Menial Hall.
In front of a small courtyard.
After registering their identities, a group of Registered Disciples were brought here by a senior sister from the Menial Hall.
Liu Hongyu looked at the slightly rundown courtyard before her, a trace of disdain flashing in her eyes. Compared to the conditions at Sword-Hiding Peak, this was a complete downgrade—like heaven and earth.
But since she had already come to the Menial Hall, there was no point in being picky. Endure it—after all, it was just for three months.
“This place may be a bit shabby, but it’s still livable!” she said proudly. “I’ll take this courtyard!”
She spoke arrogantly and was just about to walk in.
“Stop right there!” The senior sister in charge frowned, glaring at Liu Hongyu with clear annoyance. “Who said you could choose? No manners at all! You think you get a courtyard to yourself?”
Liu Hongyu stopped, holding in her frustration, but couldn’t help asking, “Aren’t we each supposed to get our own courtyard?”
In her past life on Sword-Hiding Peak, every disciple had their own exquisite courtyard.
“Nonsense. You’re dreaming if you think that!”
“All of you are staying in this courtyard!” the senior sister said with a dark expression, looking at Liu Hongyu like she was an idiot.
She had been in the Menial Hall for five years and only recently got her own small room. Yet this little Registered Disciple wanted better accommodations than her?
Dream on.
“What?”
“We’re all staying in this tiny courtyard?”
“There’s no way we’ll fit!”
Li Qinghuan couldn’t help but shout out. She was the type who couldn’t handle hardship. In her past life, she lived in luxury. Sharing a small courtyard with dozens of others now felt worse than death.
“Stay or don’t. Are you here to cultivate or to enjoy life? You’re just Registered Disciples, and already acting so entitled?” the senior sister scolded her directly, showing no mercy.
“You—” Li Qinghuan was about to explode when Lu Mengyao quickly pulled her back.
“Calm down, Senior Sister.”
Their identities now were not like before. They weren’t personal disciples of Sword-Hiding Peak, didn’t have Ye Chen to protect them, and certainly weren’t in the Emperor Realm.
If they clashed with this senior sister now, they’d only suffer losses.
The senior sister gave them a cold glance, snorted, and walked into the courtyard. The rest of the Registered Disciples quickly followed. None of them cared about the living conditions—they only wanted to stay in the Heavenly Mystic Immortal Sect.
“Let’s go too,” Lu Mengyao said. “Cultivation is more important.”
With her urging, Liu Hongyu and Li Qinghuan finally entered the side courtyard with gloomy expressions.
There were five side rooms in the courtyard, each holding ten disciples.
The senior sister assigned them to their rooms in groups.
Liu Hongyu and Li Qinghuan instantly blew up.
“Ten people in one room? How are we supposed to live like that?”
“This is ridiculous! Is this even fit for humans?”
“No way! I want my own room!”
The two shouted in protest.
The senior sister couldn’t help but laugh in anger. “Ha! Who do you think you are? Personal disciples of the Nine Main Peaks? Empresses renowned across the world?”
“If you don’t like it, get out. The Menial Hall doesn’t need you!”
She scolded them sternly and mockingly.
In all her years here, she had never seen Registered Disciples as arrogant and full of themselves as Liu Hongyu and Li Qinghuan.
“What did you say?” Liu Hongyu’s face darkened as she clenched her fists, ready to strike. She was once an Empress—how could she tolerate such humiliation?
“Don’t!” Lu Mengyao quickly pulled her back with a helpless look. “Focus on cultivation!”
They hadn’t even drawn spiritual energy into their bodies yet. How could they be a match for real cultivators?
Besides, if they offended this senior sister in the Menial Hall, they’d only suffer more. It wasn’t worth it.
Liu Hongyu calmed down, realizing she had no cultivation right now. Attacking her would only bring humiliation. She had no choice but to swallow her anger.
“Hmph. If you weren’t born to be a phoenix, don’t dream about becoming one,” the senior sister sneered, then turned and walked away.
Liu Hongyu was about to explode.
“Just wait! When I reach the Emperor Realm, I’ll kill every one of you!” she growled through gritted teeth.
The three of them entered one of the side rooms and chose three corner spots to sit.
Each took out a cultivation manual and a few low-grade spirit stones from their sleeves.
That was all the cultivation resources they would get for the next month.
The manuals were the same as what they received in their previous life, but the number of spirit stones was pitiful.
“Just these few low-grade spirit stones? Who could cultivate with this?” Li Qinghuan couldn’t help but complain.
In their past life, after joining Sword-Hiding Peak, not only did they get 100 low-grade spirit stones per month, but Ye Chen also gave them all kinds of pills and spirit stones. They had more cultivation resources than they could use.
“We have no choice. The Menial Hall can’t compare to the Nine Main Peaks,” Liu Hongyu said. “But I will never bow to Ye Chen. I’ll prove to him that I can reach the Emperor Realm without his help! Let him regret it!”
She was certain that with her talent, she could still Prove the Dao and Become an Empress without Ye Chen.
Li Qinghuan nodded firmly. “That’s right. Not taking us as disciples is Ye Chen’s loss! In this life, I’ll make him kneel before me and beg for forgiveness!”
Lu Mengyao sighed. “In our last life, it took us so long to reach the Emperor Realm. Now we have to start over… a thousand years wasted!”
“Curse that Ye Chen! My Emperor Realm! An entire millennium—gone!”
She had always been lazy. In their past life, Ye Chen managed her the most. After finally becoming an Empress, she now had to start from drawing in spiritual energy again. It drove her crazy.
After cursing Ye Chen together, the three of them turned their hatred into motivation and began cultivating cross-legged.
With the experience from their past life, Liu Hongyu, Li Qinghuan, and Lu Mengyao quickly sensed the surrounding spiritual energy and completed the first step of cultivation—drawing energy into their bodies.
“1st stage Qi Refining Realm!” Liu Hongyu opened her eyes, a trace of joy flashing across her face.
Li Qinghuan and Lu Mengyao also reached the 1st stage Qi Refining Realm. Feeling the spiritual energy flowing in their bodies, they both grinned proudly.
“This time, I’ll shock everyone!” Liu Hongyu said coldly. “Let the Peak Masters of the Eight Main Peaks regret their decisions!”
She hadn’t forgotten the humiliation she suffered earlier. They actually said she had demonic bones, that her talent was trash, and no one wanted her as a disciple!
She would never forgive that. She would make them all eat their words.
Li Qinghuan and Lu Mengyao also made up their minds. They would raise their cultivation levels as fast as possible—not just to make those who looked down on them regret it—but to show Ye Chen the truth.
In their past lives, they reached the Emperor Realm by their own effort. It had nothing to do with Ye Chen. He was nothing but a useless, irrelevant master.
They were the ones who elevated Ye Chen—not the other way around.
The three continued cultivating, using their momentum to advance…