Interesting

"No! How could this have happened?", expressing his disbelief and frustration at letting Ezra and the body refining grass escape. In a fit of anger, Braidan lashed out punching a nearby tree, causing a domino effect that brought down several others. As he pondered how to explain the situation to the elders, he prepared to strike another tree when a hand stopped him.

"Braidan, that's enough. What's done is done. There is no point in getting yourself all worked up over this," one of the other disciples said, trying to reason with Braidan. "He's right; there is no point in getting angry over something so trivial. Besides, what was so important about the body-refining grass anyway? It's not like it was useful to you anyway," someone else in the group voiced.

Braidan's anger, which had just disappeared moments ago, suddenly flared up once again after hearing that remark. What did you say he said, his face contorting in anger. You don't think it's useful for me. Well, of course, it wasn't for me, you idiot. It was for the son of one of the first elders. You know, "Marcus, the genius who, at just 14 years old, broke through to the early 9th stage of body refining. He is the genius whom all the elders, and even the leader, hope will become one of the strongest ever in the Spirit Wind clan's history. And now, because we lost the body refining grass, what do you think will happen to all of us or, more importantly, me? I'm the strongest inner core disciple at the peak 9th spirit gathering stage. How will people react to this failure even though I didn't use half my strength when attacking Ezra? Do you think anyone will care?" I don't think so. I will be the laughingstock of the whole clan.

"But even if it is for Marcus, he is already at the early 9th stage of body refinement. Surely the grass would be useless to him," the boy said, squeaking out that last bit. By now, Braidan was standing right before him, staring daggers at him, causing the boy to shrink back in fear.

Braidan raised his hand as if to hit the disciple, but then he stopped himself. He took a few deep breaths before speaking. "Fine, I guess you all wouldn't know this, but the body-refining grass has the ability to raise someone's cultivation to the body-refining stage, even if they are at the early 9th stage. Supposedly, it even has the power to increase your cultivation to the early spirit-gathering stage. Only the higher-ups of the clan know this, and some of the disciples. Everyone knows how hard it is to make the jump from the body-strengthening realm to the spirit-gathering stage. Most people fail to make the leap. If word was to get out that one was found, think of how many people would go looking for it."

"I understand," the boy replied. He wasn't the only one who realized how much trouble they might be in. Everyone in the group felt a sense of pressure looming over them. Braidan took a deep breath. "Fine, I will take responsibility for this mess." The others looked at him with disbelief before thanking him profusely. "Thank you, Braidan; now I won't have to worry about getting kicked out of the clan." "No kidding, thank you, Braidan. "It wasn't that he wanted to take the blame; it was just that he was the one who let Ezra get away, and he knew that he wouldn't be punished that harshly." Now, let's leave this place. There is no point in being here any longer.

As they prepared to depart, a sudden sense of alarm overcame them when a brilliant purple light descended from the sky, hurtling directly toward their location. "This isn't good," Braidan declared, swiftly harnessing his energy to create a protective barrier in front of himself and the others in an attempt to shield them from the overwhelming radiance of the approaching purple light. The others also did the same, releasing their energy in order to repel the light. Despite working together, the light broke through the energy barrier, blinding them. A burning sensation coursed through them, As if thousands of ants were biting into them, causing them to scream in pain before passing out.

As fast as the light came, it vanished below the cliff. Braidan managed to resist the pain and the urge to pass out, dashed to the edge of the cliff, and gazed down, marveling at the way the vivid purple light cascaded and flickered across the rugged rocks, creating a mesmerizing and fleeting spectacle before disappearing.

In a spacious hall, an elderly man with white hair acknowledged Braidan's explanation. "I understand now. Yes, I hurried back to the sect. As soon as it happened, Braidan said, lowering his head." "So that's why you forced the doors open without an invitation." "Again, I apologize for that." "Don't worry about it, Braidan. But you should speak with the first elder. He'll want to know that you were unable to retrieve what he wanted." There was a glint of sympathy in his eyes as he spoke. He knew that the first elder was not someone to be underestimated. He would not take failure lightly, especially since the item Braidan was asked to retrieve was for his son. Braidan froze, realizing that he still had to come up with an explanation for being defeated by a body-refining realm cultivator. His anxiety was palpable as he began to sweat.

As Braidan left the hall, the white-haired man thought to himself, "I'm certain the clan leader would be interested in hearing about this," recalling everything that Braidan had shared. He was surprised that Braidan, one of the top geniuses of the Spirit Wind Clan, had been unable to resist a simple light. Recalling the earlier news about a shining object falling into the South Forest around the same time Braidan had been chasing Ezra, he couldn't deny his curiosity about this kid known as Ezra. It was impressive that he could block an attack from an early 9th spirit gathering realm while only being at the early 9th level body refining stage. "It's too bad he threw himself off the cliff, though. If only Braidan had tried to convince him to join the Spirit Wind clan instead, they would have had another genius on their side. With a regretful shake of his head, he left the hall."

Finally, I've mastered the Rock Shattering Palm, Ezra thought as he observed the energy enveloping his fist. Despite feeling trapped in this space, he decided to focus on honing his new skills. As he delved deeper into the techniques, he was disheartened to realize that although he had two new skills, he couldn't comprehend one of them - The Star Flowing Steps. All he could gather from it was the name and the words "unknown rank." This shocked him, but realizing he couldn't learn it, he decided to set it aside for now and focus on the other skill. As he kept reading about the Rock Shattering Palm, he was shocked to discover that he didn't need to be in the spirit-gathering realm to learn the skill, but rather, it required him to learn to harness his energy.

He had previously come across information suggesting that some cultivators at the body-refining stage had the ability to manipulate their energy at the 6th or 7th stage. These exceptionally skilled individuals were often referred to as geniuses. Despite his own considerable talents, he was acutely aware of the substantial gap between his abilities and theirs. It had taken him a painstaking 14 years to reach his current level, and even then, he was unable to harness his energy until a mysterious blood merged with his body. In contrast, others were able to achieve the same level of mastery in just 11 years or even less.

But now it seemed that he could rival them. It appeared that he could be as powerful as some of the top disciples from the three great clans if given enough time. However, he couldn't help but burst out laughing before coming out of his thoughts. "No, I can't compete with them," he thought, shaking his head. Even if he was now as talented as some of the top disciples, he didn't have access to as many resources or skills as they do. or the protection of a clan. He still remembered the story of a top genius who, at just 17 years old, managed to make it to the peak of the spirit master stage. Despite having such great talent, he didn't want to be a part of any clan and was hunted and killed by the leaders of the top clans. Thinking of this, Ezra shuddered. He could care less about getting hunted down, and one word came into his mind. Stronger!

The resounding word reverberated through his mind like thunder echoing across a starry night sky. It was a world where strength was the only path to earning respect. With this in mind, Ezra retrieved the body-strengthening grass, found a comfortable spot to sit, closed his eyes, and started to absorb its energy. He didn't know why, but he had this strange feeling that he would break through to the Spirit-gathering realm.

Rumble Ezra, who was focused on absorbing the energy of the grasses, remained oblivious to the subtle tremors beneath him. Suddenly, a brilliant burst of Vibrant Purple light erupted from his body, casting an ethereal glow across the entire space. The air was filled with the sound of grunting before Ezra unleashed a piercing scream that seemed to shatter the very space around him, causing it to collapse before he fell unconscious.