Every season, the inner disciples of Qingxiao Sect held the Heavenflame Martial Demonstration, hosted by the sect elders and true disciples. It was the stage to select the next generation of elite cultivators.
Three days before the event, Lin Ce received an anonymous letter.
Its message was brief:
"The one you killed last month was Luo Yuan—
Nephew of the Sect Master.
The 'Sword Enforcement Hall' has begun investigating."
The handwriting was unfamiliar, but the strength behind the brushstroke…
Felt all too familiar—Xu Xing.
Lin Ce's first reaction wasn't panic.
It was calm.
He immediately entered "Silent Survival Mode",based on Rule Nineteen of Shen Changsheng's survival doctrine:
"When killing intent descends: First hide. Then deceive. Then strike."
He took out a Face-Altering Pill from a hidden chamber, and after consuming it, his appearance shifted—he now looked like a low-ranking outer sect steward.
Meanwhile, he activated a puppet double, making it seem as if he were still meditating inside his cave.
That night, he avoided all paths with spiritual patrols and snuck into the rear mountains.
There, hidden in a barren spirit field, he uncovered a long-forgotten emergency hideout.
Two days later, Sword Enforcement Hall disciples visited his old cave.
They destroyed the puppet double, severing its neck cleanly.
And only left behind a report:
"Outer disciple missing."
Lin Ce survived. Again.
But he now knew Xu Xing had betrayed him.
The motive? Unknown.
But the consequences? Endless.
He recalled Rule Thirty from Shen Changsheng's legacy:
"Anyone who knows your secret—
Is either a friend… or a corpse."
And so, Lin Ce began to prepare his counterattack.
On the day of the Heavenflame Martial Demonstration, the sect's upper echelon gathered atop Xuanqing Peak.
On the battle stage, disciples dueled in turn—some wielded sword qi, others conjured grand spells.
Lin Ce had signed up early.
He was thirty-third on the list.
Right before him—thirty-second—was Xu Xing.
Xu Xing displayed the Golden Thread Kill Technique, slicing through a puppet in one stroke.
The elders praised him as a mechanical prodigy.
As he stepped down, he gave Lin Ce a chilling smile.
Lin Ce's expression didn't change.
He stepped up next.
Summoned his bone puppet.
Clashed briefly with his opponent.
But in the exchange, he secretly flicked out a thin black thread.
It was an ultra-refined venom called "Smile Scar", extracted from the belly of a Nether Serpent Gu.
Once it entered the body:
After 45 minutes, all five senses failed.
After 105 minutes, the spiritual sea collapsed.
His opponent never noticed.
The match was declared a draw.
Lin Ce was ranked third-tier. No rewards.
Most sighed at his "mediocre potential."
Meanwhile, Xu Xing was designated as a future true disciple.
Lin Ce watched him bask in praise, surrounded by others.
Then… gave a faint smile.
"Climb higher.
So when you fall… it'll hurt more."
Three days later, while cultivating with a Soul-Nurturing Pill, Xu Xing suddenly lost all five senses.
His divine sense surged with agony.
He screamed and stumbled out—unable to even find the door to his own room.
"Who?!
WHO ambushed me?!"
Far in the distance, a tiny grey butterfly fluttered away unseen.
It was Lin Ce's Soul-Eater Gu Butterfly, designed to feast on fragmented divine minds.
That night, Xu Xing's soul was shattered.
His cultivation fell one whole stage.
His mechanical arts collapsed.
A spiritual backlash detonated his left arm.
The sect ruled it "cultivation deviation."
Back in his cave, Lin Ce opened his "Impression Book."
Next to Xu Xing's name, he drew a single slash.
Not dead. But broken.
He raised his eyes toward the cave entrance.
The sky was like flowing water.
"From this day on…
There are no more 'Daoists.'"
He shut the book, and wrote a new line:
"Cultivation Survival Rule No. 51:
Fellow Daoists are not to be befriended."