As Rin ate the Purple Cloud Ganoderma, an enormous surge of Qi instantly erupted inside his body.
His eyes widened.
The spiritual energy flooded through his meridians like a raging river breaking through a dam. His entire body began heating up, and beads of sweat appeared across his forehead.
Rin gritted his teeth.
The amount of Qi was far greater than he had expected.
He could barely circulate such a massive amount of energy.
Then, suddenly, he felt a completely different kind of energy entering from his back.
The elder was releasing her own Qi.
Her expression became calm and focused as she carefully guided the violent Qi of the Purple Cloud Ganoderma through Rin's meridians and toward his Qi center.
The spiritual energy slowly approached his Qi center.
But the moment the elder's consciousness followed it deeper, she suddenly sensed something strange.
Her brows furrowed.
Inside Rin's Qi center existed an unfamiliar energy.
It was not dark energy.
Instead, it felt like a strange form of light energy.
The Purple Cloud Ganoderma's Qi finally entered Rin's Qi center.
The instant it did—
The mysterious light energy suddenly collided with the Ganoderma's Qi.
The elder's eyes widened.
The light energy immediately began absorbing the Purple Cloud Ganoderma's Qi.
What is this Qi?
Shock flashed across the elder's face.
She quickly sent more of her own Qi into Rin's body, attempting to stop that mysterious white energy from absorbing the Ganoderma's spiritual Qi.
But the moment her Qi approached—
The light energy became agitated.
It began fighting against the elder's energy.
The elder's expression changed dramatically.
"What?!"
She focused harder, trying to force the light Qi backward.
However, instead of retreating, the mysterious light Qi pushed the elder's Qi away.
Her eyes narrowed.
"Damn it. I can't add more Qi, or it will damage this boy's meridians."
Left with no other choice, the elder immediately withdrew her Qi.
The instant she pulled back, the mysterious light energy completely absorbed all the Purple Cloud Ganoderma's spiritual Qi.
Suddenly—
A half-moon symbol appeared on Rin's hand once again.
It began glowing.
The mysterious white Qi moved through Rin's Qi center.
Then something even stranger happened.
The white Qi released the Ganoderma's energy again—
But this time, it had been completely refined.
The purified spiritual Qi directly merged with Rin's own internal energy.
The elder stared in disbelief.
How can this be?
The aggressive Qi of the Purple Cloud Ganoderma was refined this easily… and merged with his own Qi?
Rin's internal energy suddenly surged.
His aura rose sharply.
Boom—!
He broke through.
His cultivation reached the Peak Master Stage.
Rin slowly breathed out.
A stream of warm air escaped from his lips as the violent energy inside his body finally settled.
He opened his eyes.
His gaze appeared clearer than before, and he could immediately feel that something had changed within him.
He had broken through.
Rin and the elder both stood up.
Rin looked toward her.
"Elder, did I absorb all the Qi of the Ganoderma?"
The elder was still standing there in shock.
She quickly coughed and regained her composure.
"Yes. You did."
Rin blinked.
"It is this easy?"
The elder immediately shouted, "No! It's impossible to absorb all the Purple Cloud Ganoderma's Qi!"
Rin flinched slightly at her sudden reaction.
The elder continued, "I thought you would store the energy and then slowly absorb it later."
Rin looked completely confused.
"Then, Elder, how was I able to do it?"
The elder fell silent.
For once, she did not know how to answer him.
After a moment, she said, "You have something special, and I don't know how to describe it."
But inwardly, her thoughts were much more serious.
That strange Qi…
I need to read some books to know exactly what it is.
Rin frowned.
"Something special? But what?"
The elder waved her hand dismissively.
"Forget it. You absorbed all the Qi and even broke through. Isn't that good news? Just look at the result, okay?"
Rin thought about her words before cupping his hands and bowing respectfully.
"Thank you again, Elder, for helping me."
The elder gestured toward a wooden table nearby.
"Just sit down."
Rin and the elder sat at the simple wooden table inside the hut.
The elder picked up a teapot and poured tea for herself and Rin.
She pushed one cup toward him.
"Here. This is special tea I cultivated in this garden. Try it."
Rin lifted the cup.
A faint herbal fragrance drifted upward.
He took a sip.
His eyes immediately widened slightly.
A soothing warmth spread throughout his body.
In only a moment, the exhaustion and pain from his earlier fight with Xiao Cai disappeared.
His muscles relaxed, and even the lingering discomfort in his meridians faded.
Rin looked at the tea with genuine appreciation.
"It's nice tea."
The elder took a slow sip from her own cup.
Then she suddenly asked, "What do you think of the Tang Clan?"
Rin looked toward her.
"What do you mean, Elder?"
The elder placed her cup down.
"The Tang Clan uses poison and hidden weapons for fighting and practicing martial arts. In one way, we should be part of the unorthodox side. But we are orthodox."
Her old eyes settled directly on Rin.
"Don't you feel this is wrong?"
Rin remained silent for a moment.
Then he answered calmly.
"The Tang Clan uses hidden weapons and poison arts, so what?"
The elder's eyebrow rose slightly.
Rin continued, "They use them for a righteous cause, which makes them orthodox in my eyes."
His expression became serious.
"Whatever weapon you use does not make you orthodox or unorthodox. Your justification and beliefs are what make you orthodox or unorthodox."
The elder quietly stared at him.
After a moment, she said, "Maybe you're right."
Her fingers slowly tightened around her cup.
"But let me tell you a story."
Rin listened carefully.
The elder's gaze became distant.
"Many centuries ago, there was a genius born into the Tang Family."
The quiet forest outside seemed to grow even stiller as her voice filled the hut.
"She learned all the Tang Clan arts, including poison arts and hidden weapon arts, before the age of thirty and became the Matriarch of Tang."
The elder's eyes carried a faint trace of pride.
"She led the Tang Clan to glory and made the Tang Clan one of the Five Great Clans."
Rin remained silent.
"At the age of fifty, she became the strongest martial artist in the world."
The elder slowly raised her cup.
"Her last wish was to make the Tang Clan the leader of the Five Great Clans."
She placed the cup down again.
"She built a massive force rivaling the other four Great Clans."
Her expression gradually hardened.
"Then she sent a request to the Murim Alliance to make the Tang Clan the leader of the Five Great Clans."
Her voice grew heavier.
"Considering the deeds and merits the Tang Clan had achieved, and the strength the Tang Clan had built, Tang should have been the ideal candidate."
The atmosphere inside the hut changed.
"But all the Great Sects, Murim Alliance members, and the other Great Clans rejected this proposal."
Rin's eyes narrowed slightly.
The elder continued.
"And their reason was—"
Her fingers clenched.
"'How can we make someone who uses poison and hidden weapons the leader of the Five Great Clans?'"
A vein visibly bulged on the elder's forehead.
Her previously calm expression vanished.
"'You should be grateful that you are even part of the orthodox Murim and one of the Five Great Clans.'"
The wooden cup in her hand trembled slightly.
A chilling light appeared in her eyes.
The peaceful old woman Rin had been speaking with moments ago now emitted a frightening pressure.
She stared directly at him.
"Then tell me, boy."
Her voice became cold.
"What do you say about this judgment?"
The air around the hut seemed to freeze.
"Were they correct… or were they wrong?"
Her eyes became even sharper.
"And tell me—"
"What should the Tang Matriarch have done after hearing their decision and their reason?"