Who let him join the Sword Sect?!

As she finished speaking, Hui Xue stepped into the main room and quickly found Old Owl, who had fainted under the bed.

After confirming her companion was merely unconscious and not in serious danger, Hui Xue finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Hui Xue sat by the bed, replaying the event, but the more she thought about it, the angrier she became, and the angrier she got, the more she pondered.

Because that counterfeit Emperor had escaped right under her nose and even tricked her.

After a while, her blood pressure soared, and stubborn as a mule, Hui Xue took out a little walnut to contact Wei Changsheng.

"Feeling homesick?" Wei Changsheng's cheerful voice sounded from the little walnut.

"No, Old Wei, let me tell you something. I'm not going back." Hui Xue said.

"Hmm? What's going on?" Wei Changsheng asked.

"The situation is tricky, I've been played. I swear I won't go home until I catch that counterfeit seller and bring him to justice!"

Having said that, ignoring whatever Wei Changsheng had to say, Hui Xue put away the little walnut and continued sitting by the bed, sulking alone.

In a certain alley of Thousand Mechanism Town, the mysterious counterfeit Emperor, having shaken off his pursuers, removed his disguise and donned his black battle robe again, hiding his face beneath the hood.

"Little girl, this is the first lesson, people can be counterfeited too."

After leaving the words on the alley wall, he walked out of the alley and blended into the crowd.

As he approached the town gate, he stopped a stranger, opened his robe, and lowered his voice.

"The latest little walnut, Dragon Tiger Mountain's split-screen limited edition, cheap for you, want one, sis?"

Mei'Er, who had just returned from the Sword Sect Main Pavilion, found this person somewhat baffling, but before she could speak, the counterfeit Emperor realized something was off about this girl.

"Sorry, wrong person."

After saying that, he slipped past Mei'Er.

By the time Mei'Er turned around, he had already disappeared.

However, Mei'Er didn't pay much mind. She had returned under the Sect Leader's order to check on Zhang Ze's cultivation progress.

Under the Sect Leader's instruction, if Zhang Ze's cultivation was too slow, she could directly bring him back to the Main Pavilion.

Returning to the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion with ease, Mei'Er happened to see Chen Qin playing with Phoenix Rongrong in the courtyard.

"Whose little chick is this?" Mei'Er walked over and asked.

Rongrong, having been influenced by Li, was displeased hearing this, but just before spewing fire, Chen Qin stopped her, and after calming Rongrong, she lovingly held the Little Phoenix up to Mei'Er.

"This is a Phoenix!"

Having been away from the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion for a while, Mei'Er was clearly a bit out of the loop.

But that's fine, as long as the miss is happy.

"Where is Zhang Ze? The Sect Leader has ordered me to check his cultivation progress." Mei'Er ruffled Chen Qin's little head.

"That's perfect timing, Senior Brother is performing Core Formation for Elder Li. Mei'Er, come with me." Chen Qin placed Rongrong on her head, then took Mei'Er's hand and ran towards the Teleportation Array connecting the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion to the Sword Pavilion.

Mei'Er was even more confused.

"Performing?"

"Is this how you form a Golden Core?"

"Isn't this a bit too casual?"

...

The Seventh Sword Pavilion.

"Is this how you form a Golden Core?" Zhang Ze was also asking the same question to his master.

He didn't expect that his first attempt at Core Formation would go awry like this.

Seeing his disciple questioning him, Li Guanqi didn't know how to answer, so he turned to the knowledgeable Wang Buyu.

Old Wang shook his head and turned to his own master, "Is this how you form a Golden Core?"

Always composed, Pavilion Master Zhengyi revealed a puzzled expression. He stared at Zhang Ze for a while but couldn't make a professional judgment.

In a rare moment of seeking advice, Pavilion Master Zhengyi asked Old Tang, "Is this how you form a Golden Core?"

Equally nonchalant as always, Old Tang, after calculating for ages with a magical artifact, couldn't figure anything out.

"I've lived a long life as a Taoist, but I've never seen a kid form a Golden Core like this."

The cultivation method of the Human Race originated from the ancient Demon Beast's Inner Core. From the method of Outer Pill to Core Formation inside the body, it has evolved over millennia.

Whether a large sect or a small one, a human cultivator's Golden Core is forged within oneself, condensed from essence, energy, and spirit.

It is a perfectly round, golden Golden Core.

Symbolizing a cultivator's full circulation completion, it marks the official embarkation on the path of cultivation.

This is the normal scenario, but Zhang Ze is anything but normal.

The seasoned masters had never seen a Golden Core like Zhang Ze's before.

White and quite large.

A white Golden Core, larger by two sizes than a typical one, smooth and glossy, was drawn out of Zhang Ze's body, floating in front of everyone.

This was the surprise he just gave to his master.

Old Li was indeed shocked, thinking his disciple was having a mental disorder, anxiously bringing out his treasured Spirit-Protecting Magical Artifact.

After a check, he confirmed Zhang Ze was fine; it was just the color of the Golden Core that was unusual.

Calmed down, Old Li called in Old Wang, who then brought in the Pavilion Master, and finally, they pulled Old Tang over.

The seniors studied for quite a while but couldn't decipher anything from it.

However, at that moment, Old Wang noticed something else.

"Why does your aura feel off, aren't you a Golden Core?" Old Wang asked.

Prompted by Wang Buyu's reminder, Old Li and the others realized that Zhang Ze's aura indeed felt off.

Though the jade-white Golden Core was still floating outside, Zhang Ze's aura was indeed in the pre-Core Formation state.

Being reminded, Zhang Ze sensed himself and found it to be true.

"Maybe Golden Cores are first formed rough, and then colored later." Zhang Ze voiced his guess, "I rushed it and took it out before finishing."

"Wouldn't this count as a proper Half-Step Golden Core?"

Listening to Zhang Ze's somewhat nonsensical guess, the masters wanted to refute but felt he might be onto something.