I gain ten years' worth of cultivation every day, and even geniuses will only see my doorstep!

lost.

In what they considered their strongest area, they were utterly crushed.

Ye Qingchen raised her head, looking at Qin Yuan with disbelief and bitterness in her eyes: "You... how could you..."

"You flatter me." Qin Yuan withdrew his divine sense and said calmly.

Ye Qingchen remained silent for a long time, finally shaking his head with a wry smile: "I was too narrow-minded. Junior Brother Qin's talent is truly admirable."

He turned to the group from the First Peak and said, "Let's go."

"Senior brother!" one disciple protested.

"Let's go." Ye Qingchen's voice was calm, yet carried an undeniable determination.

The people of First Peak had no choice but to follow him and slink away from the valley.

At this point, there were no more rivals in the core area.

In the following time, Qin Yuan led the disciples of the Fifth and Tenth Peaks to plunder all the resources in the core area.

In the herb garden, medicinal herbs that are a hundred years old or even a thousand years old are harvested in large quantities.

In the Spirit Beast Valley, rare and precious monsters were hunted down, and their fur, bones, and demon cores were all collected.

Qin Yuan also took down the three jade boxes on the central platform. Inside were a bottle of "Golden Condensation Pill", a "Breakthrough Talisman", and a low-grade Xuan-rank cultivation technique, "Nine Revolutions Profound Origin Technique".

The harvest was far more abundant than expected.

Throughout the entire process, they did not encounter anyone from the second peak.

It seems that the Second Peak either received advance notice and knew that the First Peak and Qin Yuan were both in the core area, so it chose to retreat; or it found a good opportunity elsewhere and was unwilling to confront them head-on.

Either way, it's a good thing for Qin Yuan.

Three days later, the secret realm will be closed.

All the disciples were teleported out and returned to the original valley.

Elder Jiufeng had been waiting in the valley for a long time.

The elders' expressions varied as they watched their disciples being teleported out one after another.

Elder Li of the Seventh Peak was ashen-faced—their peak was the first to be eliminated, and Xiong Li was the first disciple to be knocked out, which was an utter disgrace!

The Third Peak Elder's expression was also grim. Although Lu Yun and the others were not eliminated, their dejected appearance clearly indicated that they had not gained much.

After Ye Qingchen emerged from the First Peak, he simply shook his head at his elders before silently standing aside, closing his eyes to rest. Although the First Peak elders were puzzled, they didn't ask any further questions.

When the fifth and tenth peaks came out, all eyes were on them.

Everyone's eyes widened when they saw the dozens of bulging storage bags behind Qin Yuan.

"This...this is way too much!!"

"Did they empty out the entire secret realm?!"

"Why is the tenth peak following behind the fifth peak? Could it be...?"

The presiding elder coughed lightly, silencing the murmurs: "Disciples of each peak, hand over your spoils; let's begin the accounting."

Disciples from each peak stepped forward one after another and poured the resources from their storage bags into the designated area.

The harvests from the sixth, eighth, and ninth peaks were average, forming three small hills.

The fourth peak yielded slightly more fruit, eliciting a chorus of praise.

The harvests from the third and seventh peaks were significantly less, especially from the seventh peak, which yielded only a pitiful small pile, prompting whispers among the disciples from the other peaks.

When it was the First Peak's turn, Ye Qingchen personally stepped forward and poured out the harvest. Although it wasn't as plentiful as in previous years, it still formed a considerable mountain, demonstrating the First Peak's rich resources.

Finally, there are the fifth and tenth peaks.

Qin Yuan stepped forward and first poured out the harvest of the tenth peak—although it was not as good as the first peak, it was about the same as the fourth peak, which made the elder of the tenth peak overjoyed.

Then came the harvest from the fifth peak.

When dozens of storage bags were tipped over at the same time, an eerie silence fell over the entire room.

The spiritual herbs were piled up into a small mountain three zhang high, various materials covered the ground in a radius of ten zhang, the corpses of demonic beasts were piled up like mountains, and three jade boxes lay quietly on top.

"This...this must require so many resources..."

"The Fifth Peak is defying the heavens!"

"That jade box...could it be the final reward from the core area?!"

The presiding elder was stunned for a long time before he came to his senses and began to take inventory.

The counting process lasted a full hour.

When the final result was announced, the entire audience was in an uproar.

The total resource value of the Fifth Peak is 98,000 contribution points!

Second peak: 43,000 contribution points!

First Peak: 39,000 contribution points!

Fourth Peak: 27,000 contribution points!

Third Peak: 21,000 contribution points!

Seventh Peak: 8,000 contribution points – at the bottom.

"The first place winner of this year's Inner Disciple Competition—" the presiding elder's voice boomed, "is the Fifth Peak!!"

The disciples of the Fifth Peak erupted in a deafening cheer!

Elder Xu was so moved that tears streamed down his face, and he said "good" three times in a row.

The other elders had complex expressions, some envious, some jealous, and some thoughtful.

Elder Li's face turned ashen. He glared fiercely at Qin Yuan and then turned and left.

After the cleanup was completed, Elder Xu called Qin Yuan aside.

"Qin Yuan," he looked at the young disciple, his eyes filled with satisfaction and emotion, "you have made a tremendous contribution to our Fifth Peak this time. According to the rules, thirty percent of these harvests belong to you personally, and you can use them as you see fit."

Qin Yuan nodded: "Thank you, Elder."

Elder Xu waved his hand, pondered for a moment, and suddenly said, "Qin Yuan, with your talent, it's a pity that you're staying on the Fifth Peak."

Qin Yuan was taken aback.

Elder Xu continued, "My Fifth Peak has limited resources; at most, we can only cultivate Nascent Soul stage cultivators. But you are different—your talent is rare in a thousand years. If you can become a true disciple of a sect, participate in the Hundred Sects Grand Competition, and leave the Xuan Yuan Sect and Qingzhou, your future achievements will be limitless."

True disciple.

Qin Yuan's heart stirred.

The Xuan Yuan Sect has only thirty true disciples, all of whom are the most outstanding geniuses selected from the direct disciples of the Nine Peaks. They reside on the main peak and several of the surrounding sub-peaks with the richest spiritual veins, enjoying the sect's highest level of training resources, and are even qualified to comprehend the sect's supreme cultivation techniques.

Most importantly, true disciples are qualified to represent the Xuan Yuan Sect in the triennial "Hundred Sects Grand Competition." It is a grand gathering of all sects in the entire Qingzhou, where geniuses gather and opportunities abound.

"How are true disciples selected?" Qin Yuan asked.

"There are two conditions," Elder Xu said. "First, you must reach the Golden Core stage in cultivation. Second, you must defeat any current True Disciple in the 'True Disciple Challenge'."

He paused, then added, "You're already at the peak of Foundation Establishment; condensing your Golden Core is only a matter of time. With your combat strength, once you reach the Golden Core stage, defeating an ordinary True Disciple shouldn't be difficult."

Qin Yuan remained silent for a moment, a resolute look flashing in his eyes.

"I understand," he said. "I will fight for the position of true successor."

Elder Xu smiled with satisfaction: "Good! This is the spirit that a disciple of the Fifth Peak should have! Rest assured, the Fifth Peak will fully support you. Just ask if you need any resources."

Qin Yuan bowed and said, "Thank you, Elder."

As we left the valley, the sun was setting.

Qin Yuan glanced back at the world around him, a new goal already in his mind.

True disciples, the grand competition of a hundred sects, a wider world...