Chapter 49: Brotherly Love and Loyalty

  ……

  Time flies.

  The year spent in the small, dark cave was the most difficult and unbearable one since Lei Dong entered the sect. When he finally emerged from the cave, his entire demeanor had changed completely from a year ago. His previously slightly immature face had become strong and resolute. He was thin, but very spirited. However, his eyes, which were slightly sunken, now revealed an intense fatigue that could not be concealed.

  This year, he has been constantly gathering his true energy to defend against the invasion of evil spirits. Only when holding his breath and concentrating his mind, practicing qigong and meditation can he recover some of his vitality. If it weren't for his sixth-level cultivation in the Refining Qi period, he would have long since transformed his body and become completely different from ordinary people, how could he still be standing here unscathed?

  The Wan Gui Ku has been standing for 70 or 80 years, and although it can't be said that people often come in to receive punishment, every few years there will always be one or two unlucky ghosts. However, those who are directly punished for a year are extremely rare. Those with slightly weaker determination may only last a few months before having a high probability of mental collapse. Moreover, the long-term invasion of yin evil is not something to be taken lightly, and if it weren't for Ding Yuanyan's bottle of Qing Xie Dan, they would have suffered greatly from the yin evil invading their blood vessels and soul.

  But this year's bitter practice was not in vain. In the past, when cultivating, I overemphasized the realm of cultivation. As soon as the fire had reached its peak, I would impatiently rush to the next level. However, after a long time, it became easy for people to become unstable at their foundation, and the higher the level of cultivation, the easier it was to encounter various bottlenecks. Nevertheless, after this year of Lei Dong's practice, he entered the sixth layer of the Refining Qi period and came out still in the sixth layer of the Refining Qi period, seemingly without making any progress in his cultivation. In reality, however, the mysterious yin true energy within his body had undergone great changes.

  Because the need to defend against evil spirits at all times, and the true energy is actually never enough. Lei Dong was a lavish spender from the beginning, but gradually became an extreme miser. He learned that when the evil spirit was stronger, the intensity of the circulating true energy would be greater. When the evil spirit was weaker, he would try his best to conserve true energy. At first, it was very uncomfortable, after all, the wind of evil spirits was extremely strange and unpredictable, with almost no rules to speak of.

  But as time went on, Lei Dong had completely adapted to the subtle changes between strong and weak, and would instinctively strengthen or weaken his true energy consumption, striving to achieve just the right amount without wasting a single bit of true energy. As his control over true energy increased, it was reflected in the speed and control of his spellcasting. Some spells that were previously cumbersome and unsmooth to cast had magically disappeared as his mastery over true energy grew stronger. His control over magic had also increased by a huge margin.

  Of course, this doesn't mean that Lei Dong has spent a year mastering his true energy and magic skills to the point of perfection. On the contrary, his current level is actually just the beginning. It's only slightly ahead of other disciples of the same generation, with some advantages.

  Moreover, the Xuan Yin True Qi has become even more refined and condensed under this year's uninterrupted tempering. Compared to ordinary six-layer cultivators, it is superior by several points.

  Lei Dong returned to his residence, preparing to rest for a few days. However, as the direct disciple of his master, he still received great attention. The rumors about Lei Dong's loss of favor had subsided for a while but began to resurface and gradually intensified.

  As for this rumor, Lei Dong didn't take it to heart. He continued to stay at home, nursing his body which hadn't had a good rest in over a year. But the news of him staying at home was soon spread as him being affected by evil spirits in Xiaoyin Cave, greatly reducing his cultivation.

  Ding Wanyan said something right, as a direct disciple, he was already under scrutiny, and it was inevitable that someone would gossip behind his back. However, the subsequent situation made Lei Dong feel somewhat amused.

  Wu Qianqiu, among the ordinary disciples of the same generation, is also considered a remarkable one. During the first small comparison, he wanted to pretend to be a pig and eat a tiger, but was almost defeated by Lei Dong's strong Ghost Palm. However, after all these years, Lei Dong still has some memories of him, but due to his identity, he doesn't pay much attention to Wu Qianqiu. Yet, at this moment, this kid suddenly went crazy and sent a life-and-death duel letter to Lei Dong. This made Lei Dong speechless for a while, thinking that if he wanted to die, it shouldn't be like this, right? Did this kid have some powerful magic again and want to play pretend pig eating tiger?

  Soon, Chen Ge had organized Wu Qianqiu's information from the past few years and placed it in front of Lei Dong. From the information, it could be seen that Wu Qianqiu had been very low-key since joining the Yin Ye Sect's Wan Gui Ku, his cultivation was not bad, he was humble and polite, and never quarreled with others. However, on the other hand, this Wu Qianqiu really had some pretty good luck.

  Two years ago, this guy was being hunted by a powerful demon beast while traveling outside the bottleneck. He coincidentally hid in a valley and suddenly discovered another terrifying demon beast. To say that he was lucky, if it were someone else, they would have lost ten lives. However, those two demon beasts ignored Wu Qianqiu and started fighting each other, ultimately resulting in a mysterious outcome where they almost annihilated each other, allowing Wu Qianqiu to benefit from their fight.

  Not only that, but the demon beast in the valley was guarding a ginseng plant that was about to mature with a fire age of three thousand years, and as a result, it had become extremely powerful.

  Looking at the text recorded in the materials, about Wu Qianqiu's good fortune, Lei Dong was also speechless and asked the heavens. This kind of rebirth and sudden wealth story seems to only happen in novels, right? He himself is also a transmigrator, very much fitting the conditions of being the main character. But in reality, after mixing around until now, apart from obtaining the mysterious Soul Tower, his luck has always been ordinary, no, actually it's been slightly below ordinary.

  The well-developed Wu Qianqiu, of course, was not willing to be lonely. Perhaps it was because Lei Dong had beaten him in the past, or perhaps it was because among the three direct disciples, Lei Dong seemed like the easiest to bully. Especially recently, he had lost favor and was surrounded by evil spirits. In short, if Wu Qianqiu wanted to make a name for himself, he must learn from Lei Dong's example and step on the corpse of a fellow disciple to climb up.

  No matter how you look at it, accepting the challenge is Lei Dong's best choice. Moreover, Lei Dong cannot refuse, as a direct disciple, refusing an ordinary disciple's request for a spar would be perfectly reasonable, because even if he loses, there wouldn't be much of a price to pay. However, when it comes to a life-or-death duel invitation from an ordinary disciple, it is extremely difficult to refuse, since the other party is risking their life for a chance to rise through the ranks, and refusing would completely lose face for a direct disciple, even causing Wan Gui Lao Zu's attitude to change drastically. Over time, this kind of life-or-death duel challenge gradually became a tradition in the Yin Ye Sect.

  Ordinary disciples can use life-and-death battles to challenge direct disciples, as long as the opponent refuses or is defeated, they can rise through the ranks. This traditional rule gives ordinary disciples a desperate goal to cultivate and at the same time, it is like an invisible whip that constantly urges direct disciples to also desperately cultivate.

  Lei Dong readily accepted the invitation to a life-and-death duel, of course, not readily accepting was also not an option. Once he refused, it would mean that Lei Dong was willing to give up his current status and position, everything would be inherited by Wu Qianqiu. Not having been in power before was one thing, but once he fell from the top, from then on, Lei Dong's days in the Ten Thousand Ghosts Abyss would absolutely not be good.

  A few days later, in the martial arts arena, the ghost slave personally presided over this life-and-death duel.

  After a set of life-and-death struggles, Wu Qianqiu, who had matured a lot compared to a few years ago, looked at Lei Dong with a thick face and said: "Brother Lei, forgive me, I'm sorry. I hope Brother will spare my life."

  Lei's eyes narrowed and he also burst out laughing: "Junior Brother Wu is too polite, thank you so much!"

  "What?" Wu Qianqiu was somewhat taken aback, what did he mean?

  "My brother has been a bit tight on funds lately, and it just so happens that he's short of some high-quality French currency to exchange for cash in an emergency. It's all thanks to Brother Wu's sense of justice, being a good buddy like that. He even personally delivered it to me, so I must thank him." Lei Dong's face was filled with gratitude and tears.

  ……