Betrayal

Just as Qin Yuan settled in, the atmosphere inside a grand hall on Seventh Peak was so oppressive it was suffocating.

Elder Li sat in the seat of honor with a grim expression, while three young men stood below him.

In the center stood a burly man in purple robes, his face full of savage flesh and his aura fierce and overbearing. He was Lei Ba, ranked sixteenth among the True Disciples.

To the left was a tall, thin scholar in green robes, leisurely fanning himself with a folding fan. His expression was calm. He was Wen Ruofeng, ranked eighteenth.

On the right stood a white-robed young man carrying a longsword on his back. His features were cold and stern. He was Jian Wuhen, ranked eleventh.

All three came from Seventh Peak and formed its backbone within the True Disciple ranks.

"Zhao Wuji has been defeated." Elder Li spoke slowly, his voice icy. "And he lost horribly. One punch—just one punch."

Lei Ba snorted. "That useless Zhao Wuji spends all day drowning in wine and women. His cultivation hasn't advanced an inch in five years. He deserved to lose."

Wen Ruofeng gently waved his folding fan and said unhurriedly, "Senior Brother Lei, that is not quite right. No matter what, Zhao Wuji was at the peak of the early Golden Core Realm. To defeat him with a single punch... Qin Yuan's strength is likely not something to be underestimated."

Jian Wuhen held his sword in his arms with his eyes closed, as if none of this concerned him.

Elder Li stared at the three of them. "Qin Yuan has risen too quickly, and he has repeatedly opposed Seventh Peak. If he is not suppressed, he will become a thorn in our flesh and a deadly threat in the future."

He paused, and his voice turned sharp. "I want you to act and knock him out of the True Disciple ranks!"

The hall fell silent.

Wen Ruofeng put away his folding fan and frowned. "Elder, Qin Yuan has only just become a True Disciple and is ranked last, at twenty-seventh. If we join forces to target him, Seventh Peak will become a laughingstock to the other peaks. They will say we cannot afford to lose."

Jian Wuhen opened his eyes as well and said blandly, "There is no need."

"No need?!" Lei Ba slammed his palm onto the table. "How is there no need? Is that brat merely slapping Zhao Wuji's face? He is slapping Seventh Peak's face! A brat who entered the sect less than half a month ago is already riding on Seventh Peak's head, shitting and pissing all over it. You may endure it, but I, Lei Ba, cannot!"

He turned toward Elder Li and cupped his fists. "Rest assured, Elder. I will challenge that brat tomorrow and kick him out of the True Disciple ranks!"

A trace of satisfaction flashed through Elder Li's eyes, but when he looked at Wen Ruofeng and Jian Wuhen, his expression turned displeased again. "What about you two?"

Wen Ruofeng gave a bitter smile. "Since Senior Brother Lei intends to act, I will not meddle. But Elder, I must still remind you—Qin Yuan is likely not simple."

Jian Wuhen closed his eyes once more. "It has nothing to do with me."

Elder Li snorted coldly and flicked his sleeve. "As you wish! Lei Ba, I am leaving this matter to you. If you handle it well, the peak's resources allocated to you will increase by thirty percent."

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

Inside Blazing Peak's main hall, Qin Yuan sat cross-legged within the Spirit Gathering Array, yet he did not begin cultivating immediately.

The system panel floated before him:

[Twenty Years of Cultivation Growth Per Day System]

[Current Level: 2 (3478/5000)]

[Cultivation Storage: 0/60 years]

[Today's cultivation has not been extracted]

Upon becoming a True Disciple, Qin Yuan received a generous allotment of sect resources: five thousand Mid-grade Spirit Crystals, ten bottles of Core Condensing Pills suitable for Golden Core Realm cultivators, three high-grade Yellow-rank magical artifacts, and one opportunity to enter the third floor of the Scripture Repository to select a cultivation art.

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 had risen to 3,478 points. There was still some distance to go before the 5,000 points required for an upgrade, but it was no longer far away.

"At this rate, if I remain among the True Disciples for two months and collect two monthly stipends, I should be able to gather enough resources for the upgrade." Qin Yuan calculated inwardly.

But at present, he faced a choice.

Cultivating in the Golden Core Realm was far more difficult than in the Foundation Establishment Realm. For an ordinary cultivator, advancing from the early Golden Core Realm to the middle Golden Core Realm required decades of hard work. Even with the system pouring twenty years of cultivation into him each day, it would still take time to accumulate.

Qin Yuan had estimated that if he extracted today's twenty years of cultivation now and attempted to break through to the middle Golden Core Realm, his chance of success would be only thirty percent.

"Better to wait another day." He made his decision. "If I store forty years of cultivation over two days and break through in one go, my chances will be greater."

He closed his eyes and began circulating the Nine Revolutions Profound Origin Art, consolidating his newly achieved early Golden Core Realm cultivation.

The night passed without incident.

Early the next morning, just as Qin Yuan finished cultivating, Zhou De hurried over to the hall.

"Senior Brother Qin, there is something..." Zhou De looked somewhat troubled.

"Speak."

"Wang Lin, Zhang Hai, and Li Mo, who came with us yesterday... they just came to find me and said... said they wanted to leave Blazing Peak." Zhou Ming said softly.

Qin Yuan opened his eyes. "Why?"

"They did not give a specific reason, but I found out..." Zhou De hesitated for a moment. "Lei Ba, ranked sixteenth, sent people to contact them. He promised that as long as they leave Blazing Peak and join him, each of them will receive a monthly Attendant allowance of three hundred Spirit Crystals. He will also allow them to cultivate on his mountain."

"Three hundred Spirit Crystals?" Qin Yuan raised a brow.

That amount was indeed an enormous sum for Inner Sect disciples. More importantly, being able to cultivate on a True Disciple's mountain would greatly benefit the growth of their cultivation.

"And..." Zhou Ming continued, "Lei Ba's people spread word that... that Blazing Peak's Spiritual Energy is thin, and Senior Brother Qin's foundation is shallow. They said there is no future in following you."

The moment he finished speaking, Zhao Tiezhu's furious roar rang out from beyond the hall.

"Wang Lin! You three ungrateful bastards! 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 hall and saw Zhao Tiezhu and Lin Qing'er blocking three young men in front of a courtyard halfway up the mountain. The three were Wang Lin, Zhang Hai, and Li Mo, the Inner Sect disciples who had come with them yesterday.

Upon seeing Qin Yuan, the three men's expressions changed. They lowered their heads, not daring to meet his gaze.

"Senior Brother Qin..." Wang Lin gathered his courage and said, "We... we want to change to another place to cultivate."

"Because of the terms Lei Ba offered?" Qin Yuan asked calmly.

The three men stiffened.

Zhang Hai gritted his teeth. "Senior Brother Qin, people climb toward higher ground. Senior Brother Lei is in the middle Golden Core Realm and ranked sixteenth. The Spiritual Energy on his mountain is thirty percent denser than it is here. We... we want to pursue a better cultivation environment."

Li Mo also said in a low voice, "Senior Brother Qin has shown us kindness, and we will remember it in our hearts. But on the path of cultivation, one must ultimately look to one's own future..."

"Bullshit!" Zhao Tiezhu roared. "Back in the secret realm, if Senior Brother Qin had not saved you, Seventh Peak's people would have eliminated you long ago! Now that there are a few benefits in front of you, you betray him. Do you have any conscience left?!"

Lin Qing'er said coldly as well, "A cultivation environment? Senior Brother Qin absorbed all the essence of Heavenly Pool in three days and broke through to the Golden Core Realm. He defeated Zhao Wuji with one punch. Could such talent truly be inferior to Lei Ba?"

Wang Lin and the other two were flushed red from the rebuke, but their eyes showed that they had already made up their minds to leave.

Qin Yuan looked at them and suddenly smiled.

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

"Senior Brother Qin!" Zhao Tiezhu said anxiously.

Qin Yuan shook his head to stop him, then looked at Wang Lin and the others. "Remember this: once you walk out that gate, do not come back."

The three felt as though they had been granted a pardon. They hurriedly bowed. "Thank you, Senior Brother Qin, for granting us this!"

With that, they turned and headed down the mountain without looking back.