White mist frantically gathered before him, and in the blink of an eye, formed a cloud. The dazed Brian Carter hadn’t even had time to react before the cloud rapidly expanded, covering the entire valley in no time.

Standing within the vast whiteness of the cloud, Brian Carter dumbly stretched out his hand, threads of coolness slipping through his fingers, as if in a dream.

He suddenly jolted awake—this was definitely not the third level of the [Little Cloud and Rain Art]!

His expression grew serious.

What exactly had happened? He suddenly had a premonition that the cold aura from yesterday seemed to have changed many things. Calming his mind, he closed his eyes and spread his arms within the cloud.

Very soon, he sensed something unusual. The cloud, formed from countless droplets of water vapor, was especially lively, like a group of little spirits that had just been awakened.

This time, the cloud carried a very unique aura, like freshly sprouted grass, or sunlight—Brian Carter found it hard to describe precisely. He really liked this aura because it felt so comfortable.

He couldn’t help but show a look of delight.

He had been cultivating the spirit valley for two years now. Although he didn’t know exactly what this lively aura was, he was certain it would be beneficial for the growth of the spirit valley.

With a thought, the cloud began to drizzle, and within the silvery threads of rain, the lively aura was even more concentrated than in the cloud itself.

He wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but he saw some of the spirit herb leaves unfurling, as if in great joy.

A hallucination?

Everything that happened yesterday felt like a dream, and what was happening today felt even more dreamlike.

Was this the fourth level of the [Little Cloud and Rain Art]? He wasn’t sure. The jade slip he had bought only discussed the [Little Cloud and Rain Art] up to the third level, and there were many things he hadn’t anticipated. He was a bit envious of those disciples from the major sects—no matter what kind of technique, once you reached a certain level, you had to comprehend it on your own, but if you had the insights of your predecessors as reference, you could greatly reduce the detours you’d take.

He had no one to ask. Not to mention the sect leader and the various uncles, even approaching the inner sect brothers for guidance was no easy task. Besides, he doubted any of the inner sect brothers would spend their time and energy on a low-grade, non-combat technique like the [Little Cloud and Rain Art].

Wukong Sword Sect was a sword cultivation sect, focused on swordsmanship. If it weren’t for the need for spirit valleys, they probably wouldn’t have recruited outer sect disciples like him at all. Among all cultivators, sword cultivators were known for their offensive power—they only practiced sword arts, striving to break all techniques with a single sword.

The five elements formed their own system, easy to learn but hard to master, so most who practiced them were rogue cultivators. That’s why, among rogue cultivators, spirit plant farmers were the most numerous.

After finishing the rainmaking, he went to perform rainmaking for the senior brother he had arranged with earlier.

After two consecutive rainmaking sessions, the heavily injured Brian Carter looked on the verge of collapse, frightening that senior brother into hurriedly sending him back to rest.

With today’s tasks complete, the exhausted Brian Carter still insisted on meditating after returning to his small courtyard. Yesterday’s experience had made him deeply realize a harsh reality: in the eyes of powerful cultivators, low-level cultivators were as insignificant as grass.

Perhaps his body was in urgent need of replenishment, as this meditation session lasted almost twice as long as usual.

His body was like a starving beast, desperately absorbing the spiritual energy from the surrounding air. The small section of spiritual vein beneath his meditation mat played a crucial role at this moment, providing a continuous supply of spiritual energy. The spiritual energy absorbed by Brian Carter didn’t just remain stored in his meridians as usual, but instead seeped into every part of his body.

It had to be said, Brian Carter’s talent was quite outstanding. The [Tenfold Righteous Heart Method] wasn’t a high-level cultivation method, but he had truly grasped the essence of “calmness and uprightness,” and his cultivation results were quite good.

After six consecutive cycles, Brian Carter set a new personal record for the most cycles completed in one session.

When he emerged from meditation, he was astonished to find that most of his injuries had already healed.

Checking his cultivation, he found it had increased, but not excessively—he was still steadily at the eighth level of the Qi Refining stage. Strangely, instead of being disappointed, he actually felt relieved. When things are abnormal, there’s always something amiss, and there had been too many strange occurrences these past two days, seriously testing his mental endurance.

Thinking of yesterday, he was struck by a thought and casually formed a [Geng Metal Art] hand seal.

And then, he was stunned.

The Geng Metal energy light danced joyfully around his fingers, like a swirl of golden sand whipped up by the wind, dazzling to the eyes. The previously pale golden energy was now a pure, rich gold, shimmering with the unique metallic luster of gold, the golden light flickering and mesmerizing.

Countless pieces of information flooded into his mind—things he had never thought of or encountered before—gradually becoming clearer in his mind with each rotation of the Geng Metal energy around his fingers.

The [Geng Metal Art] was indeed an offensive technique.

If Brian Carter had only been guessing before, today he was absolutely certain.

The characteristics of the [Geng Metal Art] became fully apparent at the second level. Through the jade slip, he confirmed that he had actually broken through to the second level of the [Geng Metal Art].

In a single night, the [Little Cloud and Rain Art] broke through to the fourth level, and the [Geng Metal Art] broke through to the second level. Even for someone as bold as him, this speed was a bit frightening—it all felt a little unreal.

The improvement in strength felt somewhat illusory, but the pleasure it brought was very real. Still, he hoped it would never happen again, even though yesterday he had so bravely left behind those three words.

Safety first!