Yun Ze followed Luo Yang, walking at the very back of the group.
Next, Sun Ming would lead the disciples to the Miscellaneous Hall to collect their disciple robes, and then they would be assigned their cave dwellings.
Luo Yang said a word to Sun Ming and then lagged far behind the main group. He wasn't too far away, but he had effectively detached himself from the main body.
As a top-tier disciple, he naturally deserved top-tier privileges.
Sun Ming did not stop the two. He even gave them an encouraging speech in front of all the disciples, saying that if they could also achieve top-tier status, they would receive the same treatment and enjoy preferential treatment within the bounds of the rules.
As for special-tier, he didn't mention it.
They had all witnessed the methods of that young woman, and it was unlikely they would be daydreaming at this point.
"You should know by now."
Luo Yang said to Yun Ze, "That woman is a monster. If you and I don't join forces, I'm afraid we'll never reach special-tier before Foundation Establishment!"
"Brother, it's not that I want to say this..."
Yun Ze gave a wry smile, "Even if the two of us join forces, do you think we have a chance?"
He pointed to the mountain demon at his waist.
"Look, a second-tier spiritual artifact is barely enough to use in front of her. Unless you can get a third-tier spiritual artifact, neither of us has a chance.
But can you?
If you could get a third-tier spiritual artifact, you probably wouldn't care about this special-tier position, would you?"
He said this, but Yun Ze had another idea in mind.
Honing the sword!
If Wei Lanshu's intention was truly to hone the sword, as the old woman had said, then he still had a chance!
What was the most important thing in honing a sword?
Honing!
If those below second-tier truly had no way to deal with Wei Lanshu, then the word 'honing' wouldn't exist, and Elder Mi wouldn't have proposed such an impossible wager!
Therefore, Yun Ze believed that within the Guiwu Sword Sect, there must be some other method that would allow him to defeat Wei Lanshu before Foundation Establishment!
As for what it was, he had no clue yet.
However, before he truly made a move, it was best to first lull the other party into a false sense of security, just like now.
He wanted Luo Yang to know that he had no intention of competing for supremacy, not to interfere with his actions of killing people, going undercover, and investigating in secret, and at the same time, to have him attract the girl's attention and act as that whetstone!
Cooperation?
No! I want to lie low!
This was a plan to kill four birds with one stone, and it depended on whether Luo Yang could see through it!
"A third-tier spiritual artifact..."
Luo Yang rolled his eyes, "If I had a third-tier spiritual artifact, why would I need to cooperate with you?"
"See, there's no way, right?"
Yun Ze spread his hands, "Then there's nothing I can do."
"But you just said you wanted to go up..."
"You want to go up and take a look, right?"
Yun Ze finished his unspoken words and then smiled, "I do want to go up, but not now, and not anytime soon!
My current idea is very simple: to maintain my top-tier position and cultivate well until Foundation Establishment, and then to Core Formation!
After reaching Core Formation, I'll see if I can surpass her."
"...Coward!"
Luo Yang frowned for a long time, and finally, only these two words came out. He then flicked his sleeve and left, "I don't believe she's truly that invincible!
There must be a way to defeat her on this solitary peak!"
"The Way of the Sword is by no means that simple!"
Yun Ze watched Luo Yang's retreating figure and nodded silently.
This guy seemed to have only courage, but his mind was still clear, and he hadn't truly given up. Coupled with his previous patience and observation, and then his timely attempt to win him over, it was clear he wasn't a fool.
It was just unknown how far he could go...
To challenge an existence that could instantly kill a Foundation Establishment cultivator with the cultivation of the Qi Refining stage, he could only wish him good luck.
Go ahead and be a whetstone!
When you're sufficiently honed, I'll make my move!
Yun Ze said no more, silently following at the back of the group, and touched the coolness on his neck.
The sensation of coolness that had just touched his neck was still there, like a piece of ice placed on it, refusing to melt.
He didn't know why this was happening, but he had a guess in his heart.
In fact, whether it was the sharpness of the ten thousand swords playing in unison, the sharpness that erupted when Sun Ming was furious, or the sharpness in Wei Lanshu's hand that could instantly kill a Foundation Establishment cultivator, they all belonged to the category of sword qi.
When this sword qi came into contact with him, it strangely disappeared!
Especially during the first time the ten thousand swords played in unison!
Yun Ze clearly felt the spatial ring in his embrace stir!
Currently, in the spatial ring, besides seventeen thousand spirit stones, there were only a few bottles of Qi Casting Pills, Lan Feng, Bu Bu's letter, and... two immortal jades!
Spirit stones, Qi Casting Pills, and even Lan Feng didn't seem like things that would react strangely with sword qi, let alone the letter.
Although Yun Ze hadn't had time to read it, he knew it was written on ordinary paper.
The only strange thing was the two immortal jades!
One of them could control water, so it was probably not that one. It was most likely the other immortal jade!
Yun Ze now only wanted to find a safe place quickly to take out and examine Bu Bu's letter and the immortal jades.
However, unfortunately, that was definitely not possible today.
Sun Ming led everyone to the Miscellaneous Hall. After the ninety-eight people collected their outer disciple robes of the four grades—top, upper, middle, and lower—they also distributed the month's benefits.
The number of spirit stones in Yun Ze's small treasury increased by five hundred. He also received a token that allowed him to enter the Scripture Hall. The token was engraved with Yun Ze's name.
Regardless of whether it was Yun Ze or not, anyone who entered the Scripture Hall with this token could borrow three Yellow-grade low-tier cultivation techniques each month.
By the time all this was done, it was already afternoon.
Sun Ming then led everyone to the Refectory. Outer disciples, before reaching Foundation Establishment, needed to consume external sustenance to replenish their strength. This was where food was provided.
There were ordinary dishes for mortals, and also immortal delicacies specifically for cultivators to replenish their strength and spiritual energy.
The former was provided for free, with three dishes and one soup per meal, but the latter required spirit stones to purchase.
After that, it was the Mission Hall.
This was where outer sect missions were posted. Outer disciples could accept missions according to the mission requirements. After completing a mission, they would receive some rewards. They could also pay spirit stones to post missions.
Further up were the Pill Hall and the Artifact Refining Hall, as well as the cultivation rooms.
The Pill Hall was naturally for buying and selling pills, and it also allowed disciples with alchemy aptitude to learn alchemy here. The Artifact Refining Hall was similar, but for artifact refining.
The cultivation rooms were places for disciples to cultivate.
This place was different from other parts of Solitary Mountain. The spiritual energy concentration was almost equivalent to the location about a thousand meters up the solitary peak. For most disciples, it was easier to cultivate here than in their own cave dwellings.
However, cultivating here for one day cost ten spirit stones!
The price was extremely high!
Disciples only rented cultivation rooms when they were on the verge of a breakthrough or when they were about to reach Foundation Establishment.
In addition to these, there was the Scripture Hall.
The Scripture Hall was built at seven hundred meters, and it was the tallest building in the outer sect, excluding some special cave dwellings.
It contained all the Yellow-grade cultivation techniques collected by the Guiwu Sword Sect over a thousand years!
There were low, middle, and high-grade techniques!
The Scripture Hall had four floors. The first three floors naturally stored cultivation techniques of different grades, while the fourth floor stored the historical records of the Guiwu Sword Sect. Few people looked at it, and not many people were qualified to look at it.
After Sun Ming brought the group here, he didn't climb any higher. After a brief explanation, he let the disciples find their own cave dwellings.
They were to search according to their grades!
Yun Ze knew he couldn't escape, so he took the initiative to find Chen Xiao and asked him to lead him to his cave dwelling.
Chen Xiao readily agreed and, laughing, led him towards the cave dwellings around the four hundred-meter mark.
The two of them arrived outside what Chen Xiao called his cave dwelling. It was called a cave dwelling, but it was actually just two simple wooden houses.
A fence was used to enclose a courtyard, and a phoenix tree was planted in the courtyard. Beneath the phoenix tree was a stone table.
It looked simple but had a certain charm.
Yun Ze walked into the small courtyard. Just as he was about to ask which room was his, he felt a cool sensation on his neck!
He looked down. This time, it wasn't two fingers, but...
A sword!