Sage Ruler Miaoyin knelt for only a second before abruptly springing to her feet. Her face was flushed, her body trembling with fury.
How was this possible?
Within the energy field created by her Heavenly Demon Zither, she was supposed to be the only god! This young Azure Cloud Sect disciple should have been mentally broken, completely at her mercy!
Yet, the situation had reversed.
For a brief moment, it was she who had lost control. She had even prostrated herself before the illusory Buddha conjured by this boy!
“You…” she sputtered, unable to form a coherent sentence.
“Sage Ruler, you’ve lost,” Fan Li declared calm and collected, as if he had just completed an insignificant task.
Sage Ruler Miaoyin’s heart pounded in her chest. She averted her gaze, unable to meet his eyes, and even took a step back.
“I… I haven’t lost…” she tried to argue.
How could she accept this? She, a fifth-rank Great Vehicle realm sound cultivator, defeated by a junior at the Foundation Building realm?
Is he concealing his true strength? He’s not actually at the Foundation Building realm?!’
The thought of attacking Fan Li, testing his limits, flashed through her mind.
Suddenly, Fan Li’s aura surged.
At the same time, thousands of miles away, in Peng City, the capital of the Great Chu, Fan Li’s original body and his three clones also experienced a surge in power.
“Breaking through at a time like this?” he thought, surprised.
His four bodies had been diligently cultivating day and night, aided by the training room’s special effects and a steady supply of pills from the Fan Clan Trading Company.
Logically, they should have broken through long ago.
But after repairing his damaged Heavenly Core, it was as if a long-dry riverbed had suddenly been flooded with water. It couldn’t absorb the influx all at once.
Perhaps it was the potency of the Longevity Broth, or perhaps the consecutive performances of Iron-Blooded Loyalty and Buddha’s Light had triggered an epiphany.
His cultivation, previously at the third rank of the Foundation Building realm, surged forward, breaking through to the fourth rank without warning.
Sage Ruler Miaoyin, sensing the change in him, was stunned.
‘Fourth rank of the Foundation Building realm?’
‘He truly is only at the Foundation Building realm?’
Her face contorted with disbelief and humiliation.
How could she accept that her mastery of sound had been defeated by a mere Foundation Building cultivator?
But Fan Li’s breakthrough wasn’t over. His cultivation continued to climb.
Fifth rank of the Foundation Building realm!
“What?!”
His momentum was unstoppable, his aura surging like a mountain climber conquering peak after peak.
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Sixth rank of the Foundation Building realm!
Seventh rank of the Foundation Building realm!
Eighth rank of the Foundation Building realm!
Ninth rank, peak of the Foundation Building realm!
Sage Ruler Miaoyin was horrified.
‘He was hiding his true strength all along. There’s no cultivator in the world who can advance through seven ranks in one go! He must be a reclusive sound cultivator, his true cultivation perhaps even surpassing mine. Damn it! He deliberately suppressed his cultivation, pretending to be at the Foundation Building realm, just to humiliate me!’
Her mind raced with angry thoughts, but a strange sense of relief also washed over her.
This young man was a “hidden expert,” after all. It was better than losing to a mere Foundation Building cultivator.
Fan Li, however, wasn't feeling too comfortable either. The rapid advancement was overwhelming. It was like skydiving before deploying the parachute; the human body struggled to adapt to the feeling of weightlessness.
He felt powerful, but his foundation wasn’t solid.
He felt… hollow.
This unsettling sensation intensified as his spiritual energy reversed its flow, converging at the source of his Qi Sea within his dantian. It condensed, transforming from a gaseous state to a liquid, then further solidifying into…
A golden core!
It floated above his Qi Sea, like the rising sun emerging from the ocean’s horizon.
At that moment, Fan Li finally felt grounded.
“This is a golden core? I’ve formed a golden core!” he rejoiced inwardly.
Sage Ruler Miaoyin stared in disbelief.
‘Golden Core realm? After playing two pieces and suppressing both my Minor Paradise and Broken Heartstrings, he can finally drop the act?’
She waited, expecting his cultivation to continue rising, but it stabilized, no further movement.
“Hmph! Pretending to be at the Foundation Building realm earlier, now pretending to be at the Golden Core realm?”
She could no longer hold back her mocking laughter.
“Impressive, fellow Daoist,” she said, no longer addressing him as a mere “boy” but acknowledging him as an equal.
“I admit defeat in this wager. As agreed, I will not take Yu Shenzi. However, by interfering on behalf of the Azure Cloud Sect, you’ve made an enemy of the Brahma Sound Pure Land! We will settle this debt sooner or later!”
With those parting words, she gathered her Heavenly Demon Zither, her graceful figure rising into the air. Like a celestial maiden adorned in flowing robes, she flew away.
Yu Shenzi and the six hundred members of the Azure Cloud Sect watched her depart, and a sense of disbelief washing over them.
It felt like a dream.
Fan Li had defeated Sage Ruler Miaoyin in a musical duel?
The legacy of the Azure Cloud Sect had been saved?
Yu Shenzi approached Fan Li, scrutinizing him from head to toe.
Golden Core realm?
Breaking through seven ranks in one go?
Unlike Miaoyin, he wasn't surprised. He was simply puzzled.
“The Longevity Broth is incredibly precious. Our sect hasn’t brewed a bowl in nearly a century. Could it be that I was too generous with the ingredients today? Did its potency cause such a drastic increase in his cultivation? He has saved our sect, but what about the payment for the broth…”
He stared at Fan Li with gratitude and distress.
He was greedy, but for good reason.
The Azure Cloud Sect had settled in this remote and desolate location to avoid the chaos of the world. While this seclusion offered them peace, it also brought poverty.
The sect’s resources were dwindling. Yu Shenzi had hoped Fan Li would be a fat sheep, providing enough wealth to sustain them for decades.
Now, however, he didn’t know how to ask for payment.
‘Very well! One bowl of Longevity Broth in exchange for the continuation of our sect's legacy – worth it!’
He tried to console himself, but a pang of heartache remained.
Just then, Fan Li spoke. “Sect Leader, the matter is settled. I…”
“Young friend Fan Li has shown great kindness to our sect. Please, do not address yourself as a junior. This old Daoist is unworthy of such respect!” Yu Shenzi’s face was creased with a warm smile. “From now on, if you have any need for our services, do not hesitate to ask. I will not refuse.”
Fan Li smiled, pleased.
He appreciated the sentiment. It demonstrated good character.
As for his earlier greed… the Azure Cloud Sect had, after all, treated his injuries and brewed him medicine. Earning some profit from it was acceptable.
“I have no urgent requests at the moment, but… Sect Leader, your Longevity Broth is truly invigorating. I still require some time to recover here. If it’s not too much trouble, could you provide me with a bowl of Longevity Broth every day?”
Yu Shenzi’s smile instantly vanished.
‘Goodness gracious! This boy is truly shameless! He drank a bowl of Longevity Broth for free and wants more every day?’
In truth, a single bowl was enough for Fan Li’s remaining injuries to heal naturally.
But Yu Shenzi, in his eagerness to make a profit, had exaggerated Fan Li's injuries. Now he had no way to retract his words.
What to do?
If he refused, wouldn't his earlier promise of repayment be meaningless?
The leader of the Azure Cloud Sect, breaking his word? Jing Wudi would surely laugh himself silly!
He put on a pained expression, struggling to come up with a solution.
Thankfully, Fan Li added something Yu Shenzi loved to hear:
“Rest assured, Sect Leader. You will be fully compensated…”