Qin Xiao's answer exceeded everyone's expectations.
"Qin Xiao, no. Leave this matter to me."
Seeing that Qin Xiao had agreed, Lin Tiancheng hurriedly spoke to stop him.
"Fine. This old man agrees."
Yao Tiansheng was on the verge of erupting, but he never expected Qin Xiao to actually accept the Deathmatch. His rationality recovered quite a bit, and he agreed on the spot.
"Then two days from now, at the Tianyuan City battle arena."
Instead of answering Lin Tiancheng, Qin Xiao looked straight at Yao Tiansheng.
"Then this old man will let you live two more days. Kainan, let's go."
Seeing that Qin Xiao had accepted the duel and his goal was achieved, Yao Tiansheng did not linger.
As the Great Elder left, the surrounding disciples who had gathered to watch the commotion dispersed one after another.
Once everyone else had cleared out, Lin Tiancheng stayed behind and entered the courtyard with Qin Xiao.
"Qin Xiao, you were truly impulsive. The Great Elder is already in this state; you shouldn't have provoked him further."
Lin Tiancheng wasn't worried that Qin Xiao would lose; he was worried about the Great Elder losing his mind entirely.
"Sect Leader, I want to ask for a favor. Please send a message to my master's wife and have her come to Tianyi City in two days."
Ignoring the warning, Qin Xiao asked Lin Tiancheng to help deliver a message.
"Qin Xiao, are you planning to leave the sect? Do you want to go to the Heavenly Clothes Pavilion?"
Realizing the implication of sending a message to Ye Qiuyue, Lin Tiancheng quickly pressed him for an answer.
"Sect Leader worries too much. I don't want to leave the sect just yet. After all, Seven Stars Peak is still here-this is what my master left behind, and I have no desire to abandon it. But as you saw, the Great Elder's current state makes staying in the sect far too dangerous."
Qin Xiao genuinely didn't want to sever ties with the Tianyuan Sect just yet. If he could hold onto Seven Stars Peak, he preferred not to throw away his master's legacy. To him, the place he had lived for over three years was his home in this world.
"That's good. Staying at the Heavenly Clothes Pavilion for a while is a reasonable measure. Don't worry, I'll figure out a way to handle the Great Elder's side."
Hearing that Qin Xiao had no immediate intention of leaving the sect, Lin Tiancheng finally let out a breath of relief. Given the supplies Qin Xiao had recently provided, such a god of wealth could not be allowed to slip away.
After conversing for a little longer, Lin Tiancheng took his leave, needing to send the message to Ye Qiuyue without delay.
Only the master and his two disciples remained in the courtyard.
"Shimeng, you are the Sect Leader's daughter and the sect's Holy Maiden. When I leave this time, I won't take you with me, so you won't be caught in the middle."
After thinking it over, Qin Xiao decided it was best not to drag Lin Shimeng into his departure, sensing the conflict she felt.
"Master, that's not what's troubling me. I'm worried about the Great Elder's three adopted sons. All of them possess Top Earthly Spirit Roots. Yao Kainan is the lowest in cultivation, while Yao Kaixi is already at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage. Yao Kaibei has even broken through to the Soul Formation stage and ranks among the very top of the Core Disciples in the Inner Hall."
Hearing Qin Xiao's words, Lin Shimeng hurriedly explained.
Any disciple who reached the Nascent Soul stage before the age of fifty was transferred to the Inner Hall-the true core region of the sect where its foundation lay. Those individuals were known as Inner Hall Core Disciples.
Members of the younger generation who reached the Nascent Soul stage before fifty would enter the Inner Hall. Those who failed to reach it were assigned duties within the sect, exchanging their labor for resources to aid in secluded cultivation. Once they finally reached the Soul Formation stage, they could then choose to enter the Inner Hall or become Elders.
The Great Elder's three adopted sons were all Inner Hall disciples, and Yao Kaibei had already broken through to the Soul Formation stage. If they emerged from seclusion to hunt them down, the three of them stood little chance against such opponents.
"Wait, how come I never knew the sect had an Inner Hall? It seems I really underestimated the foundation of this sect."
Only after hearing the explanation did Qin Xiao realize that a sect was far more complex than it appeared on the surface.
"You've only been in the sect for three years, you couldn't cultivate, and you stayed locked up on this mountain. Naturally, no one would come out of their way to tell you about these things."
Lin Shimeng said with a hint of helplessness. If he had displayed his strength earlier, he wouldn't have spent three years being pushed around.
"Ah, is that how it is? That's on me, then. I just got too used to staying at home."
Qin Xiao laughed it off.
Previously, he had wondered how a sect with over a thousand years of history could consist almost entirely of young disciples, with very few older practitioners wandering about. He had assumed everyone had simply vanished or stayed hidden away in seclusion without ever walking around. As it turned out, there was an entire Inner Hall.
"Since the sect still has so many powerful disciples, the two of you need to step up your efforts. Take that Saint Origin Spirit Fruit directly. When you run out, I'll get more. I need to raise the strength of my two bodyguards first."
Feeling the rising pressure, Qin Xiao realized that he had previously only brushed against the surface of the various factions, never having encountered their true core strength.
"Right, how do you two normally handle breakthroughs? Do you wait until you feel a certain level of certainty, or must you reach a specific requirement before attempting it? And what happens if a breakthrough fails?"
Over the past day, Qin Xiao had obtained three Immortal Comprehension Fruits, which reportedly increased breakthrough success rates by thirty percent. However, he had no clear grasp of how breakthrough probabilities actually worked. His own first two breakthroughs had happened naturally as a matter of course, while the latter two had occurred while he was severely injured and trading items with the System. Consequently, he had zero baseline for how ordinary cultivators calculated these things.
"I usually wait until I have an eighty percent certainty before attempting a breakthrough," Yun Man explained when Qin Xiao asked. "In truth, a breakthrough is simple in concept: on one hand, it depends on one's stored Spiritual Qi; on the other hand, it relies on comprehension. Our current realm doesn't place too many demands on the Primordial Spirit, but strengthening the Primordial Spirit can still raise the success rate. As for failure-at best, it triggers Spiritual Qi Reversal and injures the meridians; at worst, it causes Meridian Rupture, requiring a very long time to recover. That's why cultivators rarely attempt breakthroughs recklessly."
"Then if you were to break through to the late Nascent Soul stage right now, what percentage of certainty would you have? And what about you, Shimeng? How confident are you?"
Unable to make heads or tails of the talk about Spiritual Qi and meridians, Qin Xiao cut straight to the practical bottom line.
"Because of the Saint Origin Spirit Fruit, if I were to force a breakthrough right now, I would have a sixty percent chance of success," Yun Man replied honestly, though she was unsure why Qin Xiao was suddenly asking about their current standing. "Even with sixty percent, the risk remains quite high. If I wait another month, however, my certainty will exceed eighty percent, and I will be able to break through with absolute confidence."
"You've got some nerve. You'd dare attempt a breakthrough at eighty percent? No wonder I can never catch up to you. I always wait for ninety percent certainty before trying. After all, the time wasted recovering from an injury is just too costly."
Even Lin Shimeng couldn't help admiring Yun Man's boldness; attempting a breakthrough with only eighty percent certainty took a complete disregard for potential injury.
"What's there to be afraid of? With ordinary Spiritual Qi, impurities are heavy, making the damage from a failed attempt severe. But we cultivate using Spirit Liquid, so our Spiritual Qi is extremely pure. Even if an injury occurs, it won't be too heavy and will heal very quickly."
Yun Man said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Yun Man, do you trust your master?"
Qin Xiao intended to let Yun Man test the effects of the Immortal Comprehension Fruit.
"Master, of course I trust you."
Yun Man answered without the slightest hesitation.
"Here is a fruit said to increase breakthrough success by thirty percent. Eat it and see if it truly works. If it doesn't, make sure not to force the breakthrough."
Without hesitation, Qin Xiao produced an Immortal Comprehension Fruit and handed it to her.
"Master, you're saying this fruit can increase breakthrough success by thirty percent? Is that true? Does such an immortal fruit actually exist in this world?"
Before Yun Man could speak, Lin Shimeng blurted out in sheer disbelief. Boosting breakthrough success rates? That was something she had never even heard of.
"Master, I will be careful."
Accepting the fruit without further words, Yun Man didn't even return to her room. Instead, she sat cross-legged right where she was to adjust her state.
Once everything was prepared, she swallowed the Immortal Comprehension Fruit in a single bite.