Betrayal

As Qin Yuan settled in, within a grand hall on Seventh Peak, the atmosphere was suffocatingly oppressive.

Elder Li sat in the main seat with a grim expression, three youths standing below him.

In the center was a burly man in purple robes, his face full of coarse flesh and his aura formidable. He was the sixteenth-ranked true disciple, Lei Ba.

To the left stood a tall, thin scholar in a green robe, fanning himself with a relaxed demeanor. He was the eighteenth-ranked Wen Ruofeng.

To the right was a white-robed youth carrying a long sword, his face stern. He was the eleventh-ranked Jian Wuhen.

All three hailed from Seventh Peak and were the backbone of Seventh Peak's true disciple ranks.

"Zhao Wuji has been defeated," Elder Li spoke slowly, his voice icy. "He was defeated miserably. With one punch, just one punch."

Lei Ba snorted, "That trash Zhao Wuji, indulging in wine and women all day, his cultivation hasn't advanced an inch in five years. He deserves to lose."

Wen Ruofeng fanned himself leisurely, "Senior Brother Lei, your words are not entirely accurate. Zhao Wuji, no matter what, was at the peak of the early Golden Core stage. To be defeated with a single punch, Qin Yuan's strength is likely not to be underestimated."

Jian Wuhen held his sword, his eyes closed as if he were meditating, detached from the proceedings.

Elder Li stared at the three, "This Qin Yuan has risen too quickly and has repeatedly opposed my Seventh Peak. If he is not suppressed, he will surely become a major threat in the future."

He paused, his voice turning sharp, "I want you three to take action and knock him out of the true disciple rankings!"

The hall fell silent.

Wen Ruofeng put away his fan and frowned, "Elder, Qin Yuan just became a true disciple and is ranked only twenty-seventh, second to last. If we join forces to target him, it will likely be a laughingstock among the other peaks, making Seventh Peak look like sore losers."

Jian Wuhen also opened his eyes and said indifferently, "There's no need."

"No need?!" Lei Ba slammed the table abruptly, "How is there no need? Is that brat just slapping Zhao Wuji's face? He's slapping the face of our Seventh Peak! A brat who joined less than half a month ago, riding on top of our Seventh Peak, you can tolerate it, but I, Lei Ba, cannot!"

He turned to Elder Li and cupped his fists, "Rest assured, Elder. I will challenge that brat tomorrow! I'll kick him out of the true disciple rankings!"

A hint of satisfaction flashed in Elder Li's eyes, but when he looked at Wen Ruofeng and Jian Wuhen, his displeasure returned, "And the two of you?"

Wen Ruofeng gave a wry smile, "Since Senior Brother Lei intends to act, I will not interfere. However, Elder, I must remind you—that Qin Yuan is probably not simple."

Jian Wuhen closed his eyes again, "It has nothing to do with me."

Elder Li snorted and waved his sleeve, "As you wish! Lei Ba, this matter is yours. If you handle it well, three-tenths of the peak's resources will be allocated to you."

Lei Ba was overjoyed, "Thank you, Elder!"

In the main hall of Blazing Peak, Qin Yuan sat cross-legged within a spirit gathering formation, but he did not immediately begin cultivating.

The System panel floated before his eyes:

[System of Gaining Twenty Years of Cultivation Per Day]
[Current Level: 2 (3478/5000)]
[Cultivation Storage: 0/60 years]
[Today's cultivation has not been extracted]

Upon being promoted to a true disciple, the sect had bestowed a generous sum of resources: five thousand Mid-grade Spirit Crystals, ten bottles of "Core Condensing Pills" suitable for the Golden Core stage, three top-grade Yellow-tier magical treasures, and one opportunity to enter the third level of the "Scripture Depository" to select a cultivation technique.

Qin Yuan fed all the spirit crystals and pills to the System.

[Feeding successful. Upgrade progress +500] [Feeding successful. Upgrade progress +300]

The progress bar rose to 3478 points, still a distance from the 5000 points needed for the upgrade, but no longer far.

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

"At this rate, staying in the true disciple rankings for two months and receiving the monthly stipend twice should be enough to gather the resources needed for the upgrade," Qin Yuan calculated in his mind.

But for now, he faced a choice.

Cultivating in the Golden Core stage was far more arduous than in the Foundation Establishment Stage. Moving from the early to the middle Golden Core stage typically required decades of hard work for ordinary cultivators. Even with the System's daily infusion of twenty years of cultivation, time was still needed for accumulation.

Qin Yuan estimated that if he were to extract today's twenty years of cultivation and attempt to break through to the middle Golden Core stage, his success rate would only be thirty percent.

"Might as well wait another day," he decided. "Storing two days' worth of forty years of cultivation and attempting it all at once will give me a greater chance of success."

He closed his eyes and began circulating the Nine Revolutions Profound Origin Art, consolidating his newly broken through early Golden Core realm.

The night passed without incident.

The next morning, as Qin Yuan finished his cultivation, Zhou De hurried to the hall's entrance.

"Senior Brother Qin, there's something..." Zhou De appeared somewhat troubled.

"Speak."

"Wang Lin, Zhang Hai, and Li Mo, the three who came with us yesterday... they just found me and said... said they want to leave Blazing Peak," Zhou Ming said in a low voice.

Qin Yuan opened his eyes, "Reason?"

"They didn't state a specific reason, but I heard..." Zhou De hesitated for a moment, "It was Lei Ba, the sixteenth-ranked, who sent people to contact them. He promised that if they left Blazing Peak and defected to him, he would give each of them three hundred spirit crystals per month as offerings, and allow them to cultivate on Lei Ba's peak."

"Three hundred spirit crystals?" Qin Yuan raised an eyebrow.

This amount was indeed a huge sum for inner sect disciples. More importantly, being able to cultivate on a true disciple's peak would greatly benefit one's cultivation.

"And..." Zhou Ming continued, "Lei Ba's side has spread rumors, saying... saying that the spiritual energy on Blazing Peak is thin, and that Senior Brother Qin's foundation is shallow, so there's no future in following you."

As soon as the words fell, Zhao Tiezhu's roar came from outside the hall:

"Wang Lin! You three ungrateful wretches! Senior Brother Qin brought you to Blazing Peak and gave you a chance to cultivate, and this is how you repay him?!"

Qin Yuan walked out of the great hall and saw Zhao Tiezhu and Lin Qing'er blocking three youths in front of the courtyard on the mountainside. Those three were the Inner Sect disciples Wang Lin, Zhang Hai, and Li Mo, who had come together yesterday.

Upon seeing Qin Yuan, the three youths' expressions changed, and they lowered their heads, not daring to meet his gaze.

"Senior Brother Qin..." Wang Lin said, mustering his courage, "We... we want to cultivate somewhere else."

"Is it because of the conditions Lei Ba offered?" Qin Yuan asked calmly.

The three stiffened.

Zhang Hai gritted his teeth and said, "Senior Brother Qin, people always strive for higher ground. Senior Brother Lei is in the Golden Core mid-stage and ranked sixteenth. The Spiritual Energy on his peak is thirty percent richer than here. We... we want to pursue a better cultivation environment."

Li Mo also whispered, "Senior Brother Qin has shown us great kindness, and we keep it in our hearts. But the path of cultivation ultimately depends on one's own future..."

"Nonsense!" Zhao Tiezhu roared. "Back in the secret realm, if Senior Brother Qin hadn't saved you, you would have been eliminated by the people from Seventh Peak long ago! Now that you've found some benefits, you betray him. Do you have any conscience?!"

Lin Qing'er also said coldly, "Cultivation environment? Senior Brother Qin can absorb the essence of the Heavenly Pool in three days to break through to Golden Core, and he can defeat Zhao Wuji with a single punch. Such talent, is it inferior to that Lei Ba?"

Wang Lin and the other two were rendered speechless and flushed with embarrassment, but the determination to leave was evident in their eyes.

Qin Yuan looked at them and suddenly smiled.

"Everyone has their own aspirations." He waved his hand. "If you wish to go, then go."

"Senior Brother Qin!" Zhao Tiezhu urged anxiously.

Qin Yuan shook his head to stop him and looked at Wang Lin and the other two. "Remember, once you leave this place, do not return."

The three felt as if they had received a great pardon and quickly bowed. "Thank you, Senior Brother Qin, for granting our wish!"

After speaking, they went down the mountain without looking back.