After Immortal Zhou Qing had stayed on Servant Peak for a week, occasional snippets of conversation would drift out from the stone house.

While cleaning a corner of the Shack, Chen Ping faintly overheard two selected servants huddled together, whispering with awe.

“Did you hear? Exalted Immortal Zhou said it’s not just here; it seems the Qi throughout the entire sect has grown thinner…”

“Really? No wonder the Exalted Immortal has been investigating for so long without finding a clue. So the problem is in a bigger place?”

“Exactly! I caught a couple of sentences when the Exalted Immortal was talking to Manager Wang. Something about ‘the Sect Protection Formation operating with sluggishness’ and ‘higher-level Cultivation being hindered,’ which is why they sent people to inspect nodes all over… Sigh, these matters of Immortals are beyond our understanding.”

Chen Ping’s hand holding the broom paused slightly before he nonchalantly swept away the dust on the ground.

The Qi concentration of the entire sect had decreased? And the timing was within these two months since he obtained the Jade Pendant?

A chill shot up his spine from the soles of his feet without warning. This… was too much of a coincidence.

He dared not dwell on it and immediately suppressed the surging waves of shock in his heart.

Regardless of whether there was a connection or not, the secret of this Jade Pendant must be kept even tighter!

Subconsciously, he pressed through his coarse cloth garment against the warm, hard object on his chest.

In the following days, he became even more cautious. Apart from necessary labor and training…

He tried to shrink himself into corners among the crowd, avoiding any place that might draw attention, especially in the direction of that stone house. He even reduced his daytime training sessions in secluded spots, preferring to endure a bit more.

A month passed quietly amidst Chen Ping’s day-after-day arduous training and tense nerves.

The door of the stone house finally opened again.

Zhou Qing walked out, still wearing that spotless blue robe, with a trace of barely noticeable fatigue and impatience on his face.

He spoke a few words indifferently to Manager Wang, who was bowing and scraping. The gist was that there were no obvious abnormalities at this node, and the Qi fluctuations might be related to overall changes in the Sect Protection Formation. He needed to return to the Hall of Affairs to report.

The blue streamer of light lit up again as Zhou Qing’s figure shot into the sky, vanishing beyond the horizon in the blink of an eye.

The Immortal was gone.

The invisible pressure that had hung over Servant Peak abruptly dissipated. After a brief silence came Manager Wang’s furious roar.

“What are you looking at! Get back to work, all of you! Do you really think you’re somebody? Bullshit Immortal fate! A bunch of lowly scum!”

His face was livid. The frustration bottled up for a month and the disappointment of failing to curry favor with an Immortal now transformed into surging rage.

Like an enraged Wild Boar, his fierce gaze swept over the cowering servants before finally pinpointing that figure silently cleaning tools in a distant corner.

Chen Ping.

It’s all because of this unlucky waste!

If not for him… if not for always thinking about how to deal with him, distracting my energy, maybe I could have performed better in front of the Immortal! Maybe…

“Chen Ping! Are you fucking deaf?!”

Manager Wang strode over aggressively, pointing at Chen Ping’s nose.

“The Immortal is gone, so you’re useless now, you waste! Get your ass to the Back Mountain! Clear out that thorn thicket within three days! If you don’t finish, I’ll skin you alive!”

He intended to vent all the anger accumulated over this month onto this eyesore of a punching bag.

The Scarred Foreman immediately understood. With a vicious grin, he drew his whip and surrounded Chen Ping with several lackeys.

“You hear that? Waste! Get moving!”

Chen Ping slowly straightened up and put down the tools in his hands.

He dusted off his hands, raised his head, and looked calmly at the furious Manager Wang and the menacing Scarred Foreman.

There was no fear or anger in his eyes, only a nearly indifferent calmness.

“Manager Wang,” Chen Ping’s voice wasn’t loud, but it clearly cut through Manager Wang’s roar. “Find someone else for clearing thorns.”

“What did you say?!”

Manager Wang could hardly believe his ears; his eyes nearly popped out.

The Scarred Foreman even raised his whip higher. “Looking for death!”

Ignoring the impending whip strike, Chen Ping looked at Manager Wang and spoke word by word.

“My work here is done. Now, I’m going down the mountain.”

“Down the mountain? You trying to run away?” Manager Wang laughed in extreme anger.

“No!”

Chen Ping shook his head. Meeting Manager Wang’s stunned gaze, he said clearly, “I’m going to find the manager down below to take the Regular Disciple assessment.”

The air seemed to freeze for an instant.

The fury on Manager Wang’s face stiffened before being replaced by absurdity and contempt.

“Assessment? With what? You one-handed waste? You still want to become a Regular Disciple? I think you’ve gone mad!”

The Scarred Foreman’s whip also halted mid-air as he looked at Chen Ping like he was an idiot.

Chen Ping said no more. He turned directly and walked toward the path leading down the mountain.

His steps were steady, his back straight.

“Stop him! Break his legs for me!” Manager Wang snapped back to reality and shrieked hoarsely.

The Scarred Foreman and several lackeys immediately pounced viciously. Whips and fists whistled through the air toward Chen Ping’s back.

As if he had eyes on his back, Chen Ping sharply sidestepped just as the whip tip was about to strike him. The whip cracked against the ground, kicking up dust.

Simultaneously, he swung his left arm backward. The motion wasn’t fast but carried a solid force that precisely blocked a lackey’s incoming punch.

“Huh?”

That lackey felt his arm go numb as a great force transmitted through it. He was actually shaken back two staggering steps, surprise flashing across his face.

The Scarred Foreman also sensed something amiss. With a flick of his wrist, he sent his whip lashing out fiercely again.

This time, Chen Ping didn’t fully dodge. His right hand shot out like lightning; five fingers hooked like claws, accurately grabbing hold of the incoming whip tip!

“What?!”

The Scarred Foreman was greatly startled. He tried to yank it back with force, but the whip seemed welded into Chen Ping’s grip—it didn’t budge an inch!

A cold glint flashed in Chen Ping’s eyes. The arm holding the whip tip suddenly exerted force with a powerful tug!

The Scarred Foreman felt immense strength transmitted through the whip. He was pulled forward off-balance and fell face-first onto the ground in an undignified heap!

This stunned everyone present.

Several other lackeys who were about to pounce froze as if under a paralysis spell. They stood rigidly in place, staring incredulously at Chen Ping standing firmly there.

Manager Wang’s eyes almost popped out completely. His mouth hung open, unable to utter a single word.

Chen Ping released his grip. The whip fell limply to the ground.

Without even glancing at the fallen Scarred Foreman or the petrified lackeys on ground level again, his gaze returned once more toward Manager Wang. That terrifyingly calm look remained unchanged upon meeting his eyes directly.

“Manager Wang,” he said evenly yet firmly enough for all nearby ears to clearly catch every syllable. “The assessment time is limited; I’ll be leaving first.”

Having spoken thusly—and without further delay—he turned around decisively, then strode purposefully along the descending mountain trail ahead.

His footsteps were resolute now—devoid entirely of any past cowering or faltering hesitance.

Watching the retreating figure disappear into the distance gradually, Manager Wang’s complexion shifted from reddening rage through purpling fury before finally settling into a pallid ashen hue.

His lips trembled slightly while attempting to curse something out loud—yet his throat felt choked up, somehow preventing any sound from escaping properly.

An inexplicable chill rose unbidden from the depths within his heart.

Chen Ping did not look back once throughout the entire descent process thereafter.

His goal remained singular focus only—the Servant Management Office below the mountain base where the stone lock marking five hundred pounds of Physical Strength awaited testing him soon enough.