Morning arrived like a slap to the face.

  Li Qing squinted one eye open as the sun rudely barged into his room. Somewhere outside, a rooster crowed with the force of a dying opera singer.

  “…Who in their right mind raises chickens that loud?” he muttered.

  With a flick of his finger, a stray stone hit the rooster’s beak mid-crow. The beast immediately collapsed, eyes rolling back dramatically.

  Several disciples nearby witnessed it and their faces went pale.

  “He… he silenced the sect’s Thunderclaw Rooster without even leaving his room…”

  “W-What kind of method was that?”

  Li Qing yawned. “Too noisy.”

  The gossip started before his slippers even touched the ground.

  Elder Wu, sweating rivers, scanned the gathered disciples like a man seeking divine protection. He spotted Li Qing strolling in, rubbing his eyes, and nearly passed out.

  That kid again.

  “Ahem!” Elder Wu cleared his throat. “Announcing… the results of yesterday’s outer sect trial.”

  Disciples perked up, eager to see who topped the rankings.

  “In first place…” Elder Wu winced. “…Li Qing.”

  Collective gasp.

  “What?! That guy?”

  “I swear I saw him sleeping in a tree halfway through the trial!”

  “There’s no way—unless… unless he’s hiding his true strength!”

  One brave fool whispered, “What cultivation stage is he, actually?” and was immediately elbowed into silence.

  No one dared guess. The last person who tried to probe Li Qing’s cultivation last month spontaneously vomited blood and had been stuck in a coma ever since.

  Li Qing scratched his head. “Oh, I got first? Sweet. So… breakfast prize or what?”

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  The sect elders twitched.

  As his reward, Li Qing was given access to the sect’s treasure pavilion. A few elders followed, acting like he might spontaneously set the place on fire.

  Inside, glittering treasures and ancient relics filled the room.

  Li Qing looked around, unimpressed. “Hmm. No snacks?”

  “Those… those are spirit pills, senior,” a trembling elder clarified.

  “Good enough.”

  Without ceremony, Li Qing grabbed a pill radiating pure white light. It was a Holy-Grade Vitality Pill, something normally guarded by eight formations and a violent dragon. He tossed it into his mouth and chewed like it was a piece of stale candy.

  Crunch.

  A wave of medicinal energy burst out. The nearby elders clutched their hearts.

  “He just… he just—”

  Li Qing grimaced. “Tastes like dirt.”

  Another elder nearly fainted.

  Meanwhile, rumors outside the pavilion were already out of control.

  “Did you hear? Li Qing’s body contains a forbidden ancient constitution.”

  “No, it’s worse than that. He casually eats Holy-Grade pills like snacks.”

  “I saw him glare at a peak Foundation Establishment beast once and it dropped dead.”

  Back inside, Li Qing’s eyes landed on a dusty old rag.

  “What’s this ugly cloth?”

  “T-That’s the Heaven-Sealing Dao Shroud, an ancient relic that—”

  “Neat. I’ll use it to wipe my face.”

  And he did.

  The artifact trembled violently as if about to self-destruct from shame.

  The elders exchanged horrified glances. One whispered, “He’s either an idiot… or a god.”

  The room agreed it wasn’t worth finding out.

  Li Qing returned to the outer sect canteen and ordered a bowl of noodles, oblivious to the wide berth everyone gave him. Entire tables emptied the moment he approached. Even the cooks trembled as they served him.

  One disciple whispered, “If we stare at him too long, I think our meridians might rupture.”

  Another nodded solemnly. “Best not to even think about his cultivation level.”

  A third sighed. “I heard even the Sect Master’s Eye of Truth failed to measure him.”

  In truth, the Sect Master hadn’t even tried. The man had wisely decided some things weren’t worth knowing.

  Li Qing happily slurped his noodles.

  “Could use more chili oil though.”

  At the same time, the sect elders gathered in secret.

  “This child is a problem,” Elder Zhou muttered.

  “I suggest we… leave him alone,” another offered quickly.

  “Or better yet, promote him to honorary elder and send him somewhere far.”

  Everyone agreed. They even drafted a plan to give Li Qing the most remote mountain peak, stocked with as much food and random junk artifacts as possible, to keep him busy.

  Later that night, Li Qing lazily checked his system.

  Cultivation Realm: Mortal Level 2 (Trash-tier)

  Cultivation Points: 65020

  He scratched his head. “Still level two, huh? Man, this cultivation stuff sure is slow.”

  Unaware that the entire sect was currently too terrified to even guess his stage, Li Qing rolled over and snored peacefully.