Chapter 140: TEACH HIM A LESSON

An entire hour passed beneath the scorching morning sun.

Across the granite plaza of the Sword Techniques Department, the sound of labored panting and groans of agony rose and fell like waves.

More than half of the outer disciples had long since collapsed onto the stone tiles, their arms trembling so violently they could not even lift their teacups, their faces pale as paper from physical exhaustion.

Even those who managed to endure the full duration stood with sagging shoulders and quivering knees, their palms torn and bleeding from the rough iron grips.

Only one person stood as immovable as a mountain.

Li Yan’s right arm remained extended, perfectly horizontal, not dropping by even a single inch. His breathing remained deep, slow, and undisturbed. From his brow to the hem of his cyan robes, there was not a single drop of sweat.

"Time is up!" Instructor Han’s voice boomed across the square. "Lower your blades!"

Clang!

Clang!

Clatter!

A chorus of metallic clatter echoed as disciples dropped their heavy practice swords onto the ground in sheer relief.

Li Yan calmly retracted his arm. With a smooth, casual motion, he placed the two-hundred-and-fifty-catty Xuan-Iron sword back onto the wooden rack.

The heavy metal settled onto the timber without making the slightest thud—an exquisite display of absolute control over pure kinetic force.

Instructor Han gave Li Yan a long, contemplative look, nodded slightly, and waved his arm. "The foundational stance session is concluded. Dismissed!"

Li Yan bowed courteously toward the instructor, turned around, and walked toward the edge of the plaza where Gu Jun and Baozi were waiting.

Baozi’s large eyes were shining like stars.

The moment Li Yan approached, she eagerly tapped her own chest, pointing at him and giving him two vigorous thumbs-up, her round face blooming into an admiring, silent smile.

Li Yan’s lips curved faintly. He reached out and gently smoothed down the collar of her gray robe, mouthing clearly: "Let’s go. We’ll head toward the Rewards Pavilion to collect your monthly herbal rations."

Baozi nodded happily. Gu Jun fell in step beside them, his broad chest puffed out with pride. He cast a sharp, triumphant glare at the surrounding disciples, who were still staring at Li Yan as if looking at a monster. "Yanyan, did you see the looks on their faces? Those noisy dogs were utterly dumbfounded! Let’s see if anyone still dares to bark about you being weak!"

"The barking of dogs has nothing to do with us," Li Yan replied indifferently, his hands tucked loosely into his wide sleeves. "Collect the resources and return to rest. That is all."

However, before the three of them could take ten paces away from the training plaza, a heavy, suffocating spiritual pressure suddenly descended from the stone archway ahead!

Whoosh—!

A tall, muscular figure stepped out from behind a carved stone pillar, directly barring their path.

The newcomer was clad in the azure-bordered robes of an Inner Sect disciple. He had a broad, square jaw, a hooked nose, and a pair of triangular eyes that brimmed with fierce arrogance.

A thick, serrated heavy saber was strapped across his back, wrapped in coarse sharkskin leather.

It was Gao Shan—an inner disciple ranked eighty-ninth on the Inner Hall rolls, and one of Cui Ahjun’s most devoted attack dogs.

"Hold your steps," Gao Shan sneered, folding his arms across his broad chest as he looked down at Li Yan with cold mockery.

Gu Jun’s expression darkened instantly. He stepped forward like a defensive wall, placing his massive frame directly between Gao Shan and Li Yan, his hand clamping onto the hilt of his broadsword.

"Gao Shan!" Gu Jun growled, his voice thick with hostility. "Good dogs don’t block the path. What do you want?"

"A mere outer sect cur dares to bark in front of an inner disciple?" Gao Shan’s eyes flickered with contempt. He released a wave of spiritual pressure—the solid, oppressive aura of a cultivator at the peak of the Qi Condensation realm, touching the threshold of the True Warrior realm!

The invisible gale pushed Gu Jun back half a step, but Gu Jun ground his teeth, planting his boots into the stone tiles and refusing to yield.

Behind him, Baozi’s doe eyes widened in alarm. Although she could not hear the words, she was acutely sensitive to the violent shifts in killing intent. She instinctively grabbed the edge of Li Yan’s sleeve, her small hands trembling slightly as she looked nervously at the fierce inner disciple.

Li Yan gently patted Baozi’s hand, stepping forward and calmly placing her behind him.

His phoenix eyes lifted, meeting Gao Shan’s arrogant gaze with a chilling, dead stillness.

"Step aside," Li Yan said softly. His tone was not loud, but it carried an unnatural, icy composure that seemed to lower the temperature of the air around them.

"Hahaha! What an arrogant tone for a newly admitted brat!" Gao Shan threw his head back and laughed boisterously, attracting the attention of dozens of disciples who were preparing to leave the plaza.

Within moments, a circle of spectators formed, their eyes darting between the menacing inner disciple and the slender youth in cyan robes.

Gao Shan looked at Li Yan with undisguised disdain, his lips curling into a cruel sneer.

"Junior Brother Li, you certainly know how to put on a grand performance. Lifting a slab of dull iron with brute strength... Did you think that would fool everyone? This is the Nine Valley Sect, a sacred ground of immortal cultivation, not a mortal marketplace for traveling jugglers!"

Gao Shan stepped forward, his eyes narrowing into venomous slits.

"The entire sect knows that your dantian is drained and your meridians are corroded by rank-nine miasma. You are nothing more than a ruined waste who can no longer circulate a single wisp of spiritual Qi! Yet, you dare walk through the sect with your head held high, occupying the resources of the Sect Master’s residence while contributing nothing?"

"Whether my meridians are corroded or not, what does it have to do with an inner disciple ranked at the very bottom of the roster?" Li Yan remarked flatly, his words sharp as hidden daggers. "Since when does an inner disciple have the authority to manage the affairs of the Sect Master’s courtyard?"