Chapter 2414: The Life of a Worthless One's Rise to Power

He Lingchuan's cultivation in the first few years was unremarkable, showing nothing extraordinary. In Fengfeng Valley, there were countless disciples like him, and no one paid special attention. Even he made several mistakes midway, repeatedly failing to correct them, and his master demoted him again and again, assigning him to menial labor. For a time, he was sent to serve the Earth Mother.

Liu Yisheng pointed at Li Yun: "Li Yun learned that those few mistakes he made were actually framed by others, and seeing his diligence and hard work, he spoke up for him. Shangguan Biao quickly returned to his master's side, after which his abilities gradually shone, he rose smoothly through the ranks, and his promotion was far smoother than others'. After the Three Sects besieged Fengfeng Valley, talents within the sect withered, so I relied on him as my left and right hand to assist me in handling affairs at Baille Peak. He also performed remarkably—who would have thought he harbored malicious intentions all along?"

He Lingchuan had long noticed several suspicious points, so he directly asked: "Shangguan Biao joined Fengfeng Valley at age twelve, but Xian Sect usually only accepts disciples under seven, and his talent is not exceptional—how could he be admitted?"

Fengfeng Valley is vast, prestigious, and influential, and it recruits disciples on its own territory—whether commoner or noble, no family fails to sharpen their minds to send someone in. For any examination with many applicants and few slots, it should naturally be difficult and tricky; otherwise, it couldn't achieve the goal of eliminating most candidates.

Naturally, Fengfeng Valley's disciples are selected from the best of the best.

Shangguan Biao is merely the son of a medicine merchant—how could he "smoothly" pass the examination?

Normally, those who pass such examinations either possess astonishing talent, standing out from the crowd, or……well.

But Liu Yisheng just said Shangguan Biao's "aptitude is merely adequate," not some unparalleled genius, not worthy of exceptional admission.

This happened many years ago—Fengfeng Valley no longer exists, the involved parties are all dead, so Liu Yisheng has no need to conceal anything further.

So he paused and said: "Let's speak plainly—Shangguan Biao's aptitude is not outstanding; Fengfeng Valley could accept or reject him. But his medicine merchant family was quite wealthy and devout, eventually finding an elder in the sect to vouch for him, recommending him repeatedly. Cough!"

Everyone understood.

Another shortcut into a prestigious sect like Fengfeng Valley is to spend money—spend a lot of money.

This money must be spent on finding connections.

Zhu Xiuer couldn't help but ask: "If you admitted him into the sect, then demoted him all the way, what does that mean?"

"In his own home, he lived in luxury and fine food, unaccustomed to the sect's austere life, and his relations with fellow disciples were poor, affecting his cultivation of the Dao-heart."

He Lingchuan laughed: "If you truly wish to overthrow Shangguan Biao and avenge yourself, don't beautify peace. We need genuine intelligence to make correct judgments. Otherwise, you'll only rot here in prison, daily sharing a cell with madmen, enduring Shangguan Biao's humiliation forever, never to be freed."

Liu Yisheng lowered his brows and eyes. Yes, he had fallen to this state—face was the least valuable thing.

Fengfeng Valley has long been gone; what secrets about its past could still be unspeakable?

The extreme specialization of the sect's atmosphere has been passed down generation after generation—it cannot all be blamed on him.

Having been imprisoned here for thousands of years, Liu Yisheng had long come to terms with it, so he drew a gentle breath and said:

"Our sect encourages disciples to cultivate diligently, everyone must strive forward, but not every disciple can rank among the top. If open competition fails, then behind the scenes, someone will always resort to tricks."

The righteous path is rugged and hard to walk—it's natural that some would seek shortcuts.

He Lingchuan said: "If too many seek shortcuts, it's no longer a shortcut—it becomes a crooked path."

What is Fengfeng Valley's sect atmosphere like? As a high-ranking elder, Liu Yisheng couldn't possibly not know: "When Shangguan Biao first entered the sect, he was somewhat stubborn, always believing he clearly distinguished right from wrong, disliking this and that, and even 'righteously' spoke up for others a few times, offending many fellow disciples and seniors. He never realized this world doesn't revolve around him. He broke those outdated customs, and others wanted to punish him—but he was no match for them."

Zhu Xiuer snorted: "You humans, having done all the evil, still strut about proudly, thinking your little rules outweigh heaven."

"In Fengfeng Valley, some rules are greater than heaven—no one can defy them." Liu Yisheng said slowly, "Not to mention Shangguan Biao—even I, even Sect Master Wang, cannot!"

"Shangguan Biao doesn't understand reason; the more he resists, the greater his losses—not only was he pressed to the ground and rubbed raw, but even after being demoted to menial labor, his enemies bribed the overseer of Duzhi Mountain to make him suffer more in secret. Working at Duzhi Mountain is actually dangerous—many disciples have met with accidents there. I know most people who go down like this never come back up, and after a few years, they vanish silently."

Fengfeng Valley, a great sect of over ten thousand people, loses dozens or even hundreds each year to disappearance—what's so remarkable about that?

"I don't even know the exact details of what Shangguan Biao endured as a menial laborer." Actually, the petty grievances among the lower ranks—how could Liu Yisheng not know? But he never investigated deeply, because, "Fengfeng Valley's creed has always been: only by enduring the bitterest suffering can one rise above others. In our sect, the capable rise, the incapable fall—almost everyone has walked this path."

He himself was no exception.

The four remained noncommittal. Liu Yisheng still couldn't help defending Fengfeng Valley—and himself.

But in He Lingchuan's view, everyone doing it this way doesn't mean it's without fault.

Zhu Xiuer laughed: "So in the end, Shangguan Biao rose to dominate a region, while you rot in prison—quite fitting, wouldn't you say?"

Liu Yisheng stood woodenly.

He Lingchuan continued: "Then what happened afterward?"

Liu Yisheng pointed at Li Yun, still crouched on the ground counting grains of rice: "Shangguan Biao served as a menial laborer for seven or eight years, then came to his senses, seized the opportunity to befriend Li Yun, and regained his position. His later development was no different from other Fengfeng Valley disciples—just faster. In less than a hundred years, he became the master of Qufeng Cave."

"Befriend Li Yun?"

Put that way, Li Yun is the nobleman who pulled Shangguan Biao out of the dust—why then would he imprison him here to suffer punishment?

So, what shameful secrets lie between them?

How exactly did Shangguan Biao's mindset change?

However, time is precious—none of the four pursued these details further.

Before the Three Sects' invasion, Fengfeng Valley had five peaks and eighteen caves, each with strong and weak factions, but becoming a cave master meant holding great authority. Especially Qufeng Cave, with its large population, Shangguan Biao's power already approached that of one above ten thousand.

"The previous master of Qufeng Cave died abroad in misfortune. Afterwards, we reflected—there was still something suspicious." Liu Yisheng drew a gentle breath, "In the over a hundred years since, conflicts between peaks and caves have reached unprecedented intensity, no longer satisfied with covert struggles—large numbers of talents either undermine each other or are punished by sect law, and within the sect…"