Chapter 10: Severed Arm

Regardless, Wang Yu’s words had both pinned labels on others and played the victim, all while framing himself as the bullied party for the sake of the sect.

However, the scene itself...

It was a little off. Three arms and three legs, and not a single one belonged to Wang Yu.

The surrounding spirit slaves watched, dumbfounded.

Steward Duan took a deep breath. He had publicly stood up for Wang Yu, and now that an incident had occurred, he could not simply stay out of it.

"I understand. A few of you, carry them away. Treat them well; they must continue to contribute to the Holy Sect in the future."

"Yes!"

Several people immediately stepped out from the group of lecturers and began to lift them.

Another steward arrived—it was Steward Liu.

"Stop."

The three spirit slave stewards were all at the late stage of Qi Refining, still holding hopes of Foundation Establishment, with their opportunities naturally tied to the true disciples they served.

The struggle for the interests of the spirit slaves was also a struggle for their own paths to the Dao.

Steward Liu looked younger, with a lean build, a goatee, a purple robe, and a high crown.

He looked at Wang Yu with a cold, piercing gaze.

"Did you do this?"

Wang Yu was just about to repeat his previous script. Before he could even utter a single word, Steward Liu suddenly barked.

"You still dare to quibble!"

Without another word, he joined his palms into a blade and slashed out a blade aura over a zhang (3.3 meters) long.

Caught off guard and terrified, Wang Yu could only throw himself to the side to dodge. His previous three ice swords had already exhausted all his spiritual energy; if not for his high level of mastery and excellent control, he wouldn't have been able to manifest them at all.

Steward Liu’s arrogance was completely different from the attitude Wang Yu had anticipated, and he had no idea where things had gone wrong.

Steward Duan’s expression also changed drastically, and he hurriedly stepped forward to intervene.

But he was a step too slow.

Wang Yu dodged in time and his torso was not struck, but his left hand did not escape unscathed. As if history were repeating itself, an arm fell to the ground, shredded into pieces by the residual force.

There was no longer any possibility of reattachment!

Where the blade aura passed, it carved deep gouges into the bluestone floor, leaving a scene of utter devastation.

Steward Liu snorted coldly.

"An eye for an eye."

"Let this be a warning for today's events!"

Wang Yu’s face was ghastly. Staring at the pile of flesh and bone on the ground, he wished he could skin the man surnamed Liu alive and eat his flesh.

Steward Duan had watched the whole thing. He felt that something was wrong; the man surnamed Liu was usually not this aggressive, especially not right in front of him!

Things had reached this point. The punishment Wang Yu received was too severe, and his loss of prestige meant his recent efforts were almost entirely wasted. To Steward Duan, he had completely lost his value.

He did not linger, turning and walking quickly away from the stone house area.

He needed to go to Cold Blood Peak to find out exactly what was going on before making any further decisions.

On the bluestone plaza.

The spirit slaves watched with cold eyes; no one dared to approach Wang Yu. After all, they had seen what happened—Steward Liu was far more powerful than Steward Duan, and the choice of who to side with was self-evident.

Wang Yu used his spiritual energy to stabilize his wound and forcibly squeezed out the remaining energy. He couldn't condense ice swords anymore, but he could completely freeze the "remains of his arm." He held it in his remaining right hand and brought it back to his stone house to destroy it.

His heart was heavy.

This incident had been full of twists and turns. He had truly realized the importance of power. This was the Demonic Path...

After returning to the stone house, Wang Yu sat in meditation to recover his spiritual energy, painstakingly processing the "remains of his arm" with the Ice Sword Technique, repeating the process tirelessly.

Until it was reduced to nothing but dust!

In the blink of an eye, another ten days passed. Today was the forty-third day of Wang Yu’s life as a spirit slave.

[Placement Slot 2: Ice Sword Technique (Perfected)]

"Ice Sword Technique (100/100): 144 practices per day, completion in three years."

The information in the placement slot description had changed. After reaching perfection, the original "completion in thirty days" had become "completion in three years."

But the technique was already perfected; as long as he had enough spiritual energy, he could condense ten ice swords at once, and their lethality had skyrocketed.

This new change likely meant it had exceeded its original grade, reaching the level of a high-grade spell.

"Three years, huh..."

This was good news, but Wang Yu wasn't as happy as he had imagined. After pondering for a long time, he removed the Ice Sword Technique and replaced it with the Blood Burning Technique.

The Ice Sword Technique at this stage was more than enough for him; there was no need to keep it placed. A cultivator should prioritize their cultivation realm.

After a month of delay, the first placement slot had provided 15 wisps of spiritual energy. His dantian’s current limit was only 21 wisps, and his progress was agonizingly slow.

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

Although he had been abandoned by Steward Duan, his duties as a spirit slave still had to be fulfilled. Now that he had two placement slots working at full capacity, his efficiency had doubled.

"Three months and four days."

Ignoring the cultivation speed of his physical body, this was the time he needed to break through to the third level of Qi Refining.

But this was far from enough. Without the help of a benefactor, it was almost impossible to make a comeback in the short term.

Unless he broke through to the fourth level of Qi Refining and pulled away from the other spirit slaves. As for his secret being discovered—how would they discover it?

The placement slots were intangible and formless. He didn't have a storage bag, and living in the stone house area, he had no privacy or secrets.

At most, they would suspect his constitution was unusual, or that he had been using some "Life-Burning Secret Technique" to cultivate. Soul-searching was out of the question; that was one of the legendary secret techniques of the Demonic Path, which could only be cultivated by those at the Golden Core stage.

As a Qi Refining spirit slave, he wouldn't even be noticed by such figures. Therefore, only his cultivation realm could solve the fundamental problem.

That day, something unexpected happened.

Steward Duan, who had previously abandoned Wang Yu, sent someone to find him again.

On the side of the bluestone plaza, in a two-story pavilion.

The portly Steward Duan looked at Wang Yu with a smile.

"Do you hold a grudge?"

Wang Yu hurriedly bowed, looking terrified.

"Yu is but a lowly spirit slave. I have long since given my body and soul to the Holy Sect and to you, my lord. I hold no grudge."

"I don't believe you."

Steward Duan’s expression turned cold. He tapped his index finger on the table, continuously applying pressure. Wang Yu immediately changed his tune.

"If I must speak of a grudge, Wang Yu only harbors hatred for Steward Liu. The vengeance for my severed arm is carved into my heart."

"That’s more like it."

Steward Duan chuckled and helped him up.

"A missing limb doesn't just affect your daily life. In the future, if you cannot overcome the blood-qi barrier during Foundation Establishment, ninety percent of the reason will lie in this severed arm. This is a grudge that blocks your path—it is greater than the hatred of a father’s murder or a wife’s theft."

Hearing this, Wang Yu felt a stir of excitement. He desperately wanted to know the secrets of Foundation Establishment, but this was clearly not the time to ask.

"Wang Yu is but a lowly spirit slave with poor aptitude. I would never dare to dream of the Foundation Establishment stage."

"It’s fine to think about it. People should always have a bit of ambition."

Steward Duan changed the subject, no longer emphasizing the feud between Wang Yu and Steward Liu.

"The incident last time was truly an accident. I can tell you that I might even be able to find a way to help you restore this arm."

Wang Yu’s heart skipped a beat.

"What must I do?"

"No rush. Let’s talk slowly."

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

Ever since he had gone to Cold Blood Peak to meet True Disciple Su and been reprimanded, his attitude toward Wang Yu had changed.