Winning the Championship

Defeated.

In the domain he considered his strongest, he had been utterly crushed.

Ye Qingchen looked up at Qin Yuan, his eyes filled with disbelief and bitterness. "You... how is this possible..."

"I let you win," Qin Yuan retracted his Spiritual Sense and said lightly.

Ye Qingchen was silent for a long time, then finally shook his head with a bitter smile. "I was the one who was ignorant. Junior Brother Qin has heaven-defying talent. I, Ye, am impressed."

He turned and said to the disciples of First Peak, "Let's go."

"Senior Brother!" a disciple said unwillingly.

"Go," Ye Qingchen's voice was calm, but carried an irrefutable decisiveness.

The disciples of First Peak could only follow him and leave the valley dejectedly.

Thus, there were no more opponents in the core area.

In the following time, Qin Yuan led the disciples of Fifth Peak and Tenth Peak to thoroughly plunder the resources of the core area.

In the Hundred Herbs Garden, spiritual herbs of hundred years, even thousand years, were harvested in swathes.

In the Spirit Beast Valley, rare demonic beasts were hunted, their hides, bones, and demonic cores all collected.

Qin Yuan also took the three jade boxes from the central high platform. Inside each was a bottle of Condensing Golden Core Pill, a Breakthrough Talisman, and a Xuan-tier low-grade cultivation technique, the Nine Revolutions Profound Origin Art.

The harvest was far more abundant than expected.

Throughout the entire process, they did not encounter anyone from Second Peak.

It seemed that Second Peak either got the news beforehand that both First Peak and Qin Yuan were in the core area and chose to retreat, or they had found some good fortune elsewhere and were unwilling to clash head-on.

Either way, it was good for Qin Yuan.

Three days later, the secret realm's time ended.

All disciples were teleported out, returning to the initial valley.

In the valley, the elders of the Nine Peaks had been waiting for a long time.

Seeing their disciples being teleported out one after another, the elders' expressions varied.

Elder Li of Seventh Peak had a dark expression – their peak was the first to be eliminated, and Xiong Li was the first Direct Disciple to be out, which was simply a profound humiliation!

The elder of Third Peak also looked displeased. Although Lu Yun and the others were not eliminated, their dejected appearance clearly indicated they had not gained much.

After Ye Qingchen of First Peak emerged, he simply shook his head at his elder and then stood silently to the side, closing his eyes to rest. Although the elder of First Peak was puzzled, he did not ask further.

When Fifth Peak and Tenth Peak emerged, all eyes focused on them.

Especially when they saw the dozens of bulging storage bags behind Qin Yuan, everyone's eyes widened.

"This... this is too much?!"

"Did they empty out the entire secret realm?!"

"Why is Tenth Peak also following behind Fifth Peak? Could it be..."

The presiding elder coughed lightly, suppressing the discussion. "Disciples of each peak, hand over your harvests for accounting."

The disciples of each peak came forward one after another, pouring the resources from their storage bags into the designated areas.

The harvests of Sixth Peak, Eighth Peak, and Ninth Peak were mediocre, piled into three small mountains.

Fourth Peak's harvest was slightly more, drawing a round of admiration.

The harvests of Third Peak and Seventh Peak were noticeably less, especially Seventh Peak, which had only a pitiful small pile, causing other peak disciples to whisper.

When it was First Peak's turn, Ye Qingchen personally stepped forward and poured out his harvest. Although it was not as much as in previous years, it still formed a considerable mountain, showcasing First Peak's foundation.

Finally, it was Fifth Peak and Tenth Peak's turn.

Qin Yuan stepped forward and first poured out Tenth Peak's harvest – although it was not as good as First Peak's, it was similar to Fourth Peak's, making the elder of Tenth Peak overjoyed.

Then, it was Fifth Peak's harvest.

If you find this book good, remember to add it to your bookshelf to avoid losing it next time.

When dozens of storage bags were emptied simultaneously, the entire place fell into an eerie silence.

The spiritual herbs piled up into a mountain three zhang high, various materials covered a ten-zhang area of ground, demonic beast corpses were piled like mountains, and the three jade boxes lay quietly on top.

"This... how many resources is this..."

"Fifth Peak is going against the heavens!"

"That jade box... could it be the final reward from the core area?!"

The presiding elder was also stunned. It took him a long while to recover and begin the inventory.

When the results of the inventory were announced, the entire place erupted in an uproar.

Fifth Peak's total resource value: Ninety-eight thousand contribution points!

Second Peak: Forty-three thousand contribution points!

First Peak: 39,000 contribution points!

Fourth Peak: 27,000 contribution points!

Third Peak: 21,000 contribution points!

Seventh Peak: 8,000 contribution points—last place.

"This year's Inner Disciple Grand Competition, first place—" the presiding elder's voice was high-pitched, "Fifth Peak!!"

The disciples of Fifth Peak erupted in thunderous cheers!

Elder Xu was so excited that tears streamed down his face, and he said "Good" three times in a row.

The elders of the other peaks had complex expressions, filled with envy, jealousy, and deep thought.

Elder Li's face was ashen. He glared fiercely at Qin Yuan and left with a flick of his sleeve.

After the calculations were complete, Elder Xu called Qin Yuan to his side.

"Qin Yuan," he looked at the young disciple, his eyes full of relief and emotion, "This time, you have made an immense contribution to my Fifth Peak. According to the rules, thirty percent of these earnings will be yours to do with as you please."

Qin Yuan nodded, "Thank you, Elder."

Elder Xu waved his hand and, after a moment of thought, suddenly said, "Qin Yuan, with your talent, staying on Fifth Peak... it's a pity."

Qin Yuan was stunned.

Elder Xu continued, "Fifth Peak's resources are limited. At most, we can only cultivate cultivators to the Nascent Soul stage. But you are different—your talent is a rarity seen once in a thousand years. If you can become a True Disciple of the sect, participate in the Hundred Sects Competition, and venture out of Xuan Yuan Sect, out of Qingzhou, your future achievements will be limitless."

True Disciple.

Qin Yuan's heart stirred.

Xuan Yuan Sect had only thirty True Disciples in total, all selected from the Inner Disciples of the Nine Peaks as the most elite geniuses. They resided on the Sect Master's Peak and the surrounding few sub-peaks with the richest spiritual energy, enjoying the sect's highest level of training resources, and even had the qualification to comprehend the sect's foundational cultivation technique.

Most importantly, True Disciples were qualified to represent Xuan Yuan Sect in the "Hundred Sects Competition" held every three years. That was a grand event for all the sects in Qingzhou, a gathering of geniuses and countless opportunities.

"How are True Disciples selected?" Qin Yuan asked.

"There are two conditions," Elder Xu said. "First, your cultivation must reach the Golden Core stage. Second, you must defeat any current True Disciple in the 'True Disciple Challenge'."

He paused and added, "You are now at the peak of Foundation Establishment. Condensing a Golden Core is only a matter of time. With your combat strength, once you reach the Golden Core stage, defeating an ordinary True Disciple should not be difficult."

Qin Yuan was silent for a moment, a look of determination flashing in his eyes.

"I understand," he said. "I will strive for the position of True Disciple."

Elder Xu smiled with relief, "Good! This is the spirit my Fifth Peak disciples should have! Rest assured, Fifth Peak will fully support you. If you need any resources, just ask."

Qin Yuan bowed, "Thank you, Elder."

As he left the valley, the sun was setting.

Qin Yuan looked back at this piece of land, his heart already set on a new goal.

True Disciple, Hundred Sects Competition, a wider world