163: Chapter 163: Ling Jianfeng's Dazzling Start

On the second day of the Liquidation Month, the Qingheng Sect was enveloped in an unprecedented atmosphere of excitement.

This excitement didn't stem from any upcoming life-or-death trial, but from a grand "debut" that seemed specifically arranged to flaunt power.

The location chosen was "Lieyun Valley" on the south side of the Sect. A Rank 3 Yao Beast that had just achieved a Breakthrough in its Realm—the "Sky-Rending Cloud Leopard"—was entrenched there. According to conventional combat assessments, slaying this beast would require at least two Golden Core Elders leading a team of thirty Foundation Establishment elite Disciples, with an expected casualty rate of around twenty percent.

But that was exactly why Lingjian Peak chose it—high returns, high risk. If they could take it down with "zero combat losses," it would be a resounding "miracle."

Su Ciyao's livestream camera had long been set up on the cliff opposite Lieyun Valley.

"Fellow Daoists, are you ready?"

Su Ciyao faced the camera with her signature professional fake smile. She had produced a folding fan from somewhere and snapped it open. "Today, let's take a look at what kind of visual feast Lingjian Peak, which spent a fortune to hire outside help, can bring us."

As her voice fell, a sharp sound of breaking air suddenly exploded within Lieyun Valley.

Boom—!

Countless streaks of sword light poured down from the valley entrance like a brilliant meteor shower. Each streak of sword light carried abundant spiritual energy, trailing long plumes of flame in mid-air, illuminating the entire canyon as bright as day.

On the System interface, Su Ciyao added a slightly sarcastic annotation to this battle:

[Livestream Special Effects Analysis]

Spirit Light Particle Density: Extremely High (Every sword strike is not just to kill the enemy, but to look good).

Visual Experience Index: Off the Charts (Visual Impact S+).

Su Ciyao's Note: Extravagant and wasteful. With the special effects produced by smashing so many Spirit Stones, if it were Hengchuan Peak, we could eat steamed buns until the next century.

The camera zoomed in to show the Disciples dressed in Lingjian Peak uniforms, each with a dashing posture. Behind them followed several masked Loose Cultivators with unfathomable auras—the "Gold-Tier Thugs" hired by Peak Master Zhao Lie at a great price.

Under the crushing weight of absolute power, that Sky-Rending Cloud Leopard didn't even have a chance to counterattack. It roared, trying to tear through the sword formation with its claws, but was forcibly shorn of a paw by the sky-filling Sword Qi. Blood gushed, blooming into a poignant, crimson flower in the air.

"Great sword technique!"

"Is this the strength of Lingjian Peak? Too strong!"

"Did you see that? That leopard didn't even touch a single hair on them!"

Su Ciyao watched the bullet comments scrolling frantically in the livestream room and shook her head helplessly. The comments were flooded with praise like "Explosively handsome," "Lingjian Peak is the GOAT," and "This is the strength of the main peak."

On the System's public opinion panel, the curve representing "Lingjian Peak · Approval Rating" drew an almost vertical, steep red line in just the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, shooting straight into the clouds.

[Real-time Public Opinion Monitoring]

Trending Tags: #LingjianPeakFirstVictory#, #ZeroLossMyth#, #ThisIsTrueCultivation#

Public Perception: Lingjian Peak remains the strongest peak; the war debt crisis is but child's play to them.

The battle ended even faster than expected.

As the final, thickest streak of sword light fell, the massive body of the Cloud Leopard crashed down, turning into a corpse waiting to be skinned.

The Disciples of Lingjian Peak cheered around the corpse, straightened their clothes, and even had the leisure to make a dashing cupped-fist salute toward the camera. The scene was as perfect as a meticulously rehearsed play.

Just half an hour later, on the War Debt Bureau's public notice board, Lingjian Peak's first battle report was prominently listed.

[Mission Settlement: Slaying Yao in Lieyun Valley]

Executing Party: Lingjian Peak

Return Rating: S (Obtained Rank 3 Yao Core, pelt intact)

Estimated Combat Loss: B (High-risk mission, casualties expected by logic)

Actual Combat Loss: 3 minor injuries, no serious injuries, no deaths.

Overall Score: Perfect.

"Perfect..."

Shensailing sat in the drafty temporary command room of Hengchuan Peak, looking at the data synchronized from the War Debt Bureau, a cold arc curling at the corner of his mouth.

In this world, how could fighting a Rank 3 Yao Beast, especially one on the verge of going berserk, truly result in "no deaths"? Even when immortals fight, a moment's inattention can lead to being injured by the aftershocks. Is Lingjian Peak treating everyone as if they are blind?

Buzz—

Right then, the System interface before his eyes suddenly vibrated violently. The originally calm blue data stream was instantly stained with a layer of killing-intent dark red.

The V2.0 System activated its unique "Demonic Path Vision."

[System Warning: Data Anomaly Detected]

Invoking: Yellow Springs Road Temporary Access Port / Battlefield Soul Residue Scan...

The image before Shensailing's eyes changed.

Beside that glamorous "zero death" battle report, the System superimposed another grey, eerie list. That was a privilege unique to Shensailing's "half-demon" bloodline—he could see the Souls that had just died and hadn't yet had time to cross the Naihe Bridge.

[True Combat Loss Comparison]

Sky-Rending Cloud Leopard Counterattack Record:

At the third quarter of the Hour of the Rabbit, a tail whip struck Loose Cultivator A on the left (Real name: Wang Meng) → Soul departure time: Three seconds ago.

At the fourth quarter of the Hour of the Rabbit, claws tore apart Lingjian Peak Outer Sect Disciple B (Real name: Zhang San) → Soul departure time: One minute ago.

At the fifth quarter of the Hour of the Rabbit, Sword Qi accidentally injured friendly Disciple C (Real name: Li Si) → Soul departure time: Thirty seconds ago.

War Debt Bureau Public Data:

Death Toll: 0

System Corrected Data:

Actual Death Toll: 3 (For now, only counting Cultivator Souls, not including those who died after failing to recover from injuries caused by Yao Beast Devilish Qi erosion).

Underreporting Rate: 100%

A line of eye-piercing blood-red characters was nailed firmly onto Shensailing's retina:

[Judgment: Suspected Concealment of Casualty Data]

Method: Striking the names of deceased Disciples from the register (marking them as "absent without leave" or "defected"), or simply not recovering the bodies, allowing them to be devoured by demons to create an "illusion of being missing in action."

Warning: This is an extremely cruel way of "eating people." Not even leaving a body, not even wanting to pay out pensions.

Shensailing's finger tapped lightly on the tabletop.

He didn't immediately stand up to expose them.

At this stage, the truth wasn't important; what mattered was "who can survive until the end." The more glorious Lingjian Peak was now, the more mines were buried in their pockets. When the end-of-month liquidation came, once that giant "zero loss" bubble burst, the backlash would instantly swallow them whole.

"Paper-thin glamour."

Shensailing muttered to himself, tapping lightly on the System interface to add an inconspicuous grey tag next to Lingjian Peak's name: [Paper-thin Glamour].

On the other side of his screen, the System was automatically generating two completely different line graphs, conducting a silent comparison.

On the left was Lingjian Peak:

It was a golden revenue curve, soaring upward at an alarming slope, piercing the clouds. Meanwhile, the other curve representing combat loss was pinned firmly to the bottom, like a snake being strangled by the neck. It looked beautiful, perfect.

On the right was Hengchuan Peak:

Although the mission list was full, because they still had to conduct training and resource allocation, they hadn't actually officially executed their first mission. The revenue curve was flat, and the combat loss curve was also flat.

But beneath these two dull curves, there was a hidden column glowing with a faint blue light—

[Karma Debt Mitigation Potential]

Lingjian Peak: None (Overdrawing the future, Karma debt accumulating frantically in the shadows).

Hengchuan Peak: Highlighted (Every refugee taken in, every stretch of border held—though unprofitable on the books, they are bit by bit accumulating "Survival Points" in the Heavenly Dao's Karma bank).

Between the two graphs, the System stamped a line of cold commentary, like a judge passing sentence:

[Short-term Good Looks vs. Long-term Survival]

Lingjian Peak is currently drinking poison to quench thirst; for the sake of a good-looking report at this moment, they have swallowed all the toxins into their bellies.

Hengchuan Peak, though looking like trash right now, is sipping soup.

Outside the main hall, in front of the War Debt Bureau's notice board, the gathered Disciples were still marveling at Lingjian Peak's "perfect battle report."

And on the more hidden internal monitoring panel of the War Debt Bureau, Lingjian Peak's name was marked with a golden "Excellent." That was the official recognition of their high efficiency and high returns.

But in Shensailing's System backend, behind this glory, a line of bolded red Song-style characters was slowly emerging, carrying a suffocating scent of blood:

[Excellent Report ≠ Excellent Combat Loss]

Those red characters were not static. They were pulsing slightly, like a pool of blood slowly gathering, waiting for a certain ignition point—perhaps the end-of-month Audit, or perhaps a sudden betrayal by some Loose Cultivator during the next mission.

Once ignited, this pool of blood would instantly submerge the entire Lingjian Peak.