On the grand plaza before Qingyun Sect's main hall, two Nascent Soul-level spiritual pressures clashed violently, erupting into a shockwave centered around Li Qingran.
The surrounding disciples felt as though their heads had been plunged underwater—their ears rang, their vision blurred with swirling dust and flying debris. Stone tiles were ripped from the ground by invisible force and hurled into the distant walls of the mountain gate, leaving behind dense craters.
"Not good—an expert is intervening!" Sect Master Wu Duantian's face changed drastically. He turned sharply to the elders beside him and barked,
"Quick, activate the Sect-Guarding Array! Ensure the safety of the disciples!"
"Understood!" The two elders dared not hesitate and immediately moved to act.
But their vigilance was unnecessary. That majestic pressure was not directed at everyone—it targeted only Chixiao Peak, aimed squarely at the arrogant Qingxuan Daoist.
To the other disciples, the pressure was like a breeze brushing past their cheeks. Even the flying rubble instinctively avoided their faces.
But Qingxuan Daoist's disciples were not so lucky.
The overlapping spiritual suppression of two Nascent Soul experts pinned them to the ground—faces purple, breath choked—yet none dared voice a single complaint.
"Who are you? Why do you meddle in the affairs of Qingyun Sect?!"
Qingxuan Daoist's expression was dark with rage.
He was second only to the Qingyun Patriarch—stronger even than the Sect Master himself. He'd long known that Li Qingran had met a mysterious "senior" outside, as reported by Lu Changtian, but he never imagined that person would dare to intervene this directly—and so openly.
Was this stranger truly willing to confront the entire Qingyun Sect for a mere outer disciple?
[This sovereign has interfered—what of it?]
"You—!"
Qingxuan Daoist nearly choked in fury.
Before he could retort, the ethereal voice drifted through the wind again:
[Li Qingran is no longer a disciple of Qingyun Sect. This sovereign is merely here to settle her karma—peacefully.]
Cultivators held karma in the highest regard.
Any matter entangled with karmic cause and effect was not to be taken lightly.
Qingxuan Daoist frowned.
"What karma?"
[The cause sown by Chixiao Peak. The fruit borne by Li Qingran.]
[This sovereign shall not interfere—nor shall you. Unless you wish to see this sovereign disregard your sect's dignity entirely!]
These words sent a ripple of unease through everyone.
Qingxuan Daoist's face darkened.
What did that mean—"disregard Qingyun's dignity"?
What kind of terrifying power did this being possess to speak such bold words without even showing himself?
Wu Duantian clenched his jaw. He wanted to show this "senior" just how heavy Qingyun Sect's "face" truly was—but he couldn't. He couldn't even locate the man. All spiritual sense probes came up empty.
He had no idea where this mystery expert was hiding.
Without knowing their strength, he dared not act recklessly.
"Continue tracking his location," Wu Duantian ordered two more elders, then turned to Qingxuan with a subtle warning.
In a sound-concealing voice transmission, he said:
"Qingxuan, we're in the open. He's in the shadows. We know nothing of his background—do not act rashly. Li Qingran is just a Qi Refining cultivator. What storm could she possibly stir? Let's watch and wait."
Qingxuan Daoist nodded slightly, suppressing his spiritual pressure.
But his eyes remained cold—locked tightly on Li Qingran.
She had returned with an outsider to humiliate Chixiao Peak.
From this moment on, she would never be forgiven.
Even if Lu Changtian begged for her, it would be useless.
Return to Chixiao Peak?
What a deluded dream.
Qingxuan was still stuck in an old version of the story—
thinking Li Qingran still longed for Chixiao Peak.
But with Chen Huaian backing her, Li Qingran felt at peace.
She stepped forward toward the Chixiao Peak disciples, ignoring Qingxuan's cold, sword-like gaze. Her eyes swept across them before landing on Zhang Hanxiao.
She cupped her hands and spoke calmly,
"Fourth Senior Brother. It's been a while."
Zhang Hanxiao crossed his arms and sneered,
"Well, well, no wonder you dared to swagger back into the sect—you found someone to cover your back, huh?"
This was Qingyun Sect.
The elders and masters were all present.
Even if that outsider was strong, surely he wouldn't dare act again now?
Li Qingran was still just a nobody.
But Li Qingran didn't deny it.
"Indeed. He stands behind me."
She gripped her Su Xian Sword and looked directly at him.
Her voice turned cold:
"Do you remember, Fourth Senior Brother, how you used to stir up trouble, rack up debts, and rely on me to pay them all off? If not for me, your name would have long been ruined."
Zhang Hanxiao's face flushed crimson.
"What are you saying? Stop slandering me!"
"Slander?"
Li Qingran pulled a stack of contracts from her storage pouch and tossed them skyward.
They scattered like snowflakes—numerous and damning.
From the fluttering paper came her voice, sharp as frost:
"These are debt slips from when I repaid your dues. I started keeping track at first, just to know the total. Later, I couldn't keep up—your troublemaking outpaced my recordkeeping. Almost all my spirit stones over the years went to covering for you. The casinos, the auction houses, the banks—they can all testify!"
"You were Chixiao Peak's dazzling Fourth Brother, the number one task taker. But in reality?"
Her smile was faint, bitter:
"You were a parasite—sucking your junior sister dry, tearing off flesh and feeding on her bones."
Many disciples picked up the floating debt slips.
The amounts were staggering.
Most bore Zhang Hanxiao's signature.
But the repayments… were all signed by Li Qingran.
The crowd began to stir.
"I didn't expect Zhang-shixiong to be that kind of person…"
"Tsk, I lent him money last year too. He never paid me back either."
"Li Qingran's really something. If I had a junior sister like her, I'd give up a hundred years of my lifespan for it…"
Qingxuan Daoist caught one slip himself.
It was a brothel receipt.
For Zui Xian Pavilion.
His eyes rolled back for a moment.
He roared, "You wretched disgrace! Is this how I taught you?! Using your junior sister's spirit stones to pay for whores?!"
He grabbed his sword hilt, ready to strike—
But a formless spiritual sense swept across the hall:
[Forgot what I said? Sit. Down.]
Qingxuan's temple pulsed.
He gritted his teeth and released the sword.
Zhang Hanxiao was drowning in scornful looks and whispers.
So what if he used her spirit stones?
Li Qingran was a talentless waste anyway—what did she need them for?
It was all her fault.
Her fault for airing his dirty laundry like this!
His gaze burned with hatred as he stared at her.
"Li! Qing! Ran!" he snarled.
He drew two inches of his blade and forced his voice calm.
"You dare accuse me? Then fight me!
If you lose—you kneel and apologize.
If you win—I'll admit to it all.
Do you dare?"
Using force to rewrite the truth…
That was exactly the kind of person Zhang Hanxiao was.
Li Qingran's hand dropped to her sword hilt.
Even if she couldn't win—what did it matter?
Today, her sword pointed not just at her fourth senior brother—
But at the version of herself from the past:
The one who bowed to everything,
Who loved Chixiao Peak too deeply,
Who swallowed humiliation without resistance.
The wind rose.
The pressure of a Foundation Establishment cultivator surged around her.
Hair fluttered.
Her cold gaze gleamed from beneath her bangs.
And then—
A smile.╰(⇀‸↼)╯
"Very well…
Draw your sword."