Jorge Blue’s piercing stare remained locked on Lordi as he continued his transmission to Rodney, each word heavy with implication. "In the million-year history of our Abyss Pit Sect, those who achieved Perfect Grade Jade Tier Bones? You could count them on one hand - with fingers left over."
His mental voice took on a reverent tone. "Most were either scions of ancient clans with Core Formation ancestors breathing down their necks, or chosen successors personally groomed by Inner Sect elders." A meaningful pause. "Core Formation Stage cultivators... You know exactly what that means. In backwater provinces like my homeland, they’re worshipped as invincible king of all gods by the masses. We have a name for beings at that level—TAA. Stands for ’They-Above-All’. Taste the meaning of that title."
Jorge’s spiritual sense flickered with intensity. "Oh, there have been a handful of exceptions - once nobody who somehow achieved perfection through heaven-defying luck. But tell me, where are those ’humble geniuses’ now? The moment they showed potential, they were dragged into the Inner Sect’s embrace, drowned in resources until their bones gleamed with someone else’s ambition."
He let the silence stretch before delivering his final blow. "So explain to me how this Seventh Layer gutter-trash stands before us with Perfect Grade Jade Tier bones. Without backing from an existence that would make Kinson Wexford piss his robes? Without support from a power that could buy and sell Bloodline Lords like common cabbages? Even a true millennial genius would be stuck at High Grade Skeletal status without those legendary level elixirs—and we both know he didn’t find ten of them just lying around some back-alley apothecary."
Rodney’s jaw locked, his face draining of color—then flushing crimson—as the realization struck him like a physical blow.
His mind churned with the weight of Jorge Blue’s subtle warning, the implications sinking into his consciousness like a blade piercing through layers of pride and rage. Jorge’s counsel was unmistakable: forming a death feud with this unfamiliar junior brother was neither suitable nor wise. Better to sheath the blade, preserve the fragile peace, and avoid the wrath of an overlord whose influence could crush them like ants beneath a divine foot.
Yet, how could Rodney not have already sensed the same anomalies that Jorge had pinpointed? As a peak Ninth Layer Qi Refinement cultivator, his perception was as keen as his senior brother’s. He had noticed the incongruities in this rapist’s prowess. He had seen the vial of pills, their radiant aura confirming their legendary level quality, a fortune no mere Seventh Layer Outer Sect cultivator could possess without a backer of unimaginable wealth. He understood too well, with a clarity that gnawed at his resolve, what Jorge was urging him to do—step back, let the "misunderstanding" dissolve, and avoid a vendetta that could doom them all.
But the wound to his heart was raw, a festering agony that drowned reason in a torrent of fury. This incident hadn’t struck Jorge Blue or his beloved; it had targeted Emma Dawson, the Eighth Layer cultivator whose delicate beauty and open affection for Rodney had long been a whispered truth in the Outer Sect. Emma, with her lithe form barely concealed by a tattered cloak, had been humiliated—groped and nearly defiled, or so the squad’s distorted retelling claimed—in the chaos of battle, her innocence tarnished before Rodney’s eyes.
To Rodney, Emma was more than a junior sister; her adoration had kindled a quiet hope in his battle-hardened heart, a rare warmth in the Abyss Pit Sect’s cold hierarchy. If he let this matter slide, if he spared Lordi despite the perceived sexual assault, how could he maintain his fame as Luther Clan heir in the Outer Sect? How could Emma reclaim her innocence, her chastity, her reputation, all shredded by the scandalous whispers that would surely spread?
The thought of her tear-streaked face, her trust in him shattered, ignited a fresh wave of anger that burned away his sanity, a wildfire consuming the caution Jorge had urged.
Rodney’s jaw clenched, his Ninth Layer aura surging as he gripped his bone chain whip, its links crackling with malevolent spirit energy. Consequences be damned—he could not let this affront stand, not when Emma’s honor and his own pride hung in the balance. His eyes locked onto Lordi, blood-soaked and trembling, the Seventh Layer cultivator’s azure flames dimming, his Blade of Life Hater raised in a desperate defense.
Just as Rodney Luther’s bone chain whip crackled with Ninth Layer killing intent, poised to unleash a lethal assault on the blood-soaked Lordi Payne, a sudden commotion erupted from the chamber’s ceiling, reverberating through the underground arena’s entrance.
The sound—a cacophony of footsteps and clashing spirit energies—halted Rodney’s attack mid-motion, his whip freezing in the air as his eyes darted upward.
Every cultivator in the chamber tensed, their Dao Fulu flaring, hands gripping weapons as they braced for an unknown threat.
"Oh, what a bustling little hive!" came a melodious voice, laced with a playful edge, as a beauty glided into the chamber with an effortless grace that commanded attention. Her flawless legs moved with a dancer’s precision.
Flanked by Cade Barret and Ruru Rosa, Shirley Quinn’s presence radiated an unspoken authority, her peak Ninth Layer cultivation subtly pressing against the chamber’s oppressive air. Her sapphire eyes scanned the scene and a seemingly innocent smile curved her lips. "Have you unlocked the Treasury House yet? Or will you...show me where they keep the real treasures?" she asked, her tone light but probing.
Cade and Ruru froze, their expressions shifting as they took in Lordi’s dire state—flesh torn, wrist chained, blood pooling beneath him.
Ruru’s delicate features twisted in fury, her usual frosty composure shattering like thin ice. "What the hell is this, Senior Brother Luther?" she spat, her voice a blade of raw fury. "We all blood-swore to share the Alchemy Formula of Foundation Establishment Pill and Cultivation Insights before setting foot in this mountain estate!"
"If your precious Thirst Bull Squad wanted to hoard the treasures like greedy dogs, you should’ve had the balls to say so to our faces!" She kicked the corpse of a Dao puppet on the ground, sending a spray of blood across the stone floor. "But no—you cowardly snakes chose murder instead!"
Jorge Blue stepped forward, hands raised in a placating gesture. His voice carried the smooth, practiced calm of a seasoned manipulator.
"A misunderstanding, Junior Sister Ruru. The Hanz Treasury House isn’t here—we’ve found nothing of value. This was merely self-defense. Your squad man assaulted and offended my Junior Sister, Emma Dawson. Rodney was only correcting his behavior."
Lordi’s stomach dropped.
The system’s last "one-click cultivation" session had already been a disaster—forcing him to assault Kim Simona and nearly kill that genius alchemist mid-cultivation. To cover his crime, he’d spun an elaborate lie, convincing Ruru Rosa that he was Kim Simona’s beloved cultivation Dao Spouse. To keep the deception alive, he had no choice but take Simona’s place in this outer sect task.
And now? The thing got worse.
The brain-dead motherfucker AwfulOS had forced him to publicly strip a random female cultivator’s dress. and this time, Ruru had walked in on the worst possible moment to witness everything with her own eyes.
Given Ruru’s close friendship and deep bestie bond with Kim Simona, she would never let this slide!
Lordi could even imagine the vicious face of this green robe Senior Sister while hunting him to the ends of the world.
All his lies were about to unravel!
Lordi’s mind raced, heart thundered, scrambling for an excuse, his skin prickled with humiliation, his every nerve screaming with dread.
His fingers twitched toward his bone blade—maybe death was better than this shame...
He barely noticed Ruru’s gaze shift, her eyes narrowing as she followed the crowd’s stares to Emma Dawson, who clutched a tattered cloak to her trembling frame, her face pale but resolute.
Lordi braced for an excuse tirade, but before he could speak, Ruru’s sudden laughter sliced through the silence—sharp, derisive, and utterly venomous.
"Junior Sister Dawson?" Ruru tilted her head, her voice laced with mock surprise. "This... this poor auntie?" Her gaze raked over Emma, lips curling into a sneer. "I expected some world-shattering beauty, a stunning face to topple overlords or sway conquerors. But she? A face that could vanish into a sack of potatoes?"
Ruru stepped a pace, her tone growing sharper, each word a barbed dart. "You’re telling me this auntie seduced our Junior Brother Lordi Payne into betraying his beloved Kim Simona? This plainness made him stray from his dao spouse?"
She laughed again, a sound like shattering glass. "No offense, but even her mother wouldn’t call that average face striking."
Ruru pressed a hand to her chest, feigning apology, with another hand wiping her malice tear sparkling in her beautiful eyes. "Forgive me, I’m trying to be kind. ’Average’ is a compliment here. If you’re staging a trap, at least pick bait that doesn’t insult our intelligence." She flicked her gaze back to Jorge, her smile cold. "Such forgettable pizza face. It’s almost... embarrassing."
Cade Barret’s gaze swept over the crowd, his eyes burning with anger. When he spotted Jorge Blue—and the Legendary-Level Bone Tempering Pill clutched in his hand—his frown deepened, his voice thick with frustration. "Senior Brother Blue, if you wanted Legendary-Level pills, you could have simply purchased them from Junior Sister Kim once we returned to the Holy Sect. But we haven’t even found the treasury house yet—why must you tarnish our Junior Sister’s reputation over a few elixirs?"
He scanned the chamber, his tone heavy with disappointment.
"Before we entered this mountain estate, it was you who insisted we come here for a chance to reach the Foundation Stage—not for bloodshed. And now..." Cade’s jaw tightened. "Junior Brother Payne has barely been gone a moment, and you allow your squad to attack him?"
Shirley Quinn, who had been indifferent to the chaos, suddenly perked up at Cade’s words. Her beautiful face flickered with surprise.
"Wait—what did you say? Junior Sister Kim? You mean Kim Simona from Raven Silk Peak?" The stunning beauty’s voice sharpened with sudden interest. "She can craft Legendary-Level Bone Tempering Pills now? What’s her price? Does she accept artifacts barter or $tones cash only?"
Ruru shrugged, her rosy lips curling into a smirk as she cast a meaningful glance at Lordi Payne.
"You’d have to ask Junior Brother Payne," she said, her voice dripping with implication. "After all, he’s... very close to Junior Sister Kim. Her favored male cultivator, you could say."
Then, with deliberate slowness, she turned her luminous eyes toward Emma, her gaze tracing a slow, disdainful arc. Her chin lifted slightly, as if the mere sight of the other girl was offending her.
"Junior Sister Kim Simona’s beauty is renowned across the Outer Sect, and her alchemy talent is legendary even among the Inner Sect." Ruru scoffed, her voice laced with sarcasm. "Honestly, it’s not like our Junior Brother Payne is blind—why would he ever take a fancy to some common nobody auntie?"