Gun Gun and Huan Huan were having the time of their lives.
But!
Han Xiaoyu's face could not have looked worse. A mere Foundation Establishment-stage beast, one he had once dismissed and thrown away. And now, this same beast was putting on such a spectacle on the dueling platform?
What was the meaning of this?
Did they not even consider him and the Misty Butterfly worth acknowledging?
This was humiliation.
No, this was an absolute disgrace.
Han Xiaoyu's face darkened. He drew his sword and charged straight at Gun Gun.
Clang!
Gasps echoed from the crowd as his sword struck Gun Gun's armor, releasing only a few sparks.
Gun Gun glanced at Han Xiaoyu with distaste. He could not speak, but the expression on his face said it all: "Did you even eat? Put your back into it, will you?"
Han Xiaoyu could not bear the provocation. He and the Misty Butterfly attacked together.
But Gun Gun ignored them completely. He just kept shaking his rear, as if the heavens and earth could wait, because dancing was the true priority.
Sword light flashed from one side, and the Misty Butterfly scattered its powder on the other. Yet neither caused even the slightest harm to Gun Gun. If anything, the glittering powder only added another layer of special effects to his performance.
"Excellent!" Someone in the crowd began applauding.
The performance was simply too good.
A flashy Iron-Eating Beast, some swordplay, and powder falling like a dreamlike mist—this was pure entertainment.
Cheers and clapping burst out from the spectators.
Han Xiaoyu's grip on his sword trembled.
Before today, he had never imagined he would lose.
Even if he had, he never thought it would be like this—so humiliating.
Gun Gun's butt was still shaking right in front of him, practically luring him to strike again.
Han Xiaoyu clutched his chest. Crack. He seemed to hear something break inside.
A moment later, he coughed up three mouthfuls of blood and collapsed onto the stage.
Huh?
Gun Gun had just hit the peak of his performance and turned in confusion toward Han Xiaoyu.
He hadn't even attacked yet. Why had the guy fallen?
"His Dao heart shattered," Yue Zhao said calmly.
"Dao heart?" Yun Jin repeated without thinking.
Si Wanning chuckled. "In simpler terms, he got so mad he broke his brain. If he can't rebuild his Dao heart, this might be the end of the road for Han Xiaoyu."
Yun Jin let out a sigh. "Still too young. All this over something so small? Why let it ruin yourself like this?"
The others gave Yun Jin strange looks.
Small? This was small?
If any of them had been on the platform instead, they would probably be coughing up blood too.
If Ruan Jun were still alive and saw what had just happened to Han Xiaoyu, he would be grateful Yun Jin did not pull this stunt when fighting him.
Otherwise, she would not need to behead him—he would chop off his own head.
"Xiaoyu!" Zhao Wuji had been watching from the shadows this whole time. At that moment, he cried out anxiously and rushed onto the platform.
"You damned beast! How dare you!" Zhao Wuji caught Han Xiaoyu in his arms, and with rage burning in his chest, he struck at Gun Gun.
But the next instant—
Lin Ya stepped in front of Gun Gun and blocked the attack with ease. Without a flicker of expression, he said, "My disciple's beast already gave your disciple more than enough face. From beginning to end, it didn't even fight back. And now that Han Xiaoyu fainted from rage, you still want to blame my disciple's beast?"
"Exactly, exactly!" Gun Gun whimpered and darted behind Lin Ya.
As expected.
The mighty Lord Gun Gun's performance had captured everyone's attention. Aside from Zhao Wuji and Lin Ya, the other peak masters were definitely watching in secret too.
Because Gun Gun was just that dazzling.
"Sect Master," Yun Jin said calmly, "my beast is only Foundation Establishment. He can't take a hit like that. What, are you saying he did something wrong? If so, please, tell us exactly what mistake he made."
Shameful as it was.
Unbearable as it was to watch.
Her beast still deserved to be protected.
Zhao Wuji's face remained stiff. He looked at Lin Ya, then at Yun Jin, and finally, glared at Gun Gun with a poisonous gaze. "Very well. All of you are very good."
His chest rose and fell in rapid bursts. He could not suppress his fury. Han Xiaoyu had always been frail. Zhao Wuji had poured in so much effort to nurture him, step by step, until he reached this cultivation.
The resources spent on Han Xiaoyu could have raised ten Golden Core disciples if given to others.
But.
Han Xiaoyu was his only blood heir.
He could never acknowledge him publicly, and that alone was painful enough.
Now, Han Xiaoyu had been humiliated by a beast.
Tianjian Peak.
Zhao Wuji carried Han Xiaoyu in his arms and vanished in an instant.
This debt—he would make sure to collect it, one piece at a time. Was Lin Ya so arrogant now because he believed the position of Sect Master was already within reach?
Did they all really think that his current status came only because of his father?
He had held the position of Sect Master for many years. Did they truly believe he had made no arrangements in all that time?
Fools.
Lin Ya, Yun Jin, and that cursed beast—
He would make sure they all died.
Zhao Wuji's sudden departure left the entire arena stunned.
Lin Ya watched him go and frowned slightly.
This wasn't like Zhao Wuji.
That man was usually calculated and patient. To retreat now, without retaliating, meant he was likely planning something worse in secret.
But it didn't matter.
Whatever scheme Zhao Wuji brewed, one sword would be enough to shatter it.
"Master!" Gun Gun pounced into Yun Jin's arms.
He was getting bigger now, and this leap nearly swallowed her up entirely.
Yun Jin smiled and patted his shoulder. "Alright, you did very well."
Gun Gun giggled.
See? Master said he did well.
Master really did like this flashy, over-the-top style.
Just wait. Gun Gun swore to become the number one attention-seeker in the world.
After resolving his inner frustrations, Gun Gun made another breakthrough after returning to Tianjian Peak. His cultivation advanced to the late Foundation Establishment stage, securing his position as eldest brother among the beasts.
As for Yun Jin, she began her next round of seclusion.
This time, her main goal was to refine a new batch of pills. Pills for herself, for her two beasts, and extras to sell through Senior Brother. Everything had to be prepared ahead of her upcoming trip.
While the alchemy furnace worked on the pills, Yun Jin focused on increasing her formation mastery.
She realized that she might just be a genius when it came to formations. For one to three-star formations, she could set them up successfully even without the system's help.
However, using the system allowed her to upgrade all of them to perfect level.
At first, Yun Jin had only planned to dabble in formations and leave the rest to Gu Jinghong.
She figured once she leveled up, that would be enough.
But after two months in seclusion, not only had she refined a huge stockpile of pills, she had also completely mastered every formation in the jade slip and pushed them all to the perfect level through the system's simulations.
Her current formation count was low, so by official standards she was still a Grade One formation master. But by ability alone, she was easily Grade Three.
It was becoming clear.
She truly needed to leave Tianxing Sect. There were things she had to resolve, and the outside world held knowledge and materials the sect simply did not possess.
Cultivation manuals, formations, talismans—the more, the better.
Even if she couldn't use them now, they would be valuable assets when she founded her own Holy Land in the future.