Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
At the break of dawn, the labor spirit of the Outer Disciples was sparked like the morning hues. Grabbing a few steamed buns from the canteen, they went their separate ways to begin toiling for the day.
At this point in time, Lin Yunzi was the only one staying in the stone tower. In fact, this old man had been peering at the Sword-Wielding Mountain in the east by stretching his neck since early morning.
After all, tomorrow was the day the disciple challenge would start and the Sword-Wielding Elder was too lazy and would most likely not train Xiao Ran. He had a feeling that Xiao Ran would come for him.
Xiao Ran did come… for another reason.
His stomach growled, rumbling incredibly loudly.
“I’m hungry. Do you have any food here?”
Lin Yunzi paused before he caught up. His Junior Uncle was still a mortal!
Upon wolfing down a meal in the outer sect tower, Xiao Ran then made a list: seeds of spiritual grain and spiritual barley, seedlings of vegetables and fruits, high-quality spiritual farm fertilizer, cuttings of bamboo, maple, cherry blossom, scenic plants with intact roots, rice wine yeast, natural yeast, and high-quality spiritual grains.
That was all? Lin Yunzi went through the short list three times.
Nope, no secret weapon spotted.
‘Tomorrow’s the disciple challenge, and you are in the mood to farm and make wine?’
Stunned for a few beats at the dining table, Lin Yunzi said in bewilderment, “This disciple scanned the list. Is Junior Uncle going to brew and make wine?”
Xiao Ran popped a few peanuts into his mouth along with some side dishes.
He was starving and there was not enough time for Lin Yunzi to prepare spiritual food, so the latter could only make some normal lunch in the outer sect canteen. The food was grown in a cultivation sect after all, so it was different from usual mortal food. It was delicious.
“Mm, the wine Master’s drinking is inferior. I’d like to make it better.”
“Junior Uncle Xiao is really devoted to Elder Lingzhou.”
Lin Yunzi fawned smoothly before his words took a sharp turn.
“But how is Junior Uncle preparing to handle the disciple challenge tomorrow?”
Xiao Ran drank some deep river fish soup and continued to take large scoops of rice while casually replying, “No need to be too concerned about trivial matters like this.”
Trivial matters?
If he could not convince the elite Inner Disciples, the new Cultivation Alliance rules stated that the Commandment Elder would have the right to apply to abolish Xiao Ran as a Direct Disciple.
Lin Yunzi probed in a whisper, “If Junior Uncle would like to gain some edge, this disciple has some items adequate to take on Qi Refining Cultivators.”
What was the point of taking on Qi Refining cultivators?
Xiao Ran had his own plan.
“I appreciate the gesture, but no need to be troubled over a petty matter like this. I have a plan.”
“This disciple’s been brusque.”
After the meal, Lin Yunzi summoned the handymen promptly and distributed Xiao Ran’s list to them. What Xiao Ran did not expect was that a two-spirit-stone mission would attract over 100 handymen…
There were no difficult tasks, only brave handymen.
‘Handymen, depart!’
It was as if Xiao Ran could hear someone barking in the void.
After the handymen set out to complete their tasks in groups, Lin Yunzi said, “Spiritual grains and fertilizers can only be bought from the Sangu Granary on Gargan-Grain Mountain. Outer disciples do not have permission to buy them, but I can take you there.”
“Please.”
Gargan-Grain Mountain was a little far.
Xiao Ran took the paper kite, while Lin Yunzi stood with him on it. After all, he did not find it appropriate to ride a sword in front of Xiao Ran.
‘F*ck this.’
‘I’m a mere mortal. Have mercy on my physique, will you?’
‘I don’t need pride.’
Lin Yunzi missed no opportunity to butter up to Xiao Ran.
“We haven’t met for only a day, but Junior Uncle is stably controlling the paper kite already. This disciple’s lived hundreds of years in vain. I can’t even match Junior Uncle’s effort in a day.”
This sounded sincere.
It actually worked on the ears.
Xiao Ran spoke up. “If you feel bored, you can tell me stories you know about my Master.”
Lin Yunzi pieced his words together carefully. He dared not expose the bad side of the Sword-Wielding Elder too directly yet he could not forgo the truth and forcefully glamorize her, thus making his flattery too obvious.
“The Sword-Wielding Elder’s lifestyle is different from other people’s and doesn’t garner good comments in the sect, but it’s because of her presence that the sect’s attracted plenty of new disciples in the past few years. Especially female disciples,” he added.
Ah…
Xiao Ran then asked, “Do you know Master’s real ability?”
Lin Yunzi said, “The Sword-Wielding Elder was the prodigy of the Cultivation Alliance’s academy in her early years. She’s exceptionally gifted. It’s a pity that after she joined the sect, she left her cultivation base and remains at the Spirit Severing realm until now.”
“She’s only at the Spirit Severing realm?”
“She can’t be bothered. Her combat power is the first in the sect after the Sect Leader anyway. 500 years ago, she defeated Body Merging Junior Uncle Bo Yunzi just as she entered the Spirit Severing level and became the Sword-Wielding Elder. It was huge news at the time.”
Fighting with someone above her level was a common occurrence, huh? Xiao Ran thought that his master must have gotten the female protagonist template.
“What’s the cultivation base of other strong cultivators in the sect?”
“Grandmaster Sect Leader is one of the nine Great Vehicle cultivators we have now. Junior Uncle Bo Yunzi is the only one in the sect with a Body Merging cultivation base, while the other Elders all have a Spirit Severing cultivation base.”
Lin Yunzi, an Outer Sect Trainer, recounted the inner sect affairs like the back of his hand.
“Among the Direct Disciples, other than Junior Uncle Ji Yunzi, Junior Uncle Gao Shi from the Sword-Tempering Mountain has a Nascent Soul cultivation base, Junior Uncle Luo Sheng in the Commandment Hall has a Golden Core, and Junior Uncle Chunwa and Qiuchan on the Hundred Herb Hill are said to be only at the Qi Refining stage, but one mustn’t underestimate them. After all, rumor has it that… both of them have demonic blood.”
Demonic blood?
That was why they were sensitive to flora and fauna!
That was not right either… Xiao Ran frowned.
“I heard that demons are very demanding when it comes to the concentration of spiritual energy. The spiritual energy in the Dao-Ending Period is really thin. How did they survive?”
“You’ll have to ask the Medicinal Elder this question. She looks tender and pretty, the goddess of countless handsome men, but once you are cut up…”
“Cut up?” Xiao Ran repeated.
Lin Yunzi then realized his tongue had slipped.
“Cough, this old man is useless. Elder Yinyue is good at tackling poison with poison and extremely proficient in various poison studies. She dares to take risks too, so…”
Xiao Ran chorused, “So?”
Lin Yunzi panicked a little while facing Xiao Ran’s probing questions and quickly said, “These are all rumors. One can’t believe them.”
“…”
Xiao Ran was suddenly reminded of Yinyue Zhenren mentioning dissection and an herbal bath…
Would that be…
Xiao Ran was too scared to dwell on it and ceased thinking about it altogether.
He diverted the topic.
“What cultivation base do the Inner Disciples who are challenging me tomorrow have?”
Lin Yunzi answered, “Elite Inner Disciples mostly have a Foundation Establishment cultivation base, but there are also a few stronger ones at the Golden Core level!”
Xiao Ran was puzzled.
“I can understand we only have one Great Vehicle and one Body Merging cultivation base, but our sect, sub-sect included, ranges between hundreds of cultivation mountains and kilometers of perimeter. The cultivation base gap is too severe when Senior Brother Gao Shi is the only one at the Nascent Soul stage, despite how big our sect is…”
“It’s not exactly a total break. Other than Junior Uncle Gao, there are a few more Nascent Soul seniors among the over 100 Trainers in the sect. You might meet the Nascent Soul disciple who’s just been promoted to Trainer this year… Overall, there are really far too few Nascent Soul cultivators in our sect.”
As the wind billowed, Lin Yunzi sighed.
“This is because in the last Purging Fight, there was a massive surge of Nascent Soul Wraiths. Cultivators at the Nascent Soul and above can still guard themselves, but cultivators below that can’t even enter the battlefield. Nascent Soul cultivators had the most casualties then. Junior Uncle Gao has just ascended to the Nascent Soul level in recent years after wearing the iron rings.”
Oh!
Xiao Ran was suddenly curious.
“How did my Master do in the last Purging Fight?”
Lin Yunzi narrated slowly, “Elder Lingzhou was still young back then and met the Purging Fight the first time she was out on a mission of the Cultivation Alliance academy. She fought a Nascent Soul Wraith with a Golden Core cultivation base and ascended into the Nascent Soul realm during that battle. After that, she killed dozens of Nascent Soul Wraiths and became famous thanks to that battle. Her name took the Zhenling Continent by storm!”
Xiao Ran was floored.
Wraiths were the bane of the existence of same-level cultivators.
However, his Master had fought a Wraith above her own level and leveled up during that battle, killing more same-level Wraiths after that…
Xiao Ran finally understood why his master was not the cleverest.
What was intelligence anyway? Could one eat it?
Had Yinyue Zhenren never thought of cutting his master up to take a look?
What kind of divine physique did she have? Had she popped out of a rock?
Xiao Ran asked abruptly, “Do you know about Master’s background? Like, is her mother famous? Does she know the art of deduction?”
Lin Yunzi was slightly taken aback, not knowing why Xiao Ran would ask this out of the blue.
“This disciple is only a small-time Qi Refining cultivator. I would not know a secret like this, but one thing’s certain, Elder Lingzhou did not have a famous background.”
“Oh…”
Xiao Ran looked a little disappointed before he said after some thought, “Master’s dominant and doesn’t like men, but she’s outstanding both in appearance and aura. Aren’t there men in the sect, or did the Cultivation Alliance court her?”
“There are.”
“Where are they?”
“Gone.”