Han Xuhan's return to the assembly went unnoticed by everyone except Chen Su. He told her about Xuan Zi's consent to their plan of recombining the teams, exempting the Heavenly Hailstorm Mountain peak, of course, because no one could stand Mu Ran, no one could cooperate with Yuen Zhou, and no one could possibly want Xiao Wu to be a part of their team because of his reputation as a trash.

Zuo Guanglie was in the middle of handing out the copies of the cultivation manual to each team leader. Han Xuhan took one from him and went over to the area where Mu Ran and Yuen Zhou were meditating, sitting separately from the rest of the geniuses who were closing in on the limit of the first layer.

"Martial sister Zhou, here are the documents you need..." Alongside the treasure tracing technique, Han Xuhan handed her the map containing the weight allotment scheme of the Gateway Spell. Mu Ran took no notice of it, and Yuen Zhou's reaction was placid.

"Thank you, martial brother. I will go back to the mountain and prepare for a successful invasion. Martial brother Ran, when do you think you'll be able to reach the peak of the first layer? I'm already quite close to it."

Mu Ran cracked open one eyelid and answered, "Just come look for me when you hit the limit. I'll be done before you."

Han Xuhan left them to their devices and went to the back of the assembly, where his three minions were cultivating behind a large rock.

"Master! I broke through! It took me just five cycles!" Zhanxian said excitedly when they met. "I'm now an early 3rd Layer cultivator of the Spiritual Bones technique!"

The semi-transparent armour of solidified qi shone dimly under the sunlight, covering Zhanxian's palm, wrist, and half of his forearm bones. This one arm would now become part of Xuhan's own body when they fused together!

"And I am already well on my way to gaining some minor accomplishments in the 2nd layer. My breakthrough took only one cycle, hehehe. Man, I could have crossed Zhanxian by now if you didn't keep edging us with those hoarded resources." Tun Shi Tian's complaint fell on deaf ears. Han Xuhan only glanced at the claws covered by the qi armour. He couldn't be sure which part of his body these claws contributed to. Wherever it was, he would sense the difference in strength once he fused with Tun Shi Tian.

"Excellent job, minions. And what about my little Zhe? How's she doing?" He asked, watching the little snake run around amidst the tall grass around them, chasing a tiny grasshopper.

"She's about to break into the second layer too. She would have succeeded if not for the fact that she finds cultivation boring. Couldn't make her sit still for more than five cycles. She just runs away when our eyes are closed."

Han Xuhan expected as much from the immature minion. There was no point in forcing it.

"You two return to the hut with her and stabilize your foundations in the new minor realm. I'll be there in a while. We have a shitton of experiments and observations to make today."

Sending them on their way, Han Xuhan returned in the gathering and helped with the new team allotment procedure. Not every disciple got along with the rest of their peers. They were barely tolerating it when the Sect Master created the teams, but now, everyone had strong opinions on which team they wanted to be a part of. After a long, chaotic hour, the defense team members managed to make fifteen teams of varied sizes, ranging from seven to thirteen members.

Once the assembly cleared up, Han Xuhan regrouped with the defense team and dropped a small bomb.

"Hey, everyone, I'm sure you remember that I have been given the permission to abstain from any sort of teamwork in this round of the tournament," he said, exaggerating the reward Xuan Zi had given him since nobody was there to stop him. "Well, I have decided to make full use of it, just like you all thought I would. I'm going back to my mountain peak to cultivate in peace. The task of defending the sect's treasures will be up to you nine. Don't contact me unless there's an emergency."

The entire defense team looked on in dumbfounded silence as he turned around and skipped his way toward the Heavenly Hailstorm Mountain peak, not even waiting for their response.

Chen Su looked like she wanted to stop him, but Zhang Dahai yelled out before she could.

"Brother Xuhan, what about our contribution plan? Don't you remember that we're supposed to use Brother Yue's special physique to steal other sects' cultivation techniques?"

Han Xuhan didn't turn his head as he shouted back, "I wouldn't be of much help in that plan anyway. What do you want me to do? Fight them to a standstill? Hah! I have the lowest cultivation level in our team. Fighting is the last thing I would do out there."

Seeing his back disappear outside the central plain, Zhang Dahai was more puzzled than anyone else. "Why did that guy suddenly change his plans? He was so enthusiastic about the whole thing..."

"Oh well, we can't force someone to take part in a dangerous plan if they don't want to, can we?" Liu Yue said helplessly. "Let's just wait here and see if any of our invasion teams can bring back a treasure set. That way, we can at least put up a fight instead of these endless automatic forfeitures."

"Something doesn't add up. Brother Xuhan's a cautious guy, from what I can tell. But he never lets go of a chance to show off or make a profit." Chen Su's mumbles were heard by the entire team. Those who were acquainted with Han Xuhan agreed unanimously, but they could not guess why he would leave this crucial chance to make contributions to the Sect.

"Whatever, it's not like we need him in the team. None of us wanted him here anyway. Let's get going, everybody," Zhang Dahai said. The matter ended there for the time being.

.............................................................

Han Xuhan returned to Xiao Wu's hut alone. Mu Ran was busy inside, trying to master the treasure tracing technique. Xiao Wu had no such aspirations. He was teaching the two older minions about the Tentacle Monster Technique between his own cultivation sessions of the Astral Warbeast form.

Han Xuhan listened to the lecture for a while and realized that Xiao Wu's understanding of the manual differed from his own. The line of thinking with which he approached the abstract theories was mind-boggling to him.

But this did not mean that only one of them was on the correct path. For such abstract aspects of cultivation, personal thinking and approach made each cultivator's foundation special, unique even. Han Xuhan had heard the Elders mention that these specialties and uniqueness were bad only if one had limited potential as a cultivator. For those whose sight was set on the realms beyond the Soul Reformation stage, having a uniqueness to their foundation was often a key to unlocking the secrets entombed within the barriers of the upper realms.

Yuen Zhou came by a couple of hours later with good news. She had broken through to the second layer of the treasure tracing technique. Han Xuhan was almost disheartened upon realizing that it had taken her approximately eight hours to reach a level close to his. He had cultivated for an entire night, that too, in his twofold fused form!

So, even at his very best, he didn't have an advantage over this lass in terms of cultivation speed? The understanding was a harsh tug back to reality for Han Xuhan. Even though he could be called a monstrous cultivator in his fused form, he wasn't the bigger monster in front of his martial siblings.

Mu Ran, who had boasted that he would be ready to head out by the time Yuen Zhou mastered the technique, was startled to learn the news too. When Xuhan asked him whether he wanted to start the invasion missions now, he answered with a stiff expression, "Er...lunch! How about we have some lunch before heading out? I'm feeling quite famished after my cultivation sessions. Go prepare something good, Xuhan. Something that takes a while to be cooked...because meals like that are tastier and healthier."

"Right, I suppose you'll be cultivating a bit more in that timeframe to stabilize your second layer foundation, eh?" Han Xuhan asked him.

"Of course, you know me so well, Xuhan. When have I not utilized every second of my time?" Mu Ran said before sinking into meditation in a hurry.