"Oh, nice.Even as a rank eight talent, he definitely performs much better. Situ Mu is talented as well,"

"What else happened?" he asked.  

"After a long time, The Core Rankings went through a change. The Rank 4 disciple defeated rank three and climbed higher in the ranks. Now Du Qun is the 3rd ranked disciple," the servant replied.

"Oh? It is good news. It means that Du Qun progressed in his cultivation. Also, it would motivate the ones that dropped down in the rankings to start climbing higher and work hard as well. I felt that everything had stagnated, but it looks like the things are indeed taking a turn for the better," The Sect Master smiled.

He walked towards the chair that was lying near him and sat on it.

"What else?" The Sect Master asked.

"The Rain has continued misbehaving. One minute the sky is clear, and the next minute it's raining. Sometimes it rains for days. Our drainage system is working for now, but the rain might overwhelm it soon. It is also affecting the Disciples of the sect who can't go out on missions in these strange times. Although it's a natural phenomenon and there's nothing that we could do about it, I thought that you should know," the Servant said.

"It doesn't seem like a natural phenomenon, though. It has never been like this. It feels like something big is going to happen that might break the balance of our world," The Sect Master muttered as his finger tapped on the armrest of the chair. "I just hope that it's my misconception and that this thing is not that serious."

'Anything else that I should know about?" The Sect Master asked again.

"Oh, right. There was one more thing. Elder Wu came to meet you, but he went back as soon as he found out that you were cultivating. He told me to tell you that he came," The Servant replied.

"Elder Wu came here? He never leaves the Outer Sect. What could it be that brought him here?" The Sect Master frowned as he stood up.

"Take care of this place. I'm going to meet him," The Sect Master told the servant before he left.

The Sect Master left the  Core Sect and went to the Outer Sect to meet Elder Wu.

****

Xu Ming was still sleeping on his bed, like a child.  His peaceful face didn't show any hint of the tragic past of this boy who seemed like a prince.

Valeria finished absorbing the Spirit Crystal. She opened her eyes and stretched her arms as she stood up.

"Yaa, It feels so good after absorbing the Spirit Crystals. Although the purity was worse, it did increase my strength by a little," Valeria smiled happily as she looked at the piece of the Spirit Crystal that had lost its s.h.i.+ne.

"Where is that boy?" She muttered in confusion as she thought about Xu Ming.

She looked around the room and ultimately found him on the bed behind her.

"He is sleeping? Well, I do feel tired after the cultivation as well. I might as well sleep. Better than getting bored," Valeria yawned as she moved the used spirit crystal to the side and laid down on the bed.

Soon, she fell asleep.

The time pa.s.sed away peacefully, and the morning arrived.

Xu Ming didn't know how long he slept, but he was woken up by the knock on his door.

He opened his eyes slowly as he sat up. He walked towards the door. 

Xu Ming was greeted by two disciples of the punishment hall as soon as he opened the door.

"Do you need anything?" Xu Ming inquired.

"Ah, yes, Senior Brother Ming. The thing is that we have been a.s.signed the duty to search everyone's courtyard. A Core Disciple lost her Concentration Crystal, and after it wasn't found in the Core Sect, they decided to spread the search parameters to the Inner Sect as well," The Punishment Hall disciple replied to Xu Ming.

"So, you're here to search my courtyard?" Xu Ming asked.

"Yes. That's what we've been asked to do. I hope you won't deny us," the disciples replied.

'The concentration crystal? Is that the Spirit Crystal that Valeria brought from who knows where? It was stolen? If they found that in my place, I might be in trouble. I did become a thief in front of everyone's eyes,' Xu Ming thought with a frown.

"Ah, Senior Brother Ming, can you move to the side? We can't enter if you keep standing before the door," the disciple asked as he saw Xu Ming not moving.

"I'm not moving. Do you think I'm a thief?" Xu Ming let out with an angry look on his face.

The disciples grew worried as they saw the angry look on Xu Ming's face. They knew how strong Xu Ming was. He was the first rank Inner Sect Disciple, after all. The last thing they wanted to do was to antagonize Xu Ming.

"T-that's not it. It's just that the sect wants to do what it could to solve the matter of that lost crystal," the disciple replied.

"A core Disciple lost it, so it should be in the Core Sect. I'm not letting anyone destroy my place for such a stupid. If you really think that I have it, then say it to my face, and I'll allow you entry to my place, but if you don't find anything, then don't expect this matter to drop easily!" Xu Ming threatened them subtly.

"W-we... Of Course, we don't think that you're a thief. We would never think that. You are the hero of our sect, and you don't need to do a single thing like that. In fact, I also think that this whole matter is stupid. There's no way that the ring will be in our Inner Sect. It should still be in the Core Sect, but they are just disturbing as for the sake of it," the Disciple replied to Xu Ming and agreed with him in order to calm him down.

"So, do you still need to search my place even after knowing that I'm innocent?" Xu Ming asked with a grave look on his face.

"N-not at all. We know you're innocent. Why would we still want to search your place? We will just tell out seniors that we searched your place and found nothing," the Punishment Hall Disciples said, smilingly.

"That's better. It's good that you guys are not stupid," Xu Ming told them before he entered his courtyard.

The guys turned back and left empty-handed. Xu Ming watched them leave before he sighed and entered his courtyard. He closed the door and went towards his bedroom.

He stood before the girl and watched her sleep with the crystal lying beside her.

"You little trouble, You stole that crystal and didn't even tell me. You know how much trouble I would be in if someone found that thing in my place?' Xu Ming muttered with an annoyed look on his face as he watched her sleep peacefully without a single care about anything.

"I'll wait for you to wake up before talking to you. You need to learn that stolen items shouldn't be brought here without telling me," he muttered as he stepped forth and picked up the spirit crystal. He put that back in his storage ring.

*Sigh*

"I expected myself to be cultivating, not handing this mess. Whatever, what's done is done. I can't change anything. I can only focus on cultivation while I have the time," 

He sat in a meditative position on the ground as he started cultivating. Time kept pa.s.sing slowly, and days pa.s.sed. 

Valeria went to the core sect again.