Chapter 355 Changes and Balances

The whole group did not leave the small mansion for the next three days, and while some people around the sect noticed their absence, it was quite normal for some people to periodically disappear due to the nature of the sect so no one said anything.

"Hey, hey, Sis! I heard that nice guy was back in the sect for a few days already, but we haven't seen him"

A green-eyed beauty, Gong Cui asked to a similarly beautiful but more restrained sister.

"Who knows? Maybe he's busy..."

Gong Liwei looked to the side with slightly rosy cheeks as she was well aware how 'busy' he was, which was quite obvious from the absence of Wei Lan who usually took care of them, or at the very least checked in to see how they were doing from time to time.

"Hmm"

The younger sister placed a finger on her lips and tilted her head with a pondering look, her green eyes wide with curiosity.

'The nice sisters also are absent, are they perhaps having a secret party? How unfair'

Her thoughts went to the absent Wei Lan and the mother-daughter pair, and she started to get suspicious until another possibility hit her.

'Hm? Is he avoiding me because he's shy? Haah~ being a Femme Fatale is sure hard...'

"Hehe, hehehe"

As she giggled holding her cheeks Gong Liwei sighed, not willing to ask since she did not want to know what was happening in her little sister's head that caused her to act this way.

On the fourth day, Wu Long was sitting in the company of the six beautiful women, teaching them the Origin Concealing Technique that could be used to hide cultivation level.

During these past days, Wei Lan and Cao Xiang who were at the peak of Foundation Building Realm for some time now have broken through to the Core Formation Realm, which was a major achievement and also somewhat unexpected.

Part of the reason they could go through has because the quality and quantity of Spiritual Qi has significantly rose since the earthquakes that shook the three continents. The increase was so substantial that Wu Long suspected quite a lot of people who were previously stuck at a bottleneck for a long time would likely advance in the coming months.

"Are you worried that their cultivation levels will draw too much attention?"

Wu Mengqi asked as the two were memorizing the technique he was teaching.

"Not only theirs but all of you. We are currently in a unique position where time works in our favor, but if we show too much progress in short amount of time, there is a risk of alerting those behind the scenes.

This would seriously jeopardize the very fragile balance that is maintaining this period of false tranquility, and if discovered could potentially lead to an early escalation"

Wu Long shook his head, indicating that he was not only teaching the two who broke through but all of them.

"Isn't that a bit of an exaggeration? As I understand from what you previously said we are fine as long as the Song Imperial Family and those people are in a standstill as neither wants to make the first move"

Bi Rui asked as she did not see much of a threat from just advancing through a major realm.

"If you saw a hostile third party suddenly grow in power will you not abandon the wait and see approach?" The inaugural upload of this chapter took place via n(0))vel(b)(j)(n).

Sui Luxiao shook her head as she looked at the two who were meditating.

"But then they would lose the opportunity to gain the knowledge that they know Huan'er has since she has yet to establish her practice"

Bi Rui remembered Wu Long's words about the move to the Yin Yang Unity Palace.

"Even if we threw in the bait of my company, alchemy pavilion and the newly forming escort agency, it is not like this would make everyone completely blind to danger. When the risks massively outweigh the potential rewards there would be no leeway but to strike while they still have a chance"

Sui Luxiao sighed as she nodded. She too anticipated a little more control over how this period of calm ends, but understood that they were not dealing with complete morons.

"The problem is not that they achieved a higher Major Realm, but how fast it happened and the fact that they are openly affiliated with Wu Long"

She continued in a pondering voice.

"Eh? But then why was so many people reaching Foundation Building Realm fast not a problem?"

Cao Mei asked as Wu Long did not show any worry about the balance crumbling before, and only at this point.

"Core Formation Realm that the two achieved is a major milestone, much like the Qi Manifestation Realm is a dividing line between the mediocre and those who have a say in the affairs of the mortal cultivation world, this one is so as well.

There are only a few thousand Core Formation practitioners in this small world. If someone suddenly gained several young and promising practitioners of this level at once, it is certainly a force to be reckoned with. More so in terms of future potential than current strength though"

Wu Long explained with a slight sigh as he did not expect for them to start breaching the Core Formation Realm this soon. Which was understandable since he did not anticipate the sudden improvement in the Spiritual Qi, a spontaneous event that had no foreshadowing signs.

He could feel the strain on his Yang Root growing in these past few days, indicating that the current Spiritual Qi quality likely allowed Ye Ling to reach Core Formation Realm as well.

As someone whose cultivation rose with her understanding of the sword and having already achieved much higher realms in her past life, the only thing that was holding her back was the insufficient Spiritual Qi. Though he was not worried about her as she knew how to conceal her cultivation level well.

He himself has reached the 3rd level of the Revolving Qi Realm, though he did not need to conceal his cultivation since it was still within the norm from the perspective of those who did not know how miraculous this speed of advancement was for him.

The overall situation definitely deviated from his expectations as he did not know how much strength his opponents would gain from this sudden event, as the benefits of the Spiritual Qi improvement were not limited to any one side.