00:00I'm the only one like this in the entire cultivation world.
00:02Because the higher my actual cultivation level gets,
00:04the lower my displayed power appears to everyone else.
00:07In their eyes, I'm just a deadbeat loser with no future.
00:09A weak chi refining scrub,
00:10until the sect was on the brink of destruction,
00:12and I was forced to act.
00:14Had to block an earth deer attack using nothing but my chi refining power.
00:17Is that seriously all the gods got?
00:19A mortal body, yet divine.
00:20How is that even possible?
00:21Wait, is that really my timid senior brother?
00:23But I wasn't playing dumb or trying to hide my strength on purpose.
00:26I just figured out something about this twisted cultivation world.
00:29There's an iron rule nobody else knows about.
00:31The higher your level, the sooner you die.
00:33Every single cultivator in this world is basically a thief.
00:35And thieves get executed.
00:36No! No!
00:37Every thousand years, the Heavenly Dao launches a massive purge.
00:40Anyone above the nascent soul stage gets marked for death.
00:42They vanish, or get vaporized by tribulation lightning.
00:44Everyone assumes they just failed their ascension.
00:46But only I know, the Heavenly Dao straight up ate them.
00:49Every cultivator in this world is destined to become fuel for the Heavenly Dao.
00:52On a dark and moonless night, I snuck to the back mountain's mass grave.
00:56Dug a fresh hole like a pro, ready to bury a body.
00:58This old man in black robes had no breath left.
01:00But a faint red glow still swirled around his body.
01:02That's the signature body-shielding aura of a God-transformation-level powerhouse.
01:06Honestly, though, he had it coming.
01:08He was a perfectly fine elder of the Bloodshaw sect.
01:10But no, he had to sneak into our Azure Cloud sect in the dead of night.
01:13To steal that trash, ever-spring technique.
01:15Fine, stealing is one thing.
01:16But did he really have to cut straight through my vegetable garden?
01:18And stomp all over my freshly-planted okra?
01:20If not him, who else was I gonna kill?
01:22Well, looking at that peaceful expression on the corpse, the more I thought about it,
01:25the more ticked off I got.
01:26I gathered a wisp of ghostly blue flame in my hand, then flicked it right into the pit.
01:30That body, harder than 10,000-year black iron, turned to ash in an instant.
01:35Gotta cover your tracks.
01:36Better safe than sorry.
01:37Otherwise, someone might find out.
01:38And think I'm some kind of bloodthirsty maniac.
01:41After filling the hole back up, I instinctively looked up above my head, and my face went dead pale.
01:45My currently displayed cultivation level had jumped to Chi-Refining Stage 3 at 99%.
01:49I frantically checked my Dantian.
01:51A massive ancient wheel, worn down by time, was slowly spinning in reverse.
01:55The reason I've managed to survive right under the heavenly Dao's nose for 2,000 years
01:59is all thanks to this weird reverse-spinning wheel inside me.
02:01The stronger my true cultivation, the lower my displayed level appears.
02:04The cultivation stages in this world go Chi-Refining, Foundation Building, Golden Core,
02:09Nascent Soul, God Transformation, Void Refinement, Body Integration, Grand Completion, Tribulation Crossing,
02:14but under the heavenly Dao's watch and interference.
02:17Peak God Transformation is the absolute ceiling for cultivators here.
02:20Except for me, the freak of nature.
02:21Because my Chi-Refining Stage 3 corresponds to a true cultivation level of body integration.
02:25That Extinction Dark Flame I just used.
02:27I went a little too hard with it.
02:29It purified my spiritual power just a tiny bit.
02:31Bumping me from 98.99% all the way to 99% at Chi-Refining Stage 3.
02:35If this keeps up, I'm about to break through to Grand Completion.
02:38Sure, dropping to Chi-Refining Stage 2 would be safer,
02:40but the problem is the energy surge from that kind of breakthrough
02:42could easily be picked up by the heavenly Dao.
02:45I really need to stop throwing hands so carelessly.
02:47Gotta go sleep this off, Aesip.
02:49And let that tiny bit of gained cultivation fade away.
02:51Morning came in the blink of an eye.
02:53Azure Cloud Sect's Mountain Gate was wrapped in mist and clouds.
02:55As one of the most well-known righteous sects within a thousand miles,
02:59Azure Cloud Sect commanded 72 Spirit Peaks.
03:01And my peak, Purple Pearl Peak, was the most run-down out of all 72.
03:04Because there were only three people here.
03:06A master in endless seclusion who might already be dead.
03:09A junior sister obsessed with restoring Purple Pearl Peak's glory.
03:11And me, your humble, easy-going, non-violent senior brother.
03:15Right after waking up, I heard a loud argument echoing from halfway up the mountain.
03:19A fat guy in fancy robes,
03:20was casually tossing around a few low-grade spirit stones.
03:23Eyes full of sleazy arrogance.
03:25As he sized up the stunningly beautiful girl in front of him.
03:27The girl's name was Tsuchingay.
03:28The one and only junior sister of Purple Pearl Peak.
03:31Sect rules clearly state
03:32that every peak gets a base resource allocation,
03:34no matter how many people are on it.
03:36On what grounds are you cutting ours?
03:37Ha ha ha, on what grounds?
03:39Simple.
03:39Because everyone on Purple Pearl Peak is trash.
03:41Your so-called master has been in seclusion for ten straight years.
03:44Probably rotting away in there.
03:46And your senior brother, Lu Chen?
03:47He's worse than a stray dog.
03:48Ten years in the sect and still stuck at Qi Refining Stage 3.
03:51All he does is sleep.
03:52Or scavenge junk at the mass grave.
03:54Word is, just yesterday he went down the mountain
03:56to fight some peasant over a beggar's chicken.
03:58He's an absolute disgrace to every cultivator alive.
04:00How dare you talk about my senior brother like that!
04:03But Jaohu just sneered with total contempt.
04:05A measly early foundation building cultivator.
04:07Actually thinking she could take him on?
04:09Please.
04:10Weiya at mid-foundation building casually raised his hand.
04:13One swing sent a blast of wind flying,
04:15instantly knocking the sword clean out of Tsuchingay's hand.
04:17Jaohu still wasn't letting up.
04:18He conjured a ball of blazing red fire in his palm
04:20and was about to slam it into her without mercy.
04:23Right at that critical moment,
04:24I pretended to trip and slid straight into Jaohu's crotch.
04:27Jaohu instantly lost every bit of his power.
04:29Felt like he just got steamrolled by a prehistoric wild bull.
04:32Before he could even react.
04:33He went flying like a kite with a snapped string
04:35and slammed hard into the cliff face in the distance.
04:38Knocked out cold on impact.
04:39Dead silence fell over the whole scene.
04:41What just happened?
04:42How did Brother Hu just go flying like that?
04:44Ugh, what kind of inconsiderate jerk.
04:47Leaves watermelon rinds just lying around?
04:49It had to be right when Brother Hu was channeling his energy.
04:52Lu Chen the deadbeat bumped into his pressure point by total accident.
04:55Completely knocked his chi out of whack.
04:57Yeah, with that pathetically weak chi refining stage 3,
04:59there's no way he actually beat Brother Hu.
05:01Total dumb luck.
05:02Stop standing around!
05:03Let's bounce!
05:04What if that guy wakes up and tries to pin this all on us?
05:07If Senior Brother hadn't stumbled into that by accident,
05:09I definitely would have gotten hurt.
05:11He rushed out to save me,
05:12putting himself at risk like that.
05:14Even if it was in the most clumsy way imaginable,
05:16by falling.
05:17Senior Brother,
05:18don't go down the mountain anymore.
05:20I'll train hard and protect you.
05:21Once I reach the golden core stage,
05:23nobody will dare mess with Purple Pearl Peak again.
05:25I paused in my tracks at those words,
05:27the corner of my mouth curling up without me even noticing.
05:29In this messed up cultivation world,
05:31the only one I actually care about
05:33might just be this naive,
05:35pure-hearted little junior sister.
05:36Right then,
05:37an authoritative voice boomed across all of Azure Cloud Sect.
05:40By the Sectmaster's order,
05:41In three days,
05:42the five great sects will jointly open the Hidden Dragon Secret Realm.
05:45Each peak must send two disciples at Qi refining Stage 3,
05:48or above to participate.
05:49Those who refuse will be removed from their peak's roster.
05:51My face went dark immediately.
05:53All I wanted was to lay low and stay off the radar.
05:55Then I noticed my junior sister also looked a little annoyed.
05:57She mentioned offhandedly
05:58that the Holy Son of Heavenly Dao sect,
06:00Xiao Tianhe,
06:01would apparently be there too.
06:02The moment I heard that name,
06:04my brow furrowed hard.
06:05This Xiao Tianhe,
06:06the Holy Son of Heavenly Dao sect,
06:07the number one sect in the canopy domain,
06:10called a once-in-a-century,
06:11one-of-a-kind genius,
06:12born with a pair of illusion-breaking golden eyes,
06:14that can see through every deception in the world,
06:16looks like I need to be fully prepared.
06:18Because against those innate divine eyes,
06:20there's still a 1 in 10,000 chance he could blow my cover.
06:22Late that night,
06:23I quietly snuck to a forbidden cold pond
06:25deep in the back mountain,
06:26and placed 9,199 ceiling restrictions on myself,
06:29compressing my spiritual power output,
06:31down to nothing more than a single droplet's worth.
06:33Meanwhile,
06:33an invisible flying vessel
06:35was hovering tens of thousands of meters in the air.
06:37A handsome young man stood on the deck,
06:39none other than the Holy Son of Heavenly Dao sect,
06:40Xiao Tianhe.
06:41At that moment,
06:42he was investigating the disappearance
06:43of the Bloodshah sect elder.
06:45The sect leader has already confirmed,
06:46the last place the Bloodshah sect elder's aura
06:48was detected last night,
06:50was right here,
06:50behind Azure Cloud sect's back mountain.
06:52No signs of a fight at the scene,
06:54only an extremely faint trace
06:55of fire-type spiritual energy left behind.
06:57Faint?
06:58Something that could incinerate
06:59a God-transformation cultivator to ash in an instant?
07:01Not even the soul could escape.
07:03And you're calling that faint?
07:04Forgive my inadequacy,
07:05but the residual aura truly was,
07:07only around Qi refining level in intensity.
07:10That's exactly what makes it strange,
07:11the Great Dao is simple.
07:12Back to basics.
07:13To control power down to that degree,
07:15it means whoever threw that strike,
07:17has a cultivation level
07:17already far beyond our imagination.
07:19That person bathing over there,
07:21is that the senior brother
07:22of Purple Pearl Peak, Lu Chen?
07:23Yes, according to our records,
07:24this man is a complete and total deadbeat.
07:26Ten years in the sect with zero accomplishments.
07:29Cowardly by nature.
07:30Terrified of death.
07:31A deadbeat.
07:32Soaking in water from melted 10,000-year black ice,
07:34without even flinching.
07:35Even a foundation-building cultivator
07:37would be frozen solid in an instant.
07:39Interesting.
07:39This guy is either a body cultivation genius
07:41with an insane physical constitution,
07:43or he's the exact variable we've been looking for.
07:45Pass the word down.
07:46In this secret realm trial,
07:47keep a close eye on senior brother Lu Chen.
07:49I want to see,
07:50when we push him into a corner,
07:52what kind of surprise he's going to give us.
07:53Great.
07:54I'm already on someone's radar.
07:55Since I can't dodge this,
07:56I'll just have to switch up my game plan.
07:58The hidden dragon secret realm is an isolated space.
08:00It cuts off heavenly Dao detection completely.
08:02So letting loose a little in there
08:03might not be so bad.
08:05An idea quickly clicked in my head.
08:07I pulled out a crumpled mask from my chest.
08:09Made it randomly one time when I was bored.
08:11Put it on,
08:11and nobody below grand completion
08:13can see through my identity.
08:14Out here, sure.
08:14Call me a chi-refining deadbeat.
08:16I don't care.
08:16But once I step into that secret realm,
08:18I'll be the Grim Reaper.
08:19Harvesting lives.
08:20Just hope nothing dumb decides
08:21to come mess with me in there.
08:23In the blink of an eye,
08:23the day the secret realm opened arrived.
08:26Thousands of disciples from the five great sects
08:27gathered with burning excitement in their eyes.
08:30The entrance was a massive spatial vortex,
08:32radiating an ancient primordial energy.
08:34Once inside the secret realm,
08:35everyone will be teleported to a random location.
08:37The realm stays open for seven days.
08:39After seven days, the exit will reopen.
08:41If you can't make it back in time,
08:42you'll be trapped inside forever
08:44and become demon beast dinner.
08:46There's also a sealed terror within.
08:48Under no circumstances,
08:48venture into the core zone.
08:50I was standing at the very back of the crowd,
08:51covered head to toe in talismans and protective charms,
08:54giving off a very strong
08:55I am fragile and terrified of dying vibe.
08:57Then I pulled out a jade pendant
08:59and handed it to my junior sister.
09:00And in a dead serious tone told her,
09:02once you're in,
09:03just find somewhere to hide.
09:04That's it.
09:05If you run into danger,
09:06crush this jade pendant immediately.
09:07First thing.
09:08Got it.
09:09But I still want to go gather some spirit herbs
09:10to refine pills for senior brother
09:12to strengthen his body.
09:13Hearing that,
09:13I still want to go gather some spirit herbs.
09:14I still want to go gather some spirit herbs.
09:14I still want to go gather some spirit herbs.
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