"They gave the survivors rewards worth what we would have to work four or five years of sect tasks to earn, just to get two bottles of Essence-Boosting Pills!"
"The rewards for the two who made great contributions can't be any less than that!"
"I wonder what kind of rewards those two will receive?"
"So envious!"
The Qi Refining stage outer disciples below buzzed with discussion.
Even many of the Foundation Establishment stage inner disciples on the stands couldn't hide their envious looks.
Essence-Boosting Pills were useful even for Foundation Establishment disciples.
And everyone was certain that since Luo Zhiyuan, as the team leader, risked his life and achieved great merit, his reward would be enough to make anyone jealous!
Of course.
The one who drew the most envy from all the Qi Refining outer disciples and the Foundation Establishment inner disciples was Lin Li!
"He's only been in the sect for less than a month, and he just happened to land in such a once-in-a-century event where he earned a great contribution? What luck!"
"I wonder what reward Elder Zou will give him?"
"Just surviving already earned two bottles of Essence-Boosting Pills. For a Qi Refining disciple, that's like striking it rich!"
"Lin Li, as a contributor, is sure to get an even bigger reward!"
As everyone speculated, Elder Zou first announced Luo Zhiyuan's reward:
"Luo Zhiyuan, during the battle against the Golden Leopard King, showed no fear of death, protected his fellow disciples, and used up many rare talismans, suffering severe injuries in the process."
"After discussion, the sect has decided to reward Luo Zhiyuan with ten Five-Thunder Talismans!"
Before Elder Zou even finished speaking, the crowd erupted.
"Hiss!"
"Five-Thunder Talismans?!"
"That's a top-tier talisman that can only be crafted by Core Formation elders from the Talisman branch!"
"Luo Zhiyuan previously used only ordinary Thunder Talismans! A single Five-Thunder Talisman is worth dozens of Thunder Talismans. He's made a massive profit!"
As the crowd marveled, Elder Zou continued,
"Three Great Restoration Pills!"
"Great Restoration Pills!"
"That's one of the best healing pills from the Pill branch!"
"We usually only have access to Minor Restoration Pills! One Great Restoration Pill is worth over a hundred Minor Restoration Pills!"
The inner disciples in the Foundation Establishment stage were filled with extreme envy and couldn't help but shout out in amazement.
"Ten medium-grade spirit stones!"
"My heavens! Medium-grade spirit stones?!"
"Spirit stones are the universal currency of the cultivation world! For us Foundation Establishment disciples, even after a year of hard work on sect tasks, we might only earn a dozen lower-grade spirit stones. And one medium-grade spirit stone is worth a hundred lower-grade ones! Luo Zhiyuan just received the equivalent of a thousand lower-grade spirit stones, which is like earning a century's worth of rewards for an ordinary Foundation Establishment disciple!"
"This is unfair!"
"Unfair!"
The Foundation Establishment inner disciples on the stands began to protest loudly.
At this, Elder Zou spoke slowly,
"Indeed, Luo Zhiyuan's merit alone wouldn't typically warrant such a high reward."
"However, the purpose of today's full sect assembly is to show every Xuantian Sect disciple in attendance something important!"
"Xuantian Sect is one of the great righteous sects! One of the Seven Great Sects of Zhao Kingdom!"
"A tragedy where dozens of disciples die within our sect's boundaries is a great misfortune. But in such a situation, disciples like Luo Zhiyuan and Lin Li showed no fear of death and fought bravely to save their fellow disciples! That spirit is exactly what our sect's elders want to see."
"One could say they were lucky, but their rewards are well-deserved!"
"The rewards are so generous because we want everyone to understand: only by helping each other within the sect can Xuantian Sect continue to prosper!"
Elder Zou paused, then continued,
"Lin Li, step forward!"
Lin Li's heart leapt!
After observing for so long, it was finally his turn!
Breathing rapidly, Lin Li stepped forward, respectfully cupping his fists and bowing to Elder Zou,
"Elder Zou!"
"Lin Li!"
Elder Zou began,
"Although he hasn't been in the sect long and his cultivation is still low, in this back mountain trial, the six disciples who survived were all saved by Lin Li!"
"In other words, without Lin Li, it's very likely that Luo Zhiyuan would have been the only survivor, and the rest of the outer disciples would have perished!"
"What?!"
"Lin Li saved all six outer disciples?!"
"That's impossible!"
"He's just a newly admitted outer disciple! How could he have the skills to save that many people?"
A chorus of disbelief arose.
"Hmph! Do you think I would lie?"
Elder Zou snorted coldly, then continued,
"Lin Li saved six fellow disciples and made an irreplaceable contribution!"
"Moreover, the main culprit behind the back mountain trial disaster, the Core Formation-stage Golden Leopard King lying before you, was slain by none other than Lin Li!"
"Hiss?!!"
"Impossible!!!"
The moment they heard that the Core Formation-stage Golden Leopard King had been killed by a newly admitted Qi Refining disciple, nearly all the Qi Refining outer disciples and Foundation Establishment inner disciples gasped in shock.
"There's nothing impossible about it!"
Elder Zou's voice rang out loudly,
"This matter was witnessed firsthand by me, Fairy Qinglian from the Qi branch, Luo Zhiyuan, and the six surviving disciples. There is not a single falsehood!"
"That's right!"
Fairy Qinglian stepped forward and infused her voice with spiritual energy, causing it to reverberate across the entire square:
"We saw with our own eyes as Lin Li struck down the Core Formation-stage Golden Leopard King!"
"I don't believe it!"
Suddenly, a Foundation Establishment inner disciple stood up on the stands, speaking out,
"I am Wang Hu, an inner disciple of the Pill branch, at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage!"
"Everyone knows the vast difference between the Foundation Establishment stage and the Qi Refining stage!"
"Even a Qi Refining cultivator at the peak of the stage would struggle to defeat a Foundation Establishment cultivator. And besides, demonic beasts are inherently stronger in combat than cultivators!"
"The Core Formation-stage Golden Leopard King, being a mutated beast with royal blood, is extraordinarily powerful, even for a Core Formation demonic beast! It could easily match an early Core Formation cultivator. How could such a formidable creature have been killed by a mere outer disciple in the Qi Refining stage?"
"This is pure nonsense!"
"Exactly!"
"Impossible!"
More Foundation Establishment inner disciples began voicing their opposition.
"Hmph!"
With a sharp snort, Elder Zou kicked the Golden Leopard King's corpse, sending it flying into the air and revealing the large gash across its abdomen.