The Peerless Emperor (TPE)

"Gao Benli, can you show some dignity? Besides complaining to Master, what else are you good at?" Lin Qian dismissed his Equipment Armament and walked over, curling his lips in disdain.

After finishing his cultivation, Wei Wushuang also shook his head at Gao Benli with a hint of helplessness. "You, Gao Benli, are truly hopeless. How did you manage to regress so much over the years? You can't even defeat your junior brother and yet you still have the nerve to come crying to me."

"I clearly remember that even when you suppressed your strength back then, you couldn't beat Lin Qian, right?"

"Hey, Master, you have to be fair. Back then, when I was training with Junior Brother, I wasn't just suppressing my strength; I couldn't even use Equipment Armament. You know how strong this kid's physical body is," Gao Benli complained. "But I never expected that after all these years, upon my return, this kid would be... this strong," he muttered, turning to Lin Qian and pointing at him. "Junior Brother, you're ridiculously strong! It's too much!"

Lin Qian shrugged and spread his hands. "Is that my fault?"

"You…" Seeing Lin Qian's nonchalant attitude, Gao Benli covered his face and wailed, "It's bad enough that I get bullied outside, but now, you're breaking our brotherly bond by destroying my Equipment Armament!"

With that, Gao Benli rushed forward, hugging Lin Qian's leg and wailing, "Oh, poor me! How miserable I am!"

"Enough with the noise. I'll get you a new piece of Equipment Armament later. Happy now?" Lin Qian finally said, exasperated by Gao Benli's whining.

As soon as Lin Qian's words left his mouth, Gao Benli's crying abruptly stopped. He quickly jumped back a few steps and pointed seriously at Lin Qian. "Are you serious?"

"Serious, of course."

"I heard from Master that you got some great stuff from a powerful ruin. I want top-tier Grade A Equipment Core and Components!"

"I don't have that. Keep dreaming."

"Fine, Grade B, but that's my bottom line, or I won't let go."

"...Alright, alright, no problem."

Seeing Lin Qian agree, Gao Benli finally released Lin Qian's leg and got up with a satisfied grin.

Then, Gao Benli sidled up to Lin Qian with a mischievous smile. "Junior Brother, if you're giving me top-grade Equipment Cores and Components, how about throwing in some Soul Crystals too? I heard the girls at the Chunhua Pavilion in Wanxiang City are quite enchanting. Maybe I could…"

Lin Qian took a deep breath and turned to Wei Wushuang. "Master, can I beat this disgrace to the sect?"

"You can!"

"Junior Brother, calm down! I was just joking! Come on, you need to lighten up. Can't you take a joke?" Gao Benli quickly backpedaled when he saw Lin Qian's serious expression.

After the commotion died down, Gao Benli pulled out a jade bottle and handed it to Lin Qian. "This is a Divine Spring Pill. It can heal your friend Bai Ren's legs. Originally, I couldn't easily give this pill away, but now that you're back, I can conveniently pass it to you."

Lin Qian looked at the jade bottle and recognized it as containing a Grade B pill.

From what his master, Wei Wushuang, had told him, Lin Qian knew that his senior brother's situation outside Linhai Prefecture wasn't easy.

The Divine Spring Pill was a sacred healing medicine for soul cultivators below the Life and Death Realm, almost equivalent to an extra life. For Gao Benli, this pill was incredibly valuable, nearly half his wealth.

But now, Gao Benli was willing to hand it over, showing his sincerity.

Lin Qian had initially been frustrated with his senior brother for not reining in his sworn brothers and followers. But now, it seemed there was more to the story.

"No need, I've already prepared medicine for my friend. His legs will recover just fine." Lin Qian pushed the jade bottle back toward Gao Benli. "Keep it for yourself, Senior Brother. However, your fifth brother, Qian Lang, has likely been crippled by Bai Ren."

"If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for not keeping them in check."

After saying this, Lin Qian stood quietly, waiting for Gao Benli's response.

"Honestly, I wouldn't mind if you'd killed him," Gao Benli replied, giving a surprising answer.

Hearing this, Lin Qian let out a sigh of relief.

Gao Benli had met Wei Wushuang after leaving Linhai Prefecture and had become his disciple. In fact, when Wei Wushuang first brought Lin Qian to Wanxiang Sect, Gao Benli had secretly returned for a time, unbeknownst to anyone.

It was during that time that Lin Qian and Gao Benli had met. From Lin Qian's memories, Gao Benli, while sometimes foolish, was a kind-hearted person at his core.

That's why Lin Qian had been puzzled by his senior brother's apparent inaction when his sworn brothers and followers ran rampant. Now, he began to understand there was likely more going on.

"Honestly, I let them run wild on purpose, hoping they would provoke the disciples of Wanxiang Sect enough for them to be killed," Gao Benli explained, his tone filled with frustration. "I wanted to deal with them myself, but if I had, the people monitoring me from the shadows would have noticed."

"But what I didn't expect was that no one in Wanxiang Sect, not even the True Disciples, could defeat them. To protect good seedlings like Ding Zhirong and the others, I locked them up to keep them safe from Qian Long and his brothers."

Lin Qian nodded as he began to understand the situation. Gao Benli was clearly entangled in something much more complicated.

"So, Qian Long and his brothers aren't really your sworn brothers. They're there to monitor you?" Lin Qian asked.

Gao Benli nodded gravely and glanced at Wei Wushuang. "And the ones who sent them are the same people who poisoned Master back then."

"I believe they placed them by my side not only to watch me but also to confirm whether Master is truly dead."

"When I first returned, I also thought Master was dead. But I didn't expect you, Junior Brother, to have saved him."

Lin Qian frowned deeply. "There's one more thing, Senior Brother—what's going on with your grandfather? Why did he agree to reconcile with Shengtian Sect, even going so far as to submit to them?"

"My grandfather… something feels off about him." Gao Benli's expression turned grim. "I have this unsettling feeling that he's not the same person anymore."

Lin Qian's expression grew serious. Things were becoming increasingly complicated.