I, Thanks To My Unlimited Investment, Am Admired By All Races

Time passed.

Over a month later…

Li Xun sat cross-legged on the couch, slowly opening his eyes.

The moment his eyes opened, the heavens and earth seemed to tremble. His jade-like body radiated a dazzling brilliance, exuding an overwhelming and unparalleled aura.

“Indeed, the Purple Radiance Celestial Net Sutra is extraordinary!” Li Xun murmured to himself.

He stood up, glancing around the room, now filled with the scattered dust of blood essence stones.

In this past month:

Initially, he spent twenty days switching from the Purple Sun Heaven technique to the Purple Radiance Celestial Net Sutra. In the following ten days, he absorbed the spiritual energy from the blood essence stones.

In just over ten days, he consumed more than three thousand blood essence stones.

“Over three thousand blood essence stones have significantly enhanced my strength. I just wonder… how strong my physical body is now,” Li Xun pondered.

With a flip of his hand, he produced a longsword glimmering with a cold light. Without hesitation, he slashed it toward his other hand.

Clang!

The sound of metal striking metal echoed.

Li Xun raised his left hand and examined it. His palm bore only a faint white mark, which was rapidly fading.

“Such strength!” Li Xun exclaimed in amazement.

Just now, he hadn’t used any true essence or activated his Golden Body Technique. He had relied solely on his physical defenses to withstand the strike.

“Now, even if I stand still, I doubt that many of my peers could break through my defenses,” he muttered.

He hadn’t even exerted his full strength. Yet, even so, his defenses could rival the full-force attack of a weaker Profound Elixir Realm cultivator.

After all, he was naturally gifted with immense strength, had used Heavenly Heart Essence, and had fortified his body with blood essence stones.

“Strong defenses alone aren’t enough; recovery speed is crucial!”

Li Xun recalled the terrifying blood regeneration ability of Otherworldly Demons. Gritting his teeth, he increased the force in his hand and slashed his left hand again.

Crack!

Ssshhh!

A crisp sound rang out.

The low-grade magical treasure in his hand instantly snapped in two. Fortunately, at the last moment, the sword completed its task.

A two-inch-long wound appeared on his left hand.

But before any blood could flow, the wound healed rapidly, visible to the naked eye. Within three breaths, his left hand had returned to its original state.

Li Xun examined his palm, unable to find a single trace of the injury.

“At this point, I should have the ability to regenerate severed limbs, right?” Li Xun speculated.

He was tempted to test it but, after some thought, abandoned the idea.

If he truly could regenerate severed limbs, it would be a joyous discovery. But if he couldn’t, he’d have no one to blame but himself—and a missing arm would weaken his strength significantly.

“It’s time to practice the Great Yan Divine Technique,” he decided.

With a flick of his sleeve, a gust of wind swept through the room, clearing away the powdered blood essence stones. Then, he retrieved the Enlightenment Pill, preparing to cultivate the Great Yan Divine Technique.

Just as he was about to begin, a knock came from outside the courtyard.

“Junior Brother Han Feng requests an audience with Senior Brother Li Xun!”

“Han Feng?”

Li Xun thought for a moment. The name didn’t ring any bells. He put away the Enlightenment Pill and walked to the courtyard gate, opening it.

Outside, Han Feng, dressed in the robes of an inner disciple, bowed respectfully upon seeing Li Xun.

“Greetings, Senior Brother Li Xun!”

“No need for formalities,” Li Xun said calmly. “What brings you here today?”

“By the order of Elder Xie, I’ve come for two reasons,” Han Feng replied respectfully.

“First, to deliver the rewards for your recent demon-slaying mission. Second, to inform you that today is the day to register as a core disciple. Please don’t miss the opportunity.”

As he spoke, Han Feng handed over a storage ring.

“Thank you for making the trip,” Li Xun said with a smile, accepting the ring.

At the same time, Li Xun extended his spiritual sense into the storage ring. Inside, there wasn’t much—just a thousand Peak-Grade spirit stones and three bottles of pills.

As he expected, the bulk of the reward was the Earth-level middle grade cultivation technique. The current contents of the ring were more of a consolation prize.

“This is merely my duty as junior,” Han Feng said respectfully.

He glanced at Li Xun with admiration, thinking to himself that Senior Brother Li Xun was indeed as the rumors described—kind and approachable, without the slightest air of arrogance.

Over the past month, Li Xun had been entirely focused on cultivation, unaware that the entire Profound Sun Sect was now abuzz with excitement. The reason for the uproar was none other than himself.

After the incident with the Otherworldly Demon invasion a month ago, many inner disciples had become his loyal followers. Countless individuals now regarded him as a divine figure. Han Feng, standing before him, was no exception.

Though he hadn’t been a survivor of the inner sect trials, hearing the stories repeatedly had left a lasting impression, and eventually, he too became a devoted admirer.

“Senior Brother, are you planning to register for the core disciple assessment?” Han Feng asked tentatively.

Li Xun pondered for a moment before nodding. “I do have that in mind…”

Becoming a core disciple was quite different from becoming an inner disciple.

For the latter, one could attempt it at any time—break through to the Qi Condensation Realm, pass the examination at the Hall of Examinations, and one would become an inner disciple.

But becoming a core disciple was far more challenging. The assessment required competitive duels and was only held once a year. Miss it, and one would have to wait another year.

Moreover, regardless of the number of applicants, only the top three in each assessment could become core disciples.

It could be said that becoming a core disciple was the most competitive process within Profound Sun Sect.

Inner disciples were rarely expelled from the sect, so many chose to participate in the core disciple assessments only when they were confident in their strength. Typically, a late-stage Spirit Meridian Realm cultivator had a good chance of succeeding.

However, due to the intense competition, the standard for entry had risen over time—from the late-stage Spirit Meridian Realm to the Profound Elixir Realm.

Even reaching the Profound Elixir Realm didn’t guarantee success. Everything depended on the strength of the candidates each year. In some years, several Profound Elixir Realm inner disciples would compete, while in others, not a single one had broken through to the Profound Elixir Realm.

This year, as far as Li Xun knew, besides himself, there were several other Profound Elixir Realm inner disciples. He clearly remembered seeing two of them tied to stakes during the Otherworldly Demon invasion.

If nothing unexpected happened, those two would likely be his competitors this year.

Even so, Li Xun wasn’t worried. With his current mid-stage Profound Elixir Realm strength, no inner disciple should be able to outmatch him.

“Senior Brother, come with me. I’ll take you to the registration site,” Han Feng said eagerly, his eyes lighting up.

“I’ll trouble you to lead the way,” Li Xun replied with a faint smile.