With her current state, he didn't speak more, letting his words settled in her mind.
"Thank you," She whispered with understanding, waving her long sleeve to produce another hundred middle-grade spirit stone.
This pile of spirit stone shine reflected against the sunlight, brightening the dimly lit cave.
After taking out the spirit stone, she left in silence like a passing breeze.
The cave is now emptied except for Shi Jing lone figure. He didn't mind her departure as he stared at the pile of spirit stone before pulling them into his storage pouch.
"This inner court competition, It's better to skip and wait for the next one."
Originally, he wanted to participate to secure the first place prize — Foundation Establishment Pill.
However, the arrival of Ling Mei ominous warning changed his mind.
"It's better to be safe… I can take my time to thoroughly comprehend my sword intent and continue to accumulate."
Not to mention, with this new batch of spirit stone, Shi Jing was more confident in his preparation toward foundation establishment.
He calculated that by the time the next inner court competition arrived, he would accumulate enough essence to attempt a breakthrough.
By then, all that is needed is the foundation pill. Once he obtain this pill, he could attempt a breakthrough right away!
With that in mind, time continue to passes.
Lin Xue figure seemingly disappeared into the fog of winter. She hasn't visit again.
At the same time, two months had passed since the inner court competition concluded.
The Sword Cloud Manor buzzed with discussions about the new rising stars among the younger generation.
Shi Jing remained in seclusion on his mountain peak, completely oblivious to the storm of rumors swirling around his name in the outer court.
However, he had made great progress, touching the threshold of the Perfection Realm of the One Autumn Stroke!
Meanwhile, the competition had ended with surprising results.
Fang Zheng, who had benefited from Elder Chen's guidance after Shi Jing's prolonged absence, managed to break through to the Early Stage of Qi-Refinement just before the competition.
His performance in the preliminaries earned him a spot among the top thirty contestants, a remarkable achievement for someone who had joined the manor only months prior.
Zhao Gongzu, the pride of the Zhao family from Cangwu City, reached the middle stage of Qi-Refinement.
His family's resources and his natural talent allowed him to secure a position in the top ten, further cementing the Zhao family's standing with the Sword Cloud Manor.
Zhou Kang, with the support of Elder Wang has improved leaps and bound.
His cultivation had reached the peak of early Qi-Refinement, though his ranking in the competition was less impressive than Zhao Gongzu.
However, what truly send waves among the outer court was not their achievements, but rather the conspicuous absence of one person.
"Where is that Shi Jing?" disciples whispered in the dining halls and training grounds.
"Wasn't he supposed to be some kind of genius? Peak Body Tempering at thirteen?"
"Elder Chen had such high hopes for him, but he didn't even show up to compete!"
"I heard he's been hiding on his mountain peak for months. Maybe his talent were just exaggerated rumors!."
These discussions inevitably reached the ears of Fang Zheng, Zhao Gongzu, and Zhou Kang, creating an interesting dynamic among the three.
Fang Zheng, who had initially shown respect for Shi Jing, now felt a complex mixture of emotions.
Part of him was grateful that Shi Jing's absence had allowed him to shine, but another part felt disappointed in someone who gave him a positive first impression.
"Senior Brother Fang," a group of outer disciples approached him one evening as he finished his sword practice.
"What do you think happened to that Shi Jing? You brought him to the manor, didn't you?"
Fang Zheng paused his movements, wiping sweat from his brow.
"Junior Brother Jing... perhaps he had his reasons for not competing."
Fang Zheng now wore a different color robe with two cloud engravings.
"Reasons?" one disciple scoffed.
"What reason could there be other than cowardice?"
"That's right!" another chimed in.
"Senior Brother Fang, you've proven yourself through action."
While Fang Zheng accepted their praise with a modest smile, inwardly he couldn't shake the memory of Shi Jing's calm confidence during their first meeting.
Something about him felt peculiar.
Zhao Gongzu, on the other hand, was far less charitable in his assessment.
"A coward hiding on a mountain," he declared loudly during a gathering of disciples.
"I was curious to meet this so-called genius, but it seems he knew better than to embarrass himself in front of true talent."
His words carried the arrogance befitting his status as the Zhao family's young master, and many disciples nodded in agreement, eager to curry favor with someone of his background.
Zhou Kang was perhaps the least vocal of the three. After all, he didn't have any relation with Shi Jing yet, not this life cycle.
At the same time, the constant comparisons and speculations created an undercurrent of tension throughout the outer court.
Shi Jing had become a phantom figure, simultaneously famous and infamous, respected and ridiculed.
Elder Chen, meanwhile, was deeply troubled by his behavior.
He had visited the mountain peak on two more occasion, but each time found Shi Jing deep in cultivation, seemingly uninterested in the outside world.
"That boy," Chen Lian muttered to himself as he reviewed the competition results in his study.
"His talent should have guaranteed him a spot in the inner court by now. What is he thinking?"
The Elder's frustration was compounded by the fact that his own belief started to shake.
"Did I calculated it wrongly?"
"Perhaps your eye for talent isn't as sharp as you thought, Chen Lian," Elder Wang commented with a cold smile after the competition ended.
However, they were unaware of Shi Jing deep accumulation.
High above in the mountain, he was absorbed in cultivation. The rumors and gossips was like the drifting wind between heaven and earth.
Passing for one moment and dissipate at another.
The politics of the outer court were as distant to him as clouds to the earth below.
But a storm was certainly coming.
On this day, a month before the arrival of the second inner court competition, Shi Jing opened his eyes.
His voice was low as a whisper when he recalled the Ming estate.
"Senior Feng, it is time to fulfill your promise…"
[Ding! You have reached [Minor Mastery] of the Spring Mist Cloud Sword Art!]
[Ding! You have reached [Perfection comprehension] of the One Autumn Stroke!]
[Reward: One Cultivation Realm (Can Claim Later)]
[Ding! Congratulations on being the first to achieve Perfection Realm among all transmigrators!]
[Reward: Ghostly Concealment Cloak (Heaven-Grade Treasure)]