Chapter 11: A Grand Demon Lord, Yet Can’t Even Chop Down a Tree!

It took every ounce of Xiao Yifeng’s stamina to climb the small slope leading to the forest.

The hillside was densely planted with Black Iron Wood, a common spiritual plant known for its rapid growth. The sect typically harvested it for artifact refining or as high-grade charcoal for alchemy fires. Its defining characteristic was simple: it was hard. Incredibly hard.

The massive trunks required two adults to encircle with their arms, while even the “slender” ones were as thick as a man’s waist. By the time Xiao Yifeng dragged himself to the top, gasping for air like a dying fish, Su Miaoqing and her Snow Lion, Xiaobai, were already waiting. They looked composed, refreshed, and entirely ready to watch him make a fool of himself.

Su Miaoqing led Xiao Yifeng deep into the woods. After a short walk, they arrived at a grove where the Black Iron Wood trees were particularly ancient. Each trunk was as thick as a water vat, looming over them like iron pillars.

Xiao Yifeng stood dumbfounded.

He knew this place well from his past life. These trees were at least a century old. Let alone a novice, even a low-level cultivator would struggle to dent them.

“This is the place,” Su Miaoqing said, her face a mask of solemn seriousness. “For the next three months, your task is to chop down one tree every day.”

Xiao Yifeng stared at her. He knew the purpose of this chore was to temper a novice’s physique and help them sense the circulation of Spiritual Qi through physical exertion. But this? This wasn’t training; this was suicide. He wasn’t meant to fight a battle of attrition against an iron wall.

“Senior Sister,” Xiao Yifeng said, his voice laced with shock. “These trees are enormous. How am I supposed to chop them down? Are you sure this is the right spot for a Novice disciple? Could there be a mistake?”

Su Miaoqing snorted, crossing her arms. “Are you implying I would lie to you? Or are you saying you know better than me what a Black Iron Wood tree looks like?”

Xiao Yifeng waved his hands frantically. “No, no! I would never dare. I mean… Senior Sister, I’ve just entered the sect. I’m weak. I need a lot of training before I can be as outstanding as you.”

He paused, putting on a pitiful expression. “Senior Brother Xiang mentioned at dinner that Black Iron Wood is extremely hard. Unless one has profound cultivation like you, Senior Sister, it’s impossible to break. Look at me—I have skinny arms and skinny legs. Don’t you think you might have remembered the location wrong? Surely the trees meant for me are… slightly smaller?”

He had figured it out. Su Miaoqing might be a cultivator, but at heart, she was still a child. She had been excited to finally have a Junior Brother to boss around, but Xiao Yifeng had been acting too mature, robbing her of the satisfaction of being the “Big Sister.” She was unhappy, so she was giving him a show of authority—a classic hazing ritual.

“Giggle… skinny arms and skinny legs…”

Su Miaoqing looked at Xiao Yifeng pinching his own scrawny arm and couldn’t hold it in. She burst out laughing, bending over at the waist. It took her a good while to regain her composure, though her lips still twitched with mirth.

“Fine, fine. What you say makes sense. I suppose I didn’t think it through carefully enough,” she said, trying to sound magnanimous. “Follow me.”

She turned and led him to a different grove nearby. Here, the Black Iron Wood trees were merely saplings, each only about as thick as a grown man’s thigh.

Xiao Yifeng let out a long breath. He had no desire to grind his bones to dust against those century-old trees. He beamed at her. “Thank you, Senior Sister!”

Su Miaoqing cleared her throat, adopting an old-fashioned, authoritative tone. “En. You can chop here. I have my own studies to attend to.”

With a wave of her hand, she skipped away, leaving him to his misery.

For the rest of the morning, Xiao Yifeng waged a lonely war against a single Black Iron Wood sapling.

He ground the axe against the bark. He chopped. He hacked. He sawed. He leveraged his weight. He nearly resorted to gnawing on it with his teeth.

Yet, he could barely make a dent.

Although he used the breathing techniques from the Nine Scrolls of Asking Heaven to regulate his stamina and applied force with specific leverage, his physical body was simply too weak.

Two hours passed. The sun climbed to its zenith.

Xiao Yifeng was drenched in sweat, his clothes clinging to his skin like a second layer. His limbs felt like lead, trembling with exhaustion. Despite his desperate efforts, the tree was only cut halfway through, the stubborn fibers still holding it together like steel cables.

Suddenly, the sound of humming drifted through the woods.

Su Miaoqing returned, skipping along with Xiaobai at her heels, singing a cheerful, nameless tune. She stopped and looked at Xiao Yifeng’s wretched state, then glanced at the half-chopped tree.

Her eyes curved into crescents. “Little Junior Brother, do you need help?”

“Yes! Senior Sister, save me!” Xiao Yifeng cried out without hesitation. A wise man knows when to bend and when to stretch; he had no dignity left to lose here.

“Weakling!” Su Miaoqing shook her head with mock disappointment.

She walked over and took the hatchet from his trembling hands. With a casual swing, her arm blurred.

Whoosh!

CRACK!

The blade sliced through the air and bit through the remaining wood like tofu. The Black Iron Wood tree toppled over with a heavy thud.

Su Miaoqing planted the axe handle on the ground and looked at him, her face full of smug pride.

Xiao Yifeng immediately clasped his hands. “Senior Sister is truly amazing! Thank you for the rescue. I will work harder to handle it myself next time!”

Su Miaoqing nodded, looking pleased. “En, not bad. This child is teachable. Let’s go back.”

She clasped her hands behind her back and strode out of the forest with her chin held high, looking for all the world like a grandmaster leading a disciple, with Xiaobai trotting obediently behind her.

Xiao Yifeng sighed as he trailed after them. Ah, so embarrassing… A Grand Demon Lord reduced to this.

The morning’s torment did not end with the tree.

Xiao Yifeng followed Su Miaoqing back to the main plaza, where Xiang Tiange was waiting. The Senior Brother had reached a bottleneck in his cultivation, so Su Qianyi had assigned him to instruct the juniors, hoping that teaching would provide him with new insights by analogy.

Seeing the two return, Xiang Tiange began his lesson. He decided to teach them a basic set of sword techniques.

The form wasn’t complicated. He demonstrated it once, his movements fluid and precise, then led them in practice.

Su Miaoqing had learned this long ago. Xiao Yifeng, retaining his memories, had mastered it decades ago. After watching the demonstration once, he nodded to Xiang Tiange. “Senior Brother, I’ve learned it.”

Together, they moved through the forms. Xiang Tiange offered occasional pointers, correcting a stance here or an angle there. This was their morning exercise.

Once the session ended, Su Miaoqing ran back to her quarters without a backward glance to wash up for breakfast.

Xiao Yifeng bid farewell to Xiang Tiange and returned to his own room. He instructed his maid, Xiaoyue, to prepare a bucket of hot water. After scrubbing away the morning’s sweat and changing into fresh robes, he felt somewhat human again.

“Senior Brother Yifeng,” Xiaoyue announced, stepping into the room. “The Mistress has sent someone to call you for breakfast.” Her face showed genuine surprise; eating with the Master was a rare honor, usually reserved for special occasions, yet here he was, invited again.

Xiao Yifeng hurried to the dining hall.

The meal, however, was an ordeal.

Su Qianyi asked a few casual questions about the morning’s training. Su Miaoqing seized the opportunity. She recounted the tree-chopping incident with gusto, adding oil and vinegar to the story until Xiao Yifeng sounded like the most incompetent woodcutter in the history of the sect.

Xiao Yifeng buried his face in his bowl, too embarrassed to look Su Qianyi in the eye. Even with two lifetimes of thick skin, he couldn’t withstand this. He silently resolved to put aside his grand ambitions of world domination for now—his current goal was simply to stop losing face.

Su Qianyi listened to his daughter’s exaggerated tale, shaking his head repeatedly at Xiao Yifeng’s frailty. Finally, he waved his hand dismissively. “Eat your meal.”

Lin Ziyun, ever the gentle soul, smiled warmly. She asked Xiao Yifeng if he was settling in well and if he needed anything, urging him to speak up if he did.

Xiao Yifeng was moved beyond words. In his previous life, he had entered the sect late, yet his Master’s Wife had always treated him with kindness. Regardless of the timeline, her maternal warmth remained a constant light in his life.

After breakfast, the real lessons began.

Xiang Tiange led Xiao Yifeng to a quiet side room for formal instruction. His expression turned solemn.

“Little Junior Brother, since you have just entered our Immortal Sect, I must explain the common knowledge of cultivation. The foundation of our sect, the secret method that is never transmitted to outsiders, is the Nine Scrolls of Asking Heaven.”

“The Nine Scrolls of Asking Heaven consists of nine volumes, each corresponding to a major realm of cultivation. We cultivators divide the path into nine stages: Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Soul Projection, Body Integration, Cave Void, Mahayana, and Tribulation Crossing. Each of these major realms is further divided into nine minor stages. Junior Brother, as a beginner, you must avoid impatience. You must build your foundation step by step, solid as a rock.”

“Senior Brother, I understand,” Xiao Yifeng nodded dutifully.

Xiang Tiange’s expression grew even more serious. “The reason I emphasize a solid foundation is that strength within a realm is not fixed. It varies wildly depending on how you break through. Take the breakthrough from Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment, for example. It is divided into three tiers: Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment, Earth Vein Foundation Establishment, and Human Dao Foundation Establishment.”

“Among these, the Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment is the supreme achievement. Not only does it grant a far greater increase in spiritual power and physical strength, but it also bestows a rare Innate Talent. For instance, my own talent, ‘Great Dao Affinity with Fire,’ allows my fire-attribute spells to be 30 percent stronger and lets me absorb fire-elemental Spiritual Qi at a much faster rate.”

Xiang Tiange paused to let this sink in. “Everyone’s awakened talent is different. Some are useless, while others are heaven-defying. Do not underestimate these differences. The gap might seem small in the early realms, but as you layer breakthrough upon breakthrough, the disparity becomes a chasm. By the later stages, a Golden Core cultivator with a flawless foundation can easily suppress a mediocre Nascent Soul cultivator.”

“This is why, Little Junior Brother, you must guard against arrogance and impatience. Why do the Wentian Sect, Xuanyue Palace, and Wuxiang Temple stand above all other sects? It is because we value the foundation above all else. Our progress may be slower, but our power is absolute.”

Xiang Tiange took a deep breath, his gaze piercing.

“There is one final matter. Our sect’s techniques are profound and mystical. Demonic cultivators and wicked men constantly seek to steal them. You must swear a solemn oath: once you learn these arts, you will never teach them to anyone outside the sect. If you violate this oath, Inner Demons will consume you, and your Great Dao will be severed forever!”

Xiao Yifeng’s heart stirred.

In his previous life, he had betrayed the sect while only at the Golden Core realm. As a result, he had only learned the first four scrolls of the Nine Scrolls of Asking Heaven. Afterward, he had been forced to switch his main cultivation to the True Explanation of Stars.

He snapped back to reality, his face turning resolute. He raised his hand.

“Yes. Heaven above be my witness. Disciple Xiao Yifeng swears that if I ever leak the secrets of the Wentian Sect’s Dao techniques, may I be struck by Five Thunders and die without a burial place!”