If I stay in the Hehuan Sect, I'll live off the pampered daughters of the Heavenly Pride Sect.

For the first time, Qin Wanzhuang's usually cold and hard face showed an expression of having seen a ghost.

"How did you do that?"

How could someone resolve a crisis and break through a bottleneck overnight? Is this still the same useless bum who only knew how to cling to powerful figures and cry for help?

Suddenly, her gaze froze.

It was fixed on the side of Mo Chengyue's neck. Although the collar was pulled up, the dark red mark was still faintly visible in the morning breeze.

That is……

Qin Wanzhuang's eyes instantly became incredibly complex, even carrying a hint of...admiration?

"I see."

She took a deep breath, and a dramatic scene instantly flashed through her mind.

In order not to disappoint his own expectations, this seemingly unreliable junior brother...

Last night, I must have taken some kind of extremely potent and even dangerous drug with strong side effects!

That red mark is the overflow of blood and evil energy caused by the excessive potency of the medicine!

He's risking his life! Enduring inhuman torture, just so he can stand before me on time today!

"I misunderstood you."

Qin Wanzhuang sighed inwardly. So, beneath that carefree exterior lay such a resilient and strong-willed heart!

"good."

For the first time ever, she nodded, a hint of warmth appearing in her eyes. "Since you have such backbone..."

"Then let's increase it tenfold!"

Mo Chengyue's smile instantly froze.

Huh? Is something wrong with the script?!

Qin Wanzhuang shook the withered branch in her hand, and countless sword energies rained down from the sky.

"Don't waste the effects of last night's medicine! Get moving! You're not allowed to eat until all the effects of the medicine in your body have been neutralized!"

"I...I didn't take my medicine!"

"Stop explaining! I understand! Take this!"

"Help!"

A heart-wrenching scream echoed once more through the back of Qingquan Peak. A new day dawned; the life of the corporate slave remained a cycle of sunshine and beatings.

Life on the back mountain of Qingquan Peak was both miserable and surreal.

If it were anyone else, after being tormented like this by Qin Wanzhuang, the grass on their grave would probably be old enough to be woven into a straw mat.

But Mo Chengyue not only didn't die, he actually managed to create a perfect "survival loop" in this hellish mode.

During the day, he was repeatedly beaten by Qin Wanzhuang with various "weapons" in the training ground.

Treating one's body like iron and one's meridians like highways, one accumulates a body full of fire poison and bruises that are enough to cause one to go mad.

That night, he dragged himself half-dead up Ice Soul Peak and took himself into Leng Yuexin's secret chamber. The Nascent Soul stage "human air conditioner" disgusted him with the firey smell on his body, while using the purest Taiyin cold energy to cleanse his meridians and marrow.

This is like a piece of pig iron that is thrown into a steel furnace to be forged during the day and then quenched in liquid nitrogen at night.

Seven days.

Seven whole days.

Mo Chengyue felt that he had evolved; now he was a piece of vibranium with sentience. His skin was as tough as old cowhide, and his bones had a faint jade-like hue. If ordinary swords and knives were to strike him, he would probably only make a sound, and leaving a white mark would be considered a loss.

On the training ground.

"Bang!"

A muffled thud.

Mo Chengyue flew out like a tattered sack, rolled three times smoothly on the ground to dissipate the force, and then quickly bounced up, skillfully assuming his signature "head-covering crouch defense" posture.

Their movements were so practiced it was heartbreaking, as if they were etched into their DNA.

"Is this your limit?"

Qin Wanzhuang did not pursue. She leaned on an unsharpened heavy sword made of black iron, her brows furrowed so deeply they could trap a fly, her eyes filled with disappointment and frustration.

"Junior brother, you've really taken a beating; you're like a solid iron turtle now. But what's the use?"

Her voice was cold and sharp, like the mountain wind that stung one's face: "In the cultivation world, you can't survive by just taking a beating. I need a wolf that can bite, not a turtle that only knows how to hide in its shell."

Mo Chengyue squatted on the ground, gave an embarrassed smile, and tried to reason with her: "Senior sister, well... turtles are actually quite good. As long as they can survive, they can send several generations of wolves to their doom."

"That's a turtle hiding in the mud!"

Qin Wanzhuang had no interest in listening to his nonsense. With a flick of her wrist, the Xuan Tie Heavy Sword emitted a deep hum.

A suffocating heat instantly filled the entire training ground; it was a genuine killing intent.

"It seems conventional methods can't force your fighting spirit."

She raised her sword, the tip pointing directly at Mo Chengyue's brow. Although she didn't release any spiritual energy, the "Sunset Sword Intent" honed in the midst of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, even if it was just a trace of its true essence, was enough to make a Foundation Establishment cultivator's sanity plummet.

"For this next sword strike, I will only use 30% of my strength, but it will be imbued with sword intent."

Qin Wanzhuang's eyes turned indifferent, as if the person standing in front of her was no longer that useless junior brother, but a dead man.

"If you can't stop me, you'll lose an arm. Don't expect me to back down; Qingquan Peak doesn't tolerate useless people."

The air seemed to have been sucked out.

The servants in the distance were so frightened that they turned pale and forgot to breathe, afraid that if they took a big breath, they would be affected.

The playful smile on Mo Chengyue's face slowly disappeared.

This female demon was serious. That sword intent was like a red-hot iron; even before it touched my body, I felt a phantom pain as if I had been pierced through.

If I keep pretending, I'll really become disabled.

"Since Senior Sister wants to see..."

Mo Chengyue slowly straightened up, his previously cloudy and unfocused eyes suddenly becoming as deep as a pool. He reached into his robes, his fingers gripping a stack of crumpled talismans.

"Then I'll have to offend you."

Before she could finish speaking, Qin Wanzhuang moved.

There were no fancy sword techniques, just a simple, powerful cleavage. The heavy sword carried a wave of heat, like Mount Tai pressing down, completely sealing off any room for evasion.

This is the power to overcome all techniques, absolute suppression by force!

"Watch out for the hidden weapon!"

Mo Chengyue let out a strange cry and advanced instead of retreating. He suddenly raised his hand, and yellow paper flew out like snowflakes.

"Fire Talisman? You think you can even handle such low-grade stuff..."

A hint of disdain flashed in Qin Wanzhuang's eyes; her protective aura could easily shatter these pieces of waste paper.

But the next second, her expression froze.

The talismans exploded in mid-air, without any fire, only a sky full of... lime powder?! And a foul-smelling smoke mixed with mud?!

This is not a Flame Burst Talisman!

This is the product of Mo Chengyue's magical modification of quicklime and sleeping powder, which are only used by low-level martial artists in the mortal world—a physical blinding combo!

"Disgusting!"

Qin Wanzhuang snorted coldly, her heavy sword still charging forward with undiminished momentum, accompanied by a gust of wind, instantly tearing through the smoke and dust barrier in front of her.

But the moment her vision cleared, she froze.

What about people?

The spot where Mo Chengyue had stood was now empty.

The ground beneath their feet suddenly became incredibly sticky—the effect of the "clay talisman," like stepping into superglue. At the same time, several large rocks that had been scattered around had somehow been kicked to specific positions, slightly disrupting the flow of energy in the area.

It's that crude yet disgusting "physical cheat code - disruptive system" again.

Just as Qin Wanzhuang's aura faltered slightly...

A gust of wind came from the most awkward blind spot beside her.

That's a blind spot in terms of both vision and psychology.

Mo Chengyue slid across the ground like a venomous cobra, the fragile wooden sword in his hand now gleaming with an eerie, lustrous sheen, aiming straight for Qin Wanzhuang's vulnerable ribs.

Fast, accurate, and ruthless.

They showed absolutely no mercy, as if they were sparring with fellow disciples; their aim was entirely to render the opponent incapable of fighting.

Young people lack martial ethics!

"How dare you!"

Instead of getting angry, Qin Wanzhuang laughed, her eyes flashing with astonishing brilliance. She twisted her waist forcefully, and the Xuan Tie Heavy Sword returned to defense at an angle that defied the laws of physics, like a shield blocking her side.

"when--!!!"

A deafening roar echoed through the valley.

The wooden sword collided with the heavy iron sword.

Logically, the wooden sword should have instantly turned to dust.

but no.

Mo Chengyue's feet dug two deep furrows in the ground, his tiger's mouth split open, and blood instantly stained the hilt of his sword.

But he gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead, and poured the spiritual power purified to the extreme by Leng Yuexin into the wooden sword like it was free.

At this moment, he managed to unleash a trace of metallic intent from that ordinary wooden sword, which firmly blocked Qin Wanzhuang's heavy sword!

"Hmm?" Qin Wanzhuang was slightly taken aback.

This kid's spiritual energy purity... how can it be so outrageous?! This is not the quality one should have at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, it's practically compressed liquid spiritual energy!

Before she could think it through, Mo Chengyue made another move.