Steward Duan glanced sideways, sensing the scattered Spirit Sand in the cloth bag, but still couldn't grasp the key to the matter. Impatiently, he said, "Liu, I have to go see True Disciple Su. I don't have time to fool around with you here."
As he spoke, he glared fiercely at Wang Yu, then turned and strode away, sleeves fluttering.
The panicked and distraught Steward Liu didn't stop him. Instead, he felt Steward Duan was being smug; what had just happened was likely an act put on to deceive him.
He's probably going to claim credit now.
"Duan Ping!!!" Steward Liu's bloodshot eyes turned to Wang Yu. The spirit slave wore an innocent expression; this matter truly had nothing to do with him.
After some thought,
his only option now was to remove those three from his roster. The extra Spirit Sand absolutely could not be linked to the true disciple behind him.
With his ability, he could only suppress it temporarily. If he couldn't, he would have to take the blame himself.
If the other nine true disciples pressured the Enforcement Hall, demanding a swift investigation into the truth, his influence would be useless. Then, every accusation would be thrown at him.
His master might, at worst, lose the chance to receive the Nascent Soul's legacy but would still be a direct descendant of the Reverse Blood Sect. He, however, would lose his life!
Of course, if he trusted his master and waited for him to achieve Nascent Soul stage, he might still have a chance to turn things around.
But the time required was something a Qi Refining cultivator like him couldn't afford to wait.
After much deliberation,
Steward Liu looked at the surrounding enforcement disciples and commanded, "Guard the stone house area strictly. No one is allowed in or out."
"Yes!"
Then he left with a grave expression. Wang Yu, thoughtful, understood Steward Liu's intention.
It was nothing more than: [How much is it worth, to risk my life?'
He was a demonic path cultivator after all, prioritizing self-interest. Now, faced with sudden change, fleeing was the first choice.
This step was a correct gamble. Now, it depended on whether the True Disciple Su behind Steward Duan had the vision. As long as the true disciple in seclusion was accused of deceiving his master, he would likely lose the chance for the Nascent Soul's legacy.
However, Wang Yu had overlooked one person.
The third manager of the stone house area—Steward Li.
Being able to secure a position in this source of funds was no simple feat.
Only three of the ten true disciples had placed stewards here. To some extent, these three were the strongest competitors for the Nascent Soul's legacy.
One was ahead, already in seclusion to form his core.
True Disciple Su was the second.
Who was the third?
...
...
**Coldblood Peak, True Disciple's Cave Residence.**
Steward Duan knelt respectfully on the ground, continuously exaggerating and pinning the blame on Wang Yu as the mastermind, repeatedly emphasizing his own hard work and contributions, hoping True Disciple Su would save him.
Unexpectedly, True Disciple Su burst into laughter.
"Good, what a Wang Yu!
"My faction precisely needs such talent.
"Duan Ping, pass on my order: Wang Yu is to be promoted to outer disciple of Coldblood Peak in three months. He no longer needs to submit Spirit Sand."
Steward Duan shuddered upon hearing this and no longer dared to speak ill of Wang Yu. Following his master's intention, he straightforwardly admitted to being the one who killed the three spirit slaves.
Seizing the chance to claim credit.
Seeing through his thoughts, True Disciple Su smiled faintly. "Duan Ping, you are a relative from my mother's clan. You've been with me for some time now. Your loyalty is commendable, but your brains are still lacking a bit."
"Go receive three thousand contribution points. This spell is a reward for Wang Yu."
"Yes—"
Steward Duan had come anxiously but left satisfied.
Even though he knew True Disciple Su believed him, he still held a grudge against Wang Yu. This incident hadn't been communicated to him beforehand, leading him to mistakenly believe Wang Yu had betrayed him. Being tricked by a mere spirit slave—how could he tolerate that?!
"Hmph, you won the bet this time. I'll take the blame for you."
...
...
**Stone House Area, Second-Floor Elegant Pavilion.**
"Brother Wang, please sit.
"This is spirit tea from my personal collection. Try it."
Wang Yu remained composed, observing the fat man's ridiculous shift from arrogance to deference, but refrained from mocking him.
He deeply remembered the fundamental truth of the demonic path: strength is everything. This was a lesson learned through hardship, one that would guide him for the rest of his life.
"Steward Duan, there's no need for courtesy. I was somewhat presumptuous in this matter.
"Wang Yu only wished to alleviate True Disciple Su's concerns. I believe Steward Duan won't blame this junior for his recklessness."
"It's fine—" Steward Duan smiled warmly, his eyes narrowing. "Just, if there's a next time, Brother Wang should inform me beforehand, so I know what's happening and can cooperate."
"That makes sense. Certainly next time."
Wang Yu cupped his hands in a perfunctory apology and fell silent again, adhering to the principle that silence is golden.
Thus, Steward Duan couldn't press him further. He took out another jade slip for transmitting techniques and handed it to Wang Yu.
"True Disciple Su was very pleased with this matter. This is specially rewarded to you.
"As for the outer disciple quota, Brother Wang need not worry. In at most three months, you will receive what was promised."
Wang Yu felt slightly surprised. "No need to recruit spirit slaves anymore?"
"No need. The matter is still sensitive. Once the storm passes and you've been promoted to outer disciple, you won't need to bother with this anymore."
"Then I thank Steward Duan for putting in a good word."
"Easy, easy—"
Pressing the jade slip to his forehead, Wang Yu received the information inside and felt a solemn respect. This was both a reward and recognition, and also a warning.
It contained the high-grade spell [Night Concealment Curse].
As the name suggests, it was a technique for concealing one's aura and moving silently, also usable to hide one's cultivation level. It directly corresponded to Wang Yu's night-time killing of the three men.
High-grade spells corresponded to the late Qi Refining stage. If perfected, this technique could even evade the sensory perception of Foundation Establishment cultivators, making it a fine treasure among first-rank techniques.
For Wang Yu, it wasn't urgently needed.
Previously, he needed it because a spirit slave's cultivation couldn't be too high. But in three months, he would officially become an outer disciple, so the importance of this concealment technique diminished.
For now, it was a mediocre item. He could find time to practice it in the future. Currently, his cultivation level remained the priority; no need to adjust the Placement Rack.
After another round of empty pleasantries, Wang Yu stood up to take his leave.
He returned to the small Stone House No. 83. With various matters settled, the Spirit Slave Sand Hiding Case would take time to settle down. The subsequent developments were not something a mere spirit slave like him was qualified to know.
One month later, a new steward arrived in the stone house area.
Another two months passed peacefully.
*Day 137 of Wang Yu's Spirit Slave Life. *
Half a year had passed. While sitting cross-legged in meditation, a wave of spiritual energy fluctuation appeared around Wang Yu.
His aura surged sharply, smoothly breaking through to the third layer of Qi Refining!
The spiritual power in his body successfully accumulated to one hundred strands.
His next task was to continuously cleanse and refine this hundred strands of spiritual power, condensing them from one hundred to ten, with the unit changing from 'strands' to 'flows'.
Transforming the loose, strand-state spiritual power into ten flows of higher-quality power would count as one complete spiritual power cleansing, allowing him to break through to the fourth layer of Qi Refining.
Throughout the Qi Refining stage, there were two bottlenecks.
(End of Chapter)