Iron and wave steps - A sect's breakthrough

Ren Cho was at the middle layers of Core formation and had not advanced in a very long time. But he had a flash of inspiration from the drawings that Luo had drawn and went into secluded cultivation for the day. He could feel the intent of movement , of balance between soft defense and hard defense and the flow of offense in the movements. Although it was more natural with scythes and Ren Cho did not use scythes, but a staff, the profundity of the movement still allowed him to take his own insights and use it for his staff techniques.

He was burning his Qi at an amazing rate. It could be sensed by master Fu Rah and Fu Lin and other masters of the sect, even from afar. Fu Rah rushed into the scene thinking something had happened only to see that Ren Cho was in closed cultivation. She intimated the same to the masters that had followed and ordered them to quietly sit outside in the premises and not make any disturbances.

She inquired about the events but since Luo and the others did not know that inspiration had hit him, they could not answer her well. Slowly the message passed and all of the sect members gathered there. It was an atmosphere of seriousness and intense concentration, a state of flow where everyone gathered could sense the power fluctuations that Ren Cho's practice in his secluded cultivation was making.

No one made a single sound. They just took the experience in and were in the process of grasping new insights themselves.

Fu Lin and Fu Rah discussed on the side to shield the souls of the young disciples a bit so that they would not receive any damage from the massive amounts of Qi that was being generated by Ren Cho.

Fu Lin had suggested that Luo go and get his Rune brushes and silently paint the HUNLUN rune, the one that gathered the Heaven and Earth Qi on the walls of the secluded mansion that Ren Cho was now in. Fu Rah approved her idea as well.

Luo went back and got his rune brushes. He had later asked the master about the HUNLUN rune after it had helped him breakthrough to the Qi condensation stage and master Yin had taught it to him again. Luo had already comprehended the Rune.

He silently painted the runes around the building's outer walls and once he was done, he made a round trip and started to activate all of them with his Yang Qi.

With multiple runes painted on the walls, they started to gather the Heaven and earth Qi at an amazing rate. It was to an extent that even the other masters that had gathered sat down in the lotus position and began to meditate.

Fu Rah and Fu Lin capitalized on this and they began using a coordinated Zither technique which eased the flow of Qi in everyone who heard it. It was even taking an effect on Ren Cho inside his secluded cultivation chamber as he could hear the notes as well.

He was in the process of retrofitting his insights into a new staff technique. The zither notes from outside made his Qi flow much more freely and the Heaven and Earth QI was attracted into his building in huge amounts. The natural Qi became very dense and rich and with all of these conditions added on top of each other, Ren Cho was in a trance and he only broke out of it after an entire day at the end of which he had narrowed down the new staff technique. He had also broken through to the peak of the Core formation realm. With his strength , only master Gu Ryu, the elder of the Heavenly dragon sect, was stronger.

This experience also transformed his body. He had shed all of the chubbiness that he was known for and his body was now leaner and he radiated an aura of strength and power now.

When he exited , he could see the entire sect sitting outside with Fu Rah and Fu Lin just about to wrap up their performance and everyone else sitting in rapt silence, consolidating the gains from their insights during Ren Cho's breakthroughs to higher layers of the Core formation realm.

Some of the masters and a lot of disciples had broken through to higher layers of their own realm as well. Others used the opportunity to consolidate their strength.

Fu Rah greeted master Ren Cho with a half bow and everyone got up and followed suit. Luo and the others were just behind sect master Fu Rah and Fu Lin. Ren Cho walked up to him and grabbed his hands in glee.

"Kid, I thank you wholeheartedly for the opportunity. The drawings you showed me carried a very profound intent, something that I have not even completely understood and even understanding a bit of it has loosened my bottleneck and pushed me to the peak of the Core formation realm. I promise you , I will aid you personally in the quest for a named weapon for you."

Fu Rah was shocked and asked Ren Cho what drawings he was talking about and Ren Cho showed her as well. She could also feel the martial intent in the drawings and she looked at Luo and said "Too many secrets Luo. Too many to ignore. Once I have dealt with everyone gathered here, you and I will have a talk."

She talked to the masters who were also discussing the amazing event that had just occurred and what a boon it was going to be for the Ancient Zither Abode. A gift from the heavens as the collective cultivation levels of the entire sect had improved overnight. They were excited about what this could lead to in the near future.

She bade them farewell even though they were feverishly asking who this Luo LianHao was and what were his origins that he could draw such miraculous runes, something that the rune elder Long Bo also could not do. She brushed their questions aside and promised to answer them at a later time.

Everyone had slowly dispersed in a while.

She then walked back to Luo and the others who were talking to Ren Cho as he was showing off his lean body and Fu Lin who was freshening up with some water to her face.

"Let us go inside master Ren Cho's building. It is big enough to accommodate all of us.

Ren Cho, Fu Rah and Fu Lin followed by Luo and the others made their way inside.

Hua whispered to Luo "Hey..do you think they will make you tell your secrets? What will you do?"

Luo was nervous about it and just shook his head "I don't know."

He consulted Master Yin "Master, what should I do? Master Fu Rah will ask me a lot of questions. I think she knows or has hints of the things I can do. Are they so abnormal that she has to take it so seriously?"

Master Yin took a pause and then answered "Hehe. Well, what did you think being this master's disciple entailed? Of course, you would be abnormal. Anyway, I probed their intentions; of everyone near you now and surprisingly all of them just want what's good for you or just plain don't care as much. What is good is that I could not even sense a seed of using you to further themselves in anyone here, right now. That is a much more fortuitous thing than you could ever know. It is a good sect to have chosen brat. In keeping with that, I don't mind if you disclose your secrets and my existence to the ones present here."