Loyal and Brotherly

Chapter 49: Loyal and True Brother

Time flies.

The year spent being punished in Small Yin Sha Cave was the most arduous and difficult year since Lei Dong joined the sect. When he stepped out of the cave entrance again, his entire demeanor had changed completely from a year ago. His previously somewhat immature face had become rugged and resolute. He was thin, but full of spirit. Yet, his gradually deepening eyes now couldn't help but reveal a deep weariness.

For the past year, he had to constantly condense True Qi to resist the Yin Sha attacking his body. Only when holding his breath, meditating, and cultivating could he recover some energy. If not for his Qi Refining Stage sixth-layer cultivation, which had already transformed him, making him vastly different from mortals, he wouldn't be standing here perfectly fine.

Myriad Ghost Cave had been established for seventy to eighty years. While it wasn't common for people to be sent in for punishment, every few years, one or two unlucky ghosts would end up here. However, those directly punished for a full year were extremely rare. Anyone with even slightly weaker willpower would likely suffer a mental breakdown within a few months. Furthermore, prolonged Yin Sha invasion was no joke. If not for the bottle of Sha-dispelling pills Ding Wanyan had procured, Lei Dong would have suffered greatly from the Yin Sha eroding his bloodline and Soul.

But Lei Dong didn't suffer in vain this past year. In the past, when cultivating, he focused too much on cultivation realms. As soon as the conditions were right, he would impatiently break through to the next level. Over time, this could lead to an unstable foundation, and the higher the cultivation level, the more likely one was to encounter various bottlenecks. However, Lei Dong entered the year at the sixth layer of Qi Refining Stage and emerged still at the early sixth layer. While his cultivation seemed to have made no progress, the Profound Yin True Qi within him had undergone significant changes.

Because he had to constantly resist Yin Sha, and True Qi was always insufficient, Lei Dong gradually shifted from a wasteful, extravagant style to an extremely frugal one. He learned to increase the intensity of True Qi circulation when the Yin Sha was stronger and denser, and to conserve True Qi as much as possible when it was weaker. At first, he found it difficult to adapt, as the Yin Sha winds were extremely erratic, fluctuating in strength with little discernible pattern.

But over time, Lei Dong had completely adapted to the subtle changes in strength and instinctively adjusted his True Qi consumption, striving for precision and wasting not a single bit. As his control over True Qi strengthened, it manifested in the speed and control of casting Spells. Previously obscure and unfluent parts of spell casting and circulation, with stronger control over True Qi, miraculously disappeared. His control over Spells also improved significantly.

Of course, this doesn't mean Lei Dong had reached the pinnacle of mastery in True Qi and Spell application after a year. On the contrary, his current level was merely introductory. However, compared to other disciples of the same cohort, he had a slight lead and some advantage.

Furthermore, under the continuous tempering of the past year, his Profound Yin True Qi had become purer and more condensed, surpassing ordinary Qi Refining Stage sixth-layer cultivators by several points.

Even though Lei Dong returned to his residence without fanfare, preparing to rest for a few days, his status as a personal disciple still attracted significant attention. Rumors of Lei Dong falling out of favor, which had subsided for a while, began to resurface and grew increasingly intense.

Lei Dong paid no mind to these rumors, continuing to recuperate at home, resting his body, which hadn't had a proper rest for a full year. However, the news of him staying home was quickly spread as him having been afflicted by a lot of Yin Sha Qi in Small Yin Sha Cave, leading to a significant decrease in his cultivation.

Ding Wanyan was right: as a personal disciple, one was naturally the subject of attention, and it was inevitable that people would gossip behind one's back. However, the subsequent events made Lei Dong find them somewhat amusing.

Wu Qianqiu was considered an outstanding individual among the ordinary disciples of his cohort. During the first Small Competition, he tried to play the fool and use a Ghost Sha Palm that almost put Lei Dong at a disadvantage. But immediately after, Lei Dong forcefully suppressed him.

So much time had passed, and while Lei Dong still remembered him, he didn't pay much attention to him due to their differing statuses. Yet, at this moment, this fellow, for some unknown reason, had issued a life-and-death challenge Book to Lei Dong. This left Lei Dong speechless; if he wanted to die, couldn't he find a more appropriate way? Could it be that this fellow had acquired some powerful Spells and wanted to play the fool again?

Soon, Chen Ge had compiled Wu Qianqiu's recent years' information and presented it to Lei Dong. From the information, it was evident that Wu Qianqiu had been very low-key since joining Yin Sha Sect's Myriad Ghost Cave. His cultivation was decent, but he was humble and polite, never offending anyone. However, speaking of which, Wu Qianqiu truly had some remarkable luck.

Two years ago, while out adventuring to break through a bottleneck, he was chased by a powerful Demon Beast. He accidentally hid in a secluded valley and discovered another terrifying Demon Beast. One might say he was lucky; others would have died ten times over. But those two Demon Beasts ignored Wu Qianqiu, the "dish bird," and fought each other to the death, miraculously resulting in a near mutual annihilation, which greatly benefited Wu Qianqiu.

Not only that, but the Demon Beast in the valley had been guarding a nearly mature, three-thousand-year-old ginseng. Thus, the fellow struck it rich...

Looking at the records of Wu Qianqiu's fortunate encounters, Lei Dong was left speechless, questioning the heavens. Such stories of escaping death and striking it rich seemed to only exist in novels. He, a transmigrator, should have been the protagonist. But in reality, apart from obtaining the mysterious Soul Nurturing Pagoda, his luck had been ordinary, or rather, slightly below average.

Having struck it rich, Wu Qianqiu naturally grew restless. Perhaps it was because Lei Dong had beaten him up back then, or perhaps Lei Dong seemed like the easiest target among the three personal disciples. Especially since he had recently fallen out of favor and was afflicted by Yin Sha, and so on. In short, if Wu Qianqiu wanted to make a name for himself, he had to step on a personal disciple's corpse to climb up, just like Lei Dong had.

From any perspective, Lei Dong was his best choice. And Lei Dong had no way to refuse. As a personal disciple, refusing a challenge from an ordinary disciple was perfectly reasonable, as losing a normal challenge wouldn't cost much. But refusing a life-and-death challenge from an ordinary disciple was extremely difficult. If one refused, it would be a complete loss of face, and even Myriad Ghost Ancestor's attitude would change drastically. Over time, these life-and-death challenges gradually evolved into a traditional rule of Yin Sha Sect.

Ordinary disciples could challenge personal disciples to a life-and-death duel. If the personal disciple refused or was defeated, the challenger could use it to rise in status. This traditional rule gave ordinary disciples a goal to strive for through diligent cultivation. At the same time, it acted as an invisible Whip, constantly spurring personal disciples to cultivate just as hard.

Lei Dong readily accepted the life-and-death challenge, though he had no choice. Refusal would mean Lei Dong was willing to give up his current status, and everything would be inherited by Wu Qianqiu. If he hadn't been promoted, it would be one thing, but falling from grace would make Lei Dong's life in Myriad Ghost Cave absolutely miserable.

Several days later, in the martial arts arena, a Ghost Slave, who had heard the news, personally presided over this life-and-death duel.

After a set of old rules for the life-and-death duel, Wu Qianqiu, who had clearly matured considerably since several years ago, looked at Lei Dong with a simple and apologetic expression: "Senior Brother Lei, please forgive me. I hope Senior Brother will show mercy."

Lei Dong narrowed his eyes and smiled back: "Junior Brother Wu is too polite. Thank you so much."

"?" Wu Qianqiu was somewhat taken aback. What did he mean by "thank you"?

"Your humble brother is a bit tight on cash recently and happens to need a few Upper Grade Magic Items to exchange for Qian for emergencies. Junior Brother Wu is truly loyal and a true brother. To eagerly send them to Senior Brother like this, of course, I must thank you." Lei Dong said with a look of immense gratitude.