100: Chapter 100: The "Settlement" on the Eve of the Big Exam

On the eve of The Grand Exam, Hengchuan Peak was as quiet as a graveyard.

No sword hums, no thunderous roars, only the whimpering of the wind passing through the broken mountain gate.

In the crude meeting room at the peak, candlelight flickered.

Shen Xingzhou sat alone at the long table.

There were no Spirit Stones on the table, no divine weapons, only mountains of paper.

These were the handwritten reports he had compiled day and night for the past month, every page densely packed with data on his Disciples, their emotional fluctuations, and even their personal habits.

Above these papers, two ghostly blue light screens hovered.

On the left was the [Qingheng Sect Asset Panorama], the Sect's "balance sheet."

On the right was the [Hengchuan Peak · The Grand Exam Special Performance Dashboard], Hengchuan Peak's "income statement."

Shen Xingzhou rubbed his aching temples, his fingers tapping lightly on the table.

At this moment, he didn't look like a peak Revered Master of the cultivation world.

He looked more like a CFO (Chief Financial Officer) about to face a life-or-death judgment at a board meeting.

What he needed to calculate wasn't how ruthless tomorrow's sword moves would be.

It was whether every drop of blood and every Spirit Stone spent tomorrow could truly earn Hengchuan Peak a "life-extension visa."

"System."

Shen Xingzhou's voice was somewhat hoarse, "Start the final simulation."

"I want to see... how ugly our death will be if we don't go all out."

[Command confirmed: Initiating The Grand Exam final sandbox simulation]

The interface switched instantly, and red warning boxes occupied his field of vision.

[Simulation One: The Grand Exam Failure (Status Quo Maintenance Plan)]

[Parameter Settings:]

Follow the conventional strategies of the current peaks.

Hengchuan Peak keeps a low profile, seeking only to avoid mistakes rather than achieve merit.

Resource allocation is executed according to yesterday's meeting results.

[Simulation Process:]

Main peaks like Tianjian Peak, in order to compete for rankings, ignore attrition and launch suicide charges.

Due to resource disadvantages, Hengchuan Peak struggles on the edge of the Yao Beast tide; although casualties are low, battle merits are negligible.

Result:

Hengchuan Peak overall score: Last place (insufficient battle merit, and judged as a "valueless asset").

Sect overall attrition rate: 42% (a new historical high).

Final verdict: Hengchuan Peak enters the disbandment process. All Disciples are dispersed, and Shen Xingzhou, as a "failed manager," is stripped of his cultivation and sent to the mines.

Note: Your "System reform" will be labeled as [pseudoscience] by the Heavenly Dao and permanently banned.

Shen Xingzhou looked at the words "sent to the mines," his face turning ashen.

This was the consequence of not resisting.

In this cruel cultivation world, moderate reformers usually don't have good endings.

"Continue."

He gritted his teeth, "Show me the second one."

[Simulation Two: The Grand Exam Success (Moderate/Survival Plan)]

[Parameter Settings:]

Hengchuan Peak utilizes its specialty of "survival," focusing on self-preservation, and uses live streaming to earn some reputation points.

The Sect's high-level management receives a warning from the Heavenly Dao due to excessive attrition and is forced to give Hengchuan Peak some rewards to show "fairness."

[Simulation Process:]

Hengchuan Peak miraculously survives, even picking up some scraps, with the lowest attrition rate in the entire Sect.

However, due to insufficient attack power, it is still viewed as a "burden."

Result:

Hengchuan Peak ranking: Sixth (barely escaping disbandment).

Sect overall rating: C- (barely passing).

System status: V2.0 continues to maintain a "semi-closed state." You can only continue to survive; you have no say, and you could be targeted at any time.

"No."

Shen Xingzhou slammed the table.

"This kind of 'survival' is not what I want."

"If the System cannot be fully unlocked, I cannot shake the Elder Council, and I cannot protect my Disciples."

"We are dancing on the tip of a blade; no matter how well we dance, we will fall sooner or later."

"What I want is... a comeback."

He took a deep breath, his eyes becoming as sharp as blades.

"System, show me that... impossible plan."

The red warning on the interface disappeared, replaced by golden text full of temptation and danger.

[Simulation Three: The Grand Exam High Success (Reform and Domination Plan)]

[Core Conditions:]

To gain real "say," to let the V2.0 fully unleash.

You cannot just be a "survivor"; you must be a "benchmark."

[Hard Indicators: V2.0 Official Unlock Conditions]

In the three core dimensions of this Sect Grand Exam:

[Combat Performance]

[Resource Utilization Rate]

[Disciple Satisfaction]

Hengchuan Peak must take at least two first places.

[Simulation Results (If achieved):]

Hengchuan Peak ranking: Top three in the Sect (perhaps even first).

Qingheng Sect overall credit rating: Upgraded to B+ (due to the new model being recognized by the Heavenly Dao).

Final verdict: Hengchuan Peak is listed as a [key reform sample], receiving the Sect's highest priority resource allocation. The Elder Council is forced to acknowledge your rules.

System reward: V2.0 full permission unlock (including Sect-level merger and reorganization functions, and mandatory enforcement power for asset allocation).

Shen Xingzhou looked at that line of text, "Two first places."

His heart began to beat violently.

Combat power? Although Hengchuan Peak had trained for a month, the foundation was thin; getting first place was as difficult as ascending to heaven.

Resource utilization rate? This was his strong suit; he was confident in grinding those spendthrifts from Tianjian Peak into the dirt.

Satisfaction? That was a variable brought by live streaming; although currently ahead, it was very unstable.

"Two first places..."

Shen Xingzhou muttered to himself, "Meaning, I must secure first in 'Resources' and 'Satisfaction,' while simultaneously sparking a miracle in 'Combat Power'."

"Or..."

He looked at that "Resource Utilization Rate."

"I need to widen the advantage of 'Resource Utilization Rate' to a point where even the Heavenly Dao cannot ignore it."

[Current Prediction:]

Combat power item: Expected fourth (a chance to break into third, but first is almost impossible).

Resource item: Absolute advantage (First).

Satisfaction item: Highly volatile (risk of malicious bad reviews).

[System Conclusion: This is a high-risk gamble. Win, and you ascend to the heavens in one step. Lose, and you are doomed forever.]

"Click."

A soft sound came from behind.

Shen Xingzhou did not turn around; he knew who it was.

Peak Master Luo Qingyi walked in, draped in a red cloak. She held a wine flask in her hand, seemingly having woken up long ago, or perhaps she hadn't slept at all.

She walked to the table and glanced at the two light screens.

Although she didn't quite understand those complex reports and curves, she understood the golden [Simulation Three] at the end.

"Two first places?"

Peak Master Luo Qingyi raised an eyebrow and poured herself a cup of wine, "You want to slap those old men until their faces are swollen?"

Shen Xingzhou gave a wry smile: "Revered Master, I don't want to slap their faces."

"I want to knock their teeth out."

"Otherwise, they will always think my life is cheap."

Peak Master Luo Qingyi took a sip of wine, her gaze falling on the densely packed data.

"Combat power, resources, satisfaction..."

She whispered these three words.

"In the past, when we cultivated, we only looked at whether we could kill, whether we could protect the Dao."

"Now..."

She looked at Shen Xingzhou, her eyes filled with complex emotions, "You want Hengchuan Peak to become an abacus?"

"Click-clack, calculating victory, defeat, life, and death?"

"Revered Master."

Shen Xingzhou looked up, his eyes burning, "In this world of scarce resources and strict hierarchy."

"Only an abacus can protect small figures like us."

"No matter how high the sword skill, one fears a kitchen knife. If the rules are broken, even immortals must die."

"What I want to do is to fix this broken rule."

Peak Master Luo Qingyi fell silent.

She looked at this little Disciple in front of her, who was clearly only at the Foundation Establishment Stage but carried the worries of an old monster at the Nascent Soul Stage.

She saw the ambition in his eyes, and also the fear deep within them.

He was afraid.

But he still chose to gamble.

After a long while.

Peak Master Luo Qingyi placed the wine cup heavily on the table.

"Good."

She only said one word.

"Then let's have a fight."

She turned around, looked at the pitch-black night outside the window, and looked at the faint lights of Tianjian Peak in the distance.

"No need to beg them, and no need to please them."

"Tomorrow, you just spread out your ledger."

"Throw your data in their faces."

"Let them choose."

"Whether to choose your path that can save lives, or their dead-end path that treats people like firewood."

"As long as you can make that group of idiots see clearly."

"So-called 'face' is not as real as cold, hard cash."

"Then you have already won half of this battle."

Shen Xingzhou looked at Peak Master Luo Qingyi's upright back, his tense nerves relaxing slightly.

This was his Revered Master.

She didn't understand management, didn't understand performance metrics.

But she understood human nature.

She understood that ruthlessness.

"Thank you, Revered Master."

Shen Xingzhou stood up and organized the reports on the table.

Then, he pressed his hand heavily on the golden [Simulation Three] option.

[Command confirmed: Host selects "High Success Plan"]

[Main quest target locked: At least two first places among the three items.]

[Instance difficulty: Adjusted up to "High Risk."]

[Countdown started:]

Time until The Grand Exam officially begins: 6 hours.

The System interface began to flicker violently, and a massive amount of data flow began to converge toward the nodes of Hengchuan Peak.

Shen Xingzhou could feel the spiritual power of the entire peak pulse trembling with this crazy bet.

All the Disciples tossed and turned in their sleep; the swords in their dreams became faster, and the shields in their hands became heavier.

Because their Peak Revered Master had thrown all the chips onto the gambling table.

This night, Hengchuan Peak did not sleep.

Shen Xingzhou sat there, watching the horizon gradually turn pale.

At the bottom of the System interface, that line of small text slowly emerged, like a verdict of fate.

[System Prompt]

[Warning:]

"After tomorrow."

"Hengchuan Peak will no longer be a waste peak."

"And... there will be no way back to being a waste peak."

The morning light pierced the darkness.

The bell rang.

The first sound was a war drum.

The second sound was a horn.

The third sound...

Was the beginning of the reckoning.

Shen Xingzhou pushed open the door and walked out, facing the rising sun.

Behind him was the silent-as-iron Hengchuan Peak.

In front of him was the Qingheng Sect, surrounded by tigers and wolves.

And... the cultivation world that was about to be completely changed.