It is publicly known that Bai Zihan is only in the Early Stage of the Core Formation Stage and has yet to reach the Core Condensation Stage.
Judging by his current speed, many speculate that Bai Zihan would take nearly three years to break through to the Core Condensation Stage—which is also why he is called a waste.
After all, with the resources of the Bai Clan, even a cultivator with poor talent would have reached the Core Condensation Stage by his age.
However, Bai Zihan couldn’t even do that. Truly a waste of resources poured into him by the Bai Clan and his parents.
Although Bai Zihan is believed to still be in the Core Formation Stage by everyone, Elder Qinglan mentioned that he was already in the Core Condensation Stage and that he needs to work hard to reach the Golden Core Stage.
Judging by those words, it was easy to conclude that Bai Zihan was indeed in the Core Condensation Stage—there was no reason to doubt Elder Qinglan’s words.
Although it was unknown exactly when or how she found out, Elder Qinglan wouldn’t make a mistake in detecting someone’s cultivation level especially if the person were as weak as Bai Zihan.
That meant Bai Zihan had reached the Core Condensation Stage, and Chu Ziyan couldn’t help but ask when he broke through to that realm.
Although the Core Condensation Stage wasn’t anything significant in her eyes, it was a different matter if the one who reached it was Bai Zihan.
After all, it hadn’t even been a year since Bai Zihan entered the Core Formation Stage.
The speed was impressive. Even with Bai Xueqing’s talent, it had taken her more than a year to go from the Core Formation Stage to the Core Condensation Stage.
Of course, by Bai Zihan’s age, Bai Xueqing had already reached the Golden Core Stage—at its peak, no less.
Bai Xueqing also turned her head toward Bai Zihan with the same curiosity, perhaps even more.
She knew more than anyone about Bai Zihan and understood that he wasn’t hiding his cultivation like some people might assume.
It wasn’t that he had broken through earlier and was concealing it.
That simply wasn’t how Bai Zihan operated. If anything, it would be good if he didn’t flex his weak strength.
Bai Zihan looked at Chu Ziyan and Bai Xueqing without any worry.
It wasn’t like he was trying to hide his cultivation level like those secretive protagonists. He just didn’t feel the need to announce it.
“Just a few days ago. You remember I went into seclusion after the engagement, right? I broke through then,” Bai Zihan answered truthfully.
“A few days ago?”
Chu Ziyan muttered.
Indeed, she remembered Bai Zihan had said he was going into seclusion after their engagement, though she had assumed that was just an excuse to avoid her.
She didn’t expect that Bai Zihan was really cultivating.
Bai Xueqing had a similar thought.
She also assumed his so-called “seclusion” was just laziness, and that just a week-long session wouldn’t yield any results.
But it turned out she was wrong. In just that one-week period, her brother had broken through to the Core Condensation Stage.
Although still not impressive for someone of his background, at least it was enough to stop people from calling him a complete waste.
And with his powerful physique, both of them started to think that perhaps their master was right—he wasn’t as simple as he seemed.
After Bai Zihan gave his answer, both girls fell into an eerie silence. Not only did they stop talking—they stopped moving altogether.
“…”
“Shouldn’t we go to Mystic Moon Peak? I want to check out my room.”
Bai Zihan finally said, once his patience wore thin.
He didn’t want to interrupt and risk angering his sister, but at this rate, they’d be standing there all day.
“Follow me,” Bai Xueqing said, snapping out of her thoughts.
She gave Bai Zihan a strange look before turning her head.
(Is this stupid brother really hiding something from everyone?)
Thinking back on Bai Zihan’s past actions, she refused to believe he had the capability to hide his abilities.
She also didn’t think he had worked hard to cultivate—though recently, he had trained more than before.
He was also visibly less irritated and even made eye contact with the other party when speaking, though it still felt as if he were looking down on them.
Still, she didn’t believe it mattered much.
Bai Zihan was still that same brat with his arrogance in the sky despite all those positive changes.
Still causing trouble and making enemies wherever he went.
Bai Xueqing decided she would show Bai Zihan to his room, then the important locations of Mystic Moon Peak, and return to cultivating.
With everything going on, she felt like she was already falling behind and needed to make up for the time she had lost.
Chu Ziyan stayed silent as she followed Bai Xueqing up the winding mountain path.
The higher they went, the more ethereal the scenery became.
Mystic Moon Peak truly lived up to its name—mist floated lazily through the air, sunlight filtered down through ancient, towering trees, and the distant sound of flowing water made everything feel serene.
“Here!”
Bai Xueqing stopped in front of a refined courtyard. A shimmering formation glowed faintly at its gate.
“This is your residence.”
Bai Zihan looked around.
“A bit small.”
He complained the moment he saw the house.
While it was refined and well-kept, compared to what he was used to, this felt more like a hut.
Bai Xueqing’s eyes twitched. The residence was the same as she had but Bai Zihan had a gall to insult it.
The outer disciples didn’t have the luxury of a private courtyard like Bai Zihan—in fact, they often had to share cramped rooms with others.
But Bai Zihan showed no sign of appreciation, likely because he never experienced the hardships of an outer disciple.
“But it’ll do,” Bai Zihan quickly added after seeing Bai Xueqing’s expression.
“You should settle in first,” Chu Ziyan said.
“Tomorrow, we’ll take you around Mystic Moon Peak so you can get familiar with the place.”