Everyone's a Master: I'll reward my disciples ten thousandfold!

"This is a century-old spiritual milk."

Chen Yuan held up two thumb-sized white jade bottles, his tone so flat it was completely devoid of emotion.

"This will help you solidify your foundation. One bottle per person, refine it immediately."

The two small bottles gleamed with a warm, creamy white luster in the afternoon sunlight. Their mouths were unsealed, and a wisp of pale blue mist wafted from them, filling the hall.

The entire dilapidated hall was instantly filled with a sweet fragrance.

The moment the fragrance entered their nostrils, the spiritual energy within Lin Xiao and Su Muhan's bodies simultaneously trembled violently.

Both of their pupils contracted simultaneously.

"Disciple thanks the Sect Leader for bestowing this treasure!"

Lin Xiao took a half step forward first and accepted one of the white jade bottles with both hands.

The moment his fingertips touched the bottle, a warm sensation rushed up his arm and into his dantian. The mere overflowing medicinal energy accelerated the flow of spiritual energy within his body by three points.

Lin Xiao glanced down at the small bottle in his hand, then turned his head to look at the same white jade bottle in Su Muhan's hand.

Identical bottles. Identical quantities.

The sect leader gave the eldest disciple and the second disciple exactly the same things.

Lin Xiao felt a sudden surge of warmth in his heart.

Su Muhan had only been a disciple for less than half a day. Normally, sect resources should be prioritized for the most senior and meritorious disciples—a golden rule that has been in place in the cultivation world for thousands of years.

But the sect leader did not do that.

One bottle for each person, impartial and unbiased.

What is the sect leader trying to tell him?

Guiyuan Sect has no distinction between legitimate and illegitimate members, nor between those who came first and those who didn't! As long as one is loyal to the sect, the sect will treat them with sincerity!

This is the greatest respect and trust a sect leader can show to his disciples.

Lin Xiao's Adam's apple bobbed, and he solemnly pressed the white jade bottle against his chest.

The sect leader was not only teaching him cultivation, but also teaching him what a "sect" was.

On the other side, Su Muhan held the white jade bottle in both hands, her fingertips trembling slightly.

She lowered her head, her eyelashes trembling.

The eldest disciple followed the sect leader through thick and thin, single-handedly shouldering the burden of the entire sect.

What about her?

She was an orphan girl who was picked up from a cellar, and she had only been in the family for less than half a day and had not yet accomplished anything.

The sect leader, however, gave her the exact same precious treasure as his senior brother.

Su Muhan secretly glanced at Lin Xiao.

When the eldest brother received the spiritual milk, he showed no dissatisfaction, not even the slightest hesitation.

What does this tell us?

This shows that the sect leader has always done things this way. The eldest disciple was already used to the sect leader's style of doing things, so he wasn't surprised at all.

The sect leader was afraid that she, as a newly initiated disciple, would feel inferior, so he deliberately used the principle of "treating everyone equally" to eliminate any potential estrangement between her and the senior disciple.

Su Muhan felt a lump in her throat and blinked hard twice.

She had never been treated like this before.

Chen Yuan stood in front of the offering table, his hands behind his back, his expression completely still.

But his mind was racing with calculations.

A portion of spiritual milk was split in two and given to two people. How does the system determine this? Is it counted as one gift or two?

If we calculate it twice, Su Muhan uses one of her remaining chances, and Lin Xiao also uses one. That means two returns, a huge profit.

If we only count it once... it's not a loss, since the Spirit Milk is a free reward anyway.

Let's take a gamble.

"Take it immediately," Chen Yuan ordered.

The two no longer hesitated.

Lin Xiao uncorked the bottle, tilted his head back, and drank the spiritual milk in one gulp.

Following his senior brother's example, Su Muhan took small sips and swallowed the liquid from the bottle.

The moment the spiritual milk entered his throat, Chen Yuan pricked up his ears, waiting for the system notification sound.

Three seconds passed.

Five seconds.

[Ding! Successfully bestowed "Centennial Spirit Milk" upon disciple Su Muhan!]

[Number of refunds remaining today: 1.]

[Trigger a 1000x critical hit and get a refund!]

[Congratulations, host! You have obtained a low-grade Earth-rank rare treasure: Millennium Spirit Essence!]

Chen Yuan's eyelid twitched.

It only rang once.

The system only granted the favor to Su Muhan, consuming her second chance for the day. There was no response from Lin Xiao.

My dream of exploiting the double reward bug has been shattered.

However—a thousandfold critical hit, a rare earth-rank treasure.

With a thought, Chen Yuan found a palm-sized jade box in his system inventory. Inside the box lay a fist-sized, milky-white crystal, its surface shimmering with a faint glow.

【Millennial Spiritual Essence (Low-Grade Earth): Contains pure spiritual essence accumulated over a thousand years. Consuming it can significantly widen meridians, temper the physical body, and has remarkable effects on breaking through cultivation bottlenecks.】

Earthly terrace.

The highest-grade item ever seen in this world is only Yellow Rank.

The thing in his hand jumped directly to the Earth Rank.

Chen Yuan put the millennium-old spiritual marrow into his backpack.

In the center of the main hall, Lin Xiao and Su Muhan sat cross-legged, refining the spiritual milk.

Lin Xiao finished first.

He opened his eyes and looked down at his hands.

His cultivation level did not increase.

The total amount of spiritual energy at the third level of Qi Refining was exactly the same as before consuming the spiritual milk, without any increase whatsoever.

But it feels different now.

Because he had forcibly broken through to the next level by taking pills, his spiritual energy, though abundant, carried a noticeable sense of emptiness. The flow of spiritual energy in his meridians would occasionally stagnate briefly, like fine sand accumulating in a riverbed.

Now all that fine sand has been washed away.

The spiritual energy circulates smoothly, the dantian is stable, and the meridians are unobstructed.

Every strand of spiritual energy became extremely solid, and when mobilized, it could be used precisely where needed.

Lin Xiao suddenly looked up at Chen Yuan, who was standing in front of the offering table.

The sect leader did not choose to bestow stronger pills upon them so they could continue to break through.

Instead, she chose the Spirit Milk.

Strengthen the foundation and cultivate vitality.

The sect leader was telling him—if the foundation is not solid, the earth will shake.

Breaking through three realms in succession is already a heaven-defying feat; if one does not solidify one's foundation in time, the consequences will be endless.

The sect leader sees further than anyone else.

Lin Xiao stood up and knelt on one knee.

"This disciple's foundation is now solid. Thank you, Sect Leader, for your foresight!"

Su Muhan opened her eyes at the same time.

The changes within her body were more dramatic than those in Lin Xiao's.

The spiritual energy that was initially somewhat sluggish when the Supreme Primordial Chaos Technique was activated was now completely tamed. After being nourished by the spiritual milk, the meridians could withstand at least 20% more spiritual energy.

She also failed to make a breakthrough.

But she was not disappointed.

The sect leader never bestows brute force, but rather wisdom.

Su Muhan knelt down after Lin Xiao.

"Disciple thanks the Sect Leader for the medicine!"

Chen Yuan's lips twitched, but he forcefully suppressed it.

These two disciples' ability to fill in the blanks has evolved to a whole new level. He merely casually distributed two free rewards, yet they were interpreted as having three layers of meaning.

Treat everyone equally, eliminate barriers, and strengthen the foundation.

They made it all up themselves.

But the results were surprisingly good.

After the two stood up, there was something new in their eyes when they looked at him. It wasn't just admiration and awe, but more like a deep sense of belonging.

Get up.

The two stood up.

Chen Yuan glanced at the two people's auras and states.

With the spiritual energy flowing smoothly and the meridians being nourished by the spiritual milk, the cultivation limit increased by at least 20%.

Okay, the time has come.

His thoughts drifted into his system inventory. The millennium-old spiritual essence lay quietly in the jade box.

This item is a product returned by the system and cannot trigger a critical hit again. However, it is a rare earth-grade treasure, with medicinal power far exceeding that of ordinary items by a hundred times. The stronger the disciple, the higher the cultivation level will be simultaneously accumulated.

No matter how you look at it, this is a win-win situation.