Mr. Miller came to The Brooks Family merely to make a gesture; as long as the message was conveyed, that was enough, so before long he got up to take his leave.

David Brooks, however, didn’t get a moment’s peace. Right after, a steward from Zhenlei Hall arrived, then an elder from Chuyun Sect, and then an instructor from the Yinhuo Sect.

It wasn’t until just before dinner that these social calls finally ended.

David Brooks, thinking about the plants in his ring space, was about to find an excuse to slip away when his father grabbed him: “Stay and have dinner with your father.”

While eating, James Brooks asked, “Which one do you prefer?”

David Brooks thought for a moment and replied indifferently, “They’re not really here for me anyway. They just fancy your influence, Father, and hope to use our The Brooks Family to outdo their competitors. So, whichever one offers the highest price, that’s the one I’ll go with.” He wasn’t stupid—how could he not see through all this?

James Brooks nodded. “Alright, I’ll handle this matter.”

After dinner, David Brooks finally “regained his freedom.” The first thing he did upon returning was to enter the ring space. The gourd plant was still the same: growing and thriving, but stubbornly refusing to flower or bear fruit.

The peach on the peach tree, however, was gradually ripening. David Brooks leaned in to pick it, but a thought came from the tree: Not ready yet.

Sure enough, each of the three plants had its own personality! David Brooks gave a wry smile and exited the ring space. Still, he grew even more curious about the peach’s effects.

After completing another minor breakthrough in his cultivation that night, David Brooks drifted off to sleep peacefully, and another night passed in a flash.

The next day, after lazily getting up, William Brooks reported, “Young master, there are three people waiting for you outside.” David Brooks asked, “Who are they?”

William Brooks counted on his fingers: “People from Chuyun Sect, Yinhuo Sect, and Zhenlei Hall.”

“Let’s go take a look.”

……

The one from Chuyun Sect was a young disciple with an ethereal and refined air. He was just over twenty, but his cultivation had already reached the early Yuanrong stage.

Upon seeing David Brooks, he smiled and said, “Junior Brother Brooks, the elders of our sect have sent me to deliver to you the first chapter of Chuyun Sect’s highest scripture, ‘Qingyun Zhi.’ This scripture is the very foundation of our sect, of utmost importance, so I was tasked to personally escort it and ensure it reaches your hands.”

As he spoke, he took out a hand-copied, thread-bound book and solemnly handed it to David Brooks, then added, “The sect has high hopes for you, Junior Brother. You can see it from this ‘Qingyun Zhi.’ I hope you won’t let down the painstaking efforts of everyone in Chuyun Sect.”

David Brooks replied perfunctorily, “Of course, of course.”

Behind the Chuyun Sect disciple, a dissatisfied voice said, “Does that mean my Yinhuo Sect isn’t sincere?”

The speaker was a woman of average build and appearance, but with a striking mane of fiery red hair. She stepped forward and handed David Brooks a booklet. “Junior Brother Brooks, this is the first part of our Yinhuo Sect’s highest scripture, ‘Tunri Dafa.’ Everyone in Yinhuo Sect is just as eager for you to join us.”

“So stingy!” an out-of-place voice interjected. The Zhenlei Hall disciple stepped forward, holding a scroll of ancient text in both hands, and presented it forcefully to David Brooks: “You’re only giving the most basic parts, but what Zhenlei Hall is giving Junior Brother Brooks is the first three chapters of our core scripture, ‘Qingxiao Yunlei Zhenjie’! Junior Brother Brooks, just from this, you can see which sect is the most sincere, right?”

David Brooks thought to himself that the county academy certainly wasn’t showing much sincerity.

However, that afternoon, after hearing the news, the county academy—while cursing the three great sects for their shamelessness—sent one of their prized students to deliver to David Brooks the first volume of the academy’s core scripture, ‘Daoyi.’

In front of David Brooks now lay hand-copied versions of four top-tier cultivation manuals. He read through them all carefully, but couldn’t quite decide which one to choose.

The county academy and the three great sects had only sent the introductory sections of their highest scriptures—even Zhenlei Hall, which claimed to be more sincere, was no exception. Although they sent the first three chapters, ‘Qingxiao Yunlei Zhenjie’ had a total of thirty-six chapters, so the first three were equivalent to the first part from the others.

In fact, over the years, these introductory sections had already been widely circulated by the county academy and the three great sects, all in hopes of attracting talented disciples.

The competition between the academy and the sects was growing ever fiercer, forcing everyone to make some changes. Spreading only the introductory chapters wouldn’t harm their own interests, and could even expand their base of disciples.

Just imagine, if someone happened to obtain these introductory chapters and found them well-suited to their cultivation, they’d have to join the sect to get the rest.

However, after reading all four scriptures, David Brooks didn’t particularly favor any of them, so he set them aside for now and continued to focus on cultivating his own ‘Dual Polarity Divine Demon Body.’ He had a feeling that after nine minor breakthroughs, the true power of this mysterious technique would be revealed.

After registering, there were ten days to prepare for the entrance assessment. Everyone was busy making preparations; those with means at home did everything possible to improve their children’s physique and aptitude, while people like Henry Carter could only train hard every day.

After being cooped up at home for a few days, David Brooks couldn’t stand it anymore and called two of his cronies to go out and have some fun.