Everyone's a Master: I'll reward my disciples ten thousandfold!

[Zhang Dachui (Iron Fist Sect): ??? Qi Refining Level 3?? My disciple has been grinding at Qi Refining Level 1 for three days with no progress!]

[Zhao Lengyue (Frosty Valley): Something's not right. We're still in the early game beast tide period, all the sects are getting attacked, who has time for their disciples to cultivate?]

[Qian Duoduo (Jin Yuan Gang): Guiyuan Sect? Never heard of it. What kind of shady sect is that?]

[Li Xiang (Guiyun Sect): Wait, did you all see that clearly—he broke through on the third day, which means he broke through before the beast tide even ended?!]

[Wang Ping (of the Longevity Cult): I choose death.]

[Li Jianguo (Kaoshan Sect): No, we're both sect leaders, how come there's such a huge difference? I'm being attacked by a wild boar demon here, while their disciple is breaking through to the third level of Qi Refining over there???]

Chen Yuan turned off the channel.

The corners of her mouth finally couldn't be held back.

……

As dawn broke, Lin Xiao returned.

He practically dragged himself up there.

There wasn't a single clean spot on his body.

His clothes were covered in a mixture of wolf and eagle blood, and his hair was stuck together in clumps.

The sleeve of his right arm was completely torn off, revealing a scratch mark that ran across his forearm.

The skin and flesh were turned inside out, and the blood had already congealed.

Lin Xiao walked to the front of the main hall.

With a "thump," one knee slammed onto the stone brick.

"Sect Leader, all the demonic beasts within a ten-mile radius have been eliminated."

Chen Yuan followed his gaze and looked outside.

The mountain path behind them stretched from the entrance all the way to the horizon, littered with the corpses of monsters.

Most of them are wolf demons.

Interspersed among them were several black-feathered eagle demons with wingspans of three zhang (approximately 10 meters).

Two patterned snake demons, each as thick as an arm, were coiled in the middle of the road, cut in half at the waist.

The wind blowing in from the right was filled with the lingering stench of blood.

[Disciple Lin Xiao has killed 23 century-old wolf demons, increasing the sect's fortune by 230!]

[Disciple Lin Xiao has killed 7 century-old eagle demons, increasing the sect's fortune by 70!]

[Disciple Lin Xiao has killed four hundred-year-old snake demons, increasing the sect's fortune by 40!]

[Disciple Lin Xiao killed a man who had lived a hundred years ago...]

Chen Yuan stopped watching.

He sat behind the offering table in the main hall, his legs crossed, holding a chipped, rough porcelain bowl in his hand.

The bowl contains cool water sourced from the mountain.

He really wanted to laugh.

I really want to laugh.

I want to laugh out loud three hundred times and then throw a punch.

But he held back.

He took a sip of cool water to soothe his throat, then glanced at Lin Xiao's body covered in wounds.

"Hmm. Barely satisfactory."

After a pause, Chen Yuan put down the porcelain bowl: "Be more efficient next time."

Lin Xiao's back straightened abruptly: "Yes! This disciple will remember!"

Chen Yuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief; this kid actually believed it.

Just then.

A golden system announcement exploded across the public channel once again.

It completely drowned out all the cries for help and complaints.

[Server-wide Announcement!]

[Guiyuan Sect is the first to clear the newbie beast tide! Ranked first in the entire server!]

[Reward: Sect Defense Barrier (Beginner) x1!]

The announcement was displayed three times.

The public channel was silent for two seconds.

Then it exploded in full force.

[Zhang Dachui (Iron Fist Sect): ??? Brothers, am I seeing things?! The beast tide is over??? I still have over thirty pig demons arching over the gate!]

[Qian Duoduo (Jin Yuan Gang): Everyone, calm down! The beast tide was supposed to last seven days, and it's only the third day! How did they manage to clear it all??]

[Zhao Lengyue (Frosty Valley): Impossible. The novice beast tide has at least a hundred demonic beasts; even a Qi Refining Level 3 cultivator couldn't clear them all in three days. Unless the sect leader intervenes himself.]

[Li Xiang (Guiyun Sect): Here's the question: What is the cultivation level of the Guiyuan Sect's leader?]

[Sun Xiaomei (Baihua Valley): Is anyone near Guiyuan Sect? Does anyone know this sect leader? Requesting information!]

[Li Jianguo (Kaoshan Sect): My disciple is still stuck at the first level of Qi Refining with no progress, while others have already cleared it. I suggest the Heavenly Dao investigate whether the Guiyuan Sect is using cheats.]

[Wang Batian (Unaffiliated Person): A sect leader who can clear out the beast tide on the third day is definitely not simple in terms of strength. The fact that a disciple at only the third level of Qi Refining could slaughter the entire mountain shows that the cultivation techniques and equipment the sect leader provided far surpassed the level of the demonic beasts. It's highly likely he's transmigrated into a sect with a strong foundation…]

Chen Yuan silently turned off the channel.

Heritage?

He extracted the sect's defensive barrier from the system rewards and activated it on the spot.

A layer of pale blue light membrane, almost invisible to the naked eye, rose from the broken roof of the Guiyuan Sect.

It expanded outwards by fifty zhang, completely enveloping the entire mountaintop.

It's a bit damaged, but at least there's a defensive barrier.

"Alright, get up." Chen Yuan beckoned.

Lin Xiao stood up.

With the foundation of three levels of Qi Refining after opening his meridians, his steps were much more steady than before.

"Come here." Chen Yuan walked to the pile of junk in the corner.

I checked it this morning, and apart from the last useless pill, there was nothing left.

The Ten Thousand Times Return System grants each disciple only three opportunities within 24 hours.

this is the last time.

Chen Yuan picked up the dusty mud ball.

"Lin Xiao, take this pill with you before you set off."

The elixir was held in the palm of his hand.

"This pill is called the 'Spirit Gathering and Qi Induction Pill,' which can quickly restore spiritual power during battle."

Keep it on hand for future use; do not take it unless absolutely necessary.

Lin Xiao accepted it with both hands and clasped his hands in a deep fist salute.

"This disciple kowtows in gratitude to the Sect Leader!"

He stared at the gray mud ball in his palm.

The more unassuming the medicine the sect leader takes out appears, the more terrifying it is inside.

The greatest truths are the simplest; return to simplicity and authenticity!

Chen Yuan turned his back and waited for the pop-up window to appear.

[Ding! Successful! Tenfold reward triggered!]

[Obtained 1 'Low-Grade Elixir - Lesser Rejuvenation Pill'. Consuming this pill will restore 50% of your spiritual power.]

ten times.

Chen Yuan looked at the multiplier on the panel.

Luck really can't always be a winning combination.

I put the Lesser Rejuvenation Pill into my spatial storage, intending to use it as a last resort to save my life.

He brushed the dust off his hands and stepped out of the main hall.

"Come, come with me for a stroll."

Lin Xiao's spirits lifted, and he quickly followed, carrying the Demon-Slaying Sword.

The two walked out along the mountain path.

The roadside was littered with traces of last night's battle.

The bluestone by the roadside was split in two, with a smooth cross-section.

A pine tree, as thick as three zhang (approximately 10 meters), snapped in half, its crown crashing into a ravine.

The congealed dark brown bloodstains stretched from the road surface into the depths of the grass.

On the system map, the mountain where Guiyuan Sect is located has been turned into a green safe zone.

The surrounding area was still shrouded in a gray mist.

The fog icon in one direction is flickering slightly.

It was marked with a huge question mark.

They walked for about half an incense stick's time.

The gray fog ahead dissipated.

A winding dirt road came into view.

Scattered farmland is located on both sides of the road.

Most of the paddy field ridges had collapsed, and a few withered rice stubble plants were stuck in the cracked soil.

"Sect Leader, there's a village ahead." Lin Xiao pointed ahead.

A cluster of low, mud-brick houses is scattered at the foot of the mountain.

The fence is leaning.

There was no smoke from cooking fires, and no human voices.

Dead silence.

The question mark on the map corresponds exactly to this location.

A system notification popped up.

[Unknown area discovered: ? ? village. Proceed to explore?]

[WARNING: Unknown risks exist in this area.]

The two stopped at the village entrance.

A gray-black stone tablet lay askew by the roadside.

Lin Xiao reached out and wiped away the dirt from the surface of the monument.

"Yu... Yujin Village".

From deep within the village, a very faint sob could be heard.