Over twenty days later!
In the center of Red Maple Valley, at the temporary camp of the Seven Great Sects, the various sect representatives began returning one by one from the forest.
When the Core Formation elders of Haoran Academy saw that only two disciples staggered back, they were instantly alarmed!
"How are there only two of you? Where are the others?"
One of Haoran Academy's elders rushed forward, gripping one of the returning disciples by the shoulder and loudly demanding answers.
The disciple remained silent, his expression full of fear and grievance.
The other disciple, trembling, finally spoke, "They're dead… all of them… dead!"
"What?!!"
The Haoran Academy elder screamed in disbelief, "How is that possible?! Ten of you went in, and now only two of you made it back?!"
"What on earth happened?" another elder angrily demanded.
"It was terrifying…" The trembling disciple, still in shock, recounted, "After the trial began, we followed a lone disciple from the Xuantian Sect's sword faction. We thought we could catch him off guard, but we never expected…"
"Never expected what?!"
The four elders of Haoran Academy pressed for more details, their interest piqued.
At the same time, their discussion attracted the attention of the other six sects present.
Even though injuries and fatalities were common during the Seven Sect Trials, for eight out of ten disciples to perish was unprecedented.
Everyone became curious, their attention now focused on the Haoran Academy disciple. Even the five elders from Xuantian Sect were surprised and intrigued.
Zou Changlao, in particular, smiled with satisfaction, happily commenting, "Could it be that Lin Li has given us another pleasant surprise?"
Qinglian Celestial Maiden, who had already returned, also secretly paid special attention to the disciple mentioning Lin Li, though outwardly she remained composed.
Ever since her encounter with Lin Li, Qinglian Celestial Maiden had been paying close attention to him, but she kept her distance in public to prevent anyone from discovering their relationship.
As for Zou Changlao…
Where she once found him respectable, she now considered him rigid and tiresome.
"He was just too powerful!" The disciple's eyes filled with terror as he continued, "We thought we could ambush him, but instead, he didn't fear us at all and launched a counterattack. In just a few breaths, eight of us were dead! It was only after he said he would spare our lives if we handed over our life tokens that we survived."
"What?!"
"He killed eight of you in just a few breaths?!"
"How is that possible?"
"How could he be that strong?"
"Impossible! Has Xuantian Sect's sword faction produced a once-in-a-millennium genius?"
The four elders of Haoran Academy were shocked, their exclamations echoing in disbelief.
Meanwhile, a few elders from other sects couldn't resist mocking them, "It seems it's not that Xuantian Sect has an unparalleled genius, but that Haoran Academy's current generation is simply weak and useless!"
"Hahaha! Exactly! After all, everyone is at the peak of Qi Refining. No matter how talented someone is, it's impossible to kill eight people in mere moments. The problem must lie with Haoran Academy's incompetence!"
"You dare say that?!"
These words ignited the already furious elders of Haoran Academy, who had been grieving their disciples' deaths. They glared furiously at the two mocking elders.
At that moment, a figure covered in dried blood, with a sword strapped to his back, slowly emerged from the forest.
The trembling Haoran Academy disciple spotted the figure and instantly shuddered in terror, shouting, "It's him! That's him!"
At the same time, Zou Changlao, seeing Lin Li appear, couldn't contain his delight and rushed forward, laughing as he called out, "Hahaha! Lin Li, you never cease to amaze me! I wasn't expecting such a pleasant surprise!"
Qinglian Celestial Maiden's heart fluttered with joy, but she quickly turned her gaze elsewhere, pretending not to care, despite the affection she felt for Lin Li. Her behavior was starkly different from the others' focused attention on Lin Li, making it seem unusual.
However, no one noticed her strange behavior.
All eyes were on Lin Li, the one who had managed to kill eight disciples of Haoran Academy in mere moments.
"Outrageous!"
The four elders of Haoran Academy cursed and marched toward Lin Li, looking ready to seek justice.
Zou Changlao, noticing their intentions, immediately stepped in front of Lin Li, blocking the elders and clearly signaling his intent to protect Lin Li.
Qinglian Celestial Maiden, along with the other three elders from Xuantian Sect, also moved to ensure that the Haoran Academy elders had no chance to accuse Lin Li.
...
Seven days later.
Within Xuantian Sect, inside Lin Li's personal meditation chamber at his secluded immortal residence.
At the conclusion of the Seven Sect Trials, Lin Li revealed that he had collected over ten life tokens, making him the most prominent figure in the trial, leaving a lasting impression on all disciples and elders from the seven sects.
Thanks to the protection of Xuantian Sect's five elders, the four elders of Haoran Academy were unable to hold Lin Li accountable for anything.
After returning to Xuantian Sect, another grand sect-wide assembly was held.
In front of the entire sect, the sect master praised all ten disciples who participated in the trial for their efforts in securing first place, which would ensure that Xuantian Sect received the most cultivation resources from Zhao Nation for the coming year.
Generous rewards were given to the other nine disciples, but Lin Li received the most.
Lin Li was awarded twenty mid-grade spirit stones, nine large restorative pills, 108 small restorative pills, sparking envy throughout the entire sect.
But the most important reward was the long-coveted Foundation Establishment Pill, which Lin Li had dreamed of.
Now, back in his meditation chamber, Lin Li consumed the Foundation Establishment Pill and successfully broke through from the peak of Qi Refining to the first layer of Foundation Establishment!
After his breakthrough, the spiritual energy in Lin Li's dantian and meridians condensed and transformed into flowing spiritual liquid!
However, unlike other cultivators at the first layer of Foundation Establishment, whose spiritual liquid was like a small stream, Lin Li's spiritual liquid was like a raging river, thanks to his immense growth from suppressing the beast tide and slaying the flood dragon in Red Maple Valley.
But what brought the greatest joy to Ye Fan was not Lin Li's breakthrough to Foundation Establishment.
It was that…
To upgrade from a low-grade magical artifact to a mid-grade magical artifact, Ye Fan needed 200,000 evolution points.
Thanks to their experiences in Red Maple Valley, Lin Li now had 120,000 points, leaving only 80,000 more to reach the next evolution!
Additionally, Ye Fan's energy reserves had finally surpassed 10,000!
With Lin Li now at Foundation Establishment, they could begin hunting Foundation Establishment-level enemies and creatures, allowing Ye Fan to gather evolution points and energy much faster.
It was clear that Ye Fan's next evolution…
Was just around the corner!