“It wasn’t supposed to be like this… it wasn’t supposed to be like this!”
Atop the main peak, Lin Chuan sat on a bluestone slab, his expression twisted with rage. Under his palm, the stone beneath him had been pressed so hard that it left a deep handprint.
He had imagined himself defeating the Flying Immortal Physique on the stage, using that victory to elevate his status within the sect, and even spread his name to other sects. At that point, countless cultivators would admire him—saying, although the Flying Immortal Physique was formidable, there stood someone even more supreme in the Heavenly Dao Sect’s main peak.
But now, all of that had crumbled.
Especially after that Flying Immortal Physique turned and left with just a single phrase—”Nothing more than this”—it was like he had stepped on the heads of all the Heavenly Dao Sect’s younger generation and climbed to the summit alone.
“No… no, it shouldn’t have been like this. I should’ve been able to defeat him! There must be something missing—yes, something is missing!” Lin Chuan muttered. “Whatever that missing piece is… it’s not in the Heavenly Dao Sect. I need to go to Xiangdao City! As long as I obtain that thing, I’ll be able to redeem myself during the Ten Sects Grand Competition!”
Some instinct told him that the opportunity to defeat the Flying Immortal Physique was hidden in Xiangdao City. His only thought now was to go down the mountain and retrieve the fortune that would let him wipe away his shame.
Unfortunately, he was destined for disappointment.
Because Xu Aozi had died at the hands of a demonic cultivator outside Xiangdao City, the Heavenly Dao Sect was now secretly searching for the traitor within. For the sake of disciple safety, there was no chance the sect would allow anyone to leave the mountain right now.
“We’re not allowed to go down because of the exchange between the two sects?”
When Lin Chuan heard the news, he was dumbfounded. He hadn’t expected that such a thing would happen precisely at this critical moment. After pondering for a while, he realized that the exchange event was just a cover. The real reason was that the sect needed to root out the demonic cultivator’s accomplice.
Now, knowing that his opportunity might slip away because he couldn’t leave, Lin Chuan grew increasingly frustrated. And yet, this was all a result of his own plan—if he hadn’t ordered the shadow guard to track Ling Yun, none of this would’ve happened.
From the fragments, strands of glowing light began to flow—mysterious and radiant.
“Hmm? This is… spirit essence? And such pure spirit essence at that?” Sensing the unusual aura within those fragments, Lin Chuan’s eyes lit up.
It seemed the heavens truly favored him. Even if he couldn’t descend the mountain, fate would deliver him fortune nonetheless. With this spirit essence, he could surely temper his Gang Qi to a higher level. By the time the Ten Sects Grand Competition arrived, even if he faced the Flying Immortal Physique again, he would have no fear.
While Lin Chuan was rejoicing over the fortune he’d accidentally unearthed, the so-called three prodigies of Snow Moon Peak were sinking into self-doubt.
Within the Heavenly Dao Sect, they had long been lifted up by others’ praise, and with Ling Yun constantly supporting them behind the scenes, they had completely underestimated other cultivators. Despite Ling Yun repeatedly warning them not to look down on the young talents of the world, they had never listened. In their minds, they were already at the pinnacle.
In past reincarnations, Ling Yun had defeated Qu Feixian single-handedly, and they had even blamed him for getting in the way of their chance to challenge top geniuses from other sects.
But after their battle with Qu Feixian, they finally tasted the bitter sting of overwhelming defeat. Even the strongest among them, Huangfu Ying, was effortlessly crushed. The disciples of the Heavenly Dao Sect began to look at them with doubt in their eyes—these so-called geniuses of Snow Moon Peak had been all talk? Was that it?
Truthfully, had they followed Ling Yun’s guidance, devoted themselves to diligent cultivation, and not handed over all their resources to Lin Chuan, they might still have lost to Qu Feixian, but they wouldn’t have been defeated so miserably. Their prestigious aura as the “prodigies of Snow Moon Peak” had now been completely shattered.
“Where’s Master…” After a long moment of silence, Song Yushu suddenly remembered their master. Given how protective Master Xueyue was, surely she would step in and demand justice after their humiliating defeat.
“I don’t know. Master seems to be busy with something important lately. I haven’t seen her at all,” Yan Shan said, shaking his head.
“If… if we had listened to Senior Brother and trained properly, would we have ended up like this on the stage today?” Huangfu Ying glanced at the other two, suddenly asking.
“What, he’s only been gone for a few days and you’re already missing him? Don’t tell me you actually want to go back to those dull days of being crushed by him into practicing boring foundational techniques?” Song Yushu’s tone turned cold upon hearing Ling Yun’s name. Read the latest chapters at NovelPing.
She knew Ling Yun possessed many profound secret techniques, yet he never let them train in any of them. He only forced them to repeatedly practice the most basic cultivation. This had long been Song Yushu’s greatest dissatisfaction with him. What use was all that foundational training? If she could learn an advanced technique, even an hour of cultivation could be more effective than a month of basic drills!
If Ling Yun knew what she was thinking, he might’ve burst out laughing. He had told Song Yushu more than once that his techniques weren’t suitable for her—and even those that were required a solid foundation before she could begin. But she had always resented him for refusing to teach her, believing he was holding her back just to stop her from showing off in front of her crush.
After a long silence, Yan Shan suddenly stood, grabbed his sword, and walked out of the hall.
“Senior Brother, where are you going? Aren’t you going to wait for Master to return?”
“To train in swordsmanship,” he replied without looking back.
No one knew that hidden in Yan Shan’s robe was a jade slip—one he had secretly taken from Ling Yun’s residence after he left the sect.
It was a sword technique he had coveted for a long time. He had once seen Ling Yun use it. Back then, Ling Yun was only in the Gang Qi Realm, yet the technique had terrified him, even as a cultivator in the Origin Spirit Realm.
Ever since witnessing that sword, he had longed to master it. He had asked Ling Yun about it many times, but was always told that his sword foundation was too unstable and cultivating it would lead to backlash.
He scoffed at that. He was born with a Sword Body—what sword technique could possibly backlash against him? Clearly, Ling Yun just didn’t want him to learn it, afraid he’d be surpassed.
“Xu Aozi… I’ll prove to you that I’m more suited for this sword technique than you!” Yan Shan said through gritted teeth.