"Master, I believe it's about time. I'll go into seclusion now."
Since his true strength had been revealed, Lin Chen felt there was no need to continue pretending. He immediately said to Zhao Long.
They were about to go seek revenge at the Ghost Spirit Sect, so the higher his cultivation level, the better.
Otherwise, if any danger arose, his master and martial aunt would have to be distracted to protect him.
This was something Lin Chen absolutely could not accept at this time.
"Yes, go ahead!"
Zhao Long nodded at Lin Chen's words, his expression filled with affirmation.
He was also very eager to see how high his disciple could reach now.
"Mom, Dad, I'm going into seclusion!"
Lin Chen then bid farewell to Lin Xianfeng and Wang Fang before turning back to his room.
Indeed, as Zhao Long had just said, he had been concealing his true strength all this while.
Back during the Southwest Grand Competition, when he killed Wu Quan Gui, he had already touched the threshold of the late Nascent Soul stage.
However, he understood the principle that "the tall tree in the forest will be destroyed by the wind."
If he appeared too brilliant, it would inevitably attract the attention of those with ulterior motives.
It was precisely for this reason that he had been deliberately suppressing his cultivation.
But now that his master had emerged from seclusion, and he had a powerful backing, there was no longer any reason to hide his abilities!
Given the strength of his master and martial aunt, there were hardly anyone in the entire Dragon Country who could match them.
Even if someone were to try and kill him, his master's power would be more than enough to protect him.
Having realized the crucial point, Zhao Heng no longer hesitated and entered the Nine Dragon Ring.
On the cultivation platform within the Nine Dragon Ring, several gourds were placed.
These gourds were filled with all sorts of pills, specially prepared for his breakthrough.
Because the time ratio between the Nine Dragon Ring and the outside world had reached five to one,
he actually had plenty of spare time whenever he refined pills. To avoid arousing suspicion, he could only stay in the Nine Dragon Ring to refine them.
It was also due to this prolonged accumulation that he had such confidence now!
"Come on, I'm also very eager to see what realm I can break through to!"
Looking at the abundance of pills before him, a hint of anticipation flashed in Lin Chen's eyes.
He had been suppressing his cultivation all this time. He wondered what realm he could reach now that he had completely let go.
"Perhaps, it will be at least the Half-step Nascent Soul stage?"
Thinking of this, Lin Chen couldn't help but chuckle.
After saying this, Lin Chen deliberately held his breath and focused, consuming an entire gourd of Spirit Guiding Pills.
Soon, Lin Chen felt a surge of immense spiritual energy erupt within him, beginning to circulate through his meridians.
Lin Chen dared not delay, quickly using his spiritual sense to guide this spiritual energy throughout his body, permeating every inch of his skin.
Unbeknownst to Lin Chen, as he was diligently cultivating, the entire scene within the Nine Dragon Ring began to change.
The original time flow of five to one gradually slowed down, until it finally reached a ratio of ten to one before slowly coming to a halt.
"Dong!"
As Lin Chen meditated with his eyes closed, a resonant, ancient bell chime suddenly sounded in his mind.
Hearing this, Lin Chen's eyes snapped open, and he looked in the direction of the Scripture Tower.
At that moment, the large bell on top of the Scripture Tower had inexplicably begun to ring.
"What's going on? This bell weighs ten thousand jin, how can it suddenly start ringing?"
Lin Chen was astonished by this sight.
He had a good understanding of almost everything within the Nine Dragon Ring, but the bell on the Scripture Tower, he had never understood its purpose.
The bell had a very ancient design, and its weight was such that even he could not budge it.
Therefore, he had always thought it was merely a decorative item.
But to think that under these circumstances, it would suddenly produce such a phenomenon, truly surprised Lin Chen.
"No, I have to go and see!"
Seeing that something unusual was happening within the Nine Dragon Ring, Zhao Heng immediately got up and flew towards the Scripture Tower.
The Scripture Tower used to be so quiet that one could hear a pin drop. Now, with the bell inexplicably ringing, something must have happened.
With this thought, Zhao Heng's speed increased, and he soon arrived before the large bell.
Lin Chen reached out and touched the surface of the bell, causing it to tremble once more.
"Dong!"
With a loud chime, Lin Chen found that the large bell instantly shrank and flew above his head, enveloping him.
"What's going on? Why is it suddenly covering me?"
Lin Chen was utterly perplexed by this turn of events.
However, no matter how he thought about it, he couldn't sense any malice from the bell. On the contrary, the golden light emanating from it gave him a sense of great security.
But before Lin Chen could react, he suddenly felt a surge of dense spiritual energy emanating from the bell.
This spiritual energy, as if it had a consciousness of its own, directly rushed into Lin Chen's Heavenly Spirit Gate.
"Is this... a 'tíhú guàndǐng'?"
Sensing the bell's actions, Lin Chen was shocked.
Back in prison, his master Zhao Long had used this method of 'tíhú guàndǐng' on him, which involved transferring one's spiritual energy to another person.
However, doing so would also cause a significant decrease in the donor's cultivation. He never expected such a thing to happen within the Nine Dragon Ring.
And the one transferring spiritual energy to him was this ancient bell. What was going on?
Despite pondering, Zhao Heng could not figure it out and could only silently begin to absorb the spiritual energy being transmitted by the bell.
More importantly, as Lin Chen absorbed this spiritual energy, he felt an unusual sensation flooding his mind.
"Impossible, right? Apart from 'tíhú guàndǐng', it's also transmitting the laws of heaven and earth to me. What is the origin of this bell?"
At this moment, Lin Chen was truly bewildered.
It was understandable that the bell contained spiritual energy, but it also contained such a vast amount of the laws of heaven and earth.
If this was the case, then this bell must be a treasure left behind from ancient times!