Invincible Beyond Heavens: Cultivating With A Broken EXP System - Chapter 143: Stirring up the crowd!
Chapter 143: Stirring up the crowd!
“Do not worry. Leave this to me.”
The Heaven Mandate Peak Head transmitted his voice directly into Li Yun’s ears.
“Heaven Mandate Peak may have declined, but I will never allow my disciples to be wronged. Rest assured.”
Li Yun clenched his fists slightly before replying through voice transmission, “Then I will entrust it to you, Peak Lord.”
At present, he was merely an Inner Sect disciple. If the Earth Pillar Peak First Seat and the other two insisted on stripping him of his rewards, he would have no power to resist. He could only watch helplessly.
Seeing the Heaven Mandate Peak Head appear to yield, Mo Xuanyu burst into triumphant laughter.
“It seems you understand the situation.”
From the side, Ye Beichen’s voice rang out with biting sarcasm.
“Hehe. Some people truly have miserable luck. They exhaust themselves to seize first place in the New Student Ranking, only to end up with nothing but an empty title. How pitiful.”
He let out a cold chuckle. “Still, no one else is to blame. It is simply fate. Born with only one-star Aptitude, destined to remain lowly.”
Li Yun’s expression turned dark, but he did not utter a single word. His hands tightened into fists beneath his sleeves, the fabric wrinkling around his knuckles. His eyes remained fixed on Earth Pillar Peak First Seat Mo Xuanyu, cold and unblinking.
’So this is your true face,’ he thought.
’When I stood at the peak and was hailed as a genius, you tried every possible way to win me over. The moment I fell from that pedestal in your eyes, you turned your back without hesitation.’ Li Yun’s face was dark.
’Do you truly believe I possess only one-star Aptitude?’ A faint, icy smile formed in his heart. ’One day, I will make you understand the meaning of regret.’
Meanwhile, the Heaven Mandate Peak Head merely smiled calmly, showing no sign of agitation as he watched Mo Xuanyu’s triumphant expression.
Mo Xuanyu stepped forward to the edge of the high platform and swept his gaze across the crowd of Martial Ascension Gate disciples below.
His voice rang out clearly across the hall.
“You have all heard what I said. Since Li Yun possesses only one-star Aptitude, even if he meets the formal requirements for receiving the rewards, he should be disqualified due to his inferior Aptitude.”
The hall fell quiet.
Then the Heaven Mandate Peak Head suddenly spoke, his voice steady yet carrying a sharp edge.
“If we follow the logic of the Earth Pillar Peak First Seat, then perhaps in the future those disciples with average Aptitude need not cultivate diligently at all.”
He paused, allowing his words to settle.
“What is the purpose of cultivation if effort counts for nothing? You toil and improve your strength. You fight your way to victory and earn rewards through your own ability. Yet because your Aptitude is deemed insufficient, your qualification is revoked and your rightful rewards are handed to those labeled as geniuses.”
His gaze swept across the hall.
“If you do not cultivate, the rewards will never reach you. If you cultivate with all your heart and still the rewards are taken from you, then tell me, why should you cultivate at all?”
Boom!
The entire hall exploded into noise.
The words of the Heaven Mandate Peak Head had struck directly at the hearts of the disciples, and the reaction was immediate.
“This is going too far!”
“Even if Li Yun’s Aptitude is poor, he still fought his way to first place in the New Student Ranking. The reward belongs to him. How can it be taken away simply because his Aptitude is low?”
“We joined Martial Ascension Gate because of its abundant resources and fair competition. If only geniuses are allowed to enjoy the sect’s resources, then what are the rest of us doing here?”
“If Li Yun’s rewards are stripped today and handed to Ye Beichen, I will withdraw from Martial Ascension Gate tomorrow. With four-star Aptitude, I will never be considered a genius. Does that mean no matter how hard I work, I will always be denied?”
“Count me in. If this becomes the rule, then what is the point of staying?”
The hall grew louder with every passing second.
The disciples were not speaking out because they pitied Li Yun. What angered them was the implication behind the decision. They imagined themselves in his position.
If such a precedent were set today, who could guarantee it would not happen to them tomorrow?
Imagine cultivating day and night, enduring hardship, finally achieving strength worthy of reward. Then, with a single sentence from a high-ranking official stating that your Aptitude is insufficient, everything you earned is handed to someone else who was born more gifted.
Who could accept such injustice?
Within any sect, true geniuses are rare. The vast majority are ordinary disciples. If effort no longer mattered and only inborn talent determined everything, then the foundation of the sect itself would begin to crack.
The uproar in the hall was no longer a small disturbance. It was a wave of unrest rising from the very core of Martial Ascension Gate.
“Everyone, please calm down. The Profound Mystery First Seat and I were only speaking casually. Do not take those words seriously.”
Seeing the crowd’s emotions spiral out of control, the Human Origin Peak First Seat and the Profound Mystery Peak First Seat hurriedly stepped forward to explain themselves. The change in their expressions was obvious. They no longer dared to fan the flames.
A sect’s prosperity does not depend solely on a handful of geniuses. It also rests upon the countless ordinary disciples who form its foundation.
If geniuses are the pillars that hold up a grand hall, then the ordinary disciples are the bricks and mortar that give the structure its body. Without bricks and mortar, pillars alone cannot form a house.
In the past, Martial Ascension Gate had always allocated abundant resources to its most talented disciples, and yet it never triggered such widespread resentment.
The reason was simple.
There was hope.
Even if one’s Aptitude was not extraordinary, diligent cultivation and proven strength could still earn access to valuable resources. Effort could bridge the gap.
However, the proposal put forward by Mo Xuanyu and the other two Peak Lords sought to revoke Li Yun’s rightful rewards solely because of his poor Aptitude. Such a decision would extinguish that hope entirely.
If effort no longer mattered, what incentive remained for the majority?
How could they not be furious?
Mo Xuanyu’s jaw tightened.
“Shen Ming, you are truly ruthless,” the Earth Pillar Peak First Seat said through clenched teeth.
He understood that stripping Li Yun of his rewards was now impossible. The matter had already stirred too much unrest. If he continued to press the issue, even his status as Earth Pillar Peak First Seat would not shield him from the consequences.
He had no choice but to withdraw.
The Heaven Mandate Peak Head smiled faintly.
“Mo Xuanyu, we are merely even.”
