Several Qi Refining disciples scrambled to their feet, faces flushed with indignation. One of the hotheads couldn’t hold back, pointing a trembling finger at the intruders.

“The plaza is enormous! There are hundreds of cultivation nodes open. Why must you take ours?”

“We were here first!” another shouted, emboldened by his peer. “First come, first served. That is the rule!”

“Hmph. Rules are for the weak.”

The five Foundation Establishment cultivators sneered, their aura pressing down like a physical weight. They didn’t even draw their weapons; the pressure of their cultivation base alone was enough to make the air shimmer.

The leader of the bullying group, a young man with a sharp chin and sharper eyes, looked at the Qi Refining disciples as if they were mud on his boots.

“You trash,” he spat, savoring the word. “You only stand here today because of the Headmaster’s charity. Do not mistake a handout for a right. You are waste. You will never reach Foundation Establishment.”

Another Foundation Establishment disciple stepped forward, his nose wrinkled in disgust. “He’s right. Every Spirit Stone you absorb is a crime against the Heavens. If those resources were funneled to us—the true talents—the Sect would have five more experts by now. Instead, they are burned away by your mediocrity.”

“Parasites,” a third hissed. “That’s what you are. Moths eating the foundation of the house.”

The leader turned his gaze to a specific disciple in the shivering group. “Xu Xian. You and Senior Brother He started at the same time. You consumed the exact same amount of resources. Look at the result.”

He gestured grandly to a smug-looking man in the center of their group.

“Senior Brother He is a mid-stage Foundation Establishment powerhouse. And you? Still stuck at Qi Refining Grand Perfection. You are a bad investment, Xu Xian. You shouldn’t even be in the sect.”

Xu Xian’s face drained of color. His fists clenched at his sides, knuckles white, but he said nothing. The logic cut deep because, by the ruthless standards of the cultivation world, it was true. His hardware was inferior. His processing speed was slow. He was a resource sink.

The surrounding disciples with Low Grade Spirit Roots lowered their heads, the shame burning their cheeks. They knew their conversion rate was terrible. They knew they were ‘inefficient.’

Seeing their morale break, the ‘geniuses’ preened. The leader laughed, a sound like grinding glass.

“Mediocrities should know their place. Leave the resources to the elite. Only then can Qingyun Sect rise.”

“Exactly! Optimize the supply chain!”

“Scram, trash!”

The jeers grew louder. The High Grade disciples were practically vibrating with entitlement. They viewed the sect’s new welfare policies as a theft of their birthright. In their minds, resources belonged to the strong; the weak were just burning capital that didn’t belong to them.

Sun Yi watched from the edge of the crowd, his expression hidden behind the generic features of the Phantom Mask.

Inside, his mind was cold.

Classic middle-management toxicity, he analyzed. They mistake genetic luck for competence. They believe the server exists solely to host them.

He looked at the dejected faces of the Low Grade disciples. Their drive was being crushed, their loyalty eroded. If this bug wasn’t patched immediately, the community aspect of his ‘game’ would collapse.

Sun Yi stepped forward.

“Ridiculous.”

He didn’t shout, but he infused the word with a pulse of True Qi. The sound detonated over the plaza like a thunderclap, silencing the jeers instantly.

Sun Yi walked into the center of the confrontation. He had deliberately suppressed his aura to the Qi Refining stage, looking for all the world like just another piece of ‘trash.’

The crowd parted, whispering.

“Who is that?” “Never seen him. Just another Qi Refining nobody.” “Is he suicidal?”

Sun Yi stopped five paces from the Foundation Establishment group. He stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his posture relaxed, his eyes flat.

“Who are you?” the leader demanded, eyeing Sun Yi’s plain robes.

Sun Yi ignored the question. He swept his gaze over the five ‘geniuses,’ dissecting them.

“I have a question for the ‘elite’,” Sun Yi said, his voice carrying clearly across the silent square. “You speak of waste. But tell me—did these disciples steal the resources?”

He didn’t wait for an answer.

“No. They bought them. With Contribution Points. Points they earned by grinding missions, hunting beasts, and serving the sect. It was a transaction. Fair trade.”

Sun Yi took a step closer. “They paid the price set by the System… by the Sect. The administration has validated their purchase. So, I ask you: on what authority do you override the Sect’s policy?”

The leader blinked, taken aback by the logic, but Sun Yi pressed on, his voice sharpening.

“You claim superiority. But let’s look at the data. Your cultivation is higher only because your hardware—your Spirit Roots—came pre-installed with better specs. You were born on third base and think you hit a triple.”

Sun Yi sneered, a look of utter contempt. “You aren’t hard workers. You’re just lucky. In my eyes, your so-called ‘genius’ is a joke.”

The plaza went dead silent.

The Low Grade disciples looked up, eyes widening. Yes… we earned those points. We worked for them! The logic took root, dispelling the shame. Spines straightened. Heads lifted.

The Foundation Establishment group, however, turned purple with rage.

“You dare?” the leader roared, stepping forward, his spiritual pressure flaring. “Who do you think you are to lecture us? A bug like you? It is a law of nature that resources belong to the strong! We are the future of this Sect, not you!”

Sun Yi stared at him. The man was quoting the old code. The spaghetti code of a feudal world.

“Hahahaha!”

Sun Yi threw his head back and laughed. It wasn’t a warm laugh. It was the sound of a CEO watching a competitor bankrupt themselves.

“The future?” Sun Yi whispered, the amusement vanishing from his face. “Let me show you the present.”

SYSTEM COMMAND: FLIGHT MODE. ENGAGE.

Sun Yi didn’t jump. He simply… rose.

He drifted upward, defying gravity, floating ten meters above the heads of the stunned crowd. Hovering without a flying sword or artifact was a signature of profound cultivation control.

He reached up and grabbed the edge of his face.

Uninstalling Phantom_Mask.exe…

The generic features melted away, revealing the sharp, majestic, and terrifyingly familiar face of the Headmaster.

Sun Yi looked down, his eyes glowing with suppressed power.

“Do I have the right to speak now?”

The silence that followed was absolute. It was the silence of a server crash.

The blood drained from the faces of the five ‘geniuses’. The arrogance evaporated, replaced by a primal terror—the feeling of falling into an ice cellar. The cold started at their feet and shot straight to their brains.

The Headmaster. He was… he was right there.

“Greeting… Greetings, Headmaster!”

A disciple in the back dropped to his knees. Then another. Then the wave hit.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Hundreds of knees hit the stone pavement. The sound rippled outward like a shockwave.

“WE GREET THE HEADMASTER!”

The chant shook the Battle Tower.

The five bullies collapsed, their legs giving out. They were trembling so violently their teeth chattered. They hadn’t just insulted a senior; they had called the CEO ‘trash’ to his face.

The Low Grade disciples were shaking too, but with adrenaline and vindication. The Headmaster—the god of their new world—had stood up for them.

Sun Yi hovered above them, a literal deity of judgment. He focused his gaze on the five trembling Foundation Establishment disciples.

“I, too, possess a Low Grade Spirit Root,” Sun Yi said, his voice cold enough to freeze nitrogen.

The five bullies pressed their foreheads into the stone, wishing the ground would swallow them.

“Does that make me trash? Does that make me a parasite? Should I surrender my resources to you?”

“Mercy, Headmaster! Mercy!” one of them sobbed.

“You call yourselves geniuses,” Sun Yi said, descending slowly until he hovered just inches above the leader, forcing the boy to look up into his eyes. “You think you are heavyweights?”

Sun Yi smiled, a sharp, dangerous expression.

“Good. Today, I’m feeling generous. I’ll give you a chance to prove your specs.”

He straightened up, his aura expanding to cover the entire plaza.

“Come at me. Let this ‘trash’ weigh exactly how much you geniuses are worth.”