Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

They gathered in twos and threes, looking around and pointing.

Several people were even whispering among themselves, their voices neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for someone to hear them.

"This is Cangyun Mountain? A second-tier base? It doesn't look like much."

"I heard the garrison commander is a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator. I wonder how he got to that position."

"I heard he has connections; he used underhanded methods to kick out the former garrison commander."

Lin Zhao's fingers moved slightly inside her sleeve.

Why do I feel like hitting someone?

The group arrived at the garrison headquarters.

Lin Zhao took the seat of honor, with Yan Chiheng and Elder He sitting on either side.

The thirty-odd cultivators filed in and stood in the main hall, looking around as if they were visiting rather than paying a visit.

The young man at the head of the group stood at the very front, his chin slightly raised.

"My name is Zhou Yuanqing, a disciple of the Thousand Machines Hall of the sect." He cupped his hands in greeting, his tone fairly polite.

But that arrogance that emanated from his very bones couldn't be hidden. "I'm here on orders from the sect to lead this group of junior brothers on an expedition. We're just passing through their camp and will be bothering you for a few days."

Lin Zhao nodded: "Senior Brother Zhou, you're too kind. The cave dwelling has been prepared. Please settle in first, and feel free to ask if you need anything."

Zhou Yuanqing frowned slightly.

He seemed somewhat displeased that Lin Zhao was sitting in the main seat without getting up, but he didn't say anything, only turning his head to look at Old He.

"Please lead the way, fellow Daoist."

Old He stood up, beaming, and said, "Please, everyone."

The group left with Old He.

Lin Zhao sat in the main seat, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and calmly watched their departing figures.

Half an hour later, Old He returned with a bitter smile on his face.

Lin Zhao glanced at him: "Not satisfied?"

Old He said helplessly, "It's not just dissatisfaction; they said the cave dwelling we prepared was too poor and not worthy of their status."

Some even suggested giving up the naval base for them to use.

Yan Chiheng leaned closer and asked suspiciously, "Who are these people? They act so arrogantly."

Elder He said, "I've checked, it's Zhou Yuanqing, a member of the Thousand Machines Hall of the sect."

His master was a peak Core Formation cultivator named True Person Fuyao, and also a master of both weapon crafting and alchemy, whose status was even higher than that of True Person Qianqiu.

There's even a slight possibility of achieving Nascent Soul formation in the future.

Lin Zhao continued, "The remaining two peak-level and nine late-stage disciples are mostly Core Formation disciples of the sect, belonging to the sect's core disciples."

Those twenty-odd early Foundation Establishment stage disciples must be newly promoted inner disciples who recently left the Dao Inquiry Hall.

Yan Chiheng nodded: "No wonder he's so arrogant. He probably only associates with Core Formation cultivators, so he doesn't take us seriously."

Yan Chiheng teased Lin Zhao, "It seems you've met your match, Lin Zhao. Even your status as a disciple of Master Qianqiu isn't enough."

Lin Zhao didn't speak, but simply tapped her fingers lightly on the armrest.

Lin Zhao looked at Elder He: "They still have something to say, don't they?"

Elder He sighed: "I heard from these disciples that they suggested going directly to the capital and using their status as disciples of the Holy Sect to ask that Core Formation True Person of the Purple Profound Dynasty for cultivation resources."

Yan Chiheng couldn't help but laugh: "Ask a Core Formation cultivator for resources? Are they out of their minds?"

Haven't they witnessed the terrifying power of a Core Formation cultivator during the sect's grand examination? In our year, over two thousand Foundation Establishment cultivators besieged a single Core Formation cultivator, resulting in over three hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators being killed or wounded.

Old He smiled wryly: "They really don't take Core Formation Realm cultivators seriously."

I asked around, and this group of early Foundation Establishment disciples' final test involved directly killing a Core Formation cultivator with over ten Core Formation techniques.

He paused, then shook his head and said, "So they don't have much of a concept of the strength of a Core Formation cultivator."

Upon hearing this, Lin Zhao's lips curled up slightly.

"The evaluation of their generation of disciples by the Dao Seeking Hall must have been quite low, right?"

Elder He nodded: "Less than a hundred disciples were accepted as core disciples after reaching the Core Formation stage. The rest can only rely on those Core Formation core disciples."

Therefore, this group sticks together tightly and doesn't respect anyone else.

Lin Zhao picked up the teacup and took a sip.

"It seems that the sect's grand examination failed to teach them a lesson, and now they will have to make up for it in the Zixuan Dynasty."

He put down his teacup, his tone calm, "But this time, there's no sect to back us up; they'll have to pay with their lives."

The trap set up by a Core Formation cultivator over several decades could easily trap even a Core Formation cultivator, let alone a mere thirty Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Yan Chiheng frowned: "If this group perishes here, will the sect...?"

Lin Zhao shook his head: "A mere few dozen Foundation Establishment disciples are nothing to the sect."

He looked at Yan Chiheng and slowly said, "The sect has 100,000 Foundation Establishment disciples, with an average lifespan of two hundred years."

However, most of them are at the lower to middle grade of the Foundation Establishment stage, and only about 10,000 people can cultivate to the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage.

Of these 10,000 people, those who died unexpectedly, failed in their cultivation, or lacked sufficient resources for Core Formation should be subtracted.

There are probably only about three thousand people in the sect truly qualified to attempt the Core Formation stage.

He paused, his voice very soft: "And in the Heavenly Thunder Tribulation for Core Formation, on average only one out of three survives. Out of 100,000 Foundation Establishment cultivators, less than a thousand will ultimately reach Core Formation."

Based on the normal lifespan of a Core Formation cultivator, a sect would produce 2,500 Core Formation cultivators in 500 years. However, some Core Formation cultivators die over the long years, so the sect's current number of Core Formation cultivators is estimated to be around 1,500.

Yan Chiheng fell silent.

Lin Zhao continued, "Foundation Establishment cultivators typically have a lifespan of two hundred years, and they take on disciples every ten years."

In other words, no more than fifty disciples from each cohort will ultimately achieve the Core Formation stage.

He looked out the window, his gaze deep and unfathomable.

"Even an 'ordinary' Foundation Establishment disciple like me can give rise to more than ten Foundation Establishment cultivators."

Ordinary Foundation Establishment disciples are not worth mentioning to the sect. After the ten years of training by the Dao Inquiry Hall, the sect has already fulfilled its obligations.

The rest are simply being thrown into the outside world, where they will be tempered through missions; the strong will live, and the weak will die.

After listening, Yan Chiheng remained silent for a long time.

Old He said softly, "Guard the city. They're going to the capital. We..."

Lin Zhao turned to look at him: "Go and warn them that the capital of the dynasty is fraught with danger, and record it with a photographic stone."

Old He was taken aback, but then he understood.

"Is this guarding the area... to preserve evidence?"

Lin Zhao nodded: "We've tried to persuade them, but they wouldn't listen. Who can we blame?"

Old He secretly admired him.

He had seen many outstanding talents over the years, but someone like Lin Zhao was truly rare.

Despite possessing combat power comparable to a Core Formation cultivator, he immediately withdrew upon realizing the situation was unfavorable.

When it's time to act to secure resources, act decisively; when you sense something is amiss, remain discreet.

In the cultivation world, the most feared thing is a lack of discernment.

Prodigies? The cultivation world has no shortage of prodigies.

Those who die are nothing; only those who survive are true prodigies.

Old He went to "admonish" him.

The photo stone recorded everything clearly.

Then, naturally, those sect disciples didn't listen.

If a mere word of advice could stop them from going anywhere, there would be far fewer conflicts in the world.

Driven by greed and seduced by self-interest,

The following months were quite chaotic at Cangyun Mountain.

The three peak-level players and nine late-stage players are alright; although they are arrogant, at least they know their limits.

Those twenty-odd junior disciples who were in the early stages of Foundation Establishment treated the market like their own home.

They had only recently established their foundation and were extremely poor.

Seeing the bustling market with its numerous shops and throngs of cultivators, their eyes lit up with envy.

Some people buy elixirs on credit, only to forget about them immediately.

Some people forcibly dragged rogue cultivators into "sparring" to show off their magical artifacts.

Some people even caused trouble while drinking in teahouses, smashing half of the shop, leaving behind the words "This will be recorded in the Cangyun Mountain garrison's account" before leaving.

Mr. He deals with all sorts of complaints every day, and the few remaining strands of his hair have all turned white.