Consecutive Defeats

He turned and walked out, "Where is he now?"

"He's in seclusion at Blazing Peak," Han Bing said. "There hasn't been any activity for days."

"Seclusion?" Chu Wuyue paused, "Boring."

He thought for a moment, then asked, "Besides Qin Yuan, are there any other new faces recently?"

"Ye Qingshuang, who is sixth, and Su Lie, who is eighth," Tie Zhan said. "Both were promoted within the last six months and are quite strong."

"Ye Qingshuang... Su Lie..." Chu Wuyue murmured the two names, a fighting spirit gradually rising in his white pupils. "Where are they?"

"Ye Qingshuang is at Frost Blossom Peak, and Su Lie is at Blazing Sun Peak."

"Very good." Chu Wuyue grinned. "I can't fight the one in seclusion for now, so I'll find these two to warm up first."

As his voice fell, his figure flickered and he disappeared from the hall.

Han Bing and Tie Zhan exchanged glances, seeing the relief in each other's eyes.

"Senior Brother Chu, the battle maniac... is finally back," Tie Zhan said with a wry smile.

"Yeah." Han Bing wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. "But it's good too. With him here, let him worry about Qin Yuan's business."

Frost Blossom Peak, snow falling on the summit.

This was the peak of Ye Qingshuang, the sixth-ranked True Disciple. Due to the influence of the Ice Heart Art she cultivated, the entire peak was covered in ice and snow year-round, with extremely low temperatures.

At this moment, Ye Qingshuang was cultivating in the ice palace.

She was a woman in white with a cool and detached expression, surrounded by faint blue ice crystals. With every breath she took, cold air condensed into frost.

Suddenly, she opened her eyes.

The ice palace door opened silently, and Chu Wuyue leaned against the entrance, his white pupils appraising her with interest.

"You are Ye Qingshuang?" Chu Wuyue asked.

Ye Qingshuang slowly stood up, her expression solemn. "Senior Brother Chu."

"I heard you came from First Peak and your ice-based arts are good." Chu Wuyue walked into the ice palace, his bare feet stepping on the ice without leaving any trace. "Come, spar with me."

Ye Qingshuang frowned. "Senior Brother Chu, I..."

"Don't worry, I won't kill you." Chu Wuyue grinned, and his figure suddenly vanished!

Ye Qingshuang's pupils contracted. She instantly formed hand seals, and ice crystals erupted from her body, coalescing into a three-foot-thick ice wall in front of her!

However, as soon as the ice wall formed, a pale hand pierced through the ice and gently pressed against her forehead.

The movement was as gentle as a caress.

But Ye Qingshuang stiffened, all her spiritual energy instantly freezing, unable to move even a single finger.

"Too slow." Chu Wuyue withdrew his hand, a hint of disappointment flashing in his white pupils. "Your ice can't freeze me."

He turned and walked out. "When you can freeze my feet, come find me again."

As his voice fell, he was gone.

In the ice palace, Ye Qingshuang stood frozen, the palm print on her forehead slowly dissipating, but the shock in her heart lingered.

Is this the strength of the number one True Disciple?

Even her strongest defensive art couldn't block a casual attack?

Half an hour later, Blazing Sun Peak.

Su Lie, the eighth-ranked disciple, was a red-haired youth with a fiery temper who cultivated the Blazing Flame Sword Art. His peak was the opposite of Frost Blossom Peak, being hot as summer year-round, with the rocks scorched red.

When Chu Wuyue arrived, Su Lie was practicing his sword.

"You are Su Lie?" Chu Wuyue asked.

Su Lie sheathed his sword, his eyes burning. "Senior Brother Chu! I've long wanted to spar with you!"

"Courageous," Chu Wuyue nodded. "Come."

Su Lie let out a roar, drew his sword, and a crimson sword aura surged three zhang, carrying scorching flames towards Chu Wuyue! He had used his full strength in this strike, his sword intent like fire, capable of melting gold and stone!

Chu Wuyue didn't move.

He didn't even look at the sword aura.

He simply raised his right hand, extended his index finger, and lightly flicked it at the incoming sword aura.

Clink--

A crisp sound.

The crimson sword aura shattered! Su Lie felt as if he had been struck by a heavy blow, his sword flew out of his hand, and he was sent flying backward, crashing through half a palace and landing on the ground, spitting blood.

"Your sword intent is too scattered, and your control is insufficient," Chu Wuyue shook his head and turned to leave. "When you can condense your flames to a single point at the tip of your sword, come find me again."

Within a single day, he defeated the sixth and eighth-ranked disciples.

News spread, and the True Disciple rankings were once again shaken.

"Senior Brother Chu is back!"

"Still as strong as ever... Ye Qingshuang and Su Lie couldn't even take one move!"

"Now this will be interesting! Senior Brother Chu versus Qin Yuan, who is stronger?"

"It's definitely Senior Brother Chu! He's someone who has touched the threshold of Nascent Soul!"

"That's not necessarily true. That monster Qin Yuan can't be judged by normal standards..."

Amidst the murmurs, Chu Wuyue returned to his "Moonless Peak."

This mountain peak was peculiar; it had no distinction between day and night, perpetually shrouded in a layer of hazy moonlight. There were no palaces on the summit, only a simple thatched hut. In front of the hut was a clear pool, its surface reflecting a false moon.

Chu Wuyue sat by the pool, his white pupils gazing at the water, a rare expression of boredom on his face.

"Ye Qingshuang is too slow, Su Lie is too unfocused... neither are interesting," he muttered to himself. "That Qin Yuan... when will he finish his seclusion?"

Blazing Peak, inside the main hall.

Qin Yuan was completely unaware of everything happening in the outside world.

He had been in seclusion for six consecutive days.

During these six days, he hadn't extracted any cultivation, storing it all instead.

On the System panel, the storage bar was full:

[Cultivation Storage: 200/200 years]

Two hundred years of cultivation!

This was equivalent to the accumulation of two thousand years of hard work for an ordinary Golden Core cultivator!

"That's about enough," Qin Yuan opened his eyes, a sharp glint flashing within them.

Advancing from the late stage to the peak of Golden Core required not only spiritual energy accumulation but also comprehension of the Great Dao's laws. Fortunately, the Nine Revolutions Profound Origin Art was itself a cultivation technique that directly pointed towards the Great Dao, and the Nine Revolutions Golden Core had laid a perfect foundation for him.

"Let's begin."

With a thought, Qin Yuan extracted all his stored cultivation.

BOOM--!!!

Two hundred years of cultivation erupted, like a galaxy pouring down, like the sky collapsing and the earth cracking! If the main hall's formations hadn't been reinforced by Elder Xu, this surge of spiritual energy alone would have been enough to collapse the entire mountain peak!

In his dantian, the Nine Revolutions Golden Core spun madly.

The originally dark golden Golden Core, under the infusion of vast spiritual energy, began to undergo a qualitative change. The nine patterns on its surface gradually merged, transforming into an arcane circular pattern, as if it contained the profound principles of heaven and earth. The Golden Core itself shifted from dark gold to pure gold, then from pure gold to transparent, and finally to an indescribable chaotic hue.

Golden Core Perfection!

This was not an ordinary Golden Core peak, but a realm where the Golden Core had been cultivated to its theoretical limit! The quality of the Golden Core, the total amount of spiritual energy, and the strength of his Spiritual Sense had all reached the pinnacle attainable by a Golden Core stage cultivator!

Even... he had touched the threshold of Nascent Soul!

Qin Yuan could feel that if he wished, he could attempt to condense his Nascent Soul now. But a vague intuition told him--he was still a little short, just a tiny bit of opportunity away.

"No rush," he suppressed the impulse and slowly withdrew his cultivation.

When all the spiritual energy subsided, Qin Yuan's aura had become as deep as an abyss. He sat there, as if he had merged with the entire mountain peak, the entire world. Though he was right before their eyes, he gave off an ethereal, intangible feeling.

Golden Core Perfection, returning to simplicity.

He opened his eyes, the chaotic color within them flashing and then returning to clarity.

"It's time to come out of seclusion."