In his memory, his master's appearance had never changed. When he was young, his master looked the same, and when he graduated, his master still seemed unchanged.
"Could it be that Master has truly broken through to the Grandmaster realm?"
Ning Beichen's heart itched, and he desperately wanted to ask his master, but his master had disappeared without a trace. Even with all his might, he couldn't find any sign of him.
"Beichen, do you have a way to break through to the Grandmaster realm and reach that state of unity between man and nature?"
Liu Yilin had entered the martial arts world relatively recently. Among the people she knew, Ning Beichen was the most formidable, and it was Ning Beichen who had introduced her to this world. Therefore, in her heart, Ning Beichen was an omnipotent being.
"I'm not sure, but that is the goal I will pursue next."
Ning Beichen replied.
"Beichen, I support you. If you need anything from me, just say the word."
Liu Yilin immediately said.
"What can you do to help me..."
Ning Beichen found Liu Yilin's words somewhat amusing. Just as he was about to refuse, he suddenly recalled his master's peculiar actions. Why would his master suddenly order him to protect Liu Yilin for a year? Was there truly no ulterior motive behind it?
Furthermore, Liu Yilin's cultivation talent also shocked Ning Beichen. In just a few short months, she was already close to the fourth level of the Star Drawing Art, something even he might not have achieved.
However, Ning Beichen didn't believe Liu Yilin could help him much at this moment, but the future was uncertain.
"Alright, if I need anything, I won't be polite."
Ning Beichen replied.
The two then stopped discussing this matter and instead chatted about the events that had transpired recently.
Days passed in a blink of an eye. The deaths of Wang Yulang and his master caused no stir, and life seemed to return to normal.
However, not long after, Liu Yilin's younger brother suddenly appeared and knelt before her, desperately begging for her forgiveness and voluntarily offering to leave the Eastern Ancient Country to develop overseas.
Although Liu Yilin was surprised by her brother's change in attitude and curious about how Ning Beichen had managed it, she wisely refrained from asking. Ning Beichen had once told her that "only the wicked can subdue the wicked," implying that her brother's experience likely hadn't been pleasant. Thus, she readily agreed to his request.
Liu Yilin gave her brother a large sum of money and sent him overseas to manage an overseas branch company.
In reality, her primary goal was to nurture him. If her brother could truly change, he might even be capable of managing Tianmei Technology Group in the future.
Having witnessed Ning Beichen's world, Liu Yilin had also decided to follow his path, meaning she would have no energy to manage Tianmei Technology Group in the future.
As for Ning Beichen, Liu Yilin's brother was a trivial matter. He only needed to have his subordinates intimidate the young man, making him taste the fear of death. Regardless of his ambitions, he likely wouldn't dare to harm his sister again.
And so it was. After Ning Beichen's subordinates buried Liu Yilin's brother alive for a day and a night, all his ambitions and aspirations vanished.
Liu Yilin might indulge and pamper him, but Ning Beichen's subordinates wouldn't. They made him truly experience the terror of being buried alive.
However, these minor matters didn't require Ning Beichen's personal attention. For these past few days, he had been engrossed in studying the bronze fragment.
He was certain that the inscriptions on the bronze fragment recorded a cultivation technique, but strangely, when he tried to cultivate according to it, it had no effect whatsoever.
Ten days later, Ning Beichen had to give up. However, he felt that the technique wasn't useless but rather that his current realm was insufficient to cultivate it.
"Could it be a technique that can only be cultivated after ascending to the unity of man and nature?"
Ning Beichen reluctantly put away the bronze fragment.
After reaching the Grandmaster realm, the path of cultivation was essentially severed. Even Ning Beichen lacked subsequent cultivation methods.
This left Ning Beichen in a state of distress.
He had sought out the Chen family ancestor and others, even leveraging some connections, but they too had no post-Grandmaster cultivation techniques. In other words, the Grandmaster realm was the apex for martial artists in this world.
If it was the apex, where could cultivation techniques come from? If cultivation techniques existed beyond this point, then the Grandmaster realm wouldn't be the end.
Ning Beichen could only helplessly shift his focus back to the Nine Palaces Stratagem.
He had already obtained eight of the nine volumes of the Nine Palaces Stratagem and was missing the last one, unsure of its whereabouts.
However, he had practically memorized the eight volumes and found no secrets within them. It seemed that to uncover the secrets, he needed to find the final volume of the Nine Palaces Stratagem.
Putting his worries aside, Ning Beichen found some time to visit Linglong with Liu Yilin.
Linglong remained the same. Her bodily functions were intact, but she was unconscious, and there was no telling when she would wake up. This made Ning Beichen feel very guilty, as he bore significant responsibility for her condition.
"Beichen, don't worry too much. I believe Linglong will wake up eventually."
Liu Yilin comforted him as they left.
"I hope so. Linglong's current state is entirely due to me. No matter what, I will find a way to wake her up."
Ning Beichen sighed, filled with guilt.
He currently had no good solutions. He had exhausted all the methods he could think of, but he still couldn't awaken Linglong. Therefore, Ning Beichen suspected that Linglong's condition was related to the underground structures in the uninhabited area of the Sahara Desert.
However, with his current strength, even if he returned to that underground structure, he wouldn't be able to explore further. He could only put aside the idea for the time being.
What was most important to him now was finding the last volume of the Nine Palaces Stratagem.
Because Ning Beichen felt that perhaps only by breaking through to the unity of man and nature realm from the Grandmaster realm would he be able to awaken Linglong.
But where could the last volume of the Nine Palaces Stratagem be?
Days turned into weeks. Shen Zongting didn't come to trouble Ning Beichen, likely because he couldn't find him. The Holy See had also been quiet during this period, so Ning Beichen didn't bother with them.
As long as they didn't seek him out, Ning Beichen would only trouble them if he had nothing better to do. For Ning Beichen, it was best if they all went their separate ways.
Ning Beichen remained in Haizhou New City, but he didn't live with Liu Yilin. Instead, he resided in Feng Wu's former house.
During this period.
Ning Beichen used the Holy Grail and the stone mill for his cultivation.
Initially, Ning Beichen showed slight progress.
But gradually.
Even the slightest progress ceased.
He was now like a vat filled with water, and the vat had reached its capacity. Any more water would spill out. This meant that Ning Beichen's cultivation had truly reached its limit.