Now that his Basic Stance Training had reached initial mastery, staying outside any longer served no purpose.

Li Yun decisively headed back.

Soon, he passed the hillside where the two young men had been sparring earlier.

Seeing that the two sparring youths were no longer there, he could not help feeling a slight twinge of disappointment; he had originally planned to find another excuse to get close and leech some cognition points, but now there was not a trace of them left.

He had no choice but to head back first.

Just as he returned to the main courtyard,

before he could even step inside his room, someone called out to him.

"Li Yun!"

"You're finally back! Come on, hurry up and follow me to see the Martial Arts Deacon."

It was Gu Yunzheng again.

That fellow had actually brought more than a dozen people to block his path once more.

Li Yun did not care for trouble, but he was certainly not afraid of it either.

A Sect like the Heavenly Martial Sect, which ranked among the four top Sects in the Eastern Cloud Continent, was extremely strict about rules.

No one was permitted to stir up trouble without consequence.

Between disciples of the Sect, sparring was allowed, but other than that, whoever dared to attack someone without cause would find themselves dragged into the Disciplinary Hall in an instant.

"Heh, why is it you again?"

"Are you out of your mind with boredom? Why stir up trouble for no reason?"

"And who do you think you are? Just because you tell me to go see the Martial Arts Deacon, I have to follow you? Who gave you so much face?"

With just a few sentences, Gu Yunzheng's face flushed bright red with fury from Li Yun's retort.

"You... Outrageous! How dare you speak to me like that?"

"I am the head disciple of Courtyard 95 of the Ren Branch!"

If he had stayed silent, it might have been fine, but hearing those words made Li Yun laugh even more unrestrainedly: "So what if you're the head disciple? Does being the head disciple mean I have to obey you?"

"Which Sect rule states that?"

"You... you..."

Gu Yunzheng choked on his words, having no idea how to talk back.

In truth,

being the head of a courtyard was merely a nominal title.

It came with no substantive power at all; the Sect rules did not even mention such a position.

How could Gu Yunzheng possibly argue with that?

He couldn't!

"Move aside..."

"This Young Master is tired and wants to go inside. A good dog doesn't block the path."

Taking advantage of the moment,

Li Yun simply shoved Gu Yunzheng aside and walked straight toward his door.

Gu Yunzheng and the others were so incensed that fury flared in their eyes, yet they could only exchange glances, at a loss as to what to do.

Just at that moment—

A young man in his twenties stepped into the courtyard.

The moment Gu Yunzheng and the others saw him, they beamed with wild joy and ran over to him.

"Deacon Xu..."

"You've finally arrived! This disciple told Li Yun to come with us to see you, but he flatly refused and was utterly insolent!"

Martial Arts Deacon Xu Qing?

Li Yun was taken aback for a second, but with thoughts flashing swiftly through his mind, he took the initiative to walk forward.

In this place, each courtyard had only one Martial Arts Deacon, much like a homeroom teacher in his previous life. They might not hold immense authority, but making life miserable for someone was remarkably easy.

Li Yun was no reckless hothead; without necessity, he naturally did not wish to offend Xu Qing.

"Deacon Xu, you've arrived?"

Xu Qing gave an impassive nod. "Li Yun, I instructed Gu Yunzheng to summon you. Why didn't you go?"

"Deacon Xu, this disciple has been wronged!"

"This disciple merely went out for a short stroll, and the moment I returned, more than a dozen of them blocked my way, each glaring more fiercely than the last. This disciple assumed they were concocting an excuse to bully me... I never imagined that you truly summoned me, Deacon Xu!"

"May I ask what orders Deacon Xu has for this disciple?"

Seeing Li Yun's aggrieved look, Xu Qing could not help glaring sharply at Gu Yunzheng and his cohort. Truly, when looking at this spectacle... Li Yun was all by himself, while Gu Yunzheng was flanked by over a dozen people. Who wouldn't feel intimidated?

"Gu Yunzheng, what is going on here?"

"I merely asked you to notify Li Yun. Why did you bring so many people along?"

"What kind of behavior is this?"

"Those uninvolved, disperse at once and tend to your own matters! Don't wait until the Disciplinary Hall patrol spots you and assumes you are up to no good, hauling you all to the Disciplinary Hall. I won't be able to plead for leniency on your behalf."

Hearing this, the color instantly drained from their faces.

Aside from Gu Yunzheng, the other dozen or so disciples scattered as though fleeing for their lives.

In the blink of an eye, Gu Yunzheng was left completely alone.

Resentment churned fiercely within his heart.

"Deacon Xu... this fellow Li Yun is framing me! We were not fierce with him at all. Moreover, it was clearly him loitering around me intentionally,"

"stealing and learning my Stance Training, and even disturbing my cultivation."

"And he stubbornly refuses to admit it..."

Gu Yunzheng's eyes reddened slightly, feeling an unprecedented sense of indignity.

If Li Yun did not receive a harsh reprimand today,

his face would be entirely ruined, and who would take him seriously as the head disciple in the future?

As for Xu Qing, he was actually quite fond of Gu Yunzheng.

The boy possessed a distinguished background and substantial family wealth, and what was truly rare was his First-Grade Aptitude—a natural martial arts Genius.

For someone of his caliber, the likelihood of reversing the Acquired into the Innate and advancing to an Inner Sect Disciple within three years was exceptionally high.

That was precisely why he had appointed Gu Yunzheng as the head disciple of Courtyard 95 of the Ren Branch, hoping to inspire him further.

Seeing Gu Yunzheng looking so profoundly wronged now, he could not help softening slightly and turned to Li Yun.

"Li Yun, you heard him as well?"

"What is your explanation?"

Li Yun had anticipated this long ago.

He smiled faintly.

"Deacon Xu, Gu Yunzheng's claim is utter nonsense."

"This disciple grew weary from cultivating and merely took a brief stroll in the courtyard without uttering a single word. How does that qualify as disrupting someone else's cultivation?"

"As for stealing his Stance Training, that is even more... sigh!"

Li Yun glanced at Gu Yunzheng, abruptly walked to the side, and without another word, directly initiated Basic Stance Training.

Xu Qing and Gu Yunzheng were instantly confounded by Li Yun's sudden action.

They had no idea what Li Yun meant by doing this.

Yet, as Li Yun set his posture and transitioned smoothly from the first stance to the second... seamlessly shifting through each position one after another,

Xu Qing's expression altered drastically.

A sudden shiver ran down his spine.

He suddenly realized that right from the very first stance, Li Yun's posture was executed to absolute perfection, not falling short of Gu Yunzheng in the slightest.

Such textbook Stance Training progressed rapidly to the seventh stance, carried out effortlessly, followed directly by the eighth stance...

"Impossible!"

Witnessing this scene, Gu Yunzheng blurted out in disbelief.

Li Yun paid him no mind, wholly immersed in his Stance Training. He discovered that as he performed the stances himself, new layers of comprehension emerged in his consciousness.

The System even reacted.

【Cultivated Basic Stance Training, cognition points +1】

【Cultivated Basic Stance Training, cognition points +1】

【...】

By the time all twelve stances were concluded, his cognition points had gained a solid 5 points.

Though not a massive amount, it was an undeniable gain.

This gave Li Yun immense peace of mind; even if he could not find someone to observe in the future, relying solely on his own cultivation would not leave him completely empty-handed of cognition points.

At that moment, however, he paid it no further heed.

Having completed all twelve stances, he turned back to look at Gu Yunzheng.

"Gu Yunzheng!"

"My Basic Stance Training has already attained initial mastery, while you haven't even finished the seventh stance. May I ask, what exactly would I steal and learn from you?"

"Steal your self-righteousness?"

"Or steal the way you strut around like a clown with your lackeys in tow?"