Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

Chapter 108: Chapter 108: The Direct Disciples of the Stain Sect

In the Sea of Clouds, below Holy Fire Cliff.

A youth in a black robe with a somber face sat cross-legged on a small boat, regulating his Breathing. After a long while, he looked up at the vast Sea of Clouds before him.

RUMBLE!

Instantly, the Sea of Clouds began to churn. Great waves surged toward the heavens, then swept down upon the black-robed youth, drawn by his Breathing and circulation of Qi!

Almost simultaneously, the black-robed youth’s eyes flew open. His Qi surged to its absolute limit before he unleashed it. A strand of Celestial Craft Qi, Refined through painstaking effort, came crashing down. It seized rivers and held back seas, captured clouds and suppressed the mist, forcibly quelling the surging wave.

But before he could catch his breath, a second wave followed right behind.

”Bring it on!”

The black-robed youth let out a long cry. His Celestial Craft Qi responded, manifesting a series of weapons—sabers, spears, swords, and halberds. It was like a bustling army as it roared toward the second wave.

BANG!

With another deafening crash, the black-robed youth’s face flushed slightly as he was forced back a step. However, he had shattered the incoming wave, and the sea calmed once more.

But the waves of the cloud sea were relentless. As the black-robed youth circulated his Qi, swallowing and expelling the energy of Heaven and Earth, the once-calm sea seemed to take it as a provocation. It grew even more violent, and this time, it unleashed three waves to attack him from all sides.

”Hmph!”

This time, the black-robed youth was no longer at ease. His face turned beet red, and his Qi rapidly depleted as he was locked in a war of attrition with the waves.

Neither could gain the upper hand.

Seeing this, the black-robed youth could only grit his teeth. He changed the Magic Formulas in his hands and began to slowly withdraw his vast, river-like Qi.

And strangely, as he withdrew his Qi...

...the raging waves of the cloud sea also began to subside, step by step. In the end, just as the black-robed youth fully retracted his power, the sea returned to its original, tranquil state.

”Whew...”

The black-robed youth finally let out a breath of relief. But then his body swayed; his energy was spent, and he couldn’t even stand steadily.

He quickly urged the small boat to put some distance between himself and that patch of the cloud sea before taking out a Qi Pill. He swallowed it, sat down to regulate his Breathing, and only after a long while did he recover his strength.

Just then, a streak of Flying Light descended from the sky.

The light parted to reveal a handsome youth holding a feather fan and wearing a silk kerchief. He drifted down onto the small boat and smiled at the black-robed youth.

”Tianhe, your skills have improved.”

”This Sea of Balance surrounds the entire Holy Fire Cliff. It operates on the principle that a rising tide lifts all boats—the more Qi you release, the larger the waves become.”

”An ordinary disciple at the Final-phase of Qi Refining can’t even withstand a single wave.”

”Even for Direct Disciples like us who have refined Third Grade Qi, we can usually only handle two waves. Only those who have deep understanding of Qi can contend with three.”

”But you, Taihe, managed to resist four. You’re considered a prodigy even among the Direct Disciples.”

The black-robed youth, Qin Tianhe, was pleased by the handsome youth’s praise, but he still shook his head humbly. ”I’m just a few years older, that’s all.”

”I’ve been a Direct Disciple for many years, yet I can still barely suppress four waves.”

”It’s said that back in the day, Yin Shan also had Third Grade Qi but could suppress a full nine waves. He was supposedly on the level of a Foundation-Stage Cultivator.”

At these words, the handsome youth’s face filled with admiration. ”I’ve heard the Sect elders say that only a Foundation-Stage Cultivator can cross the Sea without raising a single wave. To reach that Stage, both Position and Qi are indispensable. You need the ability to suppress at least ten waves in an instant.”

”For Yin Shan to have suppressed nine waves, he was indeed close to the level of the Perfected Persons.”

The two sighed in admiration for a moment before Qin Tianhe looked at the handsome youth curiously. ”Xu Xin, you usually cultivate in your Cave Mansion. What brings you here?”

”You haven’t heard?”

Xu Xin seemed surprised. ”The other Sects are about to wage another Battle for the Dao against our Stain Sect. World Purger Fei Xue has come out of seclusion to personally oversee it.”

”The summons have already been sent out in all directions.”

”Besides a few of us idle Direct Disciples, many Qi Refiners have also been recalled to the Sea of Clouds, among whom the weakest are at the Late-phase of Qi Refining.”

”Oh, right. There’s also a newcomer. Really unlucky to be promoted to Direct Disciple at a time like this.”

”Oh?” At this, Qin Tianhe raised an eyebrow, his interest piqued. ”Which newcomer? Which Perfected Person took a liking to them?”

”Yin Shan recommended him, apparently.”

As he said this, Xu Xin’s expression suddenly turned a little strange. ”But from what I know, this newcomer has never been to the Front.”

”...Never been?”

Qin Tianhe frowned upon hearing this. Then, as if he’d thought of something, a look of disgust crossed his face. ”Another one like Chen Xin’an?”

The Stain Sect’s Direct Disciples were divided into camps.

Some had earned their positions by fighting their way through the Front. Others had relied on their family elders, spending a great deal of money and pulling strings to buy their way in.

Those in the former group, like Qin Tianhe and Xu Xin, despised the latter, believing them unworthy of their station. Meanwhile, those in the latter group, like Chen Xin’an, who came from prominent Immortal Race families, were equally dismissive of the former, viewing them as nothing more than mud-legged peasants who got lucky and survived.

”I’m not too sure.” 𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

Xu Xin shook his head and smiled. ”But regardless, in this upcoming Battle for the Dao, we’ll have to trot him out and see if he’s a mule or a horse.”

”If he really is a good-for-nothing like Chen Xin’an, I wouldn’t mind teaching him a lesson, just to stop him from causing trouble and dragging us down during the Battle for the Dao.”

”Well said!”

Qin Tianhe nodded, no longer dwelling on the matter. His thoughts turned to the impending Battle for the Dao, and a fire ignited in his heart as he silently clenched his fists.

As a Direct Disciple from the battlefield camp, he had fought his way up on the Front. He had faced death countless times to achieve what he had today.

He had survived two Battles for the Dao, and if he could win one more, he would have a fifty percent chance of breaking through to Foundation Establishment.

Therefore, this Battle for the Dao was one he was determined to win!

Just then, a sudden explosion echoed from the distant Sea of Clouds. It was like a clap of thunder rolling through the empty sky, racing toward them from the far-off horizon.

’Someone’s coming?’

The commotion was so great that Qin Tianhe and Xu Xin, who had just been chatting freely, immediately fell silent. With a hint of awe, they gazed into the distance in the direction of the sound.

As the sound grew louder and more intense, both of their expressions turned grave.

’To generate thunder just from the speed of their Flying Light and create such a spectacle... what kind of cultivation must the Cultivator behind it possess?’

In the next second, the Flying Light arrived.

BOOM!

The immense Qi instantly agitated the Sea, creating a disturbance several times larger than the four waves Qin Tianhe had just summoned.

In an instant, a full ten waves surged toward the heavens.

Yet, before Xu Xin and Qin Tianhe could even react, an even more colossal surge of Qi descended from the sky, slamming down upon the waves of the cloud sea!

CRACK!

The hundreds of miles of the cloud sea instantly returned to calm. All the waves seemed to have been smoothed over by a giant, invisible hand. The clouds parted and the mist scattered, revealing a clear, graceful figure.

”So this is the place?”

Lü Yang glanced around, his eyes finally landing on the small boat floating on the sea below, where two Stain Sect Disciples stood. He immediately lowered his Flying Light and went over.

”You two...”

Before Lü Yang could finish, Qin Tianhe and Xu Xin, who had just witnessed his might in suppressing the sea with one surge of Qi, bowed deeply without a second thought.

”Disciple Qin Tianhe...”

”Disciple Xu Xin...”

”We pay our respects to your Perfected!”