Blood Sundown Peak.

The peak is renowned for being a battlefield for ordinary people, out of the world of cultivation. They come here to settle disputes. However, everything changes when a cultivator comes into the scene.

An average-looking young man stood at the edge of a cliff, his blue robes covered with red hot blood. Surrounding him were lifeless corpses. Some groaned in pain before finally dying. Some acted to be dead only to die after a while. Needless to say, the sight was not comfortable for an average human.

They were all lone cultivators, not belonging to any family or Sect. No, they couldn’t be called “proper cultivators'' as they were merely in their First Layer Qi Condensation. Two or three were in the Second Layer but they weren’t much better. They tried their hardest to survive this pugilistic world only to die serving as some training material to a certain person. Looking at the corpses, the young man sighed.

“The world is cruel. There are people crueler than me. Be glad.” What more could he explain? He did kill them for his personal benefits. That’s it. He wasn't scared of being found out because he also wasn’t a “proper cultivator”. It was not an exchange between people with unequal cultivation bases. Therefore, even if he was found out, he wouldn’t be punished as long as he can make out an excuse.

Li Daozi was quite satisfied with the gains. His was raised to the max layer. The newly learned “Ice Soul Technique” has nine layers and he had already cultivated up to the 2nd Layer.

"Well, well. What do we have here…" A hoarse voice sounded and an old man appeared out of nowhere.

Li Daozi frowned at the strange old man's arrival but didn't say anything.

Both of them stared at each other for a while before the old man finally broke the silence.

"Karma will get back on you. Remember that." The old man sighed.

Li Daozi seriously nodded. "I understand." He went back to collect the spoils of the battle.

"Boy, what secret art did you use?"

"Oh? Very interesting and straight-forward. Old man, how about you answer me how you wanted to approach the question?" Li Daozi smiled faintly.

The old man didn't get angry but instead smiled. "Very simple. I wanted to tell you about some historical instances where karma really becomes a b*tch, then wanted to offer you an appropriate 'solution' in exchange for the secret art you used."

"Tell me, old man. Where do you get the confidence from?"

"From this." The old man shook his right hand in a carefree manner.

Swish!

All of a sudden, the peaks in the vicinity trembled. The lands slowly collapsed as if a landslide had occurred. Rumbles startled everyone living near the peaks. Some were running for their life. Some searched for their relatives. Others simply accepted their own death. Within seconds, the peaks were no longer peaks. They became lands under which thousands of mortals were living peacefully. Undoubtedly, some survived but upon losing their families, their eyes were dead. Kids and adults both started crying because of the misfortune.

Li Daozi watched the entire thing without a change in expression. Finally, he opened his mouth to say two words. “Not bad.”

“Not bad?” The peerless expert was about to go crazy. This brat… he isn’t feigning calmness. Having lived for many years, he knows how to judge people accurately.

“What? You want more compliments?” Li Daozi faintly smiled.

“Why are you still not handing over the Secret Art?”

“I won’t. End of discussions.” Li Daozi turned around and started walking away.

All of a sudden, a huge pressure fell upon his shoulders. Not able to take it, he fell on the ground.

“Do you really think I’ll spare your life?” The old man looked at the boy before his feet with cold eyes. “You took so many lives. It’s only fair that I take yours, isn’t that right?”

Li Daozi sneered. “That’s your decision. How could I know?” Even in the face of death, he still had the same face he had a few moments ago.

No one said anything for a while. Then, the pressure over him slowly washed away. The old man smirked. “Interesting… Seeing that you’re quite feisty for a kid, I’ll spare your life. As for the Secret Art, keep it with you for the time being.”

Completing his sentence, he flew off.

Li Daozi stared at the departing figure while still laying on the ground. “My plot-armor has enormous potential… At this point, I’m just abusing it." However, it had nothing to do with plot armor. From the very start, the old man didn't let out the faintest murderous aura. Perhaps he hid it very well. It all depended on the Secret Art that I'm using. But… even if he had…

“Urgh…” His head hurt.

Mount Yaluo Sect.

Returning to the Sect, Li Daozi went to his hut.

“Waaa….” As soon as he entered the hut, he heard the crying of the twins. Going over to the bed, he found that the green-haired baby girl was crying. The red-haired toddler was curiously staring at the new figure that appeared in front of him. “Ayee…” The red-haired boy clapped and started laughing as if he had seen something interesting. Perhaps seeing and hearing her fellow brother, she stopped crying. With fingers inside her mouth, she curiously looked at the big man.

This is getting a little annoying. Last night, Li Daozi couldn’t properly take a rest because of their nonstop crying. In the middle of the night, he had to wake up to feed them. When he woke up, he felt that his bedsheets had gone cold. It would take at least a week for the people from the family to arrive. Meanwhile, I have to look after them. Li Wenqing doesn’t have all day to be a babysitter… wait, I could hire a babysitter.

With the amount of wealth he robbed, he had more than enough to hire a babysitter for an entire year.

Li Daozi stretched his hands towards the toddlers and it didn’t take more than a second for them to latch onto his arms. Patting both of them, he channeled his qi onto the kids and felt a cool sensation all over his body. They are worth more than I thought. With just a single channeling, he had already refined his qi two times.

Qi Refining is not a mandatory step in Qi Condensation. It is used to thicken the qi threads in order to store more qi essence. Not only that, it can also be used to decide the strength between two cultivators. The thicker the qi, the stronger will be the physical force.

His eyes shone brightly. If I could have the spheres inside of them, my cultivation would get a serious boost. It’s not easy to do so because of my circumstances but I have to do it if I want to progress. He thought, while caressing both of the kids in his arms. “Ayee…” The toddlers laughed, completely unknown of the true color of their father.

***

Outer Court.

After giving both the kids to Li Wenqing, he went to the counter to register his name for the Outer Court Examinations.

The Outer Sect today was particularly crowded because of obvious reasons. Men and women from all parts of the Northern Province came here for the Outer Court Examinations. As one of the only two first-rate powers in the province, becoming a member of Mount Yaluo Sect is something every teen dreams of. The other first-rate power was the Liang Family which doesn’t accept disciples from outside. Due to which, Mount Yaluo Sect was the number one choice for every youngsters.

“Li Daozi. 16 years old. Whitedow City Li Family. Direct descendant?” The man in the counter curiously at Li Daozi.

Li Daozi nodded. “I am indeed a direct descendant. Is something the matter?”

“Oh no, I was just asking.” The man at the counter politely smiled. “Should I guide you to the Outer Court Pavilion?”

Whitedow City Li Family was a second-rate power in the entire Northern Province. One has to know that there are only two first-rate powers in the province and the Li Family is just below them making them a force to be reckoned with. Even among several second-rate powers, the Li Family was a special one because of its relationship with a mysterious tribe.

Seeing the man’s humility, Li Daozi waved his hands. “No, it’s fine. I can go there myself.” At the same time, he also thought. My Li Family and Northern Brilliant Illusory Sect are on the same level. I shouldn’t have kowtowed to the Sun Child. He wasn’t particularly bothered by the fact that he kowtowed but he felt that there were better options.

Not thinking about the matter anymore, he made his way to the Outer Court Pavilion where at least two thousand people were gathered. Most of them had a look of anticipation on their eyes. Some were curiously looking around. Only a few people were not bothered by the crowd and managed to remain calm.

Li Daozi sat in a corner. Besides him were a group who were chatting unceasingly.

“This time, I have heard that the Outer Sect Examinations would be much harder than the previous times.”

“Yeah, from the rumors, it looks like the seats vacant for Outer Sect Candidate are less than three hundred.”

“I don’t feel that I could become an Outer Sect Disciple this year. I should have come next year.”

“On top of that, I have heard that a few people from second-rate powers are being sent here.”

“Are you serious? Which second-rate family? Li or Wan?”

“None of those two. It’s a newly established second-rate family - He.”

“As in He Fantian?”

He Fantian was a second-generation genius of the Mount Yaluo Sect. When he first joined the sect, it took him only ten years to go from a nameless Outer Sect Disciple to a third-ranking Core Disciple. At that time, almost nobody had a doubt that he would definitely become the next Sect Leader but for some reason, he left the Sect as soon as he became a Core Disciple.

After many years, it was rumored that he had created his own family. Although he never showed his face in public after establishing his family, it was undoubtedly He Fantian, the forgotten genius.

Li Daozi was quietly eavesdropping on their conversation. He Family, huh. I should keep a close eye on them.