Confrontation

Conflicts in the sect are allowed as long as they follow the rules, and the punishment for such conflicts is very minimal. Since it is a conflict, consent from both parties isn't required; one disciple can attack another disciple as long as it isn't an ambush and their cultivation realm is the same.

Killing and crippling in minor conflicts aren't allowed. There is a challenge arena for these types of things, where one disciple can challenge another to a death match, but only if the sect allows it.

Many cultivators wanted to teach Jiang Hao a lesson. They knew his will was strong, but strength wasn't determined by a person's will.

The only people who knew about his true strength were the disciples with whom he went on a mission, but none of them released that news, as they couldn't admit that they were weaker than him.

In fact, the news about Jiang Hao and Ming Yue was spread by only one of them, Jun Jei.

Many disciples at the peak of the Qi Refinement realm were eager to test themselves against Jiang Hao. They wanted to teach him a lesson and show him that he wasn't special enough to be associated with Senior Sister Ming Yue.

So when the news of him arriving at the core section of Alchemy Peak spread, many disciples gathered to teach him a lesson. They had been waiting for this day long enough, and now that he had finally shown himself in public, they wouldn't miss this chance.

Many other disciples who weren't eligible to challenge him also came, as they wanted to see a good show. Most of them were in the Foundation Establishment realm, while some were even in the Core Formation realm.

"Look at that, Senior Brother Zi Xuan is also here."

One of the disciples pointed at a man in his twenties. He looked quite graceful and handsome. He stood alone with a smile on his face.

Zi Xuan was at the top of the strength ranking in the Core Formation realm. Everyone knew that he had even tried to talk to Ming Yue when she first arrived at the sect, but she ignored him. So seeing him here wasn't a surprise.

Zi Xuan had a special status in the sect too, he was the grandson of the Supreme Elder. So everyone maintained a friendly smile towards him, but no one was afraid of him just because of his status.

In Mountain Sword Sect, only strength mattered. It was an unspoken rule imposed by the founder himself. A person's true status was decided by their strength, nothing else.

Everyone respected his other status as the number one in the Core Formation ranking. There was a ranking for every realm in Mountain Sword Sect, and every year, a competition was held to determine it.

The next competition was also very close, so everyone was excited to see which new geniuses might join the ranking list.

But today, the excitement was all about watching the show that was about to unfold.

"Why don't we enter the pavilion and bring him out?"

"No, it's against the rules. You can't disturb anyone if they are inside a pavilion. You should read the rule book, or you'll get into trouble later."

Discussions were happening everywhere as the crowd kept gathering. News of this little incident had already reached Ming Yue.

"Senior Sister Ming, will you make a move?"

Xin Yan asked after mentioning Jiang Hao's situation.

Ming Yue smiled when she heard that. She knew no one in the entire sect was a match for Jiang Hao in the Qi Refinement realm, so she wasn't worried about him.

And others couldn't even bully him with numbers, as every fight had a mandatory half-hour rest period. Otherwise, how would it be different from ganging up on someone? Of course, if Jiang Hao wanted, he could fight without resting, it was totally up to him.

"It's okay. I really don't have to interfere in this matter. In fact, it will only make things worse for him."

Xin Yan understood her underlying meaning.

"So, you won't even go to watch?"

"It will be better if I don't go. You should go and watch. Do tell me what happens later, and also brief him about the rules."

"As you wish, Senior Sister Ming."

Xin Yan left hurriedly. Ming Yue watched her leave.

'Let's see how much of a ruckus you make, Junior Brother.'

Jiang Hao was oblivious to the crowd gathering outside. He had already finished reading two books and was now reading his last one.

As expected, not much in-depth information was mentioned, but he still learned a lot about the existing sects in different regions along with other knowledge about those regions.

Right now, he was reading about the history of the world. It only mentioned the bitter battles fought by human cultivators in ancient eras to reach their current status in the world.

There were a lot of ancient battles recorded here. They described the struggles human civilizations faced in ancient times. However, it didn't mention the peace treaty that led to the current peace in the world.

He had read all the books, but he still didn't find any information on what led to the treaty. It was as if it had been hidden from general knowledge.

He sighed and let it go. He wasn't here to solve mysteries anyway. He put the three books back where he had taken them from and stretched a little.

It was time to plan what he would do next.

He still had to test whether he could refine spirit stones with his hands now that he had reached the Foundation Establishment realm. He hadn't tried it before because it had truly slipped his mind, he had been focused on gaining knowledge first.

Now that he was done with that part, he could plan his next moves according to his needs.

He had two paths in front of him to choose from. The first was to use spirit stones to advance. Since spirit stones couldn't be used by others for cultivation, their value was lower than spirit herbs of equivalent Qi value, far lower, in fact.

So, if he could use spirit stones for cultivation, it would make his cultivation journey a lot easier. It would be far more efficient than cultivating with spirit herbs or other resources.

The second path was to use normal resources like other cultivators. However, this would be much more costly for him. He would have to take this path if he wasn't able to absorb spirit Qi from spirit stones, he really didn't want to eat them to cultivate.

But after reaching the early stage of the Foundation Establishment realm, he felt that his physique had broken through too. His senses had become even sharper than before, and the Qi around him was being passively absorbed by his body, even without cultivating.

Although it was only a minuscule amount, it was proof that his physique had evolved in strength too. So, he wouldn't be surprised if he was able to absorb Qi from spirit stones.

If he could, then the first path would be the most effective for increasing his cultivation realm. However, there was another thing that could only be obtained by following the second path, affinity to different elements.

Right now, his affinity to flames was the highest among all elements because he had consumed mostly fire-attributed spirit herbs. Whenever he consumed a specific elemental-attributed spirit herb, his affinity increased in that element.

It might be the most absurd feature of his physique. So choosing the first path entirely wasn't a viable option for him, he had to find a good balance. And he knew exactly what he had to do.

He moved towards the entrance. The pavilion was isolated from outside noise, so he really had no idea what was happening outside. So when he stepped out, he was quite surprised.

When he had arrived earlier, the whole area was empty. But now, it was filled to the brim with disciples. He immediately understood the reason for the crowd, it was definitely because of him.

There were a lot of cultivators here, and some of them even made him feel a sense of danger. They were definitely in the Core Formation realm.

He sighed internally. He had just arrived at Mountain Sword Sect and hadn't gotten the chance to read the rules.

So it would really be troublesome if he made any mistakes, he had no doubt that others would love to see that happen.

Oh well, whatever. Mountain Sword Sect was one of the top sects, so he doubted others would just attack him unconditionally. He had to figure out the rules somehow.

"Ahh... look who's here, the new genius of our sect."

One of the disciples in the Foundation Establishment realm spoke after Jiang Hao came out. He continued,

"You sure know how to make people wait, Junior."

"Sorry for making you wait, Senior, but I don't think it's inappropriate to make an uninvited guest wait a little if you're busy, unlike them."

Jiang Hao loved peace, but he also wouldn't let people walk over him.