The people standing in front of the crowd of roughly a hundred swordsages were all Spirit Trove experts. They were middle-ranking cultivators in the Swordsage Palace, and had been officers in the various battalions during the war. Because of surviving countless battles, they were all extraordinary cultivators. During the war, even if they were taken out of their unit and assigned somewhere else, they would quickly gain approval because of their ferocity and bravery.5

However, that led to a unique state of affairs. There were many people who approved of them, but few people they approved of. Being a comrade wasn’t enough for them. They would only respect people who had accomplished great things and had respectable statuses. Xu Qing had accomplished great things. And Kong Xianglong had a respectable status. That was why those two had the tacit approval to stand among the Spirit Trove cultivators.4

When they arrived, the other cultivators exchanged glances, then quietly looked at the huge pit in front of them. The depths were pitch black, and it was impossible to see the bottom. The mutagen was clearly very strong. However, when that mutagen got close to Xu Qing, he actually felt comfortable, as if he could absorb it.7

That made his pupils constrict slightly, and he could only assume it had to do with his body being remolded...4