Picking up the longsword, he felt a familiar thrum emanate from it.

"Most people in the Outer Mansion are poorer than dirt. Very few can afford to use a Magical Artifact.

Don’t tell me he was another rich kid."

Sizing up the Magical Artifact longsword in his hand, Qi Yun shrugged, grabbed it, and refined it in an instant.

’Whatever. I don’t care if you were a rich kid or not.’

’In for a penny, in for a pound. What’s one more enemy when I already have some? It’s not like I’m not already in deep.’

After feeding the Magic Sword to the Magic Technique Panel, Qi Yun glanced at the numbers that appeared on it.

A single Magic Sword only increased the progress of [Basic Sword Qi] by less than 20%.

Just like with [Clear Wind Technique], the higher the version level, the less of a boost Spiritual Magical Artifacts provided to the upgrade progress.

’I guess upgrading will only get harder from here on out.’

Pursing his lips in thought, Qi Yun formed a spell with his hands. His body burst into a current of air and vanished. In this state of Invisibility, his thoughts became even clearer.

A problem was still a problem, and dwelling on it wouldn’t make it go away.

Rather than worry, it was better to focus on the present.

First things first.

In the days that followed, the entire Mirage Thousand Faces Realm descended into a frenzied killing field.

Once all nine Crystal Keys appeared and everyone figured out the rules—that "death" simply meant being teleported out of the trial with no real harm done—the remaining Outer Mansion Disciples cast aside their last shreds of restraint.

Since no one would actually die, they might as well treat it as an all-out Magical Combat exercise.

The bloody struggle for the nine Crystal Keys, which symbolized the right to advance, instantly became white-hot.

The Crystal Keys changed hands frantically. Each temporary owner was immediately met with even fiercer attacks.

Snatch, counter-kill, snatch again... A cold, efficient cycle of death was established.

The sounds of battle, the explosions of Magic, and the indignant roars of those on the verge of "death" echoed day and night through the winding labyrinth.

Figures fell like stalks of wheat, their numbers dwindling with every passing moment.

「Until the ninth day of the assessment.」

Within the maze, the nodes that had once served as eternal guides, emitting pillars of light that reached for the heavens, were now all extinguished.

The nine Crystal Keys, once so coveted that countless people fought over them, now lay quietly on the ground, completely ignored.

By this point, only the smart ones were left.

They all knew that whoever picked up a Crystal Key now would become a public target, instantly besieged by everyone else.

It was better to save one’s strength.

There was no point in doing all the hard work just to have someone else reap the rewards.

’Tsk, looks like there won’t be a fight...’

Over a hundred meters from the Crystal Keys, Qi Yun leaned casually against a crystal wall, his hands tucked into his wide sleeves. A playful smile touched his lips as he watched the dozen or so powerful figures locked in a stalemate, each radiating a formidable aura.

’Good thing I grinded [Clear Wind Technique] to version 6.0 before coming here.’

’Otherwise, it would be much harder to just watch from the sidelines like this.’

[Clear Wind Technique 6.0: Enhances the concealment effect of Clear Wind form, passively reduces own presence.]

’Every Cultivator from the Holy Sect is a crafty schemer.’

At a critical moment like this, they weren’t just wary of the opponents they could see; they were also guarding against any wily old-timers who were masters of the Illusionary Body Concealment Technique.

That’s why several groups had already swept the area with various detection methods, afraid someone might be watching from the sidelines.

They didn’t want anyone pulling a ’mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind’ and swooping in to reap the rewards.

’Judging by the power of their detection methods, it would take a Cultivator at the Qi Refining Sixth Layer—someone on the level of Zheng Yi or Zhou Hao—or a specialized Magical Artifact to have any chance of finding me.’

’Otherwise, ordinary methods wouldn’t be able to see through my Clear Wind state at all.’

Qi Yun remained perfectly calm as he quietly watched his fellow Outer Mansion Disciples, all on edge and ready to fight for the Crystal Keys at a moment’s notice.

"Nine keys, nine doors. It looks like there are nine solutions, but in reality..."

"There is only one."

Shen Fan flicked her sleeve, revealing a Divination Plate. Her fingertips brushed over the Li, Kan, and Zhen palaces before hovering over the Xun Position. She gently tucked a stray hair behind her ear and raised her sleeve to dab the sweat from her brow.

"In the Qian Palace, a bloody light pierces the heavens. In the Dui Position, dark clouds devour the moon.

The Gates of Shock, Harm, Delusion, and Scenery are all steeped in the aura of death, like a frozen pool in the Nine Netherworld that would instantly freeze the Divine Soul of anyone who enters.

It is a lethal, interlocking puzzle with but a single sliver of hope for survival.

The nine keys and nine doors are not the problem.

The key is that the true path to survival is to gather all nine keys and use them to open a single door together!"

"Gather all nine keys?" Hearing this, Du Yunian, who had been standing guard beside her, felt his pupils contract. He subconsciously turned his head, his gaze falling upon a figure seated cross-legged on the other side, as still as a boulder.

There, a man sat with his eyes closed, regulating his breathing. His hair and beard were a tangled mess like a lion’s mane, his eyebrows were thick over wide-set eyes, and his physique was as burly and imposing as a small mountain.

Just sitting there, he radiated a wild, fierce aura that was positively heart-stopping.

As if sensing Du Yunian’s gaze, Yue Rong slowly opened his eyes. His pupils were a rare bronze, and they held an indescribable wildness.

"Figured it out?"

Pushing himself to his feet, Yue Rong stood nearly nine feet tall. As his massive, grimy frame rose, it was like a mountain peak suddenly erupting from the earth.

"Yes. Gather all nine keys, and we can open any one of the doors." Shen Fan raised her luminous eyes and nodded lightly.

"Hahaha, good! Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go." Hearing this, Yue Rong showed no surprise. Instead, a look of delight spread across his face.

It seemed this answer was exactly what he’d been hoping for.

Watching Yue Rong stride forward, Du Yunian gave a slight shrug and murmured to Shen Fan, his tone tinged with awe,

"I thought that with you and I working together, the title of Champion Scholar would be decided between us.

I never expected... we’d run into someone like him.

Tsk. It’s just a matter of luck and fate, I suppose."

Shen Fan’s gaze followed Yue Rong’s retreating figure, her voice calm.

"It doesn’t matter. As long as we enter the Inner Mansion, the result is the same.

Besides, latching on to the son of a Master will be a great boon to our future cultivation.

Especially since he’s the son of Black Mountain Master."

Shen Fan’s words revealed a huge secret.

This lion-like man was the son of a Foundation Establishment Master from the Inner Mansion!

"That makes sense. Still, the son of a Master is truly something else.

Twenty-two years old, at the Qi Refining Fifth Layer, and just one step away from breaking through to the Qi Refining Sixth Layer.

The Outer Mansion hasn’t produced a triple-crown Champion Scholar in many years.

It looks like this time, the title is his for the taking."

Though they were also scions of powerful families, compared to Yue Rong, Du Yunian and Shen Fan suddenly felt insignificant.

After all, they were merely from collateral branches of a Master’s lineage, basking in a sliver of its glory. They could not inherit the core bloodline power that could transform one’s very aptitude. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Only a direct heir like Yue Rong, the legitimate son of a Master, could inherit that precious core bloodline.

On the long path of cultivation, he had a starting point and potential that far surpassed his peers, destined to leave them all in the dust.

...