After returning to his cave dwelling, Qin Chuan first sat down to circulate his energy and heal. In truth, Shen Qingyuan had already treated most of his injuries; he only needed to smooth out a few blocked meridians.
An hour later, Qin Chuan opened his eyes and exhaled a long breath. “This time, I clashed with the Heavenly Dao and, with Master’s help, I won completely!”
He spread his palm, revealing a strand of white energy as fine as a hair and as long as his pinky finger.
“This wisp of Heavenly Dao Will, though less than one ten-thousandth, is still a true part of it. If I can control even half of the Heavenly Dao Will, wouldn’t I be able to fight the Heavenly Dao evenly!?”
“And according to Master, she fought the Heavenly Dao to a draw. If I reach the peak of the Tribulation Crossing Realm or become an immortal, wouldn’t I be able to slay the Heavenly Dao?”
Qin Chuan lowered his head slightly, but his eyes were filled with killing intent.
“But how could the Heavenly Dao be this weak?” Qin Chuan already had a clue about this.
The Heavenly Dao wouldn’t create protagonists and female leads for no reason—it must have a motive. Most likely, when the male and female leads complete their plotlines, the Heavenly Dao itself becomes stronger.
“Then based on that logic, I absolutely must prevent the protagonists and supporting characters from completing their plots. And even if they do, it must come at a cost.”
Qin Chuan made up his mind instantly.
He closed his eyes and emptied his mind for a moment before continuing to think while playing with the wisp of Heavenly Dao Will in his hand. “As of now, I know of two paths to slay the Heavenly Dao: one is to seize its Will, the other is to cultivate to the heavens and cut it down directly.”
“Aside from steadily cultivating, opportunities are crucial for rapid growth. And aren’t the protagonists and supporting characters walking treasure chests of fortune?”
Thinking of this, Qin Chuan smiled. Everything was developing in his favor.
He absorbed the strand of Heavenly Dao Will into his body and began to ponder why he had received it in the first place.
“It was when the Heavenly Dao issued a warning that I obtained this wisp of its Will.”
“Then why didn’t I get anything from the previous times it made a move?”
Qin Chuan closed his eyes again, recalling everything that had happened since entering the Secret Realm—when he killed Gu Xiran, the Pseudo-Nascent Soul Realm wolf demon attacked. Then when he killed Xie An, first a Xiao Clan protector struck, then Divine Punishment Lightning fell, and finally the Heavenly Dao itself took action.
But the wisp of Heavenly Dao Will didn’t appear when it directly struck—it appeared during the descent of the Violet Punishment Lightning.
“No, it was when the Violet Punishment Lightning descended that the Will appeared. The Heavenly Dao wasn’t targeting me—it was targeting Master,” Qin Chuan opened his eyes, realization dawning.
Whether it was sending the wolf demon to save Gu Xiran or having the Xiao Clan’s protector rescue Xie An, those were all within reason. Only the moment the Violet Punishment Lightning tried to strike him was completely unreasonable. Follow the newest chapters on novelping(.)com.
“So as long as the Heavenly Dao is forced to make an unreasonable move, I can seize a piece of its Will.”
“But I can’t act so recklessly again. If I push the Heavenly Dao too hard, it might destroy me. From now on, I’ll hide in the shadows and play the schemer. That villainess and those male side characters will all be my perfect pawns.”
“I’ll use the spear of the Heavenly Dao against its own shield.”
“The upcoming Inner Sect Grand Competition will also help me verify several other theories—if I can win, that is.”
“Time to cultivate. Only with strength can my next plan succeed.”
Following Shen Qingyuan’s guidance, Qin Chuan took out the Heavenly Dominion Sword and began to comprehend it.
According to the novel’s setting, the Heavenly Dominion Sword, the Heavenly Jade Sword, and the Lingxiao Sword were the three strongest spirit swords born in the Sword Abyss. Each one had its own sword spirit and unique sword intent, incomparably powerful.
Three days passed in a flash, and in that time, Qin Chuan failed to comprehend anything from the Heavenly Dominion Sword—because its sword spirit was extremely arrogant and completely ignored him.
“Forget it, I’ll go participate in the competition first.” Qin Chuan changed into a dark-colored outfit, tied his hair up high, and prepared for battle.
“As long as Pei Xuan hasn’t broken through to the Nascent Soul Realm, I’m confident I can win first place and claim the Spirit Ascension Fruit. That’ll be enough for me to break through.”
The Spirit Ascension Fruit was a rare treasure. Any Cultivator below the Nascent Soul Realm who consumed it would directly advance to the next stage, with no side effects.
In the original plot, Yun Yao forcefully added the Spirit Ascension Fruit to the first-place prize today because he was confident Pei Xuan would win. He planned to give it to Gu Xiran so she could break through to the Core Formation Realm.
But now that Qin Chuan knew about it, the fruit was his. With his cultivation stabilized at the early Core Formation Realm, consuming it to reach mid-stage wouldn’t damage his foundation at all.
With the Spirit Ascension Fruit in mind, Qin Chuan descended the mountain with a light step. At the foot of the peak, he saw Jin Pang waiting for him.
Jin Pang spotted him and waved enthusiastically, “Uncle Qin, over here!”
Hearing Jin Pang call him Uncle Qin, Qin Chuan felt both amused and helpless. He was only twenty years old and already someone’s uncle? Just a short while ago, he had been calling this same guy Senior Brother. Life truly was full of twists.
Back in the Secret Realm, when Jin Pang called him Uncle Qin, Qin Chuan had been focused entirely on Shen Qingyuan and hadn’t noticed. So this was the first time he truly heard it.
Qin Chuan didn’t want to be Jin Pang’s uncle at all, so he quickly waved his hand and said, “Senior Brother Jin, that ‘Uncle Qin’ is too much—I can’t accept it.”
“I’m the one who shouldn’t be called Senior Brother. You’re Immortal Liuli’s disciple—how could I dare be your senior?” Jin Pang shared the same feelings: amused, awkward, and even a bit uneasy.
In that moment, a famous saying from Blue Star popped into Qin Chuan’s mind: “We each acknowledge our own roles—I call you Senior Brother, you call me Uncle.”
Of course, he kept that to himself. He still had to work with Jin Pang, so it was better to be equals. With a firm tone, he said, “Brother Jin, listen to me. From now on, we’re equals.”
Jin Pang thought about it for a second, then replied, “Alright, I’ll listen to Brother Qin!”
“Oh, by the way, the storage pouch contains compensation from the Sect Master’s faction—1,000 middle-grade spirit stones each.” You are reading on g.com, the official source.
“And this is a Body Tempering Pill. Brother Qin, it’s best to take it at night. While there’s some starlight energy during the day, it’s much richer at night, and the tempering effect is stronger.”
Qin Chuan accepted the pouch and glanced inside—it was packed with spirit stones, along with one black Body Tempering Pill.
“Thanks, Brother Jin. But what’s the compensation for…?”
“It’s for the Pseudo-Nascent Soul Realm wolf demon incident. Since the one who cleared the Secret Realm was an elder under Yun Yao, to cover for him, they gave us each 1,000 middle-grade spirit stones.” Jin Pang explained.
“Then we definitely deserve it.” Qin Chuan tucked the pouch into his robe. That was his rightful reward.
“The Inner Sect Grand Competition is about to start. The Sect Master’s faction is already spreading the word that Pei Xuan is guaranteed to take first. Brother Qin, you must crush his arrogance!” Jin Pang said excitedly.
He had clashed with Pei Xuan’s group several times while dealing with Xie An and now loathed all of the Sect Master’s direct disciples.
After speaking, he remembered Qin Chuan had specifically asked him to meet today, and asked, “By the way, Brother Qin, what did you want to talk about?”
“The competition is about to begin. Let’s talk on the way.” Qin Chuan had already taken the lead, flying toward the competition platform.
“Alright.” Jin Pang followed close behind.
By the time they approached the platform, Qin Chuan had finished explaining the situation.
“You mean I must win first place in the Pill Refining Competition, and I’m not to touch Xie An or the Xiao Clan for now?” Jin Pang understood the first part, but the second part left him confused.
Qin Chuan was just about to explain when a harsh voice interrupted them.
“Jin Pang, Qin Chuan, I’m going to kill you both!”
Qin Chuan looked in the direction of the voice and saw a heavily injured Xie An, along with Gu Xiran and the others beside him.
Jin Pang wanted to snap back, but Qin Chuan raised a hand to stop him. Instead, Qin Chuan infused his voice with spiritual energy so everyone could hear, “Where did this rude brat come from, daring to call me by name?”
“I am of the same generation as Sect Master Yun. Since you are his disciple, you should call me Uncle Qin.”
“Today you dare to call your Uncle by name. Tomorrow will you dare to kill your Uncle? And the day after, will you conspire with outsiders to harm the Tranquil Void Sect?”
His years on Blue Star had not been wasted. Qin Chuan delivered this accusation flawlessly, flipping the situation and placing himself firmly on the moral high ground.