The outer sect of Green Cloud Sect slowly returned to its usual rhythm after sunrise.
Mist lingered between the rows of gray-roofed houses, drifting like pale ghosts through the narrow paths. Disciples hurried toward their daily duties—some to the herb gardens, some to the mines, some to the cultivation halls.
But everywhere Lin Yuan walked, whispers followed.
"That's him."
"The one who killed Zhao Hu."
"Three people…"
Even those who once ignored him now glanced sideways with cautious eyes.
In the cultivation world, reputation spread faster than wildfire.
Lin Yuan did not react.
He walked quietly along the mountain path, the broken sword tied across his back with a strip of cloth. His body still ached from the fight, but the healing pill had done its work; at least he could move normally.
The outer sect cultivation hall soon appeared ahead.
It was a long stone building built into the mountain slope. A faint layer of spiritual mist drifted around it, formed by a simple gathering array carved beneath the ground.
For outer disciples, this was one of the few places where spiritual energy was slightly denser than the surrounding air.
Inside, dozens of disciples sat cross-legged in meditation.
The moment Lin Yuan stepped through the door, several heads turned.
The atmosphere immediately grew strange.
Lin Yuan ignored them and walked toward an empty spot in the corner.
He sat down.
Then slowly closed his eyes.
The Green Cloud Qi Method appeared in his mind.
He began circulating spiritual energy.
A faint current of qi moved through the meridians of his body, following a simple path described in the jade slip.
At first everything seemed normal.
Then something strange happened.
The broken sword on his back vibrated slightly.
A faint chill spread into his consciousness.
And suddenly—
The cultivation technique in his mind changed.
Thin cracks appeared within the imagined flow of spiritual energy.
The once smooth path now looked crooked and unstable.
Lin Yuan's eyes opened immediately.
"What…?"
He focused again.
The sword trembled slightly once more.
Then the perception returned.
The spiritual energy paths described in the Green Cloud Qi Method were full of flaws.
Not small flaws.
Massive ones.
Some meridians forced qi through narrow passages that created resistance. Others leaked spiritual energy outward.
Worst of all, the technique created tiny instabilities in the dantian.
Lin Yuan stared at the invisible diagram inside his mind.
"This technique…"
He suddenly remembered something from the original owner's memories.
Outer disciples rarely advanced quickly.
Some people remained stuck in Qi Gathering for decades.
Many believed it was due to poor talent.
But now Lin Yuan wondered—
Was it really talent?
Or was it the technique itself?
He continued studying the flow of qi carefully.
With the sword's strange perception guiding him, he gradually adjusted the circulation path.
A slight change here.
A different route there.
The first cycle was slow and awkward.
The second became smoother.
By the third circulation—
The difference became obvious.
Spiritual energy flowed into his body more quickly.
And with far less resistance.
Lin Yuan's eyes widened slightly.
"If this works…"
He suppressed his excitement and continued cultivating.
Time passed.
Half an hour later, something unexpected happened.
A faint tremor appeared in his dantian.
Then—
A burst of spiritual energy surged outward.
Lin Yuan's cultivation advanced.
Qi Gathering — Fourth Level → Fifth Level.
His eyes snapped open.
For a moment he could not breathe.
This body had been stuck at the fourth level for two years.
Yet after adjusting the flawed technique, he broke through in less than an hour.
Lin Yuan slowly exhaled.
"So that's it…"
The sword did not just reveal flaws in combat.
It revealed flaws in cultivation itself.
If used properly, this ability could completely change his path.
But at that moment—
A cold voice suddenly sounded behind him.
"Interesting."
Lin Yuan turned.
Several disciples had already gathered nearby.
At their center stood a tall young man in dark blue robes.
He looked about eighteen, with sharp features and calm eyes.
But the spiritual pressure around him was far stronger than the others.
Sixth level Qi Gathering.
His name quickly surfaced in Lin Yuan's memory.
Chen Wei.
One of the stronger outer sect disciples.
And more importantly—
A close friend of Zhao Hu.
Chen Wei looked down at Lin Yuan calmly.
"So it was you."
The surrounding disciples grew silent.
Lin Yuan stood slowly.
"Yes."
Chen Wei's gaze was cold.
"Three people died last night."
"They attacked first."
Chen Wei smiled slightly.
"That's what the steward said."
He stepped forward.
"But I'm curious."
His eyes suddenly sharpened.
"How did someone at the fourth level kill Zhao Hu?"
The room became completely quiet.
Lin Yuan did not answer.
Chen Wei glanced at the broken sword on Lin Yuan's back.
"A broken sword…"
He chuckled softly.
"Don't tell me you expect me to believe that."
Lin Yuan met his gaze calmly.
"What do you want?"
Chen Wei's smile vanished.
"Nothing complicated."
His voice turned cold.
"Just a duel."
Gasps spread through the hall.
Chen Wei was at the sixth level.
Lin Yuan had only just broken through to the fifth.
Chen Wei raised one finger.
"Three days."
"Outer sect arena."
His eyes flicked briefly toward the sword.
"If you survive…"
He turned and walked away.
The disciples slowly dispersed.
But the tension remained.
Lin Yuan stood silently in the hall.
Three days.
In the cultivation world, three days could change everything.
He slowly sat down again.
The broken sword rested against his back.
In his mind, the strange perception flickered faintly.
For the first time, Lin Yuan truly understood something.
This world did not allow peace.
Every step forward required blood.
But he also remembered an old saying from Earth.
"Where there is pressure, there is breakthrough."
Three days.
Three days to grow stronger.
Lin Yuan closed his eyes again and began circulating spiritual energy.
This time, guided by the sword's flaw-revealing perception.
Outside the cultivation hall, dark clouds gathered once more above Black Tortoise Mountain.
A storm was coming.
And somewhere far above the outer sect, inside the towering halls of the inner sect—
Steward Xu Ming stood beside a window, staring down at the distant buildings below.
His gaze rested on the cultivation hall.
Then slowly narrowed.
"That boy…"
He whispered quietly.
"There is something strange about him."
Behind him, a shadow inside the room shifted slightly.
A deep voice spoke.
"Should we remove him?"
Xu Ming remained silent for a long moment.
Then he shook his head.
"No."
His eyes glimmered faintly.
"Let's watch first."
In the cultivation world, killing a genius too early was sometimes a mistake.
After all—
Some tools were more useful alive than dead.
Far below, Lin Yuan continued cultivating.
The broken sword trembled slightly once again.
As if awakening.
And the path of blood and immortality had only just begun.