Li Tan entered the cultivation room, lit the oil lamp, sat cross-legged in the dim light, placed the rusty sword in front of him, closed his eyes, and entered a meditative state.
After a while of careful thinking, Li Tan roughly figured out what he needed to do next.
First and foremost, he needed to cultivate. Second, equally important, was the upcoming discovery of an ancient sage’s tomb near Chi Ze. Third, and most crucial, was to find Liu Yong and, following that lead, uncover the schemes of those black-robed individuals. This last task was even more important to Li Tan than improving his cultivation.
Therefore, before the tomb’s discovery, Li Tan planned to quietly stay in the cultivation chamber of the Dan Pavilion and focus on his practice. Once the tomb was unearthed and experts gathered from all directions, he intended to seize that opportunity to unearth Liu Yong.
As long as Liu Yong remained near Chi Ze, he would definitely be drawn to the tomb. No cultivator could resist such a level of temptation. Before his rebirth, Li Tan had once stolen some opportunities from that tomb, which had given him the chance to rise in power later on.
With this plan firmly in mind, Li Tan no longer felt lost and began his cultivation.
In the blink of an eye, three days had passed. During this time, Li Tan consumed more than two hundred spirit stones, advancing his cultivation to the peak of the early Xiantian stage.
At this rate, once he exhausted all the spirit stones, he would likely advance to the mid-Xiantian stage. This speed was astounding, but it was only achievable due to the sheer quantity of spirit stones he possessed. In fact, this time Li Tan had accepted a highly lucrative silver-level mission from the Cultivator Union. Typically, silver-level missions didn’t offer such substantial rewards. It was likely because the mission issuer was in urgent need, hence the generous compensation.
Such opportunities were rare. Five hundred spirit stones was a huge sum. If it were an ordinary cultivator, they would probably never earn that much no matter how hard they tried.
Therefore, after consuming all these spirit stones, Li Tan would temporarily struggle to make significant progress in his cultivation.
At that point, he would have to make other preparations, such as joining a sect or searching for treasures in the wastelands.
“It went faster than I expected.”
Li Tan, who had just finished a round of cultivation and was about to eat some dry food, complained with a hint of regret.
However, as soon as he took out the food, the door to the cultivation room made a clicking sound and opened a crack by itself.
“Sir, your time is up.”
A man’s voice came from outside.
“What time?”
Interrupted in the middle of his cultivation, Li Tan was naturally quite unhappy.
The person outside replied, “Of course, the time for using this room is up.”
Li Tan hesitated for a moment and asked, “This room has a time limit?”
“Of course. After all, there are quite a few people here at the Dan Pavilion. If the cultivation room was monopolized by those who came first, what would the people who arrived later do?”
Li Tan reluctantly stood up, opened the door, and walked out. The speaker was a middle-aged man with a slightly hunched posture.
Li Tan asked, “How is the time limit regulated?”
“A one-star alchemist gets three days, a two-star alchemist gets thirty days, a three-star alchemist gets a whole year. Higher-level experts have no time limit and generally wouldn’t come to a small place like this anyway.”
The man explained.
Understanding the reason, Li Tan no longer felt annoyed. He nodded slightly and left.
After leaving the Dan Pavilion’s cultivation room, Li Tan strolled casually down the street. As he walked, he suddenly noticed a crowd of people gathered tightly around something not far away.
Curious, he walked over and learned that it was an announcement for the recruitment of new disciples by the Tian Lang Sect.
In three days, the Tian Lang Sect would hold its recruitment ceremony at the northern part of Chi Ze city, where many outstanding disciples were expected to gather.
Li Tan had no particular thoughts about the Tian Lang Sect, but he faintly recalled an evening a few days ago when a mercenary spent all his savings over the past decade just to buy a servant disciple position for his son, which stirred a slight sense of emotion in him.
But it was only a fleeting emotion. He had no further thoughts and left the scene, changing direction and heading toward the main branch of the Dan Pavilion.
He originally hadn’t planned to take the exam for the two-star alchemist certification immediately, but due to the time limit on the cultivation room, he changed his mind.
It seemed that no matter what, he still had to obtain the two-star alchemist certification. Otherwise, the benefits he could enjoy from the Dan Pavilion would be too limited.
The Chi Ze branch of the Dan Pavilion was a six-story tower. At the moment, probably because of the Tian Lang Sect’s recruitment event, there were very few people around.
Li Tan walked around the first floor and stopped a servant to ask, “Excuse me, where should I go to take the alchemist certification exam?”
The servant replied, “Go to the second floor and find the supervisor. He will arrange it for you.”
“Thank you.”
Li Tan went up to the second floor and soon found the so-called supervisor in an office.
Surprisingly, the supervisor was quite young, but had a sly, rat-like appearance and spoke with an air of arrogance. He was the kind of person who easily inspired dislike.
“Qualification exam for alchemists?
Sure, wait by the door. I’ll arrange it for you.”
The supervisor gave a rather casual greeting, then buried his head again to continue with his own work.
Two-star alchemists were already considered respectable figures in the Xia Kingdom. That this person dared to treat Li Tan so dismissively made him a bit annoyed. However, Li Tan thought it unnecessary to cause trouble, so he listened and went to sit on a chair by the door, waiting somewhat boredly.
He hadn’t waited long when he saw a haughty young girl approaching, surrounded by several boys with flattering smiles on their faces.
The boys were all wearing the same clothes, likely from the same faction. The girl was probably a descendant of an important figure in that faction.
Li Tan glanced at the girl indifferently, but unfortunately, their eyes met.
The girl paused slightly beside Li Tan but immediately resumed walking. One of the boys beside her pushed open the supervisor’s office door and loudly shouted, “Hey, is anyone there? My senior sister wants to take the one-star alchemist exam.”
After a few seconds of silence, the supervisor’s excited voice came from inside the office, “Miss Zhang, being able to take the one-star alchemist exam at your age is truly a sign of extraordinary talent. Hehe, please wait a moment while I prepare the things and come right away.”
The supervisor, with a face full of flattery, headed upstairs to the third floor. Li Tan, seeing that the supervisor seemed to have completely forgotten about him, stopped him to remind him.
“Kid, you’re really lucky. I’m almost envious that you can take the exam with that young lady.”
The supervisor smirked.
Li Tan curiously asked, “What’s that girl’s identity?”
With a face full of admiration, the supervisor explained, “She’s the daughter of the Tian Lang Sect’s sect leader. Behave yourself later and leave a good impression on her. That will be good for your future prospects.”
I’m not planning to join the Tian Lang Sect. How could she possibly influence my future?
Li Tan nodded indifferently, and then the supervisor went upstairs to the third floor.
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