"Sorry, senior, but if I had a master, I would prefer it be someone I am familiar with," Yuan shook his head. "That’s a simple fix. We can just get to know each other better!" The sect elder appeared noticeably eager, even a little desperate, to recruit Yuan as her disciple. This was because having a highly talented disciple would significantly enhance her reputation and status within the sect. A disciple’s achievements reflected directly on their master, and if Yuan were to accomplish something extraordinary for the sect, it could lead to promotions and increased prestige for the elder. For her, recruiting someone with Yuan’s potential was not just about guidance—it was an opportunity to elevate her own standing. "Thank you for the offer, senior, but for personal reasons, I won’t be accepting a master for now," Yuan refused. The sect elder sighed, clearly disappointed in his response. However, she wasn’t ready to give up a talented disciple like him and said, "I am Elder Jing. My offer remains, so if you ever change your mind in the future, you can find me." "Thank you, senior. I will definitely keep your offer in mind," Yuan responded politely. Despite saying that, Yuan had no intentions of accepting her as his master. In fact, he already had someone else in mind. Elder Jing left shortly after and returned to Elder Sun’s side to report her findings. "The rumors were true. This Outer Court disciple exists. I watched him slay Spirit Warrior magical beasts as if they were just ordinary animals. I have never seen anyone like him before. Not only that, he’s also very talented with the sword. His movements were swift and precise with zero waste. Hell, he might even be better than me in terms of basic sword understanding." Elder Jing praised Yuan endlessly, leaving Elder Sun speechless. "Such a talented disciple, I wonder if he’s already accepted a master." "He doesn’t have a master yet. Honestly, I tried to recruit him, but he refused," Elder Jing sighed. "Did he say why?" "He only said it was due to some personal reasons." "I see…" "Speaking of accepting a disciple, I’m surprised you didn’t try to recruit that brother-like disciple of yours," Elder Jing suddenly said. "It’s complicated," Elder Sun shook her head, refusing to elaborate further. Time continued to flow, and before Yuan realized it, a whole month had passed since his breakthrough to Spirit Warrior. He decided to take a break from the Hunting Grounds to check up on the others. Ji Ran had just achieved the fifth level of Spirit Apprentice, while Lan Yingying was on the verge of entering the third level. "Have you seen Meili, Yingzi, or the Zither Goddess?" Yuan asked Ji Ran and Lan Yingying. They both shook their heads. "Since they’re beasts like me, they might be a little slower, especially Yingzi, who only started cultivating recently," Lan Yingying said. "The Zither Goddess should be arriving soon, through." "I wouldn’t be too worried about them. Not even half of the 20,000 participants have made it to the Immortal Monastery," Ji Ran added. "Hopefully, they’re just a little slow and nothing happened to them," Yuan said. "By the way, Young Master, do you think the founder is also in this place?" Ji Ran suddenly asked. "It’s his trial, so it’s highly likely. Whether he’ll contact us or not is a different story." Experience new tales on freewebnovel "I hope he does. I would like to speak more with him," Ji Ran said. After his break ended, Yuan returned to his grind inside the Hunting Grounds. Before he left, he gave Ji Ran and Lan Yingying a few monster cores he’d collected throughout the month. As time passed, Yuan’s name continued to spread throughout the sect as a beast-slaying genius. Several sect elders besides Elder Jing approached him in hopes of recruiting him as their disciple, but Yuan refused all of them. Some were more persistent than others, and there was even one that subtly threatened him. In the case of being threatened, Yuan merely acted like he didn’t understand he was being threatened, which worked. In the blink of an eye, another two months passed, and Yuan finally collected enough points to purchase the next tier of treasure. At the point store, Yuan spent 750,000 points purchasing the Soul Refining Elixir, a powerful treasure that increased one’s soul strength and overall cultivation talents. After acquiring the treasure, Yuan immediately returned home to consume it, which took an entire day. Upon consuming the treasure, Yuan’s cultivation soared to the third level of Spirit Warrior, and he could now fully absorb a monster core in a little under two days. However, even after spending another two months absorbing all of the monster cores he’d collected, his cultivation only reached the fifth level of Spirit Warrior. It has been around a year since Yuan and the others began the trial. Yet, only a little over 10,000 participants have made it to the Immortal Monastery. While Yuan was in seclusion trying to absorb the monster cores, both Tan Songyun and Xi Meili made it to the Immortal Monastery. "Where’s your master?" Tan Songyun asked Lan Yingying when she arrived. "He’s in seclusion." "How far has he progressed?" "He was at the first level of Spirit Warrior right before entering seclusion." "He’s already reached Spirit Warrior?! How’s that possible?!" Tan Songyun exclaimed in a shocked voice. "You will have to ask him…" Lan Yingying shook her head. Xi Meili showed up at the Immortal Monastery a month after Tan Songyun. "How long have you been here?" Xi Meili asked. "About half a year." "That long?! How?! It was mostly with the Young Master’s help." "Yua—Xiao Yang? Where is he right now?" "Cultivating inside his room. He lives next door, by the way." After learning about Yuan’s living quarters, both Xi Meili and Tan Songyun decided to live nearby. "By the way, I heard a massacre had occurred in your group. Was that…?" Xi Meili asked. "Yes… this is what happened." Lan Yingying explained the situation, leaving her speechless.