10,000x Cultivation: I Gain Power by Adopting Training Acolytes

"Well, well! Our 'Eccentric Elder' has quick reflexes!" A mocking laugh echoed as three figures emerged from behind a towering tree. Leading them was none other than Southern Mountain Sect's Eighth Elder, Qiu Lue!

"You've been tailing me?" Zhang Yun narrowed his eyes at the bow in Qiu Lue's hand.

"Tailing? If not for that fifteen-minute grace period, I'd have ended you earlier!" Qiu Lue sneered, nocking an arrow infused with spiritual energy. "You think a washed-up Foundation Establishment cripple can compete with me? Let's see you gather points without functioning limbs!"

**Whoosh!**​

The arrow streaked toward Zhang Yun, who shoved Xu Ming and Wu Xiaopang aside before dodging.

**Boom!**​

The projectile struck the ground, blasting a crater where Zhang Yun had stood moments earlier.

"Quick on your feet," Qiu Lue taunted, already drawing another arrow. "But how long can you dance?"

"Stay away from our master!" Xu Ming and Wu Xiaopang brandished their weapons.

Qiu Lue scoffed. "Qin Hei, Qin Bai—cripple these brats. Leave them breathing… barely."

"Yes, Master!" The two disciples advanced like wolves eyeing lambs.

Xu Ming and Wu Xiaopang looked like easy prey—teenagers at Qi Refining Stage 3 or 4 at best. But Qiu Lue's disciples, hardened through five years of training, stood at Stage 8.

"Hei, take the pretty boy. The fatty's mine," Qin Bai smirked.

"With pleasure," Qin Hei cracked his knuckles.

Zhang Yun's Dance​

Qiu Lue loosed arrow after arrow, savoring Zhang Yun's increasingly ragged dodges. "Almost time to draw blood!" he crowed, releasing a spirit-charged shot faster than lightning.

But Zhang Yun's stumbling gait suddenly transformed. His feet traced an ethereal pattern—the ​Azure Origin Steps—as he blurred past the lethal projectile.

"Enough playtime, 'Begging-for-Humiliation' Elder." Zhang Yun flashed a feral grin.

Qiu Lue's eyes widened as golden energy erupted around the "crippled" elder.

**CRACK!**​

A fist smashed through Qiu Lue's defensive stance, bending his steel-reinforced bow and sending him careening into an ancient oak. Ribs snapped like dry twigs.

"Full-power strikes… intoxicating," Zhang Yun mused, admiring his knuckles.

Before Qiu Lue could rise, another punch launched him through three successive trees. The elder landed in a broken heap, blood frothing at his lips.

"Such a bold name," Zhang Yun tutted, standing over his foe. "Yet two punches shattered you. Disappointing."

**Squelch!**​

A boot crushed Qiu Lue's golden core. The elder's agonized scream died as darkness claimed him.

Disciples' Trial​

Nearby, Qin Hei and Qin Bai writhed beneath Xu Ming and Wu Xiaopang's feet.

"Master said… no mercy." Xu Ming's foot descended.

**Crunch!**​

Qin Hei's dantian exploded.

Wu Xiaopang hesitated until his victim whimpered: "P-please, Little Fatty—"

**SPLAT!**​

"WHO'S CALLING ME FAT?!" The chubby disciple's stomp liquefied Qin Bai's cultivation base.

Zhang Yun arched an eyebrow at the carnage. "Harsh."

"They started it!" Wu Xiaopang huffed, wiping bloodied boots on grass.

Xu Ming nodded solemnly. "The forest teaches hard lessons."

Zhang Yun smirked. His disciples were learning faster than expected.