Becoming a simp will leave you with nothing.

Seeing this scene, Yang Xiude, the Elder of the Internal Affairs Pavilion responsible for organizing the Grand Competition, breathed a sigh of relief, his expression full of admiration:

"Good, good, good. This Qi Da is truly brave and resourceful, with a kind character. If it weren't for his timely rescue, these three Outer Sect Disciples might have truly perished here."

"Based on this alone, this lad is worth focusing our cultivation on."

Although a certain level of casualties was permitted in the Outer Sect Grand Competition, losing three promising elite Disciples at once would definitely be considered a serious accident.

Moreover, failing to clear out dangerous Yao Beasts like the Four-Eyed Spirit Fox in advance was indeed a dereliction of duty on the part of the Internal Affairs Pavilion. If this had led to deaths, Yang Xiude, as the Elder of the Internal Affairs Pavilion, would have found it difficult to escape blame.

Now that the crisis was averted, Yang Xiude naturally felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted, and he felt a sense of gratitude toward Qi Yuan.

This junior Disciple's performance was excellent. Once the Grand Competition ended, he would certainly recommend him to the Sect Head for promotion to an Outer Sect Disciple and recruit him into the Internal Affairs Pavilion to work... Just as he was thinking this, the Elder of Falling Cloud Valley standing beside him suddenly let out a soft exclamation and said in a surprised tone:

"I thought Qi Da would kill that demon fox to earn points, but I didn't expect him to try and subdue it using a beast taming scroll. What is he trying to do?"

Hearing this, Yang Xiude's eyebrows shot up, and his expression changed slightly as he couldn't help but say:

"Although the Four-Eyed Spirit Fox is incredibly cunning, it is naturally timid and afraid of death. Now that Qi Da has captured it, with its life threatened, it might actually yield, sign a contract, and acknowledge the boy as its master."

"If he can subdue this Qi Refining Perfection Four-Eyed Spirit Fox, he might actually be able to make a name for himself in the Grand Competition!"

Just then, the Elder of the Dao Entry Pavilion, Yin Qingyuan, let out a cold snort and said with a face full of contempt:

"This Qi Da only knows how to play tricks and take shortcuts. In terms of strength, he simply cannot be compared to the likes of Han Zaiyuan, Xie Yuxing, or Lu Kuang."

"Even with the help of a Four-Eyed Spirit Fox, it will be of no use. That beast's combat power is inherently weak; it only knows how to cast some crude illusions. A Cultivator at the same Qi Refining Perfection level only needs a little precaution to easily resist it."

"Just now, Nie Cuilan of the ninth level of Qi Refining wasn't immediately deluded by the illusion. If she hadn't let her guard down in extreme terror, how could the Four-Eyed Spirit Fox have found an opening?"

As soon as these words were spoken, several high-ranking members of Falling Cloud Valley present nodded in agreement.

Although the Four-Eyed Spirit Fox's illusions were very troublesome, they weren't entirely impossible to deal with. As long as a Cultivator's cultivation was comparable to or higher than its own, it would be difficult to be deceived.

Among the Disciples participating in the Outer Sect Grand Competition, there were quite a few Qi Refining Perfection Cultivators. Relying on a single Four-Eyed Spirit Fox to reach the top ten was basically impossible... Meanwhile.

"Now you have two choices: one is to obediently sign this Beast Taming Contract, and the other is to die!"

Qi Yuan's tone was indifferent as he looked at the Four-Eyed Spirit Fox before him with a cold gaze.

The fox demon's eyes flickered, seemingly hesitating.

Seeing this, Qi Yuan sneered and slowly pressed his hand against the fox demon's neck.

"It seems you've chosen the path to death. In that case, I'll fulfill your wish."

At this moment, killing intent overflowed from his face, as if he were about to circulate his True Qi to snap the other's neck bone immediately.

The fox demon immediately yielded, reluctantly opening its mouth to spit out a drop of bright red blood—its Natal Essence Blood.

"At least you know what's good for you."

Qi Yuan smiled slightly, unrolled the beast taming scroll in his hand, and let the drop of essence blood fall onto the contract.

Then, with a thought, he quickly planted a Divine Soul brand on the scroll... In an instant, he felt a faint connection between himself and the demon fox before him. It seemed that with just a slight thought, he could easily decide the life or death of this Four-Eyed Spirit Fox.

A Beast Taming Contract was essentially a pure master-slave contract, little different from a deed of sale for a Yao Beast.

During the contract period, the Yao Beast could not go against its master's will at all. Otherwise, it would suffer a backlash from the contract, and its Soul would Fly Away and Spirit Scatter instantly, without even the chance for Reincarnation.

As a specialty of the Beast Taming Sect, a first-rate Sect in this world, beast taming scrolls were not difficult to obtain in the Cultivation World, nor were they expensive. The only difficulty lay in forcing a Yao Beast to sign such an unequal contract.

Of course, if one encountered a Yao Beast with a fierce personality and untamable wildness, it would most likely rather die than sign such a contract. However, the naturally timid Four-Eyed Spirit Fox clearly did not fall into that category.

After the contract was finalized, the aura on the fox demon's body weakened once more, its expression one of utter despair.

"What, are you still not convinced?" Qi Yuan glanced at it disdainfully. "If it weren't for your usefulness, a low-level demon of your caliber wouldn't even be qualified to be my demon pet. As long as you work honestly, you'll regain your freedom soon enough."

After saying that, he untied the Beast Catching Net and released the fox demon.

Once it regained its mobility, the fox demon hesitated for a moment but eventually approached Qi Yuan's side in fear.

Seeing that the Four-Eyed Spirit Fox had been completely tamed, Qi Yuan casually put away the beast taming scroll and took out a jade bottle from his Storage Pouch.

Upon opening it, a peculiar pill fragrance wafted out... a supreme grade spirit nurturing pill!

Could what this villain... er, no, what Master said be true?

The fox demon's spirits lifted, and the look it gave Qi Yuan immediately changed, revealing a deep sense of longing.

"Breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment Realm before dawn tomorrow. Otherwise, you will die a very ugly death."

While speaking, Qi Yuan poured the supreme grade spirit nurturing pill produced by the System out of the jade bottle and tossed it in front of the fox demon.

Hearing this, the fox demon's two furry ears instantly drooped. It felt as though the supreme grade spirit nurturing pill in front of it was suddenly not so fragrant anymore.

Seeing its master's unfriendly expression, it hurriedly took the Medicinal Pill into its mouth and then vanished into the woods in a flash... After the fox demon left, Qi Yuan walked over to the three unlucky fellows lying unconscious nearby. He glanced curiously at the jade plates on their waists and immediately lost interest.

Perhaps because the Yao Beasts had all been snatched away by those worker teams, this three-person team was doing quite miserably.

Nie Cuilan's point plate still had four points, while the jade plates of her two followers were completely empty, still at zero. This perfectly illustrated the truth of the saying: "Being a Simp, Having Nothing."

With that thought, his figure flickered, and he quietly left the scene. Before leaving, he sent out a wave of gentle True Qi to wake all three of them up.

A moment later, the three lying on the ground slowly opened their eyes, only to find the surroundings in a mess, with traces of battle everywhere, and they were still clutching their weapons and Magical Artifacts.

Remembering something, Nie Cuilan's anger flared. She suddenly jumped up from the ground and gave each of her two companions a slap in the face.

"I remember now! You two dared to sneak attack me from behind just now and even let those Frost Rats escape. No wonder you specifically asked to team up with me; you were planning to ruin my business all along, weren't you?"

The two who were slapped were instantly dazed, not understanding what they had done wrong.