Prompted by Xu Wuwang's warning, Gu Qingxian, who had been completely confident just a moment ago, suddenly panicked.
This system task was harder than all the previous ones.
Although she held the lofty position of an elder at Qingluan Peak, in the face of the massive behemoth that was the entire sacred land, she actually held very few advantages of her own.
Back in her heyday, she was immensely talented, breaking through two major realms in less than a decade and ascending to the Purple Palace Realm—a truly renowned figure throughout the entire sacred land.
However, after all these years, rumors about her, Gu Qingxian, had largely faded within Qingzhu Sacred Land, and her name was rarely heard.
Had it not been for the prestige of her master, she might even have been stripped of her status as the youngest elder in the sacred land.
After all, among all the dignified peak masters, she was probably the second to none when it came to being this destitute.
While she could leverage past favors to pull some strings for Xu Wuwang, she couldn't go too overboard—unless she invoked her master's name.
But if she were to do that...
Gu Qingxian suspected she might be thrown into the Ice Spirit Profound Veins for a few years of solitary confinement...
The person back home was showing less and less tolerance for her lately.
Gu Qingxian's smiling face instantly twisted into a knot of hesitation. Greeting people was fine, of course, but she couldn't go too far either; otherwise, if she disgraced the sacred land, she would be completely finished too.
Getting into the top ten really did seem a bit difficult right now.
"No way. As your master, I'm going to put you through intensive training right now. You must secure a top-ten finish in the initiation assessment for me seven days from now!"
Gu Qingxian's eyes instantly hardened as she stared fixedly at Xu Wuwang, a blazing fire burning within them.
Xu Wuwang...
He watched helplessly as a menacing Gu Qingxian strode toward him, grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, and whisked him away as the scenery around them rapidly morphed.
No, please don't, Master!
Xu Wuwang wanted to scream out loud. Not even a single day of peace and quiet?! You truly are a vicious woman!
In a flash, the surrounding view shifted, and Xu Wuwang found himself inside a familiar giant cauldron.
Gu Yuan had already tossed the prepared medicinal herbs inside, and a flameless fire was roaring below, boiling the potent ingredients within.
"Starting today, you will soak in this medicinal broth every day. Combine this with the practice of the Blood-Moving Scripture, and it will help you elevate your cultivation even faster."
Without giving him any room to argue, Gu Qingxian tossed Xu Wuwang directly into the cauldron, her glowing eyes fixed intently on him.
"Hurry up, time is limited. Let me test your progress in studying the scripture. If you try to brush me off with nonsense again tonight, I'll hang you from the peak of Qingluan Peak."
"Peak Master, it's just an initiation assessment; is there really any need to be this nervous? Can't you just have a word with the elder in charge of it? Does Junior Brother even need to participate in person?"
Gu Yuan evidently had some insider information. Seeing her own peak master so anxious about boosting Xu Wuwang's cultivation, she said with helpless exasperation: "What's so great about the initiation assessment? As a direct disciple of my Qingluan Peak, you must win a top-ten spot for me!"
Dressed in plain immortal robes, Gu Qingxian proudly puffed out her chest.
"Ah???"
Gu Yuan was dumbfounded. Staring blankly at Gu Qingxian, she stammered for a moment before speaking: "Peak Master, a top-ten finish? Isn't that something only scions of major aristocratic families can pull off? You're asking..."
At this point, Gu Yuan stopped, reluctant to continue lest she discourage Xu Wuwang, who was all ears nearby.
Xu Wuwang, whose eyes were currently the only things poking out above the black liquid, stared waterily at Gu Yuan, continuously batting his eyelashes at her in a look that even a fool could understand.
Save me, old friend!
"How can that be? Mere aristocratic scions, how could they possibly compare to a direct disciple of Qingluan Peak? It's just a mere initiation assessment—if we can't even crack the top ten, what dignity does Qingluan Peak have left?"
Gu Qingxian waved a hand, rebutting with supreme arrogance.
Gu Yuan...
Her own peak master was getting more and more unhinged. How could you even dare utter the phrase 'the dignity of Qingluan Peak'? Does our Qingluan Peak have any dignity left to speak of in the sacred land?
Out of the thirty-six peaks of the Sacred Land's Heavenly Pillars, yours is practically the thirty-seventh, understand?
Gu Yuan let out a gloomy sigh. Unable to even muster her usual kindly motherly smile, she looked at Xu Wuwang with utter helplessness and shot a sultry wink back at him.
It roughly meant: *Sister can't save you either, you're on your own.*
*Glug, glug, glug*—
Xu Wuwang sank to the bottom, feeling a mild sense of despair.
"Alright, get to cultivating. Every single minute and second now is precious."
Gu Qingxian's voice permeated the medicinal liquid and reached Xu Wuwang's ears.
"Right now, immediately use the scripture to absorb the medicinal potency."
Wearing a thoroughly deadpan expression, Xu Wuwang felt completely helpless, but he had no choice and could only obediently do as he was told. Ever since falling into the hands of this Gu Qingxian, he hadn't had a single day of peace; life was simply too bitter.
Two hours later, Xu Wuwang had completely absorbed the medicinal broth at a speed far exceeding before.
Before he could react, he was hauled straight out by Gu Qingxian.
Gu Qingxian nodded with deep satisfaction: "It looks like your comprehension of the scripture has grown quite profound. Now, start practicing the pugilistic stances while simultaneously running the scripture to absorb the medicinal potency to the maximum degree."
"Understood~"
Resigned and exhausted, Xu Wuwang began to contort himself into bizarre, rigid postures. These stances severely tested the limits of the human body, and doing them by himself left him crooked and struggling to get into position.
"Raise your elbow a bit higher."
"Head up."
"Lower your waist more."
*Crack*—
"Hiss! Master, go easy!"
In the bustling courtyard, Xu Wuwang's screams began to echo. After some personal tutoring from his master, Xu Wuwang felt as though his rusted joints had loosened up a lot, though his entire body felt shattered into pieces.
After a few more torturous sessions, Xu Wuwang was covered in sweat, and unmanly tears were streaming down his face—he was actually crying from the pain.
These stances were entirely different from standard boxing forms; they required holding a posture motionless for a long time. The positions were weird, tested the limits of the human body, and had to be maintained steadfastly, which was enough to break anyone's spirit.
After a bout of torment, there wasn't a single spot on Xu Wuwang's body that didn't ache, and he was on the verge of a total breakdown.
"Master... I can't do this anymore..."
After a little under an hour, even at the Second Layer of Blood Refining, Xu Wuwang was reaching his limit; his entire body ached so badly he could barely lift his arms.
"You can, what do you mean you can't? Master will hold you in place!"
Because adjusting his posture required it, Gu Qingxian—who had already made intimate physical contact with Xu Wuwang numerous times—grabbed his foot, which was raised high beside his head, forcing him to maintain an utterly bizarre pose.
Heaven knows how Xu Wuwang, who normally couldn't even touch his own toes, managed to pull off such a high-difficulty maneuver.
At that moment, Xu Wuwang felt as though his entire body had been kneaded to pieces by Gu Qingxian and reassembled from scratch, while his flexibility far exceeded his imagination.
Postures that previously felt bizarre and nearly impossible to achieve were now surprisingly easy to execute?
Utterly exhausted and drained, Xu Wuwang was manipulated by Gu Qingxian's hands like a marionette, forced to hold one weird posture after another, while he himself lacked the strength to make even the slightest movement on his own.
Even so, Xu Wuwang could still feel the medicinal potency boiling within him. The warm current coursing through his body grew stronger and stronger with his training, and there was even a faint sensation that he was about to break through to the Third Layer of Blood Refining.
Hellish? Yes, it was definitely a bit hellish, but this speed of cultivation enhancement was genuinely outrageous.