That idiot from the Sword Sect turned out to be a lucky charm.

Lin Zhifeng sent Qingfeng into seclusion to cultivate and attempt to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage, but he himself dared not slack off. After all, he couldn't be inferior to Lin Jun, could he? They would see each other all the time, and he really didn't want to call him "Uncle-Master."

Furthermore, when Lin Zhifeng played games, he was a top player, the kind that everyone worshipped. Now that he's transmigrated to this world, even if he doesn't become a top-tier figure, he should at least shed the labels of "idiot" and "good-for-nothing."

So the master and servant, both eager to prove themselves, focused on their cultivation. With the added benefit of elixirs, they both successfully broke through to the next level in less than a month.

Just as the master and servant were congratulating each other, the Ninth Elder came to their door.

Lin Zhifeng invited the Ninth Elder into the house and sat down, while he himself stood obediently on the ground.

After the Ninth Elder sat down, he looked Lin Zhifeng up and down. Seeing that he had broken through from the mid-Foundation Establishment stage to the Golden Core stage in such a short time, he said with a hint of reproach, "Come here, let me take a look at you."

Lin Zhifeng quickly stepped forward and showed his wrist.

The Ninth Elder carefully examined his pulse, then shook his head helplessly and sighed, "Your soul has just recovered; you shouldn't be in such a hurry. It would be best to solidify your foundation before breaking through on your own. In your previous state, you couldn't cultivate on your own, and your father had no choice but to give you those medicines to push you to the Foundation Establishment stage. Now that you've recovered, how can you still use that method? You must know that no matter how good the elixir is, it will contain impurities. If these impurities accumulate, they will form elixir poison. You may not feel anything now, but in the future, when you cultivate further, these will all become obstacles to your progress."

Lin Zhifeng wasn't actually afraid of these things, since he had the system. Who knew what method might be found to purify the poison in the future? However, he knew the Ninth Elder was doing it for his own good, so he didn't dare argue with his elder and simply stood there obediently to receive the scolding.

The Ninth Elder concluded, "There's no point in saying more now. You must promise me that you won't act recklessly when you reach the Nascent Soul stage."

Lin Zhifeng nodded quickly and said, "Yes."

Seeing that he was quite agreeable, the Ninth Elder didn't want to continue scolding him. He simply said, "Don't think I'm being nagging. If the Sect Master were here, he wouldn't allow it either; he'd probably be even angrier than I am!"

Lin Zhifeng hurriedly said, "I know that Ninth Elder meant well for me. I was indeed reckless this time, and I will definitely not dare to do it again next time."

The Ninth Elder gave Lin Zhifeng a few more instructions, telling him to come to him regularly for check-ups, and after a short visit, he would go back.

When only Lin Zhifeng and Qingfeng were left, they couldn't help but laugh.

After laughing for a while, Lin Zhifeng said seriously, "Elder Ninth is right. From now on, we still need to rely on our own efforts and not take shortcuts anymore." He then added, "Little Qingfeng, the same goes for you."

Qingfeng stuck out his tongue but didn't say anything.

Lin Zhifeng said, "Now that we have all successfully broken through, we can start working on dealing with Mingyue."

Qingfeng said, "Young master, just give the order. I can take on ten of them by myself now."

Lin Zhifeng said, "Silly child, you hit him for no reason, isn't that bullying him? You're the one who's in the wrong."

Qingfeng shouted angrily, "He cheated the young master out of so many good things, and he even betrayed him..."

Lin Zhifeng gestured for him to stop talking: "Do you have any evidence? What can you do if he doesn't admit it?"

Qingfeng indeed had no evidence, since the young master's soul was incomplete in the past.

Seeing Qingfeng's sullen expression, Lin Zhifeng didn't keep him in suspense and quickly shared his plan with Qingfeng.

Actually, it's quite simple to win over Mingyue.

The fact that Lin Zhifeng's soul has returned should now be known throughout the entire sect. Tomorrow, when Lin Zhifeng makes another appearance, his talent and strength in breaking through to the Golden Core stage in such a short time are among the best in the sect. Even if his sect leader father doesn't return, the Sword Sect will still nurture him based on his own abilities. At that time, Mingyue will definitely regret "throwing away the watermelon for a sesame seed."

But it's not over yet.

Qingfeng dressed up a bit more, wearing the jade pendant Lin Zhifeng gave him, and then went to Mingyue to show off.

Mingyue used to be very eloquent, which fooled the original owner into giving him many good things, even tricking him out of a lot of the pills his sect leader father used to level up. Therefore, Mingyue's cultivation level was much higher than Qingfeng's. When Qingfeng was at the seventh level of Qi Refining, Mingyue was already at the ninth level, just one step away from Foundation Establishment.

Seeing that Qingfeng, who was not as good as him, had achieved Foundation Establishment ahead of time, how could he not be angry?

Furthermore, Lin Zhifeng's sect leader father had previously given him mostly things related to cultivation. Although his father loved his son dearly, he also knew his foolish son couldn't hold onto his possessions. So, apart from pills for leveling up, he didn't have many other valuables. Therefore, even though Mingyue sold off all of Lin Zhifeng's good stuff, they didn't end up with many spirit stones.

The sect leader had been missing for over a year. Seeing that Lin Zhifeng had no "source of income," Mingyue secretly tried to curry favor with Lin Jun. Because he was still young, he hadn't yet risen to the top ranks. Not only did he not gain any benefits, but he also spent a considerable amount of his own money bribing those around Lin Jun.

It's all tears when I talk about it! He was worried about this, but then Qingfeng, who was always inferior to him, got promoted and received a reward. How could he not be envious?

When he couldn't resist asking Qingfeng for information, Qingfeng pretended to casually reveal some details to him: it seemed that the young master had lost his memory after becoming smarter and couldn't remember anything from before; the young master was now very generous, and he had heard that Qingfeng had been taking care of him when he was mentally challenged, so he gave Qingfeng many rewards, saying it was to commend Qingfeng's loyalty...

"Given Mingyue's personality, he'll definitely be tempted and want to come back to me. Then we'll just wait for him to walk right into our trap!" Lin Zhifeng said.

After listening to Lin Zhifeng's explanation, Qingfeng thought that the young master was amazing after becoming smarter, and that she would no longer have to worry about him being bullied.

The master and servant devised a plan and then put it into practice.

The next morning, Qingfeng not only dressed his young master in a dashing manner, but also tidied himself up neatly. He even wore the storage jade that Lin Zhifeng had bought for him a few days ago on his waist, which was considered very extravagant and eye-catching among the servants of the Sword Sect.

After dressing up, the master and servant went to attend the sect's swordsmanship class, which they rarely attended in the past.

Every month, senior disciples or grandmasters with cultivation levels above the Nascent Soul stage would give lectures on swordsmanship cultivation and insights to swordsmen below the Golden Core stage. Lin Zhifeng used to come but couldn't understand, and was even mocked by people like Lin Jun. After a while, he stopped participating. The sect's junior cultivators, taking care of his special circumstances, allowed him to skip classes without ever imposing any punishment.

Putting everything else aside, this alone is enough to make Lin Jun and his group extremely envious.

The moment Lin Zhifeng appeared that day, Lin Jun and his brothers swarmed around him, mocking, "Heard you're not stupid anymore? What? So you can't skip class now that you're not stupid? You might as well just stay stupid, right?"

The others burst into laughter.

Lin Zhifeng wasn't annoyed. He simply said, "If Senior Brother Lin Jun is envious and wants to become stupid, I can help you. I've heard that a severe head injury can damage the brain, leading to a significant drop in intelligence. With Senior Brother Lin Jun's current level of intelligence, I think a light bump would be enough." He grinned slightly and gave Lin Jun a meaningful look. "Why not give it a try!" With that, he walked past the crowd and took his seat below the stage.

It took Lin Jun a while to realize that he was being called stupid, but he couldn't retaliate, otherwise it would confirm the accusation.

Lin Jun was really angry! But he couldn't do anything about Lin Zhifeng.

Even when Lin Zhifeng was mentally challenged, the elders still protected him after the sect leader disappeared. Even his father, an elder himself, always warned him not to bully him. Now that his soul has returned and he's no longer mentally challenged, the elders treat him like a precious treasure.

Therefore, Lin Jun could no longer afford to offend Lin Zhifeng. With a belly full of anger, he could only yell at the onlookers, "What are you looking at? Get out of here! Do you all have a sect leader as your father?"

Lin Jun's words were meant to incite hatred against Lin Zhifeng, effectively elevating him to a privileged status.

The others didn't seem to care much for Lin Zhifeng. After all, he used to be a fool and couldn't bully anyone. Although he had a sect leader as his father, his talent was limited, and he didn't stand in anyone's way. On the contrary, because he was weak, he aroused widespread sympathy and pity.