Chapter 27: Sparing No Effort

News of Chen Ping’s return to the peak instantly stirred the entire Qingyun Sect.

Not because of Chen Ping himself, but because of his disciple, Lin Xiaoyu.

The girl who, on the seventh floor of the Cultivation Tower, with only a Qi Refining cultivation, had crossed two major realms to fight five Golden Core puppets alone with a single sword.

Simply too ferocious.

When the news spread, the entire Qingyun Sect erupted.

Tianjian Peak, Danding Peak, Lingshou Peak… across all seventy-two peaks, from peak masters and elders down to the sweeping servants, everyone was discussing the same name.

Lin Xiaoyu.

Qi Refining against Golden Core, one against five, a complete victory.

An achievement like this was unheard of since the founding of the Qingyun Sect, and even looking across the entire history of the Southern Region, it was an absolute rarity.

And those who could achieve such a feat had all eventually become titans who shook the world.

“Luoxia Peak really struck gold this time…”

“What do you mean struck gold? That’s because Peak Master Chen taught her well!”

“Taught her well? Chen Ping? That useless peak master who’s been stuck at half-step Qi Refining for twenty years?”

“Uh… fair point.”

Although Chen Ping had previously fought the Nascent Soul stage Lu Ya to a draw, even suppressing him slightly,

but most people still did not believe this was Chen Ping’s own strength, assuming he had used some powerful treasure instead.

After all, although Luoxia Peak was dilapidated, it was not impossible for Chen Ping, as a peak master, to have inherited a few powerful treasures.

In their eyes, Chen Ping was still that useless peak master.

Meanwhile, Lin Xiaoyu was undeniably the sect’s rising star, a genius favored by the heavens.

As for Chen Ping?

He was just lucky.

Who could help it if he was Lin Xiaoyu’s master?

Chen Ping heard this kind of talk at least twenty times on his way from the mountain gate to the Mission Hall.

His expression remained calm, completely deaf to the chatter.

In his hand, he carried a cloth bundle. It was not large, but it faintly radiated an unsettling, malevolent aura.

“Peak Master Chen?”

At the entrance of the Mission Hall, a few disciples about to go in and hand in their missions froze when they saw him, their gazes quickly dropping to the bundle in his hand.

The fabric of the bundle seemed to have been soaked in some kind of liquid, faintly stained a dark red.

“What is Peak Master Chen carrying in his hand?”

“No idea… looks pretty creepy.”

“It couldn’t be… the Blood-Handed Butcher’s head, could it?”

Someone cracked a joke.

Then, the group fell silent at the same time.

The Blood-Handed Butcher.

A Heaven-grade mission.

At the peak of the Nascent Soul stage with a notorious reputation, he had betrayed the sect and fallen to the demonic path over ten years ago, his hands stained with the blood of innocents.

Countless people had wanted him dead, and countless had hunted him.

Most of those who pursued him ended up dead.

Those who survived failed to catch him.

This mission had been posted for ten years, yet it remained uncompleted.

“No way… Peak Master Chen?”

The disciple’s voice trembled, and he could barely speak clearly.

“What if… what if it really is?”

“If it’s real, I’ll eat two jin^[1] of it!”

“Two jin of what?”

“We’ll worry about that later! Let’s watch first!”

Chen Ping paid no attention to the whispers.

Carrying the bundle, he walked straight into the Mission Hall.

*

Inside the hall, the noise was deafening.

People were handing in missions, accepting new ones, exchanging resources, chatting… a constant flow of people, incredibly lively.

But the moment Chen Ping stepped through the doors, all noise ceased.

Countless gazes swiveled toward him in unison.

More precisely, they landed on the bundle in his hand.

The bundle landed on the registration counter with a dull thud.

The person handling registration was still the same white-haired elder.

He looked at Chen Ping, then at the bundle, a barely perceptible flicker of surprise passing through his eyes.

“Peak Master Chen, this is?”

“The mission is complete.”

Chen Ping’s tone was flat, as if he were merely handing in the most ordinary Yellow-grade mission.

The elder frowned slightly and reached out to unwrap the bundle.

The moment the bundle was opened,

A thick, bloody, malevolent aura surged skyward!

Everyone in the hall with lower cultivation retreated a step in unison, their faces turning pale.

Inside the bundle was a human head.

The face was twisted in a snarl, a long scar running down the left cheek, and the wide, lifeless eyes still held the terror and resentment of his final moments.

The Blood-Handed Butcher.

Tu Gang.

A deathly silence fell over the hall.

The elder’s hands trembled as he verified it over and over.

The face, the scar, the aura, the malevolent energy… a perfect match.

“It really is… the Blood-Handed Butcher…”

His voice shook.

A ten-year bounty, a Heaven-grade mission, a peak Nascent Soul demonic cultivator.

Just dead like that?

Killed by Chen Ping?

The useless peak master who had been ridiculed by everyone for twenty years?

The elder took a deep breath, suppressing the storm in his heart, and retrieved a storage bag from behind the counter.

“Peak Master Chen, here are eighty thousand contribution points. Please accept them.”

Chen Ping took it and casually put it away.

Around him, people finally began to snap out of it.

“Is… is it really the Blood-Handed Butcher?”

“Peak Master Chen killed the Blood-Handed Butcher?”

“That can’t be… isn’t Peak Master Chen only at half-step Qi Refining?”

“Are you stupid? How could someone at half-step Qi Refining kill a peak Nascent Soul?!”

“Then… then what is he…”

No one could answer that question.

Because no one knew the answer.

In their eyes, Chen Ping was still that useless peak master.

But how could a useless peak master kill the Blood-Handed Butcher?

“Brother,” someone suddenly spoke up, looking at the man who had claimed he would eat two jin.

“About what you said earlier, eating two jin…”

“I never said what I’d eat…”

The man waved his hands hurriedly, cold sweat drenching his forehead.

“I meant drinking two jin of Drunken Immortal!”

Yes, Drunken Immortal!

I’ll go drink two jin in a bit to celebrate Peak Master Chen eliminating this traitor!”

A wave of laughter erupted around them, easing the tense atmosphere in the hall.

Yet everyone’s gaze still followed the figure in the green robe.

Chen Ping paid them no mind.

He walked to the exchange counter and converted all eighty thousand contribution points into cultivation resources.

Spirit stones, pills, spiritual herbs, formation materials…

One by one, he stored them in his storage ring.

The onlookers stared at the mountain of resources, their eyes widening.

Eighty thousand contribution points was an astronomical sum.

The resources exchanged were enough for ten ordinary disciples to cultivate from Qi Refining all the way to Nascent Soul, with plenty to spare.

Yet Chen Ping had exchanged it all just like that.

“What is Peak Master Chen planning to do?”

“No idea… maybe he’s preparing them for his disciple?”

“Lin Xiaoyu? That makes sense. A genius disciple like her definitely needs a massive amount of resources.”

“Peak Master Chen really treats his disciple well…”

Amid the murmurs, Chen Ping stored away the last of the resources, turned, and left the Mission Hall.

*

Luoxia Peak.

The setting sun slanted low, painting the entire mountain in a warm orange-red.

Lin Xiaoyu was crouching in the courtyard preparing vegetables. Hearing footsteps, she suddenly looked up.

“Master!”

Her eyes lit up. Tossing the vegetables aside, she quickly ran over to greet him.

“Master, you’re back!”

“Mm.”

Chen Ping looked at the beaming girl before him, a trace of gentleness in his eyes.

Having not seen her for just a day, the girl’s aura had grown noticeably more solid.

Although she still appeared to be at the ninth layer of Qi Refining on the surface, Chen Ping’s Grand Dao Divine Eyes could see clearly:

Within her body, the rudimentary forms of the Thirty-Six Heavenly Dipper Meridians^[2] were already faintly taking shape, three of them now visible.

“Master, did you hear?” Lin Xiaoyu gestured excitedly.

“I cleared the seventh floor of the Cultivation Tower! Five Golden Core puppets! I didn’t even think I could win!”

“I heard.” Chen Ping smiled and ruffled her hair.

“I heard about it the whole way back. Everyone was praising you.”

Lin Xiaoyu’s cheeks flushed slightly, and she lowered her head in embarrassment.

But she quickly looked up again, her eyes bright and sparkling.

“Master, these are the rewards I got from the Cultivation Tower!”

She pulled her identity token and a cyan jade bead from her robes, holding them up to Chen Ping with both hands.

Chen Ping took them, glanced at them, and raised an eyebrow slightly.

Contribution points: 300,000.

Superior-grade spirit stones: 50,000.

Plus a half-complete Thunder Spirit Pearl.

“This much?”

Chen Ping was slightly surprised.

He had killed the Blood-Handed Butcher, a Heaven-grade mission, and only received eighty thousand contribution points.

Yet this girl’s reward for clearing a floor of the Cultivation Tower was nearly four times his.

It seemed the sect truly spared no effort when it came to nurturing a genuine genius.