The third floor of the Smoke Cloud Pavilion.

Xu Qingxuan had brought Fang Yun here.

The fourth floor was reserved for Core Formation Level figures of the sect to dine. Even as the Management Elder of Smoke Cloud Peak, Xu Qingxuan couldn’t take a seat on the fourth floor.

"Is Huang Mengzhu working as a Spirit Chef in the pavilion today?"

After ordering the Spiritual Food, Xu Qingxuan asked the Inner Sect female disciple who came to serve them.

"To answer the Elder, Junior Sister Huang is here today."

"Have her come up."

"Yes."

As the Inner Sect female disciple left, she glanced at Fang Yun.

A short while later.

The private room’s wooden door was slid open again, and the person who entered was Huang Mengzhu.

"Greetings, Elder Xu!" Huang Mengzhu greeted Elder Xu Qingxuan first upon entering.

She naturally saw the seated Fang Yun. Her gaze went to him the moment she entered, only then turning to Xu Qingxuan.

The Inner Sect disciple had told her just now that her Brother Fang Yun was with Elder Xu.

With Fang Yun’s current reputation within the sect, it was mainly Outer Sect disciples between the ages of ten and thirteen who hadn’t heard of him. Very few of the other Outer and Inner Sect disciples were unaware of who he was.

The disciples working at the Smoke Cloud Pavilion were mostly aware of the relationship between Fang Yun and Huang Mengzhu.

"Mm, go ahead and sit."

"Thank you, Elder."

Huang Mengzhu quickly sat down next to Fang Yun.

Although she knew Brother Fang Yun was in the private room with Elder Xu, she had no idea why he was here.

With Elder Xu present, she didn’t dare ask Brother Fang Yun anything at this moment.

’I can find out later. For now, I’ll just sit here obediently.’

"If you have any questions about the path of a Spirit Chef, you can ask me now," Xu Qingxuan said to Huang Mengzhu with a small smile.

’An Outer Sect Disciple like me is getting the chance to ask a Management Elder for guidance.’

Huang Mengzhu knew this was her chance, but she still glanced at Fang Yun.

After seeing Fang Yun nod, she began to ask questions about the path of a Spirit Chef. Most of these problems were ones she had encountered while cooking Spiritual Food.

Asking questions was also a small test from Xu Qingxuan for Huang Mengzhu.

Whether the questions were meaningful and whether they were crucial could reveal a person’s talent and comprehension of the Spirit Chef path.

Once the Spiritual Food arrived, they continued their discussion while eating.

By the end of the questions, Xu Qingxuan nodded lightly. In her opinion, for Huang Mengzhu, who was still an Outer Sect Disciple, to be able to ask such questions was already quite good.

Afterward, when Fang Yun and Xu Qingxuan started chatting, Huang Mengzhu seemed to be focused on eating, but she was actually listening intently to their conversation.

From the content of their conversation, she roughly understood why her Brother Fang Yun was dining with Elder Xu and why the Elder was treating him.

It turned out that Brother Fang Yun had completed a mission issued by Elder Xu, killing many Demons in the territory of the Celestial Demon Sect. After understanding this, she felt no need to ask her Brother Fang Yun about it later.

The bill for the table of Spiritual Food was put on Xu Qingxuan’s account before she left. She had only sampled each dish without eating much.

Now, only Fang Yun and Huang Mengzhu were left in the private room.

"Senior Brother Xu is probably going to get an earful. Even I can tell this Golden Snake Emerging from the Sea is very average," Huang Mengzhu said, pointing to a Spiritual Food dish in the center.

"This Senior Brother Xu you speak of, this must be his first time preparing Spiritual Food for Elder Xu."

"Yes, Brother Fang Yun. When Elders come to the Smoke Cloud Pavilion, they rarely order so many Tier One Spiritual Foods."

As she spoke, Huang Mengzhu glanced at the Spiritual Food on the table. Even if she hadn’t known why Brother Fang Yun was here before, she knew now that Elder Xu Qingxuan must have ordered these dishes for him.

The two chatted leisurely.

Thanks to Fang Yun, Huang Mengzhu managed to sneak a break from her busy schedule today.

Less than an hour later, Fang Yun bade farewell to Huang Mengzhu, left the Smoke Cloud Pavilion, and headed for the Main Peak’s Evil Extermination Hall.

"Fang Yun."

Just as he stepped into the Evil Extermination Hall, Fang Yun heard a Steward call his name.

After walking closer, he heard the Steward ask.

"Regarding the Magical Artifact that targets Demons, can you give me a little hint? When might you be Refining one to sell in the Artifact Pavilion?"

"Let me think... in five days, I might Refine one," Fang Yun replied.

He knew that among the Stewards who went out on missions, the Evil Extermination Hall had the most. The Inner Sect Disciples of Elder Wuwang, who despised the Evil Demons and Crooked Paths, would almost all volunteer to join the Evil Extermination Hall after becoming Stewards.

A Steward might be here today and gone on a mission two days later.

Fang Yun had heard that the task Stewards of the Evil Extermination Hall wanted to do the least was stay in the hall and handle records.

"Thank you for letting me know," the Steward said gratefully.

At that very moment, the Steward had already decided. In five days, he would wait at the Artifact Pavilion. No matter what style of Upper Grade Magical Artifact for targeting Demons Fang Yun refined, he would buy it on the spot.

"Steward, these are the Demons I killed. Please count them."

He had killed quite a few Demons, so Fang Yun directly placed the Storage Pouch specifically for holding their heads onto the desk. After completing Elder Xu Qingxuan’s mission, he had also put the head of the Demon Gu Family’s Gu Feihu inside.

"A Storage Pouch..."

It was the first time the Steward had seen a disciple hand over a Storage Pouch directly.

It seemed to contain quite a few Demon heads. ’Considering Fang Yun’s strength and the Magical Artifacts he refines, it’s only normal for him to kill a lot of Demons on a mission.’

This was what the Steward was thinking, but when he opened the Storage Pouch, he was still stunned.

The number of Demon heads in the Storage Pouch was far greater than he had imagined, and he had already been imagining a high number.

"...Fang Yun, did you wipe out a Demon Influence?"

Fang Yun nodded, then said, "There are no Celestial Demon Sect Demons inside."

Killing a Celestial Demon Sect Demon awarded more Contribution Points, but it also required handing over an Identity Token to prove their status.

The Steward was incredibly impressed. To be able to wipe out a small Demon Influence, it no longer mattered whether he had killed any Celestial Demon Sect Demons. His praise for Fang Yun was ultimately condensed into a single word.

"Impressive!" Then he began to take count. "Let’s see, among these Demons... one at the Qi Refining Tenth Layer is one hundred Contribution Points, two at the Qi Refining Ninth Layer are one hundred forty Contribution Points, two at the Qi Refining Eighth Layer are one hundred ten Contribution Points..."

Fang Yun had already calculated the totals from the Gu Family Demons he’d killed.

One at the Peak of Qi Refining, seven in the late-stage of Qi Refining, nineteen in the mid-stage, and twenty-six in the early-stage.

Among those in the early-stage of Qi Refining, the majority were at the Qi Refining Third Layer.

For Demons below the mid-stage of Qi Refining that weren’t from the Celestial Demon Sect, each one was worth five Contribution Points, with no difference between the Qi Refining First Layer or Third Layer.

"...A total of nine hundred fifteen Contribution Points."

While the Steward began to register the points, Fang Yun took out his Identity Token.

The main source of the Contribution Points came from Demons at the late-stage of Qi Refining and above. Among mid-stage Demons not from the Celestial Demon Sect, a Qi Refining Sixth Layer kill provided twenty-five points, a Qi Refining Fifth Layer kill provided fifteen, and a Qi Refining Fourth Layer kill provided ten.

With the Contribution Points secured, Fang Yun left.

’I must report this to Elder Wei first.’ The Steward watched Fang Yun’s departing figure, and after averting his gaze, he began to file his report.

Back in his residence, Fang Yun looked at the pile of Storage Pouches on his desk.

After returning to the sect, he had already made a trip back to the Inner Sect A Zone to drop off the Demons’ Storage Pouches at his home.

He would deal with all these Storage Pouches at once later at the Artifact Casting Peak.

For now, he needed to properly digest and absorb the Spiritual Food to raise his Cultivation.

...

「Artifact Casting Peak.」

Inside the Management Elder’s cave residence.

"Elder Wei, did your Spiritual Artifact break again?" Xiong Xingfeng was a bit puzzled when he saw his visitor. "I don’t recall you having any recent missions."

Even more puzzled than Xiong Xingfeng, the tall, middle-aged Wei Tiexin with a square jaw looked at Xiong Xingfeng in confusion.

"Elder Xiong, you really don’t know why I’ve come to see you?"

"How would I know if you don’t tell me," Xiong Xingfeng said, looking at Wei Tiexin impatiently. "Spit it out. If it’s nothing important, be quick about it. Don’t disturb me here."

"It seems you truly don’t know."

In contrast to Xiong Xingfeng’s impatient expression, Wei Tiexin’s face was all smiles.

"Don’t know what?"

"Your good apprentice, Fang Yun, went alone into the territory of the Celestial Demon Sect and annihilated the Demon Gu Family, a Qi Refining Influence. According to the information I’ve found, the Demon Gu Family was one of the stronger Qi Refining Influences managed by the Stone Demon Sect."

"Oh, it was just about that little matter." Xiong Xingfeng reacted quickly, the impatient look on his face vanishing.

"Oh, so you knew."

"Of course I’m aware of my own apprentice’s affairs."

In truth, Xiong Xingfeng did not know about this. Fang Yun hadn’t told him he was going to the Celestial Demon Sect’s territory to do this.

’If Fang Yun had told me about this before he acted, I definitely would have stopped him,’ Xiong Xingfeng thought to himself impassively. ’Wiping out a Qi Refining Influence is too dangerous. If he had gotten trapped, the consequences would have been unimaginable.’

Wei Tiexin studied Xiong Xingfeng carefully, then finally chuckled. "Elder Xiong, I truly envy you for taking on such a fine disciple. To accomplish such a feat during the Qi Refining Stage... it has only happened three times in the history of our Celestial Cloud Sect."

"Those Demon Qi Refining Influences that the three seniors wiped out during their Qi Refining Stage weren’t as formidable as this Demon Gu Family, were they?" Xiong Xingfeng said casually, making it seem as if he, the master, knew his apprentice’s deeds very well.

"Of course not."

"And those three seniors didn’t have the Upper Grade Magical Artifacts my apprentice refines."

"HAHAHA, that’s true, that’s true."

Because they were talking about Fang Yun, the conversation between Xiong Xingfeng and Wei Tiexin was, on the whole, very pleasant.

After Wei Tiexin left.

Xiong Xingfeng wondered if he should go find Fang Yun.

’As long as Fang Yun returned safely, that’s what matters. I’ll just give him a reminder later. There’s no need to be particularly harsh about it,’ he ultimately thought.

This achievement of Fang Yun’s was enough to be recorded in the annals of history, and as his master, Xiong Xingfeng felt proud.

...

「Late April, at night.」

After refining and absorbing an Upper Grade Qi Enhancement Pill, Fang Yun glanced at the moonlight outside, then began to leaf through a book.

An hour later, it was the beginning of May.

Fang Yun opened the light screen.

——

Killed Qi Refining First Layer Demon x5, Talent Points +500

Killed Qi Refining Second Layer Demon x7, Talent Points +1400

Killed Qi Refining Third Layer Demon x14, Talent Points +4200

...

Sect Influence: 40%

Talent Point Bonus: 240%

Settlement: Talent Points +146,309

——

Fang Yun scanned it from top to bottom.

He now understood the pattern for gaining Talent Points from killing Qi Refining Stage Demons. A Qi Refining First Layer kill was worth one hundred Talent Points, and each subsequent layer in the early-stage added another hundred points.

The Qi Refining Fourth Layer, in the mid-stage, was worth five hundred Talent Points, with each subsequent layer adding another two hundred.

Each layer in the late-stage added four hundred Talent Points, and the Peak level added a direct seven hundred points, which is why the Peak level is worth two thousand eight hundred Talent Points.

Of the three Sunset Tigers he had killed, the strongest was at the Qi Refining Ninth Layer, while the other two were at the Qi Refining Seventh Layer and Sixth Layer.

Without any bonuses, Fang Yun calculated that he had earned a full thirty-eight thousand Combat Talent Points last month.

’If I had also gone to the Supreme Profound Mountain Range in April, the settled Talent Points would have been even higher.’

The increase in his Sect Influence from 39% to 40% had occurred on the third day after he returned to the sect.

Fang Yun guessed the increase was due to some Elders learning of his deeds.

He had expected last month’s settled Talent Points to exceed one hundred thousand. Feeling pleased, he opened the Combat Talent interface.

One hundred forty-six draws.

With a thought from Fang Yun, his remaining Talent Points dropped to 693.

Sword Type Talent Fragment x49

Shield Talent Fragment x51

Shoe Talent Fragment x46

At the beginning of March and April, Fang Yun had drawn Combat Talents a total of fifty-two times.

The Combat Talent interface now showed the following changes:

[Artifact] Shield Talent ★★★ (93/120)

[Artifact] Sword Type Talent ★★★ (86/120)

[Artifact] Shoe Talent ★★★ (84/120)

After glancing at the changes to his Combat Talents, Fang Yun closed the light screen.

His Shield Talent, the closest to becoming a four-star Combat Talent, was only twenty-seven fragments away from upgrading.

Fang Yun calculated in his mind.

’If I make one or two more trips to the Supreme Profound Mountain Range in the next two months, I should have a chance to upgrade a Combat Talent to four stars on the first day of the second half of the year.’