Defeating the Twenty-Seventh

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

When the stone gate opened again, the other nine people nearly fled as they rushed out.

Only Qin Yuan walked out slowly, his expression calm and composed.

On the open ground outside the Heavenly Pool, the elders of every peak had long been waiting.

Seeing their disciples emerge, the elders hurried forward, ready to ask about their gains.

But when they saw the faces of their disciples, as though their parents had died, they were all stunned.

"What happened?" the elder of Third Peak asked his disciple with a frown. "How were your gains?"

The disciple wore a mournful face. "Elder... the essence of the Heavenly Pool... Qin Yuan sucked it all dry by himself..."

"What?!"

Cries of shock rose one after another.

The elders of every peak soon learned what had happened, and the looks they gave Qin Yuan became exceedingly complicated.

Shock, jealousy, disbelief... and a trace of fear.

Draining the Heavenly Pool in three days and breaking through to the Nine Revolutions Golden Core... this had already gone beyond the bounds of their understanding.

Elder Xu, however, burst into laughter and slapped Qin Yuan on the shoulder. "Good! Good! Good! My Fifth Peak is finally going to produce a True Disciple!"

He had spoken loudly, and the expressions of the elders from the other peaks became even uglier.

After returning to Fifth Peak, Elder Xu called Qin Yuan into a quiet chamber and took out a thick booklet.

"This is the roster of the sect's thirty True Disciples," Elder Xu said. "Although their cultivation levels are not listed, from what I know, the True Disciples ranked in the top ten are at least in the mid Golden Core stage. The first and second-ranked ones have even touched the threshold of the Nascent Soul Realm. Most of those behind them are at the peak of the early Golden Core stage."

Qin Yuan opened the booklet.

Thirty names were listed, each followed by its peak of affiliation and a brief introduction.

His gaze fell upon the entry for Seventh Peak.

[Twenty-Seventh: Zhao Wuji, True Disciple of Seventh Peak, peak early Golden Core stage, fond of pleasure, proficient in fire-element techniques.]

"Him, then." Qin Yuan closed the booklet.

Elder Xu nodded. "Zhao Wuji has decent talent, but his temperament is flighty. He is addicted to pleasure and is publicly acknowledged as the weakest among the thirty True Disciples. You have only just broken through to the Golden Core stage, so he is the perfect opponent for you to test your skills against."

"However," he paused, "a True Disciple challenge must be held publicly on the Dao Discussion Platform. Many disciples and elders will be watching then. If you win, you will become the new True Disciple, while Zhao Wuji will be demoted to a personal disciple. This concerns Seventh Peak's reputation. They may try to obstruct you."

"It does not matter," Qin Yuan said indifferently.

He rose to his feet and headed outside.

"You are going now?"

"I am going now."

At Sect Master Peak, within a luxurious cave residence.

Zhao Wuji reclined sideways on a jade couch, with a beautiful female cultivator on either side massaging his shoulders and pounding his legs. Two maidservants knelt before the couch, one holding a fruit platter and the other cradling a wine jug.

The cave residence was decorated in utmost extravagance. The floor was carpeted with demon beast furs, the walls were inlaid with glowing crystals, and a faint fragrance hung in the air.

"Senior Brother Zhao, I heard that Qin Yuan has broken through to the Golden Core stage," one female cultivator said softly. "Do you think he will come challenge you?"

Zhao Wuji gave a scornful laugh and opened his mouth to accept a grape from a maidservant. "A brat who has just broken through dares to challenge me? I have consolidated my cultivation at the early Golden Core stage for five years. My spiritual power is abundant, and my techniques are refined. What does he have to fight me with?"

"But..." the other female cultivator hesitated. "I heard he drained all the essence from the Heavenly Pool and formed a Nine Revolutions Golden Core..."

"A Nine Revolutions Golden Core?" Zhao Wuji sat up, a flash of jealousy passing through his eyes before it swiftly turned to disdain. "So what? No matter how high the quality of a Golden Core is, it still needs time to be converted into combat strength. When I had just broken through to the Golden Core stage, was I not high-spirited too? And what happened? The veteran True Disciples beat me so badly I could not tell north from south."

He lay back down again and said lazily, "Do not worry. Unless that brat is stupid, he will not come looking for me. Even if he does... hmph, I can use the chance to teach him what the strength of a veteran True Disciple truly means."

The words had barely left his mouth when a report came from outside the cave residence:

"Senior Brother Zhao! Qin Yuan of Fifth Peak has issued you a True Disciple challenge at the Dao Discussion Platform!"

Zhao Wuji froze, then laughed in fury. "Good, good, good! There really is someone who does not fear death!"

He pushed aside the female cultivators beside him, rose, and straightened his robes. "Let us go! To the Dao Discussion Platform! Today, I will teach that brat what it means for rank and status to be kept in proper order!"

The Dao Discussion Platform stood halfway up Sect Master Peak, a bluestone platform spanning a hundred zhang. Complex formation patterns were carved across its surface, while spectator seats stood around it. Several hundred disciples had already gathered there.

A True Disciple challenge was a major event in Xuan Yuan Sect.

Especially when the challenger was Qin Yuan, whose reputation had recently been at its height.

"I heard Senior Brother Qin drained all the essence from the Heavenly Pool and formed a Nine Revolutions Golden Core!"

"A Nine Revolutions Golden Core! Xuan Yuan Sect has not produced one in a hundred years, right?"

"But he has only just broken through. Senior Brother Zhao Wuji is a veteran True Disciple..."

"That is exactly why it is worth watching!"

Amid the discussions, Qin Yuan slowly stepped onto the Dao Discussion Platform.

He wore the same plain gray robes as ever, but the pressure of his Golden Core cultivation made every watching disciple's heart tighten.

A moment later, Zhao Wuji arrived as well.

He wore brocade robes and a jade belt, with seven or eight followers trailing behind him in an imposing display. Once on the platform, he cast Qin Yuan a sidelong glance and sneered. "Junior Brother Qin, you dared to challenge me the moment you broke through to the Golden Core stage. Your courage is commendable."

Qin Yuan did not respond. He merely looked toward the Enforcement Elder presiding over the challenge.

The elder nodded and declared loudly, "In a True Disciple challenge, life and death are not restricted, but the match ends when one side admits defeat or loses the ability to fight. Now, begin!"

As his words fell, Zhao Wuji struck first!

He formed hand seals with both hands. Fire spiritual power surged madly around him and transformed into three fire snakes that hissed as they lunged at Qin Yuan! Wherever the fire snakes passed, the air warped and the temperature soared. It was clearly the Yellow Grade High Rank technique, Three Snakes Burning Heaven Art!

"Senior Brother Zhao used a killing move right from the start!" a disciple cried out.

"He is trying to end this quickly!"

Facing the three ferocious fire snakes, Qin Yuan did not even move his feet.

He merely raised his right hand, extended his index finger, and lightly tapped the air.

"Disperse."

As the word left his lips, the three fire snakes suddenly froze in midair, then... shattered inch by inch! They turned into sparks that filled the sky before vanishing without a trace.

Zhao Wuji's pupils contracted sharply.

How was that possible?!

His Three Snakes Burning Heaven Art might only be Yellow Grade High Rank, but powered by his peak early Golden Core spiritual power, its might was enough to threaten a mid Golden Core cultivator! How had Qin Yuan broken it with a casual tap?!

"I do not believe it!" he roared, forming hand seals again. This time, fire spiritual power transformed into a towering flaming lion three zhang tall. It threw back its head in a roar and pounced at Qin Yuan!

Mysterious Grade Low Rank technique, Burning Heaven Lion's Wrath!

This was Zhao Wuji's trump card, a move with which he had once defeated three challengers!

The flaming lion's momentum was terrifying, turning the entire Dao Discussion Platform crimson. The watching disciples retreated one after another, afraid of being caught in the aftershock.

Qin Yuan finally moved.

He took one step forward.

Only one step.

Then he clenched his right hand into a fist and punched straight ahead.

There was no radiance, no phenomenon—just an exceedingly simple punch.

But at the instant the punch was thrown, the formations across the entire Dao Discussion Platform shook violently! Wherever the fist wind passed, space itself seemed to be torn open, releasing a piercing shriek!

The flaming lion collided with the fist.

"Boom—!!!"

A deafening explosion!

The flaming lion did not even last a single breath before the punch blasted it apart! The violent force of the punch did not diminish in the slightest as it slammed viciously into Zhao Wuji's chest!

"Pfft—!!!"

Zhao Wuji spewed blood wildly. His chest caved in, and he flew backward like a kite with its string cut, crashing heavily against the protective formation at the edge of the Dao Discussion Platform before sliding to the ground, his life and death unknown.

One punch.

From beginning to end, Zhao Wuji had used only two moves, while Qin Yuan had thrown only one punch.

The entire venue fell deathly silent.

Every watching disciple stared blankly at the gray-robed figure on the platform, forgetting even to breathe.

The Enforcement Elder stood frozen for a long while before he finally announced with difficulty, "The challenge is over... Qin Yuan wins."

He looked toward the stone stele that recorded the rankings of the True Disciples—the name "Zhao Wuji" at twenty-seventh place slowly dimmed and vanished. Immediately afterward, a new name appeared:

[Twenty-Seventh: Qin Yuan, True Disciple of Fifth Peak, early Golden Core stage.]

At that moment, towering waves rose in the hearts of everyone in Xuan Yuan Sect who had been watching this challenge.

The True Disciple rankings, which had remained unchanged for thirty years, had today been shattered by a single punch from a youth who had entered the sect less than half a month ago.