Cang City like thunderbolt from a clear sky!

Lu Ye wasn't aware of this at first.

He found out when he received a message from Jiang Lingyue while at the inn.

Jiang Lingyue: [You bad person, East Cang City is so lively! I just heard someone managed to make the list at Grandmaster Sixth Layer, ultimately ranking sixteenth! That kind of strength is even greater than the ancestor of our Wuxiang Sect! I wonder how they cultivate.]

However, this message was evidently just a pretext for Jiang Lingyue to communicate with Lu Ye.

The next moment, a new message came through.

Jiang Lingyue: [Also, also... I'm about to return to the sect with Elder Sister Chang, good person... can you come out and play with me? Boo hoo hoo, Lingyue misses you!]

In just two brief sentences, Lu Ye's identity shifted from 'bad person' to 'good person'.

Gazing at the evening sky outside, it was approaching twilight.

There was still some time before nightfall.

Seeing the pleading aura that seemed about to overflow from the Communication Jade Token, Lu Ye smiled gently and responded with a single character.

[Alright.]

In the inn, holding the Communication Jade Token tightly, fearing she wouldn't receive a message immediately, Jiang Lingyue immediately burst into a smile, her eyes curving like the blooms of vibrant wildflowers in a mountain clearing.

Lu Ye had agreed!

She was going to kiss Lu Ye! To see the Wangfu Stone by the East Cang River and to visit the Ten-Mile Purple Bamboo Forest a hundred miles away!

And she wanted... she wanted that too!

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