Sun Yi’s challenge detonated over the plaza like a sonic boom. The Foundation Establishment ‘geniuses’ trembled, their knees weak, while the disciples with Low Grade Spirit Roots watched in stunned silence, unsure of the Headmaster’s endgame.

Sun Yi’s cultivation realm might not have been the highest, but his authority was absolute. He was the server admin, the architect of their prosperity. Even the arrogant elites felt a primal fear when facing his displeasure.

Seeing their terror, Sun Yi’s expression remained flat. He wasn’t interested in fear; he was interested in correcting the system error.

“Stop kneeling. Get up.”

His gaze swept over the crowd, assessing the data. Then, he channeled his True Qi, amplifying his voice until it resonated with the force of a thunderclap.

“I am Sun Yi. I command all cultivators of the Qingyun Sect: assemble at the Battle Tower Plaza immediately!”

The acoustic shockwave swept through the entire sect, penetrating every wall, barrier, and meditation chamber.

The reaction was instantaneous.

High above, five streaks of light tore through the clouds. The Golden Core Elders, the sect’s executive board, abandoned their duties instantly, racing toward the beacon of their Headmaster’s voice.

In the Alchemy Hall, a group of disciples huddled around a glowing furnace, sweat dripping from their brows as they carefully manipulated the fire.

“Wait… was that the Headmaster?”

“It was.” A Foundation Establishment alchemist stood up so fast his chair clattered to the floor. “Let’s go.”

“But Senior Brother! The pills! This batch is at a critical—”

“Forget the batch!” the senior roared, already sprinting for the door. “Is a furnace of pills more important than the Headmaster’s summons? Move!”

He turned into a blur of light. Behind him, the others scrambled, abandoning the precious materials without a second thought.

Across the mountain, the Refining Hall, Talisman Hall, and Formation Hall erupted into chaos. Hammers were dropped, brushes halted mid-stroke, and arrays powered down. A swarm of lights rose from every peak, converging on the Battle Tower like moths to a flame.

Sun Yi hovered silently in the air, still wearing the plain grey robes of a lowly disciple.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.

Five powerful auras descended. The Golden Core Elders materialized around him, their faces etched with concern.

“Headmaster,” Elder Jin Jue boomed, eyeing Sun Yi’s disguise. “What is the meaning of this? Why the emergency broadcast?”

The other four Elders leaned in, sensing the tension.

Sun Yi sighed, his digital eyes cool. He gave them a concise summary of the incident: the bullying, the segregation, the toxic ‘efficiency’ rhetoric.

As he spoke, the Elders’ expressions shifted from confusion to fury.

“Insolence!” Elder Jin Jue roared. “Do they have a death wish?”

A terrifying pressure exploded from the burly Elder, washing over the plaza below. The disciples shuddered, feeling the weight of a Golden Core rage.

“We gave them resources, we gave them freedom, and this is how they repay the sect? By creating internal strife?” Jin Jue’s beard bristled with static.

“It happened right under our noses,” Elder Li Tai muttered, shaking his head in shame. “We have been negligent in our oversight.”

“Don’t blame yourselves,” Sun Yi interjected smoothly, raising a hand to dampen Jin Jue’s aura. “This is a legacy compatibility issue. In the cultivation world, discriminating based on Spirit Roots is a ‘feature,’ not a bug. We’ve patched the rules, but we haven’t patched the user culture. The hardware changed; the software is still running on old logic.”

Elder Han Yun nodded slowly. “The Headmaster is wise. We removed the caste system of Inner and Outer sects, but the arrogance of talent is deep-rooted. It is difficult to legislate humility.”

“Should we update the penal code?” Jin Jue asked, his eyes flashing. “Make an example of a few? I can crush their arrogance quite literally.”

The other Elders looked to Sun Yi for the final decision.

Sun Yi shook his head. “Negative. Punishment is a temporary patch. It suppresses the behavior but validates the resentment. They will bow on the outside but sneer on the inside. They still believe, fundamentally, that they are superior biological machines.”

“I need to reformat their operating system,” Sun Yi said, a dangerous glint in his eyes.

The Elders exchanged confused glances. “Reformat…?”

“Headmaster, do you have a plan?” Jin Jue asked.

Sun Yi’s lips curved into a faint, confident smile.

“Their entire sense of worth is built on one metric: the Spirit Root. They think it determines the upper limit of a user’s potential. So…” Sun Yi looked down at the gathering crowd. “I’m going to deprecate that metric. Today, I will redefine the meaning of ‘Genius’.”

He paused, then added, “And since the whole server is gathering, I might as well execute my breakthrough to Foundation Establishment live. I need to prove that the ‘Trinity Cultivation’ build—Body, Qi, and Soul—is the new meta.”

The Elders’ eyes widened. A public breakthrough to prove a theory? It was risky, bold, and exactly the kind of move Sun Yi would make. They nodded in unison, anticipation bubbling in their chests.

Two hours later.

The Battle Tower Plaza, though smaller than the Central Square, was packed to bursting. Over four thousand cultivators stood shoulder to shoulder, a sea of robes rippling in the mountain breeze.

Sun Yi and the Elders remained suspended high above, silent observers as the final stragglers arrived.

Down below, the rumor mill was spinning at maximum velocity.

“Senior Brother Zuo, what’s the situation? Why the hell did the Headmaster call an all-hands meeting?”

“Hehe, Junior Brother Nie, you missed the show,” a disciple whispered, eyes gleaming with gossip. “Just a moment ago…”

He recounted the face-slapping incident in vivid detail.

“The Headmaster actually said that?”

“Word for word! He stood up for us Low Graders. He told the elites to check their privilege!”

“Good! Those High Grade bastards are getting out of control.”

“Exactly. We buy our own resources with points we grind for. What right do they have to boss us around?”

“The Headmaster is truly a god sent from the Heavens,” another disciple said, clutching his chest emotionally. “I was just a Level 4 trash mob before he took over. Now? I’m pushing for the level cap. I’d die for him.”

“Me too. If anyone disrespects Headmaster Sun, I’ll bite them to death.”

As the story spread, the atmosphere in the plaza shifted. The Low Grade disciples, previously cowed, now glared openly at the High Grade cliques. Anger and validation mixed in the air.

“So what if your RNG was better at birth?” one disciple sneered at a nearby elite. “You just got lucky with the spawn roll. The Headmaster sees through you!”

“Yeah! Without the Headmaster’s patches, you’d be nothing!”

The High Grade disciples looked uncomfortable. The narrative had flipped. They were no longer the chosen ones; they were just lucky brats being scolded by dad.

Er Gouzi and Luo An arrived, pushing through the crowd to the front. Seeing the tension, they exchanged worried looks. The sect was polarized. If Sun Yi didn’t handle this perfectly, the community would fracture.

Finally, the influx of lights ceased.

Four thousand cultivators looked up. The entire server population, minus Patriarch Qingxuan, was present.

Sun Yi cleared his throat.

Kuh.

The sound wasn’t loud, but it cut through the noise like a blade.

Instantly, the plaza fell dead silent. Thousands of heads lowered, no one daring to meet the gaze of the man floating in the sky.