Is It Wrong to Bully the Novice Village for System Rewards?

Ji Tianpeng looked like he was about to expire. His face cycled through a kaleidoscope of unhealthy colors—from ghostly white to bruised purple, and finally settling on a sickly, bilious green. He looked less like a Holy Scion and more like a man suffering from severe food poisoning on a spinning tea-cup ride.

Qi Yuan, seemingly moved by compassion (or perhaps just bored), offered a gentle smile.

“Fellow Daoist Ji, since you are convinced the array is defective, why don’t we simply deactivate it? Let us discard these external variables and engage in a true, unfiltered collision of power. What do you say?”

“What did you say?!”

Ji Tianpeng’s head snapped up. Hope flared in his eyes, quickly followed by intense suspicion. “Are you trying to trick me again? I warn you, I am not a fool!”

He was genuinely rattled. Since the duel began, Qi Yuan hadn’t lifted a finger, yet Ji Tianpeng had been tortured within an inch of his sanity. This wasn’t a duel; it was a humiliation ritual.

“Believe what you wish. I have no patience for wasted time,” Qi Yuan said, shrugging with aristocratic indifference. “If you lack the courage to stake everything on a fair fight, then simply surrender and save us both the trouble.”

Ji Tianpeng’s expression shifted rapidly. Veins bulged on his forehead as the shame of potential surrender weighed against the fear of another trap. If he quit now, the Purple Sun Sanctuary would become the laughingstock of the cultivation world. He would be the Holy Scion who knelt before a single blow was struck.

He had to fight.

And without the array… he was a Soul Formation cultivator. Qi Yuan was merely Nascent Soul.

Even if it’s bullying, winning is what matters. History is written by the victors.

“Fine!” Ji Tianpeng gritted his teeth, his voice trembling with suppressed rage. “You asked for this! Fellow Daoist Xiao, deactivate the array! Let us settle this openly and honorably!”

He turned to the host stand, shouting, “Fellow Daoist Xiao, your sect’s array is clearly broken! It suppressed me to the Qi Refining stage by mistake, allowing him to take a cheap advantage. Turn it off! I want a fair fight!”

Xiao Yueni frowned, looking concerned. She turned her gaze to Qi Yuan. “Fellow Daoist Qi, the Purple Sun Holy Scion requests the removal of the suppression array. Do you consent to this… disadvantage?”

“I consent,” Qi Yuan nodded, looking the picture of calm confidence.

Inner thought: I just want to finish this. This guy is high-maintenance, and my food is getting cold.

“Very well.”

Xiao Yueni retrieved a jade formation disc from her sleeve. With a flick of her finger, she sent a stream of spiritual light into the device.

Hummmmm.

The shimmering barrier over the arena dissolved, leaving only the outer safety perimeter to protect the audience.

Boom!

The moment the suppression lifted, Ji Tianpeng’s aura exploded. The majestic pressure of the Soul Formation realm returned, sweeping across the arena like a hurricane. Although he was slightly weakened from the earlier ordeal, the return of his power acted like a shot of adrenaline.

He felt invincible again.

“Qi Yuan!” Ji Tianpeng roared, his eyes burning with vengeful glee. “Without the array to protect you, let’s see what tricks you have left! Today, I will beat you until you are crawling on the ground looking for your teeth!”

The crowd, sensing a turnaround, erupted. The gamblers who had bet on Ji Tianpeng cheered wildly.

“Hahaha! I knew it! The array was bugged!” “Ji Tianpeng is back! A Soul Formation expert against a Nascent Soul? It’s over!” “Is it too late to double my bet?!”

Qi Yuan ignored the noise. He slowly extended his right hand.

Flash.

A brilliant light coalesced in his palm, taking the form of a slender, pale-gold longsword. Its blade was silver-white, covered in dense, scale-like golden runes. It was beautiful, elegant, and radiated a chilling, almost demonic sharpness.

The Mystic Heaven Sword. The personal gift of the Supreme Mystery Sect Master to the Holy Scion. A top-tier magical treasure.

Qi Yuan held the sword loosely at his side. He narrowed his eyes, his expression unreadable.

“I will execute only one strike,” he announced, his voice cutting through the cheers. “If you are still standing afterwards, I will concede defeat.”

“…”

The crowd froze.

One strike?

A Mid-Nascent Soul cultivator claiming he could one-shot a Soul Formation expert? That wasn’t confidence; that was delusion. It broke every law of cultivation logic.

“Has Brother Qi lost his mind?” Piao Genshuo muttered, scratching his head. Then, his eyes lit up with ‘realization.’

“Wait… I get it! It’s a feint! He’s going to wind up for a big attack, scare Ji Tianpeng into a defensive stance, and then run away while his back is turned! Genius!”

Piao Genshuo nodded sagely, admiring his friend’s ‘tactical brilliance.’ “Brother Qi is almost as smart as me. Poor Ji Tianpeng, he doesn’t have the IQ for this level of warfare.”

On the stage, Ji Tianpeng laughed. It was a sound of pure, incredulous anger.

“One strike? Hah! Don’t say one strike—even if you unleash a hundred, a thousand strikes, this Seat will catch them all!”

“DIE!”

Ji Tianpeng didn’t wait. He shook his black spear, summoning a storm of lightning and dark energy, and thrust it straight at Qi Yuan’s heart.

Qi Yuan smiled faintly.

System, activate talent: [Blood God Four Refinements]. Level 4: Blood Burning.

Boom!

The void trembled.

Complex golden inscriptions flooded Qi Yuan’s pupils, glowing with terrifying intensity. Inside his body, a dormant volcano erupted.

During his last cultivation session, Qi Yuan had swallowed three Celestial Zenith Body Tempering Pills—an overdose that would have exploded a normal cultivator. He had sealed the excess medicinal energy in his blood to survive.

Now, he opened the floodgates.

The forbidden technique, Blood Burning, usually consumed the user’s life force. But today, it acted as a vent for the massive stockpile of drug energy raging inside him.

Slash.

Qi Yuan swung the sword.

A terrifying beam of golden sword-light erupted, tearing through the sky. It was a strike that seemed to sever the very fabric of reality, crushing the wind and clouds into dust.

“What the hell is this sword technique?!”

Ji Tianpeng’s face went pale. The hair on his neck stood up as a primal fear seized his heart. That beam of light didn’t feel like a Nascent Soul attack—it felt like judgment.

He tried to retract his spear and dodge, frantically burning his blood to escape.

But it was too late.

The golden light arrived instantaneously. It shredded his protective spirit barrier like wet paper.

BANG!

The sword energy exploded into a storm, swallowing him whole.

“Arghhh!”

Blood sprayed into the air.

Ji Tianpeng was flung backward like a ragdoll, his body covered in deep, lacerated wounds. He smashed into the stone floor, bounced twice, and lay still, groaning in agony.

Qi Yuan stood tall, the Mystic Heaven Sword dissolving into light. He exhaled a long breath of turbid air.

He didn’t look exhausted. He didn’t look drained. In fact, his face was rosy, his skin glowing with health. He looked like a man who had just enjoyed a deep tissue massage.

So comfortable.

It felt exactly like finally taking a massive dump after days of constipation. The blockage was gone. His meridians were clear.

If I used this technique normally, I’d be half-dead, Qi Yuan thought, flexing his fingers. But thanks to the pill overdose, I just burned off the excess calories. I feel lighter.

He looked down at the twitching, bloody mess that was Ji Tianpeng.

This Purple Sun Holy Scion… he really is a good person. He helped me detox for free.

Inner Thought: I made him paranoid with the array glitch just so he would commit to a head-on collision. If he had dodged, I wouldn’t have been able to vent all this energy. Thanks, bro.