At this moment.

Qin Yuehan felt as if she had returned to the age of thirteen when she first entered the tutelage of Master Yan.

The handsome young man who made her feel warm would expound scriptures and explain techniques for her, smilingly accompanying her through those tender years.

At that time, as the senior and junior, they spent time under the flowers and moonlight, with smiles and tender laughter.

In the depths of the shade of the forest, butterflies danced in pairs.

That handsome young man of earlier days, brimming with confidence and heroic spirit.

Inside and out, he exuded a vibrant energy, as if nothing could daunt him.

A dream of forty years.

Years later, they met again.

He, unexpectedly, had ended up at the bottom of the cultivation realm, merely a loose cultivator of the Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer.

However, the vicissitudes of life.

He finally found his own path of seeking the Dao.

Awakening a special bloodline, enhancing his spirit root talent, he diligently cultivated and surged forward all the way.

Until today.

He sat on the demonstration platform, teaching and demonstrating techniques to the Foundation Establishment Realm disciples in the sect.

"This is the Shen brother I hold in my heart!"

Qin Yuehan's eyes flashed with brilliance.

As if numerous stars were illuminating.

At this moment.

Qin Yuehan's eyes, looking at Shen Xuan, were filled with light.

...

Cyan Cloud Sect.

Purple Qi Peak.

This is the Dao ground of Master Purple Qi.

Master Purple Qi's original surname is Xu and is one of the few Golden Core True Masters in the sect.

At the foot of the mountain, an array for concealment was set up, within it a spirit lake surrounded by jade stone pavilions and fake mountain corridors, rich in spiritual qi, akin to an earthly paradise.

In the pavilion.

Three Foundation Establishment cultivators sat encircling.

The person in the middle was the direct grandson of Master Purple Qi, named Xu Shaopeng.

He leisurely sipped spirit wine, while his two trusted brothers tallied the accounts of a gambling contract.

A heavy sword treasure, over ten feet long, flew heavily onto the jade table in the pavilion.

The sturdy jade table shook instantly, nearly getting cracked by the heavy sword treasure.

Tied on the heavy sword treasure was a gambling contract paper.

"Xu Shaopeng, a million pieces of spirit stone! Quick, hand it over!"

The petite Gu Jinqin walked into the pavilion spiritedly.

Xu Shaopeng looked at Gu Jinqin before him, unable to help but smile wryly.

"Third brother, retract the spirit contract.

"Wait, where are the spirit stones?"

"Second brother, pay the spirit stones."

The cultivator on the left took out a storage pouch, counted eighty thousand spirit stones, and handed them to Gu Jinqin.

"Fairy Gu, eighty thousand, please accept."

"Eighty thousand? It's one to one, didn't I bet fifty thousand and should get a hundred thousand?"

Xu Shaopeng looked troubled.

"Fairy Gu, you actually bet thirty thousand, you still owe us twenty thousand!"

Gu Jinqin then remembered.

"Oh! Sorry, I forgot."

Still muttering.

"I initially bet a hundred thousand; it was you who wouldn't lend more!"

Xu Shaopeng clasped his fists in a pleading gesture: "Fairy Gu, my dear sister Gu, please leave me some rice to eat!"

"Within the entire Cyan Cloud Sect, only we dared to take your fifty thousand wager."

Gu Jinqin laughed: "That's why only your Purple Qi Alliance can grow strong and powerful!"

"How can those small fry compare to your Purple Qi Alliance?"

She accepted the storage pouch, counted the numbers, then shook it with slight regret.

"Ah, if only you had taken my one hundred thousand bet back then!"

After Gu Jinqin left.

The third brother spat fiercely.

"So greedy, just like that, took fifty thousand spirit stones from our brothers!"

"Alright! Third brother, don't speak carelessly!"

"Big brother, what are you afraid of her for! Your grandfather is Master Purple Qi!"

"What do you know!"

Xu Shaopeng lightly berated them.

"Master Gu Feng is protected by Master Lingxiao. Small matters might be okay. But if it escalates, and Master Lingxiao interferes, we can forget about this business continuing!"

The two trusted brothers suddenly understood.

"No wonder Gu Jinqin is so arrogant!"

"The Law Enforcement Hall won't arrest people from their small Gu Feng!"

"What else?"

Xu Shaopeng glared fiercely at his two brothers.

"Just think of it as buying a toll pass! Second brother, did you finish calculating the accounts, how much did we profit this round?"

"Calculated, profited one hundred and twenty-one thousand spirit stones."

"Those fools, given one to one odds, all loved betting on Lei Yaoyang's side, losing them to death!"

"Big brother, you really know how to handle it, getting insider information, the odds opened just right."

"Of course! Otherwise, how could our Purple Qi Alliance grow strong and powerful!"

Xu Shaopeng felt greatly pleased, and couldn't help but laugh heartily.

He had made connections with Deng Xiangdong from the Dharma Transmission Pavilion.

Obtaining accurate information, Shen Xuan had a high chance of winning the bet.

When everyone underestimated Shen Xuan, he decisively offered one to one odds, making a big haul.

...

Below the demonstration platform, there was an area with only three cultivators standing.

The closest one to them was ten feet away.

The three cultivators exuded a turbulent thunderous aura that made one's heart palpitate.

They were the three direct disciples under Celestial Thunder True Master.

The youngest, Lei Yaoyang, stared fiercely at the demonstration platform, a look of disbelief on his face.

Even now, he still couldn't believe it.

Shen Xuan, at the early stage of Foundation Establishment, not only learned the Thunder Escape Technique but also cultivated it to the small success stage.

In front of the five True Masters and numerous fellow disciples, Shen Xuan's teaching and demonstration slapped his face swollen.

How could this be possible!

If memory serves, a decade or so ago, Shen Xuan was merely a Qi Cultivation Perfection loose cultivator.

For the sake of Foundation Establishment, he enlisted Qin Yuehan and Lv Zhengying to procure their own materials for refining a Foundation Establishment Pill.

It seems like it was fifteen or sixteen years ago.

This cultivator, whom he considered trash, actually stepped on his face, kicking him hard into the ground.

At this moment, even if Lei Yaoyang were foolish, he would understand that he had fallen into Shen Xuan's trap.

A year ago, when he met Shen Xuan, his emotions were slightly agitated, and in an unguarded moment, he asked Shen Xuan to return the Thunder Escape Technique to the Dharma Transmission Pavilion.

To facilitate his exchange.

As a result, Shen Xuan, who had premeditated, seized upon this weakness and pressured step by step, establishing a bet.

Now, Shen Xuan was on stage lecturing and demonstrating techniques, fulfilling the bet.

He was clearly well-prepared!

This not only struck at Lei Yaoyang's face but also at the face of Celestial Thunder Peak, and his master, Celestial Thunder True Master!

This time, Celestial Thunder Peak was utterly defeated!

Lei Yaoyang became the laughing stock of the entire sect.

"Junior Brother Lei, I've heard that Shen Xuan was just an unremarkable loose cultivator many years ago! How then does he control the Thunder Spiritual Power?"

"Could it be that Shen Xuan has condensed the Thunder Dao Body?"

The fourth senior brother beside him spoke calmly.

"Whether or not he has condensed the Thunder Dao Body, Shen Xuan certainly has secrets on him."

The third senior brother speculated aloud.

Lei Yaoyang's eyes lit up.

After breaking through to the Middle Stage of Foundation Establishment, he had been trying to condense the Thunder Dao Body.

It was always lacking, never reaching the state of perfection without flaws.

In the past, he had even thought of marrying Qin Yuehan as his third wife, to use her Cyan Wood Spirit Body.

Qin Yuehan, however, condensed the Cyan Wood Spirit Body before him and successfully broke through to the Middle Stage of Foundation Establishment.

This made Master Gu Feng, who had been half-hearted, become resolute, rejecting the suggestion of an alliance between direct disciples proposed by Celestial Thunder True Master.

At the level of a Core Formation True Master, many things can only be proposed once.

After being rejected, to harass Qin Yuehan again would mean offending Master Gu Feng.

Lei Yaoyang could only give up.

All the while, he held a gut full of resentment.

Upon hearing his two senior brothers' words, his thoughts became active.

"Shen Xuan must have used some kind of miraculous Heavenly and Earthly Treasure to reshape his core and precisely control the Power of Thunder!"

"Otherwise, how else could he have remained at the bottom of the cultivation realm before the age of eighty?"

Thinking up to this point.

Lei Yaoyang looked at Shen Xuan with a hint of greed in his eyes.

Little did he know, his two senior brothers exchanged a look when he wasn't paying attention.

There was a similar meaning of sarcasm in their eyes.

...

On the Demonstration Platform.

After bowing to the five True Masters, Shen Xuan stood quietly in place.

In his ears, voices of discussion came from below the stage.

As time went by.

The voices of discussion grew louder and louder.

"Shen Xuan, return to Little Gu Peak to rest first!"

"Yes, Master."

Gratefully, Shen Xuan glanced at his master, then quickly walked off the Demonstration Platform, summoned the Red-winged Snake Corpse Beast, and soared on the clouds and mist towards Little Gu Peak.

The outcome was decided.

Many things no longer required his involvement.

Regarding this lecture and demonstration, Shen Xuan was very satisfied.

He obtained what he needed.

Which was the attention of the sect's bigwigs.

And also fame within the Cyan Cloud Sect.

After this matter, it would be difficult for Lei Yaoyang to openly retaliate against him.

Hidden Image True Master used him to inspire ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators in the sect.

Among this, it related to the resource allocation issues between direct disciples and ordinary disciples.

Shen Xuan was not afraid of being used.

Being used by sect bigwigs meant he had value.

As for Lei Yaoyang.

He was absolutely sure that he was nothing more than a simple-minded spoiled child of the sheltered greenhouse.

Spoiled by his identity, he became accustomed to acting arrogantly.

Spoiled by his identity, he became accustomed to acting arrogantly.

And fell to today's state entirely by his own doing.

...

Inside the Dharma Transmission Hall.

Residence of Hidden Image True Master.

In the backyard.

Five True Masters sat around the jade table.

In front of each, a cup of top-grade Spirit Tea was placed, its fragrance wafting.

Hidden Image True Master sighed: "Junior Brother Celestial Thunder, you've seen Shen Xuan's Thunder Technique. Do you have anything to say?"

Celestial Thunder True Master said coldly: "This person harbors malicious intent and is not suitable to learn the true technique of Celestial Thunder Peak."

"Senior Brother Celestial Thunder, you are wrong to say so!"

Master Gu Feng said with a smile: "The cause of this matter is widely known, all instigated by your disciple Lei Yaoyang. What fault does Shen Xuan have?"

Upon hearing this, Celestial Thunder True Master's expression did not change: "Lei Yaoyang is simple-minded. Unlike Shen Xuan, who muddled at the bottom for eighty years with countless ulterior motives."

"You and I both know in our hearts that this bet Shen Xuan was certain to win."

"If he had no confidence, why would he lay down the bet? Lei Yaoyang being simple-minded is your problem. It has nothing to do with my disciple!"

"Enough! Junior Sister Gu Feng. Having lost the bet, I too have nothing to say. Surely, Brother Hidden Image has not called me here for such a trivial matter as a bet among the younger generation!"

Hidden Image True Master looked at Master Lingxiao.

Master Lingxiao cleared his throat softly.

"Over the years, the sect's resources have been increasingly scarce, and every disciple's expenditures have been reduced."

"Many disciples are dissatisfied with the preferential treatment policies of resources for True Master's direct disciples, leading to increasingly frequent conflicts and confrontations."

"Private fights continue despite the bans. In the long run, this is detrimental to the sect's development."

The resource allocation for True Master's direct disciples is more than ten times that for ordinary disciples.

As expenditures decreased, many of the sect's Qi Cultivation Perfection disciples found it difficult to even gather a Foundation Establishment Pill.

"Are there not sect tasks available?"

"Sect tasks are not so easy to complete. This time, with the competition between Dao and Demon, the number of volunteers has decreased. Sect tasks inherently have a certain danger, and the contribution points from completing tasks do not meet their expectations."

Master Lingxiao said solemnly: "I have discussed with Brother Hidden Image about re-drafting an assessment system. To increase credit for sect tasks, and to regularly hold minor competitions among the peaks and grand sect competitions."

Master Cold Jade said coldly: "My Cold Jade Peak has only one direct disciple, how could we compete in the grand sect competition?"

"That's your business! Who told you not to accept disciples!"

Master Gu Feng retorted.

"Is it that I do not wish to take in disciples?"

Master Cold Jade said coldly: "In these years, has the sect ever produced a good Ice Technique Immortal Seed?"

"As for Shen Xuan, he has considerable talent in Ice Techniques, let him transfer to my tutelage!"

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