The sword seller, dressed in red, deserves applause for the prankster.

Amidst everyone's bewildered expressions, Chi Miao silently walked towards the Earth-level waterfall.

"Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?"

Previously, everyone assumed that Chi Miao's rapid transition from Yellow-level waterfall to Profound-level waterfall was due to the Supreme Elder, a max-level expert, slaughtering newbies in the village.

But now, everyone knows that she is not the Supreme Elder.

It's only been a few hours, and you've already cleared the Xuan-level waterfall?

That speed is incredible!

Chi Miao sat down on the edge of the waterfall and first tested it out.

Go in, come out, go in, come out.

"Where is Chi Miao?"

Chi Miao hissed, "It hurts a little."

After saying that, she placed the massage chair directly under the waterfall, closed her eyes, and decisively lay down!

This move left everyone completely bewildered.

"what?"

Is this the pain you're talking about?

He just lay down!

"I think we can't look at Chi Miao from the perspective of a normal person, because that would be a serious blow to us who are truly normal people."

"You're right."

……

On the other side, the main hall of Yuqing Peak.

A group of elders already knew what Chi Miao had done.

Everyone who saw it was speechless.

Except for Yan Ge.

Chong Shuai: "The Supreme Elder's Decree? Is this how you grant authority?!"

Yan Ge shrugged: "Didn't you promise to give away any resources?"

Chong Shuai: "But I never said you had to hand over Master's Supreme Elder's Decree! Do you know what that means?"

Yan Ge: "This means that I gave the Supreme Elder's Decree to Chi Miao."

"..."

The other elders, who were already silent, became even more so after hearing this.

You can speak.

Chong Shuai took a deep breath: "The Supreme Elder is the strongest force of a sect, and also its face. You've given away the Supreme Elder's token like this... Have you considered whether Master can accept it? This is a disgrace, a disgrace to our sect!"

Yan Ge picked at his nose, looking like he wasn't going to listen.

"When you say it's shameful, do you mean it's about discovering the correct way to use the Heavenly Flow Waterfall, a skill you've been developing for generations, or do you mean it's ignited the entire sect's enthusiasm for cultivation?"

Chong Shuai was shut down by a single sentence: "This...this is a different story!"

Chi Miao's actions were indeed very meritorious, almost more useful than the real Supreme Elder Qian Shi Nian.

It wasn't that he was being old-fashioned; it was just that his master was an extremely strict person.

Back then, he and Yan Ge were both disciples of the same master, and he would get beaten up at the slightest disagreement.

If his master finds out, he might give Chi Miao a severe beating!

Can Chi Miao, with her small frame, withstand a beating?

Just then, Yan Ge spoke up: "Instead of overthinking things, why don't you think about... where did this Supreme Elder's Token come from?"

One sentence made everyone start thinking.

Oh right.

Shouldn't the Supreme Elder's Token be with the Supreme Elder? How did it end up in Yan Ge's hands and then given to Chi Miao?

This isn't right.

"Could it be... that you stole the Supreme Elder's token?"

Yan Ge: "If I could steal, I would have become the Supreme Elder myself long ago."

Trust him; he's the kind of person who dares to take responsibility for his actions.

Suddenly, a possibility came to everyone's mind.

"This decision...could it have been made by the Supreme Elder himself?!"

At that moment, Yan Ge smiled slightly.

"Otherwise what?"

Those three words caused everyone present to gasp in shock.

"It really was the Supreme Elder's own decision! Why?!"

Although everyone knows that the Supreme Elder favors Yan Ge and has always been more indulgent towards him, the extent of this indulgence is truly baffling.

That token represents the prestige of the sect and the highest authority besides the sect leader!

Yan Ge said casually, "What else could it be? Of course, it's because the old man has taken a liking to Chi Miao's talent and comprehension, and has decided to devote the entire sect's resources to nurturing her."

"That makes some sense..."

"wrong!"

"If the sole purpose is to nurture Chi Miao with the full strength of the sect, there's no need to use the Supreme Elder's Decree; simply issuing the Holy Son Decree, like Wu Huo did, would suffice! The Supreme Elder's actions... cannot be that simple!"

"Oh, you've finally figured it out." Yan Ge laughed, a wildly arrogant laugh that almost made his fake mustache fall off.

He straightened himself before coughing lightly.

Everyone: "..."

At a time like this, you still have to act ugly? Enough already!

"The Supreme Elder has never met Chi Miao. Such a cautious person would never make such a decision before even meeting him. What... is his reason?"

"Even if Chi Miao possesses unparalleled talent and draws the Sorrowful Sword... it shouldn't have confused the Supreme Elder so much!"

"Yan Ge, what are you hiding?!"

Yan Ge pursed his lips, his eyes becoming increasingly mysterious.

"Who told you that the old man didn't see Chi Miao in person? He did see Chi Miao himself before he took such action."

Has the Supreme Elder already met with Chi Miao?

When...

Could it be during the time when Chi Miao was imprisoned?

But what clues could one glean from seeing Chi Miao during that time?

At this point, Yan Ge stopped keeping him in suspense and squinted as he spoke: "The old man certainly didn't raise Chi Miao as a saintess. What he meant was... he wanted to train Chi Miao to be the number one person in the world, to have Chi Miao lead my Nine Swords Mountain back to the number one sect in the world!"

This statement shocked everyone present.

Even those who have weathered many storms were momentarily stunned.

"Lead...lead my sect back to the top of the world?"

Nine Swords Mountain was indeed the number one sect in the world back then.

However, ever since the Sorrowful Sword entered the Sword Tomb and began to be replenished with the spiritual power of the entire sect, the cultivation environment of Nine Swords Mountain has been a level below that of the other ten major sects.

In addition to various subsequent events, the disciples of Nine Swords Mountain have become worse with each generation. Although they still hold the title of one of the top ten sects, they should have fallen from that position long ago.

However, the Supreme Elder strongly protected it, and because the Weeping Sword was very likely the key to the Heavenly Sorrow Cave, Nine Swords Mountain could beautify itself by claiming that it was for the benefit of the entire cultivation world.

For various reasons, Nine Swords Mountain was barely able to be included among the top ten sects.

But the Supreme Elder's time is almost up...

How long can this situation last?

Once the Supreme Elder passes away, Nine Swords Mountain will inevitably fall from its pedestal, and at that time... Nine Swords Mountain will probably truly decline.

On the surface, everyone seemed to be having a good time, but the bitterness inside... only they themselves knew.

"But...why Chi Miao?"

Chi Miao certainly has the talent.

But when it comes to cultivation, no one can predict the future, and no one should gamble on it.

Gambling is the cause, and sooner or later, it will bring retribution.

How could the Supreme Elder possibly gamble everything and place all his hopes on Chi Miao?

It was just a glance...

Just then, Yan Ge started counting on his fingers.

A layer of dark clouds inexplicably appeared in the sky and gathered towards Nine Swords Mountain.

Yan Ge spoke up:

"The time is almost up. All the causes and effects will be clear once you come with me to Tianliu Waterfall."

—Author's Note—

It already has over 10,000 reads, yet there's still no rating. I guess I don't deserve everyone's five-star reviews.