However, when it comes to breaking through to the Golden Core stage, there is no such good fortune.

When breaking through bottlenecks above the Golden Core with the Bibo Technique, even if it is somewhat easier compared to other techniques, the advantage is very limited. On the contrary, after condensing the Golden Core, its cultivation speed remains extremely slow.

Whenever Grant Sullivan thought of this, his expression would inevitably darken again.

Among the many techniques of the The Sullivan Family, the Bibo Technique is quite a dispensable existence. Any direct descendant with a bit of talent and ambition would never choose to cultivate this method, but for collateral children like Grant Sullivan, there is simply no choice.

To ensure that collateral disciples could also achieve something in cultivation with limited resources, as long as their aptitude and attributes allowed, the Bibo Technique and several other methods that are the easiest to get started with and require the least resources were the most commonly assigned techniques for collateral children by the upper echelons of the The Sullivan Family.

As for the many flaws of these techniques in the later stages—difficult to cultivate and lacking in power—these were simply not things the elders of the The Sullivan Family would ever consider for the collateral children.

Thinking of this, Grant Sullivan's mind couldn't help but recall the scene from five years ago, when he had just arrived at the The Sullivan Family and met the man who bore the title of "father."

Miles Sullivan, the man most directly related to him by blood, was not only the current head of the The Sullivan Family, but also a Nascent Soul cultivator whose strength far surpassed the Golden Core stage.

Grant Sullivan remembered the cold look in this man's eyes when they first met, and how, after just a few brief words, he tossed over a "Bibo Technique" manual. A faint pain welled up in his heart.

From beginning to end, the man had never once asked about his mother!

But then again, perhaps in the heart of this powerful cultivator, a concubine of maidservant origin had never been worth a thought, and even his own birth might have been a matter of no consequence.

For the entire The Sullivan Family, there were only a few dozen direct descendants in the new generation, but collateral children numbered in the thousands. The status of him and his mother in Miles Sullivan's heart was self-evident.

Even to this day, he still had no way of knowing why his mother left the The Sullivan Family and took him to live alone in some remote backwater.

His mother's final words before her death were a hope that, after she passed, her spirit tablet could be sent to the ancestral shrine in the The Sullivan Family's sacred land. But given the current situation, this was almost impossible.

Thinking of this, Grant Sullivan felt even more distressed.

"I must succeed in forming my core. As long as I become a Golden Core stage cultivator, whether direct or collateral, I will automatically become an elder of the The Sullivan Family. Then I can demand to fulfill my mother's last wish." He bit his lip hard, repeating his resolve once more deep in his heart.

Anyone who stands in the way of this will be ruthlessly crushed and pushed aside by him.

Chapter Six: The Life-and-Death Arena (Part One)

"Buzz... buzz..."

As Grant Sullivan's expression shifted between gloom and clarity, a fist-sized ball of white light suddenly lit up on the stone door of the secret chamber, accompanied by a deep reminder.

"Time's up."

Seeing this, Grant Sullivan silently put away the small bottle, straightened his clothes, and strode toward the stone door.

"Brother Chen, you finally finished your seclusion!"

Walking along a sealed passage, Grant Sullivan had just stepped out of the The Sullivan Family's secluded cultivation area inside the mountain when a chubby, honest-looking young man with an anxious expression hurriedly greeted him.

"Victor Sullivan, what's going on?" Grant Sullivan raised an eyebrow and asked, looking at this fellow clan member and friend, who was also a collateral child.

"The third brother is about to face Edwin Sullivan in a life-and-death duel. It's about to start!" The chubby youth named Victor Sullivan said urgently.

"A life-and-death duel! The third brother is being reckless—doesn't he know that Edwin Sullivan is at the late Foundation Establishment stage?" Grant Sullivan's pupils contracted at these words.

"The third brother also advanced to the late stage a few days ago, and the reason for this duel is that Lillian and the third brother have dissolved their engagement, and she has become a dual cultivation partner with Edwin Sullivan." Victor Sullivan replied through gritted teeth.

"It's that Lillian woman again. I disliked her from the first moment I saw her. She has no real talent, and only became an outer disciple of the The Sullivan Family by relying on the third brother's status. Now, with a higher-status direct descendant getting involved, it's only natural for her to change fiancés. But even if they're both at the late Foundation Establishment stage, you know very well the gap in strength between collateral and direct descendants. What's more, the third brother has only just advanced to the late stage." Grant Sullivan frowned and spoke slowly.

"Of course I know that. Even among the direct descendants, Edwin Sullivan's magic power is extremely strong, which is why I came to find you. After all, he suffered at your hands back in the day, so he should still be wary of you, Brother Chen." The chubby youth gave a bitter smile.

"Heh, that was three years ago. Back then, both he and I were only at the mid Foundation Establishment stage. Things are different now. Let's go—no matter what, let's get to the life-and-death arena first and talk later." Grant Sullivan chuckled.

The chubby youth naturally had no objections, and the two of them quickly left the secluded area.

On a mountain peak over a hundred zhang high, more than a hundred The Sullivan Family disciples had gathered, all surrounding a white arena, pointing and discussing animatedly. More figures were still hurrying up from the foot of the mountain.

A life-and-death duel was not something one could witness often, especially since this matter involved the entanglements between the collateral and direct lines. If not for the limited time and the The Sullivan Family's airspace restrictions, the number of spectators would probably have increased by half again.