Within the Holy Land, there are no four seasons, as all seasons are like spring!

  Gu Liangyuan stood atop the mountain peak, hands clasped behind his back.

  Dressed in red, Qian Qiu, who was beginning to show the demeanor of an Empress, stood behind Gu Liangyuan, gazing with him at the rolling sea of clouds in the distance, letting the fierce wind blow past, causing their sleeves to flutter noisily.

  At this moment, it had been a month since Ye Fan's death.

  During this time, Gu Liangyuan had bestowed upon Qian Qiu various magical treasures and spiritual items multiple times. Unfortunately, the returns were only several or dozens of times the value, and although nothing of extremely high value was returned, Gu Liangyuan's wealth had multiplied several times over.

  Since the items returned couldn't be gifted again, Gu Liangyuan would sell them or exchange them for other spiritual treasures, and then bestow them again to trigger more returns.

  In this way, his wealth naturally skyrocketed. Although he was only at the Nascent Soul stage, his wealth surpassed that of ordinary Void Refinement cultivators by a significant margin!

  Even the spiritual items on Qian Qiu were more abundant than those of Nascent Soul cultivators.

  Qian Qiu did not disappoint Gu Liangyuan. With her terrifying talent and the support of so many natural treasures, her cultivation advanced rapidly.

  In just a month, she had reached Perfected Qi Refining.

  Only one step away from successfully establishing her Foundation!

  In fact, this was because Gu Liangyuan had forcibly made Qian Qiu suppress her cultivation under the pretext of an unstable foundation. Otherwise, she could have established her Foundation five days ago.

  The reason Gu Liangyuan had Qian Qiu suppress her cultivation was partly because it was indeed beneficial for her, and partly because his cultivation rebate function hadn't been activated yet.

  If Qian Qiu broke through now, wouldn't he lose a whole level of cultivation for nothing?

  The master and disciple stood in the wind for a long time, and Qian Qiu asked Gu Liangyuan:

  "Master, how long do I have to suppress my cultivation?"

  Gu Liangyuan slowly turned his head: "At least until after the Grand Disciple Ceremony."

  "Okay," Qian Qiu nodded gently.

  Gu Liangyuan looked at Qian Qiu, as if reminded of something, and flicked his finger, sending a stream of light into Qian Qiu's spiritual platform.

  Qian Qiu sensed the information within her spiritual platform and found it filled with books like "The Art of War," "Thirty-Six Stratagems," and "Master of Ghost Valley."

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  This puzzled Qian Qiu: "Master... what is this?"

  "You've been a bit restless lately. Since there's no rush to break through, you can take some time to read these books. They'll be beneficial for your future."

  Qian Qiu blinked, not knowing how these military books would be useful to her, but she knew her master would never harm her.

  So she nodded lightly: "I understand."

  Seeing Qian Qiu so obedient, Gu Liangyuan couldn't help but ruffle her hair.

  Qian Qiu looked up, feeling Gu Liangyuan's warm hand on her head, and giggled foolishly.

  "Ding, the host bestowed many military books, triggering an 8,000-fold return, reward: Primordial Chess Canon."

  "Primordial Chess Canon: The world's foremost chess scripture, those who master it are invincible in the art of chess."

  Gu Liangyuan listened to the system prompt, raising an eyebrow slightly.

  I'm a cultivator, what use do I have for a chess canon?

  An 8,000-fold return and this is what I get?

  No, an 8,000-fold return must have some hidden secret!

  Gu Liangyuan accepted it casually, and a vast amount of information instantly flooded into his sea of consciousness.

  But no matter how carefully Gu Liangyuan comprehended the contents of this ancient chess canon, he couldn't find anything peculiar.

  However, in his sea of consciousness, a half-ripe fruit appeared.

  This fruit wasn't physical; it seemed to be formed by some kind of rule.

  Gu Liangyuan studied it for a while, but unable to understand it, he decided to ignore it.

  Once again, Gu Liangyuan felt the importance of comprehension. With the Grand Disciple Ceremony approaching, he hoped to find a suitable disciple.

  As Gu Liangyuan was pondering this, Song Head approached from afar.

  Noticing the outsider's arrival, Qian Qiu, who had been the picture of obedience, suddenly put on a cold, unapproachable demeanor.

  Over the years, she had experienced too much humiliation and scheming, leading her to naturally be wary and distant from outsiders.

  So, except for Gu Liangyuan, she was cold and unapproachable to everyone else.

  Despite her icy demeanor, Qian Qiu didn't neglect her manners and bowed slightly to Song Head: "Senior Brother Song."

  Elder Song returned the gesture: "Junior Sister Qian."

  Previously at the eighth level of Nascent Soul, Song Head had now reached the ninth level.

  Of course, this progress was thanks to Gu Liangyuan's guidance and nurturing.

  Song Head himself hadn't expected that his cultivation, stagnant for over a hundred years, would break through with just a bit of guidance from Gu Liangyuan.

  To repay Gu Liangyuan's kindness, Song Head had come to regard Emotionless Peak as his home.

  All the trivial matters on Emotionless Peak were handled by him.

  After exchanging greetings, Song Head turned to Gu Liangyuan:

  "Junior Uncle, the Sect Master Senior Sister requests your presence for a discussion."

  Gu Liangyuan was a bit surprised: "Oh? Do you know what it's about?"

  Song Head shook his head:

  "I don't know either, but it likely has something to do with the upcoming Grand Disciple Ceremony."

  "Alright, I understand."

  Gu Liangyuan turned to give Qian Qiu some cultivation advice before taking off.

  With a thunderous roar, in a flash of lightning, Gu Liangyuan's figure appeared dozens of miles away.

  What Gu Liangyuan used was the supreme-grade minor divine ability, Heavenly Thunder Escape.

  Watching Gu Liangyuan's impressive display, Song Head couldn't help but marvel:

  "Junior Uncle's skills are becoming more and more profound."

  Qian Qiu gazed at Gu Liangyuan's departing figure, her eyes filled with longing.

  One day, she too would be as strong as her master!

  At this moment, Gu Liangyuan was unaware of their thoughts. With a few flickers, he arrived at the entrance of Limitless Peak.

  Led by a Mountain-Guarding Disciple, he entered the Hall of Infinity and smoothly met with Lv Qingmei.

  The two exchanged no pleasantries, and Lv Qingmei got straight to the point:

  "I invited you here this time for the Grand Disciple Ceremony in three days, and also for the upcoming Battle of the Dragon-Supporting Court."

  Dragon-Supporting Court?

  Hearing these familiar words, Gu Liangyuan searched his memory for related information.

  Though the Eastern Continent was vast, it housed the Four Great Holy Lands, seventy-two major sects, and hundreds of minor sects.

  This led to constant resource competition and conflict.

  But the Eastern Continent bordered the Rakshasa Sea, and across the sea lay the Demon Race's territory.

  If the Eastern Continent engaged in civil war, the Demon Race would take advantage, committing atrocities.

  Later, led by the Supreme Holy Land, the major sects united to devise a relatively peaceful solution.

  This solution was the Dragon-Supporting Court!

  In the mortal realm, there were countless nations. During the Dragon-Supporting Court, each Holy Land and sect would choose a nation to support, competing for territory.

  With a twenty-year term, once the term ended, the nation with the most territory would claim all resources in that area for the next three thousand years.

  To prevent escalation, the Holy Lands set requirements for participants in the Dragon-Supporting Court: age and talent were unrestricted, but Nascent Soul and above cultivators were forbidden from participating.

  If one violated this rule, the other three Holy Lands and seventy-two sects would collectively punish them!

  Thus, it was both a territorial battle and a showcase of each Holy Land's disciples' comprehensive strength.

  Gu Liangyuan understood. No wonder the Holy Lands were recruiting disciples early. By his calculations, only three years remained until the next Dragon-Supporting Court.

  Pawread.