It had been over a month since the Fifth Elder had gone into secluded cultivation. And finally, today she had come out and the disciples of the Fifth Peak, Yin Peak, had gathered in the Main Hall to welcome her back. It was just supposed to be a routine gathering but it had somehow turned very awkward from the middle.

  The Fifth Elder was seated at the grandiose chair at the front of the Main Hall, her eyes trained on the three girls standing before her. Two had their heads bowed but the one in the middle was staring right back at her.

  Liu Yue and Xiao Ming gave each other a side glance but didn’t dare to raise their heads up. Then their gazes collectively moved towards Rong Ning who still had her head raised high and facing the Fifth Elder. They didn’t know what had happened after starting cultivation, but Rong Ning had subtly changed. And this change was becoming glaringly visible, just like now.

  All the inner and core disciples present looked at the scene with bated eyes. Rong Ning was starting back at the Fifth Elder with her head held high. They could feel that the temperature in the Hall had become colder.

  However, the two women who were the center of the attention had completely different opinions than the others. Rong Ning was trying to subtly bow her head but something from inside her prevented her from doing it. It seemed like whatever it was, it wanted to prove its sovereignty to the person in front. So, she could only stare at the Fifth Elder in front of her.

  As for the Fifth Elder, she just had recently resolved the backlash of her cultivation technique and was sensitive to the changes in Yin and Cold energies. And from the girl in front of her she could feel the power radiating out and suppressing her. Of course, it didn’t mean anything that the girl was strong, but the fact that the girl had a strong power buried inside her which was fundamentally of a higher level than her. And in cultivation world where bloodlines played a key role, this indicated that the upper ceiling of power of the girl was higher than hers.

  ‘Was this what Sect Master meant by being special’ the Fifth Elder thought. She clearly remembered the meeting with the sect Master after selecting the inner disciples one month prior. He had informed all the Elders to properly take care of the new inner disciples, citing that there was something special in them. At first, she had just ignored it as being a regular advice. And soon her cultivation backlash had relapsed and she was in closed door seclusion for a month. Coming out she had decided to take a look at the new inner disciples which had led to the current ambiguous situation.

  When the Fifth Elder tried to probe inside the girl the hidden power inside her countered back. This led to a silent warfare between the entities. And as a repercussion to that, the area around was getting colder. But to the present disciples this coldness seemed like the anger of their Peak Master.

  Just as everyone thought that this silence would continue for a long time the sound of buzzing clearly resonated in the silent Hall. A bee had entered the Main Hall and was moving around. Yet nobody made any movement in the presence of the Elder.

  After a while the bee started to approach Rong Ning. Being born and survived in the Yin Peak the creatures here were naturally attracted to a pure source of Yin. As soon as it got close to Rong Ning, she jumped back. The next moment Fifth Elder slightly flicked her hand and the bee was encased in Ice. Its moving eyes indicated that it was still alive.

  “Take it back to the apiary,” the Fifth Elder commanded while continuing, “Also dock the pay of the disciple currently managing it”. Right then a Core Formation cultivator came ahead and picked up the frozen chunk of ice and went out. The Yin Peak had a specialized apiary where the bees produced honey rich in Yin Qi. This was then sold to the Alchemy Peak or the Contribution Hall; it was one of the major sources of income for the Yin Peak.

  With the silence finally broken, the Fifth Elder sent everyone back. As for Rong Ning, she decided to ignore her for now. As for teaching the young girl, her powers were restricted in front of her, so teaching and guiding her would be very difficult for now. She might consider it after the girl had broken through the Core Formation realm and gained basic control over her powers. However, her two companions were also an option. They also gave off an inherently strong aura, very uncommon at the Qi Refinement realm. But she decided she would just wait and watch, for now.

  At that time, at the First Peak, the First Elder was having the exact opposite problem as the Fifth Elder. With his whole heart, he wanted to make Tian Yao his disciple, but the young lady was not even giving him the time of day. Whenever he brought up the topic, she would just give him a look as if he were an idiot. And the worst thing was that he could only bear it. Even as a Spirit Transformation cultivator, he was dancing to the tune of a Qi Refinement junior. And the reason for this impossible-to-fathom transgression was plainly visible in Tian Yao's courtyard. Or should it be said, formal courtyard?

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  All around the courtyard, there was not even a single place to stand. Everywhere was littered with the fallen bodies of challengers who had come to challenge the young Qi Refinement cultivator. At first, the rumors of Tian Yao's beauty had rapidly spread among the disciples of the sect. So, they decided to make trips to the First Peak to look at the heaven-defying beauty. But since their transgression disturbed Tian Yao's cultivation, she punched them into the wall.

  At first, the disciples thought it was okay, but as time went on and more male disciples were beaten up, their nonexistent pride was wounded and battered. So, they started an all-out war against Tian Yao. Every single day hundreds would come to challenge her. And the final result was painfully obvious, just like now.

  As for what the person at the center of this conflict thought, Tian Yao was certainly quite pleased with this. During the test she had used excess energy and broken her leg. So now, along with cultivation she was also focusing on controlling her strength adequately. But with no proper opponents to measure against she was having difficulties practicing. But this riff-raff coming everyday had solved her problems.

  For her they were just test subjects to check how much force was enough of face against what type of opponent. And with everyone having a slightly different body structure with some being short, some tall, some thin and some fat, she had gotten a good grasp of human anatomy and where it hurts the most when hit.

  Soon the disciples waiting outside came in and started picking up the fallen ‘warriors. After the courtyard was cleared its original scene came into sight. All the trees were broken, wooden or stone constructs smashed and at some places even walls were broken or had large cracks running over them.

  In a little while more disciples entered the courtyard. Some had angry faces and some were pleasantly entrances by Tian Yao’s beauty. As if by a tacit understanding they all rushed towards her and completely surrounded all means of exit. Tian Yao just shook her head at this.

  Catching the first fist thrown at her she read the flow of Qi in the body of the boy. Instantly she discovered a know of solidified Qi coalescing just below his left ribcage. She punched at the place and the boy was thrown back, crashing into the already cracked wall. His eyes were rolled back indicating his unconscious state but the knot of Qi had come undone.

  Next, Tian Yao dodged the upcoming few kicks and punches while effortlessly weaving through the crowd. Catching the neck of an unsuspecting boy she read his Qi and after discovering a slowdown in the flow of his Qi just struck his Dantian. The boy rumpled down unconscious, but his Qi circulation speed had increased by a small amount.

  This process continued for quite a while and all the boys had fallen down. The heat of the afternoon sun was beating down on Tian Yao while she removed the droplets of sweat from her forehead with the hem of her robes. Soon the boys were carried out and new came in. This continued till late evening when there were no more challengers. But that was just for today and the next morning a large crowd would have gathered back.

  Tian Yao was absurdly strong and a genius in cultivation. But she was also able to keep her head in its place and think. At first when she discovered the advantage of sparring with others, she was truly excited. But knowing that after some time the hotheaded kids will cool down and never come back, she had to find an incentive for them to come and willingly take a beating. And she did find a very compelling reason.

  Most of the kids were just outer disciples of their peaks. Although they were Qi Refinement cultivators now, their actual cultivation speed was very slow. The resources given by the sect for daily cultivation were very limited, and to get more, they had to use contribution points. And again, to earn those contribution points, they had to do a lot of manual labor for just a measly sum.

  That was the general life of a normal outer sect disciple. More than half of what they earned was used for living, and the small remainder went toward their cultivation. And when they progressed to a higher level, they would suddenly discover many hidden injuries and wrong cultivation practices they had been following, which further undermined their talent and held them back.

  So Tian Yao thought: what if she solved these problems? At first, there were a lot of problems. A lot of hands, legs, and mouths were broken. But luckily, the Medicinal Hall healed the critically injured disciples without any cost. After more than three weeks, she was able to beat down hundreds without leaving them half dead. But she still felt there were problems with her application of power and needed more practice.

  Standing above the First Peak, the First Elder could only smile wryly. It was possible for higher-level cultivators to help the lower-level ones. Especially so for the first cultivation stage, where the main focus was on Qi. They just needed to insert enough Qi into the young cultivator and lead it along the right path. However, this kind of thing was considered a taboo in the cultivation world.

  What was the use of having hundreds or even thousands of Foundation Establishment cultivators if they were not going to progress further? They would just consume resources meant for the talented ones and drag down good seedlings. The cultivation path was inherently treacherous, and for birthing one genius, hundreds were sacrificed below him.

  It was also the case for him in his youth. And even more so for the current Sect Master, whom he had seen grow up. But the girl he had brought back was turning that logic upon its head. When teachers taught, the students thought of it as a lecture, but when peers spoke, they took it as genuine advice. Looking at the smiles on the faces of the disciples being carried out, he just shook his head.

  From the looks of it, tomorrow was also going to be a busy day. He just hoped that the Fourth Elder didn't get angrier and come demanding spirit stones. Also, the new disciple martial tournament was being held next week. If this disciple pulled out something more shocking, his heart would really not be able to bear it. Maybe he would become the first Soul Transformation cultivator to die from a heart attack.