Path of the Sect Leader

Chapter 64: Twin Innate Talents

In the ash-gray expanse of his sea of consciousness, a rainbow bead the size of a soybean pulsed—once, twice—like a hesitant heartbeat.

That was the Seven-Aperture Exquisite Heart Qi Xiu had painted, stroke by painstaking stroke, over the past months.

Today the Chu Qin Pavilion’s spirit-gathering array belonged to him alone. Every disciple had been sent away. Today he charged the third layer of Qi Refining—the first true gate on any cultivator’s path, a gate that had mocked him for twenty-three years.

He sat motionless, sweat beading on his brow.

The false heart in his mind now possessed seven distinct apertures, still dark, still waiting to awaken. But its contours were exquisite, every vein and valve rendered with obsessive detail.

Qi flowed in perfect circles, the pool in his dantian brimming until it strained against an invisible lid. That lid—heavy, disc-shaped, immovable—was the manifested barrier of the third layer.

Twenty-three years of failure whispered in his ears:

What if you break again?

What if the heavens laugh one more time?

Qi Xiu exhaled, long and slow.

“Wind through the pass, moon over the ridge—I remain.”

All stray thoughts sank like stones.

He drew a thread of true intent from the floating Exquisite Pagoda, guided it through meridians, and hurled it against the lid.

Again.

Again.

Time dissolved.

At some unknowable hour, the false heart blazed. Seven colors flooded his consciousness. The pagoda rose of its own accord, chiming once—a clear, crystalline note.

Crack.

Something inside him shattered like thin ice.

Qi Xiu jolted awake, gasping. The spirit pool had doubled in depth. The lid was gone.

Third layer of Qi Refining.

He laughed—then sobbed—tears and sweat mingling as they rolled down his face. Thirty-two years old, and only now tasting the next step.

Pills slipped between trembling lips to restore spent vitality. Only then did he turn inward to examine the true harvest.

Two apertures in the Exquisite Heart now shone with steady light.

Two innate talents—finally revealed.

The first had always been his, hidden in plain sight, older than memory itself.

【Beyond Reckoning】

It was why Fate-Hiding Talismans rolled off his brush as naturally as breathing.

Why even Nascent Soul soul-searches slid off his mind like water off lotus leaves.

Why Southern Chu dared use him for crimes that would topple sects.

He existed outside the net of heaven’s calculations. No divination could predict him. No technique could bind his soul or steal his memories. Absolute, effortless freedom from fate’s ledger.

The second talent bloomed only today, kindled by the revised Mind-Illumination Art and perfectly married to both his true monkey root and the false heart.

【Heart of Clarity】

A single revolution of the technique stripped away greed, doubt, anger, delusion—every stain that clouded lesser cultivators for centuries. From this day forward, inner demons would find no purchase. His Dao Heart would remain a mirror, unmarred, unshakable.

Qi Xiu leapt to his feet in the empty hall, laughing like a madman, dancing with no audience but the startled dust motes.

“Congratulations. You look like a man who just robbed the heavens blind.”

The voice slithered across the marble, cold as a grave wind.

Qi Xiu’s joy died mid-spin.

Chu Duo sat cross-legged on the opposite cushion—had been sitting there who knew how long—smiling the thin, vulture smile that never reached his eyes.

“Ancestor… when did you—” Qi Xiu’s voice cracked like a boy’s.

“I arrived hours ago. Didn’t want to disturb you at the critical moment.” The old monster’s tone dripped false benevolence.

He rose, robes whispering. “You’ve done well lately. Another pair of deaf-mutes arrived last month. Healthy boy this time. Already on his way south.”

Same script, different infants.

Qi Xiu bowed, tasting ash. “This junior dares not slack when the ancestor commands.”

“Good.” Chu Duo’s voice slid directly into his mind, bypassing air and ears.

《Listen carefully. If Zhao Liangde asks you for any favor—no matter how small—agree at once. Then report every single detail back to me. Do you understand?》

Zhao Liangde?

Qi Xiu’s thoughts spun. What game was Southern Chu playing with the Beast Taming Sect now?

He pressed his forehead to the floor. “This junior hears and obeys.”

Silence.

When he dared lift his head, the hall was empty again. Not even the scent of the old monster remained.

The debt of survival had been paid in stolen futures. Yet the chains only tightened.

Qi Xiu spat a silent curse at the absent ancestor, shoved the doors open—and walked into a storm of cheers.

“Sect Leader!”

“Congratulations on breaking through!”

Yu Denuo led the charge, face split in a grin. Disciples crowded the steps—Zhang Shishi, Gu Ji, even Zhan Yuan and his market rats, all waiting who-knew-how-long in the snow.

Real warmth flooded his chest. He let the tears come this time, unashamed.

After the chaos settled, Zhang Shishi pressed a gold-embossed card into his hand.

“From Zhao Liangde. Invitation to a grand racing tournament after New Year. He insisted you attend in person.”

Qi Xiu stared at the elegant script.

Chu Duo’s warning still echoed in his skull.

He folded the invitation very carefully, as though it might bite.