Steward Lin Chuan

Yang Chen had been in the sect for nearly five months, and he had also inquired about where the steward Lin Chuan lived.

After Wang Kui left, he immediately rushed to the mountainside of Nineteen Peaks.

Nineteenth Servant Peak was two thousand three hundred zhang tall, and could be called a majestic and towering peak. Snow perpetually covered the summit, making it extremely difficult for mortals to climb.

The summit was the cultivation cave dwelling of the Nineteen Peaks' overseer, while the mountainside was the steward's cultivation ground.

After spending more than twenty minutes, he arrived outside the steward's cultivation ground in Area 8. Although called a cultivation ground, it was actually a large training area with a serene environment and multiple halls built along the mountain.

As he reached the entrance, disciples wearing servant attire immediately appeared and stared at him with a scrutinizing gaze, "Steward's cultivation ground, unauthorized personnel are forbidden to approach!"

"Disciple Yang Chen, greetings, Senior Brother!"

Yang Chen cupped his fists, not surprised to see servant disciples here.

In fact, among all the servant disciples in Area 8, the highest status belonged to the disciples within the steward's training grounds. They were the closest to Lin Chuan and had the most opportunities to see him.

"What brings you here?"

"Junior Brother is here to request the Lord to uphold justice. The spirit field I'm responsible for was..."

Yang Chen explained the situation in detail. The servant disciple blocking his way nodded slightly after listening, "Wait here, I'll go in and report."

"Thank you, Senior Brother!"

"It's just part of my duty."

The blocking disciple waved his hand and entered the training grounds.

A steward's power was composed of strength and status. Lin Chuan's strength was self-evident, enough to suppress all disciples in Area 8. His status, however, came from his direct authority to manage the servant disciples.

In short, the rewards and punishments for all servant disciples in Area 8 were in Lin Chuan's hands.

Since the incident occurred in the spirit field Yang Chen was responsible for, the authority to handle it lay with Lin Chuan. This was also why Wang Kui had told him to wait here.

"The scenery here is truly beautiful."

Yang Chen waited patiently, gazing into the distance. Standing halfway up the mountain, the view was extremely expansive. He could even vaguely see distant peaks floating and sinking between heaven and earth.

Looking down, one could clearly see clusters of residential areas, including the residential areas where Yang Chen and the others lived. The entire Area 8 was divided into five residential zones. Yang Chen and the other new disciples lived in Zone 1, which was also the residential area for disciples who joined five years ago.

While Yang Chen waited, the disciple responsible for the announcement arrived outside a secret chamber deep within the training grounds, "Lord, someone is here to see you."

Inside the secret chamber, Lin Chuan, dressed in cultivation attire, slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of turbid air. He had heard the voice outside but did not reply. Instead, he muttered to himself, "My path is correct. After mastering the perfect sword intent, comprehending transcendent power will be twice as effective."

"In at most half a year, I will be able to break through to the Transcendent Realm and then be promoted to an inner disciple!"

"When the day of my promotion arrives, what will those who laughed at my ignorance and said I only kept company with my sword think?"

Lin Chuan's lips curved slightly, "Their expressions must be quite amusing."

A moment later, he suppressed his thoughts and said indifferently, "Who is it, and what is the matter?"

"Newcomer Yang Chen of this batch. His spirit field was infested with Rice Devouring Worms, and there is conclusive evidence."

A hint of thought flashed in Lin Chuan's eyes. He quickly remembered who Yang Chen was. He flipped his palm and grabbed the air, producing a scroll. When he unrolled it, it displayed the names on the cultivation rankings board.

His gaze shifted from back to front, and he saw Yang Chen's name at position fifty-two.

Lin Chuan examined Yang Chen's name, a look of amusement appearing on his face.

"This person was not on the board at the beginning of the month. He only appeared on the board in his fourth month after joining the sect, and was ranked ninety-ninth. At the end of last month, he was ranked eighty-fourth. Now, in less than a month, he has surged to fifty-second."

"Is it exceptional talent, or another fortuitous encounter, or both?"

Yang Chen only appeared on the board in his fourth month, and was ranked ninety-ninth at the time. This suggested that the possibility of him hiding his strength was small, and also proved that he had likely not reached the Qi Martial Realm before joining the sect.

However, in the five months since joining the sect, his cultivation had caught up, ranking fifty-second among the more than six thousand new disciples of Nineteen Peaks. Such a person either had unparalleled talent or had another fortuitous encounter and lacked cultivation resources.

He directly dismissed the idea of unparalleled talent. The Sun Moon Sword Sect was a holy land, its influence extending hundreds of thousands of miles, encompassing over a hundred dynasties in the southern part of the Canglong Continent. Unless one was a peerless prodigy with extraordinary innate potential, even a newcomer with a ninth-grade root bone could only start from the Labor Peak.

Yang Chen entered the Labor Peak, so his root bone could be at most ninth grade. A martial artist with ninth-grade talent could not have such a cultivation speed.

Thus, the conclusion was that he had another fortuitous encounter and likely did not lack cultivation resources.

As for having a powerful background, that was also not within consideration. Those with true backgrounds would have already possessed martial artist strength before joining the sect and would not have only barely made it onto the rankings in their fourth month.

"It seems he is also a person with great fortune."

A glint flashed in Lin Chuan's eyes. He was not interested in Yang Chen's fortuitous encounters. Disciples who reached his level all had fortuitous encounters by their side.

What interested him was whether Yang Chen could help him in the future. He had been the steward of Area 8 for four years, and this was his fifth year, likely his last. The disciples who emerged from under him were considered his faction.

This point was very important. Even if he was about to be promoted to inner disciple, he needed trustworthy confidants by his side. Not only must their origins be clean, but they must also have a bond, and their talent could not be too poor. At least they should have a slight chance of advancing to inner disciple.

In the previous four years, he had courted and invested in several promising disciples. Currently, only one of them had not yet been promoted to the Outer Sect, while those who had been promoted to the Outer Sect were already creating convenience and benefits for him.

Inner disciples required more cultivation resources, and he was no exception. Therefore, the more confidants, the better.

In this current batch, only Huang Tianyu caught his eye. Even if others had the opportunity to be promoted to the Outer Sect, the possibility of achieving anything significant in the Outer Sect was slim.

Seeing Yang Chen's leapfrog progress now aroused a hint of appreciation for his talent.

"I'll wait and see. If he can truly catch up and break into the top ten, I'll invest a little and forge a good relationship."

Thinking this, he leisurely got up, opened the secret chamber door, and walked out.

"Bring him to the assembly hall."

At the same time, Wang Kui, along with three others including Wang Feng, headed straight for the spirit field area.

"We're here!"

Upon arriving at Spirit Field Number 23, Wang Kui waved his hand and declared, "Take this scoundrel down!"

On the way, Wang Kui had already explained the situation clearly. Therefore, at his command, Wang Feng and another disciple in the Blood Martial Realm charged into the wooden hut without a word.

Wang Feng kicked open the wooden hut's door. A woman's scream came from inside, along with the shocked and angry roar of a man with sparse hair: "Who are you, and what do you want!!"