Chapter 101

Chapter 101: The Fourth Layer

Lu An’s agitation went unnoticed by the rest, as everyone surged toward Zhou Luo.

"Friend Zhou, I am Zhang Sheng."

"Congratulations, Friend Zhou, on obtaining a high-quality magical artifact."

"Friend Zhou, I have some doubts about alchemy. Could we have an all-night discussion in my room?"

…

Voices rose one after another. Even Zhang Sheng of the Zhang Family, who had close ties to the Lu Family, approached proactively to introduce himself.

Clearly, witnessing such astonishing talent in alchemy had prompted them all to make his acquaintance.

Though they were considered geniuses within their families, they well understood that their capabilities paled against the vast cultivation world.

Attaining the status of a Second Level Pill Master in their lifetime would already be an immense stroke of fortune.

Thus, befriending someone with potential among their peers was of great importance.

It might provide support for them down the line.

But Zhou Luo disliked this.

Facing the approaching crowd, he hastily excused himself and slipped away, not even sparing Lin Xin a glance.

Wang Yu Wei stood beside Lin Xin, watching Zhou Luo "flee in haste," and remarked with a light smile,

"Your Lin Family is truly fortunate to recruit such a son-in-law through matrilocal marriage."

Given the alchemy talent Zhou Luo had displayed, advancing to the Second Level was assured, possibly even reaching Second Level high-quality.

Within long-life families, this represented the very pinnacle of achievement.

It was why the crowd had reacted with such fervor earlier.

Hearing these words, the corners of Lin Xin’s mouth lifted slightly.

The Lin Family had long been seen as weak and incompetent in the art of alchemy.

Zhou Luo’s emergence had finally lifted their spirits and vindicated the humiliated Lin Family.

No wonder the Sixth Elder insisted on taking him as a disciple.

Who knew his alchemy talent would be this terrifying?

Considering this, Lin Xin recalled the task her grandfather had entrusted to her.

At the time, Lin Tian Xiong instructed her to become a disciple of Lin Zhi Shou, emphasizing that she must strive to enhance her own strength. The goal was to eventually supplant Zhou Luo and succeed Lin Zhi Shou as the family’s Sixth Elder.

Now, it seemed replacement was out of the question. But winning him over remained possible.

Lin Xin resolved that once they returned to the family, she must persuade her grandfather to draw Zhou Luo to the main family’s side.

Meanwhile, after evading the others, Zhou Luo returned to his room.

He sat down on a chair and immediately took out the high-quality magical artifact.

The small bronze bell lay quietly in his palm, emitting a light, golden glow.

Zhou Luo reached out, touching the body of the bell, and a wave of coolness met his fingertips.

He released his mental strength into the artifact and instantly sensed an aura of profound weight.

At the same time, all the functions of this Golden Bell flooded into his mind.

The primary function of this Golden Bell was to defend against enemies.

As long as there was sufficient spiritual energy, cultivators below the Qi Refinement seventh level could not move it at all; even cultivators at the eighth level or even the ninth level of Qi Refinement could be blocked for one or two hours.

No wonder Lu An was unwilling to wager it right away at first.

This terrifying defensive capability could totally serve as a life-saving last resort.

Zhou Luo was extremely delighted.

It was just a pity that he was only at Qi Refinement level three and had inadequate spiritual energy; he guessed he could only activate it once and then it wouldn’t work.

He still had to raise his cultivation level as quickly as possible.

Otherwise, keeping such a fine magical artifact but being unable to use it would be too embarrassing.

Besides that Golden Bell, Zhou Luo also took out Lu An’s mid-grade magical sword.

The silver-white long sword was fully three feet in length, with a smooth blade and an extremely sharp edge.

Zhou Luo held it in his hand, focused his mind deeply, and felt a fierce sword intent emerge, carrying a sharp momentum.

This treasured sword named "Xuan Tian" was far stronger than Chi Feng.

When he searched for Dragon Blood Grass in the future, it could completely become his own weapon.

Seeing that it was still early, Zhou Luo simply began meditating for cultivation.

He only walked out of his room and headed to the dining room next door until dinnertime.

On the way, he could encounter others; unlike their usual cold attitude, they greeted him warmly.

Just as he was about to eat, Zheng Ting Tao suddenly appeared before him.

Zhou Luo quickly bowed and saluted, saying, "Steward Zheng!"

"Hmm, I was about to look for you," Steward Zheng said, throwing out a token with his right hand.

Zhou Luo hurriedly caught it with both hands and cupped it in his palms.

"This is a token for entering the fourth floor of the Scripture Depository; starting tomorrow, you can go to the fourth floor for the next month," Steward Zheng stated indifferently.

Upon hearing these words, Zhou Luo’s body trembled.

Finally, he could enter the fourth floor.

He had always remembered that Wang Yu Wei said the fourth floor had clues to all kinds of heavenly and earthly treasures, so he had long been itching to go check it out.

If he could find clues to treasures no weaker than Dragon Blood Grass, that would be excellent.

"Thank you, Steward Zheng, for this reward," Zhou Luo hastily expressed his thanks.

"This is exactly what you deserved," Steward Zheng said, then curiously added, "However, since you possess such high talent in alchemy, why is your daily failure rate still so high?"

After today’s martial skills competition, he had specifically checked the other’s alchemy logs.

He found that there wasn’t a single instance where the other succeeded on the first try; basically, every potion took several attempts before it succeeded.

Upon hearing these words, Zhou Luo’s heart skipped a beat.

Luckily, he had already prepared an explanation and quickly said, "Steward Zheng, it so happened that my alchemy improved recently, and with this bet on top of it, naturally I had to pour all my effort in, so I performed exceptionally well."

Zheng Ting Tao nodded slightly, "Mm, go ahead."

Zhou Luo felt a weight lift from his shoulders. He bowed once more before taking his leave.

Upon returning to his room, he let out a long sigh of relief.

It seemed that due to his Ninth Grade spirit root, the other party hadn’t paid him much attention and refrained from probing deeply.

This was fine; it spared him a lot of trouble.

The next day.

Zhou Luo rose early in the morning.

The thought of visiting the legendary fourth floor of the Scripture Depository filled him with excitement.

But first, he had to collect today’s tasks.

Arriving at the collection point, Zhou Luo froze when the Immortal Sect disciple handed him the potion list.

Why only five potions to refine now?

Baffled, he asked for an explanation.

The disciple clarified that the top six performers in monthly assessments only needed to refine half the usual number of potions.

This allowed them more time to study in the Scripture Depository.

To this, Zhou Luo thought deeply:

I don’t want it halved!

For others, reducing the potion quota meant less pressure.

But for Zhou Luo…

it halved the extra materials he could discreetly set aside.

This was unacceptable.

Yet he was powerless.

He couldn’t possibly march up to Steward Zheng and declare that his brewing speed allowed him to handle ten potions.

That would surely rouse suspicion.

After all, doubts had already surfaced the previous night.

Never mind.

Half was still better than nothing.

Greed might lead to drawing water with a bamboo basket—all in vain.

With this in mind, Zhou Luo took his token to the first floor of the Scripture Depository.

Behind the golden nanmu desk sat Elder Liu, meditating with closed eyes.

Zhou Luo approached respectfully and called softly, "Elder Liu."

"For the fourth floor, go directly."

Elder Liu didn’t open his eyes, only said so lightly.

Zhou Luo bowed, then ascended the stairs, heart swelling with anticipation.

Fourth floor, here I come!