The Sect Leader Has Taken in a New Female Disciple

Shen Yunzhou let out a long sigh, feeling a heaviness in his heart.

Lin Jingtang wiped the corner of her eye, her tone suddenly softened: "I know that you and your sister don’t feel much belonging to the Shen Family."

She suddenly raised her hand, brushing away nonexistent dust from Shen Yunzhou’s shoulder with her fingertips: "But your mother was traveling for the family business when she was harmed outside."

"And your father, though he’s been a companion to wine jars all day, has he ever stepped a foot away from the Shen Family over these years?"

Lin Jingtang said this and suddenly pressed her hand to her heart: "And these legacies and honors were built brick by brick, with blood and lives, by our ancestors."

She looked deeply at Shen Yunzhou, "Do you understand?"

Shen Yunzhou’s throat moved as he slowly nodded: "I understand. If my sister can break that array, if I can see her... I will certainly tell her."

"Thank you." Lin Jingtang showed a trace of satisfaction and then looked toward the grand hall, "While the houses can compete with each other daily, they must unite as one rope when faced with the bigger picture."

"Throughout the entire Celestial Fate Sacred Dynasty, fifth-level Array Masters are few and far between, all treated as honored guests by the royal family and top forces. Master Qingzhou is an opportunity bestowed by heaven to the Shen Family."

"Complementing what is already perfect cannot compare to providing help in an urgent time. If he can be assisted to break through the Spirit Severing and gather twenty thousand Spirit Seals to advance as a fifth-level Array Master..."

Her eyes flashed brightly, "Not to mention the Eight-Tails Region, but who in the whole Nanhuang State would dare to bully the Shen Family?"

Shen Yunzhou’s chest heaved, a rush of hot blood surged to his head.

"Aunt!" He solemnly clasped his fists, "Yunzhou knows what to do now!"

Lin Jingtang smiled and nodded, but as she turned around, her eyes flickered briefly, and an indescribable expression flashed by.

Then, she quietly watched the direction of the grand hall, observing batch after batch of people coming and going...

...

Seven days later, deep within the grand hall.

Zhou Qing sat cross-legged, Spiritual Power surging around him like tides, his robe moving with no wind.

An illusory Spirit Pattern at his brow flickered in and out, each flash causing the Spiritual Qi in the hall to tremble.

He hadn’t expected that after sensing the last person’s Realm, the opportunity for a breakthrough would come so quickly; he could barely suppress it now.

"Good lad!" Second Uncle widened his eyes, forgetting to send the melon seeds in his hand to his mouth.

"Didn’t expect you’d step into the Mid-stage Spirit Severing Realm so soon. This Spiritual Power is so full; it’s almost overflowing. When did you accumulate it?"

Zhou Qing clenched his jaw, beads of sweat appearing on his forehead: "Trapped in the void for over a hundred years... If not for the inability to achieve Perfection in Realm, I would have long..."

Before he finished speaking, another surge of Spiritual Power erupted within him, shattering the meditation cushion beneath him.

Second Uncle smacked his lips: "I see, but you can’t break through while in the Shen Family, or you’ll be detected."

Then, he mysteriously reached for his waist storage bag, "Luckily, I have this treasure—"

He slapped the storage bag, and a dirty broken bowl popped out, with even a few cracks on it, looking like it was picked up from some roadside stall.

"Do you remember it?" Second Uncle grinned.

Zhou Qing couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of the broken bowl, an expression of nostalgia in his eyes.

How could he not recognize it?

Back when he first entered the Grotto Heaven Forbidden Area, Second Uncle used this very broken bowl to deceive him.

He even grandly claimed that the "opportunity had arrived," saying as long as he passed some test, he could gain great benefits.

He still clearly remembers that tricky question—

[Imagine if, after cultivating bitterly for a hundred years, you finally avenged yourself by wiping out your enemies’ whole family, and then suddenly discovered a child still in the corner, what would you do?]

In fact, no matter what his answer was, as long as he touched the bowl, Second Uncle could use his body as a vessel to escape.

Seeing Zhou Qing’s expression, Second Uncle chuckled: "Time really flies, doesn’t it? Back then, trapped in the third coffin..."

"Uncle, shall we reminisce another day?" Zhou Qing smiled bitterly.

Second Uncle laughed awkwardly and then said seriously: "Alright, alright, don’t be fooled by its appearance. It has a rather imposing name—’The Universe in a Mustard Seed Cup’!"

"Great name!" Zhou Qing echoed.

Second Uncle smiled proudly: "Absolutely, and no wonder, guess who named it, picked it up from a certain stall... alright, alright, got it."

Seeing Zhou Qing’s increasingly tense face, he hurriedly corrected himself: "In any case, if you have your breakthrough in here, the outside world won’t sense a thing."

"But the various energies accumulated inside must be released within a year."

Saying this, he injected Spiritual Power into the broken bowl, which expanded in the wind, transforming into a giant bowl about ten feet wide, descending upside down.

Inside the bowl, a world formed unto itself, and Zhou Qing felt the pressure on him suddenly ease, his rampaging Spiritual Power finally finding an outlet.

"Seize the moment and break through!" Second Uncle’s voice came from outside, "The pair of twins in the side hall seems to have received orders, determined to capture you!"

With Second Uncle’s assurance, Zhou Qing no longer suppressed the surging Spiritual Power within him.

He took a deep breath, formed a seal with his hands, and the spiritual power that had long been accumulated within him surged forth like a flood breaching a dam.

"Boom!"

A muffled sound echoed within the bowl, and brilliant spiritual light burst forth from the pores of Zhou Qing’s body.

His aura climbed steadily, quickly reaching a critical point.

Almost simultaneously, the void above his head suddenly distorted, and a four-colored flower appeared out of thin air.

Silver, red, blue, and gold petals simultaneously emitted dazzling brilliance.

Four colors of light intertwined and swirled, forming a perfect spiritual power vortex above Zhou Qing’s head.

Silver light sliced, red light tempered, blue light nourished, and gold light constructed; the four forces complemented each other, jointly pushing his breakthrough.

For a moment, the entire inside of the bowl surged with winds and clouds, while outside, it remained silent.

"Good heavens!" Second Uncle observed closely from outside, hurriedly grasping the seal to reinforce it, "This commotion is even more astonishing than when I broke through back in the day!"

Inside the bowl, Zhou Qing’s body was undergoing an earth-shattering transformation.

"Crack, crack..." His bones emitted crisp explosions, each bone reassembling and strengthening.

Deep within his marrow, spiritual light shimmered faintly, as if countless tiny runes were flowing on the surface of the bones.

His meridians continuously expanded, and spiritual power surged like a flood breaching a dam.

Rapidly, within his body, it constructed a brilliant network of spiritual power, each cleansing making the wall of the meridian tougher.

His flesh grew more solid, with a faint treasure light flowing beneath his skin, every inch of muscle fiber contained explosive power.

Even the seven-colored primordial spirit in the sea of consciousness was violently trembling.

As the primordial spirit formed seals with its hands, each breath elicited surging tides in the sea of consciousness, the power of divine sense expanding outward at a visible speed...

Just like that, after a whole night’s duration, the inside of the bowl gradually calmed.

Long after, Zhou Qing slowly opened his eyes.

Four-colored light flickered in his pupils, his entire aura reserved and profound.

With a gentle clenched fist, subtle ripples emerged in the surrounding space, demonstrating the delicate control of the power of space by the Mid-stage Spirit Severing Realm.

"So this is the power of the Mid-stage Spirit Severing Realm..."

Feeling the spiritual power within him, Zhou Qing couldn’t help but lift a confident curve at the corner of his mouth.

Compared to before the breakthrough, his combat strength had at least tripled.

What does this mean?

It means that at the moment of entering the Mid-stage Spirit Severing Realm, he was already capable of completely crushing cultivators of the same stage, even possessing the capital to fight across stages!

What about Late-stage Spirit Severing Realm?

Even if he couldn’t easily slay them, his opponent wouldn’t stand a chance at gaining the slightest advantage from him!

At this moment, the shattered bowl above slowly shrank, transforming into a stream of light returning to Second Uncle’s storage bag.

Second Uncle squinted his eyes, sizing him up from head to toe, grinning broadly: "Kid, how do you feel?"

Zhou Qing took a deep breath, the surging spiritual power continued to flow unstopped within his meridians.

He slowly raised his right hand, palm up, only to see the silver, red, blue, and gold spiritual lights swirling at his fingertips, mingling together yet distinctly apart.

With his successful breakthrough, he seemed to be able to somewhat call upon the energy from the four-colored wondrous flowers.

"Very intriguing," he whispered, with a tinge of exploration in his tone.

This initial control over the four forces thrilled him, yet left him puzzled.

Before he had thought it was merely a simple amplification of the four nascent souls; now, it seemed it was not.

Even though he could sense their characteristics, fully harnessing them would require a long time of exploration and harmony.

Second Uncle observed the four-colored spiritual lights, his eyes flashing with brilliance, but chose not to ask further.

Since ancient times, there was never an occurrence of Four Flowers Gathering at the Crown.

Moreover, as someone with experience, everyone’s realization after a breakthrough is unique, too much guidance might backfire.

"Quickly stabilize it, lest others discover something!" Second Uncle whispered a reminder, his gaze vigilantly sweeping towards the direction of the hall door.

Zhou Qing nodded and soon closed his eyes again.

Four-colored spiritual lights slowly swirled around him, forming a perfect cycle, while within this tranquil hall, an ongoing metamorphosis continued...

...