"Li Xiaoyu!"
Shang Zhengliang cried out in a low voice. The pressure of an Upper Purity Realm expert bore down on the young man in the courtyard like a great mountain.
Li Xiaoyu paused in the middle of sweeping, then slowly raised his head and looked toward his master at the gate.
There was no panic on his face. He simply bowed calmly.
"Your disciple pays his respects to Master."
Shang Zhengliang strode into the courtyard, his sharp eyes fixed on Li Xiaoyu.
"Raise your head. Look at me!"
Li Xiaoyu did as he was told. His gaze was clear as he met Shang Zhengliang's eyes without flinching.
"Tell me, what exactly is going on with your Cultivation?"
Shang Zhengliang's voice was icy. "You broke through two realms in a single night. Do you take me, your master, for a three-year-old child?"
"Speak! Did you practice some forbidden art of the Demon Sect?!"
His voice grew louder and louder. His final words rang out like thunder, sending every fallen leaf in the courtyard whirling into the air.
Facing his master's thunderous interrogation, Li Xiaoyu remained calm.
He knew this was a trial he had to face.
No ordinary cultivator would believe such an incredible breakthrough.
"Master, your disciple has not practiced any demonic arts of the Demon Sect."
Li Xiaoyu's clear voice reached Shang Zhengliang's ears.
"Yesterday, after Junior Sister Tian broke off our engagement, I was weighed down by sorrow. I went to drink alone on the cliff behind the mountain, intending to drink myself into oblivion. But somewhere between drunkenness and sobriety, inspiration struck. The sorrow that had burdened me finally poured out, and I saw through the inner demon that had troubled me for six years."
"After six years of accumulation, I achieved sudden enlightenment in a single moment. That is how I was fortunate enough to break through."
Li Xiaoyu had come up with this explanation long ago.
The Immortal-Slaying Gourd was his greatest secret. He could never let it be exposed.
And though sudden enlightenment was rare, it was not unheard of.
Shang Zhengliang sneered. "Sudden enlightenment? What a fine sudden enlightenment!"
"Do you think you can talk your way out of this with a few words?"
"Overcoming an inner demon might let you break through to the third layer, but it could never take you straight to the fourth layer, the Object-Driving Realm!"
"Hold out your hand!"
Shang Zhengliang barked.
Without hesitation, Li Xiaoyu extended his right hand.
Shang Zhengliang seized his wrist. A stream of pure Upper Purity Realm spiritual energy surged into Li Xiaoyu's meridians, probing them.
He wanted to verify for himself whether the spiritual energy within Li Xiaoyu was righteous or wicked.
Li Xiaoyu's expression remained unchanged as he let his master's spiritual energy flow through him.
The spiritual energy in his body had been devoured by the Immortal-Slaying Gourd after six years of painstaking cultivation, then purified, refined, and returned to him. Its purity far surpassed that of cultivators at the same level.
The moment Shang Zhengliang's spiritual energy entered Li Xiaoyu's meridians, his expression froze once more.
The sinister, violent demonic energy he had expected was nowhere to be found.
Instead, he encountered the pure spiritual energy of the Taiji Profound Clarity Path, suffused with an imposing righteousness.
Its purity and refinement were so extraordinary that even Shang Zhengliang, an Upper Purity Realm expert, was shaken.
How could this be?!
A disciple who had only just broken through to the fourth layer of the Jade Purity Realm had spiritual energy of higher quality than that of veteran disciples who had spent decades at this level?
This completely overturned Shang Zhengliang's understanding.
"This..."
Shang Zhengliang released his wrist and took two steps back, his face full of shock.
He couldn't make sense of what he had just witnessed.
If Li Xiaoyu hadn't practiced the demonic arts of the Demon Sect, then how could he explain this breakthrough—and the quality of his spiritual energy?
Could Li Xiaoyu really be a peerless genius whose talent had been buried for six years?
Could that so-called "sudden enlightenment" actually be true?
"Circulate your spiritual energy for me to see!"
Shang Zhengliang's voice sounded hoarse.
"Yes, Master."
Li Xiaoyu did as he was told, channeling his spiritual energy and gathering it in his palm.
A soft green glow lit up, pure and flawless, brimming with the Dao's ceaseless vitality.
Then, at a thought from Li Xiaoyu—
"Buzz!"
The dust-covered teacup on the stone table nearby rose into the air once more. It circled and danced before him, moving smoothly without the slightest hitch.
Such precise control showed that he had already gained considerable mastery of the Object-Driving Realm. He was clearly no novice who had only just entered it.
Shang Zhengliang stared blankly at the scene, and the last of his doubts vanished.
The facts were right before him. He had no choice but to believe them.
He looked at his calm-faced disciple, his heart a tangle of emotions.
There was joy and excitement, but above all, guilt.
Six years!
Six whole years!
He had treated a piece of uncut jade like a worthless stone!
He had neglected Li Xiaoyu for his lack of progress and lost faith in him when he fell on hard times.
Only moments ago, he had even suspected him of turning to demonic cultivation.
What a failure he was as a master!
"Good, good, good!"
Shang Zhengliang said the word three times, his voice trembling.
He stepped forward and reached out as if to pat Li Xiaoyu on the shoulder, but his hand stopped in midair. In the end, all he could do was let out a long sigh.
"I wronged you, my disciple."
Shang Zhengliang spoke with some difficulty.
"Master, you give me too much credit."
Li Xiaoyu bowed slightly. "If you hadn't brought me to the Green Cloud Sect all those years ago, I'd already be nothing but a pile of bones at the foot of the mountain. I wouldn't be where I am today."
Seeing how Li Xiaoyu remained unruffled by praise or disgrace, Shang Zhengliang admired him all the more.
After six years at rock bottom, he had risen in a single day without becoming arrogant or complacent. His composure far surpassed that of his peers.
"You're remarkable."
Then Shang Zhengliang's expression turned serious.
"Still, your sudden surge in Cultivation is too shocking. Though I believe you, there's no guarantee the others in the sect won't grow suspicious."
"From today onward, stay in your courtyard and stabilize your Cultivation. I'll tell the others that you broke through in a single leap after years of steady accumulation."
"Remember: a tree that towers above the forest is the first to be struck by the wind. Until you have absolute strength, be sure to keep your talents hidden."
"Yes, Master. I understand."
Li Xiaoyu answered respectfully.
Shang Zhengliang looked at him deeply once more, as if seeing him anew.
"Go on. Focus on your cultivation."
With that, he turned and vanished in a flicker.
Li Xiaoyu was left alone in the courtyard, bathed in the morning light.
He watched the direction his master had gone, a smile on his face.
His road ahead was still long.
Li Xiaoyu looked away, picked up his broom again, and resumed sweeping the fallen leaves from the ground.
Yet his heart had never been calmer.
Shang Zhengliang returned to the main hall on Morning Sun Peak, his heart still in turmoil.
He sat in the Chief Seat, replaying the scene in the courtyard again and again.
Li Xiaoyu's pure spiritual energy and tranquil gaze convinced him that the hope of Morning Sun Peak had returned!
After a moment's thought, Shang Zhengliang instructed a disciple standing outside the hall, "Go, ring the assembly bell and summon all the disciples of our lineage to the Martial Arts Arena for a meeting."
"Yes, Chief Seat!"
The disciple hurried off.
Soon, the solemn bell tolled through every corner of Morning Sun Peak.
The Martial Arts Arena of Morning Sun Peak.
Hundreds of disciples came at the sound and lined up in orderly ranks. They were all puzzled about why the Chief Seat had summoned them so early in the morning.
Among them, Shen Tiandou, the eldest disciple of Morning Sun Peak, was chatting and laughing with several fellow disciples he knew well.
Shen Tiandou was tall and proud. As the foremost among the Young Generation of Morning Sun Peak, and a cultivator at the fifth layer of the Jade Purity Realm, he had always held his head high.
"I wonder why Master summoned us all here?"
one disciple asked curiously.
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