Outside Fengjiang Valley, Feng Luyi was speaking amiably with the guarding disciples, showing none of his usual aloofness.

After their conversation, a disciple turned to head inside to notify others.

Soon, Lu Ying emerged, her expression showing signs of impatience.

"Feng Luyi, I told you I would inform you and Xiong Zhuang of any news. Why are you here in person?"

Seeing her anger, Feng Luyi forced a smile, inwardly cursing.

"What a petty person taking advantage of her position; she used to call me Brother Feng, and now she’s climbing the ranks calling me Feng Luyi."

"Don’t be upset, Sister; I have urgent matters to discuss," Feng Luyi quickly explained.

He then recounted Xiong Zhuang's death and Li Sheng’s overwhelming defeat of the Evil Wolf Valley experts.

"That useless Li Sheng has become a sixth-tier... are you sure about this?" Lu Ying’s face showed disbelief.

"Absolutely. Evil Wolf Valley has probably received word by now," Feng Luyi stated seriously.

"That kid has been hiding his strength all along, and now he’s taken refuge in Qingling Sect—doesn’t that seem suspicious to you?"

"This involves some plans of Fengjiang Valley, so I can’t disclose the details right now."

"But I advise you to do whatever you wish, but don’t provoke Bai Ye!" Lu Ying’s tone grew impatient.

Feng Luyi’s expression faltered; he held back his anger and smiled. "Sister, about what you mentioned earlier regarding helping me enter the valley..."

"Wait for news," Lu Ying said, turning to leave.

"You insufferable woman!" Feng Luyi’s face darkened as he stormed off.

He couldn’t ignore the dismissive tone in Lu Ying’s words and felt regret about his earlier decision to leave the sect.

As he neared Qingshan City, Feng Luyi resolved to return home, pack up, and head to the capital.

Since he couldn’t rely on Fengjiang Valley and given Li Sheng’s current status, he had to escape.

Just as he made up his mind, three burly men approached him, one asking,

"Are you Feng Luyi?"

Feng Luyi looked around, feeling a chill; these were three seventh-tier warriors.

Noticing Feng Luyi’s uncertainty, another man said, "Our Wolf King wants to see you; come with us."

"The Wolf King of Evil Wolf Valley?" Feng Luyi was taken aback but quickly realized their intentions.

They wanted to use him as a front to deal with Qingling Sect, likely preparing to attack.

"If I join Evil Wolf Valley, it might not be a bad thing," Feng Luyi thought, following them.

Two days later, the Wolf King sat in the center of the hall, meditating. Moments later, his second-in-command entered and bowed,

"Big Brother, it’s done!"

"Why did it take so long?" The Wolf King’s tone was icy.

"Big Brother, the folks at the station were too greedy; they haggled for a day and charged two hundred spirit stones before relenting," the second-in-command replied helplessly.

"Two hundred spirit stones?" The Wolf King frowned, feeling a sting.

However, thinking of the soon-to-be-acquired territory of Qingling Sect brightened his mood.

As long as the station didn’t interfere, success was almost guaranteed; paying a few spirit stones was worth it.

"Let’s go to Qingling Sect!"

Evil Wolf Valley had many members, and the news was unavoidable. After two days of spreading, even some families and martial arts halls within the city heard whispers, and the Hundred Treasures Pavilion was no exception.

At this moment, a letter was dispatched from the Hundred Treasures Pavilion towards Qingling Sect.

Many factions receiving the news felt that Evil Wolf Valley was acting shamelessly, fabricating tales about Qingling Sect’s master defeating two seventh-tier warriors just to claim their territory.

A few factions with accurate information had already quietly arrived near Qingling Sect, waiting to observe the developments.

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...

Within Qingling Sect, Li Sheng finished using his refreshed quota, now holding a top-tier Bone Refining Pill.

He had used one the previous day; after a day of cultivation, he had mastered half of the first gold form and needed another day to comprehend it fully.

Passing by the training arena, Li Sheng paused.

For the past couple of days, he had spent much of his time there, getting to know the eight young disciples.

Among them, a boy named Wang Hu was particularly diligent, sleeping only three hours a night and spending the rest of his time practicing.

He was honest and open, often approaching Li Sheng with questions whenever he didn’t understand something, being the only one with moderate talent among the group.

The practicing disciples noticed Li Sheng’s arrival and became even more focused.

Wang Hu’s eyes lit up, and he ran over, scratching his head awkwardly.

"Greetings, Master! I’ve had this pain in my chest since last night, and it hasn’t gone away; am I cultivating incorrectly?"

"Let me see," Li Sheng raised an eyebrow.

After checking with his energy, he couldn’t help but chuckle; it was clearly just a result of overexertion and fatigue.

"Take a break from training for the next two days and come see me again," Li Sheng shook his head.

"But my mom said I have to train hard so I can marry multiple wives in the future," Wang Hu’s face turned red.

"You’re thinking about wives at such a young age?" Li Sheng teased.

"I’m not! I just want to train!" Wang Hu hurriedly waved his hands.

"Alright, starting today, you’re promoted to an outer sect disciple. Take a good rest for two days, and come see me for resources afterwards."

"Thank you, Master!" Wang Hu clumsily bowed and left, excited to share the good news with his mother.

"Calculating the time, my junior sister should have mastered the gold form by now; perhaps I should let her take it easy," Li Sheng thought.

For the past three days, Bai Ye had only rested for one hour and spent the rest of her time cultivating, making him quite worried.

He needed to advise her to pace herself; she was his only junior sister, and if she overexerted herself, he would feel heartbroken—it was too much trouble to take on another one.

"Chirp, chirp, chirp..."

Tuan Tuan appeared, chirping excitedly.

"Someone's delivering a message?"

Li Sheng focused his mind and saw a masked man on a fine horse stopped at the sect’s entrance.

Li Sheng instructed Tuan Tuan to open the formation; upon seeing it activate, the masked man did not enter but shot the letter toward the entrance using his bow.

"Tuan Tuan, go retrieve the letter."

As the white light faded, a letter floated down.

Li Sheng caught it and opened it to reveal a few lines.

"Dear Master Li: According to reliable sources, all members of Evil Wolf Valley are mobilizing to attack your sect, including three sixth-tiers, forty-one seventh-tiers, and over four hundred eighth-tiers."

"While Hundred Treasures Pavilion can’t interfere in sect matters, we can protect a few people. I urge you to decide quickly; as long as the green mountains stand, we won’t fear a lack of firewood. Signed, Huayuan."

"Evil Wolf Valley is so powerful? They could rank among the top in the three-star factions!" Li Sheng felt a chill run down his spine.

He could handle the sixth-tier warriors, but so many seventh- and eighth-tiers would be exhausting.

"Should I abandon Qingling Sect?" This thought barely surfaced before he suppressed it.

With a second-tier array, there was still a chance of winning; as for accepting Hundred Treasures Pavilion’s protection, that thought never crossed his mind.

Having traveled for ten years, he had grown tired of living at the mercy of others; he preferred to be a head of a chicken than a tail of a phoenix.

"It’s just a fight... does he think I’m afraid?!" A strong intent to kill surged within Li Sheng.