The person moved through the crowd with incredibly smooth footwork.
He avoided everyone as if weaving through air—so cleanly that no one even noticed.
But just as he reached Lin Ye—
he shoved the disciple behind Lin Ye.
"Hey! Who pushed me?!" the disciple yelped as he stumbled forward.
He crashed into another person.
Liu Qingyu was walking beside Lin Ye when she suddenly felt her slender hand—
grabbed.
Her face instantly flushed red.
She had been in the sect for years, and she wasn't short on admirers.
But she'd always focused on cultivation, and her standards were high.
This… this was her first time being touched like this.
Wasn't it… too fast?
"S-Senior Brother Lin Ye…" she began, trying to maintain some dignity—
But before she could finish—
a force yanked her.
Lin Ye pulled her sharply behind him.
She collided with another disciple.
THUD!
"Ow!"
Liu Qingyu cried out, drawing attention instantly.
The disciple who'd been pushed looked wronged and hurried to apologize.
"Sorry, Senior Sister! Someone shoved me from behind!"
People nearby recognized Liu Qingyu immediately.
"You little bastard, you've got a death wish?! You dared bump into Senior Sister Liu?!"
"Apologize properly! Now!"
Liu Qingyu didn't even look at them.
Her eyes searched for Lin Ye—
anger rising.
So he used her as a shield?
Her heart felt wronged, and she wanted to confront him—
But Lin Ye had already vanished into the crowd.
Lin Ye blended into the mass of disciples and walked out through the stone gate.
Waiting outside were inner sect supervisors, stewards, and several elders.
Without elders present, the gate could never be opened—the seal was far from weak.
"After signing your names on the roster, you may return to the sect on your own," an elder announced.
A table stood ahead with a registry book.
Everyone who survived had to sign.
It made counting casualties easier.
Lin Ye wrote down his name, then turned and headed toward the sect.
Earlier, he'd had a chance to capture the hidden attacker.
But he decided to let them go.
Better to cast the line longer…
and reel in the bigger fish.
Anyone involved in this—
he would kill them all.
As Lin Ye left, a middle-aged man with a scar near his eye stared after him.
His expression was hard, his eyes vicious.
His raised arm slowly lowered.
"This time… you got lucky."
Suddenly someone smacked the man on the head.
"Hey, you big idiot—still alive, huh?"
The middle-aged man's cold gaze instantly turned dull and foolish.
He scratched his head with a goofy grin.
"Heh heh… yeah, luck was good. I just wandered around the edge, looked at a few things."
"Hah! You've been in the sect for twenty years and you're still an inner disciple. The fact they haven't kicked you out is already a miracle."
"And you still managed to crawl out of Dragon Void Cave alive? Damn."
"Respect."
"T-thank you, Senior Brother…" the man said, grinning stupidly.
"I'm in a good mood today," the senior disciple said. "Come drink with us."
"Ah! Sure! Sure!"
The man nodded eagerly, still wearing that harmless smile.
But deep in his eyes…
something sharp flickered.
Wind-Thunder Mystic Sect
Lin Ye didn't think much of this place.
But for now, he had nowhere else to go.
If he wanted to recover quickly…
he needed resources.
Wind-Thunder Mystic Sect stood only five miles away.
After walking through the old forest road, the sect entrance appeared—
a steep stone stairway twisting up the mountain.
No railings.
One misstep, and you'd fall to your death… or worse.
The sect had one main peak and seven side peaks.
The side peaks surrounded the main peak like a ring of blades.
The main peak was Mystic Thunder Peak.
Lin Ye belonged to Listening Mystic Peak.
Core disciples were ranked together, but each also belonged to a specific peak.
Listening Mystic Peak ranked near the bottom among the seven cultivation peaks.
Its disciples were mainly responsible for collecting intelligence across the Wind-Thunder River domain.
Listening Mystic Peak had thirteen core disciples.
Lin Ye ranked dead last.
There were one hundred sixty inner disciples.
Zhou Taian had once been the top inner disciple.
But now…
he would never return.
Every core disciple had their own private courtyard.
When Lin Ye found his, he paused.
A crowd was gathered inside.
Disciples were carrying furniture out.
Packing things.
Moving things.
Lin Ye's eyes turned cold.
"What are you doing?"
The disciples froze when they saw him.
Shock flashed across their faces.
Wasn't Lin Ye supposed to be dead?
A large, muscular young man with a thick face and greasy smile walked out of the house.
He was holding a bowl of noodles, eating lazily while supervising everyone.
Behind him, several stronger inner disciples stepped out as well.
They blocked Lin Ye's path.
The message was obvious.
They weren't letting him go any further.
The muscular man spoke with fake politeness.
"Oh? Senior Brother Lin Ye, you're back."
He slurped noodles, then smiled.
"This courtyard… Senior Brother Wenxu has liked it for a long time. He wants to 'trade' with you."
"Anyway, you won't keep your core disciple title much longer. So I took the liberty of helping you move out."
"Saving you trouble later, right?"
He wiped his mouth with his sleeve, eyes filled with mockery.
"Oh—and inner disciple courtyards are full."
"So you'll have to stay… in the servant yard for now."
The man stepped closer, speaking with deliberate arrogance.
He wanted Lin Ye to feel humiliation.
He wanted him to beg.
Lin Ye raised an eyebrow.
"And you are?"
The man puffed up slightly.
"I'm Tao Lang."
The moment he finished—
a gust of wind hit his face.
BAM!
His mind went blank.
A brutal pain exploded.
Lin Ye's fist shattered his nose.
Two teeth flew out.
Tao Lang slammed into the ground with a heavy thud.
"You—YOU BASTARD!"
He clutched his face and screamed, blood pouring from his nose and mouth.
"You dared hit me?!"
"Get him! Kill him!"
But Lin Ye moved again.
"Luo Sheng Palm."
His palm struck.
A shockwave blasted outward.
Five inner disciples—those who looked strongest—were thrown into the air like broken dolls.
They crashed to the ground, groaning.
A few ribs snapped.
Tao Lang's eyes widened in terror.
When he saw Lin Ye walking toward him slowly…
his arrogance collapsed instantly.
He began crying, voice shaking.
"Senior Brother Lin Ye! Spare me! Please!"
"I-I was ordered! I was just following orders!"
Lin Ye stopped in front of him.
His voice was calm.
"Take me to him."
Tao Lang swallowed, trembling.
"Zhang Wenxu… Senior Brother Zhang Wenxu?"
Lin Ye nodded.
"Yes."
Tao Lang's eyes flashed.
Fine. You want to die? Then don't blame me.
He picked up his fallen teeth, wiped the blood from his face, and began leading Lin Ye.
Inside the courtyard, the disciples looked at each other.
Then someone grinned.
"Come on."
"This is going to be good."
Yawen Residence
That was Zhang Wenxu's courtyard.
And in Listening Mystic Peak, everyone knew the truth—
Lin Ye's courtyard had the densest spiritual energy.
Every core disciple had envied it.
But no one dared touch it.
Because that courtyard had been personally gifted to Lin Ye by their Senior Sister.
Anyone who tried to steal it…
was picking a fight with her.
Tao Lang was about to knock on the door.
But Lin Ye raised his hand—
and pointed.
BOOM!
The courtyard gate exploded into splinters.
Inside, Zhang Wenxu had been practicing swordsmanship.
He froze.
His aura flared violently.
His robes whipped in the wind.
Qi Sea Realm — Third Layer!
His eyes turned icy and savage.
"WHO DARES—!"
He stepped out—
then saw who stood there.
Lin Ye.
Zhang Wenxu's lips curled.
"Oh? I thought it was someone important."
"It's just you."
"That useless trash who should've died in Dragon Void Cave."
He sneered.
"I see you're tired of living."
Lin Ye didn't answer.
He stepped forward—
and slapped him.
SMACK!
Zhang Wenxu's mystic qi collapsed instantly.
Blood sprayed from his mouth.
Three teeth spat out onto the ground.
Lin Ye didn't stop.
He grabbed Zhang Wenxu by the hair—
and slammed his head into the stone table.
BANG!
The table held.
A smear of blood remained.
Lin Ye slammed him again.
And again.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Ten times.
More.
Until—
CRACK!
The stone table finally broke.
And Zhang Wenxu…
was no longer recognizable.
His body twitched once.
Then went limp.
Unconscious.
Lin Ye tossed him aside like garbage.
Then he turned to Tao Lang.
His voice was cold and absolute.
"You."
"Go buy new furniture and bedding for my courtyard."
"You have half an hour."