You're a Demonic Cultivator!

When the Chen Family's people had first been discovered, some quick-witted disciples had run to the Elder Hall to request the Grand Elder's intervention.

By coincidence, the Grand Elder and several other Elders had been discussing matters in the Elder Hall.

As the Grand Elder arrived in time, everyone consciously put away their magical artifacts and calmed down again.

After learning the cause of the matter, the Grand Elder first sternly rebuked the Chen Family members, ordering them to leave the hall immediately and wait outside.

He then took over the investigation, personally presiding over the inquiries into Xiao Chen and Elder Chen.

Several hours later, the complete investigation results were out. There was no evidence whatsoever that Xiao Chen had done anything wrong.

Naturally, there was no evidence proving that Elder Chen had done anything wrong either.

Only when the two were brought out at the end and searched on the spot for suspicious items did the Blazing Fire Peak Elder responsible for searching Xiao Chen notice something amiss.

"You're at the 7th level of Qi Refining!"

The moment he said this, the scene fell silent, and everyone's gaze focused on Xiao Chen.

With so many people watching him, Xiao Chen's expression remained unchanged. "Reporting to Elder, while cultivating this morning, I had an insight and successfully broke through."

As he spoke, he proactively released his aura.

A cultivator who had only recently broken through had a relatively unstable aura, with obvious, irregular fluctuations that were easy to distinguish.

The Elders present immediately looked at one another, their eyes widening in shock and disbelief.

After all, through the investigation that had just concluded, they had all learned that half a year ago, Xiao Chen had still been a Chore Disciple at the Qi Refining First Layer.

Yet now, in just seven months, this Chore Disciple had traveled a road that took others seven years, breaking through realm after realm to reach the 7th level of Qi Refining.

All the Elders present were dumbfounded, unable to believe their eyes.

Throughout the history of the Li Fire Sect since its founding, there had never been a disciple whose cultivation advanced so quickly.

Even one ancestral master back then with a Fire Heavenly Spirit Root had taken a full ten months to go from the Qi Refining First Layer to the 7th level of Qi Refining.

Yet Xiao Chen had actually shattered this record that had stood for a thousand years, improving its speed by thirty percent in one stroke.

It was simply unbelievable!

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

Jiang Shiyou shouted, his face flushed red and his eyes nearly splitting with rage.

The instant he heard the words "this morning," he had realized that he had fallen into Elder Chen's scheme.

No wonder the other man had been willing to step forward and protect Xiao Chen. He had been trying to win over a genius disciple with monstrous potential.

This way, Xiao Chen would not only become Elder Chen's disciple and develop goodwill toward the Chen Family, but would also inevitably come to hate the Jiang Family—especially him, Jiang Shiyou.

Elder Chen, meanwhile, wore a smile, victory already in his grasp. This consideration had been one of the reasons he had arranged for Manager Chen to act as he did.

With this conflict as a catalyst, once Xiao Chen grew stronger in the future, he would surely stand with the Chen Family and help them fight the Jiang Family.

Jiang Shiyou quickly realized this as well. His gaze turned cold. No, he absolutely could not let this go.

Either do not offend someone, or offend them to the death—leave no future trouble behind!

If he remembered correctly, Xiao Chen had been listed in the sect records as possessing a Low-grade Spirit Root.

For him to break through so quickly, there had to be some other shady business behind it that had yet to be uncovered.

Just then, a flash of inspiration struck Jiang Shiyou, and he immediately recalled something he had once read.

Thirty years ago, a similar incident had occurred in Four Seas Sect, one of the three major sects of Li Province.

At the time, an Outer Sect Disciple of Four Seas Sect had suddenly seen his cultivation soar and had been regarded as a prodigy rarely seen in a century.

In the end, however, it was proven that he had merely taken a shortcut and secretly cultivated a Demonic Art.

Thinking of this, Jiang Shiyou looked at Xiao Chen again. Could this Chore Disciple who had suddenly risen to prominence also have cultivated a Demonic Art?

Of course, this was only a guess—or rather, a malicious speculation—for he had no evidence at all.

Yet without even a moment's hesitation, Jiang Shiyou pointed directly at Xiao Chen. "You're a Demonic Cultivator! A spy sent by the Demonic Sect!"

The moment these words came out, it was as though a huge boulder had crashed into a lake, one stone stirring up a thousand waves.

The words "Demonic Cultivator" were practically the greatest accusation and slander that could be leveled at any normal cultivator.

Since ancient times, countless Demonic Cultivators burdened with heinous crimes had committed all manner of horrifying atrocities.

As a result, the Righteous Cultivators of the entire Cultivation World, along with all Rogue Cultivators, shared one consensus—Demonic Cultivators deserved death!

Once a cultivator was identified as a Demonic Cultivator, it meant that he would be abandoned and hunted down by the entire righteous path.

Cultivators who killed Demonic Cultivators would even be hailed as heroes.

It could be said that Jiang Shiyou's accusation was tantamount to indirectly sentencing Xiao Chen to death.

Upon hearing this, Elder Chen immediately retorted, "You're fucking spouting nonsense, Jiang Shiyou! Do you know what you're saying?"

The Grand Elder's face also darkened. "Such words cannot be thrown around carelessly. Do you have any supporting evidence?"

But Jiang Shiyou declared with absolute certainty, "I checked the sect records. When this Xiao Chen entered the sect, he possessed a Low-grade Spirit Root. Everyone, a Low-grade Spirit Root!"

"I believe everyone here understands what that means. Even when breaking through Minor Bottlenecks, cultivators with Low-grade Spirit Roots will encounter obstacles."

"Only those with High-grade Spirit Roots can advance through the Qi Refining Realm without bottlenecks and reach Great Perfection directly."

The more Jiang Shiyou spoke, the more confident he became. He even questioned someone on the spot. "Jiang Cungang, you have a Mid-grade Spirit Root. Tell us, how long did it take you to break through to Late-Stage Qi Refining?"

Jiang Cungang said, "Reporting to Elder, after reaching completion of the 6th level of Qi Refining, this disciple spent another year polishing my cultivation before I successfully broke through."

"Did you all hear that?" Jiang Shiyou's voice rose higher and higher. "Yet Xiao Chen, with a Low-grade Spirit Root, has broken through rapidly time and again. What gives him the right?"

"Xiao Chen, tell me—what gives you the right to cross the bottlenecks imposed by your spirit root?"

Then, without waiting for Xiao Chen to answer, he delivered his conclusion on the spot. "There is only one truth—you're a Demonic Cultivator!"

Elder Chen immediately grew anxious. "Jiang Shiyou, you can't just call someone a Demonic Cultivator with your bare mouth. Bring out evidence for everyone to see."

"If you can prove that Xiao Chen is a Demonic Cultivator, I'll personally clean house."

"But if you have no evidence, then shut the fuck up! Stop fucking slandering people here!"

Yet Jiang Shiyou shamelessly retorted, "Xiao Chen, tell us yourself. What gives you the right to cross the innate bottlenecks? If you can't explain it, then you're a Demonic Cultivator."

Xiao Chen nearly laughed when he heard this. "Elder Jiang, as an Elder of the Law Enforcement Hall, do you convict people based only on your mouth?"

"With your lips coming together, I'm the one who has to prove my own innocence instead? What kind of logic is that?"

Jiang Shiyou ignored Xiao Chen entirely and instead looked toward the Grand Elder. "Senior Brother Song, if a Demonic Cultivator has infiltrated the sect, the consequences will be endless."

The Grand Elder lowered his head in contemplation for a moment before finally choosing to believe Jiang Shiyou. "Xiao Chen, then explain to everyone how you broke through to Late-Stage Qi Refining."

"If your explanation is reasonable, presumably it may also help your fellow disciples. I will make the decision to grant you five hundred Spirit Stones as payment for sharing your Experience and Insights."

"If you cannot explain it..." The Grand Elder paused.

"This old man would rather wrong an innocent person than let a single suspicious Demonic Cultivator escape."