"Hmm! Since you've brought him here, you may leave now," said a deep voice coming from the stone disk in front of Renault.

The voice was powerful, suggesting that whoever was speaking had an incredibly high level of cultivation.

The stone disk began to spin, causing the spiritual energy in the room to surge. Suddenly, a talisman shot out of the distorted space and flew towards Lu Youqing.

Renault recognized it as the same type of talisman Elder Lu had used earlier to activate the formation.

Elder Lu's face lit up as he caught the talisman. It meant he could now return to this secret chamber to train whenever no one else was around.

The previous talisman had also been a gift from his master, solely to bring Renault here.

After bowing in thanks, Elder Lu left, leaving Renault alone in the chamber.

The spiritual energy was dense, but there was a chilling aura in the air, making the place feel unsettling.

"Where am I?" Renault murmured to himself.

"This is the **Tianji Stone Chamber**, a place of great fortune. Whether you can stay here or not depends on whether you are worthy," the stone disk responded again.

"Why did you have Elder Lu bring me here? Are you planning to take me as your disciple?" Renault asked casually. "But unless I'm formally accepted into Tianji Sect, I won't acknowledge you as my master."

"Hahaha… You sure have some nerve! But if you become my disciple, you will, by default, be a disciple of Tianji Sect," the stone disk said confidently.

Renault nodded. "Fine." In truth, Renault wasn’t concerned about finding a master; his goal was to join a large sect so he could trigger spiritual cultivation quests through the system.

Without completing specific spiritual cultivation tasks, it would be impossible for him to advance his cultivation level.

"You’ve got quite the attitude, but whether I accept you or not depends on whether I find you worthy," the disk said smugly.

"I don’t care if you don’t accept me as a disciple. If you won’t, just send me out. Tomorrow is the sect's disciple selection competition, and I’m certain I’ll get in," Renault replied, not wanting to waste any more time talking to a stone disk.

"Kid, what’s so great about the selection competition? If you become my disciple, you'll gain far more benefits, and your cultivation will advance quickly," the disk added.

Suddenly, a system notification rang in Renault’s mind: 

"**Player Renault has activated the hidden quest: 'Apprenticeship.' Would you like to accept?**"

Hearing this, Renault smiled. A hidden quest! Not accepting it would be foolish.

Renault clasped his hands and bowed. "Disciple Renault greets his master." He didn’t care if his master was human or stone. As long as he could get a quest, he would take the apprenticeship.

"You brat…" The stone disk seemed exasperated. Just moments ago, Renault had been defiant about not wanting a master, and now, without so much as waiting for permission, he was bowing in submission.

But Renault's strange behavior wasn’t the issue—the real question was whether he had the talent to back it up.

Suddenly, an invisible force enveloped Renault, making him feel as though thousands of hands were gently examining him.

"Unbelievable…" the stone disk muttered in shock. "You… You really possess a **Celestial Spirit Body**, an extraordinary constitution for cultivation."

"Impossible…" The stone disk then shouted again, "A **Celestial Dual Element Body**! This type of physique is almost unheard of!"

Hearing the stone disk’s excitement, Renault smiled inwardly. It seemed his apprenticeship was going well.

"Good… good… good…" the disk repeated. "I’ll take you as my disciple."

Another system notification rang: 

"**Player Renault has successfully completed the apprenticeship quest. You are now a disciple of Tianji Sect. Reward: One 'Wind-Chasing Pill.'**"

Renault was overjoyed and bowed again. "Disciple greets his master."

This apprenticeship seemed almost too easy, and the quest was completed in no time. Still, Renault was slightly disappointed that the quest only rewarded items and not experience points. Nevertheless, useful items were always welcome!

And so, Renault became a disciple of the stone disk. Of course, he knew the disk was merely a conduit; his true master was elsewhere.

For the next year, Renault spent his days meditating in the stone chamber, following the cultivation techniques taught by the stone disk.

Surprisingly, meditating according to the techniques allowed Renault to gain experience, something he hadn’t expected.

While fighting monsters in the wild would have leveled him up faster, the disk wouldn’t allow him to leave the chamber. Besides, there were no new quests available at the time.

After a year of meditation, Renault had reached level 10. One more level and he would be able to progress from the **Opening the Spiritual Path** stage to the **Spirit Gathering** stage. However, he was still stuck at the initial stage of **Opening the Spiritual Path**, and without completing a spiritual cultivation quest, he couldn’t advance further.

In the **Tianji Stone Chamber**, he never felt hunger or thirst.

Opening his attribute panel, Renault allocated his free attribute points:

**Character:** Renault  

**Level:** 10 (89%) **Giant Spirit Divine Core**  

**Strength:** 110  

**Constitution:** 81  

**Agility:** 26  

**Speed:** 31  

**Spiritual Power:** 25  

**Element:** Fire, Earth  

**Spiritual Cultivation Level:** Initial Stage of **Opening the Spiritual Path**  

**HP:** 810  

**MP:** 250  

**Attack Power:** 1100  

**Mana:** 250  

**Defense:** 810  

**Movement Speed:** 310  

**Skill:** Giant Spirit Fist (Consumes 1000 MP, doubles strength-based attack power)

Renault allocated all five of his free attribute points to spiritual power, knowing that cultivating spiritual energy was now his priority.

Over the year, Renault had become highly proficient in controlling his spiritual energy. During this time, he also learned a new skill from the stone disk.

When a player became a spiritual cultivator, they could learn skills, but advancing to the next stage was required to learn new skills.

Despite being level 10, Renault was still at the initial stage of **Opening the Spiritual Path**, which meant he could only learn one skill.

Although the stone disk offered to teach him more skills, Renault declined, knowing he wouldn’t be able to learn them due to the system’s restrictions.

The disk found Renault odd. Despite diligently cultivating every day, his realm didn’t improve. His control over spiritual energy was excellent, and his comprehension was remarkable.

The disk couldn’t figure out why this talented disciple wasn’t progressing, and as Renault’s master, the disk felt somewhat embarrassed by its inability to identify the issue.

"My disciple, your comprehension is excellent, but your realm hasn’t advanced as it should. I know how hard you’ve been working, and I promise I will uncover the true reason for your stagnation," the stone disk assured Renault.