Li Qingchen was sweeping the floor with fierce concentration when a voice outside caught his attention.
Perfect timing.
He'd been meaning to test the kidney-tonifying pill the system had gifted him — and naturally, he preferred someone else to do the testing.
"Good," he murmured, tossing the broom aside and heading for the door.
"Who needs a kidney boost? Is it you?"
Outside stood Li Profound Heaven.
"What kidney boost?!" Profound Heaven barked. "I'm here to spar, not… that! Don't twist my words!"
His tone cracked slightly. Even so, the surrounding disciples had already heard enough. Whispers erupted like sparks in dry grass.
"He said it himself just now."
"Yeah, we all heard it."
"The great Prodigy of the Li family… talking about kidneys?"
Li Profound Heaven's jaw twitched. Heat rose behind his ears as laughter spread through the crowd.
Li Che saw the tremor in his master's hands and immediately snapped, "Shut up! Do you want to die laughing when Lord Profound Heaven gets angry?"
The mockery subsided, replaced by uneasy silence.
Meanwhile, Li Qingchen's small face puffed up in righteous indignation. Someone had lied to him — unforgivable.
He took a step forward, glaring fiercely… though, being five years old, it only made the female disciples squeal.
"So cute!"
Above them, high in the void, Li Daoyuan sighed as he stroked his beard.
"This child… nourishing the kidneys at such a young age? What in heaven's name is he thinking?"
He watched on, half-amused, half-worried.
Below, Li Profound Heaven clasped his hands behind his back. "Go on. I'll let you strike first."
"This… isn't really fair…" Li Qingchen hesitated.
"A gentleman's word is his bond. Come!"
"Are you sure?"
"Stop stalling!" Profound Heaven snapped, his composure fraying.
"Alright then."
Li Qingchen exhaled lightly. In the next instant, golden light burst from the sky.
A sword — vast, radiant, and ancient — tore through the air. The shockwave alone sent nearby disciples staggering.
Profound Heaven's breath hitched.
In the void, Li Daoyuan's eyes widened. The Xuanyuan Sword…!
That sword had vanished the day Qingchen was born. None of the patriarchs had ever found it again.
And now, it hovered in the air before a five-year-old child.
Qingchen reached out and ran a hand along the blade, the contact effortless, natural. The sword hummed like an old friend reunited.
For the first time in years, he smiled faintly.
Across from him, Profound Heaven's palms were slick with sweat.
"Do you want to replenish your kidney," Qingchen asked, voice calm, "or do you want to fight?"
"Even if I die, I'll never—"
He never finished. The sword's golden light filled his vision.
And for a brief, trembling moment, a line surfaced in his mind — one that could have been Fang Yuan's own:
"When faced with power, dignity becomes the last illusion of the weak."
Then terror drowned out thought.
Qingchen swung the sword down.
A streak of brilliance split the air—
—and was caught mid-arc by an old, steady hand.
"Grandpa?" Qingchen blinked.
Li Daoyuan stood before him, one hand gripping the blade, his expression dark.
"If I hadn't come, you'd have killed your own clansman. Do you know how reckless that is?"
"I… gave him a chance," Qingchen muttered, shrinking a little.
"Enough."
"Alright, alright," he said quickly. "I won't do it again."
Only when his grandfather's face softened did he exhale in relief.
Then, as though nothing had happened, he turned to the trembling figure on the ground.
"So," he said cheerfully, "do you want to replenish your kidneys now?"
Profound Heaven's lips quivered. "Y-yes… I love kidney-tonifying pills the most."
The courtyard exploded in laughter. Even some of his own followers defected to the Qingchen Club on the spot.
Under Qingchen's expectant gaze, Profound Heaven swallowed the pill.
Moments later, a radiant glow surged from his waist. His face flushed crimson, steam pouring from his nose.
He roared once — and sprinted off, circling the mountain hundreds of times before slowing, panting and radiant.
When he finally staggered back, drenched in sweat and exhilaration, he looked at Qingchen with shining eyes.
"Brother Qingchen," he said reverently, "do you have any more? Give me another hundred million."