Chapter 4
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Chapter 4: State of Mind
“Ye Yun, impressive! I didn’t expect you to hide your strength so well. Very well—either kill me now or kneel and beg for mercy. Maybe I’ll spare your life,” Liu Daolie finally regained his composure, his eyes burning with threat rather than fear as he glared at Ye Yun.
Ye Yun chuckled coldly and stepped forward, slamming his foot down.
*Crack!*
His boot crushed Liu Daolie’s face into the ground, sending a burst of energy and dust swirling. Blood and broken teeth sprayed from Liu Daolie’s mouth as his skull pressed against the dirt.
Without glancing at the man beneath his foot, Ye Yun smirked. “Uncle Liu, I didn’t catch that. Care to repeat yourself?”
Liu Daolie’s face paled, rage twisting his features. “Do you dare kill me, then?”
*Crack!*
Ye Yun stomped again.
“Servant disciples can’t execute others without permission—violators die. But don’t think empty threats scare me. Even if I spare your life, I can crush you like this every single day!”
With a scornful laugh, Ye Yun ground his heel deeper. Liu Daolie howled, blood bubbling from his lips before he passed out.
The hundred servant disciples watching froze in terrified silence.
Ye Yun scanned the crowd, disdain curling his lips. If even a few had resisted earlier, Liu Daolie wouldn’t have tyrannized them so freely. Only Shen Mo, that scrawny boy, shared his defiance—an outlier among sheep.
“Brother Ye, you’re incredible!” Shen Mo rushed over, cheeks flushed with admiration.
Warmth flickered in Ye Yun’s chest. He ruffled the boy’s hair. “Let’s go. Liu Daolie won’t let this slide. Train hard—strength alone guarantees survival here.”
“I will!” Shen Mo nodded fiercely.
As Ye Yun left, he noticed some in the crowd watching with newly kindled resolve. Not all courage had been extinguished.
His ramshackle hut offered scant shelter from the elements, but like all Heavenly Sword Sect servant disciples, a basic privacy array warded intruders. Sitting cross-legged on his bed, Ye Yun cycled spiritual power through the sect’s basic cultivation technique. With each revolution, his energy grew—an impossible feat without spirit stones.
“Did the black and white light boost my physique tenfold? But even that shouldn’t explain this…”
Internal inspection revealed nothing unusual. Shrugging, he pulled his sole low-grade spirit stone from a worn pouch. Its faint glow betrayed poor quality.
Servant disciples received ten monthly stones, but Liu Daolie skimmed two or three from everyone—even third-stage warriors like Ye Yun. The embezzled stones flowed upward, greasing the sect’s corrupt machinery.
Normally, only fifth-stage cultivators could absorb ambient spiritual energy. Yet here Ye Yun was, growing stronger without stones. Had the light transformed him?
Hands trembling, he clutched the stone. As energy flowed into his meridians, he gasped. The power felt purified tenfold—effortless to absorb despite reduced quantity.
Within two hours, the stone crumbled to dust.
“Not enough…” Ye Yun frowned at his enhanced spiritual power. A cold smile crept across his face. Where once he’d been cautious, now only ruthless determination remained.
Meanwhile, Liu Daolie sat in his quarters, injuries suppressed. Six disciples quaked before him.
“Chen Lin,” he barked, “fetch Liu Yu from the Beast Training Tower. Let him deal with Ye Yun.”
As the disciples relaxed, a mocking voice cut through the door: “Uncle Liu, why trouble others?”
“Activate the restrictions!” Liu Daolie roared.
