Chapter 110: Ascending to Grandmaster

As he spoke, Xin Lang took advantage of the moment to grasp Hu Qingqing’s hand and led her toward the bed in the inner room.

Xin Lang had already seen through Hu Qingqing’s true nature; her outward coquettish charm was merely a means of self-protection. He had found her weakness and now launched his counterattack.

“What… are you doing? Let go of me!” Hu Qingqing cried out, quickly brushing off Xin Lang’s hand in fear.

“Uh… it’s so late, and you’re coming into my room—surely you have some intention?” Xin Lang deliberately spoke with deliberate ambiguity.

“Hmph!” Hu Qingqing shook him off angrily. “You’ve been so bold today that you’ve offended everyone on the Golden List! I came to help you because I’m afraid someone might beat you to death, and if that happened, I’d lose my tool for getting under Murong Yueyin’s skin.”

“Help me? How exactly are you going to help? Oh, I heard you’ve cultivated to the Grandmaster level! You wouldn’t want to do dual cultivation and pass your power to me, would you?” Xin Lang teased Hu Qingqing.

“Bah! In your dreams!” Hu Qingqing pulled out a book and tossed it to Xin Lang. “I know you’ve reached the peak of the warrior realm. Although you defeated the junior Grandmaster Huang Shiyu today, you’re no match for the other Golden List students! This is a Tian-level cultivation method. Whether you can reach Grandmaster depends on your luck.”

Since Xin Lang had defeated a Grandmaster as a warrior, Hu Qingqing believed there was a chance he could surpass other Golden List students if he too ascended to Grandmaster.

“Tian-level cultivation method!” Xin Lang was astonished, delighted in his heart. “It’s like getting exactly what I wish for! My past life’s merits are all bursting forth in this one!”

Taking the Tian-level technique Hu Qingqing handed him, Xin Lang immediately began flipping through it.

It was a low-tier Tian-level technique called “Qi Transmutation Art,” the most common method for refining Qi.

Still, Xin Lang was immensely grateful to Hu Qingqing. What he needed most now was a Tian-level technique. Her gift was like a timely boon; he longed to embrace her and plant a fierce kiss on her porcelain-like face.

Since Hu Qingqing had bestowed such a great gift, Xin Lang felt compelled to reciprocate.

He pulled a vial from his belongings and handed it to her. “You look pale, your Qi and blood flow are obstructed. It’s probably because you overused a high-level martial skill in your duel with Murong Yueyin, damaging your meridians. This is a Saint-level Grade Three elixir for meridian recovery. Half a vial should heal your injuries.”

“Saint-level Grade Three elixir! You… you’re bluffing, right?” Hu Qingqing accepted the vial skeptically.

A Saint-level Grade Three elixir meant it had to be concocted by a Grade Three Medicine Saint—a figure seemingly absent in the Great Xia Dynasty.

Hu Qingqing wanted to question Xin Lang further, but seeing him fully absorbed in the “Qi Transmutation Art,” she hesitated to interrupt. Instead, she tried the elixir, swallowing it before sitting cross-legged and channeling her energy to integrate the medicine’s power and repair her damaged meridians.

Xin Lang wasn’t merely reading the “Qi Transmutation Art” but had entered the upgrade interface. The technique had already been added to his Martial Techniques section, though he couldn’t practice it yet.

“Upgrade!”

With the Tian-level technique in hand and experience points accumulated, Xin Lang immediately pressed the “Upgrade” button beneath his character’s avatar.

Eight white light dragons spiraled from beneath his avatar’s legs, circling and ascending, their radiant specks merging into the figure’s body. At last, all eight dragons plunged inside together.

Upgrade complete. Xin Lang had finally ascended to a Level One Grandmaster.

Upon leveling up, Xin Lang immediately scanned his meridians. They were now empty, devoid of any “primordial energy.” He would need to cultivate the “Qi Transmutation Art” to refine essence into primordial energy, converting the various essence energies of heaven and earth into “primordial energy.”

Opening the “Martial Techniques” section, Xin Lang saw that the recent Grandmaster upgrade had cost him 1,000 experience points, leaving him with 1,813.

“Learn! Upgrade!” Xin Lang spent 100 experience points to master the “Qi Transmutation Art,” then used another 200 to upgrade it from low-tier to high-tier Tian-level.

In total, he spent 300 experience points to learn a high-tier Tian-level “Qi Transmutation Art.”

Though 2,813 experience points seemed like a lot during his warrior days, he had already spent 1,300 in a blink, leaving just 1,513.

Alongside Xin Lang’s advancement, his equipment and weapons had also upgraded.

His Golden Silkworm Inner Armor, originally a Sixth-grade Earth-level item, had risen a full rank to Sixth-grade Tian-level, a qualitative leap in function. It could now block 60% of attacks from a Sixth-level Grandmaster.

His weapon, the Level Two Super Weapon “Heavenly Halberd,” had also upgraded to a Level Three Super Weapon. Its consecutive use count increased to three, and its cooldown halved to just two and a half minutes.

Upon reaching Level Three, the Heavenly Halberd gained a new Level Three extension ability—Qi Transmutation. But Xin Lang’s attention was fixed on the “Pet Zone,” so he hadn’t activated it yet.

Because after ascending to Grandmaster, in addition to his weapon and armor upgrades, the upgrade interface’s Pet Zone became available.

Xin Lang knew that waiting until he became a Martial Saint to unlock it might require much more than 1,000 experience points. Moreover, if he acquired a pet now, it might level up alongside him, which would be highly cost-effective.

“Activate!”

Activating the Pet Zone cost 1,000 experience points. Gritting his teeth, Xin Lang went ahead and unlocked it.

After a series of upgrades and unlocking features, his cultivation techniques had improved greatly, but his experience points had dwindled to 513.

“Looks like it’s back to lean times again,” Xin Lang muttered bitterly.

P.S.: The Pet Zone is open! What kind of pet would you like? Heh, guess what it might be!

C!