Chapter 727

He had accumulated too many good things during this period.

If Alhaitham thought he only had this much, then he was in for a huge surprise when the time came.

Diluc did not reply, slipping into his cave dwelling and vanishing without a trace.

Alhaitham wiped the smile from his face, glanced at the small tower, and frowned slightly.

That move Diluc made just now...

... eally gave him a start.

That technique was truly earth-shattering; he had never seen Diluc use it before.

It seemed it was indeed prepared for the Seven Peaks Martial Arts Tournament.

In that case, everyone at Shushan had likely prepared quite a few trump cards for the tournament.

This was becoming troublesome...

Alhaitham sighed, finally understanding why everyone had been hiding away during this time.

They were truly trying to keep their trump cards hidden.

Alhaitham couldn't help but feel a sense of urgency.

After some deliberation, he chose not to return to his own cave dwelling.

He would take this opportunity to make a trip to the Scripture Pavilion.

He would select another genuine Heaven-tier cultivation technique from within.

Then, he would return to his cave to refine all the remaining spiritual artifacts and treasures.

For the once-in-a-century Seven Peaks Martial Arts Tournament, one naturally had to prepare as much as possible.

Otherwise, if he were underprepared, he would definitely be on the receiving end of a surprise from Diluc and the others.

Alhaitham didn't intend to fight for the top three, or even the top five.

After all, they had joined Shushan too late.

But...

The top ten...

... ight not be entirely out of reach.

If so, his opponents would be Diluc, Tartaglia, Rosalyne, and the others...

The pressure was quite significant; more importantly, they had all seen each other's trump cards back in the Nine Nether Secret Realm.

He still had to find a way to devise a new trump card, or even several.

However...

There was still over a month left, which was enough time.

Thinking of this, Alhaitham picked up his pace and arrived at the Scripture Pavilion before long.

He headed straight for the fourth floor, but the moment he stepped inside...

Alhaitham was dumbfounded at the sight.

Tighnari, who had just returned, along with Rosalyne, Arlecchino, Tartaglia, and others who had been at Shushan all along...

... ere packed into the fourth floor, filling the space completely.

527. The Sect Master emerges from seclusion, late-stage Void Refinement and Dao Integration.

There wasn't often much happening at Shushan; most of the time, everyone was engaged in dull and tedious seclusion.

Kiana and the others had gotten used to this life before long.

Anyway, without the harassment of the Honkai, seclusion was at least peaceful.

Kallen and Fu Hua had already been sent to Shushan Village, and with Yinger taking care of them, they had been living quietly during this time.

However, Shushan Village wasn't exactly idle, as the Shushan disciple recruitment ceremony after the Seven Peaks Martial Arts Tournament was also open to them.

This time, there was no limit on the number of people, so they were certainly going to seize this great opportunity.

Otherwise, if they missed this, who knew when the next recruitment ceremony would be.

Just like the once-in-a-century Seven Peaks Martial Arts Tournament; if one missed this one, they would have to wait another hundred years.

How many ordinary people lived to be a hundred?

Therefore, this Seven Peaks Martial Arts Tournament was also the grand event everyone was most focused on.

Besides this, the myriad spirits of Shushan had also received notice, and everyone was gearing up to join Shushan.

Only by becoming a Shushan disciple could one truly become one of their own in the Shushan world.

However, these matters were not worth the concern of the Shushan people.

During this time, everyone had chosen their own Heaven-tier cultivation techniques, many of which were particularly powerful yet obscure and difficult to understand.

They wanted to consult Jiang Yan, but unfortunately, he was also in seclusion.

They had no choice but to ponder them on their own for the time being.

Of course, having cultivated for so long, they should have their own insights and couldn't rely on Jiang Yan for everything.

Otherwise, what would they do once Jiang Yan ascended?

Therefore, after realizing this, everyone had been very interested in the various affairs and cultivation classics of the Shushan world.

For one, they could visit the Scripture Pavilion every week.

For another, blindly choosing techniques would only lead to being a jack-of-all-trades and master of none.

For a cultivator, such techniques were useless.

The Shushan disciples currently had at most seven or eight techniques each.

This was to ensure they could at least master the basics of all of them.

In short, Shushan had been quite quiet during this time.

Nothing major had happened, and it was even hard to see the core disciples.

They were either in seclusion or out honing their skills in the Shushan world.

Thus it continued, until two weeks before the Seven Peaks Martial Arts Tournament.

A force that shook the heavens and earth suddenly erupted from the Sect Hall atop Heaven-Piercing Peak.

But then, it vanished like a deflating balloon, returning to calm in the blink of an eye.

But all the Shushan disciples understood that Jiang Yan had finished his seclusion.

Many felt a surge of joy, especially Himeko and the others, who were already preparing to bring Fu Hua and the others for an introduction after a while.

As for now...

It was clearly a time for Jiang Yan to speak with Ganyu and the others; at such a juncture, no one was truly foolish enough to interrupt.

Inside the Sect Hall, Jiang Yan slowly opened his eyes, his aura now like that of an ordinary person.

One wouldn't even be able to find him in a crowd.

But now, his realm was incredibly stable.

The days of inadvertently hearing the disciples' inner thoughts would no longer happen.

He had gained complete control over his own power.

The moment he opened his eyes, he saw a pair of fiery red eyes staring at him with great anticipation.

Seeing him wake up, Klee cheered and dove into Jiang Yan's arms.

"Master! Master is awake! Klee missed Master so much!"

Jiang Yan's lips curled upward; seeing Klee the moment he opened his eyes was indeed a very happy thing.

He gently picked up Klee, checked her with his True Qi for a moment, and nodded with satisfaction.

"It seems Klee has been cultivating diligently during this time. If things continue like this, once you fully digest this divine fire, you will be able to break through to the mid-stage of Qi Refining and Spirit Manifestation."

After speaking, Jiang Yan turned his head to look beside him, where Ganyu and Yae Miko were also staring at him expectantly.

Jiang Yan reached out and pulled the two of them over, smiling:

"You've worked hard during this time."

"Not at all..."

Ganyu leaned quietly into Jiang Yan's arms, a wave of longing washing over her, making her eyes well up with tears.

"Jiang Yan, how is your realm now?"

Yae Miko asked curiously, and Jiang Yan shook his head with a smile.

"Just broken through, what else could it be? Still late-stage Void Refinement and Dao Integration."

"But it's not as unstable as it was right after the breakthrough."