After Fang Lang requested the name list from Xiao Lingjian, he did not return to the Light Pavilion.

He had finally attained the third-class sword wave realm after days of cultivation. He exhausted the System's cultivation resources and needed to wait for Xiao Jianling to deliver his end of the bargain.

He heard Old Jiang had started to challenge the other Light Pavilion disciples again. Old Jiang's cultivation also increased by a grade to the second-grade sword world realm. Her ranking in the pavilion had been ascending.

She experienced her first failure when she lost to a senior in the fourth-grade sword wave realm.

Jiang Linglong retreated to cultivate for days.

Fang Lang wore a bamboo hat to block the blizzard as he braved through the thick snow to reach the Swordcraft Pavilion. It was a pavilion independent from the other four. The setting was like a painting in the snow.

When Fang Lang entered the pavilion, he saw Liu Bubai wielding a broadsword. He was wearing a thin robe as he waved the sword in the open space. He was sweating profusely even in the cold weather.

Liu Bubai seemed to have found his path in cultivation. He abandoned the glamorous fine sword and chose this clunky broadsword.

Liu Bubai excitedly dragged Fang Lang to practice with him.

Fang Lang did not refuse his offer. He practiced briefly and activated a Physical Buff Card.

He felt the change in Liu Bubai. The boy had gotten tougher!

In simple terms, Liu Bubai's endurance had improved. Did Liu Bubai unlock a mysterious ability after being beaten by Liu Longlong in the last group battle?

Liu Bubai proceeded to practice his broadsword while Fang Lang went further into the pavilion.

The inside of the pavilion had a warm and tranquil ambiance, filled with the smell of sandalwood.

Ni Wen and Xue Ying were discussing the theoretical combination of swordcraft and sword mastery.

Both of them were debating fiercely. Even with Ni Wen's timid personality, she refused to back down from the argument and stood firm by her reasons.

Fang Lang briefly looked through their research out of curiosity.

'The foundation of swordcraft is based on the rank of blade energies. By merging spell mastery into sword mastery, the blade energy would be used to draw spells to equip swordcraft with the effects of runes and the attack power of swords!'

Fang Lang was inspired and switched into Quadruple Binding Modethe thoughts in his mind became clearer.

"Brother Fang, what do you think about this? This girl here is too stubborn." Xue Ying smiled gently when she saw Fang Lang.

Ni Wen looked a little anxious. She hoped Fang Lang would support her point of view.

Fang Lang gave it a thought before saying, "For cultivation in the sword wave realm, the human body has three hundred and sixty orifices. The swordcraft uses spells and runes but the sword is an indispensable component. Therefore, do you think we can enhance the power of the sword by mimicking the positions of the orifices as rune nodes and store the runes in them like how the body stores the wave energy?"

Ni Wen and Xue Ying fell into deep thought. Fang Lang's words opened a new door to their research.

'Ding! Host and binding partner, Ni Wen completed a modest interaction regarding cultivation. Passive ability triggered, you are awarded Grade-Rush Card Fragment.'

The System notified him of the reward.

Fang Lang had gotten used to benefiting from Ni Wen as his binding partner. He continued to discuss with Ni Wen and Xue Ying, sharing his knowledge on the minor forbidden spells. Xue Ying was very impressed by the grand championhis thoughts were genius!

Why did he choose the Light Pavilion? He should be here in the Swordcraft Pavilion doing research!

The three of them had a vigorous discussion over swordcraft. Liu Bubai came in once to listen to their thoughts but quickly realized he could not understand what they were talking about. He left to practice the broadsword.

The sword was a man's most loyal companion.

In the Imperial City, Changan.

The snow was falling heavily, covering the streets of Changan with a thick layer of snow. The armored guards and the local court guards were shoveling snow to clear a path.

The snow was a sign of a prosperous year.

The streets of Changan were filled with celebration and joy.

At the very end of Vermilion Street, beyond the Vermilion Bird Gate, the White Jade Square was blanketed in pure white snow. A neatly dressed Tang Dynasty official alighted from the carriage at the Vermilion Bird Gate and crossed the White Jade Square, leaving footprints on the path like blooming black lotuses in the snowy plains.

He walked up to the White Jade Court and stepped over the doorsill of the Taiji Palace. The other officials continued to enter the palace as they chatted away happily.

The routine morning assembly of the Tang Dynasty was in progress.

Hundreds of officials stood on both sides. The assembly was led by the first prince and the third prince.

After being grounded, the third prince had mellowed. His body was slightly stooped, unlike his usual arrogant posture.

The Emperor emerged from the back of the court with Old Man Gao by his side.

The court officials reported their business as usual whereas the imperial censors rebutted on trivial matters.

After a while, the Minister of Revenue and Minister of Rites stepped forward and bowed. "Your Majesty, the foreign elites has joined the sects as ordered. Although there were some hiccups and conflicts along the way reported from each sect, the general reception was rather harmonious."

The Emperor was sitting on the mighty thronehis face remained hidden.

The Minister of Rites bowed again. "Your Majesty, your birthday is in two weeks. I've already ordered the preparation for the ceremony. All the officials from the Tang Dynasty would be coming to pay their respects and honor your royal presence."

The other officials around them bowed. "All Hail His Majesty, the Emperor!"

The Emperor raised his hand, then lowered it. His brooding eyes seemed to pierce through the dimensions.

The Taiji Palace fell silent.

After a long pause, the Emperor said with his majestic voice, "It's been two weeks since the Imperial Examination. The academy students have chosen their sects. By now, they must've received a practice method. They should be improving significantly. Therefore, I've decided to move the Qianlong Resource Battle forward, on the day of the birthday celebration. That'll save the sect leaders and their disciples an extra trip."

The officials in the Taiji Palace were shocked by the Emperor's words.

The first prince and the third prince widened their eyes in disbelief.

Even the drowsy Lu Taixuan opened his eyes.

What was the Emperor planning to do?!

The birthday celebration and the Qianlong Resource Battle to happen concurrently?

This year's Qianlong Resource Battle held much more significance than the previous ones.

What was the Emperor hinting at?

The Emperor was not bothered by the reactions from the officials. He continued to give orders regarding the preparation protocols.

The Minister of Rites and Minister of Revenue bowed and answered.

The morning assembly dissolved after the unexpected announcement.

There was a storm brewing in Changan.

In the Sword Guild on Mount Shu, the snowfall was heavier due to the higher altitude.

In the 800th courtyard in the Light Pavilion, the calming rune was not activated.

Fang Lang was practicing sword fighting in the courtyard with the Blooming Lotus Sword and the Obsidian Sword. As he wielded both swords, the blade energy stirred up the snowflakes and whirled around Fang Lang continuously.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye. Fang Lang was stabilizing his cultivation in the sword wave realm. Since he had exhausted his cultivation resources, Fang Lang had to rely on the energy-gathering rune to cultivate.

Fang Lang deeply understood the importance of cultivation resources. Without the spirit crystals, he could not absorb spiritual energy willy nilly. He could feel his cultivation progress slow down.

He retrieved the rewards he received from being the champion. The Blade Energy Accumulation Herb was still untouched. He used the Bone Lubricant for a bath and the effects were similar to a Physical Buff Card. Fang Lang's martial arts cultivation reached a bottleneck with the help of the Bone Lubricant. He was on the verge of breaking into the third-class martial arts master, blood-bending realm.

Fang Lang let out a breath of stale air. He knew in order to speed up his cultivation, other than choosing the right binding partner, he had to find a way for the System to provide an endless supply of cultivation resources.

If the resources were running low, it would slow down the cultivation progress. No wonder every cultivator was fighting for cultivation resources.

He kept his sword. The snowflakes that were swirling around him fell to the ground.

Fang Lang enjoyed a rare moment of peace for three days. The foreign elites were intimidated by Fang Lang and stopped challenging him.

Fang Lang stopped cultivating and cleaned his courtyard. He took out his bamboo hat and planned to pay a visit to the Swordcraft Pavilion to have a discussion with Ni Wen and Xue Ying. He was genuinely interested in swordcraft.

After days of research, they were able to infuse the disciple-class spells into the sword form.

Even though it could only generate mediocre power, it was a big step. Fang Lang was also glad he was able to trigger the passive ability with Ni Wen as he increased the depth of his knowledge.

He put on the bamboo hat and his cloak. He flicked off the collecting snow.

Fang Lang was about to exit the courtyard when he saw a figure in the snow. It was none other than Xiao Lingjian.

He welcomed Xiao Lingjian into his courtyard.

Xiao Lingjian was grinning, "Brother Fang, as per your request."

He took out a book and gave it to Fang Lang.

"This book has the records of all the disciples from the four pavilions including their names and cultivation. There might be some minor discrepancies if they intentionally hid their cultivation. The information is generally accurate."

Fang Lang received the book with glee in his sparkling eyes.

With these names, he could scan them one by one to search for a suitable candidate to be his binding partner.

Xiao Lingjian removed bottles of pills from his space ring.

"Brother, these include some basic pills, nourishing pills and healing pills. They summed up to a total of thirty thousand gold coins. You can check on their prices."

Fang Lang browsed through the bottles and kept everything.

He noticed Xiao Lingjian did not purchase any spirit crystals with the cash. Obviously, the System's cultivation resources could not be used to purchase spirit crystals. Xiao Lingjian must be under the influence of some indescribable force.

'Ding! Friendly reminder, the System's experience points are full. Do you want an upgrade?'

"Upgrade."

Host: Fang Lang

Cultivation Discipline: First-Grade Sword Wave (Third-Class Sword Mastery)

Level: LV7

Experience: 0/500000

Core: 36 (White)

Modified Core: 66 (Purple)

Cultivation Resources: 100,000 gold coins, 2,000 low-grade spirit crystals, 20 mid-grade spirit crystals (limited to cultivation usage)

Items: Grade-Rush Card (1), Grade-Rush Card Fragment (2), Physical Buff Card (2), Meditation Card (1)

Equipment: Instant Casting Staff

Binding Partner:-

Spell: Ni Wen (70%)

Sword: Jiang Linglong (70%), Liu Bubai (70%)

Martial Arts: Wei Sheng (70%)

Empty: 2X (70%)

Sole Passive Ability: Additional rewards may be granted when the host bonds with the binding partner over cultivation.

Fang Lang glanced through the System's display. There were no major changes other than the replenishment of his cultivation resources. He was thrilled to find a ten percent increase in the binding capacity for all binding partners.

Fang Lang's cultivation speed would increase significantly.

He was one step closer to finding another binding partner!

The System categorized the binding partners for a change.

There were two empty spaces under the binding partner category. He should not waste time choosing a binding partner.

He should hurriedly conduct a large-scale screening of his brothers and sisters in the pavilion.

'Ding! Congratulations on participating in a cultivation-related expenditure. One Green Reward Egg awarded.'

The notification rang in Fang Lang's mind.

"Open the egg."

After a splendid radiance, 'Congratulations host for receiving the recipe for Enhanced Healing Pill.'

Fang Lang was stunned when he received a recipe. He remembered he had an Alchemy (Alchemist Specialty), but he did not pay much attention to it since he was not interested in being an alchemist.

While Fang Lang was having the secret transaction with Xiao Lingjian, the deep sound of the bell echoed through the Sword Guild.

"Bong"

The sound of the bell resonated through the clouds and mountaintops.

Even the disciples who were training in the Sword Guild Demon Portal heard the bell.

Other than the Heaven Pavilion disciples who stayed in the demon portal, the disciples from the Light Pavilion, Dark Pavilion and Earth Pavilion returned to their own courtyards.

"This bell Is the Qianlong Resource Battle happening in advance?" Xiao LIngjian's expression changed slightly.

"Resource battle?" Fang Lang looked confused.

Xiao Lingjian said in all seriousness, "The sect's cultivation resource supply depends mainly from fighting in the demon portals and the allocation from the imperial court. The resource allocation and distribution depend on the disciples' performance in the resource battle.

"Since the new disciples won't benefit much from the cultivation resources, the distribution will depend on their performance, and hence, the name of Qianlong Battle. It's also why the new disciples will try to ascend quickly after the Imperial Examination. The competition within the sect is the prequel to the resource battle.

"Brother Fang, we should pack up and gather at the plaza on Mount Shu. The Vice Leader should be making an announcement. You'll be joining this battle this year. I wish you all the best! You're the hope of the Sword Guild," Xiao Lingjian said firmly.

As a Sword Guild disciple, he did not want to see his sect fall.

Fang Lang gave a positive response.

Xiao Lingjian put on his hat and disappeared into the snow.

Fang Lang stood in the courtyard. The snow was falling heavily.

He frowned lightly. His plan to scan through all the disciples in the four pavilions was rudely interrupted.

He stared at the two empty binding partner slots and fell into deep thought.

'Why not bind to Mentor Wen first and leave the other name slot open for the time being?' Fang Lang pondered.

Then, his eyes lit up and Chao Xiaojian's shadow appeared in his mind. He thought and said, "System, bind to Chao Xiaojian."

'Ding, the System's checking

'Binding partner detected as ninth-class cultivation and above. Estimated binding period, thirty years.

'Confirm as a binding partner?'

In your dreams.

30 years?

No thank you.

He could reach ninth-class on his own after three decades.

He would go insane even if he spent all the Grade-Rush Card Fragments.

It seemed like he could only admire the starry core from afar.

He would use one of the slots to bind to Mentor Wen. His 89 points gold core was one in a million.

Fang Lang's only worry was that he would become a wolfberry tea addict.

This was certainly a problem that warranted serious consideration.

means hidden dragon.