Chapter 17

When the last female disciple stepped down from the platform, Lin Zheng still had not snapped out of his daze, and the male disciples below were also stunned like wooden chickens!

They looked at the pile of crystals on the platform, which instantly made them feel like they were about to collapse. There were also those bottles of extraordinary-looking pills. Weren't these female disciples always complaining about being poor when they were with us?

What's going on here?

Upon closer inspection, there were actually over a thousand medium-grade spirit stones, not a single low-grade one, and even a few high-grade spirit stones! Combined, it was enough to make many of us feel ashamed to the point of death. Some of the pills were even ones we had given to them, which they immediately turned around and gave to Lin Zheng?

Some were numb, some were furious, and some were at a loss! However, everyone knew that just the crystals and medicines on the platform were not much less valuable than some of the rewards for this competition!

Some people even had the idea of rushing up to the platform to rob, but seeing the angry glares from the women in front of them, all those with such thoughts immediately abandoned the idea!

You can't provoke a woman on a rampage!

Some cultivators with good hearing had already overheard these women discussing forming a guard team for Lin Zheng!

What? You actually dare to form a team? Do you only have eyes for Lin Zheng? What, you're even going to call it the "Imperial Guard"?

Pfft! Some of the less advanced male cultivators had already started spitting blood!

Lin Zheng, still dazed, looked at the spirit stones in front of him, his mind in chaos, even more so than when he had accepted part of his memory. This world is too crazy!

Lin Zheng continuously circulated his cultivation technique, a cool sensation gradually bringing him back to his senses. He bowed slightly to the crowd below, then sat down where he was, picking up a medium-grade spirit stone and began to absorb its spiritual energy! The spirit stone in his hand slowly faded and then shattered into dust, and soon he was holding two, then three, four, five, absorbing the spiritual energy within the crystals at an extremely fast speed!

Everyone's eyes widened as if they were about to pop out. What kind of freak is this? Did he completely ignore the trace of violent spiritual energy within the crystals? Even if that trace of violent spiritual energy was small, if it accumulated and was not promptly expelled from the body, it could lead to a dangerous spiritual energy outbreak. Does he not care at all?

One hundred and seventy! Someone was secretly counting the number of spirit stones Lin Zheng had absorbed! Everyone subconsciously licked their lips, wondering just how much spiritual energy Lin Zheng could contain. How could so much spiritual energy not burst him? His meridians must be incredibly resilient, but the absorption speed kept increasing with no sign of stopping!

The expressions of the crowd changed from surprise to exaggeration and then to numbness. Monster, a big monster! Mom, come and see the monster!

Lin Zheng had no time to observe the expressions of the crowd below because a tremendous change had already occurred within his body! Golden threads had replaced all his meridians, no, they had been assimilated. All his meridians had been completely replaced by golden threads. The spiritual energy was gradually being consumed, and this was a massive project. There was no pain, no discomfort, only a sense of comfort, as if the golden threads had simply returned to their original position!

Lin Zheng continued to absorb the spiritual energy from the crystals, completely ignoring the violent spiritual energy. The spiritual energy circulating through the golden meridians was continuously purified and compressed, and the violent spiritual energy was gradually squeezed into his muscles and bones. Instantly, Lin Zheng felt immense pain, as every part of his body ached. The violent energy contained in so many crystals was no small amount!

His muscles were constantly tearing and then reorganizing, and the golden meridians were continuously nurturing the damaged muscles and bones. Lin Zheng knew this was another opportunity for a complete transformation, and he could not stop. In a state of pain and joy, he continued to accelerate the absorption of the crystals, hoping this transformation would end soon!

The spirit stones gradually decreased, and the crowd had already become numb. Some people were constantly pinching their thighs and slapping their cheeks, counting the number of spirit stones Lin Zheng had absorbed!

Finally, Lin Zheng picked up five more spirit stones and absorbed them into his body. The spiritual energy surged in like a floodgate opening. What was this? High-grade spirit stones?

The spiritual energy contained within was truly vast, and the surging spiritual energy continuously circulated through his meridians. The family cultivation technique originally circulated according to the position of the golden threads, but the golden threads did not cover all the meridians. Many meridians were not covered, and the golden threads covered areas not covered by the meridians, even the bones, which Lin Zheng could feel the golden threads etched into. Now, the golden threads had changed position, completely covering all the meridians, making the circulation path of the cultivation technique larger, the cycle time longer, and the absorption speed of spiritual energy faster. Suddenly, Lin Zheng felt the spiritual energy in the world jumping!

The last bit of meridian was also penetrated by the spiritual energy, and the family cultivation technique circulated more smoothly. The originally blocked areas were now open, and the small nodes on the golden meridians formed small patterns, not hindering the circulation of spiritual energy but making it flow more smoothly and comfortably!

Finally, the quantitative change brought about a qualitative change. The dust around Lin Zheng rose without wind, and he stood up, a surge of spiritual energy erupting from his body. The spiritual energy inside him finally reached saturation and began to impact the barrier of the Fifth Rank. Lin Zheng discovered that this barrier was merely a requirement for the body's meridians, like raising the sides of a wooden bucket to hold more water. Now, Lin Zheng's meridians had condensed again, and the barrier seemed to be a piece of paper that had been punctured, with the spiritual energy in the air surging towards him!

Not enough, completely not enough, Lin Zheng shouted in his heart. The absorption of spiritual energy was far from reaching the saturation point of the spiritual energy inside him! Lin Zheng gritted his teeth and, with a fierce determination, grabbed forward with both hands, and the remaining spirit stones rushed towards him!

Instantly, a massive amount of spiritual energy rushed into his body, and the golden meridians were stretched like a river during the flood season. The riverbed continuously rose, and the small nodes worked hard to purify the spiritual energy. The massive violent spiritual energy raged within his body and was then devoured! Some gray impurities in his bones were squeezed out of his body and instantly turned into powder by the violent spiritual energy!

Pain, indescribable pain, every inch of his meridians trembled, and Lin Zheng's body shook continuously. The spiritual energy washed over his body repeatedly. Lin Zheng gritted his teeth and endured the pain. Finally, a surge of spiritual energy rushed to his mind, and his mind became clear. His sea of consciousness instantly became more than twice as powerful, and his mind became exceptionally clear, as if everything had become clear!

His body no longer ached, and the golden meridians seemed to have thickened slightly. The spiritual energy inside him began to calm down and circulate steadily. The Three Lives Stone, which had appeared at some point, now occupied his chest, and the spiritual energy formed a bright ball that continuously circled around the Three Lives Stone. The spiritual energy was continuously absorbed, and it seemed to be expanding space under the control of the Three Lives Stone!

Lin Zheng slowly opened his eyes and carefully felt the changes within his body. With a slight movement of his spiritual energy, a massive force surged up. This, this is the Sixth Rank?

...

The crowd below looked at Lin Zheng, and a series of bone-cracking sounds echoed. Lin Zheng had actually advanced to the Fifth Rank? Could directly absorbing many spirit stones lead to an advancement? No one had ever heard of such a thing! The crowd looked at Lin Zheng with complex expressions. He had fought a battle, was quite injured, and after recovering his spiritual energy, he had advanced. Hmm, although the absorption of spiritual energy was terrifying, the advancement seemed too simple?

Before the crowd could calm down, something even more insane happened. Lin Zheng actually drew the spiritual energy from the world, or rather, the spiritual energy from the world was attracted to his body. This was the scenario of advancing from the Fifth Rank to the Sixth Rank. Had he just advanced and was about to advance again? Advancing from the Fifth Rank to the Sixth Rank was a significant threshold, how could he break through so easily? Another nerve-wracking situation followed. Ordinary people feared that the spiritual energy from the world would burst them when advancing from the Fifth Rank to the Sixth Rank, but Lin Zheng actually felt the spiritual energy was insufficient and instantly absorbed all the spirit stones?

"Heaven, what kind of monster have you created? You let a waste who couldn't break through the First Rank for three years reach a realm we couldn't reach in ten years. Fine, heaven, let me be a waste for three years, and then let me break through!"

Someone in the crowd shouted in a daze, and instead of being ridiculed by the people around them, they received a chorus of agreement.

Looking at Lin Zheng on the platform, the surging spiritual energy felt like a mountain pressing on the chests of the crowd, leaving them with a mix of emotions and unable to speak!

...

Lin Zheng carefully felt the changes within his body and first noticed that the Three Lives Stone hanging inside him was slowly rotating. Whether he tried to control it with spiritual energy or divine sense, he could not control the Three Lives Stone, so he had to give up.

Feeling the surging spiritual energy within him, Lin Zheng was excited. The gains from this were enormous, with significant improvements in both his spiritual energy and his sea of consciousness. If Lin Zheng were to encounter Zhang Zhi now, he would probably not need a hard fight and could defeat him in ten moves!

Lin Zheng looked at the pile of medicine bottles in front of him and felt a headache. His injuries were already completely healed, and even the knife scars had probably disappeared due to the constant reorganization of his muscles. His skin had become even tougher and more elastic, but the downside was that it had become more feminine. It seemed these medicines were not needed!

Lin Zheng looked at the female disciples below and smiled, saying, "Thank you all for your kindness, and thank you for the spirit stones! However, these medicines are not needed, so please take them back!" Then Lin Zheng bowed repeatedly to the crowd below and walked off the platform, not even glancing at the medicines on the ground.

Some female disciples quickly rushed up to the platform and put all the medicines into their spatial rings. They had already agreed that the medicines would be uniformly managed by the "Imperial Guard," and anyone who needed them could come and collect them. At the same time, everyone needed to practice diligently, stay away from other male disciples, and strive to reach Lin Zheng's level!

Many male disciples fainted and spat blood upon hearing this!

Lin Zheng leaped out of the crowd and headed towards the 18th platform. The match should not have ended yet, and he wanted to see how the fat guy was doing, he thought to himself!

At this moment, the male disciples behind Lin Zheng looked at him with green, hateful eyes, while the female disciples watched him with longing and followed closely behind. Lin Zheng felt a chill on his back, as if needles were pricking him, and he hurriedly quickened his pace!

The big monster is running! Catch up quickly!

PS: First update of the day! Red tickets! Clicks! Collections! All kinds of requests! Newbie needs support! Thanks to Baojian for the chapter recommendation! Fellow readers, let's go! Spread the word! Come on, everyone, let's do this!