Bai Zihan stared at the glowing notification with narrowed eyes, the corner of his lips twitching into a slow, crooked grin.
“Supreme Dao Bone… huh!”
He reclined slightly in his seat, fingers tapping the armrest rhythmically.
“System, absorb it!”
[Absorbing Supreme Dao Bone…]
[Warning: This process will replace your current Dao Bone.]
[Optional: You may store the current Dao Bone in inventory for 1000 System Points. Proceed?]
“Store it?”
Bai Zihan raised an eyebrow.
His current Dao Bone—well, technically, Bai Xinyue’s Dao Bone—was already extraordinary.
Though it barely had any effect on him.
A normal cultivator would kill to get their hands on it. Selling it could probably buy a small sect.
If he could store it then that is probably the best option though it cost 1000 System Points. But it was worth it.
“Store it!”
[Confirmed! Deducting 1000 System Points.]
As the notification faded, Bai Zihan felt a strange pull inside his chest. Not painful, but deep.
Unsettling!
His breath hitched.
It was as if something from his body was being yanked out of him—like a buried chain finally being torn from the ground after years of silence.
Then it was gone.
Just like that.
He exhaled, sharp and shaky.
“Tch!”
A weight he didn’t even realize he was carrying had been lifted.
“That thing really wasn’t mine, huh…”
He leaned back, letting the sensation wash over him. There was a strange clarity in his thoughts now.
For years, he’d carried Bai Xinyue’s Dao Bone—an unmatched treasure, sure, but it was no use to him at all.
Rather he clearly felt that he could absorb much of the Qi faster than before.
Rather than improving his cultivation, was Bai Xinyue’s Dao Bone just restricting him?
It certainly felt that way.
He let out a low chuckle.
But before he could enjoy the clarity for long—
[Dao Bone stored in Inventory.]
[Beginning absorption of Supreme Dao Bone. Estimated time: 12 hours. Pain Level: Extreme.]
“Oh joy,” Bai Zihan muttered, already bracing himself.
“It’s always ’extreme’ with you, isn’t it?”
Then the pain hit.
Like every part of him—body and bone—was being deconstructed and rewritten on a fundamental level.
His bones shattered, his meridians rewired—then reforged with something more powerful.
Golden-blue light surged from his body, lighting up the entire room.
Perhaps it was because of his body refinement through the Primordial Chaos Body Refinement Technique, or maybe just because he had endured worse before—but Bai Zihan didn’t think too much of the pain.
Of course, a normal person would’ve lost their mind by now.
****
Twelve hours later!
[Absorption Complete. Supreme Dao Bone successfully integrated.]
[Warning: Host’s cultivation base has become unstable. Recommend entering cultivation immediately to stabilize.]
Bai Zihan’s eyes snapped open. They glowed with swirling golden light, galaxies spinning in his irises.
He inhaled once—just once—and the heavens seemed to respond.
Spiritual Qi roared into his courtyard like a tidal wave. And that was without him even activating the Myriad Breathing Technique.
If he did use it, the Qi in his courtyard probably wouldn’t be enough to keep up with him.
He cracked his neck and stood up.
“That’s more like it!”
Finally, he had some hope of surpassing those so-called geniuses in cultivation speed.
He wasn’t sure about Bai Xinyue, but he was damn sure his speed would now blow Lin Xuan out of the water.
And he still had a trump card: 10x Cultivation Speed Card (30 Days).
With that, even the so-called heavenly geniuses could eat his dust—at least for a month.
With the combination of his Supreme Dao Bone, Myriad Breathing Technique, 10x Speed Card, and top-tier pills from the Bai Clan, these next thirty days were going to be insane.
Normally, anyone else would’ve collapsed from that kind of agony—maybe even needed hours just to catch their breath.
But Bai Zihan? He barely flinched. And now, he acted like the pain had never even happened.
Without wasting a moment, Bai Zihan began to cultivate, sparing no resources.
****
While Bai Zihan was in seclusion, the outside world was reeling from what he had done.
“So all those rumors about Bai Zihan were made up by Shen Liang? What a despicable person!”
“Yeah! Everyone saw the Memory Mirror Crystal—he orchestrated the whole thing.”
“And Bai Zihan? He took one of Shen Liang’s hands as punishment. Dude didn’t hold back at all.”
“The Shen Clan won’t take that lying down.”
“Even if they don’t, what can they do about it? Bai Clan is the strongest in the Desolate Heaven Empire!”
…
The Heaven Sword Sect was in an uproar. And the chaos didn’t stop there—word had already spread across the entire Desolate Heaven Empire.
After all, neither Shen Liang nor Bai Zihan were unknown names.
But to think that Shen Liang—the so-called genius—had been humiliated by Bai Zihan, the infamous waste of the Bai Clan?
It was too ridiculous. People didn’t believe it at first.
But the truth doesn’t wait for permission. It spread like wildfire.
Now everyone was waiting for the Shen Clan’s response.
Would they stay quiet and admit fault? Or escalate and fight the Bai Clan?
***
But not everyone was shocked.
“Hmph! Must’ve used some underhanded tricks, like always.”
Bai Xinyue muttered when she heard the news.
Most people were shocked. But she wasn’t.
Bai Zihan was weaker in cultivation and had long been branded the Bai Clan’s joke. So for him to defeat Shen Liang?
It should’ve been mind-blowing.
But not to her.
Honestly, if she’d heard that Bai Zihan beat Shen Liang in a straight-up duel, she would’ve been shocked.
But relying on his background, schemes, or tricks?
That was textbook Bai Zihan.
She had no reason to fear those tactics.
She had her own trump cards. If Bai Zihan wanted to play games, she’d play too—and beat him at it.
But what she truly wanted… was a fair fight.
To face Bai Zihan, toe to toe.
And to show him that even with her Dao Bone, he was still trash.
Just as Bai Xinyue finished scoffing to herself—arms crossed, eyes cold—a light knock echoed at the entrance of her courtyard.
“Junior Sister Bai! Are you in?”
A voice called politely, slightly breathless.
She didn’t respond right away. Her thoughts were still tangled up in the image of that arrogant bastard.
Still, she turned lazily toward the voice.
“Speak.”
The door creaked open. A young man stepped in, wearing the sky-blue robes of Azure Cloud Peak.
His hair was tied in a hurried mess—he’d clearly run the whole way here.
“Junior Sister Bai,” he said with a respectful bow, “Master is calling for you.”
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
“Master? Do you know why?”
“Y-Yes! It seems some elders from the Bai Clan have requested to meet you.”
That made her pause.
She narrowed her eyes.
(What do those people want now?)