In his residence, Mu Yan was immersed in cultivation.
He sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion made from precious materials, his hands forming seals as his presence surged around him like a tide.
Blazing flames erupted from within him, turning his entire figure into a mass of raging fire. The terrifying heat warped the air into layer upon layer of heat waves.
As his hand seals shifted, he drew the energy of heaven and earth into his body in an unending stream.
"Flame God Instruction!"
With his low shout, the surrounding Spiritual Qi poured toward him in a frenzy. Repeatedly tempered by the flames outside his body, it became streams of supremely pure power that surged into his limbs and bones.
With the Flame Spirit Saint Physique paired with the emperor-grade cultivation method, the Flame God Instruction, his cultivation speed was enough to leave anyone speechless.
In just ten short days, he had broken through barrier after barrier, rising from the seventh level of the Foundation Establishment Realm straight to the third level of the Golden Core Realm!
Ten days.
Anywhere, that number alone would have been enough to put those so-called geniuses to shame.
Never mind the first-rate factions of the Desolate Ancient Great World-even the lofty holy sons and holy maidens of the holy lands would likely have been left staring at his back, unable to catch up.
Mu Yan did not stop. His presence continued to rise-boom!
The fourth level of the Golden Core Realm.
"I've broken through."
He slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air. Feeling the power coursing through his body, he curled his lips into a smile.
The Flame Spirit Saint Physique and an emperor-grade cultivation method-the two combined were truly unstoppable.
He had once thought meeting Elder Li was the greatest stroke of luck in his life.
Only now did he understand that joining Kunlun Holy Land and receiving a cultivation method from his master was a blessing earned through several lifetimes of cultivation.
This kindness, this debt, weighed more than mountains.
As his thoughts shifted, the scenes buried deep in his memories came surging back-the Mu Household of old, those mocking eyes, those grating laughs, that delight in trampling him underfoot.
He clenched his fists.
The former trash would now make everyone look up to him.
It was time for the Mu Household to repay what it owed him.
Mu Yan rose and headed for the main hall.
"Master." He bowed respectfully, his voice steady. "Today is the Mu Household's internal tournament. This disciple wishes to return and reclaim everything for the humiliation I suffered back then."
He had once been the pride of the Mu Household, a genius surrounded by admirers like the moon surrounded by stars.
Until one day, his cultivation began to regress. All the power he absorbed into his body vanished without a trace, like a clay ox sinking into the sea.
The genius became trash, and the hands that had held him up became palms that shoved him down.
He fled that place.
Only after Elder Li awakened did he learn that his loss of cultivation over those years had actually been caused by Elder Li absorbing his energy.
Now, he was back.
No-he was charging back with cultivation at the fourth level of the Golden Core Realm!
As Ye Chen listened to Mu Yan's report, a system notification sounded in his mind.
[Ding! Mission triggered: eldest disciple Mu Yan reclaims his dignity. Rewards will be issued according to mission completion!]
The mission piqued Ye Chen's interest. So even this could trigger a mission and yield rewards?
Judging by the mission description, the quality of the rewards would depend on how well Mu Yan completed it.
If the completion level was high enough, the rewards would definitely be the best.
"My disciple, I grant you permission to return. Always remember that you are Kunlun Holy Land's eldest disciple, and my direct disciple!"
At those words, Mu Yan trembled all over and cupped his fists gratefully. "Thank you for granting your permission, Master! This disciple will never disgrace our sect!"
"Elder Zhang Laosi, accompany Mu Yan on this trip," Ye Chen instructed. Then his figure merged into the void and disappeared.
With permission granted, Zhang Laosi and Mu Yan descended the mountain together.
The Mu Household was especially lively that day.
The Lineage tournament, held once every ten years, was taking place that very day.
Throughout the Mu estate, everyone was discussing who would take first place in this tournament.
"If you ask me, Mu Tingting has the best chance. She's our Household's favored daughter of heaven, firmly in second place among our geniuses!"
"The second-best genius is still only second. First place has to go to Brother Mu Kun. He's the acknowledged number-one genius. What is there to argue about?"
"That's true. Brother Mu Kun's strength is there for everyone to see. You have to acknowledge it."
In the spacious courtyard, several Mu Household disciples were discussing the matter enthusiastically.
Mu Tingting and Mu Kun, whom they were discussing, could indeed be called astonishing talents-Mu Tingting was already at the fifth level of the Foundation Establishment Realm, while Mu Kun had reached the terrifying sixth level.
Among their peers in the several surrounding Lineages, no one could match such cultivation.
As their discussion grew heated, someone in the crowd timidly interjected:
"If we're talking about the number-one genius... shouldn't that be Mu Yan?"
The moment those words fell, everyone went silent.
The lively atmosphere seemed to have been abruptly sucked away, and the young people's expressions changed in unison.
The one who had spoken out of turn immediately realized his mistake. He ducked his head and hid in the crowd, no longer daring to show his face.
Only after a long while did someone sigh. "Mu Yan... he really was impressive. He reached Foundation Establishment years ago. If nothing had happened, he'd have reached at least the seventh or eighth level of Foundation Establishment by now, right?"
-He had once been an acknowledged genius. Sadly, he had become trash.
"Hmph, you said it yourself-that was before." Someone sneered. "There's been no word of him since he left the Mu Household. He probably died out there."
"Once he became trash, he should've just behaved himself, eaten his fill, and waited to die. Instead, he insisted on running off to feed someone a kill. Tsk, isn't that laughable?"
They burst into laughter, openly mocking the name that had once shone so brilliantly.
As though trampling the former genius underfoot could grant them a little more superiority.
At the height of their laughter, a cool female voice abruptly interrupted them:
"Shut up."
They turned to see a woman in red walking toward them. A tightly fastened belt outlined her slender waist, and a chill lay in her features.
Mu Tingting.
"Although Mu Yan became trash, he still contributed to the Lineage back then. Don't let me hear those words again."
They gave a few awkward laughs, nodded repeatedly, and hurriedly scattered like birds and beasts.
Mu Tingting was powerful and held high status. She was not someone they could afford to provoke.
Withdrawing her gaze from their retreating, bedraggled figures, Mu Tingting found the image of a thin young man rising unbidden in her mind.
Back then, he had indeed shone with boundless brilliance.
At the time, she could only follow behind him, eagerly trotting after his receding figure.
But that was all in the past.
Geniuses fell, and eras changed.
That young man was no longer qualified to stand before her.