Call Me Martial Uncle Qin!

After returning to his cave abode, Qin Chuan first circulated his cultivation to heal his injuries. Shen Qingyuan had already treated most of them; all he needed to do was clear the obstructions in his meridians.

An hour later, Qin Chuan opened his eyes and breathed out a murky breath. "In this clash with the Heavenly Dao, I won a complete victory thanks to Master's help!"

He opened his hand, revealing a white strand of energy in his palm, as thin as a hair and as long as his little finger.

"The Will of the Heavenly Dao is controlled by the Heavenly Dao. This strand might not even amount to one ten-thousandth of it, but it's still the Will of the Heavenly Dao. If I could control half of it, wouldn't I be evenly matched with the Heavenly Dao!?"

"And according to Master, she fought the Heavenly Dao to a draw. If I reached the Peak Tribulation Transcendence Stage or became an immortal, could I kill the Heavenly Dao too?" Qin Chuan lowered his head slightly, but his eyes were filled with killing intent.

"And how could the Heavenly Dao be this weak?" Qin Chuan actually had an idea about that question.

The Heavenly Dao couldn't have created the male and female leads just because it had nothing better to do. It had to be after something. Most likely, once the leads played out the plot, the Heavenly Dao would grow stronger.

"Then, following that line of thought, I have to stop the leads and the male supporting characters from playing out the plot. Even if they do, I have to make the Heavenly Dao pay a price before they can succeed." Qin Chuan made his decision on the spot.

He closed his eyes and cleared his mind for a while, then continued thinking as he played with the strand of the Will of the Heavenly Dao in his hand. "At present, I know of two ways to kill the Heavenly Dao. One is to seize the Will of the Heavenly Dao; the other is to reach the heavens through cultivation and slay the Heavenly Dao outright."

"As for cultivation, apart from progressing step by step, there are also great fortuitous encounters. Aren't the leads and the male supporting characters a treasure trove of fortuitous encounters for me?"

At that thought, Qin Chuan smiled faintly. Everything was developing in his favor.

He absorbed the Will of the Heavenly Dao into his body and began pondering why he had obtained that strand.

"I only obtained this little strand of the Will of the Heavenly Dao when the Heavenly Dao struck as a warning."

"Then why didn't I obtain any Will of the Heavenly Dao when the Heavenly Dao struck the previous few times?"

Qin Chuan closed his eyes again and began recalling what had happened after he entered the secret realm. When he killed Gu Xiran, the false Nascent Soul wolf demon had intervened.

When he killed Xie An, first the Xiao Family's Dao protector had intervened, then the heavenly lightning of divine punishment had struck, and finally the Heavenly Dao itself had acted.

Only when the Heavenly Dao itself acted had he obtained it...

"No, I already had this strand of the Will of the Heavenly Dao when the heavenly lightning of purple punishment struck. The Heavenly Dao never actually attacked me; it only attacked Master." Qin Chuan opened his eyes. He had figured it out.

Whether it sent the false Nascent Soul wolf demon to save Gu Xiran or had the Xiao Family's Dao protector intervene to save Xie An, those actions had all been reasonable. Only the time the heavenly lightning of purple punishment tried to strike him dead had been unreasonable.

"So as long as the Heavenly Dao is forced to act unreasonably, I can seize its Will of the Heavenly Dao."

"But I can't act so recklessly again, or the Heavenly Dao might jump over the wall like a desperate dog and wipe me out. For now, I need to hide behind the scenes and act as a sneaky bastard. That vicious female supporting character and the male supporting characters are all good helpers of mine."

"I'll use the Heavenly Dao's spear to attack its own shield."

"The inner-sect martial competition will also let me test a few of my other conjectures, but only if I can win."

"Cultivation first. Only if I'm strong enough can my plans proceed smoothly."

Following Shen Qingyuan's instructions, Qin Chuan took out the Tianquan Sword and tried to comprehend it.

According to the novel's setting, Tianquan, Tianxuan, and Lingxiao were the three strongest spirit swords born in the Sword Abyss. Each had a sword spirit and its own unique sword intent, and all were incomparably powerful.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye. Qin Chuan hadn't comprehended anything from the Tianquan Sword during that time, because its sword spirit was too arrogant to pay him any attention.

"Ah, forget it. I'll go take part in the martial competition first." Qin Chuan changed into a set of dark robes and tied his hair high, ready for battle.

"As long as Pei Xuan hasn't broken through to the Nascent Soul Stage, I'm sure to take first place. Then the Spirit Ascension Fruit will be mine, and I can use it to break through."

The Spirit Ascension Fruit was a rare treasure. Cultivators below the Nascent Soul Stage could break through directly after consuming it, without any side effects.

In the original plot, Yun Yao would insist on adding the Spirit Ascension Fruit to the first-place prize for the martial competition today. He was confident that Pei Xuan would win and give the fruit to Gu Xiran, allowing her to break through and become a Golden Core cultivator.

But now that Qin Chuan knew about it, the Spirit Ascension Fruit would be his. His Early Golden Core Stage cultivation had just stabilized, so taking the fruit to reach the Middle Golden Core Stage wouldn't leave him with an unstable foundation.

Thinking that the Spirit Ascension Fruit would soon be his, Qin Chuan walked down the mountain with a noticeably lighter step. As soon as he reached the foot of the mountain, he saw Jin Pang waiting there.

Jin Pang saw Qin Chuan too and waved enthusiastically. "Martial Uncle Qin, over here!"

Hearing Jin Pang call him Martial Uncle Qin left Qin Chuan caught between laughter and tears. He was only twenty, yet he had become someone's martial uncle. What was more, he had been calling that same person senior brother not long ago. It was truly dramatic.

When Jin Pang had called him Martial Uncle Qin in the secret realm, Qin Chuan's attention had been entirely on Shen Qingyuan, so he hadn't noticed. This was the first time he had heard Jin Pang address him that way.

Qin Chuan really didn't want to be Jin Pang's martial uncle, so he hurriedly said he wasn't worthy of the title. "Senior Brother Jin, calling me Martial Uncle Qin is too much for me."

"I'm the one who isn't worthy of being called Senior Brother Jin by you. You're the Glazed Glass Immortal Venerable's disciple. How would I dare be your senior brother?" Jin Pang now felt the same as Qin Chuan, caught between laughter and tears, though he was also uneasy.

At that moment, Qin Chuan recalled a famous saying from Blue Star: they could each address the other in their own way. He would call Jin Pang senior brother, and Jin Pang would call him martial uncle.

But he only thought it and didn't say it aloud. He would be working with Jin Pang often in the future, so it was better for them to treat each other as equals. Thus, he said firmly, "Brother Jin, listen to me. Let's treat each other as equals."

After a moment's thought, Jin Pang replied, "I'll do as you say, Brother Qin!"

"By the way, the storage bag contains the spirit stones the sect master's faction paid the two of us in compensation. A thousand mid-grade spirit stones each."

"And this is the Body-Tempering Pill. Brother Qin, you'd better take it at night. Although there's stellar power during the day too, it's stronger at night, so the body-tempering effect will be better."

Qin Chuan took the storage bag Jin Pang handed him and glanced inside. It was filled with spirit stones, along with a black Body-Tempering Pill.

"Thank you, Brother Jin. But this compensation is for...?"

"It's compensation for the false Nascent Soul wolf demon showing up. An elder under Yun Yao was responsible for clearing out the secret realm, and Yun Yao paid each of us a thousand mid-grade spirit stones to protect that elder," Jin Pang explained.

"Then he certainly owed us compensation." Qin Chuan tucked the storage bag into his robes. This was what he deserved.

"The inner-sect martial competition is about to begin. The sect master's faction has long been saying that Pei Xuan is sure to take first place. Brother Qin, you're sure to defeat Pei Xuan and take the wind right out of his sails," Jin Pang said excitedly.

He had clashed with Pei Xuan and the others several times over dealing with Xie An, and now he loathed every one of the sect master's faction's direct disciples.

After speaking, Jin Pang remembered that Qin Chuan had been the one to ask him to come today. "By the way, Brother Qin, what did you want to see me about?"

"The martial competition is about to start. Let's talk on the way." Qin Chuan had already taken the lead, flying toward the competition arena.

"All right." Jin Pang followed close behind Qin Chuan.

By the time they neared the arena, Qin Chuan had explained everything to Jin Pang.

"Brother Qin, you're saying I must take first place in the alchemy competition, and that I shouldn't make a move against Xie An or the Xiao Family for the time being?" Jin Pang understood the first part about taking first place in the alchemy competition, but he couldn't understand why he shouldn't make a move against Xie An and the Xiao Family.

Qin Chuan was just about to explain when an abrupt voice cut him off.

"Jin Pang, Qin Chuan, I'm going to kill you!"

Qin Chuan looked toward the voice and saw Xie An, who had yet to recover from his severe injuries, along with Gu Xiran and the others at his side.

Jin Pang wanted to retort, but Qin Chuan raised a hand to stop him. Qin Chuan then infused his voice with spiritual energy to make sure everyone present could hear him. "What ill-mannered thing is this, daring to call me by name?"

"I am of the same seniority as Sect Master Yun. Since you are his disciple, you must address me as Martial Uncle Qin."

"If you dare call your martial uncle by name today, will you dare kill your martial uncle tomorrow? And the day after that, will you be colluding with outsiders against the Pure Void Sect?"

Qin Chuan's time on Blue Star hadn't been wasted. The moment he opened his mouth, he dumped a huge pot of blame on Xie An's head and claimed the moral high ground.