Chapter 10: 断臂

Regardless, Wang Yu's words both cast blame and played the victim, all while portraying himself as being bullied for the sake of the sect.

Yet, the actual scene was a little off: three arms and three legs lay there, none of which belonged to Wang Yu.

The onlookers among the spirit slaves were utterly dumbfounded.

Steward Duan took a deep breath. He had publicly supported Wang Yu, so now that something had happened, he couldn't remain uninvolved.

“Understood,” he said. “Someone, take them away, treat them well, and they will continue to contribute to the Holy Sect in the future.”

“Yes!”

From the group of instructors, several people immediately stepped out and had just begun to lift them.

Another steward arrived; it was Steward Liu.

“Stop.”

The three spirit slave stewards were all at the late Qi Condensation stage, still harboring hopes of Foundation Establishment. Their opportunities naturally lay with the true disciples they served.

The struggle for influence over the spirit slaves was also a struggle for their own cultivation paths.

Steward Liu appeared younger, was lean, had a goatee, wore a purple cultivation robe, and a tall hat.

His expression was cold as he looked at Wang Yu.

“Did you do this?”

Wang Yu was about to repeat his previous rhetoric. He had just opened his mouth, before uttering a single word, when Steward Liu suddenly barked.

“How dare you try to argue!”

Without another word, he formed his hand into a blade and unleashed a blade aura about ten feet (3.3 meters) long.

Terrified, Wang Yu could only dive to dodge. His previous three ice swords had completely drained his spiritual energy; had it not been for his high mastery of spells and good control of spiritual energy, he wouldn't have been able to use them at all.

Steward Liu's audacity was completely different from the attitude Wang Yu had anticipated, and he wondered what had gone wrong.

Steward Duan's expression also changed drastically, and he quickly stepped forward to intervene.

But he was ultimately a step too late.

Wang Yu dodged in time, and his torso was not hit, but his left arm was not so lucky. As if reliving the previous scene, an arm fell to the ground, torn to shreds by the residual energy.

There was no possibility of reattaching it!

Where the blade aura passed, it left extremely deep marks on the bluestone ground, leaving a scene of utter destruction.

Steward Liu let out a cold snort.

“He was given a taste of his own medicine,” he declared. “Let this serve as a warning for what happened today!”

Wang Yu's face was grim as he stared at the minced flesh and bone on the ground, wishing he could flay Steward Liu alive and devour his flesh.

Steward Duan, who had watched the entire scene unfold, felt that something was wrong. Steward Liu was not usually this aggressive, especially not in front of him!

Now that it had come to this, Wang Yu had been punished too severely. His prestige was utterly lost, which virtually nullified his recent efforts and made him completely worthless to Steward Duan.

He therefore wasted no time and quickly left the stone hut area.

He needed to go to Coldblood Peak, find out the situation clearly, and then make a decision.

The Bluestone Plaza.

The spirit slaves watched with cold indifference; no one dared to approach Wang Yu anymore. After all, they had all witnessed what had just transpired, and Steward Liu was far more powerful than Steward Duan. Their choice was obvious.

Wang Yu used spiritual energy to stabilize his wound. He forcibly squeezed out some spiritual energy; he couldn't conjure an ice sword, but he could completely freeze the 'remains of his arm.' He cradled it in his remaining right hand, to take it back to his stone hut for destruction.

His heart was heavy.

This incident, with its many twists and turns, had made him fully realize the importance of strength. This was the Demonic Path indeed…

Back in his stone hut, Wang Yu sat in meditation to recover his spiritual energy. He meticulously used the Ice Sword Art to process the 'remains of his arm' inch by inch, repeating the tedious process over and over.

Until it was completely reduced to dust!

In the blink of an eye, over ten more days passed. It was now the forty-third day of Wang Yu's life as a spirit slave.

Placement Slot 2: Ice Sword Art (Mastered)

Ice Sword Art (100/100): 144 practices per day, can be achieved in three years.

The information in the placement slot's description had changed. After mastery, the original 'achievable in thirty days' had become 'achievable in three years'.

But the spell was already mastered. As long as he had enough spiritual energy, he could conjure ten ice swords at once, and their destructive power had surged.

This new change likely meant it had surpassed its original grade limit, elevating it to the rank of a high-grade spell.

“Three years, then…”

This was good news, but Wang Yu was not as happy as one might expect. After much thought, he removed the Ice Sword Art and replaced it with the Blood Burning Technique.

The Ice Sword Art at this stage was entirely sufficient for his needs, and there was no need to keep it in the slot. For cultivators, realm advancement was paramount.

Due to the month-long delay, Placement Slot 1 had only yielded 15 wisps of spiritual energy cultivation. His Dantian's capacity had only expanded to 21 wisps, a remarkably slow pace.

This was because 5 wisps were consumed to condense spirit sand.

Although Steward Duan had abandoned him, he still had to complete his duties as a spirit slave. Now with two placement slots dedicated to cultivation, his efficiency had doubled.

“Three months and four days.”

Without considering his own cultivation speed, this was the time it would take him to break through to the third level of Qi Condensation.

But this was far from enough. Without the help of a benefactor, it would be almost impossible for him to recover in the short term.

Unless he broke through to the fourth level of Qi Condensation and completely distanced himself from other spirit slaves. As for his secret being discovered, how could it be?

The placement slots were invisible and intangible. He didn't have a storage bag, and he lived in the stone hut area, where there was no privacy or secrets.

At most, they might suspect his physique was unusual, or that he was constantly cultivating using the 'Lifespan Burning Secret Art.' As for soul-searching, that was absurd. It was one of the legendary secret arts of the Demonic Path, only cultivable by Core Formation stage cultivators.

As a Qi Condensation spirit slave, he wouldn't even register in the eyes of such powerful individuals. Therefore, only realm advancement could solve his fundamental problems.

On this day, something unexpected happened.

Steward Duan, who had originally given up on Wang Yu, sent someone to find him again.

A private room on the second floor, beside the Bluestone Plaza.

The corpulent Steward Duan smiled as he looked at Wang Yu.

“Do you bear a grudge?”

Wang Yu quickly bowed respectfully and said deferentially, “Yu is but a humble spirit slave, who has long since dedicated his body and soul to the Holy Sect and to you, Esteemed One. I bear no grudge.”

“I don't believe you.”

Steward Duan's expression turned cold, and he lightly tapped his index finger on the table, constantly applying pressure. Wang Yu immediately changed his tune.

“If I were to speak of grudges,” Wang Yu said, “Yu only harbors resentment towards Steward Liu. The vendetta for my severed arm is etched into my heart.”

“Now that's more like it.”

Steward Duan chuckled as he helped him up.

“Losing a limb won't just affect your daily life,” Steward Duan continued; “if you fail to pass the Qi and Blood barrier during Foundation Establishment in the future, nine tenths of the reason will be this severed arm. This is an enmity that hinders your path to cultivation, greater than killing one's father or stealing one's wife.”

Upon hearing this, Wang Yu's heart stirred. He was eager to learn more about the secrets of Foundation Establishment, but he knew this was clearly not the time to ask.

“Yu is merely a humble spirit slave, with mediocre aptitude,” Wang Yu replied. “I wouldn't dare to aspire to the Foundation Establishment stage.”

“It's alright to dream,” Steward Duan said. “Everyone should have some ambition.”

Steward Duan changed his tone, no longer emphasizing the enmity between Wang Yu and Steward Liu.

“What happened last time was indeed a small accident,” he said. “I can tell you about it, and even find a way to help you restore this arm.”

Wang Yu's heart stirred.

“What should I do?”

“No rush, let's discuss it slowly.”

Steward Duan poured himself a cup of tea and took a sip.

Since his last visit to Coldblood Peak to meet with True Disciple Su, where he had been reprimanded, his change in attitude towards Wang Yu stemmed from that encounter.