Since yesterday, Ian Song had moved to the summit of Jade Maiden Peak. The Jade Maiden Sect had arranged for him to live in a private courtyard here, and the furnishings and amenities in his new rooms far surpassed those of the little wooden hut where he used to stay.
Normally, a courtyard like this would be shared by three third-generation disciples. But since he was the only male disciple in the entire Jade Maiden Sect, he got to occupy one all by himself. Besides, with Senior Azure taking a particular interest in him, having a private courtyard was hardly a big deal!
What Ian Song enjoyed most was having a bunch of young women as his neighbors on either side.
The Jade Maiden Sect didn’t just recruit female disciples, but they definitely preferred those who were good-looking. Plus, with cultivators’ true essence nourishing their bodies, it was nearly impossible to find anyone in the sect who looked plain.
Honestly, you could pull any third-generation disciple out and drop her into a regular high school in the main world—she’d instantly be the most popular girl in class.
Living surrounded by so many pretty girls, even though Ian had seen all kinds of beauties in several worlds, he couldn’t help but feel pretty good. For a moment, he was actually grateful to the system for assigning him the Jade Maiden Sect entry mission.
"Alright! The hype has built up enough—it's about time for Second Fool—no, for Skyler Ling—to have another breakthrough in cultivation!" Ian thought to himself.
Meanwhile, in the sect master’s courtyard, the Jade Maiden Sect was holding another high-level meeting, and this time the topic was Second Fool.
"Second Fool has outstanding cultivation talent and a Spirit-Link Body. Now even Senior Azure values him, so I propose that we designate Second Fool as a seed disciple and give him priority training!"
Lana Snow declared loudly. The Jade Maiden Sect wasn’t some huge powerhouse, so its cultivation resources were limited. That’s why they always picked a few outstanding disciples for special training, and these were called seed disciples.
Currently, among the third-generation disciples, the seed disciples are Lena Ling and Lacey Ling.
Lena Ling's cultivation had already reached the early stage of Foundation Establishment, making her as strong as most second-generation disciples. Lacey Ling was a bit behind, at the tenth layer of Qi Refining, but with her talent she was expected to break through to Foundation Establishment within a year.
No one objected to Lana Snow’s proposal—not the seven second-generation elders, including Yara Snow, nor the six Golden Core seniors led by Abbess Yvonne.
So it passed unanimously.
Lana Snow continued, "Since everyone agrees to make Second Fool a seed disciple, our first priority is his cultivation technique. No matter what, we need to find him a Golden Core-grade manual!"
"Owning a Golden Core-grade manual means you’re qualified to start your own sect—it won’t be easy to get one. Even if someone is willing to sell, the price will be sky-high!" Yara Snow said worriedly.
"Leave this matter to us, Honored Elders—the six of us will pool our spirit crystals to buy the manual together!" Abbess Yvonne said with a smile.
"Hello, Junior Brother Skyler Ling. I'm Yuni Ling."
"Thank you, Honored Elders and Senior Masters!"
Lana Snow said happily. Even the cheapest Golden Core-grade manual cost tens of thousands of low-grade spirit crystals, and that was for a basic one—the higher-tier manuals went for over a hundred thousand.
As sect master, Lana Snow naturally knew the Jade Maiden Sect’s finances inside out. Even if they scraped together everything, they could only afford a basic low-tier manual.
Now that Abbess Yvonne and the other five were willing to cover the cost, it was the best possible outcome.
"By the way, I have a suggestion too!" Elder Shayne Snow spoke up.
"Please go ahead!"
Shayne Snow said, "Leah Ling and her three friends are quite promising too. We could make them seed disciples as well!"
Lana Snow nodded thoughtfully. "That's worth considering, but we'll need to hold off for now. Our sect’s resources are limited, and raising five seed disciples at once is beyond our means!"
Everyone agreed—there was no way the Jade Maiden Sect could support five seed disciples at the same time.
That very day, news of Second Fool’s promotion to seed disciple spread throughout the Jade Maiden Sect.
When Lena Ling heard the news, she couldn’t help laughing and scolding, "That silly kid really has all the luck!"
The other seed disciple, Lacey Ling, frowned and sneered, "How does an errand boy deserve to be ranked as a seed disciple alongside me?"
Within the Jade Maiden Sect, Lacey Ling had always lagged behind Lena Ling, her fellow seed disciple. She’d been eager to surpass her, but recent events had only boosted Lena Ling’s reputation, while Lacey herself was gradually fading into obscurity—almost forgotten as a seed disciple.
It was bad enough that Lena Ling always overshadowed her—now even an errand boy had risen to the same status. How could she possibly accept that?
Thinking this, a wave of resentment welled up in her heart. "If I get the chance, I’ll definitely teach that country bumpkin a lesson!"
Ian Song heard the news and simply smiled, not taking it to heart.
Knock knock!
It was the three third-generation disciples from next door coming to pay a visit.
"Hello, Junior Brother Skyler Ling. I'm Rena Ling."
"Hello, Junior Brother Skyler Ling. I'm Yuni Ling."
"Hello, Junior Brother Skyler Ling. I'm Roxy Ling."
"Hello, Senior Sisters." Ian Song replied with a smile. All three were quite young, sixteen or seventeen, and their cultivation was at the fifth or sixth layer of Qi Refining.
"Congratulations, Junior Brother Skyler Ling! I heard you’ve been made a seed disciple," Rena Ling said, her face full of envy.
"Just lucky, that’s all," Ian Song replied modestly.
The three girls were hardly schemers—their admiration for Ian Song was written all over their faces. They chatted with him for nearly half an hour before leaving together.
Not long after they left, another trio of neighbors arrived—mostly for the same reasons: to congratulate Ian Song on becoming a seed disciple and to get on his good side.
After all, by tradition, seed disciples are destined for high positions—even if they don’t become sect master, they’re almost guaranteed an elder’s seat.
Since Ian Song was a male disciple, he probably couldn’t become sect master, but he could still be an elder. Why not make friends with a future elder?
For quite a while afterward, third-generation disciples kept coming to visit Ian Song.
They were surprisingly coordinated—one group would leave, and only then would the next group arrive.
By evening, the visits finally stopped.
Rubbing his cheeks, which were sore from so much smiling, Ian Song started cultivating again—and before he knew it, he’d broken through to the third layer of Qi Refining.
The next day, when Lena Ling saw him, her mouth dropped open. He’d broken through again—already!
Seeing her reaction, Ian Song thought to himself, "If I didn’t mind shocking everyone, I could go straight past Qi Refining—Golden Core, even Nascent Soul, would be a breeze!"
Five days passed in a flash, and Abbess Yvonne finally returned to the Jade Maiden Sect.
As soon as she arrived, she headed straight for Ian Song’s courtyard.
When she saw that Ian Song had already reached the third layer of Qi Refining, she was a little shocked. Then she handed him a jade slip—the six elders had pooled together 120,000 low-grade spirit crystals to buy this cultivation manual. If mastered, it could take one to the mid-stage of Golden Core.
After becoming an official disciple of the Jade Maiden Sect, Ian Song learned just how expensive a Golden Core manual was, and what it cost the sect to buy one. So when he received it, even knowing Abbess Yvonne and the others had their own motives, he was still deeply moved.
He bowed solemnly to Abbess Yvonne. "Honored Elder, rest assured—I won’t let you down!"