Victory Claimed

Defeated.

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

Ye Qingchen raised his head to look at Qin Yuan, his eyes filled with disbelief and bitterness. "You... how could you possibly..."

"You let me win." Qin Yuan withdrew his Spiritual Sense and replied blandly.

Ye Qingchen remained silent for a long while before finally shaking his head with a bitter smile. "I was a frog at the bottom of a well. Junior Brother Qin possesses heaven-bestowed talent. Ye is impressed."

He turned to the people of First Peak. "Let's go."

"Senior Brother!" Some disciples were unwilling to accept it.

"Go." Ye Qingchen's voice was calm, yet carried an unquestionable resolve.

The people of First Peak could only follow him, slinking out of the valley in disgrace.

From then on, there were no more opponents in the core area.

Over the following days, Qin Yuan led the disciples of Fifth Peak and Tenth Peak in sweeping the core area clean of its resources.

In the Hundred Herbs Garden, spirit herbs that were a hundred years old, even a thousand years old, were harvested in great swathes.

Within Spirit Beast Valley, rare demon beasts were hunted down, and their pelts, bones, and demon cores were all collected.

Qin Yuan also took down the three jade boxes from the central platform. Inside were a bottle of Condensing Golden Core Pills, a Breakthrough Talisman, and a Mysterious Grade Low Rank cultivation art, the Nine Revolutions Profound Origin Art.

The bounty far exceeded expectations.

Throughout the entire process, they never encountered anyone from Second Peak.

It seemed Second Peak had either received word beforehand, learned that both First Peak and Qin Yuan were in the core area, and chosen to avoid them; or they had found a decent opportunity elsewhere and were unwilling to clash head-on.

Either way, it was good news for Qin Yuan.

Three days later, the time in the secret realm came to an end.

All the disciples were teleported out and returned to the original valley.

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

As disciples from their respective peaks were teleported out one after another, the elders wore vastly different expressions.

Elder Li of Seventh Peak had an ashen face—their peak had been the first eliminated, and Xiong Li had even been the first Direct Disciple to be knocked out. It was simply an extraordinary disgrace!

The elder of Third Peak did not look much better. Although Lu Yun and the others had not been eliminated, judging by their dejected appearances, they had clearly gained little.

After Ye Qingchen emerged from First Peak, he merely shook his head at his own elder before silently stepping aside and closing his eyes to rest. Though the First Peak elder was puzzled, he did not ask further.

When it was Fifth Peak and Tenth Peak's turn to emerge, every gaze in the area focused on them.

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

"Th-That's far too much, isn't it?!"

"Did they empty out the secret realm?!"

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

The presiding elder cleared his throat and suppressed the discussion. "Disciples of each peak, hand over your gains. The tally will now begin."

The disciples of each peak stepped forward in succession and poured the resources from their storage bags into designated areas.

Sixth Peak, Eighth Peak, and Ninth Peak had fairly ordinary gains, piled into three small hills.

Fourth Peak's gains were somewhat greater, drawing a wave of praise.

Third Peak and Seventh Peak had noticeably fewer gains. Seventh Peak in particular had only a pitiful little pile, prompting disciples from the other peaks to whisper among themselves.

When First Peak's turn came, Ye Qingchen personally stepped forward and poured out their gains. Though they could not compare to previous years, the resources still formed a sizable hill, displaying First Peak's deep foundations.

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

Qin Yuan stepped forward and first poured out Tenth Peak's gains. Though they did not measure up to First Peak's, they were roughly comparable to Fourth Peak's, leaving Tenth Peak's elder overjoyed.

Then came Fifth Peak's gains.

When dozens of storage bags were emptied at once, the entire venue fell into an eerie silence.

Spirit herbs formed a small hill three zhang high. All kinds of materials blanketed an area ten zhang across, demon beast corpses were piled like mountains, and three jade boxes lay quietly at the very top.

"Th-That... how many resources is that..."

"Is Fifth Peak about to defy the heavens?!"

"Those jade boxes... could they be the final rewards from the core area?!"

Even the presiding elder was stunned. Only after a long while did he come back to his senses and begin counting.

The tally lasted an entire hour.

When the final results were announced, the entire crowd erupted.

Fifth Peak's total resource value: 98,000 contribution points!

Second Peak: 43,000 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—the bottom of the rankings.

"In this Direct Disciple Competition, first place—" the presiding elder announced in a booming voice, "Fifth Peak!!"

The disciples of Fifth Peak erupted into cheers that shook the heavens!

Elder Xu was so excited that tears filled his old eyes, and he said "Good" three times in a row.

The elders of the other peaks wore complicated expressions—envy, jealousy, and contemplation alike.

Elder Li's face was ashen. He shot Qin Yuan a vicious glare, then flicked his sleeve and left.

After the tally was finished, Elder Xu called Qin Yuan aside.

"Qin Yuan," he said, looking at this young disciple with eyes full of gratification and emotion, "this time, you have rendered an enormous service to my Fifth Peak. According to the rules, thirty percent of these gains belongs to you personally. You may use it as you wish."

Qin Yuan nodded. "Thank you, Elder."

Elder Xu waved his hand. After pondering for a moment, he suddenly said, "Qin Yuan, with your talent, remaining in Fifth Peak... is a pity."

Qin Yuan was taken aback.

Elder Xu continued, "My Fifth Peak has limited resources. At best, we can only cultivate Nascent Soul Realm cultivators. But you are different—your talent is rare even in a thousand years. If you can become a True Disciple, participate in the Hundred Sects Competition, leave the Xuan Yuan Sect, and leave Qing Province, then your future achievements will be immeasurable."

True Disciple.

Qin Yuan's heart stirred.

The Xuan Yuan Sect had only thirty True Disciples in total, all of them the most outstanding geniuses selected from the Direct Disciples of the Nine Peaks. They lived on Sect Master Peak and several nearby subsidiary peaks where the spiritual veins were richest, enjoyed the sect's highest level of cultivation resources, and even had the qualifications to comprehend the sect's foundation-defending cultivation arts.

Most importantly, True Disciples were qualified to represent the Xuan Yuan Sect in the triennial Hundred Sects Competition. It was a grand gathering of every sect in Qing Province, where geniuses converged and opportunities lay everywhere.

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

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

He paused, then added, "You are already at the peak of Foundation Establishment. Forming a Golden Core is merely a matter of time. With your combat strength, once you enter the Golden Core Realm, defeating an ordinary True Disciple should not be difficult."

Qin Yuan fell silent for a moment, a resolute gleam flashing through his eyes.

"I understand," he said. "I will contend for a True Disciple position."

Elder Xu smiled in gratification. "Good! That is the spirit a disciple of my Fifth Peak should possess! Rest assured, Fifth Peak will support you with all its strength. Whatever resources you need, just ask."

Qin Yuan bowed. "Thank you, Elder."

When he left the valley, the sun was setting in the west.

Qin Yuan looked back at this stretch of land, already holding a new goal in his heart.

True Disciple, the Hundred Sects Competition, a broader world...